middaeg | (no subject)

Who: cloud strife & zack fair
When: early september.
Where: the coven!
What: bonding! between monsters! what can go wrong.
Warnings: none.

[What had been agreed, had been agreed hastily, as some form of prevention for a repeat of what happened the month before. What happened the month before, of course, being Zack going feral. Sephiroth, apparently, had been around to prevent things from being as bad as they could've been (Yeah. He still needs to talk to him about that...) but... yeah. here they were.

Except that's not really it. Partially it, sure. But not quite all of it. Not really. He'd agreed to this before Zack showed any signs of his condition overtaking him. Offered it freely. ...Even wanted it, in a larger respect than what he really understood. And they're here.

As Cloud lingers in the doorway of their shared house, made all the bigger, all the more vacant via both a missing housemate and one that couldn't tolerate the sun, he waits for the other man in the porchway, quietly just kind of... appreciating how the sun feels on his face. It'd been a while, after all.

And when Zack comes out of the doorway to join him...]

You good?

[A few steps down from the porch and onto the dirt road.]

You wanna back out, M'not gonna be sore about it.

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[ That frustrated grunt from Cloud is all the answer that Zack needs, and while his grin persists for a little longer as a result, he lets the subject drop there. They really don't need words to explain how important they are to each other, it's true, but he'll make sure to dredge some up anyway. Once they're in the midst of the ceremony.

Cloud decides to entirely change the subject, and while Zack could make some remark about how this sort of paranoid talk isn't very romantic, just for the sake of flustering his friend, he refrains. Mainly because he's wondered the same thing. ]

Guess it depends on how much the planet is... well, an entity that can make its own choices. Aerith could talk to the planet back home, right? It had... I dunno, some kind of will.

[ In truth, Zack still doesn't really understand it that well. ]

But you've interacted with the Coven more than I have. Have they done anything to make it seem like they're hiding something? Seems kind of strange that they had all those mirrors set up already, like they were just waiting for us to come through.

[ After being burned so badly by Shinra, Zack isn't willing to take anything at face value. The Coven seems to want to take care of them at least to some extent, but for what reason? Because they stand to gain something from it? ]

[Thanks for not mentioning that Zack, because yes. He would be flustered. Extremely so. But speaking of paranoia, since being flustered was not on the cards, he takes the opportunity, as they near the coven's building, to pause.

He stays away- far away- from any of the groups of mages lingering about the place before he answers.]

Aerith told me she felt something here. She couldn't talk to it though, barely even knew what it was. Something to do with... [...Man. How did Aerith even word things to all of them, back home? Even recounting what she said is hard.] ...She said she was a stranger to this place. That was how she didn't know. She knew there was something. But that's all.

[That over with... his voice lowers all the more to respond to Zack's query about the coven.]

Not really. Doesn't mean that there isn't anything though. I've been here... [....How long?] ...over 6 months. Other than the welcome basket, there's never been any opportunity to talk to anyone about any of it. Sometimes, we get paid for clearing out areas, or working as meatshields for their scientists. They don't say a damn word, either.

[ So there's something about this planet, though Aerith hadn't actually been able to determine much more than that. While it didn't really answer their question, it did mean that there was a chance that this world was responsible for bringing them here, rather than a specific group of people within it. Not that they could be sure either way, and Zack doesn't judge Cloud at all for having questions.

His pace also slows, not wanting to be overheard by anyone who's actually affiliated with the Coven. Zack hasn't had any unpleasant run-ins with Witches and has no reason to assume all of them are bad (that would make him no better than the people of this city who are distrustful of all monsters), but he also knows that this kind of talk probably wouldn't go over very well.

His hands slip into his pockets as he chew over Cloud's words, and then his shoulders slump with a sigh. It all sounds a little too familiar, like they're being kept on a need-to-know basis. And given the mountain of secrets that Shinra had been sitting on, it's possible there's something similar here. ]

Well, maybe we just need to ask them. Set up an audience with that Nessie lady or something. [ He turns his head to eye Cloud with one eyebrow ticked upward. ] Or do you think it's pointless?

[ Chances are one of the other Mirrorbound has already tried this, right? ]

[To the both of them, 'need-to-know' is it's own hell. To Cloud, it's disconcerting just how many of the people that were brought in seem to have taken it in their stride. Does that mean that it's just them that have a problem with all of it? ...Or is it something else?

Who knows.
But that's not the point.]

Tried already.

[He responds, in a manner that could very well be considered quite flat.]

Me and Sephiroth arrived about the same time. Both had the same idea before we even knew each other was here. Both of us got nowhere.

[ Normally, he'd leave that as that (as defeatist as it is.) But, since he's speaking with Zack...]

...Could always try again.

[ What Cloud has to say isn't much of a surprise to Zack. Even the detail about Sephiroth having the same idea doesn't shock him much. He would never go so far to say that Cloud and Sephiroth are anything alike, but soldiers think a certain way, don't they?

At the offer, Zack sighs and waves Cloud off. ]

Doubt it'd lead to anything different. I might have a cute face, but if Sephiroth wasn't able to intimidate them into saying anything, I don't think I'll be able to charm 'em into it.

[ It's a frustrating result, but if they want answers, they'll need to find some other way to get them. Maybe by finding others who are distrustful of the Coven, whether Mirrorbound or not, and questioning them.

A pause, and then Zack shrugs and nods to the building looming ahead of them. ]

So, you gonna stop stalling now?

[ It's time to get platonically married! ]