I said I'd have a third one of these, and here it is. Smell, a sense we don't use as well as we should these days. Why Tseng? I think he's the type to notice tiny details like these ones. Any suggestions for another?
Oh, and go vote in my poll. I want a few more votes before I declare a winner.
Every human being has a personal scent that no one else can recreate. The average human nose cannot usually detect that scent, but it can pick up the other smells that cling to each person. Some of these scents are there so often that they become a reflection of that person's personal scent.
Tseng has a very good sense of smell; to him, each of the people he deals with has a defining scent he can recognize at once, under almost any circumstances.
Reno is smoke from the bars he spends so much time in, ozone from the electricity in his mag-rod, and an inexplicable undertone or cedar. The combination reminds Tseng of hidden places, quick movements, and peace.
Rufus is ink from all the paperwork, a steamy non-smell from the dry-cleaners, and a faint tang from his shampoo. They make a quiet scent, one that brings to mind new things, offices, and time.
Cloud smells of wind from long hours on his bike, swat from the hard work he does every day and faintly sweet from the honing oil he uses on his sword. He's hard to pin down, and to Tseng he smells like afternoons spent playing soccer, honesty, and freedom.
Tifa has an interesting scent for a woman. It's a woody, almost biting smell from her work in the bar, with a hind of sweetness from some lotion she uses. It reminds Tseng of long quiet nights in a corner booth, strength, and determination.
Sephiroth's scent was predominantly leather and sweat and the acid smell of Mako, but under it was something fresh and tangy, like the sea. Thinking back on it, Tseng thinks first of some dojo on a back street, then of crowded barracks full of new cadets, and finally of isolation.
The Remnants shared one thing in common with Sephiroth: the smell of leather. Beyond that, each is different. Loz had ozone from his pilebunker, sweat, and a smoky smell. He is, in that sense, like autumn and an oncoming storm. Yazoo was paper and gunpowder, from his gun blade and what Tseng suspected to be a secret passion fro books. There was mint, too. He never did figure out where it came from. Yazoo reminded him of libraries. Kadaj had the scent of a just-struck match and the same bitter Mako smell as Sephiroth, only stronger. Everything about him brought the labs to mind.
Vincent is gunpowder from the firearms he takes such good care of, the smooth oil he uses to do so, and a deep woodsy smell from long weeks he spends prowling the wild places in search of threats to get rid of. He smells like secrets, midnight, and independence.
Cid is smoke from his cigarettes, oil and metal from the machines he loves to work on, and the thin, cold breathtaking scent of air at high altitudes. He's different from the others that way, untethered where they are anchored, and Tseng thinks he smells like resolve, dreams, and flight.
Yuffie is sweet. Sugary sweet from the candy she loves, floral sweet from her shampoo, and fresh air sweet from all the time she spends outside. Everything she smells of reminds him of children, innocence and the days before he became a Turk.
Once, Reno told Tseng what he smells like to him. He smells of metal – not rust, but metal from the knives he carries, pine from the soap he favors, and rain. Reno says that, all together, Tseng smells like safety.