Oh lord, I never really thought where I was going with that first entry. Guess I saw it as more of a oneshot. However, I've had a think about it and am slowly coming up with some semblance of a plot. In the mean time here's the next instalment.
All rights and ownership go to Square Enix of course.
Elena felt sick. Her mind refused to settle in one place, instead it flitted violently from one thought to another like a trapped bird. She tried focusing on the click of her heels on the marble floor but it only served to remind her how fast she was walking, how desperate she must appear. She couldn't stop though, right now it was all she could do to prevent herself from breaking out into a full blown run- if there was one coherent motivation in her head it was to put as much distance between herself and that office, that meeting as she could.
At the end of the corridor she hesitated, a choice between elevator or stairs faced her. She would normally avoid the elevator if she could, the sensation of being confined, trapped all over again. Yet right now she wasn't sure if she could trust her shaking knees to carry her down the several flights of stairs. She pressed the button and waited. Closing her eyes Elena tried to steady her breath, in through the nose out through the mouth. Slowly she felt the panic subsiding, her breath calming, body beginning to sway on the spot
DING! Eyes snapped open in time to see the elevator doors glide smoothly apart, thankfully there was no one on the other side to meet her shocked face. Stepping inside Elena allowed herself to lean heavily against the handrail, rather than panic her the low hum of the elevator actually had a placating affect, soothing her mind to the point where she was capable of thinking in grammatical sentences again.
Had it really been that bad? Well, did he say anything positive?
...No.
But that's hardly to be expected. When does Rufus Shinra ever hand out compliments?
But was he disappointed in the report either? He'd opened it hadn't he? Read it, even set her a follow up assignment. Why even bother? She could never read him- if you messed up in front of Reno he'd be happy to point it out to you, often in the most rich, sarcastic overtones. Tseng, though less vocal had 'disapproval' as one of his favourites in his facial expression repertoire. But Rufus, you could never tell what was going through his head at any given moment. Truth be told he scared her, the indiscernible facade, the business-like exterior punctuated by rare flashes of red hot temper, even violence. His put down of Heideggar had become the stuff of legend, Reno often quoting the "stupid horse laugh" after a few drinks down the bar. He could hold civil conversations with a person before battling them on a rooftop or sending them to an execution chamber.
Oh god, why had she asked him that question, why open your stupid big mouth? She thought she was past all this, all those little 'Elena' moments. If there was one thing she'd brought with her out of the Northern Crater it was the value of silence, of holding your reserve, staying strong. Tseng had taught her that, she'd taken her lead from him... Elena mentally shook herself, don't go back there, not again, stay in the present.
And what was with all those questions? Was he testing her? Trying to catch her out? She could tell he was growing impatient with her. She'd been aware of the downgrade in her missions- scouting jobs, file pulling, more secretarial work than a real Turk! Was he just keeping her out of the way? Elena bit the inside of her cheek, she'd have to try harder, she couldn't afford to get on the wrong side of Rufus Shinra. She needed this job, damn it she'd worked hard for it- don't throw it all away now, not because of one shake-up!
Out of the elevator she made her way hurriedly across the floor, walking into the Turks offices. Reno was perched on a desk midway through one of his anecdotes. The recipient seemed to find the story less amusing than the narrator though- Rude was staring stoically at the computer screen in front of him showing little inclination that he was listening to the redhead. Reno looked up at Elena's entry, a smirk playing across his features.
"Woohh, how'd the meeting with the big boss go, yo?"
Elena chose not to respond, focusing on making it to the desk in front of her.
"Heh, heh that bad eh?" Reno's smile tuned into an irritated pout when Elena still didn't look at him. She wasn't as fun as she used to be, not nearly as easy to rile. Elena sat down at the desk, feeling her ears burn as she stared at the paperwork in front of her. After a few seconds she risked a glance up, Reno was back to describing his latest conquest to Rude. She relaxed a little and allowed herself to look around, immediately catching Tseng's gaze. He was sat apart from the others in his own private office as head of the Turks, yet he was still able to see her through the glass partition and was currently watching Elena, concern traced across his eyes. Startled she looked down sharply. Picking up a pen she took a breath and tried to focus on doing some work. What had the president asked her to do again?
She hesitated for a second, lips twisting in concentration. Still aware of Tseng's presence mere feet away she began to write:
Status W. Continent
Engineers?
Survey
The pen trailed off. She frowned at the words; they were all disjointed, not making any sense. Damn it she was going to fail this task before she even started!
That smile though, it had seemed genuine. Pleased almost...
Don't kid yourself girl!
