Tifa jumped at the sound of the opening door. She glanced at her watch irritatedly then wiped the sweat from her brow. "I'm sorry, we're closed," she said as she returned to her work.
"Do you think I give a damn about your hours, Tifa?" The man took a seat at one of the stools at the bar. He lit his cigarette and took a drag.
She looked up for a moment. "Oh. Hi, Cid. What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing, Miss We'll-be-Gone-for-a-Week-or-Two. I was under the impression that I wouldn't get a damned drink until next week." He half grinned at her. "Did you and Cloud have an argument or something?"
The woman stood up and wiped her hands off nervously. "Something like that. It was very odd going back, is all. Too many ghosts, you understand. And besides-" The sound of a slamming door from the back of the building preceeded a frustrated Cloud ripping dark sunglasses from his face.
"'Wear these. Maybe they'll help,'" he mocked. "I swear if that girl ever looks at my eyes like everybody else on the Planet, I'll never complain about Soldier again." He laughed at the thought. "Tifa, you might want to remember that. I'll even let you kick me if I do." He looked at the woman who was madly willing him to shut up. At a slight toss of her head to the man eyeing him through the cloud of smoke around his head. Cloud grimaced. "Hey there, Cid. When did you get here?"
Cid eyed the end of his cigarette before smashing it in the ashtray. "Oh, I'd say about ghosts and sunglasses." He looked up at the two. "And about 'that girl' that I haven't heard a friggin' word about."
Throwing one last glare at Cloud with the intention of a good talking to later, Tifa threw the towel over her shoulder and began rearranging the already tidy glasses. "It's nothing."
"Like hell it's nothing!" the man said as he slammed his fist on the bar. "If you can't tell a damned friend your little secret, then how about you tell the Captain your story." He rested his chin on folded hands expectantly, pulling the full weight of his position in the town.
Tifa sighed resignedly and brought out a couple beers and motioned for the two to follow her to a table. "I guess I'd rather tell it to a friend than the Captain, but either way." She shrugged as they each took a seat around the table. "There really were too many ghosts there. You see, there's too many memories there. You wouldn't know, you didn't go there. When we were leaving Aerith's lake, someone washed ashore covered in our flowers' petals."
"You see, she's Aerith Reborn, right? I keep telling Tifa that, but she won't listen," Cloud said urgently to Cid. "You believe me, right?"
"Cloud, I'm gonna slug you later." Tifa cleared her throat after the interruption and continued. "This Wutaian girl washed up wearing nothing but a metal collar, shackles, and chains. The wierdest thing is that she freaks out anytime Cloud gets near her."
"Hence the sunglasses," he said as he put them back on and leaned back onto two legs of his chair.
"That and any sort of light we bring in. We have to go to her in near complete darkness. Right now, she's in a closet because she hates windows. Anyway, before we brought her here we tried to take off the shackles. You won't believe this, but there are no joints, no seams, nothing." She idly sketched a few doodles on the table with the sweat off the bottles.
Cloud looked up. "You're good with mechanical stuff, maybe you could take a peek, Cid."
He took a drag on the cigarette and kicked Cloud's off balance chair over. He laughed and stood.
"I guess so. Where is she?"
"In back, in the house." Tifa motioned to the back as she tried to hide a smile behind her hand. She reached down to help a silently cursing Cloud to his feet. She turned off the lights to the front and unlocked the latch to the rest of the building. Passing by a table, she grabbed one of the remaining Materia from their collection. She motioned for the men to stay behind for a moment before opening the closet door. Grey eyes raised to meet hers panickedly before releaxing into a form of trust. Regardless, she tightened the grip on Tifa's purple blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The woman held a finger to her lips and palmed the green orb. "Sleep, child. We can't have you hurt yourself." The gentle mists from the spell intertwined themselves around the dark haired girl's head and made her eyes heavy. "Goodnight."
She found herself in the twilight darkness that began each of her visions. She expected the radiant light as it warmed her features. She stepped out of the house into the morning sun. The pack on her small back swung lightly as she walked down the street to her school. Her mother, already at work, had been supporting the family since the girl's father joined the battle against ShinRa. But the girl gave this little thought. The distant gunfire could be as easliy another gang shooting as it could be the war itself.
"Hey! Rashell!" The boy called her name as he came running up another street. She turned to face him as he came up.
She giggled a bit at her schoolyard crush when he tripped on the uneven sidewalk. "Hi, Daniel. Did you get your homework done? Mrs. Furuya will be upset if you don't have it again."
Daniel laughed at her for a moment. "No way! Mom got me the new Sephiroth action figure! I spent all afternoon playing with Joey."
"So you played the ShinRa?!" Rashell asked him incredulously.
"Yeah! He's way cooler than any of the guys we've got!"
"But what about my dad?"
"Nah. The General's way cooler!"
"Nuh uh!" The girl aimed a punch at Daniel's head, which he dodged and sent her regaining her balance a couple feet behind him. He made a face and they ran the rest of the way to the school, laughing by the time they entered the gate and forgetting the reason she was chasing him to begin with. Rashell and her friend entered the darker building with smiles plastered on like the stray strands of dark hair on their faces.
The familiar scene faded into the twilight the same way it had opened. The dreamer cried inwardly at its passage, believing that she would soon wake to pain and stars. Instead, the darkness slowly deepened until tiny lights scattered the sky. She was not afraid of these peaceful celestial gems. As she watched them, the brightest one dissolved the darkness in her mind. She did not fear this light, either. A silouette slowly ghosted in front of the emination; the mist thickened until the bare outline of two girls could be seen. The elder held the hand of the other as they walked toward the dreamer. The older girl's green eyes shone from beneath a copper halo of hair as she smiled. Dreamer looked at the younger girl, recognizing the slate eyes and black hair from her visions. They released each other's hands and the dark haired one walked toward the dreamer.
The older girl watched the two meet. "Rashell, help her. She cannot remember herself; she cannot remember herself," she said softly. The younger one nodded and turned back to the dreamer. She began to fade and the light shone through her and onto the other. The line between them dissolved until one became the other. The dreamer took a deep breath and looked around with eyes cleared of the madness and pain. "Now wake," the girl with green eyes said and merged with the light.
Cid sat back against the hallway wall, holding his head in bewilderment. "How in the hell? I can't make heads or tails of this whole thing!" The girl was still wrapped up in the blanket, but with both arms sticking out. He had been fiddling with the bands for a couple hours without any success. "They've gotta be Mythril. I couldn't cut them off anyway! They're too damn close to her arm."
Cloud looked resignedly at the pilot. "So there's nothing you can do." He sighed and looked at his watch. "Well, shit. It's late, man. I'll walk you to the door." The Captain nodded and the two walked out into the front room.
"God. What are we supposed to do now?" Tifa said to herself as she kept her vigil over the sleeping form, ready to rouse her and comfort her like the other times. When the girl's grey eyes opened, she had to bite down a curse at the shock. "You're not supposed to be awake yet."
The younger woman blinked slowly and looked around the hall. "Where am I?" she asked to the now speechless Tifa.
"Do you think I give a damn about your hours, Tifa?" The man took a seat at one of the stools at the bar. He lit his cigarette and took a drag.
She looked up for a moment. "Oh. Hi, Cid. What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing, Miss We'll-be-Gone-for-a-Week-or-Two. I was under the impression that I wouldn't get a damned drink until next week." He half grinned at her. "Did you and Cloud have an argument or something?"
The woman stood up and wiped her hands off nervously. "Something like that. It was very odd going back, is all. Too many ghosts, you understand. And besides-" The sound of a slamming door from the back of the building preceeded a frustrated Cloud ripping dark sunglasses from his face.
"'Wear these. Maybe they'll help,'" he mocked. "I swear if that girl ever looks at my eyes like everybody else on the Planet, I'll never complain about Soldier again." He laughed at the thought. "Tifa, you might want to remember that. I'll even let you kick me if I do." He looked at the woman who was madly willing him to shut up. At a slight toss of her head to the man eyeing him through the cloud of smoke around his head. Cloud grimaced. "Hey there, Cid. When did you get here?"
Cid eyed the end of his cigarette before smashing it in the ashtray. "Oh, I'd say about ghosts and sunglasses." He looked up at the two. "And about 'that girl' that I haven't heard a friggin' word about."
Throwing one last glare at Cloud with the intention of a good talking to later, Tifa threw the towel over her shoulder and began rearranging the already tidy glasses. "It's nothing."
"Like hell it's nothing!" the man said as he slammed his fist on the bar. "If you can't tell a damned friend your little secret, then how about you tell the Captain your story." He rested his chin on folded hands expectantly, pulling the full weight of his position in the town.
Tifa sighed resignedly and brought out a couple beers and motioned for the two to follow her to a table. "I guess I'd rather tell it to a friend than the Captain, but either way." She shrugged as they each took a seat around the table. "There really were too many ghosts there. You see, there's too many memories there. You wouldn't know, you didn't go there. When we were leaving Aerith's lake, someone washed ashore covered in our flowers' petals."
"You see, she's Aerith Reborn, right? I keep telling Tifa that, but she won't listen," Cloud said urgently to Cid. "You believe me, right?"
"Cloud, I'm gonna slug you later." Tifa cleared her throat after the interruption and continued. "This Wutaian girl washed up wearing nothing but a metal collar, shackles, and chains. The wierdest thing is that she freaks out anytime Cloud gets near her."
"Hence the sunglasses," he said as he put them back on and leaned back onto two legs of his chair.
"That and any sort of light we bring in. We have to go to her in near complete darkness. Right now, she's in a closet because she hates windows. Anyway, before we brought her here we tried to take off the shackles. You won't believe this, but there are no joints, no seams, nothing." She idly sketched a few doodles on the table with the sweat off the bottles.
Cloud looked up. "You're good with mechanical stuff, maybe you could take a peek, Cid."
He took a drag on the cigarette and kicked Cloud's off balance chair over. He laughed and stood.
"I guess so. Where is she?"
"In back, in the house." Tifa motioned to the back as she tried to hide a smile behind her hand. She reached down to help a silently cursing Cloud to his feet. She turned off the lights to the front and unlocked the latch to the rest of the building. Passing by a table, she grabbed one of the remaining Materia from their collection. She motioned for the men to stay behind for a moment before opening the closet door. Grey eyes raised to meet hers panickedly before releaxing into a form of trust. Regardless, she tightened the grip on Tifa's purple blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The woman held a finger to her lips and palmed the green orb. "Sleep, child. We can't have you hurt yourself." The gentle mists from the spell intertwined themselves around the dark haired girl's head and made her eyes heavy. "Goodnight."
She found herself in the twilight darkness that began each of her visions. She expected the radiant light as it warmed her features. She stepped out of the house into the morning sun. The pack on her small back swung lightly as she walked down the street to her school. Her mother, already at work, had been supporting the family since the girl's father joined the battle against ShinRa. But the girl gave this little thought. The distant gunfire could be as easliy another gang shooting as it could be the war itself.
"Hey! Rashell!" The boy called her name as he came running up another street. She turned to face him as he came up.
She giggled a bit at her schoolyard crush when he tripped on the uneven sidewalk. "Hi, Daniel. Did you get your homework done? Mrs. Furuya will be upset if you don't have it again."
Daniel laughed at her for a moment. "No way! Mom got me the new Sephiroth action figure! I spent all afternoon playing with Joey."
"So you played the ShinRa?!" Rashell asked him incredulously.
"Yeah! He's way cooler than any of the guys we've got!"
"But what about my dad?"
"Nah. The General's way cooler!"
"Nuh uh!" The girl aimed a punch at Daniel's head, which he dodged and sent her regaining her balance a couple feet behind him. He made a face and they ran the rest of the way to the school, laughing by the time they entered the gate and forgetting the reason she was chasing him to begin with. Rashell and her friend entered the darker building with smiles plastered on like the stray strands of dark hair on their faces.
The familiar scene faded into the twilight the same way it had opened. The dreamer cried inwardly at its passage, believing that she would soon wake to pain and stars. Instead, the darkness slowly deepened until tiny lights scattered the sky. She was not afraid of these peaceful celestial gems. As she watched them, the brightest one dissolved the darkness in her mind. She did not fear this light, either. A silouette slowly ghosted in front of the emination; the mist thickened until the bare outline of two girls could be seen. The elder held the hand of the other as they walked toward the dreamer. The older girl's green eyes shone from beneath a copper halo of hair as she smiled. Dreamer looked at the younger girl, recognizing the slate eyes and black hair from her visions. They released each other's hands and the dark haired one walked toward the dreamer.
The older girl watched the two meet. "Rashell, help her. She cannot remember herself; she cannot remember herself," she said softly. The younger one nodded and turned back to the dreamer. She began to fade and the light shone through her and onto the other. The line between them dissolved until one became the other. The dreamer took a deep breath and looked around with eyes cleared of the madness and pain. "Now wake," the girl with green eyes said and merged with the light.
Cid sat back against the hallway wall, holding his head in bewilderment. "How in the hell? I can't make heads or tails of this whole thing!" The girl was still wrapped up in the blanket, but with both arms sticking out. He had been fiddling with the bands for a couple hours without any success. "They've gotta be Mythril. I couldn't cut them off anyway! They're too damn close to her arm."
Cloud looked resignedly at the pilot. "So there's nothing you can do." He sighed and looked at his watch. "Well, shit. It's late, man. I'll walk you to the door." The Captain nodded and the two walked out into the front room.
"God. What are we supposed to do now?" Tifa said to herself as she kept her vigil over the sleeping form, ready to rouse her and comfort her like the other times. When the girl's grey eyes opened, she had to bite down a curse at the shock. "You're not supposed to be awake yet."
The younger woman blinked slowly and looked around the hall. "Where am I?" she asked to the now speechless Tifa.