A/N: Okay, yeah, that was quick. I guess I'm in a writing mood, which is a miracle within itself. Haha. Anyhow, I decided to choose Aeris (not Aerith, meaning that this is my game-verse version of the flower girl. Aerith is my Movie/AU/Made-up situations version of the girl) for the prompt of 'Pray' for obvious reasons. I thought it would be interesting to see what it was like for Aeris within some of her last moments on the Planet, as well as to show who I think she was praying to in those last moments. Hope you enjoy!
She walked into the shell-shaped structure with a calm mind and a serene smile. This was the home of her people; the Forgotten City of the Ancients. The voices of the Lifestream swept through her as she walked, whispering to her in ancient voices, ghostly hands caressing her skin as she made her way to the prayer platform. She knew, just knew, that her friends would be coming for her shortly, yet she hoped that they would take a little while so that she could ask the Planet to help in protecting itself and its people from the threat of the madman Sephiroth.
Walking through the maze with an ease she didn't fully comprehend, she looked at the coral décor and the sense of peace that washed over her like gentle waves in the ocean. The Forgotten City was a beautiful place, a place she wished that people could come visit and admire as she was able to now. She knew, of course, that if outsiders came to the Ancient's city that it would not hold the same feeling of serenity; it would be a tourist attraction, something to go to in the summer with the kids and take pictures and souvenirs. It would be destroyed because people would want to enjoy it in a greedy way, instead of a simple way such as enjoying the sights and the feelings it created within the soul.
It made Aeris said, really.
Walking up a set of stairs towards a circular platform, Aeris Gainsborough knelt in place and bowed her head, hands clasped loosely in front of her. She was silent for a few minutes before blinking slowly, raising an eyebrow. This was odd. All she could hear were the gentle whisperings of the Ancients who still lingered in the halls of their city. Where was the all-powerful voice of Gaia; of Minerva, Goddess of the Planet and of its people?
She pouted, sitting down on the ground and crossing her arms in thought, tongue sticking out to create an innocent picture of a child thinking. (She was anything but a child, yet that didn't stop her from acting like one once in a while.) She tugged on the pink ribbon a SOLDIER had given her years ago before she felt a soft lump through the ribbon. Raising her eyebrows with a look of slow recognition, she touched the lump and suddenly the voices of the Ancients fell silent to the soft, patient breathing of something much larger.
Ah, so that little hunk of stone did have a purpose.
Smiling, Aeris got back onto her knees and clasped her hands in front of her, focusing her attention not on the air around her as she usually would while praying, but instead on the piece of White Materia in her hair ribbon. The breathing she'd heard before paused, before a gentle yet loud melodic voice spoke from the depths of the Lifestream.
"Child of the Ancients, what is it you wish to ask of me?"
Taking in a deep breath, Aeris squared her shoulders and prayed for the Planet to be saved.