::The Last Avatar::

Gamer Edition

0.2

Awkward Social Interaction

Pale green eyes. It was all she could focus on without completely flipping out. Of course while they weren't exactly the most human looking eyes, they didn't look like the eyes of a mad man either. Not that Rue knew what the eyes of a mad man looked like. They were hard though, like looking at ice or steel, or maybe frozen steel? Pft, something along those lines anyway.

"Um," she started stupidly. She watched him tense slightly, as though he was expecting her to attack. Which was laughable. He was Sephiroth. She had no usable weapons and he was a trained killer. Though she had to wonder why she wasn't dead yet. Good question.

"Put down the weapon," he ordered. She blinked at him for a moment and glanced at the bow she'd slung over her shoulder. He could not be serious, there was no way she was an actual threat to him of all people. Unfortunately this train of thought allowed her to temporarily forget who she was dealing with and her natural humour roared to life with a vengeance. "I will not repeat myself woman," he warned he tersely. Rue rolled her eyes and gave him as unimpressed a look as she could muster being on the wrong end of Masamune. You think he's compensating for something?

"Yeah, because me holding a bow when you have a seven foot long katana pointed at me is going to be a problem," she pointed out sarcastically. The Silver General didn't move, the look in his eyes told her he was serious. She snorted and raised her arms in amusement, cause really, what else could she do at this point? "Do you SEE any arrows?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. His pale green eyes flicked over her and he seemed to frown minutely.

"No," he answered after a moment.

"Okay then, now, how much of a threat is one teenage girl with a bow and no arrows to YOU of all the people I could have come across?" she asked him with a sigh. This was really not her day. Is it ever?

"You do not look Wutian," he noted with a slightly more pronounced frown. The fact that the man before her was emoting at all set off alarm bells in Rue's slightly stunned brain. It took a moment for her to realise he was likely waiting for her to say something else, not that she was very sure what she could say.

It was unfortunate that before Rue could actually make a decent first impression that another screen exploded in front of her face making her yelp and stumble as she pressed her self further into the tree behind her.

Congratulations!

You have entered your first Social Interaction!

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This activated_

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Tutorial

Social Interaction

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Social Interactions are triggered when you start a conversation with others. How well the Interaction goes can depend on Reputation, Morality, Title and your past Interactions with the individual you are Interacting with.

Social Interactions are important as they can lead to new quests, solutions to current quests and can trigger important events.

For your first Social Interaction we recommend being NICE to the man with the pointy piece of metal aimed at you. So quit the sarcasm dummy.

Rue was starting to wonder just how helpful these 'tutorials' would actually be. This one, for starters, was about as unhelpful as it could have been. She did note, however, that Sephiroth, because it was indeed him no matter how she looked at it, had lowered his blade slightly after her reaction. Perhaps he thought she didn't recognise him at first and when she did had panicked when she realised how she'd spoken to him? Hell, she'd go with that. Easier than explaining about the screen in her face that she suspected he couldn't see. Good plan.

"I apologise, I seem to have startled you," she heard him say. Blinking Rue focused on him through the tutorial screen, he seemed, different than she'd been expecting. Less cold and more, well, she didn't really have a word ready for what it was he seemed to be like right now.

"No, no, it's fine, I'm fine, I just-um-I-You-Crap," Rue stumbled over her words like the teenager she looked like. Taking a deep breath she tried again, attempting to be smoother. "Sorry, I'm not really used to being in life threatening situations. I just sorta woke up here and found the bow next to me, no arrows, just the bow and then you showed up and-and-yeah," she finished lamely. Rue had, thankfully, been intelligent enough to use her referral to him to appear to point at him and poke the screen before her out of existence at the same time. Thus dismissing the distracting screen so she could focus on the, very young looking, man before her. I believe the words you are looking for are: Hummuna Hummuna.

Rue watched as a silver brow raised dubiously, the small frown still on his face as his eyes started swiftly scanning the area. Honestly she didn't blame him if he was suspicious, the whole situation was highly suspicious if she was honest with herself. Also terrifying. She could lose her shit later, when there was less chance of being turned into a shish kebab. Stay calm. You aren't dead yet.

"You're alone?" he asked after a moment. Rue nodded in affirmation, she recalled something about her pet being transferred as well, but she wasn't sure when that was going to happen, if at all. Or what form the little cat might take.

"Um, yeah, as far as I know," she shifted slightly against the tree.

"You do not look Wutian," he commented again. Rue felt her mouth twitch, she really wanted to say something there and wondered if it would help break the ice, so to speak, or make matters worse. I'd do it.

"I don't," she agreed with a smile, "I thought you didn't repeat yourself," Rue added. She didn't try to hide the small smile on that crossed her face, hopeful that he wouldn't remove her head for making a small funny. Or attempting to at least. She did briefly wonder about her own sanity for possibly antagonising one of the most dangerous people she could have ever come across. A small snort of a shadow of amusement brought that train of thought to a grinding halt. Did he just laugh? Score!

"It is a rare occasion that I do," he admitted an almost smile was threatening to form in the corner of his mouth. Or maybe she was just nuts and imagining things. Probably the latter if she was being realistic. "If you are not Wutian, what are you doing in a war zone?" the almost smile was gone now. "Media?" Rue blinked at the single word before she realised he was asking her if she was a reporter. He did realise she was a teenager right? Or looked like one at least.

"Oh, no I'm not a journalist, I'm-well-just me, I guess," Rue frowned at herself. She could have said a number of things, but her mouth had decided to be awkward instead. Very descriptive. Well done.

"Civilian, then?" he was frowning at her again. Only minutely, but it was there, she thought.

"Um, yeah," she gave a nod along with her verbal answer. Wondering the whole time where this was going and if he would help get her out of the forest. It was on her quest that she should find someone to help her after all.

"Where are you from?" at that question Rue's train of thought was once again brought to a screeching halt. She couldn't exactly say she was born in a place that, from his perspective, doesn't exist. Realising she probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car Rue took a deep breath an answered the question as vaguely as she could.

"Northern Continent," she told him with a shrug. She hoped he wouldn't ask for a less vague answer.

"Icicle area?" no such luck. As always.

"Ah, no, I was born in…" Rue squinted slightly as she ran through places she knew were on the Northern Continent. "Modeoheim, but my mother is kinda like a gypsy, we move a lot," she explained with a small smile. She wasn't exactly lying in that regard. "I haven't lived in Modeo for a while cause of that," she shrugged again and hoped Sephiroth wouldn't call her bluff.

"I do not believe I've been to Modeoheim myself, just Icicle," were his only comments. Rue's smile got a little bigger, he really wasn't as cold as she'd thought he would be. Or maybe it was the weird situation of finding a lone teenage girl in the middle of a war zone, that didn't fawn all over him, that allowed for some awkward talking.

"Oh yeah? It's not much different, at least not when I was there, has hot springs though," Rue was exceedingly glad her memory wasn't failing her miserably.

"You said you woke up here, where were you before?" that was easily the question of the day from Rue's perspective. She gave an unenthusiastic laugh as she rubbed her neck awkwardly.

"Actually I'm not so sure about that, myself," she answered honestly. Thinking back to that weird ass 'loading screen' after her apparent death was a little disturbing on a couple of levels. "I can't seem to remember where I was," she told him after a moment.

It was odd to watch the man who would one day attempt to destroy the world sigh, but there he was, sighing. He glanced around them again and placed Masamune back in her sheath behind him.

"I am currently on an important mission, however I cannot just leave an unarmed civilian alone either, you will have to come with me until we can get you to safety, miss," he told her in a much more professional tone than he'd been using up until that point. Rue blinked in surprise, she hadn't been expecting that at all. In fact she hadn't been expecting a conversation period, let alone for him to invite her along. Of course, perhaps, his reasons were more about keeping company secrets than her safety. Help is help. Go with it.

"Thank you, I'd really appreciate it," Rue gave him a proper, grateful, smile. "I'm Rue," she added after realising she hadn't actually told him her name. Not that he'd introduced himself either, her brain reminded her. So you're both hopeless then. That's something.

"Sephiroth," he told her with a nod. He then motioned for Rue to follow him before turning to move deeper into the forest at a reasonable pace.

"Okaaaay, I guess we're going then," Rue muttered and, glancing around to make sure she has everything, jogged after Sephiroth, settling into pace beside him. Admittedly a hard thing to do due to his stupidly long legs. She silently cursed him for them, and Hojo too while she was at it. Yes. Rue would blame Hojo for everything and anything until she had solid evidence that it was someone else's fault.

They walked together in silence, Rue had almost tripped a few times in the low light of the forest, but managed to right herself each time without any help from the stoic man walking beside her. She had noticed a few odd looks from him, particularly when she had begun walking next to him in the beginning, but had refrained from commenting though, if only to prevent any more awkwardness. Rue had always been a bit awkward with strangers, add into it her knowledge of what the man beside her would become and she'd quickly found that she had no idea what to say to the man. As it was, the silence between them wasn't uncomfortable, something she was deeply grateful for, but still, she did want to know where they were going. Should probably ask then.

"So," she began after a moment of considering what she was actually going to say. "Where are we going?" she asked hesitantly. Looking up at him, she damned his height again, he seemed to consider her carefully. She guessed what he was thinking fairly easily. "You don't have to tell me, I'm just curious and trying to keep my mind off of the fact that I have no idea where actually I am," she assured him. The silver brow raised again. "What? I have a brain, I know how to use it and I can read between the lines," she told him indignantly. After which she added, "usually," in a much more subdued tone. Train wreck in progress. Keep talking.

"I see," he sounded amused. "I am meeting a colleague around here, then we will be attending a meeting and returning to the main camp," Sephiroth explained. Rue noted that he did not use any names and remained vague enough so he didn't give anything away.

"Very vague, well done," her mouth twisted into a smile.

"I try," upon glancing back up at him Rue notices that, although his mouth may not be smiling there was a rather distinct amused glint in his luminescent pale green eyes.

"So all I know, is we're in Wutai, you're here and headed to a meeting with a 'colleague' who you're meeting on the way," Rue used her fingers to count the pieces of information that she actually had. It was likely his 'colleague' was another SOLDIER operative or a Turk, though she wasn't sure what the 'meeting' could be about.

"That is correct," he seemed distracted as he answered her. They'd stopped walking and Sephiroth was scanning the area around them with thinned eyes, Rue noted he had a hand on Masamune's hilt. Uh oh.

"Sephiroth, it would appear you've picked up a stray," a male voice commented. Rue jumped as she hadn't been expecting someone to start talking suddenly, turning she saw a man emerge from the shadows. He wore a black suit and his brown eyes were fixed on Rue with an intensity that made her squirm uncomfortably.

"Tseng," Sephiroth acknowledged with a nod. Rue shifted awkwardly under the Turk's stare, he still hadn't looked away from her.

Rue glanced at Sephiroth imploring him silently to do something, it was unfortunate that all he did was raise that infernal eyebrow of his and tilt his head to the side. His green eyes, however, were laughing at her. Rue frowned at him and sent a glare his way. Typical.

"Fine," she grumbled at him. Looking back to the highly suspicious Turk who was now looking between the two of them with a small frown on his face and his eyes more suspicious than before. "So, I'm Rue, civilian, born in Modeoheim and I have no idea how I got out here," she gave the Turk a small wave. When his face didn't change, nor did the suspicion that practically oozed from him lessen. "Um, also, fun fact, I don't actually know how to use the bow on my shoulder and have no arrows on me anyway," her hands swung uselessly at her sides as she stood before the Turk awkwardly.

"She's harmless Tseng, a civilian, like she said," Sephiroth finally deigned to intervene. Yup, totally harmless. That's us.

"You're certain of that, are you?" Tseng finally spoke again. Naturally only to Sephiroth, something that Rue did not fail to note.

"She has stumbled a total of twenty four times since I found her, has not asked any questions a spy would be expected to, offered information without much prodding on my part and hasn't attempted to attack me at all," Sephiroth stated calmly. Rue was surprised, it was the most he'd said since they'd met.

Looking back she found herself being appraised by Tseng again, and although the suspicion was still present, there was a curiosity she wasn't sure was a good thing in his gaze now. It made her want to run screaming from the area. Sounds like a plan.

It seemed like Tseng was about to say something to her, finally, when a growl behind them alerted them all to the danger. Turning all Rue could see were a pair of luminescent yellow eyes in the darkness of the forest.

AN: Damn, this chapter just poured out. Not sure how pleased I am with it, but the next one should have a few more funnies. We only had one screen this chapter to make up for all ones we had last chapter. There will likely be more next chapter, in the presence of Tseng and Sephiroth, so that will be fun!

Please review guys, I always like to know what others think of my writing. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

RLK