'Somewhere, Dave is sobbing' [attn: Cloud] OPEN

[baskinmyrays]

CHARACTERS: Yuffie, Cloud, anyone else.
SUMMARY: Motion sickness is a bitch.
PLACE: The ever-popular lifts! Eventually we'll all move away and find a new hotspot.
TIME: Third day, morning.
WARNINGS: Yuffie.

Comments

[lightofstrife]

Cloud could only agree. It was a bad morning. His body and mind were both exhausted due to lack of sleep. It couldn't be helped, though. The knowledge that Sephiroth was alive and around sat uneasily, as to be expected, and only caused Cloud to avoid the man - and in turn, his residence

[baskinmyrays]

"Cloud, huh?" Yuffie's dramatic flair was in full swing as she recognised and honed in on the familiar voice. She switched directions and headed towards him, still talking through her hands in an attempt to convince her body that it wanted to keep its contents. "You think you could forget to tell my dad that I lost all my stuff? The old man'd blow a fuse and die and I'm not ready to sit in the pagoda all day. It doesn't have any air conditioning."

Now that the world had stopped moving, she was feeling better and better with every rambling sentence. After another few muttered complaints about thieves and jerks that made you ride lifts, she managed to stand up straight and gave him a shaky grin. "It's been a while! You look like you've been hit with about five drain spells at once, you know."

[lightofstrife]

Yuffie's constant babble never did sit well on Cloud's brain and he remained silent until she calmed and, thankfully, looked less likely to vomit. He gave a little nod towards the drain-spell comment, not wishing to acknowledge it any further.

"Are you okay?"

[baskinmyrays]

"Oh, I'm doing great," She made a big show of brushing herself off, as though this sudden need to clean an already creepily immaculate outfit would prove her wellbeing. "I mean, I've had weirder days, and it'll take more than magic kidnapping to keep the most powerful ninja in the world-" she paused. That title was now defunct, if they were on a different world. After determining an even better word, she blithely continued, "-in the universe down."

She bounced in place, almost launching into a twirl before she felt her nausea returning and decided against it. She recovered well, hands on hips, and leant in with a more confident grin. "Right?"

[lightofstrife]

Cloud couldn't believe it. No matter what she was faced with, Yuffie could always just be so... optimistic. It was amazing. A small smile came to his face and he shook his head in disbelief.

"You're right about that."

[baskinmyrays]

"Of course I am," Yuffie waved a hand casually, now intent on getting Cloud to spill on why he looked so worn out. Sure, she complained about him a lot, but it was Cloud, and Tifa would probably flip if he was relapsing. "So, how are you doing, O Saviour of the Planet?"

[lightofstrife]

He glanced away. "I'm nothing like that, Yuffie. There's no reason to call me that. ... But, I'm typical." He wasn't going to just spill his thoughts onto the first person that asked, no matter who they were.

[baskinmyrays]

Yes, he was. He just didn't know it yet. With a small 'hmph', Yuffie sidestepped to keep his gaze. "You- yeah, I guess you are, huh?" Typical for Cloud was generally in the red area of what most people called 'a really bad day', so at least he was being honest. "What's the plan?"

[lightofstrife]

Cloud looked back down at her, knowing he wouldn't be able to avoid Yuffie with his eyes. And... there was Yuffie. Bright, happy Yuffie. Deep inside, Cloud was glad that there were people who were able to come out of their ordeal and still live normally.

"No real plan. There's a gym I was going to visit, but..."

[baskinmyrays]

"Well, that sounds like a plan to me. You know, in my expert opinion." Yuffie vaguely wondered if she was laying the enthusiasm on a bit thick. Considering Cloud's complete deficit, it was probably better to show too much than look like she was anywhere near as freaked out as she actually was, but on the other hand, he'd probably get suspicious if she kept bouncing. The movements were starting to make her dizzy, too.

"If I stick around in this boring place for too long, I'll probably hurl," she added with cheerful honesty, "And you wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

[lightofstrife]

Yuffie could do whatever she liked - Cloud knew when things were being laid on thick for him. It was unnerving, but something he thankfully didn't have to experience too often due to his reclusive nature. "No." He shook his head.

"I'm afraid there's not much else to see, though." He stopped himself before letting slip how plain everything was. No need to spoil Yuffie's mood anymore than it might be already. Glancing past her, Cloud saw that Yuffie's bouncing around had activated one of the dispencers, her newsletter waiting for her. He nodded towards it. "You'll want that."

[baskinmyrays]

"Reading, now?" She shot him a comically tragic look, but snagged the paper anyway. One glance told her all she needed to know - it was way too long for her to be interested in. The best she could hope for was getting to the end before she fell asleep from how many words there were. She'd look at it on the way, or something. Which reminded her-

"... The gym is on this floor, right?"

[lightofstrife]

While Yuffie read, Cloud glanced around to see if anyone had shown up (more like a certain someone) and, for a brief moment, felt both relief and a twist of fear for having a friend in such a... compromising environment.

Yuffie's question brought his gaze back to her and he shook his head. "No - it's up."

[baskinmyrays]

Her immediate slump would have been dramatic even without the expression of total despair, but she thought the two played off nicely.

"Figures." She rallied and straightened back up to finish reading. And then reread it. The newsletter was quickly crumpled and jammed into the shallow pockets of her trousers, and she muttered the words, "Peace corps," with something resembling horror. Wasn't the WRO enough? It was like every person in a position of authority got a kick out of dragging them into their messes.

"D-did we just get conscripted or something?"

[lightofstrife]

Again, Cloud shook his head. "I don't think so. There isn't a strong enough military force anywhere to call for conscription to or against." He paused a moment before quickly continuing before getting scolded. "No offense to Wutai, of course. But..."