3rd Fall [Video]

[couldnotfly]

[Hello, Somni. Have a grinning Zack Fair staring down at you from what looks to be a high tree limb. What's he doing up there? Goddess only knows. He does, however, have a point to having turned the feed on.]You know, all this rain gave me an idea. This kind of thing happened every year back where I'm from, and after it stopped, we'd have this big

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[Action]

[furorimperator]

[Guess who's sitting under said tree with his dog in his lap, trying to take a short nap before getting back to work. Sephiroth doesn't even open his eyes, just says deadpan:]

If you fall on me, I'm going to beat you, Zack Fair.

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't have sat there, Seph! [He's a little too busy squirming and trying to not fall to care where he falls if he does, but he'll just be checking his angle real quick before he drops. He doesn't land on Sephiroth or Soldier, but it's....not exactly the most graceful landing and he ends up falling flat on his back after a moment of crouching.]

Ow.

[Action]

[furorimperator]

[Sephiroth still doesn't move.]

It's the only clean, dry place in miles.

[Only when Zack does fall out does he open one eye, giving his subordinate and best friend a rather knowing smirk.]

Had better days, have you?

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

[To a Gongaga native like Zack, clean is only slightly over-rated. He doesn't really care, so long as the stuff washes out. Which is why he just lays flat on his back on the forest floor, eyes closed as he waves a hand in the air at Sephiroth's question.]

Think we all have, man. Been one hell of a week.

[Action]

[furorimperator]

[Understatement of the century, that. Sephiroth just grunts affirmation, but Soldier, always worried about his humans, gets up and pads over to the prone human-pup, nuzzling at Zack's cheek and licking his nose with a questioning whine.]

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

[The sudden presence of Soldier's wet nose in his face gas Zack sputtering, but he lifts a hand to scratch at the fur behind Soldier's ear while he sits up, suddenly assured that getting a nap like this won't happen.]

I'm fine, buddy. Don't worry.

[He may not be fine, but he's certainly okay enough to push himself to his feet, walk the few steps back to the tree he fell from, and plunk himself down near Sephiroth as he leans back against the trunk. Been a long, long week.]

[Action]

[furorimperator]

[Soldier follows, plunking down between his two humans and rests his head on Sephiroth's knee. The General absently places a hand on the canine's neck, stroking gently. There's something Sephiroth has to discuss with Zack, and he's still wondering how best to broach it.

..screw it.]

Regarding Genesis...

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

[To Zack's credit, he only turns his head in curiousity as Sephiroth speaks up. It's not often that the General will speak of his old friends, even though they've been here a while.]

What about him? He doing okay after the flood?

[Action]

[furorimperator]

From what I can discern, yes.

[Beat.]

Once we're done with repairs and get settled, he'll be moving in with us.

[There.]

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

[For a long moment, Zack is silent. What does he say in response to that? They're from the same place, and they need to look after eachother and all that, no matter what's been done in the past. But Zack doesn't trust Genesis as far as he can throw him, and Sephiroth know this, but...well, as wary as he is, Zack trust Sephiroth's judgement. Even if he doesn't always understand it.

So he sighs, an explosive sound in the otherwise cloying silence, and runs both hands through his messy hair.]

You sure about this?

[Action]

[furorimperator]

Yes.

[No.]

I...don't know. [Sephiroth sighed, resting his left arm on his bent knee, plowing the other through tousled silver.]

But I do know I want him where I can keep a close eye on him. [A slight frown.] Something's wrong, Zack. He's not...himself. And he won't talk to me about it. Nor to Angeal. Which...isn't like Genesis, at all.

I don't trust it. Not one bit.

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

[Again, Zack goes quiet while he turns his head to look at Sephiroth. His best friend's face is hidden by the silver curtain of his hair, but Zack hadn't spent this long with the other man to not know the tells. Sephiroth is worried, at least slightly concerned, and probably highly frustrated by all this.

Zack knows the feeling, so he looks away in order to stare up at the sky. There's a part of him that's saying this is a terrible idea and he should say so, but the rest just wants to help his friend. It's obvious which part wins out as Zack dips his head towards his knees, voice quietly accepting of this change to his reality but still holding a note of determination. He's not going to let anything happen, even if it means crossing blades with Genesis one day.]

...So we'll just have to both keep an eye on him. You know him better than I do, but I can at least stop him from doing anything stupid if I need to.

[Action]

[furorimperator]

I know what he's capable of, Zack. As do you. [Sephiroth shakes his head.] And he swears to me he has no knowledge of events at ShinRa...the war with Wutai and his defection...somehow it just doesn't ring altogether true.

[And that bothers Sephiroth more than he can articulate. But on the heels of that subject comes another.]

And I've been thinking we'll have to relocate, considering we'll be needing more living space. Perhaps one of the larger houses across the street from the Arena...we'd have to gut it and rebuild it, of course, but it's a thought.

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

Maybe he remembers, but he...wants to forget, or something. Maybe he just wants to try and move past all that happened. [For which Zack can't blame him, even if Genesis's actions had been a root cause of all their problems.

It's food for thought, anyway. But not something Zack truly wants to deal with right now, so he'll just nod.]

Probably a good idea. If we can find one that's still standing, fixing it up shouldn't be that hard.

[Action]

[furorimperator]

Then he needs to talk to me about it. I don't want him smoldering and then exploding all over this place, Zack.

[Sephiroth's voice is a bit tart.]

There's too much at stake here to just let him wander off, unchaperoned, as it were. When he can exhibit a bit more stability, I might acknowledge his recovery, but until then, he'll stay where I can get my hands on him, if necessary, to avoid any...unpleasantness.

[But he's not irked with you, pup. Never in life. So he sighs, leaning his head back against the tree's rough bark.]

Provided we all work together, it shouldn't take long, no.

[Action]

[couldnotfly]

[The tartness of Sephiroth's tone registers in some part of Zack's mind, but he doesn't seem to care as he speaks, his own voice quiet and almost distant.]

He might be scared of telling you, Seph. Some things are just hard to talk about, even to you.

[Zack would know that from experience, but dwelling on something like that won't make it any simpler to deal with. So he shakes his head violently as if to dislodge the thoughts, heaving another sigh.]

Then we'll turn it into a project. I'm sure even Soldier could help out.