Night 52: Wicker Street (Doyleton)

[zack_fair]

[From here.]As far as Zack could tell, he hadn't really been to this part of town. It looked like he hadn't explored enough after all, though it was way different seeing it all at night. Even outside, there were some street lamps that would come on and off sporadically, but he did his best to ignore that, along with the unsettling way that his

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[36_24_35]

Momentarily silent, Tifa looked past Zack to the sporadically lit street. She pointed her finger in that direction and said, "We're going to the bar," Her resolve wavered a moment later and the brunette thrust her arm left down another street beside them. "Or... this way..." Her face scrunched as she tried to find her bearings. Tifa had always been rather good with direction, but she couldn't recall coming out this far the last time the patients had been allowed free time. Plus, the one time Logan and she had been teleported to the repair shop, they hadn't been able to step outside.

"I know it's on Main Street, though! So we just need to..." Her advice trailed off as she jogged to the closest intersection with quiet steps. "We're on... Wicker and..... W... Wee-guhl?" Neither names rang a bell to Tifa. The town wasn't that big, fortunately, so Tifa was positive they would hit it eventually if they just kept walking. "Of course--" She began, trying to make up for her selfishness. "--we can look for better resources too. I'm sure there's gotta be something better than a pry bar to fight with..."

[zack_fair]

It took Zack a second to really process what Tifa had said. He followed after her nonetheless, but he did have a puzzled expression on his face for a few seconds. "Wait... the bar?" He'd actually been there when they'd gone into town more officially a few days back, but why did Tifa want to go there? Were there some silver knuckles hidden behind the counter or something?

Though when the girl mentioned better resources, that seemed to imply that she was going to the bar for something else entirely. How old was she, anyway? Drinking age? She probably had to be by this point, but it was weird to think about. She'd just been a kid when he'd met her; a kid with a crush on a certain blond infantryman.

But that was all in the past now, and both Tifa and Cloud had grown. "So, the bar... are you looking for what I think you're looking for?" He laughed softly and shook his head. "Don't worry, we can go there first. If we have time, we'll try to poke around in some other places afterward." He hoped they could get back to the main street, though. The lights were helping a bit, but even so, it was kind of hard to know if they were going the right way.

angst puddle, watch your step

[36_24_35]

"..... Yes," She eventually responded, very thankful to be standing ahead of Zack while she struggled to keep a straight face. And though she was aware that his questioning sprouted simply from curiosity, the amount of carefully-spoken feedback from everyone was beginning to leave her dispirited. Perhaps her motivation was more shallow than she realized. It was meant for the patients' benefit, but it seemed more likely she was just trying to preserve the way of life that was taken from her. It had been her comfort zone and maybe she was missing it. Adding insult to injury, she had dragged Zack into her self-indulgent project. In his eyes was she no longer professional now that her goal seemed more like an excuse than an asset?

Either selfishly or selflessly, it was too late to throw her hands up in defeat now. Tifa had to believe that a bit of self-consciousness would be worth the end result. It would be a place for civilians to relax for a night together without the terrible possibility of death lurking around every corner. If there was one thing she knew, besides fighting and drinking, it was knowing how to comfort someone, even if she couldn't comfort herself.

Since this was her outing, the brunette was happy to be the one responsible for their scouting. It was unclear as to whether Main Street was the next intersection left or right. The only clue was the comparable concentration of lights that flickered on and off down Wicker. The right was clearly more bright and inviting. "Let's try this way..."

[To here]