Day 48: Courtyard

[thatdamnedninja]

"I could tell you some stories," Yuffie suggested brightly, "of unquestionable legality." Illegality, that was. Petty little things like the law didn't usually mean very much to her, except for the times when she had to uphold it. Always fun for the breaking, though, the law, and messy for the clean-up. Just the way she liked it

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[full_score]

Breakfast had been a bit on the awkward side, but it wasn't the end of the world. Besides, Claude was still optimistic that Leon and Anise could use some friends closer to their own age, so maybe they'd get a chance to get to know each other better.

For now, it looked like the adults had the option of going outside. It was disappointing that the weather wasn't that nice today; even so, he wasn't the sort to pass up an opportunity to take a break from the institute's sterile environment. Some fresh air would probably do him some good. With that in mind, he dutifully put on the outdoor shoes, sweater and coat his nurse brought to him. Though he felt like he did a decent enough job dressing himself, that didn't stop her from fussing over his crooked collar.

"Um, you don't need to worry about that," he assured her with a weak smile.

Yet it wasn't until she was satisfied with his appearance that he was allowed to go outside. Once he stepped onto the grass, he took a deep breath of the cold air. It was invigorating, in a way. Just what he needed! Smiling to himself, he settled down on the ground beside the pond, stretching out his legs and leaning back on his palms. The overcast skies were a hazy shade of grey that reminded him of a typical winter's day.

That thought gave him pause, and he tilted his head back a little more. Winter... Would they be around long enough to see a warm spring day again? Will they have found a way home by then? For all he knew, he'd wind up getting brainwashed before the season's end. Considering the high rate of disappearances around here, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Still, those were some pretty dark thoughts so early in the day. He needed to just let himself relax when he could. Claude took another deep breath and idly watched as the clouds rolled across the sky. There was something a little therapeutic about just gazing upwards like this...

[For Tifa!]

[36_24_35]

Her resident nurse had been more than happy to tell her all about her unseemly habit of wallowing away in bed past breakfast on such a fine day. Tifa was more concerned by the fact she had waken up at all. The last moments of the night were still burned in the back of her mind, beginning with the images of Cloud and Luke and then all consciousness fading quickly after. She must have blacked out (she hesitated to add 'again'); it was the only conclusion she could come up with.

She had pulled on a sweatshirt at her nurse's request, surprised she was so spry after such a hazardous night, and followed her through the cafeteria and out to the chilly courtyard. It was completely cloudy, but it was still a nice day in her mind. After living under a metal plate for a few years, any kind of sky is a sight to behold. It was tempting to let the scenery bleed her of her worry, but with many questions unanswered Tifa wondered if this was the time for pussyfooting. Though the brunette was alive and well, Cloud had taken the brunt of the fight on his own. He may not have fared so well as she. And what of Nanaki? He had been completely handicapped, and she had blacked out on him.

She stewed silently over her troubles with a neutral smile planted across her face in order to dissuade any concerns from her nurse or the prevailing patient body. The few people out in the courtyard were unfamiliar to her and she was not exactly sure how to approach anyone with this enigma, or if she should.

Instead, Tifa migrated toward the pond, catching her reflection in the water alongside another patient, a young man, whose interest lay skyward. She looked over at him, her smile growing, and then her brown eyes looked to the clouds as well. "Nice, huh? Even with just clouds..." She hadn't been looking for company, but Tifa was now eager for the distraction it offered.

[full_score]

Blinking, Claude shifted his gaze over to a young woman, maybe around Celine's age, who had joined him. Her face, easy to see with no sunlight in his eyes, was unfamiliar to him. Was she new? That wasn't so out there, especially with the way new batches of captives were brought in on a fairly regular basis. Claude wondered where she was from, but there would probably be time to ask those sorts of things later on during the shift.

Either way, there weren't many people who could call a day like this nice. But, really, any day outside was a nice one. It meant they still had their lives, were still able to breathe in the fresh air. Claude turned back toward the clouds, and he smiled.

"Definitely," he replied. "Even if it's not all that bright, there's something kind of promising about a cloudy sky, you know? It's bound to bring rain or a clearer sky in the future."

[36_24_35]

Tifa's short bark of a laugh was warm, and, when she looked back at the young man by her side, her grin was just as genuine. "Ha, I like that..." A stray hair was plucked from her sweatshirt and guided back behind her before she continued. "Pretty optimistic. I guess yer pretty new here then, right?"

Not that she was an expert on this place yet. But Tifa had to figure, after the crazy shit that went on her first night, this institute just had to drain every drop of a person's fortitude. Or, well, most people. The brunette wondered how long it would take for this man's smile to fade.

[full_score]

Now it was Claude's turn to laugh a little as he straightened up from where he was sitting. Some grass had clung to the palms of his hands, and he tried to dust them off. Did he sound new or something? Maybe all that stuff about how nice the clouds were seemed naive, but he did honestly believe it was the truth. That was why he could still say things like that after all this time, after everything that had happened.

"Not at all," he replied as he sheepishly scratched the side of his head. "I've been here for about a few weeks now, actually."

He glanced over toward the woman and looked at her curiously. "What about you? I don't think I've seen you around before."

[36_24_35]

"Oh..." Tifa couldn't stop her thin eyebrows from rising to the top of her head.

Really...? Weeks?

Well, damn, she felt like a jack ass now. She hadn't meant it as demeaning. There were so few genuinely cheerful on Gaia despite their situations and it never took much to leave a person bitter and hollow. Optimism was a sign of a strong person to Tifa and she began to wonder where she fell on that scale. So much of her confidence seemed artificial lately in order to just boost the morale of others. Did that make her weak then, not living for her own dreams?

"Wow, I'm sorry!" The young woman's pale face grew ruddy with embarrassment as she tilted her head down intentionally to hide the flush with her bangs. The man didn't look really offended, but she had to do her best to amend her mistake regardless. "Nothing wrong with that though... Sometimes it's all that keeps people going..." Her brief touch of regret and guilt passed and Tifa covered her mood with a smile.

"I just got here last night, actually. My name's Tifa..." Holding out her hand for Claude, she continued. "It's been, mmm, pretty interesting so far... How about you? How'd you get here?" She hadn't really had the time yet to ask anyone how they had come to find themselves in this institute and compare notes.

[full_score]

Claude wasn't sure why she'd apologize, unless she really had been implying that he was naive. He did believe it was better to keep your chin up during hard times, though. Moping around and only seeing the negative part of everything would accomplish nothing, and that was especially so for tough situations. Not that he was always the best at listening to his own advice, but he did try, particularly when he was around other people.

Either way, she hadn't seemed malicious in her words, so Claude tried not to take it personally. Instead, he stood up from where he'd been sitting and turned to grasp Tifa's hand in a brief, but warm handshake. "Nice to meet you, Tifa," he brightly replied as he returned her smile. "I'm Claude."

The fact she was so new explained why he hadn't recognized her. Describing this place as pretty interesting was putting it mildly, but maybe Tifa had seen some crazy things in her lifetime.

As for how he got here...that was something he wished he knew. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "One day I was doing my own thing, and the next I woke up here with no idea of how it happened. It's like that for everyone." Whatever methods Landel was using to take people from such diverse times and places was bound to be more technologically advanced than anything he'd ever known. Not only that, but he was certain that it consumed massive amounts of energy. The question was not only what he was doing, but how he managed to do it so consistently and efficiently.