"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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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.
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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."
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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