Round 1 ;; Conclusion

[lufenia]

[Slowly, a glow begins to build at the summit of the mountain. It builds and builds, until it suddenly explodes outward, encompassing everything in the battlefield.Whatever was happening to you in the battle, it is stopped abruptly by that brilliant flash of light. It surrounds you, and does not fade. Suddenly, you can feel a presence in front of

Comments

I personally like to believe we're awesome for our evil deeds. <3

[zerosuitjill]

[Dying or not, she's still Jill Valentine; the small quirk in her smile has an element of teasing, even playful, but it's reassuring all the same. She's aware of how her request might have come off, but she's never been the type to cop out, as it were; she'll cling to life as long as she's able, even when it's hopeless.] Nothing stupid, I promise.

[Her next heavy exhale is largely a sigh. Her eyes drop to the ground she still can't entirely see.] It's just... [Her smile fades, the look thoughtful and her voice more solemn.] ...been a really, really long time... since my hands have really touched anyone. [She pauses -- there has to be a better way to phrase it, but it is an odd request either way and with how fuzzy her head is, better words just aren't coming. Saying that no one, for the most part, has touched your skin for years except the person you despise the most is a complicated story, and one she may not have time to tell.]

My gloves... are attached to the suit. [Her smile comes back a little, but more forced than before. She's unsure whether she has the strength to cut them off anyway, now.] I guess I just... want a reminder. Just in case.

Agreed~ ♥

[lightning_fists]

[ Hearing that, Tifa just looks at Jill a moment. It had never occurred to her. True, she had seen the other enough times to note the full-body aspect of the suit; it was something that a person just couldn't ignore with each and every battle they had fought, both against each other and together. It had just never crossed her mind that Jill was unable to even take it off; to even take off the gloves...

Lowering her head a bit and letting her brows curve upwards in sympathy, the young woman gave a single nod. ] ...Ok.

[ And with that came the meticulous process of actually... cutting off the suit at the wrist without nicking the skin underneath. ] Both gloves?

<3~~

[zerosuitjill]

Just one's fine. [The material near her other wrist is melded to her skin, anyway; she can't tell anymore if it reached up onto her hand, but one's enough all the same.]

[lightning_fists]

[ Another nod. Words aren't really necessary for this.

And btw, that's another issue. Is it really safe to peel off part of the suit with her body looking like it did. Tifa was no medic, but even she knew that causing more harm could be potentially life-threatening... then again...

It's just like skinning a tomato, she thinks. And TIfa's done a lot of cooking since rebuilding the Seventh Heaven so she knows what she's talking/thinking about. And luckily, the glove comes off, no problem. All five fingers are accounted for, and the skin is smooth if not a bit red and irritated from the burning. Despite that though, she sets the knife down and takes Jill's hand between both of hers. It's what she wanted. It's what she'll get. ]

[zerosuitjill]

[She squeezes Tifa's hand at that, her grip surprisingly firm for her state.

It's not to say she didn't appreciate Chris' affections, his touches and his kisses -- but her hands are... well. She'd never noticed before just how important they were to her; they're how she does everything, and for three years she did nothing but cause pain with them, all while they were numbed from the warmth of simple touch.

Even Chris couldn't give her that.

She smiles, the expression in her voice. She can't hope to say enough to express how much the simple gesture means to her, so she'll only give a very tired- but genuine-sounding,] Thank you.

[lightning_fists]

[ Though she wants to squeeze back, the better part of Tifa refrains. The hand might look ok, and she might be strong enough to give the gesture, but there's no telling what's going on underneath or just below the surface. And the last thing she wants to do is cause more harm than good. Not to Jill. But that doesn't stop her from lightly rubbing at the skin, as carefully and gently as she can.

She's here, Jill. Tifa's here.

A small smile tugs at the young woman's lips and she greets the elder with her usual smile, though there's a hint of helplessness in the her eyes. Whether Jill can see it or not through her fog of pain and delirium, Tifa can't be sure about... ] Any time. But you gotta stay long enough to abuse that right.

...GD it I told myself I wouldn't get upset at this thread. ._.;;;; DARN IT, TIFA

[zerosuitjill]

[She laughs softly, the sound a little rough.] I'd hate to take it for granted.

[She doesn't raise her eyes to Tifa's face again, but Jill doesn't have to; she knows all too well what it's like to be by the side of a dying comrade. Regardless of how long you've know a person -- two days or two years -- there's always that frustrating sense of being helpless, mingled with a bittersweet conviction that everything's going to be okay. It's a mutual comfort, one for both parties and one that neither side usually believes.

Jill isn't afraid of dying. She got over most of her fears in 1998 when she realized that there are worse fates than death, and expecting -- hoping -- every day between 2006 and 2009 that Wesker would grow tired of his games and finally kill her... needless to say, that took its numbing toll on her. She still doesn't want to die, of course, and there's always that anxiety towards the unknown -- and after everything she's been through, after everything she's survived and all the people important to her, she's never wanted to live as badly as she does now, but...

She's realistic. A soldier. Her last moments have been blessed by the company of someone she cares for; the least she can do is stay strong up to the end.]

Believe me... this once... was more than enough. [Her thumb sweeps gently -- or is it weakly? -- over Tifa's skin as her eyes flutter closed. Thoughts are getting ever harder to keep together, memories are blurring; her voice and her breath are slowing.] ...Even if we were all forced here... and made to fight like this... this was still my first taste of freedom... in a long time. [That sardonic quality comes into her tone again.] Just my luck, huh.

Still... people like you -- and Chris -- you made this worthwhile for me. [Another fleetingly brief squeeze.] I appreciate everything, Tifa.

WAIT TIL YOU SEE WHAT I HAVE PLANNED FOR AN ENDING >B)

[lightning_fists]

[ That... gets her in the best of places. In that little area of the heart that is in charge of sentiment and love. Because that's the root of caring, isn't it? And with all the sentiment and caring that she has in her, Tifa gives in to that smile. ] Oh... I have a feeling you wouldn't take anything for granted. [ Not after all her experience in her home world. Not afte all her experiences here.

At that thought, the young barmaid's brought back to the present and the hand sandwiched between her own. There wasn't much time, she could tell. Staring at the burn marks and seeing the damage of it, Tifa knew it was a possibility, a great one. But she had her hope and a trust. And even though good people do... die, sometimes *coughAerithcough*, Tifa wasn't about to let it happen without a fight. ] You made it through everything. And you're gonna make it through this, too, Jill.

....;_;

[zerosuitjill]

[Jill wants to assure her it's all right -- she's not scared, she knows what dying means, and she's only thankful that her end isn't half as horrible as those she's seen her friends and family and teammates meet -- but that's more words than she still has, and the peaceful calm about her probably gives that much away, anyway.]

I'd like that... but we both know... how a girl's luck... just runs out sometimes.

STAY STRONG, I GOT THIS 8|

[lightning_fists]

[ The furrow of her brows remain, but there's a softness to the edges that might tip any other off to what might be going on in Tifa's mind. Jill, she knows, isn't looking, so there was no way she could see it or the stark determination that covered her features as the words came out. ] Not yet. [ And it was with little hesitation that the barmaid gently laid Jill's hand down in her lap and began rummaging through her pockets... ] I've been saving this. I had a feeling we... I might need it. I've just been waiting for the right time.

[ ...And within no time, pulled out a small sphere of some sort from among her belongings. And as she turned it in her palm, there was no ignoring the way it seemed to give off a light green glow. Holding it out to the other, Tifa willed to Holy and Cosmos and whatever other deity there was that this would work. ]

Here. Take this.

:| <3333333

[zerosuitjill]

[She's feeling rather compliant right about now, so she's not about to argue, but even as her fingers momentarily and weakly close over Tifa's hand and the object, she manages,] What is it?

[lightning_fists]

[ She can feel how weak Jill's hold is, so as a preventative measure and as a determined show of support for what she's doing, Tifa will be placing her other hand over Jill's to strengthen the grip and activate the orb's power. ] Something that might help...

[ And it's as if someone turned up the dial because the light within the sphere brightens and shines almost blindingly out to the surrounding area. And as always when she's witnessed the powers of Revive, Tifa feels as if the light is shining through them as well, reaching every corner of their being and filling it with the life and light of the Lifestream. ] Do you feel anything yet?

[zerosuitjill]

[Jill has received a lot of surprises in her life even before coming here -- but there's something particularly breathtaking about a flicker of daring hope when she's already come to terms with her encroaching death.

That numbing, hollow feel of spiraling slowly downward suddenly stops -- Jill inhales sharply as the weight in her chest is abruptly lifted, replaced with a soothing warmth that she can't help but think is part of that light as well as the air. She's still in pain, but the pain wasn't the worst of it after a while -- dying was. Now...

She looks up towards Tifa, her eyes a little clearer. She takes a moment to remember the question.] Yes... [Her voice is a little stronger. Less thick.] It's...

[Healing magic? It's the closest she can think of, from her experience with Cid's abilities to her own borrowed spells from Zelos way back when.]

Finishes this... finally 8|

[lightning_fists]

[ The signs are there, if she looks hard enough. The orb is working. And while it's nothing like Holy or the White Materia, it's enough, Tifa thinks. It's enough to save Jill. And with that knowledge firmly fixed in her mind, she tightens her grip around the other's hands. Around the sphere. ] It's gonna be ok...

[ And as they're engulfed in the bright light of life, the young woman found her words assured, almost. ] You're gonna be ok...

[ The world around them seemed to fade into the light, giving in to it as it reached out to every nook and crevice to bathe in the power of its healing. And as everything dimmed into nothingness, there was only one last thought she could give. One last hope: They all were gonna be ok... ]