(Untitled)

[gardenerofgaia]

[Video - Locked to Cloud - Normal filter - 50%]

[This starts in the hallway, with Aerith moving from her and Zack's apartment to Cloud and Tifa's as she records. Of course, since Cloud is gone...the filter is bad. (Lifting a note from Noel's example!) Bold is unfiltered/public. Italic is easily hackable, as even normally, the filter is only 50

Comments

[voice]

[thestormishere]

[ That weird filtering, those brief glimpses of sound and video-- something is really wrong here. Lightning doesn't even need to hack the main message yet to figure that out. ]

Aerith...?

[voice]

[gardenerofgaia]

[It takes a few seconds for her to respond, and when she does she looks and sounds confused and out of it, pushing hair back from her face--she wasn't expecting to hear from people outside of the filtered targets, not yet aware of how the security breaks down with a missing journal.]

What is it, Light?

[voice]

[thestormishere]

... What just happened?

Re: [voice]

[gardenerofgaia]

[She's still confused, but on a hunch she plays back what she was trying to send to Cloud as a tease, and-- the recording is all odd. It's not how it should be, and the sinking feeling already in her stomach turns a little colder as she switches it back off in the middle of "going to spend some--"

Can everyone see that?]

It was supposed to be for Cloud, but he's not here. ...He's gone. He went back to Gaia. [This should be a good thing, but.]

[voice]

[thestormishere]

Cloud's--

[ .... Oh. And if his journal isn't around any more, then... yeah, that would explain it. Lightning's actually a little too shocked for a moment to think much further than that, though. ]

I'm sorry.

[voice]

[gardenerofgaia]

It's all right. He's all right. I -- think I need some fresh air. [Not what she was going to say originally, but she really is starting to feel like she needs space. She nearly leaves the journal behind to get away, but after five seconds she can be heard retrieving it.]

[voice]

[thestormishere]

-- Wait, Aerith! [ Too late. Like hell she's just letting her get away though, even if... there's a delay in how long it takes her to get those boots strapped back on and bolt down the stairs-- something she's alarmingly quick at, but not quick enough, unfortunately. Back to the journal, then. ]

Aerith. At least tell me where you're going so I don't have to hunt you down.

[ Which she will, even if she has to turn over every building and tree in the entire damn enclosure. 8| ]

[voice]

[gardenerofgaia]

"Hunt me down"? Light, you don't need to do something like that. I'm not hurt.

...I'm outside. I don't know where I'm going yet.

[voice]

[thestormishere]

[ Maybe not physically? Lightning is sort of endlessly awkward at this kind of thing though. Obviously. She frowns at the journal a bit. ]

... Well, are you taking suggestions?

[voice]

[gardenerofgaia]

[There's a pause and then a short laugh, sounding a bit empty. She wants it to be genuine, but it's not coming right now.] Okay. What should I do for the rest of my birthday?

[voice]

[thestormishere]

[ So it is her birthday...! Why didn't you tell her, girl? D: ]

Eat too much. That's what I'd do. [ Said so, so seriously, but come on... this is Lightning's mouth it's coming out of. ]

[voice]

[gardenerofgaia]

Help me raid the bakery? [If Lightning's moving to catch up, she'll find Aerith's standing just outside the building, actually, leaning against the wall and waiting for her--she's not trying to lose Lightning after all, just sort herself out.]

[voice] > [action]

[thestormishere]

Yeah, got it. [ She can't be too far behind- even in the snow her pace is pretty quick. However, if there's anyone who's going to just walk up and start dumping sympathy, it's definitely not Lightning. Her expression and tone are completely neutral as she approaches, and then just goes for the door to hold it open. ]

Happy birthday.

[action]

[gardenerofgaia]

Twenty-three. That's not a bad age, right?

[action]

[thestormishere]

Hm... I guess so. Prime numbers are supposed to be 'lucky,' aren't they?

[action]

[gardenerofgaia]

Lucky... Yeah. [She smiles a bit. She's already used up all her bad luck, right?] This year... will be a good one. And, someday... maybe I'll see Cloud again.