(Untitled)

[gunarmwallace]

Who: Barret, Cloud, and whoever the hell else comes around
Status: Open
When: 7:30 PM
Where: Seventh Heaven
What: After seeing the children, Barret sits over a mug of beer listening to the rain.

Comments

[epitaph_weapon]

The rain pounded down from the heavens as another drum of thunder rolled through the dark clouds. Moving its way through the stormy night, the dragon quickly took the next corner and entered out into the main street. A strong gust of wind almost knocked the creature over after it had turned, but it had managed to right itself before glancing back over its shoulder to see if the others were still following. It could easily sense their movements, and with that knowledge, it continued its run through the streets.

Grunting softly as the light from the bar came into sight; the creature sounded a rumbling roar of discovery as its speed picked up. Water splashing beneath each heavy foot-fall, it continued on its path before stopping a few metres from the entrance to the bar. Circling around until it faced back out into the street, it held its head up high. Pawing the ground impatiently, the dragon grunted as it gestured with its head towards the door, before taking a few steps back for its companions to get to the entry.

[still_lookingup]

Following their new companion through the driving rain was difficult, and the dragon's hurry to get wherever they were going didn't help in the least. Zack didn't recognize any of the buildings around them--though that was likely due to the fact that it was pitch black out in between those flashes of lightning. The heavy downpour blurred the world into flashes of cold, pale light and dark, damp colors all around. And the city was nothing like he remembered

[revenio]

Aerith was growing tired of water. Hours ago she had been hardly able to move, at the mercy of the cold and the water soaking her skin. Now she was running after the dragon and Zack, soaked but not cold at all. Her nerves were getting the better part of her, and she wouldn't have been surprised to find out that she was sweating in spite of the rain.

"I'm okay!" Aerith waved to Zack, forcing herself to move faster, making her lungs and heart work harder. Her hair stuck to her face. Her dress clung to her legs. It was a miserable situation. However, amongst the nervousness and exhaustion, there was some anxious hope.

The bar came into sight, and Aerith looked up at the dragon in wonder. It really was there to help them. Pulling her gaze away from it, she shrugged. "... either that or knock. But how many people knock on the doors to a bar?"

But the rain in addition to the pounding in her chest made barging in seem more appealing than it usually was.

[epitaph_weapon]

As the two humans followed behind, the creature waited patiently for them to join it. Tail swishing behind it subtly, it whined softly at the pair before a low rumble ran along its throat. Pushing its way past them, its large body made its way up towards the door being it brushed one wing against the solid object. The gesture was its attempt to get them inside - while it could remain unharmed by the cold elements, the dragon held some small awareness that the humans were best out of them.

Uttering a soft chortling growl, it moved its way out from in front of the door, before circling its way around until the creature stood behind them. Closing the distance between them, the dragon lowered its head before it butted it against Zack’s thigh - urging them to move into the building.

[still_lookingup]

"Great," Zack muttered, looking nothing like thrilled at the current game plan, "You're right, again. So we really do gotta just walk on in." But there was no other option that he could see, no easier way to break it to whoever might be standing behind those doors, in the warmly lit, peaceful air they were about to disrupt. And he was not really in the mood to stand around until the rain gave them both pneumonia

[revenio]

It would be some sort of blessing if the bar were empty. It would give them time to think, to gather themselves. Yet Aerith knew that was not going to happen. Someone was bound to be behind those doors. She wondered who it would be. They had no idea that only wood and rain separated them from two newly resurrected ghosts and a dragon.

No matter who it was, they were in for a surprise. Aerith had no plan. She didn't know what she would say, or what she should do--should she smile? Should she say something first? All there was left was to just cross the threshold and see what happened.

Somehow, Aerith still managed to roll her eyes at Zack. Leave it to him to make her want to laugh, even when the situation was bound to be emotional. "Here we go," she said under her breath to Zack. And with one quick dance at the dragon, she entered the bar.

[gunarmwallace]

"Galavanting?!" Barret bellowed in exasperation, "I'll have you know what I do is noble and honorable for this God Damn Planet. Galavanting my ass...I'd slap you upside your punk ass head, but I'm afraid I'd either stab myself on your hair or dent my metal hand

[stoic_heroism]

Cloud chuckled softly into his bottle of beer, an effort of mask the sound from his fellow. "You really are old if you still think I'm a punk," he commented before settling the beer on the table. He rolled it between his hands casually.

Raising an eyebrow to Barret's laughter, he quirked an eyebrow at the comment. He turned his head to look where his companion had, pausing in mid-motion as his eyes fell on the same person that Barret's had. There was no mistaking that face, those eyes, and that hair; he would have known her even if he were blind.

"...Aerith..." he murmured softly. He wouldn't have thought it terribly unusual, since he had seen Aerith many times, but it was the fact that Barret saw her. "...That is Aerith, Barret. She's... alive?" He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. How could this happen?

[still_lookingup]

As Aerith stepped up past him and into the bright light of the indoors, Zack couldn't help the brief, genuine smile that crossed his features. He hadn't missed the way she'd rolled her eyes at him, and that meant his last-ditch effort to take a bit of the pressure off hadn't been all in vain. It was very likely the last time she'd have occasion to laugh for quite a while now, anyway.

Following her example, Zack turned to the dragon one last time, pointing a finger at it with an air of seriousness that was nearly comical, out in the rain. "If you're coming in, too, be careful, okay? Don't bust the place up or they definitely won't trust us," he told it, feeling a bit ridiculous again but not entirely concerned by that. Returning from the dead was going to be enough, and having a giant, friendly monster bash in the floorboards probably wouldn't help

[epitaph_weapon]

Glancing from the Cetra and over towards the male after she disappeared into the building, the dragon tilted its head to the side in a questioning manner. Stretching out to sniff the tip of their pointed finger, it glanced around the outstretched hand as its gaze flickered back up to regard them at the spoken words. Once again the meaning went over the creatures head, but it whined softly in reply as if it understood

[revenio]

She recognized the two voices she heard upon entering the bar, and could name their owners before her eyes even fell upon them. Aerith didn't quite catch the words, but there was no yelling or anything loud, and there wasn't absolute silence, either. Those were the two expected scenarios, and Aerith was a little surprised to be met with neither

[gunarmwallace]

For a very long time, Barret couldn't bring himself to say anything at all. The grip on his mug handle tightened to a near tremble as he studied the newcomers that trudged into the bar. One was a man whom he didn't directly recognize, but still struck as someone oddly familiar. Then there was a little dragon creature that physically looked imposing despite it's rather short height, though seemed docile, not quite meaning to appear menacing just now. And then there was Aerith...considering how many times Sephiroth unwittingly resurrected himself from the dead, he shouldn't have been surprised to see this old friend standing before him. But it was so long ago and she looked so...unchanged

[stoic_heroism]

Feeling a strange numbness, Cloud stared blankly at his dead companion. It seemed so strangely bittersweet to see her, wet but alive. He wanted to move to stand up, to make certain that this was real, but his eyes shifted ever so slightly to her side where another person appeared. The voice that followed the face made his heart ache as memories shuffled through his mind, some his own and some stolen shamefully.

“…Zack…” he murmured the name in a sort of bittersweet voice. “SOLDIER, Class 1st… Barret... there stands my fake identity of the past….”

He turned a little in his seat, shocked to the point where everything seemed to move in slow motion. Distantly, his eyes shifted down to see the third companion that Barret was speaking of. Midgit dragon…? Within that moment, he found his eyes locking on the red ones of the creature, and whatever had slowed suddenly sped up

[epitaph_weapon]

Its gaze drifted over to the large human as they spoke, but found nothing about them to be any kind of danger. Yet the softer tone of the other standing beside them drew the dragon’s attention over towards the blonde one. Blue eyes met with red, and for the first time since its creation, the WEAPON felt a burning deep within its chest as a festering rage built up within

[coeurinquiet]

Barret had been glad to pick up the children from school, and it had been a welcome surprise for both Marlene and Denzel alike. After the enthusiastic reunion, Tifa Lockhart had taken it upon herself to help them both with homework assignments and take a little snack up before bed. It was the motherly instinct she'd worked up living with the two them, and arguably Cloud as the others would often joke, and it made her feel all the more like their little family was, well, a family

[still_lookingup]

Zack couldn't help it; he grinned when he heard his name, no matter how quiet and desolate that tone of voice. He took a step forward, he opened his mouth to speak--but nothing came out when he heard the rest of that declaration, when reality hit home again. He'd been so set upon keeping hold of that cheer for as long as he could that he almost didn't notice when they hit absolute bottom