A look over my shoulder

[paradoxicalhero]

Who: Cloud Strife (paradoxicalhero) & Tifa Lockhart (finalheaven18)
Where: Ultimecia's Castle - Entranceway
When: Today :/
What: Entering a new place for the first time, Cloud waits for the only member of AVALANCHE to join him for explorations.
Warnings: Tifa might get mad if Cloud goes stubborn? :D

Comments

[finalheaven18]

She playfully rolled her eyes at him when he dusted off his pants. If there was one thing Tifa was extremely proud of, it was her ability to be punctual. None of that 'to be early is on time, to be on time is to be late' nonsense that her school teachers all used to drill into her head; she was exactly on time. Nothing was different about this case either.

"A.. stick?" Leave it to Cloud to be resourceful. Tifa had stayed away from the cactaurs knowing that she didn't want to be prying needles out of her hands and feet later on. They were probably the only breed of enemy that she never found herself approaching for that very reason. "But I suppose you're right. We've been in creepier places and seen creepier things. I mean, I lived in Midgar for how long?"

She let out a quick sigh and cracked her knuckles by pressing them against her hips before she looked up toward the top of the castle. "Don't suppose this is some secret castle that Shinra built, do you? It doesn't seem slimy enough to have the fingerprints of Rufus Shinra on it, but... who knows."

[paradoxicalhero]

"I didn't have Ultima Weapon at the time," he conceded to her. Plus, he had told Balthier that he was good enough to be able to take out the little creatures with a stick. That was exactly what he had done, but he certainly would have liked his favourite weapon's weight on his shoulders again. "It was a stick or my boots."

Glancing around, he agreed with a nod as he headed down the open corridor. "Too long. It wouldn't have been so bad if you had lived on the upper plate." But no, she had lived in the slums harbouring known terrorists. Shame on her. "I hope you have a better choice in living conditions when you open up your bar again."

Ah, he hadn't even thought of ShinRa with regards to this place. He looked around at the walls a little more suspiciously for indications that the electric company might have something to do with this. "There are no glorified pictures of themselves, so I have my doubts. Though... it was just as easy to get in and the lack of subtle guards could also indicate ShinRa."

[finalheaven18]

"I miss my gloves," she said a little wistfully. It went unsaid that she felt a little naked without her gloves on and she couldn't imagine how Cloud felt. He always seemed to have that sword on him and so he probably felt about the same. New gloves could be bought (although she liked the ones that she had) but the Ultima Weapon was one of a kind. She felt sorry for her friend.

Thinking about reopening her bar, her lips turned up into a small smirk. "Ha, I think that will be a good idea. Then again, I really learned how to take care of myself by breaking up bar fights near every night..." It really wasn't the best area to live in... Actually, she couldn't really think of a worse area to live in in Midgar, but she still missed it. "I haven't really found a place here that I like enough though. Perhaps I'm still hoping that I'll snap out of this dream and we'll be back in Mideel to continue going after Sephiroth..."

Even though Cloud told her that they won and it was over, she felt like she fast forwarded her life without knowing it. It was probably a painful battle and they msut've gone through a lot, but she missed it all. Perhaps it was for the best... but it still stung.

"As smart as Shinra is, the company is full of complete idiots," she muttered only loud enough for Cloud to hear. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but she knew better than to think that the walls of Shinra's buildings didn't have ears and eyes.

[paradoxicalhero]

Only Tifa would consider the prospect of breaking up a bar fight one of the perks of having a drinking establishment. He figured that was really how she took out her frustration, though he bet that not many fought when she was near after the first few times she was in action. "I think you just like to beat a bunch of guys up," he replied sarcastically.

That was the truth about ShinRa, and he had no qualms speaking up against the company. How long had they been suppressed and almost killed because of them? "Luckily most of the executives are dead," he said. He didn't think the company would survive all that had happened.

"Oh... uh, happy belated birthday too," he murmured sheepishly. He hadn't gotten her a gift, since it took him a year to think of one. "You're still younger than I am, so don't feel too bad."

(Yes, I have been waiting to use this icon, LOL)

[finalheaven18]

"Oh, nonsense," she said, her smile still a little too wide at her memories. "I don't beat anyone up unless they really needed it. Like... Scarlet." She wasn't even sure if she told Cloud about that rather... degrading incident with Scarlet. Scarlet started it and four seconds later it would've resulted in hair pulling. How embarrassing.

She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head up at him. "They... are?" The whole aspect about being sucked into this world at different periods of their lives really messed with Tifa's brain. Cloud knew more about what happened... even knew that they had defeated Sephiroth! Hearing that most of the executives were dead made her sardonically happy. Almost as happy as hearing that Sephiroth was defeated. "Heh. They got what was coming to them. Karma's a bitch."

At the birthday wish, she blushed slightly. "Thank you. I don't feel older, but I think it's mostly because my life skipped ahead a good six months. I read the newspaper the morning before I was... brought here. Y'know, in our reality. It was September. Now it's May. So confusing."

Upon reaching the door, she motioned toward it. "Think anyone's home?"

LOL, best fight ever!

[paradoxicalhero]

Raising an eyebrow, Cloud didn't remember Tifa beating up on Scarlet, and if it had happened, he was disappointed that he missed it. Why couldn't he remember? Perhaps he had been out of commission in that mako-induced coma, or perhaps his memories were still too jumbled up to figure out the correct timeline anymore. "Did you win?"

He nodded his head, agreeing with her statement. It was the Executives that made ShinRa such a poisonous company because they had all been greedy save Reeve. "ShinRa is finished; everyone of power is dead except Reeve, and we know he won't continue on with ShinRa."

He still didn't understand how the time aspect fit in, but he didn't like it regardless. He wanted to be home and aware of the aftermath of their battle. "I don't even know the date of when I left," he murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

Glancing at the door, he simply shrugged and shoved it open. He peered inside, noting that there were aspects of living there but no one present. "Well... there's a bedroom if you want a nap."

YES. I got excited when I found the icon... LOL.

[finalheaven18]

"Ha, did I win." She repeated his statement with a small huff. Technically, she won by default. Cid's airship showed up adn she was able to escape before she completely ruined her own pride and dignity by slapping the woman. Scarlet was a member of Shinra, yet it didn't seem quite appropriate to pull out the gloves and really beat up on her. No matter how fun it might've been because Scarlet annoyed Tifa. It just didn't seem right. "Or course I won."

Shinra... finished. The words sounded like a miracle. Finally the people of Midgar - no. The people of Gaia could finally relive their life without the poison that was Shinra. "What fantastic news." She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and added, "I never had a problem with Reeve. He was one of the ones who still had a soul left within him. Elena wasn't half bad either, I suppose." The rest she could've lived without.

She took a step into the building and looked around. In a way, it almost seemed like Shinra's mansion, but much older and - surprisingly - a lot creepier. Dark, damp castles always seemed creepy no matter what. Kind of like an unwritten rule. "No thanks. I don't know how long it's been since those sheets have been washed." With a shudder, she thought of all the bugs that could've made that bed their new home and nesting grounds. "I'm not sleepy anyway."