Cheer up, emo Cloud

[mako_memories]

Cloud had been on the island nearly a week and he still wasn't sure what had happened. He was alive - he knew that much, Aeris and Zack had made sure of it - and this definitely wasn't the Lifestream or any other form of the afterlife he'd had time to imagine. No, this was something way out of his league

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[lily_ofthefield]

It's taken a while, but now when Lily walks she gets all the way down to the beach, sometimes stays there for a while before heading back to the Compound. It's hot as hell in the sweatshirt she still wears, to cover the scars on her arms, but it's still better than the alternative, and anyway, once she makes it through the trees, it's easier not to worry about what else might be out there.

Today, there's someone sitting where she's walking, and rather than stepping around him, she sticks her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and manages something of a smile. "Hey," she says. "Mind company?"

[mako_memories]

Cloud blinked up at the woman. Why would she want to sit next to him? There was plenty of room elsewhere, and the view was the same all down the beach. She didn't look familiar at all, either, so he couldn't think of a reason she'd want to talk to him, but maybe she was just lonely. Cloud knew the feeling. And it wasn't like he could say no and not feel like a jerk about it.

"Go ahead," he said, gesturing with a sweep of his arm. "Pull up some sand."

[lily_ofthefield]

"There is plenty of it to go around," Lily remarked wryly as she sat down, slipping out of her sandals to slide her feet through the sand. It was one thing she had to give this place; she'd loved Toronto and she'd loved New York, but the beaches especially here were beautiful. It had just taken her a long time to see them.

The breeze was nicer, now that she was out of the jungle, which made it easier to relax now that she wasn't quite so overheated. That was one of the nicer things about making it all the way to the beach, the slight sense of relief that came with it. "I'm Lily," she added, almost as an afterthought.

[mako_memories]

"Uh-huh," Cloud agreed, staring out at the sea again. He continued to stare until the woman spoke again, and he looked at her in faint surprise as if he'd forgotten she was there.

"Cloud," he said. "I'm Cloud."

[lily_ofthefield]

"How long you been here?" she asked. She hadn't done enough getting out to know as many people as, theoretically, someone would after four months of living in a place, and while idle conversation like this wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world for her, it was still progress, in some way. It was better than being holed up in her room in the Compound, fighting off nightmares.

[mako_memories]

A crease formed between Cloud's eyebrows as he tried to think. Sure, it felt like forever, but it probably hadn't been quite as long as he'd thought.

"...Five days," he said eventually. "You?" He looked over at her, more out of politeness than anything else.