HE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVES [Open]

[fatherofcute]

Characters: Maes Hughes and the occupants of the Winding Way
Content: Ah....those that knew Hughes was "dead", finding out that he's alive again?
Setting: Anywhere on the Way
Time: BACKDATED to sometime before the children were rescued from Grita.  ((I'm so lame for not putting this up sooner. orz))
Warnings: Anything you might bring with you?  Angst

Comments

[daughterofchump]

If it had been possible for Zeetha's dark skinned face to lose color when she saw Hughes, it would have done so. She could feel the blood drain, a cold shock to the extremities as her heart skipped a beat. Her hand moved automatically to the handle of her long blade, she drew it even as she backed up, hesitating to attack for once. She kept her eyes steadily on him, having to believe she was not hallucinating. Was this a fetch? She did not think so, she'd never had a lick of magic, no amount of personal attachment could give her that ability.

The vision was ghastly, shaped exactly like him, like a horrible twisting of all her wishes. It was an agony to see, since Zeetha knew from experience not to trust things like that. It was another good reason to burn bodies, dead was best left dead. What came back wearing a body would not be what you knew. In fact, it might not be the body at all, but a creature that borrowed the appearance of the dead.

[fatherofcute]

Hughes stood on the deck, hands in his pockets and head back gazing at the clouds. That itch between the shoulder blades crept up on him, that feeling of being watched. He straightened a bit, bringing his head down to look ahead of him, then slowly turned to look around. The movement was nonchalant, as though he was unaware of being watched.

When he turned he spotted Zeetha, long blade out, and a look on her face as though she were facing a...something. Hughes didn't think she could be frightened by a monster of spirit, she was too strong for that, fearless in so many ways. And yet, her face was drained of color and the uncertainty was clear in her eyes.

He pulled his hands from his pockets putting them up a little to keep them within her sight. A grin spread across his face. "Mommy!"

[daughterofchump]

"Stay back!" Zeetha ordered, holding her ground although she wanted desperately to back away. She didn't want to have to live through the feeling of cutting through something with his body and his face, even if that was a cowardly wish. She would still do it of course, in order to protect the ship, but for her own comfort she wanted to feel fully prepared and understand what was happening. She already knew this was something that would be giving her nightmares for a long time to come.

"If you come any closer I'll cut you down."

She didn't use the word kill, she had no idea what this was, if that was even possible. For all she knew her swords would have no effect on it, if it were not corporeal.

[fatherofcute]

He had no doubt she would, assuming him to be something or someone other than who he appeared to be. He really couldn't blame her, not really. So he stayed right where he was, hands up and open in surrender, and keeping that grin on his face, even if it had become a bit uncertain. "I won't move."

He hoped she'd give him a chance to explain before taking action, especially since miss Inoue had just left and he'd hate to have someone call her back. Not to mention what Ichigo would do to him if he died less then a day after being revived.

[daughterofchump]

Her eyes narrowed and her lips pulled back slightly at the sight of his grin, trying to bite down her anger at seeing his face one more time- like this.

She almost would have preferred the thing to have done something unusual so she could attack. She still kept a close watch on its arms in case it was planning to do something magical.

"What are you?" she asked, although she did not expect to get a straight answer.

[fatherofcute]

Hughes took in a deep breath, already sure she wouldn't believe him, but he had to try. It was likely best to try to get out most of the explanation at once, so here went nothing. "I know it's hard to believe, but I really am alive again. Ichigo brought a young lady to the ship, her name is Orihime Inoue, and she has an amazing healing ability. I don't know how it worked, I don't see how it could, but here I am."

He considered offering to let her see his finger, where he'd sliced it for Rikku to see, but moving his hands likely wasn't the smartest of moves at the moment.

[daughterofchump]

Zeetha was not one to be convinced so easily. Extraordinary claims required extraordinary proof, and they were especially suspicious when they happened to be something she desperately wanted.

"Death isn't something you can heal," Zeetha replied stubbornly. "Not when a body's sat for so long. I've never heard of it." Not with the mind intact, anyway.

"If you want me to believe you, tell me something only the real Hughes would know."

[fatherofcute]

Hughes would have agreed, and yet, here he was.

He considered a long moment. There were many things that "only he knew" but they were not things that she knew as well and so they would not do at all for proof. His mind filtered over the times they'd spent together, gleaning from them any possible information he might share. "At the barbecue we danced, but on the playful pretense of showing the young ones how it's done. I had told you that I had two left feet, and nearly stomped your toes a couple times. You had said that if I did manage to step on your toes you would consider it your fault as dancing was just another form of warrior training." He still remembered that night clearly. He had quite the memory for things, and had enjoyed himself immensely that night. And though it was a public setting, with the music and talking about them it was likely their conversation had been mostly private. He hoped it would be enough to at least get her considering that it might really be him.