Interlude III - The Third Dream

[rhapsody_onfire]

[She had to stop reading the fantasy novels before bed because now she was a mermaid in her dreams. She blinked at the water around her, a bit unbelieving that she was breathing and see the clear blue all around her. Much of the oceans in Gaia were hardly this clear. But it was also her dream so it could be whatever she wanted. She looked down at

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[hisdreamsmyfate]

[The mermaid floats by, small, airy bubbles passing through his snout before the small blue creature finally emerges, tiny fins propelling it forward enough to hover close to the human/animal hybrid.

Against the scaly blue skin, the eyes are even brighter - piercing through the dark, vast ocean to watch this strange newcomer.]

[rhapsody_onfire]

[She blinks at the creature, hands cupping beneath the seahorse to bring it closer. She tilts her head to study it and sees those bright blue eyes.

Despite the fact that mako can give everyone that mako glow, all SOLDIERs still had different variations of the mako blue eyes. Sephiroth being the only one with green eyes. Zack's were always ridiculously blue, Angeal's were a deep blue, and her own were of a lighter, almost grayer blue.]

...Zack?

[hisdreamsmyfate]

[Almost unconsciously, his tail wraps around one of her fingers to get a better sense of balance. But he's still staring up at the woman, still curious.]

--where are we?

[The voice almost chirps out of the tiny body, the dragon-like head bowing to examine their surroundings more intently. He rests in one of her palms, so intent on staring that he nearly curls in on himself.]

[rhapsody_onfire]

I don't know.

[She isn't really looking though. She's never seen a seahorse before and her other hand lightly trails over his tiny belly.]

[waterfell]

[Blue and silver scales flit by. Everything about this change seems to suit Mercury. She seems more at home here than on land, and pauses only long enough to glance back at Genesis before moving on, as if challenging Genesis to follow.]

[rhapsody_onfire]

[Genesis, however, simply raises a brow and frowns. She normally accepts challenges but just to follow?]

I'm not wasting my time.

[She dives down to begin swimming toward shore. She was more curious about where she was than following another mermaid.]

[waterfell]

[Mercury gives a toss of her head, and dives down deep. She prefers to get to the heart of things.

And she certainly doesn't take well to being slighted and ignored.

She doesn't go fully to the bottom of the sea bed, instead staying shallow enough to watch the schools of fish pass by.]

[rhapsody_onfire]

[Genesis made it close to shore and pulled herself up onto outcropping rock. She let the sun warm her back as she laid down, tail lazily floating with the current.

She couldn't see where she was though. The ocean was crisp and clean, could she really still be on Gaia? Or perhaps it was the world in the book she had been reading...]

Or maybe they finally cleaned up Costa Del Sol...

[sixthsefira]

[It takes him a moment to actually realize what is happening within the dream and the fact he's surrounded by water and yet can breathe perfectly fine within it. He's pondering just why he should dream about such things when he spies the redhead not too far away and glides through the water up to her, surfacing beside her to gaze briefly around the unfamiliar area before turning his attention to her.]

This is your dream, I take it?

[ooc: The man is a merman, half-man, half-great white shark.]

[rhapsody_onfire]

[She jumps when she feels someone surface beside her before relaxing.]

Yes, it is. I'm starting to think it was because of the book I was reading before bed.

[sixthsefira]

[He's not surprised to hear that really, it's interesting to see how her dream has affected him though.]

What book were you reading?

[rhapsody_onfire]

The Little Mermaid. It's actually a short story, the book has a collection of them. This was the one I was reading tonight.

[tasercopter]

[As Genesis swims past, Reno bursts from her burrow--but wait, that's not a fish. Disappointing. Oh, well. Reno herself is mermaid-like, but with the body of a giant moray eel and teeth to match.]

Oh, a mermaid. Huh. [She doesn't eat mermaids. As an eel, she is only minimally interested in things that she cannot eat, which are not other eels.] What's up?

[rhapsody_onfire]

[Genesis blinked at the unfamiliar woman... and then recognized the hair.]

Reno?

[Well. Now she she knew what Sephiroth, both of them, felt like when meeting her. Zack too.]

[tasercopter]

What? [She narrows her eyes, swimming suspiciously around the newcomer. How does this mermaid know her? There is something extremely familiar about her, that's for sure, but what? As she doesn't associate Genesis with being a female or with being a mermaid (and also, she's a bit distracted by being an eelmaid, as she's caught up somewhat in the dream), she can't quite put her finger on it.]

Who are you?

[rhapsody_onfire]

Genesis.

[She crossed her arms, frowning. At least the others had recognized her! Huff.]

[findmyownreason]

He was tired.

His throat was raw with sea water and lack of anything fresh and he had no idea how long he'd been drifting like this, one arm across a broken plank of what had once been his ship. His life. Now he was in the middle of the ocean and his ruined left arm was trailing enough blood that he was surprised sharks hadn't showed up for it yet. He wished they'd hurry. He was tired of fighting a losing battle and he was too stubborn to give up. If the end would just get there, he'd be able to quit without saying he gave up.

So when his arm lost its hold on the plank and the water closed over his head, all he could really think was:

It's about damn time.

[rhapsody_onfire]

Genesis had barely caught that familiar spiky blond hair before it went under. She gasped and quickly dove, looking for the body that followed. She found it and swam fast, her arms wrapping around the thin waist and pulling him up. Looking around, she spotting the the island close by and begin swimming backwards. She needed to keep Cloud's head above the water as she swam.

"Cloud? Cloud, can you hear me?"

[findmyownreason]

He'd been ready to let go but some last stubborn streak in him had held his breath while his body had sunk. A part of him that would never forget mako tanks of green and liquid forced down into his lungs until he was saturated. Blue eyes open in the filtered light of the glass like water, he'd registered something swimming to him but his mind hadn't kicked in any adrenaline. If it was going to eat him, that might be faster than drowning.

Or not.

Because he felt a band like steel go over his stomach and the easy drift downward turned into a fast rise upward instead. That's when he inhaled water in surprise and the shock of that liquid hitting his lungs had him coughing, head somehow miraculously above water again. Blinded by salt water and still sputtering, it took him a minute to register the voice.

Which really made no sense at all.

"Gen?"

[rhapsody_onfire]

Her webbed fingers carded through his hair, pushing the locks away so she could get a look at his face. She saw his bloody arm as well and bit her lip, wondering just how to heal that. She had no materia this time, she was simply a mermaid. She concentrated on getting to the island.

"Yes, it's me."

They were close enough now that Cloud could possibly start walking, but Genesis didn't allow it. She let the waves and her tail push her closer to the shore. Maybe she could find some seaweed or something to wrap his arm up. In the meantime, she continued to speak to him. "What are you doing out here?"