Video ✖ 015

[stoicism]

[Frank is standing outside of the Zephry Pointe complex, wearing a heavy jacket and scarf - it would seem he's finally acquired some weather-appropriate clothing. He adjusts the hood of the sweatshirt he wears beneath it, the scarf covering his mouth as his uniform's mask so often does.]I have not seen nor heard from one Aerith Gainsborough in some

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[sheltered_sun]

[Sunny is still inside the building, standing right outside what used to be the door to Aerith's apartment. She was frowning, clearly disappointed and sad.]

She's n-not answering me... D-did you know her?

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[stoicism]

I did... [he pauses a moment. There's no need to hide this information from Sunny - Sunny is trustworthy.]

She was very kind to me.

[sheltered_sun]

[She nodded.]

She w-was really nice. Sh-she made us cookies once...

[It was sad, because she had been really excited about getting to know her better, and yet, she knew she wasn't going to get the chance to now.]

[stoicism]

She taught me to care for the roses at the church... I was awaiting the spring, so that she may educate me further on the care of flora.

[stoicism]

How long ago did she depart? [He adjusts his scarf a bit more, his voice slightly muffled as he does so - but Snake should be able to understand him well enough.]

[stoicism]

Three days... [He slowly repeats it over again, a light hmn escaping him as he does so.] I have been distracted... I should have noticed her departure sooner.

[He hadn't noticed anyone's names leave the contact list - but he never truly noticed any names when they left the list. He so often relied on others to spark notice of someone's absence due to his inability to read.]

[ishikawa_juusan]

[Good thing this message came up when it did - the ronin had wanted to drop by Aerith's flower shop one of these days, when the blizzard showed signs of calming down, for some plants to accompany to orchids he had bought from her last month. Jigen hadn't spoken of her recently - and she was his employer - so, prompted further by a bit of curiosity, Goemon accesses and examines the contact list on his Dreamberry after some fiddling. Alas, the sweet flower-girl's name is missing. He might as well inform this fellow of the news.]

...It seems so. [He nearly adds, "a shame", but catches himself, resuming after a moment with a solemn, unreadable expression.] Her name is absent from the contact list.

[stoicism]

I had assumed as much... [He briefly makes eye contact with Goemon before turning his head once more, hanging it in a moment of silence.]

It is perhaps for the better, she will be among those she cares for now.

[ishikawa_juusan]

Mn. [He can guess from Frank's manner that he had cared for Aerith, but the ronin doesn't pry; he has no interest in doing so.]

She may return to this world someday, if that is the way it must be. [This is offered more as a fact than in some attempt at reassurance.]

[stoicism]

[And Frank does nothing to offer any real confirmation of Goemon's assumptions but nor does he deny them.]

Yes... People come and go from this world frequently. There remains the chance she will return - and until that day may come, I will carry on. We should not dwell on what cannot be changed.