Usually, Lee slept thought the night, waking up not too long before ITF started to go down to the Pyramid court. Tonight, however, he hadn't been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time, and finally just gave up in favor of going out for a run. Maybe he'd be able to nod off later in the afternoon.
Making his way down the mostly empty beach, however, he spotted a familiar figure sitting on the sand.
"Hey," she said, her voice empty. Yuffie was surprisingly small next to the giant sword, especially when she sat with her knees so neatly folded to her chest.
Something wasn't right here, and Lee picked up on it right away. He really hoped it didn't have to do with her sex life again, because he'd been drinking the last time they talked about that and wasn't really up to getting drunk before dawn.
"You okay?" Lee said, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
The island was unusually quiet today. The colors in the trees and the sea didn't hold the vibrancy they held before. Perhaps the island mourned the loss of one of its own. Perhaps it was making up for the quiet that Cloud wouldn't be able to express.
The sword on the beach was easy to see, when she was walking the beach. The sound of the ocean was muted today, too.
When she sat down next to Yuffie, she didn't want to break the silence the island was observing.
Yuffie let a shudder run through her. Of course Aeris had seen many losses, but there was a tiny part of her that said that how could Aeris know when she had been the lost one, not the losing.
She nodded, staring up at the sword in contemplation. It was different, this time, than when Zack had left Midgar. In some ways, it was better. She knew where he had gone, and that he was happier there. Yet, he would not ever fall through the dojo roof one day.
Lily had, in the year and some-odd days she'd been on the island, taught herself not to expect the worst, by nature of the fact that nothing would ever be as bad as what she'd been through before showing up here. It was, all things considered, a lot easier than even she would have expected. So, when she saw Yuffie sitting on the sand with Cloud's sword there, her first thought -- somewhat stupidly, she would think in retrospect -- was that maybe they'd gotten in a fight, or something else like that had happened. The possibility of a disappearance hardly even crossed her mind.
"Hey, Yuffie?" she asked as she approached and took a seat beside her, brows furrowing as she frowned in concern. "What happened? Are you okay?"
A dozen possibilities crossed Lily's mind, but none of them approached disappearance. Still, she sat anyway, her frown deepening as she looked over at Yuffie. God, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen Yuffie look this upset, or really even upset at all.
"Alright," she said warily, not even bothering to hide the tremble in her voice. "What is it? Has something happened?"
"Cloud is gone," Yuffie admitted, feeling the words rip out of her. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..." She was trembling. He hadn't been a boyfriend, like for Lily, or a best friend, like for Zack or Aeris. What had he been?
At Zack's assessment, she could only nod, and press her hot face into her knees. She let more like an awkward, jagged edge than she had in a long time, clumsy and incompetent next to the massive sword. "Yeah, he's gone," she whispered.
The question, though, made her shake her head. She couldn't say it out loud-- that wasn't allowed for the grown princess of Wutai.
Zack knew that Yuffie liked Cloud--something he'd teased Cloud about from time to time. And he had an idea what the hole must have felt like given his relationship with Aeris.
Moving closer to her, he put a comforting hand on her back. He remembered being back in Aeris' church when he'd lost Angeal and how there were few words between them, but it'd been good to have someone there.
"I hate this place today," she whispered. Maybe if she kept very quiet about it all, it just wouldn't hurt as badly. "How long before everyone else I care about disappears?"
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Making his way down the mostly empty beach, however, he spotted a familiar figure sitting on the sand.
"...Yuffie?" He asked.
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"You okay?" Lee said, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
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He probably wouldn't even miss her.
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The sword on the beach was easy to see, when she was walking the beach. The sound of the ocean was muted today, too.
When she sat down next to Yuffie, she didn't want to break the silence the island was observing.
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"You know?"
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"Zack told me."
[OOC: A tag that slipped through the cracks!]
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"Hey, Yuffie?" she asked as she approached and took a seat beside her, brows furrowing as she frowned in concern. "What happened? Are you okay?"
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She patted the sand next to her. Oh, gawd, she wasn't cut out for this part.
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"Alright," she said warily, not even bothering to hide the tremble in her voice. "What is it? Has something happened?"
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The question, though, made her shake her head. She couldn't say it out loud-- that wasn't allowed for the grown princess of Wutai.
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Moving closer to her, he put a comforting hand on her back. He remembered being back in Aeris' church when he'd lost Angeal and how there were few words between them, but it'd been good to have someone there.
"Yeah. Me either," he finally added quietly.
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