I Know What Lies Beneath the Snowfields

[onegil]

Title: I Know What Lies Beneath the Snowfields
Characters: onegil. Open to anyone~♥
When: Early Evening
Where: Outskirts of Christmas Town.
Warnings: None.
Summary: A flower girl is simply exploring.

Comments

I STALK YOU *__*

[canhaswings]

Someone else was exploring the quiet, happy town as well. His own boots crunched, his eyes moving all over as he took in the sights and sounds.

As he came out from behind a few trees, his eyes fell on Aerith. They widened at first with shock, then narrowed a tiny bit with happiness tinged with sadness. He always felt slightly sad when he saw her-- both for their past and for her death. Little did he know this one was not the Lifestream one he knew.

"If I count, yeah." He called to her, giving her a fairly bright smile.

:O ♥♥♥

[onegil]

She didn't even realize he was there until she heard his voice, and even then it must have been a dream. Green eyes grew wide when she spun to face him, one hand covering the gasp that escaped from her lips. All these years she had tried to forget her sadness, forget the pain that came along with knowing he had passed. She had told people, "you know how he likes to chase girls" and laughed it off, and yet here he stood. Alive and grinning at her like nothing had ever happened.

Still, to this very second, she couldn't let it show...

"You don't," she replied, tilting her chin up and away while closing her eyes with a pout. "You didn't write back, so I went ahead and found someone cuter." Even as she said it, she couldn't hide the tiny crack of a smile that showed through. It was easier to laugh than it was to cry, in all honesty.

n_n

[canhaswings]

The surprise on her face surprised him as well. It wasn't like she hadn't-- ... wait, he'd run into two different Cloud's here already. What if she wasn't the her that had died?

Her reminder made him wilt. He couldn't hide all the sadness away, but he did his best. She'd know he was lying if he said he was okay... that was all right. "Aww man... I'm sorry, I couldn't talk to anyone." If she didn't know, he didn't want to tell her what exactly had happened. Mostly he remembered hallucinating periodically, otherwise nothing. He dug in his pocket and came out with the crumpled letter he'd been carrying. Aerith's last. "This is the only one I ever got. How can I earn your forgiveness?" Zack's expression became very puppy-like, eyes and all.

[onegil]

An eye opened to peek at the letter he showed, then both to stare at it. He kept it? Her gaze lifted to his puppy face and the smile threatening her lips finally broke free. "It's fine," she said softly, always and forever the forgiving kind. It was never his fault he didn't come back, she had never blamed him and she never would.

Changing her mind on punishing him, Aerith gestured around them. "What is this place?" Maybe he would know, or at least have some vague idea. "I wasn't here before," she commented, though more to herself this time. She wasn't very used to being confused.

[chocobowark]

Chocobo danced nervously through the snow, shivering her feathers to get it off. She'd seen it before, of course, but it rarely touched the ranch where she lived, and even then it hardly covered her talons. Now it was deep around her feet, and though it didn't slow her - little did - it still got in the way. And was cold.

She perked up when she saw a human, trotting over and warbling plaintively.

[onegil]

Green eyes lit up as something bright and yellow approached. Aerith recognized it immediately, but her first reaction was to look around - whenever she had run into a free chocobo, it had always been accompanied by monsters. For now, it seemed to be just the two of them. Relieved that she wouldn't have to fight, Aerith lifted a hand out toward the chocobo, smiling warmly at the bird.

"Hi there... Are you lost, too?" She wasn't sure if it would even understand, to be honest. "How did you get all the way out here?"

[chocobowark]

"Waaaaaark." It was a pathetic little sound, and Chocobo nudged the outstretched hand plaintively. Did she know anywhere where the snow wasn't? Perhaps. Humans were good at finding places like that, like barns.

[onegil]

The Chocobo didn't seem to feel threatened, so Aerith took a small step closer. She lightly patted the feathers atop its head, also taking the moment to try and share in its warmth. Neither of them were ready for the cold, and Aerith looked around again. The lit up town had to have someplace that would allow chocobo's, right?

Aerith placed a hand against its neck, using the other to point back to where she had originally come from. "We can find somewhere to rest there, okay?"

*WAVE WAVE WAVE*

[babychocobohead]

Trekking through the snow was no stranger to Cloud. He'd been familiarizing himself with the forest around the town, taking long walks and enjoying the festive atmosphere. Every once in a while he met someone new but this was the first time he'd seen a girl, especially one so...pretty? Cute? Inappropriately dressed for the weather?

"Miss?"

/tackles 8D

[onegil]

Aerith turned at the voice, the surprise written clearly across her face. Was it Cloud? No, not the same Cloud. Or maybe not Cloud at all. Regardless, Aerith smiled in greeting with her hands together behind her back. He looked just like him, the same blond hair and expression, but the feeling wasn't the same. Even more, it didn't look like he recognized her at all.

"Are you from around here?" She might have already known the answer, but it was better to ask than not to say anything.

8D <3333333

[babychocobohead]

He gave Aerith a shy smile, shaking his head slightly. "No, not really. It's a little complicated though." He looked at her face, taking note of the red flush of her skin against the chilly wind. "Hey, are you cold?"

[onegil]

She laughed softly, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "I didn't want to complain," she replied.

She was usually accepting of any weather, but then again she normally had the time to prepare for it as well. "You aren't cold?" The chill was leaving goosebumps along her arms, and even the snow was beginning to soak her already worn out boots. At this rate, she would probably make herself sick.

-- and now for something completely different!

[eyesofshore]

It would've been hard for her to spot him, at first. After all, he had silver hair... and he was dusted with snow. He was also pretty cold, being an island boy. But his pants and vest were dark, and that was good enough for identification.

Silver hair and green eyes, though... Not a mix that Aerith wanted to see at this moment, probably. His body posture was all wrong, though. Sephiroth would never look around and scratch the back of his head like Cloud an idiot.

"... Hey."

alskdfj riku... 8)

[onegil]

The voice surprised her, and at first she had no idea where it came from. Looking around, she finally spotted him in the snow, a younger boy but with very similar features to...

Shaking her head, Aerith put on a sweet smile and carefully stepped closer. "Hello," she greeted, trying to ignore the chills that were beginning to numb her arms. There was a strange feeling coming from him, not one she could easily put her finger on, but it wasn't dangerous. Just... different. "Are you lost too?" She may have just come from the town, and really it was her choice to wander, but that never meant she knew where she was.

"Or... are you from around here?"

Your Aerith is so sweet. I had to. ;; That or 'Ratchel' fjkdslf

[eyesofshore]

Riku was hardly threatening, even though he was easily as tall as Cloud (or taller!) and he had a sort of gloomy expression. But once he was talking, he was a bit more animated than one would expect. So much pink. He kind of wanted to shield his eyes. There was something motherly about her, though. She didn't smell like darkness, for one thing, but commenting to strangers that they "smell nice" didn't usually go over well.

So instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to warm himself. "I don't know if you can call it 'lost'. More like 'kidnapped'..." He tilted his head a bit to shake his bangs out of his eyes. "... It's cold out here, and definitely dangerous. You should go back to town and get a room at the inn."

Aw.. I'm still so new to her. |D;; lol

[onegil]

Aerith blinked at him once, twice, then glanced over her shoulder and back toward the town. "But I didn't bring any gil with me," she answered quietly, somewhat defeated in that aspect. It seemed the best idea at the time to leave the money with Cloud, but without the blond here there wasn't much she could do.

Her attention returned to the silver haired boy, hands moving to rub her arms a little. "I'm all right, though. Shouldn't you be worried, if somebody really did kidnap you?" In all honesty, wouldn't that mean she was kidnapped, too? It wouldn't be the first time...

"At least you're not out here alone," yet she could always find the bright side to the situation.

[wanted_to_live]

Elliot was around just in case Krile wanted to have a time alone. He didn't understand what had happened or why he hugged her so tightly back then, but it couldn't be helped now.

He spotted the girl outside and he moved next to her calmly. "You look lost"

[onegil]

Aerith turned to look at the person who just spoke, not recognizing them but welcoming of the company nonetheless. "Just a little," she replied, holding up her thumb and finger just an inch apart as if to illustrate this fact.

"I was in the town over there," she pointed back the way she had come, to the lights shining off in the distance. "But I couldn't just sit and wait for something to happen again."

[wanted_to_live]

Well, he could expect anything except that someone looked like his dead wife. There were totally different people, but the hair and eye color were so similar, and the kind face too.

He could only hope to die in that moment. "Some people... appear here after opening some doors in their worlds.." he said, looking down. It was a bit hard to see her and not think in Eliza, but he could endure that.

"You should... look for a place to rest. This cold is not good for you"

[onegil]

Aerith placed a finger to her lips, thoughtful although not completely understanding. She had come here after walking through one of the doors at the Gold Saucer, so is that how everyone arrived? Oh, wait... Aerith stepped closer, head tilting in curiosity as his lowered. Had she done something wrong?

"Um, excuse me?" Her hands came together behind her back, fingers playing with the end of her braid. It was nice that he showed a kind of worry for her, but there was something else about him, something that piqued her interest. "Are you all right?" It might not have been her place to ask, but then again, when had that stopped her before?