open 🌠 hello world! i'm your wild girl

[starshower]

Who: Tifa Lockhart & YOU
What: December catch-all!
Where: Where the threads happen
When: When the threads happen
Content Warnings: N/A

𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘪'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘪'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘹 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌 ★ 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 ★ 𝚐𝚢𝚖𝚗𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚞𝚖 ★ 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 ★ 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍 ★ ♫

Comments

[starshower]

[Tifa's bottle is cracked open with a loud spritzing noise—the true signal to the start of a refreshing and relaxing time on the beach with a friend.

She leans back on the blanket, propping herself up as she takes a small sip of the drink. It tastes like home. Like Seventh Heaven and all the memories that came with it... and a sad and fond smile passes over her expression.]

It's strange how something so plain could be so scary.

[Aerith isn't alone in that sentiment at all. Tifa's avoided visiting the void ever since she first stepped foot out of it.]

But this place has grown a lot since then. It's kinda nice... Weird, too. Like we all had something to do with it, y'know?

[anciently]

I don't know... All of that emptiness? Not knowing where you are, or if you might be alone? [ She shrugs lightly, smile twinged with the anxieties she carries about the open sky. ] I think it's pretty unsettling...

[ And she isn't likely to return anytime soon!

But...no need to dwell on that, right? Not when they have such a nice day ahead of them. ]

Mm-hmm. It really makes it feel comfortable, like we're almost at home. But...it also has these memories from people we'd never have met, so that makes it really exciting! I feel like I see something new every day. Like the Pokémon - [ Aerith recalls suddenly, giggling. ] Have you met any of the Trainers?

[starshower]

A few of 'em, yeah. Raihan, Blue... Lance...

[The last name is dropped with a twinge of sadness behind it. He's been gone for some time now, and Tifa would be remiss if she'd said she didn't think about him or miss him and Dragonite a ton. He was one of the few people here who she could hold a mature conversation with.

Not that the former two can't, but it's in a different way.]

We've been getting a lot of new faces around here, too. Haven't even had the chance to meet some of them yet. Some familiar faces, too...

[The glint in Tifa's eyes returns as she takes a swing of her beer, glancing sideways at Aerith.]

[anciently]

You know those guys too, huh? [ Likewise, Aerith sombers at the mention of Lance, nodding quietly. He'd been the first Trainer she'd met here, and...

Well, maybe he'd come back, like Ren had. ]

That we have! It's...weird. I'm not sure if I should be excited to meet all the new people, or...sad that they've been taken from their homes. [ She's certainly enjoying the pseudo-vacation, more often than not.

Aerith doesn't miss Tifa's implication, and though she smiles back with a bit of a teasing look of her own, there's something more complicated behind the expression. ]

Mm-hmm! Some more welcome than others. [ They haven't talked about The Sephiroth Thing at all either, but she knows that isn't what the other woman is angling for. ] ...I guess you've talked by now, right? To Zack?

[starshower]

[Aerith knows her too well, and before Tifa gives an answer, she takes a drawn-out sip of her drink.]

Yeah. Found him in the water with his arm down a fish's throat.

[It was a bit of an awkward first meeting, considering how they left things between each other back in Nibelheim, and while it isn't water under the bridge yet, they've at least somewhat reconciled with one another. They'll talk about that one day.

For now though, Tifa has other things in mind.]

He was pretty keen on helping out around the church. How do you two know each other?

[anciently]

[ Aerith laughs, shaking her head at the mental image. ]

That sounds about right... Jeez. [ What a doofus!! ] He can be a pretty over-the-top guy...

[ That last bit elicits another knowing smile, and she hums thoughtfully. ]

Well... We were dating. [ ... ] "Are" dating? [ Her voice is light, but there's a twinge of sadness behind her smile. ] It's - complicated.

[ But, then, Tifa knows all about complicated. ]

[starshower]

[She doesn't want to delve too far into it if Aerith isn't comfortable, but her smile is full of interest and intrigue.]

Doesn't sound that complicated... He's a nice guy, and good-looking to boot.

[AKA: Tifa approves.]

You guys hit it off back in Midgar, I'm guessing?

[anciently]

Glad you think so. [ It does matter to her that Tifa approves - the other woman is a good judge of character, after all - so she offers another grateful smile. ]

Mm-hmm! He fell through the roof of the church and landed right in the flower bed. [ Sound familiar? ] He was a SOLDIER, so he had to go away a lot... But, when he was in town, it was great. We got up to all kinds of things...

[ The flower cart experiment, for one. One among many. ]

...And, when he wasn't around, I wrote him letters. [ Here, she looks from her hands to Tifa again, eyes laden with a depth of something not often on display in Aerith's chipper demeanor. ] But...back home? I haven't seen him in four years. I don't know if he got them, or...anything.

[ Strictly not true, of course. She'd felt it, through the Planet, when he'd been killed. Still, she keeps that to herself and keeps her manner even-keeled as she lapses into silence for a moment. ]

- But, he's here now, so...it's okay. [ While they're both here, and safe...it's okay. ]

[starshower]

[Okay, maybe a little complicated.

Tifa frowns, eyes sympathetic when Aerith's meet hers. She can sense something's a little off about it but doesn't press it when she chooses not to elaborate further. It can easily be chalked up to Shinra keeping SOLDIER in the dark about incoming messages from home, never giving them the messages being sent from their loved ones. It's right up their alley.]

Whether he did or not, seems to me like he still knows you care about him.

[Saying it isn't meant to place any pity on Aerith. It's just an observation on Tifa's part.]

He's been working real hard to make things easier for you since he got here. Making the best of what we've all got, you know? [She snickers at the next part.] Even came to me looking for advice.

[anciently]

Sure am glad to hear that... [ She's never doubted Zack's heart, but it's still difficult. The whole situation is difficult, to say the very, very least. ] And we have all this time here to work it out, so...

[ To be together. To be alive. To be alive together. In the fraction of a second when she blinks, she sees sharp flashes of that other world, and exhales faintly. ]

He's doing a great job. Everyone is. [ She perks up with a smile again, not wanting to contribute to bringing down the mood of their day together! ] Oh? And what kind of advice was he asking after? C'mon, you can tell me!

[ She might not - Tifa is a good friend like that - but Aerith will press lightly, at least for the moment, leaning in a little as if the other woman will whisper it. ]

[starshower]

[Between all of the tasks they've taken on, they've hardly taken the chance to spend time like this together, and so she plans to milk it for all it's worth before it's time to head back. It's nice to have another woman she can talk to like this, even if it is just idle chatter about boys!

She leans in, like she has a secret to tell and there are others around who are at risk of hearing it, but she smiles and punches Aerith gently on the shoulder.]

If you don't know, then I can't tell you what it is! But if you can guess it, then maybe...!

[anciently]

Hmm, hmm... [ Aerith sits back a little, considering it with a thoughtful expression, face turned skyward. ] Is it...about me?

[ That is: is it about the two of them, and where they stand? Aerith has no idea how much Tifa knows about Zack, or his fate, and is deliberately delicate with her questions. ]

You know...about us dating?