(ley line)

[anciently]

[ Perhaps the light, female voice is familiar to those who hear it, recognizable as belonging to Aerith, or perhaps it's a stranger that you suddenly have chatting in your mind. Either way: ]

Hi there, everyone! I won't take too much of your time.

How many people have gone home from here and come back, and...how many have just...gone?

Just wondering. Thanks.

[ Those even a little familiar with the flower girl might note the uncharacteristic curtness to the message, clipped in tone and lower in energy than her usual... ]

Comments

[starshower]

[Tifa returns the smile, albeit a sad one, as she rushes inside. She has a bag of some snacks and some bottles of water and juice in her hand, courtesy of the underground shopping centre that she'll happily set down at the table when it's offered.

She glances around during the silence, looking for the flower carts that she and Zack had spoken about—did he have the chance to finish them before he disappeared...?

But she is quickly interrupted by a deep sense of dread in the pit of her stomach at the news. Her first thought immediately goes to Cloud, but... they'd just spoken earlier that day. There's no way, right? Right. No sense in worrying before she hears Aerith out, even if it is difficult to mask it.]

You think other people left, too? ... Who?

[anciently]

[ Aerith spots the drinks and snacks and her lips part in a surprise expression before settling into something warm and grateful.

If Zack had been working on flower carts, then he'd kept them somewhere she hadn't yet found them, and she's still none the wiser. ]

I think...Sephiroth. [ Of course, her expression isn't grieved at this, but it is...wary, somehow. Aerith considers the surface of the table, brows knit over a solemn expression, before looking back to Tifa. ] Did you...talk to him a lot, while he was here?

[ They've never addressed it. Never really talked about what happened in Midgar, at the end, or about the man himself when he appeared in this world with them, somehow changed even more than he'd been at their last meeting. It's...a lot to figure out, even for someone with a few more answers than most. ]

[starshower]

[She doesn't mean to exhale in a sigh of relief at hearing the news, but it comes before she can stop herself.]

Not a lot, no. [If at all...] He and I kept our distance from each other.

[And for good reason, too. She couldn't stand to even think about being in proximity of that man—or whatever he was—and kept her end of the bargain right to the very end.]

When we met after he got here, I told him to stay away, and he did. So did I.

[anciently]

Good. [ Aerith is surprised, and almost envious, to hear that Tifa had somehow struck a deal with Sephiroth to avoid him entirely. It's easy to remember their encounter in the tunnels, and before that, when they'd swapped memories, and to wish she'd thought to try suggesting they just...stay away. Would he ever have agreed? ]

It's for the best. [ She affirms quietly, meaning both that it'd been good Tifa hadn't interacted with the man much, and that he'd likely gone back...wherever he'd come from. Aerith clasps her hands in front of herself on the table's surface, thinking. ]

...Do you know how much he talked to Cloud? [ Probably a lot, if she had to guess, and both women have at least some sense of how the two are strangely connected... ]

[starshower]

Not really...

[Tifa's hands grip together under the table.]

We never really talked about him being here. [Or about much besides the Void, as it finally occurs to Tifa that she actually knows very little about... well, a lot of things, and she's suddenly not sure what to make of that.] I don't get what their relationship is...? How they know each other.

[anciently]

[ Aerith's brows knit as she tries to decide what to say, but before long, her expression soothes again to something more even-keeled. After all, what's the point of dwelling on what Sephiroth did or didn't do here if he's gone now, right? And...they don't have to worry about this stuff until they get back home, really. ]

Just wanted to make sure you guys were okay. [ She says finally, in a gentler tone. ] He was kinda being a jerk when we were all down in the tunnels, and I was...worried.

[ That much is true. She utters a short sigh. ]

He's gone, at least. So...nothing to worry about, then.

[ Better not to dwell. That was the advice she's tried to give Cloud, and which she hasn't always been 100% perfect about following. ]

[starshower]

Well...

[There is one thing that Tifa does worry about after hearing the news.]

Nothing to worry about here, but what do you think is happening back home? Without us there, there's no way of knowing anything.

[anciently]

Back home... [ Aerith looks at a fixed point against the wall opposite, expression...a bit inscrutable, and eyes distant. ] Well, since we beat the whispers and changed things...I don't know.

[ That's the truth. This is uncharted territory, and they're going to have to discover together what that might mean, when they return to Gaia.

In the meantime, though, she turns back to Tifa, face softening again to something more encouraging, and she upturns her hand on the table in case the other woman wants to take it for a squeeze of support. ]

But, no matter what, it's gonna be all right. There's nothing we can't figure out. Okay? [ A little of her usual enthusiasm returns to her voice, smile growing a bit as she speaks. ] Whenever we do go back, we'll all get through it together.

[starshower]

[Tifa takes the offer, placing the palm of her gloved hand in Aerith's and squeezing it in return while a smile pushes the concern from her features.]

Here I was trying to comfort you and you turn it around on me like that...

[Not that she has an issue with it. The two of them have been nothing short of encouraging to one another back in Midgar and here. Hell would freeze over before that changes, but she'd be remiss if she said she didn't feel bad about it. Aerith did just lose someone after all...

Although there isn't much she can say to give any more reassurance about that. So instead, she needs to focus on the positive if either of them are going to get through any of this.]

Until then, guess we just gotta make the best of what we can, right? [ ... ] You know... Sometimes I wonder if this place brought us here because it needs our help...

[anciently]

You know me! No point in moping. [ Sure, she can say that - and she can manage a smile - but Tifa probably knows well enough that Aerith hasn't shaken the experience. Zack disappearing is a big hit, and it's going to take more than a few hours to bounce back.

Fortunately, she has two great friends here to help. ]

Our help? [ Huh. Aerith releases Tifa's hand, tilting her head as she peers upward, considering. ] Never thought about it like that before... But, maybe you're right. It needs something: that's for sure. Since it keeps bringing in more of us, and more of our memories...

[ But what is it that the world itself needs from one (or all?) of them? ]

Any ideas?

[starshower]

[Tifa can sense that Aerith's masking her grief behind her usual cheerful smile and demeanor, and she would surely do the same thing if it were her in those shoes instead, which is why she offers Aerith's hand another light squeeze before going in to break open one of the wrapped coconut buns she'd picked up from the underground convenience store. Delicate fingers peel it apart to extend one half to Aerith, careful not to spill the creamy filling that's oozing from the center all over the table.]

Maybe... Feels kinda like it has no idea what it wants to be.

[Bringing in different things from their worlds instead and blending them together into strange abominations. (Looking at you, cactuar bears...)]

Sounds weird, but sometimes I wonder if it wants help finding its own... I dunno, identity?

[It would certainly help her with finding some kind of objective or goal to work towards here, and maybe it will help in taking their minds off the missing persons, too...]

[anciently]

[ Aerith brightens at the sight of the coconut bun - if not because of the sweet itself, then because of the gesture - and she smiles as she takes a bite of her half, considering what the other woman is saying. ]

That's for sure... It's like the world itself is still a kid, with no idea of what it really wants... [ Is it "growing up," in a sense? Or do they have this totally wrong? ]

Could be. [ Aerith agrees, bobbing her head in a nod as she mulls it over. ] Trying to find itself with a little help... Kinda scary, though, how powerful it is, even if it's still young...

[ Will that power only grow, bringing in more and more people and memories over time? It wouldn't be so surprising... ]

[starshower]

Being able to take things and put them back at will...

[It really is terrifying, if only because it's happened so close to home for her already. Several times, at that. Not just with Heavenly Blanc, but with the people. A world like this shouldn't have the power to make those kinds of decisions... assuming that's what it is.

Tifa laughs through a bite of her bun.]

Geez. Sorry. Getting kind of deep over a snack.

[anciently]

That's okay. [ Aerith laughs in return, some of her usual warmth returning. ] It's a really good snack, so it makes sense that it'd get you kinda contemplative...

[ Or something. Either way, Aerith is (not for the first time) feeling deeply grateful for the other woman: for Tifa's presence, and for the words that she has to offer. ]

Gonna have to get some more help around this place until Zack comes back. [ She says, matter-of-fact. ] Flower carts don't just build themselves, ya know!