wingenvy | [Action]

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[Action]

[Okay, so. He'd been en route to Midgar with Cloud. With a motorcycle, it had been awesome. And they'd been making good progress! Sure, he wasn't all that certain about directions, but being underground for so long can screw with a guy a little. There's no helping it. He'd been in a pretty good mood, though.

So if things had been going well for the first time in ages, why did he wake up this morning and find himself in the woods, alone and unarmed, in a fresh pair of white pants that didn't belong to him? It meant he hadn't been captured, since he wasn't in the lab, so... what? Seriously, what?

More importantly, where is Cloud!?

There's a sense of panic he hasn't felt since the troopers in Nibelheim had first started dragging Cloud away from him, so he wastes no time getting up and heading off to get a look around. If the military isn't responsible for this, maybe Cloud just wandered off (somehow) after whoever it was had taken Zack out. Man, so much for life getting easier...

tl;dr Zack will be ducking around the village early-ish in the morning, trying to make the most of the late November sunrise by doing his best ninja impression. He's trying not to be seen, but how effective he is at doing so? Really depends. SOLDIERs are sadly not ninjas.]

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[Zack.

It's like a mental hand grabs hold of Cloud's memories and yanks them to the surface. He winces -not from pain, just from the shock of it- and lifts a hand to his forehead, staring wide-eyed at the ex-SOLDIER.

scratches in curved glass walls

"We're friends, right?"

He mouths Zack's name and absently rubs his forehead.]

You're...that SOLDIER...

[... "That SOLDIER"? Is that all Cloud remembers? Is that how they end up?

That SOLDIER...

What happened?]

Hey, are you okay?

I...

[Yeah, he's kind of okay. He rubs his forehead again.]

I don't...remember a lot. [Buffy had been telling the truth. She'd been right.

Dead people come here.

Does Zack know he's dead? With the way he's acting, he seems to think he's still alive. There's no way...he can't still think he's alive, can he?]

...we need to find somewhere to talk. C'mon. [Cloud turns on his heel and motions for Zack to follow him, automatically taking the lead by habit.]

[Zack doesn't follow immediately, staring after Cloud in surprise for a few seconds. It's Cloud, definitely, but... not the Cloud he knows. He seems older somehow, though he doesn't look physically different. More confident, more straight-backed and strong. With a sword even bigger than the Buster sword, and a strength that comes from-

...from being in SOLDIER, almost. It's one of the strangest things that Zack has ever witnessed, and he's not sure how to deal with it. First things first, though- listen to what Cloud has to say. Zack jerks himself out of his pause and hurries to catch up.]

[First things first; Cloud takes Zack to get some clothes. Sure, he's SOLDIER tough and can probably survive a snowstorm in his skivvies but that doesn't mean he has to.]

You haven't eaten in a while either, have you?

Uh... [Zack blinks, a little baffled; there's something really weird going on, and he's asking about food? O... kay. He gives it a moment's thought, though, and he does feel kind of hungry. Not starving, but he's been so focused on Cloud that getting a decent meal has been far from the forefront of his mind.] Not really, nah.

[Cloud falters at that. Dammit Zack he's trying to find ways to stall this conversation, HELP HIM OUT.]

I just-

I want to get everything out of the way. So...y'know. No interruptions and stuff.

[Zack's getting a really bad feeling, and it's growing bit by bit. Seems like there's something really serious that he's obviously missing. Does it have something to do with why Cloud is healthy again? It's weird... shouldn't it be a good thing?

Still, if Cloud's uncomfortable, Zack won't push him- yet. He can be patient until Cloud explains.]

Sounds good to me. I bet I could eat a whole store out of business at this point!

[Maybe a bit of familiar behaviour will-

Oh. Right. Cloud doesn't remember.

...HOW DEPRESSING.]

[The cheer is a little bit forced but Cloud is going to take what he can get.]

We might as well check the weapons shop and see if they have your sword. [Wait- Cloud's sword. ...no, Zack's; the Buster was Zack's, that's right.]

What, my sword's at a store? [BUT HE HAS NO MONEY, WHAT IS THIS ;_; He'll steal it if he has to, but wtf.]

It's just what it's called. They won't charge you for it. [Cloud gestures to the clothes.] And your uniform should be in here somewhere; you won't have to pay for that, either.

Oh, wow. That's kind of... [Convenient, but weird. Why take it if they're just going to give it back >:|]

I don't get it either. You should probably just go "okay that works" for about half the stuff I'm gonna tell you about this place; if you try to figure out the why you'll drive yourself nuts.

[Cloud is clearly unimpressed with how this operation works.]

Works for me, I guess. I probably wouldn't understand even if I tried.

[...oh geez. There it is. That awkward pause that comes from not knowing someone very well. It happened when everyone in AVALANCHE first met each other; that distant way you handled someone else, the uncomfortable silences, etcetera.

Cloud shifts his weight as Zack locates his clothes, folding his arms tightly over his chest. Oh Holy. What does he say now? He can't just blurt out an apology and go "I'M SORRY FOR FORGETTING YOU," he could at least lead up to it.]

[Zack's actually kind of comfortable with a quiet Cloud; after travelling with the comatose Cloud for months and rambling on to him in the pods for god-knows how long has made it ridiculously easy to ramble on about anything and everything while he gets his regular SOLDIER outfit on. Thus:]

So what's with the wings, anyway? Do they have any point to them? I mean, it's not like I haven't seen people with wings before, but... it's weird how common it is here. What about yours? I haven't seen 'em yet.

[Kind of hard to, with that big sword in the way. Speaking of which-] Oh, and that sword! It's even bigger than mine, where'd you get it?

[That's way too many questions, Zack. Cloud will go for the least complicated answer first.]

I got it from...a fight, I guess. [He shrugs a shoulder to jiggle it a little.] A huge monster.

[He likes chatting, Cloud. Better get used to it.]

Whoa, when did that happen? I mean, after Nibelheim you were kind of... [Seriously messed up. And if it's only been a day...]

[After Nibelheim? -OH right. God, he has like four or five "after Nibelheim"s to remember now.]

I've been awake for a while already. It's-

It's part of the explanation for this place. The really, really long explanation.

That explanation I'm gonna have to wait for, huh. [Figures. Ah well, no point in getting all emo about it.] I can get my sword next though, right? Where is it?

This a'way. [Fall in, SOLDIER.]

[Aye sir. And- is that a smile? Sort of? God, did Zack ever miss that! He falls into step beside Cloud immediately, grinning.]

So am I allowed to ask what you do remember, or do I have to wait for that too?

Like I said, not a lot.

[Pause.] I...barely remember anything from after I joined Shinra. Almost nothing at all.

...Man, seriously? That's... a long time, Cloud. [He doesn't know exactly how long, but...

...stupid Hojo. It was the lab, wasn't it? And the mako poisoning...]

Yeah, I know. [Cloud's reluctant to speculate or anything about it; that part of his head is still a jumbled mess and he'd like to stay far, far away from it thank you.

Luckily their destination isn't that far from the clothing shop and he leads Zack inside, already searching for the Buster.]

It should be in here somewhere...

yeah i know /preens

/chews on

DAMMIT

lololol

orz

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