[Zack, Cloud, Tifa. All of them left barely alive after that, from all accounts she'd heard, all irreparably scarred from it.]
I wish it hadn't happened at all. But I'm sure you did your best to help. We can help here too, see if it won't happen again.
[She offers him a smile she hopes is reassuring.] It's been okay, so far. It's a truce — sort of. No one has been hurt here. He's... hard to read. But he doesn't seem dangerous.
[ She knows. Meaning that someone related the story of that day to her, most likely Cloud. Zack wonders how he'd described it, what his perspective of it had been as someone who hadn't known Sephiroth quite so well.
Not that anyone, Zack included, could claim to know Sephiroth well. Maybe Angeal or Genesis, but even that had fallen apart, so who's to say?
Aerith's smile is reassuring, and Zack finally pulls his hands back from her, slowly unhooking his fingers as he lets out a breath. ]
He wasn't. Except for when he needed to be, anyway. It's... well, it'll be kind of nice to see him how he once was.
[ He finds Aerith's eyes, then tilts his head at her. ]
[Aerith tries to make her smile hold, to not look too troubled. Often she can separate her own feelings on Sephiroth and what he had done from the man he'd been before Nibelheim. She has become well-versed in this, but hearing it from Zack settles oddly on her shoulders. She reminds herself that he doesn't know, the way he is now. He can't know. He must be right after...
After he'd reached Midgar's wastelands.]
You looked up to him, didn't you? [She nudges his shoulder, gently.] A lot of people did.
[a pause follows this.] Other than him, Cloud and I, there's one other. It's connected to Sephiroth, but it's hard to explain.
[ That little nudge would have been more teasing if the subject matter at the moment was different, but Zack finds something familiar and comforting in it all the same. He looks forward to a time when they can return to how it had been between him and Aerith before all this, though he wonders if that's even possible. Both of them have changed a lot since the days they'd spent together, wandering the slums and gathering ingredients for a flower wagon.
For a moment, Zack's tempted to drop everything they're talking about now to ask her about that instead. Had her flower-selling business taken off? What had she done with herself, those five long years? What were at least some of those tiny wishes, and could he still grant them now? Maybe once upon a time he would have done just that, but not right now. ]
Yeah, guess I did. [ Hero worship, some might have called it. It had started as that, maybe, but Zack had quickly come to see Sephiroth as a person rather than a legend — and more than that, as a friend. He's managed to lose a lot of those, and it makes him that much more eager to see Cloud again.
As for things that are hard to explain, Zack's had to put up with a lot of that, so what's one more detail added to the pile? He settles back, crossing his arms over his chest as he braces himself. ]
[It's not fair to feel melancholy about it, but she'd missed him, being able to talk openly to someone like this and not worry so much. Sharing the burden with him, so she would not have to bear it on her own.
Maybe it's selfish, too. But she decides to be a little selfish, for now. It wasn't good to hold all of these things inside either. She knew as much from how much she scolded Cloud about it.
Zack's encouragement makes her smile, even though she's still troubled.] His name is Kadaj. You'll notice him straight away — he looks a lot like Sephiroth.
He's sort of... [she waves her hands, trying to explain] A piece of him? Like a fragment. He was born from Sephiroth's memories, and the Lifestream. His will made manifest.
[now, she sighs.]
I told you, it's a doozy. I'm letting you know so that you can be careful around him. He isn't stable, though I don't think he's harmed anyone here.
[ Even with Aerith's warning, Zack has to take a moment to process what she's saying. He leans forward, resting his forearm on his thigh as he holds in a breath, then heaves it out. Now the Lifestream is involved? Given that it's the origin of all that mako energy, he probably shouldn't be surprised.
Zack's seen examples of both creatures and people taking on Angeal's traits, for instance, but this sounds like something different. Would this Kadaj person target him? It's hard to say, but Zack doubts that he can avoid running into him eventually. ]
... Can't say that I entirely get how that works, but I'll keep an eye out for him. What does Sephiroth think of the whole thing?
[ Kadaj must have come into being after Sephiroth had his mental break, so he'd probably been just as baffled by it here, if he's still in his right mind. ]
[Now, she looks vaguely pained.] He doesn't... know, exactly. It's hard to explain Kadaj without explaining everything else. I'm still trying to work out how to bring up the topic.
Cloud thought it was better that he didn't exist. But... [She seems uncomfortable.] I don't know. It isn't Kadaj's fault he exists the way he does. I think it's possible he can change.
[ While Zack's not clear on how they could explain away someone who looked like Sephiroth without revealing at least a few facts about his future, he's not going to make Aerith get into all the nitty-gritty details.
She seems to want to help this Kadaj, or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Zack smiles, a soft upturn at either corner of his mouth. Of course she would. That's just how Aerith is, and he can't hold it against her. ]
I guess I'll have to see for myself. I just... [ He glances down, then reaches out to set a hand on the top of her leg. ] I don't want you putting yourself in any unnecessary danger, either.
[At this, her smile returns, but there's grief interwoven in it too, a quiet sort of sadness. She puts her hand over his own, her palm small against his broader one.] I know. It's okay, really. I'm keeping it together.
[And she feels stupid for saying it, and childish, but—]
I missed you. Talking like this, I mean... it hasn't been the same.
[Not for a while, anyway. There was the Lifestream, of course, but those matters were complex, and of course she loved Cloud, and Tifa, and Barret... all the others. Her mother, too. Of course she missed the ones that weren't here. But Zack had always treated her differently than anyone else, and she feels that even now, in this somber conversation.]
[ In truth, Zack's expecting Aerith to pull a face, shove his shoulder, and give him a hard time for worrying about her. She can take care of herself, after all! She'd say something along those lines. So when all she gives him is a sad smile and an "I'm keeping it together," he worries.
There's something else to this. Something he's missing; something she hasn't told him.
He turns his hand over so that they're palm-to-palm, then squeezes. ]
I missed you too. During those five years, well... I wasn't conscious for a lot of it. I drifted in and out, but I thought of you a lot.
[ Man, both of them are being so gloomy and it isn't like them. Zack tugs his hand back to lift it in the air, extending his index finger up. ]
But we're both here now, so I need to know! Can I still grant any of those wishes?
[ He smiles, a mirror of the one she'd just given him -- tinged with sadness. Is it too late? ]
I thought about you too. [The sincerity of what he says, coupled with that reminder of those wishes, all the letters, that at last makes her brighten up some, unaccustomed to bad moods and never one to linger too long on entertaining one. And she doesn't want to make him too worried about her, not at all.
She pushes at his shoulder with no real force, and nods.] And I think you could, even with that backlog of yours.
[A joke, mostly.] I can think of a few more too! It's been a while, you know?
[ Even if Zack can only make the mood lighter for a short while, he'll take it. They both need it after the way this conversation has gone so far. Even if they have to deal with Sephiroth and whatever strange beings have come into existence because of him, they still have each other. Zack found his way back to her, much later than he ever expected, but he can't help but be glad all the same.
He's in a strange place with timeline confusion and who knows what other problems, but he'll be here with Cloud and Aerith, rather than floating around aimlessly as part of the Lifestream. He can't be that upset about it.
He grins and rocks back with her shove (as if she pushed much harder than she actually did), nodding when Aerith admits that she's come up with even more wishes. ]
I better get working on it, then, if I want to catch up! So, which one should I start with?
[ It's the middle of the night, his hair and clothes are damp, and he has very little idea of what this place is or why he's here. All the same, he manages to muster up some sunniness for her. ]
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[Zack, Cloud, Tifa. All of them left barely alive after that, from all accounts she'd heard, all irreparably scarred from it.]
I wish it hadn't happened at all. But I'm sure you did your best to help. We can help here too, see if it won't happen again.
[She offers him a smile she hopes is reassuring.] It's been okay, so far. It's a truce — sort of. No one has been hurt here. He's... hard to read. But he doesn't seem dangerous.
no subject
Not that anyone, Zack included, could claim to know Sephiroth well. Maybe Angeal or Genesis, but even that had fallen apart, so who's to say?
Aerith's smile is reassuring, and Zack finally pulls his hands back from her, slowly unhooking his fingers as he lets out a breath. ]
He wasn't. Except for when he needed to be, anyway. It's... well, it'll be kind of nice to see him how he once was.
[ He finds Aerith's eyes, then tilts his head at her. ]
Is that weird to say?
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[Aerith tries to make her smile hold, to not look too troubled. Often she can separate her own feelings on Sephiroth and what he had done from the man he'd been before Nibelheim. She has become well-versed in this, but hearing it from Zack settles oddly on her shoulders. She reminds herself that he doesn't know, the way he is now. He can't know. He must be right after...
After he'd reached Midgar's wastelands.]
You looked up to him, didn't you? [She nudges his shoulder, gently.] A lot of people did.
[a pause follows this.] Other than him, Cloud and I, there's one other. It's connected to Sephiroth, but it's hard to explain.
no subject
For a moment, Zack's tempted to drop everything they're talking about now to ask her about that instead. Had her flower-selling business taken off? What had she done with herself, those five long years? What were at least some of those tiny wishes, and could he still grant them now? Maybe once upon a time he would have done just that, but not right now. ]
Yeah, guess I did. [ Hero worship, some might have called it. It had started as that, maybe, but Zack had quickly come to see Sephiroth as a person rather than a legend — and more than that, as a friend. He's managed to lose a lot of those, and it makes him that much more eager to see Cloud again.
As for things that are hard to explain, Zack's had to put up with a lot of that, so what's one more detail added to the pile? He settles back, crossing his arms over his chest as he braces himself. ]
That's all right. I'm listening.
no subject
Maybe it's selfish, too. But she decides to be a little selfish, for now. It wasn't good to hold all of these things inside either. She knew as much from how much she scolded Cloud about it.
Zack's encouragement makes her smile, even though she's still troubled.] His name is Kadaj. You'll notice him straight away — he looks a lot like Sephiroth.
He's sort of... [she waves her hands, trying to explain] A piece of him? Like a fragment. He was born from Sephiroth's memories, and the Lifestream. His will made manifest.
[now, she sighs.]
I told you, it's a doozy. I'm letting you know so that you can be careful around him. He isn't stable, though I don't think he's harmed anyone here.
no subject
Zack's seen examples of both creatures and people taking on Angeal's traits, for instance, but this sounds like something different. Would this Kadaj person target him? It's hard to say, but Zack doubts that he can avoid running into him eventually. ]
... Can't say that I entirely get how that works, but I'll keep an eye out for him. What does Sephiroth think of the whole thing?
[ Kadaj must have come into being after Sephiroth had his mental break, so he'd probably been just as baffled by it here, if he's still in his right mind. ]
no subject
Cloud thought it was better that he didn't exist. But... [She seems uncomfortable.] I don't know. It isn't Kadaj's fault he exists the way he does. I think it's possible he can change.
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She seems to want to help this Kadaj, or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Zack smiles, a soft upturn at either corner of his mouth. Of course she would. That's just how Aerith is, and he can't hold it against her. ]
I guess I'll have to see for myself. I just... [ He glances down, then reaches out to set a hand on the top of her leg. ] I don't want you putting yourself in any unnecessary danger, either.
no subject
[And she feels stupid for saying it, and childish, but—]
I missed you. Talking like this, I mean... it hasn't been the same.
[Not for a while, anyway. There was the Lifestream, of course, but those matters were complex, and of course she loved Cloud, and Tifa, and Barret... all the others. Her mother, too. Of course she missed the ones that weren't here. But Zack had always treated her differently than anyone else, and she feels that even now, in this somber conversation.]
no subject
There's something else to this. Something he's missing; something she hasn't told him.
He turns his hand over so that they're palm-to-palm, then squeezes. ]
I missed you too. During those five years, well... I wasn't conscious for a lot of it. I drifted in and out, but I thought of you a lot.
[ Man, both of them are being so gloomy and it isn't like them. Zack tugs his hand back to lift it in the air, extending his index finger up. ]
But we're both here now, so I need to know! Can I still grant any of those wishes?
[ He smiles, a mirror of the one she'd just given him -- tinged with sadness. Is it too late? ]
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She pushes at his shoulder with no real force, and nods.] And I think you could, even with that backlog of yours.
[A joke, mostly.] I can think of a few more too! It's been a while, you know?
no subject
He's in a strange place with timeline confusion and who knows what other problems, but he'll be here with Cloud and Aerith, rather than floating around aimlessly as part of the Lifestream. He can't be that upset about it.
He grins and rocks back with her shove (as if she pushed much harder than she actually did), nodding when Aerith admits that she's come up with even more wishes. ]
I better get working on it, then, if I want to catch up! So, which one should I start with?
[ It's the middle of the night, his hair and clothes are damp, and he has very little idea of what this place is or why he's here. All the same, he manages to muster up some sunniness for her. ]