[ when tifa's hand brushes against that new old scar, shuddering at the marred skin that now crosses up between her chest, she first thinks of the man who put it there, who'd slashed that diagonal wound before the skin grafts had done a fine job in covering most of it up. then she briefly thinks of cloud, in wondering if she should tell him about it β but she remembers how much he'd doubted her, how the sudden appearance of the scar's new prominent form might just confuse him further, and she's not sure she's ready for the conversation.
but then she thinks of aerith, of the girl she's come to trust so much of her life with, how much she craves her soothing words and smile even now. it's almost late now, but tifa reaches out all the same. ]
[ As a general rule, Aerith hasn't slept that well since arriving at the resort. There are some nights that are an exception, but usually she finds herself tossing and turning for what feels like hours, listening for an absent whisper in the wind, the laughing voice of the flowers, the feel of the planet's lifeforce under her.
It may have been a few months, and she may have started to adjust in other ways, but this? No.
So she's still very much awake when her watch buzzes eyes flicking to the lit screen and a smile finding her lips when she sees who's messaging her. ]
I'm awake. Who's this?
[ And then, a moment later: ]
I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Your username is too obvious, Tifa~
[ even through the watch's message, she could practically hear the playful tone of aerith's voice, the teasing that seems to come through in her words, and even that's enough to inspire a reassured smile on her own lips. a good start to the kind of solace she knows she can find with her friend. ]
probably not, huh? i guess i wasn't feeling too inspired when i first showed up here. maybe you could help me come up with something more fun.
i just wanted to see how you were doing. nights here feel a lot different than they ever felt in midgar. or anywhere else we've been.
[ For a moment, Aerith almost wonders if Tifa can see her, lying here and tossing back and forth like she is. (And in all honesty? She probably can, even though she's in a totally different room. They've shared rooms often enough, after all.) ]
I'll help you come up with something, don't worry~
But... hmm. I'm not sure if it's exactly the same, but... pretty sure I know what you mean. Are you having trouble sleeping?
[ It's a question as much as it is an admission. ]
[ the fact that aerith responds at this hour at all means she likely isn't sleeping too well either, and it's familiar enough, the way they've called out to each other in the dark when sharing a room at the inns, seeking each other for some kind of console to the restless thoughts in their head. ]
yeah, i guess i am. just a lot on my mind. and still getting used to everything.
[ a pause before she adds, ]
the space feels a little too big too for just me. i was wondering if you want to sleep here a night. there's a lot of room.
[ The second text has barely come through before she's kicking up and out of her bed, grabbing a robe to wrap around herself over her nightgown. ]
I'm on my way~
[ And she confirms the room number before heading out of hers. She stops only by the restaurants downstairs to get them each a warm drink before heading immediately up to the 10s floor, finding Tifa's room and knocking on the door. ]
[ when aerith responds so quickly, tifa's taken aback briefly at how her offer has been met with such an immediate agreement, but the thought only lingers for a single before her lips ease into a pleased smile, aware that this is just the sort of thing she'd expect out of aerith, always so readily there when she needs her most.
she lingers in bed for a bit longer, not really thinking to get herself ready for aerith, someone who she's consistently felt so comfortable to simply be herself around. it's why she remains in her simple tank top and shorts, the former doing little to disguise the scar curving up from between her breasts. no doubt aerith will see it, but then that's one of the things she wants to tell her about.
in hearing the knock, she darts off towards the front door, stepping quickly through a suite that's much too large, ceilings a little too high above her head, with an open room for a bar on one side near the entrace, equipped with its very own piano to accommodate her tastes.
as she opens the door, her smile is instant. ]
Hey, you. Come on, come on in. [ she steps aside, opening the door wider to allow the other girl room to step inside. ]
[ It's the first time she's actually come to Tifa's room, and looking around, she understands immediately what the other woman meant when she said it felt too big for her. The suite is significantly larger than her ownβwhich on its own sometimes feels like too muchβwith its tall ceilings and space for more than just sleeping and showering space.
She turns back, ready to tell Tifa how lovely she thinks it is, when she notices, even in the dim light, the scar curving out from under her clothing. Her eyes widening, she hurries the few steps across the floor and starts to reach outβat the last moment adjusting her movement so that her fingers land on Tifa's shoulder. ]
What... what happened? Did this... did it happen here?
[ She's never seen it before now, and it's not as if Tifa parades around naked, but they've worn some relatively lacking clothing in front of each other...!
[ she'd hoped, with some reluctance of its possibility, that aerith wouldn't immediately be drawn to the scar upon her chest. not that there'd have been any way of really postponing it being spotted without properly covering it with a different piece of clothing, but in having it be the first thing for the other girl to notice makes her feel somehow guilty, as if tifa bears some sort of fault for its appearance, like a punishment she can't quite put her finger on.
all too quickly she senses the worry in her friend's eyes and she reaches up with a hand over aerith's at her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ]
I'mβ I'm okay, really. It ... well, it didn't really happen here, but it didn't show up until I was here. Not that that makes much sense, I know, but ...
[ she takes a breath, lifting her eyes to her with a tight press of her lips as she figures out how to explain. ]
This ... this was the wound I got from Sephiroth five years ago, before the doctors covered it up. The skin grafts they gave me, it helped heal most of it, except for the spot down hereβ [ with her first hand, she puts her palm high on her belly, just below her breasts. ] Where they put the plate to straighten my sternum. But a few weeks ago, when I came face to face with that giant beating heart down below the resortβ somehow, the wound showed up again, looking like an old scar, like it'd just been invisible all these years. I'm not really sure why.
[ There are a number of things that Tifa says that concern her.
Without thinking, she reaches out, placing her free hand over where Tifa is resting hers, until they're connected with both handsβthat's not what Aerith is thinking about, though; her concern is for the work that was done to repair Tifa's skin, and her body as a whole. Is the plate still there? Does her body still need it?
And perhaps that's what Aerith would ask if Tifa didn't continue to explain, her next words making the older woman's eyes open wide in shock and concern. ]
Theβwhat?
[ Perhaps luckily for her, Aerith was not one of those who came across the heart of the resort. Nor has she heard about it until now, the admission from Tifa the first it has come into her purview.
Needless to say, now that it's there, it's not going anywhere else anytime soon. ]
I have a lot of questions about you, [ she says, her voice soft, gentle with affection and care and worry all at once. ] I want to make sure you're alright. But first I'm gonna need you to explain what you mean by "giant beating heart", you know?
[A knock at Aerith's door sometime on the afternoon of the 16th reveals one of the resort's staff couriers, trim and silent in uniform and bearing a small black box tied with black ribbon. Though there's no sign of a card or any other indication of its sender on the outside of the box, once opened Aerith will find a small clear plastic bag filled with a handful of seeds (which, if grown, will produce jasmine flowers, not that the sender actually knows their names), and a folded paper note torn from one of the complementary notepads belonging to the Queen suite.
I am now. I was a liiiiittle worried for a while, and when I came out I realized I'd been gone longer than I thought, you know? Definitely weird. But I'm not hurt or anything!
Having friends come from home is really exciting though!! No wonder you've been busy~ Are they settling in okay? Would you introduce us~?
That's concerning.. I'm very glad to hear that you're okay.
It is exciting, even if I can't help but feel a little guilty about it. I shouldn't be happy that they're here. Still, I missed them very much.. and I'd be more than willing to introduce you.
Mm, I understand. I was happy to see my friends when I arrived too, but it's a strange feeling, knowing I'd rather them be... well. Anywhere else, really!!
For what it's worth, I don't think you need to feel guilty, though.. I know if you could choose, you'd have you all home, not in a place like this! It's not like you made the choice to bring them, you know?
Mhm! That makes the most sense. That, and you can do your best to look after them. It's better than them arriving to find no one they know at all, right?
[ Looking on the bright side is really the only thing they can do, under these circumstances. ]
When I first got here, people I know from home helped me out too.
In case you run into them first, however, their names are Stelle, Blade, Welt, Phainon, Topaz, Sunday, Cipher, Mydeimos, and Aventurine. Not all of them are my Trailblazing companions, but they are all from my home universe.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text π€ un: tifa
but then she thinks of aerith, of the girl she's come to trust so much of her life with, how much she craves her soothing words and smile even now. it's almost late now, but tifa reaches out all the same. ]
hey, aerith? you awake?
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It may have been a few months, and she may have started to adjust in other ways, but this? No.
So she's still very much awake when her watch buzzes eyes flicking to the lit screen and a smile finding her lips when she sees who's messaging her. ]
I'm awake.
Who's this?
[ And then, a moment later: ]
I'm kidding, I'm kidding!
Your username is too obvious, Tifa~
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probably not, huh? i guess i wasn't feeling too inspired when i first showed up here. maybe you could help me come up with something more fun.
i just wanted to see how you were doing. nights here feel a lot different than they ever felt in midgar. or anywhere else we've been.
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I'll help you come up with something, don't worry~
But... hmm. I'm not sure if it's exactly the same, but... pretty sure I know what you mean. Are you having trouble sleeping?
[ It's a question as much as it is an admission. ]
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yeah, i guess i am. just a lot on my mind. and still getting used to everything.
[ a pause before she adds, ]
the space feels a little too big too for just me. i was wondering if you want to sleep here a night. there's a lot of room.
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[ The second text has barely come through before she's kicking up and out of her bed, grabbing a robe to wrap around herself over her nightgown. ]
I'm on my way~
[ And she confirms the room number before heading out of hers. She stops only by the restaurants downstairs to get them each a warm drink before heading immediately up to the 10s floor, finding Tifa's room and knocking on the door. ]
Tifa? [ She keeps her voice low. ] It's Aerith.
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she lingers in bed for a bit longer, not really thinking to get herself ready for aerith, someone who she's consistently felt so comfortable to simply be herself around. it's why she remains in her simple tank top and shorts, the former doing little to disguise the scar curving up from between her breasts. no doubt aerith will see it, but then that's one of the things she wants to tell her about.
in hearing the knock, she darts off towards the front door, stepping quickly through a suite that's much too large, ceilings a little too high above her head, with an open room for a bar on one side near the entrace, equipped with its very own piano to accommodate her tastes.
as she opens the door, her smile is instant. ]
Hey, you. Come on, come on in. [ she steps aside, opening the door wider to allow the other girl room to step inside. ]
no subject
She turns back, ready to tell Tifa how lovely she thinks it is, when she notices, even in the dim light, the scar curving out from under her clothing. Her eyes widening, she hurries the few steps across the floor and starts to reach outβat the last moment adjusting her movement so that her fingers land on Tifa's shoulder. ]
What... what happened? Did this... did it happen here?
[ She's never seen it before now, and it's not as if Tifa parades around naked, but they've worn some relatively lacking clothing in front of each other...!
She sighs, looking back up at her. ]
Are you okay?
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all too quickly she senses the worry in her friend's eyes and she reaches up with a hand over aerith's at her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ]
I'mβ I'm okay, really. It ... well, it didn't really happen here, but it didn't show up until I was here. Not that that makes much sense, I know, but ...
[ she takes a breath, lifting her eyes to her with a tight press of her lips as she figures out how to explain. ]
This ... this was the wound I got from Sephiroth five years ago, before the doctors covered it up. The skin grafts they gave me, it helped heal most of it, except for the spot down hereβ [ with her first hand, she puts her palm high on her belly, just below her breasts. ] Where they put the plate to straighten my sternum. But a few weeks ago, when I came face to face with that giant beating heart down below the resortβ somehow, the wound showed up again, looking like an old scar, like it'd just been invisible all these years. I'm not really sure why.
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Without thinking, she reaches out, placing her free hand over where Tifa is resting hers, until they're connected with both handsβthat's not what Aerith is thinking about, though; her concern is for the work that was done to repair Tifa's skin, and her body as a whole. Is the plate still there? Does her body still need it?
And perhaps that's what Aerith would ask if Tifa didn't continue to explain, her next words making the older woman's eyes open wide in shock and concern. ]
Theβwhat?
[ Perhaps luckily for her, Aerith was not one of those who came across the heart of the resort. Nor has she heard about it until now, the admission from Tifa the first it has come into her purview.
Needless to say, now that it's there, it's not going anywhere else anytime soon. ]
I have a lot of questions about you, [ she says, her voice soft, gentle with affection and care and worry all at once. ] I want to make sure you're alright. But first I'm gonna need you to explain what you mean by "giant beating heart", you know?
β delivery. (5/16)
...Well, that's certainly something, isn't it?]
text | un: raindrops
These are wonderful.
Thank you.
As soon as I have some flowers from them, I'll ask you to come and see, okay~?
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Don't get too excited. I always have ulterior motives, remember.
But you might mention to Cloud that I'm playing nice. Coming from you, he might even believe it.
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But... It's a deal, okay? I'll tell him.
text - un: archivist;
he's so cute
And you know, you can just call me Aerith~ None of this "miss" stuff!
uwu!!
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Oh! Right. I'm well~ I got myself a little lost in the hallways for a while but I found my way out again. This place is weird, right?
How about you, Dan Heng? How have you been?
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I'm fine. Had a few friends and companions from home arrive, so I've been a little busy.
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Having friends come from home is really exciting though!! No wonder you've been busy~ Are they settling in okay? Would you introduce us~?
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It is exciting, even if I can't help but feel a little guilty about it. I shouldn't be happy that they're here. Still, I missed them very much.. and I'd be more than willing to introduce you.
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For what it's worth, I don't think you need to feel guilty, though.. I know if you could choose, you'd have you all home, not in a place like this! It's not like you made the choice to bring them, you know?
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But there's no changing it now, so I'll try to enjoy their presence for what it is.
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[ Looking on the bright side is really the only thing they can do, under these circumstances. ]
When I first got here, people I know from home helped me out too.
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[ at least they're not having to face all of this alone. ]
I'll keep all of that in mind, too. Are they still here?
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[ It would be lonely here alone, after all. But also... ]
But I guess that makes me really selfish, right? Not just because of that but because I'm glad for the friends I've made here!
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They aren't mutually exclusive.
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Anyway, you said you'd introduce me, so should I look forward to it~?
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In case you run into them first, however, their names are Stelle, Blade, Welt, Phainon, Topaz, Sunday, Cipher, Mydeimos, and Aventurine. Not all of them are my Trailblazing companions, but they are all from my home universe.