Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
No title.
(2013-12-08 - Now)
No description.
Tifa Lockhart There's always activity in the Seventh Heaven. Or the Cloud Nine in this case. Either its the nice atmosphere. Or the lovely waitresses and barmaid. Or maybe just people looking for a place to pass out drunk. It doesn't matter. It just shows how normal things are around here, even with the heartless and other bad guys menacing, there's always a bit of a heaven to rest at.

Serving up a few of the early customers, Tifa handles some of the cleaning between rounds of service. Wether its brooming, or like right now elbow deep into dishes, it doesn't seem there's much that to bother the barmaid. She seems like she enjoys what she does. She's hmming musically too, the radio behind her playing some old tune that likely came from Manhattan through some cross-dimensional wave system.
Aerith Aerith on the other hand deals with things that are upstairs.

She handles anything that involves the inn on the second floor, including checking folks in and making sure things are nice and clean. She also handles the floral decor, making sure the rooms smell nice before anyone gets in. Suffice it to say that the two of them might work in separate areas, but without the combined effort, well... this place wouldn't be here anymore.

Still, Aerith did help out downstairs at times, and right now she was setting up the last few tables for the morning rush that was sure to come.
Zack Fair Zack Fair is fond of the Cloud Nine. It's got nice atmosphere, it's got the prettiest barkeep, it's got good alcohol, and it's always nice and well-kept. He's been in some *seedy* bars before; heck, he frequents seedy bars. They're a great place of excitement! But...sometimes, sometimes you just want to go to a nice, clean, familiar place with a hot barkeep and good booze. And that's Cloud Nine.

Zack pushes open the door with a cheerful grin on his face. "Yo, Tifa!" He chirps, holding up a hand as he makes his way over to the bar. "How's it goin', beautiful? The usual, and make it a double; I'm freakin' thirsty!"

Zack sits down on one of the stools, the heavy Materia Blade slumping against the bar. He checks something on his arm, then looks back up at Tifa and grins. "Okay, cool, I've got time."

He tilts his head over at Aerith. "You hire some new help lately? She's cute."
Aerith Aerith nearly drops what she's doing once she hears his voice.

He walks right by her without her notice, though she can still pick him up with her senses. For the longest time, she doesn't even want to look at him, for fear that he might vanish into thin air. Her mind slowly restarts itself, first by going through what happened when their world fell. The brief flash of shock came and went as the memory of his aura winking out like a candle revisited her.

Time went back to its standard flow when she realized she was just standing there. It'd only been one or two seconds, but her sense of disbelief drew it out to minutes.

She put the chair down, slid it beneath the table, and took in a breath. "Thanks for the compliment. Always nice to know I'm appreciated." Cue a smile here. A genuine one. She turned toward the dark-haired man and headed for the bar. Still, there was an issue, and she'd noticed it first-hand.

He hadn't reacted. Hadn't called her by name, hadn't run over and talked in his usual, animated fashion... nothing.

"So Tifa, you two know each other?"
Tifa Lockhart Tifa Lockhart shakes her head. Dear Ol' Zack, always the same, shameless flirt, but not that bad either. She smirks a bit "Not at all, she's been around for a while, but she's been busy too, so you two didn't run into each other either." She nods, looking over to Aerith as she asks "Well, kinda. We met in Nibelheim, before... well... the whole thing happened that I told you about. He was there in fact, in the middle of it all. I thought he had been killed. Although he doesn't remember me being there either, he still remembers the events." She looks to Zack to see if she got it right.

She pushes some clean dishes away, bringing them to the cupboards to store away, and then readies up Zack's drink, in a tall glass to accomodate the double dose. "Here you go." She smiles "This is Aerith. Aerith, his is Zack." Of course she has no idea of what happened to these two.
Zack Fair "I appreciate pretty girls wherever they can be found," Zack replies with a wink and a grin. He's cheerful, if nothing else; that hasn't changed. He turns a bit, so he can get a better look at Aerith as Tifa serves his drink (and so he can keep looking at Tifa, because Zack is multitalented like that). "That ribbon kinda brings the whole look together, too. A gift from your boyfriend?"

The levels of irony just keep climbing. Zack takes his drink and knocks it back as Tifa starts talking; he lets out a satisfied 'ahhhh' as the glass hits the table, nearly emptied. "That hit the spot! I've been travelling like all night; I really, *really* needed that! Thanks, Tifa."

"Yeah, I remember Nibelheim." His face slides into a frown, the good cheer evaporating with a dark look. "It ain't exactly a fun memory for me, though. You ladies mind if we move past it and maybe talk about somethin' else? Not that I don't like telling pretty girls stories, but...I'd rather tell a story that makes me sound cool."

He smiles a bit half-heartedly; it becomes a proper smile a few moments later. Zack just cannot stay angry or sad for long. He is physically incapable of it.
Aerith Aerith nodded. So it was just as she'd thought. He'd lost parts of himself, pieces that more than likely would come back in time. Or maybe not at all. But some things hadn't changed, and that was fine. She'd never love him in that way again, particularly because of the shameless flirt that he was, but that didn't mean they couldn't be friends.

"Pleasure to meet you, Zack." Again. But she didn't say that. She glanced toward his sword... and noted that it was far different than the one he usually had. Interesting. "Where'd you get that from? Let's start there."
Tifa Lockhart Tifa Lockhart leans on the counter on her elbows, listening to it "Yeah, tell us a story, Mr. Ex-Soldier." She smirks a bit, looking over to Aerith as well. She doesn't mind the flirting, in fact she's used to it as a barmaid. She finds it amusing, she doesn't answer it very often, but around Zack she can sorta relax a bit more it seems.
Zack Fair "What, this? Oh, I got this with some friends of mine; we found it in a volcano in another world." Zack hefts the Materia Sword in one hand, holding it out for her to look at. It shines and gleams, glistening brightly in the candlelight; Zack turns it over a moment later, a broad grin on his face. "It's pretty great. Reminds me of my old sword. Maybe a little nicer, though; that thing was kinda used. I guess I got it secondhand."

"A story, huh?" Zack rubs his chin and sits back. "Sure. Okay, so, there I was, against a whole horde of SHINRA soldiers /and/ Wutai ninjas; I'd just escaped from some kind of weird laboratory, no idea how long I'd been there. I stashed..." Zack pauses, a frown crossing his face. "...some supplies behind a rock, and I strolled out to meet what I was pretty sure was gonna be my death. I mean, me, against two whole armies? That's /crazy/. I'm *good*, sure, I'm First-Class, but..."

Zack shrugs and laughs. "What can I say? My limit is one army. Anyway, they caught me on the way to Midgard; they're firing on me, I'm cutting them down left and right, and then suddenly Heartless show up and start attacking *everybody*. I hold off as best I can, but then everything starts falling apart, piece by piece..."

"Aaaand when I wake up, I'm being hovered over by Ramza and his friends. I hooked up with them and joined their forces, and now I'm working for Ramza for pretty good" (zero) "pay." Zack shrugs. "Life is funny like that, y'know?"

Zack pauses. "...hm, I guess that story /didn't/ make me sound very cool, huh...?"
Aerith Aerith began to reply, but paused for a moment.

Her mind drifted back, shifted planes so to speak.

Her world, suddenly shrouded in darkness... reverted, at least in her thoughts. The shadows retreated, pulled back like a sheet, and suddenly everything was in sharp relief. That one brief sense of his location before everything vanished was brought into clear view...

...and then she realized, she couldn't tell him how they were connected. Too many unknowns, too many factors. So she shook her head and chuckled. "You might want to tell us another one, then."
Tifa Lockhart Tifa Lockhart hmmms as she ponders "I heard that name before I think, Ramza. I've seen lots of people around here after all, some names sound familiar. Not to mention how many I fought along side of over time." She lifts her shoulders a bit "But we're all about hearing stories." She grins. Alot of the others tennats seem to be listening too, but not all of them can really understand or relate to it either.
Zack Fair Zack laughs. "Fair enough. Uhhh...let's see."

"My friend Faruja got screwed over by his leaders into being the host of some kind of horrible evil thing. We set up an ambush and managed to get it out of him with a lot of difficulty and a lot of trouble; we busted into their place and beat up their guards, took out the leader, and managed to free him before he got completely turned into a monster?"

"Orrrr...the Wutai war..." Zack frowns. "But that ain't exactly a pleasant memory, either...a lotta people got hurt in the war, after all. A lot of 'em people who didn't deserve it. It's something soldiers have to learn...the other side's human, too." Zack sighs and finishes his drink.
Aerith Aerith grimaced. "They.. did... what?"

Oh no, not the part about the war. That was still going on, and he'd find that out whether he wanted to or not. From what she'd heard, Faruja was part of a religious organization that strived to spread the word of their deity. And suddenly to hear this, right off the bat...

Aerith's hands clenched into fists. They'd essentially betrayed him. But then anger gave way to confusion, and she loosened up a bit. "Wait... if they did that, then why is he still with them?"
Tifa Lockhart Tifa Lockhart shakes her head at that "War is never fun. But Faruja stories are more interesting. He tends to get in trouble one way or another, often because of his faith." She lifts her shoulders a bit "Honestly don't know much about the Wutai War either, but its not something pleasant whenever I hear about it through the rumormill."
Zack Fair Zack shrugs. "I dunno. 'cause Faruja isn't willing to believe Ramza. 'cause 'ru's a good guy, and he doesn't believe his people are bad. I know the feeling; I mean, it's not like I wanted to believe ShinRa was backstabbing me, but, they did, so..."

"I can understand the feeling, even if I don't think it's a good idea. He's gonna get used again, probably. It sucks, 'cause he's a nice guy, and sometimes it seems like nice guys are always getting used...but then you remember that in the end, the bad guys always get theirs, and it's not so bad." Zack grins.
Aerith Aerith shrugged. "From what I gathered, Shinra backstabbed a lot of people. Good people that could have been real help where we came from. A lot of their staff just plain walked out on them or revolted." She shook her head. "I don't know what to think about it, honestly."

She changed subjects at that point. "Anyways, if Faruja doesn't see the value of his own worth before long, he'll fall into the same trap." She glanced at the bar. "I don't know if he'll get out next time."
Tifa Lockhart Tifa Lockhart nods "Shinra just thinks about its own interest most of the time. As if everything had to do with money one way or another. I don't like that. And that's why I don't like them either." Nevermind they burned her village to the ground. Well, indirectly, but that reactor was at the center of it all.
Aerith Aerith sighed and glanced at Tifa. "While I understand your distastes for them, and I have a few as well..." Her mind took a brief step back toward the Shinra employees that many would think ruthless and cold, actually giving her kind regards. "...Don't blame the entirety of a broken system for everything wrong. Blame those who drove it to such a state."

 
This scene contained 18 poses. The players who were present were: Tifa Lockhart, Aerith, Zack Fair