october/november catch-all

[aflowers]

WHO: Aerith Gainsborough (and you?)
WHERE: around and about, mostly in Stygia!
WHEN: through the end of October and any time during November!
WHAT: catch-all; there's some notice board starters in here, or you can wildcard at any time!
WARNINGS: n/a, will update if anything comes up!

Comments

i. drifting like we're humanity's ghost (settling in) ❀

[aflowers]

[ When it comes to finding a place to stay in Stygia, the answer is obvious. For as much as Mirth reminds her of the Slums in Midgar, from the very first moment that she sets foot in Serene, she knows it's going to be home— or at least, as much of a home as she can make, here. Of course, there's the fact that Spectres rarely if ever reach the place, a nice bonus all of its own, but also...

Well. Just look at it, is exactly what Aerith will tell anyone who asks her why she's decided to settle down here. And truthfully, anyone who's known her for even a single second, whether back home or here, will likely understand without having to ask her. Gardens and ponds and streams and trees... It's perfect.

She knows that from time to time she'll have to go back to that strange echo of her church back in the Shadowlands, especially if she's to make soulmates— something she knows she has to do if she wants to survive here. But that's something to worry about later.

Finding an unoccupied house in the trees is an easy enough task. It's small, but coming from the Slums, that's all she needs. The harder part is going to be furnishing it, making it comfortable as a living place— after all, right now she's without money.

It's for that reason that anyone who happens by various parts of Serene might see her wandering across the forest floor, gathering flowers, leaves and grasses wherever the ground is thickest with them and it won't hurt the environment too much to have them taken away. She's hardly a skilled tailor, but she figures she can at least use some greenery to make some bedding as a start... ]

[mercedis]

[ It's safe to say that he hadn't really expected to see anyone he knows here, let alone someone like Aerith: to him, this is not a place where she would be carted off, not a place where she would belong, stolen and taken from her rightful place back home and dropped into the horrors that exist outside of the boundaries of the city, and sometimes within. So to catch a glimpse of her in passing, on one of his many passes through Serene tending to odd jobs and whatever quests he can find in his pursuit of money: at first, it doesn't quite seem real at all. It's a narrowing of his eyes, the line of his mouth fit into discomfort, and something in his head nagging at him, telling him that he must be mistaken.

And it isn't that he's stalking her, really, but more that he's keeping himself at a distance. He follows her on her walk through Serene that day, watches her carefully as she wanders across the forest floor, gathering flowers that he almost wants to warn against. Should she really be touching all of this? Does she even know what's poisonous here, or what's safe? Exasperated, he waits until she's gotten quite the bundle in her arms before he decides to close the distance--his boots crunch on the leaves beneath him, though he's clumsily trying to do his best at being both intimidating and also gentle to the foliage.

It's a terrible combination. ]

...You need someone to help you carry all that. [ --is how he introduces himself, stopping just short of where she's crouched; his arms fold against his chest, a defensive measure, but there's some relief in the blue-green shimmer of his gaze. ] I'll let you hire me for half-price, if you want. Aerith.

[aflowers]

[ If she were anyone else, it's possible she'd have noticed him. After all, ignorant of it though she is, he follows her throughout the day, and his boots on the foliage aren't exactly the quietest sound that one can hear in Serene. But during the time that she might otherwise notice him, she's focused solely on finding what she needs, her eyes and nose trained to the scents of the various flowers, and her ears listening for potential danger—

And apparently, to her ears, the crunch of Cloud's boots against the ground does not register as "dangerous".

She's just noticed a nicely-sized fallen branch, one that might make for a temporary staff, and she crouches over it, trying to work out how in the world she can hold it along with all the other stuff she has. (She could leave, of course, come back and get it later... but if she does that, someone else might come and snatch it up while she's gone.)

He speaks, and in her excitement, she promptly drops everything she's holding and runs at him, throws herself into his arms hard enough to maybe knock him over, if he doesn't brace for her in time. ]

Cloud! You're here!

[ That's a bad thing, isn't it? He shouldn't be here, neither of them should be here, and yet she can't help but be happy to see him. Her arms tighten for a second or two, forcing a tight embrace, before she steps back, fixing him with a bright smile, her eyes awash with tears. ]

Of course I need someone to help me. Good thing you showed up then, right?

[ She doesn't have any money right now, but— they can deal with that later. She's good for it. He knows she is, surely! ]

After all, what are bodyguards for?