isleofavalon | [Catch-All] Things that Befell Us

[Ever since their 'reunion' over the network, which is an ironic way to put it, Aerith has been relatively on edge. She's not been able to get Balthier to agree to stay his distance and that's continuously weighed atop her shoulders. Although capable of keeping herself busy, her thoughts always return to what could be. It seems no amount of drowning herself in flowers at the shop offers her some kind of reprieve.

Perhaps if she were back home.

Lacking the connection to the planet, so many of her conversations with the flowers are one-sided.

On a relatively nondescript early evening, Aerith eyes the overcast sky, blotted out with grey clouds, and thinking little of the impending snowfall that they're due. It brings her back to when she initially arrived in Camelot, right in the lake where she was escorted to the edge with the heated carriages and Somnus helping her keep warm. A fond thought passes as she busies herself with a flower that she's replanting into a larger pot for the sake of growth and finds herself pausing.

There's a feeling. Intuition? She isn't sure what it is, but it's a feeling she's had before. Something that is almost like dread, but an inevitable pull in a direction that attracts her where it ordinarily shouldn't.

To a man in dark garb with long hair and a chilling composition. In her shop. When did the front bell go off? She never even heard it. How long has he been standing there?]

...Are you lost?

[No. Of course not. She knows he isn't.]

[He only half meant it before when he made the comment about coming to her shop. It was mostly just to poke at her (and the one who took offense at their conversation). The more he pressed, the more intrigued he became with the idea though.

There's more than what she's letting on. And he feels as though it is something he needs to know.

Or perhaps he just enjoys their strange mental chess game. If it can be called that.

He looks almost casual (not in how he's dressed, no that's always the same), but demeanor. Eyes looking at the flowers like that is his sole reason for being here at all. But they both know that isn't the case.

At the sound of her voice, his eyes dart in her direction. He seems pleased with himself, or maybe just smug, but even that's pretty usual.]

I believe I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. Is your companion here?

[That's bait. He doesn't know what their relationship is other than the guy wasn't too happy with Sephiroth. But most people don't jump into the middle of conversations. At least strangers don't. Friends possibly ... which is what he's leaning towards. And that means something he can provoke either of them with.]

[She feels the same weight that she can't quite define from the first time they more properly crossed paths in the forest. It's a very jarring sensation, being faced with the man who saw her to her end. She doesn't even properly know how she should feel. Normal people likely would feel anger. She's sure there's some resentment in her, but the fact of the matter is that she's still alive. That she'll still be alive when she returns to Midgar. How long that'll last, she isn't sure, but Tifa's told her that they were fighting against fate.

And... that's true. Maybe they find a way to save her. She has to at least try, no matter how uncertain or hopeless she may be.

His answer doesn't seem to satisfy her, which is hardly a surprise. With every little thing he says, it's just enough to make her want more. As she's thought from the beginning, wanting is dangerous. Curiosity is too. She will need to mind her steps carefully, lest she tread somewhere that she can't come back from. His question doesn't inspire much confidence either. She doesn't respond immediately, taking the time to finish her repotting and then as she's dusting off her hands, she finds her voice.]

No. [Shaking her head, Aerith continues.] He really only comes by when he's looking at the books. If you were looking for him, this is the wrong place to be. I'm pretty sure you antagonised him enough.

[She gets the distinct feeling, however, that Balthier may not necessarily be what he's most interested in at this particular moment.]

[Balthier is the least thing he's interested in actually. He's a tool -- something to use to get what he wants, much like when he brings up those who have fallen to Cloud. There's something going on with that man and Aerith, and while Sephiroth doesn't care what that might be really, it is something to use to his advantage.]

I find that hard to believe.

[He isn't going to elaborate on if he means Balthier coming to this place or if he's antagonized him enough]

But if that is the case, I needn't worry about him interrupting us.

[Not that he'd worry to begin with. He knows that. She probably knows that too. Just more bait. He doubts she'll take it, but he'll continue to dangle it anyway.

He takes a few more steps in, turning his attention away from Aerith and to the shop itself as though she's actually some sort of afterthought and not the reason he's here at all.

He stops to look down at some of various flowers, and it is only then that he turns back to her.]

Which is your favorite?

[She takes several long moments to assess him. 'Interrupt,' he says. Oh, yes. Because that is clearly something he's concerned about. She knows better. Aerith suspects he'd actually be overjoyed if Balthier did interject, either intentionally or inadvertent.

She's wary in his presence as he takes a look around her shop. Given who he is, it's a wonder the flowers don't simply wilt as he passes by them. Perhaps they do in their own way and she just may not have the ability at present to feel that. Without the voices of the Lifestream, Aerith is merely left with an eerie quiet. Since her arrival, it's been filled with her thoughts. Her never-ending, profound thoughts.

At his question, her eyebrows knit together. Is... he just making conversation?]

In the shop or in particular? I'm partial to lilies. I don't have very many here. I think I've given most of them out.

[A pause and then.] Sold, I mean. [Although it's likely very true that she's just given some of them away. That's kind of what got Balthier involved to begin with. Can't run a business if you're giving away the product for free.]

[Aerith hasn't visited Rent-a-Ride since she dropped into the lake to begin with and was directed to the shoreline by the local sea life. When she finds out about Archimedes' horses, it doesn't take her long to want to lend a helping hand, and Claire gets tugged along for the ride, whether she really wants to go or not. It's important to keep her mind occupied, after all, and honestly, Aerith could still kind of use the distraction, too. Otherwise she's prone to drowning in her own thoughts.

When they arrive on the scene, the horses are, indeed, scattered all about. Some as far as the cliff side from what Aerith can gather, but they seem to be in the near general area. With Claire in tow by way of the arm, Aerith gently tugs her along until they come across one horse of... however many she's volunteered them to bring back and relocate.

At the sight of its face, Aerith rears back in surprise.]

Oh! That's not...

[...She's only ever seen horses once or twice since her arrival to Camelot and the other horses she saw didn't look anything like these. She can't even describe the ones they're faced with.]

...Are they sure these are horses? These don't look anything like the horses I saw out in the countryside.

No. Fuck. No.

[Claire is less than thrilled, to say the least, to be seeing these terrible creatures. They're some of the ugliest, most horrid things she's run into in Avalon, and she can say with some authority that they are not in fact horses.]

They're definitely not normal horses.

[Waving towards the body...]

The body is a horse body, but the face is wrong. Kinda reminds me of a Furby. A weird toy doll that was popular a couple of years ago.

A Fur—what.

[Aerith can't help listening to the explanation and bursting into laughter because it sounds so ridiculous. Not impossible. Just really, really ridiculous. It doesn't stop the horses from being somewhat hard to look at. In fact, it's Aerith's prerogative to try hiding behind Claire to the best of her ability.

Ironically this was her idea to begin with. Is it too late to back out? Probably. She did kind of commit them to performing this good deed. Maybe they'll get something worthwhile out of it.]

I think I did hear that they were 'cursed' or something. Maybe that's what they meant. Cursed by having faces of this toy you're talking about. I sure hope they're not expecting us to cure them because this might be out of my field of expertise.

Right?

[Claire can't help but chuckle, too, marching over towards the edge of the field the animals are roaming around in.]

It's so stupid, isn't it? I mean, they're so freaking ugly! But I guess this is the curse. It's gotta be, because these things definitely do not have horse-faces.

[She turns her head back to look at Aerith.]

The job just said round them up. You ready to get going?

[Claire is so fearless, though Aerith is less afraid and more just... really caught off guard by horse appearances. And a little thankful that it seems like this is purely this situation and not the norm. Either way, she's following in rather hot pursuit.

When Claire draws her attention back onto Aerith, she nods.]

Yeah! Let's get them all together and then blow this popsicle stand!

[Mostly because Aerith is majorly creeped out by the horses. But something tells her it won't be as simple as a one-two-three to corral these wily beasts from nineties nightmares.]

[It probably won't be the simplest, but they have a few things going for them. Namely that they're still horses, and horses can be corralled. Claire turns her head to the side, whistling sharply to her familiar. The Dog isn't exactly a herding beast, but he knows the drill well enough. Namely: Stand there and look menacing so that the horses won't run in his direction.]

So, have you ever worked with animals before?

[Claire, trying to be casual, is pretty curious. She's got one eye on the beasts, the other on her friend, trying to keep her left side facing away. The massive hickey on her neck is probably not going to go unnoticed, but she's got to try and divert attention while they work.]

[It has occurred to Aerith rather belatedly that she... has no idea how to corral much of anything. Any attempts to do something like that back home with the cats went poorly because cats only do things on their own terms, it seems. Makes her wonder how long it's going to take Clover to become like the strays back in Midgard.]

Nnnnnot really! [It's an easy admission, even if a bit sheepish.] There were stray cats back home, but I've not had any pets. Horses are new to me, which you know. We have chocobos back home, and they're these big birds, but there aren't really... that's not really something you'd see in Midgar. I guess that's as close as we'd be getting to horses, though.

[Aerith is trying to keep an eye on Dog, the aptly named dog, as it were, but admittedly, assessing Claire seems to be high on her list of priorities and it's not hard to be distracted by that pretty little mark.

Must not ask... must... not ask, but. Eventually she's going to. Aerith's curiosity is just too great not to.]

Well, that sounds pretty wild. Giant birds that you ride on...

[She's thinking about ostriches, and those are not exactly pleasant, but she doesn't really have any more frame of reference for them than Aerith does for horses, which is fine. It's just a difference.]

And that's okay. The thing about animals is to be firm with them, and confident, and don't show them you're afraid and lead them to what you want with food. Or to scare the bejeezus out of them and get them to behave that way.

And given that The Dog is involved...we're going to scare these horses into behaving, I think. So, remind me again what kind of magic you have the easiest time with?

[Not that she's forgotten, but more that she wants Aerith to tell her what she's best at so it can be easier on her.]

I could probably be just as scary as Dog.

[...Maybe. If she had a chair in her hands. Although there's an argument that could be made for this idea that some would enjoy an angry Aerith, which would defeat the purpose of her trying to be scary. It's very unlikely that the cursed horses are going to feel that way, however.

At Claire's question, Aerith stops trying to devise a plan that probably involves her running along side Dog and making her best impression of barking noises.]

Hmmmm. I'm most comfortable with my healing magic, but I have elemental. So fire and ice if we needed it.

Definitely.

[Actually, she's pretty sure that just seeing Aerith anything but happy and upbeat might be scary.

However, healing magic...well...actually that's not going to do a lot but elemental?]

Horses are scared of fire and lightning. Maybe you could make like, a rope or something and flick it to one side. And I'll come from the other with shadows, and we can kinda push them into a pen.

► Sephiroth

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► Claire

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Letting the inbox one go now, so we can do this!

Sounds fine to me!

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► Nanaki

Re: ► Nanaki

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