[While Cloud has not been very visible during all of this it's still been something on his mind. While their time in this world hasn't exactly been peaceful, the serial murders were as unsettling if not moreso than some of the supernatural and magical situations they were in. The fact that they had been, up to this point, more relatively mundane was perhaps the tilting point.
The gathered crowd and the screaming had called him over, and he was caught between wanting to get a closer look and turning away, to do something to help or stay out of the way of those better suited for it.
What happened next came so fast even as it seemed so slow and casual. His eyes went wide as the hand was raised, the prickling of instinct driving him to move just before the beam was fired, but Zelda's name didn't leave his lips until it was too late. Pushing against the pain he was feeling in his heart he tried to muscle his way through the crowd, the clutch of panicked people pushing back against him as he struggled to move forward. He broke free of them, nearly falling to the ground as he ran to Zelda's side, tearing a hole in the knee of his pants as he dropped to the pavement by her side.]
Zelda! Zelda no!
[He gripped his friend's hand and wrist, hoping to feel some sign of vitality, but his breath caught and eyes widened once more as it became clear she was gone. Through shuddering breaths he remained hunched over her but slowly turned his gaze to Rialynn, eyes burning with anger.]
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The gathered crowd and the screaming had called him over, and he was caught between wanting to get a closer look and turning away, to do something to help or stay out of the way of those better suited for it.
What happened next came so fast even as it seemed so slow and casual. His eyes went wide as the hand was raised, the prickling of instinct driving him to move just before the beam was fired, but Zelda's name didn't leave his lips until it was too late. Pushing against the pain he was feeling in his heart he tried to muscle his way through the crowd, the clutch of panicked people pushing back against him as he struggled to move forward. He broke free of them, nearly falling to the ground as he ran to Zelda's side, tearing a hole in the knee of his pants as he dropped to the pavement by her side.]
Zelda! Zelda no!
[He gripped his friend's hand and wrist, hoping to feel some sign of vitality, but his breath caught and eyes widened once more as it became clear she was gone. Through shuddering breaths he remained hunched over her but slowly turned his gaze to Rialynn, eyes burning with anger.]
Why.....WHY?!