melodiesoflife | #7 | Return from the Brink

Entry tags:

#7 | Return from the Brink

Characters: Sephiroth & OPEN (except 8th Feb: CLOSED to Jade Curtiss)
Where/When: 8th Feb - Republic of Esdham: A makeshift clinic, 9th Feb Onwards - Aqures Ixen: Hospital
Summary: Sephiroth's ordeal out towards the Desert of Roalie has left him battered, most notably with a leg which is now broken in two places. Even with potions and white magic available, the resources at Esdham are strained in the wake of the recovering effort after the attack by the Herans. Sephiroth is later transferred to Aqures Ixen Hospital where help befitting a Hero of Light is more readily available. Still, it's going to take time for him to get back on his feet.
Warnings: Cuts, bruises, broken limbs; as expected considering. Also he's lost a good few inches from the length of his hair but probably best not to talk about that.

EDIT: Added a #3) Here

#1) 8th Feb - Republic of Esdham: A makeshift clinic [Closed: Jade Curtiss]
Late on the 7th Feb, a rush of activity had ripped through one of the makeshift clinics set up to deal with the aftermath of the attack by the Heran Empire. Someone had been found, much further out than anticipated, by one of the preliminary patrols sent out towards the oasis, and even though the medical staff on hand had tried to keep their tones hushed on account of the late hour, the clinic was already over-capacity and so the urgent healing required by a Hero of Light couldn't be kept a secret.

The unmistakable sound of rain hitting the roof of the tent, or rather the absence of it's wetness hitting his face was what greeted Sephiroth as he came around. The afterglow of a Cure-spell receding it's color as the white-mage Tarutaru currently on shift lowered her hands and offered a kind smile in his direction before leaving just as he squinted eyes first and then chanced to open them. There was no more open-sky above him; so he hadn't dreamed that patrol after all. It had been difficult to tell, given the hallucinations -that dream a few nights ago, for example- that had to have signaled that his body were finally giving up on him.

As if it were waiting specifically for him to regain more consciousness first, the pain then all came crashing back. Sephiroth had gotten an elbow under his one side -the other were in a sling tight up against his chest- but the reeling nausea, centered in particular around that deep agony of bone moving like it shouldn't put him back down prone instantly. With stars across his vision no less. He blinked, registering details as he looked down over himself. There was a plaster cast up to his thigh, and also a supportive brace around his left leg and it were elevated just slightly by way of a few pillows beneath his ankle. He couldn't feel his toes as they poked out of the bottom. He swallowed a rising sick feeling that was stirred and -for the time being- drew his focus into the roof of the tent.

#2) 9th Feb Onwards - Aqures Ixen: Hospital [Open]
If there was something to say of the Aqurean government, they cared for their Heroes a lot. As soon as Sephiroth were out of the immediate hypothermic danger he'd been found in, arrangements had been made for his transportation to a better facility. A small airship had been arranged -no small feat considering the devastation to the airport that had been inflicted- and he'd been away.

Still, not much that Sephiroth could do with one arm still strapped in close to his chest and his leg throbbing away in it's heavy plaster cast and brace which was more often than not elevated into a position from which he couldn't miss it even if he wanted to. Talk about it being staged directly in his face. Hindsight really was 20/20, that leap had been a risk; but what was the alternative? To be killed anyway? Captured? Spencer had already informed him that some of the other Heroes had been taken. Sephiroth scowled heavily every time his thoughts were inevitably drawn that way; another failure to chip away at his pride.

His silver hair had been braided and was set down across one mostly-unblemished shoulder; it was noticeably shorter though. Having had to have had the singed ends cut away. Overall, Sephiroth sat mostly with the backrest up, alone in the ward they'd given him, in silence while the lesser injuries he had sustained; various cuts, bruises and burns, were gradually treated by potion, lotion or Cure-spells. Most often he could be found reading a book, slowly sipping at a glass of water, or reviewing some of the notes that he'd had Spencer bring him from his study area back at the house.

He hadn't the heart to have Spencer send a message to let significant others know he'd been recovered safely, as such exchanges would only lead to what he considered to be unnecessary concern; even as it became obvious that he wouldn't be getting back on his feet nearly as quickly as he would have had he been mako-infused, or so 'special' as he had been before. That and he wasn't sure he could take the pity.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Selen didn't go out of her way to get the big things, but she sure spent a lot of time fighting off the small ones. Zelda and her had a blast defending citizens. She even met a cheerful young man by the name of Luke. She remembered him by his shockingly red hair. She didn't sport as many wounds as Sephiroth, however. She was wandering the hospital today to grab a few medical supplies for herself, and Darres.

She caught sight of his silver hair and form, reading a book. Of course, she was the type to greet those she was familiar with. They weren't friends, but she shared a good amount of concern for him to at least greet him and see how he was. He seemed to have had it rough compared to her. That poor man. She wondered what powerful son of a bitch hacked at him.

"Hello, there," she cheerfully greeted him, setting down a can of what did people call this stuff?-- Oh right, Soda. She set the soda can down in front of him as if she was offering it to him as a greeting, "My, what ate you up and spat you out?"

Genuinely her cheerfulness was lined with extreme concern. It worried her that someone of his caliber had become so injured. She was covering it up with her cheerful act, though the sharpness in her blue eyes was proof that she was more than just asking him leisurely.

He hadn't run into Selen at all during the chaos that had engulfed Esdham over those three days but for sure, perhaps moreso than he was required to, Sephiroth had very much seen it as an extension of his duty to do his utmost to defend the stronghold and the small citizenry beyond. Throwing himself headlong into the Coliseum, and pushing his creeping lethargy to the back of his mind as he'd launched himself against the X-ATM105 alongside many other Heroes of Light. When they had begun their retreat, of course he'd had to chase them out; his tactical mind had been pushed into overdrive - there had to be more to it.

He might well be starting to regret that call right about now.

Sephiroth flicked a look over to the doorway and back, from his book, before folding the top corner of a page down and closing it. All one-handed as a consequence of his main hand being strapped close in a sling still. He didn't quite pull a face, but the impression was he was exactly the opposite from Selen's cheerfulness; the fact that it was obvious it was laced with concern just ate at him more. He lowered his somewhat less-vivid gaze from Selen's face into the can she had put down on the shelf in front of him.

"Nothing. Specifically." Though he tried to sound as dismissive as possible the dry sound to his voice hadn't yet quite gone away. Dehydration had been one of the more pressing of issues when he had been recovered and he wasn't quite over it yet.

He looked rough though, to put it mildly. Large heavy plaster cast aside, the bruises that covered his bare arms could almost be traced as the outline of his armor plates if looked at from a certain angle, along with a couple of larger dressings which indicated where it had failed him and an edge had cleaved into skin - the wounds now appropriately cleaned and stitched as needed. He wore a loose, plain grey vest but it did nothing to cover the suggestion that such blemishes might be all over him.

Not to mention the telltale signs that the near starved state he'd been found in -a certain gaunt look to his face- was still very much being recovered from. Not that he wasn't pale in the first place.

Sephiroth shifted on the bed a little as if to sit up straighter in Selen's presence. To attempt to go someway in projecting that it wasn't all that bad. He grunted uncomfortably as just that slight movement disturbed his elevated left leg.

In the last few weeks, Ramza had spent entirely too much time in the Aqures Ixen hospital. First, he had woken up there after that disastrous battle, then he had been in and out as the doctors and mages ran their tests. And finally, once they had studied the effects of his crystallization as much as they could, Ramza had come back one last time to visit his roommate.

He walked down the hallway now, lost in thought. It had been...disconcerting, seeing Laguna in stasis. And with Yuffie and Luffy...missing...it felt much lonelier in the city than he had felt in a long time.

He came to a stop in front of Sephiroth's room by chance, realizing that he had wandered into the wrong ward as his melancholy thoughts took over. He saw the silver haired man sitting on his bed, reading. Ramza almost turned to leave without disturbing the other man, but at the sight of his bandaged leg, the blond felt honor-bound to check in on him.

"Sephiroth," he called quietly from the doorway. The last time he had spoken to him, the swordsman had asked not to be called 'sir. "How are you? Is there anything you need?"

It wasn't so uncommon for some staff member of the hospital or another to stop at his doorway and so that feeling that he was being watched was for the most part disregarded. So what if they wanted to stare without a word, he couldn't possibly feel any worse about his current predicament than he already did.

It wasn't until Ramza called out, a voice that Sephiroth barely recognized having only spoken to the other Hero once before, that the silver haired man inclined his head in the direction of the doorway before finally tearing his eyes from the page of his book and acknowledging Ramza's presence.

His busted leg was the most obvious ailment for sure, that and the fact his left-hand still remained bound close to his chest - not broken itself but more to stop him moving and making some other injury worse. Namely his heavily-bruised shoulder which was turned away from the line of sight.

He fought to hold back a sharp retort at Ramza's question; he didn't need a mirror to know how obvious it was, that he wasn't in good shape. But still managed to hold it. Carefully he lifted a half-empty glass of water from the stand nearby and took a sip, to wet his mouth before answering. Ramza were only being considerate, after all, there was no need to bite his head off over it.

"Not that I can think of, currently."

There is no rhyme or reason to why she thought to commit the gesture, a fresh bouquet of winter flowers kept between her arms before she approached the door of the patient's room. She could feel the air being drawn out of her as the vacuum of her anger wanted to consume every thought into a bottomless hole. Perhaps it had been the innocence she saw in Cloud's eyes, the sort of sight that had yet to be jaded by the cruel, violent hands of the man he idolized.

Worn and bandaged knuckles rap at the door of Sephiroth's room, just loud enough to make her presence known as she clears her throat just after. Muscles tense, her legs going stiff, the deep seated fear of her wrongdoings staring her in the face even before she could see the condition of the man she loathed.

The girl who entered the room on the 10th hardly looked anyone Sephiroth had ever met. She was dressed suspiciously from head to toe, obviously in some sort of disguise. She wore a thick trenchcoat, glasses with darkened lenses, a bandana tied back to hide her hair, and heavy boots that masked her height just slightly. She exhaled when she finally stepped inside of his room, sounding tired...before giving a wave.

"Haisai! It's been a while, huh?" And with that, she pocketed the glasses and started to undo the bandana. She was probably the last person Sephiroth expected to see, but Hibiki's Moogle wandered right in after her, carrying a small vase of flowers. Hibiki had her own box under her arm. "I wasn't sure if you were takin' visitors or not, so I'm not gonna stay long, okay?"

Edited 2015-02-09 19:36 (UTC)

Had Cloud been in Esdham then Sephiroth could be sure that the ex trooper would have been visiting him constantly and making offers of help. Really all this meant was that it wasn't until he was brought to the hospital in Aqures Ixen when Cloud began his worried visits. If pity was a thing the First Class was concerned about then doting may well have been worse.

Cloud's discovery of Sephiroth in the hospital had been entirely accidental. He had been there for his own reasons and Sephiroth just had the poor fortune of the eager lad overhearing his name and asking questions.

"So anyway, Yuna...I mean Yunie scored the winning goal for the game, but it was really close. She says they have blitzball where she comes from too." Cloud prattled on as he cut Sephiroth some of the pie he brought on this visit.

A soft rap sounded from the doorway before Zelda made her way inside. She came the moment that she knew he was back. She didn't want him to know how much she had worried about him but she couldn't wipe the relieved smile that spread across her lips. She was wearing her winter clothes with a big basket held under her arm. Her hair was tied back except for two loose strains that framed her delicate features. She didn't wait for him to move or speak not wanting to aggravate his pain.

Zelda quickly took a few strides towards the bed setting her basket on the chair. If he looked inside he'd find flowers, books and packaged foods. She tried to think of everything that he would need during his stay before dashing from the house to come see him.

"It's good to see you." She didn't want to ask him how he was doing or what he's been through. She was sure he's had enough with the questions so instead she proceeded as if nothing had happened at all.

"I brought you some things." Zelda looked down at her basket with a wide smile. His necklace rested in her jacket pocket feeling heavy compared to the weight of the filled basket. She wanted to give it back to him but in a way she felt as if she had failed him. Her gift truly did nothing.

She hadn't known his name during the fight and it was Tempest who discovered that her unknown protector was the man who was currently trapped within the hospital. She didn't come right away. What could she even say to the warrior? They didn't know each other but he had helped her. Tempest insisted that Terra do something for the wounded hero.

It felt like she had so many people that she needed to thank in some way but her skills with cooking were subpar and Tempest seemed to think that was the answer to everything. In truth, all she knew was fighting.

Instead, against Tempest's wishes to learn to cook, she went to the library to find a book. She saw her roommate reading often and she has enjoyed the books she had found hidden within the fiction section of the library. She selected her favorite book and then headed to the hospital.

Tempest flew behind her wondering if Terra would be able to make a new friend or not. The little moogle had a tendency to worry and her hero wasn't the most talkative sort.

Terra held the book tight to her chest as she walked through the hospital. She hated places like this and the surgical smell made her shiver. She stepped through the door to his room her voice ringing out in a gentle tone while her moogle flew silently beside her. "Hello?"

Edited 2015-02-10 20:48 (UTC)

That sounded like a dismissal. Ramza turned to leave. He paused.

There were so many things he wanted to say to the friends no longer here. It seemed wrong to simply walk away from Sephiroth when he had had such a close call. He turned back toward the injured man.

"I am...glad you made it back," he said lamely. "You did well."

Ib had been terribly worried about Sephiroth since she found out he was missing. She'd been so afraid that maybe he'd been captured. Like Luffy. That fight with the robot had been so disorganized and confusing, any one of them could have been grabbed during it. But maybe if she'd tried harder to keep track of him, maybe if she'd done better in the fight.... But that's all in the past now. Once she heard he was alright, she just had to go and see him for herself.

She doesn't really like the hospital. The people in crystal stasis are an uncomfortable reminder of what could happen to any of them at any time. When she finds his door, she opens it and peers in.

"Sephiroth?"

But when she sees the state he's in, she gasps and rushes in.

"Oh, gosh that looks awful! Are you okay?"

Well, obviously he isn't. Silly question. She awkwardly holds up a small bag.

"Um, I brought you some cookies."

Cookies will help with his broken bones, right?

For all appearances there was no immediate activity stirred behind the mostly-closed, yet slightly-ajar door in the wake of Tifa's knock to the same. Not for long though, as Spencer finally took to the air to answer the door. His bespectacled, lean-for-a-moogle face peering through the gap in the door as he opened it a little further to see who was there.

"Yes, Kupo?" He asked first, with a certain quiet tone, considering how usually the staff of the hospital entered soon after they had knocked if the door wasn't already open. Then took a moment to look over Tifa, he wasn't sure that he recognized her, and then finally seemed to brighten a little; noticing the flowers she was carrying.

"Oh-" The door was quietly pushed open further, finally revealing the bedspread in the middle. His heavily bandaged leg had been lowered a little, as had the backrest he usually had in the upright position. Sephiroth, it seemed, had either managed to fall asleep or was simply just resting his eyes. It didn't look comfortable at all considering that, by the extent of his injuries, rolling onto one side or the other was impossible.

Spencer put a digit of his paw against his mouth and beckoned Tifa into the room.

It was entirely too much, for her to simply have been wrapping up from the cold. From what Sephiroth had managed to glean of Hibiki, she must know how awful she looked in the attire she arrived in. Who knows though, maybe it was all that was available and it was still bitterly cold outside. Still, enough to draw Sephiroth's attention as soon as she entered the room, especially given her unfamiliar salutation and then how she uncovered her identity; there had to be more of a reason for that, right?

His left hand was free from it's tight sling now at least, which allowed him the freedom of movement to -albeit very carefully- push at the mattress beneath him and persuade his body to sit up straighter in the wake of a visitor. A lot of the fleshier injuries he'd sustained were faded significantly as a result of the healing he had undergone. Bruises were mostly gone, slash wounds that he had were not so deep as to require big dressings anymore.

"I don't think they have official visiting hours here." He replied, a little strained as he set his jaw against how just the smallest movement like that had sent ripples through his cast that were entirely alien to him. For sure, Hibiki's get-well gifts weren't the first as evidenced by the various small bunches of flowers, and boxes of well-wishing foods that others had brought over the last few days.

Still, he seemed to settle back soon enough and lightly rested his arms in his lap, nodding to the chair by the side of his bed to indicate that she were welcome if she wanted to sit down. Pretty standard grey vest and shorts here, but at least it was warmer inside than out. Sometimes Sephiroth wondered how he was going to get around the clothing issue with a busted leg for a while. All questions to be asked at some point, hopefully without making him sound too naive; there was a first for many things, during this time in Crystallis.

"It's still pretty cold out there, hm?"

Edited (so sorry - typos....) 2015-02-10 21:26 (UTC)

Selen was defending a different population of individuals instead of going after the big ones as he did. Her duty was more on defending people, versus elminating thet threat. The threat came after she decided it was safe for the people she protected. The woman was a bit interesting in her own right, but she could see why Sephiroth did what he did.

There was clear concern in her eyes as she approached him, though he seemed rather fine to her other than having a few injuries here and there. She was glad that he didn't ignore at least and looked her way when she called him. She of course, was as cheerful as ever, though slightly toned down because of Sephiroth's state.

"Have you tried these drinks? They're kind of interesting, or would you prefer water over somethig sweet?" she mused raisinng the drink to him as she said that. She wondered if he even had a sweet tooth, but either way she was doing her best to cheer him up since to her, he felt rather gloomy. Mildly, yes, and it allowed her to slowly and carefully look him over with her eyes. She hoped he'll heal properly at least.

"You probably could use a meal too. Have you been recovering properly at all?" she chimed giving him a raise of her brow. She shook her head at his attempt to sit up straight. He didn't need to. She wasn't going to treat him any different because he's hurt.

Doting was, in fact, much worse. Sephiroth had never had anyone give him quite that amount of attention, sick or healthy, ever before in his life. He'd always been the loner, and on the rare occasion he had been injured in some way it had always been kept to himself. After all, due to his mako-conditioning he was never down for a significant amount of time like this.

As such, Sephiroth really didn't know how to handle it. Should he be annoyed? But certainly Cloud wanted to make sure he was alright otherwise he wouldn't keep coming back - was it such a bad thing to have someone care? What about Cloud's own life, didn't he have other things to be doing with his time?

Very quickly, any conversation sparked up would tumble into Cloud's rambling in order to make up for all the things that Sephiroth himself didn't know what to -or how to- say. As such with the conversation about blitzball. While Sephiroth acknowledged it was a popular sport, that was as far as his interest had gone in it - still all he could do was to sit there and listen. And be cut pie, apparently.

Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably in his mostly sat-upright position, and again flexed the fingers of the hand which was tied in close to his chest. His left arm itself wasn't damaged, the sling there was to prevent him further wrenching damaged shoulder muscles. The large sling which held his broken leg swayed some with the motion. It was starting to ache again, that usually told him that one of the nurses would come with another painkiller or lower the angle again soon. He was starting to wonder if they might also tire of Cloud's visiting all the time, constantly.

He wasn't even sure if he could eat very much of the generous slice of pie that Cloud was cutting for him, his appetite had been on it's knees since he was brought in. It was very much a case of slowly, slowly in case too much food too soon after nearly starving might make him sick.

"That must have been really something." Damn, does he hate small talk. Least to do is to still be polite though. It was becoming clearer, and said fact was more than a little disturbing, just how much Cloud idolized him. Being a role model for so many young boys to be drafted into Shinra's military and security departments was one thing -it didn't hurt to give them dreams- but had it really gone this far for others?

Of course the proper time to visit was long over, but Genesis did not want to trip over someone who might actually be lingering around Sephiroth's sick bed, attempting to make him even more comfortable. Such things would probably leave him in just as a bad humor as being slowed down by a human weakness; Sephiroth was not like him in enjoying the attention after all. He also wanted to speak with him about matters he cannot ignore any more. The talk with Tifa and the dream had Genesis needing to act before things became worse.

With Talitha scouting the way, Genesis walked down the halls, avoiding all he could until reaching Sephiroth's door. Then giving it a sharp rap, he entered before he could be dismissed.

Such a pair, the two of them. Zelda had been one of the reasons he hadn't announced over Mognet himself that he had been recovered, and considering the rushed activity around him in Esdham before, Spencer had dropped the urge to insist that he do the same. Sephiroth just didn't want to have to deal with others worrying over him, he'd always managed with whatever injury came up in his past and there was no reason whatsoever that he couldn't do so this time.

Never mind that it felt more debilitating, or that it was taking longer for him to heal up.

Sephiroth wasn't sure he appreciated Jade sending such a message in his stead, but he wasn't furious about it really. They were all Heroes of Light and it was important to keep tabs on each other, especially considering that a few of their number really had vanished from all contactable means.

As always, Zelda demanded him to look her in the face without even saying a word and it was only as she set the basket down on the chair that he took the cue to look silently across to it and away from her. It's not like he'd be able currently to lean to look inside it but Spencer would no doubt show him when Zelda had left later.

He flicked his gaze back to her face, then back down to the basket when indicated towards it again. For some unknown reason, a flush of embarrassment -or something close to guilt- quickly rushed from his middle. Given how his paler-than-most complexion was greyed out a bit under the state of his health, a light pink colored the very outsides of his cheekbones. If Sephiroth's hair was down as it was usually, the slight blush would have been completely covered up. It was good to see Zelda too.

He took a moment to clear his throat, smoothing down the braid that fell down his one side and frowning lightly as it ended sooner than it had before. It might be a matter of only a few inches lost, but it was certainly a few too many inches for him to like.

"You didn't have to." Sephiroth looked back over his elevated leg that was cast in heavy plaster even just passed his knee. He wanted to make some comment about how he'd be back on his feet in no time but wasn't a very good liar so he'd held back. The staff here had mentioned weeks.

Now that she wasn't wearing her glasses and was walking herself further into the room, she was getting a better look at Sephiroth. There was no way to disguise how, for a moment, she looked at him almost uneasily, like she was expecting the wounds and injuries to be unbearable to look at. There was also no need to hide how her body relaxed and how she looked relieve when it looked like they weren't as bad. She'd seen how her Producer looked after falling through an unfinished portion of a stage, and Sephiroth, somehow, didn't look worse than that.

"Hehe, I've noticed that. It's kind of convenient." Of course, that implied she came at night before. She set down the box she had with her on a nearby windowsill or tablespace as Kathy lifted herself into the air and set a clear vase down that contained a small number of pale pink petunias. At least they have Valentine's day in this place--it made finding some flowers a little easier.

She turned her back to him long enough to open up the box. She opened it up from the side, not the top, and slid out a plate with four muffins on it. She moved to set those with the cookies before taking a seat where he indicated, folding her hands in her lap with a bit of nervous energy. She was nervous, coming here, but with so many people missing...it felt like the right thing to do, or at least it made her feel better.

"Mm, it's really cold! The weather's not like that at all where I grew up, so it's kinda hard to get used to." To her credit, she was doing a lot better at not getting overwhelmed with the place like she used to when she first arrived. Her smile was warm, and her eyes were bright. "I know you probably weren't expectin' to see me, but I at least wanted to make sure you had somethin' healthy and fresh to eat. Looks like everyone else beat me to it, huh? How are you feeling?"

She follows the instruction of the Moogle, taking steps close behind him as she enters into the room.

Tifa isn't sure what to think of the bed-ladden Sephiroth, seeing him for what might be the first time she's ever witnessed him in such a weakened state. Under normal circumstances she might have taken some solace in knowing that he was just as much a mortal as the rest of the city's heroes, no longer the self-proclaimed God that she knew him to be. Surprisingly, she cannot help but feel some manner of pity, seeing the numerous bandages that wrap his wounds tightly.

A single forearm raises in front of the Moogle, pushing against his belly so that she might approach the bed without obstacle. She stands beside him, looking upon the man who had killed her Father, looking upon the man who would destroy her home town, all of the rage and aggression swelling inside of her into the only action that she can resolve as the correct course to embark upon.

The bouquet now set on his bedside, the woman doesn't waste a second to clutch the soldier by his ears, thumbs pressing into the lobes to hold on for dear life as she shakes his head in a rather violent manner.

"HEY! WAKE UP! I DIDN'T COME ALL THE WAY OVER HERE FOR YOU TO SLEEP WHEN I HAVE THINGS TO SAY!!"

Her smile widened a little at his words. She knew that he wasn't one for talking needlessly and so he chose his words carefully. She didn't know what might be running through his head but she wanted to be here for him even if it was just being able to give him a few things to pass the time.

"I know." Zelda reaches into the basket pulling out a collection of lily's and sunflowers. "I grow these in my home so they are able to thrive through the winter." She glanced around the room walking over to an empty vase so that the flowers could sit happily next to the wounded hero. Once they were settled she turned to face him keeping a happy smile in place. "I wanted you to have something to brighten up your stay here."

Her head tilted to the side, her mind still plagued with the many things they left unsaid. She could tell him how she worried but she was sure that he knew. She had many people in the city she wanted to protect and help but Sephiroth was one of the few she considered a close friend. She has told him more about herself than she had others and even though he was one to silently watch a room she always felt safe when he was near.

"I'm just glad your back." She glanced down at her basket her eyes quickly looking at what lay inside as if to remind herself what she brought. "I brought you some books as well as some snacks I baked. I don't know how long your stay will be but I know you will enjoy these. I've been spending a far bit of time at the library." Her voice was light but it sounded almost wistful as her sentience came to an end. Her hand moved to her pocket reaching within its dark hold and gripping the white crystal that lay there. She should give it to him but she felt nervous, almost unsure. She didn't want to fail him again.

Par for the course, it might well have been a dismissal. Sephiroth always had hidden behind an indomitable wall put up between himself and others. His time in Crystallis so far hadn't done much to change that. He was only just -barely- talking once more to the two individuals that had made him that much more defensive, not that it hadn't been hard to get him to open up in the first place.

However lame Ramza sounded, it was a comment Sephiroth had put no effort at all into deserving and for that reason he turned his head more towards the other man and looked over him again, in more detail. Not quite suspiciously but close enough.

"I did-" He took a breath, shakier than he would like, and let it out slowly. Cooling his mood further before trying to put together an answer that wouldn't seem as short. "-nothing more than anyone else might have done. Or I'd like to think so."

For what it's worth, he's not a fan of being in the hospital for this long either. He made it his business to attend to a handful of the crystallized Heroes of Light every now and again but there was little point hanging around them, it's not like he could do anything about the affliction.

As always, he flicked his gaze in the direction of the door as it opened. Ib's reaction, and her dashing into the room drew an almost sheepish half-smile to his face. Hadn't he always been one of her role models, and now for her to see him in such a state. It's hardly a shining example of greatness with his -albeit well-healing- scrapes and bruises, and with a broken leg to boot.

"It's more inconvenient at this point...I think."

It did still hurt a lot, but for the most part the painkillers he'd been given to counter it dulled it into more of an ache that he could ignore. Sephiroth shifted a little on his bed, to try and sit up a little straighter as Ib approached with...cookies?

She wasn't the first to bring him snacks of some sort, the small bedside table had an assortment of mostly small bunches of flowers so far but there were a few boxes stacked as well.

"That's very kind of you." Nevermind that he hardly ever ate such things. It's the thought that counts.

They had helped each other, in all honesty. Just like everyone that had found each other within the blazing inferno that threatened to become the entire Coliseum. Upon reflection, of which Sephiroth had plenty of time to think about it, he concluded that a lot of the other Heroes were far more competent than he had initially given any of them credit for. Not to blame him, having come in from a -at least in the majority of cases- level far above most in terms of not only combat but also in 'Hero' experience.

She weren't the only one who hated a certain clinical smell, either. It never did fail to turn Sephiroth's stomach a little every time he awoke and had temporarily forgotten where it was he was laid up. For the most part though the smell had started to fade into the background for him.

"Hello there." He'd looked over to the doorway in the seconds before she'd announced herself. Being in his position, with so little else to distract him in the room, it was impossible to miss doors opening. He recognized Terra easily, if only by her -he thought- more timid bearing as opposed to just her appearance. He hadn't had the time to look over her that closely in the battle after all.

None of his injuries on their own had been life threatening. It had been the combination of them and other factors, such as having been left crawling for days in a hostile mostly-barren environment which had caused such urgency when Sephiroth had been discovered not a few hours after he'd managed to encourage up the strength to leave the oasis.

He looked from the drink can, to Selen's face and then back at it as she raised it. Talk about grasping for any subject that wasn't the obvious one about how he was feeling. Sephiroth's face creased up in a lightly irritated frown; of course he knew what a soda can was. She guessed it, just didn't think much to them. It probably would only dry him out further even if it did taste a little better than plain water, of which he proceeded to take a sip from his glass nearby.

"I've been eating. At least what I can at this stage." It wasn't smart to simply gloat himself with food, he knew that much as well. "Recovery-"

Sephiroth near-glared at the unmovable toes of his that stuck out of the end of his cast before then giving up on that latest attempt and looking back to Selen once more.

"-some things take longer than potions and cure-spells can really fix."

Apparently. It was more than obvious he didn't like that fact.

Only Sephiroth could still retain said bad humor at his situation when there had been an obvious wave of caring and concerned individuals that had taken it upon themselves to bring him get-well gifts and wishes. Notably in the form of small bunches of flowers, a few books and an assortment of boxes which could only be treats that he'd likely never touch. They cluttered up the small bedside table to the point where his ever present glass of water had to stand alone on the movable bed tray.

It was late, so late in fact that the lights were out in Sephiroth's room. There was no sign of his moogle either, having retired somewhere else for the evening given that Sephiroth were in fact trying to get some sleep. Not that he could sleep, in his current state.

Something resembling a grunt was heard as the door being rapped at, and then opened as Genesis stepped into the room. Some small noise at being disturbed from his honest attempt at trying to pass out.

"-yes?" Was mumbled quietly.

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#7 | Return from the Brink

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2)

Feb 9th

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#2- late evening

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oho boy~