melodiesoflife | #11 | Everything will be alright

Entry tags:

#11 | Everything will be alright

Characters: Sephiroth (Open/Closed as sub-comments)
Where/When: 19th June; Aqures Ixen, 21st June; Esdham
Summary: Having returned from Crystal Stasis, there is a lot to touch base with. As prompted in the sub-comments.
Warnings: N/A (Yet? Will update as needed)

Prologue

Sephiroth had come home from the hospital only briefly the previous day. Without even much of a glance around for his housemates he'd crossed the familiar threshold feeling an odd sort of deja vu that could only be compared to when one went away for an extended vacation and then returned back to their more permanent abode.

But really, he knew he hadn't been anywhere, even if his body were still adjusting as if he had been returned from Gaia once more. Exactly like when he had first arrived in Aqures; movement felt sluggish, awareness was blunted. It seemed even breathing seemed to take more effort. Having experienced a 'drop' from mako on previous occasions, though, as well as following some advise from the nurses at the hospital too Sephiroth knew that soon the haze which he currently perceived as a great weakness would lift as if it had never been there. Just as that tell-tale gleam would again fade form his eyes.

He'd confiscated the bathroom and then, looping his long silver hair -restored in thickness and length- up and around in a loose knot he'd headed out again for the Military Airport where he knew there was work to be done; leaving his leather coat hung on the back of the wardrobe door, the pants neatly folded on the end of his bed and the SOLDIER motif of his belt set atop it as if it were some sort of ritual.

It had been into the early hours of the next morning before Sephiroth had retired home again.

>Prompt #1: Back into the regime
>Prompt #2: Visiting someone
>Prompt #3: Touching Base

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She moves as she spoke, walking around the kitchen as she was some sort of short-order cook. The meal being prepared was given great care, despite the speed with which she moves.

"How'd it go?"

She turns her head to spot him, glancing for only a moment before she's back to looking at the food she's cooking.

"Your training. With Spencer there it's hopefully not so lonely."

She lifts a small cup, no bigger than what would be used for a child's tea set, putting it atop the small table pushed against the wall as she gives a short nod to the Moogle now toting Sephiroth's water bottle.

"Tea'll be up in a second."

She wipes her hands on the towel over her shoulder, looking back to the pan littered with pork and eggs as they all cook over the heat simultaneously.

"And, aside from training, how are you feeling?"

He knew a lot better than to try and get involved with someone when they were using the kitchen. Tifa's movements reminded him a little of what Angeal had looked like when he had used the kitchen so deftly, shifting from one place to another like a different sort of dance than he was accustomed. Sephiroth could cook the basics for himself, but nothing that took the care nor produced much of the pleasant smells that Tifa's work was constantly reminding him of how hungry he was.

Sephiroth kept a fair distance back, watching her and keeping an eye on Spencer who also silently hovered nearby. Not that the bespectacled moogle

"Training is just a routine for me really. I'm sure you can imagine. But you're right, Spencer's company has always been welcome."

"It's not like I can train with him in Esdham, Kupo." Spencer set the water bottle on the draining area by the sink when it was all rinsed out. Then after a quick glance between the two Heroes he did a little bow in mid-air and flitted off out of the room to leave them to it. It was probably just as well considering Tifa's next question.

Sephiroth's expression flitted from quizzical back to neutral fairly quickly and he drew his arms up into being folded over his chest. He noted how tight his upper arms felt in doing so, but other than loosening their fold a little he did his best to ignore it.

"That's something of a loaded question if I ever heard one. I'll be fine."

"I didn't ask how you would be. Saying "I'll" suggests that you currently aren't fine, or are something else entirely."

She finishes setting the table, two plates across from one another at either chair so that a pair might sit and eat with one another. Tifa hurries to the pan while she speaks, lifting the large iron cookware up with a simple spatula stirring the breakfast around so that equal portions can be divided between the total of three plates.

Tifa tops the plates upon the table with their own portion of eggs and slices of pork, putting them there in a rather ornate presentation that could rival even the finest setting of a high-class restaurant, or at least one that serves Country-style breakfast. The woman finishes her rounds in the kitchen by placing the last portion of food at the plate on the windowsill, nodding her head with a pert smile as she goes to put the pan back upon the stove top.

Opening the belly of the stove, she lifts a small poker to prod around the few coals that had been placed inside, having not been the sort to reduce to magic when she can help it.

"I'm not asking any of this to start an argument. Neither of us is ignorant to what can happen to you. This isn't wholly about keeping people here safe, because it's about keeping you safe, too. Heroes aren't all swords and mysteriousness. It's something I learned from Cloud. Well, the Cloud from the point in time I'm from."

She stands, setting the poker aside as she crosses her own arms as well. Amber-colored eyes look to him as the corners of her mouth begin to rise slightly, giving him a pleasant smile, or at least an inviting one.

"You mean a lot to people here, and while I might have, in the past, thought you a monster.. you aren't. You're a human being, a person, just like me. Call it invasive for me to pry, whatever you want to label it as, but..

It's going to take some time for me to realize and get used to the idea, but you're a fellow Gaian. We've got to look out for one another, help each other out. I kind of have this quirk for being "motherly" with people. It helps me get through things when I'm stressed or worried. And since we're now living together, you're unfortunately going to see that first hand."

She lifts a finger, motioning to the table with the piping hot food.

"Protein. If you want to get the best of your training, you need to get as much protein as you can. Poultry and meat are great sources."

She then cocks her head to the side, counting down on her fingers from "10" as she looks to the third plate with narrowed eyes.

Edited 2015-06-27 13:04 (UTC)

Yuffie was a little early this morning but she chose to sit outside the window and eavesdrop for a few minutes. She was curious as to what her friend thought of the legendary SOLDIER. As it turns out, Yuffie would disagree with 75% of what Tifa said. Sephiroth would turn into an evil crazy psycho man; the question in Yuffie's mind was when.

At the count of 3 three she popped her head up from the window and easily jumped up to sit on the frame. She looked comfortable as if she had sat there many times in the past. "You were to late when you started counting." She didn't have to see Tifa's fingers to know that she was counting. "Also, rude."

Yuffie's eyes flicked down to her plate of eggs and pork and then to Sephiroth. She was used to Tifa's breakfasts but they weren't her favorite. "You forgot rice." She was talking to Tifa though that wasn't obvious since she was still watching Sephiroth. She jumped inside and then walked to the counter to snag some bread before retreating to her place on the windowsill. Once she was in place her gaze flicked between Sephiroth and Tifa.

"Just because your fine doesn't mean you aren't crazy."

He didn't reply to Tifa's first, but with a single shrug, just calmly watched her as she both set the table, finished the food and distributed it accordingly. His conscience moved him to want to help but Sephiroth had the impression already that his assistance here wouldn't be much welcomed, or even appropriate.

It did feel, as if for some reason Tifa had changed tack and taken to 'mothering' him. Sephiroth wasn't comfortable with that at all; being so fiercely independent in his own right. Even more so considering what he now clearly remembered of his past that he hadn't recalled before.

Neither did he really appreciate the lecture very much at all. Angeal had been the only person who had ever managed to get away with that and, though Sephiroth did appreciate her points, the fact that they touched on so many still-sore injuries to his resolve and faded bruises to his pride made it all the less welcome.

In the end, he narrowed eyes at the food laid out for him as Tifa pointed towards it. Did she think he was 10 years old or something, with no comprehension how to look after himself? Still, he knew that he needed to eat exactly the type of food that she set out.

"I'm well aware that nutrition is equally important." He then proceeded towards one of the place settings, the one that he could still watch much of the room from and also keep an eye on the window. With a pause first he took the chair to pull it out and then sat down before the meal. Just the smell of it was temptation enough to immediately start eating but Sephiroth refrained from doing do. "You forget, I've been doing this a lot longer than you have."

Still, no mention toward clarifying how he was feeling.

Not that Tifa had very long to push the issue before Yuffie appeared as if she were a goblin in a magicpot; popping up and sitting on the windowsill next to where the food was laid out for her. As Yuffie got comfortable, Sephiroth picked up his cutlery and looked over the food but still didn't start. If Tifa were trying to encourage them to interact more by having them all eat together the least he could do would be to wait for her to sit down to eat too.

"You have no room to discuss matters of sanity, kleptomaniac that you are."

Tifa gave a slow nod of her head as the ninja sat herself inside the windowsill. "We're out of rice at the moment. I haven't been to the market yet but I'll make sure to have some for breakfast tomorrow. There's plenty of ham for you if you need it, though."

She spins back to answer Sephiroth's remarks well after Yuffie's made her own.

"Time's not a factor here, at least in how long you've been trying to maintain your physique. Eat up. I don't want it going to waste, especially when there are people here who can barely eat."

She leans against the basin in the kitchen, watching the two of them in one anothers company. Arms cross over her chest as she lets out a very shallow sigh, as if looking to two troublesome children and their inability to get along. There was no getting through to Yuffie, at least not any time soon. She wasn't going to try to convince either to "shake hands and say sorry", but she was going to do her best to keep her eyes on both of them.. for the time being.

"If you're going to eat in this kitchen, Princess, you'll play nice. I feed you with the understanding that you won't start any trouble."

Narrowed eyes look to Sephiroth as she approaches the small table to sit between him and the window where Yuffie sits.

"Tuck in. No need to wait for me."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Sephiroth before bringing it back into her mouth with haste. Tifa very much was like a mother and since that was something that Yuffie wasn't used to it was hard not to listen to her. She liked Tifa over all even if she didn't understand about 50% of what the woman did.

"Right, Right." She looked down at her food and began to eat. She used her chopsticks easily picking up the pieces of ham and munching on them the way any growing girl would. Her and Tifa were almost the same age now but it was hard for Yuffie to see her that way. She'd always be older in her eyes, maybe because she acted so old.

Her head rolled to the side mid thought and fixated on Sephiroth. "How long are you going to be in the city this time?" For once there was no venom or sharpness to her tone. Instead it was just pure curiosity directed at the man who routinely left the city after joining the military. Yuffie thought it suited him and if it kept him from going crazy then that's great.

Plus she can show Tifa that even she can play nice.

Yuffie started eating and so any sense of good manners in waiting for their 3rd person to begin to do the same went out of the proverbial window. Never mind that Tifa had encouraged him not to wait for her; he still would have done so as far as possible out of politeness. Even if his food might cool a little in the time he'd spend waiting.

Sephiroth ignored Yuffie's rude gesture and finally lifted the knife as well in order to begin eating. His movements were smooth and as controlled as the rest of him, even as he kept his gaze downcast on his plate. Perfect table manners would be an understatement; he even paused to reach for a napkin when some of the juice or yolk threatened to spill out from the corner of his mouth, but that wasn't very often at all. Yes, he needed the protein, but he didn't need to eat like a pig.

Their meal continued in silence for the most part until Yuffie broke it again. He wouldn't admit it to either of them, but the hairs on the back of his neck had spiked in the milliseconds before the question were asked, as if he'd known she were drilling her eyes into his head just beforehand. Sephiroth finished chewing his latest mouthful and swallowed before glancing to Tifa first, then passed her to Yuffie. Just as his hair had been returned to it's preferred length since returning from stasis, the mako-gleam had been renewed within the color of his eyes; impossible to ignore.

"I haven't decided yet." A short cough was quenched with another swallow as he carved up the next reasonably-sized mouthful of meat. "It wouldn't be very smart to go charging back into a war without re-learning limitations again first."

Naturally, he wondered if Yuffie had an ulterior motive in asking, but he always did try to play nice around her. Plus the fact, Sephiroth didn't have any reason to attempt to hide the facts from either of the two women here. Manners cost nothing.

Edited 2015-07-05 12:43 (UTC)

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#11 | Everything will be alright

Re: Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Re: Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Re: Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]

Prompt #1: Back into the regime [Later Morning 19th June // House B-04]