Lol i did read the manga for a while, kiddo; almost six months, i think, but then life happened and i fell behind :) Yeah, once i heard they were...
Yeah, that's a good idea... I'm glad you thought of it :)
I hope I've done everything right; I'm happy to change anything I have to to make things work :) Hello, MrsBaggins. People describe you as pessimistic, socially-awkward, but patient. Your name is Claire. You are 21 years old, and a female. You're a bit unsure, honestly, about this entire ordeal. In reality, you guess you feel disappointed, skeptical, and wary about the marriage. Not to mention you felt extremely sad, but knew it was only a matter of time when you were sent to the mental institution. There are just a lot emotions being tossed around. You aren't crazy. They think you have depression. But they're wrong. You're just...Misunderstood. It doesn't help that they've shipped you off with BushyBrow, either. Just **** it all. If you could, you'd take 'em all down with force field generation. Yeah. That'd be fun. http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/ss284/kayme78/1159718055_SadAnimeGirl.jpg
Aveline shook her head, straightening her shaky stance again; that was all decent information she already knew. She had to be more specific... and risk getting into some trouble because of it. "I need to know his last location," she insisted quietly. "Wherever his latest assignment was. You see," she continued, deciding to play some of her own cards now, "Legas... is doing a lot more as a former Turk than just trying to retire. The woman he was conspiring with..." She faltered for a moment, not wanting to say Caleigh's name for some reason; she didn't believe in what the woman stood for, but she wasn't that heartless. "... she's part of AVALANCHE. And Legas seemed intent on joining them." Lightning was about to respond to the young boy's little speech when the newcomer spoke, just loud enough for her to hear. Yes, she'd seen him come in and sit down to their group rather close, but she'd let it slide; you never knew who would be following you, listening to you, working for Shinra. But, despite his clothes and his nonchalant tone when speaking, she did not relax guard at all... in fact, it made her more skeptical than usual. She turned slightly in her seat, her bangs drifting in front of her bright blue eyes. She cleared her throat, looking the newcomer up and down for a minute, her eyebrows narrowed. "Meaningless encouragement, stranger," Lightning snapped, though her tone was still calm, thick with danger and command. She hated someone that didn't look at her directly when they spoke, whether they were in the conversation to begin with or not. "No one asked for your damn opinion anyway."
Taralynn changed her mind halfway to the History of Magic classroom; what was the point in going so damn early anyway? And, knowing Jack, there was no way he would be in class this early anyway. Let's see, she thought, making her way down the stairs yet again. Where would he be right now? I'm not sure if he ate breakfast or not, so maybe he was hungry after all... the Great Hall it is, then. A few minutes later Taralynn reached the Great Hall, all set up for lunch. There were still a decent amount of students in it, and Taralynn spotted Jack, sitting on his own at a table. She slowly made her way up behind him and wrapped her arms around his head, covering his eyes. "Guess who?" she laughed, still extremely proud of herself for what she found out so far. But she knew Jack would get upset, so she quickly removed her hands and took a seat next to the boy. "Wanna know what I found out?"
Aveline shook her head, her vision finally clear. They'd gotten away, and she'd done nothing a proper SOLDIER should have done to stop them. She glanced to her right and saw Reno making an excuse to the bartender, whom she could care less about. Clearing her throat, she gathered in strength and stood slowly, holding her injured arm to her side. "Turk," she started, taking a few steps toward him, limping slightly on the leg she's landed on. "You still... haven't answered my question." She stopped a few feet short of him, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Tell me everything you know about Sephiroth... and I'll tell you everything Legas said to me... and that other girl." Lightning raised an eyebrow at her fellow-first class SOLDIER's name. They entered Hotel Raven now, finding the place almost empty; it was a weekday, and it was getting late. She led the way to the bar, motioning for the boys to join her. The bartender looked her way, glancing at her too-young companions, but she gave him such a nasty look that he quickly turned the other way. Lightning glanced over at Cloud, remembering the way he's paused between his sentences when he spoke. He's a smart kid, not answering the question so easily. She only had to life a hand and three beers slid down the bar toward them. Lightning left Zack's alone for him to pick up himself, and handed Cloud's drink to him directly. "Sephiroth, huh? Let me guess; you wanna be like him." She stopped herself from rolling her eyes.
Ah i see. Do you mind if I try sharing it with some other people, too, just to see if they'll join as well? (in addition to whatever response you...
"Nah, I was just looking it over myself and I think everything there is good. I even just got the ok that Garxena is gonna play for sure now! :D...
Hey! :) Make one of these so we can all chat together!...
squee! im so excited to RP with you again! ^.^ woohoo!!
Aveline made a grab at Leags' jacket sleeve and failed. She opened her mouth to reply, but thought better of it; there was nothing she could say or do at this point to stop him. I don't believe for a second that that bomb couldn't have done much damage... Who's side is he on? she thought, thoroughly confused. AVALANCHE... Shinra... the Turks? Either way, I've got to focus on my own goals... and, if that means betraying this extremely charming (and handsome) man's information to someone to help myself... so be it. She tried again to move, and managed to sit up on her right forearm and hip. Glancing at her wound again, she found that it wasn't as bad as she originally thought... but she needed medical attention and to stop losing blood quickly. Aveline coughed, and stared at a piece of wood on the floor as her focal point, her sweaty, short hair in her face. Lightning walked swiftly, taking point in the group as she usually did. Since they were in a nicer area of Midgar, she picked the closest bar she could think of that wasn't too shabby and not too far from Shinra Headquarters. She noticed the awkward silence from Zack and the uncomfortable silence from Cloud and sighed. "So..." she began, not usually the one to start conversation... but for Zack's sake, she thought she'd give it a try. "It's Cloud, right? What made someone like you get into the military life?" President Shinra dialed the phone number that had been given to him by his assistant. The ringing went on for almost thirty seconds, and he was expecting to here a voicemail recording start any moment, but then the person on the other end finally picked up. "Second class SOLDIER Lent," he began monotonously, having made phone calls like this often enough. "This is President Shinra. Due to recent events and your promising skill within our program, you have been selected to be given a mentor: first class SOLDIER Lightning. You will report to her either this evening or tomorrow morning. Our intelligence shows that..." He paused for a moment, though he hoped the SOLDIER on the other end of the phone knew it was not a cue to respond or speak at all. "... she is currently located half a mile south of Shinra headquarters near a tavern called 'Hotel Raven.' She is not informed of the change in assignment yet; you will take care of those details. Goodbye." Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone on his desk.
Aveline barely had time to look. No way... I'm in way over my head, as usual; what was I thinking, taking on someone like this? You're an idiot, Ave. And now you're going to die... No! she interrupted her own thought, analyzing this split second that felt like a full minute. That thing's gonna explode either on me and absorb the impact, or, if I move, mostly hit me and only some of him. Why is he willing to risk damage to himself as well in such a small area? Some Death God... Then another thought occured to her: If I roll and somehow manage to get out of the way in time, that leaves Legas pinned to the floor, exposed... Aveline knew what to do next, even though she was certain it would hurt: tensing her muscles, she sprang up, catching the edge of the bomb with her right shoulder, butting it off course in the same direction as herself, launching away from the floor underneath the bar. Mid-flight, the bomb exploded, most of the fiery impact on her left shoulder and arm. Aveline landed a moment later on top of a large wooden table, which quickly split and crumbled beneath her speed. Her head hit hard, bouncing first off part of the table, then the unforgiving floor itself. She groaned, tried to move, and failed: barely able to look at her arm, Aveline could just see charred-away shirt, blistered skin, and bloody holes. She blinked, and a line of blood rolled down into her eyes, fresh from her landing, blinding her temporarily. Her head was swimming, and she could dully hear Caleigh and Reno speaking behind her. Get up and get out, Ave... before it's too late. Take what you've got and run... But she couldn't even stand, let alone escape. She lay on the floor in the rubble, trying to even her breath and clear her head without passing out. Lightning waited impatiently as Cloud walked over. Once he reached her and Zack, she grabbed the boy's uniformed shoulder and spun him toward the exit, motioning with her head for Zack to follow as well. "This way," she muttered. "It's already getting late, so hurry up."
Aveline thought fast; she rotated both her daggers to a throwing position in her hands and aimed as well as she could. She shut her eyes as she let the blades go, hoping they'd make contact with the bombs before they met any part of her body. One explosion later she opened one eye, cringing. One of her blades had made contact with a bomb, making it detonate in midair. The other, however, was still headed straight toward her. She made to duck, but her foot slipped in a puddle of spilled beer and the next second she was on the floor, her bottom stinging from the impact. Almost too slow, she chastised herself. Are you SOLDIER or not? That was embarrassing... Aveline jumped half a second later, turning her head just in time to see the second bomb make impact with an upturned bar stool and explode it into a million splinters of wood. Aveline shook her head, both to clear it and shake the debris out of her hair. She jumped up to her feet as quickly as she could, drawing two small knives from the holster underneath her shirt. Thinking quickly, she dived at Legas, connecting with his midsection and sending them both flying under the bar, hitting the back of it hard. He can't throw those damn things if I keep down his arms down... She twisted quickly, stabbing down both of Legas' sleeves with her knives as far into the barroom floor as she could. "So," Aveline panted, swinging her leg over the former Turk and straddling his chest. "Is close combat your forte... because I'm pretty damn good in a position like this." Lightning caught Zack's shoulder before he walked away. "That's him... right?" she asked, pointing across the lobby to a boy with extremely pointy blonde hair. "Cloud!" she shouted across the room, turning many heads and making several guards jump. "Over here!"
Taralynn began to make her way back to where she'd come from earlier; History of Magic was her next class and, this time around, she did not want to run all the way up to it this time. Smives would not mind if she did not completely pay attention during the period, and Taralynn intended not to; she needed to study and memorize all of the details she'd copied out of the book she'd just found. As usual, it wasn't enough to just know the incantation, especially for a spell so intense as could banish a ghost: one had to actually mean it. As Taralynn headed out of the library, she glanced around at the other students that still remained; she noticed that each of them were studying rather hard, but none of the books looked like the usual titles that teachers would assign... What could these kids be focusing on so much to make them give up their entire lunch period? And then it hit her: people were catching on. They were suspicious and curious, trying to figure things out that they shouldn't be messing with. Taralynn clenched her hands into fists as she walked, anger flushing her cheeks. She had to tell Jack as soon as their next class started, so he knew what was happening.
Taralynn stiffened from the impact, her hand instinctively going to her school bag to make sure whoever had run into her hadn't swiped anything. She glared down at the girl that had rudely halted her progress. She was about to say something extremely rude, just to see if she could make the girl cry, when she heard one of the girl's friends call out to her. Taralynn swallowed her angry outburst and stopped her hand from reaching inside her robes for her wand. "Watch where you're walking," she managed to mutter before the other student came over.
Taralynn was eager to get out of the library now that there seemed to be so many people coming into it. It's lunch time, guys, she thought exasperated. You'd think all these stupid first years would be stuffing their faces in the Great Hall, not meeting in the damn library... She gathered all her books she'd pulled down and quickly shoved them back in the places. Muttering the charm to seal her diary shut, she put it back in her bag and exited the restricted section. Jack's going to be so proud! she thought excitedly as she made her way out of the library, throwing a dangerous look to any other student that dared look her way. I found two possible spells that could work on Peeves... and all I have to do is wait till the sun goes down to try them out...
Aveline gasped as all the breath was knocked out of her, bouncing painfully on the dirty, sticky barroom floor. She put a protective arm over her head as the bomb exploded, scattering fragments of wood, glass, and plastic into the air. What the hell is he thinking?! she thought angrily, her heartbeat starting to go back to normal as she reached down to find the mate for the knife that was sheathed in her pocket... and then thought better of it, reaching down a set inside her boots to pull out two larger blades, better for sparring than throwing. I was so close, damn it. Aveline got to her feet shakily, and almost fell over again when several terrified, drunk patrons shoved past to her run to the exit. Catching her footing once again, she glared over at Legas. "You're kidding me!" she snapped, twisting the handle of her right blade, ready to toss it at the former Turk if she had to. "What the hell is your problem?!" Lightning swallowed several impolite remarks as she followed Zack into the elevator. "'Hit it off,' my ass," she muttered under her breath, unable to keep that particular retort from escaping her lips, but it wasn't exactly how she felt; the young blonde infantryman did intrigue her, and what better way to get to know someone than over a drink? Suddenly Lightning blinked, realizing a hitch in their plan; it wasn't a big deal and certainly wouldn't stop their plans for the evening, but she wanted to tease Zack by saying it nonetheless: "So this Cloud... he's gotta be, what? Fifteen? I didn't know you were such a supporter of underage drinking."
Aveline's heart skipped a beat; if he knew her name she was in way over her head... but she held her ground. After motioning to the bartender over her shoulder briefly (who seemed very perplexed at all the drink orders and odd customers he was having this evening) she took a seat on top of the Turk's table, one leg up on the chair opposite him, her hand farthest from the bar ready at her side just in case. "Fine... I'll go first... Reno," she started, glad the former Turk had told her this man's name, her voice a little more even now; she didn't want to give away anything important Legas had mentioned (especially any big details, since he had helped her out), so she chose her words carefully: "He didn't say much, other than that the fact that he wasn't... in his previous occupation any longer, which hindered him from giving me any updated information worth while. You, on the other hand, he was inclined to suggest would be more inviting... on any whereabouts or information you may have... on Sephiroth."
Aveline lowered her eyes, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks when she realized the obvious logic to his words. If this man is right, this really is your only chance to get what you want. But if this other Turk reports right to Shinra and word gets out of what I'm doing, I'll be quite a bit of trouble; first class SOLDIER information is classified for a reason, and poking around in there, despite my ranking, isn't good... but it's worth it. No matter what. She cleared her throat a moment later, finally making her decision; with the way the two of them were positioned in their seats right now they were attracting attention from other patrons anyway. Flipping the dagger over in her hand and dropping it smoothly down into her shorts pocket, Aveline flashed a smile at the former Turk. She stood from her bar stool, straightening her legs slowly in a small stretch from sitting too long. "Well," she began, her voice at a normal volume now. "Thanks anyway. Caleigh," she added, looking briefly over her shoulder at the other woman. "I'll let you get back to whatever you were talking about. Sorry for intruding on your conversation." Aveline gave the former Turk a small kiss on the cheek before turning to the red-headed man's table. Her smile was gone now; the man seemed very intimidating to her, and she didn't know why: her hands were shaking and her palms were sweating, but she tried her best to focus. If he really knew all that the other man said he did, her search might finally come to an end tonight... if she could make him talk. She slowly walked over to the Turk's table, fingering her dagger in her pocket. "Hey," she started, hoping her voice wasn't shaking as much as her hands. "Your... friend over there said you might be able to help me with something. Can I buy you a drink?"
Ok here goes, everybody: I'll take a Paladin for this round!! :D
