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[Cloud has no idea how long he sits there like that, holding Aerith close and being held in return - and breathing. A few silent tears escape his eyes into the curls of her hair, but only a few. How could he have lived for so long without her?
Well, arguably what he was doing wasn't really 'living.' So maybe he didn't, after all.
There's even more to tell her, so much more, but Cloud thinks maybe he's done enough confessing for one day. Maybe both of them are better off if he stops here for now. They've got time, now. He can tell her the rest later.
...they've got time now. So what does he intend to do with it?
Eventually, he draws back from the embrace slowly with a deep sigh, though he keeps his hands resting on her shoulders for a moment.]
Thanks. For...letting me dump all this on you. It probably wasn't what you were hoping for when you came over.
Well, arguably what he was doing wasn't really 'living.' So maybe he didn't, after all.
There's even more to tell her, so much more, but Cloud thinks maybe he's done enough confessing for one day. Maybe both of them are better off if he stops here for now. They've got time, now. He can tell her the rest later.
...they've got time now. So what does he intend to do with it?
Eventually, he draws back from the embrace slowly with a deep sigh, though he keeps his hands resting on her shoulders for a moment.]
Thanks. For...letting me dump all this on you. It probably wasn't what you were hoping for when you came over.
Edited 2024-09-25 06:23 (UTC)
Corvo knows what that's like. He knows it all too well. He refills his glass halfway and hovers over Cloud's in a silent question.
"Why not?" he wonders, because he has a suspicion that he needs clarified.
"Why not?" he wonders, because he has a suspicion that he needs clarified.
Cloud nods at the hovering bottle and frowns in thought. There are a few reasons, really. Shame is one of them, but also--
"Because it sucks." He takes a sip of his newly refilled drink. "Things only got worse from there. She'll feel responsible for it."
"Because it sucks." He takes a sip of his newly refilled drink. "Things only got worse from there. She'll feel responsible for it."
"Yeah," he agrees, refilling the glass and setting the bottle aside. "Even though it ain't her fault. What happens?"
What happens? Corvo asks, and Cloud has to think about it because he's never actually had to tell this story to anyone before. Anyone he'd bother to talk to about it was part of it, or they already knew, like Zack and Yunlan. But really, there are only a few parts important enough to be worth telling to someone he just met.
"A lot. We failed to stop a meteor from crashing into the planet. And we failed to stop a giant Weapon from destroying the world's biggest city. Only reason the planet's still there is because Aerith helped us from the Lifestream long enough for me to take down the guy responsible. And then..."
Cloud takes another generous sip. "Turns out the Lifestream itself got corrupted, and it infected a lot of people with an incurable sickness. Geostigma. It's how I died."
It's a hell of a reductive and cynical take on what happened, and he knows he's leaving out things people call him a hero for and probably being unfair to all his friends who helped him, but he doesn't feel like a hero. Taking Sephiroth down was just finishing the job he started and cleaning up a mess he made himself, and then it turned out they didn't even finish Jenova in the process. There was a time when he felt good about it, he knows - a time when he felt at peace - but...he can't remember now what that was like.
"A lot. We failed to stop a meteor from crashing into the planet. And we failed to stop a giant Weapon from destroying the world's biggest city. Only reason the planet's still there is because Aerith helped us from the Lifestream long enough for me to take down the guy responsible. And then..."
Cloud takes another generous sip. "Turns out the Lifestream itself got corrupted, and it infected a lot of people with an incurable sickness. Geostigma. It's how I died."
It's a hell of a reductive and cynical take on what happened, and he knows he's leaving out things people call him a hero for and probably being unfair to all his friends who helped him, but he doesn't feel like a hero. Taking Sephiroth down was just finishing the job he started and cleaning up a mess he made himself, and then it turned out they didn't even finish Jenova in the process. There was a time when he felt good about it, he knows - a time when he felt at peace - but...he can't remember now what that was like.
That's a lot. That's a fucking lot of information and Corvo has to sit and ponder it for a while, sipping on his drink. He's quiet, almost like he isn't going to say anything, but after a long pause, a long beat, he sits up.
Disease, he knows. He isn't sure what a Lifestream is, but he know what disease does.
"And you don't know what happened after you died?"
Disease, he knows. He isn't sure what a Lifestream is, but he know what disease does.
"And you don't know what happened after you died?"
Cloud lets the silence stand without interrupting it. He doesn't mind silence and he's not the chatty type at the best of times, which this definitely is not.
"A little. Two people here come from my future. They say I defeat the guy who used geostigma to resurrect himself again and it gets cured. Not sure if that's a sign I'll graduate or just...another version of me on another version of my world who didn't die when I did."
"A little. Two people here come from my future. They say I defeat the guy who used geostigma to resurrect himself again and it gets cured. Not sure if that's a sign I'll graduate or just...another version of me on another version of my world who didn't die when I did."
"There seems to be some of that going around. People knowing shit they shouldn't." He rubs the back of his neck, looking past him for a moment. "What do you think about graduation anyway?" Because Corvo sure didn't give a fuck when he first got here.
He nods. "Better man than me," he remarks. "I came in and wanted nothing to do with this. Didn't want to graduate, didn't care about it. Killed nearly eight people my first night. Those signs on the wall? They're because of me."
Which he is exceptionally embarrassed about, but it's the truth.
Which he is exceptionally embarrassed about, but it's the truth.
"Didn't get the Admiral chat beforehand. Thought I was still at home or it was a trick of the god who decided to get involved in my life. I finally got stopped, but - wasn't my finest moment."
He sits back, clearly not finished, but taking a drink anyway. This is the most he's talked in a long time and it doesn't come naturally to him.
"I was killed when I was saving the young Empress. So the last thing I saw was her dangling over a lighthouse."
He sits back, clearly not finished, but taking a drink anyway. This is the most he's talked in a long time and it doesn't come naturally to him.
"I was killed when I was saving the young Empress. So the last thing I saw was her dangling over a lighthouse."
He nods once. "I left and returned," he answers. "She is just fine. When I left, she was in her room, coloring."
And he made sure to see it in real time before he left. Time would stop, the world would stop, and he has only the image of her safe.
And he made sure to see it in real time before he left. Time would stop, the world would stop, and he has only the image of her safe.
"The girl, her mother was Empress. And I was her bodyguard. She was killed. Stabbed in some sort of plot for other people to grab the throne. Right in front of me and I was held back. Then they framed me for the murder."
He laughs and it's a bitter, ugly sound. "You're not a bad bodyguard. Shit happens."
He laughs and it's a bitter, ugly sound. "You're not a bad bodyguard. Shit happens."
Cloud's eyes widen and he sits up a little straighter, staring at Corvo for a moment before he lowers his gaze. What an awful situation. What a bullshit outcome. And yet...it isn't so dissimilar from what happened to Cloud, other than the framing afterward. And Cloud wouldn't have blamed him, so...maybe Corvo's right. Maybe shit does just happen, sometimes.
Maybe. Except there's so much more to it than Cloud's spoken aloud. It was Cloud's own unwillingness to open up to his friends that led them there. They didn't know how deeply Sephiroth had dug his claws in, and Cloud was too afraid, too ashamed, to tell them. And it was Aerith who paid for it.
"...Aerith was killed...right in front of me, too." He speaks slowly. Difficult to get the words out, but he wants to. He'll try. "Same guy who dropped a meteor on the planet. He...tried to make me do it, first. Psychic bullshit. Fought it long enough that he decided to take matters into his own hands, but...if he'd waited any longer, I..."
No. He just stops there.
Maybe. Except there's so much more to it than Cloud's spoken aloud. It was Cloud's own unwillingness to open up to his friends that led them there. They didn't know how deeply Sephiroth had dug his claws in, and Cloud was too afraid, too ashamed, to tell them. And it was Aerith who paid for it.
"...Aerith was killed...right in front of me, too." He speaks slowly. Difficult to get the words out, but he wants to. He'll try. "Same guy who dropped a meteor on the planet. He...tried to make me do it, first. Psychic bullshit. Fought it long enough that he decided to take matters into his own hands, but...if he'd waited any longer, I..."
No. He just stops there.
Corvo lets him talk a while, leaning forward on his elbow while he watches him. He doesn't know what sort of bullshit that this is, but already hates it for him. That isn't any way to live a life. That sort of guilt and anger is stifling.
"You what?" he wonders softly, a gentle probe.
"You what?" he wonders softly, a gentle probe.
[It had taken so little. A bodyguard and his ward, and their lives had become intertwined.
And then she died. Maybe she had taken a part of him with her, invertingly.
But now there's a chance to heal. Though...she wouldn't be surprised if he tried to sabotage his graduation in an attempt to stay with those he sp dearly loved.
But the crying done, it seemed it was time for apologizing. Aerith shook her head, and touched his cheek. A brief, assuring touch before drawing away.]
It's better then what I thought might happen.
I was worried you wouldn't let me in.
[Silly really. But they had hurt each other, badly.]
And then she died. Maybe she had taken a part of him with her, invertingly.
But now there's a chance to heal. Though...she wouldn't be surprised if he tried to sabotage his graduation in an attempt to stay with those he sp dearly loved.
But the crying done, it seemed it was time for apologizing. Aerith shook her head, and touched his cheek. A brief, assuring touch before drawing away.]
It's better then what I thought might happen.
I was worried you wouldn't let me in.
[Silly really. But they had hurt each other, badly.]
Corvo gives a slow nod, realizing that these drinks are very rightly earned. He raises his, salutes Cloud, and drinks.
"You get any sleep at all?" he wonders.
"You get any sleep at all?" he wonders.
Cloud drinks with him, draining the rest of the glass all at once just like the first. Enough of this pity party, Strife.
"I get enough," he says as he sets the glass back down and leans back in his seat, which is exactly as much of a deflection as it sounds like. Then, deadpan, "You know what they say. I'll sleep when I'm dead."
"I get enough," he says as he sets the glass back down and leans back in his seat, which is exactly as much of a deflection as it sounds like. Then, deadpan, "You know what they say. I'll sleep when I'm dead."
Corvo spreads out his hands and smiles at that. "Well. Apparently not." After all, they ended up on the barge after their deaths. And there's no rest here.
There sure isn't, for all that Cloud still often feels like he should be doing more. Doing something important. He's always been much better in go mode, under pressure, than when he's idle.
"So...figure anything more out about what you wanna do as a temp warden?"
"So...figure anything more out about what you wanna do as a temp warden?"
"Depends on you," he points out. "I'm not the one running the show here. You are."
He tilts his glass towards him. "What do you want out of this?"
He tilts his glass towards him. "What do you want out of this?"
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