After hearing from Aerith, Archer doesn’t waste time by contacting Cloud by his communicator. He simply uses his Warden items to locate Cloud wherever he might be.
Archer's tracking leads him to the greenhouse. It's not the most unusual place to find Cloud, since sometimes he helps Aerith out there, but right now Aerith's not there.
Archer will find Cloud standing near a few clusters of flowers with a focused look, hand at his chin in thought as he considers them carefully.
Cloud, right? Looks like I'm your warden this time around, name's Husk, dunno if I've actually met you in person before. If you want, come on by the Lounge and I'll get you something and we can talk or some shit.
Or not. It's up to you, honestly, not like I do fuckall much else outside of working.
[Cloud's beginning to think the Admiral is jerking him around on purpose when it comes to wardens. How long is he going to just drift from temp to temp like this?
At least this guy seems fairly chill so far.]
Yeah. I've seen you around at the Lounge, you're the bartender, right?
On my way.
[It doesn't take him long to make his way to the Lounge, where he...knocks on the door, if it isn't already open.]
[Husk's not the type to not leave the door open at this point, the whole difference between inmate and warden is stupid as fuck to him and evidently it seems everyone else agrees as he's yet to hear any arguments about it yet.
And he's seeming pretty chill still at this point, casually cleaning glasses while it seems quiet in there, though there's a partially drunk glass of some amber liquor sitting behind the bar that's probably safe to say is his.]
[One of Cloud's friends is a quadrupedal feline-ish teenager who pretends to be an adult, another one is an animatronic cat mascot, and another one literally sleeps in a coffin. Cloud long ago lost any sense of what's unusual and what isn't.
The door already being open so he can just walk in like a normal person instead of waiting around for a warden to open it is pretty nice, he'll admit.
He moseys over to the bar and leans on it, arms folded.]
[Slowly he looks up from what he's doing, a brow raising slowly as he looks over the body language with a soft bit of a snort. Oh, he looks like he's going to be fun in a slightly obnoxious way. He finally sets the glass back with the others, leaning against the counter in turn.]
You want something to drink while I ask probably the same fuckin' questions every other warden before me has? Might as well make it worth your while.
[The announcement caught him off-guard, too, but not unpleasantly. Fred's been his older sister and his supervisor - the idea that she'd end up as his warden, too, almost seems like a natural conclusion. He's relieved, not only to finally have a permanent warden at all, but to have one he already knows and feels comfortable with. One he knows he can trust.
On the other hand, he's nervous, too. Permanent wardens get their inmates' files, so she's seen his whole life laid out on paper, or she will soon. She and Sephiroth are now the only two people who know everything about him, everything he's done, all his failures and weaknesses and stupid, selfish moments. What will she think of him?]
Um...hey. Yeah, I'm fine. Mm...no, better than fine. Took the Admiral long enough, but...I'm glad it's you.
You are? Oh, that's a relief. Really. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about the whole thing. I'm still a tiny bit wobbly about that, myself. But I guess this just means we've got some more time together, right?
[ She pauses, then, knowing what she should address next, but not quite wanting to address it. ]
I- I...know we're not on the Narrenschiff here. But I still don't feel right reading your file without offering something in return. And I haven't read it yet, just to be clear. But I was thinking I'd type up my history, and maybe we could go through both of them together? Then you can know all the crazy things my non-Breach self has been through, too.
[It's an agreement - more time together, which is a good thing in his book, even if some of it will be difficult.
He's not too surprised by her offer, knowing the sort of person she is, but he appreciates it all the same. Particularly since for the last little while, Cloud's started to feel the divide between himself and all his warden friends more keenly, for various reasons - and this recent "bill of rights" thing really isn't helping. It's nice to have a warden who's not drawing that line so sharply.
[ Fred doesn't care for the distinction, honestly. Especially the names. She signed the bill of rights because it's at least something? Something that they can mostly agree on as a way to treat each other. That it excludes half the population is a flaw, not a feature.
She smiles at his agreement. ]
Oh, good. It'll probably take me a week or so to write it up, so in the meantime...
[ There was something else she could do as a permanent warden, what was it... ] Ah! Right. I actually don't know if you've had any dampened powers or magic, anything like that. But if you do, I can ask for them to be restored. If you'd want that. I know sometimes they're more trouble than they're worth.
After calling Cloud over, she'll wait in the 'office' part of her cabin with the door open for her inmate to arrive. The tables she'd used to form a taco bar previously are now separated into two- she has both his file and a giant stack of printed paper next to it.
This would hopefully be like ripping off a bandaid. A little painful, but good to do. For both of them, even. She ends up staring at the papers while she fidgets with her pencil.
So it's finally time to do this. The one thing he's been dreading most since coming aboard the Barge. And, even worse, he's going to be there to watch her read it. He gets to see her reactions to all his fuck-ups in real-time. Great. Just what he needed.
But as his warden, she's gotta know sooner or later, so he prefers sooner to get it over with. And he does appreciate her putting in all that effort to write out her own life story for a more mutual exchange. There's a part of him that's telling him to relax, that it's Fred and it'll be fine, she'd never think less of him for anything. But he knows that's just Officer Sunny talking, and he has no such confidence in reality.
He tries not to seem nervous when he lets himself into her office, but he's been walking with his eyes cast downward. Come on, Strife, get it together. It wasn't that long ago that he was telling Tifa some of this stuff over the phone, so this shouldn't be that bad. Right?
He lifts his gaze once he gets there, but doesn't manage to get a greeting out. Just announcing himself with his presence alone. Not like she doesn't know what he's here for.
"Hi, Cloud. Come on in and have a seat. Let's get this over with, huh?" she says, a small but slightly nervous smile on her face.
"And let me know if you need any snacks or drinks or anything else while we're doing this. I just figured that this space is kinda collaborative, but also quiet and private." 'Collaborative'? That's a weird word. But it's out there now, so...
"You want me to start with mine? I could get us started."
Cloud sits across from her and glances around. 'Collaborative' is kind of a weird word for what this is, but he can appreciate that that's maybe what it feels like to her. Or what she's trying to make it feel like, maybe.
He shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good. And I'd rather do mine first, just to get it done."
Fred looks down at the files, then nods. "Okay, yours first. We can take a break and switch- or just stop- anytime you need. I'll try to keep an eye out, but please, tell me if you can."
She expects him to get stuck in his head at least once during this whole thing. She's not going to push this just to get it done (as much as they both might like that).
She carefully slides his file towards her, just enough so she can open it. The text faces her, and she starts reading aloud. She'll glance up at him every so often, just to make sure he's not shutting down.
Fred barely even realizes what she's doing as she tugs on her work overalls and near-sprints to Cloud's cabin. She hadn't even had breakfast, much less braided up her hair. She knocks on the door before she realizes she could've just called. This seemed better?
Cloud, too, has felt weirdly impatient about meeting up with Fred this morning, though at first he interprets it as a stress-related anticipation to get to work. Which still doesn't explain why it's bugging him so much, but it means that by the time Fred knocks, Cloud's already got his tool belt on and is on his way to leaving the cabin anyway.
This results in the door opening about half a second after Fred knocks on it, and there's Cloud, blinking at her in a bit of surprise - though this feels right, somehow, even though normally he just meets her at the maintenance office.
"Oh - hey." He finds himself relaxing, suddenly. The impulse to hurry simply vanishes. His brow furrows. "...weird. You feel that, too?"
Fred smiles at him and says, "Good morning, Cloud!" It's more energy than she usually puts into greetings at work, fueled by whatever has been rushing her.
But- yeah. She's suddenly feeling like everything's right, now that she's here. Confusion flickers across her face. "Like the 'hurry up and go' has turned into 'everything is fine' all of a sudden?"
"Exactly like that." Cloud frowns, thinking. He'd thought he was in a big hurry to get to work, but if he's already doing whatever it was that impulse wanted him to do, then...it's not about work, it's about Fred.
"Guess it's a good thing we're headed to the same place for now."
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onlyembers
backdated to a few days after the breach
Date: 2025-02-13 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-13 08:21 pm (UTC)Archer will find Cloud standing near a few clusters of flowers with a focused look, hand at his chin in thought as he considers them carefully.
Text
Date: 2025-03-16 08:03 am (UTC)Or not. It's up to you, honestly, not like I do fuckall much else outside of working.
text!
Date: 2025-03-16 08:22 am (UTC)At least this guy seems fairly chill so far.]
Yeah. I've seen you around at the Lounge, you're the bartender, right?
On my way.
[It doesn't take him long to make his way to the Lounge, where he...knocks on the door, if it isn't already open.]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-16 08:25 am (UTC)[Husk's not the type to not leave the door open at this point, the whole difference between inmate and warden is stupid as fuck to him and evidently it seems everyone else agrees as he's yet to hear any arguments about it yet.
And he's seeming pretty chill still at this point, casually cleaning glasses while it seems quiet in there, though there's a partially drunk glass of some amber liquor sitting behind the bar that's probably safe to say is his.]
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Date: 2025-03-16 08:32 am (UTC)The door already being open so he can just walk in like a normal person instead of waiting around for a warden to open it is pretty nice, he'll admit.
He moseys over to the bar and leans on it, arms folded.]
Hey.
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Date: 2025-03-16 08:36 am (UTC)You want something to drink while I ask probably the same fuckin' questions every other warden before me has? Might as well make it worth your while.
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From:Backdated to last month, jesus
Date: 2025-03-23 12:23 pm (UTC)<3
Date: 2025-03-25 09:36 am (UTC)Marriage, huh? No dice unless you can beat my boyfriend in single combat. Spoiler: you can't.
1/2
Date: 2025-03-27 06:15 pm (UTC)Re: <3
Date: 2025-03-27 06:17 pm (UTC)--I mean. Don't be so sure about that; I could probably beat his ass. But whatever. This is where I ask if you need anything or whatever.
After the pairing announcement, video
Date: 2025-04-05 02:22 am (UTC)Cloud? Um, hi! I really didn't expect- well, it'd been a couple of months for me and I- are you okay?
video!
Date: 2025-04-05 10:19 am (UTC)On the other hand, he's nervous, too. Permanent wardens get their inmates' files, so she's seen his whole life laid out on paper, or she will soon. She and Sephiroth are now the only two people who know everything about him, everything he's done, all his failures and weaknesses and stupid, selfish moments. What will she think of him?]
Um...hey. Yeah, I'm fine. Mm...no, better than fine. Took the Admiral long enough, but...I'm glad it's you.
Re: video!
Date: 2025-04-14 10:04 pm (UTC)[ She pauses, then, knowing what she should address next, but not quite wanting to address it. ]
I- I...know we're not on the Narrenschiff here. But I still don't feel right reading your file without offering something in return. And I haven't read it yet, just to be clear. But I was thinking I'd type up my history, and maybe we could go through both of them together? Then you can know all the crazy things my non-Breach self has been through, too.
Re: video!
Date: 2025-04-15 10:03 am (UTC)[It's an agreement - more time together, which is a good thing in his book, even if some of it will be difficult.
He's not too surprised by her offer, knowing the sort of person she is, but he appreciates it all the same. Particularly since for the last little while, Cloud's started to feel the divide between himself and all his warden friends more keenly, for various reasons - and this recent "bill of rights" thing really isn't helping. It's nice to have a warden who's not drawing that line so sharply.
He nods.]
Thanks. I'd like that.
Re: video!
Date: 2025-04-15 11:06 pm (UTC)She smiles at his agreement. ]
Oh, good. It'll probably take me a week or so to write it up, so in the meantime...
[ There was something else she could do as a permanent warden, what was it... ] Ah! Right. I actually don't know if you've had any dampened powers or magic, anything like that. But if you do, I can ask for them to be restored. If you'd want that. I know sometimes they're more trouble than they're worth.
Re: video!
From:Re: video!
From:Re: video!
From:After the 4WD event, spam
Date: 2025-04-30 01:48 am (UTC)This would hopefully be like ripping off a bandaid. A little painful, but good to do. For both of them, even. She ends up staring at the papers while she fidgets with her pencil.
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Date: 2025-04-30 05:20 am (UTC)But as his warden, she's gotta know sooner or later, so he prefers sooner to get it over with. And he does appreciate her putting in all that effort to write out her own life story for a more mutual exchange. There's a part of him that's telling him to relax, that it's Fred and it'll be fine, she'd never think less of him for anything. But he knows that's just Officer Sunny talking, and he has no such confidence in reality.
He tries not to seem nervous when he lets himself into her office, but he's been walking with his eyes cast downward. Come on, Strife, get it together. It wasn't that long ago that he was telling Tifa some of this stuff over the phone, so this shouldn't be that bad. Right?
He lifts his gaze once he gets there, but doesn't manage to get a greeting out. Just announcing himself with his presence alone. Not like she doesn't know what he's here for.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-30 09:42 pm (UTC)"And let me know if you need any snacks or drinks or anything else while we're doing this. I just figured that this space is kinda collaborative, but also quiet and private." 'Collaborative'? That's a weird word. But it's out there now, so...
"You want me to start with mine? I could get us started."
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Date: 2025-05-06 12:59 am (UTC)He shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good. And I'd rather do mine first, just to get it done."
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Date: 2025-06-03 02:19 am (UTC)She expects him to get stuck in his head at least once during this whole thing. She's not going to push this just to get it done (as much as they both might like that).
She carefully slides his file towards her, just enough so she can open it. The text faces her, and she starts reading aloud. She'll glance up at him every so often, just to make sure he's not shutting down.
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From:Beginning of the Two-Step Flood, spam
Date: 2025-06-13 10:22 pm (UTC)\o/
Date: 2025-06-14 06:06 am (UTC)This results in the door opening about half a second after Fred knocks on it, and there's Cloud, blinking at her in a bit of surprise - though this feels right, somehow, even though normally he just meets her at the maintenance office.
"Oh - hey." He finds himself relaxing, suddenly. The impulse to hurry simply vanishes. His brow furrows. "...weird. You feel that, too?"
Re: \o/
Date: 2025-06-15 10:14 pm (UTC)But- yeah. She's suddenly feeling like everything's right, now that she's here. Confusion flickers across her face. "Like the 'hurry up and go' has turned into 'everything is fine' all of a sudden?"
no subject
Date: 2025-06-16 07:04 am (UTC)"Guess it's a good thing we're headed to the same place for now."
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