IC inbox - TLV

[nimbuster]

Not here. Leave a message.

Comments

[punched_hitler]

[Yeah, all right - Cloud is not likely to be surprised when he receives:] Fourth and Pine. Two blocks into the blackout block uptown.

[But it is close to the border, at least. Steve doesn't expect the man to trust someone who wants him to go too far from home.]

There's an old drugstore on the corner.

Noon, in two days?

-> action!

[nimbuster]

[Close to the edge - could be a show of good faith, of a sort. Maybe.]

I'll be there.

---

Cloud does speak with Fred, and ultimately...she encourages him to give it a fair shake, even if she's worried about him going alone. He assures her it's fine, he can handle himself, and he believes it.

And if something goes wrong, well, the SOPD will be all over this place like ants on honey the second they check Cloud's texts via the surveillance network.

Cloud finds himself hoping it doesn't come to that, though.

He shows up a few minutes early, parking his hovercycle a block or so from the border and walking the rest of the way. He does have his taser on him, but not openly, and for once he's out of uniform. Don't want to alarm anyone or call attention to himself.

[punched_hitler]

Steve, too, has gotten there early; the drugstore has gone out of business, but it's not boarded up and he managed to splice the wiring into the nearby breaker so the lights are on and it looks about as inviting as an abandoned building in the blackout block can. He's sitting on the counter, in full view of the door: A tall, muscular blonde with both arms covered in tattoos, flipping a ballpoint pen through his fingers as he waits.

He stops when he recognizes Cloud, though, and stays put where he is so as not to appear threatening.

"Hey. Thanks for agreeing to meet me."

He knows this can't have been easy. He knows it could still be a setup. But he's got contingencies, if it is, and he'd prefer to go into this offering trust, if he can.

[nimbuster]

"Don't thank me yet. Jury's still out on whether this was a good idea."

Cloud doesn't come far into the store - just enough to put his back to the wall by the door. Getting snuck up on while he's paying attention to this guy? No thanks.

"You already know who I am. You got something you want me to call you?" Because asking for his actual name is likely to be a futile effort, and Cloud wouldn't blame him for keeping it back.

for Sephiroth: moonlit lake on a deserted island, continued~

[nimbuster]

(continued from here)

One might think that Cloud ought to be alarmed at suddenly being pulled underwater, but all it does is crank up the intensity further. Cloud falls into these kinds of moments all the time...when Sephiroth is around. Once, he had no choice - Sephiroth invaded his mind and took it over completely, not by way of control so much as simply existing there and occupying every scrap of Cloud's attention, even when he wasn't really present at all.

Now he lets it happen on its own. Willingly allows his mind and body to tune out anything that isn't Sephiroth. It might be scary if he thought about it too hard, but then again, Sephiroth himself has given Cloud every opportunity to back out, and Cloud hasn't taken a single one.

Turns out, he likes it this way.

His eyes stay closed for now. Every sensation seems heightened now that he's holding his breath, as if breathing was just a distraction from what he's feeling. And what he's feeling is...not enough, he realizes eventually, hitting another point of frustration. Once again, there's no need to pull away from Sephiroth's lips to fix it. He lets go of the SOLDIER just long enough to slip one hand between them and unzip his shirt, unbuckle his pauldron with its attached sleeve, and let all of it follow his gloves to the bottom of the pond.

Now bare to the waist, he wraps his arms back around Sephiroth's neck and presses himself even closer with as much of his body as he can.

[punched_hitler]

Steve grins a little at that; "I can appreciate the healthy skepticism."

After all, it's a large part of the reason he called the guy here at all. If he hadn't seemed skeptical, he wouldn't be likely to turn on the police.

That grin stays put when the officer asks for a name - well, close enough - while clearly acknowledging it likely wouldn't be the real one. "You can call me Nomad," he says, which is more of an inside joke than anything, and won't mean anything - and, more importantly, won't show up on any official records anywhere. "For now," he adds, because he'd like to eventually get to a place where they could maybe exchange names.

"Look," he finally says. "I know how easy it is to get caught up in what you're doing. To think it's right, without questioning it. I just... I'd like people to think for themselves, a little more. And you seem like a guy who wants to do that. I just want to give you the chance."

[nimbuster]

For now. This guy - Nomad - seems way too...friendly. Not in a fake way, so much as he doesn't seem like the type to be involved in violent criminal things.

And maybe that's the point, but Cloud's still feeling this out.

His chin lifts slightly, his eyes narrow. "Already know how to think for myself, thanks." Who does this guy think he is, anyway?

[nimbuster]

'Overboard' is one word for it. [His expression darkens.] When I say it was brutal, Aerith, I mean it. I've seen a hell of a lot of combat, but I've never seen anything as pointlessly violent and cruel as this was. Whatever you're picturing, she's worse. No training or anything, just a girl with a hammer, but she's ruthless and canny. And she's got this psychic touch thing, she'll...get into your head, see things in your memories. And she'll wield them like weapons.

I know you got this. Just be careful, okay? Please.

[planetdialup]

I believe you.

[Vincent isn't easy to harm normally, but a girl with a hammer could do a lot of harm. And the psychic touch...she doesn't have any defense against that either.

She sighs. This is going to be a hard month.]

I will be careful. I'll even ask Vincent for a backup weapon, and make sure Zack knows where I am.

I'm not taking chances. I promise.

[nimbuster]

[He nods.]

Good. Let me know how it goes.

voice!

[nimbuster]

Hi. Um...

[Will Graham...yeah, he knows that guy. The Interventionist who works with Malcolm. Is that his name?

Right, the breach. When he was back in San Otrera. Even here, though, he's gotta keep his head up. So people can keep looking to him as a problem solver. As someone who'll keep their city - or their boat - safe. Even if things aren't the way they should be, he can still do that. Right?

When he replies again, his voice itself hasn't changed, but there's something about the tone, the energy, that's shifted.]

Never better.

[planetdialup]

Will do.

backdated to a few days after the breach

[anti_altruisms]

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.

[nimbuster]

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.

[punched_hitler]

"Which is good," Steve agrees - and he's not making fun. He means it. People need to think for themselves.

"Because I'm assuming that's why you don't like what's going on in the SOPD."

Yes, it's a big assumption. But he dares you to say he's wrong.

[nimbuster]

Cloud watches him for a long moment, expression unchanging.

"Say I don't." Which is, of course, an admission, if one with the barest sliver of plausible deniability. A little bit of his suspicion fades. "What are you after? You already got that Interventionist out of there, and I'm not looking to follow up. So what else do you want?"

There's less hostility in his tone than the words themselves might suggest. He's treading lightly, but he's listening.

[punched_hitler]

Admittedly, there's a little twitch of Steve's lips at that. He can't help it; his poker face isn't perfect, and this is already going the way he wants.

He's got hope. That's all he's ever needed to keep him going.

"I'm after more people that are willing to think for themselves. Honestly, that's all. The world is a better place when people don't just follow blindly. Especially when they have doubts."

And sure, yeah, maybe some of those people come over to the blackout blocks and help build up the community there. That would be great. But he knows that's a farther leap of faith than what this guy is going to be willing to take right now.

"I just want you to think. About what you see. What you like. And what you don't like about the way you're living." And making other people live.

[sefirot]

Cloud will probably regret letting his clothes drift to the bottom of the pond. Sephiroth won't be fishing them out for him. But that's a frustration later Cloud will have to deal with.

For now Cloud will just have to deal with Sephiroth continuing the kiss, his hands also wandering the now bare skin. He's not too lost in the moment that he'll drown Cloud, but he might push the limits just a little before he brings the both of them to the surface. It'd be too disappointing if Cloud were to die during it all.

After a moment he breaks from the kiss to move to Cloud's neck, trailing down the side and eventually to his chest as though he has to taste every inch. Which might possibly be true right now.

[nimbuster]

Poor later Cloud, subject to current Cloud's horny whims.

It feels almost unbelievable that this is the first time Sephiroth's ever touched him like this, after having the man's presence in his mind for so long. As if the mental and emotional intimacy - even rage and hatred can be intimate - led them here inevitably. But the sensations themselves are all new, as those strong, elegant hands roam his body and the closeness of Sephiroth's own bare skin takes away all the chill of the lake's dark waters.

Cloud's eyes flutter open briefly when the kiss ends, then close again at the warm, electric feeling of Sephiroth's mouth on the sensitive skin of his neck. His head tilts back automatically to invite more. When those kisses move even lower, Cloud's grasp on Sephiroth shifts, too, until he's almost cradling the man's head against his chest.

A few seconds of this is all they get before Cloud can no longer ignore the need to breathe. He doesn't want to let go, or to escape this embrace, but his body squirms against Sephiroth's in an involuntary little convulsion. This is where the limit begins...but there's still some room to push it from here. Cloud's not drowning quite yet.

Text

[bartenderbitch]

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.

text!

[nimbuster]

[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.]

[bartenderbitch]

Hard to miss a human-sized cat with wings, yeah.

[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.]

[nimbuster]

[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.]

Hey.

[bartenderbitch]

[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.

[nimbuster]

[Husk is the first warden Cloud's had who's been this refreshingly casual. The fact that he's a bartender doesn't hurt, either, even if the Lounge is nothing like Seventh Heaven.]

Sure. I'll have...an old-fashioned.