*/LIVE TO TELL THE TALE

[Aerith Gainsborough]

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[bg=#a23232] TAGGED: seph, invite ! WORDS: 656 ! NOTES: sucks, man. CREDIT: MADE BY EDWARD OF ON THE EDGE

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It was an ungraceful way that Aerith Gainsborough landed within La Terre. There was no soft landing upon the soles of her ruddy colored boots, there was no flowing of hair around her form like an angel, and there was certainly no procession awaiting her foretold return. No, instead, the woman who, until recently, had been dead crashed with a veritable thud against the hard ground like a sack of potatoes tossed into a pile. Except instead of landing upon her lumpy familiars, she was the first. It was something she didn't miss about the world of the living, that pain that came from doing something to which her body protested. The pain she felt in the Lifestream was different, abstract and hard to explain. The pain she felt when her bottom collided with solid earth was infinitely easier to sum up.

"Ouch," said the brown haired young woman with a wince, rubbing the small of her back. Silver bangles clanged from the movement which forced her eyes to her attire with mild curiosity, and when it didn't offer the proper vantage point for study, she found herself crawling toward a pooling of water before her. It was when her fingertips sank slightly into the pliable mud of the water's edge that she stopped in her progression and cast her gaze to see exactly how she looked after what seemed an eternity in the Lifestream. The idea of being reborn hadn't properly hit her yet. For now, she was content upon noticing easily accepted nuggets of information. Like the fact that she looked exactly as she had when she died.

There were two bright green eyes and the early crinkle of skin at their corners from laughing too often. Short plaits brushed over her shoulders to frame the sides of her face while a dark pink ribbon held a large one in place behind her, the tail end curling near her knees. Her skin while as pale as someone just from the brink of death still reminded her of... her. And her outfit, well, it was accurate down to the loose silver button three buttons down on her faded pink dress. The only thing that made her incomplete was the lost Materia that used to reside within her hair. Other than that, Aerith concluded that she indeed looked like the Aerith she remembered.

With that fact firmly settled, she allowed herself to take more than a cursory glance at her surroundings and attempt to discern exactly where it was... she was. The grass beneath her hands was cool and green, the kind of grass used to the proper tending of rain clouds and sun rays. Surrounding the current clearing she was in were a multitude of flora-- the fauna weren't currently to be seen. Trees stretched into the sky, branches and leaves unfurled toward the heavens. Blossoms nestled themselves within half the shade of their taller brethren, decorating their feet in a rainbow of colors.

Beneath her reflection in the water were fish darting left and right-- The pool was so clear that she could see the uneven stones littering the bottom. And what appeared to be the source of it was a waterfall, slipping from the giant, stony maw of a dragon's head, fashioned out of rock and earth. At a peripheral glance, Aerith had jumped, pulling both hands to her chest. It wasn't until further study and the sun illuminating the rocky facets of the creation that her heart allowed itself to slow in tempo. This... wasn't Midgar. That was her first thought once the study was complete. The second was that she didn't believe it was even Gaia. The voices whispering in her ears weren't the voices she was acquainted with. They weren't the voices of Cetras past-- They were... different. Faint.

Letting her gaze flicker to the sky again, the young woman wondered exactly what was going on.

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[Sephiroth]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=background,http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b478/batreas/Post%20Template%20Images/loveiswar_miku_postbg.png] ”Such aggravatingly colourful landscape…”, Sephiroth said to himself as he soared through the sky, his silver hair getting blown back by the wind, flapping left to right and vice versa whenever Sephiroth tilted himself every so often. A few days ago he had arrived at that strange world, summoned by some mysterious force that did not present itself of even bothered to justify the reason behind Sephiroth’s resurrection, which did not make him weary but slightly aggravated. The One-Winged Angel currently had no goal, for he did not know where he was or what the force that had summoned him here wanted from him and that only made him even more aggravated at his current situation. This planet was entirely different and Sephiroth could not feel it, like it was dead or something on those lines, without a Lifestream of it’s one unlike Gaia. The absence of it bothered Sephiroth, because everything he knew and learned all those years ago was for naught, given that without a lifestream to corrupt, Sephiroth would have no other way known to him to accomplish his goal and do the same thing his mother did all those centuries ago. All of the sudden, Sephiroth stopped in mid air, flapping his wing in the opposite direction he was flying and continuing to flap it to maintained his altitude, his cat-like turquoise eyes glaring at the rock formations below him. For a minute there, he had sensed something, a light he was familiar with though not one he could identify right away. Was there someone he was acquainted with trapped in this strange world with him? If so, who was it? Was it Cloud? No it couldn’t be… Otherwise he would’ve smelled his darkness miles away, that persistent darkness that inhabited his heart and would forever haunt him, no matter how hard he would try to either hide it or smother it with light; that darkness would always lead him back to his nemesis. The One-Winged Angel peered down, attempting to catch even the slightest glimpse of who ever it was that was emitting such light that was so familiar. He then got a little closer to what appeared to be a dragon’s head, made out of the stone formation, very impressive but Sephiroth didn’t care, he was too busy trying to pinpoint the location of who that light belonged to and that’s when he saw it… A faint glimpse of pink was caught by his eyes, something that no matter how small it was, it would probably stand out the most given the landscape. Sephiroth smirked coldly and retracted his wing, making him fall from that height like a rock, though as he closed in on the ground, he extended his wing gradually, his speed decreasing until he finally reached the ground, gracefully letting his feet touch it as his wing spread completly. The minute he landed, his eyes gazed upon the girl, those cold, cat-like turquoise eyes that were infused with Mako energy locked onto her. He retracted his wing, which after a second or so began to disintegrate, the black feathers falling onto the ground or getting blown by the gust of wind that passed through there at the time, throwing them at the girl. With his usual cold and emotion deprived tone, Sephiroth finally addressed the girl, ”So… It’s you, the one that emanated such strong light. It’s been a while, girl…”. A faint and cruel smile appeared on the corner of his lips, remembering the last time he had seen her, which did not end well for her. During the events at Midgar, Sephiroth had been the one responsible for her death, impaling her through the heart as he descended upon her. He could still remember how sweet it was, to feel her heart stop through his blade and look into Cloud’s eyes as he gazed in horror and pain at Sephiroth’s doing. Indeed… Cloud suffered much that day and all because Sephiroth had taken the life of one of his friends. It was the best way to further sink his heart into darkness, though for the time being, he would not harm the girl. Both were trapped in that world and there was a chance that she’d knew where they were and possibly why they were here; besides, what would be the fun of killing one of Cloud’s friends if he wasn’t around to witness it? The One-Winged Angel looked at her, waiting for some sort of reaction that would probably be triggered by his presence. It was only natural to be afraid of the one that had taken her life and in all honesty, Sephiroth was dying to see what the girl would do, or rather, what the fear she felt was going to make her do. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - this template was created by batreas of on the edge. please do not remove this credit when posting with this template.

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[Aerith Gainsborough]

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[bg=#a23232] TAGGED: seph, invite ! WORDS: --- ! NOTES: still sucks. CREDIT: MADE BY EDWARD OF ON THE EDGE

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Perhaps when one's existence becomes entirely focused around another being, whether it be to protect or destroy, they become in tune with their presence, able to sense the aura surrounding the person even in a crowd of people. For Aerith, before the newest arrival had cleared the ring of trees nesting the pool of water away from the rest of the world, she'd felt a prick of cold wrap around her skin. Goosebumps rose, hairs stood on end, and her mouth dried until her throat felt like sandpaper. She wiped her palms absently upon the fabric of her dress before pushing into a standing position. As the oppressing aura drew closer, her muscles tensed further, and a sense of dread planted within her bosom began to bloom.

And then it was there, right to her rear. The presence landed, and an explosion of synapses fired in her brain, sending the same message: Danger. Attempting to swallow and finding her throat too dry to do anything of the sort, the young woman took a moment's pause and debated which would be the greater evil: turning and identifying who it was or keeping her back to what could potentially put a sword threw it-- if they wielded a sword, of course, not that it really mattered; any weapon was equally awful. The breeze picked up, and she still hadn't moved, eyes cast straight in front of her. Peripherally, she caught movement, and it made her jump.

Feathers. Black feathers.

"So... It's you, the one that emanated such strong light. It's been a while, girl..."

Shit.

Awkwardly, stiffly, Aerith slowly turned to face the silver-haired ex-SOLDIER, a knot forming in the base of her throat. She laced her fingers almost protectively over her abdomen as her gaze flickered from the aristocratic lines of his face to the folds of his clothes almost as if searching for something she assumed to be there. Where was the sword that slayed her? She almost... wanted to see it; the moment she died was a blurred one, a prick of pain and then nothingness. The face of her murderer and the weapon that did it were unseen. All she had in her last moments was the face of Cloud, and even that felt incomplete. If she were going to die again, Aerith wanted to face her attacker.

"You're... pretty brave," she breathed out, attempting to keep her voice level, "I foiled your plans... more than once." With the help of Cloud, of course, she added mentally.

Aerith didn't know where she was. She didn't know what was going on. Everything felt wrong, everything looked wrong. This wasn't her world, and while she assumed that she'd have to eventually confront the fact that an explanation was in order-- especially about why she was alive, if this was a world of the living-- the young woman didn't think that she'd have to deal with the idea of being within the same... place as Sephiroth. The Lifestream was different; it was a place where she had control and peace despite his presence. Now, all she felt was unadulterated fear.

Maybe. Maybe he'd go away.

Maybe she'd wake up.

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[Sephiroth]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=background,http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b478/batreas/Post%20Template%20Images/loveiswar_miku_postbg.png] Oh that look... That look of fear in her eyes was intoxicating and a feeling of satisfaction ran through Sephiroth, almost pleased with it. It had been a while since he had last seen the girl, though Sephiroth could still remember the feeling he got when his trusted Masamune went through the girl, impaling her through her light-filled heart, the heart beat gradually fading before he had taken the sword out. Yes... He remember it all as if he was the one doing it and not the Jenova clone of him. At her comment, Sephiroth slightly cocked his flawless eyebrow, a slight mischievous smile appeared on the corner of his lips, amused at her for thinking she had done something relevant. Sure, that little parlor trick she pulled was successful, she was able to divert Sephiroth's attention for a while as he blocked the spell, but it was irrelevant and the rest was just as futile as that feeble attempt to foil his plans. The only one who remotely stood a chance against Sephiroth was Cloud and his mysterious strength, which would awaken from it's slumber whenever he was in peril. As much as it aggravated Sephiroth, it did make things interesting. The next time they would battle one another, Sephiroth would not be caught off guard and he now had his own body, not the frail and weak one of his Remnant, Kadaj. Sephiroth could smell her fear as she talked, that oh so sweet fear, and when she was done talking, Sephiroth looked at her with those cold cat-like eyes and replied, "Your past actions were weak at best and I think you remember what happened the last time we met girl...". The One-Winged Angel had no intentions of harming her at the time, requiring only information regarding this planet, should she have it, but he would easily reap her life should she try anything. "The only one able to defeat me is Cloud... He was the one that foiled my plan, you on the other hand only managed to stand in the way for a few seconds, before meeting your end by my blade.", Sephiroth said with his usual cold tone, his eyes not leaving the girl's even for a second and continued, "I don't see him around, or feel his darkness, so I suspect he landed on a different location... But on to more pressing matters... Do you know where we are?...", he asked the girl. Maybe she could listen to the planet? If so, then maybe Sephiroth could finally figure out where in hell he landed on and attempt to find either a way back home, or a way to fulfill his goal using this planet. though for that he required the answer from the girl and if she was hiding it and he knew she was lying, then Sephiroth would just have to take the answer by force. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - this template was created by batreas of on the edge. please do not remove this credit when posting with this template.

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[Aerith Gainsborough]

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[bg=#a23232] TAGGED: seph, invite ! WORDS: --- ! NOTES: still sucks. CREDIT: MADE BY EDWARD OF ON THE EDGE

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Her eyes were reluctant, resistant to keeping their gaze upon the silver haired man before her. Every fiber in her being protested being anywhere near him and that blade, though she couldn't find the latter at the moment. Instinctively, she took a small step back, the heel of her foot sinking slightly into the water's edge. Aerith placed her hands protectively over her abdomen and, after another moment of study, dropped her eyes from Sephiroth's face to a point just over his left shoulder.

The man was ethereal. He was unreal. Every contour of his features were unnatural. Too smooth. Too angled. He possessed the slope of an aristocratic nose and the hair of angels befitting, or perhaps unbefitting, of his absent trademark wing. Sephiroth had a face vacant of the usual nuances she found upon others, those specks of humanity embedded in the human expression. Instead, all she had managed to find was the cold of his eyes, and it struck up a new wave of fear that heated the fabric beneath her hands.

Another step back. Her left foot was partly submerged in the pool of water.

"Your past actions were weak at best and I think you remember what happened the last time we met girl..."

Then he didn't realise, Aerith thought absently, keeping her eyes fixed above his shoulder. Of course, she didn't expect him to be fully aware of what she'd done. Though her thoughts at first were that he'd gone to the city to kill her in a vain attempt to stop the summoning of Holy, it didn't console itself to what actually occurred. Surely Sephiroth wouldn't have dawdled when it came to whether his plans would succeed or fail.

That meant he was ignorant to how she summoned Holy and then commanded the Lifestream to aid in the defeat of Meteor, and he was likely equally oblivious to her role within the Lifestream and outside to halt the progression of Geostigma. Well, despite Aerith's pride on being a role in Sephiroth's continual defeat, she wasn't going to gloat at the moment. Or ever. The person fully capable of killing someone at the moment certainly wasn't her, and it didn't seem prudent to upset a man prone to killing people for whatever reasons that seemed to possess his mind.

"If you say so," said the Cetra as if doubting the reasoning behind his tirade before pausing at the question he posed of her. At that, Aerith turned her head fully toward his face as if debating before looking away. How was he certain that Cloud would be where they were? Theories could explain why she and he were here. They had both died. It was something they shared in common, but Cloud... the last time she checked up on him, he was alive in Midgar with Tifa and two children. Unless everyone from her past was appearing within the strange new world, she'd like to think Cloud was exactly where he ought to be.

And so she lied, "Cloud's not here."

And unwilling to part with any information the world could give her, the young woman turned her back from the silver haired man and slowly moved to walk away.

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