Slightly blushing as Elena mentioned Rude her lips curved sideways and her eyes slanted. "Oh boy...but anyway, we should get going back inside. It's still a bit chilly out here."

Tifa shifted swiftly back into 7th and saw that Yuffie was, once again, acting mischeviously towards the little girl that had just awoken.

"Yuffie! What are you up to now?! Can't you ever take a brake from your jokes?" she went over to muffle her hair. "Marlene, don't just go taking drinks from this little girl here. She's quite dangerous you know." she then went into the kitchen to pull out some bread previously cooked from the night before, including crosaunts. She moved them into the container in the front on top of the bar counter. She then started to run the coffee machine.

-Somewhere outside the Forgotten Capital-

The Sleeping Forest.

A natural laybrinth in which one could get lost for an eternity without having a specific artifact to guide them. That artifact had once again been lost ever since the last one who carried it had passed through here, rendering all sorts of passage through these woods inconcievable.

However, In the morning light, a woman was walking through the only defense to the City of the Ancients as if she had her own little map. The brunette looked up at the odd trees, smiling as she remembered what had drawn her here- tugged at her soul and subconscious.

In some ways, her death was a good thing... she had transcended into another state. But in others, it was not- she honestly missed everyone. She had said she would come back, and here her chance was gone. But at least she had done her part.

But things had a way of turning out for the best. One's deeds often reflected back on the one who performed them- it was somehing that some people called karma. That said, she wasn't occupied with how or why she had returned to life- she simply accepted.

The pink dress and red vest was still adorning her form, as well as the bracelets on her wrists. Her hair, however, was no longer in its elaborate braid- it had come undone and untied. Even her treasured pink ribbon was gone, though she did not know who had taken it off of her. How could she know? She was incapable of conscious thought at the time.

The loss of the ribbon did not bother her. She rather liked her hair in this new state.

But now the question was at hand... and it was not the question of where everyone else was. The flows of the lifestream were different in every individual, with different experiences and knowledge. Her newfound, much stronger connection with the Planet gave her the insight needed to tell the difference. Thus, she wouldn't have to think about where they were. She would know.

The question at hand was, how was she going to get where they were? She didn't exactly have a car or anything, and there were no chocobos around. And then, just at the opening of the forest, she saw it. The place was vaguely remembered- an excavation village that she had wandered through on her way to the sancutary.

Aerith Gainsborough smiled as she entered the place known as Bone Village. Someone there had to have a way back to civilization- back to what was more familiar to her and what she had seen in passing, fleeting glances.

Everyone's going to be so happy, she mused to herself.

(Dang nice entrance!! xDDD Welcome RoMer x333)

(Okay, here goes... I hope it will suffice!)

At one of the furthest, most abandoned ends of the city, he stood, hidden in the shadows. With his bizzare outfit and equally bizzare natural appearances, he made for an odd and frightening sight to behold. He bore eyes the color of frozen water with serpent-like pupils that made him appear as if he could look into the very soul of his enemy, and long, silvery hair. He did not even appear all that real... maybe this was what added to the very intimidation people felt when seeing him. Or maybe it was because of all he had done before.
Perhaps it was both, or neither...

And so was his very view of the world around him; both, neither, only one, nothing like this truly mattered to him anymore.
Only a few things mattered to him, these same things that had bothered him for years upon years now.
But this time he would not lose to anyone; this time he was stronger. Sephiroth would not fail at accomplishing his goals this time, and he knew he'd go to whatever lengths he had to to fulfill them...

Nobody would be pleased to see him revived. Nobody would smile when they saw him standing there, not even the only being he allowed near him at this time in his life. And this was how he wanted it to be; he did not know why but he did not want for any other to feel any hint of happiness in his presence, and it was obvious; he held an odd, gloomy sort of aura around himself. One that had been there long ago and still was until this very day...

Though he watched, he kept himself hidden.The man in black did not really care for the people of this place; however if he caused an uproar, the aftermath of it all could cause him more trouble than he desired.

However at this moment, he knew his efforts would end up being wasted. If he wasn't going to cause an uproar, his 'errand girl' most certainly would. The girl did'nt seem to have a very quiet approach to doing things, and that much he had noticed about her early on.
Brushing a strand of silver hair from his pale face, he decided that, for now, he'd wait... and if she did'nt turn up soon, he'd go ahead and leave.
He was almost sure that, with his luck, she'd turn back up as soon as he left, though.

After the little errand girl finished, he would go ahead and leave this place. The longer he was in it, the more it made him feel sick to his stomach, for some reason...


"NOOO!"
A frusturated looking teenaged girl in a black trenchcoat stood, gripping onto her head. "Do you have ANY IDEA as to just how much you've ruined for me!?"

Infront of her stood a slightly startled looking city dweller, and inbetween the two... a spilled glass of drink.
The girl let out an annoyed sob. "I'm going to be so freaking thirsty on my whole trip! Thank god I did'nt drop what he sent me out for, though, or I'd be skinned alive. Anyway, listen."
She pointed a single finger at this man, her eye twitching ever so slightly. "You do not WANT to know... the measures I went through to get myself something to drink! You wanna know how long I've been having to walk!? Hey!"
The man had turned and began running; probably a good idea on his part.
However, the annoyed teenager would not be discouraged that easily, as she ran after the man, her fist in the air. "HEY! GET BACK HERE, YOU JERK! YOU ARE GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR BUMPING INTO ME, WHETHER IT'S BY YOUR OWN CHOICE OR BY FORCE!"


Oh, yes. He could hear her from here, even.
The silver haired man rubbed his forehead tiredly, for once showing emotion of his face; that emotion was the one of a very irritated man. For once he actually spoke, though it was very quietly... "Why... could'nt she be a little more quiet?"

For a brief moment, something touched at the edge of her subconscious, making her skin tingle. Aerith stopped where she was, her eyes narrowing with worry. She could sense him. He was close- too close. She hadn't expected to run into him so soon, and she couldn't help feeling a tad... afraid. After all, this was the man who had so silently killed her, without thought, without emotion, without hesitation.

His very presence made the air heavy.

Sephiroth...

She looked around briefly, thinking that she would catch sight of him somewhere nearby, but nothing. Not yet.

She rooted her feet into the ground, shifting her weight slightly. The Planet's energy responded, sending a flow of spiritual force upwards through her muscles from the ground up, forcing them to loosen and calm. The power allowed her to focus.

I am beyond my fear now. The Planet is with me. I will let the fear run through me and I will turn it into power.

She began walking forward again. No, she wouldn't let his mere presence stop her. She continued walking, heading towards the nearest person in order to ask him or her for a ride. She could move as fast as he could now and was just as strong.

Her mind calmed even further at this realization. She smiled again.

No... you don't scare me, Sephiroth.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE, YOU JERK! YOU ARE GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR BUMPING INTO ME, WHETHER IT'S BY YOUR OWN CHOICE OR BY FORCE!"

And then she looked over to where the shouting was heard, blinking a bit. "Hmm?" Curious, she smiled politely for a moment at the man she was talking to. "I'll be right back. Forgive me." With that, she went to see what the trouble was.

Since the man had by now ran away in fear, the teenaged girl gave up chasing after.
She plopped down on the ground, knees pulled to her chest as she appeared to be a combination of frusturated and saddened. "I can't believe I dropped it... I spent so long picking that one out, too... I guess I should just go ahead and go back to him. If I make him wait on me too long he'll go ahead and leave..."

As tears welled in her eyes, she quickly shook them off. She wondered when exactly she'd be able to return to where she came from... she'd been hoping that, by now, what with being near Sephiroth, she would've found out about some way to get back to where she'd come from. Maybe luck just wasn't smiling upon her... since, she'd apparently also have to go thirsty.

She decided she'd just sit for a few minutes, watching the small puddle of drink on the ground with her tired, teal colored gaze. Nothing seemed to be working out, for her... maybe just being around Sephiroth caused her bad luck?

Maybe or maybe not...

That girl... the look and feel of her made Aerith want to walk up and cuddle her, regardless of the strikingly familiar black trench coat that she wore. But sudden impulses were not in her forte. She approached as quietly as she could, and saw the spilled drink on the ground.

Somehow, she managed to hunch down, bending at the knees and waist, without making a sound.

"Can I get you another? My treat," she asked, smiling toward the girl.

Meanwhile, a completely oblivious Yuffie shot a death glare at Tifa for ruining her fun with Marlene. She ALWAYS has to be MISS RESPONSIBLE. Like that time she wouldn't let me put superglue in Cloud's boxers. GAWD WHAT A PRUDE.

Yuffie huffed and was about to go find some of Tifa's double-Z bras to pawn off at a seedy shop somewhere, but she stopped. Shit, Cloud. I have to dump that bike before he comes home from wherever he is and impales me on his hair!

"Heeeey you guys! Let's take Fenrir to Bone Village! It'll give those guys some more crap to dig up," Yuffie gave an enthusiastic twirl and grinned. "We'll call Cid and if he tries to kill me I'll use my super-Yuffie-skills!" She punched the air and started searching the bar for dramamine.

{OOC: Cid will be fair game for everyone if the plot goes that way.}

(Yes, I'd meant to say, I'll try to post as soon as I can but it'll probably be tomorrow sometime, if not very early in the morning; I have a certain time I have to get offline at nights but I usually get on to check on things during the day somewhere, then I get back on later. Sorry!)

"A-ack!"
Startled by the sudden voice, she quickly turned herself around, before setting sight on the source of the voice. "O-oh... I'm sorry, I just got startled..."

She scratched her head slightly, which only managed to mess up her short, brown hair even more than it had already been. "Thank you, I'd appreciate that very much. I'm sorry for my reaction..."
The girl appeared almost sheepish, not used to talking to anyone with such an amazingly kind aura about them. She extended a hand. "My name's Anna. I probably won't be in this area for very long, unless my travelling companion finds something of interest here..."

The thought of Sephiroth hit her once again. "Oh... I guess we should hurry, if you really don't mind getting me another drink... if I don't hurry back he'll probably go ahead and leave without me..."

She could feel her the girl's timidity as if it were her own. As Aerith's hand reached out to take Anna's, she channeled her own emotional energy towards the girl, attempting to get her to relax. It was an unconscious action, one that didn't require much thought. Her green eyes seemed to stare at Anna so intently that one would think she was seeing through her.

"I'm Aerith. And yes, I would love to get you another drink."

With that, she stood, pulling the girl up with her. Her mind was no longer occupied with the man in black. The fear was the furthest thing from her thoughts now.

"So where did you get the drink from?"

"Who will mind the shop then? And what in the world can you find in bone village? Fenrir is made of metal, not bones." Tifa leaned on the counter, crossing her arms and looking at Yuffie, making sure that she won't do anything unnecessary again.

(Who exactly is Anna xD;;;;; I've never seen/heard of her at all >_> or maybe I forgot...)

{OOC: Anna is TSD's original character; there's a character profile on her in the OOC chat area}

Yuffie shoved a bottle of dramamine in her back pocket. "Oh, PUH-LEAZ! You told me before you all left Marlene to watch the bar, in the SLUMS no less, while you all were bombing stuff up. She's, uh...ten...eight...six?" Yuffie scratched her head. She'd never liked kids enough to care about anything pertaining to them. "Anyways, she's older now, plus there's Denzel. And we're dumping stuff OFF, not taking it. Although, they might have materia..."

The little Wutaian put her hands on her knees and looked up at the martial artist expectantly. Even a few feet away, she could smell her cheap perfume. She thought about making some obscene comment about the matter but decided that a horrible fate of Cloud finding his bike wrecked would be certain if she did.

(Yep, Anna would be my own character; sorry for the confusion, Ai Ai ~chan!)


Anna shook Aerith's hand; as she did so, for some reason she felt more relaxed than before. What a strange woman, this Aerith was...

"Thank you for your kindness... either way, um... I don't think I really paid too much attention to the name of the place..."
She stood up, appearing a little embarassed that she could'nt even pay enough attention to remember the name of where she'd bought her new 'travel companion', the beloved, now spilled drink. "I'm sorry, I guess I was in a hurry and I wasn't really paying attention... Do you know of anywhere around here that sells drinks?"

Truly Anna had no idea as to who exactly Aerith was; Sephiroth had not mentioned any word of her before, and the only people in this place she really knew about were ones he'd mentioned, usually by accident.

She smiled and said, "I'm sure we can find somewhere to get you another drink, Anna." She was finding this girl to be pleasant conversation, but felt somehow that her new acquaintance had something else to do. Time was short, and was wasted in conversation. Thus, she moved towards the nearest bar.

Coincidentally... it would be the same one that Anna had walked out of in the first place, seeing as it was the only one in town.

With Aerith leading, Anna did not see what happened next. Her eyes lidded briefly as she closed her right hand, holding it just a few inches in front of her. The energy within her began channelling toward a single point, and in her mind's eye, a picture was formed. Once again, no thought was required- the subconscious could form mental images as easily as anything else.

As she walked towards the counter, her right hand felt heavy. Aerith nodded to herself as she headed toward the bar.

"So what did you get exactly?"

Anna had just followd; if she knew how to do one thing, it was this. "All I got before was a big thing of water... I did'nt want to get anything that was going to weigh me down very much. Knowing my travel companion, if I could even call him that much, he doesn't stop very often... besides, I'm more like an 'errand girl'. That's why I'm in such a hurry...", she added, a tired sounding tone to her voice.

Truly she did'nt enjoy doing no more than running errands, but, she figured that she could somehow find a hint of some way to get back to her own homeland, with the more places she got to see in this land.

She held her arms at her sides, looking around. This city was truly bizzare, though the other places she'd seen before this hadn't been much better.

Aerith smiled and opened her hand, placing it on the counter as she did so. It appeared that she had more money than the drink that she had asked for required, but hey- it was worth it. Take note however- there was nothing in that hand before.

Absolutely nothing.

She turned towards Anna a moment later and smiled, handing her the same size of water that she had left wtih before. "Here you are," she said with that same soft tone that almost sounded airy. "Give your... traveling companion my regards, and tell him that I wish him peace."

Though she probably knew that in some way or other, however she may wish it, the silver-haired former member of SOLDIER would never truly be at peace.

Anna gladly accepted the gift, smiling as she did so. "Thank you so much... I'll be sure that I tell him that, even though I don't think he really gets the whole 'peace' concept."

She held the container of water close to herself, with both hands, not wanting to spill it again. "I guess I should get going. I almost wish I did'nt have to do so, though... you're so nice, the complete opposite of him."

She glanced back towards the door, but looked back at Aerith, giving her a nod. "Maybe I'll be seeing you around? I don't know if there's anything of interest here for him but if there is, I can guarantee it'll be hard to get him to leave aftowards..."

She smiled, and this time it almost seemed sad.

"Yes... you'll probably be seeing me again."

If Sephiroth were indeed the same way that he was all those years before, when they fought him for the survival of the Planet, she would most definitely be seeing her again, and not in a good way. She couldn't tell what his motives were- she could only sense his presence, the oppressive energy making her hair stand on end even now.

But the fear had been replaced by a sort of certainty that everything would turn out all right, even if she did indeed run into him. "And I wish you peace as well. May you find what you're looking for, whatever it is."

Wait, that was an awfully accurate statement. But before Anna could respond, Aerith had exited the building. Later, if she checked her right side pocket on the trench coat, she would find the change left over from paying for the drink inside. For now, there was little probability that she would notice as Aerith surreptitiously slid her right hand into that right outside pocket and removed it in the same movement, all without disturbing the clothing or making a sound.

With that, it was time to find a way out of this town.

Anna sighed, mind wandering for a moment... before it hit her.
Came her sudden outburst,
"I'm SO freaking late! Ack, he's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill me..."
She turned around, running quickly out the door and in the direction she'd last seen Sephiroth at, holding her drink to her chest with both arms, by now in a panicked hurry of sorts.


"You... took forever. I was about to leave."

Anna stood before Sephiroth, panting from her exhausting, frantic run back. "I'm so sorry, you had to wait for me to get a drink... you could've left, I would've caught up."
A short pause came.
Anna, who was getting increasingly worried, continued. "I bumped into someone and spilled it the first time-"
"Figures...", he interrupted, glancing away as he grew more irritated.
Anna waved her free hand, throwing on a nervous smile. "No, no, really; it was an accident, and my drink spilled. But this nice lady helped me out and got me another! She was sort of strange, though."

"Really, now?", Sephiroth spoke up, glancing down at her. "How smart of you, taking help from passerbys..."
Anna, on the other hand, did not pay attention to his comment as she went into details of this woman, rather over enthusiastically, at that. "She had really long, brown hair, and strange, green eyes... and she had on a pink dress with this little red jacket thing, and-... um, sir?"
Sephiroth looked no less of shocked... somewhere between that and furious.
The teenager looked scared. "Er, did I say something, sir?"

A longer pause than the first ensued.
Sephiroth turned around, fists clenched. No, it could'nt be. Was it? That sounded just like her. So it had to be, or... maybe it was something different...
As his mind wandered here and there, Anna backed up a little, raising an eyebrow. He seemed to be having one of his 'crazy moments', as she'd grown to call them.

"Errand girl, we're staying for a while longer.", he spoke, hand against one of the old, crumbling walls of the abandoned part of town the two stood in.
Anna decided not to say anything about this. "Um... yes, sir."
Sephiroth hung his head, staring at the ground and trying to contemplate how exactly this could've happened...

Elena shoved her hands in her trouser pockets and, biting her bottom lip, followed Tifa back inside. She took a seat back at the counter and watched as Tifa moved around the kitchen in preperation for the day, and as she adsvised Marlene against whatever Yuffie was offereing her. Elena helped herself to the newly set out breads, taking hand to a very fresh crosaunt.

{Much better than the ones at the office}
Elena listened to Yuffie's sudden turn and felt a small smirk cross her lips. Did that mean that someone actually took something she had said to mind? {That would be a first... I wonder if I should test it...}Elena was about to speak her mind but was blunted out as Tifa rationalized with the young Wutaian. Again, she went to put her point in but by the time she had regrouped her words, Yuffie had a go. They both did have their points. Finishing off her crosaunt, Elena stood up to walk over to the newly brewed coffe and picked the pot up.

You know, I wouldn't mind watching the place. My grandpa runs the bar back in Costa so I know how to... And I wouldn't mind watching Marlene if you're serioulsy thinking of running off... And if Cid won't help, well I could always borrow the helicopter, it lifts up to 5 tons and seats 10. {I'm sure Reno wouldn't mind if he didn't notice it was gone... If I could get him out of the hanger long enough that is...}

((OOC: Sorry for the dissapearence, glad I got back now before it went too far away lol. I may be back in a bit but I'm not sure yet ^^; ))

"...Nah, there's nothing I can do, lady. There's no real way outta this place besides by air, and as you can see the only aircraft that's here ain't exactly in flying condition."

Aerith nodded and smiled warmly at the man who had told her this sad piece of news. She did not think it sad, however- not being able to leave here by conventional means did not bother her. She now knew how to leave the continent, and thanked the man for explaining things to her.

Now all she had to do was figure out if her newfound little trick worked. With so much knowledge within her, she could do just about anything she wanted, and without any sort of forethought or logic.

It'll have to wait until nighttime, but I can get there without any sort of plane, Aerith mused to herself as she headed back towards the forest.

What she was contemplating... was that she would fly her way off of the continent. If she had the capability to match Sephiroth blow for blow and keep up with him in a speed competition, didn't that mean she could potentially fly like he did as well?

There was only one way to find out.

Hearing Elenan's new offer sure had a nice ring to it.

"Elena you're ssoooo sweeet!!" Tifa exclaimed as she leaned over to hug the Turk. Not questioning Elena's offer at all, she was quite pleased and was actually glad that she would be able to take a break from her daily duties. "Well if you don't mind then tehee. Eat as much as you want today." Tifa had a bright smile on her face. She had really wanted to get away for a while.

Traveling once again~! Even though only for a short while, and that is to repair Clouds' bike, I'll take the chance.

"Just make sure you keep everything nice and clean while I am absent please." She then left the counter to relay the messages to the two orphans.

"YEEEEEEEEES!! I won't be fed to Cloud's chocobo today!" Yuffie pumped her fist enthusiastically, then pulled out her phone to call Cid. After several minutes of screaming obscenities and "DUMB @#$# PUNK BRAT!!!" at the nineteen-year-old, Cid finally agreed to the favor (although, this WAS at the price of Yuffie's agreement to never bring anything explosive withing a 3 mile radius of Cid's equipment again).

Yuffie jumped up and sat on the counter to wait for the airship to arrive. She was dreading the ride in the air, but at least she wouldn't be HERE when Cloud got back. Where was he anyways?

"Tifa, where's Spikey?" she called out after the martial artist as she headed into another room.

Elena took Tifa's hug. "You're more than welcome, it really will be no problem," the blond assured again, more to herself than to the others. Something behind Tifa's dark wine-brown eyes twinkled as she talked.

"Well if you don't mind then tehee. Eat as much as you want today."
"Just make sure you keep everything nice and clean while I am absent please."

Elena felt a small smile quirk up the corners of her lips.
"Thank you," Elena said sweetly. "I promise I'll keep things under wraps here."

Elena finished pouring her coffee and turned to view Yuffie a few feet behind her, as the teen jumped around in rejoyce and used her cell phone. Elena walked back to her previous seat and sat down, the warm liquid softly splashing at the rim. The aroma was more of a nutty blend... Plesently inviting compared to the stale, almost moldy smell of the coffee at the office. This was quite a nice change.

{Hmm...}

Elena, slightly annoyed with thoughts of the Turk's new office building, slipped her slim silver and diamond-encrusted flip-phone from her blazer's inside pocket and tapped in the company number. She turned back to Tifa and Yuffie and grinned impishly.

"I guess today... I should take a sick day."

Moments later, she was grinning as a very grumpy redhead argued with her across the line.

"Sick? You don't sound sick to me. What you got... PMS or something," Reno harped from his end of the conversation.

Elena, knowing it would be a mistake tomorrow- but not caring for today was just beginning- agreed with Reno for the first time since meeting him.

"That's right..." Elena agreed. "Ooh it's terrrible... My head is pounding, I have terrible cramps, and I feel like I'm gonna -"

"Yeah! Okay, okay I get it," Reno intterupted, sounding embarassed. "Go have yourself a margarita and I'll check in on you in a few hours. M'kay?"

Elena bit her bottom lip, narrowed her eyes and twitched her lips into a smirk.

{I am sooo devious....} Okay, everything at the office is cool, so I guess if there's anything I should know, while we're waiting for Cid to pick you two up?

Reno closed his flip-phone and gave it a small toss to his computer desk. The redhead went back to his - previously interrupted- task of putting together records of all company expences in the last month. His thin lips turned up in a mischevious smirk as he read to an empty office building from his empty cubicle.

"One set of neon pink jet skis- One case of chabernet- Orthopedic underwear- Gaw Rude what do you have planned buddy? Whatever it is...." Reno's crystal blue Mako-enhanced eyes searched the page as he sniggered to himself. "You got some taste of activities there bro."

Tucking the page back into a stack of twenty-plus others, Reno sighed out loud. He hated deskwork but there was no errands to run. Tseng was out sick. Rude was out sick. Now Elena? Without the blond to agitate, Reno would be left with nothing to do but paperwork.

{Hunh... If I'm the only Turk on duty today... I wonder if Rufus...!}

Reno stopped in mid-thought and, cocking his head to the left and grumbling to himself, turned sharp on his patent-leather workboots heels and stalked back to his cubicle, where his phone lay.

{Boss-man ain't gonna like this much...}