edgeoflife | Summer Solstice

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Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice Fair

The sun is shining, the Mognet is working again, and the summer solstice fair is here! The WRO hopes to makes this an annual thing, but this is the first year they're doing it. Everything you could ever want from a fair is here and open to the public.

*Fair Rides: Ferris wheels, a mini rollercoaster, that thing that looks like an octopus and spins around--the WRO spared no expense to make sure everyone would have fun here today. There's even a gravity ride that takes you up to the top of a pole and then drops you!

*Food: So much food. So much unhealthy food. Funnel cakes, hot dogs, burgers, ice cream, you name it. And it's all fairly cheap too, since the WRO promised to pay for half of what the merchants sell!

*Carnival Games: And most of them aren't even rigged! The Gold Saucer donated games for the fair and there are so many games. There's your standard shooting games, some basketball games, a dunk tank, hoop tosses, you name it. A few are rigged, though, so buy beware! There's also a few card tables set up in a tent for those who like their games a little less wild.

*Speed Dating: ...yeah, the WRO has no idea. This came with the Gold Saucer stuff, along with a Cait Sith and Moogle mascot pair that will coax anyone they can into sitting down and participating.

*Job Fair: With the influx of new arrivals, both native and Streamers, some employers see a golden opportunity to get some jobs filled! In one corner of the fair is another, mini-fair fill with tables and presentations on various workplaces: the WRO, ShinRa Tech, the volunteer emergency services of Edge, and the Highwind Air Taxi Service, just to name a few. Anyone of working age is welcome to wander in and have a look around.

Of course, the fair is taking up the entire center of Edge, so there's lots more to see and do!

[[Feel free to make your own top levels! Welcome to Edge of Life!]]

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[When Cloud looks up at Rufus, the kit tackles his hand and takes the ice cream from him. Rufus just sighs]

I don't think it matters anymore.

..true. Run it home?

"Finding something to eat," he replied without really looking back. Of course he knew the sound of Cloud's voice.

When he did turn, it was because there was a questioning inflection in the way that Strife said his name. That was when he noticed that something wasn't quite right. Cloud, or at least when he last saw the guy, wasn't this young. There were ghosts and shadows in those eyes and this kid didn't have those.

Yet this was unmistakably Cloud all the same. For now, he rolled with it. Crossing his arms over his chest, he opted to look amused.

"Cloud?"

Yes, he was that juvenile.

It can wait.

[It seems like a waste of time to leave, even though they don't live very far from here.]

[Cloud really had thought he'd escaped this part of the fair after the first one, but the Cait Sith and Moogle pair were both distracting and hard to avoid. And he didn't escape the chair in time this time either, and when the second person is pushed into the chair opposite, Cloud is sunk rather low in his seat, staring at the table.

He looks up, hesitant, at the greeting, a mumbled one of his own on his tongue, and then just... stops.

Stops and stares and briefly his ears are thundering and his heart is up in his throat, adrenaline flooding - but Zack has warned him. And the clone is, obviously, far too young. Cloud slumps back in his seat, still staring.]

... hi.

I'm Cloud.

[Even if that might or might not be known already, how much has Zack said, yet? He feels like he's run a mile, now.]

Out of all of the questions Rufus Shinra would ask... Why did that one pop out of his mouth. Zack looked confused for all of one second before he shook his head.

"Unless it was a recent development? No?"

Wasn't he too narcissistic for something like that anyway?

[There's a very startled, silent moment as Cloud stares down at the coeurl, and he laughs. He swallows it almost immediately, embarrassed, but it was there nonetheless.]

Sorry. I should've been more careful.

"If that is the term you are using for people not of this world, then yes." said Winston.

He couldn't say he appreciated the distinction but...

"So does it pass muster?"

Cloud had actually found himself enjoying the fair, even if, to someone that didn't know him, it wasn't obvious. He'd been milling about, stopping here and there to help out streamers as he saw them and just, in general, gathering himself a small herd of orphans.

As usual.

Among the group tagging along with him had been Denzel and the young boy had refused to leave Cloud's side for a good majority of the wandering. They hadn't spoken about it directly but he clearly knew that something was bothering his parental figure and had kept a firm grip on his hand as they explored the fair. It wasn't until a familiar girl with pigtails had come to drag Denzel off that Cloud had finally found himself alone for a moment and a faint smile lingered on his lips as he waved them off before heading back towards the rows of games that had been set up.

Despite how he'd felt the day before, despite how difficult the meeting with his younger self's Zack had been, he was doing alright. A part of him had hoped that maybe the man he'd been told about had been the one he knew but...

Well. There was no point in dwelling on it.

Sidestepping to avoid a few children rushing past, Cloud bumped into someone which prompted him to immediately take a step forward again and start to turn around.

"Sorr--" Bright blue eyes widened as he found himself staring at Zack--but not the Zack from the day before. There was no cane in his hand and he didn't look near as old and worn down. No. This was...

...Was it?

That response, both extremely right (how couldn't it be?) and just a little bit off, had Cloud confused (and maybe a bit annoyed, because it wasn't as if he didn't recognise the tactic). He grimaced, frowning up at Zack and wasn't sure at all what to do now.

Shifting on his feet, Cloud almost crossed his arms as well, but the weight of the ice cream in one hand stopped him. Frowning at it as if it was to blame for the current confusion, Cloud looked back to Zack.

Couldn't help but remember the look in his eyes while Zack held him in the reactor, and again what the older version of him had said. Taking a breath, he bit his lip.

"I'm not giving you my ice cream," he said, almost on reflex, then shook his head, "... how old am I supposed to be?"

That should be a dead giveaway, but it'd be embarrassing if he mistook what little difference there were and Zack was just doing well enough today to not need that stick.

Aerith sits herself down at Terra's table out-of-turn, waving the man who was supposed to join her off to the next table with a smile and then turning to the other girl. "I love your dress," she starts, because it's such a pretty dress. "You look a little overwhelmed right now, though. You're having fun, right?"

She's been dead three years, but her forwardness hasn't been blunted too much.

"Uhm...is that a real animal? Not an animatronic?"

Aerith is asking this question discreetly to a child, but they're pretty close, and Aerith's idea of "discreet voice" needs a little fine-tuning.

The kid nodded and exclaimed, "He talks too!"

At this, Winston laughed. Oh kids. "Yes, I talk," rumbled Winston in a voice that was oddly reminiscent of Rude with a much deeper bass voice. Rude-monkey was after all voiced by Crispin Freeman.

"My name is Winston," he said to Aerith. "I'm a Streamer, but I prefer to be known as a scientist."

Kids. Delightful little things. Truthfully, it did bring a smile to Zack's face to see people acting so carefree. One wouldn't know just by watching them that there had been more than one crisis in the last few years. People were actually living again. Of course there is a twinge of regret on Zack's part, if only because a small part of him wished that he could have been around, physically, to help make things better.

However, in no way did he regret what he committed himself to instead. That had turned out for the best after all, didn't it?

In the end, he would be forever grateful to the person that bumped into him. That immediately jerked Zack out and away from those thoughts. Instead he turned, hands out and ready to steady whoevever it was that was -

"Cloud?"

Please, please be the one he knew. Not that the other was horrible by any means. This would definitely save him some time!

"Zack."

Even to his own ears his voice sounds terribly weak all of a sudden but Cloud can't help it. Sure, he'd pulled himself together. He'd walked away from that meeting in the bar feeling...okay he'd been a mess but he'd pulled himself out of it and kept moving, just like he'd promised Tifa.

But this was something he hadn't been expecting. Had he missed another phonecall? Or had they just not thought to tell him?

His gaze swept over the man standing before him as he took a slight step backwards, stopping only when his gaze met Zack's once more.

"...You....which..."

"...You want to run that by me again?" Because that was a combination of things that didn't make any sense to Cloud whatsoever. A scientist. Okay. Check. Name was Winston. Check.

...A genetically modified...gorilla? Okay. Right.

From the moon.

What.

Terra smiled awkwardly at the boy across from her. She folds her hands in her lap and tries to look ... less stressed than she actually felt. She wasn't sure how this worked but it seemed other people were talking to one another, so. maybe it was time to make friends?

"Yes... Its very hard to get away from them, especially.. the one in the cat costume. Very insistent."

She sighs softly, giving him another weak smile. She felt worse for him than for herself at the moment.

"My name is Terra. I should let you know, I'm not.. from here. I'm from the Lifestream... I think everyone has been calling us streamers..?"

[Glancing down at the kit that decided it wanted his attention, Cloud hesitated a moment before slowly kneeling down and holding a gloved hand out to the small creature.]

Vincent and I were discussing things and we're both worried that whatever is going on in Mideel could bring back people that...

[He frowns momentarily.]

..People that don't need to set foot in Edge again. Do you know anything new about what's going on?

Terra might have blushed a bit at the compliment. It was only due to her friends that she had any idea about fashion or wat looked good. She generally just bought things she liked the color of and her favorite color was red. It reminded her of fire.

"I.. I am, to be honest. I haven't been here long and this is just a lot of people.." She looks around, hand pushing a bit of hair out of her face.

"I'm trying to! I mean, I've tried food I've never had before and I'm seeing a lot of how people are in this world but I guess.. Its just a lot to take in at once."

This was rude of her, she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm sorry, I'm Terra... And you are..?"

Please be a friend, please be a friend.

"Mmhmm!" The confirmation comes from around another mouthful of the treat, Sora doing his best to give her another smile but it's really hard to do when one is trying to chew something. So he clears his mouth as quickly as he can, mouth getting wiped on his sleeve in the process. "You stick things in hot oil! Fries them up and makes 'em really tasty!"

Seriously. It's the best. Especially to a small child.

Sora's eyes light up at her question and he bounces on his toes again, head nodding wildly.

"Uh huh! Can't let it go to waste, lady!" he chirped before taking another bite of his own treat, watching her with wide eyes and secretly hoping that she didn't like it.

Winston laughed, a deep rich booming noise. "From the moon. It is where I was raised as a child."

Carefully dislodging a child from his shoulder and setting him on his back, he held out his hand. "Dr. Winston, Overwatch scientist. A pleasure to meet you."

I'd love some, thank you!

[What a hot day it was, and Sunset was sweltering. Why did so many people wear black? Once she got some fabric, she was making her usual outfit.

Tugging at the collar of her shirt, she placed gil on the table with a relieved sigh.]

Ice cream and a juice please.

Terra laughed at how happy he seemed. It was good to see a bright happy face. She wondered if being dirty was just a today thing, with the festival going on, or if he was one of those orphans... There seemed to be quite a few and not a lot seemed to have places to go in the evening.

She decides that though she likes the taste of the fried treat... That she should be gentle on her stomach. Of course, that was the only reason.. She smiles and offers it out to the boy.

"No, we can't. I don't think its something I like too much, but I'm glad you're here to help me finish it."

At least she could feed him. She looked around to check other foodstands, wondering if he'd like anything else too.

"What's your name..? I'm Terra, I just arrived here."

What? No ice cream for him? Blasphemy!

"That's not very nice."

Thankfully Zack wasn't going to ask anyway. Who would take candy from a baby anyway? Speaking of, the question did strike him as odd. Zack took a moment to really look Cloud over. How old he was supposed to be... No. There were no traces of that Cloud in this Cloud.

"Early to mid twenties. At least."

If Cloud was more self-assured, less shy and awkward, he'd try his best to make her feel better, because it was hard to miss how tense she looked.

"Cloud," he gave her a little smile as well, and decided, for the sake of simplicity, to not bring up that he was technically a Streamer as well. It was apparently not exactly the norm, him and Zack (and the clone).

"It's not really a costume," he said instead, gaze flicking between the tabletop and up at Terra, "the cat, I mean. It's like a... doll someone's given a personality." Hopefully that would be reasonably clear, since she clearly wasn't exactly familiar with robots.

Not that Cloud was himself either, really, but he knew of the concept.

"... I hope you... like it so far?"

Aside from not being home, of course, Cloud thought with an internal wince.

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Page 3 of 36

Summer Solstice

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unsupervised introductions, or speed dating

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Wandering about :V

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Speed kidnapping, something Aerith has experience in

Re: OTA

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\o/

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o_o

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Ugh so cute

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c: