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!

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Vincent slowly turned his head to look at Reno. He was silent for a long... long few moments before finally answering.

"Just between us." He leans in slightly closer, to commit to the idea that this was just one big secret. "Its very obvious not all of these Streamers are from Gaia."

He leans back, looking back out over the crowd.

"I've seen pointed ears and earlier an ape wearing glasses. I believe its very fair to say some are not from Gaia. The more pressing concern I have outside of that is that there are people who were dead before walking around as well."

Reno laughed and shook his head. "Relax, I'm just teasin'. Here."

He passed over a sheet of paper and a pen.

"Fill this out -- name, contact info, etc cetera. We'll set up that interview for another time."

Reno couldn't help but laugh. This guy... Well, at least he was determined about his goals. Reno pointed the way.

"They got a table down there, can't miss the logo. Good luck."

Reno rolled his eyes. "You don't think, with what Hojo's done, we couldn't have apes in glasses in a few centuries?"

Still, it was weird. He shook his head.

"Look, obviously the Lifestream has greater potential than anyone thought. I mean, linking worlds? Parallel universes? That's huge!" His shoulders sagged. "The dead people, I'll admit, are kinda weird. I dunno if it's purging or..."

Or what?

"I dunno," he said again. "But if yer thinkin' about Sephiroth, trust me, you ain't the only one considerin' that possibility. I'll take the ape in glasses over that, thanks."

"Yeah, it's pretty busy there. I feel like all I do my entire shift is run back and forth from the stock room to the bar." Not that he minded, he liked the work, especially since it usually meant the only interaction he had with the patrons was an 'excuse me, coming through' here and there.

Isa finished off his hot dog. "Well, good luck with the job hunt. I can give you a list of places that are hiring.

Laslow rolled his eyes but took the offered paper and pen. Some of the stuff he wasn't sure how to fill out, but made a good guess of it. When it came to his address, he made a soft noise.

"I doubt it would come up, but just in case it does--I share my...apartment, was it, with a friend. So if someone comes looking for me and a man with wolf ears and a tail opens the door, they've come to the right place. That is Keaton."

Laguna decided to go for it since Reno's hand was in reach. He grabs the red head's hand, kissing the back of it.

"Thank you, sir~"

He grins and lets go, turning to go find the sky taxi. And walk without limping, dear Gods, why did he do that right before walking?

"Thanks," Cloud looked up with a smile, "that'd be useful." Really useful, actually, if only to know better where to start and what he could rule out.

"And thanks for the company," a pause as Cloud glanced to the plush and back to Isa, hesitating before he continued, a little smile on his face, "... both of you."

Even if the dog plush had taken up the whole table.

Vincent wondered if Reno listened to his own words when he spoke them since the ginger Turk acknowledged the ape in glasses would most likely not be a thing for a few centuries though....

"I suppose you're right, considering Rude..."

He glances side long at Reno, brow furrowing slightly. Yes, it was a shock that the Lifestream was as far reaching as this. It brought along many risks, including strange beasts from other worlds that could possibly be worse than the ones living in their own.

"I am thinking about Sephiroth, but also about the ape in glasses possibly tearing the heads off of innocent people, or someone that looks innocent and normal turning out to be worse than the Meteor."

It was all a risk. In fact...

He turns, facing away from the crowd so he can look Reno more solidly in the face.

"What if Rufus ShinRa walks out of that Lifestream, but he's not your's. How easily could he assume his identity? Or another one of you or Tseng or Reeve? Anyone in a position of power?"

Especially Reeve, considering the man was overseeing the WRO and the issue with the Lifestream.

"Every Streamer I see is a potential danger, regardless of who's face they have. What if Aerith was the problem in another world and not Sephiroth?"

"No problem. I can text you the list when I get home?" Which of course meant trading numbers. It would be one of the few actually in there. He had Lea, Lea's aunt, his parents, the bar, and Tifa's number. A whole whopping five numbers.

"It was nice meeting you, too." Isa chuckled at the inclusion of the plush. "I should come up with a name for him." Was he kidding?

Nodding, Cloud opened his mouth and then paused, a grin suddenly appearing.

"... you can just ask Lea for my number, instead of either of us having to pull them out now. We exchanged them when we first met..." and again that made him feel stunned, though at least Isa had confirmed that was just... how Lea was.

"He's... sort of big enough to deserve one, isn't he." Was Cloud joking about this, now? Impossible to tell as he managed a straight expression and his glance to the plush was more thoughtful than anything else.

"I'll do that then." Of course Lea exchanged numbers with him right off the bat. He was pretty sure Lea had like 50 numbers stored in his phone at this point. Not that he ever looked to see, it's just an assumption he made based on his proclivity to make friends wherever he goes.

"I think so." But what would be a good name for a big blue dog. "Maybe Moony?" He's not the best at naming things, clearly.

"Memories? Mannerisms? I think I'd know who the hell Rufus is, an' I sure as hell would think my people would know me!"

Reno's eyes narrowed. "If yer so worried about everyone bein' a threat, why don't you do something about it? Because no matter what Shinra is tryna' do to help, we get shit on, right?" He scoffed and shook his head. "So unless you got any real suggestions, Vincent, you can keep the obvious to yerself."

Reno frowned. "Wolf ears and tail? Would he make a habit of eating the meat out of a sandwich and then throwing the rest away?"

Because he had a hunch he knew this Keaton.

Laslow just facepalmed.

"Yes, that's him. He has a...confusing time in human cities, especially ones so different from our home cities."

"Time to refresh ourselves on everything! Starting with...carnival games!"

She may think it'd be hilarious to have a SOLDIER play the high striker game and see just how loud that bell rings. She'll give it a try herself, too.

"Why not," Cloud agreed with a nod, "doesn't sound bad... Or... um, Hati? It's... related to the moon too."

Shrugging, he stared at the cute plush dog. The name was probably not very fitting for something as cute as the plush, but he'd noticed Isa's suggested name had to do with the moon - and really, he wasn't that stellar at naming things either, but this was something familiar to him.

"Naive thinking." Vincent thought the worst of every situation. It wasn't safe, they shouldn't expect it to be. Someone could act exactly the same but have a different moral compass.

"Be cautious. And I would quite enjoy doing something about it, but the WRO has a lock on the Lifestream. I need access."

He reaches out, poking Reno's shoulder with a sharp gold finger.

"Talk to your boss. Get me access to the Lifestream. Get me access to what files you have on the Lifestream. Your company mined Mako, you should have data. Even if its scraps."

Vincent leans in slightly, red eyes narrowing. "I will be glad to speak highly of ShinRa Technologies for their efforts in discovering the solution to the Lifestream problem. As an anonymous employee."

He didn't need credit. He just needed a solution.

"That's true." Reno smirked and shook his head. Same old Zack -- even after years of being dead. What to make of that?

Reno chose to be optimistic and believe that Zack was as he always had been.

"Well, I'm actually glad you're back," he admitted. Then he added, "Whaddaya mean by only one grumpy Chocobo? What's up with the other Cloud, then?"

Not grumpy? Could there be such a thing?

"Hope..." Reno chewed thoughtfully in silence for a moment more.

"Well. I hope you're right." He frowned. "I wanna believe the best, y'know, I wanna believe that things're gonna work out. But until everyone's vetted an' we know why this is happening..."

Until a lot of things. And even then, was it really okay? What about the other worlds that were missing people? What did it mean for Gaia to have the dead walking again? What did it mean for the Lifestream?

"I'm worried," he admitted, serious for the first time since they'd arrived at the fair. "But not seeing Sephiroth again? That'd be great."

Zack. It was a weird sort of ironic destiny or something... Zack and Cloud meeting up again. Not only that, but dead Zack meeting young Cloud.

"Figures." Reno shook his head. "That musta' been a blast from the past for him..."

"Do you normally get away with throwing bread all over the place in your home city?" Reno asked with obvious skepticism. It was nice that Laslow -- and, in turn, weird wolf boy -- arrived with a friend here. Should hopefully make assimilation a little more comfortable.

But they had to understand, that sort of behavior really wasn't tolerated unless people were specifically feeding the birds -- not just littering.

"No, you misunderstand. Keaton is a wolfskin--they don't live in cities. Though, to be fair, the most that behavior would get in a Nohrian city is hungry orphans following you..." Assuming there was bread to be had at all, in the inner parts of the country. "But Keaton isn't human and doesn't always understand human behaviors."

Reno crossed his arms. "No one gets access to the leak in Mideel unless you're WRO or Shinra Tech -- not even Team Cloud. Unless you're workin' with us in an official capacity..."

He paused, looking at Vincent skeptically. "If you think you can do that, I'll talk t' Rufus."

Rufus was already talking to Cloud, whether or not Vincent knew it. It wouldn't be a bad thing to have Vincent working on the problem, too. But Reno didn't want to be blindsided. Shinra would know everyone who went in and out of that area.

The mention of orphans was enough to deflate Reno just a little. Edge definitely had its own -- hell, the whole Planet was probably full of them at this point. Reno wasn't sure if they'd pick trampled hotdog buns off the fairgrounds... but they might.

Reno rubbed his mouth. "Okay. Well, just... Help him adjust, okay? He's not gonna get by just bein' cute forever."

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Summer Solstice

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