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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[Rufus stares at Cloud for a moment]

Are you suggesting that I would do anything but order him killed?

[There is the slightest hint of anger in his tone]

"We actually had a surprising number of employees return, when the word went out. Mostly those who had no other skills or weren't hired by the WRO." Rufus shrugged. "But most did leave, yes. My company is blamed for much in the world today, and most of it was the fault of ShinRa Electric Power."

Even if it wasn't strictly his fault. He had just landed the presidency when the company and world was going to hell. Still, he would shoulder that blame if it made the Shinra name trusted again.

Opening his mouth and then closing it on a sigh, Cloud nodded. Glanced away and didn't say that it was pretty impossible to look forward when you were dead, but, well. He wasn't dead right now, was he?

He was, in fact, very, very alive, if in the completely wrong place (and yet it was the right one. Confusing).

"Well... it'd be a better energy source than mako, wouldn't it?" he said instead, his dry little smile growing wider when he looked back to Zack with his hands on his hips. It was... both great and weird that there suddenly were two of them (but well, the same could be said for his older self and him, really).

"Not sure... I tried to kill him because it was the right thing to do, though." Cloud's gaze flickered from Zack, to the ice cream and then away. He'd wanted (still wanted) his mother and Nibelheim back, even if Sephiroth also had to be stopped anyway.

But it hurt too, because he'd looked up to the man so much, and then... that.

[Cloud shook his head, baffled at the idea. Coeurls and and guard hounds were pretty chancy as it was, tamed rather than domesticated, so why try to take even more dangerous versions of the monsters?

In the middle of delightedly petting the kit, an unconscious smile on his face from the incongruously loud purring, the earlier realisation of who this was settled in properly, and Cloud ducked his head.]

... sorry for taking up your time.

[He was pretty sure Rufus Shinra had better things to do than let him pet his coeurl kits.]

Blinking, Cloud stared. Listened and tried to make sense of it. Biting his lip, he chewed it for a moment.

"Magic is only contained in materia, here," he said quietly, then frowned, going back to the rest of what Terra had said, and definitely didn't think about Nibelheim in flames, about Sephiroth wreathed in fire... the smell of burning flesh.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, Cloud breathed in and swallowed, then looked back to Terra.

"How do... um, Espers work?" She looked human (Sephiroth had too), but Cloud wasn't going to overreact. She was sitting here, worried because she felt she'd overwhelmed him. It was okay.

Turning around at the call - even if he also, when he saw who it was, glanced around to check if she might have meant his older self - Cloud blinked and then gave Tifa a little wave and wandered over.

Then stopped, staring at the giant (and probably deliberately ugly) chocobo plush she was carrying. His nose scrunched up and he pushed the tiny one he'd stuffed in his pocket (much cuter than the one Tifa was carrying) deeper down, and hopefully out of sight.

"Hi." He would not ask. He would not---

"... why are you carrying that around..."

Too late. And then he felt a little embarrassed, because why had he asked it like that? Obviously she'd won it and hadn't had the chance to put it down or go back home with it.

[That hint of anger get's a frown out of Cloud, his eyes narrowed as he looks up at Rufus again.]

I'd like to think that was the case but you'll have to forgive me if I constantly question ShinRa's motives.

[Yeah, you guys helped with the geostigma crisis...but you also withheld a lot of information during that time as well, Rufus.

Straightening up again, Cloud keeps his gaze focused on the other man as he crosses his arms.]

We have no idea what or who is going to show up in Mideel and I want to know that your scientists are going to try something stupid.

Zack groaned, rubbing at his face. Yet grinning, just a little. "That's a horrible joke."

Still, it was a little bit of a joke. That was better than nothing. Zack wouldn't tolerate anyone stewing in their emotions for too long. It wasn't healthy nor did it really help or change anything. That sort of negativity? No one needed it.

"Hey, it wasn't easy," Zack admitted. "But he went off the rails, Cloud. By the time any of us realized it, it was too late."

The question catches Cloud off guard momentarily and he has to give that one some thought before he figures out his answer.

"..My family's here. And I want to make sure this place doesn't go through anymore hell." Aka he felt that it was his responsibility to protect Edge; to make sure that it thrived.

[It does help. It keeps him from attacking outright so that's a plus, right?

When the young man turns around and Cloud can get a proper look at him, the tension that had been crackling in the air around the blonde eases just the slightest bit. Yeah, this young man is definitely cut from the same mold that Kadaj and the others had been--in a way--but there was a more human air about him.

Cloud hesitates a moment, fighting with himself on how to handle this situation now that he's engaged Riku, before he's offering a hand to the other.

He may be frowning a bit still but he's trying. And the people around them are taking note of it.]

...Cloud Strife.

[Or maybe more similar to the man Sephiroth had been if, honestly, different still. But with the echo of a voice twisted into inhuman rage (and confusion, after he lifted Sephiroth up in the air), the difference is... good. Cloud focuses on that instead of the adrenaline that's washed away and the memory of pain.

The question makes him pause for a moment, though. That's absolutely what he would call Zack, and Zack has said as much as well, but hearing someone else say it too...]

... yeah. [It's not exactly a smile he gives Riku, but Cloud has relaxed a little.]

I mean, I---

[Stop. Cloud rolls his eyes and when he continues his voice is a little stronger and drier.]

I am. He'd frown at me if I said 'I guess so', even if he's not here, so I better not.

Unfortunately that was the sort of negativity Cloud pretty much lived on a lot of the time... Which probably made it a good thing that he had Zack, whether that be before he died or here.

He ducked his head a little, pleased he'd managed this much at least, but he sighed and nodded, frowning at the ground.

"Yeah. But maybe if we could've done something earlier..." Again with the 'what ifs', but it wasn't fair. To anyone, even if Cloud was still angry at what Sephiroth had done.

"... doesn't matter, I guess. I mean, it happened the same way both here and for me," Cloud looked up with a little grimace. Was it unavoidable, or was there, maybe, a place where things had happened differently? Cloud liked that idea, even if it wasn't one they knew.

There he went again, with the what ifs... At least Cloud stopped himself this time. There was no need for him to chide the other again. Unfortunately, life wasn't - ha - fair. There would always be a price and a consequence to everything. One just needed to make the most of what they had when they had it.

"I'm sure that, somewhere, what happened at the reactor didn't happen at all. With all this, it's not impossible, right?"

Zack shrugged. He wasn't really big on the whole science thing and that seemed that's what this thing was. A science thing. Personally, Zack also liked the idea that somewhere out there, things went right for everyone involved.

Maybe he shouldn't be surprised that Zack would be the type to have the same thought, but would also voice it. Cloud nodded, belated remembering his ice cream and going to rescue some parts of it.

"I was wondering about that," he said after he'd made sure he wasn't going to end up with ice cream all over his hand, "I hope so."

Glancing up at Zack, Cloud grinned briefly. Sure, he'd said he couldn't have the ice cream, but...

"Do you... want a taste?"

Cloud wasn't sure if it was strange to offer - he didn't think so, but he shifted on his feet and glanced away for a moment. He'd have done the same for his Zack, of course, but he was not present at the moment.

[A big, big plus, Cloud. You might not know how much he appreciates that if he knew of the complete history between Sephiroth and him.

It might not be a good thing that Riku does not immediately take that offered hand. Call it nerves but the man's previous tone and the collection of people around him aren't making him feel the most welcome. Riku really appreciates any offer or attempt to make peace with people, but the way he glances around the crowd is making him feel a little flighty. If this guy wants to talk, the clone would just rather appreciate not doing it in public.

But worry not. After some hesitance on his part, Riku takes that handshake.]

...Riku.

[Trust him, Cloud. He's heard you being referred to such a familiar sense that he believes it, regardless of whatever you say.

So that answer earns him a snort of a laugh, because he can see it happening. Zack would frown and pout and whine loudly if Cloud gave any other answer.]

He's not here, so don't worry about it. [A beat and he drops his gaze from Cloud to the table, still feeling fairly shy. He definitely wanted to meet people from Zack's past before, people like Cloud and Angeal, but he knows it just isn't easy.]

He just talks about you like that.

His hand wave is met with raised eyebrows. And, for just a second she can almost hear Aerith and the way she'd used to sass Cloud - rightfully - when he'd try to sideline her for her own safety. It makes her lips soften out of their tight line and she shakes her head.

"We'll handle it. All of us." Because Vincent has the same problem Cloud does about thinking he needs to carry all the weight on his shoulders alone. It's probably one of the reasons the two of them get along together so well.

Even if they probably spend hours in each others company with only a handful of grunts exchanged and go away considered it a fulfilling conversation.

She smiles though, something quiet. Vincent's right. Today won't be the day they solve every problem the Planet has. Does Cloud have any idea at all how much their entire team watches out for him?

"But you're right. Cloud does need a break." It's not coincidental that her next sentence is: "I'm glad you're here."

[It makes her laugh but its good-natured. She's very fond of quite a few people that would have trouble with the speed-dating circle.]

One day, I'll introduce you both to a friend of mine named Yuffie. After you both promise not to take her up on any of her dares.

So far Tifa's only spoken with a few of the Streamers and this is easily working up to be the most educational of all her conversations so far.

"Both places?"

[Rufus just smiles a bit]

No, it's fine. I brought them out here to work on socializing them before I begin training them in earnest. Besides, she looks happy.

She had to smile when he came over and didn't sprint in the other direction and the ugly stuffed chocobo in her arms got a slight squeeze of happiness. Her eyes curved and she was just about to return his greeting when he asked -

The grin that broke over her face was devastatingly bright - and possibly laced with pure evil.

"Isn't it hideous?" she sounded delighted. She'd seen the nose crinkle, Cloud. The smile didn't abate.

"I'm going to leave it on Cloud's bed back at Seventh Heaven. What do you think?"

[Rufus stays seated, but oh is he not happy with what Cloud is insinuating.]

I run a technology development company, Cloud. My "scientists" know more about circuity and motherboards than the nervous system. None of us have any interest in Sephiroth beyond never seeing him again. If you want to be worried over scientists "trying something stupid", I would be more concerned with the WRO. They have several former ShinRa scientists in their employ.

Oh, she sounds fun!

[Lea laughs because he can imagine the exact sort of person this Yuffie is.]

No jumping off the ShinRa building?

[It's the second time in as many minutes that she laughs a little and that's unusual for Tifa. Appreciated though.]

I think fun is the most flattering compliment you could give her. [And, to indicate he guessed right she adds:] And yes. No jumping off the ShinRa building allowed.

Damn, there goes that dare idea!

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Summer Solstice

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