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TEST DRIVE MEME #8
TEST DRIVE MEME
Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you not with mirthful revelry, this time around dear friends. There is a seriousness in the air, though the food is still hearty and the imps still mischievous. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket! Be mindful, though -- the monarchs are watching and cross court communication should be done with the utmost secrecy. |
excellent
what doesn't work in his favor is the army of people that seems to be inside the court, a sea of newcomers and oldbies alike, all chattering and mingling away. it's work to get through them, cloud not hesitating to push, and once finally out in the hallway, freedom seems like a much more possible chance. that he can escape this and bitter memories of a time he doesn't dare much think about even today.
naturally, that, too, is short-lived.
he falls without grace, first on his knees and then fully on the ground with zack's weight following him down. it all effectively seals away his chances of escaping, which in turn triggers a much more familiar impulse: fight. he might not be a lockhart when it comes to throwing a punch, but cloud is fairly certain as long as he swings his arm somewhere near that face it'll be enough to stun.
whatever it takes, at this point. ]
CLOUD, THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO TREAT YOUR SENPAI
Zack grunts (damn, that hurts) and rolls off of Cloud just long enough to rub his cheek. That's SOLDIER strength right there, and that along with those too-bright eyes convinces him that this really is his friend.
He doesn't want to start a full-fledged fight in the hallway so he backs off, perching on his knees with his hands raised. He can only guess at why Cloud is acting this way (the Mako addiction, something that happened after?), and he doesn't want to spook him anymore than he already has. ]
Cloud, it's me. I swear.
[ He pleads with him, all but begs his friend to stop and recognize him. ]
It's Zack.
[ Please don't run away from me. ]
excuse u this is all ur fault zack!!!!
looking away, cloud doesn't go in for another hit, but just breathes as his mind races to try and make sense of everything that's happening. finding himself whisked away by faeries had been one damn thing, but now this? it's becoming way too much. ]
You're not-- [ no. just no. zack was gone. dead from bullets raining down on him, from protecting cloud when he should have just run. he's dead, gone, lost.
slowly, cloud pushes himself off the ground, climbing back on his feet. ]
He's dead.
[ cloud will never forget that crack inside of himself, that break in his person, his soul, the sensation of losing all faith when zack had breathed his last words. it had changed him for good, and it's not something this place gets to toy with simply because they want him on their war team. ]
WOW IT IS NOT!!!! blame the faeries, not him, gosh
His face crumples, and it's an effort to stay calm, to not pull his friend over and hug him, to say he's sorry for all the obvious pain he's suffered since that time on a bloody hill. Instead, he stays where he is and lowers his hands into his lap. He can't rush this, as much as he might want to. ]
Cloud.
[ Quietly, with as much calm as he can muster. ]
The monarchs here have the power to do a lot of great and terrible things.
[ He takes a breath. ]
You're not wrong. I remember that day.
[ All too well, as it's hardly been two months since he was brought into this world. He tugs up the hem of his shirt a little, just enough so Cloud can see -- a mess of scars left behind ShinRa's finest. The faeries might have healed him, but they left him to souvenirs. ]
The faeries brought me here.
lucky for u there is plenty of blame for zack and the faeries
and this? this is all a lie. it has to be.
eyes drop to the scarring which marks zack's skin, but he refuses to believe it, shaking his head like it might somehow still change it. ]
There was no way to survive. [ not with how torn up zack's body had been. not even the strongest, mastered cure materia could have changed his fate. so no matter where any faeries might have whisked anyone off to, it doesn't change what happened.
that, and it was over two years ago. ]
I know they want me to fight, but this is... [ playing so dirty. ] I don't want any part in it. [ so just disappear already. ]
So cruel, kouhai ;-;
Zack looks at Cloud, and he can tell even before he says anything. Truthfully, Zack doesn't know how he survived -- how the faeries managed to bring him back when his body was completely and utterly destroyed. It's a testament to SOLDIER engineering that he lasted a long as he did. That's little comfort to him now, looking at his friend's face, so hostile and disbelieving.
His hands curl into fists in his lap, and he tugs his shirt back down. He doesn't know what he can say to convince him without making things even worse.
His expression is pained - sad - but he doesn't push for more. ]
You don't have to if you don't want to.
[ As far as he knows, no shardbearer has ever been forced to fight in a battle they didn't want to be in. ]
There are a lot of things to see besides what's here.
[ He looks down finally, and he has to fight back tears. ]
I'm sorry they brought you here.
if zack cries cloud will drown in guilt ok
real or not, the way zack (his ghost, his doppelganger, this impostor) lets his eyes fall to the floor makes something inside of cloud's chest ache sudden and fierce. the shock of it is immediate, and for a moment he wonders if he's made some kind of mistake here. what if it is him?
but that's hope speaking, a sort of longing for those he's lost trying to roll and crash into him once again. cloud can't let himself go through that, not when he's come so far since then.
or has he. ]
... So am I.
[ the words are breathed out quick, that desire to leave this situation -- or this person who looks like zack, claims to be zack, but can't be zack -- behind growing stronger by the second. hell, he can barely look at that face, too reminded of things in the dark, distant past. and were his legs anything but apparently rooted to the ground, he would be gone by now, too... but instead he's left to fidget there, feeling so lost. ]
he's going to find a corner to cry silently in, gj, cloud
Solais, whoever or whatever power had brought him here, should have left well enough alone. His friend, one of the only two reasons he had to push and keep on going, doesn't even know him.
His grip tightens, and tears spill down his cheeks. ]
I'm sorry I bothered you.
[ Soft, harsh. He can't bring himself to look Cloud in the eye as he gets up to walk away. He tells himself it should be enough, that at least he knows his friend is all right and survived.
Unfortunately, he's still human. He can fight an army by himself, near double his weight in lead and still refuse to back down, but a few cutting words from the right source penetrate deeper than ShinRa's bullets ever could.
He holds it together long enough to pick up the Buster where he left it at the table before heading outside. He needs some space right now so he doesn't have to be ashamed of himself for crying. ]