onepassingnight | (no subject)

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[ Stained glass creates colorful rainbows of patterns on the wooded floor, beams of sunlight streaming in through the holes in the roof. Despite the decrepit nature, the church is fairly well kept, clean and free of most forms of debris (though there are more than a few shattered wood beams and pews scattered here and there); the one thing that stands out the most being a large flower garden in the center of the main area.

It's a healthy garden, growing lush and vibrant, almost sticking out like a sore thumb in its surroundings.

And Tifa is there, kneeling next to it, looking for weeds and other things that might keep the garden from growing.

It helps her feel like Aerith is really still there.

She comes here, sometimes, to clear her head, to take a break. It really is a peaceful place in what's left of Sector Five, a small private world for those who remember the flower girl who used to come here. Sometimes Tifa thought about taking some of the flowers home with her, decorating the bar with them..

But she always ended up feeling as though they were better off here, hidden away, where only those who came looking for them and knew they were here could find them. ]

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[Ami's just a short distance away (was she there a moment ago?), gently sprinkling some of the flowers with the water from a small watering can. She trails her arm back and forth, letting each plant receive its drink gently.

It's been a long time since she's done something like this. It brings back memories she's not sure if she wants to dwell on: a man who once loved nature and taught her about the greenery and flowers around them.

She acknowledges Tifa only after a few moments as her hand stops its movement, tipping the watering can back upright.]

Who's there?

[ Tifa looks up sharply, frowning a little. She could ask the same thing, and she tilts her head to the side, standing up from her kneeling position to look at the girl in front of her. ] I could ask you the same thing.

[How rude.]

If you learn to be polite, I'll consider answering you.

[You first, Tifa. Not particularly anticipating an answer after that start, Ami goes back to tending to the plants.]

[ Tifa knows how to read a threat.

She can't read you, and it's setting her on edge -- the last thing she wants is some stranger defiling this place (again). She slips one hand into her back pocket and leaves it there, squeezing her gloves to make sure they're there.

Her tone is a little more firm this time. ]

My name is Tifa. Why are you here?

Edited 2011-07-13 22:39 (UTC)

[She makes her living being unpredictable. Ami lifts her hand holding the watering can, as if to display it as her reason for being there.]

I'm Mizuno Ami. Doctor Mizuno.

[She even allows herself the ironic, habitual polite phrase.]

Pleased to meet you.

Did you know her? [ She's growing more tense by the second, warily eying the woman in front of her. ]

[Somehow in the dream - it's not surprising when she's spoken with Aerith about the flowers and the church before - she knows precisely what Tifa means.

And that's the problem. Did she know Aerith? No; she knows Aerith. The tense is all wrong. She frowns thoughtfully.

A dream.]

Aerith and I met awhile ago.

[If she called people 'friend' these days, Aerith who'd always been kind and patient might just be one.]

Are you here to honor her?

[ Tifa automatically assumes this to mean before Aerith died, and she softens, kneeling down to the flowers again. She reaches out to touch one lightly, smiling a little sadly. ] Mm. I'm sure they'd be just fine on their own, but.. I want to remember her.

[To Ami, however, it wouldn't be surprising if Aerith walked right in here. And well, there's someone she honors by regularly tending his grave site. It's no different from this.

Then she finally realizes it. Tifa. It's not a name she's never heard before except in her dreams, again.]

Could it be you're the Tifa I've heard of from Cloud?

You know Cloud?

Edited 2011-07-14 00:29 (UTC)

We've met before, like I'm meeting you now.

[The truth is that Cloud is that extreme rarity: a person she almost trusts. A person who understands so many parts of her.]

[ Truth of the matter is, Tifa doesn't realize she's dreaming -- not yet anyway. So she finds it strange that Cloud met someone here, and hasn't told her.

Strange and kind of unsettling, in a butterflies in her stomach sort of way. ]

I see.

[Well, not 'here'. At his home, usually - or riding on Fenrir. Ami, of course, does nothing to correct any misconceptions. If anything, that tiny hesitation in Tifa's voice makes Ami's lips want to turn upward. She likes the idea of tension and uncertainty in the other relationships of people she wants to be closer to.

So instead, she turns back to watering the flowers, pausing to carefully snap a few dead leaves off a nearby plant.]

You came here planning to tend these flowers, right? Let's both finish that.

[The unspoken 'together' is the offer: that although she may be petty, she has no true bad intentions here.]

Mm. [ It's a non committal answer, and Tifa resumes her weeding, suddenly rather focused on the task.

She wasn't jealous, or hurt, or betrayed or anything like that.

She didn't have a claim on Cloud. If he was meeting someone else here, then he had his reasons. After all, it wasn't as though Tifa herself had done anything to make Cloud realize how she felt.

She was kind of too scared to do so. ]

[Ami simply didn't believe in a heart holding her and others. After all, there had been Tsukino-san, a girl whose heart only held the prince so that she was able to destroy and kill all of them, everyone on the planet, when considered next to him.

If she needed more proof (she hadn't) that Usagi had never cared, that was certainly a strong one.

And there's always that need to be worth it, acknowledged, better. So Ami works in rather good spirits now, as though cheered by Tifa's sudden quiet, despite having no romantic interest in Cloud.]

We'll finish quickly at this rate.

Edited 2011-07-14 04:46 (UTC)

[ There's no answer from the other woman. At least, not for a while.

It's a few minutes, but she's managed to push down those feelings, tell herself that she can't be rude to this girl; whoever she is, she must be important to Cloud, right? ]

So how did you meet?

[For a moment, she could laugh at the vision of herself Tifa suddenly seems to be: years ago, struggling against the jealousy, telling herself of course Tsukino-san would have other friends, telling herself she was the horrible one for hating those friends for taking Usagi away from her.

And she's never been kind to her past selves, when she meets her alternates, either.]

We rode together on his motorcycle, and fixed it up together. We went cliff-diving once, too.

[ Tifa wasn't going to hate this girl. The smile she gives is genuine-- if this girl makes Cloud happy, then she's happy.

That's all that matters. ] Cliff diving? I've never been... sounds exciting.

[Ami was never that good a person. Not even to start. But she has no real reason to dislike Tifa, either, so she relents.]

It is. That's why I like it. [There's a certain release in its freedom.]

I should try it some time.

Looking for excitement? [Finding the quiet life a bit dull? She...sort of understands that possibility, which may be why she assumes it. She just hasn't been able to settle into quiet and peace.]

I like to try new things.

It's the same for me. And traveling, to see new places.

Hmm.. I'm more of a home body. I don't mind travel, but coming home is always nice.

Not for me. I want to see more, and test myself. Always.

[Though she hasn't gone far: still in Tokyo, still near Mama and the shitennou. But she's had the chance to visit other places, finally.]