onepassingnight | 1st mission ☀ fun in the sun

[Reno's one of the hardest working women in Edge, and lately it seems like there's been nothing but work in her life, especially since the city got trashed by those freaks. So when she dreams tonight, her mind drifts away to somewhere quite different: the sunny shores of Costa del Sol--not the most exciting place, usually, but a far cry from the gray skies and grayer buildings of the city.]

☀ #1:
[Miles of pure, untouched, sandy coastline--so tempting to mar it with beer bottles and cigarettes, which is exactly what Reno has done, putting out all her cigarettes in the sand and leaving the green and golden-brown bottles strewn around her, gleaming in the sun. She herself is stretched out on a towel, wearing a black bikini, sunglasses on her face. She's twisted one of her bikini straps around to form a makeshift holster for her Electro-Mag Rod. Because this is a dream, there's no need to worry about the redhead's nemesis: sunburn. She could lie out here all day without turning so much as pink. Lounging beside her is another woman, but at some point she gets up and wanders off. Reno grunts and lets her go, lighting another cigarette and slipping it between her lips. She's sure Rude'll be back later.]

☀ #2:
[There's a party on the shore: a bonfire, people singing and dancing. Reno isn't exactly attending. Instead, she's slinking around in the dark, setting charges in the sand. Once she's done her work, and the festivities are surrounded, she leaves the revelers behind. When she gets some distance between herself and the party, she turns back, just in time to see the explosives go off and the sand go up. And to hear the people start screaming. She grins.]

☀ #3:
[Now Reno, still in her bikini, has engaged in a heated bout of fisticuffs with a large (and suspiciously attractive) young man. She has a black eye and her fists are bloodied, but she clearly is enjoying herself, and the man is in much worse shape. He's covered in bruises, and his nose is bleeding, but she shows no sign of relenting.]

[[OOC: Feel free to encounter Reno at any point during her dream.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Excuse her, she is not the half-crazy Jenova'ed-up one who forgets things, she knows what she's talking about. She scoffs at this.] No, you're him all right. [That, she's sure of.] You look just like him. Talk just like him. You're touchy just like him.

See, look. [She points to her midsection, at a very noticeable scar there.] You did that, back when I was droppin' the plate, remember? [Great memory to bring up there, Reno.] I think you did this one, too. [She points at another.] And here's the one I got during Meteorfall. [Finally, she points at the large one covering her arm and shoulder.] Pretty cool, huh?

[Oh wait, back to the story.] Later on, you helped us kill that Don Corneo. Which was almost fun. Then you went and killed Sephiroth. [She's leaving out a few parts of this story, but it's too damn long.]

And later you got Geostigma and went to live in a church like a weirdo. Then Rufus was like, "Hey, help people out", but you said, "Not interested."

[Come on, Cloud, this is all quite straightforward and understandable.]

[okay. He'll actually be distracted for a minute from Reno's babble, eyes moving over pale skin. Because, yeah, those are some pretty dramatic scars and looking at the one on her stomach now, he's actually impressed she survived that.

Of course, she deserved it too.

It clicks that he could call Reno on the obvious lie. Since when has Rufus ever said 'hey, help people'? Help people off a high bridge without a parachute maybe. Not to mention, Rufus is pretty dead. Exploding tower and all being a kind of an end game kind of thing.

At least the world is finally safe from boring monologues?

Back to the point though, the constant 'you did this, you did that' that he's pretty obviously NOT done is getting grating. Since there's really no sense in hiding something Reno somehow already knows about he pulls up his sleeve to reveal the bruised, darkly pus filled wounds and sacks on his arm that have rapidly been spreading up toward his shoulder for the past number of days. His voice comes out rough.]

Does this look like magic rain healed it to you?

[Clearly Cloud has underestimated her boss and his amazing exploding tower escaping abilities, but Reno hears him on the boring monologues bit (or would, if he mentioned it). She usually just thinks about something else and fakes being attentive while those are going on until Rufus gets to the direct orders part.

She has to live with those boring monologues, too.

She doesn't flinch at the sight of Geostigma, having been living in Healen Lodge with Rufus for a while before he got cured. She's got a pretty strong stomach, in any case.

Still, she frowns, because she knows Cloud got healed along with everybody else. So this isn't right at all.]

So, you didn't get a phone call from me, or nothin? I called the bar, but Tifa said you weren't there, and she gave you the message. And you drove out to Healen to see Rufus.

[Hmm.] That doesn't make sense.

[Is Cloud saying that her being a woman actually saved the world? Her vanity is not going to say no to that idea, because it is pretty cool and in line with her ideas about her own importance, but still...]

You should watch out, then, because some freaks who look like Sephiroth are gonna come visit you looking for their mom. [Heed this prophetic warning, Cloud!]

[not interested.

No, seriously, he's not interested in how Rufus might have survived. ~~it saves the lazy writers from having to come up with something that could possibly make sense~~. He does however give Reno a look from the tops of his eyes that's the Cloud equivalent of a 'took you long enough to catch up'. At least it looks like they're finally past the whole 'nu uh' part of this conversation. He lets his sleeve drop back over the raw skin, barely wincing as the rough fabric makes contact again. He's been through much worse and besides... he thinks he kind of probably deserves it.]

Haven't talked to Tifa tonight. [and that's bad of him and he knows but... he's starting to get this horrible sick feeling in his gut that - that maybe he's not going to see her again. Or the kids. Or Seventh Heaven.

He does take Reno's warning seriously though. Reno's an elfadunk as far as Cloud's usually concerned - but she's deadly and very, very good at what she does when she's being serious. Or, he does, in Cloud's world at least. He's going to assume the same applies here despite body differences.]

The three princesses. Which one's the one that turns into Sephiroth?

[because Cloud's also pretty good at killing. And he's not above removing a threat before it can happen if he gets the chance. Maybe - in his world - he can stop Sephiroth from showing up at all. Because Cloud doesn't think he can beat the bastard with the geostigma gnawing away at him. And he's not going to count on healing rain to show up and save him either. Only Aerith could pull that off. And - she wasn't exactly around to do that kind of thing anymore, was she?]

[Yes, Cloud not listening to people sure saves the writers a lot of trouble. ~~There's a hidden escape tunnel! It makes perfect sense! Er, somehow...~~]

Huh. Well, she still might call you. If you get a call from Reno, go right away, and listen to everything Rufus says, okay? [As hard as that might be to do when he's making a big speech.] And don't lock any doors. That'd be a mistake.

[An elfadunk? She would be so offended. As a matter of fact, she is the best. She's sorry she's not a genetically modified freak and relies on herself rather than weird powers!]

Kadaj does--he's the little one in charge--but any of them could, once they get the Jenova crap. What they want is to all join up together.

You've got to kill them all. [She's not going to say no to Cloud killing them before they cause all that trouble. That'd be nice, actually, because she's still dealing with the cleanup and fallout from that event. Stupid standing orders to help people. The old days are long gone.]

So good luck.

Here, you need a drink. [Suddenly, there's a glass of whiskey in her hand, and she holds it out. Clearly, a drink is what you need, Cloud.]

[~~was it an inflatable tunnel, like the airlines escape chutes?~~ HE DOESN'T WANT TO KNOW!

Hn.

[he'll reserve final judgement on whether he kills three little silver heads. He's no a hired thug - not anymore - and he doesn't kill 'just because'. But he doesn't remember clones having much personality or will of their own, being somewhere below the level of monsters in self-awareness actually and if it keeps Sephiroth from coming back than he's got priorities. His family, his friends, the rest of the Planet that Aerith died for, come before reunion slurring hoods. Cloud doesn't believe in fighting fair. He believes in fighting to win. He's also going to remain no committal on that promise of not locking doors. Especially if Reno sees fit to mention it.

He does look at the sudden drink though. ~~did female Reno just give him something hard?~~]

Thanks.

[he's not a drinker but he's not going to turn one down right now either. And he suspects Reno carries the good whiskey. He takes the offered drink and then awkwardly shifts over on the seat to make room for the red head. Somehow tonight just seems like the kind of night for devolving into nursing drinks together and he doesn't doubt that Reno brought her own.]

So tell me about Barret having boobs.

[if they're going to be drinking, he might as well go all the way down in that handbasket Reno's providing.]

((ooc. you want to wrap it up for this round or was there anything else?))

Edited 2011-11-30 12:36 (UTC)

1st mission ☀ fun in the sun

She'd have made sure that Scrooge toughened up! Instead of becoming a wuss.

lmao I am just about dying over Reno's summary of things

Her years in the Turks have clearly taught her how to make clear and concise summaries!

makes me wonder if her and Rufus take turns spacing on each other's talking

Oh, you know they do. It's a beautiful relationship

explains so much about Rude's silence really