oo3 ❄ stuck on repeat

[anonfantry]

[ Well, it's not exactly a novel dream - the perfectly formed scenery fits the desert island cliché to a T, though it's quite a bit more expansive than a rock with two palm trees sticking out of the middle. Above the rolling dunes that sweep down to the surf, a lush green forest rises to cover most of the visible, the tangle of trees thick enough to seem impenetrable (and half of them completely out of place, in a tropical climate). The only thing this leafy, viney (pine tree dotted) brush doesn't ensconce is the narrow mountain range rising from the center of the island. From those towering masses of land, slate grey and tipped with thin spires and a halo of fog (or perhaps smoke), volcanic activity seems the least of all potential dangers.

But all of that's merely an exciting backdrop to the true mundanity of this phantasm. Shored up at the very top of a wave of fine, yellow sand, sits a desk - plain and spare and rusting at the hinges, in no way special at all. And at it, nearly topped over in height by the towering stacks of (random, unsorted, some completely unlabeled) textbooks, sits Cloud.

Hunched intently over something - pages of notes, upon closer inspection - he pays no mind to the intermittent call of seabirds on the breeze, nor the way that lazy warm puff of air tugs at the messy spikes of his hair. He's scribbling furiously. Then considering. Then turning over the pencil in his hand and erasing with equal ferocity. Rinse, repeat, and more than once on the same line, with increasing frustration.

It's only when one of the precariously balanced texts atop his leaning tower spills over and slides down the sandy slope of the dune on the other side of the desk that he stops with a start, dropping his pencil and his notes at once. Skating around the edge of his desk, through the shifting ground, he all but dives after the book, snatching it back up and sinking to a stop in a small avalanche of sand. With an inaudible sigh of relief, Cloud digs his socked feet in (boots tucked safely into the hollow beneath his desk) and starts to haul himself back up the to the crest of the dune, and the loose pile of notes in desperate need of endless correction. ]

Comments

really, this post was asking for it. ;)

[waterfell]

[Ami, suddenly at the top of the dune, complete with wearing her glasses today, is entirely unimpressed. Even at this precarious peak, her footing is sure and confident. She folds her arms across her chest, and regards Cloud with outright suspicion as Cloud climbs back up. An eyebrow raises.]

Was that an excuse? You don't have time to be diving after books. Next time, I'll get whatever drops, so get serious.

[She jerks her head towards the desk. The glasses are given a nudge, and gleam oddly in the light as she makes her pronouncement of doom.]

We still have ten chapters to review today.

[She acts entirely as if this isn't too much, as if it's a normal workload. Actually, her piles of study material tend to be impressive themselves, especially if any exams happen to be looming on the horizon.]

[anonfantry]

[ As a matter of fact, it is an exam he's studying for - though not, perhaps, of exactly the kind most familiar to her. The differences between typical schoolwork (with which Cloud himself has no real experience) and military qualifications matter little in the way of preparation, however.

Clutching his nearly lost book to his chest with the hand not sifting through palmfuls of sand as he staggers his way awkwardly back up the small mountain, he needs to make no special effort to glower up at the feet of his instructor. The warm, summery beach is no place to be caught in full uniform (or close enough to, without the shoes), and he'll have broken a faint sweat by the time he's back behind his desk, again. ]

I'm not messing around! [ But SOLDIERs don't complain, and neither should infantrymen who want to be SOLDIERs. Beneath his momentarily wounded pride (and the ruined sense of relief that had come with it), he's a little glad he won't have to go back after anything else - if she means it, anyway - but not nearly enough so to look gracious.

"Ten chapters" sounds like the downslope of the day's work, so far, but he doesn't have any intention of stopping, there. Not the way things are going - when it takes him three tries at the least to get the right words from the page, through his brain, to his hand. When he keeps coming back to the right thing written down and finding it altered in some fundamental and ultimately damning way.

He shakes a sheaf of sand out of Materia Fusion: Basics, and sets it back atop its designated stack. ] Can't review anything if I don't have all my books.

[waterfell]

[Oh, she means it. This is a study session. That means Cloud is going to study and nothing else. (Don't worry, she's also willing to provide tea and food. Occasionally. Bathroom breaks are negotiable. Expect difficult negotiations.) The summery beach is also a very pleasant distraction, and Ami will not let him be distracted. That means no lounging, no playing, no swimming, just a job to do and orders to get it done.

Consider it study boot camp.

Ami eyes the Materia text and despite her unfamiliarity with it in waking life, now that she's here, she understands enough to know how much red pen belongs all over Cloud's notes, which seem to keep playing traitor. She holds out a hand.]

Let me see them. We'll see how you're doing so far.

[This much can be said for her: Now that she's apparently decided to help, she'll be sure the material is drilled into his head.]

Aerith feels the keywords are accurate...if with a different meaning here.

[gardeningaia]

[ How well does Cloud stand distraction? Because yes, Aerith will stop by his desk briefly, with a light smile: ]

Busy busy, aren't we? [ , picking up a few pages and helpfully shaking out the sand before returning them to their place. Well. Approximately, close enough to their place.

But then come on man the wind is calling. Not on a duty for the Cetra, either! No, this is just plain old fun in the sun and surf, and Aerith is soon running around in a two-piece she has faint memories of eyeing with Tifa in Costa Del Sol, excitedly tossing back commentary to Cloud every so often without really minding if he's listening (or wanting to listen). ]

Ahhh! What a nice wind! And the waves...they've got a rhythm to them.

...Hee hee hee, what a funny little crab.

... [ Occasionally she's not talking. Although then she's often humming. Until-- ]

Oooooh! Ow! I guess you can't make sand angels when it's this hot...

...Clooouuuud, what are you doing slaving away when it's so warm? Come on, let's have fun!

...is she trying to kill him with this 8( bikini...

[anonfantry]

H-Hey! Don't touch those!

[ Given that it's his unluckiest day, he hasn't been faring the constant interruptions very well. Every time he looks up to the sound of one of those shouts (that Ow! in particular), his last place in a book or his pages of notes is utterly, hopelessly lost - sometimes the pages even seem to shuffle themselves, just to get away from him.

Or maybe she's doing it, somehow, simply by introducing such unnecessary chaos into his peaceful (stressful enough, already) study session.

When he looks up, this time, his face is red (from the sun! the sun!) over the edge of his sloppily built book fortress, and his annoyance is unmistakable - as if anybody'd have to see his face, to read it. ]

I don't have time for that. Can't you just be quiet?

[anonfantry]

[ If nothing else, at least, any concern over him possibly falling to distraction over the sunny, enticing scenery is well misplaced. Cloud can't seem to care less where he is, unless it's a matter of getting back behind his desk.

He isn't much of a swimmer, anyway - or not in the ocean, anyway, where the waves would only serve to nauseate him, if he ventured out too far. ]

N-No! [ Slapping his hands down over the messy array of slightly rumpled, lined sheets of paper, he does his best to keep them covered. Even now, the right answers are all probably busy rewriting themselves beneath his palms, and he can't, can't let anyone see how badly he's already screwed this up. ] I'm not finished, yet! I just need a minute!

[waterfell]

[For a moment, she might refuse; Ami is very inflexible when it comes to studying, as Cloud is quickly learning. She relents with poor grace, stiffly.]

One more time to look it over to review. [She doesn't much care how much is wrong (funny, when a year ago she'd have been the first to taunt and mock someone for it); the point is to get them right the next time.]

Then we'll make sure you understand the correct answers.

no bikinis are cute 'k the havoc they wreak on boy hormones is just a bonus

[gardeningaia]

[ Oh she hears it all right. (And sees that redness.) So while it does get her to stop trying to wave him over, her hand falling down halfheartedly, it also makes her sigh. The next moment she's walking over to him, hands resting lightly on her hips. ]

Serious as always. What's got you so pressed for time anyway? [ Remembering--this time!--not to touch, she's instead leaning over his desk, craning her neck to better read his notes. ]

[anonfantry]

[ Making sure to (quite pointedly) keep his eyes on his notes, he shuffles the pages he's working on as well out of sight as he can without risking a devastating spill.

He doesn't imagine she'll be able to pick out all of the obviously incorrect assertions (even if his sloppy handwriting is legible), but there's no use risking it. Especially if he's going to actually have to admit what he's up to. ]

SOLDIER. Since I got a transfer back to Midgar, I can try again.

[tasercopter]

[What is even happening here? Reno sighs from farther down the shore, putting her hands on her hips, glaring at tiny Cloud and all his stupid notes and books. Then she shakes her head and lets out a soft, wry laugh, though at this distance, the sea breeze carries the sound away.

It's true that she's dressed for the beach in a black bikini (because she's not some kind of fool who works all the time), but whether in or out of uniform, she's still a Turk.

And that's why, in her thoroughly professional way, she decides to sneak up to the desk, using all the stealth at her disposal. As well as her EMR, she's also got cigarettes and a lighter with her, tucked into the band of her goggles for easy access. It's relatively hard to sneak up on someone on this kind of terrain, but fortunately, Cloud's not paying a lot of attention, and it's easy to be quiet while moving on sand. She doesn't make a sound until the snickt of the lighter sounds, and she touches the bright flame to the nearest stack of paper, smirking.]

[gardeningaia]

...Wait, you have to study to get in SOLDIER?

[ How did Zack get in? He was really driven to be a hero, and she's sure he put in all the effort, but...

...but...

Zack sitting still...

It's hard to imagine. ]

[anonfantry]

[ It's true, he doesn't seem to notice much at all outside the scope of his study material and repairing his constantly deteriorating notes - but the thin little click of the lighter snaps him out of it almost violently. The sound is close enough to startle him quite badly, the tip of his pencil tearing through the sheet of notes he's currently working away at, and a horrified double-take quickly follows.

Though it's really more like quadruple; he certainly takes long enough to realize what, exactly, is going on. In his defense, however - Reno in a bikini trying to commit arson on his painstakingly compiled (except wrong, backwards, constantly changing) sheaf of information-crammed papers is a lot to take in.

The sound he makes is not quite a word, not quite a shout, but the action he takes is far more decisive. Clapping his hand down over the start of a much bigger flame, he singes his palm but saves his notes, rounding on her with a look that's purely defensive (and not just a little appalled). ]

What are you doing!?

[anonfantry]

Of course. You don't think they just let anybody in, do you?

[ Except oh wait they totally do that.

Or, well, maybe sometimes a weirdo just slips through the cracks; there's no help for it. ]

[anonfantry]

[ He nods, but hardly seems to be paying her any more mind than that, as soon as he's sure she isn't going to swoop in and simply take them from him, all protests aside.

There are more mistakes every time he blinks, until the words are all but overflowing off the pages in their absolute, utter wrongness, and there's no way one more chance to redo them all will help in the least.

But he goes to it, anyway, scribbling, erasing, scribbling over again - because things won't get any easier, if he gets what he wants, and what's the point, if he can't even do this? ]

[tasercopter]

[Instead of answering his question, Reno swings her EMR around, smiling--challenging, much as she would with an older Cloud. Which might be unfair of her, but that's how she's used to dealing with Cloud. Even though this one is so young and would be much easier to defeat.

Still, she doesn't attack. She's being--not nice, but not trying to injure him, either. So, relatively nice.

At this range, her scars are evident, including a particularly prominent one across her midsection that looks like it was caused by some kind of giant sword...]

I'm doing you a favor.

[She's still got the lighter in her other hand, and she clicks it again, making a new flame. She is not going to let the fire die that easily.]

[gardeningaia]

I think [ and she takes a breath in, either to punctuate what she's about to say or get ready for what she's going to do ]

Shinra is really, very, absolutely dumb! And not just about who they do or don't let in. Cloud can do better than them.

[ Because forget if telling a young Cloud in his dreams might somehow change what he does in the past and mess up something. It's just not fair that everyone back then believed in such a hollow lie.

Also for all those sheets haphazardly tucked away there's still a corner peeking out and she's going for it. Because she can. And she wants to see what this "test" is anyway. If she manages to snag the page it's safe to assume that she's immediately turning away to read. ]

[waterfell]

Hey.

[The voice is firm, made to call attention, though not precisely harsh. Ami's never had trouble in school, and she doesn't understand his feelings or frustration. Years ago, she'd have been patient and gentle. Now, she bites back an impatience that makes her want to call him stupid to his face (as if it's entirely his own fault). But there's something more, too, something behind all that.

After all, she knows what it is to work hard towards a goal (she doesn't say 'dream').]

What will you do once you pass this exam? [After all, with her help, no matter how stubborn the papers are, he won't fail - of course, says pride.]

[anonfantry]

[ He doesn't recognize the weapon in any specific context, but he knows a dangerous piece of work when he sees one (and that applies to all of Reno, regardless of her state of dress or - vacation?). Cloud shrugs back from the end of that ugly baton, appropriately - and then just as promptly digs in his heels.

There's not a single hint at any intention of giving up his stronghold, scraping together his notes and hastily beginning to shift as much of the bulk to his side of the desk as he can. Without coming too close to the tip of her EMR, at least. ]

Leave me alone!

[anonfantry]

Um...

[ Well. That sure was... Something.

He thinks, maybe, that there was some sort of encouragement buried in there, but for a moment it's simply too baffling to sink in. The sentiment, of course, is not one he's so unfamiliar with - sure, lots of people don't like Shinra (even in his day and age).

But not a lot of them tend to call the Company "dumb," precisely. And not (or not so often) with such weirdly earnest vehemence. It strikes him dumb for a second - which is definitely the only reason she gets away with snagging that sheet of paper out from under his grasp. ]

Wh-What!? Give that back!

[ Sadly, her prize probably isn't worth the trouble; Cloud's handwriting is atrocious (and hopefully just because of the stress), and the lines are so smudged from repeated rewriting, by now, that there's little to discern. An errant "materia" there and a few "maneuver"s here show through the scratch, but even those are beginning to degrade into nonsense, without his constant repairs. ]

I mean it! [ But not enough so to... Really reach for the notes, after his initial, reflexive failure to grab them back. ]

blame the bad luck theme, cloud.

[drinkandforget]

[It's purely by chance that she's ended up here. There's a small boat out in the water, far down below; nothing but a ferry, really: shallow-bottomed, small, built to carry only a few passengers at once at the most. Inside, a girl wearing a simple, lightweight dress made for the summer heat (which seems to be increasing suddenly) stands tall, and poles her way nearer to the shore.

But when she comes too close, the boat bumps a rock, and water gathered at her feet splashes out and over the side - water from the River of Oblivion, the river of lost memories. It mixes with the rest of the water as she gives a surprised gasp.]

What are you doing?! That wasn't supposed to happen!

[She is not good at taking this calmly, it seems. There's nothing to do but climb out of the ferry and clamber onto the shore, which she does. After glancing up the long height of the hill and shading her eyes against the sun, she finds her destination. Slowly, she makes her way up towards Cloud, the only person she's spotted.

Unfortunately, the damage is done. As the water of oblivion mixes with the normal water, it becomes harder to remember - the little things, first.]

[anonfantry]

[ She doesn't say it and neither does he, but when he glances up, there's a bright and distinct look in his eyes that says he's sure she's a few marbles short, herself. He won't perfect that expression for a few years, yet, but there's a solid foundation building.

What will he do? ]

Keep working.

[ -Of course. There was never a Third Class SOLDIER who was just like Sephiroth, after all. He'll want to shoot for a promotion, and then another - he'll want to move up quickly through the ranks, to make a name for himself.

The studying might end, but the training will go on and on; not even Firsts are exempt from challenging work. Getting sharp is only half the fight, when staying that way might well always be this difficult for him. ]

What else?

[waterfell]

[Heh. It's the right answer. It's the right answer, because they're the same in that. In the Dark Kingdom's competitiveness, Ami's never had a better one than looking for the next victory, the next discovery, the next award, the next rung on an endless ladder that she doesn't care about the end to as long as she's always heading upward. She will be the best, and once she's the best, she'll be better.

It's different for him, of course; but it's similar enough for her to understand his answer. There's a tiny, half-reluctant smile, an acknowledgement of his determination.]

If that's the case, let me see those answers now. You don't have room for embarrassment if you want to reach that goal.

[She waits expectantly. Who knows - under the eye of the soldier of knowledge, they just might begin to make themselves make sense again.

Might.]

[tasercopter]

[She laughs. With a crackle of electricity, she tasers the papers themselves with the business end of her EMR, which causes them to spark.

Unfortunately, her shortage of empathy allows her to think this is an amusing joke, and not bordering on assault. But then, it can be hard for those who don't know Reno well to tell whether her intent is joke or assault.]

You gettin all mad over that? [Just a little harmless arson, honestly.] Yo, c'mon, you're on vacation, Cloud. You're supposed to be having a good time. Do you even know how to do that?

[gardeningaia]

[ She could come up with a lot of adjectives for Shinra, though nowadays they're not so much evil as broken-down, defunct and divided, the core group who perpetuated so many horrendous deeds trapped in a limbo from joining the Planet by their twisted egos while the survivors struggle with guilt and hardships created down the line by their own former company. It's harder to hate something that also evokes so much pity.

"Stupid" is always going to fit the company, though. Stupid and corrupt and messed-up.


Aerith's not minding that right now, though. She's minding Cloud's...er... ]

...What is this...? 'Materia'? I guess it works as long as you can read your notes, but... [ There's a slightly dubious look as she turns back and offers the paper. Can Cloud read his own handwriting here? It looks like a chocobo clawed it out. Considering the author...hmm. ]

[anonfantry]

Stop it!

[ The only partially assuaged volatility of his youth is back in full swing, just that easily, and he all but dives on the papers she's still attempting to destroy, risking a nasty shock. (Or worse, maybe, he doesn't know what that thing's capable of or whether it would put her out in the least to ruin some worthless little nobody infantryman.) The potential doesn't even seem to register with him, though.

Whatever raw hurt she's busy poking away at, it's enough to return with a brief look of pure, childish hatred. ]

I'm not- I don't have time for a vacation! Why would you even think that?

[ Pretty funny, probably, to imagine someone at his level with enough leeway to actually take a break. ]