Reunion?

Reunion?
Date of Scene:	22 November 2012
Location:	Traverse Town
Synopsis:	After being accosted by heartless in a dark and lonely alleyway, Rinoa is rescued and then reunited with Seifer. But he doesn't seem as happy to see her..
Cast of Characters:	Tifa Lockhart, Kaydin, Rinoa Heartilly, Aerith, Seifer Almasy

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Reunion? (2012-11-21 - 2012-11-22) No description.

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
It's a cold and dark knight in Traverse Town, a place that's already very dark most of the time. With winter approaching however, things are even colder now. Not exactly the best of places to be wandering around aimlessly when you dont know where you're going!

Unfortunately, that happens to be Rinoa's problem at the moment. Having literally stumbled into traverse town through a random portal that wasn't there a second ago, she had emerged on the other side in the middle of a creepy alleyway, cold, hungry and a bit more than lost!

Angelo emerges moments later, barking at her heels, hackles raised warily as she peers into the darkness. If you stare too long, it seems that the darkness has a life of its own..And are those yellow eyes peering out at her?

...Creepy..

Seifer Almasy has posed:
A finger hooked over the top of a muffler, dragging it down below the wearer's chin, freeing a breath to escape into the chilled air, fleeing as a momentary cloud of vapor, warm air mixing with cold.

"Did you find him?" the figure spoke into a phone, the answer was a sharp, firm, 'NO.' It brought a frown to the man's lips, tongue ticking off of the back of his teeth in a 'tsch'. "Keep at it, he's got to be around here somewhere." The answer was short and sharp, 'AFFIRMATIVE'. The man hung up the phone without saying goodbye, tucking it away inside of his coat before pulling the muffler up once more.

Where was that big goon...? The question hung unspoken in his mind as he looked around. Somewhere nearby, a dog barked... It would be just like That Guy to run off and get himself bit by trying to pet a stray dog.

He homed in on the alley quickly, the streets of gtraverse town somehow familier despite the fact that he'd never been here before. He found the source of the barking... but not the man he expected.

A woman and a dog, eyes in the darkness... something in his chest told him they were heartless. It is ever a Knight's duty to save a damsel in distress.

Extending a hand towards the darkness, Seifer dug into himself, gathering the flame of his heart, that all consuming passion his drive, he brought it out into the cold air, a roiling orb of flame coalescing in the air before his open palm.

"FIRE!"

It lept away, zipping down the alleyway, streaking past Rinoa and Angelo before amongst the shadowey beasts, a wash of flame revealing their forms before it consumed them.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart walks down the street with Aerith along her. It seems every town they go to ends up being a shopping trip. Which isn't a bad thing for her mind you, she finds nice clothes and stuff for her bar after all. There's a new bar to work upon, and stopping helps her find ideas for furnishing, or just small aadgets to accessorize the place too.

She's chatting of her adventures with Aerith, stuff about the scary halloween town madness. Cookingware with teeth, not her ffavorite vacation spot.

She was moving past the alley, behind the tall, white-coated man when he simply tosses a fireball into the alley like that. She stops and blinks. "Did he just shoot at the darkness?" Well that's not entirely wrong, but she hasn't noticed there's a stray Rinoa in the back yet either.

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa grits her teeth, readying the blaster edge on her arm. She narrows her eyes as she attempts to peer into the darkness, but her night vision is not as good as Angelo's. Still, she's sure she heard movement in the darkness. Angelo continues to bark, and Rinoa flinches. Will they draw their attention to them or is it already too late?

"Hush, Angelo. Look.." her eyes widen, aiming her blaster at the yellow eyes that suddenly rush at her in a crowd, and she gasps, "No, not this time!" She looses a bolt, that spins out into the darkness like a red sawblade, slashing through some of the heartless although more appear.

"No...Not again..I'm all alone.." She starts to freak out, glancing this way and that..And suddenly a blast of flames rushes through the alleyway, momentarily lighting up the darkness, glinting off their greedy yellow eyes, slicing through several of them.

She holds her breath, peering towards the source of the flames. A flash of a grey coat, and a tall figure in the night..But then darkness again as the fire goes out. Nearly caught off-guard in the confusion, she spins around, pointing her blaster edge at another heartless, attacking in tandem with Angelo.

But..They seem attracted to the dark alley, peering into the window of the nearby cafe, at the warm, beating hearts..And at the girl, isolated before them, their numbers still steady..

"Angelo, run!" And she starts to back out of the alley, running blindly towards the street with the remaining heartless in tow..Is there no end to their fiendish ways?!

Aerith has posed:
Aerith wasn't too sure she wanted to know just what possessed those pots and pans... but then her senses went off like a fire alarm. Her eyes widened, right hand tightening on her staff. She'd already felt this once today, and now here it was again. "Tifa, Heartless nearby." She could tell their signature by now, and the flower girl glanced around, trying to pinpoint them. "They're close."

Seifer Almasy has posed:
Eyes like clear sky narrowed against the flames glare, the flare of light from the fire illuminating the woman, the dog. Another, familier pang. Angelo? His magical missile of flame had done it's work, there had simply been more than he had expected. To employ a larger spell would flirt with setting the various detritus that cluttered the alley aflame. He would have to do this in a more personal fashion.

The woman turned and began to run towards him. His chest tightened, eyes widening with recognition. Rinoa, here? So she survived...

He pushed the thoughts away, it wasn't the time. His right hand swept to his left hip and took hold of something just out of sight. With another sweep of his arm, steel was born into the night air, it sang happily, seemingly eager to find use after a long nap.

The tall man in the grey coat set forward, long legs drummed a quick beat down the alleyway. He dashed towards Rinoa and then past. Ten or ten-thousand, it didn't matter. He struck, body twisting in what could almost be a pirouette, Hyperion whipped through the air, it's edge finding the dark mass that made up the body of a heartless. His finger squeezed the trigger, loosing a clap of thunder into the alleyway. He waded in, almost giddy.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods to Aerith, putting her bags down to the side. She knows Aerith too well to doubt her senses on that side. Plus its not like she doesn't feel them at all, just not as keenly. She tightens her gloves, still behind the gray coated man. He got there first, already ready to help out, but she doesn't see Rinoa in the back of the alley, since its so dark right now. She did hear Angelo though, but she can't be sure between different dogs.

She blinks and eeps a bit as Seifer pulls out the gunblade, but by then Rinoa does come into sight "Over here Rinoa!" She announces herself to the fleeing girl, there's strength in numbers.... and this guy seems ready to shield them as well from the looks of it. She rushes into the alley after Seifer, she's of the offensive type after all. A few of the heartless that managed to get through the onslaught from the SeeD warrior, gets met with a solid hooking punch that sends it flying into the next one, bowling them out of the way, as they squirms around the narrow alley and along the walls.

Creepy critters they are, really.

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa reaches the light of the main street, relieved to be away from the heartless. Yes, she's running away again. This is becoming a habit. And..Who is the stranger who has come to her rescue? Eyes widen suddenly, her heart missing a beat.

Seifer.

Seifer's...Alive? Of course, after that time in Deling, when she thought..But this is most certainly not the time. And then suddenly, he rushes past her and attacks the heartless without a second thought. But can he take 'em all on, on his own?

"Seifer!" she calls after him, and follows. No way she's going to abandon him again. He nearly died for her sake once. Not again..She readies a spell, catching one or two in a blast of lightning. Angelo barks at her heels, rushing past her to slam into a heartless that nearly strikes Seifer from behind, mauling it to death. Seems she's also intent on protecting the knight..

Meanwhile, the rest of the heartless are easily torn to shreds by Seifer's powerful strikes. It doesnt take long for them to fall at his blade, quickly retreating back into the darkness..In the mayhem, Rinoa has yet to respond to Aerith and Tifa, still staring at Seifer in a mixture of confusion, fear and relief.

Aerith has posed:
But Aerith does not move... not yet. No, she's puzzled by the sudden and swift eradication of the Shadows in the nearby alley. It's only when she takes a few steps forward and peers into the darkness that she sees the flash of a blade, accompanied at times by the familiar roar of a firearm. She glanced toward Rinoa, who couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight... and realized at once that she knew who this was.

Aerith walked toward Rin with a nod. "Care to tell me who your knight in shining grey coat is?"

Seifer Almasy has posed:
Spent casings dance in the alleyway in Seifer's wake, when all is said and done, when the last blow is struck, the last punch thrown, the last crack of lightning, the last monster mauled, Seifer stands triumphant!

Hyperion is reloaded, magazine dropping from the pistol's grip, replaced with a fresh one almost instantly, the slide snapping home just as soon as it had a new round to chamber. Turning, he spotted Tifa, his brow cocks upwards. He hadn't even realized she was there! He pauses, just a stray moment taken to look her over, his expression easing into his casual scowl. "I didn't need the help." he offers tersely while sliding Hyperion away into it's sheath.

Angelo recieves a much more genial welcome, he drops to a knee, chatting warmly tyo the dog as he runs his fingers into his.... sorry, into /her/ thick fur, looking her over for wounds and delivering a few, warm pets at once

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart puts her hands on her hips "I'm sure you didn't, but Rinoa did, and I just made sure none of them were going through." She steps aside as the tall man walks past her, out of the alley. She shakes her head though, not pushing the issue, as she closes up behind, her back to the dark alley now. She's pretty sure he got all of them, no tingling in the back of her mind. Aerith could tell better tought, but she has good sense about things around her.

Obviously she knows Rinoa, she alerady knew her name too.

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
When the danger's over, Rinoa breathes a sigh of relief. "Phew..Angelo.." she holds out her arms to hug her dog..But Angelo has already run to Seifer, glad to see him after such a long separation! She gladly accepts hugs and scritches, rubbing her nuzzle against his arm in return!

Rinoa sighs, shaking her head, "Typical." She grits her teeth, clenching her hands as she just..Stares at them for a few moments, trying to collect her thoughts. Finally, she sees Tifa and Aerith, and she relaxes a bit, smiling at them. "Hey guys, it's good to see you again.. This is Seifer. He's...Er..Well he's a good friend of mine. Hopefully, he still is.."

The last part is added softly, although Rinoa's really not sure after whas she saw in Deling. Finally, however, her concern for him wins out over her frustration over him joining with the sorceress. Yeah, she'll totally chew him out for that later. But for now...

She clears her throat, staring back at the knight. "Seifer..." Her voice is filled with emotion, fighting back the tears as she suddenly rushes at him, hugging him tightly. "You big jerk!"

Kaydin has posed:
"How heartwarming." Kaydin says sarcastically once the hug is made, looking to Aerith and then the others as he just goes to lean against a nearby wall to watch the goings on, remaining silent now as he stands and waits.

Seifer Almasy has posed:
Let us all simply assume that I have made a wise remark concerning the favorable attitudes that female dogs have towards Seifer Almasy, utilizing a technical and vulgar term for female dogs.

Get that one? Yeah, female dogs love Seifer Almasy.

Tifa should not feel snubbed, this is not unusual. Seifer is just a asshole, this point will be illustrated momentarily.

The Grey Knight seems too preoccupied with the welcoming pup, the attention sink that the dog represents preventing him from paying any attention to the gathering of ladies and single man. Eventually however, Rinoa manages to garner a bit of his notice. He raises as she runs to him, body rocking backwards once Rinoa flings herself upon him... The embrace is not returned.

It lasts a span of heartbeats, several passing while he wreastles with past affections and current loyalties. She will find his hands interposing themselves between himself and her, pushing her away.

"Rinoa." his voice is cool, flat. Almost as if he is correcting a misbehaving child, "I can't be seen with you."

Aerith has posed:
One of Aerith's milk chocolate eyebrows rose as she observed the scene before her. Something was off here... something she wasn't there for in the beginning. This was one of those things she'd just have to observe, and she placed a hand on Tifa's right shoulder, squeezing it with enough pressure to get her attention. The flower girl shook her head, a signal for the barmaid not to speak, to move, to do anything.

This no longer felt... right.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart actually gets similar feelings from a chocobo head. Like its the one she knows, but not quite either, like something is off. This seems to be similar to what's going on here right now. She lifts an eyebrow at well. When a girl flings herself at you, you should at least hug or push back. Not be in the awkward zone between the two.

She does feel snubbed a little bit, but as long as Rinoa is safe. She has to wonder what's the past story between the two though.

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Kaydin speaks, and Rinoa is quick to stick her tongue out at him. "And you're an even bigger jerk, Kaydin! Come near Garden again and I wont be so gentle!" gentle? Hah, she slaughtered him! Or..Something! :P Anyhoo, most of her attention is focused on Seifer, relieved that he's alive and hopefully well, althugh she's not so sure on that last one.

Tifa and Aerith are not forgotten however, waving them over. "Seifer, these are my good friends Tifa and Aerith, and..." Then suddenly he pushes her away, how uncharacteristic of him! And her smile quickly fades. "What? I dont understand?" quickly hands fold on her hips as if to mirror his chiding attitude. "What gives, Seifer? last I heard, you attacked the president Vinzer on live tv, then I heard they took you away to be executed for attempted murder!"

She nearly cringes at his flat tone. "And then...Next thing I know, you're defending the sorceress..? she takes a step back, shaking her head. "You're still her knight, arent you?" she almost sounds hurt, betrayed. "How...Why?"

Kaydin has posed:
"Probably because she promised him power." Kaydin says as he watches Seifer, studying him. "The only way one will betray others is to meet their price." Kaydin says as he then looks to Rinoa. "Baigan isnt interested in Garden for the moment." He says before looking to Tifa and Aerith and just becomes silent now, as if to watch the man with the grey coat.

Seifer Almasy has posed:
The look in her eyes, those large, doe-like eyes. It makes something twist in his heart. A pain dulled only by a voice whispering in his ear. She is the enemy, she tried to kill his mistress, she was with the SeeD when they were sent to murder his charge.

His features harden, his frown deepening, there is fire behind those eyes like clear sky. "Why?" he echoes, voice like the rumble of distant thunder, "Because a Sorceress will always need a Knight. Because there will always be people that do not understand her, people that fear her, people that want her dead simply because they do not understand her." his ire and bluster builds. "People like you." he claims, a damning finger lifted and pointed towards her. She is the enemy, she is his enemy, she stands in the way of his dream.

"You wanted Vinzer dead? You even went so far as to pick up the Short-Bus SeeD special to try to do it. Guess what? She wanted him dead too! Only when she set her mind to it, she didn't fail! She took charge of a entire country and the only thing that you and the SeeD could think to do was murder her for it! This is why she needs me, because of hateful, ignorant people like you and those that ran the Gardens!" he yells at her now, the storm of his ire having come to a head, his hands gesture dramticly in the air, violently. "She has been hunted her entire life, feared, hated, can you blame her for wanting to protect herself? She was trying to change our world, to save our world!"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith frowned. Oh yes... something was definitely, painfully wrong. Her senses were on high alert, the grip on her staff tightening. "Tifa... get ready to take Rinoa and run," she muttered. No idea what he'd do now, and she couldn't see a sorceress anywhere nearby... was he hearing things? All she knew was that this was not a good thing, and the idea was to get as far away as possible.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods to Aerith. She's not feeling the love here either... but she doesn't think Seifer will attack Rinoa either, but should play it safe at least. She moves behind Rinoa "Oh, Rinoa, I think its about time we... split~" And then it only takes a split second for the barmistress to grab Rinoa and disapear in a cloud of smoke!

... Except its just dust, this alley isn't really clean. Tifa's actually just a few steps away, dragging Rinoa away along the street ~_~

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa stares back at Seifer blankly, tears filling her eyes briefly before she fiercely fights them back, wiping them away. Every word of his strike her hard, like a dagger in the heart. "No..That's not true! Seifer..I wanted to stop the sorceress, not kill her! I tried to give her an Odine bangle to supress her powers.."

"Because people fear and hate her! And dont they have good reason, after what happened in Esthar? Or haven't you heard of the sorceress wars, and the terror and destruction that Sorceress Adel caused? How can you be so sure that Edea will be any different?"

Rinoa dares to take a step towards Seifer, trying to find reason in his words, but.."Back in Deling, when I tried to give her the bangle, you know what she did? She turned me into a puppet, controlled my body, forced me out on the balcony...Where she released her lizards on me! Seifer..She tried to kill me! And I only wanted to find a peaceful solution.."

She can hear Tifa and Aerith behind her, warning her to stay away, but her heart is still filled with passion, her memories of happy times with Seifer still fresh in her mind. Still, she pauses, considering his words. Wanting so badly to believe that he's trying to do the honorable thing.

"I suppose you're right, they probably DO hate and fear her, but..Do you really think she's trying to save the world? If that's true, if you're right, then I wont fight, but..How exactly does she plan to...'Save' the world?"

Then Tifa grabs her and she shakes her off, pulling away. "No, Tifa! I need to do this. I...Care too much about Seifer to just let him go..I dont wanna be his enemy!"

Aerith has posed:
Cue a smack of her forehead.

There was no threat, no danger, nothing, but Tifa misinterpreted. Aerith said get ready, not actually do it! She glanced toward Seifer for a moment... and then toward Rinoa. Was there anything she could say, really? She had no idea what went on between these two, but the bits and pieces that she'd heard marked him as an enemy.

No reason to start a fight with him though... yet. "Tifa, let her go!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart blinks. Aerith needs to learn to give her better instructions! ~_~ She lets go of Rinoa, not that they were very far away "Ahh... uhm..." she scratches the back of her head...

Then she picks up her bags, and flees ._.

Seifer Almasy has posed:
"And what would you do?!" he counters, a hand sweeping aside the news of Edea's attack on Rinoa.

She had attacked Rinoa? Why would she- No, he is the Knight of The Sorceress Edea, it is his charge to protect her, not question her. He soldiers on, shouldering aside his doubts. "If someone had come to you and offered you a trinket that would rob you of who you are, quiet your voice so that you could not speak anything that might trouble them, shut your eyes so that you could not see the world and what they have done to it, deafen your ears so that you could not hear the truth?" he drilled her with his damning questions, his mind maneuvering the pieces of reality into another version that better suited him.

"Adel, Esther, the wars, these have been used against the Sorceress for too long! Don't you see what this does to these women? To be feared and hated all of their lives, to be called monsters and shunned? She did not chose to become the Sorceress but now that she is, she has refused to be cowed by smaller minds and craven souls." he continues to rant, angry heated driven on by something unseen.

"She will save this world, all of these shattered, desperate fragments, the same way she would have saved ours. She will bring them to heel, every nation, every kingdom, all following a single Sorceress Queen. There will be no more war to orphan children in droves, no more need for schools that gobble them up and turn them into soldiers that fight and die for the highest bidder. She will end the fighting... and I will help her." the storm of his ire ebbs away, his breath slows from the heated, quick heaves of before, he can feel his heart slow in his chest.

"I will do anything she needs of me, I will lay down my life to protect her... and I will kill anyone that stands in our way." His dream... his grand, romantic dream.

He turns towards the darkness at the end of the alley, forgetting that it is a deadend for just this moment. His left hand sweeps aside the left side of his coat, Hyperion hangs at his hip, ever ready. His wrist lays across the back of it's grip. "Anyone, even you, if I have to."

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa grits her teeth, "Seifer, you've become so cold. Is that really you talking, or has she somehow brainwashed you, drilled these words into your mind?" She points an accursing finger at him. "Cant you think for yourself? Are those truly your own words, or hers?"

Still, she seems to hesitate when he makes accusations against her, nodding slowly, "I...Suppose I wouldn't like that either, but..After what Adel did, I still dont know if she can be trusted. Maybe we just need to understand her better, maybe she's right and really IS different from Adel, but.."

Rinoa clasps a hand to her chest, clenching the ring, her mother's ring that hangs there, her sable eyes pleading. "Even so, must we fight? Cant we just find a peaceful resolution? Would you really be willing to kill me..For her sake? After everything we've been through? I...Could never fight you.."

Of course with every passing moment, she fears that's exactly what she may have to do. All the while, Angelo pads softly to Rinoa's side, whining a little. She doesn't understand all their words, but she can sense the tension in the air, and the agression in Seifer's voice and his words. Even so, Angelo is reluctant to raise a paw against the sorceress' knight.

Aerith has posed:
Okay... something was definitely wrong. He'd just threatened her... not to mention that there was yet another possible threat to the worlds. Where did they all come from? She cleared her throat. "Rinoa, I think it's a good time for us to leave." He'd just... threatened her life. Could she not hear that? She didn't say he wasn't in his right mind, because that was evident. This man... was not himself. She didn't know why, but she could tell something else was driving him. Maybe it was the doubt, the hesitation before his rant.

It wasn't up for debate right now. "Come on!"

Seifer Almasy has posed:
"The peaceful resolution is for you... and everyone else to stay out of her way." Kill her? Would he kill her...? His right hand, hanging at his side, close. Fingers curl into a fist, the leather of his glove creaks. He doesn't know.

"If you run into the rest of the short-bus, you tell them that too!" he rounds on her, a finger thrust towards her and... Aerith?!

Who the hell is that?! His brows furrow, knitting towards his scar, that's right, there were other people here... Unimportant people!

"You tell them to stay out of her way, all of them! This... whatever the hell it is that happened has bought them a reprieve. She has larger things to worry about than a bunch of screw-ups. If you all keep quiet, maybe she'll forget you ever existed." Maybe he will too.

His eyes flit across Rinoa, shifting to Aerith,, even Kaydin gets some cursory glance. Rinoa's too... sentimental to just leave it at that, he knows her that well... He, himself takes up step, brisk strides clicking off of the alley floor as he advances towards and past Rinoa and Aerith. He hates even the suggestion of running away.. but he has other things to do.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced at him as he stormed past... and she understood then. Those pauses, the breaks, the shifts in his posture. He was being controlled. By this sorceress, whoever it was. Some part of him doubted it, fought it. But the rest, the rest was convinced.

There was no time to think about it. She was lucky he hadn't started swinging at Rinoa. Seifer was too fast, maybe even for the brunette.

Aerith made her way toward Rinoa, stopping just a few feet away. "Hey... we don't know what else is following him or if there are more of those Shadows. We need to go."

Rinoa Heartilly has posed:
Rinoa seems to stubbornly stand where she is, not wanting to just..Just forget about Seifer. "But, Seifer...Why's it have to be this way? If she really IS a threat, then..." she sighs, clenching her fists. "I know there is a better solution to all of this, and I will find it, without having to resort to fighting. Even if the SeeDs were ordered to defeat the sorceress, I'll find a way so we dont have to be enemies.."

She gives him one last lingering glance before she turns and runs away, following after Aerith and Tifa. "I'm sorry, you guys1 Thanks for backing me up.." Darn, now she's crying again. Angelo meanwhile, chances one of her own lingering glances at Seifer, whimpering once, before she runs off into the night..

This scene contained 30 poses. The players who were present were: Tifa Lockhart, Kaydin, Rinoa Heartilly, Aerith, Seifer Almasy Click this link to pre-populate the wiki logpage: link.