Bitter Work
| Bitter Work | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 14 December 2012 |
| Location: | Targ Woods |
| Synopsis: | In the quiet of the woods, Aerith takes the time to do a few things on her own. Such a special gift from such an ancient soul needs to be prepared for, and she is not about to waste a single moment by sitting on the forest floor, doing nothing. Part of How Aerith Got Her Groove Back. |
| Thanks to: | Pixi, for the idea. |
| Cast of Characters: | Aerith Gainsborough |
Aerith wasn't sure she could find it again.
The grove they'd ended up in was in a very specific direction, and as Pixi had said, one didn't just stumble onto it, they were invited. She wasn't sure what would happen if she left. But leave she did, to find a few good things to do with her free time. And most of her time would be spent doing one form of training or another...
So here she stood, in front of the tallest tree she could find, close enough to where Pixi had set up shop but far away enough to where she would be left alone. The Cetra, wearing her shorts and pink flower top with white trainers, walked around the circumference of the tree, her hand tracing along the bark and a smile playing across her lips. Yes, this would do nicely. She looked for the nearest knot she could hold onto, then glanced upward to look for any others.
"Okay..." She rubbed her hands together and took a few steps back. "...Let's do this."
One, two, three steps toward the tree, then the next two had her scampering up the trunk. Her right hand latched onto the first knot, left hand grasping the next just under a foot higher. No ropes, no harness, nothing of the sort that would make this easier.
Just her.
She began her climb, making her way up via whatever she could hold onto. Two minutes later, she made it to the first branch... or rather would have, if it weren't a good leap away. Aerith's eyes narrowed as she judged the distance, gathered herself... and flung herself out into the open air, her eyes closed. Because if she fell from here, not being able to see anything would be a mercy.
Her arms were forced into a jolt that made her eyes snap open. She'd caught it. With a wild grin, she pulled herself up and resumed her ascent, finding branches to step onto and jump toward.
All the pulling and gripping began to make her sore after a good ten minutes. But that was the point, wasn't it?
Soon however, she found herself too tired to do much else, and stopped on a particularly thick branch, resting her back against the trunk. Her breathing was shallow, labored, but as she dared to look down, Aerith laughed.
She was a good thirty feet above the forest floor now, and could see well into the forest... though the exact location of the grove she was led to was no longer visible. She closed her eyes and made her best attempt to slow her heart down, stop the whirling excitement of her thoughts. It took her longer than usual, but she entered that state of mind where nothing seemed to move and time slowed down.
She stretched her senses, her aura, and tried to find Pixi.
The comforting presence of the Viera registered in ten seconds, and she locked onto it, holding it in the back of her mind. Aerith opened her eyes and sat herself down, glancing up this time instead of down.
Seemed there was quite a ways to go... she was maybe only a third of the way up. She wouldn't mind going a bit higher, but this would do for the time being.
With a sigh, she stood and stretched her arms in front of her. It was time to get back down and see if her present was ready yet...
