AERITH

[bookpapers]

I HOPE WE USE THIS PAST W2 ThIS TIME

Comments

w0 sat

[bookpapers]

[where's aerith.... wherever she is Lavi is approaching, a hand raised in a wave. he's dressed in a red and black uniform, headband, and also a scarf wrapped around his neck... very cozy... he also still has his flower crown, but he's holding it in his hand instead of on his head,]

Hey, how was your first night in spooky town?

[residentflorist]

[imagine if i said she was in the mortuary. but no, she's in front of the church! she's back in her regular pink dress and red jacket combo, hair pulled back into its braid and held in place with her pink ribbon. she seems to be idling there, mostly as if she's waiting and watching people walk past to make sure everyone's still in one piece. but she does perk up upon seeing a familiar face.]

Oh, Lavi! [hello!] Looks like we both made it. It was kinda creepy to see what the town was like after dark, but everything was fine. Nothing happened to you last night?

[bookpapers]

[aerith... she's so cute....]

Nope. All in one piece, I think. [I THINK?] Kept waking up to all the groaning and moaning though. At this rate, I'm not gonna get enough beauty sleep.

w0 monday

[residentflorist]

[well, honestly the first thing aerith is going to be doing is realizing that she and cloud wound up with the same housing but their ninja did not. so today on this fine (?) monday, she's wandering through town to look at everyone else's name plaques to try and find where yuffie might have wound up.

maybe lavi's stepping out of the haunted house, or maybe he's returning, but he will see that aerith is lingering in front of the door.]

Well...at least that's not so bad.

[bookpapers]

[he's returning!!! that way he can peer over her shoulder like their first meet cute, hi aerith]

Are ya keeping tabs on me?

[NO]

[residentflorist]

[well since he's returning he might get to see a lil peek of what might looks like the word loss from under her bracelets. she does not seem fussed though and instead she smiles.]

Maybe. [NO.] Or maybe you have something I'm a little interested in. [she could explain right away but no this is funnier for her.]

w0 friday

[bookpapers]

[HI AERITH. WHAT THE HELL. Lavi will make a beeline to her as he sees her,]

Hey, you okay?

[residentflorist]

[HELLO LAVI EVERYTHING SUCKS. anyway hi she's just apparently very smokey and full of smoke. yay.]

We're alright, but the swamp was on fire. [...] Someone was burned there last night.

[bookpapers]

[NOT HER SMOKEY SMOKE.

there's a brief beat of silence, and his mouth presses into a line.]

...Could you tell who it was? Or...

[were they extremely barbecued]

w0 sun

[bookpapers]

[heading over to find her!!! where she be]

Hey. How's Yuffie?

[residentflorist]

[she be at the pyre looking at the new posters and judging the shit out of them. who thought these were funny? fucking cults.

but her expression softens a little when she sees lavi, and further when he asks about yuffie.]

Upset, understandably. She's a little better than yesterday but I don't think it's going to be easy to get past this one right away. [she turns just a little to face him more head-on.] Can you help me keep an eye on her? I... [...how to explain.] She might be more honest with you than me. I think she doesn't want to worry me.

[she does have enough insight to realize yuffie sometimes keeps things to herself because she knows she and aerith don't exactly agree or because she doesn't want to make aerith herself sad either.]

[bookpapers]

[He's not surprised to hear her ask him to keep an eye on her -- though, he looks briefly surprised when she explains why, and then understanding.]

...Sure. [he's not as close to Yuffie -- but it doesn't take much to see how much these deaths weigh on her.

he thinks back on her tattoos, spreading like ink.]

Whether she wants to talk about it or not, I'll be there. [...] Same goes for you too. If you wanna vent, then I'm here for ya.

w1 monday

[residentflorist]

[she's just coming up wherever he is and grabbing his arm to start pulling him in a direction. hi.]

Can I borrow you for a second? [she should ask before just grabbing people but like. okay. to the clothing store!]

[bookpapers]

[PULLED!!!! Lavi is more than okay with this!!! he'll jokingly drag his feet at times but he'll head over to the store with Aerith,]

You need a second opinion on something?

[is aerith gonna play dress-up... that's so cute]

[residentflorist]

[thank you for the assist, lavi. she's happy he's just letting this happen and they're heading into the shop not too long after.]

If you're offering! I wouldn't mind, I think. [once they're in funky fashionista, she's heading over and leading lavi to a corner of the shop and pointing at a pink sweater that is out of her reach.] But I need that first.

w1 sat

[bookpapers]

[Lavi is at the beach!! He's holding a bunch of flowers in his arms while looking out at the water.

after a minute, he turns away from the surf and hikes back up the sand, blinking once he sees Aerith,]

Hey.

[residentflorist]

[she was letting him have a moment, really, but she doesn't stop him from coming back up the sand. rather, she takes a few steps forward to meet him halfway, eyes lingering on the flowers and giving a slight smile.]

Hey. You doing okay? [she takes a moment to examine him though.] Be honest.

w2 monday

[residentflorist]

[and we are at the gas station! she has what looks like a baggie of peach ring gummy candies, shaking the bag a little in his face.]

What do you think? Something a little sweet for someone a little sweet? [it's. it's a bad line, but it's been a stressful weekend and she thinks maybe lavi could use a little pick me up. unfortunately one of her own memories maybe is not actually a good pick me up. whoopsie.]

bursts into tears.... AERIIIIIIITTTHHHHHHHHH

[bookpapers]

[The lanterns really are beautiful. He can feel Aerith's awe, and a little bit of his own too, once the memory finally fades. It stays with him in a way that should be terrifying, because he doesn't think he's ever been had the strength to admit something so deeply private about himself, and then be fine with the telling.

It's more than what he's capable of, and in a strange way, makes him less afraid -- because this is Aerith's memory. Her past, her conviction, shown in a way that goes deeper than a record on a page. He looks over at her, waiting for the apology to form from his lips.]

I don't know if I'd call that sweet...

[don't bring aerith's bad line into this... and then he smiles,]

More like -- uplifting.

w2 thursday

[residentflorist]

[with lavi, she gives him a little time before she bothers to seek him out (mostly because she's pretty certain kanda's going to beat him up further.) but later on, she does venture off to try and find him, quiet in her approach once she sees where he's ended up.]

...what can I do to help you right now? Anything?

[bookpapers]

[he's in the dining room of the house!! seated at the table and changed into a new outfit that's less bloody and crispy, bandages swathed around his face and head.

he looks up at her like the pitiful idiod he is,]

...Got any painkillers? I'll pay you back.

w6 wednesday

[residentflorist]

[at some point when the party winds down a little...she's still in the vineyard! sort of just glancing around at their set-up. she's still somewhat transparent on-sight but it doesn't look like she's going anywhere for a bit.

that said, she does grin a little when it's just lavi.]

So. Sounds like things have been a little exciting on this side. [very vague, but open enough for lavi to pick the thread of conversation he wants.]

[bookpapers]

[Lavi will head over to approach her, probably abandoning the booth mid-way for the jjks to handle, shooting her an amused look.]

You've been watching us the whole time, haven't ya?

[which he thinks it's so unfair!!! why couldn't this be a two-way street]

Pretty sure today's been the most exciting it's ever been.

w7 saturday

[residentflorist]

[we can start in scawwy still, but aerith is lingering at the pillar and waving upon seeing lavi.]

Think this calls for a celebration. Wanna come see the other side?

[bookpapers]

[he hops on over!! excited!!]

Yeah!

[YEAH! HE WANTS TO SEE! I WANTED TO SEE! DAMN!!!!]