Óróa

He's ready for it alright. Might've been planning this all along too. Zack's not the only one who's noticed a downward trend of monsters slithering in from the outskirts. Neither of them really know how to do anything else so it's been this day in and day out. Eyes out for Turks, kill the monsters who roam into the slums, rinse repeat.

Zack's been ahead of him for days now on the tally board and the slumsfolk won't shut up about it but he's closing the gap more and more each day.

It's easy when you're watching Zack. Building yourself to emulate him. This is the closest he's ever gotten to SOLDIER training and now he can somewhat keep up. Cloud's still got a ways to go but he's working through it one lesson at a time.

He barely manages to get the Iron Blade up in enough time to fend off the first sword stroke and it grazes down the side of his blade making his teeth clatter with the screech.

A well placed shove of his shoulder against the flat edge of the sword sends Zack staggering back.

"You really wanna go a round? Aren't you still sore from yesterday?"

#{The devs watched a thousand plus MMD videos.}#{And really said “you know what they love apparently?”}#{And you know what?}#{They were right.}

{ Yeah I'll take your scooter but I'd also pay just to watch a 300+ hour of Cloud "I Don't Dance" Strife dancing. }

Don't need to ask him twice! The Buster sword in tow, he crosses the room nearly in one stride, nudging Cloud through and closing the door behind them. A light tap on the blonde's shoulder sees him passing him to race down the stairs, the biggest grin on his face and he doesn't even bother taking the last three steps, just grabs the hand rail and leaps over, taking off at a hearty jog for the small scrap yard.

Is he taking that as a challenge, and personally? You bet your sweet ass he is. He doesn't waste a second either. One hand on the railing sends him flying over the second story below, he lands next to the brunette heavy enough to displace dust but the man's already leaps ahead of him.

He kicks off and takes off running as fast as his legs can carry him but he still only manages to pass the other in a mere split second, fence gate swinging wide and hitting the fence with a reverberating shimmy of metal.

Cloud throws a smirk over his shoulder and reaches for the Iron Blade.

"Bet I clear out more than you!"

"I won't tell." Not like the way Cloud's body language is telling on him. Seems like he might've stepped on a toe or two, so he eases back. Unfolds his arms and runs a hand through his hair.

"Wanna slack off together? Maybe go play around in the scrap yard?"

"I think you need to look up the definition of slacking off. Usually doesn't involve more work." That's not to say he's not looking forward to it. The Iron Blade slides into place and he's reaching for the knob, glancing over his shoulder to formally invite the First.

"Why's that, you been slackin'?" He's side eyeing the blonde as he moves away, brushing off his knees when he stands and turns full bodied to him. The opposite corner is his perch post, arms crossed to mirror the man.

Cloud's catching on, but whether it's meant to tease him or not he's still undecided. Back then, it was never friendly. Can you blame him, getting a little defensive? A roll of his eyes and he's staring at the door handle wondering if it'd be rude to just walk out.

"Might be."

"Hey! Easy there tiger!" It's a lighthearted tease, no malice in sight, as he catches that wrist on the return and, fingers traveling down his forearm as he lowers himself on bent knees, inspects the work done.

"Gettin' the hang of that. Tifa's gonna be so proud!"

His skin warms and hums where its touched and something in the way that makes his heart thud in his chest... Cloud tears his gaze away and studies the metal flooring around the sink. It's rusting but it'll be a good few years before that means anything.

"Think she'll be surprised more than anything." He can't get the sensation out of his mind. He turns and walks to the door, leaning against the frame and crossing his arms. It's a good excuse to brush his palm over the spot in the hopes it goes away.

"Hey! Easy there tiger!" It's a lighthearted tease, no malice in sight, as he catches that wrist on the return and, fingers traveling down his forearm as he lowers himself on bent knees, inspects the work done.

"Gettin' the hang of that. Tifa's gonna be so proud!"

"Real funny. Water's fixed, you want a drink?" Cloud ducks down as he sidles backwards from beneath the sink, making sure his head is well clear of the basin before he moves to stand, nudging Zack back as he does.

heavensbled asked: Sneaks right up behind the blonde while he's elbow deep in changing a filter, leans over and hums thoughtfully.

His arm swings backwards violently, catching on the leg of the sink and making him grimace as pain radiates up to the back of his neck. When he realizes who it is, he swings again this time missing the sink and smacking Zack's thigh.

"Th' hell! Sneakin' up on me like that!"

#{What's with the ass thing is my question.}#(t) ;; dead мan walĸιng (CloudStrife)

#{Mufasa vc: Remember}

ffxvcaps

FFVII: Rebirth Demo → You can pet the baby chocobo!!

{ That's it. I'm turning off the game. }

#{how fucking dare.}

{ Had to do it. Zack's living it up in Costa Del Sol. }

#{Meanwhile Cloud's being lazy somewhere on a beach.}

{ Barret, I love you. I love your whole crew. But- you're dumb as hell. Also, why and how the hell did Shinra not think to harness the power of the sun for energy? Never thought of solar panels? Sheesh this company just loves being evil. I imagine the person who suggested it was thrown out a window. }

{ I will forever be infinitely grateful that they always get Cloud's voice right...but Zack's VA for Reunion was unforgiveable. I could have gotten used to the change if the VA had any semblance of an idea of when to put his inflections in, or had any emotion to his voice at all. His deliveries were all flat and when he finally put some effort into the role the inflections were so off beat it literally made me cringe. Am I sad that I bought it? Yes. But I'm sad I bought it for the Switch. The graphics are- well they're not even graphics. They're literally Disney's animated hair bloopers gone rabid. It's the worst 'high quality' game I've ever seen. I'll end up getting it for PC too, but I'm going to mod in MY Zack's voice. Rick I love you, and thank you for putting a piece of your soul into a character I fell in love in OG. Nothing can explain my gratitude that you were my Zack Fair. }

zackleos

IGNORING CLOUD'S PROTESTS as he's already standing and preparing for the journey, zack remains pensive as he pushes splayed fingers back through his dark hair, untangling it somewhat ( as much as current energy levels allow; fortunately, its spiked texture prevents it from becoming too difficult ).

so no previous trips to sector 5 that cloud can recall... and there won't be one anytime soon, despite the way it haunts both dreams and waking thoughts, invisible strings t u g g i n g at his chest in the direction of the church. he won't give in.

❝ just a friend. wondered how well you knew the area, that's all. ❞

he trusts the blond completely, of course he does, but the less cloud has to know about the past, the better. otherwise, those unfulfillable desires to visit past acquaintances may spread between them, and get worse. evenings of lamentation. curiosity leading to a downfall.

❝ no need to head in that direction; probably crawling with turks. ❞ there's no real reason why they should be there looking specifically for them, at least at present — as surely they can't expect him to have survived the onslaught and continued to head into the company's very own city? bravery and stupidity are separated by a terribly thin line. it's a line that, for zack, runs right down between sectors 5 and 7.

if he shows his face there, word would quickly get back to headquarters. the ex-soldier knows that. cissnei had already given him f a r too many chances out in the wilderness. he'd be surprised if she hasn't been fired for it ( obviously he hopes for her continued safety; that she's managed to conceal the fact that she'd aided two fugitives well enough, as he'd expect any seasoned turk may be capable of doing ). he remains mia. so does cloud. both are probably ' attack-on-sight '.

turning to cloud, he fixes leather gloves at his wrists and pulls them taut. the buster sword is then lifted and placed against his back, fixed there, a familiar weight that brings healthy servings of both comfort and sadness. his lost and torn past. his dreams and honour. ❝ do you know who we're delivering to? personally, i mean. ❞ are they trustworthy? are they safe?