eye for an eye

[soleil-lucero]

@shieldded

@mariposaserpiente

Soleil didn’t know what to do with his time. They had a day before they were going on this next mission. It was strange, working with the WRO at the moment. He specifically never wanted to come anywhere near Shinra anything ever again. He trusted Reeve, to a degree, but there was still that shadow of Shinra leaning over everything.

But here he was, blinking tiredly at the two he had just gone through…..not hell…but something pretty close to earlier in the day. It….wouldn’t hurt to get to know them, right? He hadn’t made an effort in SOLDIER, he hadn’t wanted to be there. Sure there were a couple of nice people but…..There wasn’t the choice.

But this was a choice….To make friends outside of his village. Taking a breath, he stepped up to the other two.

“So…uh….How do you guys feel about grabbing dinner, later? Maybe?” He wrung his hands gently. “I mean, we don’t have to. if you guys don’t want to it’s just…..We’re going to be working together…again. So we might as well…get to know each other?” How did people do this?

[mariposaserpiente]

        Mariposa didn’t people. He certainly didn’t like the idea of being tied down to do people-pleasing jobs but the world was grim and ugly and any amount of work counted. So he went along with it. Being an assassin, being so strongly anti-Shinra, being AVALANCHE- it all had a way of piling up on him, until every opportunity presented to him strongly went against one facet of him entirely.

He wasn’t made to do honest work, but he also wasn’t made to watch entire cities burn to ashes at one man’s beckoning. 

So here he was, getting the best kind of exposure therapy he could possibly think of. The type where he jumped right in and as his body went into shock he would be eaten alive. Except the analogy was all wrong and he was instead looking at the two other mercenaries he just met and there was a malfunctioning robot hanging off of his back. 

“Dinner sounds good,” Mariposa said at last, shoving his hands into his pockets and fixing his good eye on the two with what was likely the stiffest expression to ever be seen on a living man. “Can’t hurt, need some good rest after that excursion.”

He had enough gil left over from stocking up on goods that it would at least get him something tasty enough to fill his stomach. Then it was going to be back to sleeping out on the streets until his next job, probably. Preferable, he wasn’t used to beds or blankets. They were suffocating.

“Though I can’t speak for the group but I’m thinking we’re probably not going to afford a four star meal. Food stall?”

[eliminated]

[recaption]

[shieldded]

@mariposaserpiente

Demetra spent a good deal of her time at the Leaf House. Letting thee kids practice their swords, wooden sticks bouncing off the metal shield on her arm. It was a good way to spend her day. Their little faces lighting up, feeling like their moving towards something important. She couldn’t deny their eyes knew and understood more about the world than they always let on. Demetra spent her days giving piggy back rides and being a pull up bar for the extra strong kiddos. 

It was a good way to spend her time.

But the sun was setting and it was time to return home. She had created a good home in the Sector 5 Slums, it was comfortable and held all of her things. There was always something missing from it however. Demetra didn’t like to dwell on what wasn’t there, only what is. 

Her stomach growled.

Had she forgotten to eat lunch today? Perhaps. She turned into one of the little restaurants. More of a bar than cafe but it would do. It was busier, busier than one would think. She found a lone open seat next to a stranger, “Hey… is this seat taken?”

[mariposaserpiente]

        Mariposa didn’t often have the time or money to relax in a restaurant. He got paid big this time; it was a veritable fountain of gil for the simple task of infiltrating some top execs home and... well, borrowing his plans for developing a sparkly new Mako Reactor. It made today a treat; he bit into the fresh chocolate lava cake the cute waitress place before him and his mouth gleefully exploded into sweet bliss.

This was good, great even.

He scraped his fork across the desert tray and turned his gaze to the rest of his food. Being an adult there was no reason not to eat his desert first. He was happy to eat something that wasn’t scavenged from a rich man’s trashcan, honestly. Another big bite of food was quick to be shoveled into his waiting mouth, but this time it did not come uninterrupted. 

One green eye trailed upwards, fixing on the earnest face of a clear warrior. She looked tough, but there was a hint of softness to those eyes. Maybe he was imagining it, after all this was a complete stranger and he couldn’t afford to make assumptions about the habits of someone who could quickly beat him to death in a bar fight gone horribly wrong.

Mariposa would take his chances and assume he just shouldn’t fuck with anyone in general.

“Yeah, knock yourself out,” He wiped his mouth free of remnants of chocolate and rice, suddenly very aware that he had become some sort of greedy goblinoid creature when presented a hot meal. “I’ll move my sword.” He reached over with a deft hand and slid the belt over his chest, securing the familiar blade to his back. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

[recaption]

[especially]

[mariposaserpiente]

testing testing