@apathetic-ruler
It’s been a long time since Aerith had graced these halls; too long you could argue, although if experience had taught her anything, sometimes it was safer to keep a distance. She was never fond of the security, nor of the hollowness of the building - but there was still a sense of affection reserved for its cantankerous inhabitant, even after all this time. Well, maybe affection was the wrong word. It was an odd kind of kinship that the cetra couldn’t quite discern, something equal part friend and family, that warranted intervention if rumours of a certain sullen mood were to be believed.
The knock is subtle when her knuckles rap against lacquered wood - but there’s no degree of hesitation before she marches herself in, half expecting to find towering mountains of paperwork and some unsuspecting Turk buried beneath an avalanche of unscrupulous documents. “I brought you a friend.” Aerith declares with no hint of irony, her face obscured behind the jovial bloom of a potted sunflower. “And he’s happy to see you.” She wiggles the pot for dramatic effect, inquisitive green eyes peering over the top of yellow petals to seek out the familiar face of a certain Rufus Shinra.
There’s no conventional hello to this exchange. No, how are you? Or I’m sorry it’s been so long. In fact, there’s no platitude of any description for that matter. She just exists with all of the whimsy of a summer breeze, floating her way in and out of people’s lives with the unyielding grace of a changing season. This fact doesn’t escape her; a sheepish vision in red as she crinkles her nose and raises her fingers in a more practical greeting. Anyone would think they were still six years old, chasing each others shadows and skirting around mischief as if their lives depended on it.
“And I suppose maybe I am too.” The admission is sincere, although her smile a little more wry as two fingers pinch together to accentuate her words. “Just a little bit.”
