#millie park

[madeofthreads]

@housetummelt | x

Ji-eun exhaled a slow breath. The tension was still there, but it wasn't quite as explosive as it had been before... she didn't want to shout, and she didn't want to assault him with questions after all. She simply needed a moment to gather herself back together.

Following his guidance, she pulled back from the hug, and it was then that she realised his was the first familiar face that she had seen in the aftermath. Of all the people she had ever known, Baldur Tummelt was the first she could confidently say 'he survived'.

"It is good to see you Mr. Tummelt." Ji-eun meant to apologise to him. To dismiss her reaction in some way, but really, she wasn't sorry about it at all.

"I... am alive." It almost sounded like she questioned that, whether she truly was alive, whether this could truly be called living. It felt more like surviving. Her parents had both been listed as dead, according to a security database they were both swiped into their non-military work, and both placed at the epicenter of disaster. Even if it were a lie, even if they somehow survived the initial assault from within Gralea, they would not survive the cold and the dark that was to come.

When asked whether she needed anything, she gave a small pause. Yes. Yes, but a secret need. "Perhaps..." she couldn't get out the words. "That is, I do have a favour to seek, but I wouldn't ask for it until I see for myself the state of this Nifen base. There has been so much that has gone wrong. So many people in greater need. I can wait."

Then she managed a very weak smile. Barely a tug of her lips, and it was gone just as quick. "Mrs. Tummelt. I would very much like to see her as well. People have been slowly arriving, and I haven't seen any faces that I recognised until now. I'm... I think I'm in need of familiar company. The Lord Hi- former- Ravus." It felt strange to use his name in a setting that wasn't private. "We arrived together, but we were made aware of intel concerning a Tenebraean escort that needed assistance. He left to receive them but I... well, I'm here, unfit to deploy." That was her favour, but Baldur was a smart enough man to put two and two together.

Ji-eun maneuvered to stand at his side. She followed his lead, hoped quietly that the lower decks weren't as depressing as the image that came to mind. Not a sad and decrepit slum where the Nifen had been dumped. "... and how are you?" she dared to ask after she herself had spilled her troubles upon him. "Are you well?" Or was he also surviving.

[madeofthreads]

@loqis | x

It was happening again. Loqi was trapped in another dream... no, a nightmare.

Ji-eun woke silently and rolled over to look to his side of the floor mattress, half laid down, half sat up with her neck craned as her eyes adjusted in the darkness.

Sometimes he settled himself back to sleep. As though, in his dreams, he found a way past the bad that was happening. Though that wasn't the case on this night. Her brows furrowed together, as her boyfriend- partner- father of her daughter uttered words out loud.

"Not her. Not her." It came as a strained whisper, tense, full of desperate emotion. She knew better than to leave him alone in this kind of nightmare.

"Loqi." Ji-eun flipped herself to face him completely, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder. She hovered, but kept a small distance. That had been a lesson hard-learned about waking in a panic. "Loqi, wake up."

He startled awake. Then, after a few moments of her giving him a comforting little shoulder rub, he even swore. That stole a sudden exhale from her, a gentle amusement that made her shake her head.

Good thing she could spring back with fast reflexes. One moment he was coming to, the next he was throwing himself to sit up, and he crawled to the makeshift cot. A small basket, that contained a smaller bundle inside. Serah was still asleep, safe and sound, though undoubtedly she'd stir and utter her hungry cry before too long.

"That didn't sound the same as usual." she commented, now sat up in their bed with her arms hugged around her legs. She spoke while looking to where Serah continued her peaceful sleep. "That one sounded... like one of the worst."

She turned her head and looked to him then. He was melted to the bed, and honestly, he looked wrecked. It was more than a new parent being exhausted. "Talk to me, Loqi." Slowly she lowered back into bed, laid on her side to look him in his eyes. "I have a feeling we're going to be awake a while longer, do you want me to bring some water?"

She almost offered to brew a pot of tea. Almost. That was out of the question.

[madeofthreads]

@enokvirkow

Three days had already passed.

Three days, and Millie still felt she knew nothing about what was happening in Hope County. The locals all seemed to have a similar goal — prepping. Doomsday level preparations at that. They were paranoid, like the end of days was upon their doorsteps.

Of course there were a few more rational seeming minds around. But even those all had a similar message: to keep on driving.

'Where ya heading darlin'?'

'Ya better head on out now, sure ya got somewhere to be.'

'Ain't no vacancies around these parts ma'am.'

It was like driving into a twilight zone. The ones who seemed nicest wanted to move her along as fast as they could. The ones who seemed mean as fuck were completely avoided, the brazen level of men and women packing fully automated weapons in the streets was almost too much to believe.

But there was a reason she had come to town. And even if she passed every red flag on her journey here, she wasn't turning back now. She couldn't.

Then she saw a young man. He seemed uncertain, disheveled, and yet he was the only other in the parking lot of Aubrey's Diner. Someone had answered her handwritten ad seeking a local guide — she arranged the meeting spot, expecting they would be able to talk over coffee. But the place seemed completely abandoned making the meeting a little awkward.

"Hello." Millie was the first to speak. It seemed she needed to break the tension. "Are you here to answer my ad? I'm waiting for someone, we spoke on the phone briefly and he said he knew this area like the back of his hand."

[madeofthreads]

@loqis | x

This was a tough man to crack. Truly, he seemed to hate everyone, and everything in his path. It had been a small olive branch, an attempt to offer a bridge to something that resembled camaraderie — as much as that could exist in a world where men and women climbed similar ladders.

Ji-eun lifted her shoulder in a shrug. It appeared the brigadier general wished for a chance to prove his prowess and little else, fair enough. "I suppose you're right." she quipped. Her dark stained humour came to surface. "The Lord High Commander would not approve of having to fill out the extra paperwork."

The gunblade was pulled away and in one fluid motion she had it folded and holstered at her hip. With a sharp turn of her heel she led them in a brisk walk towards the shooting range. Perhaps she wished to conclude this encounter. Or perhaps it was because she was so accustomed to keeping step with Ravus Nox Fleuret, a man who towered over most others, and a man who was quick on his feet for someone his size. It felt like it took two of her strides to match one of his some days.

"I trust that I'm not pulling you away from your duties." Ji-eun stated more than she asked, and immediately chased her statement up with a challenge. "Catch."

She grabbed her folded gunblade and tossed it into the air, high enough to give Loqi time to prove his reflexes. Her head turned to look at him and her lips curled with a smile. At least he couldn't pinch his nose at her with his hands full of heavy metal.

[madeofthreads]

@loqis

The mechanic was in the building after hours. Hardly a crime, most corporations would be thrilled if more workers simply donated unpaid hours to their company — but this provided her with a very unique opportunity.

Lucis Corp. wasn't buzzing with life. There were employees on the premises, but she knew exactly where they were, and exactly what they were doing.

The lights of his workshop dimmed. He was almost in darkness, but then more lights sprang to life in the hallway outside. Perhaps he thought someone was fucking with him. Perhaps he thought security was giving him the boot.

When he stepped to the hallway to investigate, another set of lights lit up, barely a few steps in front of him. It was like a little game of follow the leader, because when he stepped into the newly lit area, the lights behind him dimmed, and more sprang to life in front of him.

Not another soul was on his floor, it was only him, mysterious him, and the mysterious lights.

[madeofthreads]

He had seen her around sometimes. But his training had often been far away from HQ. Now though, with being picked as SOLDIER? The training happened here. And so he had time to walk past this young woman more often.

One of these opportunities came now, as Loqi entered HQ again late this evening.

He had been in his head, angry about the fight with his brother - trying to find distraction and solace here. he would definitely move to the dorms within Shinra HQ.

But.. well. he had time now. And seeing this lady still being around at this late hour, he was a little surprised.

Though he didn't even hesitate for a moment, walking towards the desk she seemingly currently worked on.

"Hey. Didn't think anyone would still be here this late.", he said, leaning against the high desk with a smile playing his lips.

"Could you help me? I need my access card changed for the SOLDIER dorms."

It wasn't unusual to catch a glimpse of 'Emily' on Floor 49, otherwise known as the SOLDIER floor. There wasn't much of an official space to catch various signatures otherwise, and the aim was lessening Director Deusericus' workload. The secretary quite often fired off emails on the hunt for non-deployed members, catching them all up on mandatory training sign-offs, crossing every t and dotting every i along the way.

In short, their folders were kept immaculate. It was a rare day when someone within SOLDIER fell into a category of non-compliance. Almost unheard of.

Meetings with Director Deusericus could be scheduled in. First Class SOLDIERs had full access to his office on Floor 51, as did Emily. An unassuming little busy bee who worked almost exclusively in and around SOLDIER. If men wanted something done fast, go talk to Emily, that's the office girl around here.

And she didn't even have an official desk. She joked that the off-duty lounge area was actually her office and she didn't know why all these men kept invading her space, but it was a bit too awkward to lodge a complaint now.

That was exactly where she was found.

Holed up in the SOLDIER lounge, commandeering one of the study desks as though it belonged to her. Lazard insisted she could bring her work to his office, and at times she did. But on nights like this one? The convenience of the vending machines far outweighed the privacy.

Besides. How else were the men supposed to have a face-to-face contact? The Shinra building was a marvel of how not to organise an efficient space.

"Oh, they haven't loosened the chain around my ankle, I think they forgot about me." she cracked a light-hearted joke, the file in front of her closed and added to the leaning pile of the rest.

"Mmm." The hum was a non-committal one. "Can I help you? Yes. Should I? Well." The answer was no. Though she couldn't fathom the headache of having to call the Director on his after-hours number for such a simple task. "I'm going to have to see your card, please."

[madeofthreads]

WHAT SKY ARE YOU ?

partly cloudy sky

you have mixed feelings about change, but you adapt to it fairly easily. or at least that's what it seems like from an outsider's perspective. outwardly you're pretty chill, appearing calm and relaxed. but inside is a little more complicated. you're guided by logic and reason just as much as you're guided by your heart and your instinct. you struggle with feeling like you're not enough. you cherish memories, both old and new.

[madeofthreads]

@stratagemichor

It wasn't unusual for Ji-eun to be called upon for mentoring. The side-job was something that proved her usefulness on more than one occasion and assisted her in making further connections. Being the future advisor of Ravus Nox Fleuret meant that she was most often brought before Niflheim's top brass to tutor the next generation of leaders and visionaries.

Though there was something highly unusual about this instance.

The parents or guardians tended to make the arrangements. Grades or performance needed to improve, so Ji-eun was contracted to make up the difference. To brutally drag others of similar age into the top percentile.

But in this case, a potential student had arranged a meeting. The adopted son of Caligo Ulldor... and that was about all she knew about the mystery boy. Little was on file for the otherwise recluse student — she wasn't even certain what he needed help with.

"Good evening, Mister. Ulldor. I am Ms. Park. You contacted me about my tutoring services, I charge hourly and run on a very strict schedule. Now. I don't often say this, but frankly I don't know where to begin. If you would care to enlighten me what this meeting is about..."