No Giving Up!

Tifa Lockhart Commando of Taejin's Army This RP blog is set in an AU, and does not reflect the original Tifa portrayed in Final Fantasy VII

[queentaejin]

Taejin Mission 033: Dancing with Pirates | Tifa and Queen

[queentaejin]

The thought of pirates hadn’t even occurred to Queen. Analysing the situation, she deduced them to be acting not out of ill intent but defense. They must have been trespassers onto their territory and now they were trying to drive them away. "Attention! Our priority here is defending ourselves and the supplies, not in battle!" she shouted, drawing forth her longsword. "Crew, man the cannons but do not engage in open fire - I repeat, do not engage in battle. Only use the cannons when necessary to defend the ship!" As soon as she said that, someone shouted that three projectiles were heading their way. Summoning three Thunder spells, she released them into the air where they made contact, exploding into hazes of smoke. The boat rocked with the force of the explosion, and Queen turned just in time to see Tifa join her at her side. "Tifa, I need to go below deck and alert HQ of this attack. Will you be okay with holding the pirates off until I return?" Tifa was a capable soldier, so surely she would be alright. Taking some potions from her pouch, she handed them to her. She would have no way of healing herself or others until Queen returned, so hopefully they would be enough until then.

[tifataejin-blog]

The explosion had caught Tifa by surprise. She'd have several other partners but not ones who used spells like these. She steadied herself as the boat rocked and was quickly by Queen's side. At the girl's orders, Tifa gave her a mock salute and a grin.

"You go do what you you need to do, don't you worry 'bout us up here!" she gratefully took the potions and stuffed them into a pouch that was attached to her belt, on the side. With a nod, Tifa ran off to help others quickly move some of the supplies that were on deck, away. Directing others but staying above and keeping an eye on the other ship. 

"You heard the lady, everyone get moving. We don't have time to lounge around!"

[ohlookanart]

チョコボライド by アチャコ

[tifataejin-blog]

ooc

Gah, it's so good to be back ;w;/ Hello everyone! If anyone needs me for anything I'll be around more often so feel free to grab at me!

[cloudtaejin]

In The Shadows of Midgar | Cloud, Zack, Faris, and Tifa

[zacktaejin]

Faris had to be a natural  pilot. Even if his take off was a little wobbly as they left a base, Zack was sure no one could pick up flying that fast. Though Faris looked like he was concentrating pretty hard so he figured he would let him be for now. No one was a bigger distraction than Zack, he had a problem with not being able to sit still, but if he really needed to he could.

Or not. In fact with his entire idea to stop thinking about Midgar, he realized how that sole idea made him calmer. It was something for him to focus on, and now he was going to stop there so he wouldn’t worry anyone. He was there to make people relax, not have to be down, but he wouldn’t be able to if all he was focusing on Midgar. 

It was a good thing Faris needed help figuring out where to go cause Zack was pretty sure that he was gonna start talking for the sake of something to do other than stand still. “Sure thing!” Zack may not understand how any of the controls worked but navigation was something they had hammered into his head. And he knew where exactly Midgar was located. It wasn’t long till he was telling Faris where to go.

[cloudtaejin]

Cloud smirked at Tifa’s words, “I’ll take any consequence…” The two had just met and she seemed to be fearless in this situation. Wow, no need to hide anything from anyone I guess, right Tifa? Cloud thought to himself as he made his way to the others.

"Either way, we’ll try not to get you in trouble with anyone at HQ, that’s the least we can do y’know? And as for the reason we’re going to Midgar well… I’ve just wanted to see how things were, that’s all."

The blonde responded and reached the door to the cockpit and looked back at Tifa with a serious face. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”He entered and was relieved to see everyone was fine and Zack seemed to be assisting Faris with the location of Midgar.

"I found someone on the ship, but she wasn’t one of the guards, she’s a friend of mine. She’ll be coming with us obviously and ca-"

Cloud stopped quickly. He was already thinking about any troubles they might encounter upon their arrival, but he already said that everything was going to be fine.

"She also knows Midgar as much as Zack and I do." He added to cover up what he would’ve said before.

Cloud moved towards a seat and waved an arm over for Tifa to sit across from him. Three of us know Midgar really well, it gives us a good chance of handling anything that awaits us, and Tifa’s combat skills are nothing to be worried about, she can take care of herself pretty well. I just hope I didn’t drag her into something I’ll forget later on. Cloud thought to himself as he looked outside towards the horizon as they passed by the clouds.

[faristaejin]

Zack’s navigational skills were perfectly up to par. With his directions, Faris was having no problem steering the ship along. Every now and then the ship would rumble or dip a little and she would remember that she needed to adjust some of the power thrusters or the flight stabilizing equipment but by and large the ship was comfortably under control.

They were traveling over land, deep into territories of Gran Pulse that Faris rarely ventured into. Most of what she knew about this area was through hear say or casual glimpses of maps that covered more space than she needed.

The trip went on for the better part of the day. Luckily the ship had some food on board that they were able to eat (the ship making somewhat more frequent lurches as Faris ate her share and tried to pilot at the same time).

Eventually, Faris spotted something in the distance. Large and metal, crowded with buildings, industrial. Her eyes widened.

"That your Midgar over there? Where do ye want me to set her down?"

[tifataejin-blog]

"Uh...hello!" Tifa gave a cheery smile at the two, although the pilot was obviously too busy to look back at her. Taking the seat offered to her, Tifa looked back and forth between the two people she didn't know. She'd never run into either one of them in HQ, but maybe she should start going out more often instead of just training or writing letters to her father. 

The ride to Midgar wasn't very long and Tifa made no obvious attempts to converse with the three people sharing the ride with her. She was sure there would be plenty of time for being social once they landed and weren't navigating their way around. 

Looking up, the martial artist peeked out the window to look at Midgar. Now there was a place she wasn't expecting to see again. She'd spent quite a bit of time there, but after her allotted time, she decided it wasn't really her kind of area. Not that she hated it, exactly. But she didn't like it...not really.

[tifataejin-blog]

Taejin Mission 47: On the Homefront

[sephiroth-taejin]

He was deep in thought as he walked. It was inevitable; cheerful demeanours always fascinated him. How could anyone bear to smile after seeing, causing, so much death? Moreover, more death would follow after this. He remembered that whenever he was tasked to head a large-scale mission, despite his best efforts, there would always be casualties. Always. Damn it, he was supposed to be a hero! Heroes were supposed to save everyone. He gritted his teeth slightly in frustration, willing his mind to steer away from this direction of thoughts.

He would protect her, his partner, from harm. He would protect all of them, as he was taught to. This was a relatively easy assignment, and there would be no casualties. He would not fail this time.

Noticing that the girl had slightly fallen behind for he had begun to walk in his usual long strides, he slowed down a little, allowing her to catch up. Failure of a hero that he may be, he would at least behave gentlemanly.

They entered the supply store, and the girl immediately went towards the canned food section, leaving him to get more food and water. The store was surprisingly lacking in customers, with only a few ladies; housewives, he mused; doing their grocery shopping. He browsed around; feeling a bit lost within the store for he had never been here before, and managed to find another section of perishable foods. Grabbing a basket from the stands beside the shelves, he started filling it with packets of instant noodles, not caring for the flavours or varieties.

He must look rather odd; a military man with a long katana strapped to his side shopping for instant noodles would definitely be a cause for an uproar in the store. Not to mention his overly-striking hair. Stifling a sigh, he avoided meeting any glances and stares thrown his way and went on to get another basket for the canned mushrooms.

It was not long before a shop assistant moved closer to him, apparently arranging the cans on the shelves, and asked, timidly, “Can I help you with your purchases?” A rosy blush spread across her cheeks as she rambled on, “You and your wife seem to be buying things in bulk and I thought that maybe it’d be better if you just buy the stuff you need in boxes and cartons? It’ll be more convenient if you two are planning for a big party, or whatever other event that you need so much food for.”

What? My wife?

He paused in his task and stared at the shop assistant as she fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze, her blush growing redder. He was about to speak, to explain, when he heard the familiar footsteps of his partner rounding the corner and entering this section. He stepped back a little, still holding on to the baskets, and turned to look at her, mentally wishing for her to explain the situation to the shop assistant. Social communication was never his strongest suit, and he has had embarrassing and awkward experiences as reasons why it was best that he did not speak at all.

So much for being a hero,he scoffed in his thoughts self-deprecatingly.

[tifataejin-blog]

As Tifa made her way through the isles, she'd found herself a basket to store her canned foods. Truth be told, she was wondering if there would be an easier way to carry everything, what with the basket getting heavy. The weight wasn't a big deal, but it was something to concern herself over if they were to get more items. Which, naturally they would. 

Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask someone about buying things in bulk? Really, why hadn't she thought of that earlier? They usually had to buy things in bulk when there was a special event going on in the bar she used to work at. Honestly, she wanted to smack herself for not thinking about that. Just then she looked up and noticed her mission partner and an employee talking. He looked over in her direction and seemed to be asking for her help.

"Heya!" She smiled at the two as she walked closer. The shop assistant then nervously repeated her suggestion to Tifa. 

"As I had just suggested to your husband, I can help you with purchasing your items in bulk. It would be easier that way."

Tifa blinked at the girl for a moment, watching her nervously look between Sephiroth and herself. It wasn't much longer before Tifa's own blush rivaled that of the girl helping them. Embarrassed, Tifa tucked one of the strands of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. 

"A-actually, w-we're not married. We're a part of the army and are here on a mission... But um...that sounds like a good plan. Buying things in bulk would be a better idea, yeah."

The young girl stuttered out an apology, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to presume..!" Tifa nervously laughed and shook her head, not daring to look at the girl or Sephiroth. 

"It's not a problem! But um...if you could help us...?"

[cloudtaejin]

In The Shadows of Midgar | Cloud, Zack, Faris, and Tifa

[zacktaejin]

He looked down at Faris for a moment, was it that easy for him to tell Zack was riled up or..? No, Zack was pretty sure that he wasn’t that obvious. He didn’t hide stuff often, but all the times he had, no one he knew could tell. It was probably just because Faris didn’t know him that well things seemed off. He was still ok then, not that he thought Faris would tell Cloud if he knew, but he just wasn’t in the mood to talk about Midgar more than he had to this trip.

“Yeah, it’s just nerves, ‘been a while since I saw the place.” Not a lie, not the whole truth either but he could get away with it. He watched Faris as he muddled around with the confusing controls of the airship. Zack would never be able to understand them, good thing it was never a requirement for anything he wanted to do.

“Roger!” He said when Faris told him to buckle up. He only sat down though, he’d ridden in airships often enough to not need to. I wonder if Cloud still gets motion sickness. Zack mused before they were off in the air. All things considering, it was a pretty smooth takeoff. “You sure you’ve never flown one before?” he joked.

[cloudtaejin]

"Uhh… wow out of all the people for me to find here." Cloud said not sure of how to explain to Tifa exactly where the airship was heading. 

He stood quiet for a few seconds until he realized that there was no way to sneak around this one. 

"We’re going to Midgar…" Cloud said quietly. “But what are you doing in the airship anyway? We knocked out a few soldiers back in the hangar and the guards that were watching out for intruders, and right now I was making sure the airship was empty… Have you seen anyone else on here with us?" He asked concerned that the soldiers could sneak up on Zack and Faris. The blonde knew for sure that this would be an interesting adventure for the four of them after this reunion.

"I think it’s better if we join the others since it seems you’re the only one here." Cloud suggested as he looked around making sure everyone was gone. He turned around and waved his arm over telling Tifa to join him. 

"The others are Faris and Zack, who are also members of the army. I asked them to help me with this since they’re the only ones I kind of trust at the moment." He explained as he continued up the stairs.

"I don’t know what kind of trouble we will get in when we return, if anything, we’ll have to tell them we kidnapped you after finding you on the ship." Cloud explained to Tifa to try and save her from the mess that he just got her into.

[faristaejin]

Not one to show nerves, Faris was not accustomed to the current display she was putting on. Her brows furrowed and she grit her teeth. Underneath her gloves, her knuckles were white from her vice grip she had on the steering wheel in front of her and the throttle.

"Trust me, Zack, I definitely haven’t done this before."

Confident in her abilities, she still had no doubt that she would be able to steer this ship to Cloud’s destination but it would definitely require her full attention. The ship lurched forward and the interior of the ship shook alarmingly for a moment. Glancing to her right, Faris quickly flicked a couple of switches nearby and the ship seemed to stabilize a little. She let out a breath through tightly gritted teeth and pushed the throttle forward more.

With a slight shake, the ship increased its speed and left the Army’s hangar. They had cleared the building.

Things’ll be easier now that I’ve got more room to move this thing, she thought to herself, relieved that she no longer had to worry about crashing the ship during take off. With that thought, she removed her left hand from the throttle so that it could join her right on the wheel. Almost immediately, the ship began tilting to one side. Faris cursed and increased the pressure on the throttle, and this time when she removed her hand the ship continued flying steadily.

Finally feeling like she had a good handle on these controls, Faris turned her gaze towards the navigation panel to her left and called out to whoever was in the cockpit with her, be it Zack or Cloud if he was done looking around, “Oi, I need a little help on the navigation over here! One of you’s gotta give me some coordinates for this Midgar."

[tifataejin-blog]

Stunned, Tifa wasn't sure what to think. She hadn't seen or heard of Cloud in <i>years</i>. He was part of the reason she decided she wanted to travel around instead of staying put in Nibelheim, though she wasn't expecting to see the blonde anytime soon. When he mentioned Midgar, Tifa looked away for a moment, before bringing her attention back to her old friend.

"They let me on because I forgot my gloves in here..." She held up her red and black combat gloves. A gift from her father and Master Zangan. They were padded well, although by now they were quite worn. She couldn't count the times she was forced to use violence in the bar she used to work at.

Confused, Tifa followed the boy. She wasn't familiar with a Zack or Faris. Though, she didn't really interact much with the other members of the army. Hell, she hadn't even known Cloud had enrolled. "I'll take any consequence, I doubt you could convince them you kidnapped me." She shrugged. "They're going to believe me coming on board first was part of the plan anyway."

She paused. "Why are you going to Midgar?"

[queentaejin]

Taejin Mission 033: Dancing with Pirates | Tifa and Queen

[queentaejin]

Before Queen knew it, the game was almost finished before it had even started. Granted it was a quick game, but she was having so much fun she almost didn’t want it to end. How strange, she was unaccustomed to having fun like this.

Peering down at her hand once more, she had two cards left while Josh was about to take his turn. What if she had the card he needed? Would that mean he would win? She held her breath as he took his turn.

"Got a King?"

His last card was a King, but neither of her remaining cards were said card he needed. Shaking her head, she saw him grunt in frustration as Nick, the true owner of the King grinned triumphantly at him. Nick was down to three cards, and she knew that if one of his cards was said King, that meant he was the holder of the other two cards she needed.

True to her logic, she managed to gain another two pairs from him while he took Josh’s King, declaring the game over. Queen smiled to herself, staring at her pile of pairs. She didn’t win, but when she had had so much fun playing the game, she didn’t seem to care.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded in the water, causing the ship to lose balance. The barrel they had been playing on top of tumbled, scattering the cards everywhere. Regaining her stance, Queen rushed to the side that had been hit to see what it was. Another ship was visible in the distance, a large dark sail blowing from its mast. Her eyes widened when she saw the next cannon being aimed at them.

"Pirates! Everyone, battle stations now! We are under attack!"

[tifataejin-blog]

Tifa laughed, clapping her hands when Josh asked the wrong person. It was a fun game, although she ended up out rather early. She enjoyed playing announcer. "Great job, guys!" She was grinning when everyone counted out their cards. She hi-fived Josh for both tying for last.

She hadn't expected the explosion. Really, shame on her for not being prepared but it came out of nowhere. The day had been calm and there was no sign of anyone else on the water. Quickly regaining her composure and balance, Tifa rushed to the side of the boat alongside her partner. The martial artist frowned and refit her gloves, tightening them.

Getting ready, Tifa turned and quickly helped people up.

"If you can't fight, get to safety, quickly! Get the supplies into a safe location. Everyone be careful!"

[tifataejin-blog]

I should be able to keep up with the rp now :3 

I know I need to go tag back to things but I can't remember what all I had when I left. Help? Let me know if I owe you a response!!

[tifataejin-blog]

H-hello everyone! Sorry for leaving for so long! >< I've been in and out of the hospital for the past month or so. My mother was hospitalized and we found out she has advanced cancer in her stomach. I was...not feeling up to doing anything for a while so I'm sorry I didn't even tell you guys. I just, yeah.

But she seems to be recovering as well as she can and I don't have to take care of her as much. She's going to be kinda bad off for the next five months or so and even after all that I'll be worrying a lot because the doctors said that there's no way to really help my mom anymore and we don't know how much longer she has left so I've been taking care of the house and my two brothers. 

Again, I'm sorry for leaving and not telling anyone, but I'm back and tomorrow I should be back into the tagging rhythm. 

♥♥

[tifataejin-blog]

Taejin Mission 47: On the Homefront

[sephiroth-taejin]

The briefing began too early in the morning, but Sephiroth was used to that. He had forsaken sleep, opting for an all-night training until morning. There was no use in sleeping away the few hours that he had to pass till his briefing after all. He worked on his magic attacks, then gave the simulated monsters a few swings of his katana. He only allowed himself a short rest before heading to the briefing room.

It was a very short briefing, and the objectives were simple. Send the airships on their way, and protect the village while the soldiers were gone. And then there was his partner, this girl. She would certainly be useful when the supply store owner needed an information update; in fact anyone would be more useful in that area than himself; but Sephiroth noticed that she did not bring any weapons along. Hand-to-hand combat? Interesting. There was the drummed-in notion of being a gentleman and giving concern over the girl, but she looked strong enough to protect herself, and Sephiroth had expected her to be able to hold her ground.

A gloved hand grasped the girl’s outstretched one in a firm handshake. “Likewise,” he nodded slightly and replied. “Shall we go?” He asked, in a crisp tone as he began walking in the direction of the supply store.

[tifataejin-blog]

He was a serious fellow, that was for sure and his way of speaking was so…formal .It almost made Tifa a bit self-conscious. Not that Tifa wasn’t proud of her Nibel schooling, but she was still just a mountain girl who lived in a small village that literally had about 5 students per grade level. There were even times when some of the kids would have to wait to start school when there were more classmates around. They were mostly home schooled, anyways. Going to the school was just a formality and also worked as a sort of daycare. Most kids started working or helping out the family once they were 15 years old. 

Well, so what? She wasn’t as well spoken as half the people here, anyways. Tifa shrugged, she had to pick up her pace a couple of times to keep up with the long strides of her mission partner. Not that it really bothered her. The martial artist stretched her hands up as they reached the supply store.

Grinning, Tifa entered the shop and started selecting canned goods. “Can you get the water and other foods? I’ll get some blankets.” She picked up a couple of can openers, too. Just in case.

[queentaejin]

Taejin Mission 033: Dancing with Pirates | Tifa and Queen

[queentaejin]

Queen had to do her best to stifle the small laugh that left her lips. It was amusing seeing Tifa get worked up over a little game, but she could tell that she meant it jokingly. Turning her attention back to the game, she looked down at her hand as she listened to Tifa’s explanation.

She glanced up at the two shiphands to see how their turn played out, and she was surprised to see how simple it was. It seemed like a game of luck, as it was all up to the luck of the draw and prediction.

“No, I believe I will pick it up as the game progresses,” Queen quickly answered before her attention was stolen away by the shiphand to her left.

He asked for a Jack, and she peered down at her hand to survey her cards. Yes, she did have a Jack. What did that mean again? Ah, that’s right; she took the card from her hand, brandishing it towards the shiphand who grinned in triumph as he took the card and laid out another pair on top of his previous two.

It was her turn now, wasn’t it? Stealing a glance at Tifa’s hand, she had five cards against the medic’s now four cards. It was still early in the game, so most of the cards she needed were most likely in the pile, unless she made a lucky prediction.

“T-Tifa… do you have a Nine?”

[tifataejin-blog]

"Whoa, hey yeah, I do!" she pouted a bit before removing the card from her hand. "Jeez...at this rate everyone will take my cards before I even get the chance to make a pair..." Clearing out her throat in a display of superficial seriousness, Tifa turned to Josh. 

"Got any twos?" When the shiphand  laughed and shook his head, Tifa pouted again.

"Well...fine then!" she drew a card, "I'll just collect cards and then take everyone's cards later! Just you watch!" she huffed a bit and stuck out her tongue at Nick who was laughing at her. 

"Yeah, yeah. Just go!"

Go fish, not being a very difficult or long game would end soon, though the conversations along the way made Tifa laugh a lot. She enjoyed conversing with people and being active. She'd always considered herself a friendly girl. Grinning, Tifa glanced over at her mission partner, happy that they were speaking and playing.

Before long, there were no more cards to draw and Tifa was left with no cards in her hand. She threw a small fit over only managing to get 5 pairs overall but started cheering Queen on.

"This is the homestretch, guys! Only you three are left with the cards in your hands and it's Josh's turn, with only one card left. Can you remember who has the card you need?" She grinned as she made large gestures, pretending to be a game announcer.

[queentaejin]

Taejin Mission 033: Dancing with Pirates | Tifa and Queen

[queentaejin]

Queen nodded as Tifa began to explain where she had learnt to play cards from, taking one of the piles that Tifa dealt out from the middle of the circle. Fun and easy to play seemed like a good game to start out with.

“Pairs…” she murmured to herself, fanning out the cards in her hand. She could see two cards; a pair of Queens. She almost had to stifle a laugh because of the coincidence. Taking the two Queens from her hand, she placed them next to her in an empty space on her barrel.

Looking around at the other players, it seemed some of them had gotten lucky with two, or even three pairs in their dealt hands. She wondered how the game would be played now that the shiphand with three pairs only had one card in his hand. Maybe this would be interesting, Queen thought to herself.

“W-Well then… if it is as you say, I shall give it a try,” she murmured quietly. “I hope this is a good game.”

[tifataejin-blog]

"Yeah! Alrighty, here we go! Who has the most pairs?" Tifa looked down at her one pair and then at Queen's only pair. She looked over at the other two players and pouted a bit.

"How'd you get so many pairs!? Ah, the luck of the draw." She sounded somewhat disappointed but was smiling nonetheless. "Guess that means you're up first!" She turned her attention back to Queen, "Okay! What you have to do is ask one person if they have a certain card. Like...say you have a four, a king, and a seven. You pick someone and ask them if they have any...let's say kings!" she turns back toward the shiphand and waited. He asked his fellow worker for a three to which the other man shook his head and told him to 'go fish'. 

"Alright! Since he didn't have it, Nick has to draw a card and end his turn. Now it's Josh's turn. If he did have one, he would have to hand it over to Nick and then Nick would've had another pair. Since he would've had no more cards in his hand, he'd have to draw three more. We continue this until there are no more cards left. Any questions?" Tifa grinned encouragingly at her mission partner. 

[tifataejin-blog]

Taejin Mission 47: On the Homefront

Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, Tifa glanced at her partner this time around. It wasn't often she put her hair in a ponytail. It was a simple mission, make sure everything that's needed gets loaded onto the ships and then keep home base safe. She just knew that this mission was going to end up with her running around so she adjusted her long socks and gloves. When the debriefing was over, Tifa made her way to her new partner.

"Hello! I look forward to working with you!" She smiled and held out her hand. The man, Sephiroth, was incredibly tall, much taller than her that was for sure. Something about him intimidated the young martial artist. Perhaps it was because of his height... Although, he also gave off such a cool and collected impression. He looked strong, that was for sure. Although she felt a bit nervous, Tifa's smile didn't waver and she was honest when she said she was looking forward to the mission with him. She was actually rather excited to see a fellow Commando in action. Tifa always felt she learned a lot from watching others. She'd certainly learned quite a bit from watching and working with Squall.

[queentaejin]

Taejin Mission 033: Dancing with Pirates | Tifa and Queen

[queentaejin]

Poker? She had never heard of that game before. And it was interesting, despite it having been a loss for her Tifa still looked happy about the defeat. In fact, the loss hardly deterred her from her positive approach to things.

“Ah… if you will have me… then yes, I would like to join…” Queen murmured nervously. She had never played cards before, much less actually making the effort to get to know her mission partners.

“And um no… I have never played with cards before…” she added with a tinge of disappointment, taking a seat at one of the barrels. She felt a little useless at the fact that she would need someone to teach her the rules for once.

[tifataejin-blog]

"That's alright! I only learned a couple of years ago when I worked at a bar." She grinned before dealing out seven cards to each of the four players. "It was a slow night and we didn't have very many customers, I think it was a Monday, but anyway! So this guy comes up to the bar with a deck of cards and invites me to play a game of go fish! It was so much fun and really easy to learn so that's what we're gonna play!" 

One of the men chuckled a bit at the idea of playing a child's game. "And don't any of you guys take me lightly at this game! I'm a champ!" Tifa laughed at that. "Okay, so now that we all have seven cards," Tifa placed the remaining cards on the center barrel, "If you have any pairs, take them out. But only if you have pairs! If you have three of the same number, you gotta keep that third one. Just put them off to the side, near your end of the barrel or something. The point of the game is to have the most pairs at the end!" 

She waited for a moment, letting everyone else pick out their pairs. "We'll start with whoever has the most pairs and then go clockwise from there! I'll teach you as we go! It's pretty easy once you get started."

[tifataejin-blog]

[queentaejin]

Taejin Mission 033: Dancing with Pirates | Tifa and Queen

[queentaejin]

A few minutes into the journey and Tifa had already run off before Queen could say a word. She supposed it couldn’t be helped as there wasn’t much the two of them could do until they reached the village. She wondered if there was something she should do as well to help ensure the safety of the crew and the supplies.

About an hour later, she had finished checking on the supplies and attended to some minor cases of exhaustion. Now, she was seated on top of a barrel, her eyes focused on Tifa. The latter seemed to be engaged in a game of some sort with some of the other crew members. Queen wasn’t sure whether she should have been more alert in case of danger, but considering that the waters looked relatively calm at the moment, perhaps they didn’t need to worry for now.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she debated going over to see what they were doing and possibly joining in. But no, what if they didn’t have room for another player? Not to mention she didn’t know the rules so there was no way she could play. Eventually, her earlier thoughts about opening up to the other members of the army came back to her and she found herself striding over to the group.

“What are you playing, Miss Lockhart?” she asked with what she hoped was a warm smile. She nervously tucked some stray hair behind her ear, eyes drifting to the barrel they were playing on top of.

[tifataejin-blog]

"Ha!" Tifa gleefully set down her cards to reveal a royal flush, grinning at her opponents. Some of them groaned while one just chuckled as he put down his straight. The martial artist's grin turned into a pout as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You're way too good at this, I'm just newbie! Go easier on me!" the crew laughed. Just as Tifa gathered the card and started shuffling, Queen spoke up. Looking up at her mission partner, Tifa never stopped shuffling. She grinned up at the medic.

"Poker! But that was my tenth loss in a row! So I think we should move on. Wanna join us?!" it'd be fun to get to know her partner over a game of old maid or something. "Know any games?"

[cloudtaejin]

In The Shadows of Midgar | Cloud, Zack, Faris, and Tifa

[zacktaejin]

“Right on time Cloud” Zack smiled as he tossed his cards on the ground. He was about to probably lose a good amount of gil with the hand he had. He picked himself up and heard the familiar sound of an airship starting up. Looks like Faris is done on his end.

He followed Cloud to the hanger. It seems like so far, the blonde’s plan was going well. At this rate, they’d be in Midgar in no time. Zack almost wished that something would happen so they couldn’t go, but if he didn’t know, he might come to regret it.

[cloudtaejin]

Cloud entered the ship and awaited for Zack to enter right before closing the doors and locking them to make sure there were no further interruptions. He looked around and was glad to see that the airship was empty and with no guards.

“Ok, Zack you go see if Faris is fine up in the front. I’m going to take a look around and make sure things are fine in here. Try not to leave Faris for now, it will make it easier for me to distinguish if there’s someone else on the ship by hearing other footsteps.” The blonde told Zack right before heading towards the back of the airship.

Although Cloud was showing a serious expression on his face as if this was one of the mandatory missions that the commander would send them on, he was filled with excitement on the inside, nothing would be stopping them any time soon and that was the best feeling to him at the moment. 

He opened a door and entered a room, there were many places that other guards could possibly either be hiding or sleeping and avoiding getting in trouble by higher ranking officers. That’s when he heard someone walking above him. He quickly, but quietly, went up the stairs and waited in a room towards where the footsteps were heading.

“Don’t move or el……..” Cloud stopped and his eyes widened. He only expected to see casual guards on a ship like this, not the person he was looking at right now. “T-Tifa? What are you doing here?!” he asked surprised.

[faristaejin]

Faris made a noise of recognition in response to Cloud’s words even though he was mostly addressing Zack. As Cloud left the room she resumed her task of readying the airship for take off (while simultaneously giving herself a crash course in piloting the thing). She recognized the lever that would likely control throttle power for take off (or whatever the terms for it was when out of the water) but she didn’t really want to touch that until it was time.

Feeling a little jumpy with all the excitement, she paused in her work long enough to ask her companion, “You feelin’ alright? Ye seem a little tense.”

She continued working on the controls while he replied. Eventually, she felt confident enough that there wasn’t anything left to figure out before winging it. From somewhere back in the airship it sounded like Cloud was moving around or something.

Quickly addressing Zack, she said, “Ye better take a seat and buckle in.”

She reached over to the communication system and flipped it on before speaking to ship at large, “Oi! Cloud! We’re ready up here! Hold on to something or get down here stat ‘cause I’m takin’ her up!”

That said she made some final adjustments to the controls before reaching for the lever. While doing this she had already begun opening the airship port to the sky to allow them to take off. As she moved the lever forward the ship rumbled and gave a great lurch forward. Concentrating and trying to maintain control, Faris pushed it more steadily and the ship began rising. Her other hand worked at the wheel and clumsily she began steering them out into the open air.

[tifataejin-blog]

Carefully, Tifa was maneuvering around there were supposed to be guards set up so they surely would've told whoever was supposed to use this aircraft that she was still in it. By the sounds of it, the ship was being hijacked. There were voices coming up from the lower deck and Tifa flexed her hands in response.

Suddenly there was a voice and Tifa was on the defensive, ready to strike but.... Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar blonde boy. No way. But he called her name out she relaxed.

"Cloud....?" Just then the ship began to rise and Tifa had to steady herself against the wall next to her. 

"What's going on!?"