[Video] un: honoranddreams

Entry tags:

[Video] un: honoranddreams

[Before the feed starts up a dishevelled man drops down upon the bottom steps of a shrine to catch his breath. They'd attempted to explain matters to Angeal, which was all well and good, if he had been able to fully focus on what he was being told.

Now he sat. He ran a hand through his hair and looked over the metal case he'd been offered.

A communication device.

Time to reach out and touch somebody.

He flicked the device open and spent a minute or two looking over the buttons before he hit what he thought was the right one, and was pleased to see the screen light up. Angeal was pleased. Though his expression remained as grave as ever.]

Is this Heaven? Or Hell?

[A look around and a sound crackled, a heavy sigh that didn't translate well over the grainy image.]

Or something else...? [A pause. And then...] I am Angeal Hewley. And I don't belong here.

[He was supposed to be dead, after all. Now he could feel the cold stone of the stair under the seat of his pants. Could feel the cold breeze ruffling his hair, it tickled his cheek. A dead man shouldn't have been able to feel these things.

Angeal was very confused.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Angeal looks away from the screen for a moment to look at the location he'd been sent. He had no idea where it was but the directions were, in typical Sephiroth fashion, concise and with some luck he would find his way there. Eventually.]

I'm finished now. I'll come and meet you.

[He was sure Zack wouldn't mind overly much if he wandered off for a short while.]

Edited 2023-02-14 00:47 (UTC)

I'll be waiting.

[ With that, Sephiroth cuts the connection and makes his way to the park. Angeal will find him standing with his back to him and considering the many and ample trees there. Nearby sits a park bench next to a zen garden and a little distance away is a small pond where someone is cultivating koi. The only thing that seems out of place in this idyllic Nippon scenery is Sephiroth himself with his SOLDIER uniform and outlandish hair. He has several native outfits and he does wear them but there's something to be said for the familiar and one never knows when and where an opponent might present themselves. ]

[Angeal is just left blinking at the screen with a look of mild amusement. Sephiroth hadn't changed. And somehow that was reassuring.

He only had to stop and ask for directions once but made it there in one piece. Not as fast as if Sephiroth had come to him, perhaps. But could anyone really move as fast as Sephiroth?

There was no denying who he was approaching. That back was a familiar one. That hair even moreso.]

Do you see something?

[The question was asked as he stepped up beside his old friend and looked up at those same trees, hoping to see what Sephiroth did.]

[ Sephiroth let out a small amused noise and turned. Thanks to Aerith, he had an answer for that, but he never was one for small talk and he wasn't about to start now. ]

You're really here.

[ Again, the words were pregnant with so much. But they were in person now and Sephiroth could better express himself. He did so now by reaching out and clasping Angeal's shoulder and just...giving it a squeeze, so much so that his pauldron made a little noise.

It was the sentiment that counted. ]

Appears that way.

[Angeal didn't turn, he remained where he was, head tilted and gazing up at those trees. There was the hint of a smile upon his lips. He was there. But at what cost?

It was something of a surprise when a hand dropped onto his shoulder. Now Angeal turned his head, partly to look at the hand but then to turn his attention to the man himself. And... just like that, Angeal realised what was going on. Had... Sephiroth missed him?

Maybe he had changed after all.]

I'm here. And if they'll keep me, I'll remain here a while.

[ Sephiroth kept his hand there for a good moment before letting it drop again. ]

Hm. Something tells me they will.

[ And he turned his gaze back to the trees, because this wasn't Allyn and Angeal wasn't going anywhere. ]

[Where they going to hug? Angeal suddenly had the surreal thought that Sephiroth was moments away from pulling him in for an actual hug. Something Angeal had never experienced from the other man before. In fact he was almost positive that Sephrioth didn't know how to hug. Or even how to spell it. It was one of those human expressions that had been lost on him...

But had things changed that much?

The moment was lost, though. The hand was dropped and Sephiroth went back to his trees. And Angeal wanted to laugh.]

You think so? And what makes you think they will?

This is the better of the places I have been.

[ Sephiroth fully faced him now because he was sure there would be questions, but he'd always been an honest and direct person and there was no reason for him to lie now. ]

And I've been here a while.

There are other places?

[Places like this? Or other places separate from this world? Angeal glanced to the side to find he had Sephiroth's attention was wholly on him once again. He lifted a hand and pointed toward the bench. Just in case anyone happened to pass by, it was going to look strange two grown man staring at each other in front of a tree.]

Lets sit and you can tell me all about it.

Yes.

[ And so Sephiroth gave his report on Havenwell and what he'd heard about other worlds as he walked to the bench and for long after they'd both sat down on it. His end message was clear. Havenwell was a terrible place controlled by so-called gods who used them as a source of energy. There were clearly a multitude of worlds and/or dimensions and of them, this one wasn't that bad at all. Included, a dose of Nippon history and the current status of things.

He paused after all of that to indicate he was ready for questions.

Yes, Sephiroth had changed in a lot of ways but in some he remained the same as ever. ]

[It was somehow comforting listening to Sephiroth give his report, as he had done a hundred times before. The content of the report was like nothing he had ever heard before but that didn't matter. He sat back on the bench and he listened, taking it all in.

Strange worlds. Some dangerous and some not. This one seemed to be on the better end of the spectrum, and for that he could be grateful.]

That's a lot to take in. But you seem to have settled into this world well. [Here, Angeal had straightened up some, since the conversation was going two ways once again.] It's different from home... You're happy here?

This is my home now.

[ Sephiroth's hand unconsciously came to touch the ring on his finger that connected him at all times to Aerith. ]

I hope in time it can be yours too.

[ Even though he didn't say it, he knew there was nothing left for either of them back on Gaia. And now that Angeal was here, what more was left for him to wish for? ]

[That movement didn't escape Angeal's notice. A brow rose. Sephiroth wearing jewellery...?

Before he could ask, Sephiroth spoke again. Words that caused a short bark of laughter.]

It has to be. If I go home...I exist as only a memory.

[ It was an interesting choice of words. That and the fact it was Angeal of all people loosened Sephiroth's lips on something he didn't usually talk about. ]

As do I.

[ Only so much worse. He had gone on to become that which Angeal and Genesis always feared of themselves. Sephiroth closed his eyes in a slow blink. ]

But we are here now.

[That earned Sephiroth a sharp look... followed by a quiet sigh.

So he wasn't the only one...?

Angeal nodded, accepting that without question. He was tempted to ask how or why, but that would come in time.]

You're right. We're here. Once I find a place of my own, maybe I'll be able to find some peace. Isn't that why we're here?

I think so. [ Pause. ] You can stay with us, if you want.

[ This was Sephiroth's very articulate invitation for Angeal to live with him and Aerith. He didn't have her approval yet and he would get it before this became more than a temporary thing, but somehow he already knew she would say yes.

He leaned a little more heavily against the back of the bench as he waited for a reply. ]

Us?

[Sephiroth has a roommate? Genesis? He supposed it wouldn't hurt if that was the case. Though he wondered if the three of them under one roof was a sustainable thing.]

Aerith. My fiancée.

[ Someone doesn't realize he's smiling or that the smile isn't entirely...wholesome. ]

... You know what a woman even is?

[To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Angeal had often wondered if Sephiroth had been in possession of a single hormone.

It was one thing to find out that yes, he did have hormones, to then find that he was apparently going to marry someone.]

Congratulations. I haven't missed the big day?

[ Sephiroth lets out an amused noise. ]

I didn't until I met her.

[ Not a hundred percent true, but it might as well be. ]

No, you'll have to dress up.

[ Is that...a joke? Yes and no, because Angeal is definitely going to be in Sephiroth's wedding party. ]

[He laughed, surprised that Sephiroth both new what girls were AND jokes.

Today got stranger and stranger. But this was a strangeness that he could accept. This was a change that was... wholesome, in a way. Sephiroth seemed to be genuinely happy. And for that Angeal was glad. And happy for him, too.]

Suit and tie? I'll even buy some shiny shoes.

[ If there was any doubt that Sephiroth had a sense of humor, he dispelled it with his next remark: ] Walk me down the aisle?

[ Although Sephiroth had been happy before, he was even moreso now that Angeal was here. His little family was now complete somehow.

Now all he had to do was protect it. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Video] un: honoranddreams

no subject

[Video -> Action]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject