The Beach, Saturday Evening

[puppy_fair]

It wasn't that Zack hadn't gotten out for his run this morning. He had, after all. It was his daily ritual to get out, stick his sword onto his back, and stretch his legs once the sun was up.

But he was antsy today. He hadn't spoken with Ino in what felt like ages, and was fairly certain by this point that she didn't want to speak with him. He hadn't heard from ShinRa in weeks about new missions, or about Angeal.

And the sun was starting to set, but he would be damned if he gave in to the urge to run back inside to hide from the oncoming dark. He'd have to deal with it now, while he could. Because Midgar was a lot darker than here ever got.

Sand was kicking up behind him as he ran along the beach tonight, like a man possessed.

If nothing else, being out and running like this was some sort of freedom. It wasn't the thrill of a fight, and it wasn't a conversation with a friend that he was horribly worried about. But it would have to do.

[Open beach is open, of course!]

Comments

[trigons_child]

Raven had been enjoying the first day of spring by sending her Soul-Self soaring over Fandom, soaking in the warmth and light. As the sun began to set, she passed over the beach and spotted Zack below her and wondered if this would be a good opportunity to approach him as she had promised Ino. She recalled her Soul-Self back to her body at the dorms, then teleported out to the beach, just out of sight so she didn't startle Zack. She was just out for a walk on the beach herself, really!

"Hello, Zack," she said pleasantly as his running carried him close enough to see and hear her.

[puppy_fair]

Zack slowed, at a vaguely familiar voice saying his name, and then stopped, and offered the girl a smile.

"Well, hi there yourself," he replied. "Raven, right? From class?"

... Granted, on an island like this one, pretty much anyone was 'from class.'

[trigons_child]

Raven nodded. "We are in Professor Gale's Magic Ethics class together," she said. And, because subtlety was not her strong point and she had little skill for small talk, she launched right into "I could not help but notice you seemed troubled in class this week. Is everything all right?"

[puppy_fair]

Wow. That was possibly the most forward anyone had ever been on the topic of Zack's feelings.

Especially since, half the time, Zack didn't even bother to acknowledge what he was feeling, himself. About a million possible responses shot through his mind just then, from 'don't worry, I'm fine,' right on to a long, somewhat painful diatribe about everything in the universe that was eating at him right now.

Instead, he settled on a wry smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

"Was it that obvious?"

[trigons_child]

"I am an empath," Raven said. "It is never my intention to eavesdrop on the emotions of others, but sometimes I cannot help it." She paused for a moment, studying him, then added, "And...I am friends with Jennifer. By coincidence I spoke with her later the following day, and what I had been sensing from you began to make more sense."

She left out Ino talking to her as well. She didn't want Zack to clam up if he realized someone had sicced the empath on him.

[puppy_fair]

At the mention of Jen's name, it felt quite suddenly as though the bottom had been yanked out of his insides and now his guts were falling down to around his toes. Which was a funny place for them, in retrospect. Guts totally didn't belong there.

"She... told you? Things?"

Zack was ever so eloquent.

"How is she doing?"

[trigons_child]

"She told me what happened the weekend when many were not themselves, yes," Raven said. She was doing her best not to focus on the vampire part of it, though. "She was very distressed about it but understood that it was not you who harmed her, and she does not blame you for anything. I did what I could to convince her not to blame herself."

She sensed the gut-falling, of course, but in a much less graphic visualization. "You should not blame yourself, either," she added.

[puppy_fair]

"It's hard not to," Zack admitted, which was a good deal more than he'd ever admit to most people. But since Raven already seemed to know... What harm could it do, right?

His gaze turned downward for a moment while he worked on keeping his expression carefully neutral. Maybe she could tell exactly what he was feeling right now. But that was no reason to look the way he felt, ever.

"I remember it just like it was me who... did those things. In a way, it was."

[cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com]

Reveling in the spring weather, Mr. Twain reared up onto his hind legs, and let loose a triumphant whinny to the setting sun.

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

The weather was warmer, and Elena found herself drawn to the beach. Soon, she'd be back in Edge, so she wanted to take in the clear sky and water for as long as she could.

Though possibly, they'd be in Junon, which had enough sky and water of its own. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she'd been making plenty of phone calls and writing up lengthy reports. Because it couldn't hurt to try.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't realize right away that the active blur dashing along the water's edge was ... Zack. Shit. Zack.

Okay. She wasn't afraid of Zack. He wasn't a Remnant. She was going to prove she wasn't scared by sitting here, calmly, and trying for a casual sort of wave. Instead of possibly running the other direction.

It was a start.

[puppy_fair]

A casual sort of wave was absolutely a start, yes, and Zack found himself slowing to a walk in order to wave back, even taking a moment to change his trajectory just enough to be able to approach her, more or less.

"Evening, Elena," he said. Just said. He didn't chirp it quite the way he normally might have, which possibly had everything in the world to do with the fact that it was starting to get dark out.

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

"Evening." Elena only had to clear her throat because she'd been thinking. Not out of nerves.

All the same, she couldn't help feeling like she was being silly. It was Zack. The idea of Zack hunting down someone and hurting them --

-- would be easier not to think about, if she hadn't seen a twisted version of him on the other island, where vampires played.

"Getting restless?" she asked, nodding to the beach.

[puppy_fair]

"You could say that," he agreed, glancing back toward the water. There was almost a frown on his lips for a moment, and then it was gone again. Turned the other way into a tired smile. "I didn't feel like being in my room tonight. It's been too nice outside to hide from a sunset."

Which was a nicer way of saying that he was getting tired of hanging around all hours of the night in any room where he could get away with leaving the lights on until midnight.

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

"I'm still not used to them," Elena admitted with a wry smile. "Sunsets, sunrises, and the huge blue sky overhead. Maybe next time I get homesick, I should go down into someone's cellar."

It was a feeble attempt at a joke, but she was trying.

"Are you ... okay?"

She didn't know how to tell him she knew, or if Ino would have, or what else to say, really.

[puppy_fair]

"I'm... You know. I'm out here," Zack replied, in a way that suggested that it really ought to explain everything, but really didn't explain anything at all.

He was particularly skilled at answers like that.

"You're the second person to ask me that, tonight," he added, after a moment. "Not just 'how are you,' but, 'are you okay?' It's like everyone knows something I don't know."

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

Elena toed off her shoes, letting her feet sink into the chilly sand.

"Ino ... came to see me," she said, carefully watching the sand and not Zack. "After everything happened. She was worried."

For him, about him, about Gaia, 'worried' covered a lot of ground, right there.

[puppy_fair]

Zack bit his lip a little.

She was worried.

He nodded a little. Somewhere deep down, there was a piece of him that was fluttering about at the knowledge that Ino cared enough to be worried. But now was just the time to nod.

"There... was a lot to worry about."

[cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com]

Tully and Mr. Twain were likewise in the mood to run off some excess energy. Spring was approaching, and they both could feel it.

Mr. Twain galloped along joyfully. Tully leaned forward in the saddle, grinning.

[puppy_fair]

There were some things that Zack could overlook, seeing as how he'd come from a world where monsters crawled the streets and where people seemed prone to randomly growing wings, lately.

... A horse was not one of those things. Zack had never actually seen a horse, before.

"Whoa."

He was coming to a stop now to stare, because a horse in full gallop was totally an excellent first-horse experience.

[cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com]

Mr. Twain saw that they had an audience and whinnied dramatically.

[puppy_fair]

Zack resisted the urge to squee at the whinny.

... But it was a near thing.

[cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com]

Tully waved his hat to Zack in greeting, then slowed Mr. Twain. He didn't need to steer him, the horse came over to the boy on his own.

"Howdy." Tully grinned. "I'm Tully, and this is Mr. Twain."

[puppy_fair]

Mr. Twain, Zack decided, was a really, really neat animal. He held out his hand toward the horse, not entirely certain what to make of him, beyond that simple fact.

"I'm Zack," he replied, grinning a little. "This is a horse?"

Look, it wasn't a silly question if you were from a world where people rode around on giant chickens.

[cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com]

Mr. Twain nuzzled the boy's hand. No sugar, but Mr. Twain liked attention too.

And Tully had lived in Fandom long enough that the question didn't even phase him. "Yep this is a horse. Guess they don't have them where you're from?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack shook his head, even laughing a bit at the nuzzle. Mr. Twain was friendly, at least.

"Only chocobos," he replied, kind of entranced by now. "He's really neat. He can actually run on four legs like that? That's awesome."