catch-all March-April (closed)

[nimbuster]

WHO: Cloud and a few others
WHEN: from mid-March on, post-death
WHERE: chocobo ranch mostly, possibly others
WHAT: closed starters for post-death things below, might make an open one at some point
NOTES\WARNINGS: will contain references to a corpse, death, blood, gun violence, etc.

Comments

Closed - Shaw & Harold

[nimbuster]

Cloud has had more near-death experiences and close calls than most people. Some he remembers, some he doesn't. But no matter how low the odds have been, he's survived. Falling from a bridge as a kid, a raging fire, impalement, five years of severe mako poisoning and catatonia, falling off the Midgar plate, injuries in countless battles, getting nigh-strangled to death by a ghost possessing a card player...on and on, and yet he's managed to live through it all.

But not this time.

This time, all it took was one man with a gun and the element of surprise. If someone told Cloud a year ago he'd die to that, he would have called bullshit, but things change.

His eyes slowly open before conscious thought kicks in. He won't know it when he does fully wake, but it's the mako that's making his mind more sluggish than his body in returning to life. He stays like that, technically awake but not present, for maybe an hour or so before he gasps into actual consciousness.

[cactusy]

Shaw checks his vitals every half-hour on the half-hour, but other than that, she's making good use of her sniper training: sitting in a chair at his bedside, very still, doing nothing. She doesn't even scan the network or catch up on messages, unless she gets something vitally important. Her attention is fixed on the middle distance, in a way that might make her seem like she's zoned out - until he stirs, and it immediately zips back to him.

"Try to breathe steadily," she says, getting up and walking over to his bedside. "Are you in pain?"

Closed - Rufus

[nimbuster]

Cloud stays shut in his room for a while even after Harold leaves, with only Buster (the cat, although he also has the sword) for company. Eventually, though, he does need to eat, so he reluctantly heads downstairs to the kitchen.

He knows Rufus is going to have questions. He doesn't want to answer them. And he honestly doesn't know what kind of reaction to expect, either. Will Rufus look down on him for allowing himself to be killed by something that should be so trivial for a SOLDIER to deal with? Probably, he thinks. One of the reasons the two of them work so well is that constant push and pull of challenge and competition. If Cloud's gotten too complacent, Rufus might think he's weak.

He tries to put that thought out of his mind as he moves to the fridge, opens it, and pretends he's interested in anything that's in there.

[nimbuster]

Cloud's attention zips to her, too, but he's disoriented and the last thing he remembers is getting shot, so seeing someone he doesn't know sets off alarm bells in his head. He sits up way too fast and the world spins around him; he sways and has to catch himself with his hands to avoid falling back again.

"What? Who are you?"

[ambitiousblond]

Despite his worry, Rufus had been a bit relieved when Cloud had decided to shut himself away in his room when he had returned. It gave him time to compose himself and make sure he could make sure he wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him.

Grief was one of those emotions he had never really known how to approach or even feel; it had always sat too heavy on his chest and made him feel too exposed. The worst part of dying had been others asking about his feelings, but at least at that time, he could distract himself by helping save the world instead.

But there are no distractions now as he looks at Cloud standing there staring intently into the fridge when he comes out to the kitchen. He had just taken a quick shower after feeding the birds for the night, and for a moment, he stood there, looking Cloud over carefully.

"Well, you won't find much in there, but I will make us coffee."

Which is the one thing Rufus can 'cook', and it's a distraction for a few minutes as he goes to the sink to fill the pot with water.