Aside from a slight head-shake he doesn't speak on that particular subject again. In a future written in blood, the chances of him NOT having slaughtered everyone around him is pretty slim. Attempting to pretend otherwise would be foolhardy at best. Zack escaped, perhaps for years, and that ... was as close to a comfort as he's going to get. There were few First Class SOLDIERs, he was friends with them .. and then Zack was the only one left. It's not hard to guess.
"What do you think is out there, that could be a problem?" It's a rhetorical question; Sephiroth is armed, could easily turn his profound disturbance to wrath and he knew exactly what to do with obviously inhuman monsters. Nobody mourned them, and nobody was waiting in his small home in the Burrows to see him return again, soaked in blood and grime.
Would anyone mourn him? He didn't think so, beyond 'that's too bad'. He runs his fingers along the back of the chair, thoughtful. He'd leave of course, sooner or later. And probably sooner rather than later. A long walk in the bitter cold might help him settle his turmoil a bit. "You know what they say. Trust but verify."
He was willing to test it out. Not much would be lost if everyone were wrong, after all, there were other active-types about to be ready for combat trials.
Vincent is indeed not Cloud, Cloud wouldn't have stopped. "I'm a SOLDIER. You know that means I'm not innocent. You know what we do. What we're made for, including Cloud." What he'd been bred for. An argument people kept trying to make with him, that it's somehow not murder under orders, but he knew why the Rhadorans were an extinct people save for one boy his own age, and it wasn't coincidence and happenstance. It wouldn't be murder if Cloud were to kill him either.
What he gets out of this is if it were to make his victims feel better, he'd have to provoke them blatantly first. Not ideal, when the goal was undoing some of the pain he'd caused. .. Would cause.
More things to try to work through, on top of everything else.
How long could he keep up this faux calm? After a long moment he sits heavily in the chair, the fire's crackles and pops almost but not quite soothing, fishing out his relic briefly to take note of the time and how long away sunrise was likely to be. There's a couple messages waiting to be read and automatically they're skimmed over before being deleted. That reminded him. "..There's a person I text sometimes." Twice! It counted. "She's interested in meeting you." There's no negative connotations to that, surely it won't go the way it did with Steve. "Her name's Natasha. Couldn't tell you what she looks like, but she seems nice."
When he left, he'd have to remember to put the gun down somewhere. It doesn't fit comfortably in his coat.
It's not something Vincent is going to push either. The nature of these statements is to give Sephiroth things to remember were said. It's not to force the youth to dig in his heels stubbornly. Anyway they'll have been said, received and right now that's enough.
"The cold. And the weather." True, the conditions had been unusually brisk but clear skies in the last week or so. But it isn't a guarantee and Wintermute is known for its whiteout blizzards.
Vincent's cabin isn't exactly on a well-beaten trail or anywhere near the cluster of civilization near the Academy for that matter. Clearing one's thoughts in the wintery air is one thing but adding lost, alone and freezing to the turmoil would wear at the psyche.
And while Vincent is showing signs that he would grieve Sephiroth- not that death is final- what does that matter, precisely?
Trust but verify. There's a lot that can be said about that. But even the part of Vincent that might resort to dry humor because it's better than anger or pain is spent. Thus there was only that earlier palm to face and no more.
A quiet statement corrects another sort of assumption though.
"Cloud was never SOLDIER."
It's the only thing Vincent is going to give. The effects of the ice cream are fading; he can resist the remaining urge to continue. And even if he has to speak the truth, he no longer finds there's no longer and need to continue. Though at this point, what would be the point in lying?
Yes, Cloud made it into the army, was a guard. And Vincent understands the confusion even if neither Zack or Cloud actually said that was the case. He closes his eyes.
They half-open a moment later, shifting attention to Sephiroth again. Just what do you casually talk about to someone who's 'nice' regarding the man that shot you? This may be a musing that crosses Vincent's mind.
"Natasha? Right." Name's not familiar. His eyes close again. No, seriously. What did you tell her, Sephiroth?
"Same process, similar training. He knows how to use the weapon he was carrying, without hesitation. He too, was made for it." Maybe Sephiroth's estimation of Cloud isn't fair, but he knows very well if he so much as breathed wrong in their brief encounter, it would have ended in violence. Hojo had his hand in things in making sure Cloud was as suitable for bloodshed as he himself was.
The cold was a lesser concern. But he'd wait a while, at least. Watch the fire, and try to get things in order at least a little bit. "...Not really." It doesn't sound like he's trying to hide anything about that potential encounter. As far as he could tell it should go just fine. Peacefully, even. There's nothing to avenge by way of Vincent's actions. His own, on the other hand..
Maybe it wasn't fair. Maybe Vincent's isn't. It's not as if Cloud didn't grow into his own and Vincent has that knowledge.
But is he necessarily wrong to have a concern about how it would affect Cloud? Only playing out the scenario would discover the truth and Vincent has no desire to put it to the test. And who knows how Aerith being here in Folkmore, how Zack being here, has changed things?
At least he's almost certain that he's correct it would not give Cloud the closure he really desires.
"Hm." It's a sound of acknowledgement with a short nod that's just a tip of Vincent's head forward a split second. If Sephiroth was hiding something- and he's likely not- Vincent would have to handle it anyway.
Minutes tick by, the sound of logs settling interrupts breathing and heartbeats. There is a wind picking up, though the sky remains clear. The cabin seems well insulated against the threat of Wintermute's chill. And... well, the cloak is warm.
Without sustained conversation, Vincent seems happy to lapse into silence and his own thoughts. Most of the time his eyes remain closed, but here and there Sephiroth is no doubt going to catch the ruby glimmer that suggests the gunman is still awake. Still watchful.
It's a silence that goes uninterrupted for hours. He doesn't move, beyond breath or the occasional blink, watching the firelight without actually seeing the flames.
An hour or so before the sun would normally break over the desolation of Wintermute, he finally stirs; sleep was never an option, wouldn't be regular or easy for a long while yet, but there's a certain stiffness to be had in not moving for most of the night. Nothing's said even then, the cloak unwound and set on the chair, with it the pistol he'd liberated from Vincent the day before.
There's no doubt the Turk will wake, if he'd even gotten any sleep, having someone moving around no matter how quiet Sephiroth could be, but he doesn't say anything, he just heads for the door. It's time to go, and it's a long way back to what passed as 'home'.
Other than the addition of an occasional log to the fire over the course of the night, there was little movement from Vincent.
Was he awake? Asleep? When morning came and Sephiroth quietly arranged departure, the gunman's eyes do not open and his breathing remains steady. He is awake. Sephiroth probably is well aware. But it might be nice that he pretends.
Until the door is closing. Before Sephiroth can leave the porch and the final click of the latch, a familiar voice drifts out of the pre-dawn shadows of the cabin.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2024-06-02 07:45 pm (UTC)"What do you think is out there, that could be a problem?" It's a rhetorical question; Sephiroth is armed, could easily turn his profound disturbance to wrath and he knew exactly what to do with obviously inhuman monsters. Nobody mourned them, and nobody was waiting in his small home in the Burrows to see him return again, soaked in blood and grime.
Would anyone mourn him? He didn't think so, beyond 'that's too bad'. He runs his fingers along the back of the chair, thoughtful. He'd leave of course, sooner or later. And probably sooner rather than later. A long walk in the bitter cold might help him settle his turmoil a bit. "You know what they say. Trust but verify."
He was willing to test it out. Not much would be lost if everyone were wrong, after all, there were other active-types about to be ready for combat trials.
Vincent is indeed not Cloud, Cloud wouldn't have stopped. "I'm a SOLDIER. You know that means I'm not innocent. You know what we do. What we're made for, including Cloud." What he'd been bred for. An argument people kept trying to make with him, that it's somehow not murder under orders, but he knew why the Rhadorans were an extinct people save for one boy his own age, and it wasn't coincidence and happenstance. It wouldn't be murder if Cloud were to kill him either.
What he gets out of this is if it were to make his victims feel better, he'd have to provoke them blatantly first. Not ideal, when the goal was undoing some of the pain he'd caused. .. Would cause.
More things to try to work through, on top of everything else.
How long could he keep up this faux calm? After a long moment he sits heavily in the chair, the fire's crackles and pops almost but not quite soothing, fishing out his relic briefly to take note of the time and how long away sunrise was likely to be. There's a couple messages waiting to be read and automatically they're skimmed over before being deleted. That reminded him. "..There's a person I text sometimes." Twice! It counted. "She's interested in meeting you." There's no negative connotations to that, surely it won't go the way it did with Steve. "Her name's Natasha. Couldn't tell you what she looks like, but she seems nice."
When he left, he'd have to remember to put the gun down somewhere. It doesn't fit comfortably in his coat.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-02 08:44 pm (UTC)"The cold. And the weather." True, the conditions had been unusually brisk but clear skies in the last week or so. But it isn't a guarantee and Wintermute is known for its whiteout blizzards.
Vincent's cabin isn't exactly on a well-beaten trail or anywhere near the cluster of civilization near the Academy for that matter. Clearing one's thoughts in the wintery air is one thing but adding lost, alone and freezing to the turmoil would wear at the psyche.
And while Vincent is showing signs that he would grieve Sephiroth- not that death is final- what does that matter, precisely?
Trust but verify. There's a lot that can be said about that. But even the part of Vincent that might resort to dry humor because it's better than anger or pain is spent. Thus there was only that earlier palm to face and no more.
A quiet statement corrects another sort of assumption though.
"Cloud was never SOLDIER."
It's the only thing Vincent is going to give. The effects of the ice cream are fading; he can resist the remaining urge to continue. And even if he has to speak the truth, he no longer finds there's no longer and need to continue. Though at this point, what would be the point in lying?
Yes, Cloud made it into the army, was a guard. And Vincent understands the confusion even if neither Zack or Cloud actually said that was the case. He closes his eyes.
They half-open a moment later, shifting attention to Sephiroth again. Just what do you casually talk about to someone who's 'nice' regarding the man that shot you? This may be a musing that crosses Vincent's mind.
"Natasha? Right." Name's not familiar. His eyes close again. No, seriously. What did you tell her, Sephiroth?
"Anything else I should know?"
no subject
Date: 2024-06-02 09:47 pm (UTC)The cold was a lesser concern. But he'd wait a while, at least. Watch the fire, and try to get things in order at least a little bit. "...Not really." It doesn't sound like he's trying to hide anything about that potential encounter. As far as he could tell it should go just fine. Peacefully, even. There's nothing to avenge by way of Vincent's actions. His own, on the other hand..
.. He'll burn that bridge when he comes to it.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-02 10:47 pm (UTC)But is he necessarily wrong to have a concern about how it would affect Cloud? Only playing out the scenario would discover the truth and Vincent has no desire to put it to the test. And who knows how Aerith being here in Folkmore, how Zack being here, has changed things?
At least he's almost certain that he's correct it would not give Cloud the closure he really desires.
"Hm." It's a sound of acknowledgement with a short nod that's just a tip of Vincent's head forward a split second. If Sephiroth was hiding something- and he's likely not- Vincent would have to handle it anyway.
Minutes tick by, the sound of logs settling interrupts breathing and heartbeats. There is a wind picking up, though the sky remains clear. The cabin seems well insulated against the threat of Wintermute's chill. And... well, the cloak is warm.
Without sustained conversation, Vincent seems happy to lapse into silence and his own thoughts. Most of the time his eyes remain closed, but here and there Sephiroth is no doubt going to catch the ruby glimmer that suggests the gunman is still awake. Still watchful.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-03 12:18 am (UTC)An hour or so before the sun would normally break over the desolation of Wintermute, he finally stirs; sleep was never an option, wouldn't be regular or easy for a long while yet, but there's a certain stiffness to be had in not moving for most of the night. Nothing's said even then, the cloak unwound and set on the chair, with it the pistol he'd liberated from Vincent the day before.
There's no doubt the Turk will wake, if he'd even gotten any sleep, having someone moving around no matter how quiet Sephiroth could be, but he doesn't say anything, he just heads for the door. It's time to go, and it's a long way back to what passed as 'home'.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-03 12:27 am (UTC)Was he awake? Asleep? When morning came and Sephiroth quietly arranged departure, the gunman's eyes do not open and his breathing remains steady. He is awake. Sephiroth probably is well aware. But it might be nice that he pretends.
Until the door is closing. Before Sephiroth can leave the porch and the final click of the latch, a familiar voice drifts out of the pre-dawn shadows of the cabin.
"Travel safe."