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[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

Characters: Zidane and Aerith
Progress: ongoing
Summary: Zidane swings by Treno to give Aerith a lift. Also to show off his new airship. Because...it's a new airship.
Location: Treno --.> Midgar --> Lindblum
Date: June 1804
Warnings: Uhm. None for now?

Zidane winced as the airship set down on the plains outside Treno, ignoring the (perfectly normal NOTHING IS WRONG) noises that the ship made as it settled onto its landing gear. Every time it groaned, he winced. Every time it creaked, he sighed. Having an airship was amazing but worrying about it was going to give him grey hairs. Although to be fair, sneaking off to go give someone else a ride without telling Garnet or Steiner or Beatrix probably was going to get him a lot more to worry about than his ship. But it was his SHIP!

"You need to get it dirty, then it won't feel so new," he joked to himself, patting the handle and then heading across the small ship to the gangplank, pressing the automatic release and watching as it lowered itself down to settle on the ground below. Once it had, he bounded down and plopped down on the bottom step to wait for Aerith, his tail flicking about behind him.

He'd agreed to give her a lift to Midgar, to let her see what the ruins were like, and he figured he'd probably have to take her on to Lindblum afterwards. Nobody liked to stay in Midgar anymore, after all. Except the moogles, anyway. But part of him was curious to really...interact with someone who had been around for a while and then...left and came back.

He still hadn't even gotten used to the fact that a big chunk of his recent life was missing, after all. Sometimes it was nice to talk to someone else who had 'forgotten' too.

Comments

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

The gates, finally! Aerith stepped forward, the communicator device in her left hand and the Crystal Rod in her right as she exited through them out of the city of perpetual night. The rising mist about her wasn't blinding, and Aerith was able to make out the familiar view of Zidane's face and the outline of an airship behind him. She drew a few quick steps forward into the mist.

Her foot stopped just above the ground, drawing back to meet with the other. A voice...? It sounded hurt, pained. It felt as if it were in agony-- and it wasn't alone. There were multiple voices, all in low whispers and some more decipherable than others-- some sounding oddly familiar in ways that made her skin crawl. The settling feeling of disruption in the life flow of the planet caused an somewhat foreboding feeling. So she could hear the voices of this planet-- and they were very unhappy, as if souls in continual unrest.

It was surprising, but Aerith continued onward toward Zidane. She tilted her head to the side when she was near enough to him.

"You really do have a nice ship." she glanced upward at it. It was different from the airships in her own world. "Not the same as the ones I'm used to seeing."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

Zidane bounced to his feet when Aerith came into sight, offering her a wave of his gloved hand. When she complimented his ship, he immediately liked her, and grinned wildly. "Isn't she though? She's brand new." He turned and jogged up the stairs. "Come on in."

Inside he led her through the ship and back to the cockpit, turning off the exterior lights now that no one was out in the darkness around Treno. "What are airships like back on your world?" He asked curiously.

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

Aerith immediately liked his cheerful nature, and without hesitance followed him inside of the ship. The sound of the voices in the mist quieted once more, the feeling of unrest surrounding the planet becoming the same bearable burden she held in her own world. She followed him along through the ship toward the cockpit, standing near a window to glance outside while he turned off the lights and returned their surroundings to darkness, aside from the interior of the ship.

"They're made of steel and run on mako; they're very large and usually have a crew that helps the captain to navigate. A friend of mine named Cid flies one called the Highwind." she smiled, turning to face Zidane again. "It's his favorite thing, next to tea."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

As Aerith spoke, Zidane started the ship up and into the air, smiling as he felt the vibrations of the engine defying gravity to haul the boat into the sky. "We have some pretty big ships here that need crews...technically I could probably use a couple crew members on this, really." He grinned.

"Never heard of Mako though. But anyone who likes airships is good in my book." He spun the wheel, turning the front of the ship towards the Midgar Ruins. "It'll take us a few minutes to get there. The always-night thing stretches out that far so it's gonna be pretty dark, just to warn you."

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

"It's a power source that comes from the planet." Aerith offered. "But it causes damage to the planet."

Aerith stepped back toward the window as they turned, feeling the way the ship moved along with the movement. "That's alright. I'm not afraid of the dark~"

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"That seems...like a bad thing to use," Zidane shook his head. But it wasn't his place to judge, as long as they weren't trying to do it here, anyway. And he hadn't heard anything about it, at least.

"Well, I didn't really mean you should be scared of it. Just...other than the lights the moogles use, there isn't any light in the city."

In the distance the shadow of Midgar appeared, the faint lights from the Shinra Tower oddly unhelpful against the large, round, black pool of the ruins themselves. Zidane reached out to flick the outer lights on and started to swing the ship down lower over the city.

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

"That's why my friends and I were trying to stop Shinra." Aerith responded. "Its just a lot more difficult than it sounds."

Aerith stood more toward the windows as he turned on the bright outer lights to the airship, her green eyes scanning across the illuminated ruins of the city she'd once grew up in, overrun with foliage and the lights to the Shinra building still visibly bright. That must have been where the Moogles were housed within the city.

The airship lowered, and Aerith leaned into the glass to get a good look about the overgrown city. There really was nothing other than the Shinra building that she could recognize. The steeple of her church was either covered in the overgrowth or had collapsed some time ago. How far into the future was this Midgar taken from?

"I never thought I would see so much green in Midgar that didn't come from a reactor."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"I'm never really sure I believe people when they say they lived here," Zidane said absently as he flew a long, slow circle over the city. "I mean, this place doesn't look like it's been used in centuries." He shook his head. He 'got' that there was time travel involved in this, but it was still...pretty hard to believe.

"Do you want me to set her down somewhere so you can take a closer look? There are a few open spaces in the city...I know some people managed to excavate some stuff a few months ago so there's got to be at least enough room for an airship."

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

Aerith shook her head. "No. I've seen enough. The place I'd want to see is more than likely destroyed anyway. This was enough."

Her eyes flowed along the destructed remains of the city, the fallen plates and hanging overgrowth of life that had not been present the last time she was there. The Shinra building still stood tall, the last monument of an era even Aerith could tell must have passed on more than few years ago.

"You said the Moogles had claimed the city as their own, right? I wouldn't want to cause a ruckus and damage your new ship."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"If you're sure," he shrugged and started one more pass around the city before he would take her up into the air.

At her comment though, he laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. The moogles love me. Plus they'd probably be causing a diplomatic incident if they tried to attack me or something." Man, that was still so weird. "Not...that moogles ever really attack anybody." He added.

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

"Diplomatic issue? Are you the son of a president or something?" Her green eyes turned from the ruined city below back toward Zidane. "And I wouldn't know-- I have seen mogs that fight, though."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

'Mogs?' I wouldn't call them that where they can hear you," he offered with a laugh, swinging the ship up and away from the city now.

"Son of a...no, no. Technically I'm king." He so wasn't used to this yet. Not at all. "Of Alexandria. It's over that way." He pointed vaguely in the direction of Alexandria.

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

Aerith smiled. "A king? Then I guess I should be calling you majesty instead of Zidane."

She glanced in the direction he pointed, already knowing full well she wouldn't be able to see the kingdom he was talking about. Leaning toward her side, Aerith lifting a hand to her chin as if in thought. He was quite relaxed and adventurous for being a king, at least the kind that she had read and learned about.

"I'll have to visit Alexandria."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"Yeah...please don't do that. It's bad enough Rusty and Bea keep calling me that..." He rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. Zidane doubted he would ever get used to being called 'your majesty.' And it was really strange when people who were actually important, like Regent Cid, did it. Man.

"Alexandria is pretty, really. So is Lindblum...well, they're real different, honestly. I grew up in Lindblum so I might be a little biased. Don't tell Dagger I said that."

He chucked again. "Is that where I'm dropping you off, by the way?"

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

"Then Zidane it is." Aerith moved about the cock pit again, looking out the opposite window she had been glancing from before while she listened to him talk about both cities.

"I promise when I won't~" At least she would try her best not to. Dagger was a person she had yet to meet. They must have been someone close to Zidane either way, or at least someone who would have gotten on his case freely.

She turned at the next question, stepping forward with a smile. "Yes-- I have a friend who said he would meet me in Lindblum. I haven't seen or heard from him in a long time."

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"Great! I still forget to respond to 'your majesty' most of the time, really." He laughed as he talked, swinging the ship up higher and kicking it off towards Lindblum. As they moved, the sky began to lighten the closer they got to the edge of Treno's odd darkness.

"Okay, Lindblum it is, then." He checked the course a few times, making sure the ship was pointed in the right direction before he locked the wheel and turned to face her. He'd still have to babysit it, but he could at least look away sometimes now.

"Lindblum is quite a sight to see, really. Make sure your friend doesn't drag you away before you get to look around."

[lilyoftheslums.livejournal.com]

"I won't. Maybe I'll look around a bit before I call." she responded. "You used to live there, so you would know all the good places to go, right? You could point me in the right direction~"

Aerith glanced toward the lightening atmosphere around them as they pulled out from the offensive darkness of Treno. It felt almost as if a weight was lifted in leaving the darkened area for something brighter. Not that she had minded-- it was dark in the slums under the plate as well. At least there was light within the cities, just the same as she was used to.