a new acquaintance

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Characters: Seifer & Tifa
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Tifa takes a step out of the inn to explore the city and meets a grumpy friendly face.
Location: Lindblum
Date: February 1st
Warnings: Alcohol reference.



Tifa was in considerably higher spirits then the days prior to her sudden arrival in Burmecia. Reuniting with Aerith and Zack had filled her with great joy as well as ease. The surprises of a new world were less intimidating while amongst friends.

However Tifa quite welcomed the next surprise; Lindblum was a beautiful city.
She was quick to rent a room, only to step out the door right after. She had never seen a place like this, it seemed straight out of some novel she read when she was little. Smile settled softly on her face, she walked casually, slowly turning her head left then right, taking in the sights.

Curiosity took the best of her when she came across a sign that read "Bobo's Pub." The young barkeep could use a new comparison to her own establishment, and who knows; a place like this, she might see a new drink or two.

The door gave a good squeak as she entered the small bar, seeing only a few customers. She didn't hesitate as she strode to take a seat at the wooden counter, eyes fondly scanning the various bottles locked within the barkeep's glass cabinet.

(occ: I went back to tag, but for some reason it won't let me tag poor little Seifer. Will be edited asap.)

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Seifer had been wasting his time away in Bobo's Pub for a good half hour or so by now, nursing a very strange-tasting (but good, all the same) type of beer. He didn't even know what the drinking age was here; all he knew was that he hadn't been carded like he would have been back home. He guessed he looked old enough. Oh well, didn't matter. At least he got his drink. ...You know, not that he was an alcoholic or anything. Nah. He was just out of better things to do. Trying to track down Fujin and Raijin seemed pointless now, because either they weren't here or he'd miss them if he moved again. So in Lindblum he stayed.

He heard the door open somewhere to his right, but didn't bother to turn his head to look. There had been people coming and going almost constantly the entire time he'd been here. He wasn't interested in them and he was sure they weren't terribly interested in him, either. Well, maybe they were, just a little bit, since so far everyone in this damn world seemed to have some degree of staring disease.

Shortly after the door closed, Seifer heard footsteps approaching, and eventually one of the bar stools creaking as someone sat beside him. This time he did turn his head to see who it might be. He knew Selphie and Squall were here in Lindblum, and even if it did seem improbable, perhaps they'd come to the pub. On second though, Selphie showing up wasn't too improbable; she seemed to enjoy pestering the fuck out of him.

But this person was neither Squall nor Selphie. In fact, she looked kind of like—

Nah, he told himself. If it were Rinoa, she would have started talking by now. Besides, there had been one small thing he'd managed to notice: her hair was parted differently.

Seifer didn't keep his eyes on the strange woman for long. Less than a second later, he was back to leaning over the counter, his height not allowing him to sit properly. In front of him was a schedule of events for the Festival of the Hunt, and he was reading it idly.

For about the fifteenth time now.

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Moments ago she felt neighboring eyes flick over to her, but it was when the stranger turned that caused Tifa to blink as the corner of her eye caught light reflecting gold hair. She couldn't help but snap her head, perhaps-

Wishful thinking, she mentally sighed. Though there was a similarity or two to Shin-Ra's president. Tifa immediately concluded that this man couldn't be nearly as conceited. Propping her elbow on the counter and head on her chin, she twitched the corner of her mouth into a small smirk, "Looking forward to that hunt, huh? Sounds like fun."

[disciplinary.livejournal.com]

Well, the woman's voice certainly reinforced his belief that she wasn't Rinoa. Nope, this was indeed a completely different person.

And honestly, he was relieved. Rinoa being around would make him quite nervous, really. He'd put her through some shit, alright. Sure, she always seemed like the forgiving type, but... well, Seifer wasn't so good at the apologizing thing. Was he sorry? Yeah, of course. But would he be able to say that easily? Probably not. She'd likely have to offer her forgiveness first. But hey, wasn't like he had to worry about it right now anyway.

Since this woman next to him was a stranger, Seifer really had no problem turning to her and responding. "Yeah. My goal's to win it," he said, his tone cocky like usual. "Then I might be able to get outta here."

He gave her a casual once-over and, having noticed some definite muscle tone in her arms, asked her, "You participating?" She looked like a fighter to him; he'd apparently picked up some sense of observation from spending most of his life in a mercenary academy.

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Her eyebrow raised with just the slightest movement. Something was triggered in his head; what she could have done to contribute to it was beyond her. She figured it was best to dismiss it...for now.

"Participate? Well..." Hadn't put much thought to that, only seeing a poster or two on the streets. "I just might. But I wouldn't want us to get off the wrong foot you by pushing you to second place." She tossed him a wink as she caught the barkeep's attention and quickly placed an order.

Turning back towards him, she continued. "As of now I have another event that's taking priority." She motioned to an advertisement of the ball in Lindblum Castle. Though she worried about finding her way home, she couldn't bring herself to pass this rare opportunity. Like it or not, she was stuck here, it'd be a pity for her not to enjoy herself in the meantime.

[disciplinary.livejournal.com]

Seifer just scoffed and followed it up with a swig of his beer. Him, get second place? Yeah, sure, alright. Other than that, he made no attempt to reply. The challenge she was more or less providing him made her kind of intriguing. She seemed worthy of his attention and a pass from his usually sharp remarks.

You know, for now.

He followed her gesture to the ball advertisement and skimmed the text. "Oh, right, that," he replied dismissively, turning back to her. "Why would you wanna waste your time on some big stupid dance?"

Hell, had he made it into SeeD, he probably wouldn't have even attended that ball. Dressing up wasn't really his thing. And dancing? Well, little known fact: he was a fairly good dancer. Didn't mean he took advantage of every opportunity to showcase it, though. Nah. Only if the event was exceptionally special.

"The hunt seems like a real idea of fun to me," he added. With that, he swallowed down the last of his beer. For a moment he tossed around the idea of ordering another. His supply of gil wasn't exactly impressive at this point, but he wasn't horribly concerned. He'd had to survive on less before, after all. He'd find ways to get more.

So he ordered another.

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She didn't even bother to hide her smirk as she watched him. This guy was quite the character. "Well, I suppose it's plausible to see why you would prefer one over the other." Her order had arrived just then, a simple fruit-flavored blend. Tifa raised the glass to her lips, but right before she took a sip, she quickly settled it back down on the counter.

"What's your name? Wait- No, don't answer." She pointed a finger to his face to assure his silence, "Ladies first." Keeping direct eye contact with him, she pulled his closest wrist out and firmly shook it. "I'm Tifa. And I for one find big stupid dances to be just as fun as hunting festivals."

[disciplinary.livejournal.com]

Damn, this woman sure had balls. Figuratively, of course. Unless there was something he didn't know. Not that he, y'know, wanted to find out anyway.

First she'd displayed her boldness by daring to hush him immediately after asking his name so that she could introduce herself first. He felt a twinge of impatience in his gut, but decided to keep it at bay. He'd actually like to avoid making new enemies in a strange place; after all, he never knew who might come in handy for him getting where or what he needed.

Second, he sure didn't quite appreciate the rather forced handshake (wristshake?), so after a moment he pulled his arm back. "Seifer," he finally introduced himself. "And hey, whatever you say. You have fun at your dance, and I'll have fun showing the people around this place what I'm made of."

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"The dance might be exactly where you want to show yourself," she casually replied. Her gaze was retreated back to the cabinet, scanning the beverages once again. She had already picked out her favorite bottles. Wonder if that barkeep will let her take some home with her?

"My good friend told me that everyone who has been 'falling out of the sky' is invited." His attire was more than enough to show he too was a foreigner, much like herself. "If you want a chance to run into some of your friends, I suggest you make an appearance." With one final gulp she finished her refreshment, "Besides... a dance or two can't be that bad, right?"

[disciplinary.livejournal.com]

Seifer scoffed. "Yeah, right. No thanks." His second beer arrived and he immediately took a drink from it. "The whole 'formal wear' thing isn't really for me."

And that thing she said about a chance to run into friends... well, the chances were incredibly small for that happening. Fujin wouldn't be caught dead in a dress, and Raijin was perhaps a bit too proud of his physique to cover it up with a suit. But maybe, just maybe, with all the advertisement it'd be getting...

"I really don't think my friends'd be there. I don't even think they're in this world." They'd made no attempt to contact him, anyway.

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Her eyes lowered as he so easily dismissed the possibility. Could anyone really be sure if their friends where here? The only thing one could do is try...at least hope.

Her head remained lowered as she murmured, "So, you're just going to give up on them? That's... really unfair. What if they're out there just waiting for something as small as the hint of your name?" Pushing her empty glass aside, Tifa propped her elbow on the counter and settled her chin on her hand facing Seifer once again.

"I'm waiting for someone too. But I hope he isn't sitting in some bar hiding, like you."