Embrace your dreams, and...

As the glass slid toward him, the young swordsman lifted his hand and caught it with ease, raising it to take a closer look at the color a moment before taking a drink.  As expected, it tasted just as good as it looked-- she wasn't at all bad at this.  The comment about his eyes made him smile lowering the glass as he leaned a bit over the counter.  "Like them, huh?"  He straightened, thinking suddenly of Aerith and his smile widened, gaze falling to his drink a moment.  He couldn't say what he had to her those years ago now with the same attitude-- Shinra left too many shadows in his life.  But, oddly, he was still proud of his eyes and what he was.

She glanced up to Zack. “You may not be SOLDIER anymore but, I’m sure someone could use a strong guy like you for work.” She said with a laugh. “Who knows maybe there are monsters this town needs protecting from.” She continued remembering when Zack had fended some off back in the slums when he had come to visit her.

“I wonder if there are others here we may know. I mean we ended up here randomly.” Aerith started. “Maybe we will luck out and find a friend of ours to stay with.” She continued with a smile. “In the meantime I don’t mind roughing it.” She said.

Rhyme fished her pockets for the cash she had around before she woke up in the strange place and realized that her currency was changed. This is a strange world.

“Only the goddess might know if it is possible at all. Life itself is what she gives to us. I came to that conclusion.” It was the realization he had needed so much time to come upon. And yet, he still wasn’t sure if there was more behind it. He shook his head. Just where was this conversation leading? never would he have guessed Zack - the puppy - to be able to talk about something that depressing. Hadn’t he always been the one being in good mood? At least from what Angeal had been telling him…

“Yeah,” the blond replied, nodding after Zack’s offer. They needed to catch up. It’d been too long since they last spoken—he had so many questions. He…missed him.

The two began to walk back into town, Cloud remaining silent as they soon came to a small cafe. They were seated and were given drinks to start off with, but…the quiet blond didn’t know what to say first. So, instead, he focused his eyes out the window, watching as the people strolled passed.

So, he followed, keeping pace at Cloud's side and making the occasional comment.  His friend's silence was comfortable and Zack didn't push conversation; he was happy to simply be in his company again.  After all their experiences together on the field and in the lab, words really weren't necessary between them.  As Cloud led them toward a small cafe, Zack smiled, recognizing the place as the little eat-in he and Aerith had stumbled upon when they had first arrived some weeks ago now.  He had come back a few times since, though it had been awhile since his last visit.  Kind people, good service, and a fair dose of quiet.  It had reminded him of a similar place in Midgar he had frequented in Sector 8 when Cloud was still a cadet, working in the infantry.

As they were led to their seats, Zack exchanged greetings between their waiter and took the menus offered, glancing at Cloud as the two sat.  He smiled at the blond, thanking the waiter and passing his friend the second menu, his placed on the table in front of him unopened.  As the other's Mako-tainted hues scanned the outside world, Zack watched his expression, waiting patiently with his hands curled casually around his glass.  The question that finally slipped through Cloud's lips, though, was... an unexpected one, raven brows rising in surprise before his gaze lowered to his drink and they furrowed slightly.

She glanced out to look at the other various shops and homes. She smiled a bit. Since they didn’t exactly have a place to stay at the moment. She wondered if they’d be able to make a home here. She looked up to Zack and pondered whether to question him on this just yet.

It'd... been such a long, long time since he had seen a sight like this...  Before the nightmare in Nibelheim, the experiments, living on the run, his death... now.  It was... definitely quieter here than in Midgar, but not nearly as sleepy as Cloud's hometown.  It all... gave him a cloud of mixed feelings; he wasn't sure what to make of everything.  The how and why were mysteries the ex-SOLDIER wasn't sure either would ever solve.  Perhaps... he simply needed only accept it, accept that he and Aerith were alive.

Yeah, Zack was his best friend and still was..

He sighed. He shouldn’t be so hard himself? His mind couldn’t comprehend that, no matter how many times he’s heard that same exact sentence. His entirety was stuck dwelling in the past, he was unable to crawl out of his self-made hole of regret to fully embrace this…miracle. Zack was back in his life and this is how he showed his elatedness?

So, he studied the smaller male, his smile widening a fraction once he finally spoke; though he sensed Cloud was holding out on him, Zack didn't push the issue.  More than anything, he wanted to help make his friend feel comfortable, ease him up.  They had time to talk whenever Cloud was ready and Zack could finally be around to listen and do whatever he could.

That couldn’t be…he thought to himself briefly, hesitating for a moment before lifting his head. His eyes widened and his body immediately tensing up and paralyzing. Raven black hair, pale complexion, a reflection of his own pair of mako-infused eyes staring straight back at him. There was no mistaken…

“—Zack…?”

Was all he could mutter out before rising to his feet. A face from the past, was this a cruel dream, or…a ghost? He shook his head, his mind not fully grasping the presence standing before him. He was dead, but this is an entirely different world than the one he once knew, he had to remind himself.

But…

Flashbacks of Zack’s unconscious body laying on the wastelands on the outskirts of Midgar flooded his mind. He had died in front of him, yet here was. He couldn’t grip to this reality and accept that he was alive…again. 

Cloud's reaction to seeing him, though-- it quickly sobered the energetic male, grin fading to a weary smile.  Of course it'd be a shock to the blond-- he... he had been there, he had seen the infantrymen gun him down and leave him for dead.  It was almost too easy for him to forget sometimes, with the advent of a new life, some of the darker moments of his own past.  He just... didn't like to dwell on those things, yeah?  And when they all piled on and it became difficult to handle, well-- he just didn't let that happen all that much.  He'd stick it out, like always.

"Yep, that's me--" he said with a nod, before leaning forward as the younger's gaze dropped.  Cloud's words, they cut-- like a dagger into his gut-- but it wasn't betrayal he felt at a supposed failure, it was a deep concern for an old friend.

No-- Cloud never made Zack feel any sort of disappointment.  A lot happened, a lot he wasn't exactly clear on (hard to pick out details when floating around in a stream of consciousness), but he knew none of it was easy on the other.  How could he ever blame Cloud for any of it?  If nothing else, Zack felt Cloud had done an amazing job.

Moogletown…

Cloud repeated silently in his mind, approaching the entrance to the familiar town. It had been quite some time since he had last been here, he needed to depart and recollect his mind. Once again, he had left behind the people whom he considered family to him, though this was nothing out of the ordinary with him.

He was never to remain in one place. He’d often travel elsewhere, finding some sort of purpose elsewhere, avoiding the past that continued to haunt him. Exhaling, he kept his eyes down as he merged into the crowded streets of the town, carefully weaving through the bodies, managing to slip passed the persistent merchants unnoticed. 

He contemplated on visiting Tifa at the bar, but figured the sight of him might distract her from work. Instead, he found a secluded sitting area near the edge of town and decided to waste away here before retiring to an inn. Resting his fusion sword on the side of the bench, he then took a seat, tossing his head back to gaze up into the sky. 

His mako-infused eyes glimmered underneath the beryl sky’s hue as he quickly became distracted by wandering thoughts. Too distracted to even hear approaching footsteps. 

But, despite all the good things and his general positive outlook, Zack's mind still wandered to Cloud-- for all his time in the Lifestream with Aerith, he'd been able to watch over and keep an eye on the blond warrior...  But, now that he was alive again, things were different.  He didn't know where Cloud was or if he was doing alright; if he was still dragging his feet and letting things eat him too much.

"Heh."  A crooked smile touched his lips at the thought, lifting a gloved hand to rub the back of his neck.  It had been hard watching that, but there wasn't much he could do as a spirit.  But now... now, as a part of the living once more, maybe if he ran into Cloud again, he and Aerith could straighten him out-- right?

Till then, Zack just wanted to explore and get used to his new environment.  So many places in this town he had yet to see!

That in mind and a grin on his lips, the black-haired swordsman wandered about, letting booted feet carrying him wherever his whim willed it.  He kept to the outskirts, as he had already wandered through the town square and all the major market areas-- losing his way somewhere along the way.  But, part of the adventure was getting lost, right?  So, this didn't particularly bother him as much as it probably should have.  No, he just kept going, poking his head around every bend with an inquisitive nature that knew no bounds.

Approaching one out-of-the-way corner with an energetic smile, he stumbled to a halt at the sound of a familiar voice, sky-blues wide-- maybe he imagined that?

The man nodded to her. “Well you are in Moogle town for starters.” He explained. “Lots of people have been coming here from all over.”

The clerk eyed them a long moment, lips pursed together as he considered the request, before he slowly nodded.  "Alright, hold on.  Let me talk to the manager, okay?  Feel free to sit down and I'll see what I can do," he finally said, imparting them with a smile before turning around and, after exchanging a brief word with one of his coworkers, disappearing behind the door Zack assumed led to the kitchen.