#faithbind

16.  the tower  :  what event drastically changed your muse’s life ? do they resent that event or are they glad of it ?  ---  sent by @faithbind​

eve has always been a planner.  he likes to have an outline,  an idea where his steps will take him.  that does not mean that he shuns spontaneity or that he is never spontaneous himself,  it just means that he likes the security that a certain overall stability provides.  and he had a plan when he was sixteen --- he was going to join the council,  become a rune knight and eventually maybe head of law enforcement.

but then,  a certain someone went and destroyed the council building and left the entire organisation in shambles.  not all trainee knights were essentially told that they might want to look for another place of employ while the council sought to reestablish order,  but eve was among those who had to go.  which shoved him off the path he had imagined for himself and instead set him on the path of being a guild mage.  whether that was for worse or for better,  well,  that depends.  but it definitely meant that when a few years later the council was destroyed again and there were casualties,  he was not among them.

‘ ‘ excuse me,  miss. ’ ’  the acting grandmaster’s voice was calm and steady,  expertly hiding any nervousness she felt as she approached the flower seller.  it was late and the other was surely on her way home,  but jean had only finished her day’s work minutes ago --- and she needed flowers.  were they for her,  she might have postponed the purchase but ---  ‘ ‘ would you happen to have any flowers left?  preferably irises? ’ ’

When she finds a place to sit , her body rests weakly against the wooden bench . There’s a sadness in her expression as thoughts of her sister plague her mind . 

// @faithbind​ Asked: ❝ she pulled through. ❞ //

Cloud Strife is first and foremost a brawler, thriving on the sort of combat that starts quick and ends bloody. His knuckles had been perpetually bruised as a boy, and it was a miracle that his nose had never broken. If there was one thing he was good at it was a fight.

Everything else was hit or miss.

Truth be told, stealth isn’t his element. He understands the importance of it - if Reno and Tseng are to be believed, the target is anything but cooperative if she knows someone is on her trail... but following her day after day, in and out, without letting her know sounded like more hassle than he was willing to put up with. Especially if he was found. That could make everything more complicated.

Better to be sure they were on the same page.

Even if it meant introducing himself to a total stranger. Something he could do on any other job, under any other circumstances, but this assignment was meant to be long term. fr

Great.

Which brings him here, now. Standing in a beautiful, impossible garden in the slums in his Turk finery. There’s a sword strapped to his back and a gun at his hip, with one looking as though it gets used considerably more often than the other. He allows his nerves to show in the moments before the door opens, feeling the sweat of his palms and the beat of his heart, but then she’s there.

     this time, it seemed he had overstayed his welcome. he could see her figure coming in from the path, & there was definitely no way to get back without getting CAUGHT. so, with a small gasp, he ducked down behind the flowers, hoping their billowing petals would hide his hair.

     hopefully, she would go STRAIGHT inside, & he could leave before he was seen.