Aerith Gainsborough

[ There's a fib of a Feather under the shade of the barracks after noon; she's got the sundress on, but Aerith is undoubtedly not new. She knows where she is, and after she gets past the jolt of terror that strikes when that last painful blow is remembered, she knows why she is there. She's plenty upset, and she's also angry and tense as she returns to house #41, keeping near the side of the street and under the cover of buildings for the brisk walk. She'll stop if a friend calls to her, but otherwise make a quick excuse and keep going; she really, really wants to go back to what's become her home here.

After stopping in at the house and checking in with her housemates--and letting herself have a good cry to help get it out--she goes and makes a journal post from her bedroom.

She takes a big, deep breath, first. ]

I'm back... this is Aerith. I hope no one [ else ] was worried, but it's... better now. I'm back. I'm not hurt.

...Is it...normal to see nothing when you die? Like you just stop... I'm sorry, ignore that. What a stupid thing to talk about!

[ ...It doesn't help to keep thinking about it right now. As she handles any responses that come, Aerith goes and does something extremely mundane and calming for her. She checks on all the flowers, at home, at the flower shop, and at the memorial garden, with the wolf Daisy close by her side. He's being more protective than usual right now. ]

[ooc: going on hiatus for the next week, so Aerith's getting kidnapped! ...A bit in the past since there's other things she should've tagged too. I'm still continuing current threads.]

[The post starts innocently enough, Aerith humming with the sound of a bag swinging from side to side. But.] ...Oh, you're kidding me!

My turn? Somehow I thought today wasn't a good day for groceries... You'll at least let me get them home, right? No? Too bad!

[And she takes off running--but it's only a few seconds before the journal catches the fainter sound of her crying out when she's seized. Between the library and the headquarters for the SOS Brigade is a bag with milk and eggs, spilled and cracked.]

[Video - Locked to Cloud - Normal filter - 50%]

[This starts in the hallway, with Aerith moving from her and Zack's apartment to Cloud and Tifa's as she records. Of course, since Cloud is gone...the filter is bad. (Lifting a note from Noel's example!) Bold is unfiltered/public. Italic is easily hackable, as even normally, the filter is only 50% unhackable. Without hacking, the visual wavers in and out with the audio.]

Oh, Clouuuud~ I bet you don't know what today is. Any guesses?

[She pauses for a moment or two, to give him time for a response, but when nothing comes she moues.]

Are you busy again? I haven't seen you at all the past few days! But today, we're going to spend some time together, because--

It's~ my~ birthday~ and it's a surprise party! The surprise is I didn't warn you earlier. Honestly, I hadn't decided about celebrating it yet. Since things are strange here--with time-- But I think it is something to celebrate! Because I've learned a lot since my last birthday, so I really am another year older and wiser. Aren't I so mature now? You should be impressed. [She winks at the journal.] Sooo mature, in fact, that I'm about to go in your room [she announces, as she creaks open the door] and the only way you're getting me out is--

... Huh? --Oh, I must have mixed up rooms. You didn't see anything! [She moves further down the hallway, opening another door.] Right, this is Tifa's room, so it's...door #3!

[But when the third door is opened, the mischief and anticipation leaves Aerith's expression, replaced by blank confusion. There's silence for a long stretch before she finally says:] Oh. You... but, you-- [She fumbles with the journal, keeping her face turned away from it as she turns the broadcast off.]

[Voice - Filtered to Tifa - 50%]

Tifa? Are you okay?

[Voice - Filtered to Zack - 50%]

... Cloud's back... home. [There's a long pause, like she'd say something else, but she finally just gives a shaky smile and turns the journal off again.]

[Action]

[Aerith is going to drown her sorrows in hot chocolate at Good Spirits a little later. No, she won't cry in her cup or anything like that, but her face seems rather blank for someone usually smiling.]

[It's rather late in the evening to be out in the snow, but so Aerith is. Behind ch. 4, out in the forest, she's cleared the fresh-fallen snow from a small patch of earth and is now kneeling down in it, talking to Faeren.]

Wasn't it strange back then? Everyone changed so suddenly! ...Were you...a little nervous? Hm... But...people seem to be treating the forest and plants all right. Better than they do back home.

...Did I talk to you last time? No, you don't need to tell me. I'm sure I did. You don't have a voice, but still, it's less quiet when I'm talking to you.

[...and so on. In general, Aerith is just naturally chatty with spirits anyway. She'll be doing this spirit-talking for a while into the early night, roaming around the perimeter of the village to see if she can get in touch with Nala... The cold and still-falling snowflakes don't seem to deter her. This is more important.]

[Unlike her intro, this post is much more cheerful: Aerith's smartly dressed in her pink dress and ribbon, she's in a warm apartment, and she's smiling at the journal.]

Hello! How is everyone? Hmm, let's see... My name's Aerith Gainsborough. I came here... oh, on the 12th, and I'm from Gaia, if any of you know of that planet. I worked as a flower girl, and I guess I was taking care of the flower shop last time I was here, so I'll start doing that again.

Speaking of last time--I don't remember it. Not yet, anyway. I'm going to keep trying. In the meantime, you'll have to excuse me if I don't recognize you! Go ahead and jog my memory, if you want. I wouldn't want to miss anything important, and that especially means people.

That's all for now, I think. I just wanted to say hi.

[Beat.]

...I hope that recorded, I'd feel silly talking to an off journal--oh, right, turn it off!

[Action]

[Aerith's not going too far today, but there is grocery shopping to be done, so she'll be around the plaza and at the store; after she does that and puts those away, she'll be going around community building #4 to see who aaaalll the neighbors are.]