[Thread: Aeris and Vincent] There's no alibi.

[and-it-aches.livejournal.com]

Who: Aeris Gainsborough (protegerai) and Vincent Valentine (and_it_aches)
What: Getting Aeris out of the room; looking for Cloud.
When: After Aeris's hand post.
Where: Aeris's Room; 410 and other places.
Rating: PG

Vincent did not know Aeris very well, if not at all--but his body told him what his mind forgot. Protection, regret. He sprinted up the stairs, mindlessly thankful that the fourth floor was only one above his. Unfortunate that he had not his cloak, but far more importantly--he was armed. He jogged over to Aeris's door, rapping on the wooden plank with the back of his prosthetic knuckles.

"Aeris," he called gently. "It is Vincent."

Comments

[protegerai.livejournal.com]

Aeris sat still at her desk, poring over the journal, pointedly not looking at the floor not far from her desk.

The hand was still there. There was a small amount of blood around it.

At the knock her head shot up and her expression turned grateful. Careful to avoid the hand by at least two feet at all times, she practically ran to the door and pulled it open.

"I can't thank you enough for coming," she said quietly. "I was.." she trailed off as she looked back at the hand on her floor, and her former expression of thankfulness changed to a pained grimace.

"I don't know what to do with it.."

[and-it-aches.livejournal.com]

Vincent remained silent, brushing off her thanks though with no gesture. He brushed past her, towards the hand. If it had come from Sephiroth, the same one who had sent the heads, he would be not too surprised if it was made of gellatin. A sniff of the air as he crouched by the dismembered hand, however, told him that at least the flesh and blood were real--and had already begun the process of decay. He knew that smell all too well.

His eyes darted around briefly before standing, taking a pillow case off of Aeris's bed and removing the pillow from within, replacing that on the bed and taking the sac back to the hand. With his prosthetic, he lifted up the dismembered hand by the thumb, and placed it in the sac, tieing the bag off in a knot. "There," he murmured.

[protegerai.livejournal.com]

Aeris just watched him quietly as he moved, trying not to look at her journal. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned back against the wall. By the time he'd finished, she was smiling, if only a little.

"That helps," she said sincerely. "Really. But now..."

She glanced back at the journal, biting her lip.

"I can't believe it's Cloud. Not after everything.. I just .." She sighed. "If I don't check to make sure, I'll go out of my mind. Except I, um, don't know where his room is."

Aeris couldn't help but look a little sheepish. "I don't want to drag you all over the castle without knowing where to go.."

[and-it-aches.livejournal.com]

Vincent looked over to her, setting the bagged hand on the floor. He shrugged with one shoulder, shaking his head. "I will help you find him." The mako eyes. Man with a child's face. If Vincent had known him previously, the least he could do was to help find him.

It helped that the doors had names on them, as well.

"Where shall we start?"