Golden Peacock Overflow

[sonicstriker]

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Overflow 2.0
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[sonicstriker]

[ Tifa shakes her head quietly, trying to keep her breathing even as the weight of containment and debt and despair threaten to make all her bones leaden.

She thought she'd escaped this. Thought she'd never have to-- ]

Not a gambler, no, but I understand how the house works.

[ She'd gotten mixed up, through no fault of her own, in a gambler's debts when she'd been brought to Midgar. Overcharged for her life saving surgery, told the gang that ran the area needed her to pay it back, or...

She'd said then she wouldn't use her body, not that way, no matter what it took. It had turned out the debt had been inflated, that all the money she'd saved had let her save Seventh Heaven and start a life she truly loved.

But that was gone too, decimated at the whims of Shinra.

Her hands tighten, and her breath is shaky. She hasn't cried about any of it, not other than that brief moment with Cloud, but she's not going to here, not now. ]

Sex sells. If they need more people to keep their rich clients happy, and can make money off us too--

There has to be a way out though. Supplies come in. That means supplies can go out.

[ The cameras make her wince, but she shakes her head. ]

Not necessarily. Wealthy clients will pay out the nose for privacy, otherwise it isn't worth it. If we're smart, we can figure out what areas are off limits. That's going to be our best bet.

[transgressed]

[Fang listens quietly, the wheels in her head turning. It almost fit. A kidnapping, spirited away by some sort of... what? Sex racket? Run by some faceless individuals with enough money to buy a place like this and shove people into it to serve as hedonistic entertainment. Hm.

If Fang had been on Cocoon, she might believe that the Sanctum had gotten her here without her knowing. Perhaps even if she were still on Gran Pulse, she could stretch that belief enough to decide that a fal'Cie had spirited her away and landed her in this world.

But... no. That couldn't be it. She had been with Vanille, her Focus completed after hundreds of years. They had changed it. They had defied their own fates. The fal'Cie had fled the waking world. Silent for the first time in centuries, like monuments to a civilization long dead.

She frowns to herself. Tifa's theory was good, sound. Practical. But the fal'Cie were never practical. They never did things in a way that followed human logic.

Could a fal'Cie be hiding here, alive? Tucked in its own little world and dreaming out bizarre tasks to fulfill? She feels her stomach roll.]

It's possible. [She concedes at last, though she doesn't sound convinced. Some of the buoyancy has left her. What remained was something that made her seem older. More weathered.] You've got the right of it though. Poking around where we're not allowed's a good start to figure out what's going on around here.

Er. [She glances down, plucks at her robe.] Might be a good idea to find something to wear, first.

[sonicstriker]

[ Tifa's mastered watching people closely while not appearing too interested. But she digs her nails into her palm on one hand, shifting her weight. Did Fang think it was worse? Was she way off base? Was she dead on and that was terrible?

God, why does she always want someone to tell her she's okay when things are stressful. The others all are always so brave and sure. She's...still a little girl alone in the city.

She's visibly relieved as Fang concedes both her point, and that at least for now, they'll be a we.

And then proceeds to flush as Fang points out their wardrobe. It was one thing for the safe admittedly hot woman to almost see her boob and ass. It was another to walk out like that. ]

Well perfect place to start our snooping.

[ The room isn't huge, and it doesn't take her long to open all the empty drawers, or find the welcome basket on the counter. At first she's relieved, but when she opens the shirts, she groans audibly. ]

You have got to be kidding me.

[ She turns around, holding them up to Fang and wincing. ]

In case we weren't enthusiastic about their game I guess. There's bottoms too, but they look tight.

[transgressed]

[She's busy tapping away at her watch, hoping to find something she's missed, when she glances up at Tifa's groan. She stares at the t-shirts for a moment, and when comprehension dawns, she...

Hides a laugh in her fist.] That's ridiculous. [She starts to chuckle in earnest, because it is ridiculous. This felt like a fever dream. She half expects that if she pinches herself she'll wake up. Except she'd tried that a few minutes ago, and it hadn't.] This place is a piece of work. I'd really like to get one good look at the pervert who dreamed this up.

Well, alright. Looks like we're up a creek. White or black — what's your preference? The shirt you can turn inside-out, 'cept, [a little shrug] I've got a feeling we won't be the only ones wandering around, dressed like idiots.

[Might as well own it!]

[sonicstriker]

[ Tifa wrinkles her nose, anger flashing in her eyes as she clenches her fists. Don Corneo, but a thousand times worse. Shinra too. She wants to make them all pay for what they did.

But she shakes her head. ]

Well, when we find them, they'll wish we hadn't.

[ But yes, the other issue. She sighs. ]

White.

[ She doesn't turn it inside out, but she does roll the sleeves in and knot the extra cloth, tucking it up in the back. With that and the hot pants, she feels like a teenager hanging around for some band to finish, but it's better than the robe, and it's better than looking like she just walked out of someone's bed. ]

[transgressed]

Oh, I bet.

[Fang dresses without haste and without shame, picking one of the black shirts and rolling up the sleeves as well. Without the robe covering it, the tattoo down the length of her forearm is revealed. More scars too, most faint, a few slightly raised along her skin. She absently checks her other arm instinctively, and sighs in what seems like relief upon seeing nothing there. She knots the shirt at the end, leaving her stomach exposed. The shirt is stupid, says stupid things, and the hot pants are higher than she'd typically consider comfortable, but somehow, she seems to look pretty comfortable in this outfit. The power of unending confidence.]

Damn!

[She slaps her knee.]

Wish I had my spear. Something tells me you've got me beat in hand to hand. Knew a guy like you, a friend — you seem a hell of a lot smarter than him, so that's a relief. But he could throw a punch that could dent steel.

Shall we? We've got a lot of ground to cover.

[sonicstriker]

[ Tifa knows she's staring, and she knows how much she hates people staring at her, but she can't help it. Fang is...gorgeous. Radiant. It's deeper than beauty. She's confident, nonplussed, and that tattoo is beautiful. The scars, too. They speak to a lot of fights. And she's got abs that rival Tifa's own. A fighter, right. ]

You fight with a spear? [ How cool??? She flexes her hands, though, suddenly feeling naked now that she's reminded. ] I wish I had my gloves, too. Don't want to hurt my hands, but yeah, in a pinch. And feet are more durable.

[ She smiles, though, giggling at Fang's compliment. ]

I guess boys are stupid in every universe.

[ She's...not going to volunteer that she can throw a punch that can dent steel. ]