shiva_dancing_backup

Rachel was still hanging about in Lindblum. She seemed to have nothing better to do at the moment. She'd been about ready to go and see if it was frog season at the march yet when she noticed a bunch of attractively distracting banners. She was just about ready to go looking for a ticket booth too when the voice of a roguish sounding person came to her ears and she turned around to see a man talking up some other ladies about tickets. The ladies seemed kind of naive to her, but the entire situation was kind of amusing. Reminding her of the days she'd spent with her own roguish character.

The raven haired woman waited for the gaggle of girls to be on there way before approaching the man herself.

"Beg your pardon sir" She called out cheerfully. "Just what kind of show is it?"

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Blank shot the fine lady one of his charming grins. The sort that had the women of Lindblum swooning. He wasn't quite sure why. He wasn't exactly a looker. Probably because he was an actor and a renowned theif the world over.

"My dear, 'I Want to be Your Canary' is by far one of the greatest works by Lord Avon himself. The story of star-crossed lovers and their doomed romance." He wiggled a ticket. "Only 90 gil a ticket."

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"hmm. I think I'm familiar with that play. But I've never seen it." Now that she took a moment to think upon it, had she ever been to a theatre production of anything? There was a chance Rachel just didn't remember it since there were a few missing chunks of memory here and there, but her feeling about it made it seem unlikely. She gave an energetic nod and tried to keep the small bubbling laughter rising up in her contained.

"Oh, so I get a discount then?" She responded with a questioning but amused tone. Even so she also pulled some gil from her pouch to pay for the ticket. The theatre sounded like a fun experience even if she went by herself.

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Hey, can't blame a bloke for charging his adoring obsessive fangirls more. It's for a good cause! He gave Rachel a wink, handing over a ticket. "Course, a discount for a lovely lady like yourself. Every beautiful woman like you should get a discount."

He rocked on his heels. "You won't regret it. It's a brilliant play. Best play in the world, I'd reckon."

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"A good cause?" Her interest was certainly garnered now. She wondered what kind of benefit this show was for as she tucked the ticket away in a dress pocket. He was certainly laying it on thick. Which was all the more amusing since she'd already bought a ticket from him so it wasn't as though he still needed to impress her. Still she wouldn't deny that she enjoyed the compliment regardless.

"So are you going to see it as well? Or do you work at the show?" She asked him ask she idled about, having nothing better to do with her time. Occasionally she placed her hands behind her back, arching up onto the balls of her feet for a moment to help stretch her muscles.

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"Course, every gil goes towards the repair and upkeep of Lindblum." Well, maybe not every gil, you know, thieves and all. Tantalus needed to make a living.

Blank gave a proud smile. "You're looking at one of the main performers with the infamous theatre troupe Tantalus." He loved acting just as much as he loved theiving.

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"Oh I understand." She nodded. "Treasure Hunters always keep a percentage of whatever they take" She told him agreeably. As she spoke a slight breeze kicked up, ruffling her hair a little as she made idle chit chat with the man. "Hm, so you're playing the lead then?" The question was a confident one, she would likely be surprised if he wasn't. "And what is it like, being a traveling actor like that. I bet you get to see all sorts of interesting people and places." Not that she couldn't say the same. The bounty hunting game was just as much a wanderers profession and the theatre after all. But it was better than allowing the conversation to devolve into awkward silence.

"Maybe I'll become an actor too, and give up with adventurers life!" She told him and giggled.

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"Me play the lead? You kidding?" Blank was a little shocked by the question. Ladies' man he might be, but leading man? No way. Only Marcus or Zidane were good enough for the lead. "Nah, my bro, Marcus, he'll be playing the lead. He's brilliant. Worth every gil."

"Oh, travelling is good. The theatre ship we have, the Prima Vista, she's beautiful, she travels the world over with us. We've been all over the place. Still, nothing like coming home."

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"Mm I see. I'll make sure to find a good seat." She agreed with a nod as she listened to him talk. She'd gone home recently too. After visiting the old ruins and finding the man called Zack in a cave there. The train of thought brought her around to wondering just where he was. No doubt he'd made it through the invasion fine, but she hadn't seen or heard from him and she thought he'd at least give her a call to check up. It wasn't as though she was his Mother, needing to check up on him all of the time, but she did worry on occasion.

"I wonder if I could take a tour of your ship sometime" She said when she noticed he'd finished talking. "I have a transport as well. It's a two seater and it's very fast"

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"You wanna see the Prima Vista? Sure thing." He glanced around. "You got time now?" He handed his spare tickets to a nearby moogle to sell to passers-by. Who could resist the cuteness of a moogle salesperson.

Blank shot Rachel a grin and offered his hand to her. "She's docked at the castle air dock. She has her own space and everything."

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That certainly perked her up, as Rachel clasped her hands together with a smile. "I can really see it!?" She asked, but was already taking his hand. Unexpected adventures were always welcome and this sounded like an opportunity that Rachel would regret if she let it pass.

"Wow, it sounds like the ship is really important. The only really big and important airship I've ever been on belonged to King Edgar of Figaro." She explained as they walked. That had been such an adventure too. She'd had a great talk with Edgar about the technology involved with her Velocycle and reverse engineering it for the benefit of his Kingdom. That wasn't quite the same as a ship like the Prima Vista though. It was kind of like a celebrity unto itself.

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"Well, she's the most famous theatre ship in the world, it's only right that she'd have her own space in one of the most famous and large castles in the world." Well that, and the fact that Regent Cid and Tantalus were close and it had been Regent Cid's team that modified the Prima Vista's engine from a mist engine to a steam engine enabling her to travel all over the world.

Blank kept hold of Rachel's hand as he led her towards the air cab, with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

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Zack had been looking around the area, finding Lindblum to be all kinds of fascinating, with all its airships and whatnot kicking around. The clothes Rachel had given him before barely seemed the same, patched and sewn as they were, with the additions of pieces of armor of varying sorts of metal, and a traveling cloak of a dull earthy brown. His sword, the Requiem, rested easily across his back, larger than life really and quite imposing. He blinked when he spotted Rachel and some guy in a blindfold, and with an easy smile the ex-SOLDIER raised a hand, calling out, "Hey! Lani! Laaaaaani! Heeeeeey!! This's where you got off to, huh?" he waved energetically, bright blue eyes shining in the lights of the town, and from somewhere inside a light of their own.

It was cool how different places had come up with differing technology, but all of them had things in common. Chocobos, airships, magic in all kinds of forms.. truly the world was a diverse and remarkable place.

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Rachel nodded. Her attention was abruptly distracted however as she heard a familiar voice calling out the name of her Bounty Hunting Alias. In a heartbeat she had turned around, but for some reason she didn't see Zack. A minute or two passed as she scanned for the source of the noise before finally recognizing him, his clothes hardly looked the same and he seemed a bit more tired than when she'd last seen him. But then he couldn't be blamed for that. They were all tired after the chaos with the Malboros.

"Where have I been? Where have you been!" She exclaimed when he'd caught up to them. "I hardly recognized you in that get up. My goodness you're rough on clothing." The women shook her head and sighed a little. It was more than just his upbeat attitude. Rachel was relieved to find him safe and sound. A worry that she'd denied having was now lifted from her shoulders. "Zack, this is uhm...Oh I'm terribly sorry" She turned to Blank as she suddenly realized they'd never had proper introductions. "I didn't get your name."

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Oh, so it seemed these two knew each other? Oops. Time to turn the charmometer down slightly then, after all, Zack looked like he could snap Blank in two easily enough. Yep, really would be better to cool the charm down a little.

He smiled at Zack and offered a hand. "Blank. Pleased to meet ya. I was just about to show your lovely lady here my group's theatre ship. Come along if you want. The more the merrier."

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"Me? Heh, where else would I be? Some folks needed help 'cause of the Malboros and whatnot, and.. well, I can't turn down folks who need help, now can I? What kinda guy would I be then?" Zack smiled his bright, cheerful smile down at Rachel, "This getup's what happened to most of the clothing you gave me way back.. Sorry about that, but I'll replace it okay? Promise!" the only thing that seemed unscathed was the Requiem, but even that bore scratches and dings along the broad length of its blade; the edge was as razor sharp as ever, though.

Zack took Blank's hand and shook it jovially, his grip tight though nowhere near what he could manage with the mako in him. "Zack Fair, ex-SOLDIER 1st Class, nice to meetcha!" he tended to introduce himself like that just out of habit, though he lifted his brows at Blank's statement. His? Well, he guessed, maybe? He'd have to talk to her about that.. was that why Rachel seemed to upset just then asking where he'd been? He took in the scars, and the face that Blank wore a blindfold, and tilted his head, "Er.. sorry, dick-question here, but ah.. uhm.. how do you see in that thing?"

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Rachel had had the same thought, and realized they weren't clear at all about their relationship. It made her blush a little now that she took the time to think about it. It wasn't as though she were looking to get into another relationship after all. But then why not? Locke was gone, and even if she knew where he was she was fairly sure he was in love with the strong blond woman now. This train of thought was quickly becoming a tangled mess in her head so she shook her head and sighed.

"Well I'm glad to know that my faith was rewarded and you didn't get yourself killed" She told him in a somewhat mocking, teasing way. But she was impatient to see the ship already, she she tapped her foot a little as Zack interrogated Blank about his blindfold.

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Blank tried to avoid awkward questions about his scars, dress-sense and blindfold whenever possible. Seemed it wouldn't be quite so easy this time. He tilted his head back a little, showing that he could, indeed see from behind the blindfold. "Oh, it's easy enough. Magic."

He smiled. "Right, come on you two love birds! The Prima Vista awaits!!"

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"Magic huh? Crazy." Zack rubbed at the back of his head, trying not to be so embarrassed when Rachel teased him, smirking to her, "Well, I do my best not to die, y'know. It sucks. Dying. Yup." the ex-SOLDIER looked around for a moment, doing his best not to question Blank further in any awkward manner, "The what-Vista? Sounds cool, whatever it is." Zack hadn't been here before, that he knew of, so just about everything that was new to him was interesting.

Zack headed off with Blank and Rachel, seeming pretty confident about how he was presenting himself, unconcerned with what others might say about his threadbare clothes and piecemeal armor.. he wasn't there to prove anything to them, yet, and he wore his honor almost like a suit of fine clothing anyway. Angeal would have been proud of the man Zack had matured into, or at least that's what the man hoped..

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forgivensoldier.livejournal.com

The Hawk Queen slowed it's propellers as it came to a gentle stop at the castle air docks, right behind it were two identical airships that bore Lindblum's crest. Two soldiers walked out from each ship and walked up to the modified cargo ship and waited as the ramp opened up and lowered itself. Cloud's boots clanked on each metal step until he stepped onto cement. With a look of weathered patience Cloud crossed his arms, his spiky hair seeming to slightly wilt as the soldiers spoke.

"All unregistered airships within the airspace of Lindblum must be inspected and approved before any further flight is permissible." said one of the soldiers in a practiced tone that Cloud recognized. Deciding that arguing any further with either of these two would accomplish nothing more than a headache he stepped aside, allowing both soldiers entrance to his ship so they could do whatever it is they needed to do.

"And what is this!?" the other soldier exclaimed to Cloud. Wondering what could possibly be in the ship that would raise any alarm, Cloud blinked and then shouted up up the ramp into the ship. "That's my motorcycle, it's my ground transportation. I can show you if you want-"

"That will not be necessary!"

Giving a sigh of resignation, Cloud slumped his back against the airship, just below where the name 'Hawk Queen' was elegantly painted. Crossing his arms he tilted his head back until it silently collided with the ship and closed his eyes. Why couldn't it ever be easy where he traveled?

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Heading toward the ship was really exciting. Rachel toddled along, a slight skip infecting her footsteps as she went. There was that term though, hanging over her head. And all the associated questions like 'am I ready?' and 'if not now, when?' It was a crowded and noisy train of thought that Rachel had been trying to avoid for some time now, but without much success. In fact the recent Malboro attack had only served to drive home how attached to this man she'd become. How did that happen?

As she was thinking about that, she happened to pass by a ship that was stopped by a couple of guards. She blinked a couple of times and then gave Zacks cloak a slight tug at the shoulder. "Hey, look over there! I almost mistook that guy for you back when they had that festival earlier this year!" She said cheerfully and then waved "Hey! other Swordsman! Hello!"

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It seemed they were gathering quite a crowd. Not that Blank minded. More people to show off his beautiful theatre ship to! "You know him?" He glanced over at the spiky blond, frowning at the soldiers giving him a hard time. Seriously, didn't they have better things to do than heckle passers through?

"Hey, come on guys! Give the guy a break. Look, his ship's clean as a whistle! Why don't you lads go and do some proper work!"

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Zack had stopped when he saw Cloud, and for a moment didn't know what to do. Sure, he liked the kid, but he'd pretty much failed him, last he checked. His memories of the Lifestream were fuzzy, but before that.. the walk out of Nibelheim through so much terrain, fighting them off and eventually winding up on the ground, shredded up.. he recalled that. The blonde looked good, well kept and prosperous.. fit, able, looked like he got over his mako poisoning. For some reason that left Zack with a warm feeling of pride. The ex-SOLDIER protectively put an arm around Rachel's shoulders, and took a step forward, his voice more grave than he'd expected it to be.

"Cloud.. Moving up in the world, I see." he probably looked quite the sight; hair long and pulled back in a half-tail, strange new sword on his back, patched up traveling clothes, and surprisingly not dead. Nope, he was here and doing fine. Looking to the soldiers, Zack smiled a winning smile, "Don't worry boys, he's with us." he swept out his other arm to include Blank, hoping the man's clout would get them through it.

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forgivensoldier.livejournal.com

Other swordsman? The woman's voice caught Cloud's attention and he looked up to see-

His eyes widened with confusion.

"Sir Blank!" One of the guards exclaimed as he walked down the ramp of the ship and flagged his companion. "We are looking forward to Tantalus' performance." the other guard nodded. "And we already have our advance tickets. I suppose we should finish our duties, don't want to prolong our shift into overtime and miss the play."

Cloud blinked as the guards quickly scribbled a clean bill for flight and handed it to him. Confused but thankful, Cloud gave an appreciative nod to Blank, who probably spared him a very long, interrogative inspection. However he could only open and then close his mouth when saw his friend. Despite having seen Aerith, it was still quite an experience to see his friend alive and talking. He had even heard of Zack's revival first hand from Rachel, the woman accompanying his formerly deceased friend.

"Zack... You-you look better than ever." he said with a growing smile as he held out his hand in greeting to the only real SOLDIER he ever knew, as well as best life-saving friend a man could have. "Rachel and I met, by accident."

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She should have expected the happy yet somewhat awkward reactions after talking with Cloud, and witnessing his reaction when she'd told him about Zack. But it was interesting anyway. The weight of Zack's arm over her shoulder caught her off guard though, and she felt her cheeks turn red even though she didn't do anything to remove it.

She did however manage to lean forward a bit to get a look at Blank now that they were all talking comfortably. "So, how much farther to your ship?" She inquired cheerfully. "And how much longer till the play starts? You have a ticket for Cloud too right?"

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Blank had no idea what he'd gotten himself involved in. But hey, the more the merrier. Besides, who was he to get in the way of friends? And from the look of it, a reunion of friends. Friends were important. Without Tantalus, Blank would just be another common criminal.

"My ship's just ahead. Play starts in a while and course I have a ticket for your spiky friend!"

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Zack was always the one to make the most of any situation, to come out smelling like a rose even when it was raining Behemoth patties. The ex-SOLDIER chuckled softly at Cloud's confusion, as it turned into comprehension and then a happy smile, an expression he didn't see on the blonde's face nearly enough at any time. Cloud had always seemed to be brooding, hungry, and unsure of himself.. but in the time he'd been gone (Zack's term for being dear), Cloud had grown and matured into a capable, confident man. That made Zack rather proud, and lessened his worries about things..

He shook Cloud's hand firmly, and grinned, "Actually, I sorta met her by accident, too. Small world, huh?" he shook his head with a chuckle, and let Cloud's hand go, pulling Rachel a bit more firmly against him. Possessive? Zack? No, not -really-, but he did like to be close to her.

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forgivensoldier.livejournal.com

"It really is." agreed Cloud after shaking Zack's hand. There was a lot he wanted to talk to Zack about, like how he came back, if he could remember Cloud during the remnant/geostigma tirade, if he knew that Aerith too had returned. Not only that but tell him of how he himself had thought he was Zack, the crazy train ride in fighting Shinra, defeating Jenova and Sephiroth, and helping out Vincent with Shinra's underground remains. But this wasn't the time or place. Rachel had pointed that out when she asked Blank about the play as well as the airship.

A free ticket? It wouldn't hurt. Besides, he was sure Lightning was taking her time exploring. That and apparently he was in the company of a great actor. "I would like that. I've never seen an actual play." Technically that was untrue, but Cloud really didn't see the need to share the play he and Aerith were a part of at the Gold Saucer long ago. "Where is it being held?" Cloud asked as he fell into step with the growing party.

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