[RL with Zechs]

[ddd_zack]

The evil fog was nothing but a memory for the people of Edge. at the moment, that was both a blessing and a curse, because the sun beating down was warm despite the fact that it was winter. Especially for the men labouring on the buildings, working to create more and better shelters for the people of the city.

Comments

[thricedeadwind]

"I said nothing for the taste. Yet I have survived the cooking skills of soldiers whom had never encountered more than a MRE; perhaps this will prove to be the same level."

Zack's stance, his walk, were noted and familiar to Zechs - and as oddly as it might have seemed, made him a little more at ease with the man. He always related better to warriors and soldiers, and it was clear along with whatever conditioning Zack was given that he was both. But most of that approval was on a subconscious level.

As for Zechs, he was aware of how he looked. It was an image he knew he had to cultivate. On his own world, he might have seemed like some sort of mafioso, or perhaps a rather conspicuous secret service agent. Here, he had to radiate the status of "Turk" within the uniform. It was as familiar as his days in the Alliance or OZ.

[ddd_zack]

Between the two of them, they were causing people to give them quite a wide berth, Zack noted ruefully. Most of them were avoiding the Turk, but he saw a few people giving him nervous glances despite the shades as well. Maybe in the company of someone who was so obviously associated with ShinRa, the fact that he moved like a SOLDIER was also more obvious. Yeah, probably.

Oh well, nothing they could do about it now. At least the cafe owner didn't run screaming or order them to leave when they walked in and took a table.

"You mean there's someone other than Sephiroth who honestly never ate anything but an MRE?" Zack said, surprised. He remembered the first time he'd coaxed Sephiroth into trying some of the food Aerith had given him. The man's surprise had been amusing, but also a little disheartening. "Who else actually grows up in the military?"

[thricedeadwind]

As noted before, it was far better than if they were on Earth, and Zechs had been known as Milliardo. Perhaps he wasn't used to being anything but inconspicuous. He certainly didn't bat an eye at the people who murmured and left at a table nearby. He still kept an eye on the doors and windows, however.

"Orphans, and the poor, who are raised by it," Zechs answered calmly, as if he was talking about the weather. He slipped of his leather gloves, rings twinkling in the light, and took one of the menus. He only gave it the barest of glances, however. "Your world is not the only touched by war. In fact, save for a few rather violent individuals, it has almost been more peaceful."

[ddd_zack]

"Well, I've spent half my life up to my ears with the 'rather violent individuals', so I wouldn't know about that," Zack said, leaning back in his seat and taking a casual pose. "But at least ShinRa had no use for kids that young. Well, almost." His expression darkened a bit as he was reminded of what had been done not only to Sephiroth, but to Angeal and Genesis as well. They at least had had a chance to experience normal family life, unlike Sephiroth. But how much of Gaia's terrible fate could have been avoided if not for the experiments carried out on those three?

"You were betrayed too, weren't you?" he asked softly, studying Zechs. "Some of the stuff you said in the church... feel free to tell me to shove off if I'm gettin' too personal," he added with a flash of humour.

[thricedeadwind]

"Likewise," Zechs answered, with a slight, rueful smile. His bearing was calm, but his back was straight and his pose was dignified, even sitting. They probably made a rather mismatched pair from an observer's eyes. But he also noted with some seriousness, "For my world, when a war spans generations, they tend to find the young, knowing the war will still be onward when they mature."

He was in the midst of taking his sunglasses off when the question was posed, and that revealed his moment of hesitation. Something flickered in his eyes, and he paused subtly. Yet, after that breath of time, he was calmly tucking those glasses in a suit pocket.

Smoothly, yet dismissively, he nodded. "The war I was involved in was a tumultuous one. I was involved in one of but many coop de'tat directly, and peripherally in the ones which followed. Allies were tenuous."