006 [Action/Audio]

[aerialassault]

[Action: Locked to Souji Okita]

[Consciousness crept upon him slowly, like a migraine. It slipped in through the window panels with the sun and stung his eyes, but for once Cliff did not want to awaken. He instead rolled over with a groan, burying his face under his arms and promising himself another ten minutes.

But a nagging sensation in the back of his mind kept sleep at bay. He knew in his gut that it was something important, something that was blue and white...

...Fayt.

His eyes snapped open as he crashed into the memories. The dogs and the cultists were all a blur, but the spear stood out in his mind. It was only when he sat up that he registered the not-entirely familiar surroundings and the warm body lying by his side.]

[Action: Locked to Fayt Leingod]

[He messed up, and there was no way to fix and forget about the mess that he had left for everyone to deal with in the battlefield that was once Zompania. It was afternoon by the time he returned to his apartment in the ground building, wearing a fresh set of denim jeans and a comfortable tee-- both of which fit because of some miracle. The dark shades he wore were new, as was he bag he carried by his side that contained the clothes he borrowed off of Souji and yet another set of loose white pants to add to his small collection.

Entering as quietly as he could manage, Cliff did a once-over of the apartment to make sure that things were still mostly as he left it. The Vac whirred and hummed patiently as it made a pass over the carpet, and Cliff found himself smiling.

At least that was still functioning.

After throwing his belongings into his room, he made for Fayt's. A quiet knock was the only warning he gave before he nudged the door open...]

[Audio: Open to All]

Yo. It's Cliff.

[It was dark by the time he reached for his journal, but he didn't care. There were plenty of other people that he wanted to see, but there was no way he could go visit them all in one day.

This was the next best thing.]

Can I get a headcount of who all's here and a tally on the damage? And, is the bar open?

[He'll be heading there later if he get's confirmation. For once, he plans to drink unil the damage doesn't look so bad.]

Comments

[etherealblast]

[Luckily for Cliff, Fayt was in at the moment. He hadn't really felt like eating lunch out today, and instead had grabbed a lunch at the convenience store to eat in private. He probably wouldn't have lingered long if it wasn't for the knock at his door, and he tenses almost imperceptibly from where he's seated on his bed, watching Cliff enter his room for the first time in a week.]

Cliff....?

action;

[ahappylie]

[It was strange how he knew the days were passing even if he rarely left the house. Since returning from the draft, he'd holed himself away. It wasn't the right thing to do, but he also hadn't been able to do much else. By his account, nearly a week had passed, although he could have been missing a day or two in there.

It was strange to be lying in bed at this hour of the morning. Normally, he'd been just coming home from training Ginia, or, in the past, Sokka, and would have been up and cleaning the house. Now, he just lay on his side, listening to the sounds of the village and his pets waking up. Saizou would be around soon, pawing at his door, hoping to be let in. Sometimes, Souji would let him in; other times, he just wanted to be left alo--

Something was in the bed with him. There was a subtle shift in the pressure on the futon, the way the cover rose next to him, and the added sound of someone else breathing. Souji stiffened, keeping his back to the thing that had just appeared and slid his hand under his futon for the small dagger he kept there.

It was a person, judging by the size and the sound of the breathing. It sped up and then the person moved, sitting up suddenly. Souji rolled from the bed, bringing the dagger up, ready to fight if necessary - and froze when he saw who was there. He'd almost been afraid that, like a few others here, he wouldn't return, but there he was, looking panicked? Confused? Probably a bit of both. Souji lowered the knife and hesitantly moved forward.]

Cliff-san?

[Action at the bar.]

[faithfulflame]

[Normally, Rei wouldn't be caught dead in Good Spirits, or any establishment like that. Even though she was legally of age now, in her time at least, it wasn't proper. But tonight was special. She'd seen the broadcast, and she'd noticed just how casual he was about the whole thing.

Which could only have one real reaction from the dark haired girl, of course.

Hobbling on her crutches was a pain, but she makes it to the tavern just fine, shouldering her way inside. Her eyes flick around the room for a moment before settling on Cliff, seated in a booth against a wall.

She approaches as quickly as she can, plunking down across from him and rests the crutches within easy reach. She adopts a friendly, cheerful "glad to see you" tone when she speaks up.]

Hello, Cliff-san. It's nice to see you.

[Voice]

[distressedude]

[Ion hadn't heard it directly, but it had been easy enough to figure out who was lost during the draft. And even though the battle had ended, he knew it wouldn't really feel like it was over until everyone was back in the village again. He was still waiting to hear from some people, but even still, hearing Cliff's voice was such a relief that he practically speaks without thinking.]

Cliff, thank goodness! Are you... all right? [It was a weird question to ask someone who died. Which he only seems to catch halfway through asking it, oops.]

[Video]

[misterbrief]

Well? Are you able to function or what?

[He cuts right to the chase, yep.]

[Video] Private

[windandrain]

[Well...she'd...sort of figured out things went south when she hadn't seen him return. She owes him something, too. For that first night.]

Cliff. It's nice to see you.

[Video]

[spellfeather]

If it wasn't open, I think I'd be in a bit of trouble right now. [Karis smiles sheepishly, somewhat lifting her glass of Going Merry, which was barely even touched.]

[Action at the bar]

[theideaguy]

[So admittedly, Sokka isn't much of a drinker. He technically came of age several years ago after passing the "ice dodging" test with Bato, but he never really had much opportunity or need to start reminiscing over a pint of anything. So while the Celsius' Tear wouldn't be Sokka's typical hangout, one thing that he knew was that taverns and inns were always good places to meet perfect strangers willing to tell you their entire life stories. And, well, Sokka's still such a New Feather at all of this (at least to him), so it made sense.

He tries to come in as nonchalantly as possible, acting cool and suave but in reality being almost anything but. He takes a seat up near the bar and starts glancing over the unofficial "menu"--because he certainly didn't know what was there--and would have done a spit-take about halfway down.]

Cactus juice? You guys honestly have cactus juice here!?

[The exclamation isn't excited but instead totally incredulous. Because seriously, why? Was this previous Sokka's handiwork?]