A Unique Encounter

[onyveth]

Onyveth kneeled down against the ground, back pressed up against the door. She buried her head in her knees and closed her eyes for just a moment to rest them - she felt so tired. Drained. Today was just... in a word to describe it all: crazy.

One minute I'm wandering through the forest, and the next thing I know I get chased by wolves, a man tries to kill me, I kill him instead, bump up with a man who doesn't even know his own identity, and worst of all he could be a ShinRa... how could today possibly get any more stranger?

She sat there just gathering her thoughts. Just thinking. There was nothing else to do, nowhere else to go, no-one else to turn to. There was no-one in town she knew except for No-Name, and thanks to his oblivious state about his past, she wasn't so certain how far she would've followed him. Onyveth was thinking about leaving... but that wouldn't be right, would it?

She came back to reality a moment later, having sooner realized her azure-haired friend was chasing after someone. His gaze was so focused Onyveth couldn't help but wonder what had caught his interest so much. She quickly got to her feet and scampered after him. [glow=purple,2,300]"Hey! Wha.... wait up! What's going on?"[/glow] She called out, trying to keep up to his pace as she followed him from behind...

[belzee]

Once no-name had reached the spot where the elderly woman was standing, he saw her approach a door on the far end of the opposite side. “Wait!” He repeated in a clearer voice with his left hand gesturing in an extending motion towards her. But as he did she opened the door and darted inside. Perhaps that was the back door of the house. No matter what he couldn’t help but follow. It was like an overwhelming urge taking over him.

He followed behind; running passed the door before it closed. He began to analyze the interior of the house, wondering where the woman had gone to. The inside of the house was hardly any different from the outside appearance of the house. There were tables, wooden chairs, and a fireplace with timber beside it. Spider webs were formed between the timber, brick structure of the fireplace, wall, and corners of the house. The wooden floors creaked as he took a step. In addition, dust had dispersed into the air. How could an elderly woman live here, he thought to himself.

Suddenly he heard the sounds of creaking in the direction of where the stairs were. He leaped onto a stair, and repeated once again, passing two more. He tried to lower the pressure of the landing. If he wasn’t careful, his leg could get stuck if the wooden material broke.

After he had reached the top of the stairs, a few doors laid ahead of him. He decided to open one, and then the door behind him opened and the woman came out with a gun in hand. No-name didn’t turn his head; instead he stood motionless. Normally he would have retaliated in situations such as these, but he didn’t do so.

[onyveth]

Onyveth continued to run after No-name and whoever it was he seemed to be following. She followed him until he entered a broken down house. The door slammed shut before her and was unable to get in. She cursed under her breath, kicking the locked door out of frustration but to no avail, she still couldn't get in.

Taking a step back, she examined the area - she then spotted an open window at the top floor and a large drain pipe. Onyveth looked around cautiously for any onlookers who were bound to mistaken her for someone attempting to sneak in. Once the coast was clear, Onyveth climbed the drain pipe and crawled in through the window. She froze while getting her left leg through; by the door of the small room there stood an old woman pointing a gun behind of her friend. With luck, the woman didn't notice Onyveth's presence, so quickly she got through the window and hid behind an old wooden cabinet. The element of surprise was on her side... but for how long?

Attack an old lady?! she thought hysterically, her mind just racing with all the possible outcomes she could think of - each ending with at least one person injured, if not fatally wounded. For the first time in a real long time, she was scared. More than the fight with the bandits. More than the attack of wolves... The woman had a gun! Onyveth was just equipped with sticks... the odds weren't looking good...

[belzee]

“Who are you people?!” the elderly woman demanded in a stern tone. However, her hands were trembling, not only that but also her voice. No-name knew this very well. As he turned his head slightly, she elevated the gun with a stronger grip and raised her voice, “Don’t move!” she exclaimed. “Why have you come here?!” she added. She then directed him to raise and extend his arms apart, away from his body and away from his katana, and he had done so.

“My friend use to live in the house. I presume she came here to see if any of her friends or relatives was still living,” he said in an unnerved tone. “Have you ever heard of the name Onyveth?” He asked out of curiosity. There was a moment of silence, probably a silence of pondering for the woman while no-name waited for an answer. Of course her eyes and the gun were still isolated on him. It was then she spoke out in a hesitant voice, saying, “I think I have…”

“Please, help Onyveth,” he said to her before he continued. “Her mind is straying on a thought that pains her-perhaps a thought about her relatives and friends-something tragic that happened here a long time ago.” There was another short moment of silence. The old dusty floor creaked as she moved back. It was then she spoke. “It was all ShinRa’s fault,” she said with great anger and sadness. “They established something called a mako reactor, telling us that it would benefit us, but no, it only benefited them. The reactor became unstable, causing chaos and destruction, taking away many lives that belonged to this village. In the end the remaining survivors tried to reform what was still possible. Some survivors died because of the poisonous level of mako, and others left, some never to be heard again.”

So that’s what happened, he thought to himself while listening intentionally to the story. He continued to stand motionlessly in silence. “I may know your friend,” she said a calmer voice and tone, “But I need to take a good look at her,” the edlerly woman finished. At that moment she appeared to be more understanding of the situation, however she was still cautious about him, thus keeping the gun in her hands with a firm grip, ready to let loose a bullet any time. With his hands still extended, he raised his voice and said, “Onyveth, you can come out now.”

[onyveth]

Onyveth remained quiet, exhaling slowly to create as minimal sound as possible. She gripped the handle of her rattan stick, tracing the tip with her thumb, ready to attack if neccessary. All she hoped was that the situation wasn't called for... she didn't want to fight. An elderly woman especially. The two soon began to talk, and Onyveth listened intently to the conversation between them. It was intriguing at first; she thought No-name followed her because it was something to do with him. Turns out, she was wrong...

She recalled the construction of the reactor in these parts clearly. Her lower lip trembled when the woman began to explain the cause of the destruction, and Onyveth just felt her heart sink lower than ever. It was only pure dumb luck she ran away and escaped her fate. When No-name called out to her, Onyveth came out of her hiding place to reveal herself, nervous, guilty and speechless; like a little kid awaiting punishment from their parent... the difference being, one was armed with a gun.

[glow=purple,2,300]"I'm Onyveth."[/glow] she stated calmly finally finding the courage to just speak out, silence soon followed afterwards. She gazed carefully at the woman, examining her. Trying to recall her face. Nothing. Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she spoke again, her words being a little shakey but clear. [glow=purple,2,300]"When I was 12 I lived here with my foster father. He was the head of maintainance of ShinRa facilities in the eastern continent and was stationed here while the reactor was under construction..."[/glow]
Unable to say any more, Onyveth tore her gaze away from the woman and looked down at her own two feet. With her hands placed upon each other, she lowered her upper portion of her body, giving a slight bow. [glow=purple,2,300]"I'm so very sorry.."[/glow]

[belzee]

The elderly woman was quite surprised when she saw Onyveth suddenly pop out of her hideout and mention ShinRa. This caused the woman to stiffen up and raise the gun once again. She had regained much of her fear, thinking of what would have happened to her at the rising climax of the scene, when she pointed the gun towards no-name. The thought made her eyes widen, especially at the thought that Onyveth's foster father was a member of ShinRa. This caused the elderly woman to point the gun towards Onyveth, but as she did, no-name snatched the gun away and said, “We mean no harm, like I have said, so please control your fear,” he spoke in a calm yet clear voice.

The elderly woman simply looked up at him with wide eyes for a moment before she turned her head and looked at Onyveth with eyes of disbelief. “You, how dare you… you took away my Husband! My life!” She screamed with all her strength until she started to cough, struggling for air. She raised her fist and tried to strike Onyveth, but no-name quickly took hold of her forearm and held it in place. “Let go of me! She’s a murderer!” the elderly woman turned her head and screamed with tears and spat on his face. Instead of reacting in retaliation, he simply looked at her as if trying to make her realize that she was taking out her anger on the wrong person, and the fact that Onyveth wasn’t the one that created that disaster.

The elderly woman’s arm relaxed, then the rest of her body relaxed as she looked at the old dusty wooden floor. Slowly she brought her head up and brought her gaze towards Onyveth. The elderly woman's eyes were intensifyingly red. She looked over Onyveth in silence, and it was then she saw something that developed a new kind of shock. “That mark on your hand, where did you get that?” She had remembered something long ago. There was another moment of silence before she continued to speak.

“Years ago, just after the mako reactor had been built here, there was a unique family that had moved in-a mother and father, and two siblings. They were strong and kind, very kind… I was selling flowers one day after just marrying my husband. There was this beautiful woman that came to my shop with two adorable children. One of them was in a carriage, not even a year old I think. A thorny lilac fell from the table and pricked her tiny hand. I provided medical care quickly. They thanked me. Even though it was my fault they weren't angry towards me... they were kind people. Such people would have fit in, however, there was an explosion. Might you be...” she attempted to focus her eyes.

[onyveth]

'The child paying for the sins of the parent. Now where have I heard that one before... He wasn't even my real father and I'm still taking the heat!' she thought pessimistically as she got up from her slight bow. The woman then began to shout in anger, which wasn't all surprising. She clutched her hands and hid them behind her as the woman spotted some sort of mark - she thought she referred to the mud and blood stained in her palms or fingernails; she took a life for the first time today. Perhaps she did deserve to be called that... a murderer. A stray tear escaped Onyveth's cerulean eyes and quicky brushed it aside. But that didn't seem to it. It wasn't the blood in her hands the woman was reffering to; it was the skin indentation.

[glow=purple,2,300]"A... a lilac?"[/glow] she repeated, giving a quizical tilt of her head. All this time she thought it was just some bizzare birth defect. A thorny flower, however, was a bit more plausable.

[glow=purple,2,300]"I... I-I don't know... I don't know and I don't care!"[/glow] she replied hesitantly, having found a new attitude to go by - a fusion of shock, awe and fear all rolled into one. In truth, she was a little scared. The truth scared her. But the woman mentioned the mother and father were kind people... that had to compensate for something. Right? [glow=purple,2,300]"They're dead. Nothing can change that now. You, ShinRa, SOLDIER, it doesn't matter anymore and I don't care!"[/glow]
Tears started to blur her vision as she turned to look at No-name, apologetically. She shook her head and started to run past the woman and past her friend. As she past No-Name she murmured something that could've sounded like 'I'm sorry, this is too much...' Onyveth ran down the creaky mould-eatten stairs, blinded by tears now streaming down her face. Normally she would've screamed at the sight of cobwebs and spiders as she was personally scared of any creepy crawlies but that didn't seem to matter now. She unlocked the door and headed outside; she had to leave somehow. Onyveth took a moment to breath, later realizing she could've handled the situation a little better (or rather a little more sensibly); she even felt bad not having to say a simple 'see you later' to her friend. She had always been an emotional time bomb when it came to the subject of her parents... how typical. Getting the feeling one of the two inside the house would come out to talk some sense into her, Onyveth ran away once more. She wanted out of Gongaga... and she didn't intend on returning.

(Ooc - sorry, tried to handle this the best I could... This should explain it all..)

[belzee]

Belzee watched as tears began to seep out of her eyes. When she had looked at him with an apologetic look, he felt a mixture of feelings, curiosity, sadness, and guilt. Nevertheless, there was no display of that reaction. Of course, that was just like him. He simply watched as she passed him with flowing tears. At that same time she had murmured something but he was unable to interpret it. He turned his body slightly to his right and watched with both eyes as she distanced herself from them.

He looked down with an emotionless expression and naïve eyes. It was like everything happened so quickly. Slowly he placed his left palm over his forehead. “Why does it feel like my head burns and my chest is heavy…?” His arm lazily dropped to his side and he turned his head towards the elderly woman. She had placed her arm on his shoulder and gave him a unique smile, perhaps one which he had never seen before, something that he hadn’t done in a long time. “I’m relieved,” she simply said to him. He didn’t know what she meant by that, although, he did feel more relaxed after having seen that smile.

He took a step back, bowed, and left without a word. Once he was out of the house he began to analyze the surroundings. He couldn’t see her anymore but he did see someone looking suspiciously at a certain direction. For some reason he felt that maybe that person had seen Onyveth. Without any hesitation he ran towards that direction. The more he ran the farther he was from the village. At this point, he was either closing the distance to Onyveth or just ending up farther away from her.

He came to a stop in a field of grass that had been showered by the rain. There was nothing but silence and a gust of wind. For some reason his chest was thumping and he was puffing heavily. He brought both his arms over his mouth and twined his fingers together yelling Onyveth’s blankly at the vast space around him. There was no reply, just the wind breaking his cry. He called once more but again no answer after a couple seconds of silence. He dropped his arms to his side and coughed because of his dry mouth and strained lungs.

He didn’t know if he would see her again, and for a moment he had hesitated on what to do next. Perhaps the only thing he was able to do was leave. His eyes started to feel tense and his chest felt empty. He clinched his jaws together and closed his eyes in an attempt to control those feelings. It was then he felt tears seep through his shut eyelids. Even though they knew each other for only a short period of time, he felt as though he knew her for a long time, and hew wouldn’t be able to find anyone like her from this time on. All he was left with were newfound feelings and the memory of that person who had given him those feelings. The end was bittersweet.

(OOC~ I know what u mean meng. I know it's too late to say this, but we'll miss you, I'll miss you, come back safely alright? I've been away as well and it'll be like this for awhile. Best regards to you and your sis, pa alam.)