snowblindrpg | [log] social skills 101 [closed]

[Cloud and Tifa are there and the fight is being broken up before it can get any worse, something that Sora will probably realize is for the best later on. For now, he's seething behind the blonde, resisting the urge to do just what Cloud thinks he may do as he clenches his fists at his sides and glares right back at Royce.]

You're the stubborn one! [No, you're both stubborn, Sora.] You were talking about killing people!

[He forces himself to look away, gaze shifting to Tifa then to Cloud before, slowly but surely, he starts to deflate.]

...I thought..he made it sound like he was going to hurt you guys.

[Cloud follows right behind her, of course, like she'd expected he would, and it's a relief. Putting an actual barrier between the two of them is a far safer bet than just pulling them apart, Tifa thinks.

Tifa is shocked, though, when Royce tries to pull out of her hold so instinctively and intensely. He manages to yank his arm away, and she tenses, for half a second not sure what he's going to do—but then she realizes that he just wanted her off, and she relaxes again. She glances back over at Sora, just to make sure he's not going to try to duck out from behind Cloud, and then back at Royce, just in time to see that pained look, and. Well. Not at all what she was expecting. She blinks, searching his face for a second, then exhales and turns back to Sora.]

Did he?

[Another glance at Royce—this time much more questioning. DID YOU, ROYCE?]

[Everything tenses, every muscle suddenly becoming stiff and ready as Royce pulls himself away so quickly, so violently. But nothing happens, nothing comes of it other than that split second pained expression and those combative words and he starts to relax, starts to settle.

Until Sora's words come through, strong and stubborn before deflating. Bright eyes travel from Tifa to Royce, as if assessing some unknown and previously unrealized threat, attempting to ascertain the truth behind those threats and the likelihood that they could actually be accomplished.

It was far more likely that Royce had only used them as hypothetical pawns in an attempt to rile up Sora further, a poor attempt to get him to see that side of the argument.

A slow release of breath, carrying along with it something akin to a long suffering sigh. They were really going to have to start screening people before they decided to adopt them.]

Did you?

[Hope you enjoy a set of glow in the dark blue eyes aimed completely in your direction, Royce.]

I used you as an example. [ Royce says, irritation seeping into his tone. ] There wouldn't be any benefit to actually hurting you. I told him that already. I don't kill people for no reason.

[ And yes, he was doing it to rile Sora up, but part of that was with the aim of helping. Royce doesn't much care, but he does know that reacting that strongly makes you a target. Sora doesn't seem to realize that, and Royce is trying to make him see it. But it doesn't matter now, because he has the babysitters here to protect him and reassure him that Royce is just paranoid and evil. Royce folds his arms over his chest.

It's no different here than it is anywhere else. He watches Sora closely, from under his hood, and directly to Sora: ] Evil is only what we call those who oppose us. That was my point, which completely sailed over your head.

No. You're wrong. Evil is something all it's own, it's not just a label! It's a darkness that creeps over everything and destroys worlds.

[People were involved, sure, but Sora had seen what evil could be. What it could manifest as. This was very obviously just an issue of very different worlds these two idiots call home.

Sora holds Royce's gaze for a moment more before he's looking away, shoulders sagging.]

It doesn't matter if you have a reason for it or not. Killing is still killing.

[Tifa shifts, expression unreadable for a moment as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. She doesn't know how to respond to that, because really, it's such a clean-cut view of things. She wishes life were that easy. Royce isn't helping, with his definition of evil. She doesn't want to examine her own motivations too closely, especially not now, but Royce is getting her close to it.

So she exhales, tension draining from her as she shakes her head.]

Sora... Sometimes it isn't that simple. Life doesn't always... work out that way. And you—

[She turns to Royce again.]

No more using us as an example. Fair?

[It's strange, being faced with two completely different and utterly opposite points of view. One so clean and simple, so clear cut, so easily held on to. And the other more closely resembling a truth he already knew, knowledge that had long since been gained and carried. Each person who fought had their own set of reason, often believing that they were doing the good or the just thing, something that would make the world, or even their place within it better. Each action was carried out in the name of the greater good, but to others, to the opposing side, it was anything but. To the other side, it was evil.

How many battles had he faced, how many times had he done what he believed was right, only for it to later be labeled otherwise? It's too close, far too close to his own life, to his own experiences, to things he'd rather leave forgotten.]

Sora - [Voice quiet, attention finally fully falling away from the other two, body shifting, twisting until he was facing Sora instead.] Tifa's right. Sometimes things happen and you have no other choice. Sometimes it's the only way to protect the people you cherish.

[ Royce doesn't like being told what to do - when Tifa turns to him, his expression is sharper, almost defiant. Still, he doesn't argue the point, just lets out a grunt of agreement and then looks away.

He's surprised that Tifa and Cloud are more inclined to be on his side of the argument. Maybe he judged them differently than he should've. It's another thing he'll keep track of, listen more closely about. There's really nothing else to do here but listen, anyway.

Royce doesn't say anything more, not deeming it worth his time to change Sora's mind. In fact, he slinks around Tifa, past her through the door and barely even looks back. He's had enough of people for one night, and he just wants to get some sleep before he has to deal with the cold outside again. ]

[Sora can't help but feel...well. He really didn't have a right to feel upset, did he? These weren't the Cloud and Tifa he knew. Things were different for them than they were for the ones he knew back home.

But not even those thoughts, that reminder, could stop him from frowning softly, looking from Cloud to Tifa, barely noting Royce as he leaves the room.]

No, it's not. There's always another way. I've faced some pretty terrible things--I had my heart taken from me and shattered by the people we were trying to stop. I've watched worlds disappear because of the actions of an entire organization. But not even that can justify killing. [He shakes his head, taking a couple steps back and this time his gaze shifts back to Cloud.]

The you I know didn't kill people. Even when Hades was controlling him he fought against it, tried to help me. And he may have disappeared to fight that silver haired guy but I know he didn't kill him either. Because it's like the Tifa I know said. He's got light in him. He knows just like I do that killing never solves anything.

[He just wished these two and even Royce felt that way.]

[Thing's were different in the world that they had come from. Vastly, painfully different. How much thought had they ever truly put into their actions before they performed them? How much thought had they given to attacking ShinRa? How much guilt had they carried before the retaliation came and the plate had been dropped and they'd realized the gravity and price and weight of their own choices?

How much hesitation would he give to killing Sephiroth, again and again and again, as many times as it took until the threat was no longer present, until the planet and each and every single person he cherished was safe.

Fighting wasn't something he enjoyed, wasn't something he ever went into lightly. There was a reason for each and every battle, a reason each and every time he picked up his sword and entered the fray. Someone to protect, something to save. The planet, his friends, his family. Aerith. Tifa. Denzel.

If he thought back over each war, over every battle, over each and every life he'd taken, could he truly justify them all? Each and every one may have had a reason, may have done in the name of the greater good, but could they all actually be justified?]

You're right. [Voice quiet, barely loud enough for the three of them to hear, eyes carefully averted and focused on the wall just beyond Sora's shoulder.] I'm not him. I don't have any light left. But I will do whatever I can do help you. Because that's what you do for your friends. You help them and protect them. No matter what the cost.

[Tifa is very silent, her gaze fixed on the toes of her boots and her hands clasped behind her back. She doesn't know how to respond to him, not really. She's spent the last few years telling herself she was doing everything she did for the good of the planet, to stop ShinRa and save everyone else, but... somewhere, deep down, she's starting to realize that isn't true. At least, not completely.

Tifa wishes she were better. She wishes she could figure out a way to fix things and protect the people she loves without hatred and grief miring her down. She just... can't.]

I'm sorry, Sora.

Don't be.

[He hit a sore spot with both of them. Sora may be oblivious to things sometimes but even he can see it now. And something softens in his face as he looks between the two.]

You're wrong though, Cloud. Everyone has light in them-- [A hand lifts to rest over his heart.] --it doesn't matter how buried it gets. It's always there. Our lights can never go out. You've just lost sight of it, that's all. Both of you have.

[And he believes that with all of his heart. Even if they aren't the ones he knows, they're still Cloud and Tifa. They had been willing to help him even when they knew nothing about him. They had gone out of their way to make sure he was safe in this place.

That alone spoke volumes.]

I'll do whatever I can to protect you guys, too. [That look of determination creeps back as the hand that was over his heart falls away only to clench into a fist.] And I'll prove that, without a doubt, you both still have light inside you!

[There's something about that look of determination, something that recalls distant memories and brings them to the forefront, that reminds him a younger version of himself, when he'd believed that anything could be accomplished if you simply believed hard enough. Determination had given him strength, courage, conviction, had been a contact provider, had carried him through the deepest and darkest moments of his life. Had enabled him to do extraordinary things, things that he should never have been capable of.]

It's late. You should try and get some rest.

[A deflection, an acknowledgement that furthering this conversation would be futile, would get all of them nowhere. It was late and they all had a long day of travel ahead of them. They would need their rest if they were going to properly endure it.]

[log] social skills 101 [closed]

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