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[ultimods]

[Insert witty, fantastic setting details here. Seriously, all you really need to know is that it's a festival. A MONTH LONG festival with Fireworks happening every night once Darkness falls.]

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[soldiernoclass]

[ Being dead, it's very important to find creative ways in which to keep oneself busy; and Zack leaves no opportunity to get out of the Lifestream and stretch his legs a little unexploited.

Nor can he resist the call of a little fun part-time work, when he runs across a booth of games curiously absent of its very own overly enthusiastic carnival barker. ]

Hey, you! Yeah, you! Step right up, come on! Win your girl something cute! Don't be cheap!

[ Oh yeah, he's going to earn all of the junkfood he's getting paid in for this. ]

[gardeningaia]

[ Aerith turns back, surprised. Zack's here, too! And working, even.

Oh, she should help. She looks around to pinpoint Zack's likely target (because it obviously can't be her) and finds a nearby guy looking wrong-footed from the sudden sales pitch. Aerith leans toward him with a sweet and disarming smile--emphasis on "disarming". ]

It looks cool! I know I'd be impressed if my boyfriend could win a game like this. I don't have a chance myself. Oh! Try it for me, okay?

[ ...HE'S BEING HERDED IN poor guy ]

[soldiernoclass]

[ Hey, a guy's gotta make a living

Oops, I mean. Nevermind.

Not quite quick enough to mask the (pleasant) surprise of seeing Aerith in the crowd, Zack blanks for all of a second before kicking back up his most winning smile for the poor sap she's steering over to him. ]

Yeah, yeah. You'd be an idiot to give up your chance to impress such a pretty girl!

[ And apparently that's all the pushing the mark stranger needs, as a somewhat reluctant exchange of money for some enthusiastic instruction (just take the mallet, hit the plate, ring the bell, win a prize, yadda yadda) ensues. Of course, Zack saves a not at all conspiratorial wink for the helpful young woman whom he has never before met. ]

Hey, thanks. It's for a good cause.

[gardeningaia]

The good cause of fun?

[ Oh--the plate is hit! ...Yeah that's not reaching the top. She shakes her head, smiling gently at the stranger. ]

You got up pretty far.

[soldiernoclass]

Yup! And feeding the needy.

[ He puts on the most innocent of expressions. Just look at how thin he is. Wasting away!

And for his customer, a parting pat on the back and a consolation prize. ]

Yeah, great try! With a little practice, I bet you'd hit it no problem! No? Well...

[ Back to Aerith, with his most charming smile, this time (there's a difference, really). ] What about you, Miss? Wanna play my game?

[gardeningaia]

Hmmm... [ ... poke at Zack's stomach. Oh, he's just skin and bones, surely. ]

You think that's a good idea? I might break the game. [ Hahaha yeah right. She flexes an arm--and is about as muscular as Zack is wasting away--but she likes to play at silly bragging. ]

[soldiernoclass]

Hey, that's a risk I'm willing to take. [ He takes this threat with all due seriousness -- which isn't much, really, because all a busted game means is that he can take his break a little earlier. (As if he's really on a schedule; maybe he's having too much fun playing this game, too.) ]

Besides, first try's always free for a cutie.

[gardeningaia]

Always the ladies' man. But if it's free, there's nothing to lose. So I don't have an excuse not to try, do I? [ She holds her hands out for the mallet. ]

[soldiernoclass]

Gotta keep up appearances, don't I? [ Combing a hand back through his hair, looking so stylish. ] Would you expect any less?

[ And here's the lady's weapon of choice; for how carelessly he seems apt to swing the mallet around, he's very careful in handing it over. ]

Oh yeah! That's the spirit! [ And the obligatory fist pump of approval. ] Let's see what you've got!

[conflicts]

[/sob, giving in. Hearing that voice shouldn't have been surprising, considering Aerith is here, but it is. Turning to see the man it belonged to? Even more shocking. Painfully so, in fact.

Cloud indecisively hovers nearby. To stay and watch from a distance or to walk away?]

[soldiernoclass]

[ How about option #3: get hassled into coming over here and getting your hair ruffled, you inconsiderate jerk!

He should know Zack's too sharp to miss that oh-so-familiar spiky blond head, even in such a busy crowd. And once he does spot him, he forgets all about the poor sap he was cheerfully attempting to rile up, before. If Cloud's not going to come over and say hi to him of his own volition, well, he'll just have to give him a push in the right direction.

It's not like he hasn't done it, before. ]

Hey! How about you? [ And there's no mistaking who he's talking to, even as he crosses his arms and cocks his head to one side, still smiling for all he's worth. ] I know a tough guy when I see one! Come on, give it a try.

[conflicts]

[Good ol' Zack. The man never changes— in life or in death. It's hard to resist his enthusiasm. His encouraging smile.

Cloud walks over, arms crossed. Might as well play along, he figures. It's a festival, after all.]

What kind of game is it?

[soldiernoclass]

[ Poor Cloud, falling into such an obvious trap. There's no escape from having fun, now. ]

Test your strength! Think you can handle it?

[conflicts]

[He holds his hand out for the mallet. He might not show it outwardly, but he likes messing around with games like this. Where art thou, Gold Saucer?]

I guess we'll see.

[soldiernoclass]

[ Just as talkative as he remembers! At least some things never change. He hands over the mallet, a little surprised to see Cloud going along with something this silly, but obviously pleased. ]

Go for it!

[conflicts]

[Sir, yessir. Cloud takes a swing with the mallet, striking the target hard. Despite the difficulty other customers were having, it's no problem for him. The ringing of the bell serves as his victory fanfare today.

He gives the mallet a quick spin before turning back to hand it to Zack.]

[soldiernoclass]

[ welp. ]

Hmm, you're better than I thought! [ Thank you, thank you, he'll just take that back and continue teasing. ] Not too grown up for a prize, are you?

[pinnaculum]

[The games attract his attention, though they seem simplistic compared to the games he's used to playing. Pausing near Zack's booth, Sephiroth quietly watches him calling out to the crowd for a few moments, then approaches. The man seems eager to have people play.]

I don't have any currency, but may I try? I don't need a prize.

[They don't look like anything he'd want. Nothing fun, like a sword or Materia.]

[soldiernoclass]

[ Well, now there's... Something you don't see every day.

Silver hair? Check. Eerie green eyes? Check. Weirdly polite speech? Double check.

The resemblance is uncanny, even if the bad attitude and the being about nine feet tall seem to be suspiciously absent. Maybe this isn't the weirdest experience he's had, yet, today (today existing at all is probably the top of the list, there), but running across the long lost son of Sephiroth is still most certainly worthy of note.

He supposes it's entirely possible the guy had a kid or two somewhere down the line -- and even more so that nobody knew about it, knowing him and never having asked (he really should have asked) and

Oh yup staring probably isn't helping make this any less crazy than it is. ]

...Yeah. Yeah, sure. [ And just like that, the smile is back (albeit a little more tentative than before). He scoops up the mallet and offers it handle-first to the kid. ] Go ahead! This try's on me. You know how it works?

[pinnaculum]

Thank you.

[Sephiroth gravely takes the mallet from him, as if this is a very serious responsibility he's undertaking rather than a game.]

Yes, I've been watching.

[It's easy to judge the amount of force it takes to strike the bell, as it's exactly the kind of thing he's been trained to do, and he wonders why the others seemed to be so terrible at it. It's easy, and this version of the test is crude.

That makes it different, and more interesting. It wouldn't be exciting if it were a lab test. He never gets to do things like this, to go out and do something by himself because he wants to. As serious as his expression is, he's inwardly pleased that the Professor isn't around and he can do whatever he wishes. Before making his try, he pauses to study the machine from this new vantage point. He raises the mallet before bringing it down, hitting the plate precisely. The puck shoots up, and then there's a sharp ring! as the bell is struck.

He smiles. He doesn't fail tests.]

[soldiernoclass]

[ Woah.

He's a fast learner, too. Zack whistles appreciatively from the sidelines, not sure if he should be applauding or demanding an encore or both. ]

Da-- Er. Hey, that sure was something, kid! You sure you won't take a prize? [ Slightly skeptical, because what kind of kid doesn't like free toys? (Sephiroth's kid, that's who -- no, no bad brain those are not helpful thoughts) ] Nobody else's gotten it on their first try, today.

[pinnaculum]

[From what he's seen of the prizes, they're nothing he wants. He'd only wanted to play the game for fun. He considers the toys again. They look childish and frivolous, but he doesn't wish to be impolite.] I did not pay for the chance to win a prize, so it wouldn't be proper for me to accept one.

[Isn't that how things work? What an odd merchant. There is something different about him. Sephiroth studies his face searchingly, meets his gaze with his own. The man has bright eyes.]

They haven't? [He seems a little surprised by this, since it's so easy--he'd watched others failing, but he had assumed there were some who were more skilled.]

[soldiernoclass]

I said the first try was on me, didn't I? [ And he meant it, stopping now to dig a bit of gil out of his pocket and dropping it in the little collection box tucked safely under the counter along the front edge of the booth behind them. While he's at it, he leans back a little further and pulls down one of the smaller plush toys hanging from the display.

He can't see giving such a weirdly practical kid any of the really huge stuffed animals -- if he's really of the very limited gene pool he so resembles, he'll probably just use it for target practice. And Zack can't condemn such precious creatures to that grisly type of death. No way! So it's a tiny stuffed tonberry for you, mister. (He's got no problem sacrificing tonberries.) ]

Now we're square. So don't worry about it.

[ Matching that cat-like gaze with his own, steady and cheerful, he holds out the toy in offering. ]

Ah, nope! Nobody but you. Pretty incredible, if you ask me. Sure you didn't cheat?

[pinnaculum]

Oh. Yes, you did. [Is that how that works? He hasn't actually been part of one of these transactions before, though he knows about them. It's a variation in business he wasn't aware of before, so he stores the information away.] Thank you.

[The toy tonberry is one of those "frivolous" things he is not allowed to have anymore. It would be impolite to refuse at this point, so he takes it and examines it. When Professor Gast left, he was told he was no longer a child, and such toys were taken from him. It's been years since he had one. After looking it over, he tucks it carefully under his arm.]

Cheat? [He's not sure why he'd need to cheat at a simple game.] No, it's very easy. I train with much more precise equipment.

[soldiernoclass]

Don't mention it. ...Or do, y'know, if it gets me more business!

[ Always priorities.

His total inability to get a rise out of this kid is also frustratingly familiar, though, and it sours his mood with something just a little bitter, way down deep under his friendly good cheer. Outwardly, he just looks a little more thoughtful. ]

Well, that's good to know. [ There's only a touch of sarcasm, there, and it's far from cruel. He crosses his arms to quell the urge to muss up that silver hair. He could probably get away with it with just a broken limb or something, if it's only funsize Sephiroth. ]

So, training, huh? Bet you wanna grow up to be just like me, right?