Final Fantasy VII: Black Gold

Caleigh entered the bar in the Sector 5 Slums, the Green Dragon, where it was easy to get information. Sector 5 didn't have a good reputation to begin with and the Green Dragon only enforced that reputation. Caleigh liked that. If she was going to find out anything about Rae, it would be at the Green Dragon. The smell of the bar was a welcoming smell to her, but most likely offensive to others. Smoke and alcohol mixed together in the air. Caleigh put her hands in her pockets, holding her cigarette between her lips, looking for a place to sit. The seats at the tables around the joint weren't completely occupied, but she wanted to be at the actual bar. And lucky for her, there were open seats. She spotted some geezer hitting on a young-looking girl, but didn't intervene. Instead, she took a seat a couple of stools away from the two and ordered a heavy drink. Now who in this bar could give her some hints about Rae?

 

OOC: If you look at the first post, I have a new character. The Legendary Turk >>
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Cloud sighed slightly and raised his hand to the back of his hand. "No...nothing at all. Just a bit...winded. Training, you know?" He told Zack as he half-forced a smile. "Anyway, I didn't know you knew Lightning?" he said, pointing back. "Is she as strong as they say?" He asked, not fighting around the bush.

Legas watched with a smile from his table. He couldn't help but silently laugh to himself at the man's attempt to pick up the, for lack of a better phrase, scarcely-clothed young woman sitting a few seats away. "It's going to take more than a few free drinks," he said to himself, chuckling. He reached up to his light brown hair and slid his hand through it. His hair was gelled straight back. In fact, the only parts of his hair that wasn't aiming back were his sideburns that reached his neck. With his other gloved hand, he reached to his tie, beneath his white collar, and loosened it while arching his neck. He then stood up and unbuttoned the only buttoned button of his black blazer, revealing the white shirt underneath. He grumbled slightly. Though he still wore his Turk uniform, and he loved how stylish it was, it was a bit too...businessey for this setting. With that thought, he untucked the white shirt so it fell over his black belt that held up his black pants. He looked down at his white shoes and frowned. All of this black and white...it makes us stick out more than stay undercover! He thought about his old occupation. Shrugging off the thought, he walked towards the bar. Just as he started walking, another girl walked in. He stopped, looked down so she couldn't see his eyes, and nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her sit down. More choices, he smiled. His left hand reached into the right side of his suit and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. He put them on, covering his eyes, and reached back into his suit. This time, he pulled out a cigar. He placed it in his mouth and sat between the girls at the bar, not giving either of them, nor the older man, a single look.

 

OOC: I <3 you, jeffreypoo :D

BIC: Aveline smiled, the buzz she had going giving her the courage to speak more easily. "I have a question for you," she whispered to the man next to her, keeping her voice low. "What do you know... about Sephiroth?" The old man pounded the bar with a huge laugh, followed by a nasty burp. He shook his head slowly, as if the answer he was too drunk to voice was "are you kidding me?" Aveline frowned, grinding her teeth. Figures... that's what you get for trying to ask a serious question in a place like this... better pick someone else to speak to...

She finished the last mouthful of beer in her glass, grimacing at the bitter taste, before looking over the man's shoulder, down the bar as far as she could see. A man in a suit caught her eye, and her heart skipped a beat. That outfit... my father's spoken to me about men and women like that before; no one wears suits like that in a place like this... She lowered her gaze quickly, putting up a hand to the side of her face. Someone like that shouldn't see or hear me poking around for SOLDIER information... just stay calm.

Aveline glanced quickly down the bar past the man in black and white to a woman sitting alone, covered in tattoos. Thinking quickly, Aveline barked, "Hey, girl. Can I bum a smoke off of you?"

 

OOC: That post was.... LEGENDARY! lolz... And I think there's going to be a war over poor lil Jeffy...

Caleigh's attention was caught by the man in the suit. He looked to her like he knew something the average person wouldn't, and she was about to put the moves on him when someone else called for her attention. She hid her disappointment and looked towards the person who'd called for her. Not as promising as the man in the suit, but there was still some chance that Caleigh could get a bit of information from this girl.
"Sure," She reached into her pocket and took out the box of cigarettes she always had on her. As she walked over to the girl, she took out a cigarette from the box. "Need a light too?"

 

OOC: Not sure if I like where these OOCs are going >>

Cloud threw another look behind him towards Lightning. So she's really something, huh? Then another question escaped his mouth before he even turned back to Zack. "And how did a backwoods guy like you make it into SOLDIER?" He didn't realize he said until after it came out. He quickly looked at Zack and added, "Guess they'll just accept anyone, huh?" with a smile.

Without any prompt, Legas' right arm flew towards the girl on his right, the one that had asked for cigarettes. In his hand was silver lighter, the flame lit. He kept his eyes forward, not looking at the girl as he waited for her to light her cigarette. Come on, pretty fish...bite.

 

Aveline tried to hide her shudder of surprise and fear, putting the filter to her lips and taking one quick, shaking draw. Exhaling a moment later, she gave the man small nod of wordless thanks. Now what? Do I speak to him... to her? What do I say? She rolled her shoulders, trying to shrug off her fear. Focus... you want to be stronger? You need information, Ave... ask something!

Aveline turned her head slightly to her left. "Nice lighter," she managed, flicking the ash off the end of her cigarette into her empty beer glass.

Lightning ground her teeth for a moment, slowing her steps so she could still hear the conversation between the two. She took a smooth sidestep down a hallway to her left, leaning against the wall, curious as to what Zack would respond.

 

And finally, Legas smiled. He turned his head, looked at the girl whose cigarette he just lit, and retracted his lighter. It didn't go into a pocket, it simply disappeared into his sleeve. "It better be," he said in a low, sultry voice, "Considering what I paid for it." And with that, he turned back around, not paying either girl any more mind.

 

Caleigh sat down next to Aveline, putting her box of cigarettes back in her pocket. She wasn't sure about the looks of Aveline but here in the slums, anyone could be anyone. With the man in the suit having turned his back, Caleigh took the opportunity to start a conversation herself. "You look a little young to be in here, honey, much less to be smoking. What's your story?"

 

Aveline gave the woman a smile, hiding her frustration that the man in the suit decided to ignore her so easily. My story? she thought, a small smirk rising on the corner of her mouth. Analyzing in her head as she always did, Aveline swallowed her smirk. She doesn't seem like the motherly time by the looks of her... so why reprimand me at the beginning of a conversation? Buying time to form an answer appropriate to the situation, she raised an arm to the bartender, motioning two fingers for two more drinks.

"Just got old enough to come in here, actually," she started, turning in her seat slightly so she could face her new acquaintance and speak without having to put too much volume into her voice. "My family's pretty poor," Aveline continued her lie, "so drinking in a place like this is exciting for me. Pretty sad, huh?" She took another pull on her cigarette, half gone now, and the bartender set the two beers down she had called for. "But it's nice to see another pretty girl in here for a change!" she finished with a laugh, smiling.

 

So she's just some bum girl? Dammit. But if it's money she needs... Caleigh smiled. "Really? This place'll gown on you. The pretty girls like us would rather spend their time in places that aren't as fun as this. Listen, if you and your family are in need of some extra money, I know of something that can help you out."

OOC: short posts are short....

 

Cloud's ears perked up. Hanging out with both Lightning and Zack? He let out a genuine smile and nodded. "Sure, you can get to know the next SOLDIER even better!" Though he wondered how he would get along with Lightning, he hoped he could pick up some tips on becoming SOLDIER.

Oh no, the girls are talking... Legas thought, not wanting to hear any 'kitty chatter' as he called it, but stilll...maybe he'd find an entry point into the conversation if he stayed. He looked over to the old man and smiled.

 

OOC: lol ooh you boys can have some yaoi-fun... i'll go get my camera :D

BIC: Aveline swallowed her instant anger, her pride hurt; no, she did not like her family or the pressure of SOLDIER they placed on her, but they had a lot of money; more than she ever cared to have. She smiled at the woman next to her anyway, though. She's a hell of a lot smarter than she looks, she thought.

"I'm good, thanks," she spoke. "I'm sure you were gonna suggest a SOLDIER-related job, huh? Those guys make all the money, don't they?" She paused for as casual a laugh as she could manage. "Their salaries certainly aren't a mystery, but some of their members are. What do you think?"

Lightning scoffed under her breath. That damn boy doesn't even look old enough to drink... but that could be interesting.

 

OOC: You guys know Cloud is 15 right now, right? o.O

"SOLDIER is made up of scum who kill for money," Caleigh frowned. "I was thinking of something," she smiled, "much better. AVALANCHE." As a rebel force that was still forming, they could use some more members. "My name's Caleigh, by the way."

 

OOC: Psh... Lightning is so fucking hot she can do anything :D

BIC: Aveline tried not to scoff: she wanted to be SOLDIER so bad, to achieve what she wanted... and this woman was the resistance. Her father would be so proud, would give her anything she wanted, if she turned someone like this into him... but... she wasn't done.

"You think so?" she began, putting out her almost burned-out cigarette directly on the bar. She twirled the butt in her hand for a moment, and then dropped it so it landed perfectly on the edge of her knee. Lifting her leg as much as her tiny shorts would allow, she let the butt roll down to bend in her shoes where her toes began, and finally flicked it off under the bar. "I'm not sure if I agree with anything else besides SOLDIER; its members are just so intriguing. Like..." She paused again here, her heart pounding. "... Sephorith."

 

OOC: I do now >>
BIC:

Legas lost his cool exposure, something that rarely happens (but still happens more than he would like), and he almost dropped the glass the bartender handed him. A swift movement of his left hand caught the glass, but half the drink was gone. "Well, erm, I apologize," he told the bartender. "I'll clean it myself." He grabbed his own napkins and started wiping the table as he looked to the girl to his left. His voice dropped to a whisper and he asked, "Did you say AVALANCHE?"

"What a high class place this is," Reno said, jokingly to himself, as he reached the edge of Sector 5. "Now...to find this little girl."

 

Caleigh was about to voice her bold opinion of Sephiroth when the man in the suit next to her spilled his drink. She looked him over again, trying to make a better decision about his character. Was he a Turk? Their uniform [of sorts] wasn't exactly a secret to the general public. Or did he just like suits and white shoes? She decided to play coy and answer his question with a question. "What if I did?"

 

Aveline smirked; obviously her comment set off some kind of mental trigger with both of her interesting new accquiantances. Although her only downfall in her nightly hunting for information seemed to be getting herself caught up rambling, almost dreamily, about the rumors of Sephiroth, this time it seemed to have worked. She lowered her head, however, trying not to seem too interested in the man's next response.