kinnie | INBOX

Notificaiton: Tifa Lockhart has paid you 750 credits
Notes: Virgin Auction - half
Funds available same day if transferred before 7pm.

[ It takes Tifa a little longer than she means to send him a time and a place, mostly because she bothers to go check out the dining options. She doesn't want it to be too over the top ( or too, uh, sex friendly ). She ends up settling on the Red Cardinal, which could, for all intents and purposes, be a normal classy restaurant and bar in the slums.

Message sent, gym and shower had, she returns to her new room. She's meaning to run down to the shops to get a dress, but there's a package on her bed with a card only marked with a diamond. She opens it, and her eyes go wide. Her dresses, from Sector 7. They shouldn't have survived. Nothing should have. Does that mean -- ?

She can't dwell on it. It's too much. But she does pull the blue one out, the one she meant to wear when they went out together. It hurts, a little, but it's nice too. One thing that didn't get taken from her. From them.

Time won't move fast enough, even as she draws out getting ready. When it is time, she feels oddly self-conscious walking through the hallways, tucking her hair behind her ear near compulsively. The dress is low enough that the scar between her breasts and the slightly mottled skin is just visible, even if the bow hides some of it. That and it's a little dated, a little short, even for her. Something she'd bought two years ago and never gotten a chance to wear.

She's so in her head, she almost doesn't notice him standing outside right away, but when she does, her face lights up, and she waves at him, almost laughing. Some part of her thought this was gone forever. Because of Sector 7, because of Nibelheim, because of this game-- ]

Cloud!

[Marina has acquired a knife.

A good, solid carving knife, at that. While she could do this somewhere private, messing it up in her own room wouldn't do. To make sure she could remember the perfection circle fully, it was better to pick a halfway hidden spot to vandalize with it. After some hunting around, she finds a nice hallway nook around the rank 5 rooms.

There's a loose rug she pulls aside and beneath it is soft wood flooring. Ideal. In no time, she has carved out a broad circle. Within it, she's digging in geometrical shapes with steady handed accuracy. For something "occult", the circle looks more mathematical in nature than magical...

She's not paying much attention to her surroundings, but the scratching sound is probably peculiar to any passing by at this hour,]

Hey.

You busy?

[ Tifa thought she was calm and prepared for this. Other than grinning to herself a lot more than she fully cared to admit, she'd kept herself pretty composed, doing her usual training, seeing someone else for coffee, and popping down to the shop to get a dress since she'd been meaning to anyway. And honestly, after everything at home and everything here, she wasn't going to waste feeling so smiley.

She spends awhile shopping, just enjoying getting to browse, and flushing every time she catches herself picturing Cloud's reaction. It's a date, yes, but she shouldn't get ahead of herself, and it's not like he notices that stuff.

The Glided Cage is fancy, but she stays away from the full evening wear. It reminds her too much of what she was wearing the night of the auction. Instead she settles on on something a little more practical, even daring to show a little more chest -- and the scar that goes with it. Cloud's already seen her naked, so...it doesn't entirely matter. And it's nice not to have to worry about her clothes being the reason someone treats her weirdly.

So she's feeling confident and excited and just a little nervous when she shows up at the Gilded Cage a little before eight. She barely has time to smile and say hello before they're being swept away to a table.

A couple's table. In a corner, with curtains that clearly can be drawn for privacy. With a bench and no chairs, sitting nearly thigh to thigh, and handed a "for two" menu.

She's trying so hard not to turn bright red. However awkward she's feeling, he has to have it worse. But she's also trying extremely hard not to give in to the desire to slide her leg against his, or put her hand over his thigh, and she's pretty sure those aren't first date things. She doesn't want to be too eager and make this weird. ]

I don't know why I keep expecting anything in this casino to be normal.

[One of the skills Daan hadn't really gotten around to really learning is cooking. He can make an okay sandwich, but that's not really substantial enough for two sad guys, and on top of that he does want to do something special for Cloud.

And so, he had called in a favor, and Daan eventually returns with a hot container of beef stew.]

Not sure how hungry you are, but you should probably eat something. [It's the first thing he says when he comes back, setting the pot onto the table.

He isn't sure how much Cloud will be able to taste it. Is reminding Cloud of a lost home and a lost parent even a smart idea? He genuinely isn't sure; this is territory he's unfamiliar with himself. Daan doesn't really have those kinds of associations after all, and Cloud might not even be able to entirely taste it.

...But maybe the smell will be enough. That's what he hopes.]

How long are you going to keep me waiting, my friend? I've been rather patient but you know it's rude to toy with a man's heart like this!

[Morning of this disaster.]

Hotstuff!!

Did you help me out with something last night?
I can't remember anything at all. What happened?
Woke up married. Gross. :<

(Whatever it was, I might have let Daan know you were involved.)
(On accident! My bad!!)
(He's so annoying.)

If this is the personal inbox for Cloud, please let me know. Otherwise, please disregard this message.

Hey. Just wanted to check in on you.

text; un: tifa lockhart

action: date follow up

Action, End of Jan

text; un: meow_wow