[Closed] Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world

[flipkicking]

Despite the nature of Jill's career, bars and taverns had never been a very frequent destination of hers until recently. "Frequent" being no more than once a week at the very most, and even then she didn't always drink, if she was the drive home. It wasn't that much different now, although she hadn't had to worry about the designated driver part for a while, considering walking tended to be her primary method of travel lately. As for "recently," that was a definition considerably harder to place; time and space weren't always easy to define, she'd found, much like memory, sensation, thought, all the things she'd once considered solid and intangible.

If pushed, she would have defined it as ever since Africa, because that seemed to be the point from which every strange thing began. Strange, that was, in terms of the unknown beyond the unusual things that existed where she originally came from. Home.

Definitions and technicalities aside, Jill was most definitely in the mood for both that bar setting and a drink tonight. So with her usual bag on her shoulder and holster on her thigh, she set out pretty late into the evening, appreciating the cooling summer air on her skin as she went. The town only hosted one bar that she knew of, but it wasn't the bar itself as much as the company she expected that would have made it her favorite either way.

As predicted, the place appeared empty when she entered; with half an hour until closing time, that was what Jill had intended, although the town wasn't exactly buzzing with typical city activity at any time of day.

The door closed with a jingle behind her and she made her way up to the bar, setting her knapsack there before casting another glance around. The aforementioned barmaid was probably in the back, then.

With a small grin, Jill called, "Hey! Can I get any service around here?" Her smile was audible in her voice -- joking, mostly, but also with some genuine warmth. She'd had her diverse share of friends, acquaintances, and comrades alike over time, and it wasn't a stretch to say Tifa was one of her closer ties. What they lacked in similarities between their homelands, they made up for in trust and a treasured friendship; good as well as bad times together had a tendency to produce a rare kind of bond (which, in Jill's experience, could go either way), and God knew she and Tifa had had plenty of both between them.

Comments

[lightning_fists]

She was too sweet. Too pure. A smile like that belonged on posters for movies. And the sunny disposition should be reserved for the most worthy in hospitals or daycares. Certainly, a woman like Tifa did not belong in the dark underbelly that surrounded bar scenes and taverns. The only nightlife that seemed fitting for her should have been to dance under the strobbing lights. But try as anyone liked to put the pieces together, it never made sense that it would be her that was trudging knee deep in the grit along with the glamour.

But then, it would only mean that they did not know Tifa all that well to begin with.

She was hard as much as she was gentle. And she was tough as much as she was sweet. She had to be. For a long time, there was no other way for her to live. For her to survive long enough to see any semblance of home. Months out, the young barmaid still couldn't pinpoint just where everything started to turn, other than sometime after the Remnants, as if that were any indication of time.

It got harder and harder to keep track of the passing months with each test of will and strength. And at some point, Tifa felt that maybe it didn't even matter anymore, so much as they were there ensure that it passed at all.

But for now, things were quiet. They were safe from battle and hardships for a little bit longer. And with most everything still in tact.

At the sound of the door closing, she rinsed her hands clean of the soap and suds from the sink and made her way out front. And was greeted with a welcomed tone to a very familiar face.

Tifa hadn't expected...

"I guess your manners suffered a little in that last confrontation, huh, Jill?" It was teasing and playful, something neither one of them ever saw often in their line of sidework. Or maybe this was just the waiting point in their lives until the next crisis arose and called them into action. Whether they liked it or not. Whatever the arrangement, Tifa was glad for the surprise and welcomed the company. Things were always so quiet this time of night. It made things slow and dragged time along. It always gave her space to think far too much. "So, what brings you here?"