#` every second you aren't running he's getting closer [ WSZ ]

[churchflower]

they had to get on a boat in Junon but she was so distracted by the beauty of the world that she didn’t care if it took them long. running errands, moseying as Cloud had come to say. Midgar was nothing like this. Her home had been the only place besides the church that bloomed the way it did. that was her influence, or at least she liked to say so. she could grow anything in Midgar, guaranteed. they often brought her things, the people who liked her, from out of town so she could add it to her collection. flowers, vegetables. Having a green thumb was an understatement. she had wandered off from the group running errands in the wilds to collect some wild flowers she saw. ones she had never seen before. somewhere she knew that she wasn’t ever going to get to go home… or that she wanted to, frankly. the future was unclear as it always was… maybe she shouldn’t have wandered too far, she didn’t seem to think anything out there was dangerous, at least nothing that she couldn’t handle by now. the old Aerith, the one sitting in a church waiting for something to happen probably couldn’t have used the materia she was using now. but she had learned, been taught, fought in big battles against big scary things… however, she was not prepared for this. something different, not that she remembered, than before. she knew what it was like to be watched but she hadn’t seen the Turks in a while. something whispering among the greens, a warning. the planet and its spirits were often warding. they said lots of things but their hushed practically indescribable whispers were alert, alarmed. she thought that leash had been loosened after her escape but maybe… maybe Hojo wasn’t finished after all.

“Reno…?” she brushed her thumb against the center of the flower, the pollen getting all over her finger tips. “Rude? If you’re trying to get the drop on me… think again!”

@meteorshcts

[churchflower]

he didn't listen, though that was typical for her captors lately. her cheek still stung from the sudden betrayal Tseng had delivered to her. a reminder that she was still reaching her hand into a shark tank. one day those teeth would turn on her, and they did. she did her best to close her eyes. the compromised position was making her stomach do flips and that wasn't because of who he was - or at least that was what she was telling herself. Cloud was great and all but... Zack was SOLDIER. the real deal. she had only heard stories of the creatures outside of Midgar from him before. but now she had faced the dangers herself. her odds of getting out of here by force were dwindling. she watched him as if he were but a corpse shambling around. emerald eyes locked to his tasks as he set up a tent and camp. her heart conflicted. he was the enemy, a shark in a tank that she had always reached into. he had been- was supposed to be- different, and she told herself that every time he had come down to the slums to visit her. she had yet to be right, yet everything in her wanted to be. she had seen those beautiful blues in the low light before. she could stare at them for hours though she'd get embarrassed if he brought it up. deny it every second of the way, do it again the moment he let her. it was impossible for her face to droop any further, for the sadness to swell in her any larger. but when he spoke she remembered to breathe. "Best behavior, promise." she wasn't planning on running, he'd outpace her before she even got going, she had been walking across the better part of the continent and it was kicking her ass. running away sounded like a stupid plan... figuring out what was wrong with him sounded better. "Is that for both of us?"

Both of the women had reacted when they had seen his face. He didn't understand why, and he didn't really care. It worked to his advantage anyway; the martial artist had paused in her attack, and that had allowed him to get away with the target.

The target, who had also reacted when she had seen his face.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, as far as he knew. It was handsome but uninteresting otherwise. He had a distinguishing scar on one cheek that would probably make him identifiable, when the Soldier's normal modus operandi involved going unseen, unknown. Like the ghost he was named for. He assumed that was why his face was covered, but maybe there was another reason.

But that didn't really matter. He had the target now, tied up and across his legs, complaining that she would be sick if he didn't move her. He ignored her and kept driving.

He didn't end up going too far, however; the sun was beginning to set as it had been late in the day already when he had finally seen the target alone. He could drive all night if he needed to, but the target needed to rest if she was going to be in good condition when he got back to the city. Besides, it was going to be more than one night before they got back.

They were far off the beaten path by now, and it wasn't hard to find a good spot to camp out. He parked the bike in the shelter of a steep cliff – not so great for identifying threats, but very convenient for hiding. He wasn't worried he'd been followed. The bodyguards didn't seem subtle, and they hadn't had vehicles.

He lifted the target and set her on the ground next to the bike, hands surprisingly gentle as he moved her. He then began setting up a tent for her to sleep in, out of the elements. Easier to guard, too. Darkness was already starting to fall over the hills, but that wouldn't make a difference. He had night vision goggles if he needed them, but his senses were sharper than most people's anyway.

His eyes glowed like blue fireflies in the settling dark, lighting up his face ever so slightly. Tent now erected, he turned toward the girl.

“There's nothing out here for a good fifty miles in any direction. You going to be a good girl if I untie you, or do I have to leave you tied up?” he asked sharply. They were the first words he had spoken to her.

[churchflower]

 the turks were one thing, no matter how hard they fought she knew her odds. her cocky attitude evaporated, green eyes widened. She had seen a lot of guns, been shot at several times since leaving Midgar. she had won fights and seen monsters, but all of those things she had done with others. she wasn’t sure what she would do on her own, she had almost forgotten what it was like again, being alone. her hands raised to eye level immediately in defense, pollen dusting off her palm and into the wind. “Woah don’t shoot!” she couldn’t help but look at him. he was stark against the green scenery. the earth tones clashing with his dark demeanor. the soft warnings of the planet faded… her warning had come and passed. she had ignored it, now her fate was on her. she winced, he didn’t seem to waver or shoot her on sight for that matter. she loosened a little, elbows resting a little lower but her hands still up at chest level. she was foolish to separate. she should have at least asked Tifa to come with her. hindsight was twenty-twenty, and despite her growing prowess she wasn’t sure she could take on someone his size… 

she didn’t love being the damsel in distress, but if there was one thing she had learned it was that her party would come for her. be it in ShinRa’s tallest tower or with this lug. “No need for that, can’t we just talk?”  her guard staff was strapped to her back but it wasn’t in her hands. her head tilted to the side a little, “Or… can you with the…” she gestured to his face, it looked tightly wrapped. “are you here to take me back? you’re not the usual dog catcher.”

The mission was a retrieval. Simple in, restrain the target, out. Bring her back to Midgar by any means necessary. Lethal force to be deployed against her companions if necessary, but the target herself was not to be injured.

He didn't do retrievals very often, he didn't think. Hard to tell. He was much better at removal than retrieval, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight to the death at any moment. He was good, and he knew he was good. His handlers called him the best they'd ever seen. Told him he wouldn't have any trouble with such an easy mission.

What he hadn't counted on was the fact that the girl had something of an entourage with her, all experienced fighters who he could easily take on one on one, but all of them against him was something that he would need to calculate for. It was a better idea to lure them each away, one by one, and take them out like that. Still, he had been following them for a week now, and he hadn't had an opportunity to take any single one out.

Therefore, it was fortunate when he realized the target was leaving the safety of the group to frolic in the flowers on her own. She was making this too easy.

She must have sensed him because she stopped and looked around and called out a few names that he didn't recognize. There was no way she had heard him. Even to his own super enhanced ears, he could barely hear the slight wisp of his feet against the grass, from where he was pressed against a tree nearby.

He wouldn't be able to get behind her without her noticing, but that didn't matter so much. He was decked out from head to toe in tactical gear, armed to the teeth, and with his hair tied back and his face covered as usual. He knew he cut an intimidating figure. She was good with materia, the reports stated, so he had plenty of elemental protection. He would subdue her by force if he couldn't have the element of surprise.

He stepped out from the trees he had been hidden in and pointed a gun at her head. He couldn't hurt her, but she didn't know that.