#((perhaps because of that; the level of comfort and security she feels around him; she'll do anything for him!))

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"They're really not so bad," Randall admitted with a half-smile; despite his best efforts to squirrel his way out of it in his youth, he eventually buckled down and accepted that he had to do it, and for what it was worth, he wasn't so bad at it. He wasn't the fastest runner, nor did he excel in sit-ups and push-ups, but he was an excellent climber, and that had to count for something, didn't it?

As they continued to talk about it (with June and Wilhelm bringing up their own athletic experiences), Randall's mind wandered back to his previous train of thought-that of an uncertain future, and how much he hungered for a little one of their own. How exciting it would be, to teach her how to walk, how to talk, how to play, how to be everything she wanted to be and more...

Her. She. Would we have a girl?

He distantly recalled having that particular conversation with Emily, many moons ago. They hadn't talked about it much (having not had the chance to), but he admitted, when thinking about raising a family with her, he imagined them having a cherubic little girl, the very image of her mother...funnily enough, even after all these centuries, he still imagined the same.

He wondered if Emily still imagined what she told him-instead of a girl, having a little boy, the spitting image of his father...

[sacredflorist]

He knows he absolutely should not be here. This is above his clearance level; after all, being in charge of making Shinra look good and acting as liaison between the company and the rest of the world has nothing to do with their experiments. But sometimes, his connections in other departments slip him bits of information that urge him to do a bit of snooping around.

Even if it is at risk of death -- or worse, when it comes to the science department.

Ignoring the surveillance cameras overseeing every area of the laboratories, Elwin carries onward, determined to see his mission through. To his relief, no one has come to arrest him yet; in fact, he knows full well that security knows he's snooping around. But in typical fashion, no one stops him -- maybe because they believe he isn't a threat, or maybe because they're compiling evidence against him to use all at once. Or maybe, just maybe, his connections really are just that good at pulling strings in his favor.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter why he isn't being shot on sight or apprehended to become a guinea pig for Hojo. He'll not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Within his palm are four colorfully wrapped candies. The fact that Ifalna and little Aerith are being kept here to be poked and prodded and tormented with experiment after experiment disgusts him more than words can express. Really, all of Shinra's actions revolt him -- but this one hits closer to home, likely because of his lost family. (Joshua would be around Aerith's age now, wouldn't he? Perhaps in another life, Clive, Joshua, and Aerith could have been friends.)

And so, mindful of where he steps and being as quiet as he can be, the man seeks out the mother and child, or at the very least one or the other. His offering to them is meager and does nothing to alleviate their suffering... but it's a start, a chance to get to know them -- and see what he can do for them from there.

Unprompted Ask | Always Accepting | @phoenix-flamed

Aerith knows nothing of the world outside of Shinra building, of course. She has to rely on the many stories Ifalna is telling her about her ancestors, but also about the world around them. Her people are close to the nature, to the Planet itself. She wonders if, someday, she will see the world outside of these walls. Her room is fine. When she's here, she feels free, somehow, even if the little girl has no notion of freedom. The only thing she can do is dream about the day she'll leave this place, without even knowing if it'll ever come.

She worries about her mother more than about herself, though. Hojo hasn't experimented much on the girl yet; he's focusing on the mother. Aerith doesn't know what she's doing, but she can hear her mother scream sometimes, and she often looks exhausted. Even when she smiles at her, the half-Cetra can tell something is wrong. She just doesn't know entirely what it is. She's too young to understand, and Ifalna always does her best to comfort her.

When she first hears someone approaching, Aerith can feel her heart start beating loudly inside her chest again. There's not a lot of people who visit them, of course, and most of the time, it's Hojo himself. She sees other people sometimes, too, and she even wants to talk to them sometimes because Aerith is not a shy child, but it never works much. People are working here, even if she doesn't know what they're doing at all.

When she sees Elwin, though, Aerith can't help but smile. She can tell he's not bad, so she quickly approaches, keeping that radiant smile on her features. She raises a curious eyebrow at the sight of the candies. "For... For us ?" she asks, not sure of what it means. This man is so kind. It's obvious that there are nice people working for Shinra, but Hojo is not one of them. "Thank you very much. Mom is sleeping, but I'll give some of them to her later." She pauses for a short moment, hesitating slightly. "... I wish there were more people like you who visit us. I'm sure it'd make Mom happy, too."