practicality | (no subject)

Thank god for expense accounts - that ought to cover the damage to that wall...

For the record, what ever else those...illusions are, they are also insubstantial, so don't bother trying to touch them. I'd question my sanity, except it appears I'm not the only one seeing these things, and last I checked, madness wasn't contagious.

(I suppose this is a good time to ask...do others recognize some of their illusions? I recognize some, and enough to guess the identities of the rest)

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Illusions... similar to mirages, yes? Something that you can see that isn't really there?

I hadn't considered that option. I'm still not used to this "magic" being real. I had assumed they were ghosts - other people seem to recognize theirs. I have yet to be visited, unfortunately!

I suppose ghosts are another possibility if one were to believe in such a thing. The souls of the dead return to the Lifestream, however - they do not dimension-hop in an effort to guilt-trip me.

And if my guess is correct, count yourself lucky you aren't seeing any.

If one believes in magic, I shouldn't think that ghosts are much of a stretch.

But if you're right, and they are merely illusions, why are only some people targeted, and how would the conjurer know who would affect the targets?

Magic obeys natural laws, just as gravity and heat do. Ghosts are a fairy story to frighten small children.

This world seems to have some strange powers of it's own, though, so I'm not sure if it's the work of a single person. As for who we see...so far, all the people I recognize are people I've killed. I don't know if that holds true for the others.

You've--?

...

I-I think I need to go lie down f-for a bit. Think...

Sorry. I'm too used to people knowing what my job entails. And to answer your question, yes, I have killed people, and I made my peace with it a long time ago.

It... Well. I'm not going to say that it's ok. Not to kill people. But springing it on me like that is ok. You didn't know, and I never did ask what your job was. I have a lot of questions. But I don't know that now is the time.

I guess the main thing is that they're insubstantial, meaning that they can't hurt you. If they startle you at the wrong moment, you can hurt yourself, but they can't hurt you directly. All the same, maybe it would be better to stay in one place for a while.

Right now is as good a time as any, honestly. And while your thought has merit, I think I'm going to go stir-crazy if I stay in this hotel room with all these apparitions staring at me. Some actual living company would be appreciated.

Central Park in an hour?

There should be more space for them to spread out.
I warn you, I'm not sure how talkative I'm going to be.

Fair enough. I'll see you then.

She felt the sense of irony keenly, sitting very still on the bench nearest the entrance to the park. Her book lay open on her lap, unread for once as she stared into the flowering shrubs, dredging up the few, fuzzy memories she had of the tall man she was waiting to meet. Had it only been a few days? It felt like most of a lifetime...

Tseng walked through the entrance of park, the familiar surroundings calming him. At least this time, he was properly dressed - full suit and tie, no wrinkles or food stains. He had left his hair down, though he had Sheska's ribbon bookmark in his pocket. "Sheska," he said quietly, with a small smile, not wanting to startle her again.

She had intended to be stern, or at least serious, but hearing the familiar voice brought her out of her reverie and caused a sincere smile to spring to her lips that went straight to her eyes. "Tseng, it's..." The smile faded a bit, but it was still there. Just... sadder. "It's good to see you." She stood, closing her book and brushing down her long skirt. She used the moment to break eye contact and steady her nerves before meeting his eyes again. "You're just as I remember, this time. You're wearing your hair down. It's beautiful."

Tseng accepted the compliment with a smile. "Thank you. That reminds me..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ribbon. "I believe this is your's. Long hair requires a certain amount of patience that I didn't always have when I was younger." His expression turned a touch more serious. "How would you prefer to do this? I can either try and start at the begining, or you can just ask questions and I'll answer them as best I can." He kept his eyes on her, avoiding meeting eyes with the figures that had spread out to stand behind her.

She accepted the ribbon hesitantly, as though she were reaching through some sort of thick jelly. She stared at it, running it through her fingers - a tangible reminder that here, time was fluid.

His next brisk sentences startled her. "I... I'm not sure how much I really need to know.. I don't need to know the details of every person you killed... I guess I just... want to know why. I'm sure there were reasons. But were any of them ... good... ones...?"

Tseng sighed slightly. "Most likely. I'll never know for sure." He took a seat on the park bench. "I suppose I should start at the begining, then. When I first moved to the city, I worked for a company called ShinRa - in a way I still do, although that's getting ahead of myself somewhat. I was, and am, a Turk - we're a black ops squad, basically. Things that are too specialized, or too dirty for the main company security forces to do, we did. I joined because it's a good fit for my talents - I told you when I was young that I was always better at fighting, and I've only gotten better still - and because it's challenging. I didn't actually kill that many people for the first ten years or so I worked there - the first company president prefered to solve problems by bribery and intimidation where he could. I proved better at organising, anyway, and after a while didn't so as much in the field."

His eyes dropped to his hands as he continued, voice faltering slightly. "Just over two years ago, there was an...incident. A group of ecoterrorists destroyed two of the cities mako reactors. In retribution, we were ordered to drop a section of the plate that forms the base of upper Midgar on to the slums below. I...regret that I didn't question that order. I've made my peace with it, and nothing can reverse that decision now, but I do regret it."

He looked up to meet Sheska's eyes again. "After that...the president was killed, and his son, a man I respect a great deal more, stepped up to take his place. There was a force threatening the Planet itself, and in the ensuing battle, the company was destroyed, both physically and financially. I, along with the other remaining Turks, now work for the son, Rufus ShinRa - it's mostly bodyguarding and information gathering now, some retrievals. Rufus was very ill for a long time, but he got better recently, and forced me to take some leave...said I needed a change of pace more than he needed a nursemaid." The last bit was said with a small, wry smile, which faded as he moved on. "I won't try and claim what I did was right, or just - I recognize that it wasn't. But sometimes, it was necessary, in the way that soldiers and war are sometimes necessary."

((OOC - sorry for the textdump, Tseng is like 'MY LIFE. Let me tell you about it'))

She absorbed the outpouring in silence, stroking and tugging at the bookmark in turns. When he finished, she looked away, staring into space down the sidewalk. There was a somewhat lengthy pause, and then she gestured vaguely in the direction of the path, seeming to suggest that they walk a bit. Without waiting for an answer, she started along it, moving slowly and thoughtfully, mulling things over and straightening them out as if they were crumpled photographs in a destroyed photo album.

There were a few terms in there that she hadn't recognized. What was "mako" and the plate that he spoke of... did he mean a tectonic plate? Or a piece of a bluff or cliff? Midgar was probably the city in question... But by the unearthly beings.... either way, that was an awful lot of people. Fathers, and mothers, and children... pets, and friends, and drifters who were just passing through... So many lives...

She swallowed hard, shaking her head and trying to wrap her head around the numbers of ghosts that must be following him around.

Tseng rose and followed her in silence - he knew it was a lot to absorb at once. As they walked, his attention kept flicking to the horde of apparitions following him. None of them had made a move towards him yet, but he was tense anyway.

After a few moments, he spoke quietly. "If you have any questions, just ask."

So, I am not alone then. Although I only have one following me around.

I've got a bit of a crowd. They're...unnerving.

I see. You know why they are here? I don't understand...

Like you said, I think this city is a sadist.

Yeah... I don't know what else to think really considering what I have seen... and felt.. since I got here.

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