[There are a myriad of ways to run into someone in this city. The Moonblessed do not always require some planet-shattering event, or some wide-scale phenomena to affect the city for them to meet, or form connections. Those who are social, outgoing, and friendly can manage it just fine.
It’s too bad that Sephiroth is usually considered none of the above.
Thankfully, there are other variables that will help him with that today. Mostly, it’s the fact that he decided to take a shortcut through a market square bursting with neon colors, the Lunatians all a-bustle with the vigor of excitable shoppers seeking a deal. He soon realizes that this “shortcut” is in name only, and changes course into an alley to avoid the main crowd, long strides bringing him there quickly.
Out the other end, and around a corner— and even Sephiroth’s reflexes do not make him immune from Bad Timing. He feels it against him, a jostle that barely moves his frame when he bumps into someone, but it’s enough to have the item he bought earlier today tumble out of his hands. This item is either:
A) a round container with a cartoon fish mascot printed on the front. Goldfish(?) food?
B) a bottle of shampoo in an unfortunately bright neon bottle. Rose scented.
C) a book; a collection of short, historical fiction, according to the spine. Considering where they are, this might as well be science-fiction.
Sephiroth could make the effort to stoop down low and catch the object before it collides into the pavement, but maybe this pink-haired young lady wants to do something about it first? Or, you know. Not. That works too.]
[Even the laziest people need to leave their (re: Lorenz's) apartment sometimes—and as Hilda loves to shop, of course Hilda makes, like, far too many trips to the different shopping areas around Lunatia, always on the hunt for the latest and the cutest Stuff. Accessories, mostly. If she's going to be stuck in this world for quite some time, it is imperative that she keeps up with the trends.
And it's also imperative that she, you know. Tries every shampoo + conditioner combo known to man, because holy shit, how did she ever survive a day without frizz control? A mystery she is, in fact, pondering as she walks down the street, idly swinging her shopping bag full of her latest shampoo finds...
...But while Hilda's head may be in the clouds, she's definitely less than half to blame for this collision. One second she's innocently walking along; the next she's running smack-dab into something—someone—tall and solid, and ooh, but if that isn't the worst.]
H-Hey!
[HEY! Back she stumbles—but she's too sturdy to fall, thank goodness, even when something bumps against her feet. Just give her a second to pinwheel in place before she (huffily) sticks her landing. Tall people! Damn! No consideration for their tiny brethren!]
You really should be more careful, you know, [she chides, bending down to pick up that mysterious Something.] You nearly knocked me over! And you dropped your—
[Oh. Well. Hmm. It's the bottle of shampoo, because of course it is—and of course she's looking up from it to the man before her, just. Blinking up at all of that hair. Like, the face is okay, sure, but the hair... she is Looking (and not holding that bottle out)...]
he sure does... a castmate gave it to him ages ago lmao
[Running into Sephiroth is a bit like hitting a brick wall, and even his reaction is hilariously similar. Immovable, barely affected, his expression still, stern, but not exactly disapproving. He regards this young woman and her shock of pink hair, eyes sliding down to the bottle of shampoo now clasped in her hand.
She seems offended, and maybe rightly so— Until she looks utterly distracted, like she’s suddenly lost focus on something far more interesting.]
…. [He helps her out with-] My shampoo.
[A gloved hand comes out, palm-up, to both regain her attention and wordlessly request the bottle back.]
[Does Hilda blink down at the shampoo in her hand when he mentions it? Yes. Does Hilda hold it out? Nah. She does, in fact, pull it a bit farther away, under the guise of shifting her shopping bag a bit higher on that particular arm. Where's the fun in letting him take his rose-scented shampoo and run...]
That's easy for you to say! I'm very fragile, and you're very solid. Running into you was quite a shock.
[That's only, like, half a complaint, because Hilda is Hilda—but ah, would you look at that slight away before Hilda manages ("manages") to catch herself.]
In fact—oh, dear, but I'm feeling rather woozy. Maybe I should sit down... [That outstretched hand? Hi, hello, Hilda is reaching right out to grab it with her free hand. She needs to steady herself—while offering him the doe-eyed look that works on, like, 90% of the population.] Do you see a bench nearby?
[By which she obviously means, "O, woe is me! Please lead me to a bench, careless-but-kind stranger."]
this thread is already killing me, i can't believe hilda
The show of her “wooziness” is questionable at best. The fact that she grabs onto his hand, fingers curling around his own, is such an unfamiliar sensation to Sephiroth that he stands there, stock-still, the muscles in his arms going stiff. He cannot help it — this is far from how anyone would ever treat him on Gaia (casually, jokingly(?)), so foreign that there’s no immediate response. He stonewalls because that’s often easiest.
It helps detach himself from the sensation of Moonlacing, always inevitable, even through fabric.]
If running into someone in an alleyway is this of a traumatic experience for you, I wonder how you survive at all.
[Is he… gonna get his shampoo back. Please.]
If I find a seat for you, will you give me back my purchase?
jen, we will pretend that i am not late... and that hilda is not an absolute gremlin
[He's gotten himself into some serious trouble, that's for sure, because of course Hilda doesn't miss the way he tenses; she half expects him to pull away, really, but he remains precisely where he is... and Hilda wonders what stunned him more: the touch of a stranger, or the buzz of Chroma? Interesting either way.]
Oh—I'm still holding your shampoo? [she asks, sweetly and, you know. Dazedly. She is fully committed to this part she's playing, hence the way she follows up this ~realization~ with an oh-so light laugh.] I'm sorry! It's hard to think when I'm this lightheaded...
[And yet that doesn't stop her from giving his hand an experiment squeeze! So light it's barely a thing, true, but she still looks back up at him to offer him a small smile—and (hopefully) catch his reaction.]
But of course I'll give it back. I'm not a thief—and I'm very grateful for your help.
[Seph, she is sparkling. She is charm given human form... and she also did not say when, precisely, she'd give that shampoo back, but details, details.]
elia.....i cannot talk about ppl being late... gestures at this tag
[Both, really. Physical touch is not common (for him) back on his Planet, much less from complete and utter strangers. And Chroma is a level above and beyond that, something that he has accepted only out of necessity -- but not without a large amount of digging his proverbial heels into the ground.
So yes, he's tense at the touch. He'll likely remain so, as well, but like any SOLDIER worth their salt, Sephiroth is trained to be adaptive. That includes when he's being assailed by young women who refuse to give him back his shampoo.]
I'm sure you are.
[HE'S NOT FOOLED BY YOU AND YOUR WILES but he also doesn't have the capacity to be mean about it, either. She can lean on him all she wants, but she's going to have to stick close as he makes a turn and leads them over to the nearest bench just along the sidewalk.]
Sit.
[This is obviously a man who is more used to giving commands than requests.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a wild Sephiroth appears. (Action! ....lmk if this is too dumb lmao.)
It’s too bad that Sephiroth is usually considered none of the above.
Thankfully, there are other variables that will help him with that today. Mostly, it’s the fact that he decided to take a shortcut through a market square bursting with neon colors, the Lunatians all a-bustle with the vigor of excitable shoppers seeking a deal. He soon realizes that this “shortcut” is in name only, and changes course into an alley to avoid the main crowd, long strides bringing him there quickly.
Out the other end, and around a corner— and even Sephiroth’s reflexes do not make him immune from Bad Timing. He feels it against him, a jostle that barely moves his frame when he bumps into someone, but it’s enough to have the item he bought earlier today tumble out of his hands. This item is either:
A) a round container with a cartoon fish mascot printed on the front. Goldfish(?) food?
B) a bottle of shampoo in an unfortunately bright neon bottle. Rose scented.
C) a book; a collection of short, historical fiction, according to the spine. Considering where they are, this might as well be science-fiction.
Sephiroth could make the effort to stoop down low and catch the object before it collides into the pavement, but maybe this pink-haired young lady wants to do something about it first? Or, you know. Not. That works too.]
does he have a pet fish??? i'm losing it
And it's also imperative that she, you know. Tries every shampoo + conditioner combo known to man, because holy shit, how did she ever survive a day without frizz control? A mystery she is, in fact, pondering as she walks down the street, idly swinging her shopping bag full of her latest shampoo finds...
...But while Hilda's head may be in the clouds, she's definitely less than half to blame for this collision. One second she's innocently walking along; the next she's running smack-dab into something—someone—tall and solid, and ooh, but if that isn't the worst.]
H-Hey!
[HEY! Back she stumbles—but she's too sturdy to fall, thank goodness, even when something bumps against her feet. Just give her a second to pinwheel in place before she (huffily) sticks her landing. Tall people! Damn! No consideration for their tiny brethren!]
You really should be more careful, you know, [she chides, bending down to pick up that mysterious Something.] You nearly knocked me over! And you dropped your—
[Oh. Well. Hmm. It's the bottle of shampoo, because of course it is—and of course she's looking up from it to the man before her, just. Blinking up at all of that hair. Like, the face is okay, sure, but the hair... she is Looking (and not holding that bottle out)...]
he sure does... a castmate gave it to him ages ago lmao
She seems offended, and maybe rightly so— Until she looks utterly distracted, like she’s suddenly lost focus on something far more interesting.]
…. [He helps her out with-] My shampoo.
[A gloved hand comes out, palm-up, to both regain her attention and wordlessly request the bottle back.]
You’re still standing on your feet. No harm done.
hilda needs to learn this deep seph lore
That's easy for you to say! I'm very fragile, and you're very solid. Running into you was quite a shock.
[That's only, like, half a complaint, because Hilda is Hilda—but ah, would you look at that slight away before Hilda manages ("manages") to catch herself.]
In fact—oh, dear, but I'm feeling rather woozy. Maybe I should sit down... [That outstretched hand? Hi, hello, Hilda is reaching right out to grab it with her free hand. She needs to steady herself—while offering him the doe-eyed look that works on, like, 90% of the population.] Do you see a bench nearby?
[By which she obviously means, "O, woe is me! Please lead me to a bench, careless-but-kind stranger."]
this thread is already killing me, i can't believe hilda
The show of her “wooziness” is questionable at best. The fact that she grabs onto his hand, fingers curling around his own, is such an unfamiliar sensation to Sephiroth that he stands there, stock-still, the muscles in his arms going stiff. He cannot help it — this is far from how anyone would ever treat him on Gaia (casually, jokingly(?)), so foreign that there’s no immediate response. He stonewalls because that’s often easiest.
It helps detach himself from the sensation of Moonlacing, always inevitable, even through fabric.]
If running into someone in an alleyway is this of a traumatic experience for you, I wonder how you survive at all.
[Is he… gonna get his shampoo back. Please.]
If I find a seat for you, will you give me back my purchase?
jen, we will pretend that i am not late... and that hilda is not an absolute gremlin
Oh—I'm still holding your shampoo? [she asks, sweetly and, you know. Dazedly. She is fully committed to this part she's playing, hence the way she follows up this ~realization~ with an oh-so light laugh.] I'm sorry! It's hard to think when I'm this lightheaded...
[And yet that doesn't stop her from giving his hand an experiment squeeze! So light it's barely a thing, true, but she still looks back up at him to offer him a small smile—and (hopefully) catch his reaction.]
But of course I'll give it back. I'm not a thief—and I'm very grateful for your help.
[Seph, she is sparkling. She is charm given human form... and she also did not say when, precisely, she'd give that shampoo back, but details, details.]
elia.....i cannot talk about ppl being late... gestures at this tag
So yes, he's tense at the touch. He'll likely remain so, as well, but like any SOLDIER worth their salt, Sephiroth is trained to be adaptive. That includes when he's being assailed by young women who refuse to give him back his shampoo.]
I'm sure you are.
[HE'S NOT FOOLED BY YOU AND YOUR WILES but he also doesn't have the capacity to be mean about it, either. She can lean on him all she wants, but she's going to have to stick close as he makes a turn and leads them over to the nearest bench just along the sidewalk.]
Sit.
[This is obviously a man who is more used to giving commands than requests.]