nothing but . [ open ]

A sharp intake of breath betrayed the young woman's surprise, her gaze having shifted from the stars to the man whom now stood before her. The adolescent first took notice to his tall stature before taking in the sight of his impressively lengthy mane and strange combination of physical attributes. Her own silver eyes darted about, her more observant nature urging her to visually analyse the stranger. After a moment, something clicked within her mind, and she proceeded to stand and waver only slightly. Poppy's muscles were still quite sore, after all, but she would not allow for such a minor discomfort to hamper her movement. 

"Maaaay - be," she drawled. 

She then blinked owlishly, visibly entranced by the man. There was something strange about the individual before her, hinting toward the likelihood that he could be a danger of some kind. 

'No, no he definitely is,' she thought. 'Can't help but wonder what that means for me.' 

"'mm Poppy," she said, gesturing to herself. 

Poppy brushed off a few clumps of dirt from her clothing, her hood in particular suffering from clinging leaves and stray twigs. She would pluck at these, her attention shifting from him to the crimson material as she spoke. 

"Heh, sorry mister. But - uh - you don't look like the most friendliest guy. And I kinda doubt you're from around here. What's yer name?" 

A title would help her put a name to this face, after all. 

'So he's looking for someone?' 

Poppy pursed her lips, a look of concentration settling upon her rounded facial features. She searched her recent memory before releasing a little sneer. 

"Nah," she responded. "Only folk whom I've had the pleasure of running into have been those Union types." 

Her luck had been, to put it bluntly, shit. And her pockets were suffering because of it. The organization primarily  composed Keyblade wielders were swelling in number, offering security and snuffing out Heartless in abundance. This was a problem for someone such as herself for multiple reasons. The young woman fell silent for a moment, her neatly trimmed brows furrowed as she allowed for herself to sink into the depths of her thoughts. 

"Sorry I can't help ya with that," she said. "I'm assuming he's a friend of yours?" 

She finished her task of cleaning her hood, the piece of fabric falling limply from her callous fingers. 

"Those are hard to come by," she continued. "Especially for folk like us." 

Poppy took pause, suddenly realizing that she had made a rather bold assumption. For the oddest reasons she had assumed that this older man was in a similar situation. A fellow outcast whom was far too different to situate themselves comfortably within polite society. There was an aura about him that comforted her somewhat, but she couldn't decipher it - couldn't understand it. 

"I'm not... from around here," she admitted. " 'mm from Twilight Town - doubt they'll have me back, though." 

There was a petulant edge to her voice, a certain gleam entering her eye as she released a little snort. 

Curiosity entered the young girl's eyes as he offered up only a vague response followed by a question. It appeared as though this unknown someone was important to -  

"Sephiroth," she muttered. 

The title was spoken solely to herself as she sought to remember the older man's name. Her gaze had taken leave of his own, her head turning to the side as she took a moment to consider an appropriate response to his question. The sensation of disgust had reared its ugly head as she recounted her time spent in Twilight Town. 

"I was different," she confessed. 

She forced herself to speak despite the desire to veer the conversation's topic elsewhere. 

"I left on my own, really," she said, her hands forming into loose fists. "I stole - a lot. I wanted to become stronger for my own personal gain. I was interested in all the 'wrong' things - and I - I didn't conform to their standards." 

'Well, now don't I sound like some sorta rebellious little shit.' 

Poppy couldn't help a small smile from forming as she responded to her inner-commentary. 

"Its - ugh - it's complicated." 

She deflated, the smallest of pouts twisting at her slightly chapped lips. The young woman was tired and hungry and desperately craved a bath, but she remained idle and willing to prolong this conversation. It was somewhat nice not to be alone, even if it was a for a short while. 

"And I'm not the most eloquent speaker, ya know?" 

The child shrugged. 

"How about you? What kinda stuff have you done?" 

"That's the problem, isn't it?" 

She paused briefly, a look of concentration once again furrowing her brow and causing her silver eyes to gleam.

"Folk like us want the 'wrong' thing," she said. 

Poppy released a disgruntled huff, and proceeded to pace in a tight pattern. Inwardly she felt only frustration at her own exile; at the decisions that had brought her here - 

'Alone with barely a friend or ally to call upon.'

- yet she could not bring herself to regret them nor did she truly mind that strange pulsating presence that had welled up within her since she was naught more than a child. Unbeknownst to the adolescent, her heart was presently clouded by a smog of darkness. It formed a thin film over it, its presence urging her down a certain path. It squirmed, causing a strange chill to course throughout her form. 

'He mentioned we have something in common,' she realized, having taken a moment to absorb his earlier words. 'How, exactly? He's - well - stronger than me. I can tell.' 

Despite her arrogance, when it came to raw power she had forced herself to acknowledge that she was still terribly lackluster and sloppy when it came to the art of combat. This awareness had prevented her from taking on forces far greater than herself and it had helped her survive for this long on her own. 

"I haven't - uh - killed anyone before? Well, I mean I've killed Heartless and stuff, but never someone who can actually talk back." 

The question was awkwardly presented, the girl finally halting in her pacing to face the man. She appeared interested in the topic relating to his experience as a soldier. 

"What's it like?" 

Her eyes became round, revealing her desire to squeeze more information from Sephiroth. 

 

"Thanks." 

She released an amused little snort, her intrigued look giving way to reveal a pleased expression. The young woman had listened attentively, intending to imprint his advice to memory. He was very well-spoken, and his sentences were carefully structured to reflect his intellect. 

"..."

Poppy eyed him for a moment, struck with the realization that he had left her with a startling good first impression. He spoke to her in a respectful and blessedly dignified manner, leaving the adolescent with the impression that she was on equal-footing when it came to this particular conversation. The young woman couldn't help her grin from broadening out as she was left feeling strangely satisfied. 

"You've been on your own for a while, haven't you?"  She ventured. 

The question was meant to further extend her moments spent here. This would serve as the first decent interaction she had in what felt like several months, after all.

"Me too," she continued. "I actually just turned sixteen. But I left my home about a year ago."

Her recently passed birthday had been spent counting out small piles of  freshly stolen munny. She had acquired a room on that night and had filled the silence with numbers as she carefully counted her glimmering prizes. It was a good haul, and one she remembered fondly. 

"Are you going to be on your way, soon?" 

She, unfortunately, lacked the information he was in need of. And he had very little reason to remain here. 

"To find that blonde-haired man of yours? Your... enemy, I guess?" 

Genuine surprise served as Poppy's initial response, the adolescent's eyebrows raising and her lips parting slightly as her gaze flitted from his face to his offered hand. 

"I..." 

Disbelief took shape moments later, her head shaking lightly. 

"You can't be serious." 

She refused to allow her hope to soar and be dashed. But as she took note of his stance and the genuine look in the man's eyes - 

'Oh.' 

"You're serious." 

Her expression gradually morphed to form a brilliant smile. It was an eager expression, the young woman's eyes revealing a hunger for power - to have her potential unlocked - to garner the strength she would need to survive. 

"Yes!" 

Poppy's reaction was positively giddy before she forced herself to calm, her look becoming bashful before she sought to emulate Sephiroth's cool demeanor. It was an, admittedly, poor facade, the corners of her lips constantly twitching upwards as she fought to keep a ridiculously large smile from her face. 

"I mean, I accept." 

After a moment of hesitance she reached for his hand - only to have it move just out of her reach. She shot him a questioning look before he proceeded to list a singular requirement.  Poppy couldn't resist sending him a lopsided grin before she nodded, confirming her willingness to accept his tutelage. It was only his mention of her 'habits' that caused the look to dampen slightly. 

'Well, that freakin' sucks,' she thought.  

"How else does someone like me make money, then?" 

She asked this while gripping his hand firmly and noting that his paw was much larger than her own. It was notably callous, his warrior status likely having resulted in hardened palms. 

"Can't get a normal job, ya know," she continued, arching a brow.