@cxtra says: “ i have faith in you. ”
( softer prompts. )
☆ ━━━ Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Nanaki are setting up their first camp outside Midgar: there wasn’t much time to pluck up supplies before they escaped the city and so only meager sleeping bags are rolled over the hard dirt, while Barret gets a little crackling fire blooming on a few logs with the help of his Materia.
Cloud focuses on looking over their other supplies, which he has strewn over the ground before him as he kneels to take stock of what’s left for the endless miles ahead until the next town--with a frown, he notices there isn’t much at all.
A few Potions, two Hi-Potions, half a loaf of bread, a couple slices of wrapped cheese, an Antidote, and a handful of other knickknacks like bandages and weapons make up the rest of it.
A knot emerges in the pit of his stomach, twisting and aching so that he wants to vomit right there. He holds the panic inside steadily, as he is used to carrying such weight, though it often leaves his thoughts spiraling onward maddeningly. Luckily, none of the others can read his mind, so if he just keeps his expression neutral--like he’s practiced, such as hiding his shaking hands from sight--no one will know the way he is unraveling.
Cloud gazes at the Potions and other items, but he hardly sees them anymore. Rather, he listens to Red and Tifa speak quietly about the pretty view, Aerith chiming in with a giggle, Barret huffing--
Cloud can’t fail them.
It was famous ex-SOLDIER Cloud that dragged them from Midgar, leading them onward with their tattered war banners into the unknown. Cloud selfishly wants revenge--saving the Planet is merely a bonus to him.
But even though he claims he’s resolved to kill Sephiroth, every step closer they take to the deranged general has Cloud inwardly begging for the chance to run away.
A slithering whisper oozes into Cloud’s roaring mind, cutting through it like steel from a sharpened blade: “Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you, perhaps...”
Sephiroth’s warning makes him shiver even now, even under the fading sunlight of a sinking sun, even among his self-proclaimed friends.
And then, the question that keeps Cloud up at night: “But what will you do with it?”
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH IT?
A hand, warm and slender, slides over his hunched shoulder--
Cloud jerks, whips out a hand to grab the Buster Sword beside him--
Until he blinks up and sees it’s simply Aerith: green glittering eyes wide, mouth in a serene--if not a little surprised--smile. And she says, filling the silence and Cloud’s guilt with assurance, warmth: “I have faith in you.”
As if, maybe, she could read his mind after all.
Cloud stares up at her with his Mako-drenched eyes, watches her as stars begin to spring up from the purple-blue backdrop of the sky.
And he says, tenderly, honestly, “I hope I don’t disappoint you...”
For a moment, he considers telling Aerith everything that Sephiroth told him, all the flashes and dreams of a future forever escaping his grasp. It’s right there, but the moment he starts putting the pieces together, it all falls apart again...
Fate is pushing him along on this road and Cloud isn’t sure he’s ready for what he will inevitably lose.
SEVEN SECONDS TILL THE END...
