( @setirophx sephiroth to cloud c: ) “You save everyone, but who saves you?”
"......" Cloud considered his words, and let them run through all of his thoughts, because this was something he had never really taken the time to think about. He would make a guess that if it really came to it, the others would come get him, but... The few times where he did need help, like with Midgardsormr, and a few others, he was always left to defend himself. Ultimately, being rescued by the one before him, and that left him feeling a certain kind of way over realizing this. It almost hurt to think that not even Tifa dared to come into the water after him. Right now, even, he was facing off with their greatest threat, alone. Always alone.
To say that Zack is surprised is a bit of an understatement, but maybe he shouldn't be. He always knew that firsts had fanclubs, but he never really thought of himself as, well...cool enough for that? So when he's approached out of the blue, he stutters and flushes and looks at Sephiroth apologetically.
Now, he knows he should be glad it's him instead of Sephiroth because he gets enough attention as it is. They knew it was running a risk to come out together, but for Zack to be the one getting all the attention? It's new, it's thrilling, but he still feels...bad. This is a date, or, well, as close to one as they can get, and here he is, having all his attention taken away by fans.
"Hey, no! No, sorry. I don't want you to go..." is what Zack says when the fan he was talking to finally leaves. He knows Sephiroth so well by now that he can tell when he's jealous, and it leaves Zack withering. ""I didn't expect that to happen, yanno? I didn't even really know I had a fanclub."
Glenn gave Sephiroth a funny look, a little amused at his defiance, though his smile was genuine.
"Nah, I know you can handle yourself. That's not it. But let me help, will you? We split up our team, it's only fair we do an equal split. So while Lucia and Matt go back to secure our camp, I go scout the place out with you. Sorry, kid, you're stuck with me."
The smile had turned into a grin. Glenn was well aware of the fact that Sephiroth was their leader now. And he was capable, more than that. But damn it! He was just a kid! He had a few things to learn still - like relaxing and letting others help him.
Without any hesitation, Glenn clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Getting from Midgar to Junon had been a stressful endeavor, requiring assets such as falsified documentation and passports- New identities they had to memorize and manage to seamlessly obfuscate. Jae’s cover story had been easy enough, a simple name switch and a fake occupation. Immigrants from Wutai and Haneul typically had dual citizenship, so it wasn’t a massive stretch. Sephiroth and the child, on the other hand, had been more difficult. It wasn’t just a matter of cutting and dying hair, they had uniquely colored eyes to boot- Not to mention the former General couldn’t exactly pass himself off as any other eight to five salaryman.
The worst of it was behind them, they’d managed to get through to Yoon’s nation of origin. Shinra still had its industrial claws sucking the land dry of naturally rich deposits of mako, but they would not be risking a life in the capital city. The Turk took them further in the north along the various streams and rivers branching from the sprawling mountain range. Flat grassy planes and fertile hills began to give way to steppes and rocks. But they remained along the borders at the feet of the jutting dragon’s spine of cliffs along the peninsula, where the forest was dense. Game and flora would be more abundant there.
It took some time even by truck and Al was clearly growing rather disenchanted with how windy it was in comparison to the sunny shores of Junon or mild weather of Midgar.
“I think this might be it,” Jae finally spoke, stepping out of the pick up. Ancient slices of tree trunks made a meandering pathway to a large house, clearly abandoned and in a questionable state. He was surprised that it was still standing, to be honest.
Al glanced around, looking less than impressed as he clung to Sephiroth’s leg.
“When are we going to go back?” the child asked, fidgeting in an anxious and unsure manner.
“This is going to be our home, Al. I grew up in this house when I was about your age,” he answered, feeling a strange mixture of nostalgic familiarity yet also awareness of the passage of time. It was still on the cusp between the end of summer and the start of fall, so the foliage was alive and vibrant green, trumpet vines and creeping ivy overtaking everything.
“Good thing winter hasn’t kicked in yet, or it’d all be snow.”
The nearest trading outpost wasn’t too far away, a small village a couple miles south. They could rely on dry goods and canned food for now, but when they had to contend with day long blizzards and low visibility, hunting would be their only source of steady food in addition to preserving grown vegetables during the fairer times of the year.
“Just keep your shoes on, I have no idea what kind of nasty bugs have probably been shacking up here. We get everything- Huntsman spiders, house centipedes, geckos- At least the geckos are cute.”
The hanok is mostly wood, stone, and earth, with sliding screen doors lined with additional panes of glass. Most of them were broken or cracked from wear and weather. The floors were heated via water boiler, but there was also a gudeul system for cooking and heating via firewood. There was a bathing area inside the house that required heat as well, but the bathroom was in a shed a couple steps away. A large gas generator was housed in a shed to run appliances and electricity, though they usually saved energy and relied on the gudeul in the wintertime.
“I’ll have find someone in the village to check the ondol system, since carbon monoxide poisoning is an issue if you don’t know what you’re doing… The generator seems okay, just dry. Water comes from wells and the mountain streams. Everything is totally overgrown, I’ll have to start over from the soil up if we want to have a garden.”
It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t great, either.
“We could make this work, but I’ll be honest- It’s going to be hard. We’re going to have to do ton of repairs while the weather’s still nice and winter prep is going to be… uh. Maybe we’ll just deal with that after we get the house in working order. What do you think…? No good?” he asks, looking over the place once more.
"Threatening? Darling it's meant to be beautiful. To invoke a sense of ethereal wonder. You ask yourself-- how can a man be so alluring?" He posed, hands framing his face with a smile as he leaned in to touch up his lipstick.
"Imagine the heads you could turn dressed to the nines. Hell-- you'd be a better queen than even me, and I've been doing this for years at this point." Shiva grabbed a make up brush, turning his attention to the SOLDIER. He knew he was playing with fire, associating with someone from Shinra--
But he had a heavenly beauty about him. Shiva wanted to know him more, show the princess a life outside the castle.
"You try wearing heels and being intimidating. It's difficult enough balancing."
Asteria kept her eyes on him while he circled her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as he looked at her like some sort of prey.
She knew he couldn't kill her, at least not outright, and she didn't know if he even wanted to. But the unease was settling deep into her gut and Asteria couldn't restrain the shudder that rolled down her shoulders and back.
"Of all people, I would have assumed you would've taken notice. Why do you think I do what I can to avoid you..?" She muttered.
"I'm... here--" Cloud could not understand why his body seemed to jerk a little, arms feeling this urge to lift up and do exactly that. It would be easy to physically reach for the other, and his mind craved for him to be both that and mentally, as well. Still, he somehow managed to only move a single step, before his mind tried to come back to itself.
"No!" The air had escaped him, momentarily, and his breath came in and out with quiet shivers, wide eyes staring with such incredible fear at his greatest adversary. What he had just been trying to tell the other of being some 'coward', he most certainly felt like one in this very second; a hypocritical statement that he strangely almost regrets in saying to his former heroic idol.
Now, only confusion remained as he tried to reign himself back in, and that pain was suddenly flaring in his head. Enough to cause him to lose his focus, and slam his eyes shut to try and block out the pain.
"A war hero?" The brunet shook his head, chuckling. "Nah-- way too pretty. Streets ahead of that redhead Turk dude, you know?" He was made for charming folks-- giving them compliments and getting tips in return. All a matter of practice at the Honeybee Inn.
This was one of those rare moments where he meant it.
"And your eyes-- woah. Like the morning sky." Shiva's own were a rather dull brown, thanks to the contacts he wore.
"If you were from SOLDIER, you'd be the guy here about the monster problem we've been having in Wall Market. But Shinra doesn't really stick their noses down here. I think we're a bit beneath them, in more ways than one." He glanced upward, no doubt referencing the plate.
"But I'm just here for a short time-- once I get enough to get out of Midgar, I'm headed to the Golden Saucer. Not many guys can sing like I can." He winked coyly, leaning in closer.
"If you're looking to make some quick money-- I could get you an audition at the Honeybee Inn. I do drag there sometimes and you've definitely got what it takes to make a gorgeous queen."
