And you get another one from me! Or rather us since this is an RP between me and a friend on DA her account number is Shibara :D i don't know if she has an account here.
Title: The little merman named Zack
rating: T
pairings: CloudZack SquallAerith, onesided RenoZack
Summary: He's curious by nature so he couldn't help but try and see what the surface world was like. But after seeing the prince, he's head over heels and wants him bad. But does he really realize how bad the consequences might be if he doesn't get his kiss within 15 days?
I rp as Squall and Zack
She rps as Cloud and his doggy !
Aerith looked over at the merman swimming ahead of her. She watched as his hair floated behind him and wondered if he was all right. There hadn't been much action lately and she wondered if, with that fact in mind, if Zack had gotten bored. It would be so like him to want to do something crazy.
Zack sighed as they were swimming, and did a little flip before falling back and was swimming beside Aerith. "There's nothing to do here," he said before he looked up and smirked. "Hm...wanna hear an idea I have in mind?" he asked her.
Aerith looked at him almost warily. "What is it that you have in mind?" She asked then, giving him a small smile.
Zack grinned and started to swim up,"I wanna check out the surface, 'eagl doesn't let me." he said. "I've always wanted to look, come on!"
Aerith blinked. "Zack.. you know we shouldn't.. it's dangerous!" She said then but she found herself swimming up after him anyways. She had to admit she was kind of interested herself.
Zack chuckled and looked back at her,"But I bet it's way more interesting than just swimming around here. Besides as long as you don't tell Angeal and the other's we'll be fine!"he said as they got closer to the surface.
"I don't know Zack... what if we got hurt.. how would we explain to them we got hurt without saying anything? "
Zack pouted," We'll just say we were playing around in the coral and we weren't careful. Besides where is your sense of adventure?"
"My sense of adventure? What does that have to do with anything?" Aerith said then as she swam in front of Zack between him and the surface of the water, her arms crossed.
Zack smirked and swam around her," You know? Don't you like adventures like this? Come on you use to be so much fun!"
Aerith raised an eyebrow at this before she shook her head slightly and sighed. "oh Zack... you really are one hell of a talker..." She said then before she chuckled a bit. "alright fine... let's go. Don't expect me to take all the blame for this if we get in trouble though." She teased.
Zack grinned and hugged her,"You're the best Aerith!"he said as he tugged on her hand. "Let's go, we're almost there!"he said as he swam more.
Aerith laughed a bit at this before she let Zack pull her up. She was nervous of course, but also excited and curious. Who wouldn't be? Zack's excitement and curiousity was always contagious.
Finally Zack reached the surface and shook his head as he stared, "Woah..." he said, "So...this is what the surface looks like?" he said. The water was clear and it reflected the moon's light, and the stars were as clear as the sun. And as far as he could see, open skies and open water.
Aerith blinked, looking around when she surfaced beside him. "Woah is right... I never imagined it would look like this!"
Zack blinked and pointed at an object not too far away, "Look! I think Genesis showed me a picture of that...I think it's called a ship," he said. "Let's go check it out!"
Aerith looked over. "alright... but we have to be careful... I'm sure there will be what I believe are called humans on that boat... and it might not be a good thing if they see us.
Zack's looked at Aerith, his eyes sparkled with interest, "Humans? I wanna see!"he said and swam quickly towards the boat.
Aerith sighed. "Zaack." She said then before she shook her head gently, chuckling. She swam quickly after him.
Zack swam up to the boat but kept out of view,he pushed his wt hair out of the way."Wow..."he stared at the humans that were on the boat.
Aerith carefully came up beside him. "Wow... they definitely are interesting creatures aren't they?"
It was then that a huge furry creature came out of nowhere, sniffing at the mermaid and merman. It was a short-haired creature with golden yellow fur all over it's body and a long thin tail. It had four legs as it looked at them curiously. It barked loudly then at the two, sniffing continuously, as it's tail wagged.
Zack nodded his head,"Yeah...they're so different from us," he said. He stared at the strange creature and chuckled as he waved at it,"Aeirth what is that?"he asked. He blinked and then looked up and stared at one of the humans on the boat.
The golden thing barked again before he suddenly licked Zack's face and then Aerith's. Barking again before a voice from behind him made him lift his head and perk his ears up. "Hey! Ryosuke! Come here boy!" The creature, apparently named Ryosuke, barked again and ran over to the one who had called him. He barked again, jumping on a man with golden hair and blue eyes that matched the creature perfectly. If it hadn't been for their species you'd have thought they were twins as they played together.
Aerith shook her head. "I.. don't know what that is." She admitted.
Zack chuckled softly as the strange creature licked his face and Aerith's. His eyes followed 'Ryosuke' as he started to play with the human with godlen hair and blue gasped a little and tugged on Aerith's arm,"Look...isn't he handsome," he said and grinned.
Aerith squeaked a bit when she was licked. She glanced at Zack when he tugged on her arm before looking over. "Yes he is quite handsome." She said softly.
Zack nodded his head and sighed as he watched the blonde play with the four legged...thing, as Zack had called it. "He has pretty eyes..."he mumbled mostly to himself.
"Cloud," said a tall brunette with green eyes," they are about to start to bring out the gift that Tifa sent you for you birthday." he said sounding somewhat bored.
Aerith giggled a bit. "You sound like a love struck teenage girl." She teased before she gasped at the sight of the other man. "Wow.. now he's pretty handsome!" She said then.
The blond looked up upon hearing the brunette. "Alright Squall. I really don't understand why they make a huge deal about this sometimes." He said then, shrugging.
Zack pouted,"I do not...he's just really good looking," he mumbled as he looked up at the blonde that was apparently called 'Cloud'. He chuckled at Aerith,"Uh huh, he is," he said and smirked at his best friend.
Aerith giggled at this. "You sure you're not crushing on him Zacky?" She teased. Aerith blushed a bit. " I happen to be a sucker for green eyes. "
Squall sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he lead his friend to the main deck, "You know Tifa, she dots on you, after all you're childhood friends." he said. "...and of marrying age,"he added the last bit for only Cloud to hear.
Cloud stood, walking after Squall with Ryosuke right behind him. He sighed then. "As true as that is... Tifa knows I'm not interested in her that way. It would be weird... like dating my sister or something."
Zack blushed and looked away from Cloud and pouted at Aerith,"W-well what if I am?"he said and looked back on the boat. He chuckled a little bit,"Well, he looks like the calm sort, are you sure you're not crushing on this 'Squall'?"
Aerith smiled. "I think it's cute. " She blushed then. "W-Well.. I might be.. what business is it of yours?" She said back, pouting a bit herself.
Squall nodded his head in understand as the crew brought out the rather large gift. "True, but the kingdom expects you to find a wife soon and settle down." he said and sighed, "Politics probably." he said.
Cloud sighed then. "I guess that's true enough..." He grimaced a bit. "I'm really not looking forward to that though. Why should I marry just because my people expect me to?"
Zack chuckled"I guess we're both crushing on someone then," he said and ruffled her hair. "I wonder where this Cloud lives...and if he's always on a boat."
Squall shrugged his shoulders," I don't know how to answer, I'm just glad I am merely a duke and not a prince like you." he said and rested his hand on his shoulder."But keep in mind, just because they expect you to doesn't mean you have to do it yet." he said.
The crew set the gift on the main deck and placed it so that was facing Cloud. One of the crew members cleared his throat, "From Princess Tifa a gift you your majesty." The cover was taken off and it was reveled to be a painting of Cloud.
Aerith giggled a bit. "I guess. Hmm... I wonder if Squall lives in the same place." She said then, watching. Her eyes widened at the sight of the gift. "Wow... whoever gave that to Cloud is quite talented."
Cloud nodded. "Thanks for that Squall." He turned to the gift then and blinked. "Wow. She really wanted to impress me with this one." He commented then.
Zack nodded his head,"They seem to be friends maybe they do?"he said. He stared at the painting, "wow...they sure are I've only seen Gen make coral paintings...this looks so different."
Squall smirked a bit, "It seems she did, "he said and looked at it. "She put a lot of detail into this, you should probably make it clearer that you are not interested."
Aerith shrugged.
Cloud sighed at this, shaking his head a bit as he rubbed his temple with his finger and thumb. "I thought I'd made it clear enough... apparently she thinks she can convince me..." He said then, sounding annoyed. He frowned a bit, though he did have to admit her painting amazed him.
Zack looked at Cloud and then at the painting, pouting a little for some reason he felt jealous.
Squall smirked again,"If I was your advisor I would tell you to marry the girl, your kingdom will need an heir one day and what not. But as a friend I suggest putting a stop to this before anyone's feelings are hurt.
The wind started to pick up as well as the waves becoming less steady and unstable. It almost seemed like there was an up coming storm.
Cloud glanced up at Squall. "Then I appreciate the fact that you're my friend.. because I really don't need someone telling me to marry my friend that I consider a sister. " He frowned, wondering how in the world he was going to tell Tifa that he wasn't interested in a way she'd understand but wouldn't hurt her feelings at the same time. He looked up then, seeing the wind picking up. It didn't look good.
Squall nodded his head,"Then when we land after your little birthday party you should seek an audience with her and talk things through." he frowned at the suddenly strong wind, "This doesn't look good."
As if on cue there was a rumbling noise like thunder as it suddenly started to rain, the winds picked up more. The waves became stronger and more violent, rocking the ship around roughly, the sea was no longer calm and it seemed that the storm had finally started to hit.
Cloud nodded his silent agreement. He frowned at the winds before he was almost thrown overboard, barely bracing himself. Ryosuke barked loudly at the sudden rocking of the boat.
Squall barely managed to brace himself and held on to something. He looked over at Cloud and Ryosuke,
"Are you two alright?" he said to them.
Aerith gripped at the boat a bit. "Woah... sudden change in the weather!" She commented, looking over.
Zack held onto the ship too, "Looks like it I just hope it doesn't get worse." he said.
Another violent wave hit the ship, making it rock violently again. There was a bit of thunder, a flash of lightening and heavier rain added to the mix. The waves crashed against the ship, rocking it from side to side, up and down.
Cloud was thrown for a bit of another loop, managing to grab onto the side of the boat. He looked over to Squall. "Yeah.. For the moment at least!" He called out. Ryosuke whimpered, his claws trying to find something to cling onto, but with the now soaked wood from the rain he couldn't find anything at all as he slipped and slid all over the place.
Aerith closed her eyes for a moment. "Looks as if whoever gives people their hopes isn't listening right now Zack!"
Squall nodded his head, but the waves picked up more, splashing the ship and soaking those on crew members hurried about trying to keep the ship from taking too much damage and on course.
Zack looked worried at Aerith, "I hope nothing bad happens," he said as his eyes glanced at Cloud.
Aerith nodded to Zack. She hoped with him. That was when everything seemed to go wrong. The thunder struck loud overhead, scaring Ryosuke a bit. He jumped, slipping again and the watery terrain he was now on caused him to slip towards the side of the boat fast. Cloud cried out at this, moving to go and try to help the large dog but it was too late as the dog crashed straight through the railing and into the sea. Ryosuke barked loudly in fear once he resurfaced, trying to keep afloat. "Ryosuke!" Cloud cried out before he stood shakily and ran towards the side.
Cloud saw the dog and immediately dived into the water after him. He wouldn't lose his dog who had been one of his only friends for a long time now. Cloud resurfaced after a while and immediately began searching for the dog. Ryosuke barked again, drawing Cloud's attention to him. Cloud swam over, grabbing him. "I've got you boy.. it's alright." Ryosuke was still frantic, but not as bad now. Cloud looked around, finding a wooden plank and swimming him and Ryosuke over to it. He got the dog on but there wasn't enough room for him as well. "Stay boy.. it'll be alright." Cloud said to the whimpering dog. He began to swim to a nearby barrel that had fallen off the ship before he heard a shout. He looked up and his eyes went wide as a huge object that he couldn't discern the identity of came flying towards him. He tried to move out of the way but couldn't make it in time and was hit hard. He grabbed onto the floating barrel, holding on for a while before his vision started going and his grip released, dragging him into the rolling waves.
Squall yelled at Cloud but he knew that it wouldn't stop his friend from trying to reach Ryosuke. He yelled an order at crew to get a lifeboat to go help the prince and his dog. The winds were violent, the wooden floor wet, the men slipped clumsily around as they tried to get the lifeboat. Panic filled Squall as he shouted at his friend as an object flew towards him, hitting him hard on the head. "Hurry, were is the lifeboat the prince is in danger!" he yelled. Dread filled Zack's being as he watched what happened but when Cloud went under water he didn't even spare a glance at Aerith and dove right after him. Under the surface the sea was calm, you could hardly tell there was a storm up there. He looked around and spotted Cloud, swimming quickly he reached him. Zack wrapped his arms around him and trying to swim back up to the surface. Keeping Cloud's head above water he glanced at the ship, it was slightly far away. Zack looked to his right and looked determined as he started swimming as quickly as he could while holding Cloud; he could swim to land.
Aerith's eyes widened. "Zack!" She cried before watching him. She watched the scene for a while longer before she dove down into the water as well. She watched Zack before following after him, staying under water so as to know he'd be alright.
Ryosuke barked crazily, wanting to go after his master but unable to because of his fear. He whimpered but saw his master's head come up a fair distance away. He seemed to be with another so he quieted a bit, his tail down and his ears flat as he whimpered.
Cloud had a vague feeling of being pulled through the waves but his vision and mind continued to swim and he had no idea what was going on at the moment.
Finally Squall and the crew managed to get the lifeboat once the sea had calmed down a little bit. He urged them on as they reached Ryosuke, "Come on boy,"Squall called to him as he scanned the area for any sign of Cloud.
Zack was so focused on Cloud he didn't even notice that Aerith was following after him. Finally, after reaching land, Zack struggled a bit to get Cloud on the sandy beach. Zack's mertail helped a bit as he sighed feeling tired. He looked at Cloud; close up he looked just as handsome to him. Zack smiled a little and brushed some of his hair out of his face, sighing a bit, "Please be ok..." he said. He didn't understand what drove him to dive right after Cloud, but all he knew was that all he wanted at that moment was for Cloud to be all right. It wasn't as if he had never heard about humans drowning in the ocean, his father had told him stories. But…he didn't want Cloud to suffer that fate.
Ryosuke whined a bit before he carefully hopped over into the boat, sitting beside Squall. He looked out to where he'd seen his master and barked again before whimpering.
Aerith watched the two from a distance, not wanting to get in the way.
Cloud felt his body against the sand, feeling almost as if he was still somewhere between the real world and a dream. He heard a voice then. It was so melodic, almost like a song and it was filled with what sounded like concern... concern for him? He couldn't let them stay worried and concerned when he was fine.. it wasn't his way. Besides, he had to thank them for surely they'd saved his life. He groaned a bit then as he shifted slightly against the sand, his eyes opening slightly upon feeling the hand on his forehead moving his hair out of the way. He saw a blurred shape of what looked like a person and dark black hair. He'd never seen hair so black before and it immediately caught his attention.
Squall and the rest of the crew searched the area, scanning around to see if the could spot
Squall ordered them to head to shore saying that the prince might have washed up on shore.
Zack gasped a little when Cloud had slightly opened his eyes they looked a little unfocused. But to Zack they were just as amazing, they had the same shade of the sky on a clear day. He couldn't help but grin as he brushed a bit of sand off his face. Zack sighed, "You're awake, I'm glad." he managed to say. He sighed as relief washed over him, since it seemed that Cloud was waking up, it meant that he would be all right. He kept smiling at Cloud as he cleaned the sand from his face; it gave him an excuse to look at his pretty blue eyes. "Gee….Aerith is right, I am acting like some lovesick teenage girl…"he thought to himself.
Cloud blinked a bit then, his vision focusing slightly, but not much. He could make out a smile on the other's face. "Who... are you?" He said then, wanting to know who to be thankful for. Aerith saw the others then. "Zack! They're coming!" She called out to him in warning. Ryosuke sniffed at the air and barked excitedly when he smelled Cloud's scent, his tail wagging happily.
Zack kept his bright smile and was about to answer when he heard Aerith's warning. A look of sadness crossed his face, "I..." he than heard the barking. He looked up and away from Cloud as he pouted a little bit, he knew that they were close. And he didn't even get a chance to tell Cloud his name.
"Cloud!" came Squall's voice. Zack used that moment to slip away to where Aerith was and hid from view. Squall came running on the beach calling Cloud's name again.
Cloud blinked when the man above him seemed suddenly sad. He heard the barking then and Squall's voice and turned towards them for just a moment. He looked back then and saw the man was gone. He very carefully sat up, looking around and trying to find him without any success. Who was he? Was he someone that he just came up with in his mind to explain something to himself? But, his voice... his face. They looked so real. He didn't have long to contemplate this as Ryosuke came running up out of nowhere and pounced on Cloud, licking his face. This brought Cloud out of his thoughts as he cried out in surprise, laughing as Ryosuke's tongue hit his skin. "ok! Ok! Ryosuke get off me you overgrown puppy! Haha! alright alright! I got it! You missed me.. I missed you too you overgrown furball now get off!" He cried out then, gently pushing the dog off who barked loudly again. Ryosuke ran towards Squall, who he'd left behind in his excitement and barked some more as if to say 'Over here! He's over here! I found him!'
Squall ran towards the barking and saw both Ryousuke and Cloud. He sighed in relief, "Cloud, you're alright I had feared that with such a storm." he said and shook his head placing his hand on Cloud's shoulder in a comforting way.
Cloud blinked at this, petting Ryosuke when he came back, his tail still wagging as if he was trying to create a sandstorm. Cloud gave Squall a small smile. "Of course I'm alright. I had..." at this Cloud looked out again, his eyes narrowed before he looked at Squall again. "Did you... see anyone here?" He asked his friend in confusion. He could have sworn that someone had saved him. He remembered that much clearly.. or had that been a dream?
Aerith watched the scene before turning to Zack. "You going to be alright?" She asked him softly.
Zack peeked out from behind the rock and stared at Cloud, a mixture of sadness, longing yet happiness filled his eyes. He sighed, "I dunno but...I know that...I'll see him again, I want to see him again." he said.
Aerith smiled softly. "Well, from the look on Cloud's face... he wants to see you again too. You only get one chance to make a good impression Zack... and I think you really made a great impression on that young man. "
Squall arched an eyebrow at the question and shook his head,"No, not that I noticed,but we only just got here, why do you ask?"he questioned him.
Zack stared at Cloud again before looking at Aerith grinning brightly. "You think so?"he asked as he smiled. His mertail wagged, it happened mostly when he was happy and made splashing noises.
Cloud narrowed his eyes a bit and looked out. "Squall... someone saved my life... they were here when I awoke... but before I could get their name, they heard the two of you coming and left... I didn't get a good look, my vision fuzzy still... but I've never seen such... black hair before..." Ryosuke blinked, barking slightly at this.
Aerith smiled. "Of course Zack. Can't you see how he keeps looking around? I'm sure he's searching for something... and that something could only be you! Now calm that tail of yours down before you give us away. " She teased.
Squall looked at Cloud wanting to say that may be he had gotten hit on the head too hard. But when he saw the serious look on his face he decided not to. "But...who? Who would have been out there in the middle of a storm?" he asked.
Zack was still smiling as he blushed a bit and chuckled, he looked back at Cloud and sighed. He grinned sheepishly as he stopped his tail from moving so much. "You know... there's your Squall," he said and smirked.
Cloud sighed then, closing his eyes for a moment. "I.. don't know Squall... but I just.. know there was someone. It was too real to be a dream... It was just... too real." It was clear Cloud was so sure, yet not sure at the same time. Cloud hated being unsure of anything and so this infuriated him.
Aerith blushed a bit. "Oh be quiet." She teased him. "It's not like going over to him right now and saying hi would be the best way to introduce myself to him.
Squall sighed as well,"If you say so Cloud but next time this rescuer of yours shows up, try to get a name." he said. He looked up at the castle, "Come on we better go before they send the whole kingdom out to look for you."
Cloud frowned a bit. "What.. and you don't think I did try to get a name? He was about to tell me I'm sure before he heard barking and it scared him off or something." Cloud glanced up at the castle then before he sighed. He stood up a bit shakily before getting his balance again and nodded. "You're right Squall... like you usually are. Let's get going."
Squall offered Cloud help if he needed any as they walked towards the castle. "I try not to make it a habit," he said and looked over at Ryosuke, "Come on, mutt" he said in an affectionate manner.
Cloud chuckled a bit. Ryosuke turned to the water for a moment, tilting his head as he smelled something familiar. He heard Squall then and barked happily, turning and running off after them.
Zack chuckled a little bit, "I guess and they would probably surprised to see that we are merpeople." he said. He glanced back at them and smiled fondly at Cloud.
Aerith nodded, sighing a bit. "Well, looks like they're going home Zack... we should probably do the same."
Zack nodded his head as they left the beach,"Yeah...otherwise my brothers will start to wonder where I had gone off to this time."he said as he dove underwater waiting for Aerith.
Aerith watched them for a little while longer before she dove after Zack. She was soon beside him. "Next time you plan on coming to the surface make sure you tell me.. I'd love to join you." She smiled.
Zack swam with his belly facing up, it wasn't hard and it relaxed him as he chuckled a little bit. "I bet you would, hoping to see Squall again?" he said and smiled. "I wonder..." he said softly to himself.
Aerith rolled her eyes at this. Mostly because it was true. She blinked then, swimming gently beside him. "What is it Zack? "
Zack sighed again as he swam next to her, "I wonder...what would it be like to be like them, like humans?" he said as they got closer to the underwater castle that Zack lived in with the rest of his family. He was a curious person at heart, and seeing humans for the first time it wasn't so surprising that he wondered what it would be like to be like them instead of a merman.
Aerith laughed a bit as she watched him. She thought about it then. "Well, unless your schedule has changed at all since the last time I saw it you didn't have anything trained today or yesterday, but you're scheduled for training tomorrow at the usual time. "
Zack groaned and floated in the water with a slight pout on his face. "Oh well, I can't get out of training, and looks like no one is awake just yet." he said. Zack smiled and hugged Aerith tightly, "We should get some rest, I'll sneak into my room before anyone wakes up and get some sleep." he said and yawned. "Bye Aerith," he said as he stared to swim towards his home.
Aerith giggled a bit at this. She hugged him back gently. "Good night Zack. Get as much sleep as you can." She said before swimming off.
Zack sighed as he did he best to quietly swim past Angeal's, Sephiroth' and Genesis' rooms he really hoped none had noticed that he wasn't around. He reached his room and floated down on his bed a big smile on his face as he snuggled into the pillows.