Hello everyone. I'm really sorry I haven't updated in such a long time... I really do feel bad. A lot of stuff happened over the summer that made me lose my will to write. Me and my best friend got in an argument (We only just were able to make up two weeks before school), I screwed my ancle up at my uncles, my boyfriend broke up with me. So yeah... I'm sorry. I also have been working on my real books, ones a wish to publish. Wish me luck?
Also, thank you, my dear beta, spopococ!! I really did like the editing you did. I've posted exactly what you edited, lets see how high the difficulty is between telling our writing styles appart?
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Unfortunately, while the day was good, the night was bad
Unfortunately, while the day was good, the night was bad. First, the tent that we had gotten was too small for the three of us, so only two could be in at a time. It was uncomfortable for two reasons. First was when it was mine and Cloud's turn to go to sleep, we had to sleep somewhat crushed together. Originally, we had slept head to foot, but after ten minutes of fake gagging at the smell of the other's feet, we switched so it was head to head.
Since we were about the same height, although I was a little taller, it was hard to get comfortable. I ended up sleeping in a ball with my head on his stomach. I woke up a few times before it was my turn for watch. This is the second reason. Well, reasons I guess. The first time I woke was because Cloud was squirming slightly to get comfortable. The second was because Cloud was staring at me; I guess he was trying to figure out once more what I was trying to hide. The third time was because he was asleep. He snored. Loud. I grumbled quietly and fell back asleep.
When it was my turn for watch though, there was no real need for me to do anything. I just sat there watching the stars with my shoes off and pants rolled up. It was nice and quiet, and I almost fell asleep. Somehow though, I managed to force myself to stay awake. I wandered around away from the fire a lot so the cool air would keep me awake, but would go back to throw a few twigs and other burnable materials onto the fire. Overall, it was pretty uneventful.
Okay, I take the uneventful thing back. I saw one of those weird lizards I decided to call Grassbacks and went to go sneak up on it. It was really small- smaller then the man-sized ones I was used to- and it was adorable! Its wide, red eyes stared at me in wonder when I sat in front of it. It looked like it wanted to run but it's leg was tangled in some roots. I cooed at it and reached out, untangling it and picking it up. It was the size of a puppy with a purple tongue. The tongue flicked out at me and it squirmed, but when I started rubbing between it's eyes…
It was as sweet as a kitten. The little baby curled against me and I smiled.
"Hey baby…" It made a whine sound and I almost melted. I always wanted a pet, really. But every time I had even a pet spider, Hojo killed it, so I eventually stopped for the sake of the lives of my 'pets'. I wasn't going to let anyone get rid of this one. No way in the world!
"Wanna be my pet?" I smiled, as it watched me, head tilting.
"I do believe I'll take that as a yes!" I nuzzled its nose and it nuzzled back.
"I think I'll name you…" I drew a blank for a moment. What could I name the silly thing? I didn't notice for a moment that he was gone. I looked around frantically when I realized that he had disappeared, before sighing sadly and walking back to the fire to throw more twigs on. I stopped however, as my eyes focused on a rustling noise by the flames.
My boot was moving...
Instantly, I was peering into the quivering thing, only to have the baby grassback's head poke out, look at me, then dive back in. I laughed quietly and fed the fire before sitting down by my boots.
"Alright, gimme back my boots..." I reached in and grabbed him around the middle. He squirmed a bit, clinging to the stinky boot.
"You know, I think I'll name you Boots..." I said as I hugged him. The newly named Boots clung to my shirt and blinked up at me.
"Who are you talking to?" Cloud grumbled, walking out of the tent. I quickly put Boots back into his namesake.
"I'm talking to myself, Cloud." I told him. I knew he wouldn't approve of my new pet. I'd ask him tomorrow after I put food in front of him. Maybe that would put him in a better mood.
"Well," He yawned, "It's my turn for watch- I can't sleep anymore." I picked up my boots and walked into the tent.
"Night, Cloud."
"Night..." He grumbled. I set the boots down and attempted to get the wriggling Grassback into my hand.
"What is that?" Red's hushed voice made me jump. I looked at him with an unseen innocent expression.
"What is what?"
He stood, careful of his tail, and stuck his nose into my boot. He pulled back with a snort, Boots clinging to his nostrils.
"This," He replied, looking annoyed.
"Oh... um... my pet... Boots..."
"Boots." He looked down his muzzle at the little lizard that was staring at him. With a sigh he laid down, pointing his nose at me. I obediently took my pet and laid down by the large cat. "We'll talk in the morning, Scura..."
I nodded and picked up my boot, setting Boots inside it. He whined happily and curled into sleep. I closed my eyes and with some difficulty, managed to drift off also.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I cringed away from the voice but a hand on my shoulder twirled me around. "Another pet?"
"Leave her alone..." My brother growled, pushing Hojo's hand away from me. I hid behind my younger brother, clutching my little bird to my chest. My brother had made him for me from the feathers in my pillow a few days ago. I hadn't heard him approach so I couldn't hide the sweet little thing. It whistled in confusion.
"Back off, boy." Hojo pushed my brother aside and snatched the bird from me. "I told you that these were bad influences on you." I began to cry, begging him not to hurt my bird. "You are a monster. You are supposed to kill." As he spoke, he squeezed tightly, choking the life from my pet. I cried loudly, trying to kick him. He dropped the dead animal to the ground and stepped on it before slapping me. "You do not cry, understand?" He slapped me again when I continued. Soon my brother pulled me away from the harsh treatment, only to be beaten himself. I screamed and cried but each time I did, Hojo hit him harder until I forced myself to stop.
"Good," He cackled and walked out, the blood from my brother's body and my pet's on his shoes.
I jerked awake with a gasp and held my head. The sun was beginning to poke through the tent and I sighed. Red groaned and looked at me, almost glaring. It appeared that I'd woken him up.
"Sorry, Red..." I said quietly as I stood. He snorted and got onto his paws.
"It's fine." He sighed and pushed his tail between his legs as he walked out of the tent. Just as I was getting ready to reach into my boot, I heard a crash.
"What the hell is that?!" Cloud shouted. I ran out to see him trying to squish a moving bit of grass, only to realise that it was far from that. I jumped and snatched Boots before any harm could come of him.
"Cloud! It's my pet, Boots." Suddenly, I was nervous. He glared at the little thing.
"It's a fiend..." He snapped, "Get rid of it."
"Can't I keep him? Please Cloud?" I begged. I think my voice affected him slightly.
"No," He attempted to seethe.
"But he won't hurt anything! I promise I'll keep an eye on him. Please Cloud?" I begged. It took a full half hour to convince Cloud that me keeping Boots was a good idea. I began cooking just to make him happy.
"You're taking care of it. I'm not helping." Cloud said dryly, a bit huffy at the fact that he had lost.
"I know, Cloud." I said, Boots resting on my head since my boots were now on my feet.
"It's not getting any of our food- you'll have to get it something else to eat."
Now that stumped me... What did Grassbacks eat?
"I know, Cloud..." I repeated, handing him some cooked meat- something I had been saving- and he seemed happy. I gave Red his piece and as for myself, I ate some peanut butter on bread. Boots snuffled at the food but didn't eat anything that we had. I was a little confused and set my pet down. He wandered around, looking at some of the things we had, then a butterfly flew by. The butterfly disappeared as a long purple tongue wrapped around it. I grinned at my pet- he ate insects! He crunched down on the helpless bug and Cloud looked a little disgusted.
Well… you win some, you lose some. Personally, as long as he came back, he could eat whatever he wanted.
"Well, that takes care of what he'll eat..." Red said, laying by the dead fire. I nodded and stood up just as Cloud did.
"Time to take the tent down!" We said at the same time. Cloud gave me a look and turned to do just that. I snorted, brushing off the glare to help him. Boots sat on top of Red's head as they watched us carefully disassemble the tent.
"Will you be careful?!" Cloud snapped.
"You're the one who tripped!" I hissed back, and he snorted.
"Yeah right!"
This time I purposely knocked a pole into his side. He glared at me but tried to continue. He did, however, jab me right back in the stomach.
"Hey! You ass!" I snapped. Cloud was about to say something, probably how he was not an ass and how I was just an immature little girl, but Red interrupted him.
"Just fight after you put the tent away- you both could use some sparring practice..." We looked at each other and debated the thought.
"I guess he's right."
"Especially in your case, Cloud..." I added, whacking him in the chest with a pole as we finished.
"Hurry up and finish." He retorted, working faster just so we could fight. In return, I finished my half just after he did.
"Over there, if you'd please?" Red looked at us pointedly, Boots sitting on his head. I couldn't help but giggle at the sight as I walked to the spot away from where Red was comfortably laying. Before I really realized we started, Cloud had reached behind him, grabbed the hilt of his sword and swung down at me like he meant to take of my head. I jerked Masume out of her sheath and blocked just in time, pushing him off. He smirked at me and I glared.
"Cheap shot, Cloud- can't you win any other way?" I teased.
He frowned this time and took an offensive stance. I mimicked him, but chose a different pose. We glared at each other for a moment, before we both rushed each other at the same time. You know those dramatic times when two enemies face off with each other in a death match? It seems Cloud must have though I was an enemy, because he put his all into that jab.
I was, of course, stabbed right in the rib. He twisted the blade and I heard my ribs crack apart. I gasped sharply, coughing as blood fell from my side.
"Ass!" I forced his blade out of my body, leaving a gaping wound that was already healing with a green glow. I slashed at him, only to have him block it, shoving me back. I tried really hard to ignore the wound, but it was a difficult task as it was still healing, my blood oozing down my side. Cloud took a brief second to look at the damage he'd caused, but I struck, cutting him neatly on his cheek. We continued this dance for a while, slash, block, dodge- I tried for minimal damage knowing he wouldn't be able to heal as quickly as me, and he tried for as much as he could. We only ended up with a few more cuts and bruises so far, as both Red and Boots used us as a means of entertainment. It was pretty fun, I had to admit, but I would honestly appreciate it if they would find something else to stare at- it was more than a little distracting.
I was in the middle of a thrust when Cloud jumped back and put his sword on his back. Thinking he was finished for this round, I went to sheath my own blade.
"Thunder!" He cried, sending a wave of magic at me that sent me to the ground in surprise. I got up just a heartbeat later, snarling.
"That was cheap!" I shouted at him, shaking myself out of all electric shock. He just snickered. It was then that my attention was brought to a loud laugh.. That loud laugh was coming from none other than Red. I glared at him but he just continued laughing. I finished sheathing Masume and picked up Boots as he scrambled over to me. He licked the wound I received into my shoulder and I sighed, looking at him.
"You make it hard to be mad at anyone..." I told him, placing a finger on the crown of his grassy head. Cloud appeared easily amused with the situation, presumably because he had won. I huffily grabbed my pack, only to stumble right on top of it as Boots slithered around my feet. I felt the glass of my hair dye break under my weight and cringed as I felt the food squish. I pulled the bag open as hurriedly as I could and grabbed all the food out, so the dye wouldn't have much of a chance to get at it. We were lucky- it just got the bread and nothing else.
"What the hell was that?" Cloud demanded, pulling my bag out of my hands to examine it. He dumped out the broken glass and the mask, watching the contents fall as he did so. He stooped and picked up the mask, before frowned at me.
"Again with the hiding your face thing..." He looked at it, before looking closer. "It's damaged."
"What?" I jumped up, taking it as he brushed the rest of the glass out of my bag so that the food could be put in it again. The mask was indeed damaged- a crack down the middle and the left eye-hole that would break at the slightest thing.
"Shit, man…" I tossed it to the ground and stomped on it, reminding myself horribly of the dream. I drew back and saw the body of a bird instead of plastic for a moment, before my sanity regained and it was plastic once more. My head spun with the mental imagery as I turned around, falling to my knees and vomitting. Cloud jumped back in apparent disgust.
"What's wrong?" Red asked, nosing my side in concern. I wiped my mouth and saw small traces of blood on my fingers. I looked away, backing up as far as I could.
"It's nothing..." I said quietly. Red saw the blood and frowned, opening his mouth to ask.
"It's nothing Red..." I growled at him. Caught off guard by this reaction, both Red and Cloud gave me odd looks.
"Calm down," Cloud said, his voice turning cold, "and tell us what's wrong..."
I swallowed, for once afraid of Cloud.
"I've done this since I was twelve. Something the lab did." I told him, looking up. His hand had been resting by his sword. It was like he was waiting for me to lose it... like he thought I was going to go insane or something...
He didn't know how close he was to the truth.
"Listen, we should get moving." I stated, pushing myself up and taking Boots from Red's head. I grabbed my pack, not paying attention as to if it was dry yet or not, and shoved the food inside. I knew they were discussing something in whispers as I walked ahead of them. If I really wanted to know what was going on, I could have listened closer, but instead, I tuned them out.
I knew what was wrong. I knew that I was becoming ill, dangerous even, but I didn't want them to know. I didn't want them to know I had a ninety percent chance of not living. That would be a fun conversation.
"Uh, yeah guys, see... Thing is because of some crazy shit at the lab and you know, my parents spawning a half-breed like me... I'm totally gunna die real soon. No worries though!"
Yeah, that'll go over real well. With a sigh, I stared ahead, listening to their footfalls and the environment around me. Boots hissed slightly, catching me off guard.
"What is it, boy?" I asked, taking him off my head. He slithered out of my arms and onto my back. I heard a rustling that was definetly not the boys, and went for my katana. Only a moment later, three Grassbacks and a prowler appeared. Boots hid his face under my hair and I couldn't blame him for acting strangely. He knew I'd kill the other Grassbacks, and it must have unsettled him. With a sigh, I rushed the prowler, hoping to prolong fighting the Grassbacks. Cloud and Red attacked the Grassbacks instead, who in turn, gave chase.
It only took a few hits before the prowler was down. Resigned, I turned to fight the last remaining Grassback. Boots started crying and yowling, and the Grassback hesitated, looking at the young one on my shoulder. It cautiously stepped closer, tongue flicking out, then turned around and fled. My pet was easily rested and cuddled my head. I smiled softly.
"Glad I didn't have to fight it..." I murmured, as my hand reached up and into my hood to stroke his head. Come to think of it, how I knew it was a he, I have no idea...
I helped Red and Cloud gather the fallen items and we kept walking, sometimes running, but always moving. The only exceptions to this were when we were eating or taking a bathroom break. It was quiet, but it was nice. We didn't have to fight anymore fiends, but we did resort to fighting each other.
"Scura, cook..." Cloud commanded, as he started putting up the tent. I glared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Cook." He repeated, as he looked at me.
"How about you cook?"
He raised an eyebrow at this, and from the corner of my eyes I could see Red lying down. Most probably, he was preparing himself for a long fight. I huffed irritably.
"Because- I'm the leader and I'm setting up the tent..." Cloud retorted.
"You can still cook- I'll set up the tent." I prompted, starting to stand. "Or can't you cook?"
He turned away, but I could smell the blood rising to his cheeks. I grinned to myself, as always.
"You can't cook, can you Cloud?"
"I never said that!"
"How do you survive, Cloudy?" I teased, as he glared at me darkly, and I'll admit that I was almost afraid. Seriously… Men shouldn't be so scary! It was the women who should be scary! He was breaking every rule of nature here!
"Cook. We'll practice after..." He grunted and turned, ignoring my protests to finish putting the tent up. I huffed a little and stood.
"Alright, Boots. It's you and me plant gathering..." I sighed, before looking at Red, "Could you find an edible meat for us?"
He nodded, pleased he could do something and stood nimbly. His tail swished as he walked away, towards the nearest available water, most likely. I went about the same way, but chose to keep my distance. Boots crawled all over me, but I didn't mind. I actually thought it was a little funny.
"Boots? Can you find roots?" He blinked at me, then crawled down and started digging. I smiled and started looking for plants that I could use to cook with. I found some wild berries close to a tree and picked them, piling them into my backpack, which I had gladly brought with me. Boots came back with a large root looking something like ginger in his mouth, almost tripping over his own head to bring it. I giggled and took it from his mouth.
"Thank you!" I laughed, as he squeaked at my praise and started sniffing for more. I followed him close to the water and moved some of the muck around. Inside, I found some onions and some asparagus, though I left the latter of the two behind, gagging from the horrid thoughts of that plant. We found some nuts and Boots found some potatoes, but that was about all. Still, it was good enough, and I added it to the pile. I started to wonder as to how such a wide variety of vegetables were found in such a small area as I started walking back. Usually you would only find that kind of range in man-made crops...
"Oomph!" I cried as I fell over something, too lost in my thoughts to pay attention to where I was walking. I turned, checking Boots who was standing on top of a fallen piece of wood. Curious, I shooed him aside. It was part of a broken fence. It looked charred by fire, however, and I shivered before looking around. Being a lot more cautious now, I could see more sections of the broken down fence and even bones that appeared to be from livestock of some sort. I quickly picked up the pace and went back to where I could see the tent.
"You're back quick..." Cloud muttered, finishing putting the tent up on his own. I set the items in the bag down carefully, and nodded distractedly.
"I'll be back soon- gunna go take a look around..." I ignored his puzzlement at my hurried attitude and started looking around as I walked, my pet following me closely, as if I really was his mother. I found what I was looking for not far off from the campsite. It was a burned section of the meadow, a little larger than the size of an average house. Not far off was an old shed, still standing, though the condition of it was to be frowned upon. The metal holding it together had rusted quite severely, and its condition was nothing short of poor. Hesitantly, I started poking through what was left. It had obviously been a farm of some sort once upon a time, which explained the abundance of vegetables that I'd stumbled across by the stream.
Leave… I heard a whisper suddenly in my ears. I jerked around, looking wildly.
Leave us…
I panicked -like any animal would- and took flight as fast as my legs could carry me. I was nearly panting with fear and exhaustion when I reached Cloud. He was skinning the fat rabbits that Red managed to kill, and I had the strangest feeling that something was there... something was watching me…
I really didn't like what was going on, but what could I do? I couldn't see anything... Of course, the fact that Red was not even looking at me -more off to the side than anything else- had me totally comforted.
Totally.
"What's on the menu?" Cloud asked, holding up the ready to cook rabbits. I sat down and started a fire, thinking.
"I found some stuff that I suppose I can make shish kebabs with?" I offered, already pulling out the onions and potatoes.
Cloud nodded, content with that. So I began preparing the meal to the best of my limited abilities. There were no spices for me to use, so I just had to settle with the cooking. First I went down to the river and rinsed the potatoes off, then the onions, before coming back and setting them atop of my bag. Then I went to the first tree I could find and broke off long, sturdy branches to cook with. As soon as I got back, Cloud roughly thrust the pile of uncooked meat at me. The smell of that alone had me swallowing mouthfuls of drool. With a little prompting, Cloud helped me by cutting up the onions with a small pocket knife he carried with him.
Before too long, chunks of meat were cooking with potato cuts and onion slices. On the side, just for Red, I was cooking a whole rabbit that had sadly wandered into camp by accident. With the food cooking, I stood up, stretching and grabbed my katana. Cloud was already swinging his sword impatiently, waiting for me. I smiled delightedly. Oh yes... this would be fun. A fight was exactly what I could use.
Cloud got into his stance and waited for me eagerly. I placed a hand on my dearest Masume and drew as he went to attack. It was a hard block- I had to grip the blade tightly to keep it from escaping me. Cloud drew his blade back and I sprung, always careful of my hood, spinning the blade at his face. He moved his head aside and knocked me in the back with the dull part of the blade. I cried out in pain and landed, rolling onto the ground. I jumped away quickly, still holding the blade I was given, as Cloud's blade burrowed into the ground where I had been only moments before. I flicked my wrist and caught him in the side with the back of my blade.
We weren't fighting to the death, after all. Cloud snapped his blade down to the top of my head, leaving me only seconds to block. Cloud and I continued the dance gracefully, and I could not help but notice that he was almost beautiful when fighting. Despite all this though, he didn't appear to be entirely focused on what we were doing either. With a cry, he feined a strike at my stomach, but lifted the blade instead, so that I was caught off guard with a gust of wind. My hands scrabbled, and I barely managed to catch my hood in time. In the end, he had won... the sharp blade of his sword pressed against my neck.
"You need to lose the hood..." He said flatly, putting the blade at rest, "You're always concentrated on keeping it up."
In his eyes was a clear distrust that I knew was associated with the hood and all the other secrets he knew I was keeping. I sighed in defeat and glanced at Red. He was watching the food for us. It looked done by now, so I used that as an excuse.
"Food's ready, Cloud!" I said cheerfully. He grunted, knowing my plan but letting it slide.
"Alright, I'm starving."
I sheathed Masume, walking swiftly to get some food. Up close, I realized that Boots was keeping himself warm by leaning into Red's side. The cat kept glancing at him, bemused, but said nothing about it as he watched us approaching.
"It wasn't bad." He said quietly. I grinned sheepishly.
"But Cloud's right about the hood..." He muttered so only I could hear. The grin slipped off my face, replaced by a frown.
"Gee, thanks." I flopped down, my butt landing on the ground with a dull thud. Cloud sat more gracefully, giving me a smug look, which I promptly ignored in favor of food. As soon as both Cloud and I had had our share, Red turned to his meat, pulling it off of its stick carefully and began to eat. We were silent except for the occasional hiss from taking a bite that was too hot, or the pounding of a chest to get food down. Of course, I forgot to fill up the water bottles, and I knew it was going to be my chore now.
The food wasn't too bad, actually... The onion gave it a bit of a kick, the potato was plain but good, but the meat wasn't all the way cooked through. From the look of it though, both Cloud and I enjoyed it. Boots had slid up onto my shoulder during the meal and sniffed curiously at the meat, before turning his nose away in apparent disgust. I suppressed a giggle, before Cloud made small coughing noises and rattled his water bottle in my direction.With a resigned sigh at my awaiting task, I stood again, collecting the bottles, and tried to follow my nose to the stream once more. It wasn't that horribly far off if I kept going the way I was, but…
There it was again... The burned down farm had appeared, right in front of my path. Boots slunk from my shoulders and began sniffing around. My eyes settled again on the bones littering the ground, and an uneasy feeling crept over me. They must have been small cattle... I shuddered in fear and determined that I would have to hurry away from the area. I had only managed to make it a few yards more however, when I heard the screech.
Without thinking, I ran after it, back to the heart of the charred bones. Under some recently fallen debris was Boots, still screaming and crying. I shushed him and knelt down, placing a hand upon his head to reassure him and keep him steady. My pet's tail was locked under a bit of wood that I had to move carefully. As soon as it was off, he zipped up my arm and clung to me, his tail hanging limp, the grass crushed pathetically. I went to drop the wood back to the ground and paused, as my eyes caught something round.
As my heart pounded, I knelt down to brush the black of the object. It was a small glass bowl, colored darkly, and obviously used for cookery of some sort. Letting out a sigh of relief, I pressed my hand to my heart, the other hand dropping the wood carefully. Everything about this place was just... unsettling... I placed my other hand to Boots' head and slid it to his tail as he let out a small whine. Any injury, large or small, was healed as I worked. It wasn't as severe a wound as I first thought it was, but he was glad for it all the same. I walked away from the area once more, and felt at peace once again. Content, I walked to the river and started filling up the water bottles after testing the water. It was spring water, thus, perfectly fine in my book.
I didn't pay attention to anything else as I filled them up, trusting that Boots would be on the lookout for anything strange. As I finished filling all the bottles, he hissed. With a jerk, I dropped the bottles to the ground as my hand dropped to my katana.
But... There was nothing there...
Boots kept quivering however, hissing at something that presumably only he could see. I was hesitant, perhaps scared, because I could feel it now... This raw feeling of electricity. I scooped up the water bottles into my arms, only remembering their existence when I accidentally kicked one a little. As soon as they were in my bag, I picked up my pet and was running as fast as I could, but the cold, electric feeling didn't leave until I passed the farm. I slowed to a stop, trembling from the fear, but composed myself.
Nothing there, stupid. You were scared over nothing. Nothing, got it? Even though I ridiculed myself, I knew that there had been something there. Something that I could feel was still poking at my spine... Trying so hard to make me squirm, to hurt me...
"Thanks," Cloud said, oblivious to my distress and I handed him a water bottle. He drank with greed for a moment, but I wasn't paying much attention. No, I was looking at Red, who was watching over my shoulder with sharp, narrowed eyes.
"Red...?" I asked slowly.
"We need to leave, first thing in the morning." He growled. Cloud looked at him, surprise and confusion dancing in his eyes. "This place is not safe."
"There haven't been any fiends in a long while..." Cloud said doubtfully.
"I know why." I spoke quietly. He waited, folding his arms.
"There's an old farm, it's burned down now, but…"
"Ghosts?" He snorted. He shook his head and stood, patting off his pants. "I'm going to bed. Scura, you can watch first."
With that, he disappeared into the tent. Red sighed and moved himself into a standing position. As he walked past me, Boots clambered onto his head. He didn't seem phased by the action now, although I'd only had Boots for a day. They both went into the tent and left me alone with the dying fire. Before it could go out, I stood up and went to get some wood. There were a few trees nearby, so I tore off large limbs with my bare hands like they were twigs. There was some kind of satisfaction in that, and I wished that I could show that smug blonde so and so the kind of strength I had... I tossed them over my shoulder and started walking back with my burden. It wasn't long before I made it to the camp and dropped the wood by the fire, breaking it quietly to throw into the flames.
As soon as the fire was burning brightly again, I tossed off my hood and took my fingers, running them through my snarled hair. The hair was thick with mats and snares, but I worked on it for a while until it was tidy and smooth enough to be considered decent.
Of course by now I was looking for any way to amuse myself, so I picked up my blade and curled my hair around my hand. I slid the sharp side across the locks so that it cut raggedly, but well enough, close to my upper back.
With a smile, I tossed the hair into the fire, letting it burn. The smell was horrible and only a few moments later, I could hear grunts of disgust from the tent. I put the cloak back on just in case, but as the smell died off, so did the sleepy complaints.
"Help me!" That same whispered voice cried in my ears. I jerked in surprise and looked up, but there wasn't anything there.
"Please, save me!" I turned towards the farm suspiciously. Only minutes later, Cloud was out of the tent, his blade at ready.
"What's going on?" He demanded, groggy but ready. Red came out after, his tail once more tucked between his legs.
"It's coming from the ruins." I coughed, after the words came out. He glared at me.
"Those 'ghosts' again, huh?"
"Do not doubt her, Cloud." Red said calmly, "We should at least check it out."
"N-"
"Help me!" The cry was desperate, voice far off and doubled. Cloud jerked and looked to were we were looking.
"Alright," He rushed, quickly changing his mind. We all started running to where I had seen the remains of the barn. We were there after about ten minutes. Cloud was a little winded, but Red and I were fine. What caught me off guard was that the barn was shimmering, but standing.
"I thought you said it was burned?" Cloud accused skeptically.
"It was..." I retored, as Boots hissed in unison with a growl from Red. What I had thought was a barn was actually a home and barn, both connected. From the top floor, a little girl was slamming her hands against her window. She was a pretty little girl with curled blonde hair. She was in a night dress, cradling a porcelain doll in her hands, before shadows moved behind her and a gunshot went off. The girl fell against the glass with a bloodcurdling scream. Without thought, Cloud ran inside.
"Cloud!" I cried. "Don't-"
But he was already inside. Red and I looked at each other, before following him inside. While we were running up the stairs, we heard another shot go off, shortly followed by another. I turned to go see, but Cloud hissed at me to follow, so I continued. Upstairs, the girl was holding a wound in her side, tears falling down her face.
"Mommy… daddy…" She sobbed, as Cloud knelt by her.
"Hey…" He said softly and reached out to her.
"Who are you?" Her eyes were wide in fear as she saw Cloud beside her.
"I'm Cloud..."
She glanced behind him and saw us watching her. We heard a shout from downstairs and my ears flicked towards the sound. Something was burning. I ran downstairs, leaving the others to themselves, and went into the living room. There were two bodies, and one man on fire. He was screaming whilst another tried to beat the fire out. The burning man grabbed some drapes and they burned up along with him. The man who was trying to beat the fire out saw and left the man to die, running upstairs.
"Get out! The house is burning!" I screamed, as I ran up the stairs. Cloud picked the girl up as she wailed about her parents. Red ran down the stairs after me, Cloud following with the little girl. The door was blocked with fire already, the house steadily being consumed. I rammed at the door with my shoulder. Already weak from the fire, it gave easily. My feline friend ran through with Boots still clinging to his head. Cloud barely made it out before the house started collapsing.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the man jump from the roof like he was holding something, and ran. I looked at the little girl in Cloud's arms. Her eyes were closed like she was tired.
"Thank you…" She whimpered, "Cloud, thank you…"
She began to slowly fade, along with the image of the flame engulfed house.
"Who are you?" He asked quietly, running his hand over her forehead.
"Tina Ruthe." She murmured. Her small hand gripped her necklace, the other still holding onto that doll. She tugged and the chain gave way. She pressed it into Clouds hands.
"Thank you…" she smiled, before her eyes went wide. "My sister…!"
"She was carried out..." I reassured, realizing what the bundle in the running man's arms had been. A teenage woman. "Who was she?"
"Rachael," She smiled, glad her sister survived, before closing her eyes. Moments later, she erupted into green sparks, disappearing into the planet.
"She's returned to the life stream." Red voiced in awe, "She was waiting, just for something to change... so she could be at peace."
"No… I think she wanted to know… that her sister lived..." I said.
Cloud held onto the silver pendant that had been pressed into his hand, and flicked it open. Inside was a picture of the girl and presumably her elder sister, both smiling and hugging each other. His face contorted slightly, seemingly pained, before he closed it once more and placed it in his pocket. Silently, he retreated back to the site to sleep. We followed shortly after.
In the morning, we packed up and returned to the ruins. We unearthed the bones from the ashes, grimfully aware that they were not those of cattle, and laid them out on the ground. The last one we found was the skeleton of a small child... By that afternoon, they had been buried safely in the ground.
Thanks for reading, everyone!! Please review and I promise I'll update soon. I know it was a bit confusing and you're probably wondering what the big deal is but you'll find out how important Rachael is later. You don't get to meet her, but she is importaint. Well, I will see you all soon!