Faux Fur
A Shield of Lies
The canister hit the ground at the Turk's floor with a dull 'tink'. Silence fell then, Reeve's hope drained out of him as the Turk actually dropped his order's customary reserve to laugh. With a contemptuous look twisting his features, the young man clad in bruise blue kicked the canister aside. It spun, end over end, then hit a pew with a oddly hollow clang. Smirking the Turk lifted his gun, leveled it at Reeve.
"You put up one hell of a run Tuesti, but you're no match for a real Turk."
Reeve quaked in panic, staring into the barrel of the gun that was going to end his life. Not knowing one specie of gun from the other he was oblivious as to what type it was, hand held he could say that much, and potent, but beyond that he was at a loss to place its type. Black, glossy, it's nose (or was that nozzle? The real word escaped him) was pointed at him.
In his limited experience when people pulled the trigger of the thing the gun was facing tended to explode in a messy manner. Gathering his courage Reeve clenched his fists and refused to back down.
"What do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious? Your death, well your's and the lady's that is. Now who to kill first? Ah there's a question!"
Lazily the Turk let his gun hand go through a lazy arch. It started with Reeve then stopped at Elmyra, nausea made a bitter gouge rise in the back of the Shinra suit's throat as he realized that this Turk was going to play with them before taking the child. Divining his victim's illness by way of the green tinge on his cheeks the Turk flashed his teeth in a feral grin.
"Soft and pathetic, just like Heidegger said… this is going to be fun!"
The air seemed to burn in his lungs, his eyes were tearing. Reeve stubbornly blinked back tears, but they came anyways, rolling down his face to become lost in his thin beard and token mustache. He drew a breath to utter some stupid last words chalk full of bravo. Running was useless, the area was flat and open and the Turk had a gun. It didn't take a genius to know that the man would get a clean shot this once and he'd be damned before going out as a coward… Reeve's breath caught in his chest and came out as a wheeze.
From behind him Elmyra was coughing, Marlene was crying and whimpering that the air was hurting…
And the Turk, with a croak staggered back. Furry burned in those watering blue eyes. With a mute snarl the man caught sight of the canister a second before Reeve did. It had become impaled in the edge of a pew, the shin metallic skin had cracked and it was spewing out its peppery gas in a colorless burning cloud.
Snarling something in a ragged voice that barely sounded human the Turk lined the gun up with the canister…
"No, don't!" Reeve staggered forward to stop the man and even as he did so Elmyra grabbed him. She held him back, calling him a fool and worse.
Tseng's parting words rang in Reeve's head as the Turk wordlessly pulled the trigger.
"Congratulations Mr. Tuesti you've gathered yourself a pepper bomb. And a recalled one at that."
Ignoring Reeve's warning the Turk fired.
The world seemed be engulfed in colorless acidic fire.
X
"She's sleeping then?"
"Soundly." Elmyra confirmed. She looked around the rather plush surroundings, her expression a mite offended as she considered his humble bachelor's abode. It was spotless steel, and following suit Reeve kept the whole of it spotlessly clean. "Don't you have any walls?"
Reeve pointed up at the ceiling, and Elmyra followed the gesture. Curtains –neatly tied and cast in hues of cool blue and green- cut across the whole of the main room. Small cords dangled invitingly for someone to pull, a mere tug would send them tumbling down. Those were his walls, fabric –not plaster or steel- defined the parameters of his living room and dining room. For even the floors were the same polished steel, marred only with the occasional rug. For now almost all the curtains were up, save the one by the bedroom. It made a makeshift hall, cutting a green gauzy path that started by the outermost edge of the door and wound a few feet before opening up into the main room. The curtain had been dropped to allow the adults a measure of proper distance between themselves and the sleeping child. Or at least that's what Reeve told himself.
"Save for the bathroom and bedroom there aren't any… well rooms I guess. Makes cleaning easier. Anyways, walls are restrictive."
Hands on her hips Elmyra looked around, her frown deepening. She spied numerous bookshelves, all tucked away in one corner, the contents sometimes shelved, most though were scattered on the floor at the metal relic's feet. Books were a luxury, disks were cheaper, easier to produce, and the fact that Reeve wasted money on a frivolous collection of back water relics clearly upset her. Or maybe –Reeve admitted as her frown became a scowl- it was that metal table besides the book shelf that upset her so much. Bits of metal were scattered on it, as well as cutting, wielding, and metal bending tools.
She turned to him, accusation and irritation in her expression.
"Sir, how in Gaia's name to you manage when some child comes in here? This place isn't safe for children, it's a metal field, it is wholly unnatural, and have you ever heard of the wonder of a plant before…"
"Ms. Gainsborough, with all due respect I don't have any children." Her eyes widened in surprise, flicked to the gold ring on his left hand, then to him. Reeve smiled then, it was a pained gesture. "My wife divorced me before we could really ever settle down. It was years ago." He hastened to assure her. "We both were just barely out of college, I got wrapped up in Shinra, and she wanted a life outside of it. We just… stopped being compatible for each other I guess."
He shrugged then looked away from her judging stare. He could almost here her asking why he didn't give up the ring. Reno, hell even Rufus, had asked him that after he'd told them that the divorce had been over five years ago.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Reeve muttered the expected reply.
He walked the span from the middle of the room to the metal table. Bits of fur, scraps of metal, and a small feline toy that was slumped and off greeted his arrival to his after work work station. Too worn to care reeve tossed his suitcase onto the table. Fake fur floated around him, sent to the air by the plastic case's landing. The miasma of wood and dust and mace hung in the air around it and him, he needed a shower, badly. Still, if nothing else, he was ever the gentleman.
"Mrs. Gainsborough, why don't you make use of the bathing facilities like Marlene has? I don't have any proper clothes to replace what you've got on now but you might fit one of my suits well enough to make do for a while. I'll leave them by the door for you in a moment."
Then, obligation to his guest done, Reeve folded to a months old custom. Te executive reached behind the fake feline's back and pressed upon the orange tabby's spine. Blue eyes opened and he was greeted with a purr. Reeve smiled, forgetting his troubles for the moment as Kath playfully tapped his face with a velvet encased paw.
"'Lo Reeve-ie!" Kath purred, his voice high pitched, squeaky and unsure. He hadn't accepted the accent software as had Cait Sith. As a matter of fact trying to install the same materials to make a copy of Cait had turned into a disaster, Kath had rejected almost everything Reeve tried to install, and in the end had wound up only accepting a few of the personality ports that Reeve had put up to him. The results were a totally different person that was in a similar little feline body, and unlike Cait, Kath was perfectly at home with being small and mild.
"Hello Kath."
Kath happily tapped Reeve's face with a paw, a failed attempt at copying Reno's high five. The failure wasn't from Kath's lack of manual dexterity –he had no problem with doors as one amusing incident of Kath strolling into the shower had shown- it was mainly flawed due to fact that the robotic cat found the flinch after each tap hilarious. Kath giggled like a little boy when Reeve obligingly cringed back from the soft paw.
"Notta claw, why Reeve-ie flinch back?" Small steel claws were flashed then sheathed, to prove Kath's point.
"Notta clue." Reeve gave the expected answer with a smile. "How was today?"
"Borin' slept lottsa." Kath stretched and yawned, then set his paws behind his head with a smile and looked around. His eyes widened as he looked to some point beyond and behind Reeve. Surprised Reeve turned, not quite liking the look of fear of Kath's face.
Elmyra was there, he'd forgotten about her, and her expression could have been a perfect match for Kath's.
"What in god's name…"
Kath helped matters by hissing in shock. Creeping down to all fours the feline shaped robot let out a merow of pure fear and pressed himself against Reeve.
"Easy…." Setting his hand on Kath's head Reeve only broke the contact so he could stand. Then, once sure of his footing he set his hand once more on Kath's head and turned to face Elmyra. "Mrs. Gainsborough, may I introduce to you my friend, Kath Sith. He's Cait Sith's brother, Cait's the feline who is currently accompanying your daughter." Reeve added the last to counter the confusion that must surely be in Elmyra's mind.
"But… it's not natural… it can't be… a thing…" Elmyra murmured a string of half formed sentences –most of them uncomplimentary from what Reeve was picking up- and stared at them both in wide eyed shock. She was so shocked she began to sway. Horror shone in her eyes. Horror was fast to change to anger however. "You sent a thing with my daughter! You claim to be a friend but you send a… a robot to look after her!"
"I can hardly go as myself!" Reeve snarled; his patience with the woman's prejudice spent. "I'm a top ranking executive of Shinra, I'd be missed."
"That or you're a spy!" Elmyra countered, her voice going shrill.
Her accusation hit home. Reeve winced, then with a shaking hand smoothed the thin wisps of hair that he had grown over his upper lip. Turning from Elmyra he dropped his hand. Kath, in need of some soothing pressed his head under Reeve's hand. The Shinra executive gave in, with an absent smile. He stroked Kath's head, tracing the red whirls that marred the orange perfection of Kath's fur.
"If I were a spy I wouldn't have risked my life to save yours." Reeve said at last. Uttering the first of what would become a screen of lies.
"You were attacked with us." Elmyra snapped, clearly not believing him.
He smiled at that, and like the cashmere cat's smile in the fable it was a wide grin, fast to appear and fast to fade.
"Yes, probably because someone higher up than me wanted me dead. If I wasn't there you wouldn't be here." He reminded her, letting the grin drop. "I think that alone points to some merit on my behalf. I've placed you under my roof for your safety, I've sent my Cait to join your daughter's friends, and almost all in Shinra know my… my…" With Kath literally underhand Reeve choked a bit on the word "pet" and strove to temporize. "…of my fondness of cats. Anyone who sees Cait will know I'm involved. I've put myself in as much danger as they have." He concluded firmly, almost believing the words himself.
Her disbelief crumpled under the barrage of his words. She didn't quite trust him –or maybe she just didn't like him- but at least she didn't hate him anymore.
"You're a coward, hiding behind a toy." She grumbled.
To her words he gripped Kath a little tighter, a silent reassurance that he wasn't a toy and met her gaze levelly. "You'll pardon me if I don't decide to traipse out into the wilderness and kill monsters on my off days. But I've a great deal to do here; duty is binding to those who are responsible. Anyways," he added bitterly, "unlike your daughter who is so conveniently an Ancient, or her friends who are either ex-SOLDIERS, or have other more mundane alterations to themselves to make combat easier, I'm just a man. No alterations, no Mako infusions, no materia, no anything."
Elmyra bit her lip, looked uncomfortable, and Reeve smirked at the sight. He wasn't a cruel man, far from it, but her silent glares of disapproval and her "I'm closer to the Planet purity and you aren't, you poor benighted soul", attitude rubbed his patience raw. Seeing the woman knocked down a proverbial peg he couldn't resist one final parting shot.
"You must excuse me than, for being both a mundane man and prudent."
He turned on his heel then, went to the door.
"I'm… I'm sorry."
He stopped at her words, the apology must have been hard to give. Considering that Reeve was a part of Shinra, part of the organization that had so wronged the girl Elmyra had raised as her own… He wasn't a cruel man, nor was she a cruel woman. Circumstance had merely made them both hard to the world around them. He sighed, and rebuked himself to remember that, always.
"So am I. I need to go out now. I'll be back in an hour, and if you can wait that long I'll have some more appropriate clothes for you and the girl."
And with that he walked out. Locking his apartment door behind him.