CHAPTER 4.
Aeris awoke to rays of sunlight streaming in through the window. She yawned and stretched under the covers, feeling refreshed, if hungry. Sephiroth had promised her breakfast though, and Aeris had no intention of being a lady about it. She was going to stuff her face till she burst. Who knew when her next meal would be, best make this one count.
Speaking of the man in question.. He was still fast asleep, having turned on his back sometime during the night. Aeris reached into her backpack, pulled out her hairbrush and became engrossed in sorting out the tangles in her chestnut curls.
She observed Sephiroth, jaw slack and features relaxed instead of drawn in his customary scowl. He didn't look like his usual scary self, but instead rather vulnerable and young in his unconscious state. It was difficult to believe someone with such delicate, fine features could be such a deadly swordsman. He really was quite striking, Aeris thought, girls must chase after him all the time. Or at least until his personality turned them away – either in fright or disgust.
Had he always been such a terrible person? Aeris found that hard to believe, especially since on occasion she saw glimpses of someone half decent under the malevolent veneer. Why then? Did he want people to fear him, or was it something else? She didn't have long to think of answers, as Sephiroth stirred and slowly opened his eyes.
"Good morning" Aeris told him politely.
Sephiroth jolted awake and sat up, seeming a bit embarrassed he'd been caught unawares. He ran a hand through his hair which did, to Aeris' amusement, look like he'd walked through a hurricane. Finally he turned to her. She was sitting indian style on her bed, hair newly braided. "Morning.. What time is it?"
"Almost noon, judging by the sun."
Sephiroth cursed under his breath, one slender fingered hand covering half his face. He set his bare feet on the floor, then started sorting out his hair with his fingers.
Aeris rolled her eyes. "Here, you can borrow mine." She took her brush and held it out for him.
Sephiroth grabbed it, looking simultaneously abashed and annoyed. "Thanks.." He mumbled.
Aeris continued on towards the bathroom, leaving Sephiroth to his brushing. When she returned, he'd changed back into his uniform, familiar scowl back on his face. He's probably annoyed with himself for all the time he 'wasted' sleeping, Aeris figured, no matter how sorely he might have needed it.
"Shall we go to breakfast then?" Aeris asked. "Though it's more like brunch now, I suppose.."
"Yes. Let me just freshen up first. You should pack your clothes in the meantime, they appear to have dried. Here's your brush." Sephiroth held out the object in question without looking at her. As Aeris went to grab for it, their fingers briefly met. Sephiroth visibly recoiled at the contact, then hastily stood up and marched past her, disappearing behind the bathroom door. Aeris shook her head at his odd behaviour, then went to pack away her dress and jacket which had indeed dried during the night.
After a walk down the stairs that led to the reception area the pair proceeded into the dining room – it was a rather small intimate space with few tables. Apart from an elderly woman sipping her tea as she read the newspaper they appeared to be the only patrons there. Aeris sighed in relief Sephiroth hadn't dragged her in this time, but rather trailed after her as she chose a table by a window overlooking a garden. They picked up their menus and placed their orders. As they waited for food to arrive, Aeris admired the flowers outside. They reminded her of home.. The thought was slightly depressing.
"Aeris?" Sephiroth cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Hmm?"
Sephiroth sat back in his chair, a determined look on his face. "There's something I must yet do while we're in town.. I had hoped to get to it earlier, but alas.." He grumbled.
Here we go again, Aeris sighed. "What is it?"
"We're in need of a faster mode of transportation. There's a stable in town that sells chocobos. That's our next stop."
"Chocobos?" Aeris blinked. "I can't ride one!"
Sephiroth smirked. "You won't have to. One will suffice."
Aeris swallowed, slightly paled at the thought of having to cling to him for dear life as they sped across the plains on one of the giant birds. "Oh.. that's.. nice."
"You'll like them, they're quite docile creatures." Sephiroth assured her.
Aeris still raised a doubtful eyebrow at him.
Just then their food started arriving, eggs and toast, pancakes with syrup, steaming hot cups of coffee, even some local delicacies. Sephiroth took his coffee black, no sugar. Of course, Aeris rolled her eyes at him. Her own was mixed with caramel and cream. They ate in silence, and Aeris observed that yes, Sephiroth did indeed have table manners.
After their meal, Sephiroth led Aeris through the streets and past the busy marketplace towards the edge of the town. Aeris was too busy taking in the sights and sounds of the busy little town to think about breaking free of her captor, whose grip on her was thankfully a bit less brutish today. Aeris chalked it down to Sephiroth being preccupied with other things, most likely how to make up the time he lost by oversleeping.
Aeris groaned. That was likely to mean unpleasant things for her.
Finally they reached the cheery red barn they were looking for. Above it's huge double front doors was a sign adverticing "Pedigree chocobos for sale, only from the finest breeders", with a cartoon depiction of a winking chocobo. On the side of the double doors was the main entrance to the offices, with a chocobo foot logo over "Wanda's and Will's Chocobo Emporium". Sephiroth surprised Aeris by holding the door open for her, until she realized it was probably because he wanted to keep her in his sight. So much for being a gentleman, she grumbled.
As they entered they discovered a wide corridor lined on both sides with booths of merchants selling various chocobo related items: lure materia, bridles and reins in many styles, greens, there was even a salesman for chocobo-drawn wagons. Not to mention other paraphinelia from greeting cards to jewellery.
"Come along." Sephiroth whispered in her ear from behind as she stopped to take it all in. To her shock he layed an arm on the small of her back and guided her past the other customers.
"I never knew chocobos were such a huge business." Aeris told him. Sephiroth's hand lingered on her waist, she could feel his heat. It was very distracting. Aeris resisted the urge to squirm away from his touch and concentrated on his voice instead as he answered.
"It's mostly due to the popularity of chocobo racing. The championships held at Gold Saucer are televised worldwide, I believe."
Aeris did remember seeing snippets of such races but had never taken much of a personal interest: in the slums racing was associated with gambling, the mob and loansharks, all things she wanted nothing to do with.
"This way" Sephiroth instructed and finally stepped away from her, holding open a door with the words "Manager's Office" carved into it. As she passed him by to get in, Aeris caught a whiff of Sephiroth's scent, which she regrettably recognized at this point. Something soapy clean and very male. What's wrong with you, stupid hormones, Aeris chastised her brain. You hate him. HATE him.
"Are you alright, you look a bit flushed?" Sephiroth asked her, and for a mortifying second Aeris thought he'd done his mind-reading trick again. But his expression was only inquisitive.
"I'm fine." Aeris insisted. "Let's get this over with."
Sephiroth shrugged. "As you wish.. One of the two owners should be in."
It took them no time to locate a rather small woman in her fourties, Aeris assumed she was Wanda. As Sephiroth shook hands with her and inquired about purchasing a chocobo for them, Aeris wandered about the room, feeling if not seeing Sephiroth's eyes on her from time to time. He was probably expecting her to bolt at any second. His paranoia was really putting a dampener on her escape plans. If she was to succeed in running from him, she would need to lull him into a false sense of security, get him to trust her, so that he would drop his guard a bit.
But how could she possibly accomplish that? Aeris watched Sephiroth who appeared to be discussing the kind of chocobo they'd require: apparently it being a fast runner was top priority. Great, Aeris frowned, I can feel the motion sickness already. Now how to get him to trust her? She concluded she simply didn't know him well enough to pin point any pressure points or weaknesses. Aeris reluctantly concluded she would simply have to talk to him more. What a joy that was going to be, what with Sephiroth being such a conversationalist.
"Aeris." Sephiroth broke her out of her reverie. "We're going to see the potentials. I'd like you to join me."
Aeris took that as an order and dutifully followed Wanda and Sephiroth into the stables, where she was immediatly hit by smell of chocobo and a chorus of warks. Wanda presented Sephiroth with multiple chocobos, and he listened attentively to the strengths and weaknesses of each. In the end his eyes were drawn to a black female named Freya – Aeris rolled her eyes behind his back. Sephiroth could be so predictable sometimes.
"Don't mock me. This one happens to be the fastest runner which is exactly what we need. My choice is based on rational reasons alone."
"If you say so." Aeris smiled innocently. Sephiroth frowned and petted his new purchase's long neck before returning to the office with Aeris in tow to sign paperwork and to make arrangements for bridles and reins, greens, saddlebags and other supplies they might need.
Wanda and her assistant scurried to gather all the items they bought leaving Sephiroth and Aeris alone in the office. "Soo.. Are you going to tell me where we'll be headed next?"
"Mythril mines. To get there we'll have to cross the marshes. Problems might arise.."
"Problems?" Aeris squeked.
Sephiroth's lips curled into a confident smirk. "You might see something interesting. And I could certainly use the excercise.."
Aeris did not like the sound of that.