8: Clotho Spins
"I saw a couple stars blink out last night. I wonder where they went. Did something swallow them up? Did they die out? Or did they just go take a nap? Wish I could reach up and see…" -Drana
-----
I was ready to fall out of Sephiroth's arms the moment our house appeared. I worried about my garden, despite all the attempts to put my mind at ease. Bugs and monsters were a constant threat, but when I was around, they'd keep their distance. Knowing my 'fatal' purity to any simple minded thing, we had our perfect black box of defense against pests.
But Wutai had absorbed me for the last few days. There was no telling what damage might have been done to my flowers, my children. Yet, as I neared them, I felt virtually no distress, nor neglect flooding out in little, covert waves of energy. My garden was safe. As I knelt there at the bed's edge, the blossoms bowed to the tiniest breeze wafting by. Safe.
"I didn't think you'd ever develop fixations," Sephiroth remarked. "Being what you are…"
"Um… obviously you see I walk, talk, and look like a human. So... I'll have 'fixations' like one, too, thanks." I ran my fingertips along each flower at the edge, checking for any physical sign of wilting or sickness. They felt strained, but only a little; other than that, everything was all right. Relief had spread through me in thin, curling rivers, while a tiny cascade of annoyance splashed up towards Sephiroth.
"No, there's something more, but I won't delve," he said. Then he added, "I'll leave you be."
"Thank you."
"Now where shall I put your things?"
My shoulders slouched at the mocking mirth in his voice.
The woman in me had taken over in Wutai, utterly and totally. When we visited the shops, I saw so many incredible trinkets, and with Sephiroth's mystery income— it was only a mystery because I had no idea where he kept it, much less how he earned it— he was able to spare more than enough gil. Statuettes, a couple of rugs, some jewelry, some clothes, even plants that I could keep indoors. Meanwhile, a sense of selfishness nipped at my heels, chasing me ever since we'd left the Occident. Worldly possessions, in excess anyways, like these never really appealed to me, but now… I only hoped it was a minor lapse in judgment, and something that would never quite happen again.
"There is no harm done. It's business, it makes the world turn. If anything, you are aiding that, you're aiding economy which aids the world."
"Aiding…" I blinked. "Hey, Sephiroth... have you noticed how nicely you speak of people and things now? I mean…"
"I still don't think highly of them but I would rather not hear you nag," he retorted.
I frowned. "I guess I forgot who I was talking to... Again."
"Don't sound so dejected. Some things will never change."
He finally disappeared into the house, leaving me to my own devices. I wouldn't grumble; I simply did too much. More often than not, it was pointless. He was too set in his ways, even for me. And I... I wasn't sure how set I was into anything, if set at all, beyond the fact that I stayed here with Sephiroth, to make sure he didn't stray from his given path. Aerith demanded it, Lucrecia demanded it, these numerous invisible faces demanded it. And so I did, too. That was my one truest way.
Even if it wasn't my choice.
---
Saristis had sent all but Evvey back to Costa del Sol. He'd deemed Nibelheim as his new secondary base of operations after overhearing an odd bit of information. Normally, things like this he paid no attention to, but 'Ancient' had always been a huge buzzword amongst scientists and historians alike. It pointed to a mysterious history in the Planet's past, to which many drove forward to fully uncover.
The Ancients were a race of obscurity.
Yet Shinra had managed to pull off the unthinkable: they had acquired a specimen of this ancient culture. Or two. But thanks to the events leading up to Meteorfall, that achievement had been all but lost to the Lifestream. Hojo, though innovative in his own middling right, just could not keep proper reign over his experiments. And everyone else in his field had turned against him. Or died. He was an outcast, with few confidants and fewer legacies.
All that precious information that Shinra could have gleaned, gone.
Until now.
Saristis would find out for sure, taking Hojo's legacy as his own. But this time, a different approach would be needed. No super soldiers, no monsters bred by Mako, no genetic engineering. He would go straight to the source. This creature. This thing from Ancient times.
The following morning, Saristis and Evvey had taken to the northeastern hills outside of town.
Shinra Mansion still loomed like a frozen beast over Nibelheim, and yet something new hung in the air. The stench of decadence was dwindling. Advancing upon the old monument, the scholarly duo decidedly understood what this new air was.
Men and women suited in beige buzzed about the mansion's grounds, carrying this and that, conversely aloud and eating breakfast on the run. Amongst the bevy stood a group of unusual faces. While one waxed familiarity, Evvey had to identify the others for Saristis. Cid Highwind at the fore, then Tifa Lockhart and Vincent Valentine, figures most prominent among the ranks of the World Regenesis Organization. His superior grinned crookedly.
"I'd say this is a big surprise, Kit," he said.
"Very, sir," the other responded.
"I wonder what they're doing…"
"Renovating Shinra Mansion?"
"Oh, that is a shame," Saristis clucked. "I'd say as it is now, it's a legitimate historical landmark. Renovation would be sacrilege."
"Hey!"
A figure, a woman, came walking towards them, her gait only a mince but threatening nonetheless. Her large, dark foreboding eyes pushed the men back a step when they at last stood face-to-face. She gave each of them a long, hard stare, knuckles firm against her slightly wide hips.
"No loitering, gentlemen," she said. "Or do you have business here?"
"Just out on a morning stroll, madam," Saristis smiled.
"I've seen you around before, haven't I? You're not part of the WRO, are you?"
"No, we're-"
"Just passersby," the redhead interjected, lifting a hand to silence his colleague in finality.
The woman's brow furrowed in doubt.
"Might I ask what's going on up there?"
"Just some simple rebuilding. Now if you'll excuse me…"
"By all means." Saristis bowed his head, practically his entire body, to the woman as a show he meant no disrespect. He knew immediately by the tone of her slender arms and legs that she was a creature governed by strength. As being a scientist entailed frailty by nature, he didn't want to get on her bad side. Evvey parroted the same.
"Good day."
When she was fairly out of earshot, Saristis leaned into his colleague's ear, whispering, "A beautiful yet dangerous specimen of female."
"Could have pissed my pants, sir."
"Take note, Kit," the scientist voiced.
"Already on it."
Together, the men trudged back down the hills to town.
An Ancient was in town, as was the WRO. It was a nice little correlation to note. Two institutions known for their devotion to the Planet. It was almost too perfect. Realization came that Nibelheim would play the stage once more for a new opera of epic proportions. One only had to wait for the main actor, or actress, to approach the stage. Saristis knew it'd only be a matter of time. This thing could not, would not, hide from him, not with what was at stake. A new chance for mankind to ascend to its rightful seat of power.
He nearly burst into a snicker.
If only Hojo could see him now.
---
I stood outside, mulling over the state of our house. It looked oddly quaint for a vision that came from the mind of Sephiroth. Or maybe he had someone else to figure out the design. Either way, the comfy-cozy air permeated every wall, board and shingle in a fairly unsettling manner. I wondered why I never really noticed it before. But of course. I had always preoccupied myself with tending to my garden. While Sephiroth built us up a small existence on the edge of civilization, I knelt oblivious to the many things that surrounded us, things not grounded in nature. Including this house, the powers he tried to demonstrate, and so much more I couldn't think of, not at the moment. I knew there was more to the world than just my garden. Our isolation had driven me to placing that flower patch above things that should have been just as, if not more, important. I was unsure of whether to feel guilty or just confused.
Confusion naturally seemed the easiest and cleanest reaction.
Sooner or later, it would all become clear.
And then, my heart suddenly ached.
It ached for Sephiroth.
"I know," I murmured softly. "Don't worry."
It was a common pang, one that I both ignored and acknowledged. A soul reached through me to the man, wishing to hold him. I had no doubt it was Lucrecia. I never questioned why part of her took up residence inside me, because I only assumed she wanted to be near him. And as per Sephiroth's usual response to the unearthly processes that cycled within, being what I was…
Lifestream.
From her place as part of the Flow of Life, the memory of Sephiroth gripped her and lifted her to the surface. How I wished that he didn't deny her as his mother. I felt the energy.
It was his. His within her, once tainted and now pure.
The Lifestream, the Planet, couldn't lie. It was virtually impossible.
"So it must be true... So much knowledge, if only I bothered to look."
Maybe, just maybe, I can finally grow, I thought. I can be a full-fledged human being.
"Sorry, Planet, I'd been going about this all the wrong way," I said, shaking my head. "All along, you were there. Maybe it's time I used what you gave me."
"If you were human, I'd call you crazy for talking to yourself."
"Huh?"
Sephiroth stood framed in the window as I passed it by. He smirked, and then vanished, only to reappear beside me. On an afternoon like this, he was typically found shirtless and smelling of some sort of oil or sweat. Were I sitting inside with him, I'd be the most favorable spectator to the careful ritual of him maintaining his sword. I never knew a blade needed so much caring for. And he thought my garden was an obsession.
"There's still time," I answered after a lazy scrutiny.
My shoulder was tempted to brush itself across his bare chest. The contact would've soothed Lucrecia's pang, despite the tension tightening over my skin. I held back, however. That maternal longing wasn't the only thing lingering about. I was lucky Sephiroth couldn't sense the tiny lust that haunted this skin. I could walk away and no one would be the wiser.
I sighed deeply and went inside the house. I concluded that tonight would be the night I got in touch with the Planet, or started to.
I had to think of what Aerith would do.
She was a funny ghost, but smart. Surely, I'd have loved some pointers.
