I wake up before the girls in my room, sweating and thankfully not screaming from another nightmare. When I look at the digital clock on the nightstand, I see that it's already seven and I might as well get up anyway. So I grab my cloak and my shoes, hurriedly putting them on and leaving the hotel. The person at the desk smiles and nods as I exit, to which I nod in return and continue my walk out into the snow. What should I do now? With a heavy sigh, I continue walking into the already awake town, children just starting to built snowmen and start snowball fights. One of the balls ends up exploding on my arm, a little girl no older than seven quickly apologizing. I give her a forced smile.
"It's alright. I did that to someone before as I kid too."
"Oh, okay," she nods. "Sorry!" Then I walk off again, not really having any destination in mind. That is, until I see a weapons shop and decide to make a short visit. Blades, guns, and an assortment of damage dealing items line the walls. I personally prefer my bow or Nightmare. The rapier raises my strength, physical and magic defense, and does more damage the more I've taken. Much better than these crappy things.
"Well look who's here," I hear a familiar drawl and smile at the blonde man behind me.
"Hey Cid. What're you doing here this early?"
"I'm usually an early riser," he grins back. "Why're you up? Couldn't sleep?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Vin slept nice last night." I nod and look down at my boots silently.
"Is he still asleep?"
"Think so. Why?" His eyes drift up above my head. "Nevermimd." I whirl around to see that Vincent just entered the shop, nodding toward us stiffly before heading toward the counter to get some more ammo. Now that I think about it, I'm running out of arrows and Shadow's aren't that great. I wait until the guys leave to buy as many as I can fit in my quiver before leaving. Seven thirty. What to do now?
"Hey Violet." I fight the urge to roundhouse kick Cloud in the face for scaring me and nod toward him.
"Cloud. It seems everyone is up early today." He scoffs.
"Not Barret. And aren't Tifa and Yuffie still sleeping?"
"I guess," I shrug. "I don't really care." He nods and looks out at the snow banks around the houses. I finally notice that he's wearing a dark blue coat over his uniform, the collar of a turtleneck sweater pulled up tightly. I hate those things, they always make me feel like I'm choking. As if reading my mind, he looks my outfit up and down, raising an eyebrow at me skeptically. I know him well enough to know he's not checking me out, in case you're wondering why I haven't punched him yet.
"Are you going to be warm enough? I've heard that the glacier is the coldest place in the world. People freeze out there all the time."
"I don't really... Like shopping," I finally admit. He fights a smile of pure amusement and shakes his head.
"Why don't you go with Tifa?"
"No offense to either of you, I can't stand her."
"I understand," he nods. "She's kinda suffocating sometimes. But she's really not all that bad once you spend some time around her and she realizes she doesn't have to worry."
"I'll try," I sigh. "See you later."
"Later," he nods, walking off. I fight a mental laugh. He's so short!
Or you're just tall.
5'9 isn't that tall...
Hmm... Really?
Shut up.
That's going to be on your gravestone if you're not careful.
Shut... I'm gonna kill you.
You can't.
Grumbling at Shadow under my breath, I start walking again, only this time toward a store. I may not feel the cold, but that doesn't mean I can't die from it. I grab a sweater that looks my size and a pair of thin snow pants, paying for them quickly before leaving. That's about as good as you'll get from me, clothing store. I walk back to the hotel and go into our dreaded room. The bathroom door is shut with the light on and Yuffie's still sleeping, so I'm assuming Tifa's the one hogging the bathroom. I sit down on my bed and wait for her to get out, which takes a painfully long time at forty five minutes. And Yuffie's still sleeping... Crazy girl.
As I'm pulling on my clothes, I can't help but search into my past for the last time I went shopping. It doesn't take long, considering it was one of the worst days of my life. Vincent was there, Lucrecia was there, but she just kept giving me a smug look that made me want to punch her. It was the day of the funeral, his funeral. Even Hojo was there, but only because Lucrecia was, and before they got together, he practically stalked her. Vincent merely longed from a distance.
"Aw, you went shopping without me? No fun," Tifa teases. "How're we going to wake her up? She's so stubborn!"
"Just take her blankets," I shrug. "The cold will get to her soon enough, especially in that outfit."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" The ninja snaps up into a sitting position. I smirk to myself, pleased that my plan worked.
"It means get up or I'll kick your butt out into the snow," Tifa says, lifting her chin challengingly.
"Okay, okay," Yuffie rolls her eyes. "Where's the materia?!" We both stare at her blankly. "What?! I had a dream it all disappeared!"
"Perhaps," I say slowly, glancing at Tifa. "Barret has it. I saw him in here earlier."
"Grr! That old fart!" She yells, stomping out of the room moodily.
"Got it?" I raise an eyebrow at Tifa and she nods, smiling and holding up the bag of magic crystal balls. "Good. Don't let her have it until we leave tomorrow."
"Well aren't you evil," she laughs. I fight a smile and shake my head.
"It's just a little bit of revenge." Then I leave, surprised to find myself wanting to find Vincent first thing. Okay, I'm not surprised, he's the only person I really know in this group. But still, why him of all people? Why not Cid or Nanaki? It's not hard to find his blood red cape standing out against the pure white, my gray scale outfit just a little less hard to spot than his.
"Hey," I say quietly once I've joined his side. He doesn't say anything, only watches Cid and Nanaki get pelted with snow by the local children with a humored spark in his eyes. So I watch too, relishing in Cid's yelling and cursing as snow somehow gets under his shirt. Nanaki laughs and dodges a snowball. Is this how they deal with Aeris's death? Distract themselves? If only I could have done that...
"What are you thinking about?" A deep voice breaks my thoughts. I stare at him for a few moments, confused by his sudden prodding. He's never really nosy enough to ask me anything.
"Him," I say quietly, remembering all the snow days we used to have fun on.
"Harper?"
"Yes." He nods and looks out over the snow. "And you?"
"Your... Lucrecia." At least he stopped himself from saying 'You're sister.' And then I remember why the snow would remind him of her.
The day Lucrecia told Vincent she was getting married to Hojo was a beautiful snowy day. She'd dragged him out and acted like a little school girl, playing and prancing around. Flirtatiously kissing his cheek every so often and he actually laughed. And then when they'd finally settled down, she'd told him. Just dropped it like a bomb. Killed him and, to him, the snow ran red that day because of such a short love's death.
"That was a really crappy way for her to tell you," I mutter. He sighs and nods again.
"I agree."
"There you are!" I cringe and turn to see Tifa headed toward us. "I asked Cloud where to find you and he said probably around Vincent! I guess he was right." For some reason, her words make me go just the tiniest bit red, sideways glancing at Vincent. He just stares at her. "So, uh, since Yuffie won't go with me, I was wondering if you'd tag along to get some stuff for the trip ahead?" I purse my lips together and look back at Cid and Nanaki.
"No thanks." I can almost sense her face dropping, but she nods and walks away. I bet the only reason they're even talking to me is because that's what Aeris used to do.
"And you wonder why no one speaks to you," Vincent says under his breath.
"I heard that," I snap. "And I apologize for not wanting to bring up bad memories."
"... My apologies as well." I roll my eyes and look down at my boots with a sigh.
"I remember when he was sent here for his first third class job." Vincent says nothing, not that there was anything really to say to my random talking, but I can tell that he's listening. Maybe he's hoping to catch a little bit of Lucrecia in this story. "He called me twice a day until Tseng finally had to cut the line because the phone bill was getting too high." Vincent gives a huff of amusement.
"I recall that well." I laugh sadly and shake my head.
"I don't know if I should be grateful of his loss or not." He looks at me with confusion. "If he'd lived, I wouldn't have gone to Hojo. I wouldn't have joined Avalanche either. I never would have known what happened to you." He sighs. "I wondered everyday you know," I admit finally. "What had happened to you. Hojo said you died, but then you were alive and... It was just so confusing. I still want to know why he let me go so suddenly."
"Perhaps he was finished with his experiments." He shakes his head. "No, he wouldn't do that unless you'd died."
"Exactly," I nod. "He used to talk about David a lot. I wonder..."
"Who's David?"
I jump when I hear Cid's voice, closing my eyes and trying to steady my heartbeat again.
"No one."
"Really? Then you wouldn't be talkin about him then," he chuckles. "Cmon, who is he?"
"Cid..." Vincent warns. Suddenly aggravated that Cid won't mind his business, I snap at him.
"My fiancé. Happy?"
"Geeze, didn't know you were gettin married," he holds up his gloved hands in defense.
"I'm not," I turn away from him. "That wedding was supposed to take place thirty two years ago."
"Well -$^#" he says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh, what happened? You two fight or somethin?"
"I can't marry a dead man, can I Highwind?" I say quietly, walking away back toward the hotel. Despite how annoying he is, I trust Cid. He wouldn't scream something I don't want the world to know to the universe. Love is a weakness, and I'm determined not to let anything weaken me again. Nothing.
Everyone dreads waking up the next morning, groaning and complaining when Cloud shows us a map an old woman gave him, telling us we have to snowboard down a mountain to get there and such. In short, we're trecking across another frozen wasteland. Everyone got what they needed for the cold yesterday, and so everyone (minus me and Vincent) crams breakfast in their face and follows Cloud out into the snow.
"Fifty gil a board," some bored guy in a snowboard rental booth days flatly, texting someone. Cloud sighs and we all chip in to pay for the boards. Barret winds up having to hold the stupid mog/cat duo and Nanaki looks sick at the thought of riding on one of the boards. We'll just have to see who survives...
...vVv...
"How did you do that?!" Yuffie shrieks at me. I shrug and step off the board indifferently, my mind plagued with thoughts of David. I haven't really thought about him in a long time. I try hard not to. "I think you lied when you said you've never been on one before!"
"The truth is the truth, whether you can face it or not," I reply blandly before turning to our leader. "Do you know where we are?"
"I think," he says slowly, unconsciously chewing on his lip. "That we're here." He points to a spot with a tree drawn on it, and sure enough, we're standing by a tall, dead tree. "So that means, if we head southwest, we'll find a cave... Maybe there's someone there who could help?"
"We'd all freeze if we're out here too long," Cid points out. "I suggest just goin north to get outta this &#%-$^ cold."
"Right," he nods. "Let's go!"
The cold we have to endure eventually gets to the other girls, despite behind bundled up. I again sacrifice my cloak, despite Vincent's look of disapproval. They take it without question, huddling together underneath the fabric. Nanaki shudders, drawing his flaming tail closer to his body for a small source of warmth, Cait Sith's body making loud noises as he struggles to keep going. Cid mutters curses under his breath and pulls his jacket tighter against his skin.
"How much longer?" Barret demands, shivering horribly.
"We're only halfway there," Cloud replies flatly, although a shudder racks up his spine. A glassy ice surface replaces the snowy ground as we head on. Looking down, I see that my lips are a pale shade of blue, cold, and my cheeks and nose are red against the freezing air. But why can't I feel it? I've become so numb...
"You are cold."
"Nope," I shake my head.
"Just because you can't feel it does not mean it isn't there."
"Go away Vincent," I scoff, walking again.
"You're going to die from the cold."
"I'll be fine." He sighs as I stomp ahead of him and shiver. Wow, okay, it's been awhile...
Quite inhuman.
I'm aware.
"We've still got a long way to go," I hear Tifa murmur. Turning, I see that she's crouched beside a squatting Yuffie, who hugs her knees to her chest, unable to stop shaking.
"I c-can't..." The ninja squeaks before blacking out. Tifa catches her and looks up at me helplessly.
"Hey Spike!" Cid yells. "The brat just collapsed."
"What?" Cloud turns around, catching sight of the small girl. "#&%-... We still have miles to go."
"What are we supposed to do?" Tifa asks worriedly. Our leader stands there for a moment and thinks.
"Just keep moving, we can't afford to stop. That could mean losing a member."
"Barret?" Barret nods and picks Yuffie up, my cloak going with her. Then Vincent makes a move that surprises everyone and hands his deep red cape to Tifa. She hesitates before thanking him quietly and buckling it up.
"Let's get moving again," Cid ushers us.
As we continue, Cait's whirring rudely fills our ears, but there's nothing we can do about it, really. A heavy snowfall begins to drop from the skies until we can hardly see. Suddenly, Barret turns around.
"Yo, where're Tifa and Cid?!"
"Perhaps they passed out as well," Nanaki suggests.
"We gotta go back for 'em!" The big man yells.
"But we'll freeze," Cloud frowns.
"So will they! Don't you care about your childhood friend or whatever?!" He demands angrily. "Cmon!"
"I'll take Yuffie," the red beast offers. "And you will go back for them?"
"No," Blondie shakes his head. "If you're going, you're going in pairs. I'll take Yuffie and you two go. We'll have to keep moving, but you can catch up, hopefully. Hey, where's Cait?"
"Great," I mutter. It's a good thing we're so observant, right? Vincent sighs and looks down at me wearily. This is a disaster.
"We'll see you later," Barret nods as he hurries off with the fire cat right behind him.
"I don't know what I'll do if they don't make it," Cloud sighs, looking down at Yuffie. Then he continues on, only me and Vincent left to follow him. My legs hardly listen to my head anymore, Cloud slowing down as well. Poor Vincent has to dive forward to catch him as he stumbles, the blonde man blinking his eyes quickly to stay awake. My own vision is fading quickly from my lack of warmer clothing, and I force my eyes wider to keep them open. It's useless. I fall toward the snow with a small cry of "Vincent" and his arms wind up hooked under mine.
"There's someone coming" he murmurs by my ear. But I can hardly hear it. I'm fading, blacking out, running away. I can feel the cold again.
SORRY IF THIS WAS BORING... WE HAVE OUR LOVELY CLIFF CLIMB NEXT! UGH, I HATED THAT MARLBORO THING.