A/N - Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, am moving at the mo so story might be put on hold for a while. But never fear, it shall continue! Happy reading :-D

Nanaki seemed to be the one with the least reservation about going.

"My grandfather would have said to follow what we feel is right," He said, his long tail swishing lazily across the floor. "If you feel the Northern Crater beckons you, then that is where you should go." Simple.

And that is what I did feel. Ever since I had heard those words in my dream, I had been ready to go there. I didn't know what it was I would find in that barren wasteland but...it just felt right, like Red had said. The others didn't agree.

"The Northern Crater is a dangerous place," Tifa had said, looking around at everyone gathered in the living room. "We can't just head off without any idea of what could be there," This had been met with many nods, especially from Cid.

"I don' think it's all that sensible to just fly off somewhere because of some dream," He had turned towards me at that moment, eyeing me suspiciously. "And in any case, how do we know you ain't makin' all this dream stuff up? Hell, you could be another remnant for all we know!" All eyes had turned to me, and I had simply shrugged. I could not show them what I had seen in my dream, there was no possible way. The atmosphere had been tense and awkward after that comment, even after Cid had apologised and said that he was being rash and a worrier. There was no way I could prove to them that I wasn't evil. I just had to sit and wait for them to decide what to do.

They talked for hours, debating this and that, discussing what could possibly happen at the Northern Crater, wondering if I was making it all up. That was never directly said, but comments about 'reliability' and 'certainty' of my truth was brought into question. I had already decided to let them choose what they wanted to believe. As soon as they had done, I would be gone.

"I am going with Laureth," Vincent said quietly, from the corner in which he was standing. Cid had laughed, made a crude comment about him finding love with me, which no-one really found humorous but wondered about. Vincent had rolled his eyes and ignored him, so that's what I did too. Cid seemed a little annoyed when he didn't provoke a reaction from Vincent, but I think he knew he wouldn't anyway. Vincent was untouchable.

Morning had turned into afternoon and Tifa had been a wonderful host, providing a hot lunch for us all. The talk continued while everyone ate the delicious soup, only stopping to laugh at Barret when he had spilt some down his chin. I excused myself soon after, going outside to be alone.

I leant against the railings outside the back door and breathed in the cooling air. It was well past midday, and the sun had disappeared, leaving a warmth behind that was quickly vanishing. A gentle breeze wafted past, brushing my hair from my eyes. I sighed, wondering to myself what I had gotten into. A group of strangers taking me in, talking about me, worrying about my safety; I hadn't had company in so long, it felt odd, unnatural. It felt good. It felt good to talk to Tifa and Cloud after dinner, it felt good to have Yuffie giggling away at something funny I had said without knowing. It felt good not to be alone. I would miss it when I left.

I laughed at myself. Come on Laureth! You've spent two, three days with these people and you're acting like they're kin. Pull it together. Being alone is just the way it is, just the way it always has been, ever since...how long ago was that now? How many years had passed since those days? I thought about Yuffie, her face, the way her body looked. I must be around her age, maybe a little older. 22? 23? I shook my head. I couldn't even remember when my birthday was. I would never know how old I was. Did I care? In a funny way, yes, I did.

I heard the door open and saw Vincent standing there. He raised his hand in a greeting and I nodded, watching him as he closed the door gently and moved to stand beside me.

"They are still talking inside," He said, and I nodded again, dreading to think how long it would be before they made a decision. I needed an answer now. I needed to be moving, to be on my way, to be heading for the answers that had evaded me for so long. Maybe when I reached this place, everything about me would become clear; everything I was, everything that had been done to me, what had happened to my mother...these were things I couldn't wait for, these were things that I needed to discover as soon as I could. I breathed out hard and Vincent looked at me.

"It's...frustrating," I said, and he nodded understandingly. "There could be so much waiting for me there." Again, Vincent nodded, his eyes downcast, and I wondered what had happened to him. Of all the others, he had been the most difficult to decipher in my dreams. He had always been to the side, emotionless, revealing nothing. That had frustrated me at first, but then I had realised he was similar to me, that's the way I was. It made sense then, when I looked at myself first.

I looked over at Vincent and saw him staring at me again.

"Why do you stare at me?" I asked him, looking away over the garden at the fading light of the day.

"I cannot believe how similar we are," He replied, very quietly. I glanced up and saw him looking down at his hand, encompassed by a golden claw. The detail of the pattern was beautiful, exquisitely worked. It moved like liquid, each joint flowed smoothly and easily. Black leather showed between the golden plates. Each claw was tipped with a point that had the potential to be lethal if used in the right way, a way I was sure Vincent knew.

"Why do you have that?" I asked, gesturing to his claw. He looked over at me and flexed his fingers.

"My arm was damaged," He said simply, "This allows me to use it." I looked at the claw once more, then back at Vincent's face.

"Is your arm still under there?" I asked, curiosity encouraging me to be a little more talkative than usual. He nodded, looking down at his hand, then returning it to his side. A silence fell between us, I felt compelled to speak more. For some reason, I felt able to speak to Vincent, I felt as though he wouldn't judge me like the others had done.

"Vincent," I said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

"Were you hurt, like I was?" A few moments passed, when all I could hear was the sound of him breathing.

"...Yes."

"Is that why you want to help me?" I asked. I looked up into his eyes, suddenly realising how much taller than me he was. And how close he was standing to me. Where I had placed my hands on the rails, his rested only centimetres away. I felt no compulsion to move as I would usually, but felt...almost comforted by his close proximity to me.

Vincent looked back down into my eyes, and to my utter surprise the corners of his mouth lifted. It was almost imperceptible, but this time it really was there.

"Yes." He said, as though it were the ultimate truth. Then he turned away and opened the door, motioning for me to enter it. It was time to learn what had been decided. My stomach was skipping, it felt as though there were butterflies fluttering about in there. I mentioned this to Vincent before he opened the door to the living room, and without me seeing his face he breathed out heavily, as though he laughed.

"That, Laureth," He said to me, glancing over his shoulder as he opened the door, "is nerves."