"Do you like this one better, or this one?" Cloud asked Denzel as they spent some alone time at an outdoors store. It had been several days since he mostly assured Barret of his good will; though the big, burly man had decided to stay a little bit longer just to make sure everything was really alright, and to spend time with his daughter. Barret had admitted he wanted to take Marlene with him to Junon the night after he had discovered his friend's secret, but the thought of her being anywhere near the werewolves in that city had lent to his initial indecision. Cloud and Tifa were still keeping her safe after everything was said and done, and after their talk on the roof he was at least certain of Cloud's intentions.
Denzel lifted the fabric of the tent, green and crinkly, and rubbed it between his thumb and fingers. "This one, I think."
Cloud grinned. "Same." He picked up the folded tent and placed it in his cart. "Are we missing anything?"
Denzel looked around, scratching the back of his head. "I don't think so..." The boy's grin grew as he looked up at his guardian. "We're really gonna go camping!" Denzel had been to the greener areas of the world on Fenrir before, but the family had never gone camping together, only day visits to places beyond the city. Cloud and the boys had taken several trips on Fenrir, helping look for a proper camping area; Cloud had taken Denzel to the green area he had taken Zeph, but the area had flooded during a rain storm. They both had a good time chasing frogs, however.
Cloud nodded. "Should be a fun time, huh?"
The child nodded enthusiastically, a smile on his face. They went to a register to pay for the equipment. Cloud paid after it was tallied up, then took it out to a car he had rented for the day; Fenrir didn't have enough space for the purchases. They entered the car after stuffing the supplies in the trunk, and Denzel sat behind his hero, the warrior taking a deep breath as he turned on the ignition.
"Y'know, your birthday is coming up in November. You're gettin' older, too, and I'm sure you remember we talked about giving you a separate room from Marlene's when you reached twelve years old," Cloud said as he began backing out of the parking spot, ready to head to Tifa's destination on the other side of the shopping plaza. "We'll get it ready soon, because it probably feels unfair that Zeph has a room by himself and you don't."
Denzel lit up at the news that he'd be getting his own room finally. It wasn't that he didn't like sleeping in the same room as Marlene, but he had been aching for more privacy as of late, and he had felt somewhat jealous of Zeph having his own room. He knew why, but he had wished they would have let him take the other room already. He had figured it was just in case any other strange surprises happened and they needed the space, like when Shelke lived with them for a time, or all of AVALANCHE visited and they barely had enough space between all the rooms. "I'm getting the room between Zeph and yours, right?"
Cloud nodded as he slowly made his way around the parking lot. "Yeah."
Tifa and Zeph soon came into view on the sidewalk, both holding bags in their hands. Cloud parked the vehicle by them, allowing them to enter; Zeph tossed his bags of clothing between he and Denzel, and Tifa softly placed her bags between her legs, giving Cloud a smile in greeting. "Did you two have fun shopping?" she asked.
Cloud slowly took off, meandering through the busy parking lot and towards the road. "Yeah. Got everything we need for the little trip." He sniffed, then brought his brows together. "...What did you buy at the grocery store?"
Tifa blushed. "Just some things to restock the fridge! You ate all the bacon, you know..." The children snickered behind them, and Cloud matched her blush.
"Sorry, Teef." He sniffed silently again; it didn't smell like bacon at all...What was it? Cloud decided to focus on driving and keeping his motion sickness at bay instead of bothering with the smell. He took his time traveling through the city, talking to Tifa or the boys here and there. They soon found themselves at the back of Seventh Heaven. The four left the vehicle to sort through their bags, Tifa, Denzel and Zeph disappearing into the garage. Cloud dug out his purchases from the trunk and placed them in the garage before returning to the rental, leaning on the door as he took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed. Driving a vehicle helped keep his motion sickness at bay mostly, but the heat of the summer and the small dimensions of the car didn't help.
Denzel peeked out open garage and walked up to Cloud. "Can I come with you?" He gave the warrior a bored look as the blond man slowly opened his eyes and looked down.
"If you want." Finished with his meditation he returned to the car, and Denzel entered the front passenger seat. Cloud started the car and began driving, thankful the rental shop was just a block away from the bar. He looked at Denzel a moment, noticing that he was enjoying the breeze from the open window.
The ride had been uneventful, with Cloud paying for the service before holding Denzel's hand as they went back towards home, attempting to stay in the mid-morning shade where ever it showed up.
"Hey, Cloud..." Denzel squeezed his guardian's hand as the both of them walked through a shady, empty area.
"What's up?"
Denzel looked up at the man. "Um, that morning when you were arguing with Barret outside of the bedroom..."
Cloud stopped in his tracks, his face flushing red. "Oh. You were awake." The boy nodded, giving an inquiring look towards the embarrassed warrior. Cloud looked away, unable to keep eye contact. He sniffed, but just found curiosity. "Look, I know I'm not...your father, or anything, and I'm not trying to replace him, either..." He sighed as he looked back at Denzel. "I...guess the sentiment is there, that's all. I'm fine just being 'Cloud'."
Denzel nodded, thinking it over. "You couldn't replace my father, anyway." Cloud frowned, a little hurt from the words. "But, no one could replace you, either. But what would you be, then?" His hero was one part father figure and one part big brother to Denzel; he looked up to and loved the person that brought him into his family from the slums despite his Geostigma. Above all, he was his hero, larger than life.
The spiky haired man chuckled. "Just Cloud." Denzel smiled, the name describing everything all at once to him. It always had.
They slowly approached the bar after their little talk, and neared the entrance to an alley. The swordsman suddenly smelled something that made him stop in his tracks and made his eyes dilate.
"Cloud? Uh, are you okay?" Denzel noticed his face seemed off as he looked up, wondering why they stopped. He tugged on his shirt.
The blond man blinked at the sound of his name, then gave a small grimace. "Yeah...I just...Stay close to me, okay?" Cloud held on tightly to the boy's hand before walking towards the bar again. "I'm taking you home. There's another werewolf nearby," he mumbled lowly to the child.
Denzel picked up his pace, wide eyed. "What if it comes to the bar?" he whispered.
"Then I'll take care of it." He silently sniffed again, the scent was stronger. His frown deepened, both at the fact it was leading towards the bar and that there was something familiar to it. They were almost there, the smell ever stronger and driving Cloud into an angry panic, running with Denzel attempting to keep pace before letting go to speed up. He quickly made it to the front steps, almost busting the door in as he flung himself into the bar with a growl.
"Cloud! Um, are you okay?" a familiar voice asked.
Cloud blinked several times, staring at the werewolf that invaded his territory. "P-Penelope?"
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" She wore a denim dress Tifa had given her a while ago, her long brown hair in a low ponytail that cascaded down her back. She wore no shoes, and her feet were covered in dirt as she stood on the wood floor. Tifa was a few feet behind her, wide eyed and frozen in her smile as she watched the two. Zeph hid behind the pugilist in pure terror as he remembered the name and who it belonged to; Cloud's face did his nerves no favors, either.
Cloud put a hand to his face and rubbed with a groaning sigh. "Yeah, it has been." He looked up, relaxed but still perplexed as Denzel cautiously entered behind him and warily eyed the girl. "What brings you to the city? How'd you even find us, anyway?" He knew she could find a trail, but Edge wasn't a small forest.
Penelope put her fingers together, smiling. "I caught your trail of course! Well, first I left the forest, and some stranger on the road told me where to go to get here. Then, I caught your scent when I reached the plaza...It was about a day of traveling." She scratched the back of her head. "Um, I came here because Ithey is sick, and I need to get him some medicine..." Her face became concerned.
Tifa spoke up. "Sick? What symptoms does he have?" She held Zeph's hand, giving it a squeeze.
Penelope rattled off a few symptoms, both adults concluding that he had the flu. "There's medicine that can relieve the symptoms, but he just needs bed rest," Tifa replied, then she frowned. "What happened to your burner phone?"
"Oh..." Penelope took it out of a pocket on the dress. "We think the battery is dead. I know you said it should last a while if it's off, but maybe it wasn't charged all that well." The woman had a frown on her face. "I guess I made the trip for nothing. Neither of us have gotten sick in a long while, so I was worried it was something serious..."
"I wouldn't say that! You can stay for dinner if you want, then Cloud can take you home tomorrow. Would that be okay?" Tifa asked. Zeph uttered a worried moan at the mention of her staying any longer than needed.
Her green eyes brightened up. "Really? I don't remember the last time I had something that wasn't cooked over a campfire. I'd really appreciate it!"
Tifa nodded. "Great! I'll make something you'll probably like."
Cloud coughed to get the attention of the women. "Barret'll be back soon, you know." Tifa frowned as she made her way behind the counter and up the stairs.
Penelope didn't like his tone of voice. "Is he mean?"
Cloud shook his head. "No, just...overprotective. He shot me in the shoulder with a silver bullet almost a week ago, because he thought I was going to hurt the family." The teen gasped, her eyes wide at the news. "I...told him about you, but not where you lived or anything, just so he knows I'm not the only werewolf out there not interested in that savagery..."
She backed towards the counter as Zeph tried to find shelter behind it. "I don't wanna get shot."
"...I'll protect you. Relax." It's not like he hadn't been shot several times already, he mused in his head.
Tifa returned from the stairs, looking towards the young werewolf and motioning her to come over as she called her name. Penelope walked to her nervously. "Would you like to use the shower?" Tifa asked.
"Y-yeah, but...I'm not gonna die here, am I?" She held a worried expression on her face.
Tifa shook her head before taking the teen's wrist. "We have your back!" They traveled upstairs, the three males silent in the bar below. Cloud gave the floor a gentle kick, slowly moving towards a stool at the counter to sit down. Zeph peeked out from the counter to look at him, and Denzel followed his hero, relaxing when he realized who it was that visited the bar.
"A-are we really gonna have her...?" Zeph's face was pale, his hands shaking as he came up to the spiky haired man.
"So that's Penelope? She seems really nice." Denzel was smiling. "Wait until Marlene sees her!"
Cloud sighed, rubbing Zeph's back to calm him down. "She won't hurt you, Zeph. We wouldn't put you in danger like that."
"What if she comes into one of our rooms while we're sleeping?"
The door to the bar opened up at that moment, Barret and Marlene walking through. The little girl was happily holding an ice cream cone in one hand and her father's hand in the other. Cloud sighed, ready to explain the situation to his friend and praying to Gaia he wouldn't again be shot. "Hey, Barret..."
"Ooooh, this is so nice!" Tifa could hear Penelope from Cloud's office as she prepared some new sheets for the bed. She smiled, figuring the young woman hadn't had a hot shower in years; Tifa wondered if Penelope even remembered what modern day plumbing was like. After several minutes of cleaning she heard a small shout from downstairs, followed by muffled discussion. Tifa frowned, but decided to stay near to the young werewolf to keep from a possible confrontation.
Little footsteps made their way up the stairs after a couple of minutes, and Denzel appeared a few moments later in the doorway. Tifa looked at him expectantly. "Barret was a little upset, but he said he's gonna keep an eye on her 'cause he's willing to give her a chance first." The woman raised her brows, happily surprised at his calmer reaction.
"Let me guess...And if she does anything a little funny, he's blowing a hole through her, right?" Tifa said, finding it predictable.
Denzel nodded, giving a small, cheeky grin.
Tifa came to the door, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "She's a little bit funny as it is, living out in the woods for five years. The city must be something else after so long..." She heard the shower stop and the girl loudly humming to herself in the bathroom. She ushered Denzel back downstairs, in case she brazenly flew out of the room naked. Tifa went to lean against the wall opposite the door, waiting.
After several minutes Penelope opened the door, her long hair still moist and wearing her new clothing, a casual white dress with thin, light blue lines of embroidered frills down it. Tifa cocked her head with a finger to her cheek. "Penelope...Have you ever thought of getting a haircut?"
Five minutes later and Tifa was busily cutting the thick locks, the teen cooing as it released stress from her neck as she dictated how short she wanted it. Tifa cut it to about shoulder length, giving her a light blue cloth band to keep her hair out of her face after drying it further with another towel. The young werewolf was delighted, clapping her hands innocently as she finished before helping Tifa clean up.
"Ithey'll be so surprised!" she gushed. They both left the bathroom, Tifa holding her hand as they went downstairs. As she reached the final step Penelope looked about, noticing two new people in the bar; a big, dark skinned man with a stern face, and a cute little girl with a pink bow in her hair wearing a light pink summer dress, her face excited. The young woman stood behind the counter, unsure if they'd accept her greeting. "H-hello..."
The man came up to the counter, looking her up and down. "You Penny?"
"P-Penny?" Her emerald eyes looked upon a frowning face, dark eyes studying her intently.
"That's short for Penelope." The big man raised a brow.
"Oh. Sorry, I just get called Penelope..." She looked down and scratched her arm awkwardly.
"It's no matter. Penny, you best not hurt a hair on these kids' heads, or you gonna deal with me. You can deal with that, we'll be cool." He was crossing his arms across his chest, appraising the werewolf.
Penny looked up at him and nodded, giving a small smile. "I can deal with that."
Her smile was returned thinly on his face, and he gave her an approving nod. "Name's Barret. Just remember, I'm gonna be watchin' you!"
After their pleasantries were finished the children had gone upstairs at Cloud's behest before having another chat with Barret in the privacy of the guest room. Tifa had opened the bar for the lunch rush while talking to Penny here and there, the teen watching the flow of people coming in and out as the afternoon went on. Cloud and Barret had eventually gone out with a cat doll for some vague job after convincing the gunman of the bar's safety, and Penny gasped at the size of the sword Cloud kept on his back. 'What kind of job needs a big sword like that? How can he use that?'
"Penny?" She looked towards Tifa, taking a liking to the shorthand of her name. She found it cute. The barmaid had a bowl of something in front of her, gently pushing it her way. "Cloud likes this. Maybe you will, too?" It was one of the stews she had prepared for the bar. Penny sniffed it, the scent of beef and vegetables hitting her nose. She wasn't much a fan of vegetables, but their scent took nothing away from how appetizing it smelled.
"It smells good..." She tried it, smiling as she tasted it. "I see why he does!" Penny happily ate her lunch, striking up a conversation with Tifa when she wasn't assisting a customer. Tifa asked how she liked the city, if she had any plans for she and Ithey to visit together, or if she ever planned to leave the forest.
"I wanna take him, but...It's quicker if..." Penny looked away with her spoon in her mouth.
Tifa understood. "How did you get here without trouble?"
She looked back and removed the spoon from her mouth. "I traveled like that at night. Thought I saw a couple of people out there, but I steered clear," Penny whispered.
Tifa frowned. "I'm glad you didn't come sooner, they have dogs that'll sniff you out."
Penny frowned while cocking her head. "Where did they go?"
"Let's just say we know people in high places..."
Just then the bar door opened, a WRO peacekeeper and another man entering; one was taller with dark eyes and pale skin, his dark brown hair waving to one side. The other was a little shorter, wearing a sling on a shoulder. His indigo eyes observed the bar as he moved a tussle of dirty blond hair from his face. The tall one looked at Tifa, and after a moment his eyes flickered with recognition. He walked briskly to the counter; Penny frowned at them until she noticed the bartender motion for her to go behind the counter and upstairs.
"H-hey! I remember you! You're that sweet lady that was in the slums!" The two men sat at the counter, eager to speak. "I thought that other werewolf gotcha."
Tifa blushed, putting on her fakest smile. "You don't remember what happened that night, do you?"
The man frowned, shaking his head. "Not much. Came across you and some kids, and a decapitated werewolf. Something knocked me out...Did you see what?"
'My fists!' Tifa hummed. "Actually, we blacked out, too. We woke up in a strange place, but we escaped back to the plaza as quickly as we could. I thought we were goners."
His friend spoke up, his brow raised. "What were you doing down there, anyway?"
"One of the kids walked down there...He had a habit of going to that spot." Tifa shrugged nonchalantly.
The men seemed satisfied by the answer. "Well...While we're here, we'd love to try your daily special." Tifa nodded, getting to work on the meals. She listened as she cooked to their conversation; their voices were low but not low enough for her to not pick up some of it here and there.
"So...This is the bar...?"
"Yeah. Scent was at the back end. Guess it didn't die after all."
"Maybe it did, just not out there."
"Dunno. The guys that checked it out don't think it'd live here..."
Tifa sighed as she worked on their lunch. 'Why can't these people bother another bar?'
Walking upstairs, Penny stopped by the room she would use for the night and looked quietly at the pictures that littered the back of the desk. Pictures of Cloud and Tifa's group of friends, their family...She found it curious that the little blond boy wasn't in the picture. Was he new here? There was a vase with yellow flowers in it, the smell pleasantly tickling her nose. No wonder Cloud had the faint scent of flowers on him, she thought.
She left and went towards the children's room, knocking on the door and murmuring that it was her. A girl's voice chimed from the other side to come in; she entered, noticing two smiling faces and another, wide eyed one behind the far bed, peeking out at her. Penny waved, then sat herself by the wall to talk to the children. "I think you know my name, but I don't know all of yours yet..."
"My name is Denzel!"
"I'm Marlene!" The little girl pointed towards her bed, the blond boy peeking behind it still. "That's Zeph. Cloud and Tifa rescued him from a bad werewolf, but he's still scared, even if you're nice." The boy grunted, as if insulted.
Penny frowned before rubbing her nose. Now she understood why the boy was so terrified.. "I don't think I look scary, do I?" She looked down.
Marlene giggled. "You're too pretty to be scary!"
Denzel looked about the room at the toys and games. "D'you wanna play a game with us?"
The day was going by slowly to the young woman, and she nodded, wanting something to do to pass the time. "Are you gonna join us, Zeph? It looks lonely over there..."
The boy hesitated, looking at her and then the other two. He shook his head. "...I'm fine."
Cait Sith cheered. "Woo! Ye still got thae finishin' touch, ye do!" Just a moment ago the cat had seen Cloud shortly battle a werewolf that was about to feast on a teenager, having heard the screams in time. The girl was unconscious and in Barret's arms now. Cait Sith looked over the corpse of the monster, flicking his tail.
The beast had turned as it fully changed, surprised at Cloud's advances towards her. It was smaller than the others but still something a normal human would be challenged by, and she went towards Cloud, trying to defend her hunting prize. She had moved at the last second as Cloud swiped for the neck, ripping through the chest instead. Finally he had swiped again, beheading her with a bloodthirsty smile. This job was too easy for him.
Cloud lifted up the head of the werewolf as they stood deep in the Midgar ruins. He was taking deep breaths, trying to control himself before he burst out of his skin; he felt he should be used to the feeling every time he smelled another, but it always excited him in ways he wouldn't admit. Penny was the lone exception, he thought, so long as he remembered her scent. After a few moments he nodded while tossing the head to the ground. "That's another one down."
"How many'd be down here? It's almost as bad as Junon!" Barret commented as he held the young woman.
Cloud shook his head. "I have no idea...C'mon, let's get out of here." He wiped off his blade on the torso of the slain monster before placing it back in its sheath. He lifted Cait Sith, then worked his way towards Edge again, Barret following close behind. He let out a sigh as he wondered if there was a network of the fiends in the major cities; with such a large amount of people, a few dozen werewolves or more could live without much trouble. Especially if they kept to the poorest as their victims, the easiest to take from Edge. They were completely covered until Cloud and his friends daringly struck down that bastard Valdt nearly two months ago.
"Aye, Barret! How fares the lassy?" Cait Sith said on his perch, Cloud's pauldron.
Barret looked over the teenager as they walked, looking for any suspicious injuries. "Looks fine...Just needs to wake up. Best take her to Dr. Drake to make sure."
They made their way back, traveling from the very back of the Sector Four Slums near Sector Three. The job took several hours of walking and Cloud had trailed the beast as he stalked the slums, finally alerted by screams that had issued from an uninhabited corner beneath the plate. Leaving would be an easier task, since they were not tracking an elusive monster in the waning daylight. Crunching through rubble they continued on silently. Cloud's ears perked at a noise, and his eyes shifted about. Time felt like it stood still as dread pooled in his stomach and Barret readied his hand cannon. Soon, a large rat popped out of a broken shack, squeaking at the small party as it rested upon a rough chunk of concrete. Cloud relaxed, and let out a snort.
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted it, but he was too late; the dusty furred wolf was already digging its teeth into Cloud's uncovered shoulder, claws ripping into his back and sides. He grimaced, and jammed a thumb into the challenger's eye socket in an attempt to get it to dislodge. It was to no avail as the monster began shaking its head in an attempt to tear the flesh. Barret shot at it after shuffling the teenager over his shoulder, grazing its back and making it roar in pain. It finally released its hold on Cloud's mangled shoulder. The flesh was torn and bleeding from the monster's vicious attack.
"You shouldn't have let go," Cloud hissed before kicking the werewolf's leg hard enough to hear a crunch; it buckled from the injury and was swiftly punched in the muzzle as it swiped at Cloud's chest, adding to his injuries and making him snarl at the sneaky wolf. Fallen to the side from the superhuman punch, it attempted to get up again only to get a savage kick to the face and then a boot heel to the eye socket. A primal scream issued from its injured maw.
As it lay there dazed, Barret calmly walked towards it. He aimed and shot the monster in the head, immediately putting an end to the werewolf's life. Cloud collapsed in a heap a moment later, breathing heavily as his body started to knit itself back together. Hojo's experiments and his lycanthropy accelerated his healing. "...That's one...for you, Barret." Cloud looked up and gave his friend a winced grin.
Barret kneeled down next to his friend, looking him over. "I know you can heal, man. But this looks pretty bad." Indeed, his blood was splattered all over his clothing; he looked like a still animated murder victim to the gunman. Cait Sith was looking over the injuries and then examined his tail; the tip was missing some fur from the attack. Cloud huffed and shook his head.
"It's healing. I'm more worried about going out in this ruined shirt...People might think I murdered someone." Cloud slowly removed his pauldron as Cait Sith moved off him, then unzipped his shirt. He methodically peeled it away from the healing cuts and avoided his touching his necklace. When it was finally off he folded it, then took a small hi-potion out and smeared it over his injuries and dumped the rest over his back. He sighed as he sat there in the dirt as he let the potion do its job.
After a few minutes he gingerly picked himself up, and took his side sash off. Cloud used it to wipe off the blood and potion from him, then handed the fabric to Barret. "Could you get my back, please?"
Barret frowned at the request. "I dunno if that's safe, man..."
"I'm not infectious like this," Cloud mumbled. Barret hesitated a moment, then used his free hand to wipe away the blood as best he could. Finally, Cloud wrapped his ruined shirt in the side sash, tucking the bloody package under an arm and holding his pauldron in the other, his wounds white and deep pink and beginning to fade after twenty minutes of nursing. What would have taken at least a day of healing would have taken a few hours without the potion; he wondered how such an ability was granted to werewolves and Hojo never looked for it. Then again, the scientist scoffed at legends and myths, he thought. "Let's get the hell out of here, before another one shows up and I end up in my birthday suit." They began to travel again, thanking their lucky stars they were almost at the edge of the city.
The plaza was busy this evening as they entered it. The three had strange looks glared their way with a bare chested, man with a cat on his shoulder and swords on his back walking with another man who had an unconscious teen girl in his arms. Cloud glanced at Barret, then motioned with his head. "I'm gonna head home, I feel kinda weird without a shirt on..." He looked over his friend's shoulder and noticed a few young women eyeing him; he blushed. Barret nodded, and Cait Sith leaped onto the gunman's shoulder.
"Aye'll tell the good doc ye said 'ello, laddie!" the cat squeaked. Cloud nodded before walking towards the bar as his friends headed towards the nearby clinic. He felt eyes on him as he walked through the dimly lit street, and smelled something that brought the word "attraction" to mind. It was the same scent Tifa had when she wanted him, and his blush grew until he made it to Seventh Heaven He let the sounds beyond the door drown out the hushed whispers of women making comments about his body.
They wouldn't be saying those things if they knew what he was, he thought.
With a sigh he opened up the door, and was greeted to two familiar and unwanted scents. Cloud looked about for the intruders in his den as he entered and walked by tables filled with patrons, his eyes finally settling on Tifa and two very familiar men drinking beer in the dimly lit bar. Familiar men that were looking at him dead in the eye as he walked towards the counter. He didn't blink once as he approached.
"Have...I seen you somewhere before?" asked the short one. His voice was dripping with nervousness. He looked Cloud up and down, and noticied the white gold ring dangling off of his chest.
"I don't think so," Cloud replied nonchalantly, his face an unreadable mask to the two.
"You look really familiar for some reason," said the WRO peacekeeper. He narrowed his eyes.
Cloud decided to play along. "Where do you think you saw me, then?" He gave them a mocking smirk.
They said nothing, and returned to their drinks. Tifa gave Cloud a worried, confused look, and he gave her a nod back; he would tell her what happened later. Cloud went past the counter and walked up the steps towards a needed hot shower after he went to the bedroom to return his gear. He figured he could bring his swords back to the garage later. His ears perked as the men spoke before he was out of earshot, and he stopped halfway up the stairs to listen.
"He lives with you?" asked the shorter, blond haired one.
"Yeah, that's my husband," Tifa said.
"A man like that looks like he could have a secret life, if you catch my drift," replied the tall peacekeeper solemnly.
"Um, no, I don't." Tifa sounded annoyed under her cheerful response.
"Cloud! Are you okay?! I smelled your blood..." Penny had popped out of the children's room, a worried look on her face as she stood at the top of the stairs. He jumped at her whisper, having been focused on the two bumbling hunters downstairs. Marlene and Denzel appeared behind her, their faces glancing downwards at Cloud.
He walked the rest of the way up the stairs. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll talk after the bar is closed, okay? Right now I really need a shower." Cloud walked by them after a short nod of a greeting to the two children, then tossed his ruined shirt in the trash and throwing his dust apron in the special hamper Tifa had in the room for occasions where he had come home covered in monster gore. His pauldron was dropped onto the table in next to the door, and he figured it could stay there for now. He took out his night clothing and left for the bathroom, ready to wash away the evening's adventures.
A couple of hours later and Tifa had dinner ready with Penny's help; the teen would fetch things or slice vegetables for her friend, happily listening to directions. Tifa had made a large pot roast, the young werewolf commenting that she had never tried one before.
The group sat at the table after everything was brought out. Barret was protectively watching over Marlene, and Zeph was warily watching Penny as Cloud asked for the pepper shaker. Penny sheepishly took a few slices of meat and some of the vegetables, since they had been soaked in beef juices. She didn't want to feel rude, only taking the meat. As she ate a slice, she found herself enjoying the seasoned meat, and began wondering if some day she should return to the city if just to have Tifa teach her how to cook like this.
"So, we're gonna go on a camping trip before school starts, but the last place flooded...We might check it again, though," Denzel said as he chewed his mouthful, and Cloud gently chastised him to not talk with his mouth full.
Penny stabbed at some of the meat on her plate. "You can camp in our forest if you want. There's not too many monsters there, anymore."
Zeph glared worriedly at her as he bit into some carrot, then looked towards Cloud. Barret grunted and shook a finger at Penny. "You won't be botherin' them?"
"No...I mean, if they want me to visit..."
Cloud cleared his throat. "I might do that, it's really nice there. Thanks, Penny." The teen beamed.
Tifa nodded. "It really is. We'll be there for the children, Barret, like we always are!"
Barret grumbled but slowly nodded. "As long as they're safe, especially my little girl!" Marlene smiled back at her father, then gave a nod to Penelope. She looked forward to visiting the forest.
"I hope there's frogs there..." Denzel remarked as he poked some vegetables with a wicked grin.
Penny nodded. "There's a couple of creeks there where you can find them!"
Marlene shook her head and made a face. "I hate frogs!"
"You liked that frog I gave you last year," Denzel replied evilly.
"Denzel..." Cloud moaned, biting his lip to keep from smiling. Last summer the boy had put a fat, slimy frog into Marlene's wildflower bucket as they visited a creek near Kalm. When she had reached in to grab a bunch to give to Cloud, she had screeched as it struggled in her hand, croaking, before she flung it into his chest in a panic. The creature had squirmed into his partially opened shirt and had caused him to shout and dig for the clammy frog.
Tifa sighed. "We'll talk more about that, later..."
Cloud and Tifa had put the children to bed after brushing up on Zeph's school work to make sure he would be ready next month. Barret had given him science tips from his work on the oil fields as they moved from math while Cait Sith entertained the other two children. The couple took their time reassuring Zeph that Penny wasn't going to come into his room and eat him; the boy was given his silver sword to lean near his bed if it would help him sleep. Cloud, Tifa and Penny went into Cloud's office, conversing with the young woman before she went to bed. She was shocked to find out the reason Cloud went out earlier was to hunt other werewolves, and both she and Tifa were doubly shocked at the reason why he was bare chested when he got home.
"You hunt werewolves now?"
Cloud nodded. "Instead of those stupid hunters covering the city, it's just me. That way I don't have to worry about being found out." Tifa frowned while fidgeting with her fingers.
Penny was wide eyed. "I know Tifa said you had friends in high places, but that means someone that's really in charge of everything knows that you're..."
"The head of the WRO, and the head of intelligence, too. We're old friends," he responded, giving a half smile. "I told him to avoid the forests around Junon, so you should be safe." Penny smiled, and nodded in thanks.
Tifa cleared her throat, worry apparent on her face. "Those two in the bar, they got really nosy after you got home. Are they someone you encountered?"
Cloud sighed. "The ones that injured me last month. They probably want revenge for the hunter that didn't make it."
Penny gasped. "You killed one?"
Cloud looked at her with a resigned look. "I didn't have much of a choice. I tried to avoid them, but...they followed me." With a sigh, he scratched his cheek. "But now they're interested in the bar, because I look enough like me as..." He closed his eyes with a mirthless laugh.
"Just be careful when you're out...They might be watching you now. They wouldn't stop asking questions, but I don't think they believed my answers...Maybe they think I'm a werewolf, too."
Cloud snorted. "I really don't want to kill them, but if they want to put me on the spot again I won't have a choice."
Penny scratched her head. "It's gotten dangerous outside of the forest..." The two nodded at her, slightly envious of her life so far away from human troubles.
They spoke a while longer before the couple wished Penny goodnight. They came to lay upon their bed almost as soon as they entered their room, with Cloud blinking up at the ceiling and Tifa curled up next to him, using his shoulder as a pillow. The spiky haired man turned his head towards her, sniffing her hair with a small smile on his face. She looked up at him, her eyes full of curiosity in the darkness.
"What do I smell like?" she asked.
Cloud looked back, then his eyes looked upward as he thought. He sniffed her quietly again, his hand on her arm. "...Like lilacs and roses and spice...It's nice, and heavy."
Tifa smiled at the description. "Did I always smell like this?"
He nodded. "Yeah, but...there's something extra now I can't describe properly. Maybe it's pheromones. I love your scent..." He gave her a kiss on her forehead, his eyes closing.
Tifa gave a small giggle. "You have a smell, too, you know..." She sniffed at the crevasse between his neck and his shoulder, the sound of her trying to imitate him making Cloud grin goofily. "You smell like...leather and lilies and earth. With just a hint of mako. It's comforting...I always missed it when you were gone on a delivery. I'd sleep on your pillow."
He cracked open his eyes. "Really?"
Tifa nodded. She looked back up at him, a serious look on her face. "Please be careful. Those two are gonna be after you, and I..."
Cloud squeezed her, then brought their foreheads together. "I promise, Tifa. I'll take some precautions before I take Penny back home, just to be safe."
Tifa nodded, swallowing hard. She snuggled up to the warrior, slowly falling asleep with him, he promise an assurance in her heart.
