One by one the troops headed to their bed rolls for sleep until Cloud was left alone by the fire. Sephiroth allowed Cloud a few minutes of silent reprieve before coming forward to join him.
"Our group just departed Icicle Village and we have mission commands in Rocket Town and North Corel before returning to Midgar. I cannot reveal the details of our missions, but depending on where you are going, you could travel with us part of the way for your safety." When Cloud didn't respond, Sephiroth asked, "So where is it that you're going?"
"I don't know," Cloud replied. "I guess I'll travel with you to Rocket Town for now."
"Do you have acquaintances there?"
Cloud thought about Cid and Shera. "No."
Sephiroth looked at him across the top of the flickering flames. Cloud's downcast eyes tinted the tops of his cheekbones blue, the glowing eyes a telltale sign of his mako enhancement. Sephiroth knew that the delicate features could be deceptive, that lithe arms could be mako-enhanced to lift thousands of times what they appear to be able to – like an ant carrying many times its body weight. He himself had seen hundreds of thousands of battles but not a single scar marred his skin. He reminded himself that he needed to keep a vigilant eye on this mako-enhanced stranger, that there was no telling what someone like this was capable of. He could possibly single-handedly wipe out his entire platoon of men if Sephiroth didn't keep a watchful eye on him.
That's what he told himself, anyway, when he chose to lie down in a spot that night that would allow him a full view of Cloud. They said their good nights and Cloud went to sleep with the borrowed leather coat pulled to his chin. To maintain focus and keep watch over the potentially dangerous person, Sephiroth resorted to his mental game again.
I Spy… a tarnished silver earring. Sephiroth couldn't make out the details from this distance but could tell from the way the light bounced off its many facets that there was an intricate design. He made a mental note to take a closer look later. I Spy… a wayward piece of blond hair seeming to defy gravity. I Spy… a mouth downturned in a permanent frown. I Spy… eyebrows set in a determined, almost angry, angle, the harsh lines softened by their light colour that almost disappeared against light skin. The closed eyes were hidden behind a fan of short lashes, several shades darker than the blond hair that framed the face. Lines under the eyes betrayed tension even as the man slept.
Sephiroth may have memorized every detail of that sleeping face by the time morning came. The sound of troops shuffling around roused Cloud from his sleep and Sephiroth was caught staring when the blond woke. Sephiroth was treated to a strange, questioning look from Cloud, but Sephiroth didn't care. He kept night watch for the safety of his troops.
"General, sir," Lieutenant Maxwell approached as both Sephiroth and Cloud sat up. "Weather conditions unfortunately have not improved. What are your commands?"
Sephiroth loathed the thought of being delayed another day, but they were still ahead of schedule and had plenty of time before the meeting he was due to attend in Rocket Town. And somehow, being cooped up in this small cave doesn't seem as bad as it did before. "We will stay another day and reassess tomorrow morning. Today, I will accompany a small group of men back to the ravine to replenish our water supplies. Round up three to four men that are best suited for these conditions."
"Yes, sir." The lieutenant left to carry out the orders.
"I wouldn't mind a trip out," Cloud volunteered. "I can help refill water."
Sephiroth agreed for Cloud to join them. He wanted to keep an eye on the new addition to their group at all times anyway.
The lieutenant led three of the troops, two yellow chocobos, and one blond haired stranger from the cave. Sephiroth trailed along, musing the similarities between the back of Cloud's messy hair and the tufts of feathers springing up from the top of the chocobos. The wind was harsh, blowing snow from the sky and snow from the grounds at them. Several times Lieutenant Maxwell consulted his compass, but Cloud trudged on, sure of his direction. The men ahead of Sephiroth were making conversation with Cloud – Sephiroth could hear the shouting of voices, but by the time the sound reached him, the words had been gobbled up by the wind.
The area by the ravine was sheltered from the harshest of winds by the surrounding hills, but today there was no trickle of water. The troops groaned, looking around hopelessly for any water that was still flowing, but somewhere upstream, a fresh pack of snow must have cut off the water supply somewhere. "Sir, what do we do?" Lieutenant Maxwell shouted over the wind as Sephiroth caught up to the group.
Cloud chimed in. "If it's just water you needed, can't we just melt some of the snow over the fire?" At the silence of the men, he continued, trailing off with uncertainty at the dumbfounded looks staring back at him. "Over the fire… in a pot?..."
It was Fergus who broke the group's silence. "For fuck's sake, are you kidding me?! Why didn't you say something earlier? You mean we froze our balls off out here for nothing?" Fergus shouted loudly into the winds.
Lieutenant Maxwell laughed, clapping Cloud on the shoulder. "Damn mountain boy's been holding out his secrets on us," he twanged in his best imitation of a country accent, drawing a chuckle from Cloud. His soft laugh was in the same clear timbre of his voice, easily picked up by Sephiroth's ear.
"Didn't realise I was surrounded by a group of useless city boys," Cloud joked back in what must have been his natural accent. Where was that from? Mideel? No, it sounded more western continental. The sound was musical and very different from the harsh twanging the lieutenant tried to impersonate. It was very different than Cloud's usual imitation of the standard Midgar speech.
Perhaps Sephiroth was distracted because it happened all too fast that he didn't even react until the man's cry pierced the air. A monstrous bird of prey dove down from the skies, following the sound of voices to a rare carnivorous meal in these climates. It's talons plucked a man up into the sky. What was his name again? Lance? No, Lance was still here, mouth gaping in horror up at the sky helplessly as he watched his comrade be lifted higher and higher away. Luke? Lee?
"LEO!" shouted Lieutenant Maxwell firing his rifle up at the sky in futile. The monster had rose too far away for bullets to reach it. The group watched helplessly as the monster rose to meet an entire flock of its friends, sharing the fresh meal. The large carnivorous birds ripped, pecked, and tore at the flesh until only clothing was left. They dropped the bloodied armour and inedible equipment back to the earth where pieces scattered around the snow.
They circled the skies, still not satisfied. Sephiroth drew his sword. "Men, prepare for battle. Back to back and keep it tight."
The three remaining men stood back to back, forming a tight triangle with guns at the ready. Sephiroth held his sword at the ready. A bird dove, eyes picking up what seemed like the smallest and easiest target. Cloud dove away in the last moment, out of reach of its deadly beak and talons. The troops laid gunfire and Sephiroth made a wide slash with his blade. The bird struggled in death, large wings kicking up a flurry of blinding snow as it tried to propel itself back into the air. In the distraction, another opportunistic beast swooped down and plucked up a squawking yellow chocobo. Yellow feathers floated down with the snow, along with bits of rope and canvas bag that had been secured to the bird. Sephiroth counted the squabbling monsters bickering for their fair share of meat. One down, four more to go.
Two more creatures dove down. Somewhere in the fray, Cloud had picked up Leo's dropped rifle and landed a few accurate shots that brought one bird down for good. Sephiroth realized his slip up in allowing this stranger to weaponize, but in this moment, he could use someone here that was a good shot. Unlike the other three men that sprayed bullets that even when they made contact, hit nothing critical. The bird managed to wrap his talons around another man–actually Lance this time–and take off. Sephiroth growled with anger. The bird was right there, five inches from Lieutenant Maxwell and Corporal Fergus' faces. How could they possibly be so incompetent to miss a shot from that distance? The bird was out of his blade's reach, but not a well aimed Firaga spell. The bird fell to the ground, landing in a crispy, smoking pile. Corporal Lance unfortunately met the same fate.
Cloud dashed over to join Fergus and Maxwell, assuming the now vacant third spot. He pressed his back against their backs and lifted his rifle at the ready, eyes turned unblinkingly to the sky even as snowflakes fell upon his face. Sephiroth did the same. The remaining two birds flew down, taking a divide-and-conquer strategy. Sephiroth held his sword at the ready, and with one fatal slash, split the bird diving at him in half, its body parts crashing down around him.
He heard a cry of surprise and looked up just in time to see Cloud kneeling over into the snow, Fergus's boot kicking him behind the legs. The rifle spilled out of his hands as Cloud reached out to catch himself in the snow. The last bird, seeing opportunity, went for the defenseless blond as Fergus took off in the other direction to save his own life, a bewildered Maxwell spraying bullets at the flurry of wings.
But the blond was not defenseless. The bird, with beak wide open to chomp down on the man was surprised as a fist came up to meet its mouth. The momentum of flight carried the bird further down, and the fist drove straight into its mouth and out the other side of its skull. The monster was suspended in mid flight, as if time had paused, before the creature's body recognized it was dead and fell on top of Cloud in a slump. Cloud wrenched his bloodied arm and fist from the carcass, the tissue on his knuckles and along his forearm shredded by beak and fragments of skull bone. He lay there panting as the snow around him turned pink with a mixture of human and monster blood.
Maxwell rushed over and shoved the dead monster away. "Holy shit, man, are you alright?"
Cloud, helped up by Maxwell, quickly rounded on Fergus with a scowl on his face. "What the hell was that?" he demanded, hands balled into fists. One was still dripping blood as the mako in his blood worked quickly to knit the flesh back together.
"What's going on?" Maxwell asked, confused.
Fergus, emboldened by the realization that Maxwell hadn't seen anything was about to retaliate when Sephiroth interjected before he could speak. "That, corporal, should be punishable by death."
Sephiroth approached and Fergus cowered. "You disgrace your fallen comrades here today with your cowardly behaviour. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Fergus stammered and tried to justify. "He… We… Our platoon… we were going to all die. He's just a… a nobody! He would have been dead already if we hadn't found him!"
Realization about what happened finally dawned on Maxwell. "Corporal! How could you!" He angrily shook his rifle. "Sir," he gritted out to Sephiroth, "give me your orders. I should… take responsibility for my men."
"If it were up to me, he would be dead by now." Sephiroth sighed. "Unfortunately, it is not up to me. Secure him and escort him to Rocket Town. He'll be put on an airship to Midgar to stand in front of a panel." Sephiroth looked to Cloud who was still shaking with anger. "Unless… if you want him dead? I can turn a blind eye if you wish to take matters into your own hands."
Cloud huffed, shoulders deflating. "...No, I don't want him dead."
"Okay. Good."
"But…" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as Cloud stalked slowly towards Fergus. "I think he at least deserves this!" Sephiroth nearly let out a burst of surprised laughter as Cloud slapped Fergus right across the face.