The Flower Girl and the Wolf

Chapter 3: Midgar

Aerith took Cloud for a walk in the slums the next day. Okay, maybe he shouldn't say it this way, it sounded like he's a dog to her. The blonde still wore his coat to hide his ears and tail from the people and Aerith wore the same pink summer dress and red jacket.

"So, what do you think of my home?" Asked Aerith then and to be honest the wolf didn't know how to answer.

"Uh...well, your place is great. But the rest of the slums..."

"I know, it's not the best place to live in. But it's my home." The girl shrugged.

To be honest Cloud couldn't understand how anyone wanted to live here. It's dirty, it's stinky...It's just not a good place to live. "It's weird not being able to see the sky."

"I don't mind that." Said Aerith with a quieter voice. "The sky's kinda...scary." The blonde tilted his head, confused, before looking up at the plate. He didn't understand what she meant. "I mean...it's so endless...you never know what might come from it." Cloud couldn't say that he understood what she's talking about, but he nodded anyway.

Then, the flower girl was as cheery as ever and dragged him though the slums. They had a snack here and there and Cloud learned to appreciate the humans cooking skills. In the end they had something they called ice-cream. That, too, was really delicious and from all the sweet things people ate this might be his favorite. As Aerith told him more about the human way of life, he noticed a drop of ice-cream running down her jaw. He stopped listening and only stared at the drop, while fighting the urge to lick it off. But this time the urge was too strong and he leaned in to lick it off her face. Aerith stopped talking and only stared at him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks once he pulled back.

Only then did he realize his mistake and looked away, his face growing hotter by the second. "S-sorry. Wolf habit..." He mumbled embarrassed, pulling his hood down to hide his face completely.

"It's okay." He heard Aerith say, before he felt her pushing the hood away. And then something soft touched his cheek. Cloud didn't have to look to know what it was. He felt his face getting even hotter then and he turned away from Aerith and pulled his hood back over his face to hide it. Aerith giggled behind his back.

Then they decided to go back to the church. There were flowers she had to take care of, too. Her words. Cloud protected her the whole way there, scaring away all the monsters that wanted to attack Aerith.

Inside the church, the blonde just sat on the ground and watched the girl tending to her flowers. He watched her fingers, using her magic touch on the plants, and his mind went back to the time she petted him when he was in his wolf form. How soft and warm they felt, as she gently ran it through his fur. The thought alone caused a cold shiver to run down his spine.

"What are you thinking?" Hearing Aerith's voice so close to his ear made him jump in surprise.

"Huh? Nothing." He answered and noticed her eye twinkling mischievously. "What?"

"I think you're lying." The wolf only hummed, not knowing what to say about it. He knew he's a bad liar sometimes, so fighting it will make him more suspicious.

Cloud helped her taking care of the flowers whenever she needed him, but for the most part he just looked at her and tried very hard not to stare like a creep. It was...really weird. These feelings he suddenly got when she's around. It kinda felt like back then, when he had a crush on Tifa but more intense. The blonde shook his head. No, he shouldn't have a crush on Aerith! She's human and he was a wolf. This wouldn't work!

"What are you thinking, Cloud?" Asked Aerith again, now her whole attention was at him. It was kinda embarrassing.

"Just..." He began, trying to think of an excuse quickly. "I think I'll miss this place." What he actually meant was that he'll miss her. Aerith smiled sadly, giving him the urge to cheer her up again. But he was never good at cheering people up...

"I'll miss you, too, Cloud." She said honestly, making his face flush. The wolf stared at the flowers, as he got the weirdest idea ever.

"What if..." He mumbled, but then stopped himself. No, this was a bad idea. Elmyra wouldn't want that, even if Aerith said yes.

"What if...?" Repeated Aerith, looking at him with big, curious eyes.

Cloud shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "Forget it. It's nothing." He only glanced at her, when he heard her scooch in. She was sitting very close to him. Too close.

"Tell me."

He had to look away from her eyes. "It's nothing. Just...I just thought you could come with me." Cloud felt so stupid now that he said it. It was the worst idea ever.

"To your pack?" Asked Aerith thoughtfully.

Cloud shook his head and looked away from her. "Forget it."

"No! I'd like to come with you and meet your family!" Said Aerith, crawling over his lap so he was forced to look at her. That was even more embarrassing than just sitting too close together.

"And what about your mom?"

"Well, thank god I'm old enough to decide stuff on my own." She replied with a playful tone in her voice.

After spending some more time in the church they went back to Aeriths place. The kids in the Leave House near her home greeted them happily again, as did every other citizen of Sector 5. She was very popular among the people it seemed. Aerith told him she helped people when they needed it, so it made sense that everyone loved her.

"Cloud?" The woman suddenly stopped when they stepped on her territory. "I, uh...I'd like to talk with my mom alone for now, okay? Could you...?"

"I'll wait out here till you're done." Finished Cloud for her.

"Huh? No you don't need to stay outside! I thought you could go upstairs instead."

Aerith was really nice, it took him so much strength not to smile too much. "That's fine. I like to be outside. Go in and talk with your mom." Also with his enhanced hearing he could probably hear every word when, even when he's upstairs.

"You're really sweet, Cloud." Aerith gave him one of her radiant smiles that never failed to take his breath away. His heart thumped happily that this smile was only reserved for him. "You don't have to stay here all the time though. Just look around more, or something, I don't want you to get bored."

Cloud couldn't help but roll his eyes, the little smile of his was still present though. "Don't worry about me. Go."

"Okay. I'll get you when we're done talking." Aerith giggled and then finally went to the house. Cloud stood there and watched her till she eventually vanished behind the door. Only then did he move. He just walked around the garden, looking at the flowers she planted there, staring at the fish swimming in the pond and held himself back to grab one and eat it raw.

Then he went up the little flower covered hill, where Aerith spoke to the flowers the day before. He kneeled down and stared at the yellow lilies swinging lightly in the breeze. People who could talk to the planet...Until now Cloud thought it's just a fairy tale. But Aerith proved to him that this was very much real. He didn't think she'd lie about these things. And she looked very serious when she said that the flowers' voices couldn't reach her.

Cloud glared at the flowers. "Why aren't you answering her?" He growled lowly at the plants. Then he sat down, being careful not to squish any flowers and kept glaring at them. What was it that he heard about these special people? There are many different versions of the same story. One said they were humans. One said they were wolves. Another said both kinds existed. Also that these people were the ancestors of the whole shape shifting wolf species. So if Aerith was one of these people...did that mean she had a very old bloodline that reached all the way to both their ancestors? Maybe if Aerith will go to his pack with him, she could probably learn more about her heritage? The people in Cosmo Canyon were very wise and surely knew a thing or two about these people.

Cloud woke up when he felt someone touching his arm. He must've fallen asleep and the sun was gone already. How long was he asleep? Looking up, he saw Aerith hovering over him, smiling gently. Yep, that was a great sight to wake up to. "Hey, sleepyhead. Sorry, it took us longer than I expected..."

Cloud yawned and sat up. "It's okay." He did expect it to take that long, after all Aerith wabted to leave her relatively safe home and travel the world. Of course her mother wouldn't agree immediately and try to talk Aerith out of it. "You'll stay here then, right?"

"What are you saying? Of course not." Aerith giggled and knelled down to be on eye level with him. "It took me a while but I was able to persuade her. I'm coming with you, Cloud. I have the feeling I can learn more when I'm out there. You know what I mean?"

Of course he did. "Yeah." Aerith gave him one of her bright smiles again, before extending her hand. "Come. Let's eat dinner and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." Cloud frowned. She wanted to leave tomorrow? He thought she'd tell him to wait a few more days to prepare and say good bye to everyone...But it wasn't really his business now, was it? If she said she's ready, she she's ready and he won't question it. The blonde took her hand and let her help him get up on his feet, while doing the same to her. When he let go of his hand, it took him quite a lot of self-control not to grab her hand again. And so he just followed her back into the house.

Elmyra looked quite concerned throughout the evening, but they never once talked about the journey ahead of them. And after dinner they all went to bed. Just like the night before, Aerith scent all over the pillow and sheets lulled him to sleep. The only difference was that he had a quite pleasant dream for once.