Later that night, Cloud found himself staring at the ceiling of his bunk, wide awake despite the hour. He had a relatively nice evening, at least, in comparison to earlier, but Aerith's words still left him feeling uneasy. "The Planet is very fond of you". . . what does that mean? It's just as likely to mean nothing as it is to mean something, so he really shouldn't be letting himself get so worked up over it. Maybe Aerith normally drops cryptic messages on everyone she meets; He wouldn't put it past Zack to be around someone like that, with the kind of company he keeps.
Aerith did seem kind of odd, too. Not a bad odd, to be fair, but there was just something about her that made you stop and look closer. He just couldn't put his finger on it. . . It probably has something to do with the flowers. Back home, Cloud had something of a green thumb himself. Even if it was just kept mostly to the small garden his Ma had in the backyard, whichever plants he tended to almost always seemed to have the largest yields. However, he thought, there was a big difference between growing good vegetables and making flowers not only grow, but flourish in MIDGAR.
Not that that's a bad thing, of course. Despite her. . .eccentrics, Aerith was nice. Spending time with her had been genuinely relaxing. And it felt good to know that Zack considered him a close enough friend to introduce them. Really good, actually. Cloud actually found himself hoping that he'll get to meet up with her again.
Even if what she said still unsettles him a bit.
Whatever. Cloud turned around and shut his eyes. There's no point in thinking about things that don't mean a thing. Probably don't mean a thing. Hopefully. Either way, he needs to hurry up and fall asleep already. On the way back to ShinRa HQ from the slums, Zack had gotten a message on his PHS about an urgent mission briefing he had to get to, so more likely than not, he's not going to be around for a couple of days. Which means Cloud would need all the sleep he could get to get through whatever hell his bunkmates through at him tomorrow. Especially since he missed dinner. (Thanks, Zack.)
Oh, well. Time to hit the sack.
Angeal walked briskly down the hall the hall towards the Director's office, Puppy nipping at his heels.
It was late at night, past dinner (that he surprisingly didn't see Zack at), so he was a bit taken aback to be called up to Lazard's office. Normally, he only did briefings during normal work hours. Although, Angeal mused, SOLDIERs did technically work around the clock in case of emergencies. Which this probably was, he thought as he arrived at the office.
They walked in and stood at attention in front of the desk. Lazard waved a hand and they relaxed somewhat.
"Gentlemen," greeted Lazard, " I apologize for calling for you so late, but I'm afraid this mission is rather urgent."
"Urgent?" Prompted Angeal. Obviously, it would have to have been an urgent mission if the briefing couldn't wait until tomorrow, but he couldn't help but wonder just how urgent.
"Yes, well, the Science Department seems to think so." Lazard said. He turned in his chair and typed a few things on his computer. "They had gotten some concerning reading from the Icicle Area, near the Northern Crater. The whole department is up in arms about it." As he said this, he turned the monitor toward the two SOLDIERs. Angeal didn't consider himself a scientist by any means, so he didn't particularly know what it was he was looking at, but even he could tell that there was something worryingly abnormal about the numbers and figures on the screen. Lazard turned the monitor back towards himself and cleared his throat. "They have asked me to send a group to the Northern Continent to investigate."
"Who all will be going?" Angeal asked.
"You'll take a small group of thirds with you, and if the Science Department keeps pushing maybe even a group of troopers. I trust you to pick the individual SOLDIERs."
He was already mentally going through the list of potential Thirds he knew that were suited for missions up north when Zack stepped forward. He looked a bit apprehensive.
"Uh, sir, I know of a guy that would be perfect for this kind of mission. But, uh, thing is. . ." He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Angeal narrowed his eyes. "He's kind of a cadet. . .?"
Silence. Angeal was dumbfounded. He knew Zack had some rather outlandish ideas at times, but he wasn't stupid. Especially when it came to missions, and even more so when someone could get hurt. So what the hell prompted Zack to ask to bring a CADET of all people on such a dangerous mission?!
His thoughts seemed to be shared by Lazard, judging by the look of incredulousy he shot at Zack. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. You want to bring a what?"
"Okay, okay, I know how this sounds, but hear me out -" Zack began, and raised his hands as if that would calm them and make his idea somehow sound less insane. "Kid's from Nibelheim, alright? Their spring probably qualifies as winter here. I've seen him walk around in a tank-top in below-zero temps, okay, he's practically immune to cold."
"Zack, the cold isn't the main issue here -" Angeal began, but was cut off.
"I know, I know 'Geal, let me get there! See, he told me that in Nibelheim, you've gotta be all sorts of a good survivalist to live there, what with it being so deep in the mountains and all. Especially in the winter, since they've got to find their own food pretty much. He lived with a single mom, too, so no one in town really helped him out much. Dude can track and hunt and all the for days." He added to his defense of the cadet with over-the-top hand gestures. Angeal wanted to whack him over the head and remind him that people, cadets especially, exaggerate the truths of stuff they've done in order to impress most SOLDIERs. But, alas, Zack was still explaining away his choice for the mission.
"So, uh, this is basically a track-and-kill or whatever mission, right?" Zack paused only to look back-and-forth at them both, "So, wouldn't it make sense to have someone that can, ya know, track? Especially in real snowy places?"
Angeal was aghast to see that Lazard nodded along with this, however hesitant it was. I mean, technically, he supposed Zack had a point. A point that would've been far more sound if the tracker in question was an actual SOLDIER. Hell, even a normal trooper would've been better than a cadet!
Angeal opened his mouth to say something, but Lazard raised a hand to silence him. He looked conflicted for a moment, shuffled a few papers on his desk, and looked back at Zack.
"While you may have a. . .slight point, Fair, you do realize you are asking me to allow a cadet to go on a rather urgent mission, solely because of skills you can only assume he has?"
"I know, but trust me on this! He's perfect for the job, I know it!" Zack put his hands together in front of him and practically begged, puppy dog eyes and everything. Lazard pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. Angeal wondered, for a moment, if he had ever gotten a request for something like this before. Hopefully not. (And, once he shares a few select words with his student, never again.)
"If I let you take him on this mission, can you guarantee that he will be only a boon?" He said, and if Angeal didn't know any better, that almost sounded like he was going to let this happen. But, no, he wouldn't do that, right? No, that'd be crazy, you'd have to be insane-
Zack nodded vigorously, crossed his heart and hoped to die, swore on scout's and SOLDIER's honor, and Angeal lost a bit of respect in their Director when the man uttered a pained 'Fine.
The rest of the mission details were sorted out, and Angeal would admit to not looking at either person in the room for the remainder of the briefing. Angeal would also admit that he was not completely listening to the rest of the hashed out information. Instead, he was internally forming the lecture he has going to give Zack once this briefing was over and done with. He could get the rest of the details from Zack afterward.
After that stunt, the boy had better be listening very close to the director from now on. Or else.
