Cloud had lost track of time. It wasn't like he could have counted the days when he was sick and unable to hold anything down. So he didn't bother to even try once he recovered.
The only thing he regretted was not paying attention to the stars at night. One evening he looked up. He hoped to see familiar constellations. Instead to his horror he saw a completely different sky.
Star formations he didn't recognize. He didn't even know which way would lead him home. He doubted there would be anything left. And feeling a sadness envelope his chest Cloud looked down as he accepted his fate.
Whatever it will be once they reached Midgar.
Cloud had wondered. He noticed out of everyone they took from the village were all female. And all of them were maidens. No wives or a child younger than ten were brought. Even with the children they were inspected before being bound and tossed onto the boats.
And with the fact Cloud was placed in Sephiroth's personal boat it made him feel anxious. It didn't help matters that oftentimes he was in the man's lap. It was as if Sephiroth liked seeing Cloud uncomfortable in every possible way.
Once Genesis had healed enough, he switched to what Cloud suspected was his own longship. It had red accents everywhere possible. Even the sail was crimson. And the head was that of a dragon.
With the wounded on the mend Angeal also switched to his longship. Cloud recognized Zack among the men under Angeal's command. The ship had blue accents and a matching blue sail.
Curiously, Cloud glanced to study Sephiroth's sail. Black with the same silver symbol as all the other ships. A circle with flames coming off from an angle. Was this a meteor?
Cloud had only heard descriptions. Never seen an actual one. Meteors are prized for blacksmiths. For the weapons created by meteors are their own works of art. They're balls of rock covered in flames as they crash from the heavens onto the earth.
"Have you ever seen one?" Sephiroth noticed the staring.
"No. But Cid told me about them. They're about as rare as a black chocobo in our region." Cloud found it strange he can actually hold a conversation with this man.
"Cid was your blacksmith?" Sephiroth guessed.
"Ja. He described seeing one in his childhood. Before he even trained to work the forge. Said he would have followed the meteor when it crashed if it hadn't gone into the water." Cloud was still puzzled with how easy it was to speak to Sephiroth.
He wondered if it was the blood pact? Must be. They are bound together by blood. Cloud never knew that it would be so powerful of a connection.
"Once every sixty years or so, there is a meteorite shower. We can see it from Midgar. They never landed on us. They stay in the heavens. But I've heard it's a spectacular sight to see. It should happen either this winter or the following after."
Cloud wondered what brought this on. He didn't believe for one second that this man had a heart. It was so conflicting to see the same person who cold heartedly turned around and killed Cloud's mother.
The same person who also grasped his hand like a lover to make a blood pact. Cloud pushed that memory out. He was still a bit confused of that action. But they were around prying eyes and ears.
"You have questions." Nothing escaped Sephiroth.
Cloud hesitated. He supposed now would be a good time to ask if anything. Not that he had anything to do being tied up and sitting in the lap of the man who lead a raid into Nibelheim.
"I have a vague idea of the fate of the other captives. But what does that leave me?" Cloud had the courage building up enough to meet Sephiroth's eyes.
"That isn't up to me just yet. I brought you to be seen by our Seer to better understand the visions you had." Sephiroth was honest, Cloud could tell. But there were still details left out.
"And afterwards...?" He grew nervous.
"That remains to be seen." Green eyes wandered over Cloud's body.
He tensed. Cloud thought of that threat. The hand that stayed on his ass after slapping it. Their fingers intertwining. Why did he have to keep bringing that last part up?
Sephiroth noticed the subtle reactions. There was a tug of a smirk. It was a show to Cloud that he knew what he thought about. And the blond wanted to leap into the ocean.
Cloud looked away. And his eyes caught sight of Tifa and Jessie. They were the only girls to be on this longship. The others were scattered evenly on the rest.
"What of the shieldmaidens?" Cloud thought of Tifa and Jessie.
Tifa had just graduated to become a shieldsister. Jessie was close behind. A prodigy in her own right. They weren't the only girls that knew how to fight among the captives.
"They do have an option to fight in a ring to earn their right to join our ranks if they wish not to submit themselves into servitude. But hardly any have survived the ring." Sephiroth had little interest in their fates.
However both Jessie and Tifa turned. They heard Sephiroth. And they both exchanged looks with growing hope.
Cloud relaxed. He looked away when the girls glanced to him. He hated the position he was in currently. It was bad enough he spent day after day in this man's lap.
Of course Sephiroth was a silent observer. Cloud found it suspicious that the man didn't indicate his thoughts on the matter. And then Cloud wondered how he became an expert at reading this man.
During the dawn of a couple days later Sephiroth roused him. Cloud, not being a morning person at all, simply groaned softly in protest. He felt the warm chest rumble as Sephiroth chuckled.
"We are approaching Midgar. We have to ready ourselves for the return." Sephiroth whispered into Cloud's ear.
That got him awake. Finally, he had been contemplating whether he could get away with making himself vomit on Sephiroth. Even though he was terrified of what would happen to him, he at least wouldn't be in Sephiroth's lap. At this point anything was better.
With the blond awake Sephiroth placed him down beside his legs. Cloud felt his anger boiling. All this time he could have just sat at this spot? While it did have him eye level of a certain area, this meant he didn't have to be in a lap.
But Sephiroth kept him there.
And the man stood in all his height. He stretched and Cloud looked away. He caught sight of Angeal undressing from the bloodied armor and tunic. It revealed a blue lionhead tattoo on his back. It was in a ferocious roar, meant to intimidate anyone who dared to try to attack him from behind.
Cloud turned to the starboard side. Genesis also had a back tattoo. He guessed a phoenix, for the red feathery wings and long tail. It was partly covered due to the bandages.
Curiously Cloud glanced up at the man above him. He didn't have any tattoos. But sweet Gaia he had muscles. The blond felt his mouth water despite the simmering hatred he felt for this murderer.
He looked away perhaps a little too fast. Cloud felt eyes on him as he focused on the horizon beyond. They were approaching land. It was a crescent shaped Bay. Village huts for the fishers or farms were seen first.
Then the buildings grew denser towards the center. It grew until it was was nothing but buildings. A dense number of them. And in the center was the biggest longhouse Cloud had ever seen.
It seemed to grow bigger as they sailed closer.
Cloud tore his gaze away from the structure when he heard shouting. He turned to the shoreline. Children were running to keep pace of the longships. They chanted Sephiroth's name loudly.
And for the first time in days Cloud felt his stomach turn. It wasn't because of the waves. A movement caught his attention and he once again turned to Sephiroth.
His black leather coat from the visions was being worn. He watched as Sephiroth braided his hair from years of practice. Then hair adornments were added along the way. They were all silver, never gold.
"How come your hair is long?" Now that Cloud had a thought, some of the other men had braids. But theirs wasn't as long. Angeal and Genesis surely didn't have long enough for a prominent braid. Their hair length was barely reaching their shoulders.
"We have a tradition that if we lost in a battle then we cut off the hair should we return alive." Sephiroth turned to proudly smirk down at Cloud. "I've never tasted defeat."
And Cloud recalled that Genesis had a bit longer hair the night of the raid. Then the next time he gave him any sort of attention his his hair was already shorter. Which meant he accepted that Cloud bested him even if the final blow never swung.
Cloud hadn't paid that detail any attention. To be fair he had finally joined the conscious world and immediately helped them heal a festering wound. And then Genesis having an ungrateful attitude didn't help matters.
"And if my attack hadn't been intervened by Genesis?" Cloud didn't think before he asked.
He felt the air shift as if a winter wind came through. Cloud had been watching the children keeping pace, but he quickly looked up in rising fear at Sephiroth. And he shrank into a ball at the fury burning in those otherworldly eyes.
"Then you will be dead." Sephiroth stated so coldly that it felt like Cloud had been tossed into the ocean head first.
But he knew it would be true. He had only seen this man's sword briefly. And it was longer than this man was tall, which he found a bit ridiculous. But in this man's hand it was deadly.
Someone called for Sephiroth's attention. And he turned to see that they were close to the docks now. He ordered the sail to be taken down. In a shout the men pulled out their oars for the last stretch.
Around them the rest of the longships followed the same notion. Cloud took his time to study Angeal and Genesis respectively. Their armors matches their personalities.
Angeal was a dark blue almost black. But the sun revealed the blue tint. Cloud couldn't imagine how long the leather had to sit in the dye for that deep a color.
Meanwhile Genesis was crimson. However he accented the color with orange and bits of yellow to give off a living flame. But his boots and pants were black. This made the colors more vibrant.
If anything Genesis was flashy.
While Angeal wasn't extravagant at all, Genesis was the extreme, Sephiroth was the perfect mesh of the two. It was a trio balance of not just appearance but their personality traits. And Cloud finally understood that these three were powerful in their own right.
However he reminded himself he bested one of them. It made Cloud wonder how he would fare in a true fight. For clearly Genesis underestimated him and it almost costed him his arm.
Finally they reached the docks.
And then Cloud heard the cheering at full volume. Up close and personal he heard Sephiroth's title. He wasn't the only one to do a double take.
"Prince Sephiroth! Prince Sephiroth! Hail Prince Sephiroth!"
When Cloud was pulled onto the docks he wasn't sure if the shock or the fact his sea legs couldn't find his land legs, but he didn't have perfect balance. Many laughed at his expense. Cloud felt his ears burn.
For once Sephiroth wasn't going to aid him. Not that Cloud expected him to. After all a prince had to act a certain way in front of the masses.
"I got ya, buddy." A familiar voice whispered into his ear.
Cloud relaxed as Zack steadied him. And the warrior's grip didn't leave as he helped guided Cloud to follow Sephiroth. Or perhaps he was Prince Sephiroth now.
"Just bear with the initial ceremony, okay? Then you'll be getting a good bath and a definite change of clothes." Zack was still so friendly.
Cloud silently nodded as they made for the longhouse of Midgar.
