[A/N: YaY, Fanfiction.net is working again :D I've been harbouring this chapter for a while now, hoping I'd be able to post it soon ^.^ well, don't really have much more to say, 'cept for enjoy! ^.^ v ]
..x.x.x.x.x..
The sunlight drifted in hazily through the window through the small part in the large, draping curtain. Tifa's eyes fluttered open lazily as the line of sunlight crossed her eyes with the rising of the sun. She stayed a moment on the soft cushion of the bed, not wanting to leave the warm comfort of her bed. She peered over to her left where Cloud would be sleeping, and sat up quickly in a panicked daze, searching for his missing form. As she gazed about the room and realized that all the events that had happened last night weren't a nightmare, she groaned and slumped back down to her pillow.
She hadn't changed into sleeping clothes that night, she just practically knocked out the moment her head hit the pillow. She didn't mean to; she was planning on staying up and figuring out her situation.
"Oh, well." she sighed to herself. "Better late then never, I guess."
With that, she stretched every muscle possible and threw her legs over the bed, to find her boots waiting for her on the floor.
/Well, at least I had time to take those off./ She slipped the dark red leather boots onto her feet, accepting the comfort they gave. She had them for many years, as a gift from Zanghan. Surprisingly, they had lasted all this time and torture.
She looked around and grabbed her pack, searching through it's contents to make sure she had everything all together. She brushed her hair and tied it back in it's usual fashion, noting how the end split like a fish tail under the tie. She scoffed at how Cloud would remark at it teasingly, and tried to brush it straight.
Yet every time she ran her brush through, it would only seem to get worse. Accepting it as fate, she sighed and tossed the brush away, back into her pack. She decided to wear her gloves today. It had been a while since she'd felt their weight on her wrists. It was time to be reacquainted. She chose the Materia she would equip herself with, and rummaged to find the gloves.
She found the black material that covered her arms underneath the gloves and put them on nostalgically, but for some reason she couldn't find the gloves themselves. She KNEW she packed them, she had double checked before she left the house. Her Premium Hearts were precious to her, she wasn't about to lose them now. She searched all through the room; through the blankets, under the beds, the closet, the tiny bathroom; And as if on cue, there came a knock at the door.
Tifa's heart jumped, wondering if Cloud had come looking for her. She raced to the door, then paused, thinking otherwise. She stretched her arms out and cracked her knuckles, just in case it was someone starting trouble. The knock came again, this time, more impatiently. Tifa readied herself, and cautiously opened the door to a barely visible crack.
"Tadrith?" She carefully opened the door all the way, feeling so many things at once. Confused, upset that her Cloud hadn't come after all, agitated that this creep hadn't left her alone, and relief that it wasn't Hojo back from the dead. /Although if it WAS Hojo, he'd definitely have it coming for him../ A faint smile crossed her lips.
"..return them." Tadrith paused, noticing that Tifa wasn't paying attention. "Tifa?"
Tifa snapped up at him and offered a quick apology for dazing off. She left him no time to reply, she jumped straight into the interrogation. "How did you know what room I was staying in? Is everything alright? If you want me to pay you back for dinner last night, then-"
She was just as quickly cut off by the smile plastered on Tadrith's face and his soft, warm words. "Dinner last night was on me, for the pleasure of your company." He cleared his throat in a polite manner. "And as for why I'm here, I came to return these." He held up a pair of familiar gloves, and Tifa immediately opened the door wider.
"My gloves!" She exclaimed with great relief. /Yet; why does he have them?/
Tadrith peered into the room behind Tifa, and saw the mess she made of her room trying to find her fighting gloves. "My word, were you ransacked?" He asked with a hint of threat in his voice.
Tifa laughed uneasily. "No, no, no. I was just.. Well, looking for these." She reached forward and took her gloves, wishing Tadrith would just disappear. Every time he showed up, something strange happened. Tifa couldn't prove that he was dangerous; he was always very polite and.. Well, there. Not to mention a bit creepy. Still, the reason he had her gloves confused her.
Tifa smiled and proclaimed, "I'd invite you in, but I was just about to leave. I need to freshen up a bit and clean this mess. Thank you for bringing back my gloves. Though.. Where did you find them?"
"You dropped them last night when you bumped into me. I should have given them to you at the moment, I must apologize. I don't know what came over me." His smile was sincere enough, but yet.. His voice lacked something. This man definitely had something missing from him.
Tifa was just about to correspond, when he finished, "I guess I held onto them hoping it would give me an excuse to come see you again." She felt tiny chills run down her spine. It was flattering, sure, but she was just a bit uneasy about everything. Without Cloud around, everything seemed so different. She smiled.
"That's sweet, I'm very flattered." She said, truthfully. She could feel her cheeks redden. Maybe she just had to stop being so defensive of herself. Maybe the man wasn't as odd as he seemed. She assured herself that she was just being paranoid, and decided to lighten up on Tadrith.
"I most likely will drop by here again, to check up on you and tell you how things went on my travels." She said, hoping it would satisfy his ears enough to let him go. His smile grew a bit, warming her heart. He was a very attractive man, and didn't look much older then she. But she didn't know anything about him, she decided to leave it at that.
"Well, then, Tifa," Tadrith said, taking her hand to his lips one last time. "Until next we meet, my fair dove." Tifa blushed greatly as the tall man turned and walked away as is nothing had happened. Tifa stood there a moment, absorbing the event into her mind, and then kicked herself mentally to get a move on.
Slipping her gloves on and gathering her things for the last time in room #23, she closed the door and left the INN. Before walking to her chocobo in the stables, she thought it best to get a little something to eat to start her off. She avoided Heaven's Retreat this time, not wanting to make a third encounter with Tadrith, the mysterious stranger. Instead, she chose a small bar and had some cold breakfast sandwiches, asking for extra for her upcoming travels.
About an hour later, she left for the stables. She was feeling pretty good. The air was crisp and clear, the sun was warm and cheery, and though she was on her own, she felt a sense of pride to be by herself. She only hoped the feeling lasted. She knew it wouldn't be long before her despairs would sink in once more.
She found her way to the stables, to be greeted by a young boy in his early teens. He had a look of distress on his face. As Tifa started for where Blade was being kept, the boy stopped her hesitantly.
"Excuse me, miss?" His eyes darted around in nervous tension. "Um, you wouldn't happened to have stored your chocobo in the singles pen, did you?"
Tifa's heart skipped a beat. "Yes, I did. Last night."
The boy looked scared, as if he was going to get a beating for the news he was about to bring. "It wasn't a Gold Chocobo, was it, m-miss?" He stammered.
Tifa felt her heart drop to her feet. "She's gone, isn't she." She stated, feeling a sense of anger take over.
"'fraid so, ma'am. It was taken in the night. We d-don't know who did it. I'm terribly sorry.."
Tifa smiled at the boy and stopped his worried banter. "It's alright, I know it's not your fault." She could see him take a deep breath of relief.
"We're prepared to compensate you for your loss." He said, a little more confident then before.
"No, that won't be necessary. I'll be fine. Thank you anyway." She felt so damned angry inside, yet her words were cool and sweet. She had loved that bird; it had taken her forever to finally get that Golden Chocobo. It felt like years; finding all the correct foods, the specific breeds, the endless training and racing; You couldn't find a more good natured chocobo then Blade. She was the best. /I hope she pecked the eyes out of the one who took her../
Tifa turned around, fuming on the inside. /What am I going to do now??/ She walked forward, and straight into the body of a very large person. She nearly fell backwards, but strong hands caught her and held her firmly. She gazed up at the stranger, only to see it was..
"Tadrith?"
"I see we meet again," His liquid, practiced words flowed off his tongue. "Even sooner then expected." He smiled.
Tifa sighed, and relaxed slightly as Tadrith let her go slowly, almost reluctantly. "Once again, I'm so sorry."
He laughed softly, his eyes trained on her as if expecting the whole thing to happen. "Make nothing of it. I overheard the whole thing. I'm sorry to hear about your ride."
Tifa sighed deeply. /Why is it that I can't escape this guy? Oh, well. I might as well make the best of his company./ She smiled. "It's alright. I'll just have to find another way to get around. Until then, I guess I'm kind of stuck.." Her words trailed off as she gazed around the town.
"Come to my place." Tadrith stated, plain and simple. Practiced. "I have plenty of room, and you can stay until you discover what you'd like to do, and how." His eyes never left hers.
She felt a bit nervous at those words. She didn't know if she should just throw herself into the company of this strange man. Handsomely strange. /Stop it Tifa! Yes, he's attractive, ok? Very attractive. That doesn't make him a replacement for Clou../ She cut her thoughts off. Reluctantly, she smiled up into his dark eyes.
"Alright. Show me the way."
.x.x.x.
Cloud took out his PHS as he scrambled to get everything back together. He was up well into the morning, looking for any kind of clues for the whereabouts of Aeris, but to no avail. He had slept in the small cottage of Bone Village for only a handful of gil, but the sleep he gained proved worth it. Surprisingly, he didn't have any of those dreams that night. /Is that a good thing, though? Does that mean I'm close, or that I'm too late?/ He quickened his pace.
Tossing his things back into the chocobo's saddle bag, he clambered effortlessly onto to his awaiting back. He led it to the shore south of the village while he punched the numbers into his PHS phone. He let it ring several times before giving up. Tifa still wouldn't answer. He's called at least seven times through the night, and no reply. Now, she wasn't even there in the afternoon of the next day.
"Something's wrong.." Cloud said aloud to Matrix. The bird warked and peeked back at him, as if in understanding. Cloud patted the chocobo's head, and sighed deeply, despite himself. "We need to go back. I need to see if she's alright."
The chocobo happily kicked into the air, then sped south across the ocean, back towards their home. But as their direction changed, Cloud's mind became invaded with the image of Aeris. He clenched his forehead and leaned forward against the chocobos neck, squeezing shut his bright blue eyes. He focused on Aeris and everything around her, trying to see if there was anything he could recognize, but as always, she was surrounded by the green mist.
"Aeris.." He groaned in pain. Her face.. It was different this time. Instead of exhibiting the calm, happy expression she always wore, there was something like worry in her eyes. She seemed to beckon him, as if in a hurry. Her image wavered, as if about to disappear. Cloud opened his eyes and sat up quickly, almost throwing himself off of the chocobo. Matrix slowly came to a stop and looked back at him, his feet drifting on top of the calm waters.
"Shit!" Cloud cried, flustered.
"Wark?" His feather's ruffled, as if confused.
Cloud patted the silly thing and fed it some more Mimmette Greens. "I don't know what to do, Matrix. I think time is running short. Aeris seems to be getting distressed.. Maybe because I'm leaving the north?" He paused, thinking about it. "So that must mean she's up here, then." He sighed deeply, feeling his muscles droop. "But Tifa.. Something's wrong with her. She wouldn't just disappear like that."
The golden bird cocked his head to the side, his gaze still focused intently on the young man's features, as if waiting for orders. "Wark."
Cloud smiled and pet it's beak. "Tifa. We're almost there. I'll check up on her really quick, and then we can come back to find Aeris, hopefully before it's too late."
Matrix kicked into the air, agreeing to the plan. "But we'll need to do this in double time," Cloud continued, holding on for dear life, not wanting to be kicked into the cold depths of the ocean that they were so precariously perched on. "You think you could handle it?" Cloud patted the bird again, reaching for more Mimmette Greens. "You're one of the top champions in the Gold Saucer races. You up to proving your skills again?" Cloud knew he didn't even need to say it. His Matrix was up to anything.
He fed the already hyped bird a large handful of Mimmette Greens, and with another thrilled jump kick, they were both off towards their home. Cloud clung on tightly, praying for Tifa's safety. "Tifa.. Please be alright.. I couldn't bear to lose you, too."
.x.x.x.
Her magnificent crimson eyes looked around the room with astonishment. Her breath had been literally taken away at the sheer size of it all.
"When you say you have extra room, you really mean it." She breathed.
Tadrith smiled, closing the door behind him, never taking his gaze off of her slender form. "You are welcome here, anytime you wish, milady." He took a couple steps forward, and watched her admire the mansion she had stepped foot into. /I finally have her within my grasp../
Tifa whirled around and looked at him. "What do you do? I mean, to own a mansion of this scale and.. Well, magnificence!"
Tadrith chuckled lightly and stepped forward, placing a hand on her back. "Come. Let me show you to your room. Then, if you'd like, I'll personally give you a grande tour." His smile was warm. Perfected.
Tifa smiled, a little apprehensive, not knowing if she should even be here in the first place. But she gave in, knowing that she'd be leaving as soon as she found some transportation. /Marlene's gonna love hearing about this!/ She thought, excitedly. /That's all this is. Just another part of my 'adventure'./
Tadrith led her up the grand staircase that centered the spacious room. It's rails were made of the finest wood, and it's intricately detailed designs were of deep crimson, black and gold. A crystal chandelier hung high above her head, perfectly in the center of the room, just before the staircase. She tenderly took a step up, almost as if the house was made of a thin slate of glass.
Tadrith smiled. "It's quite alright. Everything you see here is crafted of the finest materials. You can be rest assures that nothing will crumble to our touch." They made their way up the stairs, Tifa still gaping in awe at the beauty of this man's home.
"And as to your question," He continued. "You could say I inherited this pace. From a.. Ah, wealthy kinsman."
Tifa looked up into his eyes, sending a chill down his spine. /Those gorgeous eyes../
"You mean, you don't work at all?" She questioned.
"Yes, I do. Meager work, though. Basically research." They reached the top of the long flight of stairs. They were then faced with a long hallway, stretching to the left and right of them. Tadrith, with his hand still placed on Tifa's back, led her to the right. "You're room is this way."
Tifa gazed around at the large hallways, ended at both sides with a towering, arched window plated with gold sills and rich crimson, black and gold velvet curtains. "This is nothing like out mansion in Nibelheim." She exclaimed just above a whisper, mainly to herself.
Tadrith heard. "Miss?"
Tifa sucked in a quick breath, not meaning to let that slip out. But it was too late now; time to explain herself as discretely as possible. "We live in the Nibelheim mansion, of course, in Nibelheim." She looked away from his pondering gaze. "We moved in there after the whole dilemma with Seph.. With Meteor."
Tadrith looked away for the first time, a frown now placed upon his lips. His brain was working over something, but what, she didn't know.
"Didn't it used to be called the Shin-Ra mansion?" He asked.
"Yeah. We.. Nobody calls it that anymore. So we just call it the Nibelheim mansion." She responded, kicking herself mentally for all the words she stumbled on. She was supposed to be discrete about everything, but this man intimidated her so, making her a tad bit nervous in his presence. Especially alone, in his house.
"Why on earth would you want to move into a haunted, erratic, faltering place like that?" He continued, his practiced voice flowing easily, dramatically.
"We mainly moved to protect the hidden la..the History of the house. We fixed it up. There were some left over monsters dwelling inside, but we cleaned them all out. It looks completely different now, newly furnished and polished, and some rooms remodeled."
Tadrith seemed to flinch at those words. But he had heard enough. He heard what he wanted to know. His smile took place on his handsome features again and his dark eyes pointed her to the large door they had stopped in front of. "This, my dear Tifa, is your room." He opened the door and heard Tifa gasp again, making his heart melt at the sound.
"Oh my god.." She tenderly stepped forward into the huge bedroom that was now hers. The ceiling was decorated with a smaller crystal chandelier in the center, a high, arched window with curtains of lavender and soft gold. On the wall to the far left was her bed, a king-size, no doubt, with high, decorated posts at all four corners, and a soft lavender sheet draped around the top, hanging beautifully around the large plump pillows and matching lavender and soft gold blanket. Across from the magnificent bed was a great dresser, topped with a large, full-length mirror that folder in three ways to see every angle of ones self.
"I'll let you be acquainted." Tadrith said as he backed out slowly, closing the door, never leaving his eyes off of Tifa.
"This is MY room.." Tifa breathed in astonishment. She threw her stuff on the stand next to her bed, and jumped onto the pillows and blankets, feeling giddy as a little girl. "This is amazing!" She flipped onto her back, gazing around the well furnished room. The feeling didn't last, as she soon remembered her situation. She hoped to god this man was only be sincere; she knew she'd better make her stay here short. She didn't want to cause any more trouble than she already had. She couldn't help but become attached to the house, though. It was simply gorgeous.
"I bet Vincent would feel at home, here." She whispered to herself, remembering the mysteriousness of her dear friend. She remembered all her friends, and wondered how she would explain this to all of them. And Cloud..
She sat up abruptly, and headed for the door. /Let's get this overnighter over with./ She opened the door and peeked into the hallway, only to see Tadrith approaching with his usual, attractive smile.
"Ah, just in time." He said casually, and held out his arm. Tifa apprehensively wrapped hers around it, feeling how muscular the man was. She blushed slightly to herself, and walked along with Tadrith on the beginning tour of his wonderful mansion. She looked down nonchalantly at his hand, and saw that his sleeve was pulled up a little from her arm being wrapped around it. On the top of his hand, she could see small scratches plastered across his skin. Her eyebrows nit together in confusion, wondering what he would be doing to obtain those. He didn't strike her as an outdoors type of person.
But as Tadrith's melodic voice began to flow, she soon forgot it, listening intently on all that he had to say.
And so began the tour of his mansion; if only he had shown her -everything.-
..x.x.x.x.x..
[Next chapter coming soon ^.^ please review if ya have the time ^^; you have no idea how much i love it! ^.^ ]
..x.x.x.x.x..
The sunlight drifted in hazily through the window through the small part in the large, draping curtain. Tifa's eyes fluttered open lazily as the line of sunlight crossed her eyes with the rising of the sun. She stayed a moment on the soft cushion of the bed, not wanting to leave the warm comfort of her bed. She peered over to her left where Cloud would be sleeping, and sat up quickly in a panicked daze, searching for his missing form. As she gazed about the room and realized that all the events that had happened last night weren't a nightmare, she groaned and slumped back down to her pillow.
She hadn't changed into sleeping clothes that night, she just practically knocked out the moment her head hit the pillow. She didn't mean to; she was planning on staying up and figuring out her situation.
"Oh, well." she sighed to herself. "Better late then never, I guess."
With that, she stretched every muscle possible and threw her legs over the bed, to find her boots waiting for her on the floor.
/Well, at least I had time to take those off./ She slipped the dark red leather boots onto her feet, accepting the comfort they gave. She had them for many years, as a gift from Zanghan. Surprisingly, they had lasted all this time and torture.
She looked around and grabbed her pack, searching through it's contents to make sure she had everything all together. She brushed her hair and tied it back in it's usual fashion, noting how the end split like a fish tail under the tie. She scoffed at how Cloud would remark at it teasingly, and tried to brush it straight.
Yet every time she ran her brush through, it would only seem to get worse. Accepting it as fate, she sighed and tossed the brush away, back into her pack. She decided to wear her gloves today. It had been a while since she'd felt their weight on her wrists. It was time to be reacquainted. She chose the Materia she would equip herself with, and rummaged to find the gloves.
She found the black material that covered her arms underneath the gloves and put them on nostalgically, but for some reason she couldn't find the gloves themselves. She KNEW she packed them, she had double checked before she left the house. Her Premium Hearts were precious to her, she wasn't about to lose them now. She searched all through the room; through the blankets, under the beds, the closet, the tiny bathroom; And as if on cue, there came a knock at the door.
Tifa's heart jumped, wondering if Cloud had come looking for her. She raced to the door, then paused, thinking otherwise. She stretched her arms out and cracked her knuckles, just in case it was someone starting trouble. The knock came again, this time, more impatiently. Tifa readied herself, and cautiously opened the door to a barely visible crack.
"Tadrith?" She carefully opened the door all the way, feeling so many things at once. Confused, upset that her Cloud hadn't come after all, agitated that this creep hadn't left her alone, and relief that it wasn't Hojo back from the dead. /Although if it WAS Hojo, he'd definitely have it coming for him../ A faint smile crossed her lips.
"..return them." Tadrith paused, noticing that Tifa wasn't paying attention. "Tifa?"
Tifa snapped up at him and offered a quick apology for dazing off. She left him no time to reply, she jumped straight into the interrogation. "How did you know what room I was staying in? Is everything alright? If you want me to pay you back for dinner last night, then-"
She was just as quickly cut off by the smile plastered on Tadrith's face and his soft, warm words. "Dinner last night was on me, for the pleasure of your company." He cleared his throat in a polite manner. "And as for why I'm here, I came to return these." He held up a pair of familiar gloves, and Tifa immediately opened the door wider.
"My gloves!" She exclaimed with great relief. /Yet; why does he have them?/
Tadrith peered into the room behind Tifa, and saw the mess she made of her room trying to find her fighting gloves. "My word, were you ransacked?" He asked with a hint of threat in his voice.
Tifa laughed uneasily. "No, no, no. I was just.. Well, looking for these." She reached forward and took her gloves, wishing Tadrith would just disappear. Every time he showed up, something strange happened. Tifa couldn't prove that he was dangerous; he was always very polite and.. Well, there. Not to mention a bit creepy. Still, the reason he had her gloves confused her.
Tifa smiled and proclaimed, "I'd invite you in, but I was just about to leave. I need to freshen up a bit and clean this mess. Thank you for bringing back my gloves. Though.. Where did you find them?"
"You dropped them last night when you bumped into me. I should have given them to you at the moment, I must apologize. I don't know what came over me." His smile was sincere enough, but yet.. His voice lacked something. This man definitely had something missing from him.
Tifa was just about to correspond, when he finished, "I guess I held onto them hoping it would give me an excuse to come see you again." She felt tiny chills run down her spine. It was flattering, sure, but she was just a bit uneasy about everything. Without Cloud around, everything seemed so different. She smiled.
"That's sweet, I'm very flattered." She said, truthfully. She could feel her cheeks redden. Maybe she just had to stop being so defensive of herself. Maybe the man wasn't as odd as he seemed. She assured herself that she was just being paranoid, and decided to lighten up on Tadrith.
"I most likely will drop by here again, to check up on you and tell you how things went on my travels." She said, hoping it would satisfy his ears enough to let him go. His smile grew a bit, warming her heart. He was a very attractive man, and didn't look much older then she. But she didn't know anything about him, she decided to leave it at that.
"Well, then, Tifa," Tadrith said, taking her hand to his lips one last time. "Until next we meet, my fair dove." Tifa blushed greatly as the tall man turned and walked away as is nothing had happened. Tifa stood there a moment, absorbing the event into her mind, and then kicked herself mentally to get a move on.
Slipping her gloves on and gathering her things for the last time in room #23, she closed the door and left the INN. Before walking to her chocobo in the stables, she thought it best to get a little something to eat to start her off. She avoided Heaven's Retreat this time, not wanting to make a third encounter with Tadrith, the mysterious stranger. Instead, she chose a small bar and had some cold breakfast sandwiches, asking for extra for her upcoming travels.
About an hour later, she left for the stables. She was feeling pretty good. The air was crisp and clear, the sun was warm and cheery, and though she was on her own, she felt a sense of pride to be by herself. She only hoped the feeling lasted. She knew it wouldn't be long before her despairs would sink in once more.
She found her way to the stables, to be greeted by a young boy in his early teens. He had a look of distress on his face. As Tifa started for where Blade was being kept, the boy stopped her hesitantly.
"Excuse me, miss?" His eyes darted around in nervous tension. "Um, you wouldn't happened to have stored your chocobo in the singles pen, did you?"
Tifa's heart skipped a beat. "Yes, I did. Last night."
The boy looked scared, as if he was going to get a beating for the news he was about to bring. "It wasn't a Gold Chocobo, was it, m-miss?" He stammered.
Tifa felt her heart drop to her feet. "She's gone, isn't she." She stated, feeling a sense of anger take over.
"'fraid so, ma'am. It was taken in the night. We d-don't know who did it. I'm terribly sorry.."
Tifa smiled at the boy and stopped his worried banter. "It's alright, I know it's not your fault." She could see him take a deep breath of relief.
"We're prepared to compensate you for your loss." He said, a little more confident then before.
"No, that won't be necessary. I'll be fine. Thank you anyway." She felt so damned angry inside, yet her words were cool and sweet. She had loved that bird; it had taken her forever to finally get that Golden Chocobo. It felt like years; finding all the correct foods, the specific breeds, the endless training and racing; You couldn't find a more good natured chocobo then Blade. She was the best. /I hope she pecked the eyes out of the one who took her../
Tifa turned around, fuming on the inside. /What am I going to do now??/ She walked forward, and straight into the body of a very large person. She nearly fell backwards, but strong hands caught her and held her firmly. She gazed up at the stranger, only to see it was..
"Tadrith?"
"I see we meet again," His liquid, practiced words flowed off his tongue. "Even sooner then expected." He smiled.
Tifa sighed, and relaxed slightly as Tadrith let her go slowly, almost reluctantly. "Once again, I'm so sorry."
He laughed softly, his eyes trained on her as if expecting the whole thing to happen. "Make nothing of it. I overheard the whole thing. I'm sorry to hear about your ride."
Tifa sighed deeply. /Why is it that I can't escape this guy? Oh, well. I might as well make the best of his company./ She smiled. "It's alright. I'll just have to find another way to get around. Until then, I guess I'm kind of stuck.." Her words trailed off as she gazed around the town.
"Come to my place." Tadrith stated, plain and simple. Practiced. "I have plenty of room, and you can stay until you discover what you'd like to do, and how." His eyes never left hers.
She felt a bit nervous at those words. She didn't know if she should just throw herself into the company of this strange man. Handsomely strange. /Stop it Tifa! Yes, he's attractive, ok? Very attractive. That doesn't make him a replacement for Clou../ She cut her thoughts off. Reluctantly, she smiled up into his dark eyes.
"Alright. Show me the way."
.x.x.x.
Cloud took out his PHS as he scrambled to get everything back together. He was up well into the morning, looking for any kind of clues for the whereabouts of Aeris, but to no avail. He had slept in the small cottage of Bone Village for only a handful of gil, but the sleep he gained proved worth it. Surprisingly, he didn't have any of those dreams that night. /Is that a good thing, though? Does that mean I'm close, or that I'm too late?/ He quickened his pace.
Tossing his things back into the chocobo's saddle bag, he clambered effortlessly onto to his awaiting back. He led it to the shore south of the village while he punched the numbers into his PHS phone. He let it ring several times before giving up. Tifa still wouldn't answer. He's called at least seven times through the night, and no reply. Now, she wasn't even there in the afternoon of the next day.
"Something's wrong.." Cloud said aloud to Matrix. The bird warked and peeked back at him, as if in understanding. Cloud patted the chocobo's head, and sighed deeply, despite himself. "We need to go back. I need to see if she's alright."
The chocobo happily kicked into the air, then sped south across the ocean, back towards their home. But as their direction changed, Cloud's mind became invaded with the image of Aeris. He clenched his forehead and leaned forward against the chocobos neck, squeezing shut his bright blue eyes. He focused on Aeris and everything around her, trying to see if there was anything he could recognize, but as always, she was surrounded by the green mist.
"Aeris.." He groaned in pain. Her face.. It was different this time. Instead of exhibiting the calm, happy expression she always wore, there was something like worry in her eyes. She seemed to beckon him, as if in a hurry. Her image wavered, as if about to disappear. Cloud opened his eyes and sat up quickly, almost throwing himself off of the chocobo. Matrix slowly came to a stop and looked back at him, his feet drifting on top of the calm waters.
"Shit!" Cloud cried, flustered.
"Wark?" His feather's ruffled, as if confused.
Cloud patted the silly thing and fed it some more Mimmette Greens. "I don't know what to do, Matrix. I think time is running short. Aeris seems to be getting distressed.. Maybe because I'm leaving the north?" He paused, thinking about it. "So that must mean she's up here, then." He sighed deeply, feeling his muscles droop. "But Tifa.. Something's wrong with her. She wouldn't just disappear like that."
The golden bird cocked his head to the side, his gaze still focused intently on the young man's features, as if waiting for orders. "Wark."
Cloud smiled and pet it's beak. "Tifa. We're almost there. I'll check up on her really quick, and then we can come back to find Aeris, hopefully before it's too late."
Matrix kicked into the air, agreeing to the plan. "But we'll need to do this in double time," Cloud continued, holding on for dear life, not wanting to be kicked into the cold depths of the ocean that they were so precariously perched on. "You think you could handle it?" Cloud patted the bird again, reaching for more Mimmette Greens. "You're one of the top champions in the Gold Saucer races. You up to proving your skills again?" Cloud knew he didn't even need to say it. His Matrix was up to anything.
He fed the already hyped bird a large handful of Mimmette Greens, and with another thrilled jump kick, they were both off towards their home. Cloud clung on tightly, praying for Tifa's safety. "Tifa.. Please be alright.. I couldn't bear to lose you, too."
.x.x.x.
Her magnificent crimson eyes looked around the room with astonishment. Her breath had been literally taken away at the sheer size of it all.
"When you say you have extra room, you really mean it." She breathed.
Tadrith smiled, closing the door behind him, never taking his gaze off of her slender form. "You are welcome here, anytime you wish, milady." He took a couple steps forward, and watched her admire the mansion she had stepped foot into. /I finally have her within my grasp../
Tifa whirled around and looked at him. "What do you do? I mean, to own a mansion of this scale and.. Well, magnificence!"
Tadrith chuckled lightly and stepped forward, placing a hand on her back. "Come. Let me show you to your room. Then, if you'd like, I'll personally give you a grande tour." His smile was warm. Perfected.
Tifa smiled, a little apprehensive, not knowing if she should even be here in the first place. But she gave in, knowing that she'd be leaving as soon as she found some transportation. /Marlene's gonna love hearing about this!/ She thought, excitedly. /That's all this is. Just another part of my 'adventure'./
Tadrith led her up the grand staircase that centered the spacious room. It's rails were made of the finest wood, and it's intricately detailed designs were of deep crimson, black and gold. A crystal chandelier hung high above her head, perfectly in the center of the room, just before the staircase. She tenderly took a step up, almost as if the house was made of a thin slate of glass.
Tadrith smiled. "It's quite alright. Everything you see here is crafted of the finest materials. You can be rest assures that nothing will crumble to our touch." They made their way up the stairs, Tifa still gaping in awe at the beauty of this man's home.
"And as to your question," He continued. "You could say I inherited this pace. From a.. Ah, wealthy kinsman."
Tifa looked up into his eyes, sending a chill down his spine. /Those gorgeous eyes../
"You mean, you don't work at all?" She questioned.
"Yes, I do. Meager work, though. Basically research." They reached the top of the long flight of stairs. They were then faced with a long hallway, stretching to the left and right of them. Tadrith, with his hand still placed on Tifa's back, led her to the right. "You're room is this way."
Tifa gazed around at the large hallways, ended at both sides with a towering, arched window plated with gold sills and rich crimson, black and gold velvet curtains. "This is nothing like out mansion in Nibelheim." She exclaimed just above a whisper, mainly to herself.
Tadrith heard. "Miss?"
Tifa sucked in a quick breath, not meaning to let that slip out. But it was too late now; time to explain herself as discretely as possible. "We live in the Nibelheim mansion, of course, in Nibelheim." She looked away from his pondering gaze. "We moved in there after the whole dilemma with Seph.. With Meteor."
Tadrith looked away for the first time, a frown now placed upon his lips. His brain was working over something, but what, she didn't know.
"Didn't it used to be called the Shin-Ra mansion?" He asked.
"Yeah. We.. Nobody calls it that anymore. So we just call it the Nibelheim mansion." She responded, kicking herself mentally for all the words she stumbled on. She was supposed to be discrete about everything, but this man intimidated her so, making her a tad bit nervous in his presence. Especially alone, in his house.
"Why on earth would you want to move into a haunted, erratic, faltering place like that?" He continued, his practiced voice flowing easily, dramatically.
"We mainly moved to protect the hidden la..the History of the house. We fixed it up. There were some left over monsters dwelling inside, but we cleaned them all out. It looks completely different now, newly furnished and polished, and some rooms remodeled."
Tadrith seemed to flinch at those words. But he had heard enough. He heard what he wanted to know. His smile took place on his handsome features again and his dark eyes pointed her to the large door they had stopped in front of. "This, my dear Tifa, is your room." He opened the door and heard Tifa gasp again, making his heart melt at the sound.
"Oh my god.." She tenderly stepped forward into the huge bedroom that was now hers. The ceiling was decorated with a smaller crystal chandelier in the center, a high, arched window with curtains of lavender and soft gold. On the wall to the far left was her bed, a king-size, no doubt, with high, decorated posts at all four corners, and a soft lavender sheet draped around the top, hanging beautifully around the large plump pillows and matching lavender and soft gold blanket. Across from the magnificent bed was a great dresser, topped with a large, full-length mirror that folder in three ways to see every angle of ones self.
"I'll let you be acquainted." Tadrith said as he backed out slowly, closing the door, never leaving his eyes off of Tifa.
"This is MY room.." Tifa breathed in astonishment. She threw her stuff on the stand next to her bed, and jumped onto the pillows and blankets, feeling giddy as a little girl. "This is amazing!" She flipped onto her back, gazing around the well furnished room. The feeling didn't last, as she soon remembered her situation. She hoped to god this man was only be sincere; she knew she'd better make her stay here short. She didn't want to cause any more trouble than she already had. She couldn't help but become attached to the house, though. It was simply gorgeous.
"I bet Vincent would feel at home, here." She whispered to herself, remembering the mysteriousness of her dear friend. She remembered all her friends, and wondered how she would explain this to all of them. And Cloud..
She sat up abruptly, and headed for the door. /Let's get this overnighter over with./ She opened the door and peeked into the hallway, only to see Tadrith approaching with his usual, attractive smile.
"Ah, just in time." He said casually, and held out his arm. Tifa apprehensively wrapped hers around it, feeling how muscular the man was. She blushed slightly to herself, and walked along with Tadrith on the beginning tour of his wonderful mansion. She looked down nonchalantly at his hand, and saw that his sleeve was pulled up a little from her arm being wrapped around it. On the top of his hand, she could see small scratches plastered across his skin. Her eyebrows nit together in confusion, wondering what he would be doing to obtain those. He didn't strike her as an outdoors type of person.
But as Tadrith's melodic voice began to flow, she soon forgot it, listening intently on all that he had to say.
And so began the tour of his mansion; if only he had shown her -everything.-
..x.x.x.x.x..
[Next chapter coming soon ^.^ please review if ya have the time ^^; you have no idea how much i love it! ^.^ ]