„Vinnie! I'm huuuuuuuungry!" I whined.
„Yuffie, we stopped to rest an hour ago. We will not be stopping until sundown. The faster we get to Gold Saucer, the better."
„Why Vincent, if I didn't know you I would have thought you actually meant that!" I replied sarcastically.
„…"
I glared at his back, desperately wishing that the saying „glaring daggers" was true. However it was to no avail. If it had been true he would have been long impaled on several thousand daggers. I sighed. Just my luck. So far nothing had worked. Day one was approaching to an end and still no conversion. Vincent:one. Yuffie: nil. Zilch. Nada. Yep, a big whopping zero. Wonderful, huh? Well don't you worry Valentine, a miracle was heading your way and you wouldn't know it until it hit you in the face! Or if not, then it would be me doing the hitting. Nuk nuk nuk.
Yet I was getting a little worried. How exactly did one go about with this miraculous saviour? What had Tifa done to Cloud when he had been lost? What had she said? How did she know what to do? No, I had to succeed. There was no other way. I'd just go about it my own way.
My train of thought was interrupted as my stomach issued forth a protest. Sheesh! I was a growing teenager, for crying out loud! I needed food. Oh, what would happen if I starved? Right now. This very second! It was frightening to even think of! I glared at Vincent, hoping that he had heard the rumbling and would turn around and kindly offer that we stop and eat.
„No Yuffie."
Woah. Could he read thoughts as well? I had better monitor what went through my head, just in case. I sighed mournfully. Maybe he was the compassionate type. I snorted. Yeah right. Vincent Valentine the compassionate. And I was the sleazy, trashy novel writer and ballerina.
So we plodded on, making our way through the forest. How long had we been walking? Minutes? Hours? It seemed forever. On my left side the forest sloped downwards into a ditch, on the other majestic trees spread their branches for all the world to see. The slanting afternoon sun shone through the trees, casting an orange glow. It was so pretty, it almost took my breath away. I had always loved the afternoon light, the way the sun slanted just so. It seemed to bring everything to life. As if everything around me was breathing. I know it sounds strange. But trust me, you can hear it if you let yourself. It always seems to rekindle my spirit of adventure, because there's so much more to see. I suppose it helped me a little, although my stomach protested and made it clear that the slanting of the sun wasn't exactly food.
„Oh alright already, I know you're hungry, so am I. So shut it." I grumbled to said organ. It paid no heed.
„Arrrgh!" I growled and kicked a pebble as hard as I could. Unfortunately this caused me to lose my balance amidst the ancient forest floor, coated with decomposing leaves. Once again my great luck caused me to topple over to the left. Yes. Into the ditch. When would I learn that the pebbles were out to get me?! It was a deep, secret conspiracy. A sort of pact between all the pebbles worldwide. I rolled downwards for the second time in two days, and finally came to a stop, the ancient pine needles digging into my sides.
I was dying! Oh, I could feel the blood gushing out. My neck was no doubt shattered, as well as all my other limbs. Oh, how cruel fate was! I was not ready yet! I cried out,
„I cannot die! I have so much to see! I have not yet had a scandalous love affair! Nor stolen all the materia! Nor… nor…" I began to hiccup from lack of precious oxygen. Maybe I was blacking out already! Oh, I could hear that sluggish heart of mine slowing down, as the life giving blood gushed out of my wounds.
In the background I heard Vincent. Sheesh! Did the man not have any compassion?! Oh, sorry, I had settled that issue already hadn't I?
„Yuffie,"
„Yuffie."
„Yuffie!"
„Oh, good-bye cruel world!" I cried out melodramatically, paying no heed to Vincent. Could he not let me die in peace?! „Good-bye Vincent… I hope your dream of rotting for eternity in a coffin is fulfilled. Tell Cid I hope he chokes on his cigarette… Tell Cloud and Tifa that their children will break many hearts. Tell Nanaki to lighten up. Tell Barr-„
„Yuffie. It' just a grazed shoulder." He interrupted my beautiful monologue.
Oh. I knew that.
I opened one eye and eyed him cautiously. „I was just practicing my acting."
„I'm sure." He replied as his eyebrow arched. He tossed me a potion and scanned the area. Did I mention how caring and compassionate he is? No? Good. Cause he isn't.
„I think I will heed your pleas Yuffie, it seems as if there is adequate shelter a little to the North. We can stop there for the night." Vincent gestured with his head. Of course he didn't point. No, pointing was way below Vincent, much too human.
I hopped up, forgetting my near death experience and skipped forward towards the „adequate shelter". In plain English, a small cave that I could glimpse in small flashes between the trees.
„Foooood. I'm going to eaaaaat. Yeah, isn't that great! I'm going to have food! That'll improve my mood." I sang my little improvised song, „and I'm not going to brood, Right… dude?" Alright, so I'm no poet. And I had run out of rhymes, but I didn't care; my stomach would no longer echo with emptiness. I wasn't going starve! I looked back to see Vincent staring at me. I stuck my tongue out.
„It's rude to stare." I said in a singsong voice.
„…" His eyes kept boring into me. Finally he shook his head and then stood up, following me. Like I cared. I was soaring right now.
* * *
The fire crackled cheerfully and a content sigh escaped my lips. Ah… food, warmth, and a nice blanket. What more could I ask for? Well, materia of course, but that would come in due time. I had just finished stuffing myself with food. It felt so nice to have a full stomach. The warmth was lulling me into a relaxed state, and soon I knew my eyes would close for the night.
Our dinner conversation had been almost nonexistant, me trying to stuff myself with as much food as possible in the least amount of time, and Vincent being his usual talkative self. It had struck me then, did he ever eat? I had never been too sure about it before, but the question seemed to nag at me now. I saw him pick at his food, gracefully of course. Everything Valentine did had to be graceful and precise. But only one or two morsels were actually consumed. However, that was another question for another day. I was too tired now.
I murmured a sleepy good night, to which he replied with a curt nod, and laid myself down to a well deserved (well, in my opinion) rest.
I awoke in the middle of the night, my throat parched. The fire had been extinguished, and all that remained were embers that gave off a soft glow. I shifted, looking for something to quench my thirst, when I saw it. Or rather, him. I blearily rubbed my eyes, making sure it wasn't just a trick of light, or even worse, a twisted dream of mine.
Nope. Even though it was darker than Cid's mind, and mind you, that's dark; It wasn't just a trick of light, nor a dream. I crawled forward silently to get a better glimpse. Yep. It was definetely Vincent that sat before the cave's entrance, his profile outlined by the moon's harsh glow. Strange, in those trashy novels the moon always seemed to give the hero a soft look, that showed his true sensitivity that was masked by the night. Yet it did the opposite with Vincent. It gave him sharp angular lines, such as the aristocratic cheekbones, the perfectly straight nose, the angular chin. He seemed foreign to me in this light, a stranger. I shivered involuntarily.
Yet it was the eyes that held my attention. Ever heard someone say „he had that haunted look in his eyes"? Well, whoever had made it up had certainly derived it from Vincent.
The moon's light gave his skin a translucent quality, as if he was no more than a ghost. But his eyes… They were frightening to even behold. Well, I suppose I should be precise, his eye was frightening to behold. After all, all I could see was his profile, and therefore only one eye. But even one eye was enough to frighten me. It's hue was quite like a pool of blood. As I shifted slightly I saw two orbs of blood, identical. He seemed to stare off into the distance. But where? Or was he not even really here, but instead retreating inside to take shelter?
Inside those vermillion eyes I saw the truth; The deep scars that raged in the night, and retreated in the day behind a mask. The scars that ate away Vincent Valentine. The scars that none of us had seen, but were now clearly etched across those eyes. I was prepared to go outside, to do anything to get that look out of his eyes, even smacking him. But I knew I was intruding on something private. No, I wouldn't approach him, not yet at least, but I would stay here, in the shadows, and watch him. Atleast now I knew what I had to fight. And I'd be damned if I didn't win.
I watched him for the rest of the night, only drifting to sleep when the sky began to tinge a steely grey, herald of the soon to come dawn.