A yellow light was projected into the room, trailing on the floor as a crisp line from a narrow opening in the doorway. Zax's dark silhouette stood on the other side of the door, apparently peering into the room. A soft muffled chuckle escaped the figure standing in the doorway, looking to the sleeping soldier in his bed, farthest from the door.
Behind him, standing at the wall of the corridor were the two lower class members, one with spikey blond hair, trying to look over Zax's tall figure to take a look at what was so funny in the room, and the other pudgy member, leaning idly against the opposite wall. Turning to face the other soldiers, the golden light highlighted his strong features as he had his hand on his chin, trying to hide his grin by making it appear as if he was in thought. His long dark bangs cast a shadow over his face, as if he was trying to dim the brilliance in his sapphire, though the deep blue mako radiance managed to penetrate the shadows. He managed to speak in a whisper, so Sephiroth wouldn't wake, though his voice still seemed so powerful even when he was attempting to be quiet.
"Hmm... it seems we have a bit of a problem..."
He paused, looking at the stunned expressions on the faces of the lower ranks, as if they felt guilty for something they haven't done. Zax narrowed his eyes, surveying their faces.
"Not to worry, it was just a slight misunderstanding when we asked for this room, it seems that there are four in our party, and three beds in the room..."
Silence fell over them, the two members of the lower class looked to each other, Cloud making a subtle gesture with his shoulders to signal to the other that he didn't know what to do. The other soldier looked back to Zax, suggesting that he would sleep on the floor- but Zax quickly interrupted him, assuring him that they would need a good rest before their mission tomorrow, and he would not take the blame if one of his soldiers would be too tired to perform at their optimum level. With this there was a long pause, Zax ran his fingers through his long, dark sepia hair, resting his hand on the back of his head in thought.
"Well, I guess two of us will have to share a bed, Cloud and I can have the middle bed since he's small, while Porkey here takes the bed closest to the door."
Cloud felt his stomach lurch, his heart was beating so loudly that he wondered if Zax could hear it. Among the many emotions the he felt surge at the moment, he was slightly insulted that Zax thought he was small (even though it was obvious Zax was only comparing him to the other member of their party, who was now shaking with fury, his round face was completely red, and looked like a tomato with a soldier cap).
He followed Zax into the still dark room, looking to the farthest bed, and it's occupant who only appeared as a lump of sheets from where he was standing. The bed by the door was already occupied by "porkey," who went straight to bed without changing out of his uniform, the bed sheets pulled right over his misshapen head, muttering something to himself under the covers.
Zax was now sitting on the edge of their bed in the middle, untying his shoelaces, and taking his black leather boots off his feet, tossing them to the floor by the bed. Cloud just stood there, awkwardly in front of the four-poster bed, realizing he was blushing, though he was sure that the soldier wouldn't notice with such insufficient lighting. Zax slipped under the covers, yawning heavily as he rested his head on the down pillow, turning on his side at the edge of the bed. Reluctantly, Cloud sat on the other side of the bed, slipping his boots off his feet, and placing them neatly at the foot of the bed. He pulled the comforter over him as he laid down on the squeaky mattress, his golden spikes flattening against the soft pillow, which molded to the contour of his face.
It wasn't long before he allowed darkness to consume him, and he found himself standing in a small, broken church, on a bed of flowers, flourishing in a patch of earth that was discovered from underneath the floorboards. Everything seemed to have a misty green glow about it, even the dew drops that accumulated on the flower petals shimmered like emeralds in the white light that poured through a breach in the moldy roof. Several rows of bleachers stood unevenly, some flipped over, bordering a narrow passageway to a bright white light at the end of it, leading to the outside world. There was a sense of serenity about this church, and even though it was broken, and the cross was on it's side at the altar, life still managed to thrive here. Even the fragrance of the flowers was intoxicating, the scent trailed on the breeze that traveled from the entrance, along the passages, and through one of it's many naturally created sunroofs, products of decomposing roof tiles.
The peacefulness didn't last long, however, when Cloud felt something stirring under his bare feet, the earth itself felt as if it was rippling like water when it was penetrated by something below the surface. It was a hand, reaching out from under the ground, the flowers now withered with the hand's presence, as if it spread an air of disease over them, and over the entire church, because at that moment, everything went dim and gray.
Instinctively, Cloud jumped to get away from the patch of grass, but the hand now had a hold around his ankle, so suddenly that Cloud's force was turned against him as he fell straight on his back in the patch of wasted black flora. The ground then rose around him, the dirt rolling over his body as he was being pulled under the earth. He struggled to move, but as he sank lower, he felt as if the earth was binding him in place, and he managed to get one more glimpse of the bright exit from the church just as the ground was at his chin level. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a woman at the door, her hair brown hair spiraling down her shoulders, clashing horribly with her pink dress. The way the light hit her made her appear perfectly clear to him, even though it seemed that she was so distant. This vision didn't last long, he was now holding his breath, and shut his eyes as he was completely inundated by dirt.
Slowly, he traveled through the layer of earth before he felt the hand around his ankle pull him though the other side. He slowly emerged out of the dirt ceiling, and into a black room, filled with a type of liquid, dotted with sparkling white specks and smears and shapes, and it occurred to Cloud (when he finally regained his breath and blinked enough to have his eyes focus again) that he was floating in a liquid universe that flowed around him. But there was something else about this room that looked familiar, the figure that stood over him, the hand that pulled him in belonged to this figure, it was so real, so close...it was-
Just then Cloud felt something crash into his face, hitting him hard across the nose. He opened his eyes with the surge of consciousness as he found himself in the bed at the Nibleheim Inn. He sat up slowly in bed, still dazed from his dream, when Zax's hand (which was the object that hit his face to begin with) fell into his lap. The soldier was sprawled out over most of the bed, his mouth agape to suck in as much air as possible while sleeping, so he wouldn't snore. Cloud blushed brightly again, gently lifting Zax's hand, and placing it under one of the many layers of bed covers that insulated their bodies from the cold. He soundlessly removed one of the layers that covered Zax, and swung his feet over the edge of the bed to squat to the floor, trailing the cover off the bed. He leaned his back to the wall, his side to the edge of the bed, and curled up under the blanket to resume his sleep.
Behind him, standing at the wall of the corridor were the two lower class members, one with spikey blond hair, trying to look over Zax's tall figure to take a look at what was so funny in the room, and the other pudgy member, leaning idly against the opposite wall. Turning to face the other soldiers, the golden light highlighted his strong features as he had his hand on his chin, trying to hide his grin by making it appear as if he was in thought. His long dark bangs cast a shadow over his face, as if he was trying to dim the brilliance in his sapphire, though the deep blue mako radiance managed to penetrate the shadows. He managed to speak in a whisper, so Sephiroth wouldn't wake, though his voice still seemed so powerful even when he was attempting to be quiet.
"Hmm... it seems we have a bit of a problem..."
He paused, looking at the stunned expressions on the faces of the lower ranks, as if they felt guilty for something they haven't done. Zax narrowed his eyes, surveying their faces.
"Not to worry, it was just a slight misunderstanding when we asked for this room, it seems that there are four in our party, and three beds in the room..."
Silence fell over them, the two members of the lower class looked to each other, Cloud making a subtle gesture with his shoulders to signal to the other that he didn't know what to do. The other soldier looked back to Zax, suggesting that he would sleep on the floor- but Zax quickly interrupted him, assuring him that they would need a good rest before their mission tomorrow, and he would not take the blame if one of his soldiers would be too tired to perform at their optimum level. With this there was a long pause, Zax ran his fingers through his long, dark sepia hair, resting his hand on the back of his head in thought.
"Well, I guess two of us will have to share a bed, Cloud and I can have the middle bed since he's small, while Porkey here takes the bed closest to the door."
Cloud felt his stomach lurch, his heart was beating so loudly that he wondered if Zax could hear it. Among the many emotions the he felt surge at the moment, he was slightly insulted that Zax thought he was small (even though it was obvious Zax was only comparing him to the other member of their party, who was now shaking with fury, his round face was completely red, and looked like a tomato with a soldier cap).
He followed Zax into the still dark room, looking to the farthest bed, and it's occupant who only appeared as a lump of sheets from where he was standing. The bed by the door was already occupied by "porkey," who went straight to bed without changing out of his uniform, the bed sheets pulled right over his misshapen head, muttering something to himself under the covers.
Zax was now sitting on the edge of their bed in the middle, untying his shoelaces, and taking his black leather boots off his feet, tossing them to the floor by the bed. Cloud just stood there, awkwardly in front of the four-poster bed, realizing he was blushing, though he was sure that the soldier wouldn't notice with such insufficient lighting. Zax slipped under the covers, yawning heavily as he rested his head on the down pillow, turning on his side at the edge of the bed. Reluctantly, Cloud sat on the other side of the bed, slipping his boots off his feet, and placing them neatly at the foot of the bed. He pulled the comforter over him as he laid down on the squeaky mattress, his golden spikes flattening against the soft pillow, which molded to the contour of his face.
It wasn't long before he allowed darkness to consume him, and he found himself standing in a small, broken church, on a bed of flowers, flourishing in a patch of earth that was discovered from underneath the floorboards. Everything seemed to have a misty green glow about it, even the dew drops that accumulated on the flower petals shimmered like emeralds in the white light that poured through a breach in the moldy roof. Several rows of bleachers stood unevenly, some flipped over, bordering a narrow passageway to a bright white light at the end of it, leading to the outside world. There was a sense of serenity about this church, and even though it was broken, and the cross was on it's side at the altar, life still managed to thrive here. Even the fragrance of the flowers was intoxicating, the scent trailed on the breeze that traveled from the entrance, along the passages, and through one of it's many naturally created sunroofs, products of decomposing roof tiles.
The peacefulness didn't last long, however, when Cloud felt something stirring under his bare feet, the earth itself felt as if it was rippling like water when it was penetrated by something below the surface. It was a hand, reaching out from under the ground, the flowers now withered with the hand's presence, as if it spread an air of disease over them, and over the entire church, because at that moment, everything went dim and gray.
Instinctively, Cloud jumped to get away from the patch of grass, but the hand now had a hold around his ankle, so suddenly that Cloud's force was turned against him as he fell straight on his back in the patch of wasted black flora. The ground then rose around him, the dirt rolling over his body as he was being pulled under the earth. He struggled to move, but as he sank lower, he felt as if the earth was binding him in place, and he managed to get one more glimpse of the bright exit from the church just as the ground was at his chin level. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a woman at the door, her hair brown hair spiraling down her shoulders, clashing horribly with her pink dress. The way the light hit her made her appear perfectly clear to him, even though it seemed that she was so distant. This vision didn't last long, he was now holding his breath, and shut his eyes as he was completely inundated by dirt.
Slowly, he traveled through the layer of earth before he felt the hand around his ankle pull him though the other side. He slowly emerged out of the dirt ceiling, and into a black room, filled with a type of liquid, dotted with sparkling white specks and smears and shapes, and it occurred to Cloud (when he finally regained his breath and blinked enough to have his eyes focus again) that he was floating in a liquid universe that flowed around him. But there was something else about this room that looked familiar, the figure that stood over him, the hand that pulled him in belonged to this figure, it was so real, so close...it was-
Just then Cloud felt something crash into his face, hitting him hard across the nose. He opened his eyes with the surge of consciousness as he found himself in the bed at the Nibleheim Inn. He sat up slowly in bed, still dazed from his dream, when Zax's hand (which was the object that hit his face to begin with) fell into his lap. The soldier was sprawled out over most of the bed, his mouth agape to suck in as much air as possible while sleeping, so he wouldn't snore. Cloud blushed brightly again, gently lifting Zax's hand, and placing it under one of the many layers of bed covers that insulated their bodies from the cold. He soundlessly removed one of the layers that covered Zax, and swung his feet over the edge of the bed to squat to the floor, trailing the cover off the bed. He leaned his back to the wall, his side to the edge of the bed, and curled up under the blanket to resume his sleep.
