AUTHORS NOTE: Yeh, I changed Aeris to 'Aerith' from chapter 1 onwards.. why? because I'v just been calling her Aerith alot more! anyways.. hope you like this!! (and no - Cloud ISN'T a bastard in my ficcy... just crabby cos of his loss! But dun worry - the future looks promising! heehee) please please R & R!!! I'd love your comments!
Angel Reborn
************************
CHAPTER TWO
AERITH
in
"Frozen in Time"
~Icicle Region - the snowfields~
•°•
Aerith gasped in shock as her eyes took in the sight of endless snowfields infront of her, stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions - it was enough to make anyone want to throw themselves at the mercy of nature and give up on the spot. Aerith was not one to be discoraged however, so she stepped out of the frozen forest she had wandered through and began to slowly make her way in the direction that she hoped would bring her to some sort of civilisation.. and a warm fire!
Rubbing her arms as she walked, she lowered her face slightly to resist the direct force of the chilling wind that swept over the icy plains. Aerith wondered for a moment if perhaps she had chosen to walk in entirely the wrong direction, and instead of getting closer to somewhere, was in fact getting further into nowhere. The thought really wasn't very pleasent, so she cast it aside quickly and tried to focus on some sort of real positivity.
She began to contemplate who she really was. Inside her it felt as if there was a giant block of emptiness.. not in a bad way really, but rather like there was alot she didn't know.. what DID she know about herself? Well, she was human.. and carried a long staff. Which must have ment that she could also fight and defend herself in some way.. and she'd occasionally caught strange things happening as she travelled, flowers that had been frozen solid by the harsh elements had suddenly blossomed into color and vibrant life as she had passed by - if only for a short while. Perhaps this ment she also posessed some sort of.. power? There was some strange link to the earth she felt also, almost like an unspoken bond, she could feel a sense of contentment being emitted from the very ground she walked on. It seemed that peace reined strongly over the entire globe, but to Aerith it also sounded like the earth was only just recovering from a great onslaught of evil that had threatened to end it's very existance. She looked down again at the staff she carried tightly in her chilled hands, noticing the small round grooves marked on it and wondering what they could be for - perhaps they once held something, but now it was long gone. So that was what Aerith knew from observations alone.. 'not an awful lot!' she thought, with a tinge of dismay.
Coming back to reality, she began to notice small ribbons of snow being carried over the drifting winds and watched in fascination as they were dipped and swooped in a graceful dance, curling into beautiful patterns before slowly floating down to rest on the carpet of white they had come from.
Aerith became so wrapped up in watching this beautiful display of nature that she failed to notice the wind picking up around her - a fierce gale that tore at loose snow banks and tossed their content into the flailing winds had began, and Aerith was caught right in the middle of it.
It wasn't until a patch of snow that was carried on the wind hit her in the face, that she finally became aware of the immediate danger surrounding her. Feeling her gentle heart flutter in fear, Aerith tried to pick up her pace - bending low into the wind and staggering forward against it's amazing power. It felt like she wasn't making any ground at all and as the minutes turned to hours and the storm still raged on, the number of times she came to fall onto the vast beds of snow increased dramatically. So much energy was being expelled from just taking each step, her tired legs begged to cease movement along with toes that had long since lost all sense of feeling - but still she pressed on.
At one point she found herself sprawled against the ground after her foot caught against something hard and tripped her, when she sat up and checked to see what it was her stomache lurched and Aerith felt her face turn pale. There at her feet, embedded deep into the snow, was the remains of a traveller who couldn't have crossed more than afew days before herself. His body was still fully intact - no wounds or infections - simply skin that had frozen solid, preserving the man just as he'd fallen. A small satchel of supplies lay nearby, but it's contents had long since been ravaged my passing monsters, leaving only afew empty cans strewn about the place. Aerith knew full well why the traveller had been left untouched - any attempt to consume him would mean a serious tootache for any monster, and possibly the loss of afew of the more important teeth aswell. His weapon - a lightweight hunting arrow - was laying afew feet to the side of him, exposing the slots that Aeriths staff also carried. Scrambling over to it, she noticed that the small indentations were indeed used to house objects - small glowing orbs that differed in color. Clicking them out of the arrow and into her own weapon, Aerith felt suddenly guilty and had to concentrate all her thoughts on the fact that she was doing it to survive. But she made a vow to herself, If I get out of this alive, I'll return the favour to this man.
Now Aerith began to feel those dreaded signs that struck terror into the hearts of many a weary traveller. Her body began to feel overcome with a sense of irrepressable fatigue. She stopped hearing the sound of the howling winds that whipped against her clothes and skin and stopped feeling the cold that mercilessly penetrated her body, chilling her to the bone.
Aeriths entire system was beginning to shut down, for good.
Than, as suddenly as it had started, the snowstorm subsided - allowing a shaft of sunlight to break free from it's cloudy confine and bask the staggering traveller in it's warm, glowing light. Aerith allowed a small but grateful smile to pass over her lips as she looked up into the ray's brilliance, relishing the wave of heat that washed gently over her weary body. She turned her face up to it's radiance and shut her lovely green eyes softly, silently praying for the luck that had come just when she was losing hope. The sunshine shone brighter upon her at that moment, setting her profile alight with fiery luminosity and indeed, perceiving her as the golden angel she truly was.
With renewed vigour and her sense of hope now restored somewhat, she headed once again on her way - boots crunching loudly on the snow and leaving a long trail behind her. She began to feel hungry around this time, spying some small red berries on a frozen bush nearby and carefully placing them in the pouch hanging at her side. A short time later Aerith felt moisture seeping through the material against her hip and, satisfied that the fruit she'd picked was thawed sufficently, decided to rest for a short while to enjoy the tasty snack.
The small red berries were still chilled from the state they'de been in when she'd picked them, but Aeris didn't have too much difficulty in consuming them and relished the tart sweetness that seeped down her throat and replaced some of the energy she'd lost.
A rough jerk to her hair made her cry out in suprise and discomfort. Whirling around, Aerith was confronted with a small fluffy critter carrying a juicy orange carrot in one paw.. and Aeriths pink hair ribbon in the other. Unsure of what to make of the animal, she gave it a sweet but uncertain smile.
'You cheeky little thing! I really don't have time to play games.. please may I have my ribbon back?' She held her hand out hopefully, expecting to have what was hers returned to her. The strange rabbit-like creature twitched its large furry nose and merely grinned at her devilishly, before turning and hopping away. Aerith frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow before sighing in frustration and chasing after the little thief. 'COME BACK HERE!' She cried, tripping as her feet sank deeply into the puffy, white ground. Pulling herself up and spitting out a mouthful of snow, Aerith was relieved to see that the creature had stopped hopping away and now stood facing her some meters away - obviously pleased with itself.
'This isn't funny! Give it back!!' Suddenly she remembered the few berries still left in her pouch and pulled some out, displaying them in her outstretched palm for the curious animal to see. 'Here.. lets swap. That boring old ribbon for these plump juicy berries I'm holding.' Large red eyes studied the treat Aerith held in her hand carefully for a moment, deciding if the ripened fruit would really taste as good as it looked. The curious creature tilted it's head slightly, than after a short pause, hopped over to her and offered up the stolen ribbon. After the transaction was complete, Aerith began to walk away, hoping that she hadn't been led too far astray. She took the ribbon from her pouch and carefully began to tie it around her long disheveled plait, crying out as something hit her in the back of the head. Turning back around to face her oppresser, Aerith found that the furry critter had followed her, now wearing a hideous toothy grin that wasn't the slightest bit like a rabbits. The offending projectile that had struck her lay on the ground by her feet - that large orange carrot he had carried.
'That's enough! Go and play somewhere else!' Aerith glared angrily at the creature as she rubbed the back of her head tenderly.
Obviously the animal had other ideas.
With a horrible roar and glowing eyes, it ripped free of it's small furry body. A hideous muscular creature stepped away from the shedded remains, flexing it's limbs and shaking off small particles of flesh and bone from the animal he'd possessed. Fixing eyes that took up most of its ugly impish face on the gapeing girl with obvious hunger, it sprung forward nimbly, claws gleaming sharply as they pointed at his victims soft unprotected belly.
•°•
©Erica Runge - 23rd of November, 2002. All main characters, etc ©Squaresoft and FFVII.
Angel Reborn
************************
CHAPTER TWO
AERITH
in
"Frozen in Time"
~Icicle Region - the snowfields~
•°•
Aerith gasped in shock as her eyes took in the sight of endless snowfields infront of her, stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions - it was enough to make anyone want to throw themselves at the mercy of nature and give up on the spot. Aerith was not one to be discoraged however, so she stepped out of the frozen forest she had wandered through and began to slowly make her way in the direction that she hoped would bring her to some sort of civilisation.. and a warm fire!
Rubbing her arms as she walked, she lowered her face slightly to resist the direct force of the chilling wind that swept over the icy plains. Aerith wondered for a moment if perhaps she had chosen to walk in entirely the wrong direction, and instead of getting closer to somewhere, was in fact getting further into nowhere. The thought really wasn't very pleasent, so she cast it aside quickly and tried to focus on some sort of real positivity.
She began to contemplate who she really was. Inside her it felt as if there was a giant block of emptiness.. not in a bad way really, but rather like there was alot she didn't know.. what DID she know about herself? Well, she was human.. and carried a long staff. Which must have ment that she could also fight and defend herself in some way.. and she'd occasionally caught strange things happening as she travelled, flowers that had been frozen solid by the harsh elements had suddenly blossomed into color and vibrant life as she had passed by - if only for a short while. Perhaps this ment she also posessed some sort of.. power? There was some strange link to the earth she felt also, almost like an unspoken bond, she could feel a sense of contentment being emitted from the very ground she walked on. It seemed that peace reined strongly over the entire globe, but to Aerith it also sounded like the earth was only just recovering from a great onslaught of evil that had threatened to end it's very existance. She looked down again at the staff she carried tightly in her chilled hands, noticing the small round grooves marked on it and wondering what they could be for - perhaps they once held something, but now it was long gone. So that was what Aerith knew from observations alone.. 'not an awful lot!' she thought, with a tinge of dismay.
Coming back to reality, she began to notice small ribbons of snow being carried over the drifting winds and watched in fascination as they were dipped and swooped in a graceful dance, curling into beautiful patterns before slowly floating down to rest on the carpet of white they had come from.
Aerith became so wrapped up in watching this beautiful display of nature that she failed to notice the wind picking up around her - a fierce gale that tore at loose snow banks and tossed their content into the flailing winds had began, and Aerith was caught right in the middle of it.
It wasn't until a patch of snow that was carried on the wind hit her in the face, that she finally became aware of the immediate danger surrounding her. Feeling her gentle heart flutter in fear, Aerith tried to pick up her pace - bending low into the wind and staggering forward against it's amazing power. It felt like she wasn't making any ground at all and as the minutes turned to hours and the storm still raged on, the number of times she came to fall onto the vast beds of snow increased dramatically. So much energy was being expelled from just taking each step, her tired legs begged to cease movement along with toes that had long since lost all sense of feeling - but still she pressed on.
At one point she found herself sprawled against the ground after her foot caught against something hard and tripped her, when she sat up and checked to see what it was her stomache lurched and Aerith felt her face turn pale. There at her feet, embedded deep into the snow, was the remains of a traveller who couldn't have crossed more than afew days before herself. His body was still fully intact - no wounds or infections - simply skin that had frozen solid, preserving the man just as he'd fallen. A small satchel of supplies lay nearby, but it's contents had long since been ravaged my passing monsters, leaving only afew empty cans strewn about the place. Aerith knew full well why the traveller had been left untouched - any attempt to consume him would mean a serious tootache for any monster, and possibly the loss of afew of the more important teeth aswell. His weapon - a lightweight hunting arrow - was laying afew feet to the side of him, exposing the slots that Aeriths staff also carried. Scrambling over to it, she noticed that the small indentations were indeed used to house objects - small glowing orbs that differed in color. Clicking them out of the arrow and into her own weapon, Aerith felt suddenly guilty and had to concentrate all her thoughts on the fact that she was doing it to survive. But she made a vow to herself, If I get out of this alive, I'll return the favour to this man.
Now Aerith began to feel those dreaded signs that struck terror into the hearts of many a weary traveller. Her body began to feel overcome with a sense of irrepressable fatigue. She stopped hearing the sound of the howling winds that whipped against her clothes and skin and stopped feeling the cold that mercilessly penetrated her body, chilling her to the bone.
Aeriths entire system was beginning to shut down, for good.
Than, as suddenly as it had started, the snowstorm subsided - allowing a shaft of sunlight to break free from it's cloudy confine and bask the staggering traveller in it's warm, glowing light. Aerith allowed a small but grateful smile to pass over her lips as she looked up into the ray's brilliance, relishing the wave of heat that washed gently over her weary body. She turned her face up to it's radiance and shut her lovely green eyes softly, silently praying for the luck that had come just when she was losing hope. The sunshine shone brighter upon her at that moment, setting her profile alight with fiery luminosity and indeed, perceiving her as the golden angel she truly was.
With renewed vigour and her sense of hope now restored somewhat, she headed once again on her way - boots crunching loudly on the snow and leaving a long trail behind her. She began to feel hungry around this time, spying some small red berries on a frozen bush nearby and carefully placing them in the pouch hanging at her side. A short time later Aerith felt moisture seeping through the material against her hip and, satisfied that the fruit she'd picked was thawed sufficently, decided to rest for a short while to enjoy the tasty snack.
The small red berries were still chilled from the state they'de been in when she'd picked them, but Aeris didn't have too much difficulty in consuming them and relished the tart sweetness that seeped down her throat and replaced some of the energy she'd lost.
A rough jerk to her hair made her cry out in suprise and discomfort. Whirling around, Aerith was confronted with a small fluffy critter carrying a juicy orange carrot in one paw.. and Aeriths pink hair ribbon in the other. Unsure of what to make of the animal, she gave it a sweet but uncertain smile.
'You cheeky little thing! I really don't have time to play games.. please may I have my ribbon back?' She held her hand out hopefully, expecting to have what was hers returned to her. The strange rabbit-like creature twitched its large furry nose and merely grinned at her devilishly, before turning and hopping away. Aerith frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow before sighing in frustration and chasing after the little thief. 'COME BACK HERE!' She cried, tripping as her feet sank deeply into the puffy, white ground. Pulling herself up and spitting out a mouthful of snow, Aerith was relieved to see that the creature had stopped hopping away and now stood facing her some meters away - obviously pleased with itself.
'This isn't funny! Give it back!!' Suddenly she remembered the few berries still left in her pouch and pulled some out, displaying them in her outstretched palm for the curious animal to see. 'Here.. lets swap. That boring old ribbon for these plump juicy berries I'm holding.' Large red eyes studied the treat Aerith held in her hand carefully for a moment, deciding if the ripened fruit would really taste as good as it looked. The curious creature tilted it's head slightly, than after a short pause, hopped over to her and offered up the stolen ribbon. After the transaction was complete, Aerith began to walk away, hoping that she hadn't been led too far astray. She took the ribbon from her pouch and carefully began to tie it around her long disheveled plait, crying out as something hit her in the back of the head. Turning back around to face her oppresser, Aerith found that the furry critter had followed her, now wearing a hideous toothy grin that wasn't the slightest bit like a rabbits. The offending projectile that had struck her lay on the ground by her feet - that large orange carrot he had carried.
'That's enough! Go and play somewhere else!' Aerith glared angrily at the creature as she rubbed the back of her head tenderly.
Obviously the animal had other ideas.
With a horrible roar and glowing eyes, it ripped free of it's small furry body. A hideous muscular creature stepped away from the shedded remains, flexing it's limbs and shaking off small particles of flesh and bone from the animal he'd possessed. Fixing eyes that took up most of its ugly impish face on the gapeing girl with obvious hunger, it sprung forward nimbly, claws gleaming sharply as they pointed at his victims soft unprotected belly.
•°•
©Erica Runge - 23rd of November, 2002. All main characters, etc ©Squaresoft and FFVII.
