Chapter Five:
A New Turn
Clouds path sloped downward and led him deeper to the great land. In the distance, he could see a small area which held a few people in it. He wasn't too interested, the only people he had met so far were too strange for him to understand. So instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple materia. It's glow brightened, and sparkled in his hand. He looked around and waited for a moment. It wasn't too long, and a chocobo had come. It seemed mesmerized by the jewel.
Cloud grinned a little, then hopped up onto it's feathery back. It immediately thrust itself forward, at first, trying to force the mounted off, but with little effect, so it just did as commanded. The wind swept through Clouds hair, he felt more relaxed than he had ever felt while at Midgar. Every so often he would pass a stray fiend or two, but without the need for combat.
Before he reached what seemed to be half way though the field, another chocobo came into his path, but a woman was mounted on it.
"Have you paid for that chocobo?" she snapped.
Cloud merely grinned, "What do you mean? I caught it, so why should I pay?"
"Catching a chocobo without paying is a crime!"
"Since when?" Cloud snapped back after losing his grin.
"Since always, I'm afraid you're going to have to get off." She unmounted her chocobo, then carefully walked up to him. He looked down at her, then regained his grin once again.
"Bye!" Without a second thought, he raced on, leaving her in the dust. It had been a long time since he had had such fun. It even seemed alien to him. The whistling of the racing bird rang happily through the air.
The woman was angrily following them, they raced for a while. When he finally lost her, he found himself in a strange cove. The tired chocobo was now at a steady walking pace. Cloud looked around the area with a more serious expression. He noticed a girl standing by the entrance to what looked like a cave. He then unmounted the bird, and let it free.
The girl noticed him coming. Her wacky blonde hair bounced on top of her head, as she ran towards him. "HEY!" she shouted. She wore green shorts and a red shirt, she was so cheerful that it was almost creepy. When she had finally reached him, she dropped down to her ankles to catch her breath. "You…look like…a…fighter." she managed to say.
"…"
"Could ya give me a hand?"
"I don't even know you."
She looked up, and smiled after she could breath, then said, "Oh! I'm sorry, my name's Rikku. What's yours by the way?"
"…Cloud."
"Well, Cloud, can you help me or not?"
"With what?"
"My friends went inside, and I tried going in after them, but I can't find them anywhere!"
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Help me find them of coarse!" Before Cloud could refuse, she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her inside the cave.
"Why can't you do this yourself?" He asked pulling his arm free. "You afraid of the dark or something?"
Rikku stopped and faced him, "NO! I just need a little help is all." She then continued on ahead, and with really nothing else to do, Cloud followed.
