Chapter 4: Campfire Banter

The now expanded AVALANCHE group continued to travel west until the sun began slowly sinking behind the mountains. They decided to set up camp and reach Junon tomorrow. The normal routine of nightly duties commenced; Barret and Red XIII went in search of wood to start a fire, Cloud began setting up the tents, while Tifa and Aerith began dinner. Yuffie, not knowing exactly what to do, tried to help Cloud with the tents.

"Don't touch that!" Cloud yelled as he watched, yet again, as Yuffie somehow collapsed the tent for an amazing fourth time. Cloud turned red in the face and sternly ordered Yuffie, "Go help the girls with dinner so I can make sure we have somewhere to sleep tonight!" as he chased her away.

"Sorry!" Yuffie yelled back apologetically at the enraged blonde man. 'I knew I should have paid more attention to rope classes!' Yuffie pouted to herself.

"Don't worry, he didn't mean it like that. He just likes to do things his own way." Aerith tried to comfort the young shinobi. "You can help me to get the soup ready, ok?"

"Sure, alright." Yuffie sighed. Her plan wasn't working so well. She wanted to endear herself to these people, but had only caused problems. 'I'm never going to get a chance at their materia.' She sighed as she picked up a spice bottle and began to pour it in the soup. She continued to berate herself, still pouring the black pepper into the soup.

"NO, not that much Yuffie!" Tifa exclaimed, knocking the pepper out of Yuffie's hand.

"Huh?" Yuffie started from her thoughts.

"You're putting in way too much! What were you doing! Daydreaming! You have to pay attention if you're going to cook!" scolded Tifa as she desperately tried to spoon away the lump of pepper from the soup. "Why don't ya just sit by the fire with Barret and Red." Tifa ordered.

Yuffie frowned and slunk to the fire, sitting across from the two. As she stared into the fire a sigh escaped from her lips.

"What's wrong?" Red XIII asked.

"Nothing really. I try to help, but I just keep messing up. Cloud and Tifa hate me now and none of you trust me." Yuffie almost cried. 'That should get him and Barret to feel sorry for me.'

"Well no #$! Ya just attacked us dis morning! Ya little brat!" Barret responded harshly. "Don't know why we let ya come anyway!" Yuffie's lower lip quivered, while tears began to well up in her eyes.

"What he means to say is that trust is earned, not given. Prove yourself to us through time and we may yet trust you. We would not have let you come if we did not sense a good soul." Red XIII explained with a grumpy look at Barret.

"You mean that?" Yuffie asked with surprise. Red XIII simply nodded and returned his gaze to the flames.

"I didn't…" Barret began to mumbled, but decided against it with a evil look from Red XIII.

'He actually means that!' Yuffie gasped to herself. 'Now I'm really gonna have a hard time taking their materia. Why did he have to say that! If they all were like Barret then it would be so easy!' Yuffie thought but only replied, "Thanks."

"Dinners ready! Although the soup is a bit spicy." Tifa announced with a sidelong glance at the tiny ninja. The group slowly ate the soup, all the while Barret, Tifa, and Cloud directing evil glances at Yuffie. Aerith just laughed and choked down the soup. Red XIII took a taste then (accidentally) spilled the soup, everyone just ignored it and soon followed suit.

After several moments of silence, Aerith broke the silence, "So, Yuffie, why were you in the forest anyway?" She asked quickly hoping to catch the shinobi off guard.

"I was just wandering around really." Yuffie answered in all honesty. She really didn't have a plan or any destination. She laughed inwardly. These people were quite the troop themselves. Tifa looked at Cloud with yearning, but he was completely enthralled by Aerith. A huge man with a gun-arm and fire beast rounding out the group, very strange indeed.

"So you don't have anywhere to go? Why don't you continue with us, even after Junon, until you do find something?" Aerith pressed intently.

"Well, I don't know. I just ran into you guys and all." Yuffie straining to control her excitement, 'This is perfect, now I'll have more time!' Yuffie grinned to herself.

"WHAT! NO WAY!" Everyone else yelled as his or her jaws dropped.

"Come on, she hasn't tried anything else. She doesn't have any real plans. What if she got hurt after she left, I couldn't live with that." Aerith pleaded with the others.

"But she doesn't even know what were involved in!" Cloud countered.

"Fine, I'll explain it to her then she can decide!" Aerith responded angrily. She moved next to Yuffie and related the entire story from Midgar on. "And then we found you." Aerith finished.

"Wow!" Yuffie choked out, "You guys did all that and are chasing this Sephiroth guy, jeez!" 'What have I gotten myself into?' She asked herself, feeling slightly sick. "I think I'll need to sleep on it, I'll let ya know in the morning." Yuffie said as she crawled into her tent. 'Oh man, these guys are like trouble magnets. Maybe I should leave, but…' Yuffie struggled with herself, 'They do seem to have really good materia? Jeez, I wish materia wasn't so pretty and expensive!' She continued to struggle with herself until sleep pulled her into its enveloping grasp.

"Did you see the look on her face! She'll definitely leave us in Junon!" Cloud said satisfactorily.

"Maybe." Aerith said quietly as the others talked about Yuffie's reaction. 'I hope not. The Planet has something in store for her. I wish it would tell me what.' She thought to herself.

As the night wore on the members of AVALANCHE began to turn in for the night. "Alright, so whose turn is it to take the first guard shift?" Cloud asked everyone.

"It is your turn Cloud." Red XIII answered.

"What! No way, ho-, how do you know?" Cloud stuttered.

"I am keeping track very carefully." Red XIII answered calmly.

"HAHAHA spiky-&$$! That just leaves the second watch. Well Red, who's got second?" Barret laughed.

"You do." Red XIII and entered his tent.

"NO #$! WAY! That #$& red-beast. Its not my $# $$ turn!" Barret ranted.

"Come on Barret go to bed, you'll need your rest." Aerith stated, trying to diffuse the violent Barret.

"FINE! I'll go to bed! But you better not #$#$& wake me up til your shift is completely over, you spikey-&$$# punk!" Barret fumed as he struggled into his tent.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith couldn't hold the laughes back any longer; they continued to laugh as they said their goodnights. "Alright, time for guard duty. I should make some coffee to help keep me awake." Cloud said quietly, still chuckling to himself about Barret. The coffee finally became hot and Cloud poured himself a mug.

"I hate guard duty. Nothing to do but talk to yourself." Cloud sighed to himself. He sipped the coffee. "Gaa, that's nasty! Guess I'm used to Tifa's." He shifted his gaze to the moon, watching as it gradually flowed across the sky. "Why was Aerith so intent on getting Yuffie to join them? Aerith speaks to the Planet, does the planet want Yuffie to join us?" he muttered to himself. After awhile he shivered, finally noticing the fire had died down to glowing embers. "Better get some firewood. Too cold not to have a nice fire." He said as he rose to find the firewood. A small cry came from the darkness.

'What's that?' Cloud thought as he fingered the hilt of his buster sword, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. It sounded again, nothing more than a whisper, and it came from Yuffie's tent. "Huh?" he whispered.

Yuffie tossed and turned. Her sweet dreams had been violently invaded by nightmares. She cried out in her sleep as beasts broke the last remnants of her dreams. The nightmares enveloped the world in shadow. The beast wouldn't emerge from the shadows, but were slowly extending the shadows forward. She caught a glimpse of one of the creatures, and screamed. She turned to run, directly into a wall. She fell with a thump. Yuffie curled up into a fetal position, screaming for the creatures to leave her. She had never felt so alone, or so afraid. The shadows closed in, she could feel their evil next to her, and then as the shadows closed in, she felt sudden warmth.

The warmth pushed the shadows back. She looked up to see a long, crimson cape. She continued to follow the cape up. Locks of ebony hair intermingled within the ripples of the cape. As she let her vision rise further, she saw a crimson headband within the shining hair. The man began to turn, his hair clinging to his cape; a slightly pointed ear emerged from the flowing mane. She could almost see his face, just a second more and her hero would be revealed.

"YUFFIE! Yuffie wake up, you're dreaming!" Cloud yelled as he shock her. Yuffie swung her fists wildly; she nailed Cloud in the face, followed by planting both her feet in his chest, sending him and the tent flying.

"What's going on?" A worried Tifa asked as the rest of the group emerged from their tents, only to be confused by a wild-eyed Yuffie and an interesting package of Cloud and tent hanging in a tree. "What were you up to Cloud?" Tifa said as she eyed the struggling Cloud.

"I didn't do ANYTHING! I swear!" Cloud responded desperately struggling to get out of the tent. "I didn't do- UMPH!" he was suddenly cut short when the branch suspending him snapped roughly dropping him on his head.

"CLOUD!" Tifa and Aerith cried as they ran to the lump he had become. Barret just fell over laughing, unable to control himself and longer after seeing Cloud evidently getting clocked by Yuffie. He was beginning to like her.

Red XIII had run over to Yuffie, "Are you ok? You look distressed." Red XIII asked the sweat-covered ninja.

"Wha? Yea. I'm ok." She replied if a distanced voice. Not yet back in the same plane of reality. 'What was that? I've never had a dream that real before. Those creatures almost had me, but that man stood between us. Who was he? Is he real or am I just going insane.' Yuffie struggled with the dream.

"hit Cloud?" Red XIII asked.

"Huh?" Yuffie said snapping out of her thoughts.

"What happened? Why did you hit Cloud?" Red XIII repeated.

"I hit Cloud? When? Where is he?" Yuffie asked in surprise.

"Yes, just a moment ago, and you see that lump being untangle by Tifa and Aerith? That's him." Red XIII said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh man, is he ok? I didn't hurt him to bad did I?" Yuffie said with a worried look. She didn't wait for the answer as she rose and ran to Cloud. "I'm sorry Cloud! I didn't mean to! I was… I just…" Yuffie shuttered remembering the dream. "You just really scared me. You're not hurt are you?"

"No I don't think so, just my pride at having my trashed kicked by a little girl and a tent." Cloud said as he winced at the pain in his chest and the throbbing eye. He at last untangled himself from the tent with the girl's help.

"At least she only hit you high up!" Barret teased in-between fits of laughter.

"Come on Cloud you need rest." Aerith said with a concerned tone mirrored in her eyes.

"But he's on $ guard duty!" Barret stopped laughing.

"You thought is was so funny, so you can just take over for the rest of the night. Yuffie just move your things into Barrets tent, he won't be needing it tonight." Tifa ordered with all the confidence of a general, helping Aerith get Cloud into his tent. Neither Yuffie nor Barret were going to disobey Tifa's tone. Yuffie gathered her things and moved into Barret's oversized tent, while Barret sat by the fire.

Yuffie lay down. 'I hope I can see him again, hopefully I'll get to see his face.' She thought excitedly. 'I hope Cloud is ok. He had a pretty good shiner forming.' She inadvertently chuckled at the misfortune of Cloud. With hopes of seeing the crimson hero in her heart she finally let herself fall into the comforting arms of sleep.

"#$ #$ #$ #$#$, shoulda just stayed in the &$& tent." Barret muttered to himself as he sat by the dying fire. Noticing the coffee pot, he poured himself a mug and took a swig. He spewed it out immediately, "That $ stuff tastes like #$#$!"