Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know...
--The Clash
I told you so. A phrase used ubiquitously, mostly by siblings, to declare with utmost triumph that you were right. It is a way of dangling your victory in the face of your opponent. I told you so, proclaims to they who doubted that you were right and they were very, very wrong and if they had listened to you in the first place, they wouldn't be in whatever pickle they were in now. If the planet had a concept of petty victory then surely it would tell her so now. In all fairness, it had warned her to leave; telling her that the man she had nursed to health was dangerous. Foolishly, she ignored the planet and now that foolishness had awoke and bitten her in the ass. Aeris knew that the ripple of concern the planet sent her was just that, simple concern for its last steward. It was worried for her and she appreciated it. She really did but underneath it all she felt the very human concept that somehow the planet had faced her.
Shaking the fog from her mind, she almost laughed out loud at the thought. With an interior chuckle, she thought silently, "You got served, Aeris."
With painful effort, she brought herself up off the ground from which she'd been thrown to. For someone as ill as he was, he was still incredibly strong. The world had gone eerily silent and she knew he was awaiting some kind of answer to his question. What have you done to me? It was ridiculous. She'd done nothing but she hardly thought such a simple response would satisfy him. Those neon green eyes, full of fire and rage, demanded something more solid and tangible than anything she could give him.
Whatever power had overtaken them was beyond her and just as strange. It felt as if it came from the planet and yet not. Once again, there was the problem of what to tell him, how much. Should she just blurt out that she was the last cetra, that she could hear the planet and despite this, she had no idea what had just happened, moreover, that the very power that overwhelmed them moments ago seemed as if it came from the very planet she claimed to hear. Yet still, she knew nothing of what it was or where it really came from. It wasn't just ridiculous, it was insane. Even she wasn't willing to believe such nonsense and she was more than used to accepting the unexplainable. Aeris had tried several times in the last few moments to connect with the planet and for reasons known only to itself; the planet had not answered her. So she was left to examine the morning's events, hoping that somehow she'd be able to pull some reason the strange feeling of connectivity she had felt with him.
She awoke early that morning. Her internal clock was faultless and perfect; she was a creature of nature and like them woke with the first graceful fingers of sunlight. As the sun crested the horizon at around five thirty that morning, her eyes opened with wonder and a grateful smile graced her features. Every morning for her was a supreme gift and something to be savored. She had always felt that the world was at its best in the morning. There was something glorious about waking to see the sunrise, the world around still sleeping in silent repose. All that noise and bustle, quieted beneath the muted pastel gaze of golden sunshine.
The odd lavender quality of the light lending an almost ethereal look to the world, reminding her of a painting she'd once seen in an old art history book. It was of a placid little lake, the colors were pale yet oddly vibrant in their own way. Large and small dollops of paint converged to create a hazy impression of water lilies resting on the surface of that lake. Their light green leaves floating placidly on the powder blue surface, bright white and pink smudges of paint that represented the lilies themselves. The painting had a sense of overwhelming tranquility. As if all was right and perfect within this world, so still that such peace could exist without threat. This was the way she'd always viewed mornings, as if the world was just too quiet to be disturbed by the more ugly aspects of life.
She had taken to sleeping outside ever since Barrett had left. There was something terribly inappropriate about sleeping in the same tent with a man she barely knew and Aeris was a very proper girl. Besides the fact that the last two nights had been relatively warm and she'd seen no sign of dangerous wildlife. There was also a luxury in falling asleep underneath the moonlit sky. She'd been denied the stars for most of her life and felt that this small indulgence couldn't be faulted. It was comforting to look up from her makeshift bed as sleep slowly took her to see the lights of her ancestors winking at her from above. Barring all the strangeness with Sephiroth and why she was here in the first place, she had to say she'd never been more content in her life. There was a sense of freedom, though overshadowed by the pull of fate, she still felt unfettered none-the-less and this feeling was more wonderful than anything she could imagine.
Waking that morning, she had unwillingly squirmed from her sleeping bag and faced the cool morning air. Stretching and yawning deeply, she went about starting her day. First and foremost, was a bath. There was a nearby stream, which she found easily, in part due to the driver's directions that he'd given her before he left. It had been awhile since she'd last bathed and she was aching to be clean again. The dirt from the road left a slick of grime over her skin and her hair was the kind that didn't tolerate being left unwashed for days.
It had been two days since Barrett and the driver had left. The young man in her care had not awakened, and she was quite confident that no one would stumble upon her. So she stripped down to bare skin, leaving her clothes piled neatly not far from the shore and waded into the little stream, taking with her some of her homemade bathing supplies. Dunking her head underneath the clear water, she let the current take her hair a moment before breaching the water's surface with a sputtering cough. She wiped the water from her eyes and began her normal bathing routines.
There was contentment and joy in the simple act of cleaning herself, raking her fingers over her scalp to dislodge collected dirt and oil. The same treatment was given to her skin. She had no washcloth, having only two small hand towels. One for her and one for her patient, so instead she used her fingernails to scrub away the dirt, careful not to rub too hard lest she scratch herself. Every inch of her body she cleaned meticulously and though to some this would seem dull in its normalcy, there was an unconscious ritual to the act. It was more than just earthly dust and dirt she cleansed herself of. As she worked, she let herself fall into a mildly meditative state. With little effort she let go of her conscious thoughts, washing her mind of human concerns as she connected with the planet for the first time in days. Lulled by methodic routine her mind pushed back and met with the warming pulse of the planet. Her whole body relaxed as she listened to its melodic hum, a hum that became a joyous chorus of song. The planet reaching out with its many voices to greet its last heir.
To anyone who might have observed her at this moment, she would have looked for the entire world that she'd merely fallen asleep kneeling in the middle of an open stream. The sight was certainly odd and in the very back of her mind she was glad there was no one to see it. Her outward stillness hid the hub of activity of her mind. She was almost completely unaware of the world that turned around her, so completely wrapped within the planet's soft rhythm. It wound a harmonic melody 'round her, reflecting its feelings and thoughts through her, straight into her. The pulse of its heart told her of its fear for her. How it worried because she hadn't connected in such a long time and because it could feel the life force of the crisis spawn near her. It was relieved to find her alright but still concerned she hadn't fled from Jenova's puppet. The planet felt the taint of the crisis all over her; even now that she'd wash most of its blood from her skin.
They spoke of many things but both felt unwilling to breach this particular subject. For the planet knew through the openness of her thought that she felt as if she had to stay. Which was utter nonsense. She owed the demon nothing. All cetra had a natural need... no, an instinct to heal any creature in pain. It was something they couldn't ignore. No matter how fierce the creature, no matter if the healing caused their death. It was as much a part of them as the beating of their own heart and just as necessary.
However, this instinct did not extend to the spawn of their great enemy. The crisis was an abomination the cetra had rejected years ago for her crimes against all creation. It had come back and wreaked its revenge, driving the first people insane. Killing off the only beings in the universe that were so uniquely tied to creation and to the planet itself. Ever since the day of fire and madness the ever-dwindling descendants of the cetra feared and loathed the crisis and all it touched. The very presence of that monster in the tent should have overridden any need to heal him. Yet the girl had touched his blood without fear, looked on him without feeling the need to run. There was trepidation to be sure, but the planet was increasingly perplexed by her lack of terror. There were urgent questions that came from both of them but neither voiced. And the planet feared that history might repeat itself.
So they stuck to safer topics, albeit just as grim. Mostly, the planet told her of her final duty. Giving her instructions to the great city and what she was to do once she got there. It was a somber subject but there was so much she needed to know and little time. When she was in Midgar it was hard to connect with her properly and so she'd gone many years with only a vague idea of who she was and what she served. The last steward was terribly ignorant of her people's powers and traditions, but the planet would guide her as well as it could.
There was also quiet conversation about her surroundings. How much she enjoyed the sunsets here, the stars, the rippling tide of the long grass, the birds, all of nature's bounty that was new to her. The planet was glad that she'd finally left that dreadful city to experience the true glory of that which she served. As a cetra the wild places of the earth were her birthright, she belonged in the forest, the plains, the mountains. Not in the stilted fortresses of a city. Its buildings nothing more than over civilized bars on a giant birdcage. It was a fine place for humans, for they built cities for themselves but it was no place for a cetra. They should be free to travel to world as they pleased.
Aeris was innocently curious about everything and the planet delighted in answering her. She was its favorite child for this reason. Asking the planet the names of various plants she'd taken note of or animals she'd never seen. A question arose in the last steward's mind of where the best healing herbs might grow, because she was nearly out and her charge would need fresh ones if he were to recover further. The planet seemed reluctant to answer but after a bit of thought, it brought to her mind images of a nearby sacred place where herbs of good quality grew. The spot was a good forty-five minutes away but she was used to walking wherever she went. Living in Midgar without a car or bike meant that you took the subway and it rarely stopped right where you wanted it to. Quite often she'd found herself walking several city blocks because the subway didn't stop near her destination. Besides, a walk would do her good and she was excited by the visions the planet sent her.
It showed her the overgrown ruins of a temple, much like her own church at home. Broken statues littered the grounds and beneath them grew a great many plants she could use. Her little church had been the only sacred ground she'd even known. It pleased her to find another such spot, her joy growing as she realized that due to its distance from Midgar's taint the temple remained pure and unspoiled. Unlike her church, though it was holy ground, it was still marred by Midgar's unending darkness and she had tried hard to hold its fading light in. It had worked for a time but she was always bitterly disappointed with the growth rate of her plants. In this sagging temple she was delighted to find that she'd not only be able to stock up, but perhaps whatever she found here would be better than what she'd brought from home. This combined with the reminder of a place that had once been her only comfort made the trepidation of the last few days fall away. It did sadden her that humans so easily forgot such places and abandoned them to time and the elements. But humans were never creatures with terribly long attention spans.
She smiled a little sorrowfully. Once she was gone, no one would remember such places. The planet nudged her mind to comfort it. Sending her pleasant waves of warmth and affection to sooth its last true child. It worked, her worries of the future were replaced by the wonder of what she might find there. This new sacred place might hold other mysteries besides just stronger healing herbs. Without real reason, her thoughts became anxious again, straying back to the platinum haired youth. She really ought to get back soon. Finding the right plants was tedious work and she was currently wasting a whole lot of time. The planet seemed distressed at her sudden urge to return to the stranger, asking her to stay longer but she knew she should be leaving. Though before she left she wanted to confirm with the planet that which she suspected already.
"Déesse?"
"Yes?"
"The young man I'm taking care of....I have a question."
She could almost hear the exasperated sigh, if the planet could be said to do such things, "Yes, we know. Ask what you will, last steward."
"Well, I...think...I'm...um..." she paused, becoming nervous now. Gathering her courage, she asked the planet in one long and hurried breath, "I'd like to know who he is. I know it's in your power to find out and it'd be so much easier when he wakes if I know. See, something about him makes me nervous and I'm not sure if it's because he's Shinra's great general or something else."
"He is the general of all Shinra. L'ange du mort, Sephiroth." the planet paused in its song. The last steward seemed unhappy with the realization, as she should be. She was worried and fearful but not for the reasons she should be. "You fear him with the rationale of a mortal. His being Shinra, your recapture mean nothing. You should fear him for reasons beyond earthly concerns."
"Déesee, I don't understand."
"He carries in him the legacy of the calamity, his blood is tainted by her. He is her puppet and she will use or destroy you through him. It is best if you leave now."
Aeris was at a loss for words. She'd heard the planet talk about the crisis from the sky before but it had seemed like some kind of distant myth. A barrage of questions hit her mind and she wondered how she'd be able to express them in a short time. Seeing no logical way to do this, she resigned herself to sit and wait for the answer.
"Please, explain."
"You must confront the crisis. Seal her and heal our wound."
"Yes, I know all this. How does Sephiroth fit into it?"
"As we have said. He is infected by her, like some of your unfortunate ancestors were. Already she pulls him, drawing her strings tight. You know what your duty is. The crisis knows as well. Do you really think she will just let you go to the white city and bring about her doom without a fight?"
Aeris thought long and hard for a moment. What the planet said was true. She could not deny it because the planet could not lie to her. Yet, there was something off about all of this. When she'd first left Midgar the planet had indicated that things were happening too soon. That the lines of fate had tripped before it was truly time for her duty to be performed. If so, this meant that whatever plan Jenova had in store had also been set forth too soon and maybe, just maybe, she hadn't even begun her preparations. If true, this would mean that Sephiroth wasn't yet ensnared and there was a chance to pull him from her grasp. Moreover, Aeris couldn't believe he was a threat to her. True, she feared him but the look in his eyes when she first saw him were of exhausted relief. If she'd come to the camp of a known enemy only to fall unconscious, she'd hardly feel relieved. Beyond the natural terror of Jenova's taint, she'd felt no malice, no evil, emanating from him. Fatigue, pain, sorrow, loneliness, yes...she'd felt all those things but no malice. At least, none directed at her.
"We sense your thoughts, daughter. But it matters little."
"I'm sorry, Déesee. But I am inclined to disagree with you." Aeris replied, feeling a strong conviction that she was right about this. "My duty goes beyond just defeating the crisis and healing you. If by my actions, I can prevent an innocent from falling into darkness, I will."
"This one is anything but innocent. He is a killer."
"We are all killers, in our own way. Even you, Déesee. Innocence does not necessarily imply purity."
"Innocence by its very nature requires purity."
"Nonsense, Déesee. I've never known you to think so linearly. He does not know what he is, what she wants with him. He lives in ignorance and that is enough to label him innocent." Her answer came smoothly and she was unconcerned that this knowledge came from nowhere.
"So you will attempt to save the irredeemable?"
"I will." she replied, her voice filled with iron determination. The tone so sure in its firmness that it startled the planet, a thing no living creature had ever done in its vast memory.
"So be it child. But I warn you, this is madness and will only end in more suffering."
She could feel the planet's presence seep from her mind and recede back into the depths of its heart. There was a lingering sense of disappointment that pervaded its feelings as it left, followed by a reaffirmation of its love and worry for her. The connection was severed and Aeris let out a minute gasp, lurching forward as her mind adjusted to the real world again. These transitions from the planet's reality to her own had always been hard. She had always found it difficult to describe the experience. It was like being drawn into a vast and unfathomable darkness but rather than fearing it, she welcomed it. It was the natural dark of night or the womb. Comforting and warm, it enveloped her being, making her feeling more complete than she'd ever felt on the planet itself. There was no pain nor was there sadness, only love and comfort given from the mother of all beings, from creation itself. This place it took her to she believed to be what heaven must be like.
The only drawback of her trips to the planet's heart was the exhaustion that followed it. Whatever spell they jointly used didn't affect the planet much but Aeris was a being of more limited power. She had to exact terrible effort on her part, taxing both mind and body to send herself into the core of the planet. On the occasions she did this, she was left feeling tired and headachy for the better part of a day. Groggily, Aeris opened her eyes, not really looking forward to all that she had to do feeling as she did but it couldn't be helped. She stretched and quickly dove under the water to refresh herself. Emerging moments later, her hair dripping down the length of her back. Wiping her forehead with an arm, she slicked back stray strands of hair before stopping to rub her temples in an attempt to fight off the burgeoning headache. With a final stretch and one wide yawn, she waded back to the shore. Her feet slapping loudly on rocks that littered the banks of the stream as she stood, shivering in the morning light.
She lamented then that she had no real towel to wrap herself in, looking down at the little scrap of a hand towel. It was barely big enough to wipe off her face properly but she had no room in her pack for a real towel. With a frown, she reached behind her and grabbed the heavy mass of hair and squeezed the water from it, shaking out the ends. Reaching into her small basket, she pulled out the hand towel and examined it fretfully before she began to use it to towel off as much moisture as she could. She made do and the little towel served its purpose as well as it could, which was not really all that well but it was better than nothing.
After all her efforts, her skin was still damp, slick with a thin sheen of water when she slipped into her clothing. It was a trial pulling dry clothes over wet skin. Her undergarments in particular had proved problematic by bunching up as she pulled them on. Though the worst was her dress. Being a button up it hadn't been hard to get on but her damp skin stuck terribly to the cheap cotton fabric. More annoying than the uncomfortable stickiness was the way her hair had wetted the front and back of her dress. This dissatisfied her greatly and she wondered why she bothered to preserve the dryness of her clothes in the first place. There was nothing to do about it. What was done was done. Shrugging, she picked up her remaining belongings and headed in a westerly direction towards the temple the planet had showed her.
Picking her way through the underbrush, she walked a long forgotten path that followed the river. If she could have seen beneath the stagnant layers of leaves and pine needles, she would be able to view the remnants of a road. A road that once lead to a magnificent temple, that people far and wide had visited far in the past. Both the temple and the city had fallen and were left to be overtaken by the wilderness but the wide cut stone of its walkways remained. Forever forgotten by the relentless spinning hands of time. The walk was quiet and pleasant, greatly putting Aeris's heart at ease. The forest surrounding her consisted mainly of tall conifers. White pines by her closest guess. There was also a multitude of ferns, alongside the regular mixture of deciduous trees and underbrush. Aeris breathed in deeply, delighting in the fresh scent of the trees and the tangled streams of light that filtered softly through the forest canopy.
The sun had lifted itself higher into the sky, enough so that the birds hidden in the bowers of the trees began to wake. The occasional cheep she'd heard upon first waking became the normal cacophony of chitters and chirps. Lending a sense of life to the forest and letting Aeris know that the morning dreamtime was over. She guessed by the sun's position that it was around six thirty, meaning she had to increase her pace. It was important to keep her patient's medication schedule prompt, applying it at exactly the same time everyday. He was to receive his first poultice treatment by eight that morning and if she wished to keep on time, a spring in her step was needed. She ignored the sights and sounds of the forest as best she could, promising herself to return later on to explore at a more leisurely pace. Nothing about the rest of the trip to the temple stood out. Other than the occasional fights with clumps of underbrush that constantly blocked her way. Pushing away a particularly nasty tangle of knotted overgrowth, she entered the temple's ground proper with a gasp.
The brush she'd just fought with had once been neatly trimmed bushes that had lined the red wooden arch that served as the sacred gateway to the temple. The arch was long gone, rotted away to dust and becoming mulch for the bushes that had once graced its side. The grounds themselves were a handful of buildings surrounded by long grass that towered over Aeris's head. On the right was a small stone platform that held the temple's large brass bell. The bell itself was gone and undoubtedly it had been either stolen by thieves or melted down and forged into something else. All that remained was the platform and the crumpled roof that once housed it.
To her direct left stood what was once a covered pavilion that was used for ceremonial purposes during festivals. Traditional dances, ritual ceremonies, and the occasional dramatic reenactment of ancient myths had played on the stage there. Aeris could almost see the throngs of people gathering around it excitedly. Buying charms from the nearby vendors that preyed on the pavilion's foot traffic--the large bell ringing the whole time, announcing the start of a ritual. She watched as the vision from the past rose and then fell, the present pushing forward over the waves of ancient memory. The pavilion falling into disrepair before her eyes, watching the wooden roof and stage rot away, leaving the stone pillars that supported them as lonely sentinels to a bygone age. Directly in front of her was a broken set of stone stairs that led to the main temple.
Carefully, she picked her way through the festival grounds, feeling drawn towards the furthest side of the temple grounds. Obliviously passing over an old bonfire pit, wild grass growing over the blackened earth and if one looked carefully, leftover bits of the pyres that burned there could be found as evidence of the life this place bustled with. Slowly she made her way, past the buildings the temple priests once lived in--now nothing more than soft indentations in the earth. They flanked the stone pathway and like much of what was left here, you would not know it was there unless you really looked. She reached the stairs, which were in a terrible state of disrepair. The stones which had at one time had been set in neat and orderly rows, were in such disarray as to be almost completely useless and non-functional. The large blocks of brick were now arranged haphazardly, bucking and sticking out at odd angles, as if broken apart by the violent quaking of the earth. She navigated the mire of upturned bricks with uncommon grace, hopping from stone to stone with little effort.
At the top, she gasped once more. Already this place had impressed her. For Aeris, being attuned to the planet as she was, the past would occasionally flow upwards. Hinting to her what this place looked like at during its golden age, when it was still a relevant part of the world. A functioning arm of civilization, which by mortal forgetfulness had crumbled to dust but all the same, to her it seemed austere and beautiful in its own strange way. There was an aura of faded glory and pervading peace and she felt completely welcomed by it. She'd been puzzled at first, because often such places wanted to be forgotten and visiting them tended to awaken powers or spirits who were less than happy to be disturbed by the nosey gaze of mortals. However, this place seemed almost overjoyed at her arrival, as if it had been waiting for her. She now saw why.
At the apex of the stairs were the main temple grounds, which looked as if they were completely untouched by time. Far in the distance, she could see the towering peaks of the temple itself but directly in front of it was a tiled plaza and in the middle of that plaza was an enormous tree. It was over seven stories tall, its bark a deep red that contrasted with its dark green leaves. She had remembered her mother talking of trees such as this. Their roots dug deeply into the earth, so far that they connected with the planet itself. It lent them an unnaturally long life and it was said that the planet blessed them with power of their own. Her people had called such trees Sequoia; a name, which loosely translated meant trees that speak with the wisdom of the planet.
A large red length of rope had been tied around the wide trunk of the tree. Small bits of folded paper had been tied to the rope and they flickered slightly in the summer breeze. She'd seen such ropes before; they were a common way of marking a particular natural wonder as a vessel for the gods. Those ropes indicated that this tree was sacred. Most of the time, such trees were merely those that were long lived or the blood of some long dead hero had been split underneath them. Hardly an indicator that there was anything really holy about them, they were marked more out of a respect for the unique qualities they were perceived to possess.
This tree, however, was in actuality sacred, flowing from root to branch with divine power. Without hesitation, she moved towards the tree with a look of awestruck wonder. It towered over her, its height enough to rival the famous Shinra tower itself. Reaching its side, she was a mere speck in comparison with its grandeur. She reached out and set a hand on the smooth red bark, smiling as she felt a tingling warmth spread through her flesh. Aeris closed her eyes contentedly, never in her life had she expected to actually see much less touch a Sequoia. It was a rare honor.
In touching it, she came into direct contact with the ancient power that had once resided in this place. Now it was all but gone, a shadow of memory. The only thing holding time at bay from this part of the temple was the tree itself. She sensed its memories and how it had held on to them for all these years for a specific purpose. It had been waiting for her. She realized then that it had been the Sequoia who'd sent her those visions from the past earlier and not the planet. It had used her connection to the planet to direct her, to show her the importance this place once held. There was something here of relevance to her, something it had wanted her to see. Something she needed to see.
Aeris's eyes flew open, her heart quickening. The tree had wanted to show her that this place was more than just another temple. More than just another piece of holy ground randomly picked by mortal whim. The ground she now stood on was truly blessed by the gods--and powerful gods at that. Somehow they had known she would come here or perhaps they hoped. Perceiving that mortals would forget this place, they charged the tree with holding onto the temple's power until she arrived. Why, Aeris couldn't guess. Perhaps they'd hoped to help her along on her journey, giving her knowledge of her heritage that would be vital to completing her task. The planet had said that there was much she had yet to learn. However, now was not the time for the dissemination of knowledge. She had a patient to look after.
Not wishing to offend the tree, she asked as politely as possible, "I'm sorry I haven't much time now. I promise I'll return with a proper offering...but I humbly ask if I might take some herbs and medicinal plants from your temple?"
The branches above her rustled, sounding very much to her ears as if the tree was laughing at her. It indicated that she should make herself at home here, that this was a place where she belonged and that she was welcome to take what she pleased. Slipping her hand from the bark, she closed her eyes and clapped twice before bowing low in thanks for the Sequoia's generosity. It shook its bowers again, this time seeming as if it was wishing her well. Luck to you in finding what you seek. See you soon. It seemed to say.
Aeris grinned before returning the way she'd came, back to the parts of the temple that had faded with time. Picking through the overgrown grounds, she had quickly found everything she needed. She'd hoped to concoct a more powerful tincture to use on her ward. The poultice was simply not working as fast as it should have been. She'd thought long and hard, wishing she had her books from home with her. If she did, she'd be able to identify exactly what had poisoned him, making treatment much easier. As it was, she had gone with a rather general treatment, a simple poultice to suck the poison from the wound. This morning she had thought to try an experiment. If a malboro had poisoned him, it was no wonder that the treatment she'd prescribed hadn't worked. Malboro poison itself was a neurotoxin with clot inhibiting properties, it also had the nasty habit of absorbing itself so deep into the tissue that removing it with normal methods only spread it further into the system. She would have to fight the poison with another poison to see any real results
Ideally, she'd have used a tincture that included malboro poison, but being that she didn't have access to it she'd have to settle for the next best thing. Jimson Weed, also known as deadly nightshade, fireweed or the devil's trumpet, was a rather well known and easy to find plant, and quite poisonous. The weed had many of the same qualities that made the malboro's poison so deadly, though it did need to be augmented. There were other ingredients that she gathered that would help in removing the poison's hold on his system as well as ease his pain. And pain relief would be necessary, despite the fact that he was unconscious. The cure would be almost worse than the cause. It was really a last ditch effort, the kind of treatment she'd tried to avoid because there was inherent danger in it. Get the mix wrong and you could end up killing the patient but what choice did she have left but a blind gamble? Sighing, Aeris collected all that she had needed and headed back to camp.
She broke away from the wash of remembrance. Nothing in the morning's events had led to this moment. Her encounters with the Sequoia and her conversation with the planet had been strange but at the same time, neither exchange had any connection to whatever had passed between them. The planet sent another wave of concern to her, finally answering her urgent calls. "Déesee, what was that power...those memories?" she whispered to it. The planet this time used no words, indicating to her that a wandering spirit had just used them as vessels for lingering emotions. It was a common occurrence and nothing to worry about, at least in comparison to the green-eyed terror that stood expectantly before her. This answer quieted her own concern somewhat, but there was deep-seated doubt that surfaced within her but she had no time to ponder this feeling. She was wrenched from this thought by the feeling of cold steel against her throat. Her breath left her as she gazed at the long blade of his sword. She followed the edge, carefully lifting her head to gaze into eyes of angry jade fire. Where had the sword come from? She'd remembered quite clearly that he'd dropped it.
"I asked you a question." he said, his tone oh-so-quiet and completely without emotion.
Aeris inhaled deeply in an effort to maintain calm. All that time wasted and still no answer. What could she tell him? Her mind raced, trying desperately to come up with something, anything, to diffuse the situation. Nothing came. Her mind was a total and complete blank; all thought was discarded for fear. She couldn't help it, she began to tremble and the beginnings of tears formed in her eyes. The planet rose up, giving her strength and though she still shook, Aeris felt a bit braver knowing that she wasn't alone. When all else fails, she'd always relied on the simple truth.
Barely able to hold his gaze but unable to look away, she replied with surprising calm, "I've done nothing."
"You lie." was his answer, his voice was quiet and deep and very cold...and with barely a blink of an eye, he rested the blade against her neck, just enough so she could feel how sharp it was, how easily it could split her flesh.
"No, I don't." She said simply, her breaths coming in quick and hard. Her entire body shook and she was afraid, but she would not beg for her life nor would she lie to save it.
He considered this, watching her carefully with narrowed eyes as if measuring her. She held his gaze, her wide emerald eyes trailing his every movement. The planet's words came rushing back to her now. This one is anything but innocent. He is a killer. Yes, she could see it now, maybe she always could and she'd overlooked it in her rush to heal his wounds. The man that stood before her had killed before and without remorse. He was quite capable and more than willing to kill her right now and as his sword left her neck, she wondered why he hesitated.
"Explain."
Aeris was confused by his statement, more confused by his actions, "What would you like me to explain?"
"If it wasn't you that cast that spell...than who was it?" He replied, his impatience was obvious and so was his growing fatigue.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, it was easier to explain nothing than to try and lead him along while she spoke of things he had no conception of.
He paced back and forth, gazing at her with eyes still bright with anger. Her answer had dissatisfied him. She observed that he seemed to be a man who didn't tolerate the more vague and imprecise things in life. Pleading ignorance in the end was better than trying to explain to him the mysteries of the planet, yet she felt guilty for bending the truth. True, she didn't know exactly who had cast that spell, if it was a spell at all but she did have some idea of what happened. In the end, there was no way she could explain things to him without sounding like she was lying or out right crazy, despite the fact that it would be the complete truth. Yes, pleading ignorance was better. Aeris swallowed hard as she watched him as he paused in his stalking to regard her once more with suspicion.
"I think you do. I think you know exactly what happened." the words were so soft but the malice within them was unmistakable, "You have nothing to gain by deceiving me. You did something. Cast some spell. Tell me now...what was it?"
She was startled and it was all she could do to stammer out a response, "I-I haven't done anything."
His lips curled up slightly in a decidedly unfriendly smile, "Really...I beg to differ."
The sword was at her throat again, cutting sharply into the flesh. A thin line of blood trailed from her neck and down her breast. She stiffened, unable to stop herself from gasping sharply. Looking into his eyes she saw that this time there would be no hesitation. He would kill her and he would enjoy it. Her hands balled into fists at her side and she prayed to the planet, begging it to give her strength. She was so tired and she hurt all over, and worst of all, she couldn't think of how she was to get out of this. The planet helped by soothing her, calming her mind enough to clear her thoughts. The lines of exhaustion had spread on his face and she realized it was taking every bit of energy he had to stand there. As strong as he was, he did have limits and they could be tested. Inspiration came and almost instantaneously her fear was banished as she resolved to stall him.
"Don't be ridiculous. You've been unconscious for three days. If I really wanted to do something to you, I've had plenty of opportunity." she replied smoothly, her head tipping up a little with defiance, "You owe me your life, you know."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You were half dead when I found you." she spoke slowly, watching him closely and noting with some satisfaction that he'd wavered on his feet, "You were wounded badly...and poisoned...by a malboro, I think...."
"And...." he began, stopping as a wave of agony hit him before continuing once it'd passed, "How do you come by this knowledge?"
"I'm a healer...poisoning isn't exactly my specialty but I have been trained to identify the most common types. Were you attacked by a malboro?" she asked, almost conversationally as if she didn't have a large and dangerous sword pressed to her neck.
"No." he said flatly, plainly annoyed by her seemingly pointless question.
"That's strange. Because your symptoms very much resemble the effects of its toxin, though I suppose it could be something else. Or perhaps the poison was modified somehow Anyway, it's been hard to get rid of...there were a couple of times when I was close to loosing you. It's mostly been cleaned from your body but there's still a little left. You should still be feeling some side effects. Cramping, blurred vision...and vivid hallucinations..." She paused, her voice trailing off softly as she watched his reaction closely, waiting to see what he'd do at the suggestion.
His tight control wavered as it had before, the reign he held over his body was becoming shakier by the moment. She could see on his face that he was straining to maintain in command of his own body and his attempts to hide his current weakness were nothing more than acts of desperation on his part. Up until that point his stance had be dangerously fluid, likened to a snake that was ready to strike at any moment. As the minutes passed and she rambled on he became weaker. Now, his legs were shaking so badly that they barely held him up. The curious effects of the poison sapping his strength and as he visibly lost control before her eyes, Aeris felt the power shift in her direction.
"So...You think I dreamed what you did to me?" He replied thickly, the lilt of sarcasm in his voice overshadowed by a sluggish, poison-borne drawl.
"No. Hallucinated. And how many times do I have to tell you I didn't DO anything." She said, pointedly correcting his error, "You might want to sit down. The toxin seems to spread with too much excess activity."
He glared at her then, his ire seeming to have cooled though his sword still hovered near her exposed neck as if poised to strike. His gaze was contemplative and Aeris could almost see the gears working in his head. What she'd told him was the truth, though not the truth in its entirety. The toxin was known to cause rather frightening hallucinations and the foolhardy had often sought out malboro tentacles for their psychotropic properties. Of course, whatever had happened had nothing to do with his poisoning and it frightened Aeris that she had to lie about it. Inwardly, she cursed, "Stupid wandering spirits." They'd really put her into a bind. She was walking a moral tightrope right now and her balance was becoming increasingly unsure as he continued to stare at her. His scrutiny was unbearable, his eyes saw too much--piercing her very soul. More than that, she'd never had a man look at her like that, with such intense concentration, as if he was taking in every minute detail. It was disconcerting and aggravating at the same time, she was torn between shouting at him to stop staring at her or...."Or WHAT?" she thought to herself irritably, forcibly reminding herself that he still held a weapon to her neck.
Slowly, he lifted the sword so that it no longer was at her neck and with a quick movement; he sheathed it and tilted his head ever so slightly as he continued to measure her. He opened his mouth as if to say something but instead he lurched suddenly and his face crumpled as waves of pure pain hit him. Tight lines of agony were carved into his visage as a series of cramps engulfed him, setting his nerves on fire in a spiraling wave of agonized torture. Every muscle in his body strained visibly and he shook violently as his body was pushed beyond even his considerable his pain threshold. His face relaxed and he looked up at her tiredly, his cheeks flaring bright red with fever, eyes bloodshot.
The poison was relentless; it surged through his body, tensing the muscles, assaulting his nerve endings. Waves of cramps hit him and his entire body shuddered, unable to fight off the toxins that attacked his tissue. Once again, his sword clattered to the ground and this time his owner was taken with it. His knees buckled but at the last minute he caught himself, hands flying out just in time to prevent him from hitting solid earth. He knelt on the ground, his breath coming in harsh rasps. Another spasm hit, his fingers dug into the dirt beneath him and he seemed to turn inward on himself. His forehead touched the ground as he crumpled into a ball on the bare earth, his obvious agony becoming almost hard to watch.
She turned away and slowly inched backwards from the spectacle in front of her. During the entire time, he'd made no sound other than his labored breathing. Aeris couldn't help but be impressed, if it was her she'd be screaming and praying for her own death. He'd had similar attacks over the last few days and it had puzzled her. Cramping was not one of the symptoms of malboro poisoning. Her curiosity with this inconsistency didn't stop her from wanting a quick exit while he was occupied with his own pain. The planet was urging her to run now, it connection was no longer tentative. It came in blindingly clear, its one message that this was her last chance to save herself. Her heart pounding, she looked back at her patient or as the planet viewed him, her enemy.
Just as suddenly as the attack had started, it stopped. Sound returned to the world and Aeris found herself unconsciously sucking in air hurriedly as she paused to gaze at his prone form. He didn't move and the only thing that told her he was still alive was the slight movement of his chest as he breathed. Everything that had happened hit her all at once. The fear she'd suppressed came back and she let out a small, terrified sob. She continued to back away, scrambling to her feet as hysterical tears flowed down her cheeks. How could things go so wrong so suddenly? Raising a trembling hand to the wound on her neck, she tried her best to reign herself in. Swiftly she turned and recovered her basket, which she'd dropped in all the confusion not far away.
She took one last look at her patient, still lying quietly on the ground before she turned and walked away at a brisk pace. Her ankle had been twisted when he'd thrown her to the ground and though she wished she could run, she was unable to move any faster. As she limped away, she summoned a quick curative spell to heal the cut on her neck and to ease the pain in her ankle to make walking a bit easier. Pulling her hand away, the wound was now closed but still raw. It had been a relatively shallow cut but in the back of her mind she worried that it'd leave a scar. She also found herself worrying about the bloodstains on her dress. Lamenting that she had no time to retrieve her pack and her only other change of clothes. At the pace she was setting, she wouldn't be far enough away if she stopped for anything. Though ill, it was obvious that Sephiroth possessed inhuman strength and she didn't want to be here if and when he awoke. Such thoughts were trivial but she couldn't stop herself, her mind was too overloaded with adrenaline to think clearly. Just as she was about to increase her pace she heard it. A soft moan, so low she could barely hear it.
She closed her eyes tightly and whispered, "I didn't hear that. I didn't hear that. I did NOT hear that. Didn't hear it."
While she whispered this mantra, it came again. A low and pain filled groan, followed by sounds of him trying to get up and failing with a hard thump. By this time, she'd stopped walking entirely, her back turned to him. Her eyes were still closed, squeezed so firmly shut that small tears welled at the edges. Fiercely she denied the urge to turn and look at him, balling her fists at her sides until the knuckles whitened. If she looked, she'd stay and she couldn't stay. He was dangerous. He tried to kill her. She argued with her instinct, she wanted to turn around no matter how much she tried to deny it.
That strange calm came to her at that moment. It was the same eerie calm that had come to her when the wandering spirit had entered her before. Memories came, unbidden and from a source unknown. Images of places she'd never visited, people she'd never seen. He was there, Sephiroth. It was him and not him at the same time. Tristan...the name came again from the depths of her being. She knew him in another life, as another person. It tied her to him and all thought--all feeling pulled her towards him. Was this wandering spirit playing more games with her? Showing her flickers of its past, of things it left undone in an attempt to plead with her to resolve their unfinished business?
No. The answer came quickly and clearly. It had to be more than just an idle spirit, for this feeling welling within her was so much more powerful than a spectral force could invoke. It was a song deep within her that had been longing for release; unconsciously she'd done just that. The song she'd sung prior to meeting him, she'd never heard it before. It was in cetran, a language she didn't speak. Yet the words flowed from her with ease and it had been that which awakened this latent power. A power that though it was connected to the planet, was all her own. Every fiber of her being tingled and she relinquished herself to it, setting the song loose as she had before. This time it didn't leave, as it had before, the power stayed within, guiding her. He was dangerous, yes. But he had hesitated, lowered his sword. Meaning he was still himself and she belonged at his side.
The planet surged forward in its own song, begging her to leave--to ignore the call of her instinct. It hummed resonantly to go forward and not look back, to leave the demon spawn to die. Never had the planet's thoughts been so cruel. It countered that life in this plane of existence was often cruel. Mortal life had never been easy and sometimes it came down to such simple concepts as eat or be eaten. Fight or flight. Life or death. It tried to reason with her, that she was its last shepherd. Her life was more important than his; she was the only one who could heal it. While he only lived to destroy, such was the will of Jenova and he'd been born to serve it. The life of this one meant little in the face of the millions who'd suffer if she failed. She knew there was truth in these words but there was also a callousness she was unwilling to accept.
That he was tainted by the crisis, there was no doubt but she knew he wasn't beyond saving. There was more than just a good chance to tear him from her grasp and she would take it. To deny her enemy its avatar and in turn gain a powerful ally was in her mind a just cause. Aeris had prided herself on being a compassionate soul and to do as the planet bid was against her very nature. This part of her character had gotten her through her bitter years in Midgar, a city that tended to turn people's hearts to stone. This internal war between her own doubts, the planet and her boundless compassion raged, with no real sign of any kind of resolution. If she stayed, her life may be in danger. If she left, she'd have the death of a man, innocent or not, on her hands. Moreover, she felt deep in her heart that somehow they were connected, as inexplicable as it sounded.
Her eyes snapped open and a nowhere wind swirled around her fragile form as she cut off her connection to the planet with a brutal push of her will. What it asked her to do wasn't right. She understood why it had asked her to leave and she did not blame the planet for being so unkind. Jenova was in part responsible for the state it was in now. But Sephiroth was not Jenova, he was human--altered--but still human; he'd never asked to be infected by her. Whether he'd been born that way or if it had been another of ShinRa's careless experiments into things they didn't comprehend, she didn't know nor did she care. Either way, this infection was not his fault. The crisis had already taken too much of the planet her ancestors had worked hard to build. She would NOT let it take anything more. Especially the life of an innocent.
She approached Sephiroth's crumpled body as it lay on the ground, taking each step as if it were her last. Taking a deep breath, she strode towards him, trying her best not to feel the terror that lurked within. She slowed as she reached his side, her steps becoming careful, hesitant. He lay on slumped on his side, one arm lay limply on the ground, and the other was curled underneath him at his side. His face was obscured by the fall of his long, pale hair, which spilled out around him like a river of silver. With careful grace, she knelt next to him and swallowed hard as she reached out. Aeris bit her lip, pushing back stray strands of her own hair. Another long, calming breath and she gently nudged him with one hand. Nothing. There was a moment where she thought to cast some kind of sleep spell on him but she decided it'd be better not to. She'd never liked those kinds of spells anyway, and it seemed especially low to put someone to sleep without their consent.
Pushing back the tangled strands of his hair, she noted with concern and a bit of annoyance that his fever was back. The last two days he'd been free of it but with all the activity, it looked as if the fight to keep him from overheating was joined once more. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she realized she'd have to get him out of the sun. It wasn't doing him any good and being that he'd managed to collapse in the middle of the camp, rather than the tent, she'd have to move him. She scowled and bit back the urge to give him a kick in the pants for all the trouble he'd caused her. Without further ado, she went and grabbed her own sleeping bag and unzipped it, laying it out neatly near him. Breathing in deeply, she knew full well that what she had to do next was not going to be easy.
She grabbed him underneath his arms and with every last bit of energy she had, she pulled him onto her sleeping bag. He was quite heavy, out weighing her by at least sixty-five pounds, if not more. Not to mention the vast difference in height. It didn't help that she still wasn't feeling well due to her earlier mediation with the planet. With much effort, she struggled with his bulk until she'd gotten him onto the sleeping bag. Pushing him onto it so that his head and exposed chest were firmly in the middle. Using the bag as a makeshift stretcher, she pulled him over to the tent.
It took longer than she thought it would. She had to stop several times, as the effort was too hard on her. Living her entire life in Midgar, it wasn't like she got a chance to engage in any kind of sustained aerobic activity. She was thin, pale and unused to heavy labor, as any flower girl would be. Ten minutes later and she was no closer to the tent. Grunting and sweating, she pulled him ever closer. Annoyed as hell that he kept falling off the damned sleeping bag, tiredly she stopped for a moment to regain her breath. Inhaling and exhaling heavily, she knuckled her back with one hand.
"Why'd you have to be so heavy?" she asked him breathlessly.
After this brief respite, she picked up the ends of her sleeping bag with a grunt and resumed dragging him. A full fifteen minutes passed and she'd finally made her way, laboriously, to the tent. Every movement she made conveyed how exhausted she was. Long gone was any show of grace, all that was left was clumsy determination. She wrestled her way into the tent, somehow managing to drag him in with her. Grabbing him underneath his arms again, she pulled him into the tent. With one last push she maneuvered him onto his sleeping bag and for an embarrassing moment, her strength had failed her and she'd collapsed on top of him momentarily. Her cheeks blushed bright red and she quickly rolled off of him, laying on the bare tent floor next to him.
She rested there for a few minutes, covering her eyes with one arm. The headache that had threatened to show itself blossomed; she could feel it beating at her temples. Gods, she was tired. She was more than tempted to just lay here and sleep but there was still so much to do. As she got up, she resisted the urge to cry out of sheer frustration. How did she always get herself into these situations? The answer of course was her damned compassionate streak and her hopeless habit of taking in and nursing strays back to health. Once she'd brought home stray cats, now stray generals. The thought made her giggle and was enough to put a dent in her somber mood, but not enough to dissuade her from feeling helpless and alone.
She sighed with resignation and got up, trying not to feel the aches and pains that wracked her body. Trying not to feel how tired she was, how afraid--how completely and utterly confused she was. Instead of thinking on these things, she banished them with the business of making Sephiroth well again. This day, more than any before it, threatened to be the longest day in her life. Stretching her hands above him, she prepared to call upon this new well of power. From the depths of her heart, she summoned a powerful healing spell that she'd used before, but never so powerfully. It'd been tailored to specifically remedy the effects of poisons. She and the planet had worked on it together when she was helping her mother to recover from her illness. Being a cetra had its advantages; there were some spells she didn't have to use materia for. This was one of them.
Materia based spells relied on the natural energy captured within the orb to cast the spell. All it took to release it was a bit of will power and a specific incantation. To cast this spell, however, took more effort. She had to rely on her own power, siphoning the strength in her own body to effectively cast the spell. Usually, she tried not to cast these homemade spells too often. They taxed her terribly and in normal circumstance, she'd have avoided casting it as compromised as she was already. But this new power that surged through her, lent her confidence and renewed strength.
Arms stretched and hands clasped, she gathered her power into her palms. A gust of unseen wind whipped through the tent, swirling around Aeris's stiffly meditating form. Her bangs flickered with it, stray tendrils of auburn hair wavering over her face. Even her large braid was lifted by it, until it undulated in midair. A bright orb of pure white light gathered in her palm the entire time, illuminating the entire tent with pulsing energy. This energy summoned smaller orbs of light that curled up from underneath her. They joined with the wind, swirling and dancing in it until they were no longer just orbs, but luminescent ribbons. Her eyes opened at that moment, their color more vibrant than they'd ever been, eyes, so emerald green and full of life itself, seeming to draw from the earth its very breath. She turned her wrists over, her hands followed the motion and with one graceful gesture she dispersed the ball of light into the air, sending the spell forth with a push of will and directing it as it spun from her to Sephiroth. Trailing ribbons of light enveloped him and with a surge of light, they were absorbed into his body.
Aeris watched tiredly as the spell did what she willed, her arms still stretched over him. She smiled as she felt it working, pushing back the toxin enough to relieve his pain, at least temporarily and bring him back to consciousness. Too tired to fear the possible danger in his waking, she stayed thus as she gauged his recovery. Without warning, a hand snapped up and grabbed her by the wrist, eliciting a startled cry from her. His eyes opened slightly, blinking lazily, his gaze was unfocused as he turned to regard her. Slowly, recognition dawned and he stared at her, eyes still partially closed. He said nothing for quite some time, preferring to merely watch her.
".......why?" he asked, his voice slurred and barely audible.
His face betrayed his bewilderment and Aeris realized he was still somewhat delirious. Opening and closing his eyes languidly, he let go of her wrist and reached out towards her. Touching the wound on her neck gently. The suddenness of it startled her and she jumped back. Many emotions stirred within her, but what she felt most strongly, was confusion. This was not what she had expected. She'd thought he'd awaken much like he had before. Instead, he reached for her again, touching the wound lightly with his fingers. This time, she let him, heart beating furiously as she wondered what in the hell was going on. His eyes opened more fully and she noticed for the first time their color--their eerie glow. They held her, suspended her in the moment and she felt as if she'd never breath again. He mumbled something that sounded like I'm sorry, but it was so garbled she was unable to tell.
She was about to ask him to repeat that last bit when he moaned and turned. His eyes closing like a pair of drawn curtains, shutting himself off to the world and to her as his hand slipped back to his side. Aeris sat there for several stunned minutes before shaking herself of her confusion. His actions, though befuddling and unpredictable, meant little at the moment. She'd let him rest and set about mixing up the Jimson Weed she'd collected earlier.
Déesee--French for Goddess