Stargazers

Chapter Nine

Cloud was peeved. As such, his offensive was on the better side. His aggression, however, didn't have anywhere near what would be considered desired effects on Zacks. Rather, it amused him to no end.

It was harder to do things right when he was frustrated, and it was far easier to get frustrated when Zacks was acting almighty and impervious. Of course, it didn't help that it seemed he was almighty and impervious. "Little faster then that, Spike," he commented, as he easily side-stepped a jab at his shoulder, catching Cloud's leg with his own and sending him to the floor. Cloud scowled as his palms hit the floor, and immediately pushed himself back up, using the momentum of the fall to spring back at Zacks. They had been sparring for over an hour, and though Zacks supposedly believed he was improving with his footing, he really felt as though he was getting nowhere.

"What is wrong with you!" Cloud commented right before his attack was once again stopped, Zacks grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm behind him with ease.

While being carried earlier, Zacks had refused to put him down even as they reached the lobby. The various cat-calls and comments that followed hadn't fazed him in the slightest. But of course, he wasn't the one slung over a shoulder. Cloud's face had glowed an impressive shade of red as he tried to keep his eyes directed at the ground, wondering if perhaps he could will himself to die if he played dead well enough.

"Wrong with me? Funny, I thought I was in the right here, considering I'm kicking your ass…"

"That's not what I meant-!" He snapped back, struggling to get his arm back as Zacks hadn't released him. "Are you totally foreign to the concept of dignity!"

"…Because you're arguing from such a dignified position, at the moment," Zacks snickered. Cloud managed to flip himself around to be facing Zacks at that comment, and Zacks responded by hooking the back of Cloud's ankle with his foot again, successfully knocking them both to the floor, Cloud pinned beneath him. "So you're still pouting because of that little incident…?"

"I am not pouting!" The blonde growled in response.

Zacks grinned, "Y'know, you're cute when you're-"

"Don't even!" Cloud attempted cut him off before he could finish the cliché comment.

"-Pinned to the floor beneath me," he finished, lips curling in a triumphant smirk.

"…" Cloud paused as that registered, his cheeks taking on a familiar shade of red, "Get off, already."

Zacks, however, didn't budge, "What? This position not dignified enough for you?"

"Zacks, get off me!" He responded with just enough anger to try to cover up the panic rising in his voice. Zacks rolled to the side and got to his feet. He offered hand to his companion on the floor, but Cloud ignored it and got to his feet on his own, dusting himself off.

"…You really still don't trust me at all, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Zacks just gave him a look, and Cloud averted his eyes.

"I want to know you, Cloud. It's pretty difficult to get to know someone when they don't trust you at all."

"…It doesn't matter anyway."

"Of course it does-!"

"No, it really doesn't. I'm never even going to see you again after I get home, so what's the point?"

"…You really feel that way?"

Cloud looked at him, and was surprised by the intensity in his eyes. The two silently stared at each other, Cloud left without a reply. Zacks finally broke the tension, shifting his weight and letting out a sigh as he put a hand behind his head. "…Well, I guess that's enough of this for one day."

Cloud let out a breath he hadn't know he'd been holding, and was relieved that they wouldn't be continuing. He was getting rather worn out, and he didn't feel like dealing with Zacks any longer for the evening. In the morning, everything would be normal again.

"You wait here; I'll be right back with the swords."

"Wait, we're not done yet?"

"You kidding? We're just done with hand to hand."

Cloud suppressed a yawn as he waited for Zacks to show up by the lobby's entrance way. It was just early enough that it wasn't too crowded, the day's affairs not yet in full swing. He ached a bit from the previous night; he wasn't sure just what had possessed Zacks to keep going for so long, but the more he thought about it, the more it drove home just how perfected Zacks' strength seemed to be and just how meager his own was. By the time he finally crawled into bed, he'd felt ready to never wake up again. Even though he still felt the exertion from last night's sparring, however, part of him felt ready to take part in the exercises again as soon as possible, sure that he could react quicker, choose better maneuvers, and just perform better another time around.

He was broken out of his thoughts by familiar voice yelling 'Heads Up!', and found himself catching a rolled up bundle of cloth, just barely interpreting what was said in time to react to it.

"S'a cloak; it's been getting a little chilly out with the wind, figured it be a good idea," Zacks grinned.

Cloud examined the dark burgundy material, which was thick without being overly cumbersome, and noted it seemed to be hand-stitched at the seams. "Oh. Thank you…Are we headed out, then?"

Zacks gave a nod, "The sooner the better, eh?" He swung the door open, a hop in his step as he walked out, holding the door for the blonde. Cloud followed, throwing the cloak on over his shoulders, inwardly trying to figure out just what kept the older man going all the time. It seemed unnatural to be so optimistic.

He wished he had had more time there, he decided. Cloud had periodically been glancing over his shoulder as Gavriel got farther away, and this time it was completely out of his sight. For some reason, he felt a bit melancholy when he couldn't see it any longer, and he decided it was because he hadn't had enough time to explore the knowledge and life it held.

When they had initially stepped outside, he was surprised by the number of people outside this early in the morning, but was equally surprised by how peaceful the streets were in comparison to the other times he had seen them. It had been nice to see that even in such a busy place the early hours held a certain amount of peace to them.

For now, his gazed focused on the ground sweeping past underneath the hooves of the dark stallion, and he reminded himself that despite the wonders Gavriel held, it also had its share of danger. If he had been there by himself, he was positive the city would have swallowed him whole. And he was still sure he had picked up his cup of tea, damn it. He wished he was more independent. He had always considered himself independant, but that was far easier when the world as he knew it was just his own village. Gavriel would have been impossible for him to handle without having someone to trust. Well, sort of trust, he thought as he considered the fact that he really hadn't had much choice in the matter.

The cloak wasn't going to much use, as it were; it was a perfectly nice day out, and the breezes were only a bit cool. They were currently walking alongside a creek surrounded by scattered trees, patterns from the sun filtering through their wavering leaves adding to the day's charms. Or at least Zacks thought so; he was fairly sure his shorter companion wasn't noticing a damned thing other then the flame he was trying so hard to cater to; it was fairly amusing to watch the slight twitch in his features every time it went out, and the brief scowls flickering across his lips.

"…You know, it really is easier to get a hold of it by going the other way first- mess with taking away heat before giving it. Maybe you should just move on to water for now, so that you can get a hold of making ice. That way it'll make fire a lot easier when you come back to it, y'know?"

Cloud frowned, still not looking up from the palm where he was trying to work with the teasing flame. "I don't want to skip over it now that I've started, though…it feels too much like quitting."

"…Now you're just being stubborn." Cloud rolled his eyes at that, and went back to concentrating on his flame as the man continued, obviously unaware that Zacks was not to be just brushed aside. "…Honestly, I have a feeling water would be a bit more amiable towards you, and then you could actually enjoy the scenery somewhat…"

Cloud jumped as his arms were unexpectantly grabbed, concentration on his flame lost as he was suddenly turned around to face the creek with his arms held steadfast at his sides. "What the-?"

"Relax for a minute and just look, Spike. See what a nice day it is? Stop worrying so much over that little speck of fire that's being as stubborn as you are. Besides, instead of feeling like you're quitting, be more practical about it; it would be a lot more efficient to move ahead, since fire will be easier to handle after you've gotten down messing with ice."

Cloud let his shoulders drop a bit as Zacks pulled his hands away, and stood there admiring the view in front of him. Zacks was right. It was a beautiful day, and water would be more efficient to move onto. "…Alright, you win."

Zacks just grinned at him, and they continued walking, although this time with Cloud a little more in touch with the here and now. And this went fine and dandy for about twenty minutes later, when Zacks stopped again to lead Velo over to the creek for a drink.

"Holy shit, you did that fast!"

"…Yeah, well…it was easier than fire, and I had been trying so hard to coax fire to work that it didn't seem as hard to get water. It was much easier to wait for it, too. Fire always feels like it needs to be fueled, but water just…lightly flows on its own." Cloud currently had a small swirl of water hovering above his cupped hands, slowly growing. Zacks couldn't help but admire the content look on the boy's features as he studied it.

"…"

"What?"

"…I told you so."

Cloud snorted at the comment, and responded by tossing his cupped palms with the swirling orb of water upwards to splash the offender's face. Which was all very satisfying, until he saw the crazy look coming over Zacks' surprised features. He felt his own face pale a bit, and took off running, ducking directly under Velo in order to gain a head start- he really should have known better then to think that was a good idea. Zacks just let out a whoop and darted after the not-nearly-fast-enough blonde. Cloud tried running around a tree, but wound up running right into Zacks' arms since he had gone the other way. Zacks wasted no time into hefting him up above his shoulders and carrying him towards the creek.

"Fond of water all the sudden, eh? Well, look, we've got this conveniently placed mass amount of it right here…" He said, as he lifted him over the water.

"Don't you dare-!" Cloud moved his arms frantically, trying to find a way to cling to him, "Do you realize how uncomfortable it will be trying to walk that far in wet clothes! Much less sleep in them, they probably won't be dry by the end of the day- for God's sake, put me down!" He hissed, but with a pleading tone.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe if you make me feel better by saying you're sorry…"

"Zacks!"

"Funny, that doesn't sound like an apology," Zacks said as he suddenly released his hold- but grabbed on again a split second afterward, only allowing Cloud to drop enough to scare the daylights out of him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, alright! Just put me down!"

"Hm…" Zacks pretended to debate, tossing Cloud up a little.

"I'msorryImsorryImsorry, okay?"

Zacks grinned, not saying anything for a moment, and then gently set Cloud down at his side. "Alright, I guess that'll do… You can just count yourself lucky on that one."

Cloud attempted to collect his heart rate as he watched the older man saunter off and pat Velo on the side, before mounting him. He shook his head, and after a moment, followed after him so that they could get moving again.

It had begun growing darker, and Zacks had finally decided they had made enough distance for one day. They should, he figured, make it there tomorrow. For some reason, Cloud didn't feel as thrilled inside as he thought he should. Perhaps because if he gave certain boys the chance, he would get the shit beaten out of him. At any rate, that was life, and he was pretty good at giving them the slip, so all that really mattered was making sure Tifa was alright and being with his mother again.

"You alright?" Cloud jumped as a hand was placed on his shoulder. He hadn't realized he'd become lost in thought while gazing at the fire in front of him.

"Yeah…fine…" he stood up, pulling away from Zacks and walking a few steps away from the fire, stretching his arms above his head. When he brought them down again, he glanced at his palms, and raised them a bit to see how quickly he could generate water. With hardly enough time to snap, he'd summoned it to both hands. For some reason, that made him feel better. Two hands were suddenly pressed onto his from underneath, Cloud not having a chance to pull away before a chilling sensation spread through his hands and into the water he had formed, freezing it into one small orb in each hand. Zacks pulled away, having wrapped his arms around Cloud from behind and sent his own energy straight through him. The blonde just stood there, a delayed, violent shiver suddenly running down his spine. He turned around to be greeted by Zacks grinning like a satisfied idiot. "What'd you just…?"

"Froze it. I told you it's easier, even I can do it."

"Through my hands?"

"Feels neat, doesn't it? Wanna try it again?"

"What-? No, I- that's weird. You're weird."

"Well, I try. Seriously though, you liked it, admit it."

"Weirdo."

"Alright, alright…we should probably be getting to sleep soon, anyway… but you wanna try making ice first? It's fun."

"I think I'd rather try to get a stronger handle on water first; it's easy enough to generate, but difficult to control…"

"If you can freeze it a little, that makes it easier. If you decide not to be stubborn, you'll see how."

Cloud shook his head a bit at the teasing, but decided to see if it really would help. He sat himself down again, and summoned water to his hand once more. All he had to do was absorb heat, right? He didn't have to summon anything from inside, he just had to pull from the outside. That would be different… but should be easier, "…Whoa," he stopped for a moment, surprised at the sensation. Apparently, he had begun pulling the heat away from the outermost skin; a strange chilling sensation had taken over his palm and fingertips. He didn't hesitate for long though, and continued attempting to pull the heat away from the water.

"Ah ha! Y'see that? Look at it close…" Zacks was leaning in a bit now, watching the water. Cloud saw it too, the paper-thin layer of ice forming on the outside of it, the water slowing its motion. As soon as that small amount of ice had form, the rest of the water quickly froze down to the center. "Awesome, isn't it? It slows down the water's movement if you can get just that little layer on it. Flows where you want it to more willingly."

Cloud studied the ice for a moment, thinking. "…It's funny, isn't it? The different elements aren't just connected scientifically, they're all connected practically, too."

Zacks just smiled at him, until he noticed the boy beginning to frown, "What now?"

"I can't get the damned thing to melt again…"

Zacks laughed, "Of course not, you can hardly make a bit of fire by itself, you think you can do it when you're holding a chunk of ice? C'mon now. S'about time we got ourselves some shuteye, anyway."

"Pah." Cloud chucked the piece of ice he had formed into the fire. He'd get it eventually.

Morning came quicker than Cloud had expected, especially since he didn't remember falling asleep once. He hadn't felt unusually tired, though. In fact, he almost felt more awake than usual. At any rate, it had given him a lot of time to think. He was pretty sure that he wanted to experience something as new as Gavriel again in his lifetime. He was also pretty sure that he currently lacked the ability to do so without someone to depend on. This was extraordinarily frustrating. Was he really that pathetic? It certainly seemed so.

They had gotten moving again, Zacks certain they'd get to their destination today. It was a fairly quiet morning; Zacks was waiting for Cloud to say what was on his mind. There was apparently something troubling his young traveling companion, considering how pensive he looked without once attempting magic while they walked. He was, therefore, not surprised when it was Cloud who broke the silence. "Zacks…?"

"Yep?"

"…Were you ever intimidated when you went to new cities for the first time by yourself?"

"Thinking you depend on others too much?"

"…" Cloud's silence answered for him.

"Let me tell you, Cloud," Zack reached a hand over to ruffle Cloud's hair, and was quickly batted away, but just reached over again, letting the situation repeat itself while he spoke. "In order to depend on someone, you have to trust them. No matter who you are, you need to rely on someone. If you don't rely on someone else, you need to rely on yourself. But in order to rely on yourself, you need to trust yourself." He pulled his hand away, and stopped walking, causing the boy to stop and look at him, "Y'got me?"

Cloud really had no idea how he was supposed to respond to this, so he just sort of nodded. It made sense enough, but…just because he understood what Zacks was saying didn't mean he knew what to do about it. He was just about to lose himself thinking over this when he heard a whistle that knocked him back into reality. He looked up to see that Zacks had already mounted Velo again, and was holding his hand out to him, waiting. With less hesitation then usual, he took it.

As they traveled, the distant hills became not-so-distant, and even, Cloud realized, familiar. Which was odd, because the more familiar they looked, the less familiar they felt. There was an odd chill to the air, not only because the season didn't call for it, but because it felt unnatural, somehow. It distracted him enough to make him stop fiddling with his new-found ice powers, which was what first made Zacks notice that something wasn't sitting right with the boy. "You feelin' okay? You're acting a bit off," he had asked.

"What? Oh, I'm fine. The weather's just a bit unusual, is all. Shouldn't be chilly." Cloud had responded, rather simply. Which was why he was confused when his response seemed to irk Zacks. He had no way of knowing it reminded Zacks of a similar situation eight years ago.

Once they entered a wooded area, Cloud became more alert. He was familiar with the woods surrounding his village for quite some distance, and with due time he might be able to pick up on familiar surroundings.

Although he had no idea what was going on, Cloud's heart had begun beating faster.

Once they had ventured far enough through the woods for Cloud to identify where they were, only Zacks was aware of how potentially bad a warning sign the light frost was, visibly thickening the farther into the woods their eyes carried them. Zacks had stopped Velo and dismounted, features unusually grim. Still perched atop the black horse, Cloud looked to Zacks for some sort of explanation, uncomforted by the sight of the man's hand at his sword's hilt. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Part of Zacks' mind was trying to tell him that everything might be fine, while the other part was telling him to stop kidding himself. "…Cloud, why don't you wait here," Zacks suggested in a forced-light tone, "I'm go- Cloud!" Zacks had hardly gotten a few words in before he caught a glimpse of blonde hair darting through the woods to his right. Apparently deciding he couldn't wait, Cloud had leapt off the horse and ran towards his home. "Shit," Zacks cursed under his breath as he took off after the boy. Under normal circumstances, catching Cloud wouldn't have proved to be as much of an issue. Cloud, however, knew these woods like the back of his hand, and having been chased through them quite a number of times, knew how to maneuver in ways quickly enough to disappear inside them. Zacks, on the other hand, had never been in this section of woods in his life. Once he lost sight of Cloud, he had to find the village through guesswork.

Cloud hadn't known he could move so fast. He'd run through these woods countless times before, but the layers of frost thickening the farther he went filled him with a sense of desperation stronger than he'd ever felt before. He heard Zacks calling to him from somewhere far behind him, but it didn't really register. The frost had grown into fully formed ice, coating from the forest floor to the tips of the trees' branches. He had nearly slipped several times, but never fully lost his footing, only feeling more adrenaline push through his veins.

When he finally burst out of the woods and into the heart of his village, he was shocked to find himself in a town of ice. The ground, the houses, the bushes… everything. He stared. Then, he ran several steps, stopped and stared again. Was he dreaming…? He turned to look at the nearest house, and ran towards it, wanting to look for any sign of life. He slipped on the sleek ground before he got to it, however, and slid across the ice, straight through the frozen bushes, crashing against the side of the house, making it painfully clear he wasn't dreaming. He winced as he started lifting himself, before noticing there was something else behind the bushes. A large, oddly shaped chunk of ice was next to him, about the same size as himself. Something made his eyes refuse to leave it, needing to consider it a moment longer. He began to realize it was in the shape of a person, crouched down, their arms protectively held over their head. As he continued to stare, picking out more details, he found himself on his hands and knees to look more carefully at the figure's face, although he didn't remember moving. With his growing horror, he identified the familiar features as one of the boys who used to chase him.

Something dropped in the pit of his stomach as his mind processed what this was supposed to mean. He slowly stood up and backed away from the bushes, a lifetime's worth of suggestions passing through his mind in an instant.

Then he looked towards his home, and his heart stopped beating. Mother!

He was at his front door before he realized he had started running.

Zacks knew what he was likely to be greeted with when he found the village, and aside from the crushing effects it was likely to have on Cloud's state of mind, there was a chance that the cause was still nearby. He'd never been so pissed off at plant life before in his life, cursing every branch of bit of undergrowth that managed to get in his way. The only reason he knew he was heading in the right direction was the way the ice was getting thicker and thicker. Finally, the trees began to clear out, and he broke out of the woods to find himself at a village's edge. His eyes darted around for any sign of Cloud, and he walked silently towards the village's center, his guard raised. Even though he had known what to expect, it was still like a slap to the face to see it.

Cloud's mind was in a haze as he stepped into what no longer felt like his home. The floor, the walls, the chairs… all ice. He felt hollow inside. He attempted to call out for his mother, only to find his vocal chords refused to function. Eyes settling on the entrance to the kitchen, he suddenly ran towards it, mind filled with the image of his mother's smiling face. He ridiculously swore to himself that he would never want anything else again in his life so long as she was alright. He darted into the kitchen, and froze.

He had found his mother.

Her frozen features were formed in a shocked expression, looking towards the doorway he had just entered. She had been mid-turn, a bowl in her hands, not even having had the chance to fully turn around to see whoever it was she had last laid eyes on. He suddenly felt as though he was going to be sick.

He took a step back, legs shaking uncontrollably beneath him, and then suddenly felt himself hit with urgency to get away. Simultaneously, his vocal chords must have come back to life, because he distantly heard a voice cry out that sounded unmistakenably like his own. His quaking legs scrambled to back him away from the scene, but they had moved too quickly on the icy floor and slipped out from underneath him. As he fell, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of long, dark hair as a strong arm met his back instead of the unforgiving ice. Cloud, still in shock, and shaking violently, vaguely registered the same arm coiling around him and pulling him close. His eyes didn't leave his mother's face until the one holding him turned him away and lead him out of the room.

When they were nearly at the front door, Cloud realized the hand and dark suit sleeve covering it didn't belong to Zacks at the same time he realized he'd been expecting it to. He had no idea who the stranger was that was holding him, although this idea only partially broke through what was left of the coherent part of his mind. He felt it urgent to do something, but couldn't piece together what, mind reeling from too much to take in at once. He allowed himself to be led out the front door… and they stopped, Zacks standing several meters away, features fierce in a manner unsuited to the jester Cloud had come to know.

The man holding him spoke first, with a smooth tone pleasant on the ears, "Hello, Zacks."

Zacks responded with a curt nod, "Tseng."

Author's Note: Apologies for the length of wait time for this chapter. There will not be nearly as much space between this one and the next. Apologies also for formating changes, such as line breaks; can be rather testy about those. Again, every review has been greatly appreciated; the author could practically kiss every single one of you for your comments.