Stargazers

Chapter Eleven

Cloud's gaze drifted around, Hojo's wagon no longer looking like one the moment he stepped inside. Large, loosely hung fabrics covered the walls and furniture. They were draped across almost everything, including the desk Hojo was currently writing at, various books and baubles spread across it like every other surface in the room. He watched silently as the alchemist finished scrawling his last thought onto the page, quill pecking the paper with extra emphasis as it laid down the last dot.

"So," Hojo began to turn around, asking the question to which he already knew he answer, "…Have you decided to accept my offer?"

"Yes."

"…A wise decision. Please," He laced his fingers together in front of him, "Have a seat."

The man felt, Cloud had to admit, inherently wrong. There was something hidden in his mannerisms, his voice, his stress-worn features…somewhere, there was something that made him feel just a bit sick inside, as though something wasn't right. At the moment, however, he took a seat on a fabric draped stool, finding the queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach almost comforting, if only because it was a distraction from everything else in his head.

"There will be a period of time to start off with where you won't be of much practical use until you learn sufficient control. Once you have enough hold over your powers to assist me in experimentation, you'll need to build decent stamina for drawing on your magic power for extended periods of time. I will then teach you further methods of spell execution such as throwing, the technique I introduced you to in Gavriel. If all goes well, then I can even assist you in giving your casts more power without expending your magic as quickly." He raised a hand to his spectacles, light glinting over the lenses as he moved them further up the bridge of his nose. "This, of course, all depends on how quickly you grow. The less time it takes you to improve, the sooner you and I are benefited."

Hojo watched Cloud silently a moment to see if the boy had any objections. He had none.

"…As you can see, then, it would be best to get started as soon as possible. When will you be ready to begin?"

"…Immediately."

Hojo arched a thin, dark brow, before the edge of his lips curled upward in that small, eerie smile, "Shall we begin right now, then?"

Zacks wandered between the various wagons, working his way towards the main street of the quiet town as the sun's light faded along the edge of the horizon. "That meeting was a headache and a half," he mumbled, dragging a hand down the side of his face. Now, however, he needed to check back with Cloud and arrange moving them both into a wagon to continue traveling with the caravan.

Finding the inn they were currently staying at, he headed up the stairs, and lightly rapped his knuckles on the door to Cloud's room. No answer. He knocked lightly again, before trying the knob, which was left unlocked. "Cloud…?" He received no response from the empty room.

Having affirmed that Cloud wasn't there, he wasn't sure if this should worry him or not- after all, it was a good thing that Cloud hadn't just locked himself in all day. Then again, he really didn't have a clue where Cloud might have gone.

He placed his hands on his hips, pondering a moment before shrugging to himself, closing the door gently behind him as he left. Standing around wasn't going to do him any good, so he'd better start looking.

Cloud stood outside Hojo's wagon, book, tucked under his arm and mind spinning a bit more than it should have been. Hojo's regimen had been harsh- he had a feeling the other man was testing his current limits, not only in ability but also in how far he was willing to press himself before complaining. He had been alternating exercises; forming lightening into as small and tight of an orb he could, much like Zacks would do. Then, he would practice throwing the spell at small bottles, trying to make the energy appear only where he commanded it to, while at the same time sending out enough of it to shatter the glass. This proved extremely difficult, and he could tell after the first several times that it would take an incredible amount of practice on his part to see improvement. This had continued until he was on the verge of collapsing, at which point Hojo had realized he would keep going unless instructed otherwise.

The book tucked under his arm was one of Hojo's personal notebooks- a rather old one, judging by the color of the pages. It was filled with various alchemical terms, ingredients, and measurements which, unless soon memorized, would prove detrimental in the future. At the moment, however, he needed to find a place to sit down until he was feeling fairly normal again. He walked past the other wagons in the caravan, following them back up towards the way he came, and realizing as he walked that casting so much magic had been more than a mental strain. Physically, he was far more fatigued than he should have been.

Cloud closed his eyes a moment he walked, shaking his head lightly, and suddenly felt himself walk straight into someone else, sending him landing backside-first on the less-than soft ground, "Oof-"

"Whoa- hey there, sorry about that, wasn't watching where I was- hey, you alright?"

Cloud had attempted to quickly get to his feet, but his dizziness was overbearing with the quick movement and he stumbled rather awkwardly.

"Sorry- I'm fine," Cloud responded before getting a good look at the person he'd crashed into. The first thing he noticed was the young man's bright, fiery red hair, grown out into a ponytail in the back. The second he noticed was a familiar dark, Victorian style suit- although a little more rumbled than the ones he had seen before, and a noticeable lack of frill at the collar. A Turk…?

Reno squinted his eyes at the blonde, "You don't look so good…" He reached out to offer Cloud a hand at steadying himself, but the boy recoiled.

"No, I'm fine- I just used a bit more magic than I should have, I just need to sit down for a bit…"

Reno's eyebrows went up a notch. Magic? He quirked his head to the side, scrutinizing the unfamiliar young man in front of him. …He doesn't look familiar- Oh! A light-bulb went off inside Reno's head as he put two and two together. "Heey… you must be the guy Zacks picked up, right?" He leaned in closer, as though to get a better look.

"Uh…yeah, I guess," Cloud rubbed one of his temples, taking a step back from the taller youth. He felt a headache unrelated to his magic use coming on.

Reno made a 'hmm' sound as he considered the boy, "Didn't expect him to be so small… Probably fights like shit."

If Cloud had hackles, they would have stuck straight up. "I do not fight like shit, and I am not that small!" The other man managed to hit two sensitive spots within a minute of meeting him.

Reno stuck out his tongue, "Ch', defensive, aren't we?"

Cloud growled, wishing he hadn't worn out his magic abilities- it would have been extremely satisfying to send a little lightening the redhead's way…in fact, may be he could manage it, just one more time…

"My name's Reno. Yours must be…aw, crap, I'm no good at remembering details…"

Cloud decided not to indulge him, and attempted to walk past, shaking his head. Reno, however, would have none of it, and grabbed at the other boy's wrist, "Hey, hey- hold up now, I didn't catch your name-"

"It's Cloud, now go away," he snatched his wrist back harshly as another wave of dizziness hit him, and regretted it immediately, eyes widening as he began falling backwards-

Only to find himself gently caught by the shoulders. He looked up and was surprised, but relieved, to see the familiar face, "Zacks…"

Zacks smiled at him, and then looked at Reno, quirking a brow, "You gotta problem…?"

Reno shrugged, "Just saying 'hi'… he seems a bit out of it, though. You should tell him to learn his limits…" He turned, giving a wave over his shoulder as he walked away.

Zacks frowned, turning his attention to the boy he was holding, "…Cloud? You alright? He wasn't picking a fight, was he?"

"If by 'picking a fight' you mean 'opening his mouth' then yes…" Cloud grumbled as he stood up straight. "…He didn't do anything, just bumped into me at a bad time. I sort of overstrained my magic again."

"If by 'sort of' you mean 'almost passed out', then that seems about right. I didn't think it was going to be a problem after I warned you about it the first time- pressing yourself with how much magic power you use is dangerous. You're smarter than that."

"…" Cloud didn't argue. Under normal circumstances, Zacks would have been right- Cloud knew his limits and not to push them. Explaining he had needed to prove himself to Hojo, however…would be a bad idea.

Zacks sighed. At least the boy's magical curiosity had returned. May be he had been burning off stress casting spells. "C'mon, let's head back."

"Tomorrow?'

"Yep. So, everyone who isn't already situated is moving their things into wagons," Zacks responded before taking another bite out of his roll. Cloud had fully recovered by evening. Zacks had dragged him down for dinner, and was now in the process of explaining that they needed to move into wagons with the rest of the caravan tonight, so they'd be ready to set out in the morning.

"I see. So we won't be spending tonight in the inn."

Zacks nodded, "Yeah, so…" He paused- this was the hard part. Cloud had been distancing himself lately, so while it would be easiest for Cloud to share Zacks' wagon, he didn't know how fond Cloud would be of the idea. "Y'see… usually, most people don't get their own wagon because we're just moving too many for that, and each wagon is pretty sizable… I get my own because I pull rank, so I was thinking it might be easiest if you just sorta… y'know, instead sharing a wagon with people you don't know, it would be better-"

"You're saying I should room in your wagon."

"Well, yeah."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, well- wait…" That was unexpected. Zacks paused as he reassessed the situation. "…No problem."

"So…we don't have much, since we've been traveling."

Zacks grinned, "Yeah, it won't take much to get resituated."

"Are you doing anything the rest of the night?"

Zacks blinked, "Nope, not really. Did you have something in mind?"

Cloud propped one arm on the table, resting his head on his palm, "Well…I was wondering if you felt like doing more sword training tonight."

Zacks looked a bit stupid for a moment, and then broke into one of his Cheshire grins, "What a wonderful suggestion!" He leapt to his feet, "C'mon, let's hurry and get all our junk stashed away!"

Cloud watched the ground as it passed by underneath his feet. He was currently sitting on the edge of the wagon, letting his feet dangle over the edge and watching their shadow pass over the grass beneath them. It was fairly early- Zacks was still asleep, taking advantage of having no responsibilities for the day. Cloud had gotten a relatively decent sleep the night before, which he reasoned was due to wearing himself out first with magic and then training with Zacks until it was fairly late into the night.

He glanced over his shoulder at where the dark-haired man lay, sleeping like a baby, rolled on his side to face the wall. Cloud really had no idea why he always acted so kind. Life was not a story book. Everyone has reasons. Despite this, Cloud had also realized that in order to get anywhere, you had to be resourceful. So it didn't really matter what Zacks wanted from him, so long as, in the meantime, he could use it to his advantage. After all, Reno hadn't been totally wrong with his assumption. …Probably fights like shit…Cloud needed to change that, and the man dozing on the other side of the wagon was one of the best swordsmen to ever live. Besides, it was good to have friends in high places.

He cringed. When had he started thinking of people as resources?

But it was easier that way. At least, it seemed like it would be. Hojo seemed to have an impenetrable shell, his scientific view of the world a blockade against emotional attachment… and damage. Always clear headed, always cool. He couldn't deny how appealing it was- he just needed that way of thinking right now to help hold himself together. Although… There was something else there, something aside from the detachment that made Cloud feel slightly sick inside. Perhaps, however, this was just his imagination. Perhaps it just made him sick to realize how overly-sensitive he was in comparison.

Cloud glanced over towards the small set of drawers where most of his things were stashed away, including the book Hojo had lent him. As much as he wanted to make use of the time he had right now reading it, he felt uncomfortable doing so while Zacks was present, even if sleeping. The older man really should be kept in the dark about any of his dealings with Hojo, considering his previous reactions to anything having to do with the alchemist.

The next few days of travel went over very smoothly. Cloud had been slowly improving his swordsmanship, and was beginning to show a natural take to it now that his arm muscles were used to the motions and the weight of the blade. It was becoming an evening ritual for Zacks to give him a practice sparring session before the two turned in for the night. Cloud had gotten far better at controlling and minimizing his movements, making use of his smaller size when attacking through darting motions in and out of Zacks' range. This had delighted elite swordsman; up until now, he had only been mimicking Zacks' style to the best of his ability. Now, the boy was slowly making adjustments and warping it to fit his own needs. Soon he would have a style that, while still similar, would be his own.

Cloud had been busying himself during the day, whenever Zacks was involved elsewhere, studying books fed to him by Hojo. He usually met with the man in the morning, sometimes sneaking away before Zacks was awake. He had become rather efficient at controlling lightning magic, and was able to throw spells without any extra electricity showing up where it wasn't supposed to. Hojo had made him try the exercise with ice magic, which was astonishingly easier. The alchemist explained lightening was the hardest to control in such a manner, and that ice was a far easier element to use when learning the process. Starting at mastering lightening, however, made an individual learn far more efficient control, the sort Hojo required, much quicker. The only real negative aspect was that the process was far more taxing on the caster in question than if they had learned with an element such as ice first. Cloud's willingness to push himself was a must, and had he been of any lesser ability, it would have been rather dangerous.

Today, however, his time with Hojo had focused more on testing his understanding of various alchemical terms, and then further ingraining them into his brain by recopying some of Hojo's older notebooks, the fragile paper having begun to deteriorate with age. As a result, he had far more magical stamina left over. He was now back in his and Zacks' shared wagon, placing a notebook he had been recopying back amongst his other things- his hand was getting sore from writing too long. He had been sitting on the floor, and now let himself fall backwards, arms behind his head. He lifted his right arm, holding up his hand above his face, flexing his fingers lightly and drawing forth a swirling orb of freezing water in his palm. He still hadn't gotten a proper hand on fire magic, which was frustrating, now more so because if he didn't get it down soon, the time would come when Hojo was going to be rather disappointed in his abilities. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation as the ball of ice began to solidify. It reminded him of when Zacks first showed him how to do it. …He's still a weirdo. He smiled a bit at the thought.

Cracking his eyes open, he looked at the ball of ice nestled in his hand, and all the unpleasant thoughts he associated with the element surfaced. The whole village. How could that possibly been done by a single person? It couldn't have been- there must have been several. But when it came down to it, it didn't really matter. Cloud needed to be better then whoever was responsible. He needed to be good enough to take them down, whether it was one goliath mage or just a band of damned good ones. He narrowed his eyes at the ice ball, features settling into a hard glare. The only difference in the end would be if there was one ice statue or a collection. No! Bad thoughts-

"Hey there."

Cloud looked up, startled, the ice ball disintegrating in a poof of dusty mist with his surprise. He looked back at his hand and blinked before looking back to Zacks, who had apparently just come back, "…Hi."

Zacks quirked a brow, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just messing around with magic again."

"Oh."

"…"

"…Ready to get your ass kicked?"

Cloud glared. Zacks grinned.

Zacks had begun teaching Cloud moves that fit his quick, dodgy style, and could make his small size somewhat of an advantage, such as incorporating rolling into his movement, especially when up close. Currently, an out of breath Cloud had once more been knocked to the ground, and was looking at the other man questioningly.

Zacks seemed to be considering something, "You're getting really good at being a tricky little bastard with all that moving around… but so much movement is taking too much out of your stamina. You can't afford to keep that up for extended periods of time...not now, anyway."

Cloud responded neutrally with a mix between a sigh and a grunt, letting himself fall backwards to relax on the ground.

"…How 'bout we start incorporating magic?"

Cloud lifted his head, arching a brow in surprise, "Into sword fighting?"

"Of course- for any practical use in a fight, you gotta pull all your abilities together, after all. You don't choose one and stick with it, you gotta pull out all the stops until you win. C'mon," he reached out a reluctantly accepted hand, pulling the boy up to his feet. "I figured you wouldn't have worn out your magic yet, since I caught you early, eh?"

"…" Cloud narrowed his eyes at the taller man. He had failed to let go of Cloud's hand after helping him up, even when Cloud lightly tugged on it.

"Well? Ack-!" Zacks jumped back as he promptly received a jolt of electricity throughout his hand.

"Nope," Cloud turned away, flexing his hand, "Doesn't seem to be worn out yet."

"…Very funny, Spike."

"Quit calling me that."

"Spoilsport."

Glare.

Grin.

Cloud sighed, "Alright, so what are we doing?"

"Well," Zacks considered a moment, "I guess it depends on which element we start off on. We should probably choose one of the two your used to using, which would be lightning or ice. So why don't we go ahead and use li-"

"Can we start with ice?"

Zacks raised a brow, "Sure…"

"Unless you think it'd be better to start with lightning..."

"No, not at all. Just a matter of preference, really."

"Oh."

"…Righto. Ice it is, then..."

Zacks was not stupid. He knew, despite that Cloud was acting generally recovered from the loss of his home, that something was very, very off. Now, when he was acting less distant, it seemed more false. It felt as though he was trying to hide himself away, being distant but pretending he wasn't. Or that he was trying to hide something else away, but Zacks had chalked that up to paranoia. Until now.

He rarely saw Cloud fiddling with magic, but he was improving rapidly, and was often worn out from practicing on his own while Zacks was out. He seemed more determined to improve his fighting skills- or at least, more determined to do it quickly. Zacks was glad to be on good terms with the blonde again, even if it was only because he wanted Zacks to teach him- but he was concerned with how the stress Cloud must have been putting on his body by wearing it out both with magical exhaustion and physical exertion. His real concern, however, hadn't peaked until this evening.

When he had helped Cloud up off the ground, he noticed the odd singe marks forming on the boy's palm. He must have been casting lightening magic like crazy to have that effect- casting to dangerous levels. Frequently. Why would Cloud do such a thing? He knew the kid could get passionate about magic, and maybe concentrating on spellwork was something he could dedicate himself to in order to keep his mind busy, but he was smart, too. He knew what was too far, and that going near the line was both risky and painful. Which must mean, Zacks, concluded, that he simply didn't care. Or that he was using the pain itself as a distraction. Which was why he felt a sinking feeling his stomach when he first saw the marks on Cloud's hand. If he really didn't care about the pain… that meant Zacks needed to be watching to make sure the boy didn't hurt himself, and might have to start worrying about his small friend attempting suicide. When Cloud shocked his hand, he turned away, flexing his fingers, responding normally. He thought Zacks wouldn't notice he was trying to hide his cringe.

He had ignored it, at the time, of course. Jumping on him to address the matter would have only made things worse, especially when he didn't know enough to fully assess the situation. And it was a good thing, because what happened next made the situation very different than he had first perceived. When he had suggested they use lightening magic first, Cloud had jumped to protest before the words were even out of his mouth. That was not the reaction of someone who didn't mind the pain. This, in combination with how Cloud seemed to be hiding something as of late must of meant the boy had other reasons for using magic obscenely- reasons he didn't want Zacks to know about. His first thought was that someone else was forcing him to, for some reason or another. His second thought was that the first person Cloud wouldn't want him know he had anything to do with was Hojo, and that this was just the sort of stupid thing Hojo would not only permit, but push someone to do.

Zacks was pretty sure he had it figured out-then again, the middle of the night was the best thinking time to figure out these sorts of thing. He turned over, propping up his head with his arm as he gazed at the back of Cloud's sleeping form at the other side of the wagon.

He was going to kill that alchemist one day.