Author's Note: Thank you all for such an awesome welcome back! I was amazed to see how many hits the last chapter had after such a long break and I can't thank you all enough for being so patient with me during my break.
Marken: Thank you! I'm so glad to be back! I have so many things I can't wait to share with this story and it is quickly ramping up from here. We're even getting to the part that I cut off my beta readers at! They knew the main plot up to a certain point, but, after the end of chapter 55, it will all be new to them too. Hope you enjoy all the upcoming chapters and the fun I have planned for our favorite Cade- excuse me... Lieutenant in training.
Beta Readers: Pixie, Kiza, and Discord.
I do not own FF7 or any of its characters. Talin, Unit 28, and some other side characters are mine.
Enjoy and please R&R.
Chapter 52
"I'm sorry about the sparse accommodations. I'll see if I can find another bed to be brought in for you but, with everyone already asleep, I don't think-" Talin cut in to relieve the Foreman's worries.
"It's ok, I can sleep anywhere there's floor space. Keep the other bed for your workers." He gave Dole a smile before walking to one corner to set down his bags.
"We'll be up early to inspect the damage and then head out to track the creature." Sephiroth followed Talin's movements in his peripheral vision as he spoke and almost frowned when he saw the teen pulling a blanket and pillow to the corner he'd claimed. "Please have anyone with an eyewitness account of the attack available for us to interview before our departure." The tired Foreman nodded and wished them a good night before heading back the way they'd come.
Talin fought his sudden nerves when he heard the other man leave, but couldn't help his flinch when the door clicked shut a moment later. He hadn't given any thought to their sleeping arrangements and could have smacked himself for not guessing that he would have to share a room with his Mentor. The redhead felt the other's eyes on him as he pulled his gear into order along the wall and tried his best to ignore the prickling at the back of his neck.
Standing from that task, Talin reached up to start unstrapping his blade harness and froze when he heard the soft thud of boots coming toward him. Mentally, he reached for and found the link between himself and the General and gripped it tightly for reassurance. The glowing strand was alive with energy and Talin had to search beyond the brutal power contained within to find the emotions of the man to which it was tied.
Sephiroth had just raised his hands to assist in removing the harness when he felt the tug at the link. It wasn't a threat, but it did tell the 1st that he'd need to tread carefully with his new Lieutenant. Alert for any change, Seph placed a hand on the sheath of one blade and waited. He could hear Talin's heart thumping hard in his chest but, other than a small flinch, the teen didn't pull away.
Keeping his movements slow, the silver SOLDER worked to loosen the straps of one side while the teen undid the other. It wasn't till he took a step back, allowing Talin to shrug out of the harness, that he brought up the sleeping arrangement. "Talin-"
"It's ok," Sephiroth didn't appreciate the interruption but allowed the teen to talk. "I can sleep here. I've done it plenty in the past. A few nights on the floor won't be the end of me." The young 3rd could feel the flux of emotions as he retained his grip on their link. A small flash of irritation, concern, and apprehension were all evident, but not the one emotion he'd worried to find dominating the others. The heat of desire was there, but it was smothered by the General's wish for his wellbeing.
"Talin." The command was back in the 1sts voice when he spoke again. "While a few nights on the ground may have been something you did in your past, you don't have to endure such things needlessly now." The young fighter still hadn't turned from the place he'd set his blades but listened quietly.
"The bed is large enough to share and, as well as you hide it, I can tell you're already stiff from sitting in that cargo plane. If we're going to be hunting something large and dangerous, I need you at your best, not sore from sleeping on a hard surface overnight." Sephiroth knew he'd almost convinced the redhead and pulled forth one more argument that would tip the scales one way or the other.
Taking a single step towards his Trainee caused his shadow to fall slightly across the teen and Seph felt the startled tug on their link. Weighing his options, the General decided to convey his last point in a place no ears could hear to repeat it. With Talin already holding their link, it was easy to speak to him directly.
~I made you a promise. ~ With great caution, Sephiroth took one more step to stand directly behind the smaller figure. ~To take care of you... ~ A gloved hand slid into red hair and pulled gently to tilt his head back till jade green eyes met crystal green. ~and to wait. ~ The position was the same one Talin had been put in more times than he could count. Silver hair falling around him like a curtain, powerful but gentle hands in his hair, and the rich, almost purring voice that filled his mind.
~I keep my promises, Talin. The only person capable of changing the terms of those commitments is you. ~ The teen opened his mouth to speak, but then he comprehended the meaning of that last sentence and his eyes grew wide. The promise had been to wait till he took the test, till he became SOLDIER. The test was still to come but, effectively, he was a SOLDIER...
~Do you want to change the terms? ~ One elegant eyebrow arched as the question was whispered into his mind and the slit eyes glowed slightly with interest. Talin shook his head, both in the negative and in confusion at the sudden offer. The heat and glow died from the 1sts eyes between one blink and the next and Sephiroth gave him an amused smirk. ~Then don't worry about something that isn't going to happen. ~ The hand in his hair rubbed small circles on his scalp for a moment before pulling away. ~Go shower, get changed, and get in bed. We have a long day ahead of us. ~
…
In the end, Talin relented and did as he'd been instructed. After cleaning up and dressing in a comfortable pair of sweats he'd 'borrowed' from Zack, the redhead finally got into bed. It was wide and the small portion that he took up hardly made a dent in the space available for the other man. Talin was almost asleep when he felt the mattress dip behind him, and his nerves returned full force.
The lights had already been turned out but his eyes were adjusted well enough to make out shapes in the darkness. He was facing away from his Mentor but could feel every shift of the man's weight in the suddenly too-small bed. After only a few short moments of movement, all was still and Talin's sensitive hearing could pick up the light sound of breathing as Sephiroth settled in for sleep.
The redhead couldn't bring himself to peek over his shoulder or move more than a centimeter for fear of disturbing his bedmate. He was tired, exhausted from the intermittent naps he'd had on the long trip over, but he couldn't calm the wild part of his brain that wanted to imagine the possibilities.
How would the night have ended if I'd said yes instead of no?
The warmth and weight of a now gloveless hand slid into Talin's hair at the same time that Sephiroth lay his mind like a mental blanket over the startled Lieutenant's. With a gasp, the teen jerked away from the unexpected contact but was halted when the hand in his hair caught him by the back of his neck.
Panic was the first thing that tried to flood his senses, but something whispered a gentle reassurance that, despite the unexpectedness of the contact, he would come to no harm. Shock was the most Talin felt as he was carefully but firmly pulled back down to his pillow. Seph didn't move closer, didn't attempt to restrain him in any other way except for that one large hand holding him at his nape.
The cloud of Sephiroth's mind wrapped around his and Talin felt as if his physical body was being similarly blanketed with an odd heaviness. When the fingers and thumb started to massage the pressure points in his neck, the world began to blur, and he fought to keep his eyes open.
"Wha-?" The teen tried to lift his head but found only marginal success before he was guided back to the pillow.
"Rest" The word was soft and he could also hear the man's voice in his mind, echoing as if spoken in a large space. "You need sleep." The weight of Sephiroth's mind over his own felt good and Talin found himself relaxing under it as the massage at his neck continued. One by one his muscles lost their tension and his mind drifted as he heard the last echoing words from his General.
"Close your eyes, Cadet, and sleep..."
…
Morning hadn't been far away by the time they'd landed but Talin still felt surprisingly well-rested when he woke only a few hours later. At first, he hesitated to rise and see if he was alone in the bed, but the sound of the bathroom door opening just then answered his question.
Sitting up and scrambling from the bed, the teen saw the General fastening the last straps on his jacket as he made his way back into the room. The man's hair was slightly damp but drying rapidly in the warm air of the room as he glanced over to the Lieutenant. Feeling uncomfortable being still in his sleeping clothes, Talin quickly grabbed his pile of clothes for the day and headed for the bathroom.
Seph used a charm Genesis had gifted him to dry his hair the rest of the way while he waited for his trainee to reemerge. He'd determined not to mention the previous evening unless the redhead did but, from the silence as they both finished dressing and headed for breakfast, that conversation was unlikely. Thankfully, the appearance of the Forman's second in charge broke the odd tension that had settled over them as he offered to lead them to the damaged sections of the compound.
Talin's expectations were of a building that had been stormed by an angry creature, not the destruction of over half a 3-story structure. The blurry photos they'd been given from the night of the attack hadn't been able to convey the scale of the damage. Condemned as too unstable to attempt repair, the remainder was in the process of being torn down, the materials salvaged where they could and used in expanding the smaller housing units.
The other thing the photos didn't show was the claw marks. The trenches in the ground, some deep enough that Talin could lay in them, had been scored by something massive and the wide gouges in the metal walls of the attacked building spoke of a strength that made the teen nervous. The sun finally crested the mountain as they walked to the collapsed section and that small worry grew.
Char, ash, and melted metal that had hardened into twisted shapes met them as they rounded the last standing wall. Fire hot enough to wreak such havoc was not common. The glance between teacher and student proved that neither needed to talk to the men to know what had attacked them that night. The size and strength to rend earth and steel, fire that melted everything it touched, and the firsthand account of the thunderous sound of wings were more than enough evidence that they were hunting a Dragon.
Talin's unease solidified as Sephiroth questioned the two men who had seen the beast. Their description was accurate, down to the yellow-green glow of its eyes and the new 3rd almost wished that he hadn't been invited for this mission. Dragons were rare. So much so, that some considered seeing one like glimpsing a demigod, saying you'd be lucky for an entire year after, providing you survived the encounter that is.
Part of their elusiveness was that there were so few left but the other was that they lived in extremely remote areas. Glaciers, volcanoes, desert oases, and the ancient forests of Wutai were the only known locations in recent years that they had been spotted, not the lowland foothills of a mountain range.
"This isn't right..." Talin's quiet sigh drew the attention of his mentor as the other men were dismissed.
"What part bothers you more? The attack or having to track and kill something so rare?" Sephiroth wasn't being unkind. He was truly curious to hear the teen's evaluation of their current mission, but he also could understand the hesitation to kill one of the last Dragons that roamed their world.
"Both." The irritated growl turned into a sigh as the redhead leaned against the tree by where they'd interviewed the workers. "It doesn't make any sense," He shook his head, eyes unfocused as he thought through what they'd learned. "There shouldn't be a Dragon within a hundred miles of this place. This might be remote, but not enough for them to feel safe... Could it be that there are more than we think?" The General's questioning gaze met his when he looked up, but the man only quirked an eyebrow in encouragement to finish his thought.
"What if... Maybe there are more than we thought, or at least here, in the Corel range. If the best of the range were claimed by bigger beasts," and that thought made a shiver run down Talins spine, "then maybe this one was forced to seek a territory further down the mountain?" The fragile hope in his trainee's eyes was one Sephiroth himself harbored as well but the other side of that coin was as terrible as the recovery of a species would be wonderous.
"If such a thing were to be true," The silver SOLDIER saw the hope flicker at the stress he laid on the first word, "it'll mean more Dragons will eventually find their way down the mountains. More close encounters, more people spotting wings in the skies, and," Slit eyes turned to look back at the recovery and demolition progress on the destroyed building, "more SOLDIERs sent out to remove a dangerous threat after another event like this one."
