The gentle simmer and bubble was a gentle reminder to keep her attention divided as she typed away, the clacking in tune with the soft popping of the night's dinner. After a line of important code was typed and saved, Stella pulled away from the bar where her laptop lay and over to the stove, a large and deep pot beckoned her. It wasn't too dissimilar to the large pots that the Kalm Inn used for when they made soups, it's size was perfect for a large number of people. She dipped the red tinged wooden spoon in and stirred the chili around, the aroma was warm and full of spice, making her crave a bowl of it that instant. She had recently made herself a lacking lunch, so she wasn't hungry but the smell was enticing. After all, this wasn't for her.

The shooting practice the day before had gone okay in her opinion, but perhaps underwhelming for a professional like Vincent, or so she assumed. She managed to graze the apple once and after that returned to the safety of the ship, afraid of any backup for the one Shinra security guard coming back to investigate. She knew that it would be hard to break into the ship, but it was still bothersome. Her brain felt like it buzzed from another sleepless night, but she was too paranoid to sleep. Besides, she needed to tie a bow on the project and she did exactly that.

It was around sunrise that morning that she had a functioning miniature model of the "pancake" design.

Now she was trying to fix the kink in the code of the taser net ball, and finding a new name for it that wasn't monotonous wasn't the only thing that frustrated her to no end. She was having to write a lot of code to try to fix it and work around the problem and it wasn't easy. Feeling down to the line, she had brought the laptop into the lounge area to multitask, hoping to finish up while she made chili, two things she wanted to finish before the team members came back. There had been no word yet about what was happening outside or on the mission besides that they would back before sundown.

The least she could do was fix everyone's food after their mission and chili was the best thing she could manage with the limited supplies in the kitchen.

She didn't know if anyone would like chili but no one struck her as a picky eater and there was someone bound to like it. If nothing else, she tried her best.

The chili was nearly finished, so she reduced the heat to a simmer and returned to her laptop. She had a few more lines of code to rewrite before she could test it. That was over in no time and she nervously traced her fingers over her arm and winced before she unplugged the processor and picked up the metal contraption. This was a dry run and she hadn't bothered to place the battery in yet, but she still needed to test the spinning and net ejection mechanism.

She shifted it around and was apprehensive before she shook it. Last time, the delay didn't work and when she had fixed that, the ejection didn't work. Sometimes, it would take fixing it a hundred times and other times only a handful. If she had to guess, this was her thirtieth time since that morning and every time had some sort of failure.

"That's a large pot." A voice spoke from behind her. She looked around to see the tall man for the first time that day, given that he wasn't on the sofa when she had left her workroom just shy of an hour ago. She set the contraption on the edge of the bar and answered him.

"Yeah, it's for everyone. It's the best I can do right now." Stella admitted and watched as her contraption rolled off the counter. Right, it was round.

Before she could catch it, it hit the floor with a clank and in a moment the familiar and welcomed whir of the spinning mechanism sounded. The metallic net was flung out as the ball rolled and latched onto the closed metal thing. Vincent's pointy armored shoes. The man stared down at it and kicked it off his foot. Surprisingly, with enough force, the magnets detached and the ball was sent across the floor and into the side of the counter. She stared at the ball as it came to a rolling hault and the new retraction mechanism pulled the mesh net back into place. It didn't look like it was too roughed up or damaged, but Stella still felt annoyed.

"Really, Vincent? It's not a fucking soccer ball." She snapped and bent down to scoop it up. There was no visible damage to her relief. The important thing was that she had fixed the code. It worked this time. She gave it another shake.

"I thought it was dangerous." Vincent answered, taking a step back as he watched the net spin out again and fall over her arms, the metallic mesh was gentle with no spark to light it up. She couldn't blame him there.

"Okay, sorry I snapped, that's fair. If this was rigged up, you'd definitely wanna kick it away." She admitted as the internal timer counted down and the net retracted. She sighed and waited a moment before she shook it again, "It's working now. I think that's it, but some more testing wouldn't harm anything. You just gave this its first durability test." She gave with a laugh as the net spun out again, reminding her of an aquatic animal.

He made no comment and glanced over to her laptop at the hundreds of lines of code. Knowing that he most likely wouldn't ask, she piped up anyway.

"This is what got me this job. It's supposed to spin out and this mesh holds around nine amps… meaning that it's close to deadly depending on the circumstance. The magnets cling to any metal nearby and… well, zap." Again, the mesh pulled back into the compartment. She thinks she had a name for the contraption. "It's my most recent prototype. I think I'll call it a "Jellyfish" for now. Better than what I was calling it." She trailed off. Yeah, that sounded right. She didn't really care if the man had any input on the name and she doubted he did.

Deciding that she had shaken it enough, she sat it down and pushed her coffee cup up to it to prevent it from rolling again. The cup was near empty and she felt like she needed another cup. She knew she was pushing it and she was extremely exhausted, but she couldn't sleep yet. If she had slept the past few days, she knew she wouldn't be to this point yet and she needed to have this finished. Not just for the others, but for herself. She needed for what she made to have a purpose and now was her time.

Sleep would only get in her way. Stella would rest after she cleared everything with Cloud or Tifa. It wouldn't be long now and she wasn't empty handed so she could relax just a tiny bit now.

"You can fix yourself a bowl, Vincent, if you want to. The chili is done now."

Cloud wanted nothing more than to lay still and not move. After the mission's failure and the new info they got on the situation, they would have to plan what to do next and he felt like he was running on empty. With the poor sleep, fighting, and running from place to place that they had all done, the team deserved a rest and he didn't want to force any of them out of it. That's why they needed to meet and determine what they needed to do.

And that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Damn, I wish I had something more to chew on than this butt." Cid muttered, spitting the cigarette butt off into the brush. The low light of the setting sun barely pierced the thick leaves overhead, but it was enough to show the tired state of everyone. Cid had a long scratch on his arm from being thrown into a tree, the smeared blood had long since dried into a dark burgundy.

"You're gonna chew on my fist if you don't shut up about food. We're all hungry." Barret grumbled back, smacking a branch out of the way. Nobody was in a good mood, it seemed, so at least Cloud didn't have to pretend he was peachy when he felt miserable. The cargo he carried was beginning to feel cumbersome and the sway of the two swords he carried made him more than eager to shrug off every heavy thing, the straps dug into his shoulders.

"Arguing about it isn't going to help anything." Another, deeper voice joined in. An old face who had found them yesterday in the midst of chaos, he walked alongside them through the overgrown path, his tail swishing back and forth. Cloud was glad for Red, saying what he himself didn't really wanna say or bother with right now.

"As nice as food sounds, I'm dreaming of a shower." Tifa spoke up, her state was the poorest of them all. She had been dragged through the mud just a few hours ago. Her hair was tangled and clods of dirt clung to the strands. She was going to have a hell of a time in the shower, Cloud determined. A smear of the red dirt streaked her cheek like battle paint. She was unlucky, and Cloud recalled the exact moment the mech had knocked her into the muddy bank.

"You don't have to dream long. We're almost there and everyone can put together sandwiches and take showers and rest before we decide what's next." Cloud confirmed after clearing his throat.

"Good, I was going to question your authority if you didn't let me run for the shower, boss." Tifa teased half-heartedly. Not this again. She had been milking that tease for two days now.

"Don't start that again." He groaned, pushing past jutting branches and wayward vines. The light beyond the thick brush and trees signaled their proximity to the clearing. Cloud sighed with relief and trekked on behind Barret, ignoring the bushes that slapped against his arms.

One by one, they all stepped out into the tall grass of the clearing, the distant red rocks peeked over the horizon beyond the Highwind. The warm reflection of the setting sun reflected on the metal airship and the air was cooling by the second. Cloud pulled the collar of his jacket up around his face, thrilled that they didn't have to spend another night outside in the cold. The sleeping bags were okay but he really couldn't wait to sink into the bed in the dorm room.

It would still be a while until then, with everyone hassling to shower and calling their bunks. Cloud even thought about skipping dinner in favor of hurrying the process along. To be honest, he didn't even know what Cid had stocked up in the pantries and with their short notice meeting, it likely wasn't much. It was better to let everyone else eat first.

Cloud could manage. He always did.

Cid stepped up to the front of the group and lowering the boarding ramp. Everyone joined the pilot on the march up the ramp, their footsteps on the metal was welcomed after a few days of stepping on nothing but leaves, sticks, and pulling their boots out of sticky earth. The sound of the air locked door hissing and shuttering open was like music to Cloud and everyone else too. Cid went on without much hesitation, eager to survey the state of his ship.

"Man am I glad to be back on this ship." Barret commented, scratching his neck as he stepped inside, followed by Red, and made their way down the hallway towards the conference room. Tifa stopped and brushed at her pants and sleeves in some attempt to shake the dried dirt from her clothes before she tracked it inside. She knocked her shoes on the metal and a few clumps fell off. She had done her best but she was still covered. Looking up, she smiled and covered her mouth as she looked at him.

"Cloud, you have a lot of leaves in your hair. A lot." She half giggled. He was glad she still had some humor left. Getting coated in mud hadn't soiled her mood.

"It's my new garden." He said flatly, trying to match some level of humor but Tifa's awkward laugh told him he failed.

"Right, well we don't wanna bring the garden with us." Tifa half laughed, pulling her padded gloves off and unleashing a powdered trickle of dirt.

"Since you're getting rid of the desert in your gloves, I can bargain." He responded and let his hand brush through his messed up hair, his fingers snagged halfway through.

"Ah, lemme help." Tifa offered, lifting her hand up. He ducked away.

"Nope." He uttered and flipped his head down, shaking his hair free from leaves and twigs and whatever else was taking hold of his hair. The flora and fauna fell and gathered on the metal grate under their feet.

Barret's distant voice echoed down the hallway, his loud words were muffled from inside.

"Wonder what's got him excited. I'm cold enough, let's go." Tifa urged. Cloud picked the last twig from his hair and followed her in, shutting the door behind him, the lock sealed the warmth of the ship in with them. He followed Tifa along, her muddied hair swayed behind her, only minorly burdened by the weight of the dirt. Once they were past the conference room, a nice and mouth watering aroma began to make itself known.

"Do you smell that?" Tifa asked and Cloud nodded, straightening the sword on his back so it didn't scratch the paint off the walls off the narrow hallway. It had happened before when he hadn't been paying attention and he wasn't in the mood to have Cid fuss at him for it. No, all he wanted to do now was find the source of the aroma of warm spice in the air, and given Barret's chuckling from the room ahead, he was going in the right direction.

Tifa stopped just before him as the hallway opened to the lounge and Cloud peered in over her shoulder. Vincent was sitting on the leather sofa, peering into a bowl of what looked and smelled like chili. Across the room at the bar, Barret held his bowl out as the new member spooned out the stew for him. He had momentarily forgotten about Stella with all the chaos the day had brought, and when he remembered, he nearly muttered "shit". He didn't wanna tell her yet that he had lost the detonator for her...EFG? There needed to be a new name for it, but that wasn't a big issue. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, not yet anyway.

"No ham sandwiches for dinner tonight!" Barret cheered as he looked up at the other members, grinning, "Nope, miss chef whipped up some grub." He complimented, setting the bowl at the end of the bar, where he would take his seat, and gave the woman a pat on the back. She gave a small smile and cleared her throat.

"No sandwiches for anyone, there's no more bread." Stella admitted, laying the ladle down and making her way around the bar to her laptop, "I hope everyone likes chili." she added as she plucked the familiar instrument from the bar. It was the same one that she threw at the inn, or so he assumed.

"It smells amazing, Stella. I can't wait to have a bowl, but…" Tifa trailed off and gave a laugh in spite of herself, motioning down at her state, "I need to clean up first." Her statement was regarded and Stella gave her a sympathetic once over.

"Geez, you've been through it. Don't worry, the chili is on simmer so it'll be waiting for you." The woman gave, rolling the weapon around in her hand like a toy. Tifa took a few steps in here retreat towards the showers, but not without a proper goodbye.

"Thanks, you're a life saver. And Cloud? Don't wait up, I know how you are." She scolded and pointed at him, already on his case.

"Okay, alright, I know." He dismissed, knowing what she was talking about.

While he agreed with her point, he still had the habit of waiting it out before fixing himself a plate to make sure that everyone else got fed. He didn't mind so much and with the times that AVALANCHE had barely scraped up enough food for everyone, he thought it was better to have someone else go to sleep full. He could manage after all. Judging from the pot on the stove, it looked like there was more than enough and possibly enough for leftovers. A bowl of chili was certainly more appetizing than a sandwich.

"Looky here, Red. They're fixing plates without us." Cid announced, making his arrival clear as he entered the lounge. Cloud looked over his shoulder to Red padding up, sniffing the air and letting his gaze rest on the new member. She too looked back, her face lighting up and a delighted smile graced her face.

"Oh, right. This is our new member, Stella," Cloud motioned at the woman, "And Stella, this is Red." Cloud finished his quick introduction, which seemed effective enough. He expected a "nice to meet you" or some gesture of acknowledgment from the two, but that wasn't what happened. Instead, Stella knelt down on the floor and extended her free hand out to Red. He gave Cloud a concerned glance before Stella spoke up.

"Hey there, buddy. You're so pretty. You remind me of my kitty at home." She began in the most terrible, babyish voice. Her unassuming grin meant the worst. Cloud hadn't even considered that a talking beast like Red would be anything shocking to Stella, but that was his mistake. Of course she thought he was a pet, what else was she supposed to think. Barret looked over his shoulder to watch, Cid was cringing. Cloud opened his mouth to say anything to get her to stop but Red spoke up first.

"Get your hand away from my face." He warned, his ears tugged backward and his tail lashed. He was surprisingly calm and Cloud was stunned that he didn't show a touch of a growl in his voice.

Stella reacted slowly, her grin dropped and her hand retreated into her other. She pressed her lips together and blinked, looking up to Cloud and Cid for some kind of explanation to confirm that she had just heard what she heard. An incredulous laugh escaped her and she shook her head.

"I must have shocked myself too much." She muttered, taking to her feet. "For a second I thought-"

"This is humiliating." Red groaned, taking his attention away from Stella and stepping around her to pad toward the sofa. "Degraded to being compared to a house cat." and with that Barret chuckled from the bar.

Cloud let out a breath and pressed his fingers to his forehead, hoping to rub away the second-hand embarrassment. Stella gaped at Red, fiddling with the contraption in her hands.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to degrade you sir, um mister." She struggled and Red paid her no mind as he curled up beside the sofa.

"Forget about it." he dismissed, his tail curling up to rest over his hind leg. Stella stood and stared down at him, looking from the beast to the pot on the stove.

"Okay, right, forget about it." She murmured to herself. "Bad introduction. Instead, can I get you a bowl? Do you eat chili?" She asked. He glanced up at her and gave a resigned sigh.

"I do… but not right now." He answered, letting his head rest on his paws. Stella gave a nod and Cid came up and gave her a mocking pat on the back.

"Hehe, thought you'd pet the kitty, huh? You're lucky he didn't bite your hand off." Cid patronized, laughing to himself as he treads past her toward the stove. She gave a halfhearted laugh in return and Cloud, whose attention came back to his present state, tugged the backpack from his shoulders and swung it down to rest at the back of the sofa. He left the sword in place, as it's weight didn't bother him and he'd likely have it on him until he lay down to sleep. And speaking of sleep, he wanted to hurry up and eat so that he could lay down.

To his frustration, the new member turned her attention to him, rolling her contraption around in her hand. He got the feeling he was in for a tech demo but he wasn't feeling it right now. He dug around in his pockets for the contraption he borrowed so that he could hurry and give it back.

"You know, maybe next time, you could give more of a heads up. A "Hey Stella, let me introduce you, please don't try to pet our member and insult his dignity." would have been just fine…" She began, "But whatever." She dejected, a grin in spite of herself rested on her face.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Cloud muttered, sucking in his cheeks, as he held out the borrowed contraption, hoping she would ignore the smear of red clay on the metallic surface. "Here's your thingy, sorry but I couldn't hold onto the detonator." Cloud offered and she took it in her free hand, turning it about to inspect it.

"Oh, that's no problem. I'm sure I can make another one. Maybe one that's harder to lose this time." She offered her thought aloud and let it drop into her pocket, no real concern over the dried dirt on it. Instead of fussing over the detonator, she held up the familiar and shiny new metallic ball, her eyes lit up. "But for now, remember this? I've made good progress and fixed this and I also have something else to show you that's more useful. I do need to mention that getting some extra supplies wouldn't hurt and-" Cloud waved his hand, a gesture that properly interjected and interrupted her spill. She gave him a concerned look that he didn't pay much attention to.

"Thanks, but let's talk about this later." He nearly groaned and Stella looked down and nodded.

"Okay, yeah, later. Then, do you want to look at the new tech that I've finished?" She asked, not entirely getting his drift. He sighed and folded his arms over his chest. He wished Tifa was here to add some kind of softness, but Cloud would have to try his best.

"Maybe in the morning, okay? I'm not up to it and I doubt I could understand any specifics right now." He began to explain but saw that he didn't need to say anything further. Stella nodded and sucked in her cheeks, her gaze cast downwards.

"Okay, I get it." She muttered and took an awkward step back. "I'll er… be working if you need anything else." Not bothering to hang around for any further comment, the dark haired girl turned away and retreated to the small room, pulling the heavy door closed behind her. Good, she took that well, Cloud thought.

In her absence, the room was quiet for a moment before Cid let a low whistle escape him. He plopped down on the sofa next to Vincent, who barely looked up when his friend spread in his legs and took up half the space. Cid of course, didn't notice and was more focused on whatever mocking point he was thinking up, a grin spread across his face.

"Damn Cloud, you scared her off real quick. How mad do you think she is?" Cid half joked, giving an exuberant laugh and elbowing his pal. "What you think, Vince?" his question hung in the air while Vincent gave a sigh and set down his spoon.

"What?" Vincent asked, but Cloud was sure he had heard the question. How could he not with Cid's echoing voice. Surely Stella could hear on the other side of that door as well.

Cloud didn't feel like entertaining any of this.

"Whatever, she didn't seem mad to me." He interjected and went around the sofa, letting his feet take him to the stove, still unsure if eating was worth the effort right now. Sure, he was starving, but he really craved some shut eye.

Sure enough, autopilot took his indecision's place and he cupped a bowl in his hand and poured a few hearty scoops for himself. The smell was warm and homely and it had been a while since he had any hot soup. The bowl warmed his hands as he carried it over to the bar to sit close to Barret, who's bowl was nearing empty already.

"You're looking pretty ragged there, buddy. You're getting old." Barret began, his greeting was light but Cloud knew that Barret was as exhausted as he was. Cloud grinned and plunged his spoon down into the bowl as he got settled on the barstool.

"Older every day." Cloud mumbled before taking his first bite. The chili was flavorful and soothing, and maybe the tiniest bit over seasoned but he didn't mind. He knew after this bowl he would be more than ready to sleep. He could already feel it wash over him now that he was still and warm. There was nothing more to be said between him and Barret so a comfortable silence took any word's place. Cloud zoned out and ignored whatever Red and Cid were talking about in the background.

Before he realized it, the chili was half gone and the clink and chinks of dishes brought his attention out of the fog. Vincent had left his spot and was quietly scrubbing his spoon with a sponge at the sink, a few feet away from Cloud. He hadn't even noticed him walk up, but then again Vincent was always quiet. Something AVALANCHE valued on missions that stealth was required, which reminded him…

"Hey Vincent?" Cloud spoke up and the man hummed in acknowledgment, still polishing off his bowl with the sponge. "How did shooting practice go? You think she can handle herself?" Cloud asked, needing to know so that he could plan for what to do in the future. Maybe he could spare a few materia if the new member couldn't use a gun for backup.

Vincent paused for a moment, as if to think it over, and dried his bowl. He turned and leaned against the countertop.

"No… not yet." His response wasn't what Cloud was hoping to hear. With someone like Vincent helping the new member learn for three days, it wasn't what Cloud was expecting. Vincent, breaking his usual one or two word response, piped up again after his first statement. "With more practice, she'll be better. I only worked with her for an hour."

"An hour? Shit, that's not long enough for anything." Barret commented, sliding his now empty bowl to the side. Vincent deadpanned and Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What happened to practicing while we were gone?" Cloud half asked Vincent, half complained aloud to himself.

"Stella was busy. She hasn't left that room." His answer made Barret give a small laugh. Cloud looked over to gauge what could have tickled him but didn't need to ask.

"Didn't anyone show her that we have bunks?" He shook his head, "I couldn't ever sleep in that tiny room." Barret's comment hung in the air for a moment and had Cloud recall the first day Stella was on the ship.

"No, Tifa showed her everything and Tifa wouldn't leave out the dorms." Cloud thought aloud and came to the same conclusion that Vincent uttered.

"I don't think she has slept since she's been here."

The statement sunk in and Cloud rested his spoon on his bowl. Suddenly the chili didn't appeal to him. He looked over to see Barret's reaction and Barret had done the same, his brown eyes darted behind him before he groaned aloud.

"Nuh-uh, this isn't gonna cut it. I'm not gonna let one of our own think they gotta work nonstop. We're not a Shinra corporate office." After his declaration, he pushed himself away from the bar and took to his feet. Sighing, Cloud left his bowl and quickly caught up to his friend.

"No, Barret, I'll go talk to her." The blonde interjected, taking a few reluctant steps towards the metal door.

"Are you sure? You're not the best with uh…" he began and let his remark drop from his mouth as he scratched the back of his neck. Cloud know he wasn't the best at talking and that he should let Barret handle it but he felt responsible. It should be him.

"Yeah, I got it." He affirmed, trying to sound sure. He had no clue how he was going to begin a conversation that told a grown woman that she should sleep but if Vincent was correct, then Barret was right. This isn't going to cut it. Not in AVALANCHE when nobody knows when they'll get their next chance to sleep in comfort.

"Besides, I'm the one who gave her a detonator to fix."