Cloud put away his cellphone before grabbing a sleeveless white shirt from his drawer and quickly putting it on after discarding the one he ruined with blood and from patching Tifa's arm. Zack was on his way to his place, and the thought was reassuring after the close call earlier. There were two bodies downstairs and a busted door exposing his lair to anyone that meandered through the little illusion he had put over the entrance.
He rummaged through his chest, finding the cure materia he acquired off a mark years ago. Cloud made his way towards Tifa's room; Squeak had told him everything, his friend attempting to get them to listen to her and leave in a desperate attempt to save them. 'She would have had better luck convincing a wall.' They weren't expecting her there, or they would have been better prepared, he reasoned. Tifa saved him this evening, cementing his faith in her.
Opening the door, he glanced at the two. They both seemed to be sleeping, so he took slow, quiet steps towards the bed before looking them over again. He crouched down, looking at his servant first. Squeak had been thrown against a wall as he assisted Tifa, and his little body was trying to recover from the broken ribs and possibly a concussion. Cloud poked the rodent awake as the thought entered his mind, then used the materia as Squeak let out a high pitched hum of relief. The rat stretched and shook his head about before lifting himself up and running out of the room.
Satisfied, he very gently put his hand on Tifa's good shoulder; she grunted and moved her head side to side before opening her eyes. "Cloud..."
"Hold still..." The orb glowed in the dim light of the room, and the vampire stretched out the hand holding the materia over Tifa. He focused, and soon heard his friend sigh in sweet relief as the magic began to knit her back together. It would still take time for her to completely recover, but he mused that she should be able to walk about without issue. "How's that?"
Tifa smiled at him before sitting up in bed as he helped her up. "Thank you."
"It's the least I can do. I...know that must've been hard on you."
She turned to look at her hands as they laid in her lap. "It was." Tifa shook her head. "How did they even find you?" she whispered.
Cloud shrugged. He honestly had no idea how they pinpointed his location considering his low profile. "If you don't know how they found me, I'm at a loss." The vampire was annoyed at how unprepared he had been; now he knew why older vampires kept multiple servants now. 'I was warned but didn't want to deal with the hassle.'
Tifa bit her lip then looked back into his eyes, a deadly serious expression on her face. "We have to get out of here soon. Master Regis always made it a habit to write down where his quarry was located, or the general area in case something like this happened."
He chewed the inside of his cheek, looking towards the door and then back at Tifa. "How long until they get suspicious?"
She tapped her hand on her lap, looking upwards as she thought. Her eyes came back to Cloud's. "I have no idea. They could be worried already if Regis left early but they probably won't send out a scout until daybreak." Tifa let out a sigh. "It's too dangerous to go after an angry vampire...They'll be stretched out for sure, now. Huey, Regis and I are missing. That leaves four left in the area."
"That's all?"
Tifa shrugged. "At that specific cathedral. There were three experienced vampire hunters, one being Regis...Then there were three rookies besides me, and Huey was one. Rox is the newest member, and the least experienced. She's considered more a student and less an actual hunter."
Cloud raised his brows. "Are you telling me your guild was that small?" His own boasted thirty members in the city, and had strong connections to the branch in Junon and operatives in surrounding, larger towns.
"Each church or cathedral in the city holds at least two, it's not like they're the only ones in the city." She started to move her legs towards the edge of the bed, flexing her feet. "When people don't believe in the undead, it's rather difficult to find members for my former guild..." Tifa let out a humorless chuckle. "They were supposed to get some help soon, but I don't know when or how."
Cloud wondered how much of a psychological toll the evening had taken on Tifa, he understood the situation would be hard on anyone. "Well, I need to figure out what to do."
Tifa rubbed her scalp, her fingers running through her thick brown hair. She put her hands down and cocked her head. "You need to find a new place to live."
He stood up and helped his friend stand up. "That'll take a while, Tifa." It had taken him months to find and fix up the house he lived in now. "We need a place that can accommodate us both."
"Both?"
Cloud nodded. "There's no way I'm letting you go off on your own. Not after tonight."
Tifa put her hands on her hips. "I'm capable of taking care of myself, Cloud."
He crossed his arms, a stern look crossing his pale face. "Like you were this evening?"
She glowered at him. "If you hadn't sucked so much blood out of me this week I'm sure I would have been fine until you woke up!"
"Maybe you shouldn't have tried to run off!" He narrowed his eyes.
"What was I supposed to do? I wake up bound in a dark basement and I'm supposed to believe you right off the bat?"
He groaned. "Why are you so unreasonable, even now? Did the last few nights mean anything to you? What about what just happened?" She gave a small pout and Cloud's eyes softened as he held her hands. "I'm worried, Tifa. After seven years I see you again and...you almost died trying to protect me. You could have just left me and ran off, but you didn't. Please, let me have your back, like I said I would."
Tifa looked down at their hands, sighing. "I still don't want to..."
"I know." Cloud bit the side of his lip, thinking. He wouldn't pressure her into something she didn't want to do, but it would complicate things for the both of them if his guild found out. "I have a lot of gil saved up...Maybe we could skip town for a while until everything calms down."
Tifa opened her mouth to protest, but looked down a moment in contemplation before looking back at Cloud. "Where would you suggest?"
He put a hand to his hip, thinking. "How about Junon? It's close enough we can get there before sunrise and it's far away enough that you won't be wanted by my guild."
"Oh. Well...how long?"
Cloud looked at the fingers of his other hand. "I have no idea, but if we move there for a while I'm sure we can come back to Midgar after it's all taken care of." He brought his eyes back to Tifa, hoping she would take her chances with him. If they stayed away long enough the guild would forget about her and in the meantime, they would be looking for moles; killing a vampire was one thing, but attempting the life of an operative of the guild was something they wouldn't tolerate.
She rubbed her face, then sighed heavily. "I don't have a choice at the moment anyway. Wait. I need my clothing..."
"I'll give you money to buy new clothing." To him it wasn't an issue. 'I guess I finally have someone to spend this cash on...'
She raised a brow. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah." A hard knock issued from downstairs before she could reply. Cloud tensed as he walked towards the bedroom door, then relaxed as Squeak let him know it was Zack. He turned to look at Tifa. "It's Zack. I'll be back soon, so in the mean time if you wanna collect your things..."
"I think you took most of my things." she said curtly.
He nodded. "I'll give you the rest after I'm finished downstairs." With that he turned and left, Zack greeting him with a worried expression after looking up from the two bodies. Cloud told his friend what had happened in detail as they carefully moved the corpses through dark and abandoned alleys, dumping them in the nearby channel that flowed into the river and then out into the bay; the two removed whatever identification and materia from the bodies they could find before doing the deed.
Returning they kept a look out for any more trouble, though it seemed it was still too early for the guild to panic. "So you're leavin' us for a time, huh?" Zack inquired.
"Yeah. I'm gonna take us to Junon for a while, and after everything calms down I'll come back to look for another place to stay...A place that's harder to get in to." If he hadn't taken Tifa in, he would have been a goner, the thought ironic. Cloud started to ponder if he should have another servant besides just Squeak to watch over the new house as he slept. 'Maybe something that creeps people out...or maybe a monster? Last night was too close a call.'
"That might be a while, buddy."
Cloud shrugged. "I was targeted last night. Until we know how they found me, I'd feel safer out of the city."
Zack sighed but nodded in agreement. "Faster we find out what's goin' on, the sooner I'll see ya again."
"Yeah."
He didn't want a repeat of this evening, the scene replaying as he walked in silence with Zack. As soon as he had woken up that evening he had heard Tifa struggling and Squeak trying to communicate in panicked bursts that there were vampire hunters in the house. He had opened his door so forcefully that the knob left a hole in the wall, and he barely reached Tifa in time to save her. He bit his lip as he remembered that sadness that marred her pretty face, her cheeks wet from silent tears.
The two made it through the entrance, Tifa leaning against the couch as a backpack hung on a shoulder with Squeak sitting on the top of the comfy furniture. Zack gave a friendly wave to the two, Tifa returning the gesture. She glanced over at the dried blood on the floor, a sad look on her face before returning her gaze back to the two. "Whenever you're ready."
"Give me a few minutes to collect some stuff." Cloud left the others and fetched a backpack he had in the corner of his room, finding what he considered essentials or items he didn't want stolen by the vampire hunter's guild during his absence. His materia, the wrapped up sacred weapons, the magical tomes gifted to him by Zack, his collection of letters from both Tifa and his mother and several sets of clothing before illusioning his skin to a healthier tone. Finally he placed his sheath on his back and assembled and collected his swords, then grabbed up the things he confiscated from Tifa before leaving and sealing the room. He looked back one more time, sighing at the thought of how close both he and Tifa had come to death such a short while ago.
"Thanks a lot for watching out for Cloud, Tifa." Zack said as the three waited for their friend to finish upstairs.
Tifa nodded. "He's my friend, so..." Zack smiled, then the both of them looked towards the staircase as Cloud reached the last step. Tifa looked him up and down; the low light of the living room made it difficult to detect but his skin looked far less pale. Tifa knew it was just an illusion, but she was curious. How did it look with better lighting?
Cloud walked over and gave Tifa her things: materia, keys, her cellphone and fighting gloves. "I'm ready when you are."
She looked down, holding her cell phone a moment before putting it in her jacket pocket; she was happy to have it back but she knew she couldn't use it for the time being. Still, better with her than in the hands of strangers. Tifa brought up her hood, hiding her features as best she could. "I'm ready."
Turning to Tifa, Cloud motioned for her to go after Zack as Squeak sneaked into her backpack through an opening. She looked back as the rat's tail slipped inside, then his head poked out to look about his surroundings. Tifa hesitated at the entrance, as if something could swoop down and kill her if she left, then she moved towards Zack. Looking back as she stood near Zack, Tifa watched as Cloud left and brought the broken door to barely seal the lair.
"Guess I'll have to try extra hard to find a place when we get back." Cloud said.
"Hm." Tifa looked ahead, then glanced at Cloud. "In the meantime, maybe we can make up for lost time." She was sure they would have a chance to catch up further while they were in Junon.
Cloud nodded, giving a barely discernible smile in the darkness. The two vampires kept close to the woman just in case any from their guild was prowling about. They continued on towards the train station in silence, the sidewalk occasionally shared with a stranger going home. Tifa looked up at the sky, the stars hard to see with the lights of a still awake city glowing at this early hour of the night.
"Man, it's gonna suck without you here to keep me company." Zack pouted.
"It won't be forever, Zack...I'll bring you a souvenir." Cloud mumbled with a half smile. "I was gonna visit Nibelheim, anyway. But..."
They finally made it to the train station, Tifa wincing at the bright lights of the large terminal. She glanced over at Cloud, noticing the slight tan and freckles dancing on his cheeks as if the magic could pick up that he was forever a country boy at heart; she resisted staring at the familiar visage. The three made their way to the ticket booth, Cloud purchasing tickets for them both.
"Last train to Junon..." Tifa whispered as she looked at her ticket. How long would they truly have to be gone? She looked back at Cloud, her friend saying his good byes to Zack and reassuring him that he would keep in touch, and to stop acting like a mother hen. With one last shoulder pat Cloud turned away and walked towards Tifa, holding his hand out to her.
"Let's mosey."
The three had gotten on the train with no issue, Tifa perplexed that they didn't have their bags checked or his sword confiscated until Cloud looked back at her with a wink as he placed the backpacks into the overhead compartments and his sword under the seats on his side. He was particularly gentle with Tifa's bag, making sure Squeak wouldn't be too uncomfortable during the ride.
Cloud and Tifa sat down across from each other on the plush red seats of the train, their particular cabin sparsely populated. Tifa looked out the window, Zack waving as the train began to lurch. The two waved back until he was out of sight, and the dark and glowing cityscape began to zoom by. She sighed, feeling anxious and sad. Would she ever see her friends again? Rox and Aerith were the two people she was closest to besides Cloud, and he had just recently come back into her life in a less than happy reunion.
"You okay?" Cloud asked.
She glanced over and nodded before returning her gaze to the window. "Yeah."
He grunted, unconvinced. "At least you'll be able to go out on your own."
"Yeah..."
They fell into silence again, the window eventually revealing a moonlit plain with dark mountains far in the distance. Farms dotted the landscape, specks of golden light marking homes both far away and close by. Tifa turned as the sound of squeaky wheels came closer, and a food trolley came into view. An old lady with pale red hair smiled at the two.
"Would you two like anything to eat?"
Tifa's stomach grumbled and Cloud snorted softly before turning to the trolley woman. "Do you have any cinnamon buns?"
Several minutes later and Tifa was happily munching on a hot sticky bun, Cloud watching her from time to time as he sipped on his tea. "You remembered how much I love these." Tifa said after swallowing a bite and washing it down with her hot drink.
He grinned. "How could I forget? You would get them any chance you could when Mrs. Granbille made them in her tea shop."
Tifa chuckled. "Yeah, I did." She looked down at her half eaten treat. 'And you would buy one for me when you had the money.' "Thank you, Cloud."
The train finally made it to Junon, and Tifa glanced at the large clock on the wall of the station; it was three in the morning. Cloud held her hand after putting his backpack on his shoulder, leaving the building for the city by the sea. He took her to a hotel and negotiated with the night manager, procuring a key to a nice if windowless room. There were two beds with good linens and wide wooden drawers, two nightstands and wall sconces to light the room. A television sat on a table in front of a sofa in the room before the bedroom, a table and chairs near the door to their room that held a mini fridge and a coffee maker with supplies. Tifa checked the bathroom, it was stocked with sample supplies that would suit them until they went out for supplies later.
"Sorry, they didn't have separate rooms available at the time. I hope you don't mind sharing a room." Cloud said, blushing.
She shook her head. "No. I'll have enough privacy when you're completely out as it is...When will house keeping come by?" she asked. They both were nocturnal.
"For us, early evening," Cloud replied as he released Squeak. "because of how busy Junon is at all hours they have a morning and an evening run. Or so the night manager said."
Tifa nodded in response as she plopped down on a bed, sinking into it. The blankets were soft and cool on her skin. She closed her eyes for a minute, then opened them as she heard a crisp, papery sound near her. Cloud was looking down at her, and he motioned towards his hand.
"You'll wake up before I do, so today go ahead and find yourself some clothing."
She looked at the money and begrudgingly took it, looking it over. "Cloud, this is a lot of gil for just clothing." There was about two thousand gil in her hand she noticed. 'I make this in a month with enough jobs from the guild.'
He looked away and blushed, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't have many needs or wants, so...it's nice to have it go to use, Tifa." Cloud looked back, an uncomfortable look on his face.
"Thank you...I'll set aside some for bathroom supplies if that's alright." She placed the bills on the nightstand next to her. Glancing at the clock it was almost four thirty now, the night going by quickly. It was nearly time to go to sleep, and she yawned at the thought. "I'm going to take a shower before I go to bed." Tifa took off for the bathroom, wanting to rinse off whatever blood and sweat was caked on her body from earlier.
Cloud lounged on his bed after stowing his sword in the closet, Squeak munching on a fruit bar the vampire had bought on the train earlier on the corner of the bed. He stared at the wall and then his bare feet, wondering whether he should go in the other room and perhaps use the television; he decided a book from his backpack would be preferable at this hour.
He tried to read but found himself distracted by the sound of the shower, and he looked towards the bathroom. Tifa had been equal parts a thorn in his side, a savior, and a breath of fresh air. A chaotic wrecking ball in his quiet, boring life. Cloud wondered if he was doing the right thing in regards to her safety. 'It would be so much easier to just force it on her and let her come to terms with it...I can't. I don't like it when she looks at me with so much hate in her eyes.'
Cloud checked his phone as it buzzed on his nightstand, Zack messaging him that the guild was alerted to the attempt on his life and his desire to stay in Junon for the time being. They discussed the train ride and their lodgings, Zack responding that he would keep a look out for a new place that would be more difficult to get in to and help . Cloud hoped his friend would be safe, but as he was told a moment later his servants were a little more intimidating than a rat. No offense to Squeak, Zack assured him.
He put down his phone again and stared off towards the ceiling, the book cradled in his hand as it laid on his chest. His other hand was tucked under his head. What to do after they were finally in the clear? Would Tifa part from his life again? Even if she kept in contact she would eventually die of old age, leaving him alone again. He had Zack and he cared about him like he was his older brother, but Tifa had his heart. He bit his lip, anxiety rising in his chest again. 'One day at a time...'
Cloud watched as Tifa reentered the room, wearing a large shirt and shorts and scrambling into her bed. He thought she looked adorable in such a large shirt; he pushed his feelings away, not wanting to torture himself further tonight. Did she have a boyfriend? No, he was sure she would have said something by now if that were the case. 'It doesn't matter. I can't give her a normal life anymore.'
She nestled under the covers, then turned his way. She seemed to study him a moment before averting her eyes. "On the lam..."
"Yeah..." he said.
Tifa settled herself on the bed, then let out a heavy sigh. "I think I'm still in a state of disbelief."
Cloud looked away as he put his book on the nightstand, then settled on his side facing Tifa. On instinct he rubbed his bracelet, the beads soothing. "I am too." He closed his eyes, wishing he could properly sleep when he wanted to. He opened them a little as Tifa spoke.
"You like to nap before dawn, don't you?"
"I just lay down and think about things before everything goes dark." he replied. Did she notice how early he retired on many nights?
"Hm. I do that too, sometimes. Think until I fall asleep..." Tifa blinked her eyes slowly, her ruby irises half hidden under her eyelids.
Cloud grinned. "Thinking used to keep me up at night before all this happened."
Her eyes opened more. "What did you think about that kept you up?"
He shrugged his exposed shoulder. "You and Ma, things that happened during the day. Sometimes it was pretty rough...I didn't sleep at all one night after another cadet was killed during a routine monster nest extermination."
"They sent cadets to monster nests?"
"Sometimes. I had a few close calls out there, myself." he sighed, still rubbing his bracelet. "We had one of the city champions with us if it was a particularly nasty job. I learned what I know about fighting from those years and Zack, when I befriended him. He used to be a city champion."
Tifa grunted, looking down and then back at Cloud. "I suppose we really do have a lot to catch up on."
He nodded before turning off the lights with the switch on the wall. He gazed at that lovely face that looked back at him in the dark, her eyes unable to pick up the longing in his own eyes as he watched her settle into the mattress. "Tonight...Good night, Tifa."
"Good night, Cloud."