Unspoken

By mihoyonagi

Chapter 15: Journey

A feather-soft touch gently brushed up against the side of the general's face, tenderly easing him out of a dreamless sleep. A sweet sound, almost like that of a purring animal, accompanied the sweet contact that ran down the side of his countenance. Expecting to see Aerith above him, Sephiroth opened his eyes.

What he saw was the farthest thing on the planet from the flower girl.

Above Sephiroth stood the largest chocobo he had ever seen.

The great yellow beast nuzzled the side of the general's face again, paying no heed that the man in black had opened his eyes and was rather startled over the entire ordeal.

Sephiroth raised a hand and swatted the muzzle of the large bird away. The bird nipped at his fingers, apparently thinking it a game. Sitting up, he glared at the bird. It merely tilted its head and blinked innocently at him. He placed the tip of his index finger to his lips to suck away the blood that pooled in the small cut the bird had made with its sharp beak. Placing his opposing hand on the chest of the chocobo, Sephiroth pushed back. The chocobo took a few steps backwards, letting out a soft "wark" as it did so, and reached out its neck to once again nuzzle the side of the general's face.

A hearty laugh came from the room, and Sephiroth looked around for whoever had made the noise. A young boy, no older than fourteen, stood near the feet of the general, a large bail of straw in hand. "I see Ella has warmed right up to you." The boy smiled.

Sephiroth merely raised an eyebrow. The boy's smile didn't fade, and he continued to talk. "The girl in pink told me that you couldn't talk. That's okay, though; the other men on this boat tell me that I talk enough for ten men. I'm not really sure if that's an insult, or a compliment." Dropping the bail of straw on the floor, the boy rubbed his dirty hand on his pants, and then held it out for the general to shake. "I'm Remy, and I'm the son of the man who owns this ship."

Suddenly remembering Aerith, Sephiroth stood, shaking the loose straw from his clothes, then lett go of the boy's hand. He looked around the small padlock for his pink-clad companion.

Remy smiled up at the man before him. "That girl did a really good job when she patched you up, yes'siree. She was all scared you wouldn't make it because you had blacked out right there on the dock. You went limp in some of the shipmates' hands and nearly fell into the water. We got you in here alright, but you had started to break out into a cold sweat from that darn foot of yours."

Sephiroth looked down at his foot, suddenly remembering he had broken it on a protruding tree root while running through the forest. The pain had at first been bearable, if that, but it had soon turned to torture.

"But the girl had us set you here and she pulled this wicked green light from nowhere, cooler than any spell from materia I've ever seen, and fixed you right up, that she did. It was so cool!"

Now agitated over the boy's constant talking, and the fact that the chocobo named Ella had started to rub her feathery face against his again, Sephiroth let out a terribly large sigh, hoping to make a point.

The boy, however, continued to talk.

"After she healed you up, she sat with you for a while to make sure you were okay. Some of the men came down, though, and invited her up to the deck to watch the sunset. I can only guess they took a quick fancy to her, being so pretty and all, but she didn't seem to notice and went along only after she asked me to look after you for a bit while she grabbed a bit of fresh air.

Sephiroth searched his pockets for the small notebook that was his only other means of communication, seeing as how the boy before him wasn't reading any of his open body signals.

"Hey, you know I don't think we were got your names. You remind me of someone, though. I'm not sure who, but I've heard all these crazy stories about him. I don't know if they're true or not, because I've heard a whole bunch of stories that don't sound like they could ever be real, but you know what I mean, right?"

Sephiroth fought the urge to roll his eyes and sigh heavily again.

"I don't think you'd be him, though. He did some crazy things. I heard he-"

Sephiroth forced his notebook into the hands of the youth, rolling his eyes only when he was certain the boy wouldn't look up and catch him.

"Oh, the girl is just upstairs," Remy replied to the scribbled question of 'where did the girl go?' Sephiroth took a deep breath, taking leave of the boy and the bird that had taken a liking to him. The feathered beast let out a soft coo of sadness as she watched Sephiroth go.

The rest of the ship was large, but Sephiroth found his way to the deck easily enough. He had, after all, been on many other ships before. Soft twilight and the flames of low-hanging lamps lit the deck with an almost ethereal glow. The horizon reflected off of the calm sea, sparkling and shimmering for what seemed like miles, making a thin line where the earth met the warm hues of they sky. He saw Aerith at the bow of the ship, the gentle breeze of the sea making the hair around her face dance.

He stood behind her, allowing her peace and personal space. He looked, instead, past her. The sea was magnificent.

Inhaling heavily, the general let out a sigh.

Aerith turned around and she greeted him with a gentle smile. "Feeling better, I take it?"

Sephiroth nodded, looking to the foot she had healed up. He pulled his notebook and pen from his pocket.

'Did you really do this?'

Aerith tilted her head a bit, still smiling. "Of course I did," she answered. "I'm an awful fighter because I'm such a weakling, but I've always had a knack for healing people."

Sephiroth furrowed his brow. He wanted to inform her that she wasn't weak, but somehow, his fingers wrote something else for her to read.

'Thank you- it doesn't hurt at all.'

Again, she smiled at him. "I was scared you wouldn't be able to use it again. For such a small fall, you really seemed to hurt it."

Sephiroth shrugged slightly, unsure of what else to say to her. The only reason he had sought after her was to thank her. Seeing if she was alright was on his mind as well, of course, but the idea wasn't as prominent as showing his gratitude toward her first and foremost.

'Where is the ship headed?'

Aerith bit her lip, trying to remember. "This ship is going way up north to carry supplies to Bone Village, but the captain said he'll drop us of on the shores outside of Midgar instead. He can't take us that far north because he'll be picking up passengers along the way, and since they are paying, he's kicking us off." She giggled slightly. "Is that okay with you?"

Again, Sephiroth shrugged. Who was he to disagree with the captain of a ship who had let them aboard free of charge? He was beginning to enjoy the fact that Aerith liked to make friends with everyone; it sure seemed to pay off.

'How long until we arrive?'

It was Aerith's turn to shrug. "A few more days, I suppose. Four tops." Shyly, she smiled, looking back to the sea. "You know, the entire time we were in the village, I never once thought about where it was we were. Turns out it was Mideel. That's where the lifestream surfaced a few years ago, so that's where we ended up- it was the easiest place for the planet to give us life."

Sephiroth waited in silence for Aerith to continue, somehow knowing she was going to.

"Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to travel there. It never once occurred to me while we were there that it was Mideel. I mean, even the seasons were different!" She let out a small laugh. "February and warm enough to wear jeans and a t-shirt; it didn't seem strange to me at all, because I had almost forgotten what seasons were like."

Puzzled, Sephiroth tilted his head. When Aerith turned to him, he could tell that she read his expression right away, for she began to laugh.

"I'm sorry; it was a little different when you died than when I died."

Sephiroth remained motionless. Not once since they had come back had she mentioned death. The muscles in his back tightened as he waited for her to continue.

"When you died, it seemed as though only a few moments had passed." Aerith paused and bit her lip. "That's what Hell is like, really. There is nothing; no time, and no concept of it; no scenery; no life. When I died, I was allowed into the Promised Land."

She paused, letting her gaze flow back to the waves.

"I hated it. There was life everywhere, and so much of it I felt like I was suffocating. I had some concept of time there, though two years felt like an eternity, hence why I was so shocked when I found out that only a few years had passed since our deaths. I didn't belong there, that's all."

Curiously, Sephiroth scribbled on his notepad. 'Why not? You're Cetra, aren't you?"

Hesitantly, Aerith let her lips curl into a small smile. "You forget, Sephiroth; I am only half Cetra. The human side of me ached and burned to return to the lifestream so I could return to the planet. I don't think I could have ever been happy there. Every moment I was in the Promised Land, I felt as though there was some great hole in my heart. I felt so incredibly alone, even in the company of my ancestors."

Sephiroth heaved a heavy sigh.

He knew of what she spoke, or, at least, the aching and loneliness part. Even when he had power, he felt as though nothing could clog the gaping hole in his chest. He could have been surrounded by the most expensive things on the planet, basking in the company of beautiful women and delicious food, yet the fissure in his heart only seemed to grow. Without knowing it, Sephiroth had placed a hand over his heart.

He watched Aerith smile. "You feel it too, then?"

Unsure, he nodded once.

"I wonder what it could be…"

So did he.