Softening of Stone
The group had stopped to take a break in an empty clearing. The creatures that had been attacking them were unusually strong. All but two of them had some sort of injury or laceration. The two that didn't have any injuries were the two that posessed one or more demons.
Yuffie had been growing nervous as they had made their way through the dense forest, and had not calmed down even though they had stopped.
She sat quietly and stared into the forest ahead. It was completely uncharacteristic.
Vincent, of course, noticed. He walked over and sat besides her. "Yuffie."
"Hey, Vinnie," she smiled over at him. "What's up?"
"You... don't seem to be acting like yourself. I was wondering if you're okay," he replied.
She bit her lip and gave him a small half smile. "I'm kinda... getting acustomed to how having a demon in me is changing how my body reacts to stuff. Like this." She held out her arm and showed him the red welt that was on her skin. "Five minutes ago, that was bleeding badly."
"You're body is healing itself at an accelerated rate?" he asked, running a thumb over the welt.
"Yeah."
Before he could say anything more, the unmistakable sound of a growl from behind them. It was loud and vicious. Vincent whirled around in time to see a Minotaur and a Reaper enter the clearing. The presence of the monsters were immidiatly felt by each member of AVALANCHE, who then leapt into action.
Tifa quickly equipped her God's Hand and made the first attack on the Reaper. It hit, but didn't do much damage. It was Cloud's turn next. He swung his blade into the Minotaur, making a long laceration against it's side.
It roared in fury and charged, hitting Yuffie full-on. She was thrown back so she hit the ground hard. Her limit break was triggered, though it wasn't one any of them were familiar with.
"Yuffie!" Tifa shouted.
Yuffie acted as though no one else was there. Her body began to emit a purple glow and her face turned emotionless. Her eyes glazed over as she stared straight ahead at the monster infront of her. Claws formed where her fingernails used to beand sharpened themselves.
"...Yuffie?" her name was repeated as the Reaper readied a strong move.
She leapt into action before either monster could move. She placed one hand at the base of the Minotaur's neck. Her grip tightened and the creature began to emit a squeal of pain. Blood seeped out from under her claws. With one quick motion of the wrist, the Minotaur was dead; it's neck snapped.
"Careful. She's berserk," Vincent said in a low tone.
She went after the Reaper next. With no time to react, the Reaper was taken aback. She grabbed it's arm and twisted. With a crack, the joint of it's arm broke. Moment's later, she tossed it's lifeless body to the side. Mako shimmered in the air as the bodies returned to the lifestream.
Yuffie was motionless, her glazed over eyes turned towards her friends.
One of them spoke her name once more, thoroughly shocked by what had just happened. Her expression changed to one of confusion. Suddenly her eyes were normal and she spoke. "Wha...?" Her legs gave and she blacked out. A flash of crimson caught her.
"Is she alright?" Nanaki asked quietly, his tail lashing.
"She's unconcious." Vincent removed his cloak and laid it down on the ground. Gently, he placed her on it.
"What... What was that?" Tifa asked timidly.
"That was... Destruction. Her demon. That was her form of a limit break, I believe," he answered.
Tifa sat besides the unconsious princess and took out a heal materia. She cast it on her friend before calming down a bit.
"We should stay here until she wakes up. It's late anyway," Cloud spoke logically.
"It'd probably be best for her. It will take awhile for her to heal from this. Even with accelerated healing, her body still isn't used to exertion like that." Vincent switched from kneeling to sitting besides his unconcious partner. Tifa stood. "I'll keep watch," he informed. "You three get some rest."
Nanaki, Cloud, and Tifa settled down in their respective places and Vincent stayed besides Yuffie.
Hours later, Vincent was still awake. He sat patiently on watch, not needing sleep.
He glanced over at Yuffie's sleeping form. She had managed to wrap the cloak around herself in her sleep. He smiled softly and brushed the hair back out of her face.
She smiled in her sleep and shifted. "Vi... Vincent?"
"Shh..." he comforted.
"Wha... What happened?" she whispered.
"You hit your limit break. The rest... I'll tell you later."
She sat up and put a hand to her head. "Ow..." He put a hand on her shoulder and she glanced over at him. "Are we still in the same place we were before?"
"Yes."
Yuffie realized what she was resting on and blushed. "Uhhh, thanks, Vinnie. For letting me use..." She indicated to the cloak.
He smiled at her gently. "It's fine, Yuffie."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Thanks."
"How's your head?" he asked.
"Getting better. But I should probably go back to sleep... Are you alright staying up for watch?" she whispered the question in order not to wake the others nearby.
"It's okay. You need your sleep," he replied.
"I'll stay up with you." She stated it plainly, as though she hadn't mentioned a need of sleep only moments before.
"You need sleep. What happened earlier drained you," he objected.
"Then..." She blushed and continued. "Could you lay down with me? At least for a bit?"
"Sure."
He moved closer to her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his shoulder and they both laid down on the rumpled cloak.