Reno leaned far back in the saddle of his horse, yawning widely and scratching his head with a sigh.
"Are we there yeeettt?" Reno whined for the fifth time in three minutes, slouching back forward into the slightly knotted red mane of his roan horse, Odysseus.
The forbidden four words had been let loose, and Reno prepared himself for the full brunt of the wrath that he had most definitely garnered from his traveling companions. He wasn't disappointed.
In a miraculous unity that his dysfunctional "family" so severely lacked most of the time, Yuffie, Cloud, and Zack flipped around and simultaneously yelled loudly enough that the birds roosting in the trees around them fled from their nests.
"Sss-hhh-uuu-ttt UUU-PPP!!"
Reno flinched at the dagger stares they were giving him and hid behind Odysseus's head.
"Never mind," he squeaked in a tiny voice, hunched up and small. With a huff, his companions turned their eyes back to the brightly colored path ahead.
Growing up and living a place with such little vegetation and the air perpetually smelling of hot dust, Cloud, Zack, Reno and Yuffie were amazed and a little more than astounded at the thousands of trees that stood majestically by the road. Thick branches weighted with the warm, festive fall colored leaves veiled the soft skies overhead and the husky, dry scent of thriving woodland hung refreshingly in the air. Wet, dappled shadows slid over their faces as the horses trotted, and the lush grass around them enticed their steeds every time they slackened their grip on the reins. Periodically birds would burst into cheery song, their voices weaving melodies that trembled in the air for several seconds after they finally silenced. They had never before seen so much natural beauty amassed in one concentrated form, and they gladly accepted the wood's generous offer of wild food, water, and shelter.
When they finally made it through the woods several spider bites, unpleasant encounters with the natural residents, and restless nights later, the four of them emerged, as promised, at the edge of The Edge- a towering city of splintered metal and lopsided junk, the ruins of one of the most mysterious and magnificent cities in the world.
Arwyn trotted into the city, her curious eyes probing at the glimmering structures that now housed the poor in the settlement. But as they ventured forth, Arwyn noted the progressively fantastic homes there were- the greatest of them nestled to the direct left of the huge, steel-woven nest-like jousting arena. This house had clearly existed before the pioneers had set foot in the city from its sleek, futuristic outward design and its gravity defying structure. And of course, the name emblazoned in front of the gated house held the name "The ShinRa Residence."
Cloud rolled his eyes. Of course. Who else would be able to buy a house of such grandeur?
"It looks like we're here," Zack sighed, sliding off of his horse and landing on the ground with a slight thump. Odysseus whickered in glad agreement, sliding Reno off of his back. The redhead flopped about helplessly on the dusty earth, trying to get up.
"I knew that sake wasn't good for you," Zack sighed, nudging the non-responsive speaker with his dusty riding boot. The slightest grunt of annoyance came from the redhead.
Cloud chuckled before looking around the other contestants that had come to The Edge for the tournament. He had studied a little noble origin before he came, and was eager to test his newfound knowledge of the royals…
There was the Highwind family, the roaring golden lions woven on royal blue, with the profaning Cid at the center of the rabble, the Valentine family of the scarlet rose and black thorns, from where the silent Vincent gave a slight smile and a nod to Cloud, the Masamune family-
The Masamune family.
Cloud's eyes were fixed on the green-and-gray Masamune banner of a solemn, white one-winged angel wielding a long, silver sword. Scanning their crowd, at last he found the face that he had sought…
Sephiroth's holier-than-thou expression was still on his face, conforming exactly to the typical noble character. Cloud caught his gaze, and Sephiroth smirked.
"I'll wipe that smile off your face yet," Cloud vowed, continuing to scan the crowd. The foursome continued to look at the banners of the other highest-ranking noble families in Gaia besides the Masamune including the Gainsborough, the Lockheart, and the currently crown-bearing Shinra…
Yuffie's heart gave a jolt as her wandering gaze followed Cloud's and fell upon the silver dragon insignia of the Shinra. Now that she thought about it, the black tattoo on Niveus's hand looked more like a dragon than it did a snake- did that mean that Niveus was no more than a noble's pet assassin? But clearly not, for assassins were trained for unbreakable obedience, and Niveus had been everything but obedient…
To her utter astonishment, she spotted- who else?- Niveus sitting atop a beautiful white horse.
"Speak of the devil and he will come," Yuffie muttered to herself.
"Did you say somethin', Yuff?" Zack asked absentmindedly, turning to look at her.
"N…nah, I didn't say anything," Yuffie answered. Until she could be sure of anything, she didn't want to worry her traveling companions…
"Oh. Okay then," Zack accepted readily, turning back to continue his enthusiastic argument with Reno.
"Eh… He really is clueless," Yuffie thought with a half-exasperated sigh, turning back to observe Niveus.
The black horse that he had seemed so fond of, Artemis, had vanished entirely, and Yuffie's brow furrowed in confusion. Assassins preferred to keep as many constant things in their tumultuous lives if possible- it didn't make sense that an assassin would switch steeds that quickly.
As if Niveus sensed her gaze, the black hood turned to face her. She could just imagine his infuriating, yet admittedly adorable smirk…
Niveus raised a hand to his brow and lightly saluted her before a rather large caravan of drunken commoners passed in front of him, obscuring her view of him entirely.
"No, no, no!" she hissed angrily, waving her hand as if it would move the mass of intoxicated men past any faster, "No fair!"
But of course, once the wagon finally passed, Niveus was gone.
"Sir Coryn."
Cloud whipped his head around, expecting to see some noble or a fellow opponent. Instead, he found himself looking at a dusty, ragged red cloak, slightly rumpled, travel-worn black clothing, tinkling silver chains, sharp-tipped gold gauntlets and boots, alabaster white skin, raven hair, and a pair of familiar, amused scarlet eyes…
Cloud relaxed.
"Vincent," he greeted cheerfully, "How's it been?"
"Fairly well," Vincent smiled, "I already know of your many triumphs, so I assume that you are also well?"
"Of course," Cloud agreed, grinning.
"I assume that Arwyn, Zack, Yuffie, and our favorite Reno are having the time of their lives?" Vincent chuckled softly, watching an infuriated Yuffie hurl a horseshoe at a weedy-looking urchin that had apparently tried to snatch some bangle from Arwyn's decorative bridle.
"Well, we're working on Yuffie's anger management issue and her fondness for throwing things, but other than that, they're all fine," Cloud sighed, watching Reno argue with Yuffie in agitated yips that made them look and sound like squabbling pups, "Or at least, I hope that they're all fine."
Vincent calmly observed Reno and Yuffie's argument culminate in a childish flurry of slaps and blows that left the Reno with a scratch mark on his cheek and Yuffie with a growing lump on her head. They glared huffily at each other and stalked off in different directions.
"Well, I can tell that with them around, you're never bored," Vincent commented, raising an eyebrow at the result of their argument.
"Never get any peace around them, either," Cloud muttered darkly, watching the two of them collide again in another catfight.
Vincent chuckled again. It was a soft, muted sound, as if he weren't quite used to the action. The two of them watched quietly for a while before Vincent turned to Cloud again, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Now, I assume that you will be staying with us, Sir Valentine?" Vincent asked quietly, observing Cloud's expression carefully.
Cloud turned to look at Vincent, still completely clueless and unperturbed.
"Stay with who?" Cloud asked, puzzled.
"The rest of the Valentine family," Vincent replied uncomfortably, shifting his weight restlessly from on foot to the other.
"Who, us?" Cloud laughed, patting Vincent on the back, "Us? No way! While we may have to impersonate nobles to get by with this…"
Cloud gave another chuckle.
"There's no way we could actually act like nobles. I mean, look at Yuff and Reno for example!" Cloud said brightly, gesturing vaguely towards Yuffie and Reno. Yuffie had one arm wrapped around Reno's neck in a chokehold, forcing his tall body to fold in half with the other hand curled into a fist that mussed up the disheveled red locks. Reno howled and tried to wriggle away from her, but to no avail.
"See what I mean?" Cloud smiled comfortably at Vincent, "It's alright. We know. We might have to act like nobles…but we know, at heart, we're really just normal commoners."
Vincent blinked in surprise.
"If…if you really don't mind the exclusion from camp…"
Cloud grinned.
"Trust me, we are fine. We don't want anything more than to show up a few of the nobles higher up on the social ladder. Just to prove that commoners," Cloud said, waving at himself and his squires collectively, "can do anything that nobles can. All we want to do is change a few minds, earn something to live off of. Nothing fancy like…becoming a noble. We'll just…camp out in a Valentine barn or something."
And with one final, crooked smile, Cloud lightly jogged over to Reno and Yuffie (who was now wrestling for control of a hammer with Reno in the dust).
Vincent's vaguely shocked appearance faded from his face, and his lips twitched upwards briefly in a half-smile.
"A rising star that has not even overreached his own popularity? Impressive. Coryn Valentine…" Vincent mulled softly, his eyes softening as he watched the blonde knight holding a scuffed and irritated-looking Reno and Yuffie in each hand by the scruffs of their necks, "you may actually change a few hearts…and in doing so…you may change the world."
Rufus chuckled, looking up again at Yuffie's perch where she was desperately scanning through the crowd to locate him again. How convenient those drunken partygoers of the city could be. But his brow furrowed slightly, and on second thought he moved behind another platoon of gleaming silver guards. She had unexpectedly spotted him before; he wouldn't underestimate her again.
Rufus absentmindedly stroked Artemis's sleek white mane and winced as he saw another stray streak of charcoal in her hair.
"I knew that using that dye was a bad idea, but really, I expected it to come out by now," he muttered, rubbing the silky fur with his fingers in vain attempt to pull the stain out. He hadn't forgotten the deep, stern lecture that the stable boy (who was three years younger and two feet shorter than he was) had so solemnly delivered as he scrubbed the black fur back to its natural silvery white.
Artemis whickered impatiently and stomped her foot. Rufus shook out of his reverie and slid off of the saddle.
"Rufus! Rufus, your mother is going to kill me if she finds you walking around on the ground!" Tseng hissed irritably, rubbing his temples as he rode up loudly on his midnight black horse, Valkyrie. The sturdy battle stallion pranced tauntingly in front of Artemis, and the beautiful snow-white mare gave an ungainly snap at his flank. Valkyrie almost seemed to grin and stepped delicately out of the way.
"Control your horse, Tseng," Rufus snickered, gently leading Artemis away from the light-footed steer, "And you say that I'm terrible at training animals."
"It's not my fault," Tseng growled, delivering a reprimanding snap of the reins, "He's fine when he's not around Artemis, but if she comes around, then he starts to act up again…"
"Oh, I see how it is," Rufus grinned, "So it's all Artemis's fault now?"
"The point is, Rufus-"
"See you back at camp, Tseng!" he said, fading into the faces in the road, pulling up his hood.
Tseng gave a half-exasperated, half-worried growl of acknowledgement and turned Valkyrie around. Once again, Valkyrie was his usual docile self again, and the two of them rode into the camp with an ink-black flag flying high over it. In the center of the cloth was sewn a silver dragon.
The Shinra Family.
Cloud yawned and pulled gently at Arwyn's reins. She snorted and sped up her leisurely lope to a trot, tossing her mane with a huff. They were going to get water from a spring that Cloud had passed on the way to The Edge.
"Sorry, girl, but I can't let you drink from the water troughs in camp," Cloud sighed, "You don't know what's swirling around under the surface. There could be plenty of drugs and poison in there. I heard that one of the Highwind's horses got drugged already."
Arwyn suddenly looked forward and perked her ears, stopping in her tracks. Curious, Cloud followed her gaze to where she was looking.
The beautiful, nameless raven-haired lady was sitting next to the spring.
She and two other ladies were visiting the spring, chatting easily and breaking out into occasional spurts of laughter. She wore a lavender summer dress that brushed her bare feet with her hair drawn loosely up into a ponytail.
To her left was a gentle-looking woman with her chestnut brown hair braided and ribboned with a strip of pink cloth. Her light pink dress reached her calf and her glimmering emerald eyes sparkled with perpetual mirth. In her hands sat a tiny bluebird that flicked its bright, intelligent black eyes from face to face, chirping and cooing.
The last lady splashed in a highly unladylike manner in the spring, heedless of her soaking wet black hair and dripping clothing. Deep amethyst eyes glittered in the sunlight, and unlike the other two women, her movements were quick and sharp, like a rattlesnake's lightning-fast movements. Angled features and willowy frame defined her clear noble descent.
A huge silvery white wolf lay next to her in the water, panting happily with a great lolling pink tongue spilling past sharp, angled teeth. Two lazy sapphire eyes with ink-black slit pupils observed the three of them, glowing softly in the light.
Cloud froze. Did they not see the wolf? It was right beside them, and looked large enough to kill a horse with a single snap of its monstrous jaws. He reached for the sword at his belt and slowly drew it out…
He came hurtling out of the brush, sword drawn, heading straight for the great beast…
A flurry of blue feathers and shrieking chirps exploded from the brunette's hand as the bluebird shot off to safety.
Cloud blinked.
The girl sitting next to him had effortlessly caught his attack, her hunting knife procured from thin air and deflecting his blow. Cloud stopped his attack, stunned. Why would she defend that wolf?...
"So, dear sir," she addressed, one eyebrow rising, "Why would you be attacking Riku?"
"I- what?" Cloud exclaimed, utterly confused, "Did you ask why? I think that that's a wolf over there! Wolves aren't tame!"
"Aw, my Riku? A horrible beast? That's not very nice!" she cooed facetiously, "And what of Lady Lockheart and Lady Gainsborough? Are you sure you didn't come here on that pretense?"
Cloud growled.
"I am absolutely sure that is not my meaning, milady," he grumbled, resheathing his sword. His opponent did the same and clicked her tongue.
The wolf stood and shook its glossy fur out before trotting up to the girl. It was just as big as Cloud has imagined it was, standing a good four feet taller than Arwyn and nearly three times as large. Cloud swallowed hard.
"Riku, meet Sir Valentine," she chirruped, stroking the wolf's long, soft fur, "Sir Valentine, meet Riku."
"And you, ma'am?" Cloud queried.
"I am Alexandra Valentine," she said calmly, "of the Valentine family."
Cloud froze again, unsure if she knew he was an imposter or not…
Alex was suddenly leaning in close, whispering in his ear.
"Nii-san told me already. Your secret is very much safe with me," she whispered, leaning back and studying him with the same piercing gaze Vincent had.
He relaxed and turned to speak to the other two women there.
"I am-"
"-Sir Coryn Valentine, I am quite aware," the raven-haired lady completed, her amused eyes focused on his, "I see you still pursue that which you want so desperately."
"I- I actually came to water my horse…"
Arwyn peacefully poked her head out of the brush as she heard her name, her ears perking. She raised one graceful leg and stepped neatly over the small, thorny bushes before lifting her other leg and setting it down.
"I see that you speak the truth," the raven-haired lady said, her eyes curious and genuinely interested in Cloud's abrupt appearance, "I remember you from your first tournament. You were so young and enthusiastic then. It seems you have matured, little bear."
Riku suddenly perked his ears up and looked towards the woods, his bright celadon eyes turned to gaze at the thicket of bushes and trees. His hackles rose and a low growl thrummed deep in his chest as his black lips rose from intimidating razor-edged teeth.
Alex carefully watched Riku and stroked his head.
"Riku says there is a foreign presence intruding upon the forest," she translated, "And it possesses the scent of a metallic weapon."
Riku cocked one ear, but his fur settled and the deep growl coiling in his chest sunk back to a low purr.
"That's strange," Alex said, frowning, "The presence has passed…and is heading for camp. But the gates are closed and any other parties are now barred from entering the contest… I think it may be wise to cut our excursion short and head back to camp now. A report will be filed to the Shinra and the Valentine."
Lady Lockheart and her silent handmaiden stood.
"I agree," Lockheart nodded, "I thank you for showing us this area, Lady Valentine."
"Not 'Lady'," Alex quipped smartly, winking, "Just a handmaiden to you, Teef."
Tifa gave an amused half-smile to her friend and slowly turned to Cloud.
"And it was a pleasure to meet you again, Sir Coryn," Lockheart said, inclining her head, but keeping her gaze steadily matched with his. Alex gave a low, lark-like whistle, and two horses trotted docilely out of the woods.
"Be careful, Lady Lockheart," Alex cautioned once, watching them mount the mares, "Riku intimidated much of the dangerous wildlife from our path before, but without his presence, you may encounter more than just squirrels and wild Chocobos…"
"Don't worry, Alex," Lockheart smiled benignly, "Aerith and I are very capable of protecting ourselves…"
Alex grinned wolfishly, bearing a sudden, startling resemblance between her and her furry companion.
"I do not doubt that, Lady," she nodded, and the two horses trotted into the forest, disappearing into the woods.
Riku leaned down; his legs crouched slightly beneath his body. Alex nimbly leapt on the wolf's back and looked down at Cloud with an amused half-smile.
"It was nice to see you, Sir Coryn. I should hope to see you soon back in camp."
Cloud gave a dazed farewell and watched Riku vanish with astonishing stealth and speed, like a misty phantom evaporating in the full glare of the sun. Arwyn whickered and nudged him closer to the pool of water, reminding him bluntly why they had come in the first place. Cloud's trance was shattered.
"Yeah, see you around, too, Lady Lockheart," he murmured, experimentally rolling the name around to savor the knowledge of it, "See you too."
Yuffie glanced worriedly at the dusky sky from her bed of dry hay amongst the stable rafters, surrounded by the smell of horses, dust, and straw. Zack and Reno lounged nearby, basking lazily in the sun. From the ledge, they could see all of the Edge, from the nobles' tents to the peasant houses, and the street filled with multitudes of people milling around, laughing, and bantering lightly as they carried out their evening chores.
"It's been a while since Cloud went to water Arwyn," she noted, "Doesn't it almost seem too long?"
"Chillax, Yuff, I'm sure he's just fine," Reno drawled, "I doubt that anybody could take down our little bear."
"Still, you have to wonder- hey!"
Yuffie bounced onto her feet, staring into the crowd.
"It's Niveus!"
"AGAIN!!" she added mentally.
Zack and Reno jerked at the sound of the name and straightened themselves up. Three pairs of searching eyes found Niveus's rippling black cloak leading the beautiful mare they had seen before. But although its distinctively foreign face and build was the same, this horse was a silvery-white color.
"That's Niveus, all right," Zack concluded, "But what's up with the horse? Wasn't it black the last time we saw him?"
Now that I think about it, the horse looks exactly like Artemis in white…
"It was," Yuffie frowned, "Maybe he dyed the horse?"
"If he did, he sure did want anonymity pretty badly," Reno commented, "Not everyone dyes their horses, especially not nobles, who are the only ones that could have enough time to do that…"
Yuffie saw Niveus's hand reach up to stroke Artemis's slightly knotted mane- and in that moment, she saw one prominent feature nobody else saw.
The snake tattoo she had seen before flashed before her eyes- except that now she was able to definitely discern regal, taloned feet, and that it was not a snake, but rather, a dragon.
An four-taloned royal Eastern dragon
…Like the Shinra.
Yuffie opened her mouth to exclaim her newly supported finding when Cloud came bursting into the stables on Arwyn's back. Both rider and mare looked exhilarated and refreshed by the sprint to the barn, and Cloud quickly dismounted to wave to his friends.
"Hey," he greeted cheerfully, bright sapphire eyes glowing with pleasure, "How's it been?"
"Lazy," Reno murmured, chewing a piece of hay, "What makes you so hyper today, Cloud?"
"Nothing," he grinned, while his expression clearly stated that something was up and that he simply did not feel like telling them.
Cloud squirreled up the ladder to the hayloft where they were lazing about faster than his burly frame would suggest was possible. Reno and Zack stared, dumbfounded.
"Wow, I haven't seen you move that fast since the last competition a few months ago," Zack finally said, blinking rapidly as if his eyes had misinformed him, "What's got you so happy today?"
"Nothing," Cloud repeated brightly.
Yuffie scowled.
"We both know that there is something going on," Yuffie snapped irritably, "so you'd better cough it up before I have to beat it out of you later."
Cloud winked and refused to comply.
Yuffie sat down huffily, popping a bag of straw and the explosion of little wisps of yellow straw drifted slowly down and settled in her hair. Zack, Reno, and Cloud tried (and failed miserably) to hide a snicker as Yuffie clawed the strands of hay out of her hair. It was going to be a long, long wait until the tournaments started for all four of them.
A/N: Remember that reviews make my inner muse's world go round!! And I really did work hard on this one, so take it gratefully—ahem, RILEY.
Thanks for reading, guys!
The Japanese alcoholic rice wine