The Turk Called Cloudia
AN: /blah/ = thoughts/inner monologue
*blah* = PHS conversation
One – Age 15
Cloudia Strife sighed as she sat in the bar of the North Corel Inn. She had been walking for days, hunting along the way. As it was she had already amassed a rather large supply of fangs form the Nibelwolves she had slain along with their furs. /Now if only someone would buy them from me, and at a fair price./
"Hey kid, I heard you have some furs to sell. What creature and what condition?"
She turned to see a merchant standing behind her. "Good to excellent condition and Nibelwolf. I have ten of them and their fangs as well."
The merchant smirked at the thought of the easy deal he could get off this country hick then he saw the sword sitting beside her and the gun holstered at her hip. "Where are the furs? I wish to look at them before deciding." He sneered down at the girl.
"Follow me then, the furs are in my room." She stood and picked up her sword, easily swinging it onto her back. "Besides I know how much these furs are worth so don't even think about trying to cheat me."
Angeal Hewley sighed as he watched his latest student struggle to stand still. "Zack! Fidgeting will not help you pass the evaluations."
Zackary Fair sighed but stilled his nervous movements. "Ok Angeal, but you need to distract me. Tell me about what happened to your sword. I never saw you use it and then you return from being AWOL without it."
"Fine, but it goes no further." Angeal said as he pulled out the nearest chair. "It all happened three years ago..."
~*FLASHBACK START*~
Angeal sighed in relief as he wandered into a small mountain village and headed straight for the Inn. He was disappointed to learn that there were no spare rooms at that time. He left the building in tome to see a small girl get pushed over by a group of bigger boys.
"Hey stop it. Leave her alone." He growled causing the boys to jump. "Get away from here."
The boys ran off as Angeal knelt beside the girl. "Hey are you ok, little one?"
The little blonde nodded as she stood up. "I am fine, I just need to get home now. If you will excuse me."
Angeal smiled as he stood as well. "Well miss, do you know if anyone is taking in boarders for the winter?"
She shook her head before gathering her bag. "I do not know but maybe my mother will. If you would follow me, I will ask her for you."
Angeal just nodded as he followed the odd girl out of town. His face darkened as he saw how the villagers treated the girl he was following.
He smiled when he saw the house he had been led to. While it was a fair distance from the rest of the village, it was rather gorgeous. It had white walls and a blue tiled roof and matching front door. It was a two story building like the others but it seemed more welcoming.
Angeal waited outside until the little girl came back out this time with her mother. "I'm sorry for bothering you like this but it seems I need somewhere to stay for the winter. Your daughter said you may know of a family with a spare room to let?"
The older woman looked him over carefully. "I am Clara Strife, you can stay here. But you must help with the chores."
~*FLASHBACK END*~
"... and after I saw how the other villagers treated the two of them, I decided to train the girl to use a sword." Angeal said softly.
"But that doesn't explain what happened to your sword Angeal." Zack complained as he stared at the older man.
"I left it with her so she could protect both her honor and that of her mother." Angeal said sadly. "I couldn't stay there because of the war so I did the next best thing. I gave her a way to protect herself."
Cloudia sighed as she walked beside the merchant caravan she was hired to guard. It was boring and the caravan leader wouldn't let her hunt anything. She was lucky she was the only one who could lift her sword or that would have been taken away as well.
She glared at the caravan leader knowing she wouldn't be continuing on after the next village, she would rather walk alone then be treated like a little kid.
A week later they had finally reached Costa del Sol. Cloudia sighed happily as she waited for the caravan leader to pay her. /Now to find a way to Midgar so I can find Sensei.../ She looked over at the caravan leader. "Hey where's my money?"
The older man smirked at her. "You're underage so I can't pay you. So what are you going to do about that?"
Cloudia just sighed before heading back over to the caravan and removed the furs and fangs she had collected. "Fine, I guess I'll be leaving then." She turned and walked off.
The caravan leader ran over to one of the guards and tried to report her for stealing.
"Forget it, I saw the entire thing. Besides it is obvious that they belonged to him." The guard said with a smirk. "Don't bother us if you don't want to follow through with an agreement."
The caravan leader just glared as he watched Cloudia walk away with a fortune.
Genesis Rhapsodos sighed as he sat at the bar of Costa del Sol's largest Inn. /Why the hell did I get assigned here? So I tormented Sephiroth a little, what's so unusual about that?/ He threw back the last of his whiskey before standing and staggering (slightly mind you) to the door.
He crashed into someone as he left the building. As he helped the person up he caught sight of their weapon, a Buster Blade that seemed vaguely familiar to him. "Sorry about that..." He frowned as the kid jus brushed past, basically ignoring him.
Genesis followed the blonde back into the Inn only to see the Innkeeper turn the kid down. /Where's his parents? Surely they haven't let him go off on his own.../ He followed the younger boy back out into the sunlight of Costa del Sol.
"Damn, now what am I supposed to do? There is not another passenger transport to Junon for five days... at least it is warm enough that I can camp out here." The boy said as he ran a hand through his blonde spikes.
"Hey I have a spare bed in my room, if you don't mind sharing." Genesis offered as he leant on the wall near the blonde.
Cloudia jumped as someone offered her a room. "Why would you offer me a place to stay? You do not know me from a bar of soap."
"I don't know...it just seems like the right thing to do." The redhead said as he half slumped against the wall. "I have never done anything like this before..."
Cloudia sighed as she watched the odd person before her. "I guess I could stay until the ferry comes back... but I will help pay... if I can ever sell these stupid things." She said looking at her pile of furs. "I should have sold them in the mountains and not waited until I got here..."
The redhead frowned as he watched Cloudia gather her belongings. "So do you have a name or something? I am Genesis... Rhapsodos..."
"Cloud... Cloud Strife."
The next five days passed rather quickly, Cloudia ended up selling all but two of her furs and half the fangs. She sighed as she gathered the last of her things before leaving a note for her roommate Genesis to find.
She took one last look around the room before she left to catch the boat to Junon.
Genesis frowned as he read the note he found laying on his bed.
'Thank you for allowing me to stay.
Cloud.'
/So he left... I wonder if I'll ever see him again.../ Genesis sighed as he flopped onto the bed. /He never told me where he got his sword either.../
Genesis jumped as his PHS rang. "What?"
*Don't sound so happy.*
"Angeal, what's happening? Do you have any news on the fighting?" Genesis asked as he laid back on the bed.
*You need to get ready to leave. Sephiroth and I are coming to get you.*
"Alright, how long until you get here?" Genesis sat up looking around the room.
*We're getting on the chopper now. So start packing.*
Genesis sighed as he ended the call and stood to pack.
Cloudia groaned as she sat in the corner of the boat. /I hate boats, I wish there was some other way I could have gone to Junon... I never knew I had motion sickness./ She shut her eyes as the boat rocked as it sailed across the sea. /Damn, hopefully I'll still be alive when I get there.../
AN: There is a poll on my profile page. Who do you want Cloudia to end up with? The two most popular choices will be selected to go into a second poll in a few weeks time. Please vote as soon as possible. v (^_^) v PM or review with your choice for Other. (^_~)