5: Dinner in a Curio

-----

Sephiroth made it clear the night before that I needed rest early. When I asked why he thought so, he had merely glared and went to sleep himself. That response certainly made my decision for me, of course. I stayed up late, just to be the rebellious teen to his overbearing parent.

Or I had tried. Hard, but probably not hard enough.

Something had decisively gripped me from afar, something like hazy little stars dancing around my head. And I fell asleep like a dead log plunging into a river, a swift one, but soothing, nonetheless. Just before I hit the book I'd been reading headfirst, I realized that this...this wasn't a voluntary lash of fatigue. But who was I to complain in the long run? Sleep wasn't all that bad.

--

Morning came, a very, very early morning.

"Get up," said a calm but stern voice.

I stirred but made no real attempt to wake. Who would ever want to be roused from sleeping on a cloud? Certainly not I. But before long, I felt a shift in my weight, a pull to my arms, legs, and head. Clearly disturbed, I opened an eye to find Sephiroth. He held me to him by the arms, the impatience thick as a beard on his face. I quirked a tired eyebrow, then slowly worked my way out of the crook of his arm onto the edge of the bed.

"Wow, why are you waking me up so early?" I fumbled for nothing in particular, then turned my sights on the curtains. Not a single ray of light shone through the dark blue fabric. I stared up at the stiffly postured man, dressed down in his usual, casual military garb, almost the same dusky colors.

"Take your shower," he told me. "We leave in half an hour."

"Leave? We're... going somewhere?"

"Wutai."

I shot to my feet, unsure of whether to be ecstatic. "To Wutai...? R-Really?! Oh oh... um... D-don't leave without me, or I'll never forgive you."

"Perish the thought," Sephiroth said, albeit sarcastically. "Get ready."

Half an hour passed quickly. As soon as I jumped out of the shower, I hopped into some clothes and Sephiroth ungraciously slapped a cloak over me just as I waltzed out of the bedroom. I hated for my mood to be soured while the day was still so new, but there wasn't a thing I could do about it. He cloaked himself as well, and together, we stepped outside onto the porch. We were going to Wutai. I was going to Wutai, a new land, a new joy.

"Okay, so now what?" I asked, barely able to contain myself.

"We fly."

"You fly," I corrected. "I cling for dear life like a leech."

"That knowledge lies within you. Why don't you trying looking inside yourself for once?"

"Do I need to?" I asked, genuinely curious. Sephiroth lifted a finger to his temple and exhaled tiredly.

"For strength of your origins," he said. "I think that human shell keeps you from what you're truly capable of. I would tell you to get rid of it but... I've grown attached."

"Aerith told me to keep myself pulled together. Otherwise, I... wouldn't be me." I had to muse over what I said. But what made me, me? A name, a face, a... Sephiroth knocked it out of me as he scooped me up in his arms, securing my body a little too tightly— as if I would fly away without him. I knew I must have looked a strange bundle, glaring daggers at my carrier from beneath my own hood into his. The shaded corner of his mouth curled into too subtle mirth. "Don't say a thing. Just fly."

"Right..."

His knees bent, prepared to take off in a flash.

"Wait!" I cried. "My flowers, they need to be watered and-"

Sephiroth sighed. He set me back on my feet, though keeping one arm around my waist. He snapped his fingers once over his shoulder.

"Wait for it," he advised. So I did.

The faintest shadow began to creep over my flowerbeds. Fearful of what it was, I moved to try and protect them, but Sephiroth stopped me from doing so and pointed up. In the dark, early morning sky, I saw a clear shimmering bubble descend upon my little garden. Water. He'd called it from out of nowhere, and with a second snap of his fingers the bubble burst into a near invisible shower. The soft patter on my flowers and the ground was a sweet tinkle of a melody, enough to assuage me just a little.

"Oh…"

"That should tide your precious little garden over until we get back."

-----

Between the wild lashing of my hood and the wind roaring in my ears, the flight was largely unsatisfying. I wanted badly to curse Sephiroth for having me wear this blasted cloak that stole from me what beautiful sights I could have seen along the way. He was having all the fun; I just felt like some lame animal hitching a ride.

"Almost there," I suddenly heard him say. His ability to speak so clearly under the wind boggled my mind. The little esoteric things he knew how to do, I wanted to learn, too. He knew the Lifestream way too well, had a firmer grasp on it than I did and I was lot closer to it than he'd ever-

"Ouch!" I yelped.

"You're interfering with my concentration," Sephiroth snapped. I batted his hand away from my arm where a bright pink welt began to form. I felt demeaned, but in a way I supposed that I had it coming to me. Day in and out, I tormented the man with everything I contemplated under the sun and moon. There was no use in blaming him. Then again, he made me think about things. Sometimes a lot and necessarily willingly.

"How much longer 'til Wutai?" I asked, then trying to draw his awareness elsewhere.

"Soon."

I would keep my mouth shut until we reached land. Out of kindness for Sephiroth and the need to avoid anymore pinches, I cranked my brooding train to a near all-time low. His body felt cool and content as a result. I let my head loll listlessly against his shoulder and closed my eyes in the meantime.

--

From the red shores, my eyes grasped how wonderful Wutai was starting to look. Rocky hills rolled towards the sky, giving way to the shapeliest mountains in the distance. As Sephiroth and I climbed those hills, great brownish-green valleys unfurled, cradling whole villages and rippling forests and fields as far as the eye could see.

This was the nation of Wutai.

Sephiroth stood by me, his stance full of familiarity in this land. I remembered asking about his past as a soldier once. According to him, it was here that he earned his title as war hero and veteran. Maybe that contributed to my interest about this place. This was my chance to see where Sephiroth fought so hard for someone, or rather something, as shady as Shinra. Even just standing here on Wutai's red soil, I could feel history wave beneath my feet, the exoticism pervade the air around me, and the age of this land suck the breath right out of my body. I wished that Sephiroth had decided we live here than on the main continent. The occidental mystique felt oh so renewing.

"Calm down," Sephiroth said, stepping in front of me. "I could mistake you for me after a few sexless months."

"Wh-wha?" A part of me had suddenly fallen into cardiac arrest. His wording... It was amazing how 'off' it could be on those rare occasions. "D-don't be silly. It's just the Planet is... is…"

"Pleasuring you."

"No, noooo," I groused, rolling my eyes. "There, there's just so much soaked into the earth here and... It feels like paradise." I was reeling before I even realized it. I sensed Sephiroth's hand wriggle past my cloak and hair to my back, fingers running up my spine like a giant spider. I pitched forward out of his wandering hand and stepped lightly down the hill. The steep slope sent me halfway gliding into the valley at high speed.

The village awaited.

The neck of a stream greeted me. It sliced and wound through this valed village, disappearing behind trees and old, red towers in the distance. Bridges crooked; birds, children, and flowers waded in the crystal clear waters under the late morning sun. Paradise. It was hard to believe a war had been waged on this soil, and still, everything remained as beautiful as life could be. If sparkling was a sound, my eyes would have scared all the birds away.

"Wutai is impressive when cowed," Sephiroth said.

"How many years has it been since the war…?" I asked.

"I was twenty-five when it ended. More than eight years have passed."

"So," I started, "if you'd lived like a regular person, you'd be thirty-three or something by now. Like an old man, huh?"

"Hardly."

"This place doesn't even look half affected by what happened here…"

"The effects aren't so visible to one like you, not anymore. The economy isn't what it used to be. Now, Wutai is just a playground-slash-vacation spot to the rest of the world. A mere shell of the national power it once was."

"Oh? Hm." I felt enlightened but in the end, I didn't really care. Regardless of whether this was a poor nation now or not, that in no way detracted from the beauty, the history, the people I had yet to meet. I strode alongside the stream onto a sandy path that led into the heart of the village.

The houses were unlike anything I ever saw before in buildings. The clay roofs came to a tapering point, with shingles like lizard scales and each their four corners sported claws that reached for the sky. The doorways were bare and wide. A person could almost see everything in one house or another. But most houses and businesses had strange screens set just inside their doorways for privacy. I was madly fascinated in the Wutain architecture.

I blinked hard.

"What's that big tower over there?" I asked.

"It's called a pagoda."

"Pa... go... da," I said slowly to myself. "It's got a nice ring to it."

"The Wutai guarded that damned thing with their lives," Sephiroth said with a bittersweet grin. "They'll let everything else fall around them at Shinra's hands, but the rest of the world be damned if their tower of the gods falls. Such piety is laughable."

"Piety?" I stared up at the pagoda. I noticed how strangely built it was, stacked like blocks, each tier getting marginally smaller the higher it went. Five tiers. I wondered what it meant.

"Their faith, Drana. In gods and spirits, that sort of thing."

"I just believe in the Planet," I answered, though still confused about this piety business. Sephiroth laughed and patted me on the head.

"Let the humans believe what they want," he said. I slipped from beneath his hand and escaped from his side farther down the path. A pair of dusty looking boys crossed in front of me, running a circle around me and happily chattering in their native tongue. They were unbelievably cute, as most children tended to be. I almost wished I had a womb, that was... if I didn't have one. Soundlessly, Sephiroth crept up behind me, driving the children away with his ever-intimidating presence. "In the end, only the Planet matters."

I glared back at him wearing that pseudo-malicious smirk he loved so much.

I sighed. "That's true."

-

"You know how I hate dressing like this, old man!"

"A daughter of your distinguished background must mind her manners and accept tradition and responsibility. These bones are getting old, yes, which is why you need to start learning how to be a ruler. And dress like one, too."

"A lord should be able to dress however he wants. So if I wanna wear shorts and a tank top, dammit, let me wear my shorts and tank top!"

"Yuffie... be reasonable. You're almost twenty and you still haven't thought about your future, or the future of Wutai? Where's your pride in our nation?"

Yuffie huffed indignantly. She stood perched atop a small stool, arms perpendicular, as attendants swarmed around her body making these adjustments and that. Bundled in thick embroidered robes and headdresses, the girl struggled to keep balance and endure the weight. Her father, a bear of a man compared to most, but dignified and proper all the same, stood by with judging eyes. That girl just did not want to be tamed. The tenacity was admirable but did zero wonders for her image.

One attendant cinched Yuffie's waist, causing her to rock haphazardly on the stool.

"Watch it!" she barked.

"Lady Yuffie, you have to be still."

"I'll show you how to be-"

"Yuffie, bite your tongue," her father commanded.

"Pops, you know how humiliating this is?" the girl whined. "I've got a rep to maintain. I can't be the legendary Shinobi if I'm dressed like a frickin' doll. And I can't be a master materia hunter either."

"I know you mean well, Yuffie, but our nation wasn't built on materia and shinobi," the lord said. "Wutai was built on the back of its ruler and people as one entity. Two in harmony surpasses one in perfection, as I once heard. Wish I made that up myself, but the point is…"

"Okay okay, I get it," Yuffie cried out tiredly. Her arms fell heavily at her side, the gigantic bell-like sleeves flapping about and slapping her attendants in the face. "I still think these clothes are ridiculous, though. Now I know how you feel…"

"Lord Godo!" A new face appeared at the door of the fitting room. The socialite messenger had a worried expression, to which Lord Godo took an offensive stance.

"What is it?"

"There's word that some strangers are snooping around town." One had to love how fast word traveled across the village. Godo fostered a tightly knit community in his entire rule, and while it failed to win the war, the people never lost hope and strength thereafter. So it seemed that even they could keep together without his help, and under the eventual rule of Yuffie, he hoped.

"What do they look like?"

"Cloaked. But obviously a man and woman."

"Cloaked?" Yuffie said. "I wonder if one of them is Vin-Vin…"

The girl hopped off the stool and waddled out into the hall and through the courtyard. Some attendants hesitantly followed, snatching up the headdresses as they fell and the trails of the robes as they dragged. Once at the main doorway overlooking the village from a hill, she spied a suspicious, darkly dressed pair roaming along the stream.

"Hmm… I guess not. Who are they, then…?"

-

"I wonder if we can go in that pagoda. I'd love to see how it looks inside."

"It's a sacred monument and we're strangers in a strange land," Sephiroth cautioned. "We might not be so welcome."

"But it's so tempting…"

"You want to feel what it's like to live here?" he asked. I faced him, befuddled, but then I realized what he was referring to. I nodded slowly. He took a great step towards me, peering under my hood. "Let us vanish for a few days. Right here, into Wutai. But, we still wear our cloaks. A different continent does not make us exempt from prying eyes."

"Are you serious?" My face lit up like a true candle. I felt like a cup running over, pondering what it would be like really living here in Wutai. Even if only for a few days, I knew it would be a heavenly experience. It'd just have to be. But the state of my garden came to mind. To be here for a vague amount of days, any number of things could happen to my beloved flowers, aside from involuntary neglect. I was now thoroughly worried.

Sephiroth took immediate notice. "I see your delight but then... you become so unreasonable. I understand your concern for your... garden."

"I-I'm sorry, I just…" I sighed. "It's like a child to me. I can't have babies like you told me, right? So I have nothing else like that."

"It's better than any snot-nosed little brat, I'm sure," Sephiroth hissed. "A few days shouldn't put your precious 'child' at risk... Take advantage of what I give you. These chances don't come every day. And I can just as well change my mind. So. What's your decision?"

"I... I'd like to stay in Wutai a bit b-but-"

"It's settled. We stay in Wutai. Let's head to the inn."

The nearest inn was called Turtle Paradise, which also happened to be a bar. Sephiroth told me it was a place famous for its worldwide advertising, especially after the war ended. The unusual interior gave a clear impression of how worldly this business was due to its revenue. There was a jukebox stuffed into one corner, and banners and flyers plastered all over the walls of events that happened in other countries. Beyond those specific things, everything else had been decorated with a turtle motif. Little clay statues, paper lamps and tables. A fountain sat in the rear of the bar, with lily pads and tiny turtles floating leisurely within it.

I stood at the entrance while Sephiroth approached the festively dressed man at the counter. His gaze was suspicious but otherwise uncaring.

"Welcome to Turtle Paradise, traveler," he said in a buzzing voice. "Care for drink?"

"A room," my companion voiced. "Three nights."

"Forty-five hundred gil up front, sirrah. Four hundred for access to hot spring out back. Most relaxing for weary bones. What say?"

Sephiroth handed the man a small purse, not even bothering to check the amount inside. A fiercely studious eye crept upon the pouch then back to the giver. Eventually, the short man snatched it up, weighed and jiggled it in his hand and pocketed the money.

"Second door on right upstairs. Hot spring you find through way under stairs. Come down anytime for drinks. Happy hour begins a-seven p.m., twenty gil a glass; before seven, fifty gil. General store right next door. Enjoy stay at Turtle Paradise."

Just as we started to head to our room, Sephiroth stopped in his tracks to ogle a pair of men drinking at a far table. They were both casually dressed; one had wild red hair and the other was bald with sunglasses. Regardless of how harmless they looked, their observer stared relentlessly. I grabbed his shoulder, trying to rouse him, but like a bloodthirsty dog Sephiroth stood both alert and familiar. Whenever he went into posture like that, it meant he recognized something or someone. And those men were probably it.

"Do you know those guys?" I whispered.

"Likely. Let's go." Sephiroth tucked my arm under his and hurried us up the stairs.

-

"Did you see that, Rude?"

"Yeah. Hoods."

"Think we... should investigate?"

"Break time."

"Right."

-

I lay sprawled on what Sephiroth called a futon, examining a little turtle figurine he'd snatched for me earlier. While my eyes focused on the clay piece in my palm, my mind fumbled more with the concept of this strange bed. It was flatter than normal and didn't sit on any frame. The pillow was rolled and tied into a cylinder of down and silky fabric. It was so different compared to beds on the main and eastern continents, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from sleeping in it. The only remaining dilemma was Sephiroth's choice between the two flat beds. And before he left to buy dinner, I saw a glimmer of the plans he had in mind for later on. And only one bed was needed for that.

I'd save the vile grumpiness for when the time came. For now, I patiently awaited what new and delicious treats Sephiroth was bringing back.

"Your mindful loudness is unforgiving," his voice said from the hall.

I sat up, eager to see what he brought. "Whatcha got?"

"Happier to see food than me? I'm crushed." He strolled to the table and set a few covered plates down. I crawled up and lifted a lid on one of the plates, only recognizing white rice as part of the meal; the rest was new to me.

"What is this stuff?" I queried excitedly.

"Sea urchin," he started. "Fish. Oysters. Kelp. Sweet root. So on and so forth."

"Wow…" I breathed in the aromas, astounded more than I should have been. "You bought a buffet."

"When one's appetite beckons... what else to do than answer the call?" Sephiroth seated himself on one of the two large pillows that surrounded the table. He kicked off his boots, crossed his legs and proceeded to uncover all the plates of food. "One last thing."

"Huh?"

"Rice wine." A bottle emerged from a pouch strapped to his belt. Words were written on it in a language I didn't understand. Obviously Wutain.

"You mean like alcohol?" I asked pointedly.

"It's for me," he retorted with narrow eyes. "You can get your water downstairs."

"I don't trust that stuff…"

"Which is why you're not drinking it."

I snorted at him and reached for a plate. There were no signs of forks or spoons to eat with, so I just shoveled everything into my mouth using my fingers. A medley of tastes washed over my tongue. Sweet, bitter, tangy, salty, bland, even spicy. I was amazed at what all these tiny pieces of food packed within them. Back on the main continent, tastes were so segregated. Here they blended together in near perfect harmony. I wanted to applaud whoever it was that specifically made this food.

"Wow, so interesting and tasty."

"Drana," Sephiroth said suddenly. I stared up at him, my mouth stuffed to the brim.

"Mm?"

"Why do you eat?" he questioned woodenly. "You have no stomach."

I frowned.

"I eat because I want to…"

He merely stared in the same way I did to him.

"Please don't remind me... I know I don't have to eat. And I know I don't have to breathe or sleep or… It makes me feel human. So just let me do that, please?"

The kelp was too bitter for me. I swallowed it quickly, and then jumped to my feet.

"I'm going to get some water. Be right back."

"Hood."

I sighed, switched back around and snatched up my cloak. In one wide, fanning motion, I donned the plain black cloth and swept out into the hall in record time. The precaution was absurd, really and truly absurd. I wasn't leaving the inn; I was only going downstairs for a drink. I couldn't understand it, or him. But all I could do was shrug.

Then I saw those two men. They sat at the same table, wearing the same clothes, and probably nursing the same drinks as when we last saw them. Then again, it had only been an hour or so. Neither of them heeded my presence at the foot of the stairs. I had no intention of feeling relieved but I composed myself and headed to the counter where the innkeeper stood, cleaning out cups and pitchers.

"Ah, foreigner, what need you?" he asked with a perfect semi-circle of a smile.

"Ah... water?" I said.

"You... want water?" He nodded exuberantly and motioned to a giant urn behind the counter. He took one of the newly cleaned pitchers and dipped it in. I exhaled thankfully and took the proffered pitcher and some clay cups. "Have good evening."

"Thank you..." I fidgeted in my steps.

But then, I remembered.

"No reason to be scared. Sephiroth's just paranoid. Right..."

I returned to the room, where I found Sephiroth stoically enjoying his meal and wine. I sat the water pitcher and cups on the edge of the table and took my seat. I wasn't sure if I had an appetite anymore after what he said to me, but I was determined to show I wasn't bothered. I threw my off hood and shoveled more food into my mouth, while avoiding the slimy, bitter kelp.

The taste was real. It wasn't imagined. It was good, it was satisfying. It was something I could live for.

"What are you thinking?" Sephiroth asked.

A most ponderous question. So why had it been asked?

"Because I want to know," he answered.

"But you always hear what I think," I told him with downcast eyes.

"Not always."

"... I'm just thinking about how tasty this stuff is. That's all."