(A/N) So this is still Cloud because his unconscious state wasn't brought on by anything supernatural. So I'm not just picking on Zack. Try to enjoy this one. I promise scatterbrain Zack will be back soon.
--
I woke up to the sound of crackling. The smell of burning wood was heavy in the air. And the dull throb on my head was SO annoying! Why couldn't I just go back to sleep? It was all such a tormenting experience. I kept my eyes closed, but my mind just wouldn't settle. I figured I'd have no choice but to get up, but I was too scared. These men I was with, who were they? Where were they going? How were they planning on getting me back to the others? Were they planning on getting me back to them? The whole situation presented itself with many 'ifs'. And the uncertainty was very unsettling. So I figured it would be best to just stay where I was. But I couldn't stop myself from shivering. It wasn't because I was that scared, but it was getting colder by the minute. Were we… outside?
"Herb, you think he's awake yet?" I heard the voice of what sounded like a young man.
"I dunno Alvar." Now that voice sounded familiar. That was the man who hit me in the head. Then he claimed that he'd mistaken me for a bird?! What was that supposed to mean?! I didn't look like a chocobo! Did I?! A lot of people said that, but I always thought they were just being jerks. And the other cadets, I didn't even know what they were talking about anyway! I'd never had strangers say that before. Did that mean it was true?!
"Hey, kid, are you awake?" It must've been Alvar. The other's speech was… flawed. Nonetheless, I refused to answer or even open my eyes. They both seemed nice enough, but I hadn't really been here that long to make that sort of judgment. Everyone always seemed nice at first. And after that, I dunno. "No good, Herb. I think you killed him."
There was a loud clatter. "Yer lyin'!" The older man gasped.
After that I had to try my best not to move with Alvar's fingers on my neck. It was a lot harder than it sounded. And it didn't sound easy to begin with! I couldn't help myself, I was really sensitive there and it tickled so bad as he looked for my pulse. And as if that weren't bad enough, I then failed to hold back a hiss when he touched the bump on my head. "Nah, he's fine." Alvar sighed. "You've gotta be awake now. C'mon." He paused briefly. "We can both see you breathing."
"C'mon lil' fella." I heard the older man now. "We've got food fer ya'. Ya' can't turn that down."
"Herb get back, your beard scares kids." Alvar laughed. They both laughed and pushed each other from the sound of it. "Just go get a bowl of that chili, will ya'?" At the mere mention of it my stomach got ready for a growl. This thing was impossible to hold back. That being said, it broke free and made a loud rumble that I knew they both heard.
"Think it'll revive 'im?" Herb asked coming back with something that smelled wonderful.
"Yeah! He knows he wants it, did you hear that growl?" Alvar chuckled. "How about it, bud?" He said waving the bowl in front of me. The smell of it went straight into my senses and electrified my mind.
I could feel myself twitching, just trying to keep from getting up and devouring the food in front of me. But I couldn't do it! It was just too hard! I just sat up and grabbed at the bowl. However, Alvar pulled back and held it up high. I reached for it, but he was too tall. So I gave up and just sat there feeling stupid for falling for that trick. Now what was going to happen? I couldn't pretend to be unconscious anymore. I was at their mercy. But mostly Alvar. I hadn't eaten all day. I was starving! But I wasn't going to beg. Not yet, anyway. At the moment I was hoping he was only kidding around and would give it to me eventually. There was no reason for him not to. Unless…
"Just give it to 'im Alvar." Herb said from the fire. The source of the crackling sound no doubt.
"Just a second." Alvar answered. "To get it, I want him to do something for us." I knew it! He was acting like all of the others! I shouldn't have fallen for that stupid trick!
"Dun do that to 'im." Herb protested. "Now yer jus' being cruel."
"Stop acting like I'm going to send him to his death." Alvar smiled. "Now, all you have to do… is come sit with Herb and I at the fire. That's it. No strings attached, and nothing but that."
Err… what? Is he serious? That's it? Well that… that was just plain nice. I guess he wasn't a creep after all. He was just, I dunno, leading me on or pulling my leg. I suppose that was okay. At least he wasn't going to force me. No one ever gave me that choice anymore. I always just had to do what I was told, to stay alive, granted… but still.
"Would that be okay?" He asked. "We'd also like it if you talked a bit with us, it's okay if you don't remember anything. But it'd be great if you could just talk."
"Uhh… okay?" I said hesitantly. Did they think that I had amnesia? I didn't think I did. Nothing seemed to be missing from my memory. I got up out of the bed they'd thrown together on the ground and cautiously found a place to sit at the fire. Alvar followed me over with the bowl and gave it to me as soon as he recovered his seat. I stared at him from across the fire just to see that he was a lot younger than Herb. His hair was short and brown, but mostly his face was shaven. I didn't really like beards. Not that I was gonna hold it against Herb, but there was just something so… so primal about them. Nothing against anyone, some people looked good with beards, like Herb. But I preferred seeing people without.
"So… What's yer name, lil' fella?" Herb asked all of the sudden.
"Cloud." I said in between spoonfuls. He paused to look at Alvar. Probably trying to figure out whether I'd given them a fake name or not. But I was just too hungry to put in the effort to convince them. For the cadets I had to show them printed proof and a birth certificate just to prove it was my real name. So I internally shrugged and focused on the chili. It was so good! Spicy, but not too spicy. Heck, I didn't even know what kinds of spices people put in chili, but whatever they'd put in there it was perfect. I knew there was some sort of meat in it, probably bovine of some sort. At least I hoped. Then all I knew that was in there was the kidney beans. Now they were cooked all the way through. And the meat was fresh. This was nothing like the food in the cafeteria.
"Well. That there's a good name." Herb said energetically. That took me by surprise. Usually people laughed or made jokes about how my mother must've hated me. She didn't hate me. She named me Cloud because I was… 'The embodiment of her highest dream'. The dream that she always thought was just out of reach, like the clouds in the sky. Kinda cheesy, but nice, right?
"How did you end up out in the field all by yourself?" Alvar asked.
"Uh…" That one I had to piece together again. It still happened to fast for me to be certain, but… "I think I bumped the airlock and fell out of the ship." I mused.
"Ship? Do you mean an airship?!" Alvar gasped. I nodded quizzically. Why did that matter?
"Shoot! Yer lucky ter be alive, kiddo!" Herb shouted. Now they were both staring at me as though I were about to sprout wings and admit that I was an angel or something. That would just be crazy.
"It was just taking off as it happened." I said with my mouth full. At least I think it was. Either way, I wasn't going to say that to them. I remembered what I remembered. That was all that they were going to hear. There was no need to make them worry. I was fine. It'd be a waste of energy.
"Oh. So you didn't fall very far." Alvar said thinking about how everything could've worked out. Probably checking the laws of physics to see how long I would've had to be falling to not get hurt hardly at all.
"Yer still lucky." Herb shot in. "You coulda landed on somethin' wrong and then how hurt d'you think you'd be?" He asked. "Best thank the planet fer smilin' on ya'."
"I guess so…" I mumbled. He was right. I could've easily been dead, or even maimed! I may have stumbled around a bit longer than I thought. That would make the fall longer, wouldn't it? Aw! This second-guessing myself was no good. It didn't really matter how it happened. What's done is done. The only thing that matter was that I had lived… one way or another.
"Geez, Herb, he knows he's lucky." Alvar said casually. "I mean he lucked out twice. He didn't die from the fall, and we showed up so he didn't end up out here all alone." He finished and then sipped a drink.
My mouth suddenly dried up and I wanted that as well. I hadn't had anything to drink in a while and the chili was dehydrating me a bit. The food was moist, but even the small amount of liquid in it was drying me out. I think he could tell too. He was looking right at me, but I was staring at whatever he was drinking. I didn't even see where he'd gotten it. I was so hungry I'd already finished my food, now I was thirsty. I hope he wasn't gonna make me do anything else for it. Not that I didn't trust him, but I was in no mood. I'd just beg if it came down to it. This was a matter of life and death!
"You thirsty?" He asked even though he already knew. I still nodded, just humoring him. "'Kay! Catch!" He said picking up a bottle and tossing it. I really had to jump out of the way to catch it. Apparently Herb was the one with the aim here. The memory of his accuracy caused my head to throb in complaint.
"Ugh…" I sighed. "How big was that rock anyhow?" I spoke in a low murmur, but Herb still heard me.
"Sorry 'bout that, fella." He chuckled. "I really did think ya' were a lil' chocobo bird. Just wanderin' 'round without his mummy."
"You're always doing that." Alvar said suddenly. "He finds young chocobos out here and there all the time. The guy has such a weak spot for the little things that he tries to save them. And only a few make it to the chocobo farm. In fact, more than half the time the 'mummy' shows up and takes her baby back. And not very nicely, mind you."
"You'd feel the same way iffin there were an ounce of empathy in ya'!" Herb answered a bit defensively.
After that I faded out for a minute. Sounded like they were just gonna argue anyway. The conversation didn't really affect me in any way. So I looked at my drink. The bottle read 'Coca Cola'. Nice! That was my favorite drink! I hadn't had it in a while either. The barracks didn't have it anywhere in stock. It was all in the main building. Getting it now was so… unexpected. But I wasted no time in unscrewing the cap and guzzling down about a fourth of the bottle. I could've drank more but I didn't want it to be gone so quickly. That'd be so disappointing. Chances were that they had more, but I didn't want to ask. It'd be a bit rude. Mother always told me just to take what you were given and never ask for more. That was how everyone was taught in Nibelheim. Not that I got to practice those manners very much. We never really saw anyone. Never left the house much, hardly anyone came over. And the proper behavior was different depending on whether you were a guest or a host. I think I got to be an assistant to the host more than I got to be a guest. People avoided us. She never told me why… not for real anyway. When I was a kid, she said it was because of that creepy guy always hanging around the house. Once he was gone, she'd change the subject whenever I asked. It was only recently that I found out it was because of me. It all added up. No one in the village liked me very much. All because I was a bastard.
"You tellin' me you wouldn't pity on the lil' fella without a momma?" I heard Herb as I tuned back in.
"That's not what I said, Herb" Alvar answered.
"I know, I know." The older man sighed. Then he looked directly at me before he spoke again. "You still got yer mum?" He asked.
"Mm-hmm." I answered with a nod.
"Well then, yer lucky thrice." He sighed. "My mum abandoned me." He paused. "She di'int want anythin' to do with me. Fortunately some stranger foun' me an' raised me."
Why was he telling me this? I already trusted them. What did he expect? Me to spill my guts? I couldn't. What if they acted like everyone else when they found out I had no father?! The guys… well… I didn't tell many of them except my few friends. And they didn't care. But they grew up in a place where that happened a lot. Herb and Alvar looked more like they were from a rural area, like Nibelheim. It's worth a shot I guess. But only if they asked me. I wasn't just going to spill it casually. That'd be…
"Herb, that story gets sadder with each telling. It doesn't even need detail. No child should have to go through that. It's inhuman." Alvar said sipping his drink again.
"Amen." I mumbled while looking down at mine. But if I had to guess, I'd say that Herb actually knew his mother before she left him. I never knew my father.
"Herb wait. Do you hear something?" Alvar asked standing up.
I listened as well. It was only for a moment now, but when I thought about it… the noise had been in the background for a while. It sounded like the blades of a helicopter spinning. But now it was silent. I looked at the others. They'd both noticed it. Now we were all wary of it. I was for a moment anyway. But then I noticed that we were camping underneath the Gold Saucer. "No wonder it's been bright." I said a little surprised I hadn't noticed earlier. And being a total scatterbrain, I changed the subject. "Where were you headed anyhow?"
"We're goin' to Gongaga." Herb answered forgetting the noise as well. "Same route as always. We crossed them mountains and move along this valley. This here is always a stop fer us. Provides light and a guy we see to resupply before going through Cosmo Canyon." He then looked perplexed about something. "Been wonderin' where that guy is."
"You do this yearly?" That was something different. I'd heard of people doing that, but I'd never actually met anyone who did it. I kinda wondered what for but I wasn't gonna pry.
--
It had been an hour since anyone last said anything. To me anyway. I tuned it out, but they had started arguing about something else. I was left to my own devices and with nothing to do. It was even too bright to just stare at the stars. There was nothing to do. I sighed loudly, but they didn't pay any attention. They were too internally involved. I had to find the patience to sit there quietly and wait for something, anything to happen. Compared to everything that happened yesterday, this was… well it wasn't exciting or terrifying in the least. The lack of adrenaline was great. But a bit of a downer.
"Uh…" I started with gasp when something pushed me from behind, but I soon realized it was nothing. "What?" I asked the bird behind me.
"Wark." It answered in response. That could've meant anything! What did it want? "Wark." It chirped again taking the collar of my shirt in it's beak and dragging me up.
"Wha!" That took me off guard. "What's it doing?!" I said a little surprised. The arguing in the background stopped. And the two men looked like deer in the headlights.
"She aint never dun that before." Herb answered getting up. "What she doin' Alvar?"
"I don't know. Zaneth*, put him down." He said in a stern, commanding tone. He sounded like a completely different person.
"WARK!" She opened her beak to say before picking me up again and running towards the other bird. Why was she doing this?! Why me? Why was it always me? I mean, when I wanted a little more excitement, being carried away by a bird wasn't what I meant. Not exactly.
"Hey! Come back!" I heard an unfamiliar voice call from behind. But the bird wasn't looking back.
The other bird started running when we passed it and the others had to chase them. They were also accompanied by whoever had shown up after I was dragged off. But I still couldn't see. And nothing I did was making Zaneth let go. I tried kicking and thrashing around, just trying to get loose. But nothing helped. My clothes weren't even ripping. Not to mention my growing terror of this gigantic bird. I'd never seen chocobos up this close, they were a lot bigger than I thought. Really! First the bed, and now this! I was five foot three, give or take, and this thing still kept me dangling in the air! If it were her intention, she could probably kill me! As far as I knew, chocobos weren't normally violent. But I couldn't be sure. What did I know about chocobos?
"Wark." She said finally dropping me. She attempted to be careful but I was still squirming and ended up falling on my butt.
"Ow…" I sighed. She could probably tell I was agitated. And was more than likely ignoring it. She kneeled down and nuzzled me while kwehing softly. "What're you doing?" I groaned leaning away from her. But only to bump into the other chocobo I'd forgotten about. This one used it's beak to carefully nip at my hair while putting it back into place. What was going on?!
"Get away from him you stupid beasts!" A man shouted stopping short of breath. This man had odd markings on his cheekbones and really vibrant red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. I didn't think I'd seen him before either so what did he want and why was he here?
I didn't get any time to ask before Zaneth knelt down and wrapped her wing around my shoulders, pulling me close up against her feathery body. Then the other one jumped out in front of us and let it's feathers prick forward while screeching and flapping it's wings at the stranger. It didn't look like we'd gone too far for everyone to run. I could still see the fire. So what was the point of all this? What were these crazy birds doing? What did they want with me? And why didn't they like this new guy so much? Nothing was making sense anymore. Besides the fact that somebody was totally getting me back for complaining about being bored.
"What's goin' on here?" Herb asked finally catching up. "What's gotten inta you two?! You aint never acted this crazy before."
Alvar came up soon after. "Zaneth, you let him go. C'mon, what's with you?" He continued to try and reason with the bird while Herb looked to the newcomer suspiciously.
"I reckon it's you they dun like. That bein' the case, who are ya'?"
"Geez. Of all the tedious things? Introductions? So overrated. How about we just talk objectives?" The man answered rather rudely.
"Well then fine. Whatchu want?" Herb replied with the same tone.
"Look man, I don't want any trouble. I was just ordered to come here and bring lil' Cloudy there back to his buddies who lost him. Alright? It was a legitimate order from Rufus Shinra , Who got this little favor asked of him by AVALANCHE. Because they neglected to realize he fell out of the ship before taking off for Mideel. That's all this is." He sighed. "As for 'Purdy and Polly' over there, I dunno what their problem is with me. I pose no threat to you. I kid you not."
"Zaneth." Alvar kept saying. But the bird would not let me budge. By that time I'd calmed down and realized that she had no intention of hurting me. That and it was very warm under her wing. I didn't know what the clothes I was wearing were supposed to be made out of, but I was freezing in them. There was no insulation to them, and I was getting a bit uncomfortable wearing them. No one hade said anything yet, but they were giving off the wrong impression. But beneath the wing of this great bird I was warm and protected. I felt cradled and her breathing was rocking me gently… uh-oh!
"Okay. Not that I'm complaining but… could somebody please get me outta here?" I asked trying to keep my head from lulling against the bird.
"What's the matter, bud?" Herb answered losing interest in the other man.
"I don't wanna fall asleep, but I am." I groaned. It was getting hard to keep my eyes open. I could feel myself slipping away, there was next to no stopping it. My vision was blurring, my breathing was slowing down as was my heartbeat. I made work of wriggling around trying to get the bird to flap or something. That did nothing but make her cover me up completely. "Hey!"
"Heheh…" Herb chuckled. "She's treatin' you like a fussy chick. Gaia! Alvar, she dun adopted herself a new baby!" What? Adopted by a bird?! No way! Just no! "Replacin' that green one they lost, poor thing."
"H-Herb…" I said muffled by feathers. "Help!"
"Alright, alright." Said the older man. I heard him take a step forward and then the other bird squawked again. "Rikash*, what's eatin' ya'?"
"It's probably my fault." I heard the stranger say. Then it sounded like he took a step or two back. But it didn't seem to work.
"Are you armed?" Alvar asked. "Because they don't take kindly to strangers with weapons." There wasn't much noise after that. I couldn't hear over the squawking. There was nothing else I could do to fight off the urge to sleep. There was nothing wrong with dozing for a few minutes I suppose. So I just shut my eyes. Only for a moment…
--
"Wake up!" Was the first thing I heard as someone shook me awake. "Geez!" It was the red haired man. "First the birds, now the sleepy Blondie!"
"Quit yer complainin' an just get this thing movin'." There was Herb. He never failed to just stick out. By this time I could probably pick him out of a crowd anywhere. His voice was just so… defined.
"What's going on?" I asked a little dazed.
"Well, this guy had some stick that dun spooked the chocobos. Then we had 'im hand it over to Alvar for safe keepin'. So then he asked to take you and I says, if you gonna take him, we go too I said. So he dun reckon he have no choice and now this young fella gonna take us up to the Gold Saucer to meet our supplier. 'Cause he dun get held up and such doin' business. Ya' see he dun sent Alvar a message over that there cellular phone. And now well… ya' know the rest."
"I still don't see why I have to bring those birds up in the helicopter." The redhead grumbled while fumbling with the controls.
"We dun leave nobody behind. That's why." Herb answered bluntly.
It was interesting to see the chocobo calmly standing up in the vehicle but… "Where's Zaneth?" I didn't see her anywhere. The one standing was Rikash. I could only tell because Rikash had a brown spot on his head. Nicely blending with the rest of his yellow feathers. Whereas Zaneth was just pure yellow.
"What do you think you're leaning up against?" Alvar sighed. He looked like he was falling asleep too. How could he be doing that while he was guarding their stuff? Wait!
"What?!" I asked just as it took off. After that I shut my eyes again, it wasn't to fall asleep, but I had to try and keep from getting sick. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't allow myself to get motion sickness in front of all of these people. I'd die of embarrassment. It'd be a short ride anyway. The Gold Saucer wasn't too high up from where we were, was it? Though I suppose it didn't really matter, I tried my best to keep from getting sick and I still ended up getting queasy.
"Hey!" Came the shrewd voice of the redhead again. "You done dreaming?"
"Huh?" I asked staring at everyone staring back at me. They were all standing up and packing to go while I was still on the floor trying not to puke. "How long has it been?"
"Only a couple minutes." Alvar answered picking up a pack. "There's nothing wrong with your head, right?" He asked. I carefully touched my hand to the bandage. It stung, but I didn't think the bump was bad enough to cause any problem like that. "You're alright? No lingering drowsiness, symptoms of head trauma? History of narcolepsy?"
"No…" I answered thinking back on it. There was nothing wrong with my head and I didn't have a history of narcolepsy. Shinra would've never taken me if I did. That'd be a dumb move on anyone's part.
"Huh… then maybe you're just tired. C'mon out. Zaneth needs to get out too, but she won't leave without you." He said stepping out. I had to guess Herb and the other man had gone to find this supplier while I wasn't looking. "Just try to make it about another hour. Then we'll get rooms at the inn."
"Okay." I yawned. With a quick stretch, I mustered up the strength to hop out of the helicopter. And then something hit me. It was something so devastating that it made me slump over in discontent. I had to guess Alvar saw me frowning like that. But I didn't want to bother him with it. It was a petty, kinda bratty thing. But I couldn't help myself. I'd gotten so caught up with the whole Zaneth problem that I'd completely forgotten I'd left my soda on the ground near the campfire.
"You want this?" Alvar asked handing me something. It was the bottle! My bottle!
Oh joy! Paradise was not yet lost! How fortunate it is to have a freakin' mind reader around. I'd be grateful. Very, very grateful. Not eternally, but still… what did it matter now? I got my cola back! So I was as happy as I could be at that time. There was nothing left at the back of my mind nagging me. I just walked along sipping my soda as Alvar led the way with the packs on Zaneth's back.
"Oh, hello…" Someone to my left said suddenly.
I looked to see a complete stranger staring at me. At least I was pretty sure it was me. But just to be sure I looked around first. There wasn't anyone else at the entrance. So I hesitantly waved while sipping my soda. That made him grin and for some reason walk straight up to me getting right up in my face.
"My, don't you have the bluest eyes?" He said in an odd tone that I vaguely recognized.
"No… they're just… blue." I shrugged. What was he? Stupid? Wait… that was something somebody had said that made a red flag go up in my mind. "Okay, I'm gonna have to take a few steps back." I said as I did so. That made him look confused.
"Are you lost?" He asked.
"No. I'm with him." I answered pointing to Alvar. Alvar looked over from a few yards away. I don't even remember how he got all the way over there. But once he saw what was going on he dropped a couple things on the ground just to run over to… uh…
"Hey." He said to the other man. "Is there a problem here? Nope? Okay, c'mon Cloud let's go." And without even waiting for a reply he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back over to the waiting chocobo. "That was close." He sighed.
I felt my head slightly tilt to one side, just something I did when I was confused. The red flag was an indicator that he was right, but for what reason? Something wasn't adding up. The guy said something that was along the lines of what the guys said all the time. And then usually something bad happened shortly after. Well… I guess not bad. But unsettling.
"You need to stay close." Alvar said suddenly. I broke from my thoughts and saw that we had made it through the gate. "Geez. Maybe I can relax a little now, Herb!" He shouted waving and walking over a little quickly. I had to stride to keep up. Zaneth stopped following Alvar just to stand and wait for me. And when he got too far ahead she got behind me and pushed at my back with her beak. That definitely made me quicken my pace. "Herb, can I talk to you?" He said once we both got there. "Cloud, you stay with Drake. This'll only take a second."
Drake? Who was Drake? I looked around and saw a man feeding the chocobos something out of his pocket. I guess that dark-haired man was Drake. So I moved a little closer to him when I saw a bunch of guys looking my way. Whereas Drake didn't even seem to notice I was there. Being invisible was better than being stared at. It must've been because I was wearing women's clothes. Though I didn't think they stood out that much, it wasn't like I was wearing a dress, it must've been odd to them.
"Alright Drake." Herb said while the two came back from whispering in the corner. That really was quick. My curiosity made me wonder what they had talked about. "You got any clothes?"
"Certainly!" Drake answered finally taking notice of other people's presence. "What kind of clothes do you need exactly?"
"Why the size fer this lil' fella." The older man replied putting a hand on my shoulder. "And uh… with any other… helpful modifications you kin supply." He whispered. Probably thought I didn't hear.
--
Within a matter of minutes I found myself looking, if possibly, stranger than before. The women's clothes were gone, but now I was wearing what looked like a Halloween costume. The whole ensemble started with a cerulean jacket with thin, layered silver armor at the shoulders. The back of it even stretched below and odd looking belt made of black leather. The edges of it were trimmed in grey and the tail of it was cut in an odd pattern I'd never seen before. It buttoned up starting at the center and then listing to the right slightly before coming together at the neck. And the neck had a long, white ribbon… scarf… thing wrapped around it, knotting in the back and with the loose ends dangling freely behind me. They'd also given me gloves that were the same color of blue on three of the fingers, but the middle finger and thumb were the grey. They were also held tightly in place by the silver cuffs of the jacket. And then! As if the rest of it weren't enough, I was now wearing white pants with black, leather boots that came up to my knees! Herb insisted that it was a… jockey's uniform. But I, personally thought I looked like a fruity viscount! How was this even a step up from the women's clothes?! I really wanted to say something, but at the same time didn't want to sound ungrateful. Although it was hard with Alvar there being a mind reader. I guess there was a downside to that.
"Now, Cloud, it's not… the toughest look out there, but they'll keep you warmer than the other clothes." He said trying not to sound too patronizing.
"That they will." Added Drake. "There's also a trick to getting it on and off for uh… certain reasons." He coughed the last part. "The boots will come off easy, but that's about it. Otherwise, the gloves won't come off unless the jacket is removed, that's why they're so thin. To get the jacket off, you need to untie the scarf and unbutton it… obviously. But both the jacket and the pants can't be taken off unless the belt is taken off first. And there's even a trick to getting the belt off." He then whispered something to Herb and then looked back at me. "But you don't need to know that until later. The night is young."
Why did he bother telling me all of that? And if it was that complicated, why bother giving me this outfit at all?! It, again, gave off a certain impression that I did not want to give off. It may have been different if the color scheme wasn't so… so… standoutish! The biggest problem was the fact that the colors were bright and noticeable. The other outfit was black at least! And now I was wearing white pants! Tight pants! One could almost call these things tights, but they weren't. It was weird.
"What are we waiting here for?" Drake asked after a long moment of silence. "Let's go down to the chocobo square and put down some bets."
"Hold on there Drake." Herb said looking around. "Where'd that red haired fella go?"
"Over here." The young man grumbled walking up to us after we exited the bathroom we used for me change. He didn't look happy.
"Where ya' been?" Herb demanded.
"Oh I don't know. I guess I was just cleaning up the chocobo mess left in the helicopter!" He growled. "That is why I don't allow animals in there!" He stopped and then stared at me. "And what the hell did you do to Cloud?!" Ah-hah! He didn't like it either.
"We took some necessary precautions." Alvar answered glaring at him. When the other man glared back it felt like a fight was going to break out.
"Guys, hold it." Drake said stepping between the two. "Let's just go. What's done is done. Okay?"
"Fine." Both Alvar and the stranger said at once.
"Okay. Herb, you and Alvar ought to bring Zaneth and Rikash down there and enter in a race." Drake sighed. "I'll stay with Cloud and watch with this guy." He pointed to the redhead.
"Shouldn't we go up to the ghost square and get a room at the inn first?" Alvar asked.
"We need GP for that." Drake answered as he began to walk away. "And the easiest way to do that is go to the chocobo square and win something to hawk for GP"
--
I didn't like the chocobo square. It was really loud and there were a lot of people. And when I say people, I mean drunk idiots. Not many women. Though I suppose this wasn't their crowd. And it certainly wasn't mine. But there was nowhere else to go with me having no GP, not to mention Drake and the newcomer were watching me like hawks. It made one wonder where they thought I would run off to. I wouldn't be so stupid as to run off by myself in an area I didn't know. Oh no. I learned from the last time. And I wasn't keen on getting stuck in another box. That was one traumatic experience. One that I did not intend to even come close to repeating. That, and I was trying my best not to think of the guys while packed so tightly together with all of these men. But it was nearly impossible. This crowd made me feel like there was nowhere to go, which made me think of them, which led to me thinking, 'What would they do if they saw me wearing this?'
But all I had to remember was that I was safe as long as I was with someone. In all truth it would be the smartest thing to stay with the group and not get separated.
"Uhh…" I started with a sigh. My powers of observation allowed me to see that the race hadn't even started yet. "Drake? Is there anywhere to sit down?" I asked beginning to feel my leg's complaints. It was unbelievable. We'd been here for a half an hour and the competitors weren't even at the gate yet. What could they possibly be doing down there? Wait… "Drake?" I asked again beginning to look up. "Hey, Drake?!" I turned around to look, but no one was there. At least no one I knew. Not even the redhead stranger guy. "Hey!" Where'd they go?! They left me all by myself?!
Oh Gaia! I was separated from the group!
"Drake!" I shouted trying to make my way through the crowd. I'd managed to make it a few feet before bumping into a man who towered over me. "Umm… E-excuse me?" I said tapping him slightly. He turned around rather abruptly, didn't even look at me at first and tried his best to stay upright. "Sir?" I said taking a cautious step back. But much to the misfortune of me the man grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to use me as a trashcan to binge in. I gave out a little yelp before dodging the only way I could. It was close but by tightly hugging the man it only just missed my back. "Ah!"
I let go of the man and didn't care when he fell on his drunk ass! Carefully, I inched around the mess all the while trying not to heave myself. Thank the planet that by some miracle none of got on my fruity boots. I didn't really care if they got dirty, but there was a limit! Besides, these things were shiny. I didn't want to get them grubby with alcohol induced vomit. So I went back the way I came and leaned against the railing. That must've been a sign or somethin'. I'd almost forgotten that the best thing to do when you're lost is to stay put and wait for someone to find you.
"Hey there!" I heard an unfamiliar voice exclaim.
Not anyone! Oh man! I could just tell by the pitch of the man's voice that he was a creep! I just rolled my eyes and ignored him.
"I said hello." I heard him again only a lot closer. "Uh-oh. I think we're getting the cold shoulder guys."
That got a slight reaction out of me. 'Guys'. That meant there was more than one, which equaled multiple creeps! No! I just had to take a deep breath. There was no way I was gonna be treated this way here. All I had to do was not play into their game. I could do this. Right? I could be mellow.
"Well, well… what do we have here?" One of the men said coming right up behind me and grabbing my ass! What?! Who did he think he was?! I couldn't help it. I just snapped.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I asked whirling around with a glare that obviously showed the emotion burning deep inside me. It was my hope that at that point they would back off. But they didn't. "Do you think that this is okay?!"
"Yeah." They all almost said in unison.
"Ugh!" I groaned. Their breath smelled like alcohol. "Geez! Race hasn't even started and you're already sauced and building up a harassment suit!" I said waving my hand in the air in front of me to try and get rid of the smell. "Who do you idiots think you are?! I mean of all of the disrespectful, vulgar…! And me?! You're men! And I'm a boy! It doesn't make sense!" By that point I'd stopped making sense and was simply carrying on about nothing. And probably making a scene. But I didn't care. I wanted people to take notice and possibly get these punks away from me. It was the very least I could hope for, but no. Only a few people were taking notice over the surrounding noise. "I'm a minor! What would you do if the authorities caught you doing this? It's wro-"
"Shh…" One of them said cupping a hand to my mouth. "We won't tell anyone if you won't."
I felt my eyes narrow back from shock to a glare. That was it. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I didn't like the sound of it. I kicked forward and reached as far as I could so I could hit my mark which just happened to be the mid section of the sorry sap standing in front of me. Then I wrenched it back and nailed the man holding me in the groin. As expected, the jerk folded like a card table. I took the stance that the instructors just taught us and prepared myself for anything. I may not have been a very confident person, and I didn't have much experience, but I could surely take a handful of drunks if I had to. However, they refused to take me seriously. That really ground it until I found myself being grabbed at by the whole circle of them. Gaia, you could tell they were drunk! It was even so bad to say that all I had to do was duck and two of them bashed their heads together. They went down and then I jumped to avoid a couple of them grabbing at my legs. Big mistake on their part. I landed on their hands and put just enough weight on it to not break them. Any serious injury would make it look like assault on my part instead of self defense. And I only had to lose focus for a second before someone grabbed me from behind and their arms wrapped around mine with my legs off the ground. Well, if they were gonna play that way, I kicked both legs outward and hit two of them coming at me and then let the back of my head meet my would-be captor's mouth. After that I was on the ground again. I stared straight forward and punched one of them right in the smug face and sent him flying backwards into another guy. And then that man, red in the face, picked him up and hit him too. It was turning into some sort of bar fight. Before long, everyone was joining in.
I was so sure that I could handle this that once I was hit it was a shock. I flew into the railing and heard something in my back that made me twinge. "You ready to cooperate yet?" Asked one of the bloodied men. I gave a look that told to just go straight into the inferno because I wasn't gonna put up with it. He even had the audacity to reach down and try to pick me up. Why couldn't they understand I did not want to be touched?! I swatted his hand away and did a sweep kick to have a quick exchange of position. Now he was on the ground while I smirked down at him. After that I couldn't be sure what happened. All I knew is that I was off my feet again, in the air, and two men had me. Each having hold of one arm. They'd finally figure out that this way I couldn't escape no matter how much I kicked. But I still thought it was worth a shot. And at this point it wasn't to escape. It was to keep any other men from getting near me. "Would you just stop making a fuss!" I heard someone say. I didn't see who. My eyes were closed to avoid all the smug looks.
It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. I tried my best and it wasn't enough. It's never enough!
"Just relax." Came another voice. Just shut up! "There's no need to be scared." Someone laughed. I couldn't believe this was going on in public and no one was helping me. It made me wonder if Herb and Alvar were in the midst of chewing out Drake for letting this happen. "Now hold still."
I opened my eyes to have them widen in fright and confusion. One of the men was standing right in front of me. His face was close to mine, really close. Much too close! "NO!" I yelled using the full extent of my voice hoping it would carry to someone. Anyone who would stop this. I kept turning away from the man just to disobey what he'd said. I didn't know what he was trying to do but he was intent on doing it. He forced me to stay still by firmly clamping his hand on my jaw.
"Hold it!" Someone shouted just in the nick of time. The voice was somewhat familiar, but no one who I'd seen in the last hour or so. "What do you morons think you're doing?!" Whoever they were, they sounded furious. "Release him."
"Don't be ordering us around!" Some of them answered.
"I'll order you however I like!" Came the blunt reply. Their sass wasn't helping with his anger. "Now release him or I'll cut every last one of your throats!" With that comment, a man stepped out of the crowd, he was serious. Sword in hand and a murderous look in his eyes. His presence seemed to attract a lot of attention. The entire crowd had stopped in their brawl as soon as his voice projected over the stadium. His hair was cut short in some areas while his bangs hung in his face covering his left eye. Another thing to take note of was that his hair was a copper color and his eyes were a deep blue. His clothing mostly consisted of reds and blacks and he, also, wore knee-high boots.
"You… You're supposed to be dead!" Someone stammered.
"Well it appears I'm not." That reply came out as a bit more snarky than before. "Now, all I ask is that you let the boy go before there's unnecessary bloodshed. Alright?"
There was a bit of a pause before I was thrown at his feet. "You want him, you can have him!" One of them said as they all ran off.
"Right." The newcomer sighed. "Get up." He ordered. Kinda uselessly because he helped me up after saying so. "Not a word to anyone out of any of you!" He said to address basically everyone there. "C'mon."
"But I-"
"Don't say anything, just move!" He barked. I didn't understand what was going on. And I didn't want to leave without saying anything to Herb and Alvar. But this guy scared me a little, so I was willing to do what he said as long as it kept me alive.
--
The night was now accompanied by complete and total darkness as this man took me somewhere. But I didn't know where. The only reason it was dark was because I was blindfolded. There wasn't much point in saying anything either. Whenever I tried to talk to him he shushed me. I couldn't understand why. I had questions just like anyone else would. Though he probably wouldn't answer them. No one seemed to. But… I mostly wanted to know where he was taking me and how we were getting there. I could tell that we were moving, but I couldn't tell what was moving us. Whatever it was, it was a smooth ride. My motion sickness was hardly acting up at all.
"Okay." The man said setting me down. But I wasn't let go. I was kinda dragged over to something. I couldn't tell what it was. But I could feel him grabbing my wrists and pulling them behind me. Then something was raveled around them so tightly I couldn't move them. "What's going on?!" I asked almost stunned. Gaia! I'd just been tied to a post!
"Stop. It's not what you think." The man sighed taking the blindfold off. I winced a little when he pulled at my hair. It took my eyes a moment to adjust, but everything came into focus within a matter of seconds and his face became clear. I'd seen him somewhere before. Where was it?! It was on the tip of my tongue. Wait a minute!
"You're the man from the gate!" The man who made that stupid comment about my eyes! "Who are you exactly and why am I tied up?" I demanded. I had a right to know. He'd abducted me for no reason! And now Herb… Alvar… Zaneth! All of them! They probably thought I was dead!
"I'll tell you what I can, but you have to promise to calm down a little." He said sitting down to be on my level. "You don't know me?" He asked. I shook my head. Obviously not. That was a dumb question. "Well then…" His eyes looked me over closely in a way that made me uneasy. "You can stop being so tense. I talked to the merchant, they know where you are… except the redhead. He's the whole reason I took you out of there."
"I don't understand." I answered.
"It's complicated. So it's good that you're lost. And sadly, you're going to stay that way. But I can say that the dolt wouldn't know… quite how to handle this delicate situation in the way it requires." I didn't respond, I just pulled at the restraints. They made a small noise that I hardly picked up. Odd thing was he heard it too. "Are you scared of me?" He asked. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
"So what if I do?" I replied. "It's not like I can leave, can I?"
"If I untie you, will you run away?" He asked. "Because I won't stop you." I didn't know what to say to that. "Think this over." He said standing up and walking to the back of the post. "Because if you go off on your own you will die. Not by my hand, but remember there are people after you. And you've got enough bandages already." That definitely made me think. I'd forgotten that I was being pursued. "Although…" He started again. "With the man who's after you being the way he is, I don't think bandages will cover it. You may need a cast or two before it's done."
"Okay, okay! I'm partially convinced!" I answered to get him to stop. He gave me a quizzical look. "I won't run away. So untie me, please."
"Understood." He answered while giving the knot one pull to let it loose. "Name's Kozue."
"Cloud." I answered back.
"Nice belt, Cloud." He said gesturing towards it. "Did the merchant ever tell you how to get it off?"
I went silent again. Almost completely dumbfounded. Oh crap! "No!" I gasped.
--
(A/N) Okay. This chapter was a bit longer but I hope it came out okay. And to restate what was said in different terms. Haha, Cloud! You're stuck being a "Fruity Discount." So, if you liked the chapter, you can just go ahead and review with the handy dandy button right down there. Please and thank you. *(Psst!)* Zaneth and Rikash are names out of 'The Immortals' series By Tamora Pierce. I highly recommend it.