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This is an FFVII fanfic by klepto_manic0. The characters are not mine and never were. Otherwise the Midgar Zolom wouldn't be such a disappointment when you go back to fight it later. I was, like, "What? That's it? That's what I was afraid of?" Man, I wanted something more than token resistance...
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Sunlight!
Atop the windy lip of the Northern Crater, Aeris stood underneath the sun, eyes closed and arms spread out. She could still feel the chilling wind, but the warm golden light banished the worst of its cold and reduced even its force to little more than a draft. She laughed aloud and spun on one foot.
"Careful," said Sephiroth, catching her by the shoulder almost at once. "The last thing we need is for you to fall off the cliff."
"Oh, you'll find me," said Aeris cavalierly. The greater part of their invincibility had worn off a long time ago, but there was just enough of it left that they both glowed faintly golden and the freezing chill did not bother them. Remembering that fact, Aeris said, "Let's get off this hunk of rock. I am beyond ready for a hot bath and a hot meal."
"I would settle for a coat," said Sephiroth dryly.
"We'll get you a coat too," said Aeris with a grin. She began to pick her way down the crater's side, saying, "Come on, slowpoke!"
"Unlike you," said Sephiroth, climbing down behind her, "I have no incentive to be seen again. Don't step on that, it'll go out from under you."
Aeris avoided the rock she'd been about to place her weight on and settled for another foothold. "Why is climbing down harder than climbing up?"
"We're made to climb up," said Sephiroth. "And walk. Legs are three times stronger than arms for a reason."
"No wonder Tifa kicks everything," she said as she stepped down, and promptly slipped. Sephiroth grabbed her by the back of the jacket before she even had time to yelp.
"Tell me," he said, lifting her up to stand next to him on a slim ledge. As Aeris straightened her clothes, he asked, "When you do your slow hopping in the air, you lift both yourself and your staff, don't you?"
"Yes, so…?"
"Have you ever tried lifting someone else?"
Aeris looked up at him, frowning. "No… Why?"
"Climbing down is going to take quite a while," said Sephiroth. "Were I at full strength, I would probably run down the mountain or just jump and trust the landing. But you're here and I'm not at my peak, so—"
"You want to jump off the mountain," Aeris said flatly. "And see if I can catch you?"
"Catch us," Sephiroth corrected. "I'm not sure what your effective range is."
"And supposing I can't catch us?"
"We won't die," said Sephiroth. "We're still invincible right now. And when it wears off, I may break my legs, but you'll be fine. You float."
Aeris made a face at him and looked down the crater's side, judging the distance from where they were to the ground far below. "That's not too far to go."
"Our invincibility will wear off soon," said Sephiroth, folding his arms across his bare chest. "And we're going to get very cold, very fast. In the interest of crossing the most ground in the shortest amount of time…"
"I don't want you to break your legs," said Aeris, looking at him.
"And I don't want us to freeze to death," said Sephiroth. He shaded his eyes and peered out at the horizon. "I can just barely see Icicle Inn from here. Were you a SOLDIER I would say a two-day run, but—"
"Well sorry I'm not a SOLDIER," Aeris grumbled.
"If we can jump down the mountain and land safely at the bottom, we will save about seven hours," said Sephiroth, which made Aeris blink in surprise. "Of course, we'll probably gain that time back in walking, but it wouldn't hurt to have a fast start. We'll make for the shelter in the middle of the field."
Aeris squinted, rubbed her eyes, and looked as hard as she could. She had no idea what Sephiroth was talking about, but she didn't doubt his experience in the field or his enhanced senses. Cloud could see far too and he'd never been wrong.
Aeris looked back down the cliffside. It was intimidatingly studded with sharp rocks, boulders, and scree from the recent eruption, which looked quite treacherous now that she thought about it. Her heart was still thudding from her near-fall as well.
"Can we do little hops instead of one big jump?" She asked, looking at him. "I don't know if I can catch us…"
Sephiroth shrugged. "Either way is fine," said the silver-haired man. Then he reached for her.
"What are you doing?" Aeris demanded, backing away rapidly.
"You have to hold onto me," said Sephiroth. "Climb on my back."
"Um, no."
"Why not?"
"I just don't want to," said Aeris, leaning away. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed.
"I can't carry you in my arms like a princess," he said, which made Aeris scowl again. "I'll need them for balance." He tilted his head and said with a hint of humor, "Or is the idea of wrapping your legs around my waist that repugnant?"
"Oh, get over yourself," Aeris snapped, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I'm just not sure how long I could hold on."
"This would be over quickly," said Sephiroth, gesturing down the cliffside. "And if you feel your grip weakening, say so and we'll stop." Then he turned around and knelt, looking over his shoulder at her. "Come on," said Sephiroth. "And try not to choke me."
Aeris wanted to object, but at that moment the wind blew particularly hard and it seemed to be just a tad colder than it had been last time. She bit her lip and stepped forward, gingerly wrapping her arms around Sephiroth's neck. He was cool to the touch and when he stood, she could feel the rippling of his back muscles against her stomach. She was startled and a little weirded out when he reached behind and grasped her legs.
"Whoa," she yelped as Sephiroth's hands slid underneath her thighs, and Aeris was suddenly aware that the slit in her dress was riding rather high.
"It's fortunate your dress buttons down the center," said Sephiroth, hooking his hands under her knees. "You can actually move."
"Yeah, well…" Aeris was glad he couldn't see her blushing. She'd never been carried piggyback before and having to spread her legs so wide was rather embarrassing.
"Grip," said Sephiroth, tapping her knees. "Hook your feet together. Are you ready?"
"Yes, ready," said Aeris.
"I'm going to jump for that rock there," said Sephiroth, pointing at a large boulder some fifty feet below. "Try to make us float right before we reach it."
"You sure have a lot of faith in me," said Aeris, leaning out to look at him.
"The fact your healing powers works on me makes me wonder if the floating ones won't work as well," said Sephiroth matter-of-factly. Aeris stiffened as Sephiroth jumped lightly—no, he basically stepped—off the little ledge. At once they fell, seemingly far too fast, and Aeris shut her eyes.
"Get ready to catch," said Sephiroth.
Aeris concentrated hard, drawing on the inner well of power that swirled around her heart. Amidst the cooling winds, she felt warm streamers of energy whirl around her and brush almost curiously by Sephiroth.
"Include him too," she asked silently. "Let him float too."
WHAM! Aeris tightened her grip reflexively as Sephiroth landed hard on the boulder.
"Well, you lifted off me for a moment," said Sephiroth, glancing at her. "But no change. We'll try again."
In the end it was useless, but jumping down the cliff was indeed far faster than climbing down and fortunately Sephiroth suffered no injuries either. The sun was still high in the sky by the time they reached level ground, and even better, there was just enough invincibility left that Aeris was still reasonably warm. Sephiroth was very warm from leaping and landing, and actually steamed in the air when he was still.
"We'll head south through the ice fields," said Sephiroth, peering out at the horizon again. "I can't see Icicle Inn anymore, but there is a tent out in the middle of nowhere for some reason. That'll be as good a place as any to shoot for today."
"Just how far can you see?" Aeris asked, looking at him.
"Not as far as I could before," said Sephiroth, dropping his hand from his eyes. "But it will take us about four hours to reach the tent."
"Four hours!"
"Yes," said Sephiroth. "And we have to eat."
"Well…" Aeris looked around. There was lichen growing on the rocks around them, but it was so flat and meager that Aeris wasn't sure it would do anything. Sephiroth looked around as well and leaned down, plucking something from the ground.
"Have a worm," he said, holding it out to her.
"No thank you," said Aeris, waving her hands.
"It's a frozen, dead worm," said Sephiroth. "If that makes you feel any better."
"It doesn't, actually." Aeris eyed the worm. It was about as long as her hand and looked like a stick. How Sephiroth had managed to find it that quickly was beyond her. She couldn't help but shudder as he broke it in two and popped both halves into his mouth. "That can't taste very good."
"Oh, it doesn't," said Sephiroth. "But the Wutaiese use them as herbs for a reason, so the taste doesn't matter."
"They don't use worms for herbs!"
"I've raided more Wutaiese apothecaries than you have," said Sephiroth. "And yes, they do." He looked around. "Winter worms are foul, but they do improve your energy. I think some Ethers are made with them."
"Ugh…" Aeris shuddered again. "I'm sorry. I just…"
"Vegan."
"Yeah… And… Worms."
"How do you feel about bugs?" Sephiroth asked, looking at something she couldn't quite see. "Crunchy ones?"
"Oh, please don't eat a bug," Aeris said, covering her face.
"I would, but it doesn't look worth the effort of chewing."
"Thank the Planet for small blessings."
"You are so strange," said Sephiroth with a chuckle. "You heal me when my organs are spilling out every which way, but the thought of eating a wriggly…" Sephiroth walked forward and dug something out of the ground.
"Another worm?" Aeris asked, dropping her hands.
"No, a tuber," said Sephiroth, tossing it over his shoulder at her. Aeris caught it; it was fist-sized and looked like a turnip, minus any leaves. "I think grazing would be our best option," said Sephiroth, studying the terrain. "It's springtime now, so there should be all manner of things on the tundra." He got to his feet. "Let's go."
"Alright," said Aeris, brushing the dirt off the tuber. "Say, how do you know exactly where to find food all the time?"
"SOLDIER training. Wilderness survival is one of the most important things we learn."
"I see," said Aeris as she bit into the tuber. Or tried to. "Are you sure you didn't give me a rock?"
"Don't tempt me," said Sephiroth, taking the tuber. He turned it over in his hands a few times, studying it, before biting into it himself. Aeris heard a cracking noise before he managed to break off a bite. "Here," he said, handing back the tuber. He spat the chip off to the side, saying, "The outer skin is tougher than I thought. It should be easier to get into now."
"Thanks," said Aeris, taking the tuber. "So do you want half or—"
He held up a hand suddenly and Aeris stopped talking, suddenly worried. Had he seen a monster? Slowly Sephiroth leaned down and picked up a small rock. Almost too quick for her to see, he whipped his arm back and threw the rock like a skipping stone. In the distance, something suddenly flailed and fell still.
"Got it," said Sephiroth. He rose to his feet and looked over his shoulder. "You were saying?"
"What did you hit?"
"Ptarmigan," said Sephiroth. "If we're lucky, it might have eggs."
"Ew."
"Eat your tuber," he said, walking forward. Aeris scowled, but did just that. The root vegetable was incredibly hard to break from the outside, but now that there was a crack in the armor, Aeris could pull it apart from the inside out with her fingers. The flesh of the tuber was surprisingly moist and even a little sweet, which was a pleasant surprise. Aeris concentrated on the taste of her vegetable as about thirty feet away, Sephiroth ate a small bird raw. Thankfully when he came back, there was no blood on his face or hands.
They walked over the tundra, stopping every now and then to grab a bite of food. Once Aeris knew what to look for, she hunted for tubers herself while Sephiroth ate nearly anything that came to hand. Including bugs.
"Ew!"
"Ew yourself. I need the protein. And so do you. Here."
"No!"
Tubers, however, were few and far between, and they were anything but filling. Water was scarce too. Say what you wanted for the Northern Crater, but at least fresh water was readily available. Aeris began to think fondly of moisture dripping off stalactites and stumbled a few times before Sephiroth noticed she wasn't keeping up. Rather than say anything, however, he looked closely at her face for a moment, then bent down and picked a small, flattish rock up from the ground.
"Put this in your mouth," he said, holding it out to her.
"Why?"
"Sucking on it will make you feel less parched. It'll do until we find water."
"Don't you have some secret SOLDIER sense for dowsing?" Aeris asked as she took the rock.
"I don't know," he deadpanned. "Don't you have some secret Ancient method for finding water?"
"Cetra," she muttered, sticking the rock in her mouth. They walked on. The rock seemed to help.
It was early evening when they reached the shelter, which was some sort of half-petrified tent that should have rotted away a long time ago. Upon closer inspection, Aeris saw that they were not the only travelers to find this structure; there were bits and pieces of camping and hiking equipment inside, though none of it was new and some of it was broken. Sephiroth picked through the debris with an expert eye and Aeris sat on her heels to watch him work. The invincibility had worn off about an hour ago and while brisk walking had kept her warm, Sephiroth seemed to radiate great heat no matter what. She didn't exactly lean on him, but the warmth of his body was a comfort to her entire left side.
Now that he was being quiet and not deliberately annoying, Aeris could admit that Sephiroth's presence was a comfort too. Honestly she wasn't sure how she would have survived the Northern Crater without his help. She definitely wouldn't have gotten to this shelter, or even known anything other than a general direction for civilization. And the idea of feeding herself with no wilderness knowledge whatsoever was daunting.
Though the lack of water was troublesome. She didn't know how long Sephiroth could go without water, but a normal human (which she considered herself, mostly) could go only three days without dying and even not drinking water for one day had noticeable effects. Already she had a headache. Idly Aeris wondered if there was water nearby. She was so thirsty. She closed her eyes and imagined briefly that water was nearby, cool and moist, filling her nostrils with the subtle scent of vitality and life. Her aching head started to pound and then prickle.
"Prickling is new," she thought, but didn't hold onto it. Gradually the prickling localized, centering near the base of her skull on her right side. Without even thinking about it, she reached out and touched the ground.
"It's wet."
Except she opened her eyes and there was nothing but hard-packed tundra under her fingertips. But it still felt wet. On an impulse, Aeris picked up a bent tent stake that had been lying nearby and began to dig.
"What did you find?" Sephiroth asked. He was very involved in doing something with fabric.
"I don't know yet," said Aeris.
No response. She kept digging while the sounds of fabric moving and occasionally ripping reached her ears. The earth was not nearly as hard as she thought it was, and about eight inches down, the hard dirt suddenly turned moist. Excited, Aeris dug more and found a flattish sort of stone. Just by touching it she knew that the large, flat rock had come from elsewhere on the tundra; maybe it had been carried here by ice and sealed into the ground. Carefully she dug around it, ending up with a block that was about the size of a paving stone. Water, numbingly cold and tantalizing, seeped out from underneath it.
"Good find," said Sephiroth, coming over. They pulled up the stone together and Aeris sighed happily as a small spring burbled to the surface. It was barely a trickle, but Sephiroth had found a dented cup in the debris. They took turns drinking; Aeris was surprised when Sephiroth handed her the cup first.
"So what were you working on?" Aeris asked.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not wearing a coat," he said dryly, though without the usual hard edge. "And I don't want to die of exposure before I get curse-flayed tomorrow."
Aeris had completely forgotten about that. They'd gone so far in one day (really? It had felt so much longer) that the memory of waking up to see Sephiroth in disemboweled suffering seemed more like a bad dream.
"Maybe it won't happen," she said, feeling stupid even as she said it. "Since you're, um... I mean, that we're working together and all."
"Maybe," he said with the same lack of conviction.
While Aeris had been digging, Sephiroth had apparently discovered a supply cache, covered with canvas and partly overgrown with lichen; she'd thought it was a boulder when they'd first come in. The moth-eaten emergency blankets had some plant growth on them and there was no food, but there were lanterns, a firestarter and some fuel. Some people had left coats behind too, though Aeris couldn't imagine why; maybe they were insufficient or too bulky for a hike up the Great Glacier. Aeris found one that was wide enough for a man of Barret's frame, while Sephiroth seemed to have trouble finding anything long enough.
"Do you think we'll get to Icicle Inn by tomorrow?" She asked. She was tired enough that the sight of Sephiroth wearing a puffy highlighter-green coat that ended a solid three inches above his belt line didn't even get a smirk.
"No," he said. "Not unless we catch a ride. I saw chocobo tracks out there, which means we can probably find something to bribe them with."
"I should stop being surprised when you know things," said Aeris, covering her yawn.
"Do I seem that unintelligent to you?" He asked with a hint of an edge.
"No," she said. "I just figured it would all be military stuff."
"This is all military stuff."
"Then I clearly don't know much about the military."
He looked like he wanted to say something snappy, but instead Sephiroth sighed and laid down to rest. He was quick at building fires, and lichen seemed to burn just as well as wood. On her bed of folded blankets, Aeris watched as Sephiroth laced his hands over his stomach and closed his eyes. Sephiroth had tucked his hair out of the way on the side she couldn't see, and she had a brief vision of him with short hair. With his most distinctive identifying feature gone, he would look closer to ordinary. Definitely more approachable.
"What are you going to do when we get to Icicle Inn?" She asked softly.
"That's for me to know," he said, not opening his eyes.
"You don't actually know, do you?"
Sephiroth said nothing. Aeris didn't particularly wait on an answer. With the heat of the fire on her face, she was asleep in moments.
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