Warnings: It's not Cid or Genesis.
Chapter 46 : Walk or Ride
Cloud didn't know that voice therefore it was a threat. He was up on his feet and armed in an eye blink, reacting completely on instinct and adrenaline. He placed himself between Zack and Tseng, both still dazed and vulnerable, and the unknown newcomer. Zack was in better shape than the Turk, at least he was standing on his own. Tseng was a limp, messy bundle in Tifa's hold. She was trying to feed warm liquid into him but the Wutaian was having a hard time swallowing. He'd been in the frozen water for over ten minutes and they all knew that was pushing the limits of the man's endurance but he was still alive.
They'd just rescued the two of them and Cloud wasn't letting anyone hurt them now.
The Corporal's wings spread out fully and quivered with tension. Blue-white energy crackled over his blade building in power to match his speeding heart beat. Then he got a good look at the stranger and he had to pull up short as he realized that there was no threat. There was just an old man on a huge black chocobo leading a couple female blues. The guy had a fuzzy hat pulled low and a straggly scarf pulled high so he obviously felt the cold and his eyes were washed out and pale so there was no mako in his system.
He was human... maybe.
Cloud looked closer because he had never seen someone with cheeks as distended as this guy's appeared to be, even under the cloth. Maybe the guy had a disease, something that could infect the others? Maybe he was still a threat just a different kind of danger.
The guy pulled down his scarf and spewed out a huge gob of spit. It landed with a 'plop' on the ice. "Them are nice wings, young'un," the stranger said, "But if yur not careful, Clyde here will think yur'a rival fur his girls."
Definitely human.
Cloud nearly laughed at his overreaction. He straightened, let Tsurugi hang down, and prepared to get teased by his best friend but, before Zack could say anything, the black chocobo dipped its head and hissed, beak clicking in a menacing counterpoint. It fanned out its wings, which were only slightly smaller than Cloud's, and it pawed at the ice, digging out thick grooves with its talons. Without thought, Tsurugi came back up, Cloud's wings spread out, and he growled. His inner voice screamed at him to smarten the fuck up because if he didn't he was never living this down. Besides, it was probably four hundred kilos of bird, with sharp beak and long claws, but it was still just a bird and he wasn't.
His body wasn't listening to reason...
"Corporal," the General's voice was perfectly even, "you realize that you're contesting dominance with a bird?"
The soldier gritted his teeth, taking deep breaths as he tried to regain control, "Yes, Sir."
"Please desist," Sephiroth said in a gentle voice, "I don't think he's going to try to take over your harem."
Cloud swallowed his embarrassment. "I'm trying, Sir," he ground out through clenched teeth. He worked his hands in his gloves trying to loosen them. His wings fluttered as he tried to get them to pull in. It was an action mirrored by the huge bird opposite him but it wasn't trying to fold its wings, it wanted to spread them out even farther, so it would make him look larger and even more threatening. The black warked, loudly, with that same menacing hiss, as it clicked its beak and dipped and lifted its head.
Cloud trembled with the effort of not responding, of being human rather than the unholy mix of creatures Hojo had turned him into.
"Don't worry, young'un," the stranger said, "Clyde's just warning yuh away from his females."
The soldier could see the old man trying to sooth the beast, he could hear the steady murmur of soft words, and he could see that the bird was settling somewhat; it had raised its head a little making it seem a bit less threatening. Cloud tried to imagine that it was Sephiroth's voice murmuring like that—to him—and that it was Zack gently petting him, calming him. It was weird, but it worked. He managed to bring his wings mostly under control. He raised his head and lowered his sword just as the chocobo eased back from its own aggressive stance. Suddenly the bird turned his head to the side and began preening its feathers. It now ignored the blond warrior as aggressively as it had threatened him.
Cloud followed suit, holstering his weapon and smoothing his clothes. "You can stop laughing now, Zack."
"No," the dark-haired First choked out, "I really don't think I can."
"Yup, strange days," the old man mumbled. He scratched his stubbled chin in thought. "Betchu boys need tuh warm up 'nd dry off, hey? M'place ain' far as the girls run." He raised the lead line to indicate the two blue chocobos hooked up to it. "If yuh know how tuh ride bareback, that is."
"I do," Sephiroth responded.
"I don't and I don't need to," Zack said out loud. "I'm warm enough on my own now."
"Don't be ridiculous, Commander," Sephiroth said sharply, "Whatever reserves you had, you used up in the water. You're eyes are glowing from the mako you're burning just to stay upright. You need food and rest and you need them soon."
The stranger shook his head. "M'ladies are strong, but I don' think they can carry both yuh boys."
"I can take Commander Fair," Vincent offered, "I'm light and I've ridden chocobos before."
"You have?" Cloud asked surprised. He'd never heard of a Turk riding a chocobo.
"My family had a racing stable," the gunman's answer was short.
Eyebrows went up. Raising chocobos for racing, keeping an active stable, was a very, very expensive business. "I thought your father was a professor at the university," Tifa asked.
"He was, but his family was rich." Vincent figured that was revealing enough for now. He'd tell Tifa his full history later as she had a right to know. Tseng had been right about that.
"Valentine…" Cloud frowned then made an 'O' of enlightenment. "Was your father Grimoire Valentine? My mother had some books by him."
Zack rolled his eyes at his friend's back. "Of course she did," he muttered.
Cloud ignored him, intent on his discovery. "I knew I'd heard that name before. The Valentines were old nobility, like really old… from the time of Henry II, kind of old. There are even stories that the family descends from one of Henry's bastards."
Zack turned to frown at the dark-haired gunman. "Why the hells did you become a Turk?"
Vincent blinked, considered, and replied "I ran away from home." Zack grinned in appreciation.
Sephiroth ignored the extraneous conversation and nodded approval of their new travel arrangements. "That would work well. Zack doesn't require body heat–"
"No shit," the First muttered.
"–so I can take Tseng, who does. If Ms. Lockhart can ride with you–" A raised eyebrow asked the question of the stranger. It was answered with an easy-going shrug. "–then that leaves only Cloud and Yazoo. They'll be able to keep up."
The black chocobo warked and shook his head. "Them two young'uns are going tuh keep up with m'birds?" the old man's voice was filled with scepticism.
"As impressive as they are, Cloud wings aren't just for attracting mates," Zack wiggled his brows. Tifa giggled. Even Sephiroth had to work to keep his mouth still.
The blond's cheeks filled with colour. "You are such a jerk, Zack."
"Wark, wark."
The old guy—"Call me Bob"—made them let the black chocobo sniff each of them in turn, which was, he said, the only way the big male would let them near his harem. It had hopped a little when confronted with Vincent and all his parts but the guy murmured to it, Vincent stayed calm, so the bird settled down and ignored him as thoroughly as it ignored Cloud. After that the loading went smooth. Sephiroth settled himself easily onto his mount's broad back then Zack handed up the near-comatose Turk. The General was going to have to hold the Wutaian in front of him for the whole journey; not an easy thing to do for either rider or bird. The old man worried about it, emphasizing his concern with another throat clearing gob of phlegm, but Sephiroth shrugged. Tseng's weight wouldn't be a problem, he said and his tone was so absolute that Zack looked around for the carved stone tablet.
Vincent mounted the second bird, settling lightly on its back. Zack climbed up behind him, not quite so lightly but easy enough not to cause the watching black any concern. A word from Bob and the two blues lifted themselves to their full height. They shuffled a bit but seemed mostly unconcerned with the added weight. The male eyed them possessively, doing his own check of their well-being. It signalled its acceptance by shaking its feathers and sneezing; at least Cloud thought that's what it meant.
The bird held still for the old man as he climbed back up, not even twitching an eyelash. Once Bob was seated, the guy held out a mittened hand to help Tifa mount up behind him. "Here yuh go, lady. Step on his knee with yur left foot then swing yur right over… That's the way. Just like yuh was born to it," he ground out the instructions, and Cloud thought it was for both Tifa's and the bird's benefit.
Whatever, it kept the chocobo mostly calm—mostly. As Tifa settled the big black fluffed his wings a little, showing off for the new female. "'Nuff of that, Clyde," the old guy chided. "Okay all, let's mosey." With a click and a flick of the reins, the chocobos were off, going from full stop to blurry within a few paces.
Cloud and Yazoo, left behind in a cloud of ice particles, looked at each other. "Run or fly?" Cloud asked.
"You can carry me?" the young clone asked amazed. The blond soldier was barely bigger than he was.
"Yeah," Cloud answered softly. "I won't be able to do the fancy moves that Zack did, but we'll be up in the air." An upwards glance and a fleeting smile were all the answer the Corporal needed. It didn't take them long to lift off the ground and follow the three fast-moving chocobos.
Cloud managed a few quick barrel rolls but the old guy had been right; keeping up to the birds wasn't easy. Plus Yazoo wanted to talk. "Am I expected to have sex with someone?" he asked plainly, only a couple minutes into the flight. The Corporal looked down at him in surprise, nearly losing his rhythm. "Everyone else in the group seems to be having sex with someone—or building up to it—so I just wondered if...."
"It's not mandatory, if that's what you're asking," Cloud answered, still a little confused.
"So, it's not part of a team building philosophy?"
"No, not at all," Cloud frowned. "The way things turned out between us—the General and I, well...that was left over from before."
"But he forced us to feel him, to respond. Are you sure it's not a control mechanism that Hojo put in him?" The blond was shaking his head before Yazoo even finished talking.
"I think it was an accident; a result of the Jenova cells ShinRa put in all the SOLDIER Firsts. You were kind of telepathic with the other two clones, weren't you?" The teen nodded. Cloud shrugged, or tried to considering he was flying, "Well, same kind of thing."
"So he wasn't trying to establish–"
"He wasn't trying to do anything but raise Zack's body temperature. We just got hit by... shrapnel, I guess you could call it."
The young man was quiet and Cloud took the opportunity to search out a thermal he could glide off of. He wasn't going to say anything, because the young clone's life had probably been worse than his up to this point, but his back muscles were starting to get sore.
"He had nothing to do with Tifa and Vincent?" The question was hesitant.
"Gods no! I don't think anybody could've planned that," Cloud was stunned at the suggestion until he realized what the young clone was thinking. He knew what had gone on in the lab in Nibelheim, what had happened to him. It probably hadn't been any different in the one Yazoo had been grown in: the strong preyed on the weak or the helpless. It was expected, it was... normal to be used like that.
It's what Yazoo would expect in the outside world too, unless Cloud explained it to him.
He could feel the heat in his cheeks; he was the last person who should be giving this talk to the clone. Zack would make a joke of it but still make it real and important. Sephiroth would state it as if it never occurred to him to think anything else, and again it would be real and important. He just hoped he could form full, comprehensible sentences without swallowing his tongue. "If someone tries to tell you that you have to have sex with them, for whatever reason, and you don't want to, you can just tell them no, and it's against the law for them to force you."
Yazoo sneered, "You're lying. In the lab–"
"In Hojo's labs it was normal but you're not in the lab anymore. It's supposed to be different out here. Legally, you have the right to say no to anyone at anytime in any situation. Or you can say yes. The point is, it's your choice who you have sex with and why."
"Huh," the teen said in disbelief. "No restrictions?"
Cloud frowned, "Well, no kids; meaning anyone under fifteen. Even if the kid says yes it's still considered rape."
"Huh," Yazoo repeated. He'd been well under the age of fifteen the first time someone had had sex with him. Cloud held him a little tighter, guessing where the teen's disbelief stemmed from.
The soldier continued, "And, if someone tells you 'no' you have to respect that and back off. It's only fair, right?"
"I suppose," Yazoo said doubtfully. He fell silent, trying to process his new world.
He knew from Yazoo's short responses that none of this made sense to him; the clone didn't believe it—he couldn't. His lab-raised brother would have a hard time understanding the rules that governed relationships in regular society no matter how much he said. He had a hard time understanding them and he'd grown up in regular society, but Cloud knew had to try to give the boy some basis for making decisions about sex. "Ideally, you only have intercourse with people who care about you and that you care about; people who make you feel cherished and special."
Yazoo looked up at him, "Like Loz and Kadaj did?"
It took a moment for the blond warrior to place the names as Yazoo's cloned brothers and then he had to think about the implications of that for a second. Cloud wondered if he should mention that incest was frowned upon. Then he rejected the thought as irrelevant and kind of mean. The other two clones were dead which meant that Yazoo wouldn't see them ever again, never mind having sex with them, and he didn't want the boy to feel alone. Being alone sucked...
"If that's how they made you feel, then yes," he finally answered.
"But how do you know that's how they'll make you feel during sex if you don't have sex with them?" Yazoo asked. He tilted his head, looking up at his genetic brother's face. "How did you know with Sephiroth?"
Cloud swallowed nervously, but he'd decided to do this properly—or as best he could—and he wasn't going to back out now. "He seduced me. With words first, then with his body. It kind of made it clear right from the start that he thought I was special." Cloud blush deepened to almost painful levels but he still smiled. He remembered most of Nibelheim now. "Then I seduced him right back."
Yazoo continued to look at Cloud and the blond worried about what other questions he might ask but, thankfully, the silver-haired clone tucked his head into Cloud's chest with a thoughtful hum, and Cloud was able to draw a deep, relaxed breath. He just hoped he hadn't fucked it up...
The mountain boy was always comfortable not talking and he didn't try to break into the teen's thoughts. Soon they were off the ice and back near the mountains. Turbulence became a factor and he needed to concentrate more on his flying. He found thermals and used them to lift them up higher before gliding down in smooth spirals that gave his aching back a rest. They were keeping the others in sight but the winged soldier was hoping it wasn't much farther because he was really starting to feel it—burning spikes where his muscles used to be. Pretty soon he'd have to take them to the ground and they'd have to run the rest of the way. He didn't want to. He'd given Zack enough ammunition already.
But, just as he was cursing his mountain stubbornness and thinking pride was a really stupid emotion, they saw a structure in the distance that could only have been man-made.
"Let's go down and run the rest of the way," Yazoo asked. "I want to see the area from ground level."
"In case we have to leave in a hurry?" Yazoo nodded. Cloud's answer was easy; "Okay." He could've wept in relief when they touched down and their weight was off his arms and back and onto his legs. It was heavenly to use a different set of muscles and he almost groaned in pleasure. He coughed instead and concentrated on tucking wings away. It took him a bit longer than it should have but Yazoo wouldn't know the difference.
"Are you all right?" the teen asked anxiously, "You were carrying me for a long time."
The soldier shook his head since shrugging seemed to be out of the question, "I'm okay. It's good to know your limits, right?" All Yazoo could do was agree; it's what they'd been taught in the lab. Cloud ignored his genetic brother's worried, little frown and headed out.
They followed the unmistakeable trail of the three chocobos, claws digging in deep from the weight, at an easy lope. Cloud identified game trails that could be used as escape routes, and Yazoo pointed out the wildlife hiding in the stunted trees they'd have to watch out for. It was a nice end to the journey and they arrived only a few minutes after the others; Sephiroth was just offloading Tseng into Vincent's waiting arms.
Zack was leaning, or maybe it was tilting, and Cloud realized that the General had been right about the First using up all his reserves. Cloud immediately went up and tucked himself under the SOLDIER's arm in support.
"Bob's got a hot spring running into a pool behind his place," Zack said in greeting, "I am totally going to use it."
"After you eat, Commander," Sephiroth ordered. He had dismounted and was running fingers through the heavy feathers in appreciation of the smooth ride. The bird responded by cooing and rubbing its eye ridge on the warrior's shoulder.
"Understood, General Sir." Zack saluted. The motion made him wobble slightly and Cloud decided it was time to steer the First into the house. Besides, Zack wasn't the only one who would feel better sitting down; he was starting to feel a little shaky himself.
The old man's house was a barely converted cave. Hangings, made from chocobo feathers of all sizes and colours, brightened up the windowless space. Heavy braided rugs covered the floor and provided some insulation from the hard floor. At least it was warm. Probably because the opening at the back led to the hot springs Zack had talked about. Cloud could feel the moist air floating through the space. Still, it was more welcoming, and a lot cleaner, than he'd thought it would be.
Tifa was already at the stove knocking some life into near-dead coals. Vincent had placed Tseng on the bench behind the kitchen table and the Wutaian was managing to sit mostly upright. The gunman had wrapped his red mantle around the other man and the colour looked really weird on the Turk. But it was a passing thought, quickly forgotten as Cloud manoeuvred his friend over to a chair and made him sit. Zack promptly put his head down on the table, not even bothering to cushion the surface with his arms.
"Anything I can do to help?" Cloud asked Tifa.
Yazoo took his arm and steered him to the bench. "You should sit down too. Flying all that way wasn't easy."
"I'm okay," the Corporal protested.
Yazoo frowned at him. "Your eyes are glowing."
Cloud looked in Tifa's direction. "Yeah," she confirmed, "They're pretty bright too."
"We'll get the food. You three just sit." The silver-haired youth pushed him onto the bench beside the Turk. Then he moved to the centre of the room and sniffed. Vincent's eyebrow went up and even Tifa looked at him astonished. Yazoo ignored them and followed the smell to a slim opening, nearly hidden in the uneven stone walls. It was Bob's cold storage room. "I found the food," he announced. He brought out fresh meat and wrinkled, whiskery tubers as well as bags of grains and sprigs of herbs and gave them to Vincent who laid them out on the counter while Tifa looked through the cupboards for pots and pans and utensils.
Cloud rested his head against the cave wall, watching Tifa expertly prepare supper through eyes he could barely keep open. He'd wrapped an arm around Tseng but the Turk was so quiet and still Cloud wasn't sure if he was awake. His check was moving, so at least he was still alive. He knew Zack wasn't awake; the SOLDIER had finally lifted his arms to provide a pillow and was snoring gently, a soothing sound that wasn't helping Cloud stay alert. Even Sephiroth's entry couldn't rouse Cloud from his stupor. When the General came over and touched them with his bare hand, first on Zack's face then on Cloud's, it was all the Corporal could do not to lean into it and fall asleep right then.
"He flew too long," he heard Yazoo say apologetically, "I didn't notice until it was already too late. I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize," Sephiroth responded softly, "Cloud is an experienced soldier. I would expect him to know his own limits and to make allowances for them." He stroked tender fingers over Cloud's cheek. "Of course, he hasn't learned how to adjust for being a stubborn idiot, but that's hardly your fault."
Even half asleep and sore, Cloud could blush.
Bob had a field or more filled with chocobos, some tame, some not. As soon as they'd arrived, he'd gone out to check on a few that were worrying him, leaving their group to prepare the meal with a casual "Help yurselves". By the time he came back to the cave, the stew was cooked and biscuits were on the table, and they were just about done waiting for him to show up. One thing they hadn't counted on was that Bob liked to talk. He started as soon as he walked in the door and he continued, non-stop, throughout the meal. Worse, all his conversation was about his birds. Global war, ShinRa's collapse, DGS forces running across the country with mutated dogs—even huge frigging Weapons bursting out of the crater just north of his place—none of it was as important to the old guy as learning all he could about chocobos.
And now he had a captive audience for all his knowledge...
He told a story—a long story—about the first chocobos he'd ever bred and what he'd learned from that experience. After that he told them about those birds, talking about them as if they were children. Then he told them about the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren and so on for about the next sixteen generations, maybe more. Cloud lost count early on.
When Bob told them he was heading out to the birthing pen to supervise a hatching, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
When only Cloud and Zack were still eating, , cleaning the pot down to the scorch marks under Sephiroth's watchful eye, Tifa offered to set up their communal bed in the loft—which was more of a ledge than an actual floor—while the rest of them made use of the hot springs. Vincent shifted in silent protest but the young Nibelheimer pulled him down to whisper in his ear. She obviously meant for it to be private however, given just about everyone's former lab rat status, probably only Tseng couldn't hear what she said.
Even when half asleep, sore, and full, Cloud could blush.
He buried his face in his bowl and tried to pretend his childhood crush wasn't making graphic suggestions about what she was going to do to the ex-Turk once she had him naked. Or at least he tried to pretend he couldn't hear her. It was like imagining his sister in bed with someone... eww.
They were just finishing up the food and, feeling much better Cloud had to admit, when Vincent, Yazoo and Tseng came out of the back room looking as civilized as a Turk, a clone and a mutated experiment could. Tifa grinned in appreciation at the shine in the gunman's hair. She even dared to run quick fingers through it, which made Vincent blush and duck his head back into his collar.
Yazoo and Vincent helped Tseng up the ladder—the Turk was nearly asleep on his feet—and Tifa went to take her turn in the water. That left the washing up to Cloud and Zack. Neither of them expected Sephiroth to do much although Zack couldn't resist teasing the silver-haired warrior about how good he'd look in an apron.
Vincent came back down and walked past them to the outside door as if they didn't exist. The ex-Turk was probably intent on reaching the stables where he was to meet Tifa and the two of them were going to... Cloud hid his red face in the steam from the dish water, ingeniously piped from the same spring Tifa was bathing in, and that realization didn't help the colour fade from his cheeks.
"Just how sore are you, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked and jolted the blond from the images in his head.
"He can barely raise his arms," Zack answered for him. "And we all thought I was the careless one."
"I didn't think it would be so far," Cloud defended himself but his voice wasn't firm, it was apologetic; asking for indulgence.
"If you'd been attacked when you landed, would you have been able to defend yourself?" the General asked and it was the Silver General asking, not Cloud's lover.
The blond stopped what he was doing and considered. He might have been able to fight but not for long and not well. He closed his eyes and nodded once, sharp. "Understood, Sir."
Sephiroth stared at him, spooky cat-eyes giving all the warning and punishment he wasn't saying out loud. He held the look, unblinking, until Cloud felt about knee-high, then he nodded,"Very good, Corporal."
Cloud sighed in relief. Zack grinned at him; he'd been on the receiving end of the General's non-verbal lectures many times: it was an experience. "Maybe you should give him a back rub," he suggested playfully.
"I intend to," the General replied calmly, "once we're in the spring." Zack opened his mouth to offer them privacy but Sephiroth glared at him. "I also intend to check you for frostbite or other damage from your exposure. I know you, Commander; you could have toes falling off and you would still be making jokes." Zack had to admit that was true.
They were just finishing up the dishes when Tifa came out of the back room. She looked shiny and eager, and Cloud tried not to let his mind bring up the reason why.
"It's free," she said unnecessarily.
"Tseng and Yazoo seem to have settled in upstairs," Sephiroth replied. "Vincent has gone outside to brood, as is his wont." For the lab raised, genetically designed swordsman that was downright tactful. Zack coughed into his fist, hiding his laugh.
Tifa smiled. "I guess I'll go see if I can cheer him up."
Zack waved at her. He couldn't help smiling but he tried not to make it leering or smirking. "Go get him, girl," he muttered and made Cloud choke. Sephiroth looked at him in resignation. He shrugged. "What? Everybody's entitled to some happiness." He turned to the blond who was putting the last dish out to dry. "Yours, my little chocobo, includes a hot soak and a long massage." The SOLDIER put his arm around his friend's upper back and squeezed. Cloud barely contained his pained groan. "Don't worry; you're in good hands."
Sephiroth followed behind them and saw that their steps matched and they moved in sync with one another. Tall and short, dark and blond, they fit each other perfectly. They were a set and the General felt heat settled low in his belly as he watched them walk away.
His eyes narrowed and he started to plan.
AN: It's been just over a year since I posted the first chapter of Mad World although it's been in my head for even longer. Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement. I hope you all are having some good times this holiday season. Best of luck to you all in the new year. Hopefully, it won't take me another twelve months to wrap this story up. =]