To Cleanstrawberry : Aw thank you so much. I appreciate it. You'll see. We'll know what really bothered him about that guy.
HQ16: I went to upload this awhile ago, but FF just went down and the second time I came back to post this for you. It happened again. I was like whaaa? No. So here you go loves.
I glanced around the room and occasionally people would lock eyes with me. I smiled to each pair warmly until my face fell noticing Zack watching me. I looked back to Josh and finished my water quickly. He was smiling at me, and infectious as it was, I returned it. His eyebrows rose a bit in question and I nodded standing up. He stood with me leading the way outside. I followed thanking him for holding the door.
"So how is it a pretty girl like you lands into Shinra's elite force?" I glanced at him through my long tresses, curious.
"I wouldn't say pretty, but-" I stopped short as he cut me off quickly.
"I would. Every man on Gaia with any tastes knows you are," my face instantly heated up and I took a deep breath looking away from him. I couldn't understand for the life of me why I was acting so... weird.
"Thank you, but as I was saying, it's complicated. Stuff happened with my... family member a long time ago. I'm hoping being an elite member would help me in finding them. Not much luck so far sadly. I can feel them every once in a while but it's been some time since I've been able to even think about anything other than work lately." He smiled warmly as if to comfort me as we walked in the light of the moon. My eyes flicked down and away from him my face still hot and my thoughts barely stable.
"What did you want to be when you were younger?"
I opened my mouth to respond and then could only think about how I couldn't remember the first ten years of my life. My eyebrows furrowed and I opened my mouth to respond; I stopped my words. I never told strangers the truth about me; all of sudden I wanted to tell him things about me I had only ever told Zack. I clenched my jaw, "I never really thought about it as a little girl."
"Well I mean there had to be a reason why you decided to join Shinra."
"Yeah, to find my family member." he nodded slowly, seemingly noticing how I was kind of dancing around his questions.
"Not used to talking to strangers?" He asked gently the wind ruffling his hair as we walked.
"I... am. I talk to people I don't know just about every day. They never ask me about my personal life however. It's personal, not professional." He didn't say anything for a moment and I watched his hair flow gently and I found myself thinking about how Zack's hair flowed in comparison to his. His lips pulled back to show a full handsome smile. I glanced away, catching sight of my boots on my feet. I wiggled my toes and the dark leather didn't even budge. The leather was scratched and beat up but ever sturdy. My thoughts ran to Tifa and how her boots were much more feminine than mine, how different our lives were in comparison to each other. My thoughts were just about to bring me back to my level headed self when he touched me.
"Hey, you alright?" I nodded quickly.
"Peachy, just wonderful. Where were we?" He smiled brightly and didn't take his hand from my shoulder for a moment longer.
"We were just talking. You're an enigma and it's fascinating to find that you aren't some mindless soldier who does everything she's told to do all the time." I tilted my head confused and ran a hand through my hair.
"No, You make it sound like Shinra owns us as people. We feel, get hurt, cry. All the things you do, so do we." His eyes watched me intently, I smiled warmly and glanced back towards the small town.
"You have such a beautiful eye color," I locked eyes with him. "They glow even in this dark." he brushed some of my hair back and smiled at me. I froze, confused at how he was acting towards me. I pulled away a bit and smiled softly. "How old are you Evelia?" I stopped for a moment. Trying to recall my age.
"Uh, not as old as you I'm sure." A grin crossed his face momentarily as if he had a secret. His foot started to scratch into the dirt. It was hard for his to see but even from my distance I could see what he was writing on the ground. One- Nine. My eyebrow rose in confusion. He was barely older than Zack and I.
"I just turned 18 a couple of months ago." My hand rose to my ears, the piercings I had gotten for Zack... with Zack.
"Young to be a killer." My body froze and my gaze turned to Josh, it was hardened.
"I guess." he heard my tone and turned to me to apologize, but I heard my name being called.
"Evie!" I turned to see Zack running towards us. "I was looking for you. I was worried." I smiled a bit and shook my head.
"We've been through this Zack. I can handle myself. Honestly." he didn't seem convinced as he stopped in front of us, a harsh protective look on his features.
"Maybe, but the fiends have been getting a lot more active and twice as dangerous lately. Let's get you two back. Evie head to your room."
"Zack, you're not my mother. I don't have to listen to you." he turned abruptly looking at me, and I shrunk under that look. He had never looked that way before and I had never felt like such a child under his gaze before. I paused unsure of what to say or do until Josh pulled at me to return to the town. I was silent as I followed him. I glanced back once at Zack who was watching from the distance, his stance firm.
"Sorry about that... It was a pleasure to meet you however," I was silent as I stared into his face a smile gently crossing my to reassure him.
"Zack can get a little over protective of his friends. He means well. It was a pleasure to meet you however. I have duty in the morning." He nodded and mumbled a goodnight before giving me a soft peck on the cheek. My face lit up and I smiled before walking to my room.
(Day 3 in Nibelheim)
Th next morning I woke up on my own, at my own time. I wondered to myself how long it had been since Sephy had locked himself away. October was at the end of the week. I thought about it a couple of times trying to form which days were which in my head. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I need a walk to clear my head.
I dressed casually and greeted everyone as I walked towards the mountain. It was a clear day. The sky was a bright blue, it made me think of the color of Zack's eyes. I clenched my teeth; it was always about him. Always.
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, "This shit is driving me insane. I swear." I growled as I kicked a rock. My feet dragged me to the edge of one of the paths and I stared off into the distance. It was noisy. The sound of pure Mako almost gurgling, fiends running around caught my ears and animals, ones strong enough to defend themselves running about.
The horizon seemed to go on forever, the blue of the sky never stopping. It was a beautiful sight. My Mako infused eyes turned downcast, my sight grazing over the bare of my hands. Powerful and calloused. I took a deep breath, the air was fairly crisp. My senses could tell that the reactor was the only thing clogging up the air. The breeze was faint against my skin and I could hear how powerful it got the higher on the mountain you climbed. My eyes could make out the movements of fiends on the mountain top.
I blinked quickly, tearing my eyes away from the mountain. Sometimes it was a curse having such enhanced senses. I could hear fiends fighting in the distance, probably for survival. Usually I couldn't hear this much at once but it was quiet and the nearby Mako seemed to heighten my senses almost like an energy source. I walked away my light boots barely making sounds as I moved away from the Mako in the ground. I twitched unnaturally and my stomach gave a rough grumble. "Stupid enhanced metabolism." I muttered as I ignored it.
I sat down at another dead end path staring off quietly. I crouched towards the edge and swung my feet over the ledge. I glanced down to see how bad of a fall it would be should something happen. I grimaced, there was no way I'd survive it.
I sat up straight, only to lean back on my hands moments later. My thoughts swam for a time as they finally slowed down I realized what most of it had been about, Zack. "What's happening to me? I don't understand why... Why him? Why now?"
My thoughts turned to Tifa's words and my breathing labored at the very thought of what she was implying. "I'm a SOLDIER... fighting is all I do." I couldn't control my thoughts, they scared me. I was over thinking things; Zack being the only thing I was really thinking about. His smile, his laugh, his sense of humor, his protectiveness over me... His scars, his earring. The wind blew gently blowing my black hair across my face and I closed my eyes breathing slowly.
Zack... "I wonder who that other girl is." He had said the other day that there might be a girl, another girl that wasn't Aerith. I ran a hand through my hair again, still frustrated with myself. It was long, too long. It was about to hit my elbows at this point and I chuckled a bit before sensing something charging at me. I stood abruptly to see a fiend attacking at me. "Shit!" I was defenseless. I didn't even have gloves on. I was hoping none would bother me. I posed no threat, but this one seemed threatened or angry about something.
He was gaining speed as he ran and I dodged hopeful that the edge of the cliff would take him down. I glanced back quickly. It was going too fast to stop, I grinned triumphantly. Though as I stood up and glanced over the edge I heard his friends come back... or her friends. I turned quickly staring at a pack of them.
"Today is not my day. At all." I swallowed and wiggled my fingers, waiting for one to charge or something. None did, they circled close to me. I took up a fighting stance. Their hard exterior was the first thing I noticed, it explained why they charged. One wrong hit from one of these things could crush any normal human and at least seriously injure Zack and I. I had little to no armor on which increased the factor of them seriously injuring me
I dodged one of their pointy arms, it was a rare fiend, scary looking. A scissor claw. Painful to fight even with armor. It's eight arms moving as it's beady eyes watched me. I took a deep breath noticing the others of it's kind. "I'm doomed." It snarled and ran at me. I ducked under one of it's pointy arms grabbing it and twisting. With a force of my foot I kicked the fiend away taking one of it's arms with me. It howled angrily and it learned from it's lost limb that attacking me wasn't going to work. At least not that way. I threw it's limb off the ledge behind me and took a stance again.
"I have no idea how I'm gonna get out of this one... I seriously need to stop talking to myself." I muttered as my eyebrows furrowed in worry. Two fiends came towards me all eight of their arm... things clawing at me. I stood my ground, thinking all the while. I clenched my teeth rolling towards one, under it's jabbing arms. An uppercut to it's un-armored neck caused it to flinch but a searing pain ran through my side. The other fiends claw ripped through my shirt and skin as the fiend I was attacked withdrew it's claws. I hissed and jumped back quickly. I had never seen fiends work in packs the way this one was.
My hand moved to my side. I was dripping blood profusely; I clenched my jaw and turned my eyes to the four surrounding me. I didn't even have any materia with me. Gaia teach me a bloody lesson.
I decided to swing low and managed to knock one off of it's feet long enough to crush though it's vulnerable neck. My hand oozed fluids and I attempted to shake it off quickly. I shook my hair from my face as the breeze blew by. I swiped low at the next fiend knocking it off it's two poorly placed feet. I went in for another punch and felt something pierce my skin.
My thoughts were too fluttered for me to even fight properly. I turned to see a fiend stabbing into my side. It's arm dug into my skin and pulled me off it's friend. Throwing me towards the ledge where it's friend had just fallen to its death.
"Ow. Augh. Fuck." I grumbled as my rolling came to a stop. I glanced towards them my chest breathing deeply, my thoughts going to Zack. Whatever this feeling is, it's going to get me killed. How can I be thinking about him at a time like this? I flipped over and got to my feet, only to feel a fiend push me over the ledge.
Naturally, I screamed.
Zack had woken to the sound of footsteps passing the door to his bed, Evie. He could hear how lightly she was walking. His thoughts ran to how she was probably no wearing anything she should be. Like her armor or her sword.
After showering and getting dressed the SOLDIER made his way outside to greet Cloud at his post.
"You doing better Zack?" Zack felt a scowl cover his features and he looked around the town for the girl. She was no where in sight, however maybe the infantryman knew.
"Not really. I mean, what was she thinking? Walking around with some guy she doesn't even know? Last time that happened she was in the infirmary for... days. She was just indulging him in his little games. You should have seen him Cloud. He was trying to make a move on her and she didn't even see it." The blonde gave his best friend and odd look.
"Zack, maybe you're overreacting to this. I mean... she was just talking to the guy." Cloud's words didn't really catch the SOLDIER's ears.
"He offered her a drink. He was trying to do something to her. I know it. He's lucky I didn't deck him for trying something with a General of the Shinra amry." He grumbled as he looked around. "Have you seen her at all?" Cloud shook his head. Zack nodded and searched for the others in hopes of finding where she went. One of the infantrymen said she had gone up the mountain.
"Was she wearing her sword?"
"No, Sir. She didn't seem to be wearing anything of her usual uniform." His back was straight as he spoke. Zack spun around and jogged towards the mountain. He stopped hoping to catch sight of her somewhere. He climbed up looking down different paths in hopes of seeing her. He wasn't sure what he would do if something terrible happened to her. He growled kicking into a jog as searched for her.
The raven haired teen sliced through fiends and blew them up with ease. Then he felt it. He could feel her presence nearby. He ran until he felt his heart stop beating.
A blood curling scream.
I panted trying to calm myself, my left hand losing strength from the wound the fiend had created. "Shit." I growled attempting to climb over the ledge. The fiends were already waiting for me. I didn't understand how they were acting like this. So organized, so uniform. It was like they were being controlled by something. I cried out in agony as I managed to pull myself up only half way. The pain in my side growing as if poisoned.
"Bastards." I muttered darkly as they saw me, their nasty faces watching. The one who's arm I had torn off was coming for it's revenge. I pulled myself up quickly and spun a kick into it's chest. With a twist of my wrist I was flipping in the air for a final smashing kick on it's head. It blocked it and stabbed into my shoulder. My wrist blood flowing to my wrist and collapsed on top of it nastily.
"You've got to be kidding me." I said rolling over just as the fiend was slice in half. I watched it's pieces fall to the floor to reveal the one person I had spent the past few hours thinking about. Zack. He took care of the fiends as if it was child's play. I shook my head and closed my eyes. "Don't even."
"I wasn't planning on it." I opened my eyes to see him scanning over my wounds. "Remind me how many times I've told you Evie?"
"More than enough. I get it, really. But I wasn't expecting a pack of them to try killing me for fun." His mouth was set in a firm line and he was quiet.
He picked me up effortlessly, "I saved you." I glanced at him confused. "You were defenseless and I saved you." I gulped defeated.
"Yeah... you did." We were silent on the walk back to Nibelheim. He sat me down in a chair and gave me a potion as he looked over my wounds. I drank it slowly. I felt a feeling of warmth cover my back. A cure materia was in use. I glanced over my bloodied shoulder. Zack was fixing the stab in my back. He was silent. I'm not sure if I hated his silence or not. It was almost painful to know that instead of lecturing me like I thought he was going to do he was completely silent. Like I asked him to be.
"Why aren't you telling me off like you want to be doing right now?" I asked him as he examined my healing shoulder. He motioned for me to finish my potion and I did quietly. He lifted me again as the warmth from the potion and him cleansed my wounds. Between the materia and the potion the wounds had turned to gentle red scars. My body would heal them the rest of the way naturally. He put me down to rest on his bed. I glanced at him. He wasn't even looking at me. I didn't make a sound, letting him pull the covers over my beat up body. The bruises I had from being thrown around were gone and I probably didn't even need to lay down, but there was no way was I going to tell Zack no.
He had been telling me for the past couple of days that I should be running around without my full uniform on and now I nearly fell off a mountain for it. I wasn't exactly in a place to be telling him that he was wrong. When he was finished I was safely tucked away into the covers of the bed, the pillows prompting my head up.
He placed my hand in his and promptly sat next to the bed. My eyebrows furrowed, I was worried to say the least. Why is he acting so weird?
A moment later I noticed his head fall down and I propped myself up to look at him better. "Zack...?" He snapped his eyes up quickly and I locked eyes with those perfect orbs. I couldn't help it, a huge warm smile crossed my face.