Hey there! I apologize for taking a tad longer than normal to upload, but life's been hectic. Some guy who was drunk off his ass decided to flip his car over a ditch and take out the fence to my family's front horse pasture. But not to worry! The horses are fine and I hope the drunk fucker goes to jail (pardon the language). I've been dealing with that PLUS another horse had a major allergic reaction to who knows what. Had to call out the vet and give the stallion steroid shots in the jugular. But he's fine now, praise Jesus! Back to the story, there's gonna be a little bit of action in this chapter. Sounds fun, right? There's a super minor character being introduced (minor as in: only appears in two chapters) and I think you're going to see where I got the inspiration from. (Let's say I took out some hatred on fantasy characters that coincide with real life) Enjoy the chapter! Reviews will help you earn your way onto my LOVE list. :)

(I can make a line break now! WOOOO!)

Chapter Three

Cloud carefully kept his face an emotionless mask as he turned back toward the mare, pretending the he hadn't seen the girl.

I thought she was the type who didn't like to come to these types of gatherings, he mused in his mind. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder back to the cart where the girl stood. She had turned and was talking to the owner, a man looking to be in his mid-thirties, who was selling bright and precious jewelry. She gave a pleasant laugh as the man made a quick joke, her smile bright as she tossed her luxurious hair over her shoulder. Cloud turned back to his horses again. Just focus on the sales for today. You can see her later.

The sun was starting to sink down into the sky when another prospect buyer came to look at the mare. A man of medium stature was making his way to the stall. Cloud immediately knew he was trouble. He walked with a sway in his gait, as if he'd had one too many drinks at one of the mobile pubs. He was speaking loudly and making greatly exaggerated motions to three companions walking with him. His clothes were full of wrinkles and stains. As he walked within twenty feet of Cloud, the teenager noticed an unkempt beard and greasy hair. His disgust grew as he took in more of the vagabond-looking man. The drunkard tripped and almost fell down at Cloud's feet as he finally reached the stall. An awful smell of alcohol pierced Cloud's sensitive nose.

"How much for it, huh?" the man growled out as he made his way back onto his feet. Cloud didn't answer. No way in hell was he going to sell his beloved mare to this… this… old fart.

"She's not for sale," Cloud answered as he eyed the creep. The man raised his eyebrows.

"Then why's she here?" he grumbled out, staring at the silver mare. Cloud combed his mind for an excuse.

"She needed exercise, plus this festival is good exposure for her," Cloud stated tonelessly. He wasn't going to let this guy find a hold in his words to start an argument. The man didn't need one apparently.

"Well, I know people like you that live in this crap hole of a town," the man spat at the ground, "need all the money they can get their filthy rat hands on. So, how 'bout a deal, huh? I buy the damned horse and you get a nice little penny for it, huh?" The man gave a humorless grin, exposing broken and stained teeth. Cloud was outraged.

Who does this guy think he is? Practically calling us rats when he's worse than a rat himself… He's lower than even a rat. Heck, he's even lower than the scum on a rat's paw! Cloud thought angrily. As the man made a step towards the mare, Cloud stepped between them and crossed his arms. "Leave now. You're not buying anything from me today, or ever for that matter."

The man glared at Cloud for a good few seconds. Then he promptly shoved past Cloud to grab the mare's lead rope. As his hands started to close around the rope, a sudden strong push knocked him out of the stall onto his already filthy behind. He stared up in shock from the dust at a fuming Cloud.

"Hey, you can't treat Jacob like that, man!" one of the companions shouted angrily in Cloud's face as the others helped Jacob/old fart onto his feet.

"Yes, I can. I told him to leave and instead he tried to forcefully take something of mine," growled Cloud quietly. He glanced around the area. A few people had stopped their searches for items to watch the little disagreement taking place between a local farm boy and a drunk's gang. But besides these bystanders, a few Caps were heading towards them.

Everyone hated the Caps. They were authorities from the Capitol sent to keep us "back-woods folk" in line. They were usually recognized by us because of the hats they wore: sick green pieces of material on their heads bearing the crest of the government. How we hated those men…

Cloud pushed the new man out of his face with a scowl darkening his face. This man wasn't going to take that. He jumped at Cloud with an angry shout and threw his fist towards the teenager's face. Cloud quickly caught the man's fist in his hand and delivered a punch of his own, catching his adversary in the solar plexus. As the man went down coughing, the other two companions stopped their attempt at picking up Old Fart from the dirt and charged at Cloud. He quickly backtracked, trying to stay out of range. But, as one of the men reached him, Cloud pounced. He flew forward, his fist crashing into the man's face. A loud crunch sounded as the man's nose was squashed into his face. He backed off with a howl.

Cloud turned to try and find the final man, but a force crashed into his back, knocking him onto the ground. The strained his neck trying to see behind him. The final man was straddling his back, using his weight to hold down the struggling Cloud and his legs to pin the teenager's arms. He leaned down, his mouth near Cloud's ear.

"Time to pay, little punk," he hissed. He grabbed a handful of blond spikes and lifted Cloud's head before slamming it into the ground. Cloud gasped in pain, and the man pulled back and repeated the violent act. Stunned, Cloud went limp and stopped his struggle as his vision became dark at the edges. Suddenly the weight on his back disappeared. He tried to sit up as he heard a scuffle behind him.

"What do you think you're doing? You just attacked a boy!" One of the Caps was shouting at the men.

"That little snot attacked us first! And for no reason!" shouted nasty Jacob.

"Liar! He didn't attack you, he tried to protect his horse from you filthy creeps," a strong voice called out. The Caps, drunks, and Cloud turned to see the source of the new voice. A young man with slicked back and spiked black hair was making his way through the crowd toward them, a furious scowl on his face. He was tall, taller than most of the men at the stall, yet he appeared to be only a few years older than Cloud. His violet eyes sparked dangerously at the attackers. The X-shaped scar on his cheek left and strong build intimidated the filthy men. They quailed at his approach.

"Zack, what are you doing here?" Cloud whispered as the young raven haired man crouched down and offered a hand.

"Keeping your scrawny blond butt from getting in trouble with the authorities, that's what," Zack whispered back. "You're already under a close eye, you should know this! Why did you have to stir up trouble?"

Cloud looked away, muttering, "The assholes deserved it." Cloud glanced back as Zack gave a small sigh, running his hand through his hair.

"You sure are a handful," Zack murmured as Cloud took his hand and pulled himself onto his feet again. One of the Caps walked up, an unpleasant expression souring his face.

"Care to explain what happened this time, Strife?" Cloud looked away angrily. Why did he always have to be the one to get the worst side of the Caps? They were horrible to everyone, but especially to him.

"Those bozos tried to forcefully take his horse," Zack answered for Cloud.

The Cap raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. That's a first. Strife picking a fight for a good reason? What a rare occurrence this is!" The sarcasm stung Cloud, but he didn't let his face betray him. No emotion was visible from the obvious insult. The Cap turned away and gave a wave of his hand before saying, "We'll let it by for now. No one hear likes a commotion from a man who can't hold his alcohol." With that, he disappeared into the crowd.

Zack waited until the last of crowd had dispersed before turning to Cloud. He had a tired look on his face as he said, "I'll keep an eye on Nabi and Kat. You go use some money you got from the other sale and go buy something nice for you and your mother." Cloud opened his mouth to protest, but Zack cut him off with a raised hand. "Don't worry about me. I'll just take a nice nap by the stall," he gave a small chuckle and plopped down into the dirt. "Get going, kid!"

Cloud spent the next couple of hours drifting through the vendors looking for basic household necessities his mother had asked him to find. As he went about buying thread, cloth, and a few other basics, a pain started behind his forehead. It gathered into one burning point and throbbed like a heart. By the time he was making his way back to Zack, he was stumbling along with one hand grasping a cloth sack and the other pressed to his head. Zack jumped to his feet in concern.

"Cloud! Are you okay?" he called to the faint blond. He never got an answer. Just as Cloud reached the stall he collapsed with a groan. He didn't get back up.

"CLOUD!"