Chapter Five
Tifa stretched, her usual white top and black skirt feeling comfortable against her skin. Pulling her boots on, she took a moment to appreciate the cleanliness of her long socks and red leather boots, knowing that they would soon be dusty again as they took to the road. Not that they had a destination, yet, but Kalm was far too close to Midgar for them to be able to stay there any longer. It would be the first place anyone from Shinra would follow them to.
Aerith bustled in from the bathroom, tying a knot tightly in the pink ribbon at the top of her braid. She ran around, frantically trying to stuff the last of her meagre belongings into a bag. Tifa watched with amusement.
"Don't laugh at me!" Aerith huffed, standing and putting her hands on her hips. "I've never travelled before… I don't know what I need."
Tifa slid off the bed and approached her. She looked at Aerith's small bag, already filled to bursting. "I'm not sure you need half of this…" Rummaging through it, Tifa pulled out some of the items to discard and swiftly repacked the rest. "There you go!"
Aerith looked forlornly at the toilet paper Tifa had removed from the bag. "I guess… I'm going to have to get used to this." She went to pick it up, but stilled her hands and kept them clenched by her side instead. Tifa looked at her for a moment, seeing her nervousness bleeding through into every movement.
"You'll be fine," she reassured Aerith, who tore her gaze away from the bag to look at her.
"It's that obvious, huh?" Tifa only nodded. Aerith rubbed her arm with one hand. "I know it's silly, that people travel all the time, but still…"
"It's not silly." Tifa broke in. "I always wanted to get out of Nibelheim when I was younger, but when I finally did… it was terrifying."
Aerith nodded. "At least…" she shot a hesitant glance at Tifa. "At least I know I can come back, one day."
"Exactly! Your mom is still there, when this all blows over you'll be able to go home."
Aerith's expression became firm. "Right. Right! And then we'll help rebuild your bar, and go on that shopping trip after all."
"That's right! Except we'll have even more pack chocobos than just Cloud this time… I bet Angeal can carry lots."
"Oh, for sure." Aerith moved towards the door, pausing to look at Tifa with a smile. "Thank you. For everything."
Tifa slung her own bag over her shoulder and linked her arm with Aerith's. "That's what friends are for, right?"
"Right." Aerith smiled widely.
They made their way to the lobby of the inn, where Barret and Cloud were waiting with them. Through the open door Tifa could see the tall forms of the SOLDIERs waiting outside.
"Hey," Cloud greeted them both with a small smile on his face. "It's time to go."
"Where exactly are we going?" Aerith asked as they walked out into the square, her chestnut braid gleaming in the sunlight.
"Um." Barret slowed and rubbed the back of his neck with his good arm.
"Hey!" A man was crossing the square in their direction, waving. "I see you decided not to head for the mines after all?"
He walked right up to Sephiroth, who looked nonplussed. Angeal calmly stepped up next to his friend.
"Mines?"
"Yeah!" The man turned to Angeal. "This crazy cat here was headed for the Mythril Mines! I passed him on the road a day ago, you've made some time up to get back here at the same time as me."
Sephiroth tilted his head. "I think there must be a mistake. I have been in Kalm for the last two days."
"Really? Well prick me all over and call me done. I could'a sworn it was you I saw." The man pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on, squinting at Sephiroth.
"How peculiar," Genesis said smoothly, putting his arm around the man's shoulders and guiding him away. "Can you tell me more about this twin of my friend, here? Perhaps over a drink."
"Well," the man put his glasses back away and rubbed his hands together. "I wouldn't say no…" They both disappeared in the direction of the bar, with Genesis reappearing a few moments later.
"Apparently he was trying to warn your doppelganger not to go to the mines," he told them as he re-joined them. "Something about monster activity causing the mines to be abandoned a few years ago now."
"Well, guess we know which direction to head in then," Barret rubbed his head. "But I don't like the sound of them monsters."
"Please," Genesis scoffed. "You are travelling with three SOLDIERs. We are more than a match for any monsters we encounter."
"We can't all travel as one party," Barret said, looking at them. "There are too many of us, and Shinra will find us immediately."
"Well, I'm travelling with my bodyguard!" Aerith grabbed Cloud's upper arm with both hands and held on tight. After a moment's thought, she added: "And Tifa too, us girls have to stick together." She let go of Cloud with one arm to grab Tifa and pull her over, linking both her arms into theirs so that they were standing on each side of her.
"Er, right." Barret turned to the others. "So who's goin' with them? Seems like we should be two groups of four."
"Genesis should." Angeal stated, earning a surprised look from Genesis and a frown from Sephiroth. He glanced apologetically at Sephiroth as he continued. "Aerith seems to be able to help with his injury, he should travel with her."
Cloud rolled his shoulders. "OK, but which way do we go?"
"There are two possibly routes to the Mythril Mines." Sephiroth said slowly. "There is an old miner's track that leads straight there, but goes through the foothills of the mountains and is in a poor state of repair. If the mines have truly been abandoned then it is likely to be even worse than it was before. The second is to take the road over to the plains, then try to find a farm that will rent or sell a chocobo to cross the marsh to the East of the mines. It is a much longer route, but might well be quicker."
"Well, if we're travelling in two groups then why not take a route each?" Tifa suggested. "If we make sure we each have a PHS, we can keep tracks on where the other group is."
"If the mines have been abandoned, then it should be safe to regroup there and travel through them together." Angeal rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "Safer, even, if the number of monsters has got so severe that they have had to stop mining operations altogether."
"A sufficient plan. It will take us approximately four days to reach the entrance of the mines, regardless of our route. I suggest that we take the direct route." Sephiroth gestured to himself and Angeal.
"Does that mean we get to go and see the chocobo ranches?" Aerith asked, a hint of excitement in her tone.
"I reckon," Barret told her with an indulgent smile. He then frowned and clasped Cloud's shoulder. "You look after them, you hear me?"
Cloud shrugged Barret's arm away, but underneath his grumpy expression a smile threatened to break though. "Yeah, yeah."
"Alright. Well… no time like the present."
"Sure. You ready?" Cloud looked at Aerith and Tifa, who responded with happy nods, and Genesis, who flipped his hair back.
"I'm not sure who voted and made you leader."
"Oh, I vote Cloud as leader!" Aerith bounced with her hand in the air. "Anyone else?"
Tifa bumped her shoulder into Aerith's. "Why not?"
Barret huffed. "Well, if it ain't me… then Cloud it is."
Red's tail flicked. "You have led us adequately so far."
"There!" Aerith smiled triumphantly. "That clinches it, majority rule. Cloud is our leader."
"Technically, he only achieved half the votes." Genesis grumbled.
"Yeah, but he would have voted for himself too." Aerith wagged a finger at Genesis. "Now don't be a sore loser!"
Cloud merely turned and led the way out of Kalm. With an amused glance at Aerith and Genesis, still squabbling fiercely, Tifa followed him. It took the arguing pair a moment to realise that the rest of their party had left without them.
"Wait!" Tifa smiled as she heard Aerith jogging after them. Barret's long strides soon caught up on the other side.
"You take care o' yourself." He said, gruffly.
Fondness for the large man swelled within Tifa. He truly was family now, the older brother she'd never had. "I will," she promised. "But you make sure you do, too."
Not far outside the gates the road split. The route to the plains was a well-maintained highway, much like they'd travelled on out of Midgar. The other route looked much rougher. There was a barricade stopping vehicles accessing it, and the surface was cracked with the dried out remains of plants sticking up between the concrete slabs. It wound its way brokenly up towards a rocky outcrop, disappearing into the foothills of the mountains beyond.
Tifa looked at it warily. "Are you sure that route is safe?"
"We'll be fine," Angeal reassured her. "There won't be anything we can't handle." He looked pointedly at Genesis. "Don't take any unnecessary risks, we'll see you in a few days."
Genesis scoffed. "Where is the risk in the plains? We'll see you at the mines."
With a few lingering farewells, the groups separated. Tifa looked at the long, straight road ahead of them and tried not to let her resignation show in her face.
"I'd love to say I wasn't fed up with this road just yet…" Aerith murmured next to her. Tifa laughed.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Genesis brushed past Tifa, his red leather jacket swinging around his legs as he took long strides. He looked back along the road, past the junction of Kalm towards Midgar. "It does seem oddly quiet." He commented. "I'm sure I remember more traffic on it."
Tifa started walking. "I guess no one bothers leaving Midgar much, anymore."
"Hmm. Too much going on in the city?"
Tifa turned her head towards him. "Too many monsters to leave." She gestured to the barren land around them. "Too many stories of people who left to try their luck but were never heard of again. Only safe way out for most people is in a vehicle with an escort – but no one in the slums can afford that."
Genesis thought on that for a while. "In my time, SOLDIERs and Security Guard sections used to patrol the wastelands. I don't remember the wastes stretching out quite this far, though."
"That's the mako reactors for you," Tifa replied sadly. "Always taking from the Planet, more and more every day, until all that's left is an empty husk."
Genesis fell silent, lost in his mind as he thought about Tifa's words. Aerith and Cloud followed them both, walking quietly in the stillness of the morning. Sporadically, a ramshackle truck passed them slowly, bouncing along the road. But for most of the morning it was just the four of them, plodding on.
Time seemed to drag as they walked ever further. Eventually, Aerith sat herself on a rock on the side of the road. "I just need a breather." She took off one of her boots and massaged the sole of her foot.
Genesis folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. "We aren't going to get anywhere at this rate. We need a vehicle."
"That's it!" Tifa brightened. "We can hitchhike. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier."
"How do we do that?" Aerith asked.
"Oh it's easy." Tifa moved over to the side of the road, stretching out an arm and extending her thumb up. "See? It's how I first came to Midgar, after… well." She looked down the deserted road. "Only thing is, we do need something to come along first."
Cloud was looking out into the distance, shielding his eyes against the overhead sun as he peered to the West. "You might be in luck."
"Oh!" Aerith hastily finished pulling her boot back on and jumped up. "Let me try too!" She mimicked Tifa's pose, holding her arm out and cocking her hip with Tifa encouraging her all the while. Cloud turned hastily away, though not before Tifa caught a small smile at their antics.
"For the love of the Goddess…" Genesis murmured, rubbing his face. As the small truck approached, no sign of it slowing for the girls, he stepped straight into the middle of the road with his sword blazing. With a screech of brakes the pickup managed to stop before colliding with him. The driver, a small and weathered old man, goggled out of the windscreen.
Genesis flipped his hair back, sheathing his sword. "We require transport to the plains. May we travel with you for a way?"
The man looked at Genesis, before slowly moving his gaze across each member of the group. "Well, why not." He said eventually, a strong accent in his voice. "I only got space for the two ladies in the cab, though. Ya'll have to ride with them birds."
Genesis swelled and his eyes flashed with indignation. Tifa placed a hand on his arm and spoke before he could. "Thank you, that'd be great."
"Well, hop in then." The man leant over and popped the passenger door open. Aerith jumped in, Tifa following her. Craning her neck around she could see Cloud and Genesis climbing into the back of the pickup through a viewing window at the back of the cab. Cloud didn't seem to mind but Genesis's face was screwed up in irritation. It didn't help that the other occupants of the truck were three large yellow chocobos.
There was a lurch as the truck started moving again. "Ma name's Bill," the man introduced himself. "But everyone calls me Chocobo Bill, on account of me having the largest flock o' birds on the plains."
"Really?!" Aerith said excitedly, leaning forwards. "What kind of birds do you have? I've only seen the ones that pull the carriages in the slums before."
"Sam's carriages?"
"Yes! Do you know him?"
"Know him?" Chocobo Bill laughed. "He's ma flesh and blood, ma sister's boy. Dint want to stay on the farm so went to the city and set up his taxi service there. All his birds came from our farm."
Tifa leaned back in her seat and listened to Aerith chat with Chocobo Bill about his birds, appreciating the chance to rest her weary legs for a bit. The truck rattled along at a reasonable pace, eating up the miles easily. Tifa rested her head on her hand, gazing out at the scenery that was slowly getting greener as they put Midgar behind them. Eventually she drifted off into sleep, making up for the interrupted sleep the night when memories of the past had crept into her mind and stopped her from resting.
A hand on her arm brought her awake, jerking upright as her elbow slipped off the rim of the truck window. Aerith's green eyes were looming over her.
"Sorry," Aerith said with a giggle. "But we're here."
Tifa looked around dazedly, noticing that Chocobo Bill had already left the cab of the truck. She opened the door and stepped out, blinking at the sight in front of her. Genesis and Cloud were standing by a group of three chocobos, all bright yellow and alert. The large birds were slightly taller than both of them, their flightless wings moving as they ruffled them in the breeze.
Cloud was having his blond hair gently nuzzled by one of the chocobos, that was using its large beak to gently groom through his spikes. Every so often Cloud would try to brush it off, but it just chittered at him until he let it resume its attentions.
Genesis had a different problem, in that the other two birds were trying to grab at his coat and pull it. He was trying to maintain some form of dignity as he tugged the red leather out of inquisitive beaks but it wasn't really working, especially when the bolder of the two began nosing at auburn locks.
"Hey there Bessie, the poor boy don't want you having at him." Chocobo Bill materialised from the far side at the truck and flapped a straw hat at the chocobos. The two hassling Genesis stepped back warily, though Cloud's new friend didn't seem inclined to leave him alone yet. Genesis drew himself up and wrapped his coat tightly around himself. "I see you've made yerself some friends there." He chuckled, a deep rumble from the very heart of him that brought a smile to Tifa's face.
Genesis's expression was darkening, but luckily Chocobo Bill didn't seem to notice as he chewed on a piece of straw. "Now, what do you folks want to do next? I can put you up for a couple o' nights if you help around the place tomorrow."
Tifa looked around. "What do you think? We've made good time, we can probably spare a day."
"Sure," Aerith chirped. "We owe you for the ride, anyway."
Genesis scowled further. "Perhaps we should discuss this. In private." He sent a glare at Chocobo Bill, who merely chuckled again and turned away.
"Well I can't stay here gassin'. You just come find me when you work it out." He disappeared into the barn with a wave.
Genesis folded his arms as he turned his scowl on Aerith and Tifa. "Why in the Goddess's name would you want to stay here any longer than we have to?"
"We are ahead of schedule." Cloud had finally managed to persuade the chocobo to leave his hair alone, although it now rested its head on his shoulder as it gazed up at him lovingly. "And we probably need help to get chocobos to cross the marsh. If we help him out he might tell us where we can get some. 'It's not what you know, but who you know', right?"
"A true tried and tested lesson from life on the ground floor." Tifa said approvingly. "And it's a sound plan."
"Well I'm in!" Aerith added. "Genesis?"
The man in question folded his arms in annoyance, but sighed in defeat. "I can see when I am outvoted. Again."
"It's not that bad," Tifa told him, knocking her arm gently against his right shoulder as they headed towards the barn Chocobo Bill had disappeared into. She looked over her shoulder at Cloud, still being harassed by his new friend. "Besides, we'd break that poor chocobo's heart if we left right now."
"Which one?" Genesis snarked. "I'm not sure I can tell them apart."
Aerith snorted while Cloud just rolled his eyes. "At least it doesn't think I'm food." He muttered, with a pointed glance at the bright red coat.
Chocobo Bill looked up from a clipboard as they approached. "Well then, what's it to be?"
"We'd love to stay and help out for a day or two," Tifa told him, when Genesis just pursed his lips and glared. "We then need to head west over the marshes, and wondered if you might be able to help us find some chocobos to take with us?"
"Hmmm." Chocobo Bill chewed on the end of a straw for a moment or two while he thought. "I ain't got any spare here, but I can show you how to catch a wild 'un. Plenty out there on the plains." He craned his head around Tifa to frown at Cloud. "Though that one's taken a shine to ya."
"Hmph." Cloud's normal aloof demeanour was completely undermined by the chocobo pressing up against him.
"He's gonna need a name," Bill said eventually. "He's been a problem bird, come here because his last owners couldn't do anything with 'im. Course, they were just city folk who thought a chocobo might make a nice pet for their kid." He sniffed dismissively. "But he's only a young 'un, see how downy his coat is? Kinda pale too, gonna be interesting when he grows in his adult feathers."
Tifa looked closer, to see that although the chocobo was as big as the others he didn't look as sleek or muscled. Instead, he was kind of skinny and fluffy. He blinked big eyes at Tifa before returning to his task of rubbing against Cloud's arm. Bill chuckled.
"Well, I promised ya beds for the night. We have a room in the ranch the ladies can use. But you two fellas can come along here." He led them through the building, stalls on either side with chocobos shuffling happily in them, eventually stopping by a set of rustic wooden stairs leading up to the attic of the barn. "I'll find ya some blankets, but there's plenty space up there."
Genesis began to splutter but Tifa elbowed him firmly. Despite feeling as though she'd just elbowed a brick wall it had the required response; Genesis blew out an irritated breath but managed to keep his comments to himself.
"Thank you," Tifa told Bill warmly. He coughed and a slight blush rose to his cheeks as he shuffled.
"I'll just go get them blankets for ya."
Genesis waited until he left before rounding on Tifa. "Thank you? Thank you?! He's making us sleep in a barn and you thank him for the privilege!"
"Oh don't be such a grouch!" Aerith told him sternly. "Camping on the roadside would have been far worse."
Genesis looked around at the assorted chocobos, the quiet sound of ruffling feathers filling the barn. He wrinkled his nose slightly in response, though Tifa couldn't understand why. It's hardly like the birds smelt that bad.
"Here you go!" A pile of blankets was thrust towards Cloud. "I had a word with Chole and she's setting up the guest room for you ladies. That's ma granddaughter." He chewed thoughtfully. "There's some stew goin', it ain't fancy but it's hot. Come into the house when yer ready."
As soon as Chocobo Bill had wandered off, Aerith turned to Genesis with a smug expression. "See! There's even food."
"Alright for you to say, you're not sleeping in a barn." Genesis grumbled, but he still beckoned for her to precede him out of the barn. Exchanging a glance with Tifa, Cloud just rolled his eyes at them, a resigned expression on his face which was just accentuated by the chocobo still playing with his hair. Tifa smothered her giggle as they headed towards the small ranch house that lay the other side of the farm.
