For the next several days, Cloud and Sephiroth spent their time in Abigail's house. It was quiet and peaceful, but most of all it was safe. At least, it felt safe for Cloud. As far as he could tell, Sephiroth still seemed on edge.
He was quiet most days, only answering with a few words if Abigail asked him a question. Otherwise, he saved all his conversations for when he was alone with Cloud in their new room.
One evening Sephiroth found himself to be a little hungry after eating very little at dinner. He wasn't even at dinner, having taken only a small portion of food from the table before going to his room. But now he was hungry, and had to sneak down to the kitchen without Abigail noticing him.
"Where are you going, Seph?" Cloud asked, looking up from the book he had been reading.
"Just downstairs for a quick snack."
"Want me to come? I can show you where Abigail puts all the yummy snacks!"
Sephiroth shook his head. "No. I'll manage by myself."
He crept out of the room and headed for the stairs. He wished Abigail would've been an early sleeper, it would've made heading downstairs a lot easier, but he had to make do with what he was dealt.
Taking a few careful steps, he checked to see if the stairs would creak. Thankfully, they didn't and he made his way down to the bottom all without any problems.
But, as soon as he turned the corner to head to the kitchen, Abigail was standing in the door frame.
She smiled. "Hello Sephiroth, finally thought to come and eat properly?"
"All I need is a snack, then I'll return to my room."
The older woman shook her head. "Oh no, that won't do at all. Don't think I haven't noticed how little you've been eating. If you want to eventually get back out there, you'll need your strength."
Sephiroth huffed. "Your observance feels concerning."
"That observance is an old mother who knows too well how to raise stubborn children.
"I'm not a child."
Abigail stepped aside so Sephiroth could enter the kitchen. "How old are you then?"
"21."
"Still a child in my eyes, especially since they've kept you locked away for all those years. You missed out on a lot of childhood wonders," Abigail sighed.
She walked next to him, standing by his side as he stared at the fridge. "Let me make you a nice meal, Sephiroth. You'll feel better if you eat something filling."
Sephiroth held his breath. The woman was very stubborn. But he knew he was hungry, and she had a point that he needed his strength. This wasn't their permanent place to live, they had to get farther away.
If they could reach the ocean, Sephiroth knew they could travel far off to another land mass. Far out there Hojo and his men would never be able to find them, and they would be safe.
But that was all future planning. An idea that wasn't ready to be put into motion yet.
"Very well. Make me whatever you want."
Abigail grinned. "Good! I know just the thing! Take a seat at the table and I'll start cooking."
Sephiroth did as he was told and sat down, watching as Abigail got out a pan to put on the stove. Soon, she had items mixed into a bowl, a batter of some kind, and she poured a little of it into the pan.
"So, tell me Sephiroth, did you cut your hair and Cloud's all on your own?"
Reaching a hand up, Sephiroth's hand brushed against his hastily cut hair. "What of it?"
"I understand doing things in haste, but now that you're here, let me take the time to trim and clean it up. Maybe we even try to dye it."
Sephiroth scowled. "And how did you know that?"
Abigail held up two fingers. "One, Cloud left the bag with your hair dye downstairs your first night. Two, even if I hadn't seen it, it would only make sense that the two of you try to disguise yourself to avoid being spotted. Your color isn't natural, well, heh, not for a boy your age."
"I don't think we need any help with that…"
"I've had three kids, two boys and one girl, and all three of them wanted to dye their hair at some point. I helped each of them. It's not an easy task to perform on your own, not when you've never done it before."
Sephiroth sighed, there was no winning against this woman. Everything she said was something that actually made sense and deep down Sephiroth knew was the right choice. But he still hated it. Hating how after all these years, he finds an adult who is caring, yet he couldn't bring himself to accept it.
He had spent so many years resenting humans for outcasting him, leaving him with nothing more than a bitter taste in his mouth. From Hojo and every human at the facility, to the people from his old neighborhood, to his parents, and even…
Sephiroth grumbled, trying to keep those thoughts out of his mind. They were all long in the past now, he could move far away from them. Even if most of the world hated Winged Ones, he knew there had to be somewhere that could be a safe haven for him and Cloud.
"I can tell you have a lot of hurt, Sephiroth. I know it mustn't have been easy for you, growing up in such a dreadful place."
"You know nothing of what I've been through," he scowled.
Abigail nodded. "I know I don't, but it isn't hard to figure out that Hojo and his men mistreat your kind. It does make me glad, however, to see that you've gotten away from that."
"I do it for Cloud," Sephiroth admitted.
Finishing up the food at the stove, Abigail turned around to place two large pancakes onto a plate. She set it down right in front of Sephiroth before placing a bottom of syrup and a cup of chocolate chips next to him.
"I don't know how you would take your pancakes, so I'll leave these out on the table for you. If you want me to whip up more, all you need to do is ask."
Poking the pancakes with a fork, Sephiroth slowly tore off a small piece. He ate it quietly, secretly enjoying the warmth that it brought with it.
"Thank you…" he whispered once Abigail left the kitchen.
The next day Sephiroth let Abigail properly trim and dye his hair and Clouds. Now when he looked at himself in the mirror, he had to take a moment to think as he saw himself with dark brown hair. Cloud on the other hand had his hair dyed black, standing out even more to what Sephroth had been familiar with for the past seven years. Abigail was even careful enough to dye their eyebrows so there wouldn't be such a stark contrast.
As much as Sephiroth still refused to admit it aloud, he was very thankful for the woman's help. On top of dying their hair, she also lent them clothes that had belonged to her sons when they were younger. It was far better than the random assortments of stolen clothes that they had on them.
"You know boys," Abigail said one evening as she prepared dinner. "You two escaping reminded me of a news story I heard some years back. I had to research it to make sure it was true and not just my own active imagination."
"What kind of story?" Cloud asked.
"It was 28 years ago, they were rounding up those poor children as they did, but apparently one child escaped and flew off somewhere. Never heard if they found him or not, but I remember those awful reports trying to scare everyone into looking to basically arrest a child."
Sephiroth shook his head. "That's impossible. No one's ever escaped before us."
"Not escaped from the facility, but this was during the capture. From what I read, this young boy got away when they tried to put him in the truck."
"Kind of like the twins in my age group?" Cloud asked, turning to Sephiroth. "Only this guy was never found."
Sephiroth thought for a moment, trying to recall everyone he knew at the facility. If this event took place 28 years ago, that would mean the person in question would be in the 35 year age group. Right away, Sephiroth started trying to remember the names and faces of those older people.
There was Harley, Setzer, Ignis, Cor, Reno, Edward, and…
He couldn't recall the seventh person in that group. He could place everyone else he knew in the groups below and above, but somehow he had missed there only being six in that particular group.
"Was there ever much information given about him? Something we could look out for when we travel again?" Sephiroth asked.
"All I know is that his name was Laguna. Nothing else really," Abigail shrugged. "I suppose that means they never did find him. I hope wherever he is, he is still well."
Cloud grinned widely. "Maybe we'll be able to find him!"
"Don't get your hopes up, Cloud. He could be anywhere in the world."
"But we still could end up finding him! He's gotta have somewhere safe to live if he's not been captured for this long."
"Or perhaps he was never found because he was killed… but better not shoot down Cloud's optimism. I can't say for sure what the truth is… but it does intrigue me."
Patting Cloud on the head, Sephiroth smiled. "Then we will just have to keep our eyes open."
If this person truly was still alive, then it gave Sephiorth a new sense of hope that they could make it out there. They just had to keep going, searching until they found the perfect safe place.