Cloud Strife was nothing if not stubborn.
This thought passed through Lightining's mind, as she watched her brother face off against a pack of Nibel Wolves from her hiding spot. She was trying to not to draw their attention to their little party. Most kids would be running away from such an encounter, but her twin just raised his longsword higher. She tried to count how many there were but they kept moving making her lose track. Why her brother was risking his life for a Chocobo was beyond her.
No, she knew the reason. It was because he said he needed money. And instead of doing chores or errands around the village like a normal person, he had decided to start a business. A delivery business in fact.
Strife Deliveries.
"Then half belongs to me," she had declared. Truthfully she thought it was a collassal waste of time, but as a good sister, she decided to help her twin with his foolish ambitions. Especially since he somehow roped their neighbors into helping him out. She was not going to be left out, if everyone was already doing it. And if she was going to be spending her cherished afternoons off helping him, then she might as well reap the benefits.
He had only laughed at her explaination and shook her hand. "Partners then."
Apparently the plan was to go to different villages and continents. To traveling the world delivering packages to the highest bidder. Not exactly the dream of most children but it wasn't like they had anything better to do with their time. Life in the mountains didnt offer a whole lot of entertainment, after all. Unfortunatley, they encounted their first roadblock almost instantly. They needed transportation. Since no one sane would sell a bunch of kids heavey machinery, then the only option were the stupid birds.
"Fast enough to outrun a Midgar Zolom you know." she remembered him telling her, as she watched the wolves inching closer.
There sure were a lot of them.
She watched as he slowly started circling left, One foot after the other, in step with each other. It was to keep the animals from surrounding him and mobing him to death. Cloud rounded the perimeter with confidence, holding his weapon steady out front of himself, till he was standing in front of the chocobo. It wasn't a bad spot to make a stand, all things considered. His back was covered, and there was a large rock obstructing his front. It'd force the wolves to go the long way around, at his left or right. More or less, able to keep them in sight. Still too exposed for her liking though. Lightining's own hands gripping titer on her saber, unable to tear her eyes from the inevitable encounter. The began stalking foward, closing the distance one inch at a time. She heard a grasp somewhere on her left as the first beast lunged.
"Gwak!" The giant bird behind Cloud cried out in warning.
Adrenaline began pumping in her ears at the sight. She had to help! At least run out there and distract some of them. Try to even the odds a bit and give Cloud a fighting chance. Her two weeks of training would probably result in her being a very blonde corpse, but it could mean life or death for her twin. Teeth gritted, her feet were already moving before she somehow caught her brother eyes for a split second. And her brother's words before the fight rang back through her skull, stopping her mid step..
"Don't do anything unless I tell you to. Trust me when I say, I know what I'm doing. So stay back with the others for now and wait for my signal. Don't worry, I got this." He instructed her before the fight, giving her one of his dopey smiles as if this was just another Sunday afternoon. But there were time her body wanted to react, even when the situation wasn't so dire. For some reason feeling that she should be just as strong as Cloud, just as fast. None it never worked out of course. Any attempts typically left her with more scrapes or bruises then she could count. She even broke a toe for her efforts, one time. Honestly, she should have given up a long time ago. But there was always a look that would light up in his eyes as he watched her. As if he was waiting for something extrodinary to happen and it made her want to keep trying.
'Maybe he's hoping I'll fly.'
"Stubborn Choboco head!" She mumbled, settling back into her spot and being mindful to keep her voice low. It wouldn't do to draw the attention of the predators to their hidding place. After all, it would just be her that paid for that folly. She had a responsibilty to protect the rest of the group too. That didn't make her feel any better about chickening out and leaving Cloud to resolve the fight himself. His earlier words providing less comfort by the second. "All the confidence in the world means shit if your dead!"
Resolve began to hardened in her chest as she prepared herself to once agan jump into the fray. But Cloud had already rolled to the left and was swinging his sword in a backhanded strike to the wolf's flanks. It cut bit deep, deeper the she thought it should've and blood flew. The attacker whimpered, falling to the ground in a heap and trying to limp away. Lightning could almost feel pity for it, if it hadn't just tried to maul her brother. Twisting slightly, Cloud looked ready to spring foward and finish the beast off for good.
However, the ambush was already set in motion and a second beast was pouncing at his back, ready to bite down.
Lightning almosted screamed. Even felt the air filling her lungs to started the action. But faster than she thought was possible, Cloud had already began a horizontal thrust his sword hilt towards the attacker. The hardpoint of the handle smashing into its skull, a sickening crack of splintered bones ringing out in the forest. Its useless body falling with a bonesless thump on the forest ground, but her brother already stepping around it to confront the next wolf. All that air, flew out of her lungs in a rush.
'A smaller sword would have been quicker.' She mused somewhere in her shock, mind unbideningly thinking of all the things she woulds have done differently. Imaging herself standing there with her own saber, knowing that the canine would never have gotten so close to her. It would have gotten run through for its troubles. But Lightning had to stop that line of thinking before she got distracted again. Why did she think she could come up with a better battle strategy then her brother? The one one who taught their little group how to fight? The person who was out there actually putting all that practice to good use? It was like that one time she tried to correct a group of older boys' shooting form, even though she never even held a rifle before in her life.
'But Cloud would listen to me.' she thought petulantly, and truly he would. And it wasn't just becasue they were family and her was stuck with her. Cloud took her word serously, like it mattered. And for a twelve year old, that was a big deal. Didn't matter that he was the same age. Her brother always listening to her opinions, even the stupid stuff, like they had the weight of the world behind them. Would even ignoring some of the adults if they told him she was wrong, or misremembering. Hell, he would even seek out her for advice when he was brainstorming a new idea, or talking about where he wanted to go first when he left Gaia.
"Why would you want to leave the country?" She had asked, when he had first expressed his ambitions.
"So I can see the rest of the world, of course!" he'd exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing. And maybe it was. What country kid didn't dream of seeing more than their little village? Of embracing what the horizon had to offer them? Still, the whole world might be biting off more than he could chew. "Besides, I gotta check in on some friends of mine. Some of them are kind of scattered out there."
He was so weird, she had thought at the time. What friends could he be talking about? Especially when he's never even left their mountain village? And exploring the numerous trail paths that cut through the forest to the old reactor did not count. Sure they could be exciting but that was basically twenty mile, back and forth. And she did not count his odd stories about meet friendly strangers and adventures. Besides, what could he possibly see in Spira or Eos that he couldn't find on Gaia?
On and on it went, as the beasts attacked in twos and threes, trying to get at his throat, at his hamstring. Despertly at something as he danced around them. Lightning couldn't read animal facail expressions, but if she could, she'd bet her half of the company that they were frustrated. Her twin wasn't just dodging but attacking as well. And he was really putting the on the back foot. She watched as he slash, stab, and deflected. The business end of the blade hitting its marks every time. Cries and whimpers chorusing from the former predators.
The blonde girl started to relax as watched the events play out, confident that the danger was well in hand now. The adults had warned them to watch out for the predators of the forest. Beyond the teeth and claws these creatures were deviliously clever. There were stories about how the wolves in particular could imitate sounds of someone's favorite pet or a person in pain. That they would use it to lure unsuspecting children, naive youngsters who wanted to help, deeper into their territory to get torn apart. But so far she hadn't seen any evidence comparable to that level of guile about these creatures. Surely it be smarter for them all to rush her brother instead of letting him cut them down? That rock in the middle would split them up but they could rush both sides. It'd be a simple but effective tactic. Still they were coming at Cloud in twos and threes, their dead slowly piling up. Not very smart of them. Maybe she should chalke it up to adults embellishing to spook them? And to dumb animals being just dumb? After all, if they were so smart then humans wouldn't be on the top of the food chain. This last thought made her smug.
She noticed some of the older ones were watching from the sides though, waiting. But waiting for what?
'Maybe they're just cowards,' she mused, instantly putting them out of her mind for the moment.
Shifting her attention back to the other blonde of their group, she saw that his blade seemed to have gotten stuck in a particularly stubborn set of bones. It was only a second of inconvenience really but the second was enough. Seeing the opportunity the waiting wolves rushed him all at once. Her heart dropped as time seemed to slow down. Only to speed back up as she watched one of the animals smash into an invisible barrier. She blinked, loosening her grip on her sword handle. "What just happened?"
"Barrier magic!" Little Tifa said excitedly, unintentionally answering her question, "When did he get that?"
Ah. materia. That explains it. A source of constant fascination and frustration for the little Strife girl. It truly wasn't fair. Most of the dumb boys in the village could use it, so why did she have such difficulty? She never seemed to quite get a hang of calling forth the magic, the little orbs not answering her will as easily as other children. Her Thundaga never quite going as far as she liked, droping on a dozen feet aways. Her Firaga not burning as hot as it should, barely enough to cook water to room tempurature. And she was lucky if her Cura even glowered, her scrapped knees proof of it's ineffectivness. Only Thalia seemed to have more trouble than her at channeling the lifestream's power. Well, for some of them at least. The brunette, for some reason, really excelled at the non-elemental materia.
Not an unheard of problem by any means. It was a common enough problem in the country that adults don't even bat an eye at their children not being able to use magic properly. Although it would be prefered if they could. Definitly made life easier in general. The real stink behind it, lied more in patriotism. It's commonly known that most children tend to have an affinity for their homeland's magic versus the foreign variety. That if your were a native Gaian born, materia usualy did the trick. The adult tended to actively encouraged those with a spark to nurture their skills further, becasue of this. It certainly made it easier to be a patriot to one's home, when the source of your power was tied to the land.
That being said, Lighting certainly wouldn't say no to getting her gruby hands on one of those foreign crystals.
The few remaining wolves seem to come to the horrible realization that this was not a battle they could win. One of them were already turning tail and running back deeper into the forest as it fled the fight. Or at least it tried to until Cloud noticed the lone wolf. Watching it run, her twin looked like he was struggling to come to a decision. But the moement passed quickly before he silently nodded to himself. Facing towards the retreating back he swung his blade into vertice slash, one clean fire materia on his sword seemed to flash before a single, thin line of red crescents burst outwards from its edge. That stripe of molten light seemed to roar in the air, as it rushed to the unfortunate wolf who couldn't get away fast enough. Upon impact it vivisected the poor animal before causing the canine to explode in flames.
The boys began whooping at the exciting finish, rushing out in glee.
'8 out of 10 for style.' Lightning mentally scored, getting caught up in her own glee. She almost wanted to thow her own whoop into the air. But no, she was an excecutive of the company. The preteen had to show she had more class than that. So he walked boldly into the clearing, shoulders back and head high. Like she expected the outcome and wasn't at all soaked in sweat from fear. Thankfully, her thumping heart was also fnally settling down now that everything was safe again. She was going to have to take a shower after thiss misadventure.
"Firaga", she breathed, looking at the charred remains andreplaying the image of that cresent of light. Lighting stood there for a moment analyzing what had happened. It wasn't the typical way she's ever seen the fire materia be used before. Not gentle flames needed for campfires or lighting the stove when they ran out of matches. Not the usual fire blast or wide range explosion typically associated with its combat aspects. Lightnng didn't even know you could use materia like that, shape the elements for specific attacks. Her brother had been holding out on her, and she intended to interogate him on where he learned it later. But first, they needed to take care of the mission and what they came for. She stepped in deeper to the clearing, watching as Cloud had already turned around and was making shushing noises towards the frightened Chocobo. The other girls cautiously moved towards the clearing now that the danger had passed. Shuffling in her bag, Thalia pulled out the greens that they had carried with them to lure the animal. Looking at her brother's back, she decided that he was teaching her that once they brought the stupid bird home.
000
"You didn't have to kill them, you know. It already running away." Thalia admonished Cloud gently, once they calmed the chocobo enough to head home. He turned to look at her in surprised, blinking at her owishly. She blushed a little in embaressment but kep her eyes on his. It wasn't that odd of a thing to say. He had been unnecessarily voilent with a retreating opponent. It was no longer life or death at the point, he could have let the wolf go. He looked around a little, as if trying to buy time to collet his thoughts and form a response. She followed his gaze as it swept. The was Tifa riding the newly acquired chocobo up front. WHich made sense, seeing as she was the best at handling the frightened animal in the Company. She spent half her time in their stables, after all. The rest of her little gang, the Four Fiends, were not too far back. They were trailing the pack a bit but for good reason. Following along as they pushed the small cart carrying the dead wolves amd complaining every step of the way.
"No point in wasting good materials!" Was the only response Cloud gave them, when they complained about the long walk home and now extra weight. Truthfully, they could use the extra material. A start up company, like theirs, couldn't turn up their nose at any souce of gil. Besides, Strife Deliveries was paying these 'mercenaries-for-hire' good money, might as well put them to work. They could complain about cruel working conditions if she ever decided to hire them on as actual emplyees. 'Waste not, want not' was starting to become the unofficial motto of their team as she hopped over particularly intrusive rock in their path.
"Besides, you guys are mercs, I got to get my money's worth". Cloud had said to them earlier, echoing her thoughts. That didn't stop the grumbling but at least they were quieter. Being reminded about the gil they'd get for this once the job was done, lifted their mood slightly. A pittance really compared to what they could've gotten had they haggled harder with her over their pay. And Thalia really had been ready to pay them more. You don't exactly ask a bunch of kids to follow in to the forest, and maybe fight monsters, without preparing to fork over some cash. They weren't Shinra, for gods sake. But the oldest Lockart so no point in making them aware of this fact, after all ignorance was a bliss.
She could hear the boys groaning starting up behind them again, as they tried pushing the cart over a heavily waterlogged and uneven forest bump. Only for the stubborn piece of debris to prove a bigger menace to their efforts. Actually getting the wheels stuck deeper then when they started. She watched for a breif moment as the boys tried, and failed, to lift a lodged wheel out of the mud. The three boys were grunting and twisting at different times, apparently hoping the erractic movement might work. Despite having a group name, they really had no teamwork. Though they did manage to lift it up a inch, before the weight caused them to drop the cart back down with a splash. This threw mud everywhere. It caused Lester give a particularly loud shout of frustration, as he got the lion's share of the splatter.
'They'll be fine', she decided, as the CLoud and her caught up with the rest of the group. No less than they deserved for 'accidently' ripping a page in her favorite book last week. Why they were roughhousing near her room, was mystery for the ages. Even more concerning, why her little sister hung out with these buffoons, was beyond human understanding. Sure, there weren't a whole lot of other girl their age that she could spend time with, but there had to be better boys. Didn't she use to hang out with the miller kid Daniel, she thinks his name was? Thalia always thought he was a nice boy. Actually, wasn't he the one who ate his scabs? Nevermind, her sister could do better. Maybe her little gang were the best of what was left? At least they did whatever Tifa said, even if it wasn't done well. Hopefully, little brunette developed standards. Looking over at her neighbor, she saw that the blonde was still considering her words. Cloud seemed to struggle with an answer before he signed, giving her a gentle smile, "I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next time. Sometimes I just let the adrenaline get to me, you know?"
Thalia couldn't help but swallow a little and stare at her hands. She knew that wasn't what he wanted to say. That honestly. he had no regrets over what he did. Cause truthfully, he didn't do anything wrong. Still she appreciated the effort nonetheless. The older girl knew she shouldn't condemn him for his actions, in finishing the job and killing the monsters. Any of the men in the village would have done the same had the opportunity presented itself. But she couldn't help it! It reminded her too much of when he was a too-smart toddler, speaking back to all the adults who had whispered about his family. That for someone so young to hold so much anger, justified anger of course, was still unsettling to think about. Her neighbor had settled over the years, all polite smiles and basic courtesy for everyone. To the point most thought back to that period of the mouthy newborn with fondness. But Thalia knew better, that look in his eyes when he saw something that stroked his emotions never went away, the readiness for violence at a drop of a hat. He just got a lot better at hiding it on the surface. But he was trying to meet her halfway, and it'd be wrong of her not to clse the distance.
"Good, it never hurts to show a little mercy now and again. You never know when a little good karma might come in handy." Thalia responded primly, although her heart wasn't in it. He only hummed in response, an acknowldgment but not an agreement. Still, she took what she could get. If she didn't look after him during those moments, who would? Lightning was an enabler of the worst kind. It had to be her, they were childhood friends, after all. Unfortunatley, silence seemed to stretch on after her words. Cloud seemed content, but the void made her nervous. Couldn't exactly keep looking at him and not say anything, like weirdo. So she scrambled to think of something to say to keep the conversation going. The brunette let her gaze flicker back and forth, trying to come up with a topic. Trees? Rocks? Nature? Stupid topics. Work stuff? Boring as hell. Especially, since they spent all day already talking shop. Looking around, she noticed that his jacket seemed to have a couple of new holes after the fight.
"Your clothes are practically falling off of you!" She giggled, poking at one of the damaged spots along the sleeve. Indeed, her finger went clear through and nudged some skin on his arm. She made have accidently tore it just a little wider apart. Keeping her hand there, Thalia couldn't help but tease him further. It wasn't often an opportunity to mess with Cloud Strife came up! A girl had to pounce at the chance. "Your mom's going to be so angry with you! And I don't think the excuse that you were fighting monsters is going to help. Might make it worse actually. This has to be the fourth time this month, you troublemaker! Auntie's going to have a fit when you ask her fix it!"
"I'll have you know I do it on purpose. I'm practically my Ma's biggest customer at this point!" Cloud laughed, flapping hem his jacket a little, as if he was a bird. With that hair, he was doing a pretty good renactment of a chocobo. Thalia almost wanted to drag him next to the actual animal, for a side-by-side comparison. Her fingers were twitching with effort at not following through with that impulse."But yeah, four times might be pushing it a little."
And there it was, an opportunity to show off a little. Because she did have a solution for him, something he'd be grateful for. Tightening her gripe a little on his sleeve and looking him in the eyes, she took a plunge. "Well, maybe I can help? I've been practicing sewing with our moms and ….
"Look Cloud! Mary found something!" Tifa yelled, waving for the older boy to get his attention. His head snapped to her direction. And like that the moment was broken, like it was never there to begin with. Cloud turned his body slightly to face the younger girl, and she let her hand fall. She turned too, to see the brunette practically bouncing by the big bird and waving her hands. It would have been funny a different time, a different moment.
"Whose Mary?" he asked in confusion, already making his way over to her little sister. She pointed impatiently to her mount as if that should have been obvious. Indeed, the Chocobo seemed to have stopped and was looking intently at a clift's edge. It seemed to be ignoring all attempts to redirect her back on the path, stubbornly keeping it's sight fixed before it. Definitley worth investigating. Thalia took a deep breath, trying to let the frustration bleed out of her as she watched him walk away. Not Tifa's fault she kept reminding herself, she's just a little kid. Not her sister's fault people always seemed to pay attention to her. Not her fault that she can make anyone happy with a sweet smile and pretty laugh.
"Yikes, that was awkward to watch," a voice behind her said. Thalia turned to see her blonde friend making her way over from where she had been trailing. Had Lightining been watching the whole time? Not that there was anything to see, Thalia remined herself. It was just a simple conversation between friends. One that got interupted before anything real could happened. Nothing to be embaressed about. "You shouldn't get so jealous though." she said pointedly, looking at Cloud's retreating back. "My brother's a stupid boy now but he'll see what's in front of his eyes eventually. Just gotta play the long game. And maybe not let your emotions be so obvious on your face."
"Jealousy", the brunettebegan to recite back to Lighting, like she had those many months ago. It was during a period when her friend had been particularly grumpy about her mother showing favoristm. Allowing Cloud to wander wild wherever he wanted, when he wanted, while the little girl was required to have at least one adult supervision. It had galled her even more, that Cloud counted as said adult supervision. "is unbecoming of young ladies like us, who are destined for better things than this mountain town."
And that was the honest truth. Neither young girl had ever felt like they particularly belonged to the village. They never felt well adjusted to the mountains and grazing hills. For Thalia at least, she felt like a square peg trying to fit in a circle. And it had nothing to do with being the mayor's daughter, as Lightinign liked to joke. There was always an itch in the back of her head - telling her that she needed to go somewhere else, do something else. And Thalia knew the blonde felt the same way, even if she never actualized it into words. That as much as her neighbor denied that there is anything of real interest outside their mountains, her eyes would light up as her brother spoke of traveling. Mind already on all too far off places they could see, experiencing what the world had to offer.
It was a dream and ambition that all shared. The reason why they wanted Strife Deliveries to succeed.
"Besides, it's not like that." Thalia resumed, trying to effect a nonchalant air. She heard Lightning stopping somehwere behind her. One look over her shoulder, she saw the the blonde standing arms crossed, and adisbelieving expression on the little brat's face. What? She was telling the truth. Sorta. Seeing the unimpressed look still on her pretty face, the Lockhart girl tried a different tactic. Something change the conversation. "We're too young for that kind of stuff anyway. I've got too many things I want to accomplish. Too much I want to see, before I'll even consider letting myself settle down." Shrugging one shoulder, she added. "Besides, my dad would skin any boy alive , that looked my way. Especially if his last name was Strife.
"Please, I sincerly doubt that." The blonde stated, teeth already flashing. "In this backwater town, being twenty and unmarried makes you a spinster. At twenty-five, you basically become the wicked witch of the mountains, and start getting horror stories spread about you. Forever immortalized in the nightmares of little kids.
Wasn't that a fun thought.
"Your dad will be practically begging Cloud to marry you, once you turn sixteen. Probably tell him, he needed to put a ring on that finger or be exiled." Lighting finished dramatically, a wicked grin already beginning to spread on her face. This little shit, she thought, a smile already tugging at her lips. Like she really wanted to get married out of despereation. Or because Brain Lockhart threatened to boy to ask for her hand. "I'm honestly surprised your parents haven't tried hooking you up with some nice boy from Rocket town yet. After all, the mayor's daughter deserves nothing less."
"What about you?" Thalia shot back, already feeling her mood lighten as she sunk back into their usual banter. Her shoulders relaxing again. "Last time I checked, there were still only three girls in Nibelheim. You're pretty hot commodity yourself! I'm sure all the little boys in the village are just dreaming of the day when you lay your big blue eyes on them. Probably spending their day fantasing of the day you approach them and tell them that they're the one!" She said, hands clapsed in front of her in faux romanticism. "Or maybe you've already chosen your hubby to be?" Thalia leaned forward conspiratorially. Smiling as if sharing a damning secret, and a reluctant Lightning following suit to hear her whisper. The girl's curiosity setting herself up. "And you're just waiting for them to ripen a little more,become a little more manly before you pluck the fruit." At this she shot her gaze towards the approaching Four Fiends, having finally caught up to them. Dragging the, finally unstuck, cart behind them. They were high-fiving each other on a job well done.
"Oh, bleugh." Sticking her tongue out in disgust, Lighting truly looked like she was going to be sick. The blonde was wiping her hands down her skirt, as if to dry-wash away a disease. She really was looking green around the gills. Mission accomplished. "Way to ruin a fun conversation by being gross. Next time I'll let you wallow in your misery, you witch."
Unable to contain her fits of laughter, she tugged her friend into a hug.
"We can be witches together. We'll eat children at night and wear pants in the day. The legendary red and blue witches of the mountains!" Thalia said, with a floushish to the air. "We'll have even more stories about us then even Shinra mansion." She promised, tugging the both of them towards where Tifa was. He sister had been staring intently at something in her arms. That something seemed to be squaking. And was that a feather? Loooking forward, she almost stumbled a little. Standing ther was Cloud, observing the friends. For the first time, she realized that younger boy had been watching their entire conversation. Did he hear anything? How long had he been looking at them? When their eyes met he gave her a smile and waved them over. Feet already moving before she realized it, dragging Lightining along. Before approaching, she whispered as quietly as she could to her companion. "Are we still on for tonight?"
"Hell yes! I won't miss it for the world!' Lightning would whisper back. The night would mark another day in the two girl's long running project. A month long obsession, that had taken over their free time.
The investigation into Cloud Strife's Secrets.