Once More, With Feeling... – Chapter 25: Endangered

Summary: Sometimes you just can't help yourself…

Author: Illusor Meaneld

Rated T: for Descriptive violence and injuries, No Adult Situations, No Cussing.

Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Final Fantasy 7, They are owned by Square-Enix, and I am simply borrowing them for my own (and hopefully your) enjoyment.

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The salty ocean breezes whipped through the tall grass as Cloud and Reno strode side-by-side. This area had scarce trees, and lots of tall, wild brush, the high cliffs rising jaggedly in the distance. Both the 'Turks' kept up a brisk pace, intentionally outdistancing their 'escort'. Once they were out of hearing distance, Reno snorted.

"City police always gotta stick their noses in," He muttered,

Cloud just rolled his eyes. "Don't let it get to you Reno, it's not personal."

Reno chuckled, "Figured ya'd say somethin' like that, you're always fulla advice n' stuff."

Cloud shrugged magnanimously, his eyes carefully scanning through the thick grasses, watching for the tell-tale signs of monster passage.

"Speakin' a advice n' stuff…"

"hmm?" Cloud spared a glance at his partner, noting the almost careless way the youth swung his Electo-mag Rod (EMR) across the tops of the nearby plants.

"I hooked up a nice date for next week,"

"Ah," Cloud smiled, "Congratulations."

Reno snorted and grinned, " that ain' why I tol' ya."

"So I gathered."

"I was wonderin' if y-"

Cloud hastily interrupted the boy with a raised hand. His own blue eyes narrowing as he listened carefully for a repeat of the sound he'd thought he heard. The rustling was slightly to their right, the near constant breezes hiding the tell-tale swaying of the plants that might have otherwise been evident. Cloud gestured his hand in that direction, grinning at Reno as he shifted slowly into a bracing stance. Reno charged first, his EMR arcing towards the hidden creature. With a squawk and a hiss the monster rose from its hiding place, angrily snapping its wicked beak at the human who antagonized it. The lean, four-legged beast swiped at the red-head, but as Cloud expected, the young Turk was far more agile.

"A Nerosuferoth." Cloud muttered, his eyes narrowing, "But those things don't travel alone…" After a brief scan of the grass Cloud leapt, his left foot swinging out to catch the second hiding creature in the jaw. The two vaguely reptilian beasts leapt on the humans with fervor, the two teenagers settled into the fight with equal gusto. Cloud took the opportunity against these moderately weak opponents to test his unarmed strength, grunting with the unaccustomed force he had to put into his blows. Thankfully he proved quick enough on his feet to avoid more than a few scratches. It seemed no time at all before he and Reno were watching the two monsters dissolve into life-stream essence. Cloud turned to his partner with a grin, wiping a little sweat from his brow, and dusting his jacket.

"Now that, is what I'm talkin' about yo!" Reno laughed,

"That was a nice warm-up." Cloud agreed. "C'mon! Let's go find something else!"

With a whoop from the red-head, the two picked up their speed through the dense grass. It wasn't too difficult to find more of the smaller reptile beasts, they were rather prevalent. Cloud dove on the creatures like birthday presents, enjoying the adrenaline, the workout, and more than anything, the thrill of fighting something that had the potential to be dangerous. When Cloud had finished plowing through half a dozen beasts, Reno turned to regard the panting blonde. Each scratch, bite, or bruise he'd received had only widened Cloud's grin. He stood in the tall grass, carefully wiping the blood from his sword, chuckling to himself.

"Cetra! You're really enjoyin' this ain'cha?"

Cloud laughed, "Planet! It feels GOOD to be out and about! I didn't remem … er… realize how stifling it could be to get stuck inside all day, sunlight is good for you!"

Reno shook his head and snickered, "ya jus' love wavin' yer oversized knife around."

"Every boy has their favorite toy." Cloud continued to grin.

"Ya, and mine's a helicopter." Cloud barked another laugh, Reno snorted back in amusement. When the blonde had settled down, the red-head slouched in place as he gazed around him, "So… before the ugly scale-faces popped their heads, we were havin' a chat right?"

One of Cloud's blonde eyebrow's rose minutely, "Yeah, you were telling me about your plans for next week."

"Yeah, … so I was wonderin',… what kinda thing would YOU do for a first date y'know?"

"Ah," Cloud chuckled again, "Well… I always thought first dates should be important, rather like first impressions. They set the feel for the rest of the relationship. PERSONALLY I'd take the girl out somewhere nice, but not somewhere so fancy she'll feel uncomfortable." Cloud tilted his head back in thought for a moment, carefully thinking over all of the restaurants he'd eaten at before. With a smile, Cloud named one place he new of in Kalm. "It's a nice place, not super fancy." He went on to describe, "They have really good food, and good service. Very comfortable."

Reno nodded, "Huh, A restaurant eh? Shoulda figured ya fer that kinda guy."

Cloud snorted a laugh before he could help himself, he could practically hear an echo of a slightly deeper, slightly older voice saying almost the same thing, in exactly the same tone. "Don't ever change Reno,…" Cloud muttered under his breath with a smile.

"Wha?" The red-head paused in place to regard the blonde in confusion,

Cloud just shook his head and shrugged. Without another word he jogged off towards a stand of trees, just the sort that Capparwires liked to ambush travelers from. The scraggly armless creatures proved quite a distraction for Reno, just as Cloud had intended. Though they weren't particularly fast, their spined tentacle arms sported a nasty jolt of electricity if you had the misfortune to stand in range.

Reno was almost as quick as Cloud remembered, and still clever, the blonde tried vainly to hide his chuckle whenever the Turk's inexperience reminded him just how young the boy was. He cursed fit to make Cid proud whenever the monsters managed to land a blow, and cheered louder than Yuffie after each batch they defeated. It made Cloud nostalgic in all the worst ways.

Between the two of them, they managed to go through several packs of Capparwires, and Nerosuferoths, Cloud quickly adjusted himself to fighting beside Reno, but after a while, Cloud found his body naturally reverting to bad habits, much to his frustration. He'd been practicing so hard, but he hadn't done any training against monsters… it was just different. He'd fought a lot more monsters in his time than anything else by far. Cloud sighed softly, a small smile twitching the corners of his mouth, Oh well… it would all work itself out in time… In the meantime he tried to focus more carefully on his movements. Less on his instincts, … it wasn't easy, but it was almost like a game,… one that involved painful scratches and shocks when he messed up. Cloud was smiling again by the time he'd finished off the last big batch of monsters. They're getting pretty big out here… he mused to himself… too much Mako.

Reno was slightly winded, but he turned to toss a cocky grin at Cloud, "You got some nice moves for a lil' Cadet."

Cloud raised one eyebrow slowly, "Is that so?" He tossed back a crooked smile of his own, but his mind quickly turned over the phrase, he hadn't really been holding back… should he have?

"Yeah, totally Turk moves there yo!" Reno returned with a smirk, Cloud's brief worries instantly eased, it's just Reno, He chuckled softly.

"Turks don't use swords." He reminded the youth gently,

"'Tain't Nuthin' that says they can't." Reno snorted, "An' yer a pretty good shot with your lil' gun too."

Cloud paused, cocking his head slightly as he regarded Reno seriously for a moment, "Really?"

Reno stopped dead and turned to stare incredulously, "What? 'D'ja think you weren't? Little hotshot SOLDIER Cadet, an' you can shoot nearly as good as Tseng!" the red-head snorted, his face twisting quickly into a frown, "Wha'd you THINK you were? Did yer instructors never tell you?" He spat several curses, and Cloud pulled back in surprise, Reno was angry?

"Whoa! Reno!" Cloud yelped, a little shaken, "It isn't.. I mean, … well… I just thought I…." He just thought…. Cloud reared his thoughts in sharply, he'd thought what? He pondered his own comments for several seconds more, before he started to laugh. This time it was Reno's turn to pull up sharp,

"Cetra?!" The young Turk cursed, "Wha's gott'n inta you?"

Cloud just shook his head, "Oh Planet Reno… it's not my instructors," He said between chuckles, "I keep looking at the SOLDIERs, and thinking how far behind I am, … every now and again I forget that they have all that Mako in them." Cloud leaned back as he grinned, I really am an old fart if these things keep slipping my mind, He decided, but out loud he said, "I'll try to keep a better perspective on myself."

Reno stared for a second, before he snorted, the angry tension leaving faster than it had come, "Ya really need to be a Turk yo," then he rolled his eyes, giving Cloud a rough shove to the shoulder, "C'mon Basket-Case, apparently ya need s'more stupid knocked outta ya." Cloud chuckled again, and sighed at himself. Youthful body, youthful impatience…. Zack must have been rubbing off on him… Cloud found himself oddly cheered by the thought. He hummed a tune softly under his breath and strode after Reno.

The blonde had barely taken three steps before his progress abruptly halted; a very soft, almost inaudible whimpering sound reached his ears. If he'd been any less aware of his surroundings, he'd never have heard it. He practically held his breath, straining to make out the sound, … yes, it was there, As quietly as he was able to, Cloud crept through the grass, following the elusive cries, when the sharp tang of blood sifted through the breeze he picked up his pace. Reno quickly noticed his partner's divergence, but a glance at Cloud's stealthy stance and he followed silently a few paces behind him.

Gently parting the tall grasses, Cloud found what he was looking for. It was a small animal, whimpering in pain, its fur matted with blood. Injuries no doubt sustained by the local monster population. That in itself wasn't uncommon, the monsters had to eat something… but as Cloud stared at the small herbivore he felt light-headed, out of breath, and more than anything, simply stunned.

"It's a Junon Rarab." Cloud murmured,

Reno, who had walked up beside the blonde raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? An' what's so special about it?" He gazed down suspiciously at the pathetic-looking critter, "Looks like it's dyin'." The red-head observed.

Cloud frowned, Reno was right, the animal before him was dying. Too badly wounded, Junon Rarab… He hadn't even THOUGHT about that! His heart constricted oddly as he watched the labored breathing, its long ears twitching in pain. Didn't Rarabs travel in groups? Before he could think about it, Cloud was scouring the long grasses, sure enough, there were several smaller, nearly infant aged Rarabs nearby, Cloud couldn't restrain a happy cry. They were small enough they couldn't run away, and would have made a quick bite for another passing predator. Hastily he began to gather the small creatures, ignoring their sharp claws, and teeth.

"What the PLANET are you DOING?" Reno cried, watching his partner's strange new obsession with small furry animals, "You're not takin' those home are ya? You can't have pets in Shinra!"

Cloud froze, half a dozen small, squirming, whining Rarabs in his arms. "Um…." He said ineffectually, "But…" but he HAD to! The Rarabs… the JUNON Rarabs… they'd gone extinct in his time… He shuddered at the memories, "They're ext-" His mouth started to blurt before his mind caught up, well… they weren't YET… "They're endangered!" He hastily corrected, … but Reno had a point.. what WAS he going to do with them? He stared at the litter unseeing, Junon Rarabs… they're disappearance had caused a downward ecological spiral for this area… it had never REALLY recovered… all because of Hojo's experiments, the rising monster populations… Gazing down at the little balls of warmth in his arms, Cloud felt his lips twitching; they were pretty cute too…

"Endangered? How'd'ya figure that? You ain' never been ta Junon before right?"

Cloud frowned, glancing behind him at the larger Rarab that had stopped breathing, "It's the monsters…" He explained slowly, "A lot of them are bigger, meaner… and they smell like Mako."

"Huh?" Reno blinked at him, but Cloud was getting into his story now,

"I know what Mako smells like… there's a reactor in Nibelheim! … Monsters get mutated and they grow bigger, … meaner… and what do you think they eat Reno?" Finally grasping the situation Reno shuffled uncomfortably, He was still new to the Turks, Cloud knew, … this argument never would have worked on Rude… "They eat the poor little Rarabs."

The red-head scratched at his chin and turned away slightly, "It doesn't change th' fact ya can't keep 'em… animals ain't allowed in yer Cadet Dorms, They sure ain' stayin' at our apartment, … C'mon…I'm sure Junon can take care of the problem yo!" Reno reasoned, Cloud mentally snorted, yeah right… they hadn't! Junon hadn't really worried about the ecological balance… not until it smacked them in the face,… they'd known, but they hadn't bothered to do a thing! Not even for all the warnings that….

"Cosmo Canyon!" Cloud half-shouted, his revelation,

"What?" Reno yelped back,

The blonde turned with a triumphant grin, "I'll send them to Cosmo Canyon!"

"Who's gonna wan' 'em there?"

"I…. I have an… er… I have a friend there!"

"A friend? … when'd you go ta the Canyon?" Reno was still regarding Cloud like he'd lost his mind, and Cloud mentally winced at his slips.

"Pen-pal." He hastily interjected.

Reno finally tossed his hands up in surrender, "Whatever yo… send 'em there, I jus' hope they don' eat 'em or somethin'."

Cloud finally relaxed, wrapping his Turk jacket closer around the small creatures, he grinned cheekily at Reno, "Don't tell me you've got a soft spot for them already!" He gestured to the wriggling pile in his arms,

Reno smirked back, apparently already forgiving Cloud his eccentricities, "Nope, jus' don' wanna hike down to tha Canyon to get revenge for yer new playmates."

Cloud laughed, and they walked back to Junon together, once there it didn't take him more than a moment to detour to the mail center with his new charges, ignoring the strange looks from their police 'escort' and particularly Officer Ferris' vocal bafflement. As he was paying for the special shipping and care of the Rarabs, Cloud turned Reno's parting shot over in his mind, it felt so strange to be on the other end of the Turk's loyalties. Despite the red-head's flippant attitude, Cloud knew that Reno wouldn't hesitate to avenge the death of anything his partner decided was important. It was a very warming feeling. Cloud would have to remember to get Reno a very good birthday present. The smile on the blonde's face suddenly twisted into a smirk, his 'partner' wasn't even aware that Cloud knew his birthday…

Cloud was humming again when he left to rejoin Reno and their escort to head back to the Junon Police Department for debriefing.

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(( Well… I hardly know where to begin this apology… I certainly owe it! Disappearing for months with hardly a word… It certainly wasn't my intention.

Well… the first part of it was Yoh's fault. (Here's my pic of Yoh,…) - jianre-m [dot] deviantart [dot] com/art/My-Writing-Muse-Yoh-Sketch-119465615

Basically, I couldn't write… I knew what I wanted to write, I know where the story is going, but 'Yoh', my "Writing Muse" refused to cooperate and sulked in the corner for weeks… (whiney… bi-polar little brat… DX )

But like always… Yoh eventually decided to play again… that's when Murphy's Law kicked in… just when I was all prepped and ready to write, my internet at home went AWOL for 3 WEEKS!!! T-T … augh! It was agony!! … I hadn't realized how many internet references I used to write this story. *sob* … I have a drabble that I started while I was frustratedly waiting, and I'll probably upload that at some point… anyways, I realize I let you guys wait WAY TOO LONG… and I'm sorry.  You guys were MORE than patient with me, … I appreciate that.

I'll my best to keep this story going for you all. ^_^

-Jianre M. A.K.A … Illusor Meaneld. ))

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