onepassingnight | 003. the strength of the Wolf is the Pack

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003. the strength of the Wolf is the Pack

It's a meadow, surprisingly bright and green and the heat of an early spring sun is just beginning to warm the air. The grass is tall and green and there are almost more flowers than blades of grass in the area, riots of bright color and pure white hanging in delicate bells or open bursts of petals. Listening there's the faint drone of bees somewhere nearby, busy with their pollen and even fainter the hint of a stream somewhere, quick with the melt of snow from the mountains that take up the not that distant horizon. Weathered, stunted trees form a wood of sorts nearby, full of cool shade and the old smells of moss and bracken and last years fallen leaves. And Cloud -

Cloud is hard to find.

Until you notice the ears above the grass. Or perhaps a stray breeze blows by and you catch the ripple of gray fur between the swaying blades. He's lying on his stomach, chin resting across his arms and he's...

Well, he's a wolf. Grey and furry and lean muscle with eyes the color of the waters off Costa del Sol. And at the moment, he's watching the whispy clouds overhead, one ear twitching absently at a nearby bird that's trying to decide if he's invading it's nest space or not.

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A meadow with flowers is one Aerith feels perfectly at home in. She picks up her dress lightly as she sits down so it doesn't get all creased beneath her, and then she leans forward to pick flowers. One, two, yellow, blue, there are so, so many. Some go in her basket with the distant thought of selling them. But others she just presses her face to and takes a breath of the smell--too young to be plucked just yet.

She's humming cheerfully to herself, though that stops when she stands up and finally spots the wolf. She stiffens a bit, basket moving behind her back. But she smiles, and asks:

"You don't mind if I'm here too, do you?"

He knew the second she stepped into the meadow because the flowers all suddenly go brighter and spread their petals wider. The smell of fresh, clean earth and sunshine grow and he lifts his head, looking for her even before he realizes what he's looking for.

She belongs in a place like this.

Somewhere with a forever blue sky and no limits. Somewhere alive...

But he's a wolf today and the wolf can't focus too hard on the past without it blurring and slipping to the side. So instead, he gets to his feet and he follows her, staying low in the grass so he doesn't bother her, heart easier in his chest at the sound of her humming happiness. When she finally spots him though, his ears flip down against his skull and his head drops, tail sinking. Worried that he'll scare her before he realizes that - she might have no idea what he is. Not from experience at least though she's probably heard the stories. So his ears prick up and forward again and, hesitant, still low behind him, his tail swishes.

He also notices, with the wry 'ex-SOLDIER' part of him that she's protecting her basket instead of herself...

Aerith...

The small huff escapes him before he can think about it and his blue eyes snap to her, worried that she'll think that was an aggressive sound. To prove he's a good dog and not a bad one, he lowers his head to nose at the types of flowers she's just been enjoying, peering up at her through them with blue eyes.

She purses her lips at the wolf's acting (that weary huff was a familiar one, and now it was almost like he was peeping up at her) and takes two steps back--thoughtfully cupping her chin and tilting her head at it--before she turns and runs away, toward the woods. Her run doesn't take her far away, though; the sound of her footsteps stops behind one of the trees ringing the meadow.

She doesn't make a sound after that, body hidden from view by the tree trunk. But after a moment, eyes green as the growing moss peek out from behind, closely followed by a smile--a tiny "peek-a-boo" before she disappears behind the tree again.

Despite the possibility of danger, Aerith's actually working on stifling giggles.

She did have a tiny bit of experience with wolves, unknown to Cloud: a wolf mutated by experimentation had stayed in her church for four years. It had looked strange and more than a little scary. It had also protected her and stood by her side as she learned to protect herself. This wolf reminds her a tiny bit of that one...smart and not aggressive, unless given a reason to be.

The blue eyes, though, they remind her of something else. Blue skies, freedom and a powerful desire to enjoy it, even in the most childish and simple of ways. After a moment, she puts her hand on the side of the tree and leans over with her basket to see if she can find them again.

When she runs, he starts a little, as if he'd go after her before he catches himself and his heart sinks right down to the pads of his toes. She hadn't looked scared but - he was a wolf. Lacking a solid stick to hit him with, running was the sensible option. Still... the thought that he'd scared her, in any form...

He's just about to lay down right there and curl up into a ball so that she'll have the rest of the meadow to herself, when he catches a glimpse from the trees. Of a tiny peek of pink and honey hair -

was she...?

His ears perk forward and his head comes up, tail flailing unsure behind him. He's not exactly sure... but even having missed out on childish games in his youth, there's an instinctive response to peeking and hiding. Blinking, not sure he's right but willing to try, he creeps forward a little closer to the trees and flattens himself down behind a patch of hanging snowbells.

They provide adequate cover - if it weren't for his tail sticking straight up above the.

She didn't seen the fun in hide and seek at first; it wasn't a game when she learned it. But once she saw outside Shinra and encountered other kids... it was her favorite game, because she was the best at it. And she'd learned to hold onto a bit of the fun in it, even on those occasions when it wasn't a game. Although, even with her experience, she's not sure she's good enough to beat a wolf's sense of smell.

But when she looks around the tree and spots the tail sticking up, she laughs--even if he's got a good sense of smell, he's got some things to learn about this game. "My, my," she calls out. "I've never seen such a fluffy flower before!"

The tail fluffs almost indignantly and then disappears behind the flowers.

But a second later, two pointed ears rise slowly above them, twitching in her direction for the sound of her laughter.

Let's face it. Cloudy wolf sucks at hide and seek. At least at the 'hide' part of it.

And those ears are rewarded with another outburst; it's too cute, even as she's amazed that he apparently understands her. But she works to smother them. "Oh! I better be quiet so I'm not found~"

It's, of course, a clear invitation to come find her. But she's got her own surprise waiting for him, reaching into her basket again to finger a mostly-finished flower crown.

The laughter assures him everything is okay between them and it makes his heart lift lighter in his chest so that he actually has to inhale nice and deep to fill all the new space in his lungs. Sloooooow, the ears sink back down behind the flowers.

There's the slightest ruffle of tall grass and then - nothing. Living up to his name, Cloud seems to have simply vanished and all there is is a field full of tall grass and flowers and the occasional breeze that blows across it like a friendly hand softly ruffling hair. Birds twitter quietly to each other in the trees and somewhere nearby a squirrel darts from branch to branch in the stunted grove, flinging itself fearlessly wide to reach each new hold.

Until there's a sound, barely there, to the right of Aerith's chosen tree. But it's the left side of her, a second later, that feels the nudge of a nose against her knee through the fabric of her dress and the softest:

"woof."

She looks around again, just in time to see the grass stop swaying, and then she watches the grass in amazement of what she doesn't see, even though she knows he's there, even though she can hear the other sounds of life going on nearby. It's so peaceful...

She starts when she hears something so close on the right, and she starts to bend over--which means when she lets out a startled "oh!" when her left knee gets nosed by his slightly-moist snout. "You sneaky, sneaky boy!" It would sound like scolding if she wasn't so full of giggles as she turns around again to face the wolf. The flower crown comes out, placed to crown his head--a little quickly, so if he moves it'll end up lopsided. "Okay. That makes you the king of hide and seek."

Also a silly picture of a wolf wearing colorful yellow and blue flowers, but Aerith thinks that's adorable.

He jerks back automatically at the quick move of her hands and so the crown hangs a little lopsided, one ear folded down under it and partially over one of his blue eyes. He blinks at her and it's hard to tell if it's a wide eyed 'I trusted you!' look or just one of those 'are there - flowers...? In my hair?!' look.

Except... she's so happy right now and he thrives on the sounds of her giggles of pleasure and the tension slips right back out of him again to see her playing. So - strictly because he's a wolf and not a man, mind you - he shakes his head a little before puffing out his chest and lifting his chin with another quiet 'woof'.

As if asking her if he looks good in yellow and blue.

Which isn't too far off from the reactions she thought she might get really, so she keeps smiling as she kneels down.

"You know, you remind me of someone... All puffed-up with yourself like that." She straightens the crown a bit on his head before reaching a hand to scratch his chest. Quietly, she confides, like it's a secret: "But I don't think he could pull off those yellow daisies so well."

She's obviously talking about Zack. Yellow was never Zack's color. So he stays very still while she adjusts the flowers on his head. Remembering the first time she'd offered him flowers.

He should have left her alone.

He should have never let her 'escort' him to Sector Seven. Should never have let her involve herself with rescuing Tifa. Except, even with the dim memory of a wolf, he seems to remember not having much of a choice. Aerith didn't take 'no' for an answer when she'd made up her mind.

Which warned him, if he ever was in human form again - he might just have to watch out for flower crowns.

He inhaled deep though at the feel of her fingers scratching just where it felt so good and his blue eyes half lidded with pleasure. Deep in his throat he made some warbled, pleased, grumbly sounds as he stretched his neck up so she could get there too.

He was a wolf. He was allowed to be greedy for Aerith's touch.

[ Have you ever read this one story at fanfiction.net? They did a lot of Cloud/Tifa one-shots, but interspersed between them was this ministory were Cloud and Zack were a kind of werewolf and how it was easier being the wolf sometimes because they didn't remember as much--which this is really reminding me of, in a good way. I wish I could find it again. ]

No, not Zack. Let's face it, just having blond hair didn't mean yellow flowers would be good. There had to be some contrast! Cloud would get blue flowers and--and pink? No, maybe purple... she already knew purple was a good color for him.

Her hand slides up, willingly scratching under his chin as he moved. "You know just what you want, don't you...? That's good. --Careful, not too high!" She doesn't want her flower crown slipping off, after all. The scratching turns into a playful tickle as she tries to get him to dip his head back down again, but then, she adds: "You're smarter than a lot of people. They get it all muddled up."

(ooc. the Stray series? I'm flattered. :3)]

Zack wishes he could pull off a flower crown as well as Cloud does! Purple is better than pink though. It's more manly and even in wolf form, Cloud has to be able to cling to some semblance of manly. You know, considering he'd be wearing flowers in his hair to start with...

Aerith... how do you get him to do these things?

Ah... well, the chin scratching obviously helps a great deal in the Cloud-suasion. He grunts an appreciative noise but he immediately tilts his head back down when she warns him, tucking his chin a little so he can watch her from the tops of his eyes. Her observation has him making a huffing sound though and he leans in to flick his tongue quick across her cheek. Yes, much better to be a wolf than a human with a head full of muddled cotton and a memory full of failures.

She yelps when the tongue flicks out at her, trying to duck away. "Hey, hey! I have no idea where your mouth has been, boy." Even though she recognizes it as friendliness--that wolf at the church was the closest to "pet" she ever had, and he was much more aloof. She's not used to some of the messier forms of canine affection. But because she knows it is affection, she moves closer again, this time bumping his nose with her finger. "I heard that huff, you know. Don't get me wrong. Humans have their strong points too. ...And... well." She tilts her head, considering him. "I couldn't live as a wolf."

He looks vaguely offended at her question. His mouth has been attached to the rest of his face, that's where it's been! The same place it's always been. He takes her bump to the nose though and gives a shake, careful not to dislodge his crown. No licking. Okay. He can do that.

At her head tilt though, he tilts his own, skewing the flowers dangerously to the side over one ear. Why not, Aerith? He thinks you'd make a beautiful wolf.

"It looks a little lonely. They call it a 'lone wolf' for a reason, don't they?" And he's out here by himself... Did he live with other wolves at all? "I don't want to live like most people do either, but I fit in better with them."

[oh, Aerith... She's so full of life and energy and so fond of people but he knows she hides how lonely she sometimes feels. She'd let it slip to him, once or twice, in the past and it makes the fact that in the end, she'd gone on alone, that much more of a spike through his heart. That had been his fault.

Everything that had happened to her after she'd met him had been his fault.

Wanting to apologize - and knowing how pointless words were - he rubbed his head against the side of her hip. It crushed one of the flowers, releasing the scent of sap and perfume strong into the air. She should be alive. She should have a life and a family and ride airships and grow her flowers.

The wolf takes over when the pain threatens to become too much for him, blurring the past, concentrating on the present. She's here. This is now. They have now. That's what matters. So he catches at the handle of her basket with his teeth and gives a light tug. Wanting to draw her back out into the sunlight and flowers. It's where she belongs and he wants to see her happy.

Wha--Hey! [ Distracted from her thoughts, she reaches for the basket handle and the crown on his head, wanting to keep both from any damage. ] Sheesh... you getting restless, boy? You could help me pick flowers~

[ She'd tell him not to blame himself if she knew it was him, what he was thinking. It was her choice to go with him, and her choice to go without. She'd had to make her own choices to be free.

But she doesn't understand Cloud that well. He's so different when she's awake and not everything makes sense. So she recognizes some resemblance in the wolf -- but she doesn't see that it's him, and instead of saying those things she just stands up and takes up the basket, gesturing for him to come along. ]

he's more than happy to trot along next to her, head tipped to watch her but ever mindful of the crown of flowers on his head so that he doesn't knock it loose. It's a gift - her gift - and it doesn't matter if it's flowers in his hair -

it's a gift from her.

His tail starts to wag once they hit the meadow again though and he darts off for a minute, coming back with the crown at a jaunty angle, tail high and waving like a flag with a single flower of brilliant orange carefully held in his teeth. Awkward but controlled, he drops it in her basket.

Edited 2011-09-08 21:19 (UTC)

"Where are you going?" She pauses in her work, looking after him--but it's his own business if he wants to do something else now, so rather than chase after him she focuses on the flowers again. It's a pleasant surprise when he comes back, and she gives an appropriate "ooh" over the unexpected gift. "You're really good at this! Is it because you live here? You must know where all the pretty flowers are, huh." [ She gives him a quick scritch behind the ears, her eyes half-closed in pleasure. ]

"You know--even if I'm not a wolf--I could see myself living here. It's beautiful. There might not be many people here, but flowers have a way of bringing just the right ones." She picks the orange flower out of the basket as she lies down on the grass, twirling it and seeing how the sunlight filters through the petals. It's a nice daydream.

She's happy here and his tail wags in pleasure at the head scratch, his own eyes half closing as well. When she lays back down, he moves over to look down at her. This would be a good place for her. She'd need a house and food and friends - but living in a field of sunshine and flowers... he wishes he could give that to her.

At least he can give it to her for a little while now...

With a soft sound, he lays down next to her and, after a minute, very tentative, he rests his chin across her stomach, blue eyes rolling to watch her and make sure it's all right. He'll do things differently this time. He'll make sure she can enjoy things more.

"I'd bring Mom here. And Marlene. So of course Barret would have to come...Tifa would love this too. You wouldn't mind another boy, would you? Red's not pushy or anything. I think you two can get along just fine."

It's rather obvious she doesn't mind his head by the way she muses to herself, apparently plotting how to get AVALANCHE and co. into a meadow for some r&r. She could pull that off, she thinks.

"Now, Cloud..." Her eyes roll down to meet his, grinning for a moment. "I don't think Cloud would like that I'm playing with a wolf. 'But, Aerith, what if it's dangerous?' He's a worrier. Not just that, he's my 'bodyguard' too. What a terrible combination, huh?" She says it all cheerfully and easily; it's a trait of Cloud's she's gotten used to. And honestly, even if the "real" him is different... she hopes that part wouldn't change too much. (But maybe there could be a little less worry.) "...This place would be really good for him too. And I'd tell him straight how friendly you are! It'd be okay."

He listens to her in contentment, relaxing when she doesn't push his head off of her. Her ideas sound nice and he likes listening to her dream out loud. She's soft and smells nice and his eyes are just starting to slit closed in drowsy peace when she mentions - well, him.

Blue eyes pop back open and her look is more than warning enough that he's about to get teased unmercifully. Sure enough, she does and it fills him with the same awkward embarrassment and quiet pleasure that it always does. His ears fold down on either side so they're sticking straight out like horns. Though he does snort.

Of course she shouldn't be playing with wolves. Wolves are dangerous, Aerith. The look he gives her is reprimanding.

"Oh, not you too!" She taps his nose with his finger, frowning for a brief moment. "You do remind me of him. Maybe I'll call you 'Cloudy'. Heehee, Cloudy-boy."

...She's given worse names, cutesy as that one seems.

"Well, there are a lot of dangerous things. I used to be scared of SOLDIERs too. They're very strong and they like to fight. If I got in trouble with one I'd have to think fast or I wouldn't last long." It comes out frankly--somehow she thinks he would see through bravado more easily than most people, and talking about this it doesn't seem so important to say she can handle anything. "But there are ones who are nice. And there are wolves who are nice too. Don't worry, I'll still be careful. And hey! I'm twenty-two. That's older than most wolves, isn't it? I've had help, but I think I'm doing pretty well for myself."

003. the strength of the Wolf is the Pack

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gotta love crisis core for adding its own weirdness XD

good ol' SE, still delivering their WTF moments one video game at a time XD

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...lmfao how did I sneak that bracket in there

lol - can't tell you how many times I've had to go back and edit brackets OUT in my responses

commentspam is just automatic now, I guess...and lol Aerith love talking

aaaaaaand - the angst comes

baaaaw, Cloud. 8( ...and this icon actually kinda fits for once!

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Do you want to wrap it up soonish?

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