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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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."

His ears flatten out and press back hard against the back of his skull. Because - she does get in trouble with a SOLDIER.

Him.

And she hadn't stood a chance. With Sephiroth in control he'd -

he'd -

His eyes squeeze closed against it and, wolf that he is, he shivers.

He'd hurt her.

It's no wonder she ran away. From him.

Tail tucking down to curl tight around him, he knows he really shouldn't still be snuggling with her. But the same pain that thinking of what he did causes, is relieved by her touch. Stolen forgiveness.

His eyes open and shift to look at her and she's -

...twenty-two.

He's twenty three now. Living on borrowed lives. He scoots forward, crowding her, and manages to tuck his nose under her elbow. She did fine for herself. Twenty-two years of fine. And a little over a month with him was all it took to lose it all.

"Huh? You can't be cold." He's got a thick fur coat and it's a sunny day, plenty warm even for her, but he shivers. That flash of concern in her turns to a soft heartache when he noses at her elbow, and she curls sideways to snug closer to him, hair falling across her face. "You're sad... Did I say something wrong? Are you lonely? But you're not alone right now."

She pats his head and scratches behind his ear before pulling back, trying for an encouraging smile. "How about we play a game? Let's play, Cloud." The shortening of his 'name' happens naturally, with barely a thought about it. It feels right... and she just wants to get him excited and happy again.

He shuffles closer into her when she turns into him, curling his body so it fits hers better. He's sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry and it's too late. Far, far too late. Her touch is soothing but the guilt has opened up the wound over his heart wide and it's gaping. Too slow, too late, too weak. She says his name and he knows he's bothering her, worrying her. It's not right for him to make her upset. Not when she's finally got sunshine and more flowers than she could ever pick to fuss over. He's supposed to make sure she's happy while she's here, not sad. So he forces his way around the pain and he looks up at her with blue, blue eyes and a soft whine. Sorry. Again. Don't be worried. How can I make you happy?

Aerith shakes her head at the whine. "No, not that. Come on, up, up, up." She nudges with her arm, prompting him upward as she sits up herself. "I'm sorry, I can't understand you. But you don't need to be sad or sorry. We're both okay."

He sits up with her, tail curled politely around his feet. The movement jars a little, knocks the record that's stuck in a single groove off. It also knocks the crown off and the loss of the weight makes him have to shake, ears pitching up and forward. That helps too and he looks at her. Ocean blue eyes are still worried but there's a space in them now. Something that can hear that she's alive and happy and okay. She is. Right now is what really matters and he shifts his front feet, waiting.

[ Sorry if it seems abrupt, I'm just running low on ideas. D: ]

"Oh! I'll keep this safe." She picks up the crown, tucking it in her basket. "Now... the game is... who can find the most flowers! Not just any flower, though. We'll look for purple flowers."

(ooc. no problem at all. It's just one of those lazy, pointless, relax posts anyway. We can wrap it up just fine this way.)

His eyes narrow a little in concentration as she explains the game to him.

Finding flowers. Right. He can do that.

Luckily for him, wolf-Cloud isn't color blind. Or it would have made the game even more interesting. But he wants to see Aerith in full color and so his dream gives him eyes that can. His tail swishes hesitantly behind him and he gets to his feet.

He won't go far. That torn feeling is still in his chest. But he can find her flowers.

Purple's a strange color choice though and he wonders why she chose that one.

Doesn't matter. Aerith wants purple flowers. Tail starting to wag, head coming up a bit more, he'll make sure she gets her flowers. So with a duck of his head and a huff, he's suddenly off like a shot into the tall grass.

Cheating. Of course. Because he's going to find more flowers than her.

But he's also going to move in a circle around her, always keeping her in his senses as he carefully clips purple flowers with his teeth and carries them proudly back to lay them in her basket.

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003. the strength of the Wolf is the Pack

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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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