onepassingnight | 001 - A Passing Storm

A dream without Charles is a rare thing, but she has his essence with him. She's stretched out on the lawn, his cat curled up next to her stomach and purring loudly. As she looks up in the sky, the clouds form the distinct shape of people she's known. The dark clouds are Charles' mother and step-father. Her own parents. Everyone she's always been afraid has ever wanted to hurt her or Erik. But then the skies lighten and she can see the good people, too. She can see the professors who all thought Charles was a little odd, but who recognized his brilliance, she can see the young man who always asks her for a cup of coffee when she picks up the newspaper. They're all there for her to see.

Soon, the clouds are changing into other people and things. She watches as a purple dragon chases a blue butterfly through the clouds. They slide in and out of the other clouds and she's sure she even hears the dragon roar, though she could be mistaken by that. She must be mistaken by that. She must also be mistaken when the dragon begins to look a lot more like Cain than any animal. She curls her hand a little in the kitten's fur when the dragon starts flying lower and lower and closer to her. Does he mean to eat her? Is that to be her punishment for abandoning him in favor of Charles? The clouds start to darken again and the wind begins to howl. Lightning cracks against the sky and her hand tightens even more.

And then, just like that, the dragon/Cain catches the butterfly and swishes away again. Her hand eases as the skies turn back to normal. When she finally lets go, she's shocked out of her reverie by the kitten pouncing on her stomach. Before she can do anything about it, the kitten runs off.

She gets up after a minute and follows in the direction of the kitten, calling after her. "Blueberry. Blueberry!" She's not sure what she'll do if the kitten's run off somewhere, especially since it's her fault for hurting the poor thing. Relief floods her when she sees the kitten sitting by the door as if she was just waiting for someone to let her in. She's licking down the spots of fur she can reach that are still sticking up from Raven's tight grip. It takes her a moment to realize that Blueberry is not alone.

"Oh, hello."

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"Mm."

The low throat sound is accompanied by a shake of his head. It's raining outside and there's nothing in him that wants to be on the road in weather like that. But even if it was sunny still, he'd stay. She asked and while he has no idea why, there's something in her tone that sounds almost scared. He doesn't mind sticking around as support. His gloved hand rests on the box.

"You want me to open it?"

"If you wouldn't mind?" Raven feels a little silly, asking a complete stranger to do that. There could be anything inside, but that's a part of the problem. She can't seem to remember who the package is from or what she might have ordered and the labeling doesn't seem to show anything on the outside. She can't imagine that it would be anything sensitive. No blue-skinned, red-haired voodoo dolls inside. No...what would there be for Charles?

Still, she'll feel safer if there's someone else doing the opening and the looking inside.

A shake of his head and there's even the touch of a smile at the very edges of his mouth. Helping people out is kind of his thing. He may not be so good at the important things anymore but he's still good for the little things like this. His house key makes short work of the tape on the package. Careful to station himself so the bulk of his body is between her and whatever he's about to let out, he still leaves her room to see what's going on. He's aware it's probably going to be something bad or dangerous given her reactions of quiet nervousness but considering what he's used to facing, he can't imagine anything in the box that he can't handle fairly easily. He still flips open the top of the box furthest from himself first in case anything comes leaping out. Nothing does and he opens the rest of the flaps to expose what's inside.

Nothing. There's nothing inside. Raven takes the box from the man's hand and turns it upside down, just to make sure that she's seeing things correctly. Nothing, not even a note, falls out. "I'm...sorry," she says slowly. There's a heavy amount of confusion in her voice because she still has no idea what's going on and, the more she knows, the less it all makes sense. It's like some kind of dream and she keeps expecting to wake up. "I suppose this must be someone's idea of a practical joke. Usually, the joker actually takes credit for it, though.

"Stupid joke." It's a calm judgement and he gently takes the box from her to check under the bottom flaps to make sure nothing's gotten lodged under there. There's nothing though. "Waste of gil too." He gets paid when he picks up the package, not when he delivers it. So somebody paid him good money to deliver an empty box. "Maybe they got distracted and thought they'd already put it inside."

He's seen stranger.

Looking over at the girl, he pauses a moment and then adds: "I know who's still going to be happy you got it." A nod toward the kitten follows. He's not a pet person and even he's heard about cats and their addictions to boxes and bags.

Near panic eases a bit as she turns around at his nod and sees Blueberry approaching them with interest. "You're right, of course. She'll love it. I just wish I knew who it was from." She shakes her head and takes a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. There's nothing she can do about it now. She offered the man her hand. "Well, I do appreciate your indulging my paranoia. I'm Raven. Raven Xavier."

She might as well introduce herself if the man was going to think her entirely mad.

Cloud sets the box down on the floor sideways for the kitten and then straightens up to take the offered hand. She looks to bright to be a Raven but he's hardly one to make calls on names. His handshake is firm.

"Cloud Strife." A pause and then the offer: "Most people are only paranoid if they've got a good reason to be. I can turn down any other deliveries I get for her if you want."

"I…" Raven has to think about it for a moment and finally shakes her head. "No. No, as much as I'm worried, it wouldn't be fair to Charles to completely stop deliveries. There are things he needs, sometimes. Books and the like and I want to make sure he can still get them. I'm probably being foolish. I don't know anyone who'd want to hurt us anyway." There's no one who really knows who she is except for her parents and Charles' brother. The former don't know where she is and the latter… Well, she's not sure she could stop him if he wanted to hurt her. Or Charles.

He has his doubts about whether she knows anyone that wanted to hurt her. You didn't worry about boxes if you thought you were safe. He's not going to ask though. If she needs him, she'll tell him and until then it's not his business. With a soft sound, he gives a hum to show he's heard.

"I'll pay more attention to who's giving me the box if I see this address show up again. That way at least you'll know who it's from."

"Thank you." Raven's smile gets a little wider at his words. "You don't have to do that, but it's nice that you're willing to. It makes me feel a little more comfortable knowing that someone's looking out for me." She's always been the one looking out for other people. It's odd having someone who wants to do it for her. "Can I get you a cup of tea? Coffee? I have to thank you in some way."

It's a good smile and it makes him feel better. Taking care of people makes him feel better, even if he's not so good at it. He makes a mental note to backtrack this delivery since he should have the receipt in his office - until he remembers he's not going home anymore.

And he can't call Tifa to ask.

"Tea sounds nice." It was his last delivery of the day and he's got nothing to hurry back to. Not anymore. If she'll keep the loneliness at bay, he's not going to turn down her offer. "Thanks."

Decision made to trust him even farther into the house, she bundles him up like he's Charles. "Come on, then." She smiles broadly at him and makes her way into the kitchen, expecting him to follow her without hesitation. Once there, she pours some water onto the tea kettle and places it on the stove. Once that's done, she turns back to him. She has absolutely no idea what to talk about, but she'll figure out some common ground.

"All I know about you is your name and where you work, though I suppose all you know about me is my name and that I'm worried someone might have sent something dangerous here."

001 - A Passing Storm

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