Jyleth brushed herself off, using cure materia to heal the wounds she had received from the arena. She had not received any serious damage this challenge, and it seemed like Dio had been rather upset with the way his dice were rolling.
"You were lucky today," Dio announced, coming up behind her. She turned to face him, smiling slightly when he took a step back.
"Because you rolled the same limitation three times?" She asked sweetly.
"That is very rare," he admitted, "but you did fight wonderfully. The crowd really like the new outfit." Jyleth scowled at him, remembering the whistles and raunchy comments of appreciation made when she had entered the arena. "You will keep wearing it, yes?"
Why not? I can deal with catcalls. "I'll think about it," she replied coolly, turning away from him and resuming her course to her room.
She took her meal in her rooms, sitting on the window ledge and staring out across the vast desert as she ate. He's out there, she thought to herself, all alone, for the first time in over a decade. Perhaps longer. She wasn't sure how long Jenova had been talking to Sephiroth before he had come for her on the cliffs. It was possible she had been speaking to him his entire life. How was he going to handle not sharing his mind with another?
He's probably relieved to not have a perpetual headache for the first time in years… she thought with a smile. For once, his mind was truly and completely his own - now, perhaps, the true Sephiroth could emerge. Will the real Sephiroth please step forward?
Even with the humor, her thoughts still held worry, worry of the unknown, and what the unknown could do to Sephiroth.
Cid swore under his breath as another branch slapped him in the face. Barret was muttering under his breath as well, but it had nothing to do with branches slapping him in the face. They bent easily around the big man's frame, snapping back into place immediately after the big man passed, usually just in time to catch Cid squarely in the face. The pilot surreptitiously wiped his hand across his cheek to check for blood, scowling when his hand came away clean. It sure felt like there should have been blood there.
"We could be on the beach, lazing about," Cid said loudly enough for Barret to hear. "We could be in tavern at Bone Village, pinching some pretty bar wench's bottom. We could even be back on the Highwind, enjoying a good smoke. But, no, we have to go tromping through some forsaken, wild, uninviting dark forest to find two layabouts who have very bad timing when their need for `alone time' strikes them."
"You's just upset cause you's didn't bring enough cigarettes," Barret grumbled back at him, pushing another branch aside. Cid managed to duck before that one hit him. And proceeded to be slapped in the face by another the moment he straightened.
"That's enough, damn it!" Cid exclaimed, stopping in his tracks. "I've had enough of this Cetra-forsaken forest. I'm going back. Those two fools can take care of themselves." He didn't wait for Barret's reply as he turned crisply on his heels and began heading in the other direction. He didn't get one step, however, as he ran straight into a very solid…body. Cid let a yelp and stumbled back a few steps, whipping his spear into fighting position. He started to step slightly to the side so that Barret could take up a position next to him, then suddenly realized who he was facing.
"Damn you, Vincent, why didn't you say anything?" Vincent raised an eyebrow at the question, standing there looking very innocent, yet Cid suspected that the raised red collar was hiding a smirk.
"Do you realize we've been right behind you for the past hour?" Nanaki said, stepping from behind Vincent. "I thought you two were seasoned warriors. You would be two very dead, well-seasoned warriors if we had been Sephiroth."
Cid looked at Nanaki, then at Vincent, then back to Nanaki. Muttering harsh curses under his breath, he shoved past the two of them and headed back the way they had come. Barret stood there looking at them as well, confusion dominating the emotions scattering across his face.
"Well, why didn't ya say something?" Barret finally demanded, "that wasn't real nice of ya to let us keep walkin' and searchin' when you was right there all along. Why did ya do that, Vincent?"
"You two seemed to be enjoying your walk, so…" Vincent trailed off, shrugging again. Barret growled something unintelligable, then shoved past them and stomped after Cid. Vincent glanced at the red cat-like creature, who was making a rather odd noise and shaking his head.
"If I didn't know better," Vincent said, "I would think you were laughing."
"Oh, I am laughing," Nanaki said, looking up at Vincent with what could only be a grin on his face. "You were right that those two couldn't find something if it was standing behind them, but still…" He shook he head again, then started after the two disgruntled members of their party. Vincent followed, both moving as silently as they had been for the past hour while following Cid and Barret.
"The ocean is really quite beautiful, don't you think, Cloud?" Tifa gazed out at the blue waves, standing barefoot with her toes hidden under the frothy surf. Cloud sat several feet behind her, reclining in the sun and soaking in the heat just out of the surf's reach.
"It is nice, I suppose," he answered after a moment's contemplation.
"Maybe we could move the school to some place next to the ocean," Tifa said, wriggling her toes in the wet sand. "Someplace new. Start a whole new town, completely virgin from Shin-ra's influences."
"Leave Nibleheim?" Cloud asked. "You can't be serious. It's… home… We can't leave our home."
"I am serious, Cloud," Tifa answered, turning to face him. "I mean, look at this place. It's beautiful, and full of life. I remember watching the sunrise at Costa Del Sol. I could live my entire life watching sunrises like that and never get tired of it."
Cloud stared up at her, as if she had just suggested they kill their firstborn child. "I don't want to move," he said finally, surprised to see the seriousness in her expression. "Niblebheim is my home, and yours, too. It's Aaron's and Zakira's home as well. We can't uproot them like that."
Tifa walked to him, plopping herself down in the sand beside him. "Children adjust very quickly. Aaron would love the sun - and eventually, teaching his little sister to swim. And the school could have more space and… well, we could actually have real recreation days, instead of just days off from the work. A vacation spot just a short walk away."
"Starting a new town, if even small for the purposes of the school, would be hard. And, remember, most people in Nibleheim make their living off the school. If we moved, most of them would be out of jobs, or forced to follow us. We can't ask that of them. It's not fair. And, I like the mountains. I don't want to leave them."
"Hmph," Tifa responded, turning her gaze back to the ocean, "I still think you should think about it. I really like the idea. Nibleheim is too dark. Perhaps it would be best if the town was left to fall into shambles. Some memories are best forgotten, not lived through."
Cloud scowled. He didn't like the idea of leaving Nibleheim at all. He was sure that Tifa was just speaking in the moment, due to the sheer beauty and change of the ocean and the crystal white sand of the beach. He was sure she would forget this foolishness once they returned to Nibleheim and she settled in with her - their - children. Odd, even after 3 years, he had a hard time seeing himself as a father. And seeing them as his children. He closed his eyes tightly, shutting away those feelings. He had just been away too long, he was sure, such ideas did not usually come to him. He hadn't been away from his children for this long since they were born.
"Cloud, what is that?" Tifa asked. Something about her voice set him on edge. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction she was pointing. Suddenly he was very alert, scanning the dark shape that was moving from the ocean toward them. At the same time, he caught a movement from the shore line. It appeared to be…one of the people of Bone Village, one of the archaeologists, but he couldn't tell due to the heat distortion from the sand.
He quickly scrambled to his feet, unconciously holding his hand out to Tifa to help her up while he quickly mentally scanned through his inventory of materia. He had seven master materia on him, three of which were summons. He smiled tightly. Whatever monster was approaching them, it was going to find them more difficult prey than it thought.
"Why now?" Tifa asked, pulling herself up beside him. "I remember the villagers speaking of a giant monster terrorizing the coast, but why now? We've been here all morning."
"Perhaps he could tell us," Cloud said, indicating to the figure down the beach from them. Tifa followed his gaze and frowned.
"It isn't heading for us, is it?" Her voice was quiet, worry inserting itself strongly into her words.
"No," he answered. One more look at the monster, which seemed to have picked up its pace, and Cloud took off down the beach at a dead run, realizing he might already be too late. Tifa sprinted after him, coming to the same realization. The moment the monster was close enough for magic, Tifa launched a lightning spell at it, trying to get its attention focused away from the villager and toward them. The lightning spell felt short a few feet - she had misjudged the range - but the monster did change direction.
Cloud slid to a halt as it came charging out of the surf at them, drawing his Ultima blade and motioning for Tifa to take a place at his left. Tifa moved off quickly, casting another spell as she did. This time, her fire spell was well within its range. The monster- which appeared to be nothing more than a standard sea-dragon, if a little large - screamed in fury as half its body was engulfed with flames. Cloud didn't wait for it to recover, instead, he charged at slashed at the creature's neck, severing its head from it's body in one quick movement. The monster immediately dissipated, its animating force having fled, leaving behind a nominal amount of gil. Cloud gathered up some of the larger pieces, letting the smaller ones drift back into the surf.
"That was easy," Tifa said, watching the gil float way.
"Well, of course it was," Cloud said, sheathing the Ultima blade. Cleaning the blade wasn't necessary, as blood or other fluids simply fizzled off the moment they came in contact with it. "We are seasoned warriors; there is very little that is an actual danger to us. You know that. Even you could defeat the Midgar Zolom, by yourself, even."
Tifa scowled at him slightly, deep in thought. "But if this was all that was bothering them, then why couldn't they dispatch it?"
"This wasn't what was bothering us," a new voice said from behind them. They both jumped and whirled in the direction of the new threat. "Whoa whoa," the man said, holding up his hands submissively, "I'm no monster."
"You were what it was attacking, however," Tifa pointed out. "Why?"
"Well," the man said, shifting uneasily under her gaze. "We kinda have a theory about it."
"I thought Sephiroth destroyed the monster that was bothering you," Cloud said, cutting off what the man's theory was.
"Well, he did, I told you, that wasn't what was attacking-"
"More likely, he was responsible for what was attacking your village and the ships," Cloud said, interrupting the man again. "So it would be easy for him to just send it away, and claim that he killed it."
"Well, yes, but you see, Allic - he's the innkeeper, you know, he saw them kill it. Before his very eyes, he did see them kill it." The man swiped off his hat to run his hand nervously through his hair, the quickly replaced the hat again.
"Allic saw them," Cloud stated bluntly. The villager nodded vigorously. "Sephiroth and this … woman, who is accompanying him." Again, the vigorous nod.
"It was a big creature, many times bigger and meaner than the one you just dispatched - might I say you did a very good job - but they killed it. Left a real big whole in the beach, too, from some mighty powerful magic they used."
"You said you had a theory about why the monster was attacking just the villagers?" Tifa said, after a hasty look at Cloud's increasingly darkening face.
"No, ma'am, I mean yes, I mean. There's been more than one, and you see we think…uh… some of us, we handled - just touched, mind you - those artifacts that came from the ruined city. We think.. that they might have left at … taint on us, you see, and that the monsters are honing in on that. We thought we were clean, after Sephiroth killed that big one, but, just a week after they left, more showed up again. None of us can approach the beach without getting attacked anymore. At least, though, no more big ones."
"What were you doing, on the beach?" Cloud asked in a quiet, dangerous voice.
"I, uh, I head that there was some wreckage on the shore and I, um, was going to see if there was anything to salvage." He gestured down the beach, at a pile of driftwood that might have been a boat once.
"Let's go, Tifa," Cloud said, turning his back to the man.
"Cloud, don't you think we should-"
"I think we should go, Tifa," Cloud said loudly over her protest. Tifa sighed, gave the nervous villager one last look, then jogged after Cloud.
"They are being attacked because they despoiled the Ancient's city," Cloud said once she caught up. "I don't know if we should do anything to help them"
"But Cloud, he said that they just touched the stuff, not that they took or sold any of it. They are innocent, ignorant, perhaps, but still innocent."
"Do you think he would really admit if they looted the city themselves?" Cloud demanded harshly, his ice blue eyes meeting hers with Mako intensity. Tifa shivered and looked away. His eyes owned glowed when he was very angry, or very… she blushed slightly, looking away. Well. No time for thinking about that.
"Well, it doesn't seem like they are being attacked in the village," she admitted. "Just that they can't try to leave. So I guess they can wait until we deal with…" She trailed off, not wanting to say his name.
"Sephiroth," Cloud said darkly, finishing her sentence. "We have to accept that he's back, and that's it's for real. I don't want this any more than you do, but we have to finish it, and, this time, I'm not stopping until I've burned his body to ashes and scattered them to the four winds."
Tifa nodded, saying "Maybe Cid could build you a rocket and you could send them to outer space, too." She had meant it as a facetious comment, but Cloud took the suggestion seriously.
"I'll have to ask him, when the time comes." Tifa sighed quietly, looking back at the retreating ocean, wishing she had had more time to gaze at the waves, and more time alone with her husband. It had seemed like a such a romantic setting. She sighed again, then realized she had stopped walking, and that Cloud was nearly out of sight. She quickly jogged after him again, irritated at herself for falling into a reverie. Now was not the time. She had to be strong, if not for herself, then for her husband.
“For goodness sake, Faen, can’t you keep your hair under control?” The speaker, a woman stepped into Jyleth’s view. “At least Olaji shows he can use his brain as well as his body.” Olaji gracefully stepped back into a bow from his fighting stance, sheathing his weapon as he did so. He gave the woman a curt bow. Faen leaned on his staff, peering at the woman through his unruly hair.
“That’s it!” She said in utter annoyance at his continued display of disarray. “Faen, get back to the barracks. When you get there, find a pair of scissors and cut your hair! And don’t come back to fighting practice until you do! NOW!! GO!!” The woman’s blue eyes nearly glowed with fury as she spat out the last words. Faen looked about the argue, but when he pushed the errant hair back once more and saw her the intensity of her gaze, he quickly changed his mind and took his leave of the clearing.
At the woman’s mention of barracks, Jyleth hoped she had indeed come across fighters from Cloud’s Academy. It would be easier to simply deliver the message from Bone Village to them rather than entering the town proper. Even though she had no reason to believe that Cloud was currently in town, or that he would yet know of her well enough to recognize her immediately on sight, she was still leery of being so close the sworn enemy of Sephiroth.
How did Aeris expect Sephiroth to ever win his forgiveness?
Rising from her crouch, Jyleth made her way to the clearing, making no attempt at stealth. The woman and the remaining fighter noticed her almost immediately. They watched her approach with interest, taking in her apparel and weapons with obvious sly amusement. Jyleth immediately regretted not changing into more rustic clothing for travel. Dio’s selection of clothing, while flattering, was hardly something for an unknown fighter to gain respect while wearing.
“Come to join the Academy?” The woman asked when Jyleth was within easy talking distance. The smile hadn’t left the woman’s face. To Jyleth, it seemed more like a smirk.
“Join?” Jyleth asked incredulously. Well, so her clothes didn’t look the part, but surely she still looked somewhat, somewhat…fighter-ish.
“Well, yes, that is what you came here for, right?” The woman continued. “Or did you think you would be immediately made into a teacher?”
“I didn’t come here to teach or be taught,” Jyleth snapped at the woman, becoming annoyed at the woman’s demeaning manner.
“Oh-ho! Then, you think you must be a grand fighter,” the woman said before Jyleth could continue. “Certainly well above the teaching of the Academy.”
Jyleth suppressed the urge to use her staff to remove the condescending smile off the woman’s face. Barely.
“Maybe she could show us what a great fighter she is,” Olaji said.
“What a splendid idea, Olaji!” The woman agreed. “Would you be so kind as to…?”
“I’d be delighted.” Olaji answered the hanging question.
“And do I get a say in this?” Jyleth asked, backing away a step from Olaji. He continued to grin at her, having not even placed his hands on the hilt of his weapon.
“Surely you want to prove your ability?” The woman inquired innocently. Of course, that was exactly what Jyleth wanted to do, but…Oh, why not, play into their trick, she thought, mildly bitter she hadn’t been instantly recognized as a fighter of some skill. They could really use a lesson in humility.
“I enjoy a good spar,” Jyleth finally said, stepping back and bringing her staff up in a ready position. Olaji placed on hand on the hilt of his sword, drawing it out in a single smooth motion. Jyleth might have been impressed if she hadn’t seen a far superior warrior execute the same motion with a perfection that no other could touch. Olaji offered her a slight bow, a gesture Jyleth gracefully mirrored.
The moment Jyleth straightened from her bow, Olaji sprang into motion, flying at her in a single leap and swing his sword down in a magnificent arc at her throat. The movement, while impressive, was laughably easy to deflect. But Jyleth did not even need to raise her staff to change the path of the blade. She saw clearly that the angle of the blade would bring it several inches from her throat. Olaji was testing her, seeing if she would react like any other rookie he had encountered, crying out and bringing up her weapon in a blind defense.
Jyleth took a second to savor the look of surprise on his face before sweeping her staff under Olaji’s feet, knocking him heavily to the ground. There was a satisfying whoosh as the air got knocked out of his lungs.
“I’m sorry, perhaps I misunderstood,” Jyleth said lightly, offering her hand to Olaji, “I thought we were sparring, not playing intimidation games.” Olaji glared at her, casting a quick glance at his instructor. She was scowling deeply at him, jerking her head a in curt nod. He quickly turned his eyes back to Jyleth, taking her offered hand.
“Shall we try again?” Jyleth asked with a smile, stepping back into a ready position. Olaji didn’t answer, but he moved into a ready stance as well, the anger not leaving his eyes.
This time, Jyleth did not wait for an attack. She moved forward, covering the ground between in them in two quick steps. Executing a series of quick jabs with her staff, she put him immediately on the defensive. Olaji took a few steps back to recover, then quickly launched his own attack, showing that his arrogance was not completely wasted in his opinion of his skill. Even so, he was not nearly the challenge to Jyleth as her last human fighter, and she found herself enjoying the dance, even if she was leading.
After a few minutes of sparring, with neither scoring any hits, Jyleth rapped her staff across his hands sharply, disarming him. He jumped back, biting his lip to suppress a cry of pain.
“Well,” the woman said, “so you have some skill.” Even with her admittance, her eyes still showed amusement. “We’ll have to fix your attire, but you may join the Academy.”
“I did not come to join the Academy,” Jyleth reasserted, wishing the woman would believe her. “I came here to deliver a message.”
“Oh really?” Now the woman was clearly interested. “From whom?”
“Bone Village,” Jyleth answered, relieved she had finally gotten to the point of her venture.
“Really? What do they want?” The woman motioned for Olaji to recover his weapon. He did so, although gingerly, clearing still favoring his hands. Jyleth sighed, turning her attention fully to him.
“Did I break any bones?” Jyleth asked him, looking at his hands.
“I’m fine,” he said.
“Let me see,” she insisted, reaching for his hands. He tried to pull them away, but she moved too quickly for him to avoid. Jyleth examined each hand carefully, and, upon finding each sound, if a little bruised, released them. “It was a good spar,” she said to him.
“Who are you?” The woman finally asked, for once seeming to question her initial assumption of Jyleth being a spoiled rich brat who knew nothing of fighting.
“My name is Jyleth,” Jyleth answered. “And I am simply a traveler.”
“I am Travena.” The woman seemed to be almost abashed. “I’m sorry for my initial rude treatment. It is our edict that all who seek to join the Academy have their humility… ah… well-instilled upon their entry. Headmaster Strife believes that arrogance in abundance leads to a quick death.”
“That is a sound policy,” Jyleth replied, smiling. “I should remember that at times, especially when choosing what I wear, shouldn’t I?”
“Well,” Travena answered, “I shouldn’t be one to judge. You aren’t a trainee.”
“Here,” Jyleth took the letter from Bone Village from her pack. It looked rather battered and abused. She handed it to Travena quickly. “Sorry for the condition, it’s been a long… journey.”
Travena took the message, but didn’t open it. “Thank you for delivering it,” she said. “Well, I better get back to town. I think I might owe you a dinner,” Travena continued. “Would you care to join us? I would like to know where you were taught. I don’t recognize your style.”
Jyleth considered Travena’s offer. It was only mid-morning, and she still had Nibelheim pass to get through. However, she had to pass by the town anyway, although she had planned on skirting the town.
“I am headed to the pass,” Jyleth finally said, “and I would like to make it through before night falls.”
“Well, we will at least walk you at least as far as the foot of the pass,” Travena said, “I know the best way to get there from here. It will save you the time of having to got through the town.”
“I would appreciate that,” Jyleth answered earnestly.
Travena, true to her word, guided Jyleth to the foot of Nibelheim. They made much better time than Jyleth had planned, something she was very grateful for. The need to get to Rocket Town had been increasing ever since she had left the Golden Saucer. Travena and Jyleth had made some small talk during the walk to the pass, but Jyleth had held back from the more probing questions Travena had offered. Travena hadn’t pushed, sensing Jyleth’s need for privacy, but her curiosity was clearly piqued.
“Should you ever pass by again,” Travena said as they parted, “please come by and say hello. Perhaps you will have more time on your hands then.”
“I will, and perhaps!” Jyleth said, having to raise her voice as she was already swiftly moving up the path. Did Aeris interfere again? Jyleth wondered as she made her way long the trail. Or is Travena truly interested in speaking to me again? I wonder what she would say if she knew I was taught in part by Sephiroth?