![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Quiet
Author: GW Katrina aka![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Beta:skeren
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Claim: Zack Fair
Themeset/Prompt: Ten Set 04, 07-Quiet for![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-community.gif)
story_arc
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,058
Link to Archive Post: Interconnected
Cloud...did not want to be here. He did not want to be doing this. Unless he had to, and on only one specific day of the year, Cloud tried not to even think of this place. Much less bring people he cared for here.
To bring Zack here....
If his friend hadn’t asked to come, Cloud could have happily avoided it. Not that he had expected otherwise. Aeris had been the reason they had been heading for Midgar, and it would have been stupid to expect anything other than a visit to the place where she had died. Didn’t mean he had to like it, though, when Zack had asked. But how was he supposed to say no, especially when Zack gave him a tired, sad look?
Answer was, well, he couldn’t, and when Zack had been able to convince his mother that he wouldn’t die instantly by riding out of Gongaga, they had packed up and started north. As Zack was still recovering, though doing better than before, they had taken their time, trying to make sure that everyone was doing okay. Zack wasn’t the only one. Cloud had worried enough over Yuffie the -first- time they had started going this far north, and it hadn’t gotten any easier the second time, though they were much better prepared this go around. Amazing what one could do by actually stopping at Bone Village and getting supplies. Especially this time of year, when fall and winter were starting to mingle.
The place...still looked as ghostly as ever. With the trees doing that weird thing of theirs, which was saying something, given what Cloud had seen before, it was easy to follow the path to the place the Ancients used to live. Those shell like homes were brilliant and white, and Cloud really did hate them. Coming here always seemed to lead to more hurt.
In any case, he made sure the chocobos were settled, and that they could pull reins and run if something attacked them, though Cloud wasn’t sure if he had -ever- seen a predator in these woods. Which made them different from about ninety percent of the rest of the world. Still, Cloud wasn’t going to risk the birds.
He could -feel- Zack fidget, but he didn’t, couldn’t, force himself to move any faster. This place still...hurt. It was here where he realized just how under Sephiroth’s control he was, even if he had fought off the threads that almost forced him to do something unimaginable. Even if it hadn’t saved Aeris in the end. He had just watched her die, right in front of him. Almost in arm’s reach.
Shaking himself mentally, Cloud scowled at himself. They were here for Zack, not for him to brood over it. One last check of the birds, and Cloud looked at them. Vincent or Yuffie could lead just as well, but Zack had asked Cloud. So Cloud would take him as far as he could.
It wasn’t hard to find the stairs, and he just...stopped. The water glowed, as much as everything here did, and he just couldn’t find it in himself to move forward.
Vincent rested a hand on his arm. “I’ll guide him from here.”
With a grateful look to his friend, Cloud then looked at Zack. “At the bottom of the stairs.”
With that, he walked away. He could stand by the pool and talk to Aeris while Zack was down here, saying goodbye.
///
Zack made his way down the odd stairs, as Cloud called them. The weren’t really stairs, but they worked like them, so Zack just went along with it. Vincent and Yuffie had stopped a bit further up, letting him have his privacy, but near enough they could still see him.
Cloud had gone...somewhere else. Not that Zack blamed him. It must have been hard, seeing what he had seen. It was hard, imagining it, and it made his heart hurt. Though Vincent said it appeared she didn’t have a chance to feel fear, to feel pain, it still hurt. Though Zack was happy that she didn’t. He remembered thinking he was going to die, how much it had -hurt-, feeling his lungs filling up with blood, everything going cold and numb. Never wanted that for anyone he cared about. Especially his girl.
Landing on the platform on the bottom, Zack looked at it quietly. In a way, this was the ending of two people for him. Not just Aeris, but Sephiroth as well.
Not that he was going to tell Cloud, but Zack could -almost- understand Nibelheim. Seph had been hurt in so many ways, for so long, that Zack expected him to have some sort of breakdown. He had been hoping that he could help contain it. Or, if he was lucky, head it off before it really began. Not that he had been able to do either, but he had expected it. Seph had died, and he and Cloud had ended up in the labs. Which gave him a -much- greater appreciation for what Seph must have gone through growing up.
This, though.... There was no reason for Sephiroth to -do- this. To stab a person, who had never done him harm, and just kill them. As much to torture Cloud as to deal with any threat she might possess. More late night talks with Vincent had led him to that idea.
Seph had never been bloodthirsty. He did what he had to do, and Zack had -never- seen him gloat over it. Never seen him take real pleasure at killing people unless they had been fighters and could really -fight-. Then he enjoyed it. But a single woman, who didn’t even know he was there, who had been so happy to see her friends.....
So, really, here two of the people he cared for died. Aeris, gods, he had failed her so bad by not being there. He might not have been able to do anything, but to leave that guilt on Cloud was bad. It hurt two of his people. Sephiroth....
The Seph he knew was dead. There was no way that the man he had called friend would have done this. Ever.
Standing there, in the quiet, Zack said his good-byes to the people he had lost here.
Author: GW Katrina aka
icedark_elfBeta:
skerenFandom: Final Fantasy VII
Claim: Zack Fair
Themeset/Prompt: Ten Set 04, 07-Quiet for
story_arcRating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,058
Link to Archive Post: Interconnected
Cloud...did not want to be here. He did not want to be doing this. Unless he had to, and on only one specific day of the year, Cloud tried not to even think of this place. Much less bring people he cared for here.
To bring Zack here....
If his friend hadn’t asked to come, Cloud could have happily avoided it. Not that he had expected otherwise. Aeris had been the reason they had been heading for Midgar, and it would have been stupid to expect anything other than a visit to the place where she had died. Didn’t mean he had to like it, though, when Zack had asked. But how was he supposed to say no, especially when Zack gave him a tired, sad look?
Answer was, well, he couldn’t, and when Zack had been able to convince his mother that he wouldn’t die instantly by riding out of Gongaga, they had packed up and started north. As Zack was still recovering, though doing better than before, they had taken their time, trying to make sure that everyone was doing okay. Zack wasn’t the only one. Cloud had worried enough over Yuffie the -first- time they had started going this far north, and it hadn’t gotten any easier the second time, though they were much better prepared this go around. Amazing what one could do by actually stopping at Bone Village and getting supplies. Especially this time of year, when fall and winter were starting to mingle.
The place...still looked as ghostly as ever. With the trees doing that weird thing of theirs, which was saying something, given what Cloud had seen before, it was easy to follow the path to the place the Ancients used to live. Those shell like homes were brilliant and white, and Cloud really did hate them. Coming here always seemed to lead to more hurt.
In any case, he made sure the chocobos were settled, and that they could pull reins and run if something attacked them, though Cloud wasn’t sure if he had -ever- seen a predator in these woods. Which made them different from about ninety percent of the rest of the world. Still, Cloud wasn’t going to risk the birds.
He could -feel- Zack fidget, but he didn’t, couldn’t, force himself to move any faster. This place still...hurt. It was here where he realized just how under Sephiroth’s control he was, even if he had fought off the threads that almost forced him to do something unimaginable. Even if it hadn’t saved Aeris in the end. He had just watched her die, right in front of him. Almost in arm’s reach.
Shaking himself mentally, Cloud scowled at himself. They were here for Zack, not for him to brood over it. One last check of the birds, and Cloud looked at them. Vincent or Yuffie could lead just as well, but Zack had asked Cloud. So Cloud would take him as far as he could.
It wasn’t hard to find the stairs, and he just...stopped. The water glowed, as much as everything here did, and he just couldn’t find it in himself to move forward.
Vincent rested a hand on his arm. “I’ll guide him from here.”
With a grateful look to his friend, Cloud then looked at Zack. “At the bottom of the stairs.”
With that, he walked away. He could stand by the pool and talk to Aeris while Zack was down here, saying goodbye.
Zack made his way down the odd stairs, as Cloud called them. The weren’t really stairs, but they worked like them, so Zack just went along with it. Vincent and Yuffie had stopped a bit further up, letting him have his privacy, but near enough they could still see him.
Cloud had gone...somewhere else. Not that Zack blamed him. It must have been hard, seeing what he had seen. It was hard, imagining it, and it made his heart hurt. Though Vincent said it appeared she didn’t have a chance to feel fear, to feel pain, it still hurt. Though Zack was happy that she didn’t. He remembered thinking he was going to die, how much it had -hurt-, feeling his lungs filling up with blood, everything going cold and numb. Never wanted that for anyone he cared about. Especially his girl.
Landing on the platform on the bottom, Zack looked at it quietly. In a way, this was the ending of two people for him. Not just Aeris, but Sephiroth as well.
Not that he was going to tell Cloud, but Zack could -almost- understand Nibelheim. Seph had been hurt in so many ways, for so long, that Zack expected him to have some sort of breakdown. He had been hoping that he could help contain it. Or, if he was lucky, head it off before it really began. Not that he had been able to do either, but he had expected it. Seph had died, and he and Cloud had ended up in the labs. Which gave him a -much- greater appreciation for what Seph must have gone through growing up.
This, though.... There was no reason for Sephiroth to -do- this. To stab a person, who had never done him harm, and just kill them. As much to torture Cloud as to deal with any threat she might possess. More late night talks with Vincent had led him to that idea.
Seph had never been bloodthirsty. He did what he had to do, and Zack had -never- seen him gloat over it. Never seen him take real pleasure at killing people unless they had been fighters and could really -fight-. Then he enjoyed it. But a single woman, who didn’t even know he was there, who had been so happy to see her friends.....
So, really, here two of the people he cared for died. Aeris, gods, he had failed her so bad by not being there. He might not have been able to do anything, but to leave that guilt on Cloud was bad. It hurt two of his people. Sephiroth....
The Seph he knew was dead. There was no way that the man he had called friend would have done this. Ever.
Standing there, in the quiet, Zack said his good-byes to the people he had lost here.
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First Cloud issues, then Zack issues.
*brain leaks out ears*
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It's never fun saying "Goodbye"...