Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Stargazers ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

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Stargazers

Chapter Four

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His back hurt. His neck was stiff. He wanted nothing other than more time to dedicate to sleeping. However, after he first woke up in the morning, it was guaranteed that he wouldn't manage to fall back into that nice black void.

Stretching his arms out at his sides, Cloud sat up, vaguely wondering around what time it was. There was a morning mist dampening everything around the small camp area, and just enough light in the sky to hint that it was a little later then when he normally rose, which was of no surprise, really, since he had stayed up more than rather late the night before.

The next thing he noticed came with seeing that Zacks wasn't in sight, and hearing a 'thwack' from somewhere a distance behind him. He stood, and headed over towards where the sound had come from, stepping over a moss-laden log and sideling up to a tree as the source of the sound came into view.

Zacks, who had apparently managed to get up without rousing him- something notoriously difficult to do, as he was quite a light sleeper-, was currently exorcising some swordplay or another, and not minding a few extra bruises the tree before him received in the process. He was fast- breathtakingly so. Cloud found himself wishing he knew how to wield a sword- not because he wanted to fight, but rather because he wanted the ability to protect, whether it be himself or someone else. He hated the sensation of being too weak and having to rely on others- the only one who should have to worry about him should be himself.

"So…exactly how late did you stay up last night, anyway?"

"Oh-! Um…" Cloud had been completely oblivious to the fact that Zacks had been aware he was there, and even more so to the fact that he had known that Cloud had opted to being rather nocturnal the night previous.

"Heh, don't pull another all-nighter, you hear? While lightning's real fun to play with and all, its not a good idea when you've been traveling around all day with more weight than your used to, have to do so again early in the morning, and haven't had a decent sleep that wasn't unnaturally induced for two nights beforehand."

Zacks turned, twirling the blade and swinging it over his shoulder while giving Cloud a wink accompanied by his Cheshire grin. Cloud's eyes followed the seemingly natural movement of the weapon briefly, before darting to look elsewhere.

"…I could teach you, y'know…"

"Huh?"

"How to use a sword- you're interested, aren't you? Sword fighting's my forte- it'd be easy to teach you."

Cloud blinked. Sometimes, Zacks made him feel like an open book. He nodded, and stepped away from the tree as Zacks motioned for him to come closer.

"This is too heavy for you to train with, but I can show you how to hold it and let you mess around with it before we set off- here, go on, take a hold of it-"

He handed it over, and Cloud immediately felt how it weighed much more than it looked like- especially with the way Zacks could easily throw it around, while he had to stiffly hold its hilt with both hands.

"Now y'gotta hold it right-" He stood behind Cloud and reached around him, wrapping his hands over the blonde's to show him how to hold it properly, making him jump, "For chrissakes, kid, loosen up your shoulders, you can't move a sword if you can't move your own arms."

After a moment, Zacks, pulled away, much to Cloud's relief. He wasn't very amiable towards close contact. He pulled the sword to the side, and lightly moved it through the air, then repeated it, letting the momentum carry it a bit faster.

"...Y'know what? We'll get you a sword soon as we get to that outpost- if we pick up the pace, we'll be able to get there with a decent amount of time before it gets dark- one of the best blacksmiths you can find is notorious for hanging out there."

Cloud handed back the sword, and followed Zacks back towards where their small camping area was to grab their things and move out.

::*::

They trotted along in the bright light of the midday sun, having exited the woods. Travel thus far was uneventful, and as of current the two were both silent, enjoying the beauty of the day.

Or at least Cloud would have been, if his focus weren't on something else at the moment. He had fallen a few steps behind Zacks, and was currently alternating working on controlling the sparks he created in his hand, and feeding them to make them larger. Although, for the past fifteen minutes or so, he noticed that doing so was beginning to make him feel a bit dizzy whenever he put his developing skill into use- Cloud had decided to ignore it, blaming it on fatigue from his lack of sleep. This however, turned out not to be such a smart idea, as he soon found out from his knees suddenly buckling and the world suddenly deciding to spin much, much faster.

Thankfully, it soon stopped- or at least, he was pretty sure it was soon. For a moment his mind had seemed to leave reality, and he wasn't quite sure if only a second had passed or ten minutes. He did know however, that he was now currently staring up into the concerned face of one very gorgeous Zacks, who had apparently caught him, as his arms were wrapped securely around the small blonde and were the only things keeping his back form having a rather rough meeting with the ground.

"Hey, hey- you alright there, Spike?"

Cloud found himself blushing, and in a flustered manner, scrambled to regain his own balance, practically jumping out of his arms, "Of course- I'm fine, I'm- …what'd you call me?"

Zacks grinned, "Spike. I find it rather fitting…"

"Don't call me that."

"Why not, kid? It's a perfect nickname."

"…Don't call me 'kid' either."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Spike."

At this point, Zack's grin had broadened ridiculously, and Cloud just silently fumed, choosing to ignore it. He then shook his head lightly and mentally checked to make sure he really had his bearings gathered. He still felt a bit off, and the whole collapsing thing wasn't an assuring sign.

"…You've been using magic too much, is what it is, I'll bet over anything else. If you exhaust your inner resources, you'll find your body won't take it too well. Especially when you're already wearing yourself out- casting magic takes a lot of stamina too, y'know. No more messing around with lightning for a while, alright?"

"…Oh." That would explain it, wouldn't it? Honestly, his subconscious had an inkling of thought that it might have been something of the sort, but he it hadn't ever talked about limits in the few magic books he had, and didn't really want to think that he had to set it aside for a while. He always got anxious when he wasn't doing something important- they were walking, yes, but he felt he should be multitasking- whenever there was time to take a breather, he always felt as though he shouldn't be and that he would regret it later. "…How long is a while?"

"However long I damn well tell you, alright? I swear, you'd work yourself to death if you could- good thing I showed up to teach you how to chill, eh Spike?" He grinned.

"…I said, don't call me that," he replied as they started moving again. However, to Cloud's annoyance, it only made his grin grow wider.

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"…What do you mean, not here? Where the hell is he?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but he had business to deal with in Overlin. He left just a week ago; I wouldn't expect him back anytime soon."

Zacks rolled his eyes- perfect. "Well, we didn't really have time to hang around for him to forge a real quality sword anyway, I suppose, but he'd know for sure which would fit best. What've ya got around?"

They had reached the outpost a little after noon, and had come upon the shop of the blacksmith Zacks had been speaking of, only to find he wasn't there. Instead the shop had been left in the care of a friend blacksmith, who was, Zacks had apparently deemed, no where near up to par with who he expected. It was alright, of course, because they hadn't planned on having a new sword made- Zacks had said he would grow out of this first one too quickly to bother- but the fellow they had been expecting apparently had a perfect sense of just what sword was right for whom.

The blacksmith lead them over to where a variety of already crafted weapons were, and waved his hand past them, "Take your pick, s'all for sale."

Zacks sighed, "Alright then- go back to whatever you were doing while we try a few out, will ya? Sheesh." He then turned to Cloud, looking him over.

Cloud stood with his arms folded, glancing around self-consciously as Zacks's gaze flittered back and forth between him and the various swords.

"I've got a pretty good idea…well, we'll see-" He paused a moment, and picked out three swords, about the same size in length, though their hilts and blades were crafted differently and, as Cloud soon found from being handed two of them, their weights differed as well. "Pick whichever strikes your fancy and we'll start with that one."

Cloud handed back the one in his left hand, moving about the one in his right. It was amazingly easier to handle than the one Zacks owned, though still awkward.

"S'enough, s'enough, now try the other one."

And so he did, without much result. This one was thinner than the other, easier to move about, but for some reason or another, he didn't feel as comfortable with it. Perhaps the heavier weight gave a better sense of security, or something. "I don't think I like this one…"

"Alright then, give this one a go…" Zacks handed him the last sword, which was a bit thinner than the first one, but also a bit longer, so the weight was about the same. It liked the way it had the same heftiness to it, but seemed to cut through the air easier, and found the slightest of smiles tugging at him from the inside. "…Y'like that one, doncha? I like it too. There we go then- don't need to feel any of the others again? Didn't think so. C'mon then, let's get it and go."

Cloud blinked- Zacks was, apparently, rather good at spitting out five sentences in the time period it normally took someone to say one, and he was already being ushered back to the front of the shop.

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The two had wandered around, browsing and restocking food. There were several more ambitious merchants getting in the way of those passing by, and whenever one stopped Zacks, he would take his time to pretend like he was really interested, and then just as they thought they would make a sale, he would assure them he wanted nothing to do with whatever it was they were offering with a rude comment or two. This succeeded in getting countless merchants in a rather pissy mood and also, apparently, in giving Zacks some sort of a high. For the most part, however, their stop went well; Zacks managing to get discounts on food from using his keen perfection of the art known as flirting on the young woman who was running the shop.

It had begun to grow dark by the time they had finished, and they now found themselves in a room of what was the outpost's equivalent to an inn. It was small, cozy, and had beds far more squishy than the ground. It also had working plumbing, which meant the ever so lovely thing known as a bath was available.

"You don't even need one, you know that? You still smell like a girl even after being out on the road."

"…I do not smell like a girl!"

Zacks snickered, shaking his head, "Just hurry up, will you?"

Cloud ignored him, grabbed a plain pair thin linen nightwear, and headed into the bathroom. After he locked the door, he checked to make sure the door really locked (a slight paranoia of his), and then set the nightwear on the small countertop space. He began slipping the flexible linked metal over his head, and then paused again. It just felt strange, getting undressed in an unfamiliar bathroom; he shook his head lightly, and continued undressing, folding everything neatly.

To the side of the tub was a pitcher that had a peculiar look to it, and every once in a while, what appeared to be a small spark darted off its surface. Cloud blinked a moment before recognizing it- he had never actually seen one, after all. This was a fire-enchanted pitcher- anything it was filled with would heat up in an instant. Most established inns managed to get a hold of them, though they weren't something to be found in an average home- in order to enchant them, you would need to find someone with the ability to use fire magic, which wasn't exactly a common thing to stumble upon. If you did happen to be lucky enough to have the ability, you could enchant a couple dozen pitchers, sell them to a nearby merchant, and have quite a stash of extra cash in no time. Though, it was something to be a bit wary of- if it was widely known you could do such a thing, it'd be hard to get a moments rest without one establishment or another trying to get a hold of you, or with the wealthier around trying to do the same. But an outpost stationed right between Gavriel and Landor probably didn't have much trouble finding much of anything over the years.

After filling the tub using the pitcher and the large faucet on the counter (which doubled its use as a sink area), he slipped into the water and let out a deep breath- it felt unbelievably nice on his sore muscles.

Zacks was mulling around the room, having already inspected any knick knacks worth interest. He flopped down on the bed he'd claimed, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Wonder what Seph's doin'. …Pah, prolly something dull; like he'd succumb to doing something the least bit entertaining when I'm not there to drag him into it. …Wonder what he'd think of Cloud… Zacks grinned. Knowing Cloud, Seph would probably scare the bejeezes out of him upon first meeting.

Cloud meanwhile, had started loosing himself in thoughts under the persuasion of the warm water's comfort. He began thinking of home- his mother must be worried sick, and she'd have twice as much work to do around the house without him there to help her. He bit his lip thinking about what she must have been going through. Meanwhile, he couldn't consider himself ever being any luckier- if it hadn't been for Zacks, who knew where he'd be? He hoped Tifa was alright…he couldn't even imagine going back home without her; didn't want to imagine. …But they would be able to find her, right? As soon as they got to Gavriel… then he could find Tifa, and go home, and everything would be fine and back to normal, right? …Something about that last though irked him, though. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about everything going back to the way it was…while it offered comforting familiarity, he found part himself dreading it. However, thoughts of his mother chased that away- he had to get back to her as soon as possible.

Cloud shook himself out of his thoughts, and hurried to finish washing himself off; he didn't want to keep Zacks waiting.

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Zacks grinned as he himself stepped out of the bathroom- when Cloud had come out with his sopping, flopped over spikes of blonde hair, it has been one of the cutest things he had ever seen, and had been more then enough to raise his high spirits even higher. Now the little runt was sitting on the edge of the other small bed in the room, seeming to have been waiting for him. "Got somethin' on your mind?"

"...Zacks…I'll pay you back someday, you know…"

He quirked a brow, "For what?"

"For everything- If it weren't for you I….and the sword and everything…I just-"

"Oh, pish posh, Spike- don't think anything of it. If I didn't happen to run into I would have killed myself fro the boredom quite some time ago- and money isn't an issue, whatsoever. Seriously, just chill out will you?"

"But-"

"Nope. Uh uh. That's that." Zacks walked forward and gave Cloud a light shove, sending him on his back on the bed, "Now relax, will ya?" He then proceeded to flop down on his own, acting much like a big dog.

"…"

"…Something still on your mind?"

"…How much farther until we get to Gavriel?"

"Not much farther at all- and it'll go a hell of a lot faster then the time it took walking here."

"Why's that…?"

"'Cuz this time, we're gonna head out on horseback."

"…Say what?"

"Yeah, I forgot to mention him, didn't I? You didn't think I normally travel by foot, did ya?"

"…I suppose that would be kind of ridiculas, but then why didn't you have a horse back in Landor?"

"His one leg seemed a bit funny- he wasn't stepping on it quite right, and I though he might have hurt himself. So on the way to down, when I stopped at this outpost, I paid someone to look after him until I made my way back. Just wanted to make sure he was off of it for a day or two, y'know? But it's been a lot longer than just a day or two at this point, so I know for sure he'll be fine an' dandy. A bit temper mental sometimes, but he's huge, and damned fast when need be."

"…I've never ridden a horse before…"

"Really? Oh hell, this'll be fun. Don't worry about it, just sit there and hold on, I'll be doing to steering. When we get to Gavriel, we'll have to find you a ride of your own- you'll prolly be fine with handling a horse, most of 'em are real docile."

Cloud shook his head, muttering 'Oi' under his breath.

"Heh. Can't wait to see him though- he's probably not too happy being with people he doesn't know, to say the least. He's on the other side of the outpost, though, so we'll see him on the way out. …You'll like him. You'll have to get used to him, but you'll like him. Just wait and see."

At this point Cloud sat up, and looked out the window, where the sky was a warm shade of purple, the last hints of orange from the setting sun just barely clinging to the edge of the horizon. It hadn't been very humid at all lately, and the air was light and warm. Tomorrow was going to be, in all likelihood, quite a gorgeous day. He looked back down at his hands, and after a moment, a familiar sparking started up again.

"…Yeah, there we go, I knew you couldn't quite it for too long." Zacks sat up was well, and watched him. His features took on a more serious, but soft expression, and he watched with a bit of wonder. "…I can't believe how quickly you picked that up. I really can't…amazing. You can already call more of it out quicker then I can."

"Seriously?"

"Pssh, yeah. And while I said before that if you can use one kind of magic, you can theoretically use every other kind, getting multiple elements down is a rarer trait among mages than finding a mage in the first place."

Cloud paused, looking up from the orb of sparks he had created, and his breath subconsciously hitched, refusing to work for a moment, as he caught the warm gaze he was receiving the dark haired man sitting across from him. He cast his gaze downwards, released his hold on the lightning, and laid his palms flat on the bed. He adored using magic, but could do without the way it drew attention. "…So…how many elements can you use?"

"Me? Hardly any. The one I've got down the most is lightning. Then I've got just enough water and fire to make a few ice spells. Hardly any fire, though- just enough to freeze something. I can't make an open flame, but oh have I tried. And failed miserably. Seph can. He's pretty good with it. Fire and spirit/psyche magics he's good with. And he's been trying for lord knows how long to healing down, but like I said, it really is the hardest. He can use it a bit, but…well, hell, the fact that he can use it at all is amazing. Which is why you, my dear boy, are really something."

"…I just healed a little scratch, it was hardly anything…"

"It might have been hardly anything, but it was hardly anything that should have taken years of hard practice to even fathom. …Speaking of which, how exactly did you practice healing on your own? You said you decided to try messing with it because it would prolly come in handy, didn't you? But what'd you practice on without anything to heal?"

Cloud paused a moment, seeming to be searching for a proper answer, "It's…not really any of your business, anyway." Cloud flopped back down, and rolled to face away from Zacks, who was intrigued by the sudden change in attitude. He watched the small blonde's back a moment, and only gave a brief 'Hm' before flopping down himself, letting the subject drop, and stretching his arms out above his head. That was something he'd have to pry into later, now that it had given him a bit of troublesome food for thought.

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