Wild Ones (FFVII, high fantasy, Zack/Cloud)
An uneven path cut crookedly through the dense growth, wide enough for a wagon but hopelessly rocky and set upon on all sides by the ominous press of the forest. It wound circuitously over thickly snarled roots and around moss-covered boulders, a faint strip of paler shadow within the immense darkness.
Amid the creak and rustle of waxy leaves, two figures were walking steadily along the path, the steady tromp of heavy boots echoing hollowly beneath looming branches. The pair moved with the peculiar alertness of trained warriors, their pace easy and smooth though they carried no torch or lantern to light the way.
“Remember the time you fell into that holy spring?” the first was saying, white teeth flashing intermittently in the dark as he grinned. “And the master magus wouldn’t let us leave until you’d wrung out all your clothes so they could get the water back?”
“Zack,” the other sighed, his light, earnest tenor sounding strangely at home amidst the whispering trees. “You’re really not helping.”
Zack waved his hand negligently, mail vest clinking as he stepped over a fallen tree. “No, you’re just being difficult.” He paused thoughtfully. “The one about the drunk soldier with the wrist fetish is pretty good - should I tell that one instead?”
His companion gave him a casual whap upside the head. “You promised never to mention that again,” he reminded, a hint of steel threading the words.
“Really?” Zack blinked with an innocent look that wouldn’t have fooled his own mother. “Are you sure, Cloud? ‘Cause that’s a real waste of a good story.”
Cloud gave him a narrow look and Zack chuckled good-humouredly. “Or not,” he amended, not put out in the slightest. “Well how about the manticore incident, then? That was certainly memorable.”
A heavy sigh. “Zack…”
“Or that scullery girl who thought you were a runaway harem boy? Ooh, or how about the time that animated watch tower chased you halfway to Golbrecht in the middle of a snowstorm?”
“Why not tell a story where you end up looking like a fool instead?” Cloud suggested acerbically, ducking under a low branch.
Zack grinned in the dark. “Because you don’t turn nearly so red at those ones.”
Cloud stiffened suddenly, sucking in a startled breath. “Zack,” he warned, completely unlike his former long-suffering irritation.
Zack’s hand went immediately towards the hilt of his sword. “Is it the Katako?” he demanded, casual slouch shifting into something hard and warily menacing.
“No,” Cloud said after a moment, calmer but still tense. “It’s a Noe.”
“Shit.” Zack frowned irritably, eyes shifting restlessly over the underbrush. “How far away is it?”
Cloud’s brow furrowed as he concentrated, blue eyes luminous in the dark. “Not too far, I don’t think - maybe fifteen minutes if it’s running?” He shrugged apologetically. “It’s hard to get a clear impression in here.”
Zack nodded, unsurprised. “Should’ve expected that in a forest this old.” He thought for a moment. “Can you tell how far we are from the village?”
“…about half a league,” Cloud said slowly, his eyes tracking sightlessly along the wending path towards their goal.
“Can we make it there before the Noe catches us?”
Cloud nodded. “Probably, if we hurry.”
“Well,” Zack said, quickening the pace. “We’d better get going then.”
“They won’t let us in,” Cloud predicted, tripping close on Zack’s heels. “It’s against the King’s Law to open city gates after dark.”
Zack’s sword creaked in its harness as he sped them into a run. “It never hurts to try. And anything’s better than having that thing catch us in here, so let’s move it!”
The world fell silent again as Zack and Cloud hurried down the path, careless of the grasping branches reaching for their hair and clothes. The forest pressed in tightly on all sides, ruthlessly oppressive as the phantom tread of their pursuer rattled through the darkness after them.
Cloud’s head jerked up suddenly and worry-laced adrenaline spiked down Zack’s spine in the moment before Cloud thrust one half-gloved hand out ahead of them. “It should be just ahead!” he cried, relief evident in his voice, and Zack saw that the darkness was thinning, trees melting back until the faint twinkle of the far away stars pierced through the unrelieved shadows and torchlight flared sharp and sudden against the black.
They charged out of the forest at a dead run, rocky path melting into rolling grasslands between one step and the next. The village loomed silently before them, not ten paces from the forest edge. Its massive wooden gate was black with age, the protective sigils etched into steel rivets ancient and weather-worn. Torches flickered at even intervals along the grey ramparts, the gouges and scorch marks scored in the wide stones cast into sharp, angry relief by the dancing light.
Checking their speed, Zack and Cloud drew warily closer to the silent gate. No shout or warning hailed their approach, the guttural warp of the torches whipping through the silence in ominous disinterest.
“How long have we got?” Zack asked, most of his attention on the lit chinks of the guardhouse in the stones above the gate.
“Maybe five minutes,” Cloud answered, panting only slightly. He squinted up at the gate, blond hair shining like flax in the orange light. “Do you really think they’ll let us in?”
“Only one way to find out.” Zack cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, a loud, booming cry that spoke of wide practice fields and long-forgotten military drills. “Hallo, the gatehouse!”
There was a long, pregnant silence. Zack gathered himself to call again, but just then a mailed figure appeared over the smooth-rounded fortifications. “Who goes?” the guard called, leaning forward to peer at their shadows amid the blaze of his torch.
“Travelers,” Zack called back, amicable and calm. “Seeking a bed and shelter for the night.”
“You’ll not find it here,” the guard retorted, though his tone was more commiserating than anything. “Once closed, the gate cannot be reopened till dawn. Come back then.” He paused, then added, “You’d best pitch camp near the caravan trail and wait for morning there. It’s not safe to linger too close to the forest.”
“We’ve been traveling long hours, friend guardsman,” Zack entreated, hands spread harmlessly out to the sides. “And my companion is in sore need of rest and a proper meal.” A hopeful catch lifted his voice as he added, “We’re willing to pay ahead for any food and lodging your village can provide us.”
The man shifted back from the rampart, obviously of no mind to haggle about it. “You have my sympathies traveler, but I cannot open the gate.”
“It’s coming,” Cloud hissed urgently, eyes shifting restlessly between the uncooperative guard and the looming trees behind them.
“Calmly, Spike,” Zack murmured back, casual and light. “I understand your King’s concern,” he called up to the man on the wall, smiling with remarkable aplomb. “But your village would really be much safer with us on the inside rather than the out.”
The guard was starting to look irritated. “Is that a threat?” he demanded.
“Not at all,” Zack denied cheerfully. “However, I can personally guarantee that no harm will come to you or your village tonight if you choose to open the gate.”
Cloud had a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Zack…”
“Look,” the guard snapped sharply. “How many times do I have to say it? It doesn’t matter how you ask…”
“Stand back a little bit, could you Spike?” Zack requested absently, hand drifting up over his shoulder.
“…or what you offer. You could be one of the Bright Ones themselves and I still wouldn’t open the - ”
The Noe burst out of the forest in a flurry of scattered leaves, its yowling scream shattering through the air and shocking the man on the battlements into sudden, terrified silence. Bile-slicked teeth flashed in the dark as the thing streaked rapidly across the grass, pelt gleaming intermittently blue-black in the pooling shadows beyond the shifting torchlight.
Zack hadn’t run, hadn’t even turned and the Noe laughed, dark and inhuman as it surged towards him, the ground churning under its massive paws as it leapt at Zack’s unprotected back with savage, mindless fury.
Only to have Zack meet it halfway, cloak snapping in the dark in time to the smooth whirl of his sword as he spun. The strong, tempered steel hummed through the air, catching the Noe beneath the ribs and shearing the thing’s metallic fur like paper. The creature’s laugh melted into a bloody gurgle and it shrieked in outrage, struggling instinctively to get away. Blood splattered a grisly swath across the wooden gate as Zack pivoted, heels digging in the dirt and hands rock steady on the hilt of the massive weapon. The grating screech of razor-edged claws scrabbling against the blade made Cloud wince, ready to jump in, but Zack hung on grimly, twisting his wrists to dig the edge of his sword even deeper into the Noe’s flesh.
Dirt sprayed out from beneath Zack’s boots as muscles bunched and the Noe went flying, sliding sickly off the blade to slam into the ground in a bloody tangle of limbs and innards. Zack checked his spin easily, dark rivulets gleaming on the broad flat of his sword as he eyed the twitching remains of his attacker. When it became clear that the thing wasn’t going to be getting up again any time soon, he slung his sword casually over one shoulder and turned back to the gate.
“That’s what I meant,” he sighed, gesturing with his free hand towards the dead Noe. “Damn things can be a real nuisance when you’re out on the road, but we’re pretty good at keeping them out of villages.”
The guard stared at Zack, slack-mouthed and shocked. Cloud rolled his eyes with a muttered ‘showoff’ and Zack grinned, careless of the blood splattered on his face and cloak, eyes shining brightly violet in the gleam of the torches.
He cocked his head politely upwards. “Are you sure we can’t convince you to let us in?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word spread quickly through the village about the two young men who’d entered after dark, armed with Guardsmaster Corbin’s personal acquittal and two of the biggest swords anyone had ever seen. The one man had killed a Noe, Guardsmaster Corbin announced, shocked and shaking as he pointed over the wall at the dark mass bleeding over the grass a goodly distance away from the gate. With a single swipe even, and not a scratch on his own person. The other had not fought, the Guardsmaster continued, words tumbling rapidly across his murmuring audience, but neither had he fled, hand steady on his sword hilt and bright eyes intent on his companion.
Nothing would dare charge the gate with the two of them there, that much was certain, and Guardsmaster Corbin swore by the Bright Ones that he’d sooner sacrifice himself on the harvest moon than leave either man to face the retaliation of the forest this night.
And so it was that half the village was soon shoving its way into the common room of Pa Thom’s inn, vying eagerly for a glimpse of the two strange travelers who’d been put up there for the night. And while Pa Thom rolled his eyes at the lot of them, busy making more behind the bar than he usually did in a fortnight, even he couldn’t help sneaking a glimpse or two at the pair eating quietly by the hearth.
They were strangely well-matched, the two of them. They had the look of warriors or signet knights about them, a sort of quiet competence that was well matched by the firm muscles in bare arms and their strong, sword-calloused hands. Their cloaks were blood-dark and of good quality, though travel-stained and worn from what looked like many years of use.
The swords they carried were massive things, nearly seven spans long and wide enough for a man to hide behind when the flat was out. The weapons leaned side by side against the table edge, similar enough in the pommel and haft to have been forged by the same bladesmith. Not that there were likely to be many smiths who fashioned swords so large - not when most of the men in the room very much doubted they could even lift one, let alone fight with it.
And though some of the older, more worldly onlookers scowled and muttered ‘Katako’ under their breath at the sight of the form fitting charcoals the two wore, most were too busy admiring the men themselves to pay much mind to such grumblings.
The shorter of the two was slim and quiet, with the blond hair and fair skin characteristic of the very far north. He seemed ill-at-ease in the busy common room and spent most of his time staring at his plate, blithely oblivious to any attempts to catch his attention. His eyes, from the few glances people managed, were determined to be a rich blue colour, bright as tanzanite and striking enough to give more than one young lady ideas of melting the wary icy glittering within.
And quite a few likely would have tried, unnatural reticence or no, if not for the fact that every eye in the room had been drawn to the blond’s companion the moment they’d walked in the door.
Dark where the first was pale, the second man was all tanned skin and easy laughter, his long black hair pulled back in a haphazard tail at the nape of his neck. He filled the silence left by his companion with light, friendly banter and careless smiles, seemingly more than willing to extend his good humour to anyone who passed close enough to their table to join in. His eyes were an unusually pale grey, piercing and honest, though Guardsmaster Corbin swore that they’d looked purple in the torchlight by the gate. The man’s wide smile looked completely natural on his handsome face, bright and charming and enough to make many young women - and not a few young men - swoon at the sight.
And though the older folks sighed and shook their heads at the folly of youth, even they felt unaccountably warm whenever the dark one flashed a grin or brightened the room with a round, open laugh. Which was more than odd, especially when they were used to viewing strangers with the wary sort of civility that always bred in times of trouble. There was something about the dark one that couldn’t be ignored though, a strange quality that made him impossible to distrust out of hand. He felt… comfortable, they decided finally, homey and welcoming as though he’d never belonged anywhere but right here in their quiet little village. And he and his friend seemed harmless enough, so most determined that they could forgive themselves for relaxing their concern, just a little.
And really, you didn’t need to be young to understand how well a pretty face and a sunny smile could turn heads anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Could you tone it down a little, Zack?” Cloud muttered under his breath, eyes trained resolutely on a wide scratch in the polished table as he ignored the pretty young thing at the next table who was winking at him. “Our barmaid nearly walked into a wall just then.”
Zack shrugged helplessly, his slightly sheepish grin entirely for Cloud’s benefit. “It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose, Spike,” he defended. “I can’t exactly turn it off.”
“I know,” Cloud sighed, irritation draining out of him like water from a glass and leaving him strangely diminished. His fork stirred absently through the contents of his plate as he flicked his eyes moodily over all the people staring at them and trying to be subtle about it. There were an awful lot of them.
“It just seems like it’s even worse than usual tonight,” he confided wearily, and when he looked up Zack could see the fine lines of tension spidering at the corners of Cloud’s eyes.
“It’s probably because we came in after dark,” Zack pointed out, trying for reasonable and lightly sympathetic. “People would have been curious before they ever set eyes on us.”
“And then you walked in and it was all over,” Cloud agreed, mock seriousness not entirely hiding the strain beneath. “No mortal could resist.”
Zack flashed Cloud his most charming grin. “You know it,” he purred, ignoring the sudden difficulty several people nearby seemed to be having breathing. “Even you couldn’t resist my stunning good looks and boyish charm.”
“Stop that,” Cloud said, somehow managing to smile fondly and roll his eyes at the same time. “The last thing we need is you getting jumped by a room full of glamour-struck villagers. You’re bad enough when you don’t mean it.”
Zack clutched a dramatic hand over his heart. “Ouch! You’re a hard man to please, Spike.”
Cloud smiled, but it was a distracted expression. “I’m helping you stay humble.”
“What’s the fun in that?” Zack grinned, though it was hard to keep the his tone light when Cloud looked so pale and wan sitting there. He gestured towards the mostly-uneaten contents of Cloud’s plate. “Not hungry?” he asked gently.
Cloud blinked at the plate as though he hadn’t realized it was there. “Oh. Not really I guess.” He cocked his head to the side. “You want it?”
“You know that’s not why I asked,” Zack muttered, though he was somewhat heartened when Cloud gave him a look in response - exasperated, fond and completely Cloud.
“You overdid it dealing with that Noe, Zack, and don’t try to deny it.” Arms crossed defiantly over Cloud’s chest as he glanced significantly at the demolished remains of the two servings Zack had already eaten. “You wouldn’t be so hungry if you hadn’t been so keen to show off after spending the last three days tromping through the forest on practically no sleep.”
“Oh come on, it looked cool,” Zack protested. “And it convinced the Guardsmaster to let us in, didn’t it?”
“While draining your energy pretty seriously in the process,” Cloud reminded him mercilessly, though it was said with a fond kind of worry. One half-gloved hand pushed the plate across the table. “Really Zack. Take it. I’m not going to eat any more tonight.”
Zack made a face, even as he accepted the proffered plate. “I’m going to be able to see through you if you keep skipping meals like this,” he complained, feeling only slightly guilty about the way Cloud’s eyes went apologetic in response. He let his own expression go serious as he leaned in, dropping his voice despite the noisy bustle of the common room. “Are you going to be okay here?” he asked, more than willing to go back outside and sleep in a damn tree if Cloud said so.
But Cloud was wearing his stubborn face and Zack wasn’t surprised when his concern was brushed off with a set jaw and a weary nod. “I’ll be fine,” Cloud said, though his expression softened into a smile when Zack gave him a look of his own. “I mean it, Zack. It’s about time we both got a chance to sleep in a real bed and I know you wouldn’t sleep a wink if we were outside the gates.” He glanced around the room despite himself, shoulders hunching briefly. “It’s just… hard, with all these people here.”
“I can believe it.” Zack started in on the remains of Cloud’s dinner, gesturing every now and then with his fork to illustrate his point. “A lot of guys locked themselves in solitary when they first got altered - and that was only a basic shift. I’d hate to see how they’d handle the level of sensitivity you’ve got.”
Cloud looked unimpressed by this old argument so Zack reached out and ruffled his hair with one hand just to hear him squawk.
“Zaaaack!”
“You’re doing just fine Cloud,” he promised, scrubbing fingers shifting into a gentle caress as he let his hand slide reluctantly away. “But that doesn’t mean you should wear yourself out trying to deal with all these people when you’re already bone tired, either. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? I’ll stay here and ask around some, then we can figure out where we stand in the morning, okay?”
It was a mark of how much Cloud had improved since they started this search that he looked relieved rather than contrite at the suggestion - no longer afraid that Zack would leave him behind if he let himself falter sometimes.
The weight of the eyes on them was a tangible thing as Cloud stood and picked up his heavy sword, and Zack was privately glad that Cloud had agreed so quickly. All this attention had to be making it nigh impossible for Cloud to unwind.
“Don’t stay up all night,” Cloud warned as he settled his cloak over his shoulders, and Zack couldn’t help but grin at him being all cute and protective when he was practically falling over with exhaustion.
So he crooked an incredulous eyebrow. “Are you trying to spoil my fun?” he demanded, just because he could.
The look Cloud gave him in response was hearteningly arch. “Only if your idea of fun is being rolled out the window in the morning when you can’t wake up,” he shot back tartly.
Zack pretended to think about it. “Do I get to pick which window?”
Cloud shook his head in mock despair, a smile lingering around the edges of his drawn mouth. “Goodnight, Zack.”
“Night, Spike,” Zack responded with a lazy wave. His were not the only eyes that tracked Cloud’s progress towards the stairs, admiring the easy economy of the blond’s movements, and Zack frowned inwardly, resolving to watch out for anyone heading to the second floor to pursue the allure of a certain pair of pretty blue eyes. Cloud was so strung up right now he’d probably put himself through a wall trying to get away, and Zack didn’t relish the idea of explaining to the innkeeper why they’d decided that a Cloud-shaped hole was much better than a window for rolling people out of.
Zack sat by himself for a few minutes after Cloud left, polishing off the last of Cloud’s dinner and mentally weighing his options. A few people looked as though they wouldn’t mind approaching him now that Cloud had gone, but Zack doubted they’d be particularly interested in the sort of conversation he was looking for. He forestalled any attempts by setting his fork down with a deliberately contented sigh and standing, collecting his sword and cloak before making his way casually towards the bar.
It seemed as though every person in the room was watching him but Zack carried on carelessly, pretending not to notice. He’d long since got past the point where the extra attention bothered him - he’d been fairly popular even before the treatments, after all - and people tended to take to his particular brand of charm better when they didn’t think he was doing it on purpose.
So it was with practiced nonchalance that he plunked himself down at the bar a few seats away from a group of men who, unlike most of the inn’s current patrons, looked completely at home with tankards in their hands and their coat sleeves on the bar. Greeting the big man pouring drinks with an amiable smile, Zack slid a heavy bronze coin across the counter and was rewarded with a foaming tankard of the thick dark ale this region was known for. He drank in silence for several moments, enjoying the rich flavour if not the buzz it was supposed to give, then let his head tilt artfully to the side, just enough to catch the frankly curious gazes of the three men staring openly at them. He offered them a smile and hefted his glass, inwardly grinning when they all instinctively returned the toast.
“That’s a mighty big sword you got there boy,” one man observed as he lowered his glass. “What are you looking to skewer with it?”
Zack leaned back easily, shifting in his chair to shrug at them. “Whatever’s out there looking to skewer me first,” he grinned, taking it as a good sign when the men smiled back in response. “And there seem to be all sorts of nasty beasties that fit that description recently.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” the second man sighed, a blue-veined hand passing through his pepper-gray hair. “The caravans bring tales of monster attacks every week, and they’ve taken to traveling with half again as many hands as they used to. It’s always been a mite treacherous round here, what with the forest and all,” he noted, with the sort of gross tendency towards understatement characteristic of small-town men the world over, “But it seems other parts of the kingdom are getting near as bad these days. A man can’t hardly go outside his city walls these days without getting attacked by some monstrosity or other.” Keen eyes wandered over Zack’s relaxed pose, taking note of the strength in his arms, the muscles filling out his shirt. “I hear tell you ran into some trouble of your own outside our gate, Friend…”
“Zack,” he introduced himself, conversation pausing for a moment as he leaned over to receive handshakes and names in return. “And yeah, I’m just glad your Guardsmaster let us in - I don’t like to think what might have happened if we’d had to sleep outside tonight.”
The first man, Lomas, made a face. “It’s a poor state of affairs when the kingdom’s citizens have to protect themselves from dangers because the King’s men aren’t keeping the kingdom safe.”
“Watch it,” warned Raaf, clearly the leader of the three despite his graying hair. His eyes narrowed thinly. “You shouldn’t speak so about his Majesty.”
“King Rufus has his own trouble right now,” the last man Wolan put in, leaning over Raaf’s shoulder enthusiastically as he took a swig of his ale. “Relations with Leial have been even worse than usual since the latest Queen Jenova ascended the throne.”
“There’s been a new one?” Lomas asked with an ironically raised eyebrow. “I didn’t know anyone could tell the difference between one and the next!”
Zack joined the men in laughing, probably appreciating the joke better than the man who’d made it. “I think they’re up to about 40 by now,” he offered off-handedly. “Or something like that.” The current queen of Leial was actually Jenova XXXVII, but Zack didn’t expect anyone around here to know that. Most Shinrites barely understood the concept of a matriarchal society, let alone the precise politics involved in finding a carbon copy heir to the throne every 30 years or so.
A fact that was only emphasized by the distasteful scowl twisting Raaf’s face at the words.
“Whatever the number, it’s too many!” the man declared. “She’s spoiling for a war, that witch, and Shinra’s the closest target. It’s no surprise the King’s soldiers don’t have time to clear the roads, what with the skirmishes and raids along the border.”
“The monsters are even fiercer by the border too,” Zack told them, seamlessly shifting topics with a shrug and a casual shake of his head. “Nearly got myself gored by a manticore when I was in Talaptha a few seasons ago.”
Lomas gave him an appraising look. “Talaptha? There’s not much down there but rocks and monsters. What were you doing?”
Zack shrugged, offering a grin that was almost equal parts sheepishness and brazen self-confidence. “Hunting tounians actually.” He scratched his head ruefully. “Not that I managed to catch many while running for my life with a nest of manticores on my heels.”
The three men exchanged a look. Zack pretended not to notice.
“You’re a bounty hunter?” Wolan asked finally, tone too stilted to be completely natural.
“Kind of,” Zack agreed easily, knowing he had to tread carefully here. Men who hunted other men were no friend to anybody in this part of the world. “At least as far as monsters are concerned.”
“A fiendsbane, then?” Raaf intuited, and he laughed in unmitigated relief when Zack nodded. “Good on you Friend Zack,” he declared, toasting him with a wryly raised glass. “Though I don’t envy you that glory. It’s a thankless job and no mistake.”
Zack shrugged, draining his glass and wiping the back of one hand across his mouth. “What can I say? The pay’s good and I’m never hurting for work to do.” He grinned crookedly. “And it’s a damn sight better than joining the army, anyway.”
“Pshaw,” Lomas snorted, setting his empty glass down with a thump. “A strapping young lad like you? You’d make signet knight within a year.”
“Maybe,” Zack allowed noncommittally. “But I kinda like helping people out in my own way, you know? And like Friend Wolan said, Shinra’s in desperate need of monster killers right now. So we’re doing that instead.”
Wolan blinked owlishly at Zack. “You and your friend here to kill monsters?”
“Sort of,” Zack said evasively, signaling for the bartender as if to avoid the issue.
“Surely you’re not all the way out here looking to get hired?” Raaf demanded incredulously, and Zack had to suppress a grin at the not-quite subtle way the man fished for information.
“It’s more like I’m currently employed,” he admitted, dropping his voice to a staged conspiratorial whisper that Cloud could probably hear on the second floor.
Wait, bad example.
“You’re hunting something specific?” Lomas guessed, interest sparking in his deep-set eyes when Zack nodded. He leaned in close. “What is it? A behemoth? A Noe brood?”
“No,” Zack shook his head. The barkeep drew up with an armful of tankards and Zack readily paid, more than willing to sacrifice a few coppers for the information he was seeking. “The monster I’m after is one of its kind and incredibly dangerous. More a thing of legends than flesh and blood, it seems.” He sighed, letting some real frustration creep into his voice. “I’ve been tracking it for a couple of months,” - give or take a decade or two - “but I don’t know this region very well so my friend and I decided to stop here and regroup.” Another heavy sigh. “I’m beginning to wonder if we’re ever going to find it.”
“Well,” Raaf said gravely and it was all Zack could do to keep from cheering out loud at the collaboration he could read in the man’s face. “Why don’t you tell us what it is you’re looking for and why, and we’ll see if we can be of any assistance?”
“You sure?” Zack hedged, feigning reluctance. “It’s a long story.”
We asked, didn’t we?” Lomas demanded bluntly. “So stop stalling and get talking.”
Zack thought about it for all of half a second before he grinned and leaned in close. “Remember, I warned you,” he cautioned. “Now, have you ever heard anything about a silver griffon?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours and half a dozen drinks later, Zack tromped up the stairs after extricating himself from the company of his new bosom companions with a smile and a promise to sit with them tomorrow night. He eased the door open carefully, wary of disturbing Cloud, only to discover that he needn’t have worried. The room was dim, lit by a few quietly burning wall scones, and Zack was ruefully unsurprised to find both beds neatly made and Cloud stood motionless in front of an open window, staring blankly out into the night.
Zack sighed out loud and let the door swing shut behind him. “I thought you were supposed to be sleeping,” he chided quietly, unbuckling his sword harness as he wandered over towards the window.
“It’s not so bad up here,” Cloud said distractedly, something oddly dissonant in his tone. He didn’t turn as he added, “And most of your admirers got bored and went home hours ago, so it’s been much quieter.”
Zack let his sword fall onto the closest bed and stepped up behind Cloud, peering past him at the darkness beyond. “So you’re staring at the dark instead of sleeping,” he observed, dropping his chin onto Cloud’s shoulder and feeling the soft scratch of wool against his throat. “That seems like a fun way to spend the evening.”
That earned him the ghost of a smile, caught in the corner of his vision. “You told me I ought to find a hobby.”
“Yeah,” Zack shrugged, rolling his eyes for emphasis. “But I meant more along the lines of knitting or collecting rocks or something.”
Cloud made a face. “…Why would anybody collect rocks?”
“What?” Zack demanded, righteously wounded. “You don’t like rocks?”
“Do I even need to dignify that with a response?”
Cloud had been practicing his deadpan voice, Zack noticed, and he had to hide his amused grin against the other man’s collar. “I guess I can let you off just this once,” he offered, with a heavy sigh. “But I expect a dignified response next time or you’re going to make me sad.”
Cloud snorted at that and Zack bravely resisted the impulse to stick his tongue out at him. He shifted his eyes forward instead, squinting towards the tangled mass of the forest that was stretched out beyond the village wall, hardly more than a dark blot on the horizon. “So what’s so interesting out there, anyway?” he asked, more serious than many would have expected.
“The forest is uneasy,” Cloud told him hollowly, and Zack didn’t have to look to know that Cloud’s eyes were glowing in the dim light. “Something’s going to happen here. Something serious.”
And Zack nearly made a joke in response - because how could anything serious ever happen when he was around? - but now didn’t seem like an especially good time for that. “Any idea what?” he asked instead, peering into the dark and wondering absently what Cloud could see out there that he couldn’t.
Whatever it was, it was certainly doing a good job of making Cloud morose. “I can’t tell,” Cloud admitted, a touch of frustration colouring his words. “There’s just a sense of… waiting or, or something. It’s lingering over everything and making it all feel wrong somehow.” Blond hair whispered against Zack’s cheek as Cloud shook his head. “It’s not safe here.”
We’re not safe here, Zack heard behind Cloud’s words, the familiar tang of fear, worry and wistful regret lingering in the hollow space between dream and truth.
“Well then,” he murmured, shifting closer to wrap his arms around Cloud’s waist and fit the blond neatly against him. “Unless we plan on doing the dramatic hero thing again, we can just find what we want and get out of here before whatever it is happens.”
Cloud sighed at that, leaning back instinctively into Zack’s warmth. His air-chilled skin was cool to the touch in the cozy bedroom. “Did you learn anything downstairs?” he asked, tilting his head back to blink up at Zack.
“Hard to say,” Zack answered, shrugging awkwardly with his arms around Cloud. “I got a couple of leads, but I don’t know how much help they’ll be.”
He felt Cloud’s dejected slump all the way down his front. “Nothing definite?” Cloud asked, something small and lost in his voice that made Zack think suddenly of the lonely little cadet he’d taken under his wing so many, many years ago.
“Hey, it’s not that bad Spike,” he encouraged, trying for optimistic. “I’m going to see if I can talk to the village’s secret keeper - if anyone’s heard anything, it’ll be him.”
Cloud sighed wistfully. “Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever find him.”
“Hey,” Zack chided gently. “What kind of attitude is that? The world’s only so big, he’s got to be around somewhere. And Seph was always lousy at being sneaky anyway.” He leaned his cheek against Cloud’s, warm against cool. “Besides, there’s not much we can’t do when we’re together, right?”
Cloud’s hands settled over his own, thinner but just as competent and rough with sword calluses. “Right,” he smiled, the absolute trust in voice enough to take Zack’s breath away no matter how many times he heard it. “Thanks for keeping me with you Zack.”
Zack smiled, helplessly fond. “Like I’d leave you behind,” he declared. “Who would I torment?” Cloud shook his head at that and Zack gave him a quick squeeze. “We’ll find him some day Cloud, you just wait.”
A contented hum rumbled through Cloud’s chest and they just stood together for a moment, enjoying the closeness.
Then blue eyes slanted towards him. “So,” Cloud said, deliberately light. “How many new friends did you make tonight?”
Zack pouted dramatically. “Only three. And not a single one tried to proposition me for anything, can you believe it?”
“Horrifying,” Cloud declared with perfect earnestness. “You must be wearing off. Shall we make an offering to Veldini and ask her to restore your charm for you?”
Zack mock growled and pulled Cloud tighter against him, grinning at the laughter bubbling up from Cloud’s throat. “There’s nothing wrong with my charm, thank you very much,” he declared, shifting his hips deliberately. Cloud’s breath caught and Zack grinned. His voice dropped into a husky purr that would probably have driven most of the people downstairs into catatonic arrest as he leaned in close. “You want a demonstration?”
“You need to sleep,” Cloud protested breathlessly, not even remotely close to a ‘no.’
“And so do you,” Zack rejoined, letting his hands worm between Cloud’s shirt and his flat stomach. “And we will.” He waggled his eyebrows with a deliberately campy leer, just to see Cloud smile. “But I know all sorts of fun things to do that include you and a bed - and it’s been a woefully long time since we’ve had a bed to practice them with.”
Cloud laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Damn straight.” He loosened his grip enough to let Cloud turn, away from the forest and towards him and really, who wouldn’t be incorrigible with encouragement like that? He kissed the end of Cloud’s nose and smiled at the way Cloud’s face scrunched up in response. “Besides, you still haven’t picked a hobby yet have you? This is a lot more interesting than rocks.”
“It’s a good thing I love you,” Cloud said lightly, helping Zack steer them both over to the bed. “Because you’re absolutely insane.”
“Oh good,” he observed, cloak fluttering to the floor as Cloud’s clever hands came up to help him with the fastenings on his shirt. “I was worried this was normal.”
Tomorrow would come more than soon enough, complete with overly interested villagers and nigh impossible quests. But for now, watching darkness play smoothly across Cloud’s face and listening to the beat of his own heart as he slipped down into his lover’s embrace, Zack was more than content to forget about the world for just a little bit. This was more than enough for him.
go to next
Amid the creak and rustle of waxy leaves, two figures were walking steadily along the path, the steady tromp of heavy boots echoing hollowly beneath looming branches. The pair moved with the peculiar alertness of trained warriors, their pace easy and smooth though they carried no torch or lantern to light the way.
“Remember the time you fell into that holy spring?” the first was saying, white teeth flashing intermittently in the dark as he grinned. “And the master magus wouldn’t let us leave until you’d wrung out all your clothes so they could get the water back?”
“Zack,” the other sighed, his light, earnest tenor sounding strangely at home amidst the whispering trees. “You’re really not helping.”
Zack waved his hand negligently, mail vest clinking as he stepped over a fallen tree. “No, you’re just being difficult.” He paused thoughtfully. “The one about the drunk soldier with the wrist fetish is pretty good - should I tell that one instead?”
His companion gave him a casual whap upside the head. “You promised never to mention that again,” he reminded, a hint of steel threading the words.
“Really?” Zack blinked with an innocent look that wouldn’t have fooled his own mother. “Are you sure, Cloud? ‘Cause that’s a real waste of a good story.”
Cloud gave him a narrow look and Zack chuckled good-humouredly. “Or not,” he amended, not put out in the slightest. “Well how about the manticore incident, then? That was certainly memorable.”
A heavy sigh. “Zack…”
“Or that scullery girl who thought you were a runaway harem boy? Ooh, or how about the time that animated watch tower chased you halfway to Golbrecht in the middle of a snowstorm?”
“Why not tell a story where you end up looking like a fool instead?” Cloud suggested acerbically, ducking under a low branch.
Zack grinned in the dark. “Because you don’t turn nearly so red at those ones.”
Cloud stiffened suddenly, sucking in a startled breath. “Zack,” he warned, completely unlike his former long-suffering irritation.
Zack’s hand went immediately towards the hilt of his sword. “Is it the Katako?” he demanded, casual slouch shifting into something hard and warily menacing.
“No,” Cloud said after a moment, calmer but still tense. “It’s a Noe.”
“Shit.” Zack frowned irritably, eyes shifting restlessly over the underbrush. “How far away is it?”
Cloud’s brow furrowed as he concentrated, blue eyes luminous in the dark. “Not too far, I don’t think - maybe fifteen minutes if it’s running?” He shrugged apologetically. “It’s hard to get a clear impression in here.”
Zack nodded, unsurprised. “Should’ve expected that in a forest this old.” He thought for a moment. “Can you tell how far we are from the village?”
“…about half a league,” Cloud said slowly, his eyes tracking sightlessly along the wending path towards their goal.
“Can we make it there before the Noe catches us?”
Cloud nodded. “Probably, if we hurry.”
“Well,” Zack said, quickening the pace. “We’d better get going then.”
“They won’t let us in,” Cloud predicted, tripping close on Zack’s heels. “It’s against the King’s Law to open city gates after dark.”
Zack’s sword creaked in its harness as he sped them into a run. “It never hurts to try. And anything’s better than having that thing catch us in here, so let’s move it!”
The world fell silent again as Zack and Cloud hurried down the path, careless of the grasping branches reaching for their hair and clothes. The forest pressed in tightly on all sides, ruthlessly oppressive as the phantom tread of their pursuer rattled through the darkness after them.
Cloud’s head jerked up suddenly and worry-laced adrenaline spiked down Zack’s spine in the moment before Cloud thrust one half-gloved hand out ahead of them. “It should be just ahead!” he cried, relief evident in his voice, and Zack saw that the darkness was thinning, trees melting back until the faint twinkle of the far away stars pierced through the unrelieved shadows and torchlight flared sharp and sudden against the black.
They charged out of the forest at a dead run, rocky path melting into rolling grasslands between one step and the next. The village loomed silently before them, not ten paces from the forest edge. Its massive wooden gate was black with age, the protective sigils etched into steel rivets ancient and weather-worn. Torches flickered at even intervals along the grey ramparts, the gouges and scorch marks scored in the wide stones cast into sharp, angry relief by the dancing light.
Checking their speed, Zack and Cloud drew warily closer to the silent gate. No shout or warning hailed their approach, the guttural warp of the torches whipping through the silence in ominous disinterest.
“How long have we got?” Zack asked, most of his attention on the lit chinks of the guardhouse in the stones above the gate.
“Maybe five minutes,” Cloud answered, panting only slightly. He squinted up at the gate, blond hair shining like flax in the orange light. “Do you really think they’ll let us in?”
“Only one way to find out.” Zack cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, a loud, booming cry that spoke of wide practice fields and long-forgotten military drills. “Hallo, the gatehouse!”
There was a long, pregnant silence. Zack gathered himself to call again, but just then a mailed figure appeared over the smooth-rounded fortifications. “Who goes?” the guard called, leaning forward to peer at their shadows amid the blaze of his torch.
“Travelers,” Zack called back, amicable and calm. “Seeking a bed and shelter for the night.”
“You’ll not find it here,” the guard retorted, though his tone was more commiserating than anything. “Once closed, the gate cannot be reopened till dawn. Come back then.” He paused, then added, “You’d best pitch camp near the caravan trail and wait for morning there. It’s not safe to linger too close to the forest.”
“We’ve been traveling long hours, friend guardsman,” Zack entreated, hands spread harmlessly out to the sides. “And my companion is in sore need of rest and a proper meal.” A hopeful catch lifted his voice as he added, “We’re willing to pay ahead for any food and lodging your village can provide us.”
The man shifted back from the rampart, obviously of no mind to haggle about it. “You have my sympathies traveler, but I cannot open the gate.”
“It’s coming,” Cloud hissed urgently, eyes shifting restlessly between the uncooperative guard and the looming trees behind them.
“Calmly, Spike,” Zack murmured back, casual and light. “I understand your King’s concern,” he called up to the man on the wall, smiling with remarkable aplomb. “But your village would really be much safer with us on the inside rather than the out.”
The guard was starting to look irritated. “Is that a threat?” he demanded.
“Not at all,” Zack denied cheerfully. “However, I can personally guarantee that no harm will come to you or your village tonight if you choose to open the gate.”
Cloud had a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Zack…”
“Look,” the guard snapped sharply. “How many times do I have to say it? It doesn’t matter how you ask…”
“Stand back a little bit, could you Spike?” Zack requested absently, hand drifting up over his shoulder.
“…or what you offer. You could be one of the Bright Ones themselves and I still wouldn’t open the - ”
The Noe burst out of the forest in a flurry of scattered leaves, its yowling scream shattering through the air and shocking the man on the battlements into sudden, terrified silence. Bile-slicked teeth flashed in the dark as the thing streaked rapidly across the grass, pelt gleaming intermittently blue-black in the pooling shadows beyond the shifting torchlight.
Zack hadn’t run, hadn’t even turned and the Noe laughed, dark and inhuman as it surged towards him, the ground churning under its massive paws as it leapt at Zack’s unprotected back with savage, mindless fury.
Only to have Zack meet it halfway, cloak snapping in the dark in time to the smooth whirl of his sword as he spun. The strong, tempered steel hummed through the air, catching the Noe beneath the ribs and shearing the thing’s metallic fur like paper. The creature’s laugh melted into a bloody gurgle and it shrieked in outrage, struggling instinctively to get away. Blood splattered a grisly swath across the wooden gate as Zack pivoted, heels digging in the dirt and hands rock steady on the hilt of the massive weapon. The grating screech of razor-edged claws scrabbling against the blade made Cloud wince, ready to jump in, but Zack hung on grimly, twisting his wrists to dig the edge of his sword even deeper into the Noe’s flesh.
Dirt sprayed out from beneath Zack’s boots as muscles bunched and the Noe went flying, sliding sickly off the blade to slam into the ground in a bloody tangle of limbs and innards. Zack checked his spin easily, dark rivulets gleaming on the broad flat of his sword as he eyed the twitching remains of his attacker. When it became clear that the thing wasn’t going to be getting up again any time soon, he slung his sword casually over one shoulder and turned back to the gate.
“That’s what I meant,” he sighed, gesturing with his free hand towards the dead Noe. “Damn things can be a real nuisance when you’re out on the road, but we’re pretty good at keeping them out of villages.”
The guard stared at Zack, slack-mouthed and shocked. Cloud rolled his eyes with a muttered ‘showoff’ and Zack grinned, careless of the blood splattered on his face and cloak, eyes shining brightly violet in the gleam of the torches.
He cocked his head politely upwards. “Are you sure we can’t convince you to let us in?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word spread quickly through the village about the two young men who’d entered after dark, armed with Guardsmaster Corbin’s personal acquittal and two of the biggest swords anyone had ever seen. The one man had killed a Noe, Guardsmaster Corbin announced, shocked and shaking as he pointed over the wall at the dark mass bleeding over the grass a goodly distance away from the gate. With a single swipe even, and not a scratch on his own person. The other had not fought, the Guardsmaster continued, words tumbling rapidly across his murmuring audience, but neither had he fled, hand steady on his sword hilt and bright eyes intent on his companion.
Nothing would dare charge the gate with the two of them there, that much was certain, and Guardsmaster Corbin swore by the Bright Ones that he’d sooner sacrifice himself on the harvest moon than leave either man to face the retaliation of the forest this night.
And so it was that half the village was soon shoving its way into the common room of Pa Thom’s inn, vying eagerly for a glimpse of the two strange travelers who’d been put up there for the night. And while Pa Thom rolled his eyes at the lot of them, busy making more behind the bar than he usually did in a fortnight, even he couldn’t help sneaking a glimpse or two at the pair eating quietly by the hearth.
They were strangely well-matched, the two of them. They had the look of warriors or signet knights about them, a sort of quiet competence that was well matched by the firm muscles in bare arms and their strong, sword-calloused hands. Their cloaks were blood-dark and of good quality, though travel-stained and worn from what looked like many years of use.
The swords they carried were massive things, nearly seven spans long and wide enough for a man to hide behind when the flat was out. The weapons leaned side by side against the table edge, similar enough in the pommel and haft to have been forged by the same bladesmith. Not that there were likely to be many smiths who fashioned swords so large - not when most of the men in the room very much doubted they could even lift one, let alone fight with it.
And though some of the older, more worldly onlookers scowled and muttered ‘Katako’ under their breath at the sight of the form fitting charcoals the two wore, most were too busy admiring the men themselves to pay much mind to such grumblings.
The shorter of the two was slim and quiet, with the blond hair and fair skin characteristic of the very far north. He seemed ill-at-ease in the busy common room and spent most of his time staring at his plate, blithely oblivious to any attempts to catch his attention. His eyes, from the few glances people managed, were determined to be a rich blue colour, bright as tanzanite and striking enough to give more than one young lady ideas of melting the wary icy glittering within.
And quite a few likely would have tried, unnatural reticence or no, if not for the fact that every eye in the room had been drawn to the blond’s companion the moment they’d walked in the door.
Dark where the first was pale, the second man was all tanned skin and easy laughter, his long black hair pulled back in a haphazard tail at the nape of his neck. He filled the silence left by his companion with light, friendly banter and careless smiles, seemingly more than willing to extend his good humour to anyone who passed close enough to their table to join in. His eyes were an unusually pale grey, piercing and honest, though Guardsmaster Corbin swore that they’d looked purple in the torchlight by the gate. The man’s wide smile looked completely natural on his handsome face, bright and charming and enough to make many young women - and not a few young men - swoon at the sight.
And though the older folks sighed and shook their heads at the folly of youth, even they felt unaccountably warm whenever the dark one flashed a grin or brightened the room with a round, open laugh. Which was more than odd, especially when they were used to viewing strangers with the wary sort of civility that always bred in times of trouble. There was something about the dark one that couldn’t be ignored though, a strange quality that made him impossible to distrust out of hand. He felt… comfortable, they decided finally, homey and welcoming as though he’d never belonged anywhere but right here in their quiet little village. And he and his friend seemed harmless enough, so most determined that they could forgive themselves for relaxing their concern, just a little.
And really, you didn’t need to be young to understand how well a pretty face and a sunny smile could turn heads anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Could you tone it down a little, Zack?” Cloud muttered under his breath, eyes trained resolutely on a wide scratch in the polished table as he ignored the pretty young thing at the next table who was winking at him. “Our barmaid nearly walked into a wall just then.”
Zack shrugged helplessly, his slightly sheepish grin entirely for Cloud’s benefit. “It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose, Spike,” he defended. “I can’t exactly turn it off.”
“I know,” Cloud sighed, irritation draining out of him like water from a glass and leaving him strangely diminished. His fork stirred absently through the contents of his plate as he flicked his eyes moodily over all the people staring at them and trying to be subtle about it. There were an awful lot of them.
“It just seems like it’s even worse than usual tonight,” he confided wearily, and when he looked up Zack could see the fine lines of tension spidering at the corners of Cloud’s eyes.
“It’s probably because we came in after dark,” Zack pointed out, trying for reasonable and lightly sympathetic. “People would have been curious before they ever set eyes on us.”
“And then you walked in and it was all over,” Cloud agreed, mock seriousness not entirely hiding the strain beneath. “No mortal could resist.”
Zack flashed Cloud his most charming grin. “You know it,” he purred, ignoring the sudden difficulty several people nearby seemed to be having breathing. “Even you couldn’t resist my stunning good looks and boyish charm.”
“Stop that,” Cloud said, somehow managing to smile fondly and roll his eyes at the same time. “The last thing we need is you getting jumped by a room full of glamour-struck villagers. You’re bad enough when you don’t mean it.”
Zack clutched a dramatic hand over his heart. “Ouch! You’re a hard man to please, Spike.”
Cloud smiled, but it was a distracted expression. “I’m helping you stay humble.”
“What’s the fun in that?” Zack grinned, though it was hard to keep the his tone light when Cloud looked so pale and wan sitting there. He gestured towards the mostly-uneaten contents of Cloud’s plate. “Not hungry?” he asked gently.
Cloud blinked at the plate as though he hadn’t realized it was there. “Oh. Not really I guess.” He cocked his head to the side. “You want it?”
“You know that’s not why I asked,” Zack muttered, though he was somewhat heartened when Cloud gave him a look in response - exasperated, fond and completely Cloud.
“You overdid it dealing with that Noe, Zack, and don’t try to deny it.” Arms crossed defiantly over Cloud’s chest as he glanced significantly at the demolished remains of the two servings Zack had already eaten. “You wouldn’t be so hungry if you hadn’t been so keen to show off after spending the last three days tromping through the forest on practically no sleep.”
“Oh come on, it looked cool,” Zack protested. “And it convinced the Guardsmaster to let us in, didn’t it?”
“While draining your energy pretty seriously in the process,” Cloud reminded him mercilessly, though it was said with a fond kind of worry. One half-gloved hand pushed the plate across the table. “Really Zack. Take it. I’m not going to eat any more tonight.”
Zack made a face, even as he accepted the proffered plate. “I’m going to be able to see through you if you keep skipping meals like this,” he complained, feeling only slightly guilty about the way Cloud’s eyes went apologetic in response. He let his own expression go serious as he leaned in, dropping his voice despite the noisy bustle of the common room. “Are you going to be okay here?” he asked, more than willing to go back outside and sleep in a damn tree if Cloud said so.
But Cloud was wearing his stubborn face and Zack wasn’t surprised when his concern was brushed off with a set jaw and a weary nod. “I’ll be fine,” Cloud said, though his expression softened into a smile when Zack gave him a look of his own. “I mean it, Zack. It’s about time we both got a chance to sleep in a real bed and I know you wouldn’t sleep a wink if we were outside the gates.” He glanced around the room despite himself, shoulders hunching briefly. “It’s just… hard, with all these people here.”
“I can believe it.” Zack started in on the remains of Cloud’s dinner, gesturing every now and then with his fork to illustrate his point. “A lot of guys locked themselves in solitary when they first got altered - and that was only a basic shift. I’d hate to see how they’d handle the level of sensitivity you’ve got.”
Cloud looked unimpressed by this old argument so Zack reached out and ruffled his hair with one hand just to hear him squawk.
“Zaaaack!”
“You’re doing just fine Cloud,” he promised, scrubbing fingers shifting into a gentle caress as he let his hand slide reluctantly away. “But that doesn’t mean you should wear yourself out trying to deal with all these people when you’re already bone tired, either. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? I’ll stay here and ask around some, then we can figure out where we stand in the morning, okay?”
It was a mark of how much Cloud had improved since they started this search that he looked relieved rather than contrite at the suggestion - no longer afraid that Zack would leave him behind if he let himself falter sometimes.
The weight of the eyes on them was a tangible thing as Cloud stood and picked up his heavy sword, and Zack was privately glad that Cloud had agreed so quickly. All this attention had to be making it nigh impossible for Cloud to unwind.
“Don’t stay up all night,” Cloud warned as he settled his cloak over his shoulders, and Zack couldn’t help but grin at him being all cute and protective when he was practically falling over with exhaustion.
So he crooked an incredulous eyebrow. “Are you trying to spoil my fun?” he demanded, just because he could.
The look Cloud gave him in response was hearteningly arch. “Only if your idea of fun is being rolled out the window in the morning when you can’t wake up,” he shot back tartly.
Zack pretended to think about it. “Do I get to pick which window?”
Cloud shook his head in mock despair, a smile lingering around the edges of his drawn mouth. “Goodnight, Zack.”
“Night, Spike,” Zack responded with a lazy wave. His were not the only eyes that tracked Cloud’s progress towards the stairs, admiring the easy economy of the blond’s movements, and Zack frowned inwardly, resolving to watch out for anyone heading to the second floor to pursue the allure of a certain pair of pretty blue eyes. Cloud was so strung up right now he’d probably put himself through a wall trying to get away, and Zack didn’t relish the idea of explaining to the innkeeper why they’d decided that a Cloud-shaped hole was much better than a window for rolling people out of.
Zack sat by himself for a few minutes after Cloud left, polishing off the last of Cloud’s dinner and mentally weighing his options. A few people looked as though they wouldn’t mind approaching him now that Cloud had gone, but Zack doubted they’d be particularly interested in the sort of conversation he was looking for. He forestalled any attempts by setting his fork down with a deliberately contented sigh and standing, collecting his sword and cloak before making his way casually towards the bar.
It seemed as though every person in the room was watching him but Zack carried on carelessly, pretending not to notice. He’d long since got past the point where the extra attention bothered him - he’d been fairly popular even before the treatments, after all - and people tended to take to his particular brand of charm better when they didn’t think he was doing it on purpose.
So it was with practiced nonchalance that he plunked himself down at the bar a few seats away from a group of men who, unlike most of the inn’s current patrons, looked completely at home with tankards in their hands and their coat sleeves on the bar. Greeting the big man pouring drinks with an amiable smile, Zack slid a heavy bronze coin across the counter and was rewarded with a foaming tankard of the thick dark ale this region was known for. He drank in silence for several moments, enjoying the rich flavour if not the buzz it was supposed to give, then let his head tilt artfully to the side, just enough to catch the frankly curious gazes of the three men staring openly at them. He offered them a smile and hefted his glass, inwardly grinning when they all instinctively returned the toast.
“That’s a mighty big sword you got there boy,” one man observed as he lowered his glass. “What are you looking to skewer with it?”
Zack leaned back easily, shifting in his chair to shrug at them. “Whatever’s out there looking to skewer me first,” he grinned, taking it as a good sign when the men smiled back in response. “And there seem to be all sorts of nasty beasties that fit that description recently.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” the second man sighed, a blue-veined hand passing through his pepper-gray hair. “The caravans bring tales of monster attacks every week, and they’ve taken to traveling with half again as many hands as they used to. It’s always been a mite treacherous round here, what with the forest and all,” he noted, with the sort of gross tendency towards understatement characteristic of small-town men the world over, “But it seems other parts of the kingdom are getting near as bad these days. A man can’t hardly go outside his city walls these days without getting attacked by some monstrosity or other.” Keen eyes wandered over Zack’s relaxed pose, taking note of the strength in his arms, the muscles filling out his shirt. “I hear tell you ran into some trouble of your own outside our gate, Friend…”
“Zack,” he introduced himself, conversation pausing for a moment as he leaned over to receive handshakes and names in return. “And yeah, I’m just glad your Guardsmaster let us in - I don’t like to think what might have happened if we’d had to sleep outside tonight.”
The first man, Lomas, made a face. “It’s a poor state of affairs when the kingdom’s citizens have to protect themselves from dangers because the King’s men aren’t keeping the kingdom safe.”
“Watch it,” warned Raaf, clearly the leader of the three despite his graying hair. His eyes narrowed thinly. “You shouldn’t speak so about his Majesty.”
“King Rufus has his own trouble right now,” the last man Wolan put in, leaning over Raaf’s shoulder enthusiastically as he took a swig of his ale. “Relations with Leial have been even worse than usual since the latest Queen Jenova ascended the throne.”
“There’s been a new one?” Lomas asked with an ironically raised eyebrow. “I didn’t know anyone could tell the difference between one and the next!”
Zack joined the men in laughing, probably appreciating the joke better than the man who’d made it. “I think they’re up to about 40 by now,” he offered off-handedly. “Or something like that.” The current queen of Leial was actually Jenova XXXVII, but Zack didn’t expect anyone around here to know that. Most Shinrites barely understood the concept of a matriarchal society, let alone the precise politics involved in finding a carbon copy heir to the throne every 30 years or so.
A fact that was only emphasized by the distasteful scowl twisting Raaf’s face at the words.
“Whatever the number, it’s too many!” the man declared. “She’s spoiling for a war, that witch, and Shinra’s the closest target. It’s no surprise the King’s soldiers don’t have time to clear the roads, what with the skirmishes and raids along the border.”
“The monsters are even fiercer by the border too,” Zack told them, seamlessly shifting topics with a shrug and a casual shake of his head. “Nearly got myself gored by a manticore when I was in Talaptha a few seasons ago.”
Lomas gave him an appraising look. “Talaptha? There’s not much down there but rocks and monsters. What were you doing?”
Zack shrugged, offering a grin that was almost equal parts sheepishness and brazen self-confidence. “Hunting tounians actually.” He scratched his head ruefully. “Not that I managed to catch many while running for my life with a nest of manticores on my heels.”
The three men exchanged a look. Zack pretended not to notice.
“You’re a bounty hunter?” Wolan asked finally, tone too stilted to be completely natural.
“Kind of,” Zack agreed easily, knowing he had to tread carefully here. Men who hunted other men were no friend to anybody in this part of the world. “At least as far as monsters are concerned.”
“A fiendsbane, then?” Raaf intuited, and he laughed in unmitigated relief when Zack nodded. “Good on you Friend Zack,” he declared, toasting him with a wryly raised glass. “Though I don’t envy you that glory. It’s a thankless job and no mistake.”
Zack shrugged, draining his glass and wiping the back of one hand across his mouth. “What can I say? The pay’s good and I’m never hurting for work to do.” He grinned crookedly. “And it’s a damn sight better than joining the army, anyway.”
“Pshaw,” Lomas snorted, setting his empty glass down with a thump. “A strapping young lad like you? You’d make signet knight within a year.”
“Maybe,” Zack allowed noncommittally. “But I kinda like helping people out in my own way, you know? And like Friend Wolan said, Shinra’s in desperate need of monster killers right now. So we’re doing that instead.”
Wolan blinked owlishly at Zack. “You and your friend here to kill monsters?”
“Sort of,” Zack said evasively, signaling for the bartender as if to avoid the issue.
“Surely you’re not all the way out here looking to get hired?” Raaf demanded incredulously, and Zack had to suppress a grin at the not-quite subtle way the man fished for information.
“It’s more like I’m currently employed,” he admitted, dropping his voice to a staged conspiratorial whisper that Cloud could probably hear on the second floor.
Wait, bad example.
“You’re hunting something specific?” Lomas guessed, interest sparking in his deep-set eyes when Zack nodded. He leaned in close. “What is it? A behemoth? A Noe brood?”
“No,” Zack shook his head. The barkeep drew up with an armful of tankards and Zack readily paid, more than willing to sacrifice a few coppers for the information he was seeking. “The monster I’m after is one of its kind and incredibly dangerous. More a thing of legends than flesh and blood, it seems.” He sighed, letting some real frustration creep into his voice. “I’ve been tracking it for a couple of months,” - give or take a decade or two - “but I don’t know this region very well so my friend and I decided to stop here and regroup.” Another heavy sigh. “I’m beginning to wonder if we’re ever going to find it.”
“Well,” Raaf said gravely and it was all Zack could do to keep from cheering out loud at the collaboration he could read in the man’s face. “Why don’t you tell us what it is you’re looking for and why, and we’ll see if we can be of any assistance?”
“You sure?” Zack hedged, feigning reluctance. “It’s a long story.”
We asked, didn’t we?” Lomas demanded bluntly. “So stop stalling and get talking.”
Zack thought about it for all of half a second before he grinned and leaned in close. “Remember, I warned you,” he cautioned. “Now, have you ever heard anything about a silver griffon?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours and half a dozen drinks later, Zack tromped up the stairs after extricating himself from the company of his new bosom companions with a smile and a promise to sit with them tomorrow night. He eased the door open carefully, wary of disturbing Cloud, only to discover that he needn’t have worried. The room was dim, lit by a few quietly burning wall scones, and Zack was ruefully unsurprised to find both beds neatly made and Cloud stood motionless in front of an open window, staring blankly out into the night.
Zack sighed out loud and let the door swing shut behind him. “I thought you were supposed to be sleeping,” he chided quietly, unbuckling his sword harness as he wandered over towards the window.
“It’s not so bad up here,” Cloud said distractedly, something oddly dissonant in his tone. He didn’t turn as he added, “And most of your admirers got bored and went home hours ago, so it’s been much quieter.”
Zack let his sword fall onto the closest bed and stepped up behind Cloud, peering past him at the darkness beyond. “So you’re staring at the dark instead of sleeping,” he observed, dropping his chin onto Cloud’s shoulder and feeling the soft scratch of wool against his throat. “That seems like a fun way to spend the evening.”
That earned him the ghost of a smile, caught in the corner of his vision. “You told me I ought to find a hobby.”
“Yeah,” Zack shrugged, rolling his eyes for emphasis. “But I meant more along the lines of knitting or collecting rocks or something.”
Cloud made a face. “…Why would anybody collect rocks?”
“What?” Zack demanded, righteously wounded. “You don’t like rocks?”
“Do I even need to dignify that with a response?”
Cloud had been practicing his deadpan voice, Zack noticed, and he had to hide his amused grin against the other man’s collar. “I guess I can let you off just this once,” he offered, with a heavy sigh. “But I expect a dignified response next time or you’re going to make me sad.”
Cloud snorted at that and Zack bravely resisted the impulse to stick his tongue out at him. He shifted his eyes forward instead, squinting towards the tangled mass of the forest that was stretched out beyond the village wall, hardly more than a dark blot on the horizon. “So what’s so interesting out there, anyway?” he asked, more serious than many would have expected.
“The forest is uneasy,” Cloud told him hollowly, and Zack didn’t have to look to know that Cloud’s eyes were glowing in the dim light. “Something’s going to happen here. Something serious.”
And Zack nearly made a joke in response - because how could anything serious ever happen when he was around? - but now didn’t seem like an especially good time for that. “Any idea what?” he asked instead, peering into the dark and wondering absently what Cloud could see out there that he couldn’t.
Whatever it was, it was certainly doing a good job of making Cloud morose. “I can’t tell,” Cloud admitted, a touch of frustration colouring his words. “There’s just a sense of… waiting or, or something. It’s lingering over everything and making it all feel wrong somehow.” Blond hair whispered against Zack’s cheek as Cloud shook his head. “It’s not safe here.”
We’re not safe here, Zack heard behind Cloud’s words, the familiar tang of fear, worry and wistful regret lingering in the hollow space between dream and truth.
“Well then,” he murmured, shifting closer to wrap his arms around Cloud’s waist and fit the blond neatly against him. “Unless we plan on doing the dramatic hero thing again, we can just find what we want and get out of here before whatever it is happens.”
Cloud sighed at that, leaning back instinctively into Zack’s warmth. His air-chilled skin was cool to the touch in the cozy bedroom. “Did you learn anything downstairs?” he asked, tilting his head back to blink up at Zack.
“Hard to say,” Zack answered, shrugging awkwardly with his arms around Cloud. “I got a couple of leads, but I don’t know how much help they’ll be.”
He felt Cloud’s dejected slump all the way down his front. “Nothing definite?” Cloud asked, something small and lost in his voice that made Zack think suddenly of the lonely little cadet he’d taken under his wing so many, many years ago.
“Hey, it’s not that bad Spike,” he encouraged, trying for optimistic. “I’m going to see if I can talk to the village’s secret keeper - if anyone’s heard anything, it’ll be him.”
Cloud sighed wistfully. “Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever find him.”
“Hey,” Zack chided gently. “What kind of attitude is that? The world’s only so big, he’s got to be around somewhere. And Seph was always lousy at being sneaky anyway.” He leaned his cheek against Cloud’s, warm against cool. “Besides, there’s not much we can’t do when we’re together, right?”
Cloud’s hands settled over his own, thinner but just as competent and rough with sword calluses. “Right,” he smiled, the absolute trust in voice enough to take Zack’s breath away no matter how many times he heard it. “Thanks for keeping me with you Zack.”
Zack smiled, helplessly fond. “Like I’d leave you behind,” he declared. “Who would I torment?” Cloud shook his head at that and Zack gave him a quick squeeze. “We’ll find him some day Cloud, you just wait.”
A contented hum rumbled through Cloud’s chest and they just stood together for a moment, enjoying the closeness.
Then blue eyes slanted towards him. “So,” Cloud said, deliberately light. “How many new friends did you make tonight?”
Zack pouted dramatically. “Only three. And not a single one tried to proposition me for anything, can you believe it?”
“Horrifying,” Cloud declared with perfect earnestness. “You must be wearing off. Shall we make an offering to Veldini and ask her to restore your charm for you?”
Zack mock growled and pulled Cloud tighter against him, grinning at the laughter bubbling up from Cloud’s throat. “There’s nothing wrong with my charm, thank you very much,” he declared, shifting his hips deliberately. Cloud’s breath caught and Zack grinned. His voice dropped into a husky purr that would probably have driven most of the people downstairs into catatonic arrest as he leaned in close. “You want a demonstration?”
“You need to sleep,” Cloud protested breathlessly, not even remotely close to a ‘no.’
“And so do you,” Zack rejoined, letting his hands worm between Cloud’s shirt and his flat stomach. “And we will.” He waggled his eyebrows with a deliberately campy leer, just to see Cloud smile. “But I know all sorts of fun things to do that include you and a bed - and it’s been a woefully long time since we’ve had a bed to practice them with.”
Cloud laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Damn straight.” He loosened his grip enough to let Cloud turn, away from the forest and towards him and really, who wouldn’t be incorrigible with encouragement like that? He kissed the end of Cloud’s nose and smiled at the way Cloud’s face scrunched up in response. “Besides, you still haven’t picked a hobby yet have you? This is a lot more interesting than rocks.”
“It’s a good thing I love you,” Cloud said lightly, helping Zack steer them both over to the bed. “Because you’re absolutely insane.”
“Oh good,” he observed, cloak fluttering to the floor as Cloud’s clever hands came up to help him with the fastenings on his shirt. “I was worried this was normal.”
Tomorrow would come more than soon enough, complete with overly interested villagers and nigh impossible quests. But for now, watching darkness play smoothly across Cloud’s face and listening to the beat of his own heart as he slipped down into his lover’s embrace, Zack was more than content to forget about the world for just a little bit. This was more than enough for him.
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