The Right Hand Path - Stones
May 25th, 2006 02:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skerenTitle: Stones
Set: The Right Hand Path
Series: FF7
Note: This was supposed to be a one shot people... so, blargh on you all. Here's the second thing for it.
First Part
He should have realized that it wouldn’t be easy. There was an intense morbid fascination in Zack’s eyes, and it had been there since they’d hidden away in the old building. There was no easy answer to the question of ‘why?’ and yet they were waiting for an explanation. The expectant silence was heavy, and he forced himself to be still, to not curl up, as he wanted to. It had to be the body, the other, hazier memories, which led to the impulse.
“It’s not easy to explain.” The words fell dead into the air, but he had really expected nothing else. He’d nearly killed them both, was honestly not certain how they’d survived him. If nothing else it showed that he was a wise choice in his subordinates.
“Try.” It was Cloud that spoke, not Zack. Zack seemed nearly frozen in place, intent, bowstring tight with tension. Cloud was just waiting, the look of him resigned, nothing more.
“At the time it was what needed to be done.” There was an insincere quality in that statement, even in its truth, and the taste of it left ashes in his mouth. “I was influenced, and it seemed the correct path to take. If you two hadn’t come to me, I wouldn’t have attacked you.”
“Right. Just a town, then what? What else were you going to do once you left the reactor? Did you have plans for that too?” He fisted his hands as he heard the tone in Zack’s voice, didn’t like that he’d put it there, but he really saw no way that any of it could have gone differently. They’d all survived the encounter in one fashion or another, so it was really quite enough for him.
“Then nothing. The plans never went far.” He curled his lips, just the slightest bit in a shadowed smile. “It was a matter of… waiting for the other turn. It makes little sense to me now.”
“But it still makes some.”
“Yes.”
They all fell into silence, and the chill was almost tangible. It was unexpected for Cloud to be the first to move, as he was always the most timid of the pair. Perhaps the time in the labs hadn’t been all pain for them. “I can feel you.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“That… I don’t. I apologize.” He had to tip his head back to look at the blond, as he was sitting in contrast to the man standing next to him. The blue eyes didn’t seem satisfied with his answer.
“Are you really him?” They were almost nose to nose at this point. He had no idea what the blond was trying to achieve, but he didn’t like it. He held carefully still. “Are you the man I threw into the lifestream?”
“Mostly.” The answer was softer, then the unwelcome feeling eased, the blond retreating a moment later to his corner of the room. He knew that the blond wasn’t finished with what he wanted to know, but with luck he would wait until he had perhaps come up with some sort of answer for him.
There was another extended silence.
“You said mostly.” It was Zack this time; his voice quiet as it broke into the stillness. Instead of answering the man verbally, he simply nodded. “How mostly?”
“I have the memories.”
The reaction wasn’t a surprise, but how far into the conversation he got before it happened was. He would have expected it to be longer before he snapped. Forcing his reflexes not to kick in as he suddenly ended up with an intense violet stare not even a few inches away and his back to the mattress, he waited. Perhaps that wording hadn’t been the best. “What do you remember?”
It wasn’t the tone the actions had led him to expect, so it was understandable that he went a bit wide-eyed. Why was he pleading with him? He didn’t need to do that, and he could see no relevant cause for it. “I’m certain I remember just about everything.”
“How?” The closeness was starting to unnerve him, so he moved his hands and started to nudge Zack firmly backwards. He wasn’t weak, not even when he’d been this young had he been weak. They’d sent him off to war around this age after all. He remembered growing into his blade.
“There aren’t gaps.” He was glad the man didn’t press the proximity issue once he pushed him out of range, even if he was watching him more intensely than he really cared for. He used the chance to get himself back into a sitting position again, this time with his back to the headboard.
“How do you know?” Zack wasn’t coming closer, but he looked like he wanted to. He gave in to the urge to curl his legs up to his chest, and apparently the defensive gesture was enough to make the dark haired man back down. His voice got softer. “What makes you sure that nothing is missing?”
“I just know Zack. Just because I look like a teenager doesn’t mean I don’t remember everything leading up to age twenty-five. I’d ask you to trust me, but we all know how badly that would go, don’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah we do.”
Set: The Right Hand Path
Series: FF7
Note: This was supposed to be a one shot people... so, blargh on you all. Here's the second thing for it.
First Part
He should have realized that it wouldn’t be easy. There was an intense morbid fascination in Zack’s eyes, and it had been there since they’d hidden away in the old building. There was no easy answer to the question of ‘why?’ and yet they were waiting for an explanation. The expectant silence was heavy, and he forced himself to be still, to not curl up, as he wanted to. It had to be the body, the other, hazier memories, which led to the impulse.
“It’s not easy to explain.” The words fell dead into the air, but he had really expected nothing else. He’d nearly killed them both, was honestly not certain how they’d survived him. If nothing else it showed that he was a wise choice in his subordinates.
“Try.” It was Cloud that spoke, not Zack. Zack seemed nearly frozen in place, intent, bowstring tight with tension. Cloud was just waiting, the look of him resigned, nothing more.
“At the time it was what needed to be done.” There was an insincere quality in that statement, even in its truth, and the taste of it left ashes in his mouth. “I was influenced, and it seemed the correct path to take. If you two hadn’t come to me, I wouldn’t have attacked you.”
“Right. Just a town, then what? What else were you going to do once you left the reactor? Did you have plans for that too?” He fisted his hands as he heard the tone in Zack’s voice, didn’t like that he’d put it there, but he really saw no way that any of it could have gone differently. They’d all survived the encounter in one fashion or another, so it was really quite enough for him.
“Then nothing. The plans never went far.” He curled his lips, just the slightest bit in a shadowed smile. “It was a matter of… waiting for the other turn. It makes little sense to me now.”
“But it still makes some.”
“Yes.”
They all fell into silence, and the chill was almost tangible. It was unexpected for Cloud to be the first to move, as he was always the most timid of the pair. Perhaps the time in the labs hadn’t been all pain for them. “I can feel you.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“That… I don’t. I apologize.” He had to tip his head back to look at the blond, as he was sitting in contrast to the man standing next to him. The blue eyes didn’t seem satisfied with his answer.
“Are you really him?” They were almost nose to nose at this point. He had no idea what the blond was trying to achieve, but he didn’t like it. He held carefully still. “Are you the man I threw into the lifestream?”
“Mostly.” The answer was softer, then the unwelcome feeling eased, the blond retreating a moment later to his corner of the room. He knew that the blond wasn’t finished with what he wanted to know, but with luck he would wait until he had perhaps come up with some sort of answer for him.
There was another extended silence.
“You said mostly.” It was Zack this time; his voice quiet as it broke into the stillness. Instead of answering the man verbally, he simply nodded. “How mostly?”
“I have the memories.”
The reaction wasn’t a surprise, but how far into the conversation he got before it happened was. He would have expected it to be longer before he snapped. Forcing his reflexes not to kick in as he suddenly ended up with an intense violet stare not even a few inches away and his back to the mattress, he waited. Perhaps that wording hadn’t been the best. “What do you remember?”
It wasn’t the tone the actions had led him to expect, so it was understandable that he went a bit wide-eyed. Why was he pleading with him? He didn’t need to do that, and he could see no relevant cause for it. “I’m certain I remember just about everything.”
“How?” The closeness was starting to unnerve him, so he moved his hands and started to nudge Zack firmly backwards. He wasn’t weak, not even when he’d been this young had he been weak. They’d sent him off to war around this age after all. He remembered growing into his blade.
“There aren’t gaps.” He was glad the man didn’t press the proximity issue once he pushed him out of range, even if he was watching him more intensely than he really cared for. He used the chance to get himself back into a sitting position again, this time with his back to the headboard.
“How do you know?” Zack wasn’t coming closer, but he looked like he wanted to. He gave in to the urge to curl his legs up to his chest, and apparently the defensive gesture was enough to make the dark haired man back down. His voice got softer. “What makes you sure that nothing is missing?”
“I just know Zack. Just because I look like a teenager doesn’t mean I don’t remember everything leading up to age twenty-five. I’d ask you to trust me, but we all know how badly that would go, don’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah we do.”