I
"You shouldn’t be here alone."
Alma Beowulve looked over at a shadowy section of the forest where their band of rebels had camped and narrowed her eyes against the darkness. She’d heard a soft voice that was new to her, but she couldn’t see its owner. A chocobo cooed in the distance and Alma turned to step away from the sound. When she moved, she was able to see the face of the young man who’d spoken. He wore strange clothes and a large blade was strapped to his back. His blonde hair was strangely spiked, and his blue eyes glowed with unworldly intelligence muted by pain and unknown sorrow.
"You startled me."
"Sorry." The young man tossed away the flower he held in his hands and leaned further back against the rotting stump. "You shouldn’t be alone. There are wild animals this far out of camp. Where’s your brother?"
Alma forced herself to take a few steps forward. "I don’t know. That’s who I looked for. He didn’t come to supper, and I’m getting worried."
"He’s not out here. I would’ve seen him. Go on back to camp before you’re missed."
Alma almost turned to do what he asked, but she hesitated. "My name’s Alma. What’s yours?"
The young man stared down at his gloved hands. "I know who you are."
Alma waited. She stepped closer when he said nothing more. "Don’t you have a name?"
"It won’t mean anything to you. Not here. I don’t belong here."
"Won’t you tell me? I can’t call you ‘boy’ all the time."
He smirked. "Cloud."
"Cloud? That’s an odd name. Cloud." Alma smiled. "I like it, though."
"Thanks."
Alma sat beside him on the stump and looked into the blackness for a long moment. "Do you know my brother well?"
Cloud shrugged and one of the spikes bobbed with the motion. "He helped me out when others wouldn’t. I was a stranger and he let me join his group anyway, taking the time to let me relearn how to fight. Your brother is a good guy."
Alma nodded slowly. "I know, but he doesn’t. Rafa thinks he blames himself for everyone’s death." She looked over at Cloud and saw a strange look on his face. "Does he really need to go through it alone?"
Cloud was silent a long time and when he answered, his voice was strange. "As long as you and the others are here, he isn’t alone. Remember that."
"Can’t we do something?"
Cloud shook his head. "You can’t. It’s up to him. He’ll see the truth when he’s ready and not before. Be there and it’ll help."
Alma studied his face. "You know this from experience, don’t you? You’ve gone through this, haven’t you?"
"All of us have, one way or another," he said quietly.
"Cloud, where are you from?"
"I don’t know." He was quiet for a long time. "I don’t know."
"Oh." She hesitated a moment longer and then stood. His introspective silence made her feel like she was intruding. "It was nice meeting you, Cloud. I’m glad you’re still with us, and I hope you can go home soon."
Cloud only nodded, so Alma moved away. His words made her feel better as the sounds of the camp grew louder. As long as we’re here he’ll be okay. Alma nodded and a little more fear left her.
When Ramza wandered into camp in the wee hours of the morning, all was quiet. The last watch was hard at work talking amongst themselves and Ramza gave the two ladies a nod as he passed them. Ramza didn’t notice their continued stares as he approached and entered his tent. Lavian and Alicia had been with the group for a long time, and he’d found them to be as talented as they were dedicated and understanding. Like all the others, they looked to him for direction and followed without question.
There was a step on the rocky ground outside, but no one entered or asked if they could. Ramza waited a moment longer before he bid them enter. A young man by the name of Cloud Strife entered and held back in the shadows of the tent. Ramza liked him because of his no-nonsense attitude toward the war and all the intrigue with the church. Nothing seemed to shock him, and there was something in his eyes that hinted at the cause. Something twisted and inhumane that he had witnessed. A friend lost.
Ramza changed his gaze to the map on the table in front of him. "Cloud Strife, wasn’t it?"
"Yeah."
"What did you need?"
"Your sister was looking for you earlier."
Ramza looked up, a little surprised that Cloud would have been the one to come to him about Alma. "Was something wrong?"
Cloud crossed his arms and glared down at the ground. "No. She just couldn’t find you. She got scared."
"Where is she?"
"She’s with Rafa and Maria."
"I suppose they’re already asleep?"
Cloud nodded briefly. "I checked in on her on the way here."
Ramza examined the man that stood so distant, and then gestured to the seat across from him. Cloud sat and propped his feet up on the table. "You didn’t need to," Ramza said.
Cloud shrugged and crossed his arms again. "She’s… she’s a lot like another girl I knew." Cloud shook his head. "Don’t ask."
Ramza didn’t. "What’s on your mind?"
Cloud shrugged again. "I was just wondering what we were going to do next. Everyone’s getting impatient. They want to make a move before something happens to blow our cover."
"‘Blow our cover.’" Ramza shook his head. "That’s an odd way of putting it, but I’ve heard it all before. From Agrias, especially."
"So, what’s the problem? You know what to do next. Quit thinking so much about what could happen or what has happened." Cloud sat up and gestured to the map. "Think about who needs your help the most and how to get there quickest. A lot of people died in this war. A lot more lost their homes and land. We need to make sure no one gets lost in the shuffle." He hesitated. "At least that’s what I would do."
Ramza nodded slowly. "Agrias said the same thing, but there are a lot of questions and unknowns that need to be faced before we can move forward."
Cloud leaned forward enough to slide his large blade from its scabbard on his back. It was a massive two-edged sword that they’d found on the summit of the cone in the Bervenia Volcano. Cloud had called it a Materia Blade, refusing any further explanation. All the group knew was that he was adept at its handling and could do many wondrous attacks with it. Now he stared down at it in intense silence. His strange blue eyes glowed with a somber history.
"These ‘unknowns’ will be revealed along the way. I’d bet my life on it. As for the questions…" Cloud shook his head and slowly stood. He spun the sword with a single gloved hand and easily slid it back into its scabbard. "Most questions aren’t worth the trouble of finding an answer. Make sure you can handle it before asking the question. Life, most of the time, will throw you a curve you weren’t prepared for." He turned to go, but paused by the tent flap. "Your sister is worried about you," he said without turning. "So are a lot of the others. Take some friendly advice that I’m sure you’ve heard before. Let it go. It’s easier all the way around. Especially for her."
Cloud left the tent with a clap of thunder.