Cloud x Tifa - Liquid Arrows (FFVII)

Liquid Arrows

Liquid Arrows

Make love to me

The way the rain makes love to the trees

Never ceasing;

Except to see how I come alive.

-unknown

The sky opened up with a sudden, jolting crack of thunder, just beyond the hills of the Mythril Mines. The atmosphere had begun to darken already, yet there were still miles and miles of open terrain and dirt roads to traverse. The nearest city, Junon, was still nearly fifty miles to the West.

"Don't tell me we're about to get stuck in the rain again!" Barret thundered from the front of the group.

Cloud resisted the urge to swear, staring ahead at the vast, open plain that stretched far beyond into the horizon. As dusk descended ever more quickly, a bright flash of white cut through the expanse in the far distance, peeling open the heavens, inviting the first new rainfalls to creep over the land.

They had just finished a particularly nasty battle with a group of aggressive Cappawires and Zemelets, and in addition to now being stuck in a new wave of wet weather, they were all sore and nursing their injuries, swallowing back potions and taking advantage of Aerith's healing magic as they made their way along the roads. Most of their group was quiet, tired from their travels and overspent from fighting over the course of the last day since they'd left Kalm.

"We won't make it to Junon tonight," Cloud told the group, ignoring Barret's complaints as the first few drops of rain began to fall in a light drizzle. "We'll have to make camp again tonight."

"We have plenty of provisions from Kalm," Red XIII stated matter-of-factly. "I should think we should be able to survive the night in the wild."

"Easy for you to say!" Barret roared, turning around to face the rest of them. "You're a wild animal. I'm sure you're used to it!"

Red stopped walking and sat down on his haunches. "I'll beg your pardon," he began, but Cloud simply shook his head, stepping forward as he felt his frustration multiply inside of him, panging his forehead with pain.

"Listen," he interrupted before Red could continue or Barret could further shout his disagreements. "Let's just focus on getting to safe ground to make camp for the night, away from the trails of monsters or fiends. All of us are tired, and most of us took a fair amount of beating today. This isn't helping."

"Yeah, yeah," Barret grumbled with a toss of his good hand in the air above his head, turning and continuing on his way, stomping his feet with a bit more force than was necessary against the earth. Red emitted a low growl somewhere in the back of his throat, but he too rose to his feet, continuing on the path with his shoulders rising steeply as he padded along, his tail swishing behind him and lighting up the incoming darkness with its bright orange flame.

Having killed that ridiculous conversation, Cloud sighed and continued to hike, letting his eyes scan the horizon in the distance in search of a safe place to make camp for the night. He was looking for higher ground that was forested and enclosed, both to keep the monsters from finding them but also to keep them sheltered if the weather kept up its threats.

A little ways ahead, Aerith and Tifa walked side by side, having ignored the breakdown in conversation between the men, though he was certain he heard Aerith's distinct giggle. Since shopping in Kalm, the two young women had stocked up on clothing and blankets to help them survive the weather as they navigated the terrain, and Cloud noticed that Tifa had pulled a hoodie over her arms, while Aerith had traded her short-sleeve jacket for a longer sleeved sweater. It occurred to him as he watched them that they both had better sense than any of the males in their group; although they had picked up jackets and warmer outerwear for both him and Barret, neither of them had bothered putting any of it on.