Life Finds a Way

Chapter 70

Clarissa was heartened by the fact that no one said anything to her about leaving the building. She took it as a sign that she could get back to life as normal, as normal as life on Gaia had ever been anyway. The only difference was that Shelke went with her everywhere.

The girl had been fascinated by her spars with Genesis and loved to watch them train together. Clarissa wished she could spar with Sephiroth again as well, but the General had his hands fuller than normal.

Even with her moving back into her normal pattern, it was easy to see everyone was tense. They all knew something big was coming and none of them could wait until Veld returned. There were several times that Clarissa had to walk away from Genesis just to keep from snapping back at him. She knew he was only acting out his worry, but she didn't have to deal with it too. She had enough on her mind already. He never stayed in a bad mood for long after she walked away so things didn't get bad between them. It helped that Genesis tried to be a gentleman whenever Shelke was around, which was most of the time.

Clarissa had thought to go back and visit Aerith again a few days later, but she found out from Angeal that Zack had been visiting the slums during all his free time. She gave Angeal a bright smile at that news. He gave her a questioning look at that, but she didn't give him a chance to ask. Instead she took Shelke to one of the closest playgrounds and watched as she interacted with other children. Clarissa was glad to see she didn't have many difficulties. She sent up a thankful prayer to Minerva that they had found the girl before any permanent damage had been done.

----------------------------------

It was only a few days later that Clarissa and Shelke were in the apartment playing a game. They had been making shadow puppets and they had both fell into laughter at the increasingly ludicrous shapes they had been making. Their laughter was interrupted by a frantic knocking. Clarissa frowned slightly at the pace but got up to answer. Her frown turned into shock when she opened the door. She didn't get much of a chance to register who it had been before the woman pushed passed her to grab Shelke in a crushing hug.

Clarissa barely noted the Turk that had brought Shalua follow her back into the apartment before she closed the door. She watched with a smile as the two sisters didn't move for several moments. Finally, Shalua sat back and brushed Shelke's hair back from her face and smiled through her happy tears. "I am so glad I finally found you!"

Shelke looked just as happy to see Shalua. She was smiling brighter than Clarissa had seen her do yet. After a few more moments Shelke was able to speak. "It was scary, but I was saved by these three big men. They come visit me every day, and Clarissa has been taking care of me. She took me to the park yesterday and I've met a lot of nice people."

Clarissa laughed at how animated Shelke was. She had never gotten to be like that unless it was just Clarissa around. She was even slightly shy around the Firsts, but Clarissa figured that was because Shelke was still slightly in awe of them. Seeing her interact with her sister had Clarissa nearly crying happy tears.

Once Shelke was done talking Shalua turned to Clarissa. "I apologize for barging passed you. I take it you are Clarissa?"

Clarissa took her hand with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I understand how you must have felt."

Shalua shook her head. "I can't thank you enough. I was told she was saved because of you. I will forever be in your debt."

Clarissa's smile widened. "Like I said, I'm just glad she was saved. Do you have plans now that you are reunited?"

Shalua frowned at the question. "I was asked to return to Shinra, but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea."

Clarissa nodded. "I understand why you might think that. If you don't have to decide quickly, why don't you take some time to think about it. From what I understand the Science Department is understaffed. You might find that your skills are not only needed but appreciated as well."