Switched

Solutions and Trust

Chapter 23

Over the next several days, almost everyone noted the change in Sephiroth. Although she still seemed to be struggling with a bad mood, there were several times she stopped in the middle of an action and redirected. Every time Aerith noticed it, she tried to give the General an encouraging smile. She understood how difficult it could be to even notice when you were lashing out in the first place when the experience was still new. She was happy to see that not only did Sephiroth notice, but she was handling it surprisingly well.

It was after one of those times that Sephiroth excused herself for a few moments. Once she was gone Aerith left as well, heading toward the area they had designated for supplies. Genesis gave her a curious look but decided that his efforts would be better spent helping Angeal until the others came back. He took off to look for his old friend and tried not to think about the reason for it.

Sephiroth had gravitated to the pool in the center of the ancient city once again. As painful as the memories this location evoked were, it was here that she found the most peace. It sometimes seemed that the voice of the planet was loudest here, although she thought that might be because the spirits of the people that used to inhabit the city had not completely left. She was surprised when she found that the voice of the planet helped to keep her centered. It had been harder to hear since Angeal and the others were returned, but it was still a constant companion. She had finally gotten used to it and realized she was coming to appreciate the presence.

It was as she was meditating on the voice of the planet, that it surged. That fact alone had her surprised since it had been harder to hear, but when she finally understood, she jumped up and headed back to find Aerith and Genesis.

She hadn't made it to the center of their camp when she was intercepted by a voice calling out to her. "Yo, Ice Princess! Wait up."

She turned to Reno with a scowl. He refused to give up the stupid nickname, but she tried to clear her face as she remembered she wasn't the only one he targeted. If Genesis could manage to put up with it, she should have no problem. Her voice was still clipped when she answered. "What do you want Reno?"

The Turk smirked as he caught up to her. "Maybe I should reevaluate your nickname. You ain't nearly as icy as ya used to be."

Sephiroth wasn't allowed to respond before a high-pitched voice interrupted from behind Reno. "Uh uh, no, no, no. Ice Princess works great. Can't you tell that her glare could freeze an enemy from a hundred meters?"

Sephiroth had to fight to not roll her eyes as the equally annoying ninja stepped out from behind Reno. The only thing that would have been worse would have been Weiss. He had still not managed to find respect for most of their team. It was a wonder that he hadn't been knocked out on any number of occasions. She froze in the middle of that thought however when she finally noticed Weiss on the other side of Reno. It took her a few moments to find her voice again as her mind had already taken off with the thoughts of the havoc this particular trio was capable of. She finally found her voice as Weiss started to chuckle. She turned her glare back to Reno. "Don't you three have something better to be doing?"

Weiss was the one to answer. "We're doing it. The Ancient asked us to track you down. Something about a message from the planet. Asked that we have you meet her in the room the three of you'd been using."

Sephiroth's face softened some. She was thankful that it hadn't just been her that heard the message. She started to turn and head to meet Aerith, but she stopped and shot the three of them another glare. "I was already headed that way as I received the same message, but you three need to find something productive to do. Go help Cloud if you can't think of anything."