[Stunt? What stunt was he talking about? For a while, Cloud looks confused as his brows pull together but his memories of when he was last awake begin to flood back. Sephiroth appearing as a fragment of himself, the subsequent fights, helping Tifa and Eustace to safety... And finally the fight together with Zack and how that ended.
Before long, he recalls what Zack might've been referring to and he finds himself smacking his lips together distastefully. It almost felt like the metallic taste of blood filled in his mouth again.]
Like I ate Sephiroth whole.
[He sighs, leaning forward, propping his elbows onto his knees.]
What happened after all that? [A pause.] Are you all right?
[ Zack pauses to study him, allowing a dry laugh to escape his lips. Yeah, any other time saying you ate someone whole would be a wild subject... too bad it wasn't.
To be honest his head was still reeling from the events the week prior. It was already chaos enough that the Dream Eater was reeking havoc, but to have those nightmares come back, too...
... And to think he still wasn't strong enough. ]
You gobbled up an entire human and you're asking if I'm okay? [ He sighs with a shrug of his shoulders. ] But to answer your question... yeah, I'm fine. A lot better now.
[ At least he can breathe normally again. ]
Can't say it was that eventful after you passed out. Things started to slow down and most of the fighting stopped. Managed to drag you back home. Everyone's been trying to fix what was damaged since.
Good to hear that things are moving along. Was too focused dealing with Sephiroth.
[A week still feels like a long time to be out. Just hearing that the Story Eater had been dealt with was still a weight off his shoulders. He shifts slightly, still mulling over what had happened.
Sephiroth was here. Even as a fragment of his actual self it felt hard to shake off that he was around. Cloud could stil feel the weight of the Buster Sword in his hands as he fought the man, his shadow off, over and over that day.
Until finally, he'd transformed into that wolf, larger than he had throughout that day.]
I'm still not sure how I did it either.
[Cloud doesn't expound at first. He cradles his head in one hand, not unlike the times he's had to deal with those splittinf headaches. He could still feel the cracking of bones in his mouth, the ripping of muscle and sinew as his teeth clamped on the body. Then finally, he swallowed him. Thinking about it made him sick to his stomach.
And Zack was there the whole time too, watching it all go down. He can't even imagine how Zack was feeling. How zack had felt then.
Cloud turns to face him once more, rephrasing his question slightly.]
[ It was rare for Cloud to ask a question a second time, but even as he gazed at the blonde he could tell there was a lot weighing on his mind. Guess there was no reason to be dishonest after all of this.
Finally, he breaks his gaze away to stare at the ground. ]
I don't know, man... [ Zack starts before leaning back and taking a hand to run through the entirety of his hair. ] Physically? I'm fine. I've taken a worse beating than that before. But to see you like that? And for you to be asleep for so long?
[ ...
His hands drops. A pitiful, almost dog-like frown purses his lips. ]
[Cloud watched Zack's movements throughout, looking for signs that his friend was covering something up. But he sees none. Cloud never found it hard to read Zack, considering he was practically an open book. But there is something about his body language and the sound of his voice this time around that throws him off this time around.
Scared? What for?
Because of him?
He lets out a break and breaks his gaze away from the dark-haired man, staring down the his hands and the sheets in front of him. Suddenly he feels self-conscious and he can't explain it.]
[ The question catches him more than a little off guard. His head whips back to Cloud's, catching his gaze right as it falls to his hands. There's a tightness he can feel in his chest, and hearing that question alone makes him feel all the more hurt.
Why? ]
Why? [ He repeats, finding himself almost choking at the simple sentence. It's not like he could explain fully, but there was one thing he could say... ]
Because we're friends, Cloud. I don't want to lose you, or anyone that I care about.
[Zack had just said had been scared. Cloud fully expected him to say that it was because of what he saw. Because of what Cloud had done in his wolfish form and his inability to control his rage and resentment even if it hadn't actually been Sephiroth. That he'd been so overcome by it all that he'd lashed out violently, just barely able to hold onto enough of his humanity to shift back.
He would understand if that was enough to get Zack to push him away. In fact, it would make sense if anyone decided to distance themselves from him for their own safety. Cloud would have even preferred that, not wanting to hurt others especially when he still couldn't explain what had happened. When he didn't know if it would happen again nor if he could control it—control himself again.
But then Zack's words throw him for a loop. His neck snaps up and he stares dumbfounded, an audible gasp the only thing that comes out of his mouth.
Friends. Even if Cloud was growing accustomed to it, the words still sounded foreign to his ears. That didn't make sense. Not after everything that had happened before he'd passed out. Why would anyone want to remain friends with him? Or even been close to him for that matter?
And yet, Zack was there when he woke up, looking like he hadn't slept in his own bed in days. Cloud regarded himself, looking back at his hands, not seeing remnants of the blood that caked them after the battle. He imagines that his body still had bruises healing over from the fight, but he seemed cleaned up as far as he could tell. Had all that been Zack's doing as well?
He fists the sheet covering him, his lips set in a straight line, nearly a pout.]
We're not monsters, Cloud. [ He answers simply, calmly. There's a glint in his eye as he leans a little closer, making sure that the blonde could see that he meant those words.
It took himself a lot of convincing to even get to a point where he believed those words, truly. But now they came out as easily as breathing. What Cloud did was unconventional, for sure, but bad? Not in the least. And Zack was going to make sure he believed that, too. ]
You saved me out there. I have you to thank, because if you hadn't done what you did... well, I dunno what could have happened.
[ He could remember his consciousness slipping. He was trying to hold on, trying to protect. But in the end... ]
[When Zack shifts to move closer, Cloud slowly looks up for the blanket, steeling himself to look back at Zack. When their eyes meet, he holds Zack's gaze, trying his damnedest not to look away once more.
Somehow, both Zack's reassuring words and the look that came along with it began to still Cloud's nerves, at least for the moment.
Letting out a breath, a small smirk grows on his face and a bit of his signature cockiness finds itself bubbling onto the surface.]
It's not like I was going to leave you out to dry. Not sure if you can handle Sephiroth on your own.
[ Zack will hold that gaze for as long as he can. He'll watch with the same amount of intensity until... that.
Cloud, you asshole. ]
Huh!? Oh, c'mon!
[ If he was well enough for that remark, he was well enough for this! Zack will lean forward the rest of the way and stretch his hand over Cloud's head, giving it and all those spiked hairs a good ruffle! ]
Cut me some slack! I'm getting all rusty with how much food Tifa keeps bringin' over.
[Well, he certainly didn't expect that. Having just woken up after a week in bed, he didn't have the strength to push Zack's hand away. Nor did he want to. It felt... strangely comforting. But that was something he would never really admit to Zack aloud.]
I don't think she'd appreciate hearing that her food's making you fat either.
[Was that a laugh? You're just imagining that.]
Is there any left? Or did you eat it all while I was sleeping?
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spikyheaded) wrote2023-03-05 09:18 pm
no subject
Before long, he recalls what Zack might've been referring to and he finds himself smacking his lips together distastefully. It almost felt like the metallic taste of blood filled in his mouth again.]
Like I ate Sephiroth whole.
[He sighs, leaning forward, propping his elbows onto his knees.]
What happened after all that? [A pause.] Are you all right?
[All things considered.]
no subject
To be honest his head was still reeling from the events the week prior. It was already chaos enough that the Dream Eater was reeking havoc, but to have those nightmares come back, too...
... And to think he still wasn't strong enough. ]
You gobbled up an entire human and you're asking if I'm okay? [ He sighs with a shrug of his shoulders. ] But to answer your question... yeah, I'm fine. A lot better now.
[ At least he can breathe normally again. ]
Can't say it was that eventful after you passed out. Things started to slow down and most of the fighting stopped. Managed to drag you back home. Everyone's been trying to fix what was damaged since.
tw: descriptions of body mutilation
[A week still feels like a long time to be out. Just hearing that the Story Eater had been dealt with was still a weight off his shoulders. He shifts slightly, still mulling over what had happened.
Sephiroth was here. Even as a fragment of his actual self it felt hard to shake off that he was around. Cloud could stil feel the weight of the Buster Sword in his hands as he fought the man, his shadow off, over and over that day.
Until finally, he'd transformed into that wolf, larger than he had throughout that day.]
I'm still not sure how I did it either.
[Cloud doesn't expound at first. He cradles his head in one hand, not unlike the times he's had to deal with those splittinf headaches. He could still feel the cracking of bones in his mouth, the ripping of muscle and sinew as his teeth clamped on the body. Then finally, he swallowed him. Thinking about it made him sick to his stomach.
And Zack was there the whole time too, watching it all go down. He can't even imagine how Zack was feeling. How zack had felt then.
Cloud turns to face him once more, rephrasing his question slightly.]
You sure you're fine?
no subject
Finally, he breaks his gaze away to stare at the ground. ]
I don't know, man... [ Zack starts before leaning back and taking a hand to run through the entirety of his hair. ] Physically? I'm fine. I've taken a worse beating than that before. But to see you like that? And for you to be asleep for so long?
[ ...
His hands drops. A pitiful, almost dog-like frown purses his lips. ]
I was scared.
scrapes off all the crust
Scared? What for?
Because of him?
He lets out a break and breaks his gaze away from the dark-haired man, staring down the his hands and the sheets in front of him. Suddenly he feels self-conscious and he can't explain it.]
...Why?
WELL HELLO THERE
Why? ]
Why? [ He repeats, finding himself almost choking at the simple sentence. It's not like he could explain fully, but there was one thing he could say... ]
Because we're friends, Cloud. I don't want to lose you, or anyone that I care about.
no subject
He would understand if that was enough to get Zack to push him away. In fact, it would make sense if anyone decided to distance themselves from him for their own safety. Cloud would have even preferred that, not wanting to hurt others especially when he still couldn't explain what had happened. When he didn't know if it would happen again nor if he could control it—control himself again.
But then Zack's words throw him for a loop. His neck snaps up and he stares dumbfounded, an audible gasp the only thing that comes out of his mouth.
Friends. Even if Cloud was growing accustomed to it, the words still sounded foreign to his ears. That didn't make sense. Not after everything that had happened before he'd passed out. Why would anyone want to remain friends with him? Or even been close to him for that matter?
And yet, Zack was there when he woke up, looking like he hadn't slept in his own bed in days. Cloud regarded himself, looking back at his hands, not seeing remnants of the blood that caked them after the battle. He imagines that his body still had bruises healing over from the fight, but he seemed cleaned up as far as he could tell. Had all that been Zack's doing as well?
He fists the sheet covering him, his lips set in a straight line, nearly a pout.]
Even after all that? Even after what I did?
no subject
It took himself a lot of convincing to even get to a point where he believed those words, truly. But now they came out as easily as breathing. What Cloud did was unconventional, for sure, but bad? Not in the least. And Zack was going to make sure he believed that, too. ]
You saved me out there. I have you to thank, because if you hadn't done what you did... well, I dunno what could have happened.
[ He could remember his consciousness slipping. He was trying to hold on, trying to protect. But in the end... ]
So thanks. Really.
no subject
Somehow, both Zack's reassuring words and the look that came along with it began to still Cloud's nerves, at least for the moment.
Letting out a breath, a small smirk grows on his face and a bit of his signature cockiness finds itself bubbling onto the surface.]
It's not like I was going to leave you out to dry. Not sure if you can handle Sephiroth on your own.
no subject
Cloud, you asshole. ]
Huh!? Oh, c'mon!
[ If he was well enough for that remark, he was well enough for this! Zack will lean forward the rest of the way and stretch his hand over Cloud's head, giving it and all those spiked hairs a good ruffle! ]
Cut me some slack! I'm getting all rusty with how much food Tifa keeps bringin' over.
no subject
I don't think she'd appreciate hearing that her food's making you fat either.
[Was that a laugh? You're just imagining that.]
Is there any left? Or did you eat it all while I was sleeping?