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Sephiroth nodded slowly even though Seferia probably couldn’t see him from inside the tent. “I know,” He sighed. “I will get ontop of it shortly. I am just drying off…” As he finished his sentence, he walked out of the tent, his pants back on. His hair was still sopping wet and his skin chilly to the touch for he was still cold from his dip in the river. He didn’t seem to care however, and sat down in front of the fire to warm his hands.
“I don’t cook things just because it is favorable to do so,” He said quickly. “It is done to avoid illness and infection from things like tapeworm.” He frowned. “We have almost no medical assistance out here and we need to take care of ourselves.”
He took out a plate and cutlery and stabbed a piece of fish, pulling it onto his plate, beginning to eat it quickly, picking the occaisonal bone out of his mouth. “Tent is easy to pack…” He said with his mouth full. “Do not worry.”
Seferia looked up at Sephiroth before she slowly shook her head at him. After releasing a slow sigh, she looked into his eyes.
“Do not worry about justifying such things to me, Sephiroth. I do not mind what reasons you have to heat your food. Either way, I respect the decision and even support it,” she spoke with a matter-of-fact tone.
Taking up her own fish, she began to cut into eat before she ate it with the manners that are fitting for a member of royalty or a dignitary. As she ate, she watched Sephiroth’s speedy eating method. Her eyes showed some indications of surprise as she took note of how quickly he made the food vanish.
“Perhaps I put too much emphasis into the idea of eating with haste. You do have the right to breath between bites.”
Sephiroth began to reply, but wound up coughing. He made a ‘stop’ motion with his hand before turning away to politely conceal the food currently in his mouth. The male then quickly reached into the back of his mouth with two fingers, producing a 2 inch long fish bone which had almost gotten stuck in his throat. He flicked it away casually and continued munching on the food in his mouth before swallowing.
He frowned. “Forgive me,” He added quickly. “But I am hungry. Starving, actually.”
Seferia’s eyes widened with worry and surprise as Sephiroth coughed. Upon watching him turn his back on her, she rocked onto her knees, preparing herself to rush to his side if he could not recover on his own. Thus, once Sephiroth swallowed and settled down, Seferia visibly relaxed and sat back once more.
By all the gods, she would not let a second person that was close and dear to her die on her watch. She would absolutely not permit for such. At least Sephiroth was sturdy and knew how to handle himself. So, she had no reasons to restrict his actions.
“Hungry? Yes, I suppose I can see that. I must say that I have not seen food vanish from a plate at such a speed before. Please… be more careful though.”
Sephiroth nodded his head. “I’ll be more careful. But I’m fine.” He waved his arms slightly as if to prove it. “See?” Within seconds he had picked up his plate to wolf down more of the food.
He didn’t know if his body was working overtime because of the repairs it had done of it it was something else… but he was HUNGRY. He finished his portion of fish with haste and picked up a second piece to eat with the same amount of enthusiasm.
*”Do you know where we are heading today?”* He asked telepathically as he chewed, his mouth full of fish.
Seferia frowned at Sephiroth as she continued to watch him wolf down the food. However, she felt no need to stop him. Instead, she returned to her own plate so that she could continue to eat. Once she downed all of her own food, she set the plate to the side before she began to gather their supplies so that they could be packed away.
“Hm?” she rumbled as Sephiroth asked about their destination. She then frowned as she looked over at him. “We are to cross the border that America once had between Mexico and the USA today. As with the last few days, our final destination is the Grand Canyon area. There is a set of ruins within the canyon that will be our next stronghold. This village, that was once inhabited by a people named either the Hopi or the Anasazi, I forget which, was built into the canyon’s walls. So, we shall be rather secure from any overhead scouts.”
She tilted her head once she finished her explanation. “I was under the impression that you were fully aware of these facts, Sephiroth. Are there any other elements of our migration that you need further clarification over?”
“Mmm-oh,” Sephiroth said with his mouth still full. He chewed what was in his mouth, quickly swallowing it. “I know about the rest of the briefing. I was just unsure about how far we would probably get today.”
He finished off his portion of fish and began to tidy the bones. “I will help pack up the tent. But first I should dispose of these.” He said, nodding down to the pile of rubbish he was accumulating. With an expert flick of the wrist, he flung the fish bones and other garbage straight into the river. He knew food was already scarce out here, and although there was something morbid about feeding dead fish parts back to the fish species he had already been eating, he knew any food was good food to them.
Seferia shook her head before responding to Sephiroth. “I cannot say how far we will get today. Just as I have been uncertain on all of the other days. It all matters on how we fair out there. I also know that I am probably holding back our group to some degree.”
Shrugging, she continued to pack up their supplies. Once the cooking supplies were packed away, she slipped into the tent so that she could properly wrap up the eggs in order to prepare them for transport.
Sephiroth made a slight hiccup sound, and then a loud burp. Tapping his chest, he decided that he was finally full. Around him, he watched the rest of the group was already beginning to pack up. That was his cue to begin packing up his own tent. He stood outside the tent and and began to pull out the less important pieces, allowing Seferia time in there before he would pull out the main supports.
“Use my coat to continue covering the eggs if you want.” He said finally. “The sun doesn’t look as harsh as it did yesterday.”
Seferia shook her head as she wrapped the eggs in their blankets. Once the eggs were properly padded, she stepped out of the tent to set the eggs down near Sephiroth. She then looked up at him.
“No, that is not a good idea. We are still in the midst of a desert. We are going to continue being in the desert. You need as much protection and coverage as you can.”
She then stepped back inside the tent so that she could gather both her own and Sephiroth’s packs. Once she gathered the items within the tent, she stepped back outside before nodding to Sephiroth in order to indicate that it was safe to pull down the tent.
Sephiroth sighed. “Alright…”
Although he would have liked to use his coat to cover the eggs, Seferia was right – he needed protection against the sun. He also knew one of the reasons he got so badly fried by sunburn yesterday was solely because he hadn’t been wearing his leather coat. It was very hot and sticky to wear, but the leather was natural tanned hide and protected him against the sun’s rays rather well.
He pulled the main support rods out of the tent and began to loosen them up for transport, folding them up. They had a good tent with sturdy support rods and he frowned as he thought what would happen if they ever broke. He packed them away and tugged at the rest of the tent parts, quickly and neatly packing them away. Once they were all secure and in their bags, he slung the tent on his back, carrying it over to the rest of his bags.
“We’re ready to move out.” He said. “Should I help other people get theirs down?”
Seferia pulled together her items and insured that the were securely fastened and packed away as Sephiroth tore down the tent. Finding that her own pack appeared to be in good order, she slung it over her back before securing the fasteners that would permit for easier distribution of the weight along her back.
When Sephiroth asked her about assisting the others, the dragon lifted her head to look across the camp at the rest of the parties. She then shook her head.
“I do not believe that is necessary. I do not see anyone that will not be ready to leave within ten minutes. We might as well spend this time assuring that the eggs will be securely padded before we leave.”
Sephiroth nodded in agreement. “I was planning to wait until we got to our new strong-hold. But during the day, if you like, I can barter away my grain for some proper carry-sacks for the eggs.” He grunted in thought. “It would certainly make the journey easier.”
He picked up his coat and put it on. “I didn’t boil water before we packed up….” He glanced down at the river water, a deep frown on his features. While he could risk filling up his water flagon with unsterilized water, he did not want to risk ingesting any waterborne pathogens.
Seferia’s shoulders briefly shook as she chuckled at Sephiroth’s concerns. Shaking her head, she looked at the canteen before she held out her right hand.
“Here, give it to me. I shall fill up our water supplies,” she spoke without any indications of worry to her voice. Then again, her voice rarely held many indicators of anything. “I am a dragon, Sephiroth. I can sterilize the water with a brief spell or two. It should take no time at all.”
Sephiroth handed the water-flagon over to Seferia and watched what she would do next.
“Make sure you sterilize it properly,” He said quickly. “I don’t want to end up with cryptosporidium, or whatever lurks in the water around here.” He shook his head slowly. “If the Nemesis doesn’t kill you first, the protozoa certainly will.”
Seferia nodded in acknowledgement to Sephiroth’s concerns. She then scanned the camp again before pointing to Zack and Cloud.
“Those two seem to be struggling. If you don’t want to do nothing more than watching over the eggs while I am gone, go assist them.”
With that said, she walked away to the nearby river. Once at the edge, she knelt down, taking care not to put too much weight on her bad leg. First, she filled up Sephiroth’s water canister. Once the water was gathered, she cast a series of spells that would filter out the impurities as well as kill any organisms within the water. Then, she repeated the process with her own water canister. Within ten minutes, she finished off with both canisters and returned to the camp.
Meanwhile, Zack was doing his best to help Cloud pack up their belongings. Unfortunately for the ex-SOLDIER turned wolf, he lacked opposable thumbs. So, the most he could do was carry items in his mouth and stuff them into packs. This left Cloud with most of the work.
Sephiroth sighed as he approached the other males.
“Looks like you could do with some help.” He stated matter of factly as he moved next to Zack, pulling up the tent peg nearby him before attempting to place it into his mouth. Over the course of the next few minutes he assisted both males pack their tent up, folding the support beams in much the same manner he had done with his own tent just moments earlier.
“Say… Cloud…” He began, looking rather awkward. “How much do you remember of Nibelheim?”
Zack looked up with relief as Sephiroth came to assist him. He happily wagged his tail before he bobbed his head to Sephiroth.
“Thanks man. I wasn’t getting much done at all,” he barked out. He then gathered a few more scraps off the ground before stuffing them in one of the packs.
Upon hearing Sephiroth approach Cloud on the subject of Nibelheim, he stiffened up. He then trotted to Cloud’s side. For the most part, he was prepared to step in if things turned out rough.
Cloud kept his head lowered as he struggled with even the most basic tasks of grabbing objects, clumsily stuffing them into their appropriate bags. He raised his head as Sephiroth spoke to him, but shrugged and put his head down again, wanting to help finish packing away the tent.
“Nibelheim….” He slurred. “My home town…”
“Yes yes, I know that much.” Sephiroth sighed in exasperation. “I was asking if you remembered what happened to it. You know… do you remember anything?” He awkwardly bit at the edge of his mouth. “It burned down. I burned it down.”
“You what…?” Cloud raised his head again, focussing his eyes on Sephiroth, some semblance of anger surfacing through his hazy mind.
“I burned it down.” Sephiroth said louder, in a much more clear voice than before.
Zack flinched as he listened to Sephiroth’s straightforward confession to Cloud. He then groaned before shaking his head.
“Come on, pal. Learn some tact..” He sighed before looking up at Cloud. He then licked the man’s nearest hand. “It’s alright, Cloud. He’s good now. He’s back to being his old, grumpy self without the insanity. I haven’t heard him talk about mother at all.”
Cloud glared at Zack, swatting a hand out at him, though not striking him at all. He made some sounds near complaining and resumed pulling at the tent to dismantle it for storage.
“Don’t care…” He grumbled. “Murderer.” The man glared at Sephiroth. “Murderer! Get away!” He swatted his hand out at Sephiroth with more precision, striking his shoulder. Then he yanked the tent cloth out of the other man’s hands so he could fold it up. “Get away.”
Sephiroth just stood there silently, feeling at a loss on what to do now.
Zack yelped as he watched Cloud’s reaction to Sephiroth’s words. Worried that Cloud might fully snap out of his stupor soon, he gently bit down on the back of Cloud’s pants in an attempt to pull him away from Sephiroth. As he did this, he looked up at Sephiroth with pleading eyes, hoping that the man will say something to help Cloud realize that things are different.
Sephiroth sighed at Zack, then shook his head, scratching at the back of his neck. “I was insane then,” He tried to explain. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I had just learned everything was wrong, and…”
Cloud raised his head, his expression quite clear. The male looked nearly normal for a brief moment before lowering his head again.
“Just go away….”
Zack released a high-pitched whining sound before he head-butted Cloud. He then shook his head, trying to show his disapproval. Sighing, he wished that he were human again so that he could actually speak to Cloud.
After looking at Sephiroth, he cheerfully barked out, “Thank you for trying. At least he isn’t taking it too badly… But we need to work together, right? You two need to get past your differences.”
With that, he returned to stuffing their belongings in a pack.
Sephiroth sighed. *”Well you are right. I tried. I don’t think he has the strength or mental capacity to take it badly right now.”* He helped them pack up the rest of their supplies in silence, before returning to his own camping grounds. “I will see you again later.”
He headed back over to Seferia, nodding. “They are ready to move out.”
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