Howling and Hollow (Cloud Catch-All)

[relativefugue]

WHO: Cloud Strife and YOU
WHAT: What does your heart desire? (A place for planned threads outside prompts!) Cloud is settling in.
WHERE: Around Town and the outskirts, depending!
WHEN: A week or more after arrival, ongoing.
WARNINGS: Probable mentions of mental health struggles and trauma.

SUMMARY: A catch-all for Mister Final Fantasy! Here he is, trying to...Leave. Inevitably, he will be settling in, whether he likes it or not. What are those weird bumps hidden in that chocobo fluff hair? He fell and hit his head, probably.

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Country Boy is Trying to Make Do- Closed to (Big) Sephiroth

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Cloud wasn't ever really expecting anyone to bother him on this world's more...Interesting equivalent to a PHS, but here he is. He'd been considering posting up availability as a merc for hire, so he begrudgingly chalks up SOLDIER First Class Angeal Hewley's practical orders to him as his first job. The mission: Watch over his chickens (seriously, how did he round them up and make a place for them this quick???) while he works out some semblance of a guard dog situation. Real exciting stuff. Cloud would one hundred percent tell anyone this sort of work is below his pay grade as a First himself, but deep down, perhaps he was just a little excited by the notion of getting to interact with some animals.

"Hey, guys," Cloud mumbles quietly, hopping the fence into the enclosure where he last confronted Angeal. There's a rustling of feathers, and a brief commotion at the big scary human invading bird-space. Cloud doesn't skip a beat, however, finding a comfortable spot to sit down cross-legged. He waits, and lets the birds approach at their own leisure. Eventually, a particularly bold hen picks her way into his warm, inviting lap. Cloud sighs, and closes his eyes for a few beats.

Peace, quiet, and the company of birds. The situation tugs at some deep-set memory of his, of similarly spent evenings beneath the stars in the Nibelheim countryside. Perfect nights, when he'd sneak his way out and stay there long as he could before his mother chased him right back inside to bed. As one hand moves to gently stroke the hen in his lap along the back, a ghost of a smirk comes to his lips.

"Good girl. I got you all safe here."

Where do the Questions end and True Answers Begin? (Sephiroth)

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Nothing has ever been all that simple for Cloud, but now, things just keep getting stranger and stranger.

After delving deep into the Fae woods and being fetched out by various concerned parties that happen to include SOLDIER Firsts Angeal and Genesis, Cloud has a lot on his mind. Including what he figures are bits more of his own memories. Very, very concerning memories, which comprise of a small move forward in what must be his own timeline. Ones of the Gongaga reactor.

It's infuriating, really. Instead of giving him any level of answers, it only makes the endless pile of questions he has (that apparently cannot all yet be answered for his own safety) stack higher. On his trudge back to the noisy, aggravating festivities, Cloud is left to wonder just what to do with said memories. The answer that nags at him the entire way is absolutely asinine at first pass.

Go speak with Sephiroth.

It logically ought to be sound. Sephiroth actively offered to help with whatever the hell is ailing Cloud's mind. His knowing about this development in the situation should help them both. But even so, the idea of the silver-haired man of all people being someone he can go to for anything but a fight still kicks up a confused tempest in Cloud's very core. At the very least he has the time to consider and fight his way through it with how long the walk is. Once the sound of banjos and excited voices reaches his ears, the merc squares up his shoulders and approaches with purpose; he's made his choice. Mako eyes dart about the festival space, and he tries to feel out if that strange, faint pulling kicks up while exploring each corner. Sephiroth should be rather easy to find in a crowd. Probably.

...In Blazing Armor (Genesis)(LIKELY TO BECOME NSFW)

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Stupid. Stupid, stupid. Cloud repeatedly spits curses at himself under his breath as the dire situation before him unfolds. This is on him, his rookie mistake. He knew the Buster Sword was not realistically something he could wield for a long period in the state he is in, yet he pushed the envelope. Thought maybe he could get the job done and take the beasts out before it became a problem.

No such luck- Cloud finds himself pinned back against a rocky cliff base, with his targets prowling ever closer. There's two of them, huge in size and easily reaching the ex-SOLDIER's waist. They look feline in shape despite their extra set of legs, dark as the night sky. Unnatural, undulating tendrils protrude from their backs with horrifying patches of serrated fangs on the wider ends. They lash, just as their whip-tails do, and terrible, deep growls rumble from their chests. All Cloud can do is steal quick glances down at the Buster Sword at his feet. He dropped it once his stamina ran out- the damned cats warped all over the place, forcing him to move and expend all he had way too fast. He can feel a strange, itching, burning feeling in his throat- is this fear?

Cloud needs to think fast. Possible evasive measures begin to form in his mind with every single step the monsters take.

It won't end here. He refuses to let it.

Katabasis

[zodiheart]

It had been for some time now that Elidibus and Cloud had worked together at the bakery. Each time would find the Emissary having arrived before, and on each occasion did he call out a cheerful greeting to the other man. Regardless of how his friendliness had been met he never failed to do so - nor did he fail to continue in his small favors and gifts he was wont to give. That is, until one day saw his absence. Unexplained, not given notice, not elaborated on in any way.

One day of break in their routine. Such a little thing, in truth.

But oh, such a devastating blow.

The day after the absence sees Elidibus having arrived before Cloud once more. But this time no greeting rings out, no wave is given accompanied by a smile. There is silence. A brief flit of eyes to the door tracks the newcomer, registering the visual identity, but the Emissary merely continues to knead the dough he has in front of them. Even his actions are subdued.

Closer to Home (Closed to Mithrun)

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Cloud won't admit it- He refuses to, of course- but he actually is starting to enjoy working at the bakery. For one, it provides structure to his days, a goal to chase, and a way to keep his hands busy. For another, his fellow staff there keep him company. Something he's needed terribly beneath all the tough-guy loner act he tries so hard to put up. Cloud is perfectly content to work away and listen to the chattering of those around him.

This enjoyment and feeling of purpose are both large parts as to why he continues to show up every day for the job in spite of a rather pressing problem: A severe case of sleep deprivation. Ever since learning the harrowing truth of the four-year gap in his memory, Cloud has been plagued by endless nightmares every time he attempts to lay down to rest. His dragon soul, Ioth, fought tooth and claw to try and help, but could only afford enough leeway for short, fitful bouts of unconsciousness. It could barely be called sleep at all. Whatever was ailing Cloud, the dragon realized, ran very, very deep.

Cloud doesn't have the full breadth of his SOLDIER stamina back. He perhaps has a fraction of it, but only enough that by the time a week of the sleepless nights passes, he arrives to work like a shambling corpse. He walks into the front door, taking up his usual position behind the counter to start kneading dough. The bags under his eyes are darker than they've ever been, and he sways in place.

Just forcus on being here, and today's tasks, he thinks to himself.