Violet Shadows (FFVII)

III) Demons

ABOVE IS VIOLET'S ATTIRE JUST BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT. ANYWAY... 

I sit far away from the group beneath the foliage of an oak tree, alone. I like it this way, just close enough to the shore that I can hear the rhythm of the waves without feeling the spray they let off. The air is cool and no one dares to bother me as Cid creates a liveliness around the fire I've yet to see from anyone in Avalanche. Barret still won't speak to me after I threatened to fire an arrow into some very... personal places. Look, he was criticizing my potion intake, and I doubt Shadow would've spared him anyway.

I enjoy my peace and quiet until someone decides to crash the party, invading my alone time. I suppose he's either lonely or he decided to speak up. Honestly, I doubt either option is true, knowing Vincent. Perhaps he wants to talk about Lucy. My nose crinkles. I can hardly think her name without feeling disgusted. She told Hojo what I could withstand, my boundaries, how far to push those tests... I hate her. How that idiot Valentine could still feel anything for her, I may never understand. Okay, so maybe he doesn't know about her ambitions and intentions when I came to distracting Hojo from her own work. I understand that, but still, why?

"Needed to get away?" I mutter before peeling my eyes open to see Vincent standing over me in silence. He makes it clear that if a conversation is to start, that I will be the one running the show. Still, he replies.

"Not exactly," he grumbles after a moment of silence, sitting a couple feet away from me. He raises his knee and loops an arm over it, staring at the dancing flames a short distance away. Rolling my eyes, I knock my head back against the tree trunk behind me a couple times before he turns his irritated gaze on me.

"What do you want then?" I ask, sighing. It's already unbearable.

"...Nothing." he replies finally. I huff, leaning forward to pick at the rubber peeling off my boots. "You've changed."

"What did you expect?" I snap, scowling at him. "Hojo dragged me through Hell and I've carried that around for thirty years." I shake my head, turning my glare to the backs of the laughing Avalanche members before me. "Just so you know, when we made that plan to save Lucy, I was assuming she wouldn't be the one directing my torture."

"She would never—"

"Were you there?" I demand. "You're right, she would never have done it if she wasn't so intent on saving herself. That any better?" He frowns and I return the cold look. "So you hate me now, huh? Even after what I did for you?" He put it all to waste, got himself killed instead of protecting Sephiroth. There was no reason for me to go through what I did.

"I don't."

"Then why are you looking at me like that? If you're just here to pout, go somewhere else." He shakes his head, clearly annoyed.

"...You're alone."

"So? Why's it matter to you?" I snap my fingers, dramatically coming up with a possible reason. "Oh! I know! Lucrecia told you to babysit me, didn't she?" With that, Vincent leaves, his movements stiff and strict as he wrestles with whatever dark energy just lurched inside him. I sigh, shaking my head. I want to have a civilized conversation to understand just what happened when I gave myself up. Not even my self. My humanity. But... he already knows too much that I haven't shared. It's just not safe.

~|~|~|~|~

"Let's head out!" Cloud calls.

Vincent's eyes meet mine for a split second before he packs up a tent on his own wordlessly, earning a grateful smile from Aeris. I avoid the others, kicking at the ashes of last night's fire. After thirty years of isolation (save for a few exceptions), nine other people compacted with me on a round-world trip is almost overwhelming. I don't trust any of them wholly, not even Vincent.