Chapter Twenty-Seven: "Let’s Name It Nu"

The next day, despite what she had said earlier, Celes borrowed the SOLDIER journal and began to read, page by page, every report. Locke volunteered to stay with her, but she opted on privacy. She was left alone. Everyone else began to form groups, sharing stories and information or simply passing time. Lucca volunteered to give Cait Sith’s mechanical doll a check-up, and was joined by Nadia and Aeris, who were looking for some female company. "With Cid, Reno, and Rude, I’ve had about all the testosterone I’ll be able to handle for a while," said Nadia. "I think it’s time for a little old-fashioned girl talk."

"You won’t get much out of me," Lucca replied, bent over the doll. "I’m not into make-up or clothes or whatever like you."

"Well, that’s boring. What do you like?"

She grinned and slapped Cait Sith’s ear. He grunted in complaint. "Computers," she said brightly. "Science."

"Hmm. Figures."

Aeris giggled, handing out some juice she’d brought. "Well, I can see you two have a lot in common," she joked. After the night before she’d been able to pull herself together, and no one noticed that she’d ever been upset at all.

"Aeris—at least you’ve got something interesting to talk about." Nadia pulled her chair closer. "So, how’s Cloud doing?"

"I should ask you about Crono," she retorted. "You looked awfully cozy together last night."

Lucca cursed suddenly, jerking her hands back. Cait Sith laughed. "Be careful," he advised. "I’m still hooked up, after all."

"You’re lucky I don’t fry your brains with this thing," the young scientist shot back, adjusting her glasses.

"You couldn’t do that."

"Watch me."

"Anyway," Nadia rejoined, "back to Cloud. He stuck pretty close to you during story hour. What’s been going on between you two?"

Before she could answer, the door opened; Tifa stared at them, puzzled. "Oh, sorry. I didn’t think this room was being used."

"It’s okay," Aeris said warmly. "Come talk with us. Escape from the boys."

Lucca, who had her head down again and didn’t see who had entered, added "Yeah. We were just about to hear the story of Aeris’s thrilling time—"

"With the Turks," Nadia interrupted. "Do you have any idea how many times she almost got kidnapped?"

"Actually, no, but if it’s all the same to you—"

But Aeris quickly ushered into a seat. "Oh, it’ll be fun. We want to hear about you, too. Since we’re at a breaking point right now anyway, let’s talk."

Tifa gazed at the three women almost warily. "I don’t have many stories," she said hesitantly.

"Everyone has stories," contradicted Nadia. "Even someone as boring as Lucca, I’ll bet. Right?"

"Sure," the woman in question grunted back.

"See? We won’t take ‘no’ for an answer."

Seeing that she was outnumbered and without options, Tifa sighed and nodded. She couldn’t help but smile, though. "Okay. I guess so."

"Good." Nadia retrieved some snacks she’d been keeping stashed and passed them around. "Start anywhere."

Meanwhile, the men were engaging in some "male bonding" of their own. Cloud wasn’t interested. He wandered about the village, taking notice of everything but speaking to no one. He hoped that the solitude would clear his mind, but it only made the presence hidden there stand out in better clarity. He left the town and sat out on the rocks. He listened for the voices that were inside him. When he concentrated hard enough he could almost hear whispered words, or see images of himself inside the central Shin-ra building. Five years of memories lost…but it all centered on that black night in Nibelheim, when his entire world was changed forever…

The sounds of a struggle awoke him from his repose. Cloud followed the commotion with mild interest, and came upon a chocobo fighting with several of the canyon’s lizard-like predators; they had surrounded it, and it was already bleeding heavily. He noticed another bird lying dead near a nest, in which only one of the three eggs had avoided being crushed.

Cloud moved into the fray, with a wave of his hand sending a spray of sharpened crystals at the three beasts. They screeched angrily and retreated. Another wave followed them into the rocks’ crevices. Then he turned back to the chocobo. "They got you pretty bad, didn’t they?" he muttered. The great bird was now lying on its side, moaning softly. It would most certainly die. Its wide obsidian eyes regarded him almost sadly, but there was no fear. Only the dull knowledge that his wounds would not heal, and the egg would have no parent.

"One baby chocobo doesn’t stand a chance out here," Cloud said, studying the egg. "I wonder how old it is. Can’t just leave it." He turned back to the parent animal, but it was already dead. He decided that he had no other choice than to carry the egg back with him. It was about a foot tall and speckled with gold spots. Wondering at the strange coloration, he tucked it under his arm and started back.

Rufus stared at the screen in front of him, blatantly displeased. Scarlet approached him from cautiously. "Problems?" she asked.

"What’s the damn fool up to?" he growled. "There are several new factories being built outside of Midgar, due to some royal command Edgar’s given. Where the hell is Reeve? Why isn’t he doing what I told him?"

"So, the royal pet slipped his leash?"

"In a manner of speaking." His frown deepened. "I should be back there, but I can’t afford to let the Promised Land slip away as easily as that. We need this."

She nodded thoughtfully and edged closer to him. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Hojo insists he’s keeping a close eye on Cloud, but I’m not sure how long we can trust him. That man has other plans, I’m sure of it."

"Everyone has other plans."

Rufus snorted. "Yes, but his plans will interfere with mine. I can’t have that." A moment of silent consideration passed. "But to get back to my original point, we’ll leave Edgar alone for now; whatever he’s doing won’t go far. In the meantime, we’ll complete this mission."

Scarlet smirked. "Of course."

"I just wish I knew what the bastard was up to."

"And then he looked at her," Tifa said, drawing her audience in closer for the punch line, "and said ‘What, you mean I slept through it?’"

The four girls cracked up laughing, until they were breathless from the fit of humor. "Tifa, that’s terrible!" exclaimed Nadia. "Lucca and I are too young for that!"

"I won’t tell Crono you said that," she retorted, and she immediately received a mocking blow to the jaw. They all laughed.

Sitting on the table, Cait Sith shook his head. "Women." He was glad to see them having a good time, though, after the grave business of the night before. Especially Aeris. He would have though her to be more disturbed after hearing of the destruction of her race, but now she seemed brighter than ever. And Tifa was enjoying herself too.

There was a knock on the door, and since the others were still hysterical, the cat took it upon himself to answer. It was Cloud and Crono, the first carrying the egg he’d rescued. "I need some help," he said, stepping inside.

Aeris and Tifa both looked up, then glanced at each other and silently decided that there would be no battle between them. "What is that?" Tifa asked, pointing to the speckled oval. "Some kind of egg?"

"A chocobo egg. The parents were both killed." He shrugged. "I don’t know what to do with it."

The girls giggled. Crono moved over to one of the beds and pulled off several blankets, then proceeded to arrange them in a nest on the floor. Nadia squealed with delight. "Oh, that’s so perfect. Come on, Cloud." She waved for him to come forward. "You have to sit on it so it’ll hatch."

"You’ve gotta be kidding me." But he did place the egg in the center, and then sat cross-legged in front of it. He watched in intently.

Everyone crowded around, and for several minutes no one spoke as they stared at the speckled egg. It was a rather humorous scene. "Well, this is exciting," Tifa muttered after a while. "Nadia, tell us about you and Edgar. That ought to be more interesting than this." She realized a moment too late that Crono was with them, and internally cringed. She’d unwillingly set her up.

And Nadia knew, though she wouldn’t show it. "You guys make too much out of me and Edgar," she replied easily. Already she could feel a pair of green eyes on her. "He’s a great guy, ya know? A regular woman magnet. But we didn’t have anything, really." She shrugged. "He just really knows how to make a girl feel special, you know?"

"I…" Crono’s voice startled them, and everyone turned to stare incredulously. His lips moved, but the only sound he could manage was an unintelligible growl.

"Crono?" Nadia watched him expectantly. Since leaving the reactor in Nibelheim Crono’s silence field had begun to deteriorate, and she encouraged him to speak whenever possible, just to test.

"I…" He made a frustrated face as his lips continued to move without sound. Finally he simply dragged Nadia into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. He smiled like a triumphant little boy.

Nadia laughed. "Oh, I see; Crono says he can make me feel special, too." She covered his arms with her own. "Thank you, Crono. That’s very sweet."

"You two make a cute couple," spoke up Cait Sith.

Nadia snatched the cat’s tail and pulled him over, so that now he was in her lap. "Poor kitty feels left out. Don’t worry—you can be special, too."

Cloud hushed them all quiet. "The egg’s moving."

A tiny crack appeared in the shell. Then another. They could hear something moving inside, and the top began to bulge. Aeris held her breath excitedly. A pointy beak broke through the white casing, so that bits of shell fell onto the blanket. The baby’s head began to push through, and it chirped for the first time.

Aeris’s smile could not have been brighter. She carefully reached out and plucked egg bits from the bird’s face, and gently helped it crack the rest of the its brief home. "Take off your gloves," she told Cloud, "and help me. You’re its mom—he should know you."

Usually he would have retorted with sarcasm; now he was too caught up in the strange wonder in it all. He did as she said, until the tiny animal was lying among the blankets and squeaking softly. Its features were tiny and dull, and its eyes were sealed. It was, however, a bit larger than most baby chocobos. Aeris stroked its back so that it knew she was there—it chirped happily. "He’s probably hungry," she said. "Lucca, will you go tell Belthasar? He’ll know what to do."

"Right." She returned a while later with several handfuls of sylkis greens. "I couldn’t find him, but I did talk to the stable guy—he said to crush these and give them to him. Baby chocobos are tough."

"Here." Cloud took the greens and laid them out on the ground, then used the thick metal bands on his gloves to crush the strands.

Aeris scooped the bird up into her lap, and as he finished with a few, she fed them to the baby. It ate them eagerly. "She’s so adorable," she said softly, so as to not startle it. "I’ve never seen one quite this color. It’s almost gold, wouldn’t you say?"

"Gold chocobos are rare." Lucca adjusted her glasses and looked again. "But you know, you might be right. It does look gold."

"It out to be a good one, huh?" She glanced at Cloud, and noticed that he’d finished grinding. "Do you want to feed him, Cloud?" she offered.

He eyed her doubtfully. "I’d better not. I don’t have much luck with chocobos, remember?"

"But you’re his mom," added Tifa. "You have to."

"Just put your arms like this." Aeris demonstrated for him, and a bit perturbed, he followed suit. "Hold him with the right and feed him with the left. Now, I’m handing him over; ready?"

Cloud made a strange face as the animal was placed in his arms, and acted a bit awkwardly at first. After a moment he relaxed. The anxiety softened into a look of almost childish wonderment. "It’s so small," he said quietly. "I could kill it with my pinky."

"Probably."

He carefully touched the bird’s head, and it fastened its beak around his finger; he chuckled as it attempted to swallow his index digit. "You better feed him," Nadia advised. "He’ll eat your hand."

"Yeah." He grinned, and began to feed the chocobo. It made contented squeaking noises. "He’s got quite an appetite."

"You should give it a name," suggested Cait Sith. His eyebrow peaked. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Cloud started to lift the bird up to check, but Aeris held his arm. "It’s a girl," she assured. "Trust me." She hummed thoughtfully. "What’s a good name?"

"I think you should name it Cait Sith," the cat proclaimed.

"Tell us your real name," Nadia replied, "and we can name it that."

He paused, and was about to say something when Lucca pointed out, "But he’s a guy, right? This is a girl chocobo."

"Good point."

"It’s Cloud’s chocobo—let him name it."

Cloud regarded the life huddled in his arms with a kind of quiet serenity unknown to him before. The chocobo had finished eating and was now sleeping pleasantly. His expression was unreadable as he watched its whispered breathing. "Let’s name it Nu," he said, breaking the silence at last.

Lucca pursed her lips. "Hmm…ancient being of intelligence and immortality. Cool. I like it."

"It’s not very feminine," Tifa objected.

Nadia glanced back at Crono, who nodded, then tugged Cait Sith’s ear. "Crono likes it. How ‘bout you, kitty?"

"It sounds very distinguished."

"Nu it is!" declared Aeris.

"You’d better take it back," said Cloud, handing the newly christened animal to her. "I’m not good with infants."

"Oh, you were doing fine." She smiled at him sweetly, and it caused his spirits to raise with pride. "We’ll just let her sleep a while—being born is, after all, quite an experience."

"Maybe we should leave," suggested Lucca. She looked at the two and almost smiled herself. They look like a couple with a new baby. Maybe that’s not so wrong. Then she looked at Tifa, and cringed.

Something was happening. Cloud was watching Aeris, and in his eyes Tifa could see something deep and intense that she’d never seen before. He was distancing himself from her—she could tell. The spotlight that had once been her sun now illuminated someone else. It had moved to encompass the form of a mystical, caring woman—even Tifa had to acknowledge Aeris’s attributes, even as she didn’t understand the swift shifting of attention. Why ever would Cloud fall in love with someone like her?

Tifa stopped herself, and grew angry with the flashes of jealously and betrayal that rampaged through her mind. But it wasn’t fair—everything had happened too fast, and she hadn’t the time to keep up. And she couldn’t help the sick feeling in her gut that this was a battle she would ultimately lose.

"Well, let’s let the little guy get some sleepy time," said Nadia, climbing out of Crono’s lap. "I wanna find out what everyone’s doing, anyway. It feels like we’ve been in there for hours." Crono nodded vigorously.

Cait Sith climbed back atop his moogle. "I think I’ll cheek up on the men now—too much company in the presence of women can warp your mind."

"I’ll stay with Nu awhile," volunteered Aeris. "She’ll need some looking after because she’s so little."

"Me too." Cloud moved closer to her, so that he could watch the slumbering infant from over her shoulder. Tifa wondered vaguely if he’d only done that so their bodies would touch. Upset, she turned away.

Nadia led Crono out the door, calling "Take care!" Lucca and Cait Sith followed closely after, and Tifa hung back a moment, feeling distraught. Then she left.

Cloud sighed, her departure lifting a certain weight from him. Her presence which had once livened him now filled him with questions and a deep dread—she was supposed to kill him. Not that he feared her, but when she was nearby he had begun to develop a certain tension, like the oppressive forcelessness of thunder. He tried to justify the guilt he felt in thinking this way by telling himself that he simply enjoyed Aeris’s company more.

"Isn’t she beautiful?" Aeris said, patting the child as it slept. "Chocobos are some of the only sacred animals left in the world. People say they’ve been around since the beginning of time."

"They’re probably smarter than us," he murmured.

She giggled. "I wouldn’t be surprised."

Cloud smiled. He liked it when she laughed, because she sounded so innocent—unlike him. After all the things he’d done, he often imagined that her sparkling purity was the only thing that kept his mind from being consumed by the darkness. She had saved his soul when she gave him hers, a feeling that forever lingered inside him.

"Aeris," he said quietly, "I want to thank you for believing in me."

She glanced back at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"You’ve never lied to me. Everyone else keeps things from me." He looked away, reliving their accusing glares. "When they look at me, they’re afraid and angry. They know that I caused all of this. I wish I understood, but…" His eyes clung to hers with their full azure shine. "But you’re not like that. You’ve never accused me, or questioned me. Why? If Jenova tried to wipe out the Cetra, how do you know I won’t kill you?"

Aeris blinked slowly, and her secretive smile was enough to pull him from the unpleasant thoughts. "Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about that. I believe in you, Cloud."

"But why?" he insisted. "I don’t deserve that."

"Well, Nu thinks you do." She carefully moved the newborn into his lap; it warked and continued to sleep. "See," she said. "Chocobos are sacred, right? They only feel comfortable in the presence of someone who has a clear soul."

"Really?"

"Yup."

Cloud stared down at Nu; she seemed to be sleeping easily enough. Somehow he knew that Aeris was making it up, but he didn’t care, as it did make him feel better. "Thank you, Aeris. You’ve done everything for me, and I…" And idea sprung to mind, one that made perfect sense. "I want to help you find your Promised Land."

"What?" She was genuinely taken aback by the declaration, surprised, and pleased at the same time. "Really?"

"I want you to be happy," he continued. "You deserve it more than me. I…" He glanced down at the slumbering bird, and its ease gave him confidence. "I want to help you find happiness."

Aeris’s smile grew. "Thank you, Cloud. That’s really sweet." She cocked her head to the side. "And then we’ll find yours." Then, following her cheerful self, she added, "Maybe we won’t have to look far."

"You might be right." He touched the top of the chocobo’s downy back, enjoying the feeling of the warm body. There was nothing quite like the sensation of holding a new life, to watch its tiny, shifting movements, and the rise and fall of its lazy breath. It was oddly satisfying, and comforting. He wondered if that was what it was like to be happy.

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