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randomfanner · 4 months

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Good Ol' Acorn

“Is that- Ha! It is! Good Ol’ Acorn!” the snotty voice broke through the air of the busy sounds of the city. As soon as Anya heard it, her hair instantly stood on edge. Her head turned around trying to see if she could find him before he made his way to her.

Fate was not on her side as a large arm wrapped around her shoulder, dragging her into a headlock. Rough knuckle found her skull, digging into the top of her cranium. Anya’s teeth clenched and her eyes went into a squint. Gods, she just wanted to get to the Bonecloaks and pick up some extra healing potions. It was supposed to be a quick stop and then right back to Elfsong to regroup.

“Ah…. good to see you again, Mr. Elthor, sir,” Anya forced a smile upon her face. Anya grabbed the arm around her neck and tried to pull it off. “Could you please let me go?” Anya’s pleading blue eyes tried to look to the other members of his adventuring party for help, but they all just stayed silent. The rogue, Kiel and the mage Poppy both averted their eyes to the scene out of guilt. The cleric, Yertie, did not. There was a small smirk on his face. “And my name is Anya.”

“I was wondering where ya were, we got a job comin’ up and I would love to have Good Ol’ Acorn back at camp,” Anya could smell his putrid breath from here.

“I am actually rather busy, and do not plan to go back to my job as a porter any time soon,” Anya finally wrestled his arm off of her, pushing away from him with a small look. “It was a pleasure to see you but I am afraid I have to go now.” She could see her destination, the apothecary. All she needed was an extra few healing potions and then she would go back to meet up with the others.

“When did you get so cold?” Elthor sneered. “Ya run into an old friend and business associate and you don’t even hear what kinda job it is, I bet it is more important than whatever ya ot. Acorn.”

“I assure you, whatever quest you have is nothing compared to what I have to deal with and I do not need to deal with you on top of it,” the words left her mouth before she could even process them, however she meant each one. “Now good day,” Anya said as she tried to walk away.

A hand grabbed her wrist. Elthor’s brown eyes glared daggers into her back. “Ya got some nerve now, don’tcha Acorn?” there was a snarl in his voice as he yanked her towards her. He grabbed the collar of her shirt. “I heard that you’ve gotten into some adventures- seems like that has made ya forget your place?” he pulled his fist back.

“Unhand her.”

All eyes flicked towards the booming voice of the towering wood elf. Halsin’s arms were crossed over his chest and his amber eyes were threatening to become alight with true primal fury.

Anya had seen Halsin angry before, when he yelled at Kagha for all her actions and his feelings towards this hopeless city. But this was different.

“Ohhh look at you! All big and scary,” Elthor said as he laughed. However the hand on Anya’s collar did drop her as all of the human’s attention was on Halsin.

“Explain yourself.”

Elthor looked at him before he burst into laughter. “It ain’t nothing for ya to worry about,” without a care in the world, Elthor plopped a hand down on Anya’s shoulder “This is all just some play fighting among old friends, you one of Acorn’s new friends?”

Halsin grabbed Elthor’s forearm in a vice grip and yanked it off of Anya’s shoulder. His other arm was quick with Anya, grabbing one of her shoulders and pulling her into his embrace. “You do not deserve to call Anya a friend, that much is clear to me. You would be wise to get out of my sight before I do something I won’t regret.”

Elthor’s carefree expression changed to utter fear. He cleared his throat and yanked his arm away from Halsin. “Let’s go. Now.” he was the quickest to scurry away. Yertie was the only one who didn’t immediately follow, standing there for a moment in surprise to look at Anya and Halsin, before he followed with the others.

“Halsin…. Thank you,” Anya said as she averted her eyes away from his face. She pushed her body a bit closer to him.

As soon as the group was out of sight Halsin looked down at Anya and moved to look her over. “Who were they, my heart? Did they hurt you?”

“I am fine, they were… frequent clients,” Anya said. Elthor and his group were one of the first adventuring parties to have her as their porter at camp. “Elthor has never been…. The most agreeable man.”

“Hmmm I believe that may be an understatement,” Halsin said before letting out a sigh. “I am glad you are alright… I hope I did not come off as too protective. I know you are capable of handling yourself,” Halsin said as he began to move away from her.

Anya grabbed onto one of Halsin’s hands. “No, I am glad you came when you did. I… never have been the best at standing up for myself,” she said as he moved her other hand to be holding the same hand. “Thank you.”

Halsin’s lips curled into a fond smile as he bent down, giving the top of her head a kiss. “I will be there for you whenever you need me, my heart,” he took one of her hands into his. “Now, I believe you had an errand to run at the Apothecary, correct?”

“You are,” Anya smiled as she pointed her finger towards the destination. “Onwards, then!” she declared as she began to walk forward, tightening her grip just a little on Halsin’s hand.

#halsin x tav #halsin x reader #halsin bg3 #halsin #daddy halsin #halsin is best bear #I might do this for others #because I have ideas #hand holding #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate

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holly-fixation · 2 years

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Tainted Child: Chapter 5

Summary so far: Claudia Strife’s son is is overly devoted to her. He only calls her ‘Mother’. And when he speaks of 'The Great Mother’, she has to worry. And now he’s told the girl he claims received a gift from her, and her symptoms match Cloud’s unbelievable story to a T. But after finding the source of the gift, they had no choice but to hide from Shinra.

Based on this prompt by @im-totally-not-an-alien

Please enjoy!

Chapter 5: Mission

Five days ago, mako, the Lifestream, the planet itself, boiled like a shockwave from the epicenter of the Nibel Mountains. The constant crescendo of bubbling awoke and rattled all manners of monsters, all around the world, their instincts and senses pushing them towards civilizations for reasons unknown to Shinra. In Nibelheim, the reactor itself began failing, too much damage sustained from the extreme pressure of the hyperactive mako. Natural mako fountains sizzled, steaming like hot springs and bubbling radiation across the surrounding land, sinking and spreading to all manner of cities and towns. Ironically, the safest locations from this phenomenon were Shinra’s failed attempts at reactors or far away from reactors entirely. Gongaga, Fort Condor, Costa del Sol, The Bone Village, Icicle Village, and even Wutai were safer than protected metropolises.

Midgar was the latest to feel its impact.

Now it was an emergency. Mako reactors Six and Seven had mild bubble influxes, slowly increasing from the expected metric, but that was only the beginning. If they did not act now, all of Midgar would be flooded with ungodly radiation within days, and if anyone evacuated, they would die in monster attacks before they could see Kalm on the horizon.

Now a reactor in the middle of nowhere required his attention. Wutaians and Wutaian supporters used this chaos to their advantage. Rebellions, attacks, and captures were conducted throughout each of the small villages mentioned at this SOLDIER briefing. However, disappointedly, Second Classes would be sent to handle these disturbances of peace, while the only First Class would be sent to the Nibelheim Reactor to find the culprits of this anomaly, in hope of finding a solution.

Security footage showed a blonde woman dispatch the guards with Sleep spells, then a little blonde boy and black haired girl followed into a secure room, no cameras inside to see what they did. They came in with one weapon. They left with nothing, nothing taken from the reactor, no weapon, only the sealed door collapsing closed when they left. Yet in only a few minutes, these seemingly innocent villagers were destroying reactors across the planet and creating the largest unrest of monsters this generation had ever seen. Was this an attack on the planet? An eco-terrorists who brought children into her mess? They had no answers, and now it was his mission to find them, stop this planetary reaction, and either capture or kill the culprits, whichever was more effective.

That choice was left up to him: SOLDIER First Class, Sephiroth.

Shinra sent him to Nibelheim their fastest vehicle: the latest model of airship. What would normally be a three day journey from Midgar to Junon, Costa del Sol to Cosmo Canyon, and finally across the river to Nibelheim, took only twelve hours. Upon arrival, he had two tasks: investigate the town, then investigate the reactors. In a village this small, it was likely someone knew who among them caused this, be it intentionally or accidentally. Whether or not they told him was a matter of how much they were willing to protect their own kind.

Thus Sephiroth’s quiet dismount off the airship, with two cadets following behind with their weapons at the ready, to an even quieter village unsettled the small team. Not a single soul was outside, not even kids playing by the water tower in the central plaza, most likely because of the monster attacks. The airship left the team in the remote village and departed back to Junon. Now their first order of business was finding information. Perhaps the local inn was a good place to start?

They cautiously made their way over to the larger building of the town, outside of Shinra Manor. But before they could enter, the doors were shoved open and a man rushed out, locking the doors behind him and taking one exhausted breath. Then he turned to the SOLDIER, who stopped at the sudden movement.

“You’re here?” He asked, genuine relief in his voice as he stumbled through his next words. “Shinra finally sent you- you’re finally here?”

The roughly seventeen year old First Class nodded. “Yes,” He answered before immediately gesturing to the inn. “What’s going on?”

He took a breath and sighed, then made a gesture of a soft push. “You may wanna back up. We don’t know how this is spreading.”

The two cadets took a step back, but the silver soldier remained still as the man continued.

“There’s this disease,” His hands were shaking as he spoke, “At first it was just black patches on the skin that leak puss, and maybe a low fever, but nothing insane.” He stuttered as he seemed to look for the correct explanation. “Only- Only one of us had it, and then her father,” He gasped, gesturing in frustration and panic at the situation, “And now he’s dying and she’s missing-”

Missing. That lone word caught his attention. “What does she look like?” He questioned calmly.

He raised his hand about four feet above the ground. “About this tall, long black hair, last seen in a white sundress…” He looked up as he thought. “Maybe white shoes too?”

It’s the girl from the reactor. “May I speak with her father?”

“Tifa’s?” The man spoke her name aloud subconsciously before he hesitated. “With all due respect, Soldier, he is the worst patient in there. I’d be surprised if he makes it through next week and I’ll be damned if I’m responsible for getting The Great Sephiroth sick.”

It took everything he had not to roll his snake-like eyes at the propaganda enforced title. “I can handle it. Let me in.” He turned his head to the two cadets. “You stay out here. Gather as much information as you can on the culprits.”

“Yes, Sir!” They both snapped to attention and nodded.

He gave one solemn nod in response before the man unlocked the door to the inn. Inside, there were two patients that seemed perfectly healthy, besides a few patches of medical tape covering small parts of their arm or leg. They seemed ready to question him, before recognition crossed their faces. They recognized the SOLDIER brand on his belt.

“Where’s Tifa’s father?” Sephiroth spoke first, his normal authoritative voice unintentionally intimidating both of them.

One pointed to the stairs quickly. “Lockhart’s up there. Farthest bed from the door. There’s only one room. Can’t miss ‘im.”

“Thank you.” He nodded before swiftly scaling the open staircase, his silver hair and his black cape flowing behind him as he turned down the hallway, then passed a window with a view of some hills. A window? He suddenly stopped, consumed by a sudden feeling of dejavu. An overwhelming familiarity flooded his senses as he moved to the glass, placing a gloved hand on the windowsill. He recognized it, the landscape beyond, the shapes and the light, ever so faintly in the back of his mind. Has he been here before? He was never sent on a mission here before, but this...

He quickly shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. Right now, the mission was more important than his emotions playing these odd tricks, even if it never happened before. Shinra, SOLDIER, The Planet itself, everything was on the line for this mission. Get it together. He forced his worthless, odd feelings back into himself and moved to the door, opening it carefully.

Three beds, three occupants, each more ailed than the last, trapped in their beds from this unknown disease. The one closest to him was sitting on the side, scratching their black stained bandages in frustration and exhaustion. The second was sitting on the bed and against the wall, asleep, their skin too pale and their eyelids twitching in restlessness. The third, his current target, laid on the bed with no covers, his skin gray like a ghost. The wounds of the patient stained the sheets through the bandages, covering most of his exposed skin, and the wet rag on his forehead did nothing to alleviate his pain.

His red eyes stared at the ceiling, pain and worry emitting from his gaze, making his face twitch, the pain from his disease and his concern for his daughter forcing him awake constantly.

The silver soldier swiftly passed the first two beds and stood at the end of the final, making the patient stare down at him and adjust slowly to sitting up on the bed.

Lockhart jerked his head up at the boy in uniform in challenge. “Are you that fancy, big shot, First Class SOLDIER Shinra sent?”

He nodded, almost relieved to hear some fight from the man rather than desperation or hopelessness. “I have questions about your daughter.”

The father glanced away and curled his lip in anger, growling under his breath, “That blonde brat…”

Sephiroth gave the parent a moment before asking, “What happened?”

* * *

The mountains howled with awakened monsters and primal instinct under the glow of the noon sun. The constant skittering and clawing nearly drowned the massive cacophony of the mountains. Shinra announced the cause: boiling mako, to every town under their control.

Good Gods, what had she done?

This was dangerous, a horrible idea, and the mother regretted it the moment they left Rocket Town. They were all equipped with weapons, Cloud with his new sword and Tifa with new combat gloves. She claimed she was better with her fists than a sword, and Claudia had not seen anything proving otherwise. Her vanished disease also gave her some of the superior strength both Cloud and Claudia possessed. The gifts from The Great Mother. Not only was she stronger, but a bit of her bull headed confidence was back, the part of her ready to fight, the part that fought to be as strong as Cloud.

They were back in the mountains, in a small cave they secured, following Cloud’s ‘feelings’. His mother wished they were wrong, but too much had happened, too much had proven them true. Cloud’s connection to her was stronger. Right now, they were safe, but their guards remained up, even as Tifa and Claudia’s spirits began to fall.

“The Great Child will be here soon, Mother,” Cloud explained with an excited nod. “Then we just need to convince them to help us.”

Claudia raised a brow as Tifa voiced the question they both had.

“You didn’t say anything about ‘convincing’ before, Cloud.” Well, she called him out more than questioned. “This kid doesn’t hear her?”

He looked down and gave a small begging look. “I didn’t know. It’s…” He squinted in frustration, struggling for the correct explanation. “It’s harder to understand Her… She sounds…underwater at best…”

“It’s alright,” Claudia spoke soothingly before placing a hand on her son’s shoulder. “You’ve heard her your whole life, and now it’s a lot fainter, right?”

He nodded sadly, his free hand fidgeting with his shirt. “She wanted to die, but she’s still here… It’s so muffled...” They watched him search his mind, and his mother rubbed his shoulder to ground him. “She only spoke in the reactor but… It was like She gave me thoughts… and now I’m lucky to get a word...”

“It’s okay.” She ruffled his dandelion hair playfully, reassuringly. “You still got this. We trust you.” Her blue eyes met his as she continued, “Once we get Tifa cured, we go back to Nibelheim and help her father. Then we leave so Shinra doesn’t capture us. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Both children nodded synchronously.

“For now, stay against the wall.” She gestured to the side of the cave. “Don’t go any deeper, I don’t want you to find out how big this cave is the hard way. But I want you behind me if another monster comes to the entrance.”

They nodded, and Claudia remained guarded as the children followed her order. However, only a minute passed before the silence was broken once again, but this time by small whispers.

“Cloud,” Tifa called softly before looking away from him and shielding her face from his gaze with her hand. “Don’t just stare at me.”

He quickly shook his head and turned away. “Sorry...”

She adjusted her posture anxiously. “You’re making me nervous.”

“I don’t mean to. Your eyes are just really pretty...”

Her eyes. Her new snake-like eyes. She had seen them for the first time when they made it to Rocket Town. They didn’t… feel like her. The little girl groaned again before turning to the blonde boy. “If she gave me these eyes, why can’t I see her? Why can’t I at least hear her like you do? It’s unfair,” She pouted, then her gaze fell with her sudden spirit as Cloud thought of an answer. “I thought I would by now...”

Cloud wanted to tell her. He really wanted to tell her. But he didn’t know. He only had a vague description of...mortality? No, not mortality… limited…? Temporary? He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t want to tell her something that wasn’t true. He shook his head, then suddenly hugged her. The same way he did in the reactor, when he didn’t know what lay ahead.

Tifa, however, relaxed a bit at the contact. He was trying to help, and he hoped her return of the gesture accomplished exactly that. The child would be there soon, within the day or night. For now the small party needed to wait. All they needed to do was wait, in the comfort of a cleared cave rather than a glass tube of liquid agony.

* * *

Thank gods he went on that bridge alone. This entire mountain range was nothing but trouble for the cadets, and if either of them was with him when the bridge was attacked by that dragon… Sephiroth shook away the thought. He had to focus on finding the reactor before nightfall. He hoped the cadets knew to turn back and remain at the village until receiving new orders. The last thing he needed was them getting lost or killed to find him. He would be fine on his own. He was always alone. Although the ever growing maze of the mountains and valleys threatened to wear on his determination, each foot stepped in front of the other and balanced on the rocky terrain, each dead end or monster filled cave began bothering him more and more as the sky began to orange. It was nearly night.

He should have waited. The villagers told him to wait, but this was the first mission he didn’t feel like he was just helping Shinra, he was saving the world… if he was successful. When he was successful. He had never failed before. He was always perfect, whether he wanted to be or not. Beaten into him over years and years of…

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he thinking like this? Completely distracted as he fought through the radiation fueled monsters, yet still without injury. Was it that window, back at the inn? He absolutely saw that landscape before. He knew it, deep in his heart. That terrifying feeling of dejavu.

For god sake get it together. Gods. Which mountain was he on now? Was he anywhere near Mount Nibel? He had to keep moving, for any chance of getting out of these mountains or finding the reactor. He was running out of daylight.

“Hey!”

He instantly jerked his head at the sound. Was that a child?

“Follow the path on your left to the top of the mountain!”

He can’t see them, but he clearly hears the voice of a young boy. What was a child doing out here? Was the boy one of his targets? Either this was a trap set by his target, or this boy was genuinely trying to help him. But both options would lead him one step closer to his goal, regardless. So he followed the path up the mountain as instructed. After all, how would they know he was sent after them? Communication towers were only functional inside GoldSaucer, Rocket Town, and Costa del Sol; all Shinra controlled towns. Nibelheim and Corel were lucky if their emergency lines worked. For now, he would take his chances. So each step, rock, and scaled cliff was one step closer to the top.

“Over here!”

He heard the boy and immediately locked his eyes on a cave within the mountain peak. He swiftly approached and stood at the entrance of the cave when he spotted the inhabitants.

A blonde woman with spiky hair, her similarly haired son, and the little girl taken away from her village. The mother stood in front of both of the children, holding her sword to her side and a cautious hand forward. However, he knew both children were armed. Before he could even start his militaristic task, the mother spoke.

“Please,” She was pleading with him already? “We need your help.”

They need my help?

“We won’t attack. We just want to talk. Please let us explain.”

He scanned her for any hint of inconsistency. They weren’t lying. He could see the truth in her eyes, but then he glanced at the children with a closer, analytical gaze.

He didn’t expect a childlike joy to snatch his chest when he saw the little girl’s eyes. The same as his. A feeling of familiarity. Of not being alone, for the first time in his life.

“Talk,” the silver soldier commanded, and only the little boy seemed to know what he was thinking, the emotions he trapped within his heart.

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#i missed my boy #ffvii #ff7 #final fantasy vii #cloud strife #sephiroth #jenova #claudia strife #tifa lockhart #the next fic is the college au based off the Safer Sephiroth statue art #I hope you're as excited as I am #Because I have IDEAS #Literally an entire page dedicated to bullet points of the story #It may need to be multiple chapters #because it's looking like a BIG BOI #so stay tuned!#thanks for reading!! hope you enjoy!!#tainted child

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