Run in Packs
folder
Final Fantasy VII › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
39
Views:
1,178
Reviews:
22
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Final Fantasy VII › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
39
Views:
1,178
Reviews:
22
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I don't own anything from FFVII, and I make no money from this fiction.
Fallout
Title: Run In Packs~Fallout
Fandom: FFVII
Author: Lynsey
Websites and Mailing List: See links under user information
Beta: None
Chapter: 1/1 Ficlet
Pairings: The pack (Zack/Genesis/Angeal/Sephiroth/Cloud)
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Anthro, lots of ow
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or its characters. I do not make any money from this fiction.
Summary: Written for prompt: Genesis - there are consequences to taking something from the lab without permission (the fallout of Cloud's arrival)
A/N: This got a little out of hand and went way angsty-ier than I wanted it to.
If you’re getting confused about what drabble goes where, go to this site for a list of chapters in chronological order:
http://lynsey-schadegg.livejournal.com/97889.html
Genesis caught the dart easily. He whirled on the gunman, red ears laid back in aggression and savage snarl on his face. It was moments later that the gunman was dead, dart-gun clattering to the floor.
Satisfied, the wolf shook his head to settle ruffled fur. He gazed down at the dart in his hand and sighed in disbelief. Did they really think that a dart would have worked? Really? Did they know who he was? What he was?
He snorted and flicked the dart with the pointer finger of his other hand in distain.
It exploded.
********************
Genesis groaned as he came awake. His whole body ached terribly, and in more than just a I-had-a-bomb-go-off-in-my-hand sort of way. The gut clenching pain of mako, bad mako, coursed through his body and caused his muscles to seize in a painful shudder. Bad mako, tainted mako, from the exploding dart coursed through his body.
He could hardly breathe, the pain was so intense. When the seizure ebbed, Genesis panted and tried to move. A growl left his throat as his limbs encountered restraints. Heavy restraints meant to hold someone like him.
A loud, hoarse cackle made Genesis jerk his head to the side. Hojo stood near the table, smirk in place and terribly pleased with himself.
“Did you not think, for one moment, that there wouldn’t be some kind of consequence for stealing my pet project? It’s not like you have been successful in any way,” the scientist spat. “Weak, unpredictable, useless. Hollander was full of shit when he turned you over to me.” He grabbed Genesis by the hair and shook him. “I had that boy perfected. He was going to produce the perfect genetic mix of…of…bah,” Hojo shook his head and released Genesis’ head. “You,” he continued imperiously as he walked to a large table filled with instruments, “will have to make due as my subject.”
Genesis hissed as he muscles seized again. The spasm lasted for far longer than Genesis had hoped it would. He let out an embarrassing whine of pain when his muscles once again relaxed. “They won’t let you,” he growled. “They’ll tear you apart.”
“They have to realize you’re gone, first,” Hojo said, blatantly pleased with himself. “You were sent out on a mission, correct? Top secret? No chance of communication? It was going to last…” he made a huge show of looking at his watch, “two weeks. And I just happened to trap my wolf early. They won’t even notice you’re gone until you’re due to return.” A huge smile. “Maybe this time you’ll work like Hollander said you would.”
*********************
“Zack! Zack slow down! You’re going to-” Angeal stopped and shook his head as the puppy face-planted into the wall, “…run into the wall.”
Zack shook himself vigorously, tongue practically hanging out of his mouth his smile was so wide. “Hurry uuuuuuup! We’re going to miss hiiiiiim.”
“We’re his ride. I doubt Genesis is going to leave without us.”
Zack bounced in place on the loading dock, waiting for the ship to complete docking. His fluffly black ears were perked as far forward as they could go, black tail beating fast and furious at his thighs. Others at the dock stared at the two SOLDIERs with awe and a little fear. SOLDIERs had always stuck out in a crowd; their uniforms, their glowing eyes, and now their obvious…additions made it impossible to blend in.
Did Zack care?
The young pup smiled wolfishly at a lady standing at the dock, and the woman smiled a little unsurely then slowly backed away. Zack drooped a little, but immediately smiled again as the loading bay finally opened and the puppy practically started barking in excitement.
Angeal smiled indulgently. No, Zack didn’t care. As long as he had his pack.
Zack took a flying leap forward when he saw a flash of red hair. Angeal watched in puzzlement as Zack suddenly turned in mid-air, practically breaking his own back to stop his forward trajectory. Confused, Angeal moved forward to intercept Genesis as well. He got within a few feet of the two wolves before stopping in his tracks, eyes wide and nostrils flaring.
Sickbrokenwrong.
Zack hardly took another blink before he swept Genesis into his arms. The redhead didn’t even protest, not a single, solitary murmur of displeasure. The duffle he had been carrying slid from his shoulder without any attempt to hold it, falling to the floor with a sad thump. Genesis closed his eyes, limp and quiet and utterly un-Genesis.
Angeal closed the distance between them, placing his hand on Genesis’ head. The red wolf didn’t move, didn’t respond. Genesis was not a quiet person, especially if he didn’t feel well. If he was under the weather, he whined and complained and bitched and ranted at the unfairness of it all. Genesis was not quiet or still.
Angeal felt his heart plummet down to the vicinity of bedrock. He grabbed the duffle, and it felt like moments and years before they were in the den at home, Genesis wrapped in the middle of the pack and protected from all sides.
There wasn’t anything they could pinpoint. No obvious wounds, no new scars, no…anything really. It was a smell, a sense, a knowing.
It was Cloud that understood more than the others. Cloud curled tight to the redhead, fluffy ears flattened to his head and tail tucked between his legs. He knew. He knew.
And all he could say was, “I’m sorry.”
Genesis didn’t say anything.
***************************
“Cloud,” Sephiroth murmured into the puppy’s ear. “What do you know that we don’t?”
Cloud didn’t move from his curl against Sephiroth’s body. It was warm and comfortable, and he really didn’t want to…to…
“Puppy love, please…what do you know?”
“That’s for Genesis to say,” Cloud said quietly, tightly squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t want to think about it right now. It wasn’t his turn to stay with the red wolf, and he just didn’t want to think about it.
“Cloud, if you know you have to tell us. We need to find out what’s wrong and fix-”
Cloud snarled and had the audacity to backhand Sephiroth. Silver ears plastered to his skull as Sephiroth snarled and pinned Cloud beneath him. The blond didn’t show one ounce of submission or apology as he snarled right back.
“It’s not mine to tell, Seph. It’s not mine.”
Sephiroth’s whole body drooped. He sighed in a very uncharacteristically defeated way. Falling to the side, Sephiroth simply pulled Cloud back into his arms.
Cloud closed his eyes, and tried to push it out of his mind.
He didn’t want to think about it, because then he might remember.
**************************
It was days before Genesis would even respond to his pack mates. When he finally, finally spoke to them, it was to ask Angeal to make love to him.
Angeal couldn’t have said no if his life depended on it.
Sex with Genesis was usually energetic, fun, and dirty in a good way. This…was none of those things.
Buried completely inside his mate, Genesis’ shuddering sob caused Angeal to still.
“Shhh, baby,” Angeal murmured, voice more of a soft, comforting churl than real words. “I’m here, now. Nothing is ever going to hurt you again.”
Genesis suddenly opened blue, terrified eyes at Angeal. “Because there’s nothing left to hurt,” he said with certainty.
“Oh, Gen,” Angeal’s ears plastered back to his skull. “No, no. You’re still you. You’re still with us.”
“Make me feel it,” Genesis pleaded. “I need to…to…”
And Angeal did. He made his mate aware of how much he was loved.
*****************************
“Zack,” Genesis quietly caught the attention of the puppy, who was currently rolling around on the floor with Cloud.
The brunet head snapped up and spit out a mouthful of blond fluff he managed to rip out of Cloud’s head. Cloud looked up as well and immediately dropped Zack’s tail out of his mouth where he had been gnawing on it in puppy-like retaliation.
“Ya, Gen?” All rough-housing stopped as Zack seated himself on the edge of the sofa Genesis was burrowed into.
“You know a flower girl in the slums, correct? The one that you say can talk to the Planet.”
“Aeris?”
Genesis nodded a little, the effort seeming to tire him. Zack sighed sadly and stroked soft, fire-red ears. “Why do you ask?”
“I want you to take me to see her.” Cloud climbed onto the couch and displaced Zack to snuggle next to Genesis. Zack knelt beside the couch, caressing both pack-mates.
Zack’s face was a little dumbfounded before he nodded and kissed Genesis’ cheek. “Sure. Lemme call her and see when she’ll be home.”
***************************
They didn’t meet her at home, but they did meet her at the church where she grew her flowers. The pack arrived before Aeris did, careful to keep Genesis in the middle of the pack as they moved and taking turns to either support or carry the redhead as needed.
When the entered the church, Genesis immediately gravitated to the huge flowerbed. The soft yellow and white petals brushed against his legs as he walked into the middle of the sea of flowers. Zack supported him with a strong arm around his waist. Genesis leaned to the side, hand outstretched to touch one of the delicate blooms. Zack carefully lowered the redhead to the side until a long-fingered hand caressed one of the white blooms.
Zack gently lowered Genesis completely into the soft, fragrant garden. Genesis’ fingers never left the flower, delicately caressing it.
Angeal and Sephiroth fanned out, their perpetual need to protect compelling them to flank the pack.
Zack and Cloud sat next to the redheaded warrior who closed his eyes and sighed in exhaustion. Cloud curled up against Genesis’ back and nuzzled his neck comfortingly. Zack stroked Genesis’ ears and kneaded the tips. Genesis smiled in pleasure, but it was tinged with sorrow.
The brunet wolfling didn’t know why Genesis wanted to see Aeris. He didn’t even know why Genesis would have remembered the flower girl Zack had taken up friendship with. He had scoffed at Zack’s claim that Aeris could speak to the Planet, just as everyone else in the pack had.
He only hoped that Aeris had what Genesis was looking for, so he could heal. He obviously wasn’t going to get better on his own, and Genesis wouldn’t talk to them and let the pack help.
The squeak of cart wheels was heard long before Aeris pushed open the church doors and pulled her empty flower cart into the foyer. Smiling cheerily, she left the cart and set her things on one of the pews.
“Hello!” she chirped, so sweet she almost made Sephiroth want to check himself for cavities.
Zack’s tail started wagging and a beaming grin lit up his face. “Hey, babe!” he said and stood up from his place amongst the flowers. He walked to her and put his arms around her in a warm hug. She hugged back, and her hand slid down to pull sharply at his tail. Zack jumped and yipped, causing Cloud to chuckle lightly into Genesis’ neck.
Genesis opened his eyes and smiled a little at Zack’s discomfort. “Thank you for meeting me,” Genesis said politely. He struggled to sit up, strength seeming to leave him. Cloud guided Genesis up and held him there with a surprisingly strong arm around his shoulders. “Could the rest of you,” Genesis smiled gently at his pack-mates, “please leave Aeris and I for awhile?”
Angeal immediately protested, “Gen, we can’t leave you-”
“I’ll be fine,” Genesis insisted, a little of his old fire flaring in his bright blue eyes. “Go find something to do for a few hours.”
Aeris stood quietly, hands clasped as she stood in the middle of the center aisle.
Sephiroth didn’t trust the sweet, adorable young woman. There wasn’t anything he trusted other than his pack. And nothing was ever as it seemed.
“We’re not leaving you,” Sephiroth said with finality.
They were all on their way to Wall Market five minutes later, wondering how their weak, fragile pack-mate had convinced them to high-tail it out of the church.
***********************
“Zack tells me,” Genesis said as he settled himself back down into the flower bed, “that you can speak to the Planet.”
Aeris sighed with fond exasperation as she plopped down next to the red wolf. “Zack has a big mouth. I distinctly remember saying that was a secret.”
“Zack was always bad at secrets,” Genesis said, a small grimace of pain on his face as he curled into himself.
“Why are you here?” Aeris asked, tentatively reaching out to put her hand consolingly on Genesis’ shoulder.
Genesis reached his own hand up to cover Aeris’. “I need to know…” He gulped audibly and his voice turned unsteady. “I need to know what that psychopath put in me.” He started breathing harshly and clenched his eyes shut. “Can you ask…whatever it is you ask, if it knows what is killing me?”
Aeris was quiet for a long time, and Genesis almost thought she was going to leave. “If it’s killing you, why didn’t you just…” Aeris trailed off and cleared her throat. “Get rid of it?”
Genesis opened his eyes and stared very frankly and very sadly at Aeris. “Because I need to know…if it’s a monster. There’s always the chance…”
“A chance of what?”
“Sephiroth was the result of an experiment.” He seemed to think that was an answer.
To Aeris it was. “Because it might not be a monster.”
He nodded. “It might…not.”
************************
When the pack returned, Genesis was laying quietly in the flowers with Aeris at his side.
The air was thick with the smell of blood.
The entire pack was surrounding the wolf in seconds, sniffing and pawing and scared.
“What happened?”
“Are you ok?”
“Where is the blood?”
Genesis looked up at Aeris, who’s sweet face wasn’t smiling anymore. She sadly stroked his hair. The redhead curled into Angeal, tears in his eyes. “Aeris just…took care of a monster.”
Fandom: FFVII
Author: Lynsey
Websites and Mailing List: See links under user information
Beta: None
Chapter: 1/1 Ficlet
Pairings: The pack (Zack/Genesis/Angeal/Sephiroth/Cloud)
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Anthro, lots of ow
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or its characters. I do not make any money from this fiction.
Summary: Written for prompt: Genesis - there are consequences to taking something from the lab without permission (the fallout of Cloud's arrival)
A/N: This got a little out of hand and went way angsty-ier than I wanted it to.
If you’re getting confused about what drabble goes where, go to this site for a list of chapters in chronological order:
http://lynsey-schadegg.livejournal.com/97889.html
Genesis caught the dart easily. He whirled on the gunman, red ears laid back in aggression and savage snarl on his face. It was moments later that the gunman was dead, dart-gun clattering to the floor.
Satisfied, the wolf shook his head to settle ruffled fur. He gazed down at the dart in his hand and sighed in disbelief. Did they really think that a dart would have worked? Really? Did they know who he was? What he was?
He snorted and flicked the dart with the pointer finger of his other hand in distain.
It exploded.
********************
Genesis groaned as he came awake. His whole body ached terribly, and in more than just a I-had-a-bomb-go-off-in-my-hand sort of way. The gut clenching pain of mako, bad mako, coursed through his body and caused his muscles to seize in a painful shudder. Bad mako, tainted mako, from the exploding dart coursed through his body.
He could hardly breathe, the pain was so intense. When the seizure ebbed, Genesis panted and tried to move. A growl left his throat as his limbs encountered restraints. Heavy restraints meant to hold someone like him.
A loud, hoarse cackle made Genesis jerk his head to the side. Hojo stood near the table, smirk in place and terribly pleased with himself.
“Did you not think, for one moment, that there wouldn’t be some kind of consequence for stealing my pet project? It’s not like you have been successful in any way,” the scientist spat. “Weak, unpredictable, useless. Hollander was full of shit when he turned you over to me.” He grabbed Genesis by the hair and shook him. “I had that boy perfected. He was going to produce the perfect genetic mix of…of…bah,” Hojo shook his head and released Genesis’ head. “You,” he continued imperiously as he walked to a large table filled with instruments, “will have to make due as my subject.”
Genesis hissed as he muscles seized again. The spasm lasted for far longer than Genesis had hoped it would. He let out an embarrassing whine of pain when his muscles once again relaxed. “They won’t let you,” he growled. “They’ll tear you apart.”
“They have to realize you’re gone, first,” Hojo said, blatantly pleased with himself. “You were sent out on a mission, correct? Top secret? No chance of communication? It was going to last…” he made a huge show of looking at his watch, “two weeks. And I just happened to trap my wolf early. They won’t even notice you’re gone until you’re due to return.” A huge smile. “Maybe this time you’ll work like Hollander said you would.”
*********************
“Zack! Zack slow down! You’re going to-” Angeal stopped and shook his head as the puppy face-planted into the wall, “…run into the wall.”
Zack shook himself vigorously, tongue practically hanging out of his mouth his smile was so wide. “Hurry uuuuuuup! We’re going to miss hiiiiiim.”
“We’re his ride. I doubt Genesis is going to leave without us.”
Zack bounced in place on the loading dock, waiting for the ship to complete docking. His fluffly black ears were perked as far forward as they could go, black tail beating fast and furious at his thighs. Others at the dock stared at the two SOLDIERs with awe and a little fear. SOLDIERs had always stuck out in a crowd; their uniforms, their glowing eyes, and now their obvious…additions made it impossible to blend in.
Did Zack care?
The young pup smiled wolfishly at a lady standing at the dock, and the woman smiled a little unsurely then slowly backed away. Zack drooped a little, but immediately smiled again as the loading bay finally opened and the puppy practically started barking in excitement.
Angeal smiled indulgently. No, Zack didn’t care. As long as he had his pack.
Zack took a flying leap forward when he saw a flash of red hair. Angeal watched in puzzlement as Zack suddenly turned in mid-air, practically breaking his own back to stop his forward trajectory. Confused, Angeal moved forward to intercept Genesis as well. He got within a few feet of the two wolves before stopping in his tracks, eyes wide and nostrils flaring.
Sickbrokenwrong.
Zack hardly took another blink before he swept Genesis into his arms. The redhead didn’t even protest, not a single, solitary murmur of displeasure. The duffle he had been carrying slid from his shoulder without any attempt to hold it, falling to the floor with a sad thump. Genesis closed his eyes, limp and quiet and utterly un-Genesis.
Angeal closed the distance between them, placing his hand on Genesis’ head. The red wolf didn’t move, didn’t respond. Genesis was not a quiet person, especially if he didn’t feel well. If he was under the weather, he whined and complained and bitched and ranted at the unfairness of it all. Genesis was not quiet or still.
Angeal felt his heart plummet down to the vicinity of bedrock. He grabbed the duffle, and it felt like moments and years before they were in the den at home, Genesis wrapped in the middle of the pack and protected from all sides.
There wasn’t anything they could pinpoint. No obvious wounds, no new scars, no…anything really. It was a smell, a sense, a knowing.
It was Cloud that understood more than the others. Cloud curled tight to the redhead, fluffy ears flattened to his head and tail tucked between his legs. He knew. He knew.
And all he could say was, “I’m sorry.”
Genesis didn’t say anything.
***************************
“Cloud,” Sephiroth murmured into the puppy’s ear. “What do you know that we don’t?”
Cloud didn’t move from his curl against Sephiroth’s body. It was warm and comfortable, and he really didn’t want to…to…
“Puppy love, please…what do you know?”
“That’s for Genesis to say,” Cloud said quietly, tightly squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t want to think about it right now. It wasn’t his turn to stay with the red wolf, and he just didn’t want to think about it.
“Cloud, if you know you have to tell us. We need to find out what’s wrong and fix-”
Cloud snarled and had the audacity to backhand Sephiroth. Silver ears plastered to his skull as Sephiroth snarled and pinned Cloud beneath him. The blond didn’t show one ounce of submission or apology as he snarled right back.
“It’s not mine to tell, Seph. It’s not mine.”
Sephiroth’s whole body drooped. He sighed in a very uncharacteristically defeated way. Falling to the side, Sephiroth simply pulled Cloud back into his arms.
Cloud closed his eyes, and tried to push it out of his mind.
He didn’t want to think about it, because then he might remember.
**************************
It was days before Genesis would even respond to his pack mates. When he finally, finally spoke to them, it was to ask Angeal to make love to him.
Angeal couldn’t have said no if his life depended on it.
Sex with Genesis was usually energetic, fun, and dirty in a good way. This…was none of those things.
Buried completely inside his mate, Genesis’ shuddering sob caused Angeal to still.
“Shhh, baby,” Angeal murmured, voice more of a soft, comforting churl than real words. “I’m here, now. Nothing is ever going to hurt you again.”
Genesis suddenly opened blue, terrified eyes at Angeal. “Because there’s nothing left to hurt,” he said with certainty.
“Oh, Gen,” Angeal’s ears plastered back to his skull. “No, no. You’re still you. You’re still with us.”
“Make me feel it,” Genesis pleaded. “I need to…to…”
And Angeal did. He made his mate aware of how much he was loved.
*****************************
“Zack,” Genesis quietly caught the attention of the puppy, who was currently rolling around on the floor with Cloud.
The brunet head snapped up and spit out a mouthful of blond fluff he managed to rip out of Cloud’s head. Cloud looked up as well and immediately dropped Zack’s tail out of his mouth where he had been gnawing on it in puppy-like retaliation.
“Ya, Gen?” All rough-housing stopped as Zack seated himself on the edge of the sofa Genesis was burrowed into.
“You know a flower girl in the slums, correct? The one that you say can talk to the Planet.”
“Aeris?”
Genesis nodded a little, the effort seeming to tire him. Zack sighed sadly and stroked soft, fire-red ears. “Why do you ask?”
“I want you to take me to see her.” Cloud climbed onto the couch and displaced Zack to snuggle next to Genesis. Zack knelt beside the couch, caressing both pack-mates.
Zack’s face was a little dumbfounded before he nodded and kissed Genesis’ cheek. “Sure. Lemme call her and see when she’ll be home.”
***************************
They didn’t meet her at home, but they did meet her at the church where she grew her flowers. The pack arrived before Aeris did, careful to keep Genesis in the middle of the pack as they moved and taking turns to either support or carry the redhead as needed.
When the entered the church, Genesis immediately gravitated to the huge flowerbed. The soft yellow and white petals brushed against his legs as he walked into the middle of the sea of flowers. Zack supported him with a strong arm around his waist. Genesis leaned to the side, hand outstretched to touch one of the delicate blooms. Zack carefully lowered the redhead to the side until a long-fingered hand caressed one of the white blooms.
Zack gently lowered Genesis completely into the soft, fragrant garden. Genesis’ fingers never left the flower, delicately caressing it.
Angeal and Sephiroth fanned out, their perpetual need to protect compelling them to flank the pack.
Zack and Cloud sat next to the redheaded warrior who closed his eyes and sighed in exhaustion. Cloud curled up against Genesis’ back and nuzzled his neck comfortingly. Zack stroked Genesis’ ears and kneaded the tips. Genesis smiled in pleasure, but it was tinged with sorrow.
The brunet wolfling didn’t know why Genesis wanted to see Aeris. He didn’t even know why Genesis would have remembered the flower girl Zack had taken up friendship with. He had scoffed at Zack’s claim that Aeris could speak to the Planet, just as everyone else in the pack had.
He only hoped that Aeris had what Genesis was looking for, so he could heal. He obviously wasn’t going to get better on his own, and Genesis wouldn’t talk to them and let the pack help.
The squeak of cart wheels was heard long before Aeris pushed open the church doors and pulled her empty flower cart into the foyer. Smiling cheerily, she left the cart and set her things on one of the pews.
“Hello!” she chirped, so sweet she almost made Sephiroth want to check himself for cavities.
Zack’s tail started wagging and a beaming grin lit up his face. “Hey, babe!” he said and stood up from his place amongst the flowers. He walked to her and put his arms around her in a warm hug. She hugged back, and her hand slid down to pull sharply at his tail. Zack jumped and yipped, causing Cloud to chuckle lightly into Genesis’ neck.
Genesis opened his eyes and smiled a little at Zack’s discomfort. “Thank you for meeting me,” Genesis said politely. He struggled to sit up, strength seeming to leave him. Cloud guided Genesis up and held him there with a surprisingly strong arm around his shoulders. “Could the rest of you,” Genesis smiled gently at his pack-mates, “please leave Aeris and I for awhile?”
Angeal immediately protested, “Gen, we can’t leave you-”
“I’ll be fine,” Genesis insisted, a little of his old fire flaring in his bright blue eyes. “Go find something to do for a few hours.”
Aeris stood quietly, hands clasped as she stood in the middle of the center aisle.
Sephiroth didn’t trust the sweet, adorable young woman. There wasn’t anything he trusted other than his pack. And nothing was ever as it seemed.
“We’re not leaving you,” Sephiroth said with finality.
They were all on their way to Wall Market five minutes later, wondering how their weak, fragile pack-mate had convinced them to high-tail it out of the church.
***********************
“Zack tells me,” Genesis said as he settled himself back down into the flower bed, “that you can speak to the Planet.”
Aeris sighed with fond exasperation as she plopped down next to the red wolf. “Zack has a big mouth. I distinctly remember saying that was a secret.”
“Zack was always bad at secrets,” Genesis said, a small grimace of pain on his face as he curled into himself.
“Why are you here?” Aeris asked, tentatively reaching out to put her hand consolingly on Genesis’ shoulder.
Genesis reached his own hand up to cover Aeris’. “I need to know…” He gulped audibly and his voice turned unsteady. “I need to know what that psychopath put in me.” He started breathing harshly and clenched his eyes shut. “Can you ask…whatever it is you ask, if it knows what is killing me?”
Aeris was quiet for a long time, and Genesis almost thought she was going to leave. “If it’s killing you, why didn’t you just…” Aeris trailed off and cleared her throat. “Get rid of it?”
Genesis opened his eyes and stared very frankly and very sadly at Aeris. “Because I need to know…if it’s a monster. There’s always the chance…”
“A chance of what?”
“Sephiroth was the result of an experiment.” He seemed to think that was an answer.
To Aeris it was. “Because it might not be a monster.”
He nodded. “It might…not.”
************************
When the pack returned, Genesis was laying quietly in the flowers with Aeris at his side.
The air was thick with the smell of blood.
The entire pack was surrounding the wolf in seconds, sniffing and pawing and scared.
“What happened?”
“Are you ok?”
“Where is the blood?”
Genesis looked up at Aeris, who’s sweet face wasn’t smiling anymore. She sadly stroked his hair. The redhead curled into Angeal, tears in his eyes. “Aeris just…took care of a monster.”