Pater Familias

I thought about her all evening. While the others laughed and explored, I watched her. While we ate the evening meal, I watched her. We gathered in the living room to talk and my eyes still drank her in.

Aware of my attention, Sakura only met my eyes half the time. I caught her returning my close observation several times, and felt amused and intrigued by her blushing. In so many ways she seemed very bold, yet in others she remained timid. She would fight with me verbally, but a kiss rendered her as pliant as putty. I liked her contrasts. She drew me physically and mentally.

Syvas just asked you if you mean to play for us again tomorrow, Sephiroth’s mental voice said. And, while it looks like you’re thinking about it, if you don’t answer soon…

“Of course I’ll play tomorrow,” I said, looking toward my brother. He openly rolled joints on the coffee table but I hadn’t noticed until now. My tea had gone cold. I had a cigarette in my hand, unlit, and I couldn’t remember when I’d taken it from the pack. Aerith no longer occupied the room. “Where is the Cetra?”

“Gone to bed,” Sephiroth answered. “I’m about to join her. It is late and we intend to harvest seeds for Syvas tomorrow.” He stood. You’re on your own, dad, he said. Try to think about something other than Sakura for a few minutes.

You’re an insolent boy, I thought sourly. Don’t keep the house awake tonight, screwing Aerith’s brains out.

I’ll be good. Make sure you follow your own advice.

Why you-

A wall slammed up in my mind and I knew my son had blocked me.

At last.

I lit my smoke. Syvas winked at me as he completed rolling joints.

“Your family does my heart good,” he said. “Now, they’re my family too, and I thank you for that, Kanie.” Before I could comment, he turned to Sakura. “And you, Cherry Blossom,” he went on, smiling. “It’s been good for me to meet an up-and-coming star in my field. I know you’re going to go far.”

“I hope I do,” Sakura murmured. “I have many ideas to explore, in any case.” Her eyes flicked to me. “Some of my ideas cross vegetables with meat.”

Syvas lit a joint, inhaled, and passed it to her. “Really?” he said during his exhale. “Then you and Kanie should find much to discuss.”

“We find that to be true,” Sakura admitted before putting her pretty lips to the paper tube.

Syvas and I watched with interest to see if she could hold her smoke. She took a very long drag and kept it. Eyes watering, she passed the joint to me. Our fingers touched. She met my eyes. Her exhale blew a cloud of fragrant, brown smoke in my face, a pot-smoker’s sign of affection. “I did just graduate from college recently,” she said, reaching for her water. She’d deduced why Syvas and I stared at her. “My lungs are quite broken in.”

Syvas and I chuckled in unison, our voices sounding nearly identical for a moment. “Of course, of course,” he said.

We smoked for several minutes in relative quiet; the only sounds an occasional cough. Sakura passed up the fourth round politely. “I know my limit,” she claimed. “Another hit of that good shit and I’ll be babbling non-stop for several hours.”

“Ah, but a woman’s babbling is so soothing and revealing,” Syvas chuckled, echoing my own opinion. He and I passed the smoke around until forced to put it out.

We relaxed in the candlelit semi-darkness, floating upon our own thoughts. I enjoyed this peace. I felt like I’d walked a scorching desert for a thousand years only to drop into an oasis of coolness. A clock struck eleven and Syvas got up from the couch.

“About time for Mira to come home,” he said, opening a small cabinet to the side of the coffee table. He began laying out bottles of various sizes and colors, a few empty beakers and some paper-wrapped pipettes. “You haven’t met Mira, Kanie,” he went on, throwing a stack of black, thick disks onto the pile. “When she comes in, be still and let her get to know you. She’s leery of strangers.”

“Who is she? Find a girlfriend?”

Syvas laughed so loudly Sakura gave a little jerk of surprise.

“Mira’s a cat,” he snickered.

“I love cats.” Sakura smiled a bit dreamily.

“Well, good,” Syvas positively beamed his approval. “Would you like a kitten when she has her litter weaned?”

“I’d love one,” she said, seeming happy for a moment. Then, her expression fell. “But I move around so much…”

“Cats have little trouble adapting to moves as long as they’re socialized properly.” Syvas sat on the floor and began mixing a solution from several bottles and vials, pouring into a sparkling clean beaker. “Mira travels with me quite easily. Still, we do always return to this home.” The voluminous sleeves on his black robes got in his way and he impatiently tugged the cuffs to his shoulders, where buttons lay specifically for the purpose of fixing them down.

I enjoyed watching him at his art. To my scientific, precise mind it appeared he did slap-dash, but I couldn’t deny his potions worked. His potions worked very, very well. He was the premier potioner of the age. People from all over the world sought his work.

Syvas took a deep brass bowl full of sand and placed one of the black disks in the center. A flick of his wrist sent concentrated fire onto it. The disk sparked before igniting, sending a cloud of sulpher into the air. He waved it away with a few sweeps of his long-fingered hand. Unrolling a tightly bound cloth, he revealed a collection of spoons in all shapes, sizes and metals.

Selecting a tiny spoon, Syvas scooped a small measure of powder up from a box and put it on the glowing hot disk. A terribly seductive smell coiled up in the resulting green smoke. It made me feel hot inside, hot and relaxed. I looked toward Sakura, wondering if she felt the same way. She lolled on the chair, her head tilted and her eyes half closed.

“I have a few concoctions for you, brother,” Syvas said, drawing my attention. “I’d intended to send you a few anti-aging potions, but I see they aren’t needed. You look wonderful.”

“The complete destruction of Jenova,” I explained.

“I figured.” Syvas began to scrape resin-like goo off the burning disk. He dripped it into his potion, and it sizzled upon striking. Hard, black drops sank to the bottom of the glass. The liquid turned the same blue as Cloud Strife’s eyes. “But, you know longevity and fitness runs in our blood; our grandparents were over two hundred when they died.”

“Both sides?” I felt interested in this information.

“Oh yes, because of the Wutainian influence. They both lived over mako fountains the first half of their lives.” Syvas put a pinch of something white in the potion, making it cloudy. “And, you and I were both exposed to mako as children. You continued to introduce it to your physiology too, didn’t you?”

“You know I did.” I settled back, lighting another cigarette.

“Yes.” Syvas shot me a sly look. “How’s that super strength, brother?” He leaned up, grabbing a steel bar he’d propped the window open with. He threw. It slapped into my palm heavily.

Giving Syvas a smirk, I bent it and threw it back. “Just fine,” I answered. “And you?”

Syvas shrugged. He bent the bar back to more or less the shape it once assumed, then propped the window back up.

“That’s really cool,” Sakura murmured in a soft voice. “I’d love to be that strong.” She got up and prowled to the window, looking at the rebar scrap. “It isn’t fair,” she went on. “Men are already strong. Why do women have to be weak and at their mercy all the time?”

Syvas met my eyes. I knew instantly what he thought. He had potions to give her what she wanted, but for some reason he sought my approval before speaking.

UP TO YOU, I mouthed.

Syvas looked at the worn carpeting a moment, his brow furrowing. In the meantime, Sakura began to stroke that piece of metal with her forefinger. I imagined that beautiful, slender hand with the strength to crush bone. It completely turned me on. I didn’t need a woman to be weak in order to feel strong. I would love a good, equal wrestling match.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Sakura said. She reached into her pocket, bringing out that familiar ball of seeds. “Here, Syvas,” she murmured. “Aerith shared these with me and I want to share them with you.”

Syvas accepted the gift. His eyes took in the contents. Amazed, he looked back up at Sakura. “Cherry Blossom,” he said lowly. “I don’t have these in my greenhouse. No one does.”

“I know,” she answered. “Aren’t they an unbelievable gift? General Sephiroth harvested them for Aerith and she’s shared them.” Sakura smiled as she went back to staring out into the moonlit night. “I have a few carefully concealed, growing to maturity already. They are the most versatile, most beautiful of all flowers.”

“Flowers of my homeland.” Syvas gazed at them a moment longer. Taking a deep breath, he placed the ball reverently upon the coffee table. With a slightly unsteady hand, he poured his potion into a glass, and handed it to me. “Here, Kanie,” he said, his voice no-nonsense. “You take this and you go to bed.”

I didn’t even ask him what he dosed me with. I tipped the glass and drank the cloudy, bitter brew. “Phaugh” I gasped, handing back the glass. “Good thing I’m going to bed; I don’t think I could stand to walk around with that taste in my mouth.”

“You’ll thank me later,” Syvas said. “You’ll find your bedroom second on the right, straight down the hall. Call me if you need anything.”

I left Syvas and Sakura, strangely unconcerned with my abrupt dismissal.

****************************************************************************

I awoke to the sight of silver and gold. Blinking, I focused upon Sephiroth’s angelic visage. He hovered right above me, aqua cat’s eyes concerned. “Father,” he intoned in his dark, resonant voice. I realized the silver and gold nothing more than the morning light shining through his hair.

“Boy,” I said, sitting up. “What time is it?”

“Thirty minutes past sunrise,” Sephiroth answered, sitting beside me on the bed. “Aerith and I are going on a seed-gathering mission for Uncle Syvas in approximately half an hour.”

I reached for my glasses only to find my son’s hand near my burry eyes. I grabbed, feeling the wire frames in my palm. He came into focus once I slipped them on. “What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing the controlled distress in his eyes. Having him upset bothered me a great deal.

“I suppose nothing, unless you count that gigantic balefore cat sharing the bed with you.”

I looked to my right. A massive cat lay stretched out just beside me, utterly asleep. I gazed upon the extended fangs and long whiskers, the gargantuan paws and silky black fur. “Oh,” I said, too sleepy to find panic. “Mira,” I said, making a logical deduction. “This is only Syvas’ pet, Mira,” I assured him.

“And the kittens?” Sephiroth stood up, pointing to my luggage.

I looked. Five, coal-black kittens slept upon my clothing.

“Her litter.” I stood up, yawning and stretching. “Syvas promised one to Sakura.”

Sephiroth exhaled through his nose. “That cat weighs nearly as much as you do,” he announced. “Her fangs could completely pierce your neck. Her paws can behead a man.”

“I suppose.” I stretched back out again. “If that’s all, boy, I’d like to catch another half hour of sleep.”

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at me. “Later,” he said in a disgusted tone. He turned swiftly, his coat flaring out behind him.

I put a hand out cautiously, resting it upon Mira’s large side. She huffed out through her nose. Slowly, I drew my palm and fingers down, stroking. Her claws came out with her delight, and a rumbling ensued from her deep chest. She felt like the finest silk.

I petted her for nearly a half hour, taking pleasure in her obvious enjoyment. She rolled to her back, showing me her white-spotted belly as she woke fully. One of her enormous paws came out and touched my cheek. She writhed, her tail curling around my left knee.

“Hello, Mira,” I said, combing her whiskers with my fingers. “I’m Hojo.” I loved the power of her, the sheer animal beauty.

And, she knew it.

She patted my face playfully, keeping her claws in.

“You’re a lovely girl,” I told her. “Sleek, powerful and deadly.”

Mira rumbled again. Her tail traveled to curl around my waist. I felt the prehensile strength of that tail and smiled in appreciation. A balefore cat could hang like a primate.

I fell back down to the bed, my nose buried in her fragrant fur. Wrapping an arm around her large body, I closed my eyes and slept again.

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