Crimson

Author's Note: This is probably going to be the most boring chapter ever. If you skip it you will probably miss nothing more than a few cutesy moments.

Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

Chapter 3: Traveling

Our journey began in silence, mostly due to the fact that Vincent was always quiet and that I was mad at him for trying to sneak away. I wasn't sure where exactly Vincent wanted to go or what it was that he needed to do, but I let him lead the way. The things I needed to say would obviously have to wait until this task of his was over, whatever it was. We walked past the crumbling walls of Midgar, out into the fields that separated it from Kalm. We reached the town around midday, and found ourselves right in the middle of their reconstruction efforts.

"You were staying in Kalm before Deepground, right?" I asked softly as I gave Vincent's cape a tug. He merely nodded before turning away from the city streets and back towards the fields.

"In one of the inns for a few weeks while I waited for Reeve to become available. We should continue on. If we go in, we'd likely get drafted into their project," he said as he turned back towards the plains. We walked on for a few miles, across the open expanse of green in the direction of the mines.

I stopped when my stomach growled. "Hey, Vince?" I asked as I rested my hands on my stomach. He turned around, head cocked to the side in question, though he didn't speak. "Where exactly are we going?"

He smirked. "Tired already?"

I shook my head. "No, a little hungry. I was wondering when we were going to stop."

"Either at the ranch before the mines, or at Fort Condor. I don't want to be in the mines after dark, so our rate of travel will determine where we stop," he said as he began walking again. I jogged to keep up with him.

"So, where are we going? Like, what is the point of this mysterious, must-leave-at-the-break-of-dawn journey?" I asked as we walked down a slight slope.

Vincent shrugged and gave his cape a twirl. "I would like to retrace Avalanche's journey during Meteorfall, in hopes that it will abate my wanderlust and put me at ease."

I smiled as we continued on over the plains. I could see a tiny speck in the distance – the Chocobo Ranch – and suddenly found myself filled with hope. "I'm glad you're speaking in complete sentences now."

My stomach did a happy dance as the sun slipped down below the tree line just as we approached the ranch. Vincent didn't look too happy about this. He probably thought he could've made it all the way to Fort Condor if he had been by himself. Oh well. Cloud might've been content to let him go traveling off on his own again, but I wasn't.

Neither of us had been with the group during their first encounter with the Chocobo breeders at the ranch, but we had been warned about their high prices and willingness to sell just about anything for some gil. Judging by the flock of Chocobos wandering around the fenced-in area in front of the house, they weren't doing too badly for themselves now. Vincent rapped on the front door with his claw.

I heard footsteps inside and in a moment, a short man had opened the door. He stared out at us, blinking for a few seconds before speaking. "Can I help you?"

I stepped forward, lightly pushing Vincent and all of his imposing creepiness out of the way. "Hi, yes. We were wondering if you had space for us to spend the night. And maybe some food? We'd be glad to pay."

At the word 'pay', the man's eyes lit up. "Well, sure. It's 200 gil a night, plus 50 to feed you both. We only got one bed though, and you'll have to pay up front."

"That's fine," I said, passing over the gil from the pouch at my hip. The little man opened the door and led us in, pointing toward a table where we sat and were served tea while he went to ready the room for us. Vincent was glaring at me from across the table. "What?"

"250 gil is a steep price for these accommodations," Vincent replied as he took a sip of his tea. "We should've just camped out near the edge of the ranch."

I kept my momentary flash of anger in check as the rancher returned from getting our room ready, and settled for sticking my tongue out at Vincent across the table while a light dinner was set in front of us. As quickly as he had come back in the room, the old rancher was gone again, bidding us goodnight with the reminder that breakfast was included in our stay.

I smirked at Vincent across the table. "Breakfast and dinner for two, for 50 gil. That's not bad."

"Breakfast, dinner, and sharing what is no doubt going to be a twin-sized bed, for 250 gil," Vincent replied, stony-faced.

I finished my plate, moving to leave it in the sink before coming around behind Vincent and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I leaned down to rest my chin on top of his head while he finished his own plate of food. "Just think, in a few days, we'll be in Costa del Sol and we can stay in the villa."

When Vincent stood to put his plate in the sink, he was smirking. He peered over at me from his position across the room, and did not bother to hide the slightly humorous edge in his voice. "That's after we cross the ocean. On a boat. And I'm fresh out of tranquilizers."

Damn it.