#v. in medias res. ffvii.

[stagnantmako]

cats adopt you. you don't adopt the cat

nero's changed, and not for the better.

this time the hand gripping cloud's chin is iron. the flesh and blood ones are bound to his chest, restricted from any movement. and the metal is sharp, leaving the sable with no means to interact softly with the world. the fingers cut whatever flesh they come into contact with. his powers erode. isolation has never been more personified than in the lonely sable, apart even in a crowd of monsters.

and it has surely taken its toll.

"you..." he says slowly, the words slurring slightly together. nero's eyes are not nearly so bright, dimmed by the heavy sedatives that shinra pumps into him (and his brother, and would-be sister were there room in their hearts or in her mind for that anymore) but there is no mistaking the flash of recognition.

a little too late. as he'd already thrown the blonde head first into the wall, clearly intent on destroying him for daring to raise a weapon against him. nero leans in close, filthy, matted hair tumbling down his too narrow shoulders as it dawns upon him.

"ahhh.... that's right, the traitor SOLDIER..." a smile lights his face, but fails to reach his eyes. they're still glittering maliciously, cold and empty as the now too-distant stars. "so you did live... wonderful. that means all our training was not wasted."

nero drops his face and straightens up. the moment he does so, another recruit makes a move - any blood spilled is blood to your name, and nero knows the tactic all too well. a cheap move of the desperate and weak to move up the leaderboards.

he doesn't get far.

that same hands shoots out lightning quick, spearing through the man's chest. nero turns his head slowly, lifting his arm and watching as the man chokes and splutters as his metal talon's crush his heart.

"this one is mine," nero says to the open room, gaze dropping to each terrified, uncovered face. "you would do well to remember that."

the cloaked restrictor takes a step forward, and only then does something in nero's expression change. a little too sharp to be the sedated lunatic he's playing. but it's gone in a flash, as though it were never there at all.

"unless he is spoken for. is he, restrictor?" nero's iron hand drops to cloud again, petting him like one would a dog. the joints of his fingers catch in golden strands, but he does not relent. whatever suspicion the man possesses appears to abate.

"if it keeps you out of lockup, i don't care where, what, or who you do," the man grunts, stomping past. nero watches him go, continuing to stroke cloud's hair.

then the hand turns to a fist, yanking his head back and drawing cloud into a sit as nero bends down.

"how fortunate. you were to be food for azul, little soldier, and now you are given a chance at redemption."

[stagnantmako]

@floralcetra​ liked for a starter.

“When I was young I thought the skies only to be bright and burning, but this...” A gesture towards the night sky, dotted with billions of tiny stars. “This is beyond imagination.”

[stagnantmako]

tag dump.