Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 3: Pursuit

FORTY-SIX

The next day, we went over to Cid's house a little before 1:00. Shera greeted us with a smile and beckoned us inside, inviting us to sit at the table like we'd done yesterday. Cid was already there, grumbling sourly to himself with one foot propped up on the table. He nodded to us and sighed, no doubt anxious for Rufus to show up.

"Figured you'd show up," he grunted. "Go on and sit down, I guess. I ain't much for manners. If that bothers ya, tough!"

"It doesn't," Cloud assured him.

Cid nodded. "Fine. So, Jessie, did you get done whatever it was you needed to do out in the hangar yesterday?"

I sat down with the others. "Yeah, got my gear all fixed up."

"Good, good," he said. Then he glanced at Shera. "The hell are you doin', Shera? We got guests! Serve 'em some tea already!"

"Sorry!" she gasped, rushing to the cabinet.

Cloud blinked. "It's okay, don't worry about us..."

That only seemed to make Cid angrier, though. "Did I ask ya? Jus' sit your asses down and have some goddamn tea! Damn, Rufus is late! Pissin' me off already. His chopper ain't even flown in yet. The hell's he thinkin' makin' me wait around like this!?"

I frowned, feeling my own temper start to rise. "I get that, Cid, but it's still no excuse for lashing out at Shera or us! It's easy to get mad, it's something I've had problems with myself. But trust me, if you don't get a grip on it, you can bet it'll bite you in the ass sooner or later. It did to me. Almost cost me my life. Don't make the same mistake. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you and Shera."

Cid grunted, his eyes widening a little. He hadn't expected anyone to call him out on his temper, but I knew all too well how dangerous it could be. Mine had nearly killed me in the pillar. I'd been so mad at my father and so determined to beat him that I'd ignored my friends when they'd warned me that the console was about to explode. My stubborn pride and blazing temper had blinded me to the danger I'd been in, and as I result, I'd been badly hurt when the console blew up in my face and ripped into me with fire and blasts of electricity.

The fall fifteen stories to the ground after being thrown across the platform had only made things worse, adding to my injuries even more and leaving me buried under tons of rubble, dying and alone. I knew it was only because of Cloud, Aerith, and the others that I was alive now, and I didn't want to see Cid and Shera hurt the way I'd been. So I really hoped he'd try to cool off and deal with his anger. I knew how terrible it was to have your dreams shattered—Scarlet had torn mine to pieces, and I hated her for it—but Shera wasn't like her.

"I'll be in the back tunin' up Tiny Bronco 'till Rufus gets here," Cid sighed, standing up. "Get everyone some tea, Shera."

"Alright," she said.

Once Cid had headed down the hall and out the back door, Tifa let out a breath and looked at Shera. "Are you okay?"

Shera nodded. "Yes, thank you. Cid just... has his moods."

"And they suck!" Yuffie grimaced.

"Yuffie!" Tifa admonished her with an irritated glare. "We're guests in this house! At least try to be polite, would you?"

She shrugged. "Whatever."

"Sorry," Cloud apologize to Shera. "This is our fault."

As she stirred the tea, she shook her head. "No, Cloud, it isn't. He's like this often, although not usually to this extent. The possibility of his dream getting another chance has him excited, but at the same time, he can't help worrying about being disappointed again. So the anxiety and not knowing tend to make him rather upset."