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Angeal Hewley had been dreaming. It had been a rather good dream, too, and those did not come to him often since he had joined SOLDIER. Nightmares plagued him often, missions had begun to tire him, and the paperwork... things had, however, changed since Angeal had taken on a student.
That student happened to be the very popular, very cheerful, very optimistic Zackary Fair. Zack's eyes always seemed to shine with a cheerfulness that Angeal could never figure where it was coming from. The boy always had a bounce in his step and could often be forgetful when excited. Not to mention those eyes that would actually pull off the puppy-eyes look. Hence Zack's new nickname - Puppy.
If Angeal had to be honest he'd admit that, while he did enjoy his friends presence, he treasured his time with Zack dearly. The boy (no older than fifteen right now) was refreshing compared to Sephiroth (who was stoic on the outside, but uncertain about certain things underneath) and especially compared to Genesis (there were days why Angeal wondered why he was friends with the redhead, most of those days was when Genesis was in a foul mood.)
He and his student were currently on their way to a mission in Rocket Town, and the area they were currently staying in was heavily wooded. While Zack was from the same continent as Rocket Town, the boy had never been farther north than Gongaga (Zack's very own hometown.)
It had been amusing, to say the least, to watch Zack's reaction to seeing the woods and the mountains that loomed near yet ever so far away. “We'll be in the mountains tomorrow, we will stop by Nibelheim before heading through the caves to Rocket Town. But tonight, we will camp in the woods,” Angeal had told him when they had reached the woods.
It had taken them a little while to find a spot to stay the night, but when they had, he had set his student clear instructions to fetch fresh water and wood for their fire. Zack (who had enough energy as it was) was buzzing with even more as he darted to and fro on his mentor's instructions. He and Angeal had little issues setting up the tents – after Zack read the instructions for his own.
After dinner (cooked by Angeal; the last time he had let Zack cook the boy had burnt it as badly as Genesis often did) they had spent a little time working on Zack's hand-to-hand before it was time to sleep. Zack had first watch which would last late into the night, then Angeal would take over the second watch and cook their breakfast after the sun rose.
Now, back to where we were. Angeal had been dreaming a good dream; of home. Not Midgar, with its polluted skies and ever growing trouble, but of Banora, of times when he and Genesis had no worries of war or other similar things. He had been dreaming of the time he and his dearest friend had planted a dumbapple tree in Genesis' backyard when - “Angeal!” a voice hissed from outside of his tent. The SOLDIER Commander was too sleepy to give it any mind. “Angeaaaaaall!” it hissed again, and was once again ignored. “'Geal!” the voice complained rather loudly.
“M'up,” Angeal grumbled as he sat up, rubbing an eye with his knuckles. The other eye opened and squinted, his eyes adjusting quickly to the light, as he peered at the open doorway of his tent, where Zack knelt his own glowing blue eyes conveying worry in them. “Is something the matter, Zack?” Angeal asked, his voice dropping to a low tone only a SOLDIER could pick up.
“Well,” Zack began hesitantly as his mentor crawled out of his sleeping bag and stood. “There's someone or something out there, it keeps calling out, 'Who, who?'” he said as he scurried away from the tent, his dark spikes bobbing up and down slightly as he bounced back on his heels.
As Angeal walked out of the tent, he cocked a brow. “Who, who?” he repeated, a faint smile tugging up the corners of his lips. He hand a rough hand through his dark hair to pull away his bangs. Angeal then glanced around the woods, checking for any signs of monsters, but found none.
Zack nodded seriously. “Yes! It's really weird – it doesn't sound like a human, but what else can call out in human words?” As if to prove his point, a voice called out from the darkness.
“Hoo, hoo!”
“See!” the Third hissed, looking around frantically for the source of the noise.
Angeal chuckled at the panicked and confused look on Zack's face. He already knew what it was ad it would cause them no harm. “Zack.” He laid a hand on his student's shoulder. “What you're hearing is an animal called an owl,” he told him, lips curved into a smile.
Zack stared blankly up at him, confused by his mentor's amusement. “A what?”
“An owl.” The brunette chuckled again. He pointed a finger off into the darkness and up at a tree nearby, where a brown owl nearly blended in with the tree perfectly, hidden by the dark pine's needles.
Zack turned his gaze to where his mentor was pointing and stared at the animal. “What is that? It doesn't look like any monster I've heard of.”
“That's because it's not. It's an owl, a bird; a nocturnal one that hunts smaller critters, like mice and snakes. Rats sometimes, too. We had several in Banora. They're nothing to be scared of. Look-” Angeal nodded towards the owl again as it took off, aware of the stares it was receiving and not liking the noise the two were making.
The teenager's eyes widened in awe. “Whoa... That's so cool!” His eyes lit up excitedly. “I've never seen one before! How does it see at night? Why does it hunt at night? Why-”
Angeal shook his head fondly at his excited student as the boy babbled on with his questions. “It's late, Zack. You're still on watch and I'd like a few more hours of sleep.” Zack's cheeks flushed red. “I'll answer your questions tomorrow, all right?”
“Okay, Angeal.” Zack's famous megawatt grin spread across his face before it faded slightly. “Sorry for waking you up for nothing.”
“It's fine,” the brunette reassured his student. “It's been a while since I've seen an owl, too. Now, I don't expect to be woken up unless you're either bleeding profusely, dying or we're under attack, understood?” A teasing smile made its way across Angeal's face as he spoke.
Zack gave a quiet laugh and saluted his mentor with two fingers. “Understood, sir!”
Angeal nodded, faking a serious look. “At ease, SOLDIER. I'll see you in a few hours.” He paused to ruffle the boy's hair (Zack tried to protest, but his laughter made it half-hearted. He honestly didn't mind Angeal messing with his hair) before entering his tent.
When he was settled down back inside of his sleeping bag, a fond smile lit up Angeal's face, even as his eyes fluttered closed. He would treasure the time with this Zack, this innocence Zack who had yet to face many of the horrors that SOLDIER did, had yet to see the monstrous side of Shin-Ra. This wondrous Zack, optimistic to the core, and as energetic as a puppy.
He fell asleep again, and this time he dreamed of back when he, Genesis and Sephiroth were once as optimistic as Zack was, of the days they had spent exploring this world of theirs. And he dreamed of the days to come, of the things he'd teach his refreshing student, and part of him prayed that Zack would never lose that cheerful look in his eyes, despite how cruel their world could be.
How he prayed...