The Patreon Letter - 22nd Sept, 2018

Hi everyone, Em here today with your Patreon letter. Please excuse my brevity this week, it's been a rough time for me and I don't want to just mope at you all for paragraphs, so instead I have something different for you.

The following is a piece of short fiction I wrote for another place that didn't end up getting picked up, but I liked a lot. So hopefully you enjoy this short Final Fantasy VII piece, and we'll see you next week with another letter! 

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The Highwind hung low in the sky, fragile silhouetted against the malevolent sphere growing against the gloom of this sickly summer sunset. The shutters were closed against it. On the bridge it filled the heavens, but here in the canteen people still had to eat and live. The sight precluded both.

Meteor was coming.

Barret picked at the servos of his arm. He gave up ignoring the incessant stare of the ninja girl perched on top of the counter, banging her heels against the cupboard. 

"If you have something to say, just say it!"

Yuffie leapt at the chance. "Why aren't you our leader?"

Tifa, sitting nearby, laughed quietly behind her knitting. Yuffie was even more adamant.

"Barret led AVALANCHE! He's the most mature one here!"

"That old, huh?" Barret said to himself.

"I believe I am the most mature one here," came a voice from the shadows. "Age does not make one fit to lead. All my ventures became as dust." Vincent would have gone on if they let him, but they never did if they could help it.

"Look," Barret said, marshalling his patience. "I was the leader. But that was when we were fighting ShinRa, protecting our homes. It's different now."

"We're still trying to protect our homes." Yuffie sounded very young.

He tried to project understanding. "We have to save the world. We have to go and physically protect all the life on earth."

"Doesn't seem that different to me."

Barret sighed. "Okay, how about this—when you're feeling down, who do you go to?"

"Tifa." Yuffie said.

"Tifa." Vincent said.

"Tifa." Cait Sith said, stretching atop his moogle.

"Well then Tifa should be the leader!" 

Tifa turned a fierce red and set down her knitting. "I can't be the leader! I spent enough time taking care of the bar. Taking care of … Cloud. I don't want the job, I've looked after too many people already!"

Yuffie turned to look at Barret for an answer.

"I'm a father. I want what is best for my daughter. All of this, Sephiroth and the souls of mankind? It means seeing a bigger picture than I see. You have to be open. I ain't open. I'm tired. I just want to see my girl, and we need someone who can see past this into …" He trailed off, scratching at his beard.

"Can see into what?" Yuffie was leaning forward.

Barret hesitated, searching. Then, he shrugged. "Whatever's next. If I knew, I'd be leader, I guess."

Yuffie was about to protest when the door opened and Cloud barged in. "Everyone, come see what me and Red have done!" He didn't wait for a reply, but rushed back out as fast as he had come in.

Everyone followed. In the hangar was one of the chocobo kept stabled on board. Red XIII perched on the chocobo's back, kept in place by four pockets laid across the bird into a makeshift saddle. Standing in each, Red XIII half laid across its back, reigns in his teeth.

"Red wanted to try the races, so I figured I'd set him up. We won't be able to go until after … y'know. But it works really well!"

"We hathenth thried it for real yet," Red corrected.

"We will, we will!" Cloud was beaming. "Isn't it great?"

Cait Sith rolled his eyes. Vincent drifted away. Tifa tried not to laugh at the scene, knowing it would make Red XIII embarrassed. 

Yuffie, however, nudged Barret in the ribs. "This is our future? This guy?"

"Yeah," Barret said, his smile turning serious as he looked down at her. "All of this could be gone tomorrow. We'll do our best but … who can say what will happen? And yet, here we are."

"Here we are," Yuffie agreed. Then, "So you're saying our leader has to be an idiot."

Barret guffawed. "If that's what you heard, then sure."

Yuffie watched Cloud parade the bird and Red around the room and then turned back to Barret. "I don't buy it."

"Well…" scratching at his beard, he turned toward her speaking softly. "There's one more point, but it's a secret between you and me."

Yuffie's eyes lit up. "Tell me!"

Barret hesitated and leaned down to her level, whispering loudly. "Eventually, if we win? Someone in charge is going to remember that before we saved the world we blew up ShinRa. Twice. More than twice, if you sweep Hojo under the rug."

Yuffie paused, waiting for more, before demanding "So what?"

"Well, I'm just saying, if someday the cops show back up demanding we answer for what we've done, I don't want to be the one answering that call."

"Ooooh!" Yuffie turned and looked back at Cloud, catching Red XIII as he nearly fell off the bird. "This is smart. This is why I thought you should lead."

"Yeah, well," Barret said, standing back up, "being smart means a lot of things. Hopefully you'll survive to learn that." And the two of them turned from Cloud and headed back to the canteen together.