Travelling in the wilds between settled areas had always been dangerous, full of wild creatures and monsters, which, Cloud thought privately, were the earth's children, its vengeance against those who would treat her as a helpless thing to be despoiled. Even if some of those he had encountered fit into no earthly category. The forests south of ruined Gongaga town were no different, the monsters no less ferocious for all the lush density of the vegetation. On their way to Red's hometown, they'd already encountered great lizards, basilisks, which had gazes that could turn people into stone, given time. He rubbed his neck absently, the only visible indication of embarrassment that he gave. They'd bought some odd-smelling brew at the last town, which had turned him back into flesh and blood, but he could almost have sworn that some of the stiffness remained. Not all of it, he was sure, was psychological. None of them had had any experience in using the foul smelling brew, so they'd poured it over him unevenly- Cloud suppressed a shiver. He was very thankful that the party had not dismissed the shopkeeper's tales of basilisks with petrifying glares as total hogswash. Being stone was an uncomfortable experience, one he hoped never to repeat. As a SOLDIER he had faced many enemies; some magical, some not. He'd come close to death many times, gored by the horns and claws of nightmare beasts, shot by bandits and renegades, and burnt, frozen, or electrocuted.. But those were conventional wounds, things that could be healed with time, familiar potions, and rest. As a statue, he'd felt all too helpless. Without the shopkeeper's "soft", the rest of the party might have had to leave him behind, just a solitary block of stone at the mercy of the vagaries of weather and the wilds- not a pleasant thought, especially when he still had so much to do. Cloud was never going to doubt the shopkeeper's word again. As the thought crossed his mind, he paled; that same shopkeeper had talked not only of basilisks, but also of monsters that changed people into frogs. Oh, they'd /laughed/ at that story. Tales of people turning into frogs were hardly a new thing to any of them, but it was a concept that existed only in fairy tales. But what if the shopkeeper had been true on this count, as he had on the other? What if there truly were evil witches lurking about ready to turn any who ventured too far into the forest into frogs or toads? Cloud reached up surreptitiously to touch the hilt of his sword, the feel of it a comforting presence on his back. There was a simple answer to that question, he knew, as there was to many others; he would just have to kill them before they could strike, that was all. Red, noticing Cloud's sudden nervousness, turned to ask of the ex-SOLDIER what bothered him. Informed of the situation, the great cat thought for a while, then nodded. "I would suggest that you stay close to Tifa and Aeris, Cloud," the big cat said, sagaciously, inclining his head in the direction of the two girls. "Empirical evidence- or actually, not-so empirical evidence based on folklore suggests that.." "That?" Cloud said. "Oh, nothing." Red replied. Just a hunch that it'll be safer for you. More expedient. And, if I read you humans right, luckier." "..?" Cloud waited a moment for an answer that never came, then shrugged and walked away to join Tifa and Aeris. As he left, though, he received the distinct impression that his friend had had, for the first time since they'd met, the closest approximation there could be of a human smirk on those feline features. --- "Really?" Exclaimed Tifa. "How horrible!" Said Aeris. Cloud nodded. "Red seemed to believe it, because he told me to stay close to the two of you." Tifa looked at Aeris. Aeris looked at Tifa. Both of them turned to look at Cloud. "Do stay close to us, Cloud," Aeris said, smiling sweetly. Tifa's tone matched Aeris' for sheer diabetic power. "..we'll be sure to take care of you if anything happens." Whatever else she had been about to say was cut off by a rustling in the bushes- the usual prelude to a monster attack, which caused all of the party to stop and draw their weapons in preparation for battle. Two small green creatures hopped out of the bushes in tandem- puny things, though with beady black eyes and a decidedly intelligent, malevolent, air about them. They stared. Aeris lowered her staff and started forward, looking shocked. "You /were/ right after all, Cloud. Do you think that those could be the former victims of some witc-" She was cut off, as one of the frogs darted forward and connected with a solid jab to her unprotected ankle, a move which promptly turned the flower girl from the slums into a frog. "Ribbit," Said the frog which had once been Aeris, and hopped up and down. Cloud turned and stared. "..." He said. The little green frog hopped up and down frantically. Too late, Cloud realised that he should have paid more attention to the battle, as a frenzy of croaks and oscillation to his right informed him that Tifa, too, had fallen prey to the same attack. "Tifa? Aeris?" Cloud was confused, but his instincts took over. He lunged forward twice in quick succession, and with two massive strokes took out the monsters, which exploded into motes of glittering mako dust. He turned back to his companions, but it was all too obvious that this..curse, or spell, or whatever it was, hadn't ended with the monsters' deaths. Two small, bottle-green frogs hopped up and down as if oscillating in frantic energy, their gazes fixed firmly on him. Cloud carefully restrained himself from taking a step backwards, and reached for his PHS. "Ah, Red? Barret? Anybody? This is Cloud. I.. think we might have an emergency here." --- They ended up backtracking to Corel, where the shopkeeper was with the medicine or bauble that could change Tifa and Aeris back. Cloud carried them both on his shoulders. They'd insisted, and, feeling that their condition was partially his fault, Cloud hadn't protested. He did, however, end up fervently wishing that frogs weren't quite so clammy, or prone to cling to the spikes of his hair to stay on, although the last gesture seemed more human than anything else. The shopkeeper was just shutting down his stall for the day when finally they reached him, travel-sore and weary. Cloud turned the last few steps to the shop into a sprint. From his shoulder, Tifa- or was it Aeris?- let out small croaks of relief. "Shopkeeper?" The man turned. He was at the end of middle-age, black hair bordering gray, with the marks and dust of a lifetime caught in the cracks of his weather-beaten face. "Ah, you again." He seemed utterly unsurprised at the sight of a swordsman carrying two frogs on his shoulders. "Believe my tales now, do you?" Cloud didn't hesitate. "Do you have any cure for my friends? We ran into these frogs.." "Out of luck, bucko. Just ran out of all my stock; couple of Dio's men came through and bought almost all of them Kisses I had. Smart men, they were." "All out? When can we get more?" Cloud was finding that being bombarded from both sides by frantic croaks was not a pleasant experience. The shopkeeper looked at Cloud for a long time, then smiled, slowly and smugly. It wasn't a nice smile. "Not for a long time. Maidens aren't that easy to find in this kind of place, you know. And captured kisses take at least a fortnight to settle enough to use. However.." He paused. "However?" "You could try getting a maiden to kiss them directly. That works, too, I warrant. Maybe even better than my packaged stuff. Only problem is, unless one of you buckos-" His gaze swept derisively over Red, Barret, and Cloud, "is what them call a maiden sort of person, it won't be easy. Not at all." Barret started to say something, but the shopkeeper brushed him away with an impatient gesture. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't have time to put up with idiots who don't have the sense to listen to advice when it's given." He walked off, with all the party staring at him in consternation.