Fic Prompts: Final Fantasy Friday

(The worst uncle in Lucis, out causing trouble in Dissidia)

“Sothis is the young rascal who’s been giving you the runaround.”

Ardyn leaned down to prod Cloud’s cheek and almost lost a finger for his trouble. He laughed, high and merry, and crouched to meet his eyes.

“Oh, I like you!” Ardyn chuckled. “You look like you’re much more fun than this dour angel, hmm?”

Cloud glowered at them. “This is the world of Respite, Sephiroth. You can’t hurt me here.”

“Not physically, no,” Sephiroth answered blandly.

Ardyn stood up and offered Cloud a hand. “Come on then, young sirrah, up you come. Do tell me, why does this great turkey of a man fret all day about chasing you down?”

Cloud shrugged with a sullen look. “Wish I knew.”

Sephiroth arched a haughty brow. “He’s a failed clone of mine.”

Ardyn squinted at Sephiroth, then at Cloud. “Hm. I see what you mean. Really only got your eyes, didn’t he?”

“By clone he means extension,” Cloud snapped, “Just another walking avatar of Sephiroth.”

Ardyn considered this. Then he turned back to Sephiroth. “I don’t think you’ve quite got the idea of how cloning works, old boy,” he said.

Sephiroth looked, overall, nonplussed. “I’m not the one making clones. That would be Hojo.”

“Well this Jojo person, whoever they are, is a bit rubbish at their job, aren’t they?”

Let it never be said that Cloud Strife passed up an opportunity to needle Sephiroth. He scoffed. “Hojo is the reason Sephiroth exists. He’s either his old man, or just the weirdo who rewrote his mitochondrial DNA to be the child of a sentient plague.”

“Cloud-” Sephiroth’s placid front flickered for just a moment. But it didn’t intimidate Cloud the way it used to.

Ardyn counted out a few fingers as though trying to follow Cloud’s explanation. Then he curled his lips in distaste.

“Goodgods man! And I thought my family was messy!”