melodiesoflife | We are off to see the Crystal Tree!

Yeah. I mean, I think it sort of... over loaded? I dunno. We showed up a little too late to that one. But that's definitely what happened to the fire crystal.

[Wow, she's really interested. He didn't expect that. Bartz tilts his head thoughtfully, and tries harder to remember the details.]

But after it exploded, there were a bunch of shards left behind. They all had jobs in them, so that was kinda helpful.

[Bartz grins.]

Sounds good to me. I wonder what kind of critters live in this forest?

[Maybe some kind of weird crystal monsters? Doesn't really matter. He activates Shunshin, raising his speed and agility.]

[Thanks in no small part to Sheena's ingenious, outside-of-the-box thinking, with regards to climbing up some of the trees so they could see at least where the correct way might be, their group finally emerged from the maze of a forest and into the area which was brightened up in a cold blue glow given off from the enormous tree at its center.

As his eyes adjust to the brightness Sephiroth steadily approaches the tree itself. Mindful of the monsters that seem to be surrounding it; as if they were guarding it, almost. It's not long before he finds himself having to dodge around the trunk of a nearby tree, to keep out of line of sight.

It's only once a few more of the Heroes have emerged from the trees, and in particular most of those squads of Esdham troops he brought with him, that the silver-haired warrior starts looking pointedly around to make eye contact with others. One hand on the hilt at the back of his belt, the other pressed to his chest as if to help his breathing remain as steady as possible. They've no idea, how perceptive these undead monsters might be, after all.

The silent intention, is as obvious as the crystal tree itself.]

"It's a little late for that; two months in and all." Sephiroth actually cracked a side-on smile at that comment, compliments always went down well and they did wonders for his ego which -more often than not- struggled to stand up on its own. Especially when a particular other person who he thought a lot about, and had helped no end in keeping him propped up, seemed to be sinking under the weight of her own thoughts again, currently.

Not that he hadn't been the same, a time ago.

"It's no surprise to you either, I'm sure, that you'll find that I don't suffer fools."

It might have sounded a little too close to the mentality of Sephiroth's future-self, but as far as his role as a commanding officer went, it did him more credit than not.

[It's by complete accident that Jade walks through the woods right to where Terra is standing by the trees. He hesitates, but she must have already noticed him. There's no way for him to slip away without being downright rude.

Well, this is quite awkward... Terra is another person he's been avoiding, not an easy task when she's the one leading the expedition. The memory of their shared vision continues to hover over half the group. What can he say? "Sorry for getting your beloved killed"?

Then again, it might be his own feelings Jade is trying to spare, rather than hers. He doesn't know her well enough to guess whether an apology would help her or just make things worse.]

...Looks like everyone made it. [That's a neutral enough comment.]

It was relieving, in a way, to have that air of professionalism to maintain. As guilty as he felt, Jade had no interest in groveling or begging for anyone's forgiveness. It wouldn't do any good even if he did. At best it might ease his conscience a bit, at the cost of being humiliating and uncomfortable for everyone involved. Apologies didn't have much value when they did nothing to help the one who was wronged.

In any case, Jade wasn't yet certain how much he wanted to say if Sephiroth were to ask what was wrong. It was unlikely he could keep his role in the vision a secret for long -- plenty of people had seen him and had little reason to cover for him. However, bringing it up now... No. They were busy enough without another discussion about morally corrupt future selves.

And even if he only addressed the Rift incident, how would he even explain that? He could barely explain it to himself why the sight of blood-matted silver hair had yanked his mind back to that time -- that time when it was his teacher lying there, dying -- and realization had dawned that he'd made the same mistake twice.

There was faint sadness in Jade's smile as he took the proffered bag from Sephiroth. "I should think I have a few more years left before forgetfulness sets in." When in doubt, joke about his age.

"Aye, that's been a thing troubling me as well. And like things are back home it seems that they're the sort of things not meant to fall into the hands of those running about now." She frowned and looked off into the distance, not in any way in particular but just in a thoughtful stare.

"Some things are best buried so that they're never found again. Those who find them rarely have the forethought to use them as intended. Or the wisdom to not use them at all. And we are all subject to the whims of those who know a little." She was still concerned about that one artifact she had given over to Palitutu before her betrayal. One that had chimed in time with her own heartbeat and made her crystal resonate as well.

"I can now... Vincent I didn't then."

Her voice was broken and she couldn't stop the tears. She covered her face with pale thin fingers as if that might banish the shame that she felt rising in her chest. She had only felt one thing in the past and it was directed towards Albel. She felt nothing for any of her other friends. All those people who had been there for her and she was willing to hurt them.

He didn't know the depths of her self hate and now that cavernous pit grew.

"I've been running from who I am."

[As Jade walks closer he'll notice that there is a thin wound on her right shoulder that hasn't healed completely. Her trek through the woods hadn't been without incident. When she sees him she nods her head but waits to see if he needs anything.

Terra doesn't blame Jade for what happened, she still isn't sure how she feels about the future but like him she took a different path than others. The rift incident had been the turning point but her decisions were her own.]

I'm glad to hear that.

[She feels awful that everyone got separated.]

And how are you?

[She knows that she's not being fair to him but she doesn't know what to say or how to say it. It feels so complicated and she doesn't like that. She finally had been able to tell him how she felt after months of contemplative silence.

Terra finally looks over at Sephiroth, her expression calm and measured. It'll be obvious that there is something on her mind.]

I hope you're right.

[She releases her breath and shakes her head before attempting to change the topic.]

Thank you for coming and bringing soldiers with you.

[It's safer and she doesn't know what they might find when they reach the tree.]

"it is more that the days on this world are shorter than the ones of my home," Tazendra said. "it makes it difficult to sleep properly."

She'd never quite found a solution that really satisfied her for this problem, but she'd been making do.

"I wonder if anything can be found up there?" Tazendra said. "Don't creatures live in trees?"

Why, not at all!

A ghost of a smile brushed across Tear's lips upon hearing the familiar melody, keeping the same pace even knowing she was currently moving forward alone. Noticing Kidd's spell taking place, she cut forth with a careful yet powerful swing of her blade, already striking the first of the enemies as she pushed forward.

But even with the aid she remains cautious, keeping enough distance between attacks and ready to parry should one of them have the ability to move quickly enough to counterattack.

[ Tear lifts her gaze to meet Terra's properly, her expression becoming wistful with a small smile to match. Releasing a breath softly, she looked back to the stars above them before she spoke. ]

That's... a difficult question to answer. I might ask you the same.

[ Sleep may have been elusive, but Terra was the one who had been going this far every night. ]

If nothing else, the period it had covered was long enough some of the details would have been indistinct, even without some matters being obscured. Though the purpose she referred to was, naturally enough, the one that had suffused her- that desire to cut free and run from a world she'd felt had offered only pain.

She closed her eyes for a moment against the feeling, fingers curled. "No," she agreed. "There's a chance, isn't there? There's always a chance. But- sometimes I wonder if we can succeed. At stopping the Calamity." At saving themselves. Those feelings were what had sparked that desire, after all.

Feeling invigorated, Duster grips the ocarina in one hand and ran into the fray. While Tear focused on one end of the group, Duster leaped at the nearest skeleton with a kick. His shoe caught the monster in the chest, and it staggered backwards.

Duster let out a small tch. This wasn't his usual strength. That skeleton should have at least fallen over if he were on the Nowhere Islands.

While it regained its balance for a counterattack, Duster took a deep breath to steady himself. The ocarina went back into his belt pouch. With only a second to react, Duster took off towards the middle of the group of skeletons, stood on his hands, and unleashed a Kick attack on all of the monsters. If he wasn't as experiences with the Monk job to be strong, he could at least strike all the enemies and make it easier for his teammates.

The skeleton Tear was fighting collapsed into a pile of bones, but the others were still standing.

"Suffer from fools perhaps, but never by our own choice or for long." Vincent replied after a moment. Companionable, and almost a banter. Odd, and perhaps the most social he'd ever 'felt'.

"The commission hasn't interfered much with your own plans though." Phrased subtly as a question. Sephiroth likely knew Vincent had been keeping vague-tabs on him and Terra. IF for no other reason than that he considered both of them friends.

Something he'd never have thought to consider of one of that pair in particular, and yet it was there. Snuck up on him. Along with a desire to watch out for her son, here, where Hojo could hopefully not taint things further.

"Once we're assured it's quiet..." A pause, voice lower and only for Sephiroth's ears. "I have been pondering what we last spoke about."

Even if there was a faint sadness, Sephiroth wasn't too sure if he were connecting with what Jade were going through -or on the right level at least. There were several others who had been adversely affected by the dream in one way or another; each person had to deal with the fallout in their own way. Just like he'd had to with his own demons; was still working to keep them down sometimes as well.

More often, recently, he seemed to be winning.

"Don't tell me it's all starting to catch up with you." Two fine silver eyebrows raised as Sephiroth tried to keep his concern from reaching too far into his expression. They'd shared a not-quite friendly rib at each other on a few occasions in the past and a part of him figured encouraging Jade to remember that attitude --and the good times-- couldn't be a bad thing.

At the very least, it might enable his comrade to focus more on what lay ahead rather than what was going on behind his eyes.

[For those silent moments it feels a little like it had when they'd stood out on the deck of the Enterprise together and watched some of the fireworks. In the darkness, their hands had sought out each others from time to time. Yet, Sephiroth could tell without looking that she wasn't reaching or even leaning towards him in anyway that she'd done back then.

Perhaps he wasn't as blind to those nuances of body language as he'd once thought he was. It was as if a tall, impenetrable, cold steel wall has gone up around Terra and all Sephiroth can do about it is wait for it to wear away. He does, however, responsively meet her eyes in earnest as she seeks him out again...thankful for the way he's always been good at keeping the calm-neutral mask which hides the concern away.]

You're welcome. Always.

[A light smile; pleased for the change of topic.]

I hope it wasn't too much, considering how well in-hand everyone seems to be coping.

[Perhaps it were just that time of year, before the monsters really came out onto the Plains? They hadn't seen all that much action.]

Oh. Now that was something he wasn't expecting to have heard. Not that Sephiroth knew Tazendra well enough to have made a prior judgment. Though-

"I see. I suppose a lifetime of living by a different clock would take a while to adjust to completely." He followed with a nod, unable to remember off the top of his head exactly which wave of Heroes Tazendra had come in with.

But then, hadn't he taken also several months to 'come down' from a mako-high that just didn't exist...

[Terra feels herself relax some as she looks out towards the glowing tree. Each day it gets closer and each day she feels the weight of her choices from the future. She shakes her head disrupting the green curls that had rested into place.]

Sorry. [Her voice is soft.] That question isn’t fair.

[She doesn’t want to force Tear to talk about it just as she doesn’t want too.]

I don’t think I’m okay.

But you either asked because you were being polite, or because you're actually worried. [ Nodding slowly, the girl closed her eyes in thought. ] Neither of those feelings are wrong.

[ But Terra was the one who was speaking now, and for as long as she wanted it she would have Tear's attention. ]

If you think that you aren't okay... Then it might be best to do what you can to try and make it better. I'm sure there are others that care about you who would agree.

Never mind that Sephiroth hadn't had much of an inkling as to the vision at that point, K'pandolu's question only underlined concerns that he had held firmly and for a long while already.

Several times, he'd asked himself that very same question. Who knew if that had something to do with the reason why he hadn't seen the vision; that he'd already knew the question it might leave behind in others? For him it still held much of an identity crisis, could he personally defeat the Calamity within himself as well?

Others had answered him before, too, and now here was Sephiroth feeling drawn to repeating words he hadn't taken very far into his own conscious mind when they'd been first uttered to him.

"There is always a chance that anything, could go for the better or for the worse. I suppose the vision was, as suggested afterwards, intended to stir such insecurities...even if they didn't need much stirring in the first place."

About as 'social' as the two of them might get, point of fact. Still, Sephiroth felt significantly less like he had to keep up the strong-and-silent when he were around Vincent, for some reason. The other man had earned respect, by way of his silent support.

"I've managed to delegate the majority of the work," He assumed Vincent were referring to the commission over Mograma. "But I still have to report for duty at Esdham every so often. Even if it's to patrol the same streets and drill the same troops over and over."

It almost sounded like Sephiroth might be growing a little bored of it. After all, it had been quiet at Esdham and seemed like it might stay that way now that Hera simply weren't there anymore. Likely though, something else were bugging at him and if Vincent had been keeping tabs on Terra it'd be easy to suggest what that might be. Still, he needed to give her space, perhaps he had been entirely too close...too soon.

"At least we're not confined specifically to Esdham, anymore."

Thankfully Vincent seemed ready to take the conversation in another direction.

"Hm." He followed with a slow sweeping look around. For monsters, but also for listening ears. Lowering his voice to match Vincent's, Sephiroth continued to keep in steady step and eyes-alert just like his partner.

"...oh?"

We are off to see the Crystal Tree!

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Sephiroth | Open [Monsters fighting, perhaps?]

Sephiroth - Plains of Sorrow - Night watch, 4th shift, a few days in?

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Re: Travel

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Terra | OPEN | Midnight

Re: Sephiroth - Plains of Sorrow - OTA [& 4 squads of Esdham troops]

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Re: Sephiroth - Plains of Sorrow - Night watch, 4th shift, a few days in?

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Terra | OPEN | Midnight

Sephiroth - Plains of Sorrow - OTA [& 4 squads of Esdham troops]

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no subject

Traveling

Sephiroth - Plains of Sorrow - Night watch, 4th shift, a few days in?