We are off to see the Crystal Tree!

[greenmagick]

WHO: OPEN! Those setting out towards the Crystal Tree~
WHAT: Terra has arranged an expedition. Keep in mind that this takes place after the January Event!
WHEN: January 17th - January 27th
WHERE: Plains of Sorrow, Crystal Forest & Crystal Tree~
WARNING: None.

[ooc: Information and plotting about this adventure is posted here. If you have any questions please post them here as well. It's assumed that Terra posted up a help wanted for the heroes who don't know her to see if they want to come along. Settings will be described in top posts to keep thing organized!

Please note that the Friendly Monster and Crystal Tree sections will be one long thread.]

Comments

[shinrasfinest]

If Sephiroth had been more of a socially inclined creature he'd probably have noticed how there were a few of their number who were seeming a little on the distanced, if not outright cold, side from him where they wouldn't usually be that way; even Terra had been less in his company than usual. But between the fact he had taken on a lot of responsibility and so had to keep his awareness spread over the whole group, and also the fact he were probably looking for issues in the wake of the vision they'd had, Sephiroth kept his reservations well under control. He didn't need them, not for this expedition to be successful.

Jade quite often wore a neutral face around him, much like Sephiroth did around most people but on this occasion he perhaps had his own intuition to blame in suspecting that something was wrong. And that it was something to do with him. Still, dutiful and polite as ever Sephiroth flashed a quick smile-and-nod.

"Good. Wouldn't want to leave anything behind anything important." He stepped a little closer and quickly crouched to pick up the bag of tent pegs which hadn't been retrieved yet from the ground after the tent was dismantled. Going about closing it off before reaching out to hand it to Jade.

[jadethenecromancer]

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.

[shinrasfinest]

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.

[jadethenecromancer]

The jab drew a chuckle out of him. "I'm not out of the running yet. Someone has to keep an eye on you youngsters."

Granted, not very many of them were likely to want Jade looking after them after what they'd seen him do. That didn't make much of a difference, though. He had never been that concerned over what other people thought of him, and he certainly didn't need to be liked. Regardless of what happened to his reputation, his duty remained the same.

Whether or not he should be trusted with too much knowledge was something Jade would have to decide, eventually. Right now, keeping everyone alive seemed to be an appropriate way to start making amends. It wasn't much, but it was something he could do while he thought things through.

[shinrasfinest]

"Careful. I might one day hold you to that." The comment was followed with an accompanying chuckle, oblivious as Sephiroth was to any potential foreshadowing Jade might interpret within it.

At the very least, herewith Sephiroth's attempt at letting Jade know that -regardless of that fact he were no longer in the military- he'd still have his back. Once a comrade, always a comrade, or something like that.

And why not? Jade had given him no reason to think any differently and during their time working together he'd developed a rather strong sense of respect for the other military man. The type that knew he could always count on Jade to do his job, to follow up where necessary with little to no direct prompting. To keep him in the loop.

Sure, he wouldn't go so far as to put Jade on par with Genesis or Angeal; given how Sephiroth refused to accept friendship to that level again...but in a way, he at least ran a close third.