If Sephiroth were surprised at all, by Lydia's considerable difference in character now they were in what could prove to be a hostile environment, he either wasn't letting on or he'd simply deemed it not worthwhile to draw attention to. As they progressed further into the forest, any anxiety he'd managed to work up within himself about bringing a teenage girl out here and having to watch her back as well as his own while doing so, seemed to have melted away for the most part.

Even if he hadn't had some measure of his old strength returned by way of his Custom job, Sephiroth knew full well he'd still be the stronger fighter against whatever it was that might attack them. For once though, he was finding that wasn't the point to this exercise.

The next time he stopped suddenly, so sudden that Lydia might almost walk into the back of him, Sephiroth extended his free arm back towards her and crouched lower. He didn't need to tell her to hush, as the unmistakable sound of heavy, earthen foot falls could be heard smushing vegetation and snapping twigs not so very far ahead of them.

Through the trees a way, a golem raised a boulder in it's two massive hands and brought it crashing down onto the ground before it. The stone-shattering sound resounded for a far distance around, the ground shaking for a beat, igniting a creeping tension in the base of Sephiroth's spine as he remained perfectly still and peered around the nearest tree to get some indication of how close the rocky giant was.

A breath was carefully blown out as Sephiroth looked back over his gleaming armored shoulder at Lydia. Fighting a golem within the forest where the trees were so close together wasn't going to be ideal...unless they could find a clearing to draw it into, nearby.

"Pretty big, huh?" He whispered between them.