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melodiesoflife2016-02-24 09:34 pm
shinrasfinest) wrote in melodiesoflife2016-02-24 09:34 pm
#14 | Now for re-learning that which might have been forgotten.
Characters: Sephiroth & Open Prompts below
Where/When: Aqures Ixen and a little further out for the 3rd prompt, during the Another Side, Another Story event.
Summary: Sephiroth burns the last four sessions due for obtaining his Custom Job, runs into a terrorist from Gaia and heads out further afield for some light training.
Warnings: Some long prose. Some action. Potential profanity filter w/Barret.
1) Laboratory [OPEN] 23-24th Feb
He’d got this.
After the vast amount of time he’d spent in Mysidia engaging in one expedition or another last month -and then there was Terra- Sephiroth’s Custom Job just had to be neglected for a little while. Never mind the amount of times he’d found himself in a situation where that potential power he might unlock in his crystal would have been more than welcome; it only reminded him constantly of its need to be finished.
He’d so got this.
It wasn’t so terribly unlike the physical monitoring he’d undergone at Shinra countless times before, the last stages of his ‘attunement’ to the ‘parameters’ that equipping this newly created Job would have on him. Nodes were attached with sticky tape to specific points on his bared torso; to monitor muscle tension, the build-up of latent energy, heart-rate, and who-knew what else. Wires trailing off to a nearby machine as Sephiroth again lifted Masamune up and out in front of him; the great sword finally as weightless as he remembered. A basic kata executed, seen from behind the glass of a viewing platform as moogles on the other side recorded the various readings. A spike of dials dancing as he closed his eyes and reached deep for the mako-rush that he’d used to be able to summon so easily at will.
A spark from one of the dials accompanied a flicker to the lights momentarily as Sephiroth carefully, once more, lowered his sword.
--
But there was a catch.
A flaw in the Job itself that had been identified early on that in itself had prevented its discovery half as quickly as Sephiroth would have liked. It manifested itself as a delayed-onset exhaustion and while a few of the moogles had a theory why it was an issue, it made symptoms no less tangible.
As tangible as promptly hitting the deck when he emerged from the last session of his four-day burn towards Job completion, where Sephiroth’s physical limitations had been pushed to their absolute maximum; during the process itself, combined with the untold weight of his other responsibilities and duties as well, and had crashed as a result. It took a handful of moogles and other assistants to lift him, but at the very least there were a spare consultation room that day where he could be lain out to sleep, lights off, until he could catch up.
However long that might be, being as Custom Jobs weren’t yet an exact science.
2) Aqures Ixen [Barret & OPEN Cast-prompt]
[Well this is categorically not what was on Sephiroth’s particular to-do-list for the day. Or the month, or even the year, to put it bluntly.
He thought he’d gotten over the worst of what the apparent ‘other’ wave of Heroes of Light could mean for him, having been presented with a mother that he’d never known already and the resultant surge of questions and insecurities have already proved a difficulty to sleep with a couple of nights ago. Wrecking untold havoc with the come-down from the final stages of tuning his new Job, no less. No matter it’s done now, he still feels a little hazy.]
Don’t do anything foolish.
[Hopefully this lunatic would listen to calm reason, insofar as Sephiroth just about manages not to provoke the situation further with his tone. Both leathered hands are raised, palms forward at the rough, agitated black guy with a gun arm pointed squarely at his chest. It’s surely the last time he’s leaving home without a weapon, after this.]
3)Monster hunting; Aqurean Forest - [Lydia/ Terra/ OPEN]
[ooc: Pick your monsters. From bestiary we’ve Golem, Mandragora, Ochu which are native to the Forest, or Red Bomb & Elemental which are native to the Region.]
Thanks to the presence, and consequential vigilance of many Heroes of Light living in Aqures Ixen, the plains nearby to the City seem relatively free of any monsters that may have roamed closer to the outskirts in the past. No matter; with the dump of several months worth of experience into his new Job, Sephiroth was fairly certain that the run-of-the-mill critters probably wouldn’t serve for the challenge that he needed to feel out - for once out of the safety parameters of the laboratory.
By chocobo it opened up the option, and it was clear that a location a little further afield would prove more adequate. Plus the fact that there were a couple of other Heroes that he intended to bring out towards the Aqurean forest in the south, for similar purposes. He knew the route well enough, having travelled it on occasion between Aqures Ixen and Esdham when he had the time or the shuttle couldn’t make a call on his request.
Upon reaching the edge of the forest, Sephiroth brought his bird to a stop --she warked almost rebelliously at not being allowed to carry on running, but eventually obeyed-- and with a smooth swing of his leg dismounted and began to survey the treeline a little ahead of them. There didn’t seem to be any threats visible, but he knew perhaps better than most Heroes that this forest could be alarmingly deceptive.
Not being a Chocobo Knight, after all, it would be safer to proceed on foot with the birds safely out of the way. He turned once more to his bird and, with a sing of edged steel, Masamune was pulled smoothly from the scabbard that he’d secured just behind the saddle. The chocobo, as unused to it as she might be, didn’t seem to even flinch.
Where/When: Aqures Ixen and a little further out for the 3rd prompt, during the Another Side, Another Story event.
Summary: Sephiroth burns the last four sessions due for obtaining his Custom Job, runs into a terrorist from Gaia and heads out further afield for some light training.
Warnings: Some long prose. Some action. Potential profanity filter w/Barret.
1) Laboratory [OPEN] 23-24th Feb
He’d got this.
After the vast amount of time he’d spent in Mysidia engaging in one expedition or another last month -and then there was Terra- Sephiroth’s Custom Job just had to be neglected for a little while. Never mind the amount of times he’d found himself in a situation where that potential power he might unlock in his crystal would have been more than welcome; it only reminded him constantly of its need to be finished.
He’d so got this.
It wasn’t so terribly unlike the physical monitoring he’d undergone at Shinra countless times before, the last stages of his ‘attunement’ to the ‘parameters’ that equipping this newly created Job would have on him. Nodes were attached with sticky tape to specific points on his bared torso; to monitor muscle tension, the build-up of latent energy, heart-rate, and who-knew what else. Wires trailing off to a nearby machine as Sephiroth again lifted Masamune up and out in front of him; the great sword finally as weightless as he remembered. A basic kata executed, seen from behind the glass of a viewing platform as moogles on the other side recorded the various readings. A spike of dials dancing as he closed his eyes and reached deep for the mako-rush that he’d used to be able to summon so easily at will.
A spark from one of the dials accompanied a flicker to the lights momentarily as Sephiroth carefully, once more, lowered his sword.
--
But there was a catch.
A flaw in the Job itself that had been identified early on that in itself had prevented its discovery half as quickly as Sephiroth would have liked. It manifested itself as a delayed-onset exhaustion and while a few of the moogles had a theory why it was an issue, it made symptoms no less tangible.
As tangible as promptly hitting the deck when he emerged from the last session of his four-day burn towards Job completion, where Sephiroth’s physical limitations had been pushed to their absolute maximum; during the process itself, combined with the untold weight of his other responsibilities and duties as well, and had crashed as a result. It took a handful of moogles and other assistants to lift him, but at the very least there were a spare consultation room that day where he could be lain out to sleep, lights off, until he could catch up.
However long that might be, being as Custom Jobs weren’t yet an exact science.
2) Aqures Ixen [Barret & OPEN Cast-prompt]
[Well this is categorically not what was on Sephiroth’s particular to-do-list for the day. Or the month, or even the year, to put it bluntly.
He thought he’d gotten over the worst of what the apparent ‘other’ wave of Heroes of Light could mean for him, having been presented with a mother that he’d never known already and the resultant surge of questions and insecurities have already proved a difficulty to sleep with a couple of nights ago. Wrecking untold havoc with the come-down from the final stages of tuning his new Job, no less. No matter it’s done now, he still feels a little hazy.]
Don’t do anything foolish.
[Hopefully this lunatic would listen to calm reason, insofar as Sephiroth just about manages not to provoke the situation further with his tone. Both leathered hands are raised, palms forward at the rough, agitated black guy with a gun arm pointed squarely at his chest. It’s surely the last time he’s leaving home without a weapon, after this.]
3)Monster hunting; Aqurean Forest - [Lydia/ Terra/ OPEN]
[ooc: Pick your monsters. From bestiary we’ve Golem, Mandragora, Ochu which are native to the Forest, or Red Bomb & Elemental which are native to the Region.]
Thanks to the presence, and consequential vigilance of many Heroes of Light living in Aqures Ixen, the plains nearby to the City seem relatively free of any monsters that may have roamed closer to the outskirts in the past. No matter; with the dump of several months worth of experience into his new Job, Sephiroth was fairly certain that the run-of-the-mill critters probably wouldn’t serve for the challenge that he needed to feel out - for once out of the safety parameters of the laboratory.
By chocobo it opened up the option, and it was clear that a location a little further afield would prove more adequate. Plus the fact that there were a couple of other Heroes that he intended to bring out towards the Aqurean forest in the south, for similar purposes. He knew the route well enough, having travelled it on occasion between Aqures Ixen and Esdham when he had the time or the shuttle couldn’t make a call on his request.
Upon reaching the edge of the forest, Sephiroth brought his bird to a stop --she warked almost rebelliously at not being allowed to carry on running, but eventually obeyed-- and with a smooth swing of his leg dismounted and began to survey the treeline a little ahead of them. There didn’t seem to be any threats visible, but he knew perhaps better than most Heroes that this forest could be alarmingly deceptive.
Not being a Chocobo Knight, after all, it would be safer to proceed on foot with the birds safely out of the way. He turned once more to his bird and, with a sing of edged steel, Masamune was pulled smoothly from the scabbard that he’d secured just behind the saddle. The chocobo, as unused to it as she might be, didn’t seem to even flinch.
[I'll probably write the first monster into the next tag-]
"Haumph." It was a sharp laugh but shortened into something of a snort. "We'll have to see about that. Custom or not, this is a new Job still. I imagine it'll be a little ropey, to begin with."
Lydia did have a point though, they'd just be gone for a little while before ending up back at the Hospital in Aqures. No big deal, though given what Terra had told him of the vision it wasn't something he'd lean on.
"Well then lets go and see what we can find to play with." He didn't give Lydia any opportunity to respond before, tightening his grip around the handle of Masamune as the edge rested all the way up one of his arms, taking those first strides into the forest.
There were several occasionally-used tracks through the woodland, more than one of which he'd used before personally but at least it made for relatively easy traversing without having to cut much in terms of underbrush away from their ankles. Every now and again a rustling nearby caused Sephiroth to pause, look around for a few and then continue on.
[Works for me]
It might surprise him--considering he'd heard about all the normal parts of her life, that she kept up well. Quiet, even besides the benefits of her job and her pace and breathing were all even. Used to adventures of all kinds, even if he hadn't heard about those yet. More subtly, and Sephiroth could claim some amount of pride for it, Lydia had a small smile of anticipation on her face. Excited for the adventure and looking around the forest with interest.
The former General, Olivier Armstrong, and Kenshin Himura, had clearly taught her the basics well. Alert, rapier ready but not getting in the way, and ready to move if she needed to. When rustles happened she paused stock-still, eyes-darting without fear, looking to him first.
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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.
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Her brain was turning though, looking at their surroundings, the forest. Then up to him, a ready grin on her face. "Is there a better area we can draw him too? I'm quick and agile as a bat, and can play bait."
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He didn't look back to Lydia as she turned her face to look up to his again, too busy keeping a careful eye on both the golem ahead and the surroundings. The trees were really much too close together here for him to wield Masamune as freely as he'd like; he wouldn't want to have to bring the whole forest down around them in the process. Not that he couldn't swing shorter, but that's a technique he's not had the room to trial out at all yet.
"There should be any number of clearings nearby; it might be a good idea to pick our battle ground before drawing its attention." In other words, he agreed, though perhaps it was symptom of the overall size of the golem making it hard to tell if there were areas further ahead which were thinner in trees; that would suggest a break in the cover.
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"Better to find us a location to lure him to, first, in case there might be other obstacles to clear first."
In other words, it'd be better for Lydia to find a clearing and then come back to him.
Hmm...to have her run into trouble or not? (Your choice, I have a plan)
I'm good with w/e but the plan on Plurk is ok!
The golem ahead had finished smashing rocks together it seemed and, as notable by the rumblings to the ground, seemed to be striding away from where Sephiroth and Lydia had discovered it; therefore he had to keep up but at a distance at the same time.
<3
Once confirmed, she was quickly winging back towards where the Golem was. Sephiroth would be keeping an eye on it, so if she found it she'd find him. Once that was done, it was finding a spot, changing back, and then creeping up enough that he knew she was there without alerting the monster. Silent, and quick and agile, voice pitched in a whisper. "I found a good place..." Describing it, as it was a small spot of new growth where the older trees were taller and blocked much of the sunlight, so it was clear towards the ground. What growth their was was sparse, because the trees were spread out. Some small bushes and other flora, but nothing like the thick growth they were seeing right then.
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He flashed a quick smile down and back in her direction, his grip tightening around the handle to his sword; Masamune's long blade still held tight up the back of his one arm which he'd managed -somehow- not to scrape or have to rest on the ground while he'd been slowly picking after their target.
"Sounds good." Though really, without knowing where it was it might prove difficult to kite the monster while following small teenager or small bat simply wasn't going to wash. What better time than to give Lydia a test? After all, he'd only be a few paces behind-
Sephiroth tilted his head in the direction of the Golem, as his entire frame seemed to shimmer for a second as he activated Combat Mode; it was time to get ready.
"Go on."
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Making certain she was in the Golem's line of sight and had its attention. Lydia may not look like much, but she hung out with the Ghost with the Most. "Hi big and solid," A confident smirk on her face, casting Charm from the Vampire's job skills. Hoping to make it easier to lure her target. But just in case...
"You look like a reject from Miss Shannon's kidney!" Then sticking her tongue-out, and turning to run. And dodge and lead it where she wanted it to go.
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He's not sure that he liked the devious expression Lydia delivered just then but it wasn't as if Sephiroth were given much time to express any comment before small goth turned into small bat again and quickly flicked around him and the nearest tree - off towards the golem.
It was a little hard to keep a track of where she was within the shadows that the trees and underbrush threw around in the vicinity but the tell was there and certainly large enough to see; the golem abruptly stopped in it's progress away from their location and -with a stone-grinding sound- turned back to look over it's shoulder. It was then that Sephiroth spotted Lydia and he raised himself slightly, leaping into motion as soon as Lydia had begun running.
He did wonder why she didn't turn into a bat again though, and that thought -that she might trip up before making it to the clearer area- kept Sephiroth only a few quick strides behind the golem as it chased her.
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She'd been careful with her choices of path, and was able to dodge and weave well, avoiding tripping up. Making sure to keep herself in the Golem's line of sight and its attention on her. Quick and agile, and Lydia was showing no hesitation or fear as she headed towards the small clearing. It wouldn't be long before they arrived at the small cleared area with only taller trees and some undergrowth.
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As soon as she reached the clearing she'd chosen, it was obvious why it had been chosen. Indeed, the canopy seemed much higher up, and thicker with only specks of sunlight coming through down onto the thin undergrowth. This was exactly the type of room that they needed.
A final Dash -once he'd made sure his line of sight was clear of any obstruction- brought Sephiroth just two paces from the back of the Golem. Drawing upon his Scholar skills, he cast Mad Scientist at Lydia, increasing her defense while he quickly dragged Masamune around to bear, spreading his combat stance accordingly.
The sharp drag of sharpened steel across rock sung through the clearing, echoing off the thinner, taller trunks of the trees surrounding the area they'd picked as the Golem made a grumble of a noise and started to shuffle around to face the new threat. Having generated enough enmity Sephiroth took a step back and resent his stance with his sword poised at his shoulder height; ready for the next -albeit inevitable- counter move.
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Two mandragora poked their heads out of the ground, and seemed unhappy at the disturbance. Lydia's eyes went wide briefly, surprised herself, before she was diving at one with her rapier. Hoping to take it by surprise before it could start screaming.
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It's much too large, in comparison to the Mandragora that seem to have woken up in response to the light shaking the Golem's feet gives to the ground, that Sephiroth didn't notice them at all. That was until a handful more of the small leafy beings popped up on the other side, seemed to take a collective breath as an ear-piercing screech filled the air a second later.
Sephiroth had to raise hands to his ears, just as a giant boulder of a hand initiated a swipe at him. It was all the SOLIDER could do to duck and roll away, careful to keep Masamune's edge well out of the way of his roll. Thankfully the screeching paused well enough for him to get his stance ready for the next attack by the Golem; this time, some rock splintered away from its fist as Masamune safely blocked the punch. Boots slid back a foot or so in the soft dirt beneath him as he took the momentum that might have sent anyone else flying back.
Though Lydia may well have succeeded in silencing one, there were at least another three around the edges of the clearing.
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The bigger problem -literally- to Sephiroth was that as he continued to dance around the Golem avoiding its heavy punches where he could, he couldn't keep too much of a good eye on Lydia's position or even give much of a thought to defending her if she were struggling. A ranged, multi-target spell or something would be helpful but he were too busy using his close-quarters job; the new SOLDIER one, to give very much thought to what Scholar skills he could help with.
It was very much a give-and-take fight, frustrating a little in the fact that Sephiroth knew if he'd been equipped with his stronger Warrior job the Golem wouldn't have posed so much of a threat. The difficulty came from urging the muscles in his body to remember technique that he had used all of his life as opposed to the adjusted versions he'd made thanks to the difference in Warrior. Mako-strength, though powerful, was a task in itself to control and kept throwing his balance off especially with the weight of the Golem's punches that came in.
On one such occasion, Sephiroth overstretched with a parry and the Golems opposite arm came up, right up with a heft of a noise, into the middle of his chest. It knocked the wind from him instantly, Masamune flung a few feet away as the Sephiroth's frame heavily fell back a foot and hit the ground. The moment of being stunned was short, and frantically he felt around for if his sword had fallen nearby -which it hadn't really- drawing laboured breaths as he tried to will that crushed feeling inside him away.
The Golem, seeing it's opportunity, began to shuffle closer, pulling it's arm back-
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Although she hadn't counted on worrying about him... The impacts caught her attention, and she had a few seconds at most to act. Invoking one of the skills of her primary job that she rarely chose. Battle-thirst, feeling the boost that came with the spell as she'd finished another mandragora. Diving at the golem with a cry, seeking to go high and get towards its face.
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Sephiroth didn't even get chance to register or react to the fact it had been Lydia, she'd afforded him all the space he needed to not only locate the handle to Masamune but also so force his body to reach across and roll away while at the same time taking it in hand.
The next maneuver was a swift, total cleave up from the ground which split a deep gash up the front of the Golem and sung loudly with the sound of the edged metal through the air. The Golem careened backwards from the momentum, out of control of its own weight. Hopefully Lydia would have gotten out of the way quickly enough as soon the monster heavily impacted with a few trees; the cracking of their thin trunks tangible in the sounds of the forest as heavy limbs crashed to the ground on either side as the Golem pretty much slumped.
Regardless as Sephiroth fought still to catch his breath, his eyes didn't leave the monster. He wanted to make sure it was staying down before lowering any of his guard.
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At least worth it enough until the small bat crashed slightly into a tree from the disorientation of sounds, changing back to her normal form. A groan from the impact, and her hands clapping over her ears. Trying to get her bearings once more, so she could retrieve her rapier and start silencing these plants.
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A small sliver of her rapier was found after a few more steps, so he stopped and continued to look around, Masamune like a giant antenna sticking out behind him where he'd had to hold that and prevent the damaging sound from stealing his hearing.
There was a pause, the air humming with the after-effects as the small plants seemed to stop to breathe - or worse could be relocating closer by. Drawing a painful breath in Sephiroth yelled, deep vocal chords reverberating around the clearing off all the thin trees.
"LYDIA! RUN!"
He had every intention to follow her, but had to know where she was and which direction she'd go in first. At least if they drew the mandragora away there might be less of them to them deal with. The situation had spiraled out of control far enough already.
*sob* I don't have a good 'running' icon for her.
He was the more experienced soldier, even learning a new (old) job. Shoving down the battle-thirst from her own job, dropping her hands from her ears and moving out from her cover. Sprinting, being sure he saw her to go back the way they'd came. If need be, she'd change forms--but she'd navigated this well enough before while being chased, so hopefully it wouldn't be necessary. A small bat was much harder to see than a small girl, even for the older Hero's keen eyes.
:3 it's OK!
But then he caught her, in a flash of movement between the trees and heading back -as far as he could tell- in the direction they had come from. A smart tactic really if it wasn't thought about; surely the mandragora would stop chasing them once they got out of their territory.
Over the top of his ringing ears and thundering pulse though, as Sephiroth made to sprint after her, it wasn't possible to make out if he could still hear the rustlings of the undergrowth that would indicate if the monsters were still close or not. Eventually he dropped his hands from being clamped over his ears as well, to gain the necessary momentum in his sprint, and was not greeted with any new shrieks.
Could mean that they'd lost them.
Re: :3 it's OK!
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