Johnas Clearwater (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shinrasfinest) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
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.
no subject
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-
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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!
In any case, she didn't stop running until they were back where the Golem had been originally. Then she found an area near a tree for cover, and crouched, listening. Trusting Sephiroth would be able to find her, and if not, she could find him--once it was determined if it was safe.
no subject
Lydia would be able to hear Sephiroth's pace, those heavy footfalls of his boots cracking at undergrowth as he ran, slow as he came within her vicinity. He hadn't seen exactly where she'd ducked to get cover, but judging by the deep heaving breaths he started to take when he stopped, it was probably about as far and as hard as he could have ran -at least as far as he knew he was capable of.
Leaning down and putting hands just about his knees, Sephiroth leaned over and forced himself to take slower breaths in the meantime.
no subject
"Is the Job working?" That was why he was here after all.
no subject
The ringing in his ears hadn't stopped yet, though, and it made his breathing and hammering pulse louder to him than it probably was. It also made it a little hard to hear Lydia as she popped up and cautiously approached him. With a couple more larger breaths, Sephiroth drew himself back upright; his recovery clearly being on another level now that he had the new job equipped. Everything about SOLIDER gave a significant boost to just about every physical attribute going.
"It's-" He rolled his shoulders up and back slowly, testing the tension that was still present in his muscles there. It was loosening already - good.
"-it's working. I think it's just going to take a little to get used to...again."
He sounded almost bitter about the 'again' part, given as if he'd had it his way he wouldn't have lost the specifics of his particular state of being in the first place, however old news it was now.
no subject
"I didn't see the Mandragora the first time I found that clearing, I'm sorry." Lydia hadn't meant to lead them into that nest. Then her eyes widened, and she winced, as she realized in their flight she'd lost the rapier. Well, she could get another; even if she wanted that one because Miss Armstrong had bought it for her to help teach her.
no subject
It was true that he didn't want it to end, but he also knew that inevitably it would.
"No, it's fine. It was thick underbrush. Besides, the Golem went down." That little escapade over with, he'd just about settled into the fact that it would probably do for today. Sephiroth had even begun to brush down the sides of his leather pants to get rid of a few small splinters of twigs that had gotten lodged there. The back of his hair from about waist-down had caught more than a few as well.
But then that look on Lydia's face.
"Lydia-?"
no subject
no subject
He looked down on the ground where he'd automatically rested Masamune once he'd stopped to catch his breath. The long sword was very much an extension of his own arm given how long he's been wielding it; nevertheless he appreciates how Lydia might feel. There was really only one thing for it-
"Well then we'll just have to go back and find it." There wasn't even a question for it, in Sephiroth's mind. He'd do exactly the same if he'd -gods forbid- ever dropped his own.
They knew that the mandragora were there now, this -should- be doable.
no subject
Hands in front of her. "I mean, it's my fault I dropped it anyways." She should know better.
no subject
"Do you remember roughly where you might have dropped it?"
He's certainly not looking like he'd be letting this go just like that, especially without even trying. It might well just be a case that it was dropped en-route, which would mean they don't have to go all the way back there.
no subject
Even if it was one she was used to, and had sentimental meaning. Their health was more important, and testing his job. Which so far was working well.
no subject
The fact that she'd clearly saved him that trauma, just made Sephiroth all the more keen to go back there and find the her sword. Before Lydia can remark further, he's picked up his own sword, curled it back around so it's lining the outside of his arm and started to walk back the way they had ran from.
"We'll find it, come on. Just- keep your eye out for those things."
no subject
Letting her eyes start keeping an eye out, senses alert.
"I have faith in you. We were caught off guard by the mandrakes last time." Entirely confident this time they'd be fine.
no subject
He doesn't answer her again, instead keeping his attention completely on their surroundings as the two of them pick their path back toward where the golem had fallen. A moment later, Sephiroth abruptly pauses, sharpened attentiveness pinged by something rustling in the undergrowth not so far away.
Contrary to before, the mandragora had settled all within close proximity to each other rather than surrounding the two Heroes, their vine-like appendages swayed all in time with each other in a not-so natural formation which inevitably made them stick out if one were to watch them -in contrast to the background- for a certain amount of time.
A not-so silent creak of leather might sound too loud to Lydia as Sephiroth spreads his stance and crouches, shrinking his height to make himself less obvious as well. He coiled power in the muscles of his legs, drawing energy like a spring ready to release, but for the time being just watched the monsters; they had to time this next move perfectly.
no subject