Preparations for a Fierce Battle

[forcegalactic]

Who: Everyone
What: A meeting to discuss the plan of attack against Palitutu
When: July 13th
Where: Old Observatory
Warnings: Threadjacking and discussion is heavily encouraged

[Anyone approaching the Observatory can smell the meeting long before they enter the building. Mordecai and Ellena worked hard the past several days cooking dishes for the Heroes and any guests they brought, resulting in a tiring contests of who could cook the most.

Dishes from Mars. Dishes from Ellana's world. Pastries. Any snack the two of them could find the recipe for. If there were some people that were unsure whether to come to the meeting or not, free food is the strongest argument.

The largest meeting room is prepared with tables and chairs for everyone to sit down, with sofas lining the sides. When everyone settles down and grabs a plate, Mordecai steps onto an area at the end of the room devoid of tables and chairs.]

Alright, alright. We got food in our stomachs, so it's about time we get this started.

Now, we all know why we're here. Palitutu's comin' in less than a month, and we still need to come up with a plan of attack. Seein' how big this team grew, there's gonna be a wide differences in opinions. Last thing we need is all of us disagreein' on what to do at the last minute.

[Like a few days ago. That was a disaster.]

We have plenty of reason to believe that she's not gonna listen to anythin' we say and kill us at the start, so we'll need to prepare our openin' move. There's plenty of ways to fight a WEAPON, but we gotta work together to do it in an efficient manner.

So. Now that I got your attention, what ideas do you have to offer?

Comments

[ninjainviolet]

[ No, Barkeep, not everyone has a full stomach, though the ninja appreciates the effort that had gone into the buffet.

Although, Sheena isn't exactly sure why she had come to this meeting. She really has nothing to contribute--even though a careful observer may notice her starting to say something, then closing her mouth. So, she sits, confused--as always--by Deadpool and his comments, occasionally looking down at her crystal she's spinning slowly between her hands as she thinks about the Calamity.

It had stopped when they had gone back in time, so why hadn't it started again when they had returned? Instead, it had started moving again about the same time they all had the Sage's vision a few months later--and hadn't stopped. But had sped up after they had had those weird illusions thrown at them and is probably still moving fast.

So, what had kept the thing at bay for those months? What had they done during that time that had stopped the Calamity?

Even a casual observer will notice the ninja's furrowed brows and may want to approach her about her thoughts at some point. ]

[bloodypast]

[Sheena's silence was uncharacteristic for her at these meetings. Not that she couldn't be quiet, but the not-saying-something? That specifically was not normal. Vincent made his way over to stand not far from her, observing. Then again, he had his own reasons for being quieter than normal.

After the latest round of her opening then closing her mouth, Vincent decided to speak to her.]

Unsure if you should add your voice to the cacophony?

[ninjainviolet]

[ Even when being quiet, Sheena either made noise or moved more than she was right now. She would usually sit and gauge reactions from others--not stare at her crystal or briefly look up when the speaker changed.

So, if she knew Vincent had moved near her, she gave no sign--other then not jumping when he spoke to her. Since the man was as quiet as she was.

She turned to look at him. ]

You could say that.

[ Aaaand back to the crystal she went. ]

[bloodypast]

[Sheena could still be quieter; Vincent was glad she had recognized his presence though. Studying her profile as she went back to her silent contemplation. This was unusual considering she was usually more watchful of other people, if not jumping in with her own ideas.]

Would you rather speak about it with one person, or shall I leave you to your pensiveness?

[ninjainviolet]

[ Give her time, she just might go totally silent and motionless. But to do so would only make her friends worry, and the last thing she wanted to do was be a burden to them.

And in her current mindset, that included saying something that would cause them to have to stop their discussion and delay the meeting.

Looking at Vincent, she was genuinely surprised by the question. ]

Speak about what?

[bloodypast]

Whatever it is that has you so silent.

[It seemed obvious to him. She knew he was a good listener right?]

[ninjainviolet]

[ She shook her head. ]

It's stupid, so there's no reason to bring it up.

[ If it weren't stupid, someone else would have said it long before now. Right? Right.

But keep prodding, her, Vincent... ]

[bloodypast]

[That's just going to make his eyebrow raise.]

You are aware of the old saying 'there are no stupid questions, only questions unasked' yes?

[Prodding in his own way.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ And it has absolutely no effect on her. ]

Yes, I am. But that doesn't mean this isn't the exception to that rule.

[ She wants to say something, so maybe saying it to someone in private wouldn't be so bad... ]

[bloodypast]

[This is still him just prodding in his own way. He hasn't seen the need to be direct or blunt yet.]

Humor me, Miss Sheena. What's on your mind?

[Then again, never mind. He's being direct.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ That was a quick change... ]

What's on everyone's mind. The Calamity.

[ She's close to telling here. ]

[bloodypast]

[He is giving her such a flat and unimpressed look.]

Normally you're far more open. I know something is wrong, when you're acting like me and being cryptic, Sheena.

[Enjoy that, as he's recognizing it's serious--whatever's bothering her.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ And she's taking it in stride. See? She said it was stupid.

A heavy sigh. ]

Fine. When we were gone--in the past--the calamity stopped. And when we came back, it didn't move again until about the same time the Sage's vision appeared. And then it started moving faster and faster...

[ She stops, leaving the thought unfinished. ]

Never mind...Like I said. It's stupid.

[shinrasfinest]

[While Sheena is uncharacteristically quiet at this gathering, it might seem they've traded places quite noticeably this time, as Sephiroth has so far been quite vocal about a handful of issues. Who knows, perhaps the suggestion that he should be a part of some 'council' or something has given his ass the kick that its needed for a while?

Whatever the answer, he's certainly got something of his focus back. Not quite to the level of the heroic soldier who had organized the defense of Aqures before, but a hint of that flavor is certainly there again.

He's come away from one of the more central tables to grab one of the sandwiches on offer when Sephiroth spots Sheena. He finds it odd almost immediately that he hasn't heard a word out of her, not once. Along side the fact she's turning her crystal in her hands, own generates a flick of a concerned look as he nods his head to her. Not quite in passing, yet not really close enough to her so as to give the signal that she has to engage in conversation with him if she doesn't want to.]

Sheena-?

[ninjainviolet]

[ Perhaps it's because of her own silence that she does notice how vocal Sephiroth is tonight. Any other time, she would have either agreed or argued with him, but not that evening. No, she's just sitting there, letting everything sink in, and fighting the urge to say something periodically.

She will admit, however, that it's nice to see him like this--more sure of himself than he had been not too long ago.

When he pulls away from the central table, he may realize that considering where she's sitting, she had to have been there for a while. For, to get to her seat, she would have had to pass quite a number of others--including him. And since Smoke Bomb is fairly obvious in itself, that definitely hadn't been used.

Yay for being a naturally trained ninja?

She catches the nod out of the corner of her eye, but it's not until she hears her name that she lifts her head, taking a moment to focus on him after staring at her crystal. ]

Yes?

[ So talkative this one, isn't she? ]

[shinrasfinest]

[That Sheena seems to have managed to sneak into the position where she was sitting, or she had been there before the room had begun to fill, without Sephiroth noticing prickles a little at that sense of self-awareness within himself that's still under-going something of a reconstruction. In times gone past, he wouldn't have allowed anything anyone did in the room to have escaped his notice.

Either he had blanked her completely, out of no intention to do so, or Sheena really had been using those base ninja skills she had to her advantage.

As she meets his eye contact, Sephiroth blinks down to look at her crystal before rising his attention to her face again. He imagines others have seen this state of mind on him, before on a few occasions but to see it on one of those others is concerning.

Maybe he does care more than he lets on, after all.]

-doing ok?

[The side quest for the sandwich is put on hold, for the time being.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ That really can't be seen as his fault. Sheena's been doing ninja things since she was a child, so she has years of experience with or without that job.

If she wasn't feeling so down, she'd be pleased she had done her Grandpa proud.

This state of mind for her isn't normal, so it's perfectly understandable that it catches him off guard. As does his being concerned does to her.

Drawing back slightly in surprise, she nods. ]

Yeah. I'm fine. [ Her go-to answer, Seph. ] How are you doing?

[shinrasfinest]

[The more that he watches Sheena out of concern, the more that he feels obliged to do so. She'd been there to help him once, when he'd been at his lowest; they are all in this together?

Not exactly, but Sephiroth would have time for a handful and Sheena is one of those. Both eyebrows rise at her answer and he chances to step a little closer to her. He's much too polite to force himself into her immediate vicinity, to sit next to her, right away but he is intuitive enough not to buy the 'go-to' response.

At the time same, it's not his place to push...]

Trying to fill the gaps, you know...[Hmph.] The usual.

[He's trying to make light of it by poking a little fun at himself.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ If her thoughts are correct, they're more in this together than anyone knows. But she's still keeping those musings to herself, just listening to the others come up with their own ideas.

She hadn't gone back to looking at her crystal, so she doesn't miss him moving closer, and she wonders if he has something he needs to talk to her about. Like her actions a few days ago. Well, he doesn't have to say anything about that to her.

She's already said plenty to herself. And she isn't quite finished yet.

Still, she keeps silent, waiting for him to answer her question. A response that has her giving him a solemn look. ]

I hope you succeed in that, Sephiroth. I really do.

[ Didn't quite catch the humor there, obviously. ]

[shinrasfinest]

[All things considered Sephiroth could have a lot to explain about his own actions on that particular day as well. In hindsight, and after Biggs' letter to them all, it had been a mistake the way he'd reacted just as much as the others who had tried to defend Rialynn. All he could do, though, is to re-focus and be vigilant against such a lack of wider-perspective next time.

Not that the damage wasn't done, that yet more citizens had lost family members and friends.

He thinks it's unusual for Sheena to react with such seriousness to an obvious attempt to lighten the mood, but then, it's not as if he's the paladin of social interactions.]

And you?

[The attempt at humor is dropped, completely.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ Sheena didn't want to kill Rialynn; what she had been doing wasn't her fault. The ninja had actually wanted to just knock her out. That would have broken the hold just as well. At least she thought it would have.

Nowadays, she's not exactly sure what to think anymore.

Except, that's the very answer she gives him with a slight shrug of the shoulders. ]

Just thinking about things, that's all.

[shinrasfinest]

Thought is all well and good...

[Try as he might, there isn't any dismissing the way that the way the outside corners of almond-shaped eyes seem to harden up as Sephiroth addresses an issue that he also struggles with.]

...until it's not. Until it starts to breed a lethal kind of hesitation.

Right?

[He doesn't mean to force the conversation, yet at the same time he seems to think he might have great deal to relate to the hurdle Sheena might be trying to get over.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ Sheena actually winces slightly at his words, since they hit pretty close to home. Still, she manages to look up at him. ]

Acting on certain thoughts can also lead to a kind of lethal hesitation if time is wasted, too.

[ He's not really forcing anything. Sheena's just scared to say anything. ]

[shinrasfinest]

[It seems that his intuition might be right on the money this time. Not bad for someone who is socially inept a great deal of the time. He averts his eyes a little once he catches her wince, not wanting to seem impolite but at the same time not wanting to put too fine of a point on the fact that he'd noticed.]

Or similarly if time isn't taken in consideration beforehand...

[In other words; damned if they do, damned if they don't. A concept all too familiar to too many of the Heroes of Light.]

...question is, which is the lesser evil. To live with the regret it might carry, or regret having not taken the chance in the first place?

[ninjainviolet]

[ And those are the very words she mutters. ]

Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. No matter how hard you try...

[ She gives him a solemn look. ]

Neither. Both of them are equally painful because they're tied together.