Preparing for things to come.

[goddessofthesky]

Where: Aqures Ixen
When: June 29th – July 5th
Summary: Zelda isn’t one for war but she’s going to start practicing and thinking of strategies. She knows that there will be a meeting but she doesn’t want to attend empty handed. She is also on a look out for new heroes. It’s a bad time for them to show up which makes her think that they will.
Warning: None.


Zelda was always busy and with the threat of war she was even busier. She was coming up with plans using the city map as a guide. It would be better to use the cities natural strengths during the fight, such as preexisting walls, but it’s clear that this city wasn’t made to withstand a war. The best they could do was guess where the Empire might focus their attention and so Zelda made a list.

1.) Jessie’s Lab
2.) The Hospital
3.) The Fire Crystal
4.) The Castle
5.) The Old Observatory
6.) The old Magitek Research Facility
7.) Mognet Office
8.) Airship Port

There were other possible areas too but she didn’t think they’d attack schools or homes. They couldn’t chance leaving areas unprotected but she supposed they could put a concentration of people around specific points. There were a few locations that worried her more than others. She didn’t know if they should move the heroes in stasis or if they should focus around the crystal of fire. It would really help if they knew what the Empire was after.

She worked late into the evening, pouring over notes and making scribbles and plans on small pieces of paper.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She was planning to fight and while her skills lay primarily in wit she wasn’t a stranger to brute strength. She thought of changing her jobs back to the skills she had mastered but she knew that Link wouldn’t want her on the front lines. Instead she practiced with the bow that he had made for her: aiming, firing, and then fetching the five arrows she was using for practice.

Zelda could be found practicing in a few places. Right outside the town was the most common. She could aim at trees or things around her without the possibly of hitting a foolish passerby. She could also be found right outside the Observatory, pass the garden that she had create and along the back of the building. She set up a small firing range with a few straw looking dummies at the opposite end. They weren’t perfect but they let her practice without destroying any arrows.

She could also be found using her illusionist skills such as duplicating herself. This would be the easiest way for her to help from afar and she hoped that she could think of ways to use these skills in a larger scale battle. She couldn’t help but wonder how well the Heroes of Light would ban together. She remembered the first time they all fought. It was in the Chocobo Ranch and it hadn’t gone very well at all but since then people have grown and changed. New heroes have arrived and they found a purpose.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Along with everything else Zelda was on the look out to see if new heroes would arrive. This was a constant duty that she gave herself but with war looming she decided to keep her eyes and ears out more so. It would be a perfectly awful time for the heroes to awake which made her think that they would. She also had no idea where they would show up which weighed heavily on her thoughts.

Comments

Observatory! end of June

[makingfriends]

Ven wasn't much of a planner. He was one to go with the flow, to follow his heart at a moment's notice and, simply put, act on impulse nine times out of ten. Predictably, this whole calm-before-the-storm ordeal left him restless and uneasy, and he put most of that energy into more training. He would need it, anyway.

When he wasn't doing that, he was going around the city -- partly just to keep moving, partly to memorize more of the streets and locations. He still wasn't sure how things would play out or what he was supposed to do, but being more aware of his surroundings would pay off in any case.

His stop by the Observatory was nothing so practical; he just realized he hadn't seen Zelda in quite a while, and since he was around there anyway, why not? It didn't take him long to find her in her makeshift firing range, and he offered her an easy smile.

"Hey! Training hard?"

[aero_dienamic]

Two blondes walk into an archery range...

One of them is noticeably better than the other with a bow, but it doesn't discourage the far taller one from approaching.

"Long time no see, dear. You know, I've been finding a lot of people flaunting their archery skills since I switched over myself. I wonder if everyone was inspired by me, mmm?" she jokes, clearly interrupting Zelda's aim at a tree outside the city.

During practice! After Robin's back from the Stiltzkin's Castle.

[tacticallyminded]

Robin has, since she returned, began inspecting Aqures Ixen's defenses and doing the best she can. There is only so much that she can hope to do, though; she may be a tactician, but she has only had two months to prepare. The woman is nonetheless trying to be ready. But sometimes, she runs herself ragged. She is out in the countryside now -- and is distracted.

And tired. She hasn't slept much since she arrived.

She spots Zelda and pauses. She remembers Zelda well; she met her when she arrived. The woman pauses, then she lifts a hand and waves it in her direction. "Zelda!" she calls out. She stifles a yawn as she approaches.

Then she spots the... multiple... Zeldas.

"Zeldas?"

Observatory 30th June

[shinrasfinest]

As Zelda rose her bow again, down the length of the archery range she'd created for herself. A voice rumbled just a few paces behind her.

"Hard at work, as ever. Always seems to be the way."

Sephiroth straightened himself up, getting used to the weight of his pack again. The handle of Masamune which stuck out almost a whole foot over his head to one side bobbed with the motion but then settled. The Observatory was the last place he wanted to check in before departing again for the airport. He was trying not to think of 'this might be the last time for a while' but it was difficult to chase the pessimism from his thoughts. There seemed to be a great deal of the others intent on staying behind when they would be safer leaving; it was lost on Sephiroth how any of them could be so foolish.

He knew first hand of the might the Empire had; they should be leaving the fighting to the soldiers who knew what they were doing.

End of June, just outside town.

[vindr]

One morning, Manami headed out of town on his bike at a relatively idle speed. He yawned into his hand and breathed deep of the morning air. It was going to be a nice day!

Just outside town, he saw a really funny sight! It was a whole bunch of Zelda-san! At first he was surprised, but after a moment the truth came to him easily- she must be using Illusionist skills.

With a grin he stopped his bike while still some distance away and concentrating made ten copies of his moogle Tia appear all around Zelda's copies.

Aqures Ixen, 7th District or Around Town, Early July

[pactfulfilled]

"Hmm." Asbel stood outside one of the research buildings, a hand to his chin as he studied the establishments across the street.

He wasn't one to take much stock in rumors, but something he'd overheard civilians talking about had caught his attention. From there, it had seemed almost natural to go and investigate for himself. In a way it reminded him of his first field mission, only now he carried a scrubbing cloth and a broom alongside his sword.

Cleaning usually helped clear his mind, but it was hard to really focus on it lately. After all, Aqures Ixen could become a battlefield very soon. But at least it gave him a chance to look for weaknesses in the city's defense, and to check which areas had already been evacuated.

"Well, whoever it was, nothing seems to be amiss?" he confirmed aloud, glancing up and down the street again where he finally spotted a familiar face.

"Oh, hey..." His voice trailed off awkwardly as he remembered with a tug of guilt that last time he'd seen Zelda, he'd pretty much yelled at her. Oh, right, and he'd broken down into tears at the hospital, too. Talk about embarrassing...

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza found Zelda at the Observatory. He had gotten word from Cid that the Empire possessed a weapon that could prove fatal to the Heroes of Light, and had been working to find some armor that could withstand a laser.

It would have helped if he fully understood what a laser was.

When he passed by the Goddess's office, he paused. He knew he should ask Zelda about any records the guild had on enchanted armor, but all he could think when he looked at her was how she had died in his memory. He did not want to ask anything else if her or give her more burden to bear.

But Ramza knew Zelda would be cross with him if he avoided asking for her help in a matter that could spell out life or death for other Heroes. So, he steeled himself and knocked.