Last Argument of Kings

[bloodynine]

Where : Aqures Ixen, 14th district
When: June 30th
Summary : Logen considers going to war again
Warning: Logen is basically his own warning. Swears, graphic discussion of violence, really could be anything.



War always comes from the South. That much has always been true for Logen. When Bethod and his war chiefs, Logen first among them, pushed south, when the Union counterattacked from the South... or even when Logen went on his pointless quest with Bayaz, not so long ago now. A different time, a different place, yes, but Logen is amused by the seemingly circular nature of his life. The shabbily dressed Northman stares south,
a bottle of wine in his right hand, his left rubbing the stump, scarred mass where his finger used to be.

He considers to himself that he's scared, again. He always is, before a big fight, and the Bloody-Nine isn't the one in charge. He knows what's coming, probably better than most, in an open war. But seeing something horrible coming really isn't any comfort. He thinks about the fights he's had in cities before. In Carleon, in the north, and the huge brawl in Adua, down south in the Union. Well, at least this time he likely won't be smashing his way in to save a King who was one of his few friends. But... the thought sobers him. In all of this city, he probably doesn't have a friend, his own unwillingness to get close to any of the other strange people, the so-called Heroes, strikes him. He takes a little breath, and looks back south, muttering to himself, "This time, I won't even leave behind any bad songs, or fear. Maybe that's for the best."


He can be found just standing, drinking, and staring south towards the not-yet visible army that presumably will be coming to attack the city, occasionally sipping from his wine and muttering to himself. Logen, his significant size, and generally aggressive way of carrying himself aside, looks a bit like a massive, reeking vagrant, and only the belted on sword gives even the slightest indication he's anything other than a drunk.

Comments

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie wasn't intimidated easily and while Logen toward over her, she was more focused on where he was looking. She silently moved up next to him with a slight bounce to her step. Her eyes flick from the tall hero of light to the skyline.

"They are going to be most likely coming from the air. So you should look a little higher." She was relaxed and while it wasn't apparent, Yuffie knew something of war. She was born during a war and while it ended five years after her birth she never stopped fighting. She never forgot what it was they lost and how it felt living in a city constantly under attack.

There were so many that died while her father kept her safely locked away inside. She remembered hearing screams some nights and would sneak a peek from her window to see a group of insurgents clashing in a bloody mass of flailing limbs. She didn't want that for this city but if a fight was coming she was going to be ready for it.

Yuffie stood in silence for a moment before pointing at the bottle of wine. "Can I have a sip?" She could probably steal it but Mooshoo has been trying to get her to at least ask before stealing things.

[bloodynine]

"Are they? Well, fuck them and their fancy ships too then." He grunts, looking at Yuffie, then at the bottle. For someone from the Circle of the World, it would hardly be an issue for someone of Yuffie's age to get completely boozed up, so he hands it over with a shrug.

"You don't have any Chagga, do you?" Logen asks, already aware that the chances for that are basically nil.

[thegreatninja]

She took the bottle with a smile and took a long drink. Yuffie was used to drinking though she was small so it hit her pretty quickly if she wasn't careful.

"If only we had a big canon." She thought about ShinRa for a moment before shaking the thought away.

"I don't know what that is." Her tone was very matter of fact and while she didn't really answer the question it's obvious that the answer is no.

[bloodynine]

"A big what?" Logen blinks at her.

"I reckon the only big thing we need is a big chief who knows how to get the carls and thralls moving in the right direction, and knows the right time to charge. If we could get them to fight us out on the plains instead of here, that might be better."

[thegreatninja]

Wow that's a lot of words that Yuffie didn't know but she still agreed with him.

"A canon is a really big gun." She clarifies with a smile taking yet another long swig of the bottle before passing it back to him. She's in a good place now. "As for leading them away from town... well that would be easier if we knew what they wanted."

[bloodynine]

"Well, in my experience, you mostly just go to war to kill the other side's chiefs, take their gold, their land, and maybe their women and children if you're after that." He shrugs his shoulders. "So it's a question of which one of those the Empire wants."

[thegreatninja]

"Women and children?" Yuffie looked up at him with a stare that suggested that he had three heads instead of just the one. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of crazy world he was from.

"I think it's safe to say they are coming to kill the heroes of light."

[bloodynine]

Logen looks back at her without showing much in his eyes, and says, "Well, it's to kill the chiefs, then. So we've got to kill their thralls, and carls, and maybe what chiefs of theirs we can get."

[thegreatninja]

"OKay. You need to speak words I know. What are thralls, carls and chiefs? I thought a place only had one chief... person in charge."

She squinted for a moment before shaking her head.

[charming_jerk]

Johnny was headed back home after out working his usual spots in the city, playing guitar and hoping for any tips he could manage. Music was always the best way to keep his mind off of things, and with everything heating up again, he really needed it.

Guitar case strapped across his back and hands shoved in his pockets, Johnny almost walks past Logen. But he sees the man staring and muttering to himself, so he stops and turns to him.

"Hey man. Somethin' wrong?"

[bloodynine]

"JOhnny" Maybe he isn't entirely friendless, here. Logen smiles a little, showing his crooked teeth to the demon-man.

"Just getting drunk and waiting for war. Trying to get my courage up, really."

[charming_jerk]

"Just how long are you planning on waiting? It ain't like they're around the corner."

Johnny looked out across the residential area, and all the small, quiet houses that held the Heroes.

"Y'know, when they do come, I bet it'll be this way. It's where we live, and there ain't much protecting us here."

[bloodynine]

"I got nowhere else to be, and I've got a drink, so I wait."

He nods. "I reckon so,if they want to kill us, and our chiefs, they come here. And then we kill them, or we die. That's how battles work."

[charming_jerk]

"I knew I shoulda never got attached to this town. I can't even described the last shithole I was in. Aqures Ixen looks like paradise in comparison. To think the Empire's gonna roll in here and ruin it all pisses me the fuck off."

Johnny folded his arms sharply. "If we know they're comin', I don't see why we don't hit them before they hit us. Sittin' around waiting for all this is crazy."

[bloodynine]

"Chargin first is good, if you know where to charge. I think part of the problem is they've got flying ships though, yes? So they get to charge us first, no matter where we go."

[charming_jerk]

"Yeah, I guess so. We only got one and it ain't even ready to fly." He shakes his head.

"We're probably hosed, here. We should at least all take the fight out of the city so it don't need to suffer. Ain't there fault we showed up out of thin air and ruined everything."

[bloodynine]

"So what I was thinking is that as they drop their men down from them, we get up into one of theirs, and start stealing them. maybe ram it into one of their other ones. Make a big bang."

He makes a gesture with his hands to pantomime a large explosion.

[flowers_suck]

Olivier can pick Logen out of a crowd anywhere, so he catches her attention as he stands there muttering to himself. She doesn't sneak up on him, but walks into his line of sight.

"Waiting for them here won't make it happen any sooner. Your time could be spent more wisely elsewhere."

[bloodynine]

"Maybe. But I can get drunk and work up my courage here."

He looks over at Olivier.

"How do you get the courage to do it?"

[flowers_suck]

She shrugs her shoulders.

"I guess you can say from my deep rooted sense of responsibility. I am strong, always have been, and I have what it takes to protect people. If I protect the people, they will in turn do what they can to improve every day life."

She looks determined now that she has explained herself to him.

[bloodynine]

"Huh. You really believe it too, don't you. Most chiefs don't, even the ones that follow the old way." His deep-set eyes bore into Olivier's, staring at her, and nods.

"I'll follow you, if need be. But I can't make any promises for... uh."

He trails off.

[flowers_suck]

"Of course I do. If I didn't believe it, then I wouldn't work as hard for it. Someone who has to make calls between life and death, or even death for the life of others, should believe in humanity. It doesn't mean I can't see through deceptions though."

After a long pause she narrows her eyes. "Look, some of us are leaving for a bit to work on something that will turn the tide in our favor, and we need to know people are going to be here to protect those who can't protect themselves. We can't evacuate the entire hospital."

[bloodynine]

"I'm going to do what I can, but I'm far better at killing people than I am at protecting them." His shoulders hunch as he says this, and his eyes go rather distant, too.

"I wish I could make you a better promise."

[flowers_suck]

She nods. For now, that is good enough.

"Then kill with abandon, and target the enemies who approach civilians and the hospital."

[bloodynine]

"Killing? That I can do."