melodiesoflife | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: OPEN (Ramza and whoever wishes to join)
Where/When: Starting with the Mognet bulletin boards, then branching out around the city, Oct 18th-the end of the event?
Summary: Something is attacking moogles and making Heroes sick. In an effort to find out what is going on and prevent further damage, Ramza is trying to set up some patrols around the city.
Warnings: Injured Moogles, possibly people dying.

A. At the Mognet Bulletin Boards in your District

The skies around Aqures Ixen seemed unnaturally quiet as Heroes stopped sending their moogles out to deliver messages. Ramza did not know what manner of person or creature was attacking their white winged allies, but he did not wish to allow it to roam the streets freely. With communications down and some Heroes bedridden with various illnesses, it seemed the best way to proceed is to set up a patrol.

Ramza refused to endanger Simon by asking the moogle to deliver the message to the other Heroes. Instead, he wrote out the message on a sheet of parchment and attached it to the bulletin board in the middle of the district. Hopefully, the Heroes who were still well enough to aid in the patrol would see it.

[The message Ramza leaves has a brief explanation of the patrols, a few routes sketched out, and a series of days and times that a hero can sign up for. Most of the routes circle past houses, so that, if a Hero falls ill, help will not be too far away.]

B. On your Patrol Route

Darkness had fallen. The streets were quiet, with the lights from the Moogle's decorations casting a eerie glow. Not knowing what enemy they faced, Ramza tried to coordinate each patrol so that no hero went unaccompanied. There was strength in numbers...he hoped.

[Note: The heroes on patrol will not be able to locate whatever it is attacking the moogles. If any moogles are sent out.away from their heroes during patrols, they will most likely be injured, and if a moogle actively attempts to guide the heroes to the attacker, they will be wounded.]

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She wished he would go away, she wanted to be angry and to exact her revenge. She never got the chance for revenge; ever. "I'm going to make sure of it."

Yuffie looked towards Ramza with a fake smile. "We'd cover more ground if we split up. I'll be fine on my own." As she spoke she realized that all her feelings contradicted each other. She wanted him to stay but she wanted him to leave. She wanted to tell him and she wanted to keep things inside. It was all frustrating and it only fueled her anger.

Ramza frowned at that. "I would be a poor protector if I left you on your own, Treasure Princess," he declared. He was definitely not leaving her on her own when she was this upset. Not by choice, in any case. With her speed and agility, and with Ramza's armor slowing him down, Yuffie could likely evade him and continue on her own, if she chose. The ninja that had fought by Ramza's side had come and gone as they willed, without their commander being able to stop them.

"I won't try to stop you. I only wish to make sure you are safe." He had seen too many friends, too many cheerful young people like Yuffie, struck down by enemies. He did not want his newest friend added to their numbers.

"I guess I'll let you stay then..." She was still unsure but she liked Ramza. It was comfortable being around him which was a nice change compared to her home.

Yuffie let out a slow breath before turning and smiling at her fellow hero. "So what you hear about this thing thats attacking the moogles?"

Ramza blinked at her for a moment before he made himself smile back at her. Yuffie changed moods faster than Ramza thought possible.

"There is little known for certain about the attacker. It is never seen, and so far, it has only attacked moogles. My moogle, Simon, is researching the monsters in the area to see what could be capable of such attacks. I suspect something aerial, if it can attack moogles in flight. Unless..." he paused. "Mooshoo's injuries, they were not magical, were they?" It had not really occurred to him before now, but the culprit could be some sort of mage, shooting spells at hapless moogles from afar.

Her moods shifted as her feelings did and she had practice holding her anger down so that it could gather a seeth. She was good at getting her anger to fuel her conquests. "No, he said that something ran into him... and my crystal was taken by something similar. A black blur."

Yuffie wanted to say like a ninja but she was angry that it had stolen anything of hers in the first place.

"Your crystal was taken?" Ramza gasped. He was not sure what exactly to believe about the crystals, given his prior experiences and the conflicting reports from the other Heroes, but he knew that they were important, and that they were linked to the Heroes themselves. "Did you feel any different when it was stolen?"

Ramza had not received a crystal when he had been brought here, so he had no point of reference for what a Hero's crystal did for them. But he could not help think that if they were not like the Zodiac Stones that channeled demons' powers, that perhaps they were similar to the soul crystals that formed over fallen warriors. He did not like that Yuffie's was not in her possession.

"mmm, not really." She bounced on her feet a moment before looking back up at Ramza. "I just can't change my job classes. Not that I mind. I'm a ninja threw and threw."

Yuffie grinned at him which continued her implication that it wasn't a very big deal. She just assumed that it might be connected some how. Like maybe the moogles were getting attacked as something was looking for the crystals. She kept her thoughts to herself though, just in case she was wrong.

Yuffie's grin did little to quiet Ramza's growing anxiety about their situation.

"I do not like it. We will find the thief and take back your crystal. It is a part of you, and you alone should possess it."

He frowned. He had thought the attacker must be some beast let loose in the city...but if it was stealing crystals as well, especially from someone as agile as Yuffie...that implied great cunning and a purposeful intent. "This black blur Mooshoo saw, did he think it a man, or a beast?"

"Just blurry.. and black. Why? You got an idea?" She looked over at him curiously wondering if he had more information that what he was saying. Her footfalls were light and she took a moment to watch her feet before looking back out around them.

At some point Yuffie had to go check on Mooshoo and then go back out looking for the attacker. The crystal didn't seem as important as long as she could be a ninja, though it bothered her that someone had taken it.

"Just a thought," Ramza replied. "I had believed the attacker to be a animal, but if steals crystals as well as attacks moogles, there might be a purpose behind the attacks. Our culprit is intelligent." It was no wonder their patrols had turned up nothing. A beast might ravage and retreat, but a thinking foe would be more careful, would hide their actions.

"I have been going about this all wrong," he lamented, shoulders slumping in defeat at the thought of all those nights he'd walked the streets, looking for an animal.

Yuffie stopped and stared up at the knight.

"What do you mean?" She was all for having a plan that may or may not be followed but his tone worried her.

"I have been searching for a beast. I could have patrolled right past the attacker and not even realized." He tried to think back to the people he had passed each evening as he walked his route. He had not noticed anyone acting suspiciously. But if they were clever, it would be easy enough for them to blend in with the town folk.

He exhaled slowly, then squared his shoulders back up. "I will redouble my efforts," he declared, though the thought of it just reminded him how tired he already was. "Examine anyone out after dark, check for weapons. I wonder if implementing curfew would be possible. I should speak with the lawmen in the morning..." he rambled, voicing ideas as they came to him.

"Yeah, I'm not following a curfew." At least she was honest about it. Her eyes continued to scan the area. "Either way that sounds like a good plan. I need to go check in on Mooshoo pretty soon... Lets turn here."

Yuffie pointed to the side, changing their course. "My house is this way."

Ramza sighed. He got the feeling not many of the Heroes would conform to a curfew. They were a strong-willed bunch.

He followed Yuffie's lead. "If your moogle is in great pain, I know something that might help," he offered. "There is a chant from my world that recently started working again." It would not be the first time he used the spell here in Aqures Ixen. It drained a bit of his power to use, but at least it helped stave away some of the helplessness he felt in the face of this situation. And the healers were already stretched so thin, he hated to ask more of them. If he could ease Mooshoo's pain, they would be left free to help with the more grievous injuries of the Heroes and moogles.

"Oh? Hows it work?" She looked over at him curiously. The young ninja has mastered the art of not looking were your walking and found it to be useful when walking and talking.

Yuffie wasn't sure if he could help but even if it was just a little chance she wanted Mooshoo to be alright.

Ramza looked away, evading Yuffie's stare. He had learned not to tell others exactly how the chant worked. People were rarely comfortable with a spell that drained life to restore it.

"It is a sort of healing spell. It cannot mend extensive damage, but it eases pain and can close minor wounds," he told her. And that was the truth...just, not all of the truth. "If his injuries are severe, it will not make them go away, but at least it might help him rest more comfortably."

She can tell when someone is avoiding an issue so she pushed. "But HOW does it work?" She turned around so that she was walking backwards her eyes studying Ramza closely.

Yuffie can usually tell when someone is only telling part of the truth, after all it was something that she did often.

The downside to being painfully honest was that, when he wanted to lie, Ramza couldn't. He just did not have the skills to manipulate someone else, especially not someone who knew what to look for. He sighed.

"The chant uses my energy, and gives it doubled to the recipient." He said it evenly. To him, it was not an unreasonable cost. He just hoped Yuffie would see it the same way and let him help the moogle.

"Sounds useful but... I don't think Mooshoo would like that." She really didn't want another reason for the ball of fluff to get mad at her. "He regards the heroes highly which means we have two opinions! Don't tell him or don't do it."

Yuffie turned back around after her mini speech and slowed as they got closer to her house. "It doesn't hurt you right?"

"It is more tiring than anything else," he reassured Yuffie. "If Mooshoo would not want it, I will respect his wishes. But...I have done it before with the beneficiary none the wiser on how it works. I would not lie to him, but I see no reason to volunteer that information."

He shrugged. "There is just so little I have been able to do to help so far. I hate feeling useless. If we cannot find the attacker to fight, the least I can do is offer aid to the wounded."

"Well what he knows won't hurt him. Let's just keep it between us." She waved a hand towards a window that she carefully opened. "This way."

Yuffie avoided using the front door as much as she possibly could. She didn't want to risk running into her roommate.

Ramza raised an eyebrow, but did not comment as he climbed in through the window. Perhaps all the ninja from her village used windows as doorways.

He landed inside with a soft thump. He glanced around the dark room, trying to get his bearings. "Where is Mooshoo resting?" he murmured, the darkness and the stealthy entry giving him the feeling that this needed to be done quietly.

Yuffie turned with a finger placed over her lips. "Shuu!" She walked slightly through the room to the closet where Mooshoo made a little room for himself. She silently opened the large doors and waved Ramza over.

Laying on a little mattress with Mooshoo. His eyes were closed and a series of cuts covered his little body. "He's asleep." She kept her voice low as she crouched down to pull the little blanket back over him.

Ramza crept to the closet, not quite as noiselessly as Yuffie, but still respectably quiet for a man dressed in armor. He knelt opposite of the ninja and looked down on the injured moogle.

He felt a flash of anger, seeing those cuts on the little creature. The moogles were a peaceful race. That someone would target them while avoiding the Heroes of Light revealed a depth of cowardice that he couldn't help but despise.

But anger would not help the situation at hand. The chant called for a peaceful mind. He let his eye close for a moment, took a deep breath, and pushed his anger deep inside of him.

He murmured the words of the chant, so quiet they were barely recognizable as words at all. He felt the familiar stirring of power inside of him, drawing together, then disappearing. He was glad he was kneeling already, because the sudden loss of that energy left him dizzy. He closed his eyes for a moment, until he felt steady again, before he opened them to check on Mooshoo.

her eyes glanced between Mooshoo and Ramza as he chanted. She knew it would help but she was still worried about her hurt little friend. He might be a pain and annoying but she cared about him.

Yuffie was watching him intently and noticed the slight change in position to steady himself. When his eyes open again her face was very close to his, inspecting him further. "Are you sure you are okay?" Her voice was even softer since they were close and she really didn't want to wake Mooshoo.