melodiesoflife | Event || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

Event || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

Characters: Everyone!
Where: Aqures Ixen (Old Observatory, others).
When: Night from the 31st of October to the 01st of November.
Summary: Midnight is approaching, ghosts are everywhere and clouds are slowly gathering above the old observatory... What does it all mean? This post is open to all characters, there are no sign-ups for this.
Warning: The destructor has come.

Mingle || Before Midnight
Confrontation || Midnight
The Cursed Heroes
King Moggle Mog XIV

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From his position on a three-storey rooftop, the explosion from the continued crossing of their streams jerked Sephiroth's hand enough to break the contact he had with the others. The particle thrower was thrown away from him, halted only as the lead from it to his photon pack stopped the momentum and then it clattered to the floor as the silver haired warrior brought his arm up to shield his eyes from the light - watching expectantly as still it didn't seem to destroy King Marshmallow-Mog.

The resultant explosion knocked him back and from the strong posture he'd maintained, skidding when he landed and stunned momentarily as the side of his head exploded in stars behind crunched-shut eyes. A glancing blow to the brickwork ledge around the perimeter of the roof as he'd landed but more than enough to cause consciousness to swim for a moment. He stared at the sky above as all sound seemed distant and drowned out by the loud, wet pulsing of a slight concussion which had drawn a little blood from his temple.

He remained aware enough to register the large monster exploding in the night sky and the long moments of utter silence afterwards in the aftermath. Concentrating on long, deep breaths to pull back his awareness back into himself. It was several more moments before Sephiroth crawled onto his front and pushed up to knees, then finally back onto his feet as he retrieved the particle thrower from nearby; it was noticeably scuffed but not broken.

Sephiroth had barely landed himself, heavily, down from the building onto the street before he thought --perhaps he might have thought it an illusion-- that he spotted a flash of pale green rushing towards him.

Terra-

She staggered and he moved. Just the two steps that were needed to catch her, almost falling to a knee in the process but managing somehow to hold his balance as she caught herself and essentially fell into his arms. Both strong arms hooked under and around her automatically as she pressed her face against the front of the light vest he had on underneath his leather coat. He might have been imagining it as well, but he thought he heard a sniffle of a noise rise up from within her delicate frame. To him, she felt cold and that was all the more reason for his arms to stay where they were and for her to get warm again.

As if his pounding head needed further support, he inclined the side of his face down against the top of her head. Sephiroth didn't even know if he was bleeding from that side still, or if it were the unforgiving sweat of battle that mingled with her minty curls. Minutes passed, enough for his pulse to begin to slow down, for the chaos to settle a little more, but on account of his clouded awareness it could well have been hours before he seemed to come to.

Sephiroth loosened his grip around Terra and lifted his head from hers, but wouldn't move her face where it were pillowed against his chest unless she looked to meet his gaze.

"What were you-" What had she been doing out in the streets, when he remembered then giving her explicit instructions to stay put? Somehow the displeasure that should be in his tone just simply wasn't there; Sephiroth felt overwhelmed by the fact that she'd found him, and that she was alright.

"-what happened?" And more importantly- "Are you OK?"

There was no way for Terra to guess what all has happened. The situation was strange and her mind was filled with the haunting afterimage of those four imposing figures. She was sure that they'd find their way back to the hospital wing though she was more determined than ever not to go there.

As they embraced time seemed to freeze. She was sure that it passed, each second dragging into the next as usual and yet there was nothing outside of the pair of them. How many times had she found comfort and safety in Sephiroth's presence? Terra couldn't say but she was happy that she found him. Her heart began to steady and her breath slowed while her arms circled around his waist. She felt at peace, listening to the steady rhythm of Sephiroth's heartbeat.

She could tell that he wasn't angry however Terra couldn't understand why. She hadn't listened to him even though she had said she'd stay behind and stay safe. It might have been for the best. Their home might have been destroyed by the four figures if she hadn't left it and with all the memories she had tied to that building she didn't want that to loose it.

She felt the vibration of his voice before she registered what he was saying and it took a few moments longer to form a response. "I'm fine." Her voice was soft, muffled by his shirt. It took a few seconds longer before she looked up at him, her arms still wrapped tightly against his sides. A slight shiver moved through her thin form and she felt the pickle of cold on the bottom of her feet.

"There were four people. They had found me... so I ran and eventually they turned to crystal." She only knew one of them but she didn't want to say the woman's name.

The anger that was supposed to be there was too hollow to be angry. Overwhelmed between a combination of relief, exhaustion and perhaps his slight concussion Sephiroth found that he simply didn't care to know how she'd come to be running around -barefoot, he'd noticed- in the dark streets of Aqures Ixen on this night.

He let her cling to him just as much as she felt the need to, not prompting nor fidgeting as she muffled her first words into the material of his warm sweater. It had to be his imagination, that he could feel her breath pass through the fabric and tickle along skin underneath. She shivered and he automatically tightened his arms around her small frame again, yet he hadn't even had a conscious thought to do so. He was concussed, it had to be that.

"Those in stasis." It was a statement just to verify really, after all Sephiroth hadn't known what had gone on at the hospital just yet. His priority had been halting the giant marshmallow moogle. Large segments of melted white goo littered the area all around them. Another clean up operation for the Heroes of Light.

"At least you got away." He knows he should be more angry, or at least expected his tone to be much more scolding than it was. "You're freezing though-"

Sephiroth dropped his head in closer to Terra's shoulder again and drew himself in closer to Terra again as if his larger frame might be able to swallow hers. He rubbed hands up and down her upper arms where his were nearly completely crossed over.

"-lets get you home. Those feet are going to need a soak."

Terra inclined her head slightly to confirm that she meant that those in stasis had moved. She didn't know them by name but it had been terrifying to watch their daunting forms limber closer. She looked up at Sephiroth only noticing the cold when he mentioned it.

She was surprised when he pulled her closer. His breath moving past her ear and along the curve of her neck as he leaned forward. The chilly air prickled at her skin causing bumps to rise over her arms. Her feet were too numb to move and she realized even her pajamas weren't enough to keep out the cold. Her thin fingers curled against Sephiroth and for a moment she just focused on the comforting hold of his arms.

"Yeah." Terra didn't want to move and she made no effort too. She was a little unsure if she could move.

"My feet are cold."

It was stating the obvious but she saw it becoming a problem if they were to walk back. Pins and needles began to prick at the bottom of her sole.

If anything, leather was a great insulator even if it meant that between all of the physical exertion and his sweater Sephiroth was not only almost-too warm, but increasingly found attention drawn to how clammy he was starting to feel. In the moments where he was holding Terra though, his personal hygiene for the moment seemed less important.

Only when she drew attention to her feet did large arms uncurl from her so that he might get the room to look down between them, yet not moving so far out of reach so that she might fall. In the moonlight and dim street lighting, Terra's feet nearly glowed snow white. The very tips of them were indeed starting to go blue, he imagined, but the lighting must have been too bad to tell.

He imagined piggy-backing her home but then, as almost an after-thought he remembered the pack still on his back. He didn't feel inclined towards leaving that on the street either, not to mention the complicated buckles he'd have to negotiate to get the thing off quickly. Sephiroth blinked a few times, banishing a foggy feeling from behind still-a-little dazed eyes before resting on the only conclusion.

"So, we've only one option then-" He really didn't give her much of a choice in the matter, despite the minuscule hesitation that came over him after Sephiroth had managed to gather Terra in his arms again and hooked her knees over one forearm while lifting her. Now was not the time to get dizzy; it had only been a glancing blow to his head, really...

Oddly enough, the photon pack now served as a kind of counter-balance which prevented that first motion resulting in just dropping her. Terra wasn't all that heavy, at all.

Terra was confused at his words but his actions soon made his intention to carry her clear. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her. Her head rested on his shoulder and she was thankful for the dim lighting which hopefully hid the blush that was rising in her cheeks and spreading across the bridge of her nose.

"Thank you." She wanted to say something more eloquent but she couldn't think of anything else. Her voice was a light whisper when she spoke but she knew that he could hear her. Instead of attempting to speak she closed her eyes and focused on each steady inhale of breath.

Sephiroth was warm and even though her feet ached she felt that warmth seep through the thin fabric of her pajamas and into her skin. Terra then tried to wiggle her toes however the slight motion brought a sharp pain which laced up her leg and tightened each muscle it passed through. She didn't want to cry out but it hurt more than she thought. Her teeth bit into her lower lip to stifle the cry that rose to her lips.

Terra knew that she couldn't hide it so she spoke before he could. "Sorry... it hurt's."

There was something definite about his posture once she'd settled against him that was totally reassuring. It silently screamed out that he had her, safe and sound, and that he wouldn't be letting her go. Sephiroth certainly wasn't looking down and towards where her head rested against the front of his shoulder and even if he had been the blush simply couldn't be seen from that angle.

It was perhaps a symptom of how dazed he felt still, like stuck half within a dream as he began to carry Terra back through the familiar streets towards the residential district. Looking around as alert as ever, yet all the sharp edges seemed softened, passing others but never really being able to latch onto details of faces or attire.

When Terra suddenly hissed a sharp intake of air, Sephiroth immediately came to a stop just to make sure -in himself- that he still had her held up and out of harms way. His strong arms hadn't dropped at all and he still held her close to him as the photon pack helped to hold his center of balance. The instant need to ask if he was hurting her was bit back as she explained. Once more his silver head turned and peered over the bare toes which seemed to be curled up all on their own. It had to be-

"Don't try to move them, we'll be home soon."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath

[Closed to Sephiroth] Aftermath