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Post by Aerith Gainsborough on Aug 25, 2007 23:28:38 GMT -5
Aerith stepped down from the railing she'd been standing on and took her place next to the Maester. "No, I don't trust him, don't worry. But I also know him, and what he can do. I don't plan on keeping him for very long, though. I want to talk to him before we make any rash decisions. Besides, no one else answered." She sniffed and looked over the railing to where the entire crowd was bowed nearly double in prayer. "Praise Yevon" and "Lady Summoner" echoed through the street. "They place their trust in both that man as their voice, and in me. What do they know about me? Only what came from my mouth and from that man. They all put their lives in my hands and I will protect them. Isn't that what I'm here for, now?"
She was silent for a moment, thoughtful, then she threw a smile back at Seymour. "Before we go anywhere, do you think we could stop somewhere where I won't be quite so..." she gestured to her dress. "I need some shoes, at least."
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Post by seymour on Aug 25, 2007 23:38:33 GMT -5
Acting as humble as a man like him ever would, Seymour nodded as if a server would upon being reminded that he'd forgotten something. Turning to the nearest nun, he snapped his fingers twice, and in an instant of fretful stammering, she was gone, off to find Aerith some more suitable garments.
"She will only be a moment," Seymour assured the summoner. "For now, we should be concerned about our next destination. I'm assuming you are rather skilled in the art of summoning? Do you have a sizable number of Aeons at your disposal?"
Walking off in Xenos' direction, as if keeping an eye on him, Seymour continued, not facing Aerith. He seemed the image of a general then - rattling off instructions with little care as to who received them. "I'm assuming so. In that case, we must head straight to Zanarkand, where you can attain the Final Summon which will allow you to defeat Sin." Spinning on his heel (a swift, calculated movement), Seymour turned to look Aerith in the eye once more.
The nun was back already, holding a set of pale blue robes with a cloud motif on the robe's belt. Deep purple seams and trims lined the robe, and along with a few tactfully placed white dots, evoked imaged of the sky turning from day to night. As the nun offered these robes and a pair of sturdy brown leather boots to the new Summoner, Seymour addressed her again.
"Are you ready?" he asked, completely ignoring the presence of the man with the mask now.
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Post by Xenos on Sept 10, 2007 10:14:05 GMT -5
(("Aw man!" Xenos thought as he stepped up to join the other two "I just CAME from Zanarkand. Do I hafta go?"))
Xenos climbed up casually to the platform on which the other two were standing. If Aerith was as strong as he thought, she was the only one who could help him close the gap he'd been trapped in all these years. For a moment, he opened his mouth to take command, but reminded himself to step back and allow this Sorceress to make her decision. "Whichever your choice is, Lady Summoner, I will protect you as best I can." This was the only way he could make ammends.... but Seymour's plan to take her to the farplane and introduce her to Sin....? Something would have to be done about that..... still, he had to keep his ties where he needed them most. "Thank you, Holiness, for allowing me to accompany you. Praise be to Yevon," He finished with a bow, a bad taste in his mouth. The more he pretended to be one of these people, the less he liked it.
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Post by Aerith Gainsborough on Oct 9, 2007 0:21:28 GMT -5
((omg, guys, I have no idea what to do now))
Aerith inclined her head to the swordsman. "Thank you for joining us, Xenos," she said though without any rancor. Curiosity and concern overweighed the past wrongs. It was something that would probably burn out, but it still plagued her. "I would like to discuss lost time with you later. But right now, I think Seymour needs to take the lead. Forgive me, Maester, but I'm at a disadvantage." She smiled a with more than a little humor; if she couldn't laugh at the situation, she couldn't do much else. "What do I do now as your Summoner?" An idea came to her, then, and she balanced the bulky stack of clothing on her hip. With her free hand, she reached into the materia-encrusted bangle she wore around her upper arm and removed the large blood-red stone. She gazed into its depths, able to see the spirits drift past as though looking through a bubble window. "I can summon just about anyone we could need."
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Post by Alexander THE GIRL on Oct 9, 2007 15:47:49 GMT -5
((You know who could use a summoning and also a chance to join the story in some way, bringing his blitzballing partner along for the ride? ^_^; ))
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Post by Xenos on Oct 19, 2007 10:13:02 GMT -5
((Ho hum... this is a difficult one....))
Xenos inclined his head to the sorceress. If they must talk, they would. Not yet. Not now. He watched Aerith carefully as she pulled out the summon materia. "Forgive me, but as effective as it may be, perhaps it would be better to consult the Fayth. It is tradition here and perhaps it can help you become more in-tune with your own abilities." He turned to Seymour. "Maester, you know best what path we should follow just yet." As little as Xenos wanted, he needed to defer and allow Seymour lead. The Maester would be much less... conspictuous than he and Aerith would be on their own. Besides, the Maester had access to areas Xenos, himself could not get to without much trouble and planning.
((We should go talk to Bahamut. Surely talking to the fayth would be like talking to the bare soul of a summon. It would open Aerith's eyes to how much filtering Materia has and how limited the powers are....?))
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Post by Reno on Nov 1, 2007 9:55:30 GMT -5
((Seeeeeeymooooour!! Seemoar? Sea moar!! MOAR MOAR MOAR. XD ))
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Post by andheavenburns on Nov 2, 2007 11:57:49 GMT -5
Squall followed Xenos, and the crowd, but it was her voice in the end the told him where to go.
Like the word ‘Rinoa’ something about her voice clicked with the awareness in the back of his mind and even before he saw her, he knew she had green eyes. This was not a question. It was just a fact. She had bright green eyes.
Of course a moment later it occurred to Squall how ludicrous it was to suppose he knew that those eyes were green. He cast a glance at the speaker who was causing people to still and watch her. Though she had a manner about her that seemed to draw others, she also looked like she had seen better days, even from where Squall hid. He dipped and wove through the back of the growing throng- half listening, mostly not.
The distance did nothing to diminish the tone of her voice, but it did mean that Squall could not see her eyes. The idea that he could know what colour they were was batted down and immediately labelled as irrational. Silently he filed it under ‘completely useless’ and instead set about gaining a better vantage point.
He did not know what Xenos wanted with either of these two people. The first, a man dressed in overly flagrant robes to Squall’s mind, was immediately ignored. Not a fighter, Squall concluded and dismissed him. And how could anyone move properly in those things anyway- But he found himself coming back to that point an instant later. Not a physical fighter. … Squall glanced back again. Something else then.
The woman… Slightly defensive body language, the tattered clothes. No physical fighter either too slender of build for that, but she still looked as though she had just come from a fight. A long one. … definitely something else then, Squall decided.
Both of them, something else, which was why Xenos was here apparently.
Squall felt the vaguest flicker of irritation. This would have been easier if he had just been told-
Nevermind.
He needed somewhere with a view. Somewhere accessible to Xenos if need be. Though the man seemed currently occupied, at least from what Squall could make out, and thought the crowd appeared harmless, his training had always made Squall at least marginally wary of them and at the most hyperaware of them and the trouble they could cause.
As a habit Squall didn’t trust people. He was too aware that when you put people with more people… things tended to happen. One way or another. To Squall, crowds were erratic and always held the possibility of being volatile. Even a small crowd was easy to hide in. Too easy in fact and Xenos was perfectly placed for an easy takeout. … should one wish to do this. As far as Squall could see, the man and woman next to him were completely unarmed as well.
People, he concluded, were by nature just plain naive. A well placed sniper could-
…Squall faltered. He shook his head as though clearing a tinnitus and frowned.
Vantage point. He needed one. Protect Xenos? No. He doubted Xenos would need that much protecting if push came to shove. Watch his back then. Squall could do that.
Somewhere close. Somewhere out of sight. Somewhere he could move quickly if need be. Somewhere he had room to fight.
Squall retreated further, mind moving over possibilities but attention still focused on the trio at the centre of the crowd. He was well out of sight by the time the crowd was dipped in prayer, and glad for it. Even had he conformed, he would have stuck out too much to not be noticed.
Echoes of ‘Lady Summoner’ and ‘Praise Yevon’ reached him but Squall deemed them unimportant and instead watched as Xenos and his two ‘companions’ began to move. He had no idea what Xenos was planning, so all Squall could do, was wait. Follow, and wait.
(( I’m catching up still. Or Squall is rather. =P ))
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Post by Xenos on Nov 2, 2007 13:10:43 GMT -5
((YAY! Squall is here! Okay, Aerith. Take the lead. I don't think we should wait on Seymour anymore.... Surely we could summon attendants to point the way to the fayth, correct? Also, once we get moving, let's wreak some havock on the Entrance.))
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Post by Aerith Gainsborough on Nov 3, 2007 16:18:58 GMT -5
((I'm gonna go ahead and get us moving to the Temple, but that might throw some crap in between Bahamut and Auron. Oh, well. It happens.))
Aerith made to bow gently to the nun. "Please, could you show us to the temple?" Seymour seemed preoccupied with discussions of some sort with several priests who'd just shown up. Since he obviously knew the area better than she did, she figured that he'd catch up whenever he was ready. "Xenos." Her eyes passed over his attire and his ...scars. Aerith didn't know what else to call them. They writhed and shifted as the man breathed. "Let's go."
((hurrr.... bridge post that is destroyed in the wake of Squall's opening. Damn... I just don't have enough time for something better. I did make it so that when Seymour can return, it's pretty easy to just jump in.))
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Post by Xenos on Nov 8, 2007 18:37:59 GMT -5
Xenos nodded and took a step to follow the sorveress when movement to one side caught his eye. A creature was skittering along the ground, bright wings flitting with a sharp voice chittering to something that Xenos surely just couldn't see yet. He grit his teeth. "No..." He hissed, drawing Chirijiraden in a flash. He drove towards the beast, pulling the sword in a crescent.
The nun to whom Aerith had been speaking stammered. "S... Sinspawn, but how?"
From the streets women were beginning to scream, a loud chitter rising above the noise. "Sin!" some called, others just ran, holding their children in their arms to shelter them from the flood of insects crawling towards them. Xenos's eyes darted around the square and finally his gaze fell on the mist cover just below the city's edge.
"They're coming from the mist," Xenos said, lunging through a few more creatures. This sinspawn had not been expected.... With a strong swipe of his blade, Xenos straightened and once again turned his eyes outwards. Squall was out there somewhere.
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Post by andheavenburns on Nov 8, 2007 21:43:49 GMT -5
Squall was pretty sure that whatever Xenos was planning, this wasn’t part of it.
High ground had its advantages. If the mist had not clued him in, then the unnatural chittering that bordered on vaguely familiar would have.
Sinspawn. It was an assault. Even as Squall’s feet hit the pristine cobblestones he already knew that this situation had gone from dubious to uncontrollable. His Gunblade was drawn, sweeping down, slicing through scale and flesh and bone just as the first screams sounded out.
Civilians, he thought distantly. Lambs to a slaughter. He whirled on his heel, catching sight of glittering scale from the corner of his eye- blue and pink and all kinds of iridescent colours – slicing through a second Sinspawn as sure as he had the first. He flicked the blood from his Gunblade and broke into a practised jog, the familiar weight of his revolver offering some reassurance in his hand.
He could summon Tiamat- Stormy grey eyes glanced to his side at the bellow of pain, Squall was already moving toward the source, the old man crouching over the boy held loosely in his arms - grandchild most likely – and his own arm was swinging out, a little wilder in a one handed strike. His Gunblade was not designed for one-armed combat. But it made up for in power what it lacked in accuracy and the cut was just as clean. The death was just as real.
Mind already plunging ahead, Squall only spared the pair a cursory glance. Injured. Probably in a bit of shock. But they’d live.
The old man’s mouth opened.
“P-praise be to-”
“Get inside,” Squall interrupted him flatly, and not waiting for acknowledgement left them, faint anger pooling in the recesses of his mind. Squall kept it carefully cauterised though concentrating on his surrounding instead, and on his destination.
The screams rose around him, people running, dodging, falling- this was a disaster.
Tiamat was not an option he decided. Too many people. It was going to dissolve into chaos as it was. Adding Tiamat to the mix. … Squall discarded that alternative. Tiamat would only exacerbate things. He glanced down, eyes fixing on Xenos with a faint glimmer of satisfaction. It dissolved a moment later at the whispering whirring near his ear and Squall cursed himself internally as he dropped to a roll instinctively. Somewhere beyond him the serrated needles embedded themselves neatly into the stone and Squall came to his feet running, Gunblade out. It cut through the air even as the Sinspawn gave a final warble and Squall hesitated only a moment more where he stood…
People. People were going to- He should…
A deep breath. His eyes narrowed.
Xenos. Xenos was his priority.
Clamping down on the impression that he was erring even when he logically knew he was not, Squall vaulted over the small barrier and onto the platform below. Tightening his grip on his Gunblade he took up position opposite Xenos, keeping the woman and overly-robed man between them.
This way they were defended from both sides.
Xenos’ blade was already drawn, and it was wet with blood. The scattered bodies of already felled Sinspawn was almost enough to reassure Squall but the faint unease still lingered, clawing at the edges of his mind. He cast the Xenos a fleeting look.
”… I take it this wasn’t part of your plan.” he noted somewhat sardonically.
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Post by Aerith Gainsborough on Nov 9, 2007 0:19:15 GMT -5
((and so shit hits the fan))
That high pitched chitter assaulted Aerith at the very highest range of hearing. If she listened for too long, it would surely burst an eardrum. So she decided she wouldn't listen anymore. There were so many. At first, Aerith just beat away at the insect creatures with Malleable Staff, but as they poured into the streets, she took a step back and allowed Xenos front row. She knew her position as both healer and mage all too well. It was too crowded in the city streets to use much of her offensive magic. Earth and Wind were dangerous not only to the people directly, but indirectly: it could damage the integrity of the buildings. She touched the materia that was gleaming gently on her arm bangle (she was still wearing Rosa's tattered costume as she hadn't gotten the change to duck inside to change), closed her eyes and channeled. She could feel the magic welling up from beneath her feet and through the lush carpeted streets to the glass orb. "DEMON FIRE!" Flames roared up at the first line of these "Sinspawn", and due to their close proximity, ignited their bretheren. Soon, one street was a raging inferno. Those wings - now flickering with flame rather than charged power - began falling into the buildings. Aerith muttered a curse she'd once heard Cid mutter, and reached for her bangle once again. It was then, as she glanced to check her materia, that she spotted a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
A tall stoic figure.
Who was supposed to be dead.
Squall.
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Post by Xenos on Nov 9, 2007 14:40:01 GMT -5
Xenos pulled back from the line Aerith had taken out, one of the long cobblestone roads a raging inferno of flailing creatures. He cursed. "That's pretty obvious, don't you think?" He hissed at Squall, falling in back to back with him. There were people in the city dying-- Xenos shook his head. "The best way to help them is to get to the temple. The Fayth might be able to help." He focused his energy on Chirijiraden and pulled his spiritual power out from the depths of hit gut, murmuring an incantation he'd learned floating in that eternal darkness.... Xenos pulled his conscousness suddenly away from the stored magic and threw it with a swift, strong motiong of his sword to the wave of sinspawn and stretched it thinly among them, saying with a low, thick voice, "Slow." With a shake, he recentered himself and yelled to Squall over the din, "We need to go, now," then turned to Aerith and saw the gut-wrenching shock paling her complexion. He very nearly questioned his actions, but then, no. Squall was safer than he'd been before the reactor. For all Aerith knew, he'd been protecting him! There was no guilt in his actions! "Aerith," he said to her as empathically as possible despite the state of emergency, "We'll talk inside the temple, we need to go." This was no time for formality, "If we don't move, all these people are going to die." When showed no sign of even hearing him, Xenos cursed and pulled away. "Squall, get her. I'll guard from behind. Follow the priestess to the temple and hurry." He began to slash at the slightly more stuggish beasts, walking backwards without any intention of being fancy. All his training, all the time since Her murder.... All the deaths. They sacrificed themselved for a pointless cause and, if nothing else, Xenos wouldn't let it happen to these people. "They're not connected," he told himself as he cut down a scale that had come too close, "they don't need to pay for my miscalculation." He slowed for a brief moment, "How many mistakes do I have to make before things can be right again?!" Xenos demanded of the monsters. It had been a long time since he'd felt anything so strongly. And he could only put the blame on Squall.... ((Sorry I took so much control, Aerith.... If it's not what she would do, let me know and I'll switch things up, okay? Xenos is so angsty now! I love it!))
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Post by andheavenburns on Nov 9, 2007 17:16:44 GMT -5
Squall shifted in his stance and darted forward in a swift lunge, piercing the Sinspawn that skittered his way, face carefully neutral as it dropped with a squeal. He half wanted to grimace and he nearly snorted at Xenos’ hissed retort. But as such a reaction was completely unreasonable, he refrained.
“Rhetorical question,” he muttered instead not caring if he was heard or not. Fayth might be able to help? Nothing solid then. They were leaving people to die on Xenos' supposition. Squall’s jaw hardened. He titled his Gunblade earthward to stop the blood from slipping down to the pommel and eyed another pair of approaching Sinspawn… Then his gaze snapped around as the blast of magicheatlight assailed his senses.
Sinspawn, down one of the streets, bursting into flame.
People- no. None. Just… flailing squealing beasts… He blinked momentarily at the blaze and then cast a quick calculating glance at its source. Grey eyes flickered over the woman once more in silent reassessment. She was staring right back at him and Squall moved her threat level up a notch in his head. Offensive magic user? Probably more if Xenos had noticed her- She was still staring at him, so Squall narrowed his eyes at her.
What was-
Green. They were green afterall. Those eyes. Vivid, vibrant shocked-
-chattering, right behind him, Squall pivoted with a silent snarl, dropping low in his stance. Gunblade a blur of silver and blood he slashed out and into the beast that had gotten too close- Idiot. Stupid, of all the rookie mistakes to make- Letting the momentum carry him into the next swing he rotated again, eyes focused once more on nothing bar the enemy before him. He finished the swing on one knee and pulled back, slightly breathless, mostly annoyed with himself. Xenos had slowed them down apparently. Squall felt the sensation more than heard the command. The foreign ripple of power that came with casting magic. He shrugged it off, nodding a quick assent to Xenos’ instructions.
Right. Okay. So where’s the temple?
He followed Xenos’ gaze for just a moment, the girl- Aerith, Xenos was calling her. Aerith- She was pale and did not look at all well, maybe battle didn’t agree with her but why was it- Squall spun, cutting low once more, taking the legs from a Sinspawn that had gotten too close to Xenos.
Watch your back, he wanted to say but had a feeling that was probably his job... He finished the twitching creature off with a quick stab.
Why was it that he had the faintest impression he had seen her before?
Xenos was shouting at him again. Squall, dispatching yet another Sinspawn immediately wanted to contest that particular order, better he take up the rear, but Xenos could use magic, and the girl- Aerith, something reminded him- could very well be going catatonic for all he knew so he grimaced and he nodded but kept his Gunblade ready, falling back and grabbed one of those too slender wrists-
Not made for battle, something whispered. Squall ignored it. He gave Aerith a gentle tug, in direct contrast with his sense of urgency which was beginning to grow.
“Temple,” he asked her pointedly, “Which way is it?” Better she tell him, he lead and-
Xenos’ safety, as far as Squall was concerned, was still his primary objective. He cast the man’s back a retreating glance, narrowed his eyes at the words, unable to make them out between the din and the distance but discerning from the tone alone that Xenos was… distraught? Angry? Did it matter? No. Just-
On one of the levels below him, someone screamed. In fear. In pain.
Xenos could take care of himself. He would guard their back and Squall would be watching his.
Squall turned his attention onto Aerith once more, trying to ignore those unnerving green eyes and that too pale face and the way both drove an unfamiliar pang of- something- down Squall’s spine. If Xenos thought the temple was their answer, then getting there took precedence…
”We should move while we have the chance…”
(( OMG Xenos, I was going to have Squall suggest –he- bring up the rear! You pre-empted me! And I feel like I’m babbling too much in these! If I am tell me. And we’re manhandling poor Aerith all over the place. :hides: Sorry. ;.; ))
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