Petrified [Zidane]

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The meeting she'd had with the female general, Celes, was interesting, but profitable. Wheels began to turn in Lightning's head even though she couldn't quite yet grasp what all was going on at the roots of what was happening. Somehow, she'd ending up in this realm, and it was certainly no nightmare. Celes had more than proven that all that'd happened was very real indeed. Lightning was skeptical, of course, but proof was proof. So, as the general spat out the information available to her about the darkness, Light took it as she always did; one step at a time.

As they continued to speak to one another, Lightning doing most of the listening, she'd agreed to help Celes try and find a way out to another dimension. She had to. What other choice did she have if all the things the fellow female warrior was saying were true? Wouldn't the darkness that made her land fall ill come to Lightning's world as well? That thought alone was the only thing that kept her eyes forward instead of behind her. She at least had to find out...but was she ready to fight again? When would this constant battle of her's stop...or maybe...this was all she was meant to do anymore - until the day she died. Lightning shut her eyes with a sigh, shaking the thought away in the knowledge that more important things needed doing. For instance, how she traveled here and how to get someplace else.

Lightning had tested her theory of the voice she heard - either nightmare or her sister trying to tell her something - and ended up proving herself right. She called out for Serah, asking her for a way out, and moments later a rift had torn through atmosphere and pulled them both inwards to different directions. Celes shot further away than Lightning was able to see and could only fly through the current of this familiar crux-like portal to her unknown destination. Bracing herself for what was to come, the ex-soldier ignored the swimming, sea-like orange lights that dazzled around her in ribbons - creating this tunnel shaped pathway that she'd been thrown into.

'So this is you...Serah.'

Her mind focused on the fact that her sister had gotten into contact with her - joyous for the communication, but weary of its timing and meaning. The two sisters had practically switched places from their previous journey. The rift's color began to pulse. A familiar flash of bright light made her wince her lids shut tight before a low, deafening hum boomed through to her eardrums and the light vanished to nothing. Falling from a few feet off the ground, Lightning ripped through the other end of her sister's portal, thrusting her into the world of another, and landing her onto her side from the drop to a pile of ashen grass. She coughed out an exhale upon impact since it'd knocked the wind out of her. Her hand gripped off to her side, clawing at whatever surface she was on before opening her eyes and taking a glance at what she held with icey blue eyes. Grass? Grey, dead, grass. It crumbled to dust in her hand regardless of its rough and solid texture.

Lightning's brows furrowed and she slowly sat up with her palms to the ground at her sides. She bent her legs a little bit, knees pulling closer to her, but decided against standing right away after falling from a good distance. Her eyes only scanned slightly - since there wasn't much to look at - over the stoned forest. Petrified, it seemed, but she couldn't grasp what would cause such a thing. What sort of place was this? Her head fell down with cascading strawberry locks that covered the sides of her face. Light was already exhausted with the traveling. And now she was in someplace that didn't even make sense. You can't fight the darkness in a dead-zone. Her hand went over to the thick padding of her shoulder, rolling it about a little bit before replacing her hands where they were at her sides. All she could do, for just a second's rest, was sigh and let her head rather lifelessly shake while she sat in the midst of this Evil Forest.

Light | 712 | Muse - Tom Day, Echoes
ZIDANE
Why send me here?


Template by Nikolai of Cheyenne; edited by OuRex Draco

LIGHTNING

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[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves

Grey, lifeless stone as far as the eye could see. Such a mass of petrification. Something powerful had to have been at work. to cause such horror. Time frozen, lost in the edges of this forest, once known by it's presence of true evil. There were no pursuers in a place like this. None would follow you, not even the beasts. This place had lost its time, suspended in a stasis that stood between Heaven and Hell.

Limbo.

There were no birds to serenade one into a false peace. There was no Mist to summon up the devilish beasts that once perverted this land. The gnarls of what were once trees are now but ghosts of their former selves. White posts tightly twisting through the landscape, the ground a field of white ash and the air -- completely still. Where there was once an overabundance of life, corrupted by the evil of the Mist: all that remained was a lost moment in time. No footprints of the past were left behind. It was haunting. The cries of these spectres have long since gone silent. Nothing to mourn, nothing to sorrow. It was but a shadow, a shell incased in darkness.

Light drifted in from above, the plateau calling names of the dearly departed. The rays of sunshine splintered between ashen branches and and cast horrific shadows of reaching hands and decrepit beasts. Here there was no malice, giving these shadows no power. The stale air was alive, yet even still it seemed dead. Everything looked the same. Paths so overrun with ash that steps would be erased no sooner were they made. No memories, no life, no death -- his was a place of nothingness. Yet it still retained it's name.

Evil Forest

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It was a reminder to it's people that the past could not be changed. The horrors that once reigned here still remain entombed as permanent monuments of their self-destruction. It was a proof that they were once cursed. It was proof, that many never came home. It was proof that evil did exist. Waterfalls frozen in stone lead down river paths that no longer babbled. A spring abandoned by it's Moogle. Even the mushroom would no longer grow. Towers of these deathcaps remained hanging gardens of what once grew here.

But, time sometimes mattered nothing to others. Experience sometimes changed a person for the better, or the worse. Even in a timeless space, memories still pervaded, existed. Nothing would, nor could, change this. It was an undeniable fact. With nothing to deter his mount, a young man by the name of Zidane, rode Chocobo-back, into the renowned Evil Forest. His goal, was uncertain, but perhaps it was merely nostalgia? He could not really place it. When the adventure bug bit him, he followed it. It proved an easier treck with his trusty 'bo, so the pair marched along.

Choco's long legs easily trekked through the frozen forest of stone. Sturdy, stout legs allowed him the power to push through the mounds of ash and its tenacity gave him courage to follow his Master and friend. He rode in with his cloak to protect from the twisted thorns that still pincered certain sections of this hellish landscape. The Chocobo's thick feathers guarded him well enough, the boy would never push his friend where he could not go. Thorns were never a welcoming prospect for any traveler. The small cuts and scrapes often proved to be the deadliest.

Infection crept into the small wounds and twisted a body into a harsh, painful death.

His arms were covered by the black and grey cloak's long sleeves, his ail tucked to keep it from getting snagged. With his hood up his hair and face were protected from the thin, lashing branches that hung down. Though thin they were, these wiry tree limbs were tough as they could be. The footfalls of the Chocobo easily echoed through the forest. The stony structures reflected the clop-claps of the heavy-set mount's canter. The cacophony was unsettling. The wind and echoes twisted into a roar of conversation that was eerie, at best. Here Zidane searched for memories, something he had lost long ago.

Perhaps he could reclaim it?

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"Sometimes, you can't think everything out. You have to listen to your heart."

credit to Rach of Delusional & LS
Edited by Ou Rex Draco
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Geonome| Light | Thief

Profile |Normal Form |Trance Form

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With clear skies, all seemed so still and quiet. It was as if time had chosen this area to freeze, literally turning it to stone in a plane of nonexistence. Focusing on one little detail at a time, with her arms wrapped loosely around her up-most knee, Lightning looked for anything that could be of any use. But everything was just...dead. Gone. Not frozen in time, no, that was he wrong term for it. It had all just ceased to 'be'. There was no life in this place, no heart beating somewhere deep within the crust of this earth below her. The veins were shut down and no blood flowed to the trees from the water of the skies. Petrification was no easy task, and it took plenty to perform it on a person let alone an entire forest. But the build up of dust and ash was sign enough that it wasn't all that recent.

Time was wasting away and she knew she had no direction to go. But sitting and doing sure as hell wasn't getting her anywhere. With a furrowed brow she stood to her feet and dusted herself off before turning her head left - right - and behind where she'd been in hopes to see some outstanding something in the midst of this nothing. Every tree, bush, thorn - all stoned and ashy in messy and maze-like areas of the forest. There was no trail to follow, no object to head towards. Lightning was in the middle of a blank abyss.

"Hhhhh....Great.." she sighed lightly. If anything, she was just a little annoyed, stretching her neck side to side before starting to walk off in a random direction. The sash along the back of her right shoulder only moved with her movements - the area being void of any wind. Her boots crunched on top of the hardened grass beneath them. It echoed, reminding her with each and every step of the lifelessness that had befallen the forest. But still, she walked dutifully without purpose or destination in mind. It had soon been quite a while that she was walking, nearly fifteen or twenty minutes she could guess, and not a sign of anything in the environment that had changed. All that was in sight was death.

'What are you thinking, Serah...There's nothing here.

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Her thoughts were nearly cut short the soon as she'd ended the last sentence her head, ears clinging to the sound of a snap as soon as her foot went down. But the sound was different...she looked down, making note of walking along the same type of surface as she had been, and stopped. A few seconds of waiting bore the fruit of her well-trained senses. The snapping sound occurred again in the distance to her left. Immediately Lightning looked for someplace else to step other than this cursed, noisy 'grass'. A fallen log was the answer to her silent prayers, and she placed the toe of her boot onto it before gripping around another petrified tree and pulling herself on top of it. Her back was now hidden in the specific direction of what sounded to be large footsteps - slow in pace and relaxed in nature. A large animal perhaps? A monster out here trying to survive in the empty wilderness? Highly unlikely.

She clenched her back teeth together, exhaling smoothly out of her mouth as the sounds came closer and closer. Making sure her contrasting maroon sash was hidden against the trunk between her and the bark, she slowly let her hand stretch downwards to the handle of her gunblade within the leather carrier. It was hard to hide in a place so uni-colored. But she could remain as quite as its voicelessness. It took patience and focus, both of which she had an abundance of when it came to her work. A few more paces, counting them down in her head as they became even closer, and she whipped herself around the trunk of the tree while sliding the gun out of her back's holster. Crystal eyes caught just a quick enough glance to see the chocobo and its hooded rider. A bullet shot from her gun and straight into the trunk of a tree just past the rider's head. The boom echoed loudly through the stone of everything - bouncing off of surfaces and pulsing in the air. Lightning thinned her eyes towards the stranger and stood still with her gun pulled and ready.

"Get off and put your hands behind your head," her tone was low and toneless. Whoever they were...they were in no position to play games.


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Light | 771 | Muse - FFIX OST Remake, Stirring the Forest
ZIDANE
This Better Be Good...


Template by Nikolai of Cheyenne; edited by OuRex Draco

LIGHTNING

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[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves

He had been here once when everything was a lush, yet, muddy green Swamps swallowed the earth and trees grew over to protect the secret evil hidden here. The Mist corrupted everything. Living too long in the Mist stirred paranoia in the mind and foul intentions into innocent beasts. There were stories, that long ago, there were gentle Mus that had the auspicious nature to lend luck to visitors, even heal them or shed coin onto lame travelers. But those were wild tales passed down by men who had no other way of explaining being able to survive hellish conditions such as this. No the thief knew the forest's true nature. Its petrification a result of the evil being cleansed. The forest had grown so dependent on this darkness that when its master was slain, so was its will to live robbed from it.

Here lay the frozen memories of his past adventures. He would wonder if any sign of it remain. It had been at the Spring, where the Moogle had happily made his home. It was perhaps the only place untouched by evil, unscathed by its rancor, but the thief could only believe, after his experiences, it was the Moogle that kept it so. Though a bunch of strange creatures, they had a strange, innate ability to ward off evil, which why it was always safe to sleep with one nearby. Many times they had built camps, for the resident Moogle to rest beside them in loving embrace. He had come to understand it their nature. It was as much a Moogle's nature to be strange, as it was in a Chocobo's to dream brilliantly.

He had thought his friend would be reluctant to travel to such a place, but the Chocobo trusted Zidane as much as the rogue trusted the mount. They were not simply master and pet, but close friends who had traveled together and shared a love of finding treasure and discovering new places. Though this was still the same place from his past, it was a new place as well. Here converged a flow of memories that everyone was able to share in. It made them closer. He wanted to reaffirm many things, but most of all find that which he lost in the Spring where they camped before reaching the lair of the Plant Brain.

The Chocobo seemed happy to canter along. The thief never had reigns for his friend. To him it was a mark of slavery. No, instead he rode bareback, not even a saddle in place. He did make sure to bring rope whenever he rode with Choco, in case they found something buried deep underground. It was the reason Zidane brought his friend along. If there was treasure somewhere, Choco could find it! His gloved hands were settled on the bird's shoulders, the wings of the mount sat tightly tucked at its sides. Zidane's legs gripped as they rode, his body shifting to he motions of his friend, as they were quite able to read each other with much ease.

The bird responded accordingly. Something was off. The crest of feathers atop the golden bird's head rose slightly. Chocobos were tough animals, so often were more dangerous than the wildlife. It was sometimes more stupid to attack a Chocobo, but other times a Chocobo was far faster and clever than any Behemoth or Zuu. Before Zidane was able to ask what concerned his partner so, a vicious sound ripped across the eerily silent forest. Stone erupted from a nearby tree, spraying out ash and pebbles.

This of course frightened the Chocobo and rider alike. "What the f---"

---W A R K ! !

Choco's wings flapped frantically, only working to pick up dust and blind the respective parties for a moment. Zidane pulled his cloak to cover his eyes as his free hand gripped onto the frantic bird.

"Whoa! Calm down!" The thief had never seen anything like it. What fired at them? A gun? But shot were far too expensive to waste on a miss. Either it was a poacher that foolishly came looking for treasure or rare animals, or it was someone lost and looking to eat his buddy.

Zidane shifted and turned Choco and him around to face their attacker. He did not want to risk his golden friend so as Choco turned the thief leapt off his mount and into the ash with ease. The male was rather small looking, a teenager perhaps. He looked no older than sixteen by height. It was difficult to see his face through the shadows cast by the hood, which played with the darkness drawn by the twists of trees. One arm slipped into his cloak and unlocked the latch over his blades to prepare himself in case the attack wanted to get serious. He seemed to stand infront of Choco, shielding him.

After the deafening echo ceased the thief strained his still ringing ears to hear the stranger. It was a woman, that he could be sure of, but she looked pretty -- strange. A bandit, likely from an outer territory. Like hell he was just going to roll over. The dust still misted the air in a thin cloud. It was not difficult to see, but neither was it clear.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Like hell I'm going to listen to you! What do you think yer doin'?!" Foul mouth could be assured, but being randomly fired at as if he was prey was not really a good foot forward in Zidane's book. The bird stepped back, seeming to try and hide behind the smaller male. Zidane eyed the bird. If anything were to get too rough, he would likely send his partner running. This fool might have another shot.

The boy's crystal blue eyes flickered against what little light shone through the trees and dusted mist as it began to settle. Sandy colored bangs fell over his face. His features were young, even difficult to discern in gender were it not for his clothing and earlier harsh manner of speech.

"Sometimes, you can't think everything out. You have to listen to your heart."

credit to Rach of Delusional & LS
Edited by Ou Rex Draco

Geonome| Light | Thief

Profile |Normal Form |Trance Form

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The rider quickly slid from the side of the Chocobo that she noticed was much smaller than what she was used to seeing. The length of its feathers and neck were short, as well as it's thicker and stockier legs. The voice exclaimed in a tenor tone - young man of some sort - and began to swear almost just as fast as her bullet had pierced the stone tree by his head. A cloud of ash and dead-bark debris spritzed into the air and hung thickly for a good while as the bird croaked and pranced a little behind him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Like hell I'm going to listen to you! What do you think yer doin'?!"[/righ]

He didn't get the point, that much was obvious. Lightning needed answers, and she sure as hell wasn't in the mood to play around and waste time. Her legs led her fearlessly away from the side of the tree that she had previously hid behind. With a slight scowl at the short rider, she barely flicked her barrel to a different angle and shot a bullet right past the side of his head - grazing the fabric of his hood and being sure to miss the bird again as her eyes narrowed further.

"I think I'm the one with the upper hand that only a fool would disagree with. Hands. Behind. Your head."

The dust was settling, revealing blonde strands the fell past the edge of the hood and a rather childish face, but definitely grown. All that really mattered to her though was that he was old enough that he should know when the hell to back down. A gun wasn't very forgiving - and neither was an empty forest that held no allies. The cloak he wore was weighted in the stillness of the air to his calves - wearing a form of traveling boots that seemed quite strange to her. His crystaline eyes almost could relate to her own, though less teal in color and a deeper shade of blue. A face full of determination locked straight back to her. Taking note of his positioning, Lightning could tell he was hiding something there behind him and wanting to reach back for it. That, in itself, was a sign of aggression.

"I don't play games."

The barrel of her gun eased to the center again as its opening pointed straight to the young man's forehead. She kept her stern glare upon him, giving him the option of either backing down or facing her head-on. A blatant, black and white decision. Just the way she liked it. Her breaths were easy, relaxed, and if anything just as normal as if she'd be standing in her room alone. A weapon was another limb to her, giving her the ultimate description of the tolerance of warfare. Lightning had been scarred by battle to the point where it was just second nature to her. Without it, she was nothing. So pointing a gun and threatening a stranger meant little to her. Sure, it might be cold-hearted...but that's what happens after you've seen so much war that you just...become numb. And that's what Lightning was. Numb. The forest wasn't the only petrified thing around - she had not so long ago turned to stone herself.

Light | 550 | Muse - FFXIII OST, Taejin's Tower
ZIDANE
I don't play games, kid.

Template by Nikolai of Cheyenne; edited by OuRex Draco

LIGHTNING

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[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves

Zidane eyed the figure as it came out from behind the petrified trees. He kept his arms held out, but the way he held himself was way too open. Blue eyes narrowed as he inspected her form. A lady, of that he was sure, but what the hell was she doing way out here? The thief was not going to risk his partner. It had been his idea to come out here and look for a piece of the past. Another shot whizzed by his head, startling the bird once more. It jumped back and darted a few feet away in a few short, galloping jumps.

The bullet came from that weapon in her hand, but it looked like a regular sword. Was it magic? He had never seen such a contraption. It was a blade, but can strike from a distance? It seemed to mimic a gun's shot, but it made no sense. No gun could be that thin and made of steel like that. It was way too expensive to use up on a heavy lock gun. The dust began to clear, but her words reverberated into his ear. He was able to get a good look of her face. Something about her. It was a distant memory.

He never forgets a cute girl's name, but why was this so hard to recall?

It was like a hazy mist, much like the one that once covered the planet, fell over his thoughts and blanketed them over with uncertainty. Why was it he could not place a name to that face. Behind him his tail swayed and twitched, much like a cat's when annoyed, but Zidane was no cat. His tail spoke words differently. His tail spoke of his misleading conduct. He was sick and tired of this foreigner. He surmised, by her uniform alone, she was a foreigner. There was nothing like that on Gaia, which meant she was an off-worlder. She was no Rosa. This chick was a firecracker and he would do damn well to put her in her place.

After all if he could not handle some bounty hunter (of which to him this woman behaved just like one, rather uncouth and demanding), how could he protect his loved ones, let alone his scared friend behind him.

"For a minute there I mistook you for someone I knew.. but I don't know any Fangs." Comparing her to a wolf was unusually fitting. He arched a brow and moved to slowly raise his hands.

This was not a motion the thief could ever bring himself to. Giving up. To give up in the world was death. His cloak shifted and his tail slowly curled up as well, the end pointing toward the small of his back. It seemed the chick was pretty amateurish to try and ambush the great Zidane Tribal! But she would learn. Yes, she would learn how well he ran. Every motion was calculated. As his arms came up, the ends of the cloak raised from the dust below.

Zidane smiled warmly. "Should really learn to say please." It was in that moment Zidane gripped his hands into fists and clutched he ends of his cloak and sleeve. He pulled his arms up, as if impersonating a bat or a bird preparing for flight. The sudden motion kicked up ash and the thief dropped to the ground in a single, fluid motion. It was like watching a blossom shut away in defiance to the Twin Moons.

When he dropped to a crouch he still held tight his cloak's cape and spun around in the sand, using the cape like a fan. It was a beautiful ballet of deceit. Sleight of hand was his calling and a skill raised from childhood. Head was low, facing down so particles did not fly into his eyes. His hood protected his head from the heavy, itchy particles. Behind him his tail coiled around the splinters of stone that flaked off when Lightning fired her waring shots. When his spin was complete and back was to her, his tail flung the shrapnel of debris in her direction.

"Run Choco! Go to the West!" Bird and Boy knew how to coordinate well. When the warbling mount fled in the direction Zidane threw his arm out, the thief rushed toward the tree he had been standing by, the one shot by Lightning in the first exercise of demanded authority.

Out here in the wild world, no one had authority, let alone an off-worlder. Zidane rushed toward the tree, his cape fluttering behind him. The cloak worked much like a Zhagnol fighter's cape. It was meant to confuse and lure a false sense of space and shape into the opponent's perception. He rushed toward the tree and kicked off the ground. His boots had good traction for these sorts of action, as they were a normality in his lifestyle. He hurried up the tree, rushing near vertically, before he was forced to use his hands and shimmy up. He grabbed a nearby branch with his hand and swung over before he vaulted into another tree and pushed to stand.

"I dunno who you are, but I'll be damned if I let you hurt one of my friends!" Why could he not place the name. He did not know a woman like this did he? Something... it was like reliving a dream. How long has it been since he has dreamed? Nothing but nightmares ever came lately.

His fears materialized and pounded at his every resting moment. It was only when he was awake, active, did the screams stop. He was afraid of sleep and sometimes he would risk his body. There were nights he faced such restlessness that he would nearly collapse over the balcony of the airship or even slip during roof jumps because of his tired, worn body. What was it about this woman that made his days of dreams draw into his mind? So many echoes from the past. In the distance he could hear .... something. It was a muted whisper of the dream that played, agelessly, through his mind.

"Sometimes, you can't think everything out. You have to listen to your heart."

credit to Rach of Delusional & LS
Edited by Ou Rex Draco

Geonome| Light | Thief

Profile |Normal Form |Trance Form

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Lightning thinned her eyes, watching carefully his movements. His arms raised, as if to surrender, but the words that came out of his mouth were far off from the intention he had. Then what was he doing? She knew better, she'd been trained for far too long to let something so contrasting go unnoticed. Her muscles flexed, arms and legs ready to retaliate. Good thing, too...The young man dropped to a crouch after gripping the edges of his sleeves, lifting the ash-like dust of the ground beneath him into a cloud of sorts to cover his spin, fling what she could see to be a tail for just a split second. The stone shards that had erupted and cracked from the surface of the tree that she shot flew towards her from his swipe.

With pure instinct, Lightning flicked the latch of her Gunblade, spinning it in front of her as she stood her ground and disposing of the larger stone pieces just enough to have some of the dust fly to her eyes through the holes in her aero-dynamic, lightweight saber. The bird successfully fled, but she didn't give a care in the world about dumb animals. This was turning out to be much more of a hassle than she intended...and that, in itself, ticked her off. She shook it off, getting the ash out of her eyes with her other hand as she watched the young male climb the trunk and swing from one tree to the next, careful to keep himself mostly out of the line-of-sight of her barrel. Lightning gave a heavy sigh, stepping forward and looking upwards to him at a good enough distance that she let the tip of her sword hang towards the ground in her hand.

"I dunno who you are, but I'll be damned if I let you hurt one of my friends!"

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"I don't have time for this..." she whispered to herself, shaking her head and setting her other hand on her hip before raising her voice, "I'm not out to hurt one of your friends. I need answers and you're going to give them to me, since you're obviously no threat and not worth my time. Tell me where I am."

She looked at him with a disapproving face, but with an honesty to her tone - as cold and harsh as it was. Lightning wasn't one to just go around harming folks...she just liked to get what she needed as quick and efficiently as possible. Manners were unnecessary and time consuming. She was just looking to get the job done. And if this monkey boy was going to stand in her way? Then she'd just have to bite her tongue and walk off, ignore him on her way out. He'd sure as hell have to deal with it too...because she was in no mood to be patient with some kid's attitude problem.

Another sigh later and she dropped her eyes for a second, taking a moment to loosen up and maybe not be so heartless (no pun intended). She looked once more up to him, dropping the hand on her waist and shifting her weight to other hip. "Alright look. I don't know where I am, and I don't know why I'm here. As far as I can tell, you're the only person around that can throw me a damn bone." Wasn't the nicest way to put it, but better than earlier...meh...it'd do.


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Light | 598 | Muse - Ficci, While the City Dreams
ZIDANE
Listen Kid...

Template by Nikolai of Cheyenne; edited by OuRex Draco

LIGHTNING

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Jovial Prince of Thieves

When he was sure he was out of reach of her strange rile the thief stood on the stony perch, with is body partially hidden by the ashen trunk. But a glance of his eye and bangs could be viewed from his guarded position. All he cared about was keeping his friend safe, which seemed hard in the Forest even after its fiends were either dead or gone. His tail seemed to tightly hold place, leaving his tension to show. He was not one to fight directly, the indirect approach often worked just as well. Underhanded techniques were his specialty. He was never much of a liar, that required far too much upkeep. Deception was easier than lying. When deceiving an enemy you merely had to disregard the truth and word around it. In deception truth was always in the forefront, it was merely a matter of picking and choosing what that person saw or knew....

So it was pretty expected for him to be wary of the hunter after that. There had been no warning to her attack, and being the self-proclaimed gentleman Zidane was, he was not really one to go attacking people from behind or for the hell of it. He sucked his teeth at her claim of being in need of information. Of course his brow twisted up as he curled around these thoughts. With the dust settling and a moment to stand in reprieve of the tense moment. He was trying, in earnest, to bite back his wit, at least considering his usual, outlandish behavior that oft courted with Mischief. Gloved fingers tapped mutedly against the stone bark. The surface was like coral, and if one was not careful it could saw into the skin.

"Excuse me if I don't leap down in joyous reprise, but after you shot at my head, that's pretty hard to believe." There was that tact of his. He never really paused to consider the situation he was in. So long as he had only himself to risk, this was alright in his book.

This woman ate away at his thoughts. it was not in a perverse manner, no, far from it. But it was almsot painful. He was guilt-ridden he could not place this familiar face. But who did he know that was so -- cold? Sure he knew many in the past that were a bit introverted, or even gruff, but this woman shifted his thoughts upside down and made him feel vulnerable, as if he was forgetting something important. It was a distant dream embezzled by the chaotic function that was his memories. The pieces were there, hidden away, but with everything he had gone through two years ago... it was as if his heart and soul reset and took a dive into a blank abyss. Maybe it was this twisted environment? It brought back many memories washing in that it was hard to filter them.

Had he met her in Lindblum the night before everything? Or was she the one that drank with him that evening at the Pub as he wallowed at the loss of his beloved canary?

Honestly it was too complicated. He was getting frustrated, so he did what he normally did when frustrated by a train of thought: he let it go. It was not worth the headache. He would remember when he was meant to. He offered a dismissive shrug, quite visible. He responded only a moment after his brow raised. His thoughts went in one ear and clean out the other without problem or filter. As she seemed to calm down, considerably, he leaned his head out. Her stance shifted and allowed him to step out onto the branch. He crouched down and stileld to hear her words more clearly.

The boy pointed a finger at the woman. Now he could have been a jerk and blew her of, leaving her out here, but it really was against his nature to leave a pretty girl in distress. "Well shooting off your weird hunting rifle off at people's heads is not usually a way to get bones tossed at you, unless you mean the dead kind." He pushed to stand and looked around.

He needed to check his map and make sure which was was west, but from his vantage the river, which flowed southeast into the ocean, still carved a mark into the land. It was really strange seeing it like this from up close again. Nostalgia was strong today. It was as if wandering through Memoria once more. His tail hung down, much like the rope of a bell, and swayed to the beating of his heart. He reached back into his cloak, the motion pulled up the black cape and revealed a holster on his hip. It seemed he was armed, and unlike her, choose to rather keep it sheathed. He pulled from his satchel a map.

It looked pretty old and worn. The paper was stained yellow, but when he handled the parchment, it was more like cloth than paper. It showed great age. "This is the Evil Forest." He stated upon her listless attempt at civility.

He quickly rolled the map back up and looked down at her. It was a bit hard to see her from he shadows. His eyes really were not meant for the darkness. He looked around and soon he took a few leaps down to the soot covered ground. He brushed off his gloved hands and moved to casually walk toward her. Though he made sure that his hands were quite visible and even his tail curled up to show it carried nothing, after all it had been the perpetrator to his last underhanded act.

"Problem stands though, if you had no idea you were here, getting out won't be a simple task." Mostly due to the fact he was not on his way out, but deeper in. But -- that also carried other connotations. This woman could be ... completely off world. Leaving her to the fiends that lingered outside the forest --- ah she could handle herself, but it was still not a polite thing to do.

But he said nothing of it, other things still plagued his mind.

"There are monsters outside, but seems you can handle yourself, Hunter, but I'm not leaving, heading deeper in. Later." He made motion to walk passed her. It was still bothering him. He paused and looked to her, crossing his arms over his chest. He was already over the fact this woman tried to shoot him and Choco in the face. "Do...I know you from somewhere?

[/i]" It was all terribly unsettling.

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"Sometimes, you can't think everything out. You have to listen to your heart."

credit to Rach of Delusional & LS
Edited by Ou Rex Draco
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Geonome| Light | Thief

Profile |Normal Form |Trance Form

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[Deleted]

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[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=valign,top,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, vertical-align:top] roses have thorns

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The young man retorted every remark he could at her about her attitude, her tactics. He commented on the outrageousness of it and impolite manners she displayed after finding out what her motive was. Was she sorry? No. Because in the end she'd still get her answer and no one was harmed. That was that. A meet and greet was not something she exactly had time for...so her actions, in her head, were not only understandable - but also logical given her current and given circumstance. Lightning didn't care if he understood that or not. She knew and that's all that really mattered.

After a few more angry looks, he reached to his cloak. Lightning caught sign of a holster upon his hip that she actually...hadn't seen. That was very surprising. Her eyes were like a hawk's - always observant of small detail, especially when it came to something that could drastically change the game and raise the stakes. Maybe she hadn't given him enough credit. After all, he did catch her a bit off guard with that tail of his. Didn't matter. She had a job to do.

"This is Evil Forest," he stated, looking at the map he'd pulled from his side.

Wow what a great name...it just beamed with positivity. She sighed, rubbing her eyes and looking out towards the forest as he jumped down. Quick to catch him this time, her eyes flew to see only emptied hands and gently flinging tail. Her back and shoulders relaxed a little, looking back out to the area she just had her sight set on.

"Problem stands though, if you had no idea you were here, getting out won't be a simple task."

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"Nothing ever is," she scoffed, rolling her eyes a little. She was used to not having 'simple tasks' by now.

"There are monsters outside, but seems you can handle yourself, Hunter, but I'm not leaving, heading deeper in. Later."

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She turned to look at him as she walked away, his face almost convicted. But he'd given her a semi-decent answer and at least it was something. He was heading deeper in, so she started to walk the opposite way. Only logical that she was moving most likely away from the center. Monsters didn't worry her in the least...much less than they probably should since she had no idea what she was up against in this world and had no hold or concept of any of the power she could control in Valhalla. Lightning only made it a few steps before she sighed with irritation, looking back to the young man that interrupted her already. Really? Ten seconds into leaving and he was already slowing her down - not even going to the same place...and still a roadbump.

"Do...I know you from somewhere?"

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She turned to face him, teal eyes locking onto his own and scanned him up and down. It was silent a few seconds...then a blunt, "No," and she kept on walking.

LIGHTNING HAS LEFT THE THREAD[/size]
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Light | 526 | Muse - Radiohead, Give Up the Ghost
ZIDANE
Guess I Should Start Walking


Template by Nikolai of Cheyenne; edited by OuRex Draco

LIGHTNING

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