rekindleme | EVENT: Exploration

EVENT: Exploration

There's a nervous feeling to this morning. More than a few people milling around the giant gates of Districts Five and Three. Among them are officials, giving safety and advisory talks on what to expect outside, and hoping that people will listen: it's not safe outside the walls, there is an energy drain in place that can only be held off by keeping in contact with someone (and that only lasts so long) plus a reminder on where the signal was pinpointed. Somewhere off to the north east of the city...And to be careful out there, above all else.

True to the announcement, the city gates open in the morning hours with plenty of heavy rattling noises to mark the occasion. And with that, all that's left is to step through the gates to the world outside.

Out there it feels like there's a near permanent coating of rust and ash on every surface, determined to work its way onto your mouth and into your lungs. Looming out of the shattered remains of streets and sidewalks are crumbled buildings that look like gaunt old skeletons of the familiar Saeng Seong locals. There's a stillness to the air that can weigh heavy on one's shoulders…And can probably get all the more heavy if you're not keeping up contact. You DID bring a buddy along to help you explore, right?

The company is probably needed, given how empty and desolate the outside feels. Save for the occasional groan of a ruin falling a little more apart...And perhaps a skittering of something close by.

Welcome to the dead zone ringing the city. Best look alive out there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[A day doesn't seem to be much for some people, but to Lightning, a lot of things can be done in twenty-four hours. With all that's happened in her life, she knows there are a lot of things you can cram into just one day if you do things right.

Her challenge though is actually keeping track of how long she can withstand being outside without falling over, since she's already split up with her sister to cover more ground. She's already tested being alone, and couldn't go even three minutes, but while sitting on an Eidolon, she can go up to two hours. Hence why she rides on Odin as Sleipnir as she travels through the outside world and in her full armor at that.

And really, the armor is not just to protect her body, but for her to feel safe-- the world outside Saeng Seong is ominous, and Lightning would rather take care than not. ... If only she could keep an eye on Serah here, she'd be completely set.]

OPTION A: NORTHEAST

[Ruins and Odin? Not a problem. They've traveled through worse. He could jump around from ledge to ledge after all, and he doesn't mind hard, uneven ground. She has absolutely no idea what to look for though, and what exactly the locals want.]

Do they want us to bring back some ruins, or what? [She's speaking to herself mostly, but the next part is for her steed.] I don't think you'll be able to carry something like that all the way back to the city.

OPTION B: MONSTERS--!!

[Monsters don't bother Lightning-- haven't for a long while. The flailing of one mutated animal doesn't concern her, especially when she's too powerful to care, and she can just swing her sword or let Odin trample it under his hooves-- she's defeated Behemoths, Cie'th and fal'Cie. It's the packs, flocks and hordes that concern her, and she's not interested in sticking around to see any of those.

But at the very least, she managed to kill a rat the size of a domesticated dog, and has it secured to Odin with vines because those scientists want a sample of the wildlife. Well, they want a sample, she's giving them an entire carcass. But unfortunately, the other predators want a piece of it, if the snarling way behind her is anything to go by. And probably her too, and she's not happy about this development, especially when she has cargo on her cyborg horse. She doesn't want to lose that and have to go out hunting again.

Some help pls? She'd never admit to it though.]

OPTION C: WILDCARD!

[Lightning isn't the nicest of people, but she can lend a hand to anyone who needs it. ... Or really needs it. If people need a hug to literally keep them going, she... wouldn't, but with the urging from the other Eidolons in her mind she'd probably just hold their hand or something. If people need a ride, she'd grudgingly let them sit on her horse behind her. If someone needs to transport something back to the city, she can do that too.

Basically, Lightning is an errand girl, no matter how much she doesn't want to be and has to go around everywhere.]

Saber completely ignores the fact that this woman has an extremely strange horse and somewhat equally unique armor set to match; what matters is that this woman is being surrounded, and there's no reason for the knight to not help.

Flipping forward over a rat, the monster is slain while she's still in the air as her blade is swung downwards to the ground. Once landing on her feet sturdily, Saber turns sharply to her left and begins to strike at the over-sized creatures close to her. Large insects, crows, whatever else.. it's nothing compared to fighting an infinite source of evil or the other strange enemies she has fought.

Miraculously, Saber finds her reflexes and abilities are keeping up to where they should need to be. Her blade, Excalibur, glows golden with her strength, but she's refraining from using her normal boosting and enhancing. Being a newcomer, the knight was not prepared for the sudden energy drain she would experience outside of the city.

But, for now, Saber can manage. She may just have to swallow her pride and ask this woman for a favor in return; of course, that favor would likely be a handshake while they exchange names.

It's when the woman with the glowing sword appears that Lightning finds a bit of relief, but not enough. And she's certainly not going to run for the hills, not when she's already in the middle of battle and can still fend for herself, even with the addition.

She guides Odin forward, allowing him to trample the much smaller creatures under his hooves as she cuts the larger ones down with her sword. As much as she wants to use her magic, she's got to conserve her energy until she makes it back to the city. So this will have to do for now, and Odin is pretty good jumping and crushing monsters underneath him anyway, even if it's a bit of a wild ride. She's had worse.

But eventually she steers him towards the woman, making sure to get closer because she'd rather have a human at her back to watch it.

Between trampling hooves and blades, the group of monsters begin to dwindle. It only speeds up once the woman draws closer to Saber, as then the knight has no need to worry about where the woman is and is able to simply focus on the task at hand.

A few of the enemies are perhaps beginning to understand the situation at hand, as they remain on the edges of the fight and look as if they may run. Saber doesn't even bother to confront them, as it'd be preferable if they did run. She still feels quite fine, but the feeling of her energy being drained as it has been is quite a shock to her. Normally, she's able to do as she pleases and regenerate energy as she needs it, but it certainly isn't the case here. If anything, she is currently testing the boundaries of what she can and can not do.

Slashing a large crow down out of the air that swoops at her, Saber looks towards the small group that's beginning to edge away from the scene. There's not many left then, so she turns her head somewhat to the woman behind her so she can speak and be heard.

"Shall we bother with them? I think they are realizing that this is not the best option."

Lightning eyes the rest of the monsters at the question-- of course, it might be easier on everyone just to get rid of all of them, but she also knows that it's not ideal in their current situation.

"Probably best not to. There's too much blood here already, so something we cant deal with might come along."

She'd rather get herself and her load back to the city before something else happens, because she's been out too long and she's already flagging. "We should get back to the city so I can drop this thing off."

"..Aye," Saber nods, thinking about it. Returning to the city hadn't already crossed her mind, but considering how draining being outside of it was and the fact she had just expended more energy and was already tired.. Yes, it was a good idea. "I will return with you."

Thankfully, the knight feels fine enough to get herself back to the city. She can easily keep up to speed with a walking horse, and even if the horse begins to pick up speed, Saber can power herself enough to dash and keep up.

"Saber," she states suddenly as she prepares to start travelling. "I am called, that is."

She doesn't ask for the woman's name directly, but if it's not given, she'll likely follow up and ask for it. It'd be good to know this woman's name regardless, considering how she can handle herself in a fight.

"Lightning," she replies after a few seconds of surveying the landscape and directing her horse into the direction of the city. But Lightning hesitates before holding her hand out to Saber, so she can help her onto Odin behind her. "I'll give you a lift. There's room for one more."

It's only fair that she helps the woman out, even if she didn't ask for help earlier. And to give her a ride when Saber's the one on foot-- no telling how far off the city is, and they can make better time when Odin is galloping at full speed.

[Xehanort has had to stop and sit down in the vain hope of feeling less like he's going to fall over. While the ruins are fascinating, the energy drain is becoming a bit much. The sound of hard hooves against stone catches his attention, and he manages to crawl over a bit until he sees someone in armour mounted on... some kind of steed. They seem to be talking to themselves, but he can't help but chime in.]

I suppose if it's small and portable that they'd like it taken back. They should have just given us a shopping list and been done with it.

[Lightning raises an eyebrow at the lone kid. How'd he manage to make it this far without someone to hold his hand?]

They never make it easy for us to do much.

[He doesn't look like he's going to last much longer, regardless of how he got there.]

A good thing to know, then. Does this sort of errand-running happen often?

No. This is the first time since I first arrived here. [Which wasn't so long ago, but details.

[Lightning dismounts to approach the boy properly. She's... well, she's a little worried because he doesn't look good.] Are you having problems?

As am I, though that must be obvious by my foolishness in this endeavour.

[He would gesture or crack a rueful smile or something but he doesn't really have the energy to do much.]

I assume this is the energy drain they were talking about...

[She frowns, but not because of him. ... Well, not totally because of him. But she holds her hand out to the kid anyway, for him to take if he wants.]

I'm not going to force you to do anything, because it's your choice. But if you don't do something about that drain, you're probably going to die. [She remembers what that small kid she'd met told her when she was new. People get sick if they don't touch, and then they die. And she's been lectured on that a couple of times too, for letting herself get too sick.

Not dying is a good incentive to do this kind of thing once in a while.]

[The look on his face, tired as it is, shows more surprise than anything else. He would hardly have expected anyone to offer to help - those who knew him would not be inclined to do such a thing, and even those who didn't know him... well, he was used to being on his own and being considered some sort of villain. A villain to the wiles of destiny, perhaps...

he does reach up with a shaky hand to grasp hers weakly. Perhaps here some things can be different.]

Thank you...

open | choose your own adventure!

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B is for badass siblings.

damn right it is

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