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Sirxeko drops his pack in front of a large flat rock and sits down on the rock’s hard surface. He sighs and begins rustling through his belongings, searching for something from the depths of the small pack. Finding what he was looking for he pulls out the old weather beaten scroll, unfurls it and begins hastily scanning the parchment. Suddenly he stops and looks around him. He is seated in the midst of a forest clearing, thick trees blocking his sight in all directions. A single tree catches his eye directly in front of him. He stares at it for a moment and than looks down at the parchment again, searching for something that wasn’t there. That parchment was a map of Gaia, and it was the only thing he had to help him reach his home. He looked back up at the tree, and then down again at the map…and at the tree again, and to the map, and he repeated this a fourth time even, as if that particular tree would be a land mark on his map of the entire globe. He does this a fifth and final time before letting his eyes rest on the map. After staring blankly at the page for several minutes he seems to finally come to the conclusion that he was lost.
“I knew a map was a waste of money, I don’t even know what continent I’m on.” He thinks to himself. He sighs; it was late afternoon and he was hoping to find shelter before night fall, but with no idea of where he is, or which direction shelter would be, he has resigned himself to another cold and hungry night. “I should have bought a tent.”
He packs up his gear again, tossing it all haphazardly in on top of the useless piece of parchment. He picks up his pack and places it beneath his head as he lays back onto the flat rock in the peaceful clearing. He sighs. How will he find his way home if he can’t even find his way to civilization? And suppose he does make it back home, what then? It’s not like there’s anyone waiting for him. That isn’t his home any longer, he left it long ago. It should be the exact same as any other city, so why does he want to go there? It would just bring back painful memories. But where else is there for him to go? Everything he had known, everything he ever cared for, had been taken from him, so what was the purpose of his life now? He lay there thinking this through. Yes, tonight was going to be another cold, hungry, depressing night.
In his neverending wisdom, Valedus had decided that it would be a good idea to complete this bounty without recieveing any intel from anyone to save money. Now, five weeks later and no closer to the man who's head he was hunting, Vale was covered in grime, smelled of year-old Tonberry droppings and really, REALLY just wanted to sleep in a bed. Unfortunately for him he was, once again, stuck out in the middle of the wilderness with only his tent, some magic and a few bars of hardtack.
As he began to set up his camp and gather a few pieces of wood to start a fire, he heard the sound of gear being tossed about haphazardly, possibly onto a piece of worthless parchment or something of that nature. He quietly crept over to the source of the sound and peeked through the bushes at the large man. More curious than afraid, Vale stepped out of the bushes, his hands extended and facing outward to show he carried no weapon and grinned sheepishly.
"Howdy, stranger. What brings you around these parts?" He said with a southern drawl in his voice. It was impossible to tell in the dark whether he was a boy or a girl, but he had made his voice deeper for the odd accent he made, so it should have been fairly obvious what exactly he was.
Sirxeko jumped up to a sitting up position at the sound of the deep southern voice, and looks around for its source, an expression of shock on his face. Normally he considered himself to have excellent senses, he was shocked that anybody could have gotten so close with out him noticing. Night had descended upon him while he was wrapped up in his own thoughts. The night was dark and moonless, and the shape of the trees were indistinguishable black masses on a deep black background. It was difficult to see in this light, or lack of light, as it were.
But Sirxeko's senses proved to be as sharp as ever as he immediately found the small person who spoke the greeting. He sees a person standing just a dozen yards away. Sirxeko couldn't tell for sure what it was he was looking at in the light, and judging by the clothes and general shape of the black silhouette, this young person would be pretty androgynous in any light. Judging from the voice, however, this creature was obviously male. Sirxeko remains silent for a few moments, trying to assess the threat of this small person. As a general rule Sirxeko is kind to all that he meets, but he can't help but be suspicious when some one approaches him in the night. As his eyes scans the person standing before him he catches sight of a pair of small wings sticking out of tiny holes in the back of the boy's cloak. A Lucavi. One of the demon people, no wonder the boy was able to sneak up on him, Sirxeko thought. A twinge of fear struck up in the back of his mind, the Lucavi are known to be powerful, and often blood thirsty. Still, Sirxeko tries his best not to listen to these racist stereotypes, and the boy did seem friendly enough when he greeted him, and if this boy WAS as blood thirsty as the racist drunks at the taverns say... well that is all the more reason to be nice to him. After some thought Sirxeko finally spoke.
"Well, hello yourself. I didn't expect to meet anyone here. Um...you wouldn't happen to know where here is, would you?"
The juvenile demon sighed under the man's scrutinization, aware that he was obviously being reprimanded in the man's head for his fake Southern drawl. Valedus wasn't a huge fan of being observed closely and tried to hide his wings before the man saw them. A Lucavi, especially at night, could be catagorized as a dangerous enemy, and Vale would prefer not to fight the man.
Vale sighed loudly and unbuckled his swordbelt, tossing his short weapon to the ground. After that he raised his hands in a gesture of peace and frowned. "I understand your... wariness, but there's nothing really to fear." He turned on his heel and began to walk away, yelling behind him. "Unless you prefer nights alone, which by the looks of your camp you ARE alone, you can stay the night with me. It'll be a bit less dangerous that way, at least. Monsters aren't exactly known for their bravery, and two people instead of one may deter them from attacking."
Sirxeko saw the small demon's reaction to his delayed response, and watched as the small demon repositioned himself that made his wings somewhat less noticeable. Was it that the boy was uncomfortable with his nature, or that the boy didn't want to alarm Sirxeko, either way Sirxeko pretended not to notice, and merely continued to watch as the boy tossed his sword to the ground. All of the Lucavi that Sirxeko had met before were excellent magic users, and Sirxeko was certain that this boy could easily strike Sirxeko down without the sword, but even so, Sirxeko could not deny the significance of this gesture. The boy held up his hands in peace and assured Sirxeko that there was no need for fear, and invited him to set camp together for the sake of safety. The boy began to walk away.
Sirxeko had been lost within the forest for the past three days or so and had yet to encounter any monsters, or fiends, or any form of animal life whatsoever, save for the rabbit that he had had for breakfast the day before. Even so Sirxeko could not deny the wisdom of the boy's words. If there were any monsters about they would likely be nocturnal, and Sirxeko was a very sound sleeper, chances were that if a monster attacked it would all be over before he could even raise an eyelid. Sirxeko sighed, flung his pack to his shoulders, and picked up the boy's swordbelt from the mud before reluctantly walking after him.
Despite the slow speed at which Sirxeko walked, the boy was just barely through the first ring of trees around the clearing when Sirxeko caught up to him. Sirxeko was taller than the boy, and had a much longer stride. "Well, if there are monsters around," Sirxeko holds the swordbelt out to the boy, "than you'll need this."
Word Count-326 Total-1165
((Are the different colors really necessary? I was just mimicking you on that one.))
((Bah, I know I forgot! I noticed it after I posted and didn't get a chance to repost to fix it. Also, I have 1455 words + that 171 = 1626 words, I think. Hoorah for posting in multiple threads XD And I was mimicking other people for the colors. I don't know, it certainly makes things easier to read, don't you think?))
The demon grinned and took back his weapon, belting it aroud his hip again. "It's nice to see someone who actually has some sense around here."
Leading the man to a clearing nearby, Vale set up his tent, gathered some firewood and started a small blaze by casting Thunder on the miniscule pile of lumber. Once the fire was taken care of Vale handed a bar of hardtack to the man and frowned. "It's not much, but it's food, I suppose." After handing over the hardtack, Vale trotted off intot the woods for a few moments. Lightning strikes erupted in the distance, but before the stranger could begin to wonder what had happened, Vale returned with two semi-scorched rabbits. "These should be slightly more edible, I should hope."
The young Lucavi skinned the rabbits and made some makeshift spits to cook (properly. Casting Thunder hardly counts as cooking) them with. Placing them over the fire, Vale watched the rabbits intently for a moment before turning to the stranger he had invited into his camp.
"So... what exactly are you doing here, my tall friend? Not many people seem to make a habit of walking in the wilderness around these parts, as I haven't seen anyone aside from yourself out here in the last week or so. Not that I'm quite sure where 'here' is, exactly." He handed one rabbit to the stranger and took the other for himself. "I'm Valedus, by the way. Valedus Matthias LeArchel. Most people call me Vale though. You are...?"
Sirxeko watched uncomfortably as the boy hastened about his business, wondering whether on not he should help, but the boy moved fast, and by the time Sirxeko decided to help the tent was up and a fire was already going. The boyhanded Sirxeko some food, hardtack, but Sirxeko hadn't had a meal in so long he wasn't about to be a picky eater. The boy ran off into the forest, and Sirxeko didn't follow this time, knowing that the boy would be done with what ever he was doing before Srixeko had a chance to help. Instead Sirxeko stood there in the camp eating his makeshift meal.
There was the clash of thunder nearby and just as he had predicted the boy came back less than a minute later, carrying with him two charred rabbits. Again the boy acted fast, and within moments the rabbits were skinned and cooking over the fire. The boy commented on how unusual it is to see people in the wilderness, while they waited for the food to cook. Once the meal was cooked and ready to eat they each took a rabbit and the demon introduced himself. "...Most people call me Vale, and you are...?"
"Sirxeko." He answered uncomfortably. "I am a traveller, a traveller looking for something." Sirxeko once again was confronted with the same questions he was pondering just before his first encounter with Vale, and just like before, Sirxeko became lost in thought. "Though I'm not sure what that something is..." He whispered, more to himself than to Vale, who was watchig him, eagerly awaiting an expalnation. Sirxeko snapped himself out of his stupor. "And what about you? Surely I'm not the only one with a reason to be out here."
The young Lucavi grinned at the large man's odd name. Sirxeko? Seriously? He thought it must be an alias of some sort, but he didn't bother mentioning it to "Sirxeko". To Vale, it appeared as if the man still did not trust him. Not that you should trust strangers that you meet in the dark in the middle of nowhere who also happen to be a demon who could rip out your throat for no reason.
As Vale listened to Sirxeko's explanation as to why exactly he was in the middle of nowhere the boy's grin grew wider. 'He doesn't know what he's looking for?' He thought, trying to keep himself from laughing, 'How does one look for something that they know nothing about?' He kept his opinions to himself, for the moment, choosing instead to reply to Sirxeko's question to him.
"I'm a bounty hunter of sorts. I'm looking for someone who goes by the name of Pelenoir- some black-hearted fool who thinks it's all right to murder innocent people because they can't pay his rather large property taxes." His grin dissipates immediately while talking about his bounty. "I can't stand people like that... It's better for everyone when I get rid of them."
Sirxeko was taken aback by Vale's words. A Bounty Hunter? The small boy did not look like he would be a bounty hunter, even if he was one of the demon folk. He listened as the boy described his mark; a vile man from the sound of it, and one that the world would be better without. Again Sirxeko found himself not knowing what to think of Vale. On the one hand, he was a bounty hunter, cruel sadistic and savage, killing people for money. On the other hand, the mark he described seemed to be pure evil, and Sirxeko agreed that the world would likely be a better place without him. Then again, it could be a mere coincidence that this particular mark just happened to be evil, after all, it doesn't matter to a bounty hunter who it is he's killing. But Vale did seem genuinely disgusted by the evil man. Sirxeko took another bite of rabbit and was reminded of the kindness that Vale had just shown him, and decided to hush his thoughts; clearly Vale was not as dark and menacing as most bounty hunters, which rose the question of why he was even in the bounty hunting business. Sirxeko thought for a moment about this, and decided that the best way to find out was to ask. After Vale finished his tirade about Pelenoir, Sirxeko asked as nonchalantly as he could muster, "So, Bounty Hunting, eh? How did one such as yourself get into such a field?"
The demon frowned a little. Of course bounty hunters weren't exactly the cream of the crop and were usually known for their ruthlessness and lack of hygiene. Vale, however, wasn't much like that. He preferred to deal with the greater villains who's heads were wanted- not only because they paid better, but also because he absolutely HATED anyone who was low enough to commit the crimes he dealt with (murder, extortion, rape, muggings etc.)
"I became a bounty hunter because it was the easiest field to get into... It's not very common to see a Slummer, like myself, become an executive at some large company- such as Shinra. Bounty hunter pays well and it helps me get rid of people who make things difficult for other people. Murderers, muggers, rapists... They're all not worth the air they breathe." Vale stood up and looked up to the moon, still frowning. "That's why I'm a bounty hunter. Not an especially interesting story, but it's mine."
Suddenly, the boy tenses and darts back towards Sirxeko, two fingers over his lips to tell Sirxeko to stay quiet. Once he was close to the man, he whispered quietly, "Something's coming. Monsters perhaps. Be ready."
Sirxeko had heard the movement as well. He moved his left hand to the hilt of his blade, and reached his right hand up to remove Vale's hand from his lips. His eyes had gone from dull icy blue to a bright and furious sky blue. His expression changing from thoughtful to stern in an instant. He listened closely.
"A monster?" He whispered so low that only he and the Lucavi's ears could pick it up. "Unlikely. Biped. A small biped."
When Sirxeko was a child he was often told that he had ears that could beat a Lucavi, he had always assumed it was just a saying or an exaggeration, but now that he had the chance to actually test it, he was hoping that his ears were the better of the pair. If so, and Sirxeko's guess was right, than they would soon be joined by a woman or child. However, if it turned out that the Lucavi's ears proved stronger, than the two would likely have a fight on their hands soon enough.
Sirxeko closed his eyes to help him concentrate on the sound. A bad idea it turned out, as he heard a rustle in the brush directly behind him. The creature, what ever the create happened to be, had wandered much closer to them than he had at first thought. Sirxeko leaped to his feet, blade withdrawn, ready to strike...just in case.
((Actually, when Adiona did her activity check on Friday, she deleted all members who hadn't posted anything in a while, and since Xahna was still making her character at the time, Xahna isn't currently a member of this site. Now that's easy to fix, she just has to re-register, but that is a nuisance that she may or may not be willing to go through.))
From behind them he stepped out from the tree line, his arched figure stepping out and then standing up straight revealing to the pair a tall and imposing figure of the demon lord Belzera Grimoire, it was plain to see as he came out he wasn't human the purple skin and the large leathery and dragon-like wings behind him along with his inhuman height of 8 foot he nearly towered over the pair, they would only just notice a strange air around him as if he had many lifetimes upon his back and it seemed as if his body moved without wasted energy. Belzera stopped as he entered the clearing, standing tall he looked at the pair his long arms crossed in front of his breast as he smirked at the pair letting them get a good look over him, allowing the finer details to set in, his worn clothing, his bright and gentle red eyes framed by an elegant and noble face with his center parted dark purple hair. If either of them where to look closely enough at him they would see a large number of scars across his midriff at the front as well as his bare feet.
It would be clear to both of them that he wasn't surprised to see them here, he had after all heard them from nearby and had come to see who or what was here. He remained silent for a few minutes to let them get comfortable with him while he gave them both a once over with his eyes.
The Human, the taller of the two appeared to Belzera to be a light and agile person, his hair styled in a slightly pompous way of rich humans, everything about the kid seemed human to Belzera, but that wasn't a bad thought to Belzera as he smirked, the kid would be a fast one thats for sure. He even has a Tanto, pointed right at me too, strange weapon for this part of Gaia.
His eyes then turn to the other, the Demon. Belzera could tell straight away that this one was a demon and not of Gaia either and most likely not of his home either but never the less Belzera took in all the details about this one too, he could pass as human easily if it weren't for the small wings. Hmm, strange duo
After he had looked them over Belzera smiles and bows, it was a well manner bow of a noble, as he greets them.
"Greetings to you, Human and fellow Demon. I am the Belzera Adonis Grimoire, I mean you no harm."
It was an honest greeting with no trace of hostility or dishonesty.
Word Count: 459
[howdy this will be a short stay maybe just for the 'night' so to say]
Sirxeko lowed his blade a few centimeters, staring in surprise at the new comer. "So much for it being a woman or child..." He said, disappointed. It wasn't that he was all that confident in his assessment to begin with, he had just hoped that what ever it was that was approaching them would not be a threat. However, it would seem that he had hoped in vain. This creature was definitely an intimidating sight. Sirxeko had considered himself to be a tall man, but this demon was huge. Vale may have tried to hide his heritage, but this creature didn't, this creature couldn't even if it wanted to. Sirxeko's mind began racing with the same questions that always come to his mind when he meets a stranger, the same questions he thought of when he ran into Vale, barely more than an hour before; Who is this? Why are they here? What is the probability of them being hostile? If they do attack can I win? If not than what is my best chance at survival? All of the different possibilities swirled in Sirxeko mind. The new comer introduced himself, Belzera. Well, that answered one of Sirxeko's questions.
Sirxeko hastily came to a conclusion about his situation and lowered his blade. If this demon were hostile than he wouldn't have bothered to introduce himself. Though if he were wrong in that assessment, as he had been about the approaching footsteps, than the resulting fight would require all of Sirxeko's ability, and even then he wasn't sure he could win, and since he hadn't eaten anything (save for the rabbit) in the past few days, fighting was out of the question for the time being. He wasn't sure that he trusted Vale, let alone this new comer, but it was not as if he had any other choice. Breathing in a sigh Sirxeko cautiously returned the demon's greeting. "Good evening, Belzera. I am called Sirxeko, and this is Valedus." Sirxeko gestured to himself and his companion with his right hand, his left still held the sword. Sirxeko may have dropped his defensive stance, but that doesn't mean he was about to drop his defenses entirely.
Belzera smirks as the human introduces them both, still cautious about him as he held the weapon firmly, Belzera was clearly amused by the humans introduction but he held his ground and just smirked before he spoke up.
"Now now, if I wanted to attack you pair we'd already be fighting seeing as I had the advantage of surprise. I, well, these wings upon my back aren't just for show I can actually fly"
He chuckles and flaps the wings once to show them his point
"plus you don't know what to expect from me since you can't see my weapon, yet I've seen both of your weapons, so can we put down the weapons and just relax?"
He chuckles once again as he tilts his head to the side and just watches the human.
"That's rather simple minded, you know." Sirxeko scoffs at his reasoning. "Just because you can see an enemy's weapon doesn't mean you can determine his skill. For all you know I'm some sort of powerful black mage. I'm not, but the point is I could be, and knowing that I what form of weapon I use would not help you to prepare for that. Furthermore," Sirxeko continues, level headed and determined to get his point across. "by mentioning that you possess the ability to fly, you have given away something of yourself. I would assume that you would only mention your flight if it gave you some sort of huge advantage in battle, and while flight is quite handy, it can easily be overcome by an opponent's speed in melee combat. So I have come to the conclusion that you likely are well versed in magic yourself, or that you at least have some form of long range attack that you rely on often. A word of advice, Belzera, an opponents behavior speaks more of their battle style than their weapon does."
Sirxeko finishes coolly. His voice had remained steady the entire time, he was not angry or threatening in his words, he was just speaking fact. He was surprised that an immortal demon with such a wise looking face wouldn't be aware of these basics. Thinking that it must be a ruse, Sirxeko becomes even less trusting of the new comer. However, what choice does he have, he sheathes his sword.
"That being said, I would rather not find out. No, I would much rather know what it is that brings you here. Or better yet, if you happened to know where 'here' was. It would seem that Vale and I are both lost."
Up until now, Vale had been quietly contemplating the possibilities as to why exactly another demon- much more a demon-lord- would be on Gaia. The Lucavi normally stayed on their respective hellish planes of existence, shouting curses and throwing various pointy objects at each other for their entire lives. While Belzera didn't look overly threatening (at least, his posture and the way he talked didn't seem threatening. Aside from that, he was an absolute beast), but he, having grown up in a demon realm himself, knew that it may just have been a ploy to get Sirxeko's and his guard down. Demons rarely needed motivation to kill someone; and being in the middle of nowhere made it all the more convenient should he want to remove the smaller demon's and the human's heads. Vale continued to eye the stranger suspiciously as Sirxeko explained various things that didn't seem to be overly important to Vale (in other words, he ignored Sirxeko entirely). However, he didn't let it show outwardly that he was suspicious in any way.
As a bounty hunter, one of the first things you learn is to make the enemy think that you are either little or no threat to them at all. Vale was especially adept at this, as it was no problem for him to hide his wings and his slight frame kept even the most suspicious of people from thinking he was adept at battle whatsoever. Currently, Vale was slouching with a small, supposedly happy, slight grin on his face. His hand wasn't even remotely near his weapon and he let a contented sigh slip form his lips.
"So- Large, Purple and Scary, why exactly are you here, of all places? Sirxeko and myself are lost... and I'm pretty sure the only way we could find this place would be to be lost in the first place..." He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "... Ehh.... I just confused myself a little. Anyway- if you're planning to stay with us, I should hunt down another few rabbits. I would like to hear why exactly you're wandering the Galbadian wilderness- but I suppose that can wait for after dinner- especially since Sirxeko here seems to still be famished."[/color]
He sighs and drops his head slightly in disappointment, he thought at least one of his own would understand he had no intention of fighting them after all there wasn't any point and for a moment he clentches his fists tightly and looks back upto the too of them and then shrugs relaxing before smiling faintly.
"Frankly, human I have a good number of tricks up my sleeves so letting you know I can fly isn't a big one seeing as most people would take that for a given but anyway we can discuss that further in a bit"
He then raises his palm upto Vale and shakes his head slightly
"Thanks for the offer but I already have food and unlike you I DO know where I am, I've been through here once or twice and I think I can tell you your about two days walk from the capital of Galbadia, Deling City"
Belzera then smiles and sits down and looks up at the two of them slightly and unrolls a large paper map of what you first don't recognise as Gaia but after looking at it you could see it was gaia but for some reason there was another continent on it that weren't on yours and the map itself was covered in notes and comments, afew of which were completely outlandish. Belzera however pointed to a large forest near Deling City before speaking.
"We are right here and as to where I am going? Deling City, I have some one to talk to that's there"
He said with a smile as he rolls the map up again, his body gives a heavy and negative feeling as he thought of the past... of that tragic event commented by one sorceress now long dead. Is she even alive in this world? Does Morona even exist here? He recovers and looks up at the pair while leaning leaning back onto his arms which are now resting behind his back his wings spread out wide with their impressive 16 foot span stretched out behind him.
"Now anything else you want to know or does the Human want to continue that conversation where he mistakes me for being a long range fighter?"
He seems to grin widely in amusement of that idea while he looks to Sirxeko before breaking out into a yawn.
Sirxeko was not convinced by his words. If he thought that his flight would be a given, then why'd he bother mentioning it? Surely he was proud of that particular ability, otherwise he wouldn't have made a point of telling them about it. Sirxeko shook these thoughts from his head, chalking up Belzera's odd behavior as part of his Demon nature. Sirxeko had no desire to carry on with this conversation.
He instead focused his mind on Belzera's explanation of where they were. Galbadia. "Well," Sirxeko said, "I'm on the right continent at least." He looked to where Belzera had said that they were. A large forested just a little way from Deling City. Great, that's just perfect. He was on the right continent, sure, but there was a wide mountain range between where he was, and where he was headed. It would be impossible to get there from here on foot, a car likely wouldn't make it through those mountains either. And there weren't any docks down there either. He sighed. How does any one get to that small town? They had almost no contact with the outside world, and the only way to get there is to fly. And how was he supposed to do that? He glanced at Belzera, and almost burst out laughing. That wasn't going to happen. And if he recalled, there wasn't an airbase in Deling City. He had not a clue what to do next, but one thing seemed certain; he had to get to some civilization to restock his supplies, and judging from the hardtack, Vale was in a similar situation. "Thank you for the information. I suppose I will be heading toward Deling myself soon. Now, is there anything else that you wanted from us? You must have had some reason for revealing yourself for us."
Belzera lets out an audible sigh as the human decides to head to Deling City, a place now under control of the Sorceress and it didn't seem like thee two knew about what had transpired revently, he then lies back and lets out another sigh before he closes his eyes letting his thoughts run free in his mind.
"Aye, to tell you that Deling City is a deathtrap and that you should avoid it even if your 100% confident in your abilities, Deling was murdered a week ago and the Sorceress took control of the Galbadian Military and this one seems to be pretty powerful."
He brought his hand upto his face and rubs his forehead with one hand before he opens one eye and looks to the strange pair where standing and with a serious expression he speaks to them.
"You'd be better off heading to Dollet, Winhill or maybe risking Timber but it'd be better to avoid Deling altogether"
His words were firm and heavy, just like his expression making it completely clear that he was completely serious with this warning to the pair.
"I need to go there but you two only need supplies right?"
Vale furrowed his brow at the news of an uprising in Deling. While it didn't necessarily spell trouble to the demon boy- it would keep him from finishing his bounty- which meant he might as well ditch it while he was still ahead.
"Wonderful news, I just love it when things get ruined like this..." He sighed and sat down on a stump, thinking.
"Well, if that's the case, I'll go as far as your next stop, Sirxeko. I'll resupply and head somewhere nice for a bit of vacation and recreation time. I hear Spira is a nice place to visit this time of year..."
Winhill. That was where Sirxeko was going, that was his ultimate goal. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he had any purpose to go there, there was nothing waiting for him but bad memories. But at the same time, he had no desire to go anywhere else either. He was completely lost, so he decided to do the first thing that came to his mind. That is how he started his trek to his former home. And several times along the way he had questioned his intentions, questioned whether he really wanted to be reminded of it all. These thoughts come returning to his head, where they swim around for a while and then eventually subside, only to come up again a few days later, the issue never truly being resolved. And so he continued a journey that he wasn't even sure he wanted to be on. Now that he was faced with this dilemma, he began to question it again. He stood in silence for a while, mulling it over, and once again he did not come to a definitive answer.
He sighed. For now he would continue his quest then. But the only way to get to Winhill was by air. Galbadia was in a sort of technological rat race, a science war, if you will, with Midgar, but even so, air travel was it's weak point. Sure, the Galbadian military and the Garden had access to personal flight modulators, jet packs, but Sirxeko doubted that they could last the distance he needed them to, and besides, he didn't much care for such unreliable forms of travel. That would mean he would have to go to the nearest Airbase. The nearest Airbase, or at least the nearest that Sirxeko was aware of, was in Midgar. And the only way to get to Midgar from Galbadia was by sea.
Sirxeko searched his memory of the map Belzera had shown them just a few moments before. Sirxeko had only got a glimpse of the map, but he was fairly certain that the nearest coastal city would be either Timber or Dollet. As it were, Sirxeko would normally have chosen to go to Timber, it was a more exciting place, and it was home to an absolutely huge train station, which had several trans-continental trains. Sirxeko was certain that he would question himself again once he was there, and if that were the case, he would prefer to have the option to leave in any direction he wanted, rather than be stuck in Galbadia forever, on a quest he doesn't want to take.
However, despite Timber being his obvious preference, it is full of resistance movements, organizations and people who are opposed to the brutal way the Galbadian government did things, and if it were true that there had been a coup, and that the new leader of Galbadia was a Sorceress no less, than the resistance groups would certainly be on the move. And if that were true, than the military would be too. It's not that Sirxeko had any reason to fear the military, he just would rather avoid the hassle. Indeed, Sirxeko was a righteous man, and he hated the way that this country was run. He thought it was ethically corrupt and would have no part in any government mandated activity. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself, and so far had avoided all trouble with the military, and he had intended to keep it that way.
So he turned his mind instead on the other near by coastal city; Dollet. Dollet was located a bit further north, surrounded by cliffs, with the only entrance being either by the sea or by a narrow valley in the cliffs. It would be a long journey, and Sirxeko had run completely out rations. But Vale had said that he would travel with Sirxeko as far as his next stop, and remembering the rabbits, Sirxeko figured that with Vale traveling with him he would be unlikely to starve and the two of them would probably reach Dollet within a week without any major incidents. What he would do once he got there would be decided later.
"Very well." He finally spoke. "Since Deling is out of the question, I suppose we will head toward Dollet. We will leave in the morning." He then turns to Belzera. "Which means that tomorrow morning is when we will be parting ways." He thought for a moment. "However, in the meantime, could I see you map again. I would rather not get lost again, and it would seem that my own map is somewhat...oh, what's the word?...Oh right, useless." He says sarcastically, in a crude attempt at humor. "Seriously though, I would like to study your map and try to memorize as much of it as possible before we part ways." He asked. He was eager now. He was still unsure of why he was going where it was he was going, but he at least knew what he needed to do to get there.
Belzera smiles at the two as they both decide to avoid Deling, the smart move for the two he thought as he didn't know anything about this sorceress at all but this Gaia wasn't the old gaia after all so there were bound to be changes but he didn't expect such a big one... Sorceresses where major powers and Edea had been one of them for a short while, but then again Belzera was pretty sure there should only be one at a time on Gaia.
"Aye tomorrow we depart ways, but my Map is a private thing, I spent years working on it from a simple map like yours to what you glimps at and frankly it might become just as useless as your is in time"
And it was the truth, this map he had acquired from Zozo shortly after his arrival on the old Gaia and he had worked on it throughout his years on Gaia, adding notes and memo's to himself upon it so it was a relic from the old world and it was also a very important item to the Demon now. Upon it where marked gravesites of powerful and respected foes and sites of important battles including the battle at Contego where the city fell to him and the army at his command, but that was history now and those things only existed in his memories and upon the map he carried.
"Its not going to be hard to find your way to Dollet though, just find the road from Deling and wander away from Deling along that road and you should eventually get to Dollet, its not hard"
Belzera then raises his hand to his mouth and covers a yawn before he pulls himself onto his feet and then hops up, flapping his wings down once creating a powerful blast of wind that lifts him up to the tree branches, his hand grabs one and he swings himself around and onto the thick branch and sits agianst the trunk and crosses his arms and looks down at the pair with a smile and nods his head to them both before yawning once more, covering it with his hand once again.
"Well I'm going to turn in, so unless you want anything else I'm going to sleep"
Belzera looks at the two silently waiting for their responses before he would turn in for the warm Galbadian night.
"Hmm... well, can you sketch us some sort of miniature map off of yours so we don't end up in the middle of nowhere again? I don't know about Sirxeko, but I prefer the city to all of this outdoorsy crap." He yawned loudly and frowned at the larger demon- still not overly trusting of the thing. However, his frown could be interpreted simply as Vale being upset about not seeing Belzera's map. He walked over to his small tent and unrolled his bedroll. Stepping back out- he waved a hand towards the tent and looked at Sirxeko.
"You can sleep in my tent tonight. I'm going to be hunting for supplies for awhile tonight, seeing as we're going to be traveling together for a bit. I don't really need to sleep anyway- I slept in today... sooooooo yeah. Just don't dig through my pack." With that, he left the campsite in search of anything that could be stuffed into a pack and eaten at some point.
While walking through the woods Vale mulled over tonights events again and again. He had never seen another Lucavi throughout his entire stay in the world of Gaia- and now, out of the blue, a Lucavi GENERAL, of all things, popped up out of the middle of nowhere and asked to spend the night with him and Sirxeko.
Sirxeko... he was another issue. He obviously had problems of his own- but he most likely would get lost again or die of starvation without Vale around. As much as he'd liked to have simply been on his way, Vale wasn't the type to leave a man to his death- he had already begun to feel the ties of a friendship beginning to form- even after these short hours. Though, it did seem pretty odd to the young Lucavi that a grown man like Sirxeko couldn't keep an eye on himself. What troubled him more, however, was the fact that he seemed to have no idea where he was headed, even though he had been pointed in the right direction. He had mentioned about not knowing what he was looking for- and he never explained why he was looking for something that he himself didn't seem to know a thing about.
Vale furrowed his brow and pulled some wild onions from the ground at his feet, stowing them in his pack. Thinking things through too much always seemed to give him a headache. It would be best for him to focus on scouting out food than for him to worry about things that did not apply to him. After all, he couldn't really help his new "friend" look for something when his "friend" didn't know what that something was.
A bush rustled next to him and he threw his sword at it. A tiny, gurgling squak sounded from it and a quail flopped out from the shrubbery with Vale's short blade in it's side. The demon frowned and immediately broke the thing's neck, hating the fact that he had caused it to suffer before it died. He located a nearby stream and cleaned the blood from the bird before stowing it in his pack and trudging back to camp.
Sirxeko frowned. It seemed to Sirxeko that the young Lucavi thought that he was incapable of taking care of himself. This wasn't entirely off the mark, Sirxeko never was an outdoorsy type, and he before he set on this quest he lived a life of luxioury... but that was a different life entirely.
He pushed back the painful memories and watched the boy stalk off into the forest, leaving him alone with the large demon. Sirxeko looked up at the now sleeping giant. He looked like nothing more than a mass of darkness in the night, shifting its shape in the flickering light of the dying fire. He didn't trust that mass of black, but he knew that his mistrust had nothing to do with his race or how large and intimidating he was or any of that. No, he simply wasn't a trusting person, and that's all there was to it. It was another personality trait that he picked up in his past life.
He sighed, kicked some dirt into the fire, snuffing out the weakening embers, and crawled into the tent. He lay back on the floor of the tent, leaving the bedroll for Vale (it was his, after all) and lay there for several hours. His thoughts wondered, back to his previous life, and how unexpainably happy he was. And he remembered how that all changed. He remembered the broken glass and the torn curtains and the splintered wood and the empty beds...
He didn't remember falling asleep, but when he awoke he saw Vale snoozing quietly at the other end of the tent, his pack filled with an assortment of small dead animals and fresh plants. Sirxeko ignored the food and crawled out of the tent. Judging from the color in the sky it was just before sunrise. It was still early by Sirxeko's standards. Belzera still lay sprawled on his tree borough, his purple skin matching the pre-dawn sky perfectly. Sirxeko looked around, unsure whether he should make a fire or not. He figured that they would be off as soon as Vale was awake, so he decided against it. He sat at the base of a nearby tree, opposite of Belzera's tree, and waited for the demons to awaken.
Word Count- 383 Total-4205 ((Sorry this one's a little short, but everyone's asleep, what else could I write?))
The dream, it was always the same dream that filled his nights now, it wasn't a horrible dream and not one founded like many dreams, in memories, but they seemed to be more like a blight that gaia had cursed him with ever since he had stepped back onto this rock, it was as if all of the malice of those that did not survive was born upon him in some kind of retribution. The dream was a simple one.
Belzera opens his eyes and scans the area around him, once more he found himself in the blood soaked streets of Contego. He didn't blink at the sight or recoil but sighed and took one step forward.
"Please sa-"
Belzera didn't even blink as he called his blade to his side and ran the dark blade through the womans throat mercilessly before lifting her corpse up and flinging her away with little effort sending the body into the wall with a heavy thud, the same pattern, every time that same woman would beg for him to spare her and every time Belzera would do the same. There was no point in doing anything else and even if he had tried the pleas would just continue and slowly become twisted. Belzera steps forward once more and the scene shifts around him, now in the depths of the Northern Crater, surrounded by 12 people all baring arms to wards him.
"Surrender Demon! you don't stand a chance now"
A familiar voice echo's behind him, a voice of a THING that in Belzera's eyes was less than an Ant, a fool by the name of Sly Tribal, supposed son of the Alexandria Princess and a wave of disgust flowed through Belzera as he looked around him at those that surrounded him, only Sly ever remained the same, the other eleven shifted and changed each time, tonight he was graced with some unique faces.
"Please don't make us do this Belzera, we need everyone to work together"
The voice of reason at one time or another, Ex-Summoner Yuna who stood proud and firm with her two pistols aimed right for his heart. Behind her stood an old face a tall Genome known as Kojira tribal, he stood silently with his sword ready, his eyes shifted to the next pair a new pair for his dream. Stood side by side where Zero and Adionia the undead and cruel rulers of Spira they stood ready to fight but there was an unfitting expression upon their usually cruel and determined faces, sadness.
"Heh, scared Demon? How many times have we crossed blades now?"
A cocky voice of a halfling demon who stood sword pointed to wards him with an ever fixed grin upon his disgusting face, Celt a strong long time rival and enemy of Belzera's now long gone even his dream couldn't produce the arrogance that the real thing had. Belzera sighed and turned to look at the other that would grace him this dream.
Belzera's eyes grew wide for a moment as a trio of woman, he knew personally all stood together and in front of him their weapons raised, Belzera's head drops and he mutters.
"so them this time... fine"
A firm conviction filled his voice and he looked up at the three most important people in his life stood in front of him with guns, staff and fans readied these where the three woman that he had brought to Gaia, Lilith, Joan and Jasmine all of which had been his servants in the netherworld, his eyes then moved to look at the last few that surrounded him, the rough looking Tzigone graced the demon with his presence yet without his dragon and stood closely on his left and right where his allies Cloud and Ark both who had shared a long and sordid past with both the Demon and Tzigone.
All of these people once thought of Belzera as an ally and all had worked with him in many events and all had placed trust into their image of Belzera, but this didn't matter to Belzera. He was who he was and even in a dream he wasn't going to betray himself he summons his blade once more to his hand and readies himself.
"Please surrende-"
The Scene changes once more and he now finds himself standing on top of an airship with dead bodies littered around him and once fatally wounded man knelt in front of him, belzera looks around at the dead, listing them all mentally.
And then he looked to the one knelt in front of him, reaching out his hand he pulled the man up by his hair revealing the smirking face of Sly Tribal.
"Come on Demon finish me already, I know what awaits you"
The Demon sighed, of course, he lifted Sly off of his feet and then turned around carrying the wounded man to the edge of the airship before he hangs the man over the edge and looks down at the clouds below them
"It's always you isn't, no matter where I go I always encounter you, no matter what I do your always there, the fool who doesn't deserve the life he was given"
Belzera sighs and then releases the prince into the air and watches him fall as the dream ends.
Belzera eyes open to see the ground coming to meet him and a split second later his face shares a rather painful moment with the earth as he had rolled off of the branch and woken in mid fall without any time to actually recover. Belzera rolls over and grabs his painful nose looking up at the dawn sky, a beautiful sight. Belzera sighs a melancholy sigh and speaks out not noticing the human.
"Why can't I have a different dream, or at least wake up after seeing that hybrid hit the ground"
He then rolls onto his side to wards the Human, and as the realization hits him his eyes widen for a second before he shrugs to himself and he forces himself to sit up and greet the man calmly.
