The Force of Reality [Firion/Leon]

[Maria]

The task at hand wasn’t difficult at all, but sometimes Maria wondered why she was expected to do some of the things she had been asked. Not that she minded lending a hand to the Wild Rose rebellion, she loved giving out a helping hand, but in the end it was just a lot of effort. But hey, at least she wasn’t going by herself. This task involved not only herself, but as well as her brother Leon and Firion. Things were starting to look a little better for Leon these days, even if just a little bit better, it was better than nothing, wasn’t it? Now they could go do things together, even though this didn’t exactly sound like the funnest thing ever, it was still a chance to talk and be together. She’d been overjoyed to get the task initially, being able to take her two favorite people in the entire world with her, it was much better than being separated from her friends and going about things all alone, for once, Maria was content.

“I think we’re almost there, they said it wasn’t too far out so keep your eyes open, we don’t want to pass it.” Maria informed over her shoulder as she had a few leading steps ahead of the guys. The mission they were to be completing involved taking a look at a few odd looking figures, formations or whatever it was. A few scouts from the Wild Rose Rebellion had come across them and thus sending Maria, Leon and Firion out here was a good idea. They could easily be proclaimed as heroes as it was, so who better to send? So long as it didn’t have something to do with Emperor Mateus then all was well, right? Maria didn’t think anything bad would come out of this mission, she simply assumed that the scouts had been just a bit weary by these things out here a few good miles outside of Fynn. It was just out of curiosity, right? Just to make sure nothing bad COULD come of these things out here, whatever it was that had gotten the attention of the Rebellion in the first place.

Trailing along and keeping her eyes open, Maria wasn’t seeing much of anything aside from the path ahead and the grassy fields that surrounded them, it seemed as if there was nothing else in the area to look at aside from a few wild flowers and grass, oh well, the chance to be with both Firion and Leon was one in a million, she needed to make the most of it. Whipping around and placing her hands on her hips sharply, she started walking backwards, careful to lift her feet completely with each step so she didn’t catch her heal on the ground and fall backwards. “You two keep getting slower I swear! We’ll never make it out there at this rate.” She joked in a pretty pleasant tone as she sighed quietly to herself, still walking backwards and slowing her own pace so that she wasn’t getting too far ahead of the other two. “Any idea what it is we’re supposed to be looking for? I mean…I get the gist, it’s something out of the ordinary, but do you think it’ll be…dangerous?” she asked with an eyebrow raised. Of course danger was nothing new to any of them, having gone to extreme lengths to defeat the Emperor…this seemed like a leisurely stroll.

At least Maria still had her bow around her body and her quiver strapped to her side, fully loaded and ready to fire off arrows should she need to. Turning back around and putting a bit of a skip in her step, Maria continued to lead the way, her eyes constantly looking for something out of the ordinary. In the distance, violet eyes caught sight of something way out of the ordinary, which definitely sent up a red flag in the archer’s mind. They seemed to be different looking creatures and nothing nature-made. Extending an arm out, Maria pointed towards the forms before taking quicker steps that eventually turned into a run. “This way! Keep up slow pokes!”

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Words:[/color] 813
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Firion, Leon
Wearing:[/color] Her usual
Listening To:[/color] Wake me up when september ends: Green Day
Notes:[/color] The two fal'cie, imagine the twins from Transformers ;D

[Leonhart]

Why exactly was he here?

Leon had turned down Queen Hilda's offer to join the ranks when he had last seen her. So why now, was he helping out in the same area? It was no longer the Wild Rose Rebellion, no, now there was more organization in the union of the kingdoms, but...well, he wasn't sure why now he had come back. That man, the Warrior of Light...he had helped Leon combat the darkness that resided deep within him, but, would it remain for good? That same question tortured him now. Every moment, especially that he was around his sister, Leon was constantly asking himself that same question. Would this last? Would he ever be able to completely relax around his little sister? He wanted desperately to be the man he had been before Palamecia had overtaken Fynn.

But looking back would do no good for the present. Leon strided purposefully, yet, hesitantly, staying back and behind his sister. Really, he was trying to keep a watchful eye on her, but this being one of the first times he had seen her since the Warrior had helped him obtain freedom-...well, he didn't know why he was hesitant, but he was. And if he talked to Firion, he was afraid that the man would go off on some rant about roses. So there he was, just trying to keep to himself as much as possible, and still wondering all this time, over and over again in his head. Was this going to last forever? How could these two have so much goodness in their heart, to welcome him back with open arms, despite what he had done? Was it even worth thinking about? They were welcoming, and he needed to take advantage of that. Cherish the good times, and don't worry so much about the future. It was good in theory, but hard to follow, that advice was.

The voice of his sister, so familiar to him, raised him from his deep thoughts. It also caused the side of his lips to turn up into a half smile. Listening to Maria tell them, two grown warriors, to keep watch was amusing to say the least. Leon was sure that Firion wouldn't have to be told to keep on guard, - unless a very beautiful woman came into the picture - and he himself-...well, unless an Emperor raised himself from the grave, -which was, unfortunately, altogether too possible - then Leon figured that he could handle anything else that came his way. The three of them, fighting together again. Just like old times. As was her telling them that they were slow pokes.

Raising his brow, Leon turned his deep blue eyes, slight amusement in their depths, toward his adopted brother. "She needs to start looking where she's going and stop worrying about us." At any moment Leon was waiting for her to trip over something and land on her butt. It had happened before, so this wouldn't be the first time. To answer her question, Leon simply picked up his pace slightly, eyes scanning the fields around them. Everything seemed quiet, but he knew how quickly peaceful situations could turn into struggles for survival. "Anything out of the ordinary is usually dangerous, if only to ones mental state," he said offhandedly, glancing behind them. People feared what they did not know, the unknown was a place of darkness, where people tended to overreact, even if there was no danger.

And then Maria was sprinting off. Always zealous to go and try to get herself killed. Leon's eyes lifted to see what she had been pointing at, focusing immediately on the forms far off. Whatever they were, - and he couldn't see well enough to know for certain - Leon didn't want his sister to deal with them alone. And so his own strength lengthened until he was running to catch up to her, taking long strides to catch up. She was a shortie, couldn't get too far. The closer they got, the more Leon felt like coming here was the wrong thing to do, at least with Maria in their group. Firion he wasn't so worried for. Slowing his pace slightly, Leon unsheathed his sword, staring at the figures, only lightly panting. "Maria, don't get too close," he warningly shot out, stepping out to circle around them slightly, unsure of exactly what the forms were.

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Words:; 938
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Firion and MARIAAAAAAA
Location:; Random area? XD
Outfit:; Clickeh!
Notes:; --
Listening To:;[/color] Somebody told me - The Killers

[Firion]

Queen Hilda really did think highly of them these days, didn't she?

Firion had expected that with the war's end, he, Maria, Guy and Leon would all sort of fade into anonymity again and have their lives return to a more normal state. They had, to a certain point - they were rebuilding their home and Leon had returned to them with a clearer head. The Wild Roses had taken full control of the governance of Fynn and now had even annexed Palamecia, so there wasn't anything else the monarchy would need a group of young warriors to deal with, correct? Partially. They hadn't sent word from them to go out and fight another war, at least, but they did want them to check out a situation some scouts had come across a short distance outside of Fynn. The scouts had apparently caught site of two pretty good-sized entities making a ruckus. They didn't seem to be threatening yet, but they weren't able to inspect their findings more closely without the proper equipment. Thus, Firion and his friends, the new professionals on good-sized entities, were sent a messenger and asked to take a look at it in the name of the crown.

It hadn't taken much to convince them. With as hectic as rebuilding had been lately, all of them having a stroll out to check on something that might not be an issue at all seemed to be a welcome respite. So Firion, along with Maria and Leon, had fitted on his armor yet again, grabbed his small arsenal, and set off to investigate. Though it was mildly disappointing that Guy had left the day before to buy some supplies from a neighboring city and still wouldn't be back for several hours, Firion was still immensely glad that Leon had returned and they could all sort of be their old selves again. It was the usual deal as the trudged on through the woods. Maria kept warning them to watch out for danger when she knew good and well that they would be watching out, probably more than she would be. Firion would point things out to her, occasionally, and make comments to Leon about combat tactics or trying certain things with weapons. Leon would be Leon. Firion could tell he was much better off these days, but he still seemed a little hesitant to get fully back into the groove of things. Firion glanced at him as they walked along, Maria having eagerly darted ahead of them. He'd get back into the swing of things soon enough, Firion was sure of it.

And now Maria was up there ahead of them taunting...and walking backwards of all things. Her talents were...many? Firion grinned at Leon's comments, but gave a serious nod in response. Maria did need to look where she was going... In the past, it might have led to Firion standing there and laughing a little with Leon to have Maria get tripped up while trying to poke fun at them both before heading over to help her up. Recently, though - ever since Firion had become well aware during the war of what he could lose - he was pretty sure any falling she did would have him worried and scrambling to help her back up. Nowadays, she was less a sister to rag on like Leon would and more...woman. This...was something Firion needed to talk with Leon about, once his "brother" had a little more time to get back accustomed to the more mundane life. Of course, his worries about Maria didn't mean Firion couldn't playfully poke back at her. "Well, we are the ones wearing heavy armor while you-" Firion stopped short. Ah, comments on Maria's attire could go to an...awkward point. And Leon was here and...no. Firion would not be adding to his points. "-aren't," he concluded, looking off to the side and making sure his eyes didn't meet with Leon's nor with anything about Maria.

Right, now to continue on while pretending there had been no awkwardness. The subject of what exactly it was they were looking for was as good of a start as any. Glancing between the two siblings as they spoke, Firion added to the conversation. "The scouts didn't have any armor and no weapons aside from daggers, so they probably didn't want to take their chances. We're the ones that need to find out if what they found was dangerous, I'd guess," he said, putting a hand on his sheathed sword as he did. His tone lightened under force of a small smile. "When they have a problem and no one else can help, they come find us. We're half the age of most of their troops..." They weren't exactly experienced warriors to this day, by any means, no matter how much fighting they'd seen during the war. But then, Queen Hilda wasn't very old either. She probably didn't care what age they were, after they'd helped lead the Rebellion's main charge.

Firion was already getting highly suspicious that they were nearing the subjects they were searching for, and Maria's sudden reaction and words told him that he'd been right. And she was off, like a flash. Firion's eyes widened. "Maria...", he said, worriedly, as he took off alongside Leon to catch up with her and making a few easy hops over obstacles to make sure he wasn't slowed. About the time he caught up with her, he could see the forms up ahead, as well. Something moving...something mechanical, but that was all he could tell about them. Firion slowed his pace, coming up to put a hand on Maria's shoulder and leading her down to reinforce the point he was about to make. "We should stay low and quiet so we can get as close as we can," he said, only loud enough for both of them to hear, as he moved to follow his own advice and fan out in the opposite direction as Leon, keeping himself with a hand to the ground.

Once he was just far enough that Maria was at a short distance and Leon almost directly opposite him, Firion came to a stop behind a small rock outcropping that marked the beginning of someone's land. The...things were just over a slight hill in the land, making it so Firion still couldn't get the greatest look at them. They were big, though, and they...were...were they speaking to each other? With a confused look on his face, he looked over to Maria, mouthing the same question.

This was odd.

Words - 1171
Muse - Excellent!
Outfit - Armor
Notes - Rawr.[/size]

[Maria]

What was wrong in poking a little fun? Nothing, absolutely nothing. After all, they were kind of being on the slower side. Maria was far too eager to get out into the fields again and see what was up, not that she liked throwing herself into danger, in fact she didn’t mind some of the quieter days, but with as quiet as things had been lately, this was the only burst of excitement that had risen up in her life for quite some time. Walking backwards though, she took careful steps to make sure she wouldn’t fall backwards and end up embarrassing herself as she advised them to keep their eyes open and be aware. They were all warriors of a sort, even Maria herself, so it was simply a friendly reminder, nothing more than that. Shooting a glance at Leon when he spoke, then to Firion, Maria rolled her eyes slightly. “Who needs heavy armor? Maybe that’s what’s making you two so slow.” She grinned as the light playful taunting continued, it was all in good fun, that’s all.

Whatever it was they were looking for, no one had said it was dangerous. Something out of the ordinary didn’t mean it was necessarily dangerous, did it? Maria didn’t think so, in fact some of the most unique things became treasured. Maybe it was just because something like this had never been seen before, whatever it was. Turning around to face the right direction, Maria kept a swift pace, her violet eyes searching the fields that lay around the path they were taking. So far she’d seen grass, a few formations and a few stray trees, but nothing out of the ordinary. “Well, I guess that means we’re definitely worth something these days.” She sighed, but without adding that stressful or frustrated sort of tone to the sigh, she was just…kind of pleased with herself lately. Leon was here and not running away like before, Firion was here and everything just kind of seemed to be fitting in the right places, as if there were no problems. Despite the fact that they were out here searching for something that could potentially be dangerous, Maria was quite content.

Seeing the formations in the distance, Maria had set off down the path, only to get a better look, she was no fool to try and get into the middle of things and get herself killed, she was far smarter than that. Seeing the rock formation just ahead, something they could duck behind, Maria had let her pace slow up a little bit, with shorter legs than both men behind her, she had been caught in a short amount of time, a hand on her shoulder which ultimately told her to stop moving, and she did, she stopped abruptly and huffed a few short breaths from the tiny run she’d done, but really, she just wanted to get a closer look, curiosity killed the cat you know. After Firion spoke, Maria kept relatively quiet and crouched low to the ground, moving, nearly trailing behind Firion before taking a few steps away to distance herself and have some room to gaze over the rock formation. Keeping low though, she peered over the stone, looking at the mechanical things that seemed to be speaking…it was far too weird to understand, but…this was surely the thing they were looking for, there was no doubt about that.

Taking a glace towards Firion, Maria gave a small shrug as well as a confused look on her face. Never before had she seen something like this, and from the looks of them, they could be dangerous, but she wasn’t sure what they were capable of. Whatever they were, she wasn’t too keen on trying to fight them, still, they were asked to come out here and figure things out, should that mean that they had to fight these two things – whatever sort of weird objects they were – they’d do it. With a low whisper, loud enough to reach the ears of anyone really listening, Maria spoke. “They seem to be…arguing, by the sounds of it. But I can’t hear much of what they’re saying. Do we want to try and get a closer look?” Maria wasn’t sure whether they wanted to get closer, if this was a potential threat a fight was going to occur, and that’s when one of her hands absentmindedly went to her quiver and gripped the bottom of an arrow, her fingers crushing at the feathers of the end. She was going to leave the decision to the men now, instead of charging in like a crazy person, no need to get herself killed by doing something stupid.

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Words:[/color] 881
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Leon, Firion
Wearing:[/color] Her usual
Listening To:[/color] Stuff!
Notes:[/color] nothing?

[Leonhart]

Leon knowingly glanced over at Firion when he mentioned Maria’s ‘light armor’, and almost snorted at it. ‘Light armor’ alright…just about the lightest you could have and not be standing at some street corner. He really wasn’t the biggest fan of her choice of clothing. Wasn’t a fan at all. Honestly, he had tried on more than one occasion to try and get her to change into something a bit more decent. She had, unfortunately, disobeyed at every turn, commenting that what she was already wearing was just fine and dandy. He didn’t feel the same way, but that couldn’t really be avoided. So he would just have to try and stomach her choice of dress…or he could keep trying to get her to change into something more decent. Subtle. He would do so subtly. And eventually he would have his way! He was sure of it. “Yeah…light armor,” he finally came out with, eying at Firion again. Of course even Firion was going to notice her attire. Not that he could blame his friend, after all, Maria sure wasn’t hiding her assets, and Firion was…well, he didn’t do so well in the whole ‘resisting beautiful women’ category. So that was just a nesting ground for disaster in his mind. What was he going to do about having a beautiful sister? Worry himself to death probably.

Soon the conversation switched gears however. Leon made no comment after Firion spoke of the scouts and the danger that they had been sent to investigate. It was true, they were half the age of the more ‘experienced’ soldiers. Years, however, did not give someone the same advantage in fighting as actual battles did. While those men had been sitting on their hind ends discussing strategy for half their lives, they had actually been fighting battles. ’Even against each other.’, he thought sadly. There were plenty of moments in his life he wished to forget, to be able to forget, and that was one of those times. Attacking his own sister was nothing that he was proud of, and he had done it multiple times now. How she could stand there so nonchalantly with him around, he would never know. But…perhaps he had managed to battle down his demons. There had been plenty there, but Leon thought he had managed to contain them. Light thoughts…wasn’t that what the Warrior of Light had told him? Corny. That had been his original thoughts on the subject, but it actually worked. Interesting…

And of course, there went Maria, running off without warning. Leon lightly groaned aloud. Couldn’t she contain herself for even a moment? Taking off after her, Leon tried to keep himself hidden as much as possible, while avoiding the obstacles and keeping up with his sister as well. Of course she would run off. Thankfully, Firion backed his comment for her not to get too close. If she could just listen to them for once, that would be amazing. And miracles seemed to happen still, as she actually stopped running like a crazed woman and settled into the hunt. They didn’t even know what they were dealing with here, they had to be stealthy if they were going to make it in and see if they could take these things on. Glancing at Firion fanning out, Leon immediately set out for the opposite side, crouching down and keeping behind cover as much as possible, his sword remaining in its sheath. No reason to bring it out yet.

When he got settled opposite of Firion and Maria, Leon glanced over to make sure they were all set. They seemed to be doing good, and so Leon decided he would get closer. Remaining practically level with the ground, he advanced in the same fashion as a hunter stalking his prey. In a way, that was what he was doing. Closer…closer…what even were these things? “You should be able to tell, ya know, that this is my land! Who do you think you are anyway? Trying to infringe on my territory! Clearly, the rocks show what’s mine, and what’s yours. And you are clearly trying to take what is rightfully mine! So get your rusty ass self back to your own territory!", came the grumpy voice. Blinking, Leon simply stared at the…objects that seemed to be talking. He had no idea what to make of it, and so he simply crouched behind the rocks he was hiding by, peering over at them in confusion.

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Words:; 947
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Firion/Maria
Location:; Wilderness somewhere
Outfit:; That one I linked!
Notes:; The delay D8
Listening To:;[/color] --

[Firion]

Firion knew his mind was trying to say "Maria certainly does not need heavy armor", but he kept the thought from going to his mouth, especially considering Leon's quiet comment that kept Firion's gaze elsewhere. Suddenly, the landscape in the distance became of high interest. Firion supposed the cat was out of the bag in that he didn't exactly see Maria in a...sisterly way anymore. They'd been through a lot during the war, and Firion supposed multiple near-death experiences revealed things that otherwise wouldn't have been revealed if life had gone on peacefully. Of course, Leon hadn't been there for any of their experiences in the war, so he hadn't really had the chance to...adjust to Firion's new outlook on the knight's sister. Heck, Firion hadn't even had a chance to adjust to it, for that matter. Everything had settled down so suddenly, it was kind of coming as a surprise to him, as well. Still...he guessed a day like today was not a good one for covering a subject like that. They had a job to do...and so Firion wisely kept his mouth shut until he could find a chance to shift the subject matter. He thought he did a fairly good job of doing so.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to add to what he himself had said about the scouts and about their current respect within the White Rose monarchy, so they lapsed into silence again. Their silences weren't particularly uneasy, but for some reason, Firion could always feel words on his tongue and others that needed to be said. No one was really wanting to say them, though. He wasn't sure if it was because Leon had been away for so long, or Firion's new, uh...perspective on Maria or anything of the sort, but whatever the case, it was noticeable, though not really uncomfortable, strangely enough.

It was not a long time before Maria had put good use to her eyes and found the suspicious forms nearby, however, and with that they all immediately shifted gears, becoming the warriors that the war had created as an alter ego for each of them. Before long, they were all in very wise positions without even having to say much to each other. Firion would have noticed how sharp they'd become if he hadn't been so confused about the odd forms looming nearby and the communication going on between them. Okay, Firion had been fully expecting two monsters who would, at most, grunt aggressively at each other. But these two monsters...or whatever they were....they were clearly communicating. Firion, however, was having a difficult time making out their words. After straining a few seconds from his position to listen without emerging from his cover, he shook his head to Maria and moved a bit more towards her, listening to her words.

He nodded to her, his eyebrows narrowed. "We can't judge what it is we're dealing with from here," he whispered back, before poking his head up to try and spot Leon. The other man was barely visible, but Firion could see he was making good progress in getting close to the- entities. "Leon's almost on them..." If Leon could get close enough, Firion supposed he and Maria had a good chance to do the same. He looked for the blind spot behind one of the oddly humanoid forms that were having their argument, noticing a slight trench in the landscape they could likely stay behind and remain unnoticed....likely being the key word.

Firion met eyes with Maria and turned to point out the little trench before starting for it, easing his way around his cover and finally, lying prone on the ground so the trench could keep them concealed. Maria would have a much easier time with this than he would...he had to make sure he didn't go scraping weapons awkwardly against the ground. Shifting his sword sheath as he rested on his elbows, he started easing his way along, some of the words starting to become evident to him as he did so. he couldn't check for Maria behind him, but he figured she was hearing the same. "I saw you move the rocks! You came out here at dawn and shifted my rock five yards to the left! Don't think I'm ignorant! There was even a scrape of upturned grass on the ground where you had slid it! You weren't even smart enough to pick the rock up and move it so I wouldn't notice!" "I moved nothing! If anything, you moved it by sitting on it with your fat ass!"

To say that Firion was confused would have completely understated the situation. His mind was completely blown by what he was overhearing. What...why were two...things this size arguing about...what, land? Land plots? That made absolutely no sense whatsoever...and every time Firion even attempted to develop an explanation in his head, he felt overwhelmed by the prospect. It was so confusing, he suddenly stopped in place to try and listen closer, forgetting Maria was probably close behind him.

Was someone playing a trick on them?

Words - 904
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - I guess things can get started now-ish?[/size]

[Maria]

Now it was time to act serious. Maria had her eyes on the figures ahead, her face twisted into a puzzled expression as she could hear their faint argument, she just couldn’t make out the words. As her eyes were glued to the two beings of some odd sort, she hadn’t noticed Leon start off, trying to get closer, it was better than her going off I guess though. She was the one who had started off at a jog to get closer, but now that she was even this close…she knew that one wrong move could be crucial. Leon was going to take it seriously, they all were…there was no doubt about, especially at this stage of their investigation so to speak. Still kneeling close to the ground and watching, Maria then moved her eyes to where her brother had previously been, moving upwards towards where he was now…getting closer and closer without making himself noticed. She had to give him props, he was definitely a good asset to this team, he always had been.

Looking to Firion after seeing where Leon had placed himself, she nodded at his words and let him start past her. She kept quiet for the most part, getting closer to the ground but carefully enough not to snap her bow or lose any quivers along the way through the nature-made trench. Trailing behind Firion, Maria kept close, but made sure to give him some space as the words the two beings were throwing at one another started to become clear. She could hear them arguing about land, making her want to poke her head up and see what the hell it was they really were, but that could cause danger, not only for herself but for Leon and Firion as well. She kept herself low, her head down and eyes facing the ground as she trudged along, stopping when Firion did before she ran him over or anything. Staying there quietly, she listened, hearing no sounds from her brother or Firion, hearing only the argument escalating. “Who the hell are you calling fat ass, beach!?” Maria’s eyes widened at what she was hearing. Taking a hand and rubbing at her ear for a moment, she listened again, making sure she wasn’t hearing things.

“Get off my land now!”

So she wasn’t hearing things. An even more confused look came across her face as she looked ahead, to Firion, and even past him towards Leon. Going to take another small inch forward, she moved her hand and pressed down on the ground, keeping low still, but as her knee rested on the ground, it hit a stick, a crunchy stick that decided to make the most noise in the entire universe right now. Freezing like a deer in headlights, Maria didn’t so dare as make a move, or even look elsewhere, her eyes were glued to the grass beneath her as she heard nothing but silence, the breaking of the small branch having silenced what seemed like a ten mile radius. Even the yelling beings of some sort had silenced themselves. Taking in a deep yet very silent breath, Maria then held her breath, waiting to hear something, she hoped the silence would pass and that they would remain unnoticed, but…she was simply thinking crazy thoughts. Of course with her luck things would go sour from here.

“I see we have company! Little spies!” One of the two more active fal’cie huffed as they’d finally noticed their snooping guests. One trailing towards Leon, one heading towards Maria and Firion. Apparently they’d crossed even the fal’cie’s boundaries, making them irritated enough to start attacking or something. Maria’s eyes moved upwards a bit, seeing a shadow form from where the sun once was within the trench. Hearing a sound, a long beep of a sound, she looked up finally, not caring whether she was making sound or not, they’d been figured out, only to see a limb of the mechanical being glowing, ready to fire off some sort of laser shot towards the two within this general area. With a gasp from having held her breath, she moved to her feet quick and leaped backwards, nearly toppling over but doing what she could to avoid being vaporized. “Trespassing, yo! I think we could make some good use out of these bunches. I’ll take these two-“ “Why do you get two!?” The confusion…it still needed time to settle in.

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Words:[/color] 849
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Leon, Firion
Wearing:[/color] Her usual
Listening To:[/color] FF Stuffs via our playlist thing!
Notes:[/color] I dunno what this is. Enjoy!

[Leonhart]

Leon had been sneaking close to the entities that were in front of him, using whatever protection he could find. Closer and closer he went, midnight blue eyes flickering from his target, and then back to his sister and friend. Leon couldn’t help but be concerned about his sister in this, but he figured that she was in good hands with Firion around. Firion had always had the same desire as he did, in regards to keeping Maria safe, and he was an adept fighter. That would mean that he would make sure of her protection. And if push came to shove, Leon could sprint over toward them and quickly get there. It wasn’t that he doubted Maria’s abilities as a warrior. He could admit that she deserved to be in the same ranks as he or Firion for fighting, except that she dealt more with long range. Her skills had been honed to perfection with that bow, but close up was more or less lacking. That worried him, but once again he left it in the hands of his adopted brother. Firion would do whatever he could to keep his sister safe.

All forward progress had skidded to a stop, however, when the conversation started. Leon wasn’t even sure what exactly these forms were, much less that they could talk. He tried to quickly process what he was taking in and make sense of it, but was failing miserably. He had always prided himself in being at least mildly intelligent, but he couldn’t seem to think of just what these things were in the slightest. Hell, they didn’t look like any animal he had ever seen, and yet here they were, talking. He thought only humans could talk…what was this nonsense? And they were arguing over-…were they really arguing over a boulder having been moved? What were they? Children? “I think I clearly called you a fat ass!” “Oh hell no! You didn’t just-…your maker is a fat ass!” “Oh hell no! No one calls my maker a fat ass!”

Leon was obtaining a head ache extremely quickly. Reaching up a hand, he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, unsure of what to do. Should he wave Firion and Maria back around and talk about it? Or should he do the same and call this off? Until they knew exactly what they were dealing with, it might not be smart to simply charge into battle on a whim and not know. Leon had generally been the one to strategize things out, and didn’t like not knowing what they were getting into. Leon had to admit that they knew their stuff, but there was more to this than that. He was beginning to wonder at a Queen that would send them out when they knew absolutely nothing about what it was they were actually dealing with.

Unfortunately they were spotted quickly. Leon hesitated a moment, before he sighed and resigned himself to the knowledge that they were going to have to fight these things, whatever the hell they actually were. Standing calmly, Leon unsheathed his sword with his right hand, his battle axe remained on its own ‘sheath' of sorts on his back, fashioned slightly smaller than the normal axe. Firion used more weapons then he did, since he only stuck with his two even if he was adept at the use of most weapons. “I get two because you’re a fat ass and can’t handle two!” “I’m gonna get that rock and pop you in the ass and see who’s fat after that!”, came the threat. Leon wasn’t sure what to do about these beings, but he held his ground and glared at the one that came after him, standing easily and holding his ground.

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Words:; 823
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Maria, Firion
Location:; You know where
Outfit:; That one I linked!
Notes:; --
Listening To:;[/color] Use Somebody - Kings of Leon <-- baha

[Firion]

The conversation between the two...things continued, becoming more and more ridiculous as it went along. He would have been immensely disturbed by the fact that two beings of this massive size were capable of communication in the same way that humans were if it hadn't been a simply ludicrous conversation. Firion had heard five-year-olds argue more coherently. Understanding the nature of their odd debate wasn't the problem - they were clearly having some sort of land dispute. But what kind of monsters would be having a land dispute and be discussing it, and throwing insults at each other about it, in the common language? The circumstances were way over their heads, Firion was beginning to see, and he thought it was high time that he, Maria and Leon took their discoveries and slipped away back to Queen Hilda's palace to report their findings. Hopefully, someone there, someone wiser than them, would be able to feed them some information on giant monsters that apparently spent their ti-

Firion heard a slight crack behind him, and the voices of the monsters went silent, just as he was about to turn to Maria and motion for her to back up. His face immediately bent into a cringe, and he was torn between staying motionless and silent or getting to his feet and preparing to defend himself and Maria. His internal debate on the two options wouldn't matter...the monster's shadow cast over them almost before Firion would have had a chance to rise and prepare for combat. As he turned over onto his side to finally set his eyes fully on one of the beasts for the first time, he was met with a sound that he knew was going to lead to something bad. "Maria!", he yelled, her name being partially drowned out by the sound of the blast being discharged just as Firion pushed himself up and rolled out of the way. Once he popped up from the roll, his axe and dagger were both in his hands and held up by his shoulders, prepared to be thrown to provide them with cover if need be. But the giant beast - which was indeed mechanical and looked...immensely advanced - seemed interested to continue talking to its cohort, which was on its way over to Leon. Firion took the open chance to put himself beside Maria, his jaw drooping in the remaining disbelief that clung to him. What in the name of all that was good were they dealing with here?

"Why don't you hit them with the rock, then you can put it back in the right place and give me my strip of land back!", one said, even moving like a human being would move as it looked to the other one. Firion took the chance to back himself into Maria, easing her back slightly from how close the huge machine had gotten but keeping his eyes firmly settled on the machine for when it turned around to attack again...and it would turn around to attack again, surely enough. "Why don't you get it yourself, lazy ass! I don't need a rock to crush these maggots! I'm a real fal'Cie!" "Oh yeah? I'll take out two in the time it takes you to take down one!"

Sadly enough, "falsee" was the closest they'd come to figuring out what these beasts were, and they wouldn't even get the chance to figure it out. The monster, apparently motivated by its challenge, whirled back around abnormally quickly for something its size and looked like it was getting ready to rush them. Firion didn't even wait for the rush to start, flinging his dagger with a grunt towards the knee of the monstrosity and hearing a satisfying clang as it connected and lodged in. "Ow! That stung you little trespasser!" And then it came, barreling towards them. Firion genuinely didn't know how to approach this problem. Letting the axe in his hand wobble as he decided what to do with it, Firion stood strong, trying to present a better target than Maria, as the giant machine skidded to a stop in front of him, tearing up dirt and giving the ground a good rumble. An arm raised, and Firion knew it was going to come down to crush him in a moment later. He dodged forward, underneath the monstrosity's legs, and felt the ground behind him being upturned as he did so. Had to be fast so it wouldn't go for Maria, now that it had missed him...

So Firion brought his axe forward in a vicious overhanded swing, driving it directly into the monster's groin area. If that didn't distract it from Maria, nothing would.

Words - 844
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - I love this thread. XD[/size]

[Maria]

Maria didn’t even know where to begin.

At first she was sure she was simply hearing things, but watching these things – whatever they were – argue was like…the most confusing thing ever. Her expression was purely confused as she kept low to the ground, hearing what they had to say though…that was the really confusing thing. They sounded like angry little foul mouthed children who were fighting over a toy, or in this case, land. Nobody owned land out here! Maria wasn’t going to be the one to tell these two things that, but…it was the truth wasn’t it? They wouldn’t get to stay hidden much longer, all because there was a conveniently placed piece of nature that had decided to make a noise when Maria’s knee pressed down on it, causing the hollow stick to snap, and not just a quiet snap, enough to gain these thing’s attention. Maria felt herself freeze, like a deer caught in headlights, she wasn’t sure what to do just yet, but she knew that something bad was coming, it always did.

With one of the machine-like beings trailing towards her and Firion, Maria had prepared herself to move fast, so when the blast came their way, she’d pushed herself backwards, landing nearly on her back but her momentum was just continuing so she’d rolled back to her feet, her bow in her hand and ready to start shooting some holes into these…falsee things or whatever they were bickering about calling themselves. Maria took a few steps back, especially when Firion had gotten himself by her, and practically guarding her. Dang men and their wanting to protect her. At least she could appreciate it, but hell! Maria wanted to help take down these things! Not that she meant to grab their attention, that had all been an accident. Shooting a glance across the lot towards Leon and the other bickering fal’cie, Maria felt worry creep into her mind. So maybe she understood the protection thing a bit better, seeing someone you cared about in immediate danger that could be potentially life threatening…yeah, she wasn’t going to complain much more.

Turning her gaze to Firion again, he was already on the move, making himself a target rather than she. Sighing a bit, feeling disgruntled, she watched as he’d gotten the full attention of the fal’cie, and it was starting to go after him. She had to make a choice, which boy did she want to help? Well, she was supposed to be a quick fighter, able to fire off arrows in a matter of seconds, so that’s what she prepared herself for. Quickly grabbing an arrow from her quiver, she notched it on the string and lifted her weapon, drawing the string back, her hand gently touching her cheek as she closed one violet eye to get proper aim, sending an arrow through the air and piercing into the metal of the fal’cie that was near Leon, and as soon as she heard that ‘ding’ that meant she had a hit, another arrow was in her hands and she was aiming for the one nearing in on Firion. Hell no she wasn’t sitting out, she was going to help them both. Keeping herself moving was key though, she’d moved and pulled herself back and out of a good range of fire, she was a long distance shooter anyways. She kept her eyes on both men, both fal’cie, watching and docking another arrow ready to fire, anything she could do to aid them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 686
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Firion, Leon
Wearing:[/color] Her usual
Listening To:[/color] Hang ‘Em High: My Chemical Romance
Notes:[/color] Short because of action.

[Leonhart]

Leon spared another glance over toward his sister and friend even while the hulking beast was advancing on himself. The sight that came to him was a satisfying one, that of Firion protecting Maria from danger. Whatever Firion would ever be, he was a man that Leon could count on to protect his sister if he could not. Instead then, he could focus his attention back on the lurking figure that was now quickly gaining momentum and coming at him. He was prepared, resting easy on his toes while he did so, but he did no advancing. That would be left up to the figure that seemed to be overeager to do so.

The ‘ping’ that could only be an arrow of Maria’s changed that. The thing made a roar like sound. “AWWWWW HELL NAW! She just tried to shoot my backside! Did you see that?! Oh no! Come at me you little insect!”, the voice roared out. Along with it came a growl low from Leon’s throat. When the metal being turned quickly to head back toward his sister, he was in action himself. Sprinting forward, Leon was now happy that it had come so close before its attention had been altered. Setting his stance, he unsheathed his axe, and much like Firion, took advantage of the ability to throw it by hurling it at the thing. He heard the axe slam into the metal component on the back, and was quickly running once more even as it turned back toward him. “Punk! That hurt! Damn man, he’s trying to spoil my fun! Come here ya little bug!”

Ahh, just what he wanted. With his weapon underneath its feet, Leon made a dive for it, sliding under the metal being even as it swung its arm to try and grab at him. Settling his hand over the handle, Leon shifted it back into its place on his back and had his sword out. After he’d leapt back to his feet, he took advantage of its lumbering size, though it moved much faster than he thought it would, and slashed at the leg of the thing, sparks showering down around him. Ducking another limb that would have thrown him back, Leon jumped up and pushed off into the air, swiping again at the head of the creature.

While it roared its anger, Leon landed on the ground, whirled around, and used both hands to hit it as hard as he possibly could. It seemed to work, as he got the satisfaction of breaking some chains that seemed somewhat vital, as well as some more moaning from the fal’cie. After his moment of satisfaction, Leon felt pain from the limb he hadn’t caught on time, slamming into his body. He landed a few feet away, out of breath, face down on the ground. The groan caught in his throat while he forced his muscles to push himself up and away from the ground. In doing so he caught sight of the fal’cie going to cause the final crushing blow and rolled away just in time, only to be met with another limb trying to squash him. Quickly rolling back the other way, Leon desperately grabbed for the weapon that had fallen beside him and pushed himself up to slam the sword directly into its face. While it jerked back, he watched his sword, still sticking out of its metal body, going with it. “…Damn.”, he muttered out, reaching back for the axe on his back while he contemplated getting his sword back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 777
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Maria, Firion
Location:; You know!
Outfit:; You know?
Notes:; YOU KN-*shot*
Listening To:;[/color] Tom Sawyer - Rush

[Firion]

"AGH! You had better be glad those aren't made of flesh you little maggot, or I'd have to take yours in return!"

At this point, Firion was done trying to figure out the hows and whys of the machines' odd way of speaking or anything they were saying in general. They'd muddled his thinking enough already and probably led to his decision to get closer to the machines, in turn leading to them all being found out. Of course, Firion was no longer worrying about the machines' awareness of their presence, either, only how to deal with the monstrosities now that they were bearing down on them all. Firion wasted no time in seeing how his axe swipe affected the machine. No, he exerted the effort to make a quick follow-up against the knees of the machine instead. Firion knew the arm would be coming for him again, and if it didn't it would be headed in Maria's direction - an even worse scenario; Unless she had screening for her arrows to fly freely, chances were they were all going to reach a very painful end anyway.

His lance, drawn swiftly from over his shoulder, first fitted itself into what looked very much like a knee joint, as Firion applied enough pressure by adding his own body weight to the pressure to apparently unbalance the machine; it brought its leg away from him, sprawling out awkwardly and grumbling out some succession of words in a language Firion immediately decided he didn't have time to understand in any way. Firion spent he time he would have been interpreting with spinning around in place and going for the same attack on the other knee, much to the same result. The machine nearly fell far enough forward to convince Firion he needed to get out from under it, but it caught on a hand before Firion's reflexes kicked in. Right, no normal entity that was this big could move with such a capability for keeping itself upright. Firion still didn't know what they were dealing with today, but undoubtedly it was beyond any creature they'd encountered before in their lives, and that fact worried him even before he saw Leon starting to get pressed to the turf by his own machine, let it distract him and end up taking a kick that knocked extremely painfully against his thighs, sending him up and backwards a few feet before rolling up nearly to Maria's feet. For the time being, he lingered there, dazed.

Once cognizant enough to realize that he was nothing beyond bruised, Firion stood up and dropped back to the side of his longtime companion, surveying Leon's situation just long enough to figure out that he'd be no use to the other man. He only had to hope Maria reached he same conclusion and didn't do anything rash, because they had a charging - if slightly slower - falsee thing coming their way yet again. Firion joined Maria in her archery as the hulking beast let loose a taunt that Firion didn't hear, realizing he'd dropped his lance in the process of the kick as he pulled the bow slung around his shoulder into a ready position and started fit in his first arrow. Obviously, he wasn't a quarter of the archer Maria was, a problem he hoped to ask her to fix by providing him with a little training sometime once Fynn's rebuilding slowed, but his first shot clanged generally where he wished for it to, making contact with the same general area where Firion's axe had done some damage earlier. Again, the machine slowed. "Pressure its face, Maria!", he told her, before rushing forward with another shot. The bow was discarded off to the side a moment later as Firion drew both sword and axe, deciding he could do Leon the most good by giving him only a single opponent to worry about...and ensuring he didn't have to be concerned for Maria's safety.

Firion did know, though, that they were clearly in over their heads.

Words - 720
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - Kind of wonky, but I think it'll do. [/size]