On the Backs of Angels [Light/Fang/Rygdea]

[Coulson Pike]

Gran Pulse, Coulson Pike had decided, was Pulsian for mercy sakes alive, it's hot down here. "They've got datapads...artificial magic you can fit in your pocket...huge mechanical god-things...and yet no portable air conditioning," he mused to himself, looking like he wanted to shake a fist at the sun as he stared up into it.

After tossing what was hopefully the last bag into the truck, Cole ran a head through his sweaty hair. "That...should be everything,", he reported, as another way of saying We probably forgot something but heck, I can't think of what it is we forgot. Being the resident professional on trekking out into the wilderness to look for really old crap (it had been pretty tough to convince Light that such was actually a profession), Cole had been willing to take something of the "lead" on this little expedition so far, thinking up what necessities they needed to take with them (which wasn't much). Of course there had been challenges to his authority, but he had...not accepted those challenges and mostly agreed to the recommendations of the others rather timidly, even those of the two individuals that Cole had yet to even meet. One had a really normal-ish name....Rydia? Rygia? Something. The other was a sharp tooth. Cole wasn't expecting much from either of them, but if Alice and Light thought they were worthwhile, hey, he wasn't going to make judgments. Besides, one of them was supposedly something like...the last Pulsian around. Or one of the last. But where the heck were these two strangers, anyway?

"When are these friends of yours gonna get here?", Cole asked both the redhead and the pinkette, propping himself impatiently against a tree with his elbow. Ahh, shade. At least Pulse had plenty of trees to huddle under. Sadly, where Cole and the rest were heading, trees most likely were not terribly common. From what little he knew of Pulse, all this greenery only stretched so far before one arrived in rocky alcoves, open plains, and swamps. But he was a l'Cie now. He was some kind of all-powerful beast or something now, right? Well, the whole point of this expedition was to figure out what was right and what was wrong about being a l'Cie. Cole now knew most of the story about Barthandelus, his little l'Cie pawns, and how said pawns, including Light, had technically kind of sort of completed their focus yet had all eventually come back out of crystalstasis anyway, and he had a good bet that the same thing could not happen twice.

So yeah, they were heading out to the dark corners of this millennia-old planet to find some answers. Cole knew for a fact, though he'd only been here for a handful of weeks now, that a planet like this had to hold plenty of secrets. Pieces of old civilizations were lost over time, and those old civilizations always seemed to know everything about ancient god-beings like the fal'Cie. How, Cole never knew. He couldn't exactly ask dead people from dead civilizations questions. Not literally, anyway, which was why he had convinced both Light and Alice that heading out and searching every nook and cranny was worth the time. What they found might help him and might help anybody who crossed paths with a fal'Cie in the future. To Cole, this expedition sounded like a worthwhile use of time.

Time that was slowly ticking away as they idled in waiting for the other two l'Cie. Actually, they weren't even late yet, but Cole payed that fact no mind. "You guys did remember to tell them we were planning to leave today, right?"

He regretted saying that, remembering that he was in the presence of a gunblade-toting former soldier and....whatever Alice claimed to be aside extremely crafty and dangerous. But, hey, that's why he had begged asked them to come after all. In his opinion, the more badassery that came along on this trip, the better their chance of not dying when they came across the monsters of Pulse. Good reasoning, huh?

Words – 811
Tagged - Light, Alice, Fang, Rygdea, bickering, complaints
Muse – Stellar!
Place - A ways outside New Bodhum (seemed sensible).
Outfit - The usual.
Notes – Tee hee. If anyone wants me to change something, just lemme know, because I was winging it and don't care either way. XD Post order would probably start with Light and Alice in whatever order, then Fang and Rygdea in whatever order, if we stick with this setup. [/size]

[Lightning Farron]

It was a hot day on the ancient world of Gran Pulse. Lightning sometimes second guessed her decisions these days. Throwing herself into situations that didn't really need her...or rather throwing herself into situations that she didn't want to participate in. She didn't want to relive the days of being a L'cie but...she supposed that for her newfound foreign friend...she could spare a few moments now that things had settled down. Besides, she knew things about Pulse, the creatures, and of course the hardships of being cursed. With her arms folded and leaning back against a rocky figure, Lightning sighed as her eyes were downcast, staring at her boots. Oh did it feel nice to be out of that armor and back into something more comfortable, even if it was her former soldier uniform...it was just easier to move in. Anyways, as she stared at the ground, she listened to the bags being loaded and simply kicked herself mentally for this long term spanded camping trip...when had she gotten so soft? Someday she'd learn to watch her mouth and think things through before joining any more expeditions...even if she was practially begged into going.

Aqua eyes flicked open at the sound of Cole's voice. So...they were ready to go...but where were Fang and Rygdea? Light was surprised those two were even tagging along, then again...knowing Fang, any adventure across Pulse would be enjoyable for her, and now...wasn't Rygdea a L'cie? Or was he just tagging along for no specific reason? That really was none of Lightning's business, and for now she didn't care all that much. Moving her arms now to her sides, Lightning pushed herself away from the rocky form behind her and sat straight up on her feet with her usual expression. Blank. 'This better not be a waste of my time. This is just another deja vu moment. Traveling with a group across Pulse...' she thought to herself as she gazed around the area. What had they called this place? Or rather the nearest place with an actual name...New Bodhum? Or something like that. At least progression was being made...people could have homes and live without the fal'Cie, except Barthandules lurking around.

Glancing over at Cole and then the redhead, Lightning sighed, actually wishing Fang would hurry up. Once again, Light would be the quiet one, only throwing her voice around when it was needed, otherwise she was quite set on being the perfect 5th wheel among the group. Shaking her head, she then sighed a bit before resting herself back onto the rocky figure, assuming that Fang and Rygdea would show up soon...no need to get settled to go when not everyone was even here. "They'll be here soon. Have patience." she spoke quietly folding her arms again and going back to her silent self, waiting and feeling the hot sun beat down on her and just about everything else on Pulse.

'I wonder if we'll run into anything new this time around.' Light thought to herself as she stood there, glancing around and looking for any sign of the wild woman and the ex-cavalry pilot. The sooner they showed up, the better off they'd be. This really was going to be like some big camping trip wasn't it? Mixed with a bit of an expedition. Searching for...well what? Answers to what questions? If they were lucky...they'd find a way to save L'cie from their focuses, that would be mighty convenient in the future. Hearing Cole again, Lightning shot a look in his direction, a deadpan look as her eyes just stayed there, not really blinking as she arched an eyebrow. "They'll get here when they get here. but when was that going to be? Keeping calm and rational (at most times) was what Light did best...her patience were beginning to run thin, but she wouldn't let any sign of dissatisfaction come across her face. "What exactly is it you plan to find on this...expedition?"

[/blockquote]

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Words: 775
Muse: Good!
Tagged: Cole, Fang, Rygdea, Alice
Wearing: GC Uniform
Listening To: Christmas music in my art class?
Notes: Hooray for my crappy entry post!

[alice]

Alice slung her bag over her shoulder and continued her way out of this New Bodhum. She arched a brow seeing the trucks tracks and pressed onward. She had mulled this over when he had asked her to go. But what she had not planned was to be captured before the actual party left. She gave a laugh, thanks to Rygdea she might still be in the hands of PSICOM. She rethought that, no, she would have gotten out, but it just might have taken her a bit longer than expected. As far as PSICOM was concerned she was dead with the help of him of course. Alice then seen sight of the truck, she gave a smirk as she made her way up to the site. Peering around the side of the truck she seen Cole and the other, Lightning was her name. She had never met her, but Cole had given her cause to trust so she would let it pass. Alice gave her a nod of her head, then without a second thought about it she reared back her right hand standing next to Cole and let her hand rip across his back side. She gave both her brows an arch with a smirk, “Comedian.” She said with a nudge to Cole. Of course there was no reason to this, but hell it was a very fun way to start of an adventure, and considering their first meeting, he knew what she was capable of.

Alice was dressed in her rather usual attire her sleeves to her shirt rolled to her upper arms. Her left wrist supported an AMP Unit. She had decided to not carry the sword anymore as she was really losing interest in sword fights and was on the terms of playing dirty and smart when in a fight. Yeah it was cheap, but she had magic is things went wrong. Of course she moved more swift now that she did not have a sword at her slowing her down. She did not have any idea what it was that they were going to run into but she was prepared, for herself anyways. She patted her pouch on her left hip instead of a hilt. Of all the wonderful things that had to happen and none the less in a few days apart, well of hearing about it anyway. Alice did not think that she would have ever seen Cole again in her life, but she did, hearing the jam about him being an I’Cie now. She had no choice but to go with him on his expedition, well actually she did, but she could not turn him down, not after what he had did to help her. Alice arched a brow at the truck as she tossed her bag into it then sat on the tailgate. She peered over to Lightning and then back to Cole when she answered his question, “Yeah, she is’ righ’.” Alice said with a nod her way. She was not sure how well all this was going to pan out, but would tag along none the less. But something was telling her that this was also important. She pulled her knee up and rested an elbow on it.

Alice arched a brow again at his next question, yeah Rygdea would be here. She knew that, even based on that one meeting. She did not say anything to this question for Lightning had already answered it. She shook her head with Lightning question. This Alice could not answer, nor would she even attempt. She was by far more a thief than a treasure hunter and just took things as she came across them. It was not that hard and you did not really have to think about it that way. She had been called many things in her life time and treasure hunter had never been one of them. Not to say she was not as smart, because Alice had been one to think on her feet, she just did not like to do it all the time. Alice leaned then on the back of the truck still sitting. She looked to Cole too for an answer but if there was not one she would not be bothered with it. Alice was by far there for the what they came across she was there for a friend and she had come to consider Cole as much.


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words: 737
tagged: cole! rygdea! fang! light!
notes: lol butt-slappage...love it and lump it kent!
listening too: FMA
outfit: in sig!

[Oerba Yun Fang]

Staring at the animals in front of her, Fang smirked and whipped her lance up to rest on her shoulder, resting her weight on her left leg and cockily looking at them. They were twisting and turning around her, growling, and she just smiled at them. She'd gotten herself into quite the predicament. She'd been hunting, or stalking rather, stalking a Behemoth. Up on a rocky ledge, she'd been watching them as they fought. She'd leaned a little to far, which had been fine, she should have been able to catch herself. Yet, the rocks crumbled when they had slammed into the ledge, causing her to fall. She'd slammed her lance into the rocks to get herself back up, but it had crumbled even more, landing her right in the middle of two behemoths' fighting over territory. She'd skidded down, trying to scramble back up the rocks, but the cuts on her hands were a tribute to her not being able to.

She'd landed on her feet though, and had instantly gotten her confidence back. Now they were advancing, forgetting all about each other in their determination to wipe out the 'enemy'. She herself was that. "Well, what're ya waitin' fer boys?" Twirling her lance around her head, Fang let it come back and down, grinning at them, taunting them. They snorted and pawed at the ground, snarling at her, and in a moment of raw instinct, or idiocy, Fang snarled right back, curling her lips back. She'd grown up in this wild country, and was every bit at home in it. On Pulse, you had to be tougher then the wildlife, and just as raw when it came to power. They charged then. Fang batted away a claw that was coming at her with her lance blade, before jamming her lance deep into the throat of the other. It bellowed with rage and tossed its head. Fang hung on to her lance, jerking it out, and being sent flying into the other Behemoth. Ducking a paw that would have crushed her, Fang dove at the behemoth, collapsed her lance into three sections, a flurry of activity as she cut its chest into ribbons. Diving back, she connected with the seconds paw as it wildly bellowed in rage about its wound. Slamming against the ground, Fang blinked and lay there, before she looked up at the sky. The sun blinded her, but the breath of the behemoth was breathing down on her.

Whirling around and to her knees, Fang was just in time to avoid being chewed on. Whipping her lance up, she jabbed it into its mouth, just to lever it open. It should have snapped it in two, but it was so distracted by the object sideways in its mouth, it bellowed and flailed back. Jerking it away, Fang ran back a few steps, before jumping high into the air. Twirling gracefully as time seemed to stop, Fang painted an invisible 'x' on its forehead. Slamming down finally, her lance deeply embedded itself into its hide. Standing up then, it groaned, roared and then fell back slowly. Jerking her lance out of its hide, Fang dove away, hit the ground, and rolled over and over before coming to her knees once more. She tried jumping to avoid the sweeping paw, but it hit her and sent her rolling. Skidding across the dirt, Fang lost control of her lance, seeing it laying right under the behemoth as it advanced toward her, batting at its wounded mouth. Breathing heavily, Fang winced and then suddenly felt her brand activating. With a grunt, she lept to her feet and hurled her crystal high into the air. The skies darkened around her as her Eidolon came flying out.

The Behemoth roared and reared up, and Fang dove under its legs to grab her lance. As Bahamut came swooping down, distracting the beast, Fang grabbed the lance, stood up, and slammed it into the belly of the behemoth. It roared, stood up as she did as well, before starting to fall forward. Running lightly to the right, Fang jumped high in the air as Bahamut swooped around, flapping its wings. Landing on its back, she settled down there. Twisting to the right, Fang guided the Eidolon to the right. Looking down at her waist, Fang noticed the blood from where a claw had caught her. Gently touching it, she shrugged and let it be, wiping it a little with her blue wrap. She was used to getting bloody while fighting or hunting. She had a long ways to go to get where she had to be on time.

Finally she was there. By New Bodhum. This was where she was supposed to be yes? Her wound was still bleeding a bit, being jarred open by flight, her body was sore, and she had a big bruise on her thigh that bothered her. Still, she refused to think about the discomfort. She had a place to be. Going through a series of twirls and loops, Bahamut finally stilled and stayed in one spot, high above where she was supposed to be. Staring down, she narrowed her eyes, noticing the people. Had to be them. With one last flap of its wings, she sent Bahamut in an almost straight path down toward the ground. Tucking in his wings, they went at incredible speeds. "Yeeee-haww!" Fang let out a whoop and cheer as they went, her hair whipping behind her. Plummeting, Fang concentrated on the ground, and just before they would have slammed into it, she pulled Bahamut up and jumped off. Twirling in midair, Fang landed with one knee bent, before standing back up. Nodding back at Bahamut to dismiss him, she turned back toward the others as he flew off. Putting her lance on her shoulder blade again and holding it loosely, she smirked at those in front of her, the only one she knew was Lightning. Standing with her weight on one leg, she looked every inch of what she was. A wild Pulsian huntress.

"Miss me?"

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Words:; 1172
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; You know who!
Location:; Near new Bodhum
Outfit:; Tribal
Notes:; 8DD my muse lovered me!
Listening too:;[/b] Nothing

[rygdea]

Rygdea was not entirely sure about this trip out into Pulse. Yes, he had a focus to complete and it seemed that out there in the wild was the place he had to do it. Certainly in his dreams, that was what he saw: the wilds of Pulse, the portals, some of his own soldiers, and then himself fighting a behemoth emerging from one of the portals. He was sure that was what he saw in those blurry flashes, but he was a little worried about the authenticity of those dreams. He knew the dreams, the visions, they were the only clues as to what his focus was that he had, but what did those different things actually mean? He had seen the portals before: Rygdea knew fine well about the portals, they had been showing up for years now, ever since the fall of the fal'cie. Rygdea felt the two events were probably connected, in some way, although he was not sure which fal'cie were even capable of such a thing. As far as Rygdea was concerned the people would be better off without any of the fal'cie, he would quite happily burn them all, but calmer heads than his had prevailed in the wake of the disaster. Even Rygdea was not so angry to think defeating fal'cie was more important than keeping the people of Cocoon safe when so many of them had lost their homes. Anyway, the portals, his soldiers... well clearly Rygdea was to do something with the portals, and his gut instinct was that he was not supposed to destroy them. Even though his head told him that surely getting rid of the problem was what the fal’cie would want... no, his gut reaction was that he was supposed to protect them somehow, or just keep Pulse safe from whatever was going to come through the portals. Either way, the first thing he actually had to do was find the damn things. Many of the portals were only temporary, a single person or creature passing through could be enough to close them, but there was one that was not that far from Academia that seemed to be more or less permanent, reappearing every second day for an hour at a time, and never shifting in location. Rygdea had assigned two soldiers to guard the portal while it was open. So maybe this was what he had to do with the other permenant portals, get them found and guarded? Rygdea could really only guess, maybe this was all wrong. Maybe he was supposed to destroy them after all, although he had no idea how he could possibly do that. All he could really do was try not to worry about the whole thing and just get moving. No matter what he planned to do with them, finding the portals was still the first step.

Then there was the group he was to be traveling with. At first he had been wary of going out into the wilderness with Alice Rainier, a woman he had met once and one he actually liked, but did not entirely trust. The other man, Cole, was more or less a mystery, he had come through a portal apparently and been branded a l'cie, that was all Rygdea knew - other than the fact he seemed to have been in bother with PSICOM himself at some point. So two largely unknown and possibly revengeful lawbreakers were not a great start, but he had received word from Alice more recently that had made him far more confident in his decision to go. Actually, the word he had received was actually 5 words: Lightning Farron and Oerba Yun Fang. The former had been an excellent Guardian Corp. member, a l'cie fighting against the Sanctum, and altogether somebody he trusted not to put a knife to his throat without good reason. The same could not be said of Fang (oh sure, it would probably seem like a good reason to her, but not to him) but Rygdea was actually even more happy to hear she would be coming. Traveling on the open road together, camping at night when the world was oh so lonely... Well who knew what could happen. When people had focuses to complete and things to find, everyone could end up a little bit stressed, and Rygdea would be more than happy to help Fang relieve her... tensions. Actually, truth be told, Rygdea would be quite happy to relieve the tensions of any of the three ladies, but there was something about that wild huntress that just ...uhf. Well enough of that line of thought, he really ought to actually get going.

Three captains were assembled outside his office, no doubt ready to get squabbling with each other the minute he left over who was in charge of what. They were all competent though, and the lieutenant was here to deal with paperwork as always. At the end of the day, Rygdea was only ever a call away, so if anything important came up he would always be nearby, even if they had to come and pick him up. Rygdea would be leaving his airship behind now, for some reason he felt sure that he would not be requiring it. All he needed was lift out to his meeting point with the others, which he would catch aboard the Lindblum before it left the aerodrome. The giant star of the fleet had returned to dock to refuel and be loaded up with supplies again. The ship had been created with long journeys in mind, so most refueling was done in mid-air, but every month or so it was brought in for some downtime and a thorough check of all systems. Rygdea walked out and nodded to the Captains, returned their salute, and then stalked along the halls to the Lindblum. As he had hoped it was just about to take off, he had literally a minute to spare, but it was more than he needed. Jumping up as the last man aboard, the doors shut behind him and then it began an orderly take-off. Unlike when he was flying his own plane, Rygdea did not even need to hold on, the Lindblum seemed almost completely still from the inside, only the faintest tremor suggested they were moving at all. Rygdea did not walk up to the bridge as he usually would, he was only a passenger on this trip after all. Instead he went about found a young pilot called Mikeal, only a year out the academy, but already on his way to becoming the best pilot in the entire cavalry. In a couple of years he may well even be challenging Rygdea himself, but not quite yet. Either way, he had a good attitude and Rygdea had adopted him a couple of months ago as somewhat of a protégé. Not that Rygdea had much time for coaching, but he had taken a liking to the kid and above all it was an easy way to assess the mood of the lower ranks. Mikeal would be flying him down to meet his new group of companions and was generally acting as a link for Rygdea if he ever needed an aircraft when he was out on the ground.

The flight was short, before he found the man he was looking for, already waiting in the loading bay in his small, standard airship, almost identical to the one Rygdea flew - on the outside. Rygdea slapped his shoulder and gave the shorter, blonde kid a grin before climbing in and strapping his belt down while Mikeal waited for clearance to fly. Like Rygdea, his take-offs were not designed to be smooth. Once they had taken off and stopped accelerating to the point where Rygdea was no longer pinned down in his seat, he sat up straight and surveyed the land. The site for their meeting was close to New Bodhum, but had not been particularly more specific. Unbuckling himself from his seat, Rygdea stood and looked out the front windows as Mikeal flew low enough to the ground that he was not much more than treetop height. “Whoa, that’s them! Back up!” Rygdea said, as they flew overhead a truck and a small group of people. Mikeal looped around and brought the craft down to hovering about 10ft off the ground. Rygdea picked up the two large bags that he had left in the airship earlier in one hand: one full of things that he might need on his travels, the other entirely ammo and tools. That was all he required, he liked to travel light. Rygdea turned when he got to the door, “Stay outta trouble!” he joked to his pilot, knowing the hypocrisy in him saying that to anyone, then jumped down and landed easily on the ground beneath. He walked up to the group as the aircraft shot up and away back into the Pulsian sky. “Not late, am I?” he asked with a confident smile. He went to chuck his two bags into the back of the truck with the others, but first turned towards the group.“Cole, ladies,” he nodded in greeting to Cole, Lightning and Alice, then with a wolfish grin, as he walked past Fang towards the truck, he slapped her on the ass. “Darlin’,” he winked at her, then went ahead and threw his bags in the back, vaguely wondering if that had really been the best idea, but not really concerning himself over it. He leant against the back of the truck nonchalantly, folding his arms across his chest. “We gonna get goin’?”

WORDS; 1646
TAGGED; Cole/Light/Alice/Fang
MUSE; Great!
OUTFIT; Uniform
NOTES; I found it hard to stop writing XD
LISTENING TO?; Madina Lake

[Coulson Pike]

Alice always seemed to have that look on her face, Cole had come to notice. That look that made him think she was either going to rip his shirt off, shoot someone, or rip her shirt off. The first and last were okay options, but the middle one always had him tentative when she was approaching. Cole eyed her suspiciously as she trotted up to the truck, glancing at Lightning as the two exchanged a nod just long enough to leave himself vulnerable to what came next - a really nice sting on his behind-end that almost caused him to jump. Almost. Okay, so in the future, he could at least swap shooting someone with looking to slap someone's right cheek off. He would be repaying her for the hand-shaped red mark that was probably tattooed on his rear end now. "Aha. Thanks....for that." He said, trying to sound sarcastic but coming off as more something else (embarrassed? no..), as he shook his head and tried to avoid rubbing at the sting. Alice really had a good swing....

Light was her usual borderline-boring-but-too-badass-to-be-boring self, standing off to the side quietly until she had to assure Cole's impatient self that her friend, Fang, and this Ry-something fellow would be here soon. Cole only sighed at her words, figuring he didn't need to stress about something so trivial as their departure being exactly on time. It had been enough trouble just trying to get this whole thing organized while trying to avoid the people here in New Bodhum. He had decided that the fewer questions he had to answer about this little expedition, the fewer holes he would have in his body. He didn't want to get shot - or worse - just because someone found out he was a l'Cie via this expedition. Keeping himself - and the gathering of supplies - under wraps hadn't been an easy task. They hadn't even left yet, and Cole almost felt exhausted already from the preparations.

"What exactly is it you plan to find on this...expedition?"

Having hopped up onto the tailgate along with Alice (since he was tired of walking around), Cole spread his hands. "I don't...know exactly," he admitted, looking a little defeated. "We're looking for anything that might help us learn something more about fal'Cie, l'Cie....the Maker." Since he doubted that would reassure his two companions, he looked between them and continued, hand motions accompanying his explanation. "Ancient cultures didn't have computers or even books for writing things down, like folklore. They would have had to make carvings or objects or whatever else they could use to leave information behind. I'm taking a wild guess here, but I think Pulse has to be old. Dawn of the fal'Cie old. The first humans here had to have worshiped the fal'Cie for their powers, since they didn't have any technology of their own. Then beyond that, some of them probably fought the fal'Cie. I'm sure a bastard fal'Cie like Barty was branding some l'Cie back then too, and those l'Cie, if they're anything like you guys, probably fought back. So we're looking for records of those l'Cie, or something simila- .....What the hell is that?"

That being the huge creature Cole could see descending upon them all too quickly from the sky. Huge creature - like those wyverns he'd been seeing, but heavier-looking. Cole hopped down off the tailgate to stare up towards it with his mouth hanging open. A loud battle cry reached his ears. Now he saw her - a woman on the creature's back, carrying some sort of red staff. Cole backed up against the truck, incredulous as the creature plummeted and wondering if he shouldn't...shoot at it? Try that steelguard thing again? What good would any of that do anyway? He was in too much disbelief to have any sort of reaction until the beast was mere feet from the ground, holding up his branded arm to shield his eyes, but the collision with the ground he had anticipated never actually happened. Instead, the creature turned tail and flew away, leaving Cole to stare at a tanned, tattooed, long-legged woman who had landed before them. He had merely one thing to say, as he turned his head to Lightning.

"I like her."

But that wasn't the end of the excitement. Much more of this and Cole thought he might have a heart attack. He watched as a small airship lowered itself down, before a kind of porn-star-looking man emerged at the doorway. "Don't you people ever walk anywhere?", Cole said as much to himself as to the women around him. Watching quietly with his arm folded as the man approached, pulling out an accent that made Alice and the newcomer, whom he assumed to be Fang, sound like Dalmascans. Cole returned the man's greeting before watching the the second ass-slapping within the past five minutes. Exchanging a glance with Alice as if to say I hope this guy is as useful as you say, Cole turned and patted the truck. "We can handle introductions on the way. Who wants to drive?" It was unpleasant to have to ask that, what with the potential for craziness and theatrics from those around him, but five days ago, Cole had never seen a truck. Not like this, anyway. "I'll ride shotgun and get us where we need to go. The rest get the fun ride."

Words – 1012
Muse – Good!
Notes – *le shrug* Hope it works. XD[/size]

[Lightning Farron]

Sighing deeply, Lightning just remained where she was, arms folded and leaning back against a stone structure. She was debating back and forth with herself whether to even go through with this, but she had made a commitment, she said she'd go and what's what she had to do, no matter how…weird this trip would be. It would be her, Cole, this Alice chick, Rygdea and Fang. What an unlikely crew. Shooting a glance as Alice approached, Lightning then rolled her eyes as Cole was beamed with a slap, this was going to definitely be an awkward trip, but hey, at least Lightning would have Fang to converse with right? But why Rygdea? What was his new 'claim to fame' when it came to L'Cie? Now even Lightning was feeling her patience being tested as she remained a few feet away from the truck, Cole and Alice. She hoped they'd get there soon, but waiting wouldn't disturb her, it gave her more time to argue with herself mentally whether to bail or figure out a way to 'get lost' during this trip. Bah! She was just being silly, this wouldn't be so bad. She'd survived an 'expedition' with Snow, so why couldn't she do the same here? If push came to shove, she'd just continue to remain quiet and just sort of be there for no particular reason, building up that antisocial wall of hers.

Lightning wasn't exactly sure what they'd find on this trip, maybe a few stones, a few monsters in their way, but she was pretty sure there wouldn't be much more than that. It never hurt to try though. Oerba hadn't been much help, but perhaps there was another area of Pulse that had ancient records or stories that could prove to be of use in the future? Cole just seemed to have an answer to her question though, going off explaining about ancient times and what not. Light had to give him props, it was a good enough answer for her, for now at least. If they began to come up with nothing after a certain amount of time, her faith in this trip as a whole would diminish very quickly. 'This can't be absolutely horrible…' she thought to herself before a figure in the sky grabbed her attention. Smirking slightly she stood up straighter and stopped leaning against the rock figure behind her. Fang always liked making an entrance didn't she? Recognizing the figure in the sky to be bahamut, Fang's eidolon, Lightning felt a little bit better about the company of whom she would be traveling with. Shifting her gaze over towards Cole and Alice, Lightning shrugged a bit before muttering out a quiet "I told you so." she had said they'd get here soon, was this soon enough? Yep. Well, one down, one more to wait on.

As Fang landed, Lightning gave her a slight nod, the tiny smirk still on her lips. She had always gotten along with Fang for the most part, she was a strong woman and respected that. They weren't best friends or anything, but agreeable. Both strong and ready for a fight. "Hm, of course." She replied quietly shrugging a bit before Cole stated he liked her. 'Of course you do, all men like Fang…for more reasons than others.' She thought to herself before then the next delivery was made. Rygdea, right on time. Lightning sure was on her game today. Both had shown up sooner than she even imagined, but with the arrival of the former Cavalry Pilot, Lightning returned to her thoughts about who she was traveling with, especially after another ass slap. It made pinkie want to facepalm, sigh, roll her eyes, or a combination of all three. Taking in and exhaling another sigh, Lightning then just let her quiet streak continue to go. There wasn't much to say, all she knew was she wasn't driving. Bad memories of that had flooded into her mind. Not that the situation back then was necessarily easy. Trying to pilot an airship from behind someone's seat with what seemed like an army of airships after you was never easy.

Shrugging and moving towards the truck, arms still folded, Lightning looked at the group and from her experience with anyone, she assumed the best person to drive would be Rygdea. He was a pilot, surely driving a truck wouldn't be all that bad would it? All she knew was she wouldn't be the one doing it. 'This really is going to awkward, I'm the fifth wheel.' She grumbled mentally. 'I probably would've been happier had Snow been traveling with us, or even Sazh…Hope, this is just…I don't even know anymore. All I'm here for is to help fight off the creatures that may lurk around. I'm no L'Cie anymore, the information we find does nothing for me. I call this my good deed of the century.' Gazing among the group, Lightning then decided not to even speak, or nominate anyone to drive, she just moved and pulled herself up into the truck before taking a seat, crossing her legs and arms as she just tried to be comfortable, waiting on them to figure out what the hell was going on so they could go.

'I always was better off alone.' She thought, getting that Lone Wolf label back into her mind.

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Words: 1026
Muse: Good!
Tagged: Cole, Alice, Fang, Rygdea
Wearing: GC Uniform
Listening to: Paint it Black: The Rolling Stones
Notes: And prepare for more wonderful thoughts from lovely Lightning >_>

[alice]

Alice beamed a large smile at Cole as she hopped on the tailgate and him next to her. She listened as he tried to explain what it was that they were going after. She gave him a nod at each point. Alice too then looked up when he did as he made his what the hell statement. She watched as the woman made her grand entrance. Still atop the tailgate she gave a ‘nice to meet you’ nod at Fang. She was very unique least to say. The woman had an accent, very Pulisan of her; at least she was not alone on that part. Alice had never been one on grand entrances, not putting into play her just very friendly action. It was not grand per say, so she would call it friendly. Now where was Rygdea? And no sooner than she thought this to herself, he would show up. Alice crossed her arms with smirk; she gathered that the three of these guys knew each other and gather that Cole knew this as well. She gave a laugh when Rygdea gave his own welcome, at least he had said hello first. She instantly jerked her head to look at Cole, she responded with a wink of her own followed up with a smirk.

Alice then turned to face the truck without a word, she looked her arm band, suddenly feeling powerless, but Alice worked well without physical weapons. She smirked as she then heard Cole ask who was driving. She took on the initiative, hopped onto the tailgate, and preceded forward until she came to the driver’s side. She looked to Cole as she sat down in the seat, arching her brows at him in a very deceptive manner. She did not even give anyone else the chance to speak up before she had started it up. Alice would wait until everyone was inside and settled in before she gassed it and shifted it up and off they went. The already bumpy road combined with her near speeding, she hoped that it would cause much trouble. She looked in the rear-view mirror, “Alice, mah pleasure.” She said more specifically to Fang and Lightning. She adjusted herself in the seat, she had never been one to go on adventures with a bunch of strangers. But it was like she was a magnet here and was not sure if it was the thrill of it, or the man that was sitting next to her.

She gave a slight laugh at herself and continued on ward. “Need ta make a turn’, just say the word Comedian.” Alice retorted, in all truth she was glad to get out of Cocoon for a bit. She was so busy being chased by those jerks of PSICOM that she had even been able to enjoy what pleasures the city did have. So being out here in the wilderness was somewhat better. Even the company was better and she did not even know half of it. She however was not surprised that it was testosterone side that she knew more of. This part of life she was used to now. The only other women other than herself she had invested in was Nathan’s family and Aya. She did not want to bring anyone else into this, call it being a friend. Yeah sure Aya had been in her own heap of trouble, but Alice needed to do this on her own. Be able to move on in a way, and maybe Cole was her ticket out of this mess. Not that she was using him, because she wasn’t. She needed something now she was not sure what it was, but she would figure it out in time. Alice peered at Cole and then went back to what it was that she was doing, driving.



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words: 638
tagged: cole! rygdea! fang! light!
notes: lol ohh yeah..alice behind the wheel!
listening too: Avatar
outfit: in sig!

[Oerba Yun Fang]

"I like her." "Hm, of course."

Fang didn't acknowledge the man at first, and instead turned her gaze toward Lightning. She saw the nod and gave her the same in return. "Light." Perhaps one of the people she respected most was the soldier she had fought with to save the world. They had been through a lot, and though they had been at odds a few times, like when Fang had admitted to being the reason Serah had been turned into a l'cie, they were warriors, and friends. Strong women, they both knew what they wanted and were stubborn enough to get it. Smiling at her then, Fang turned her intense green eyes back toward the two other people. She knew Rygdea and Light well, but these she didn't know. The good thing was that Lightning hadn't killed either of them so far. Still...she hadn't killed Snow either, and that said something. She wouldn't set her opinion of them yet though, and just looked at them.

“Not late, am I? Cole, ladies,” "Don't you people ever walk anywhere?"

She knew that voice. Fang didn't turn her head when she heard the airship, but she knew exactly who was now walking up. She'd been around him since she had been brought back to life. She'd learned a lot, though she was still mad about his being a l'cie. Not at him, but just angry. For why? She didn't really understand why, but she didn't fight it down. Fang normally just let her emotions out, didn't care what others thought of her. In fact, she didn't care what anyone thought of her. The next moment she felt her ass being slapped. Fang didn't move, but uncrossed her arms and turned her head slightly to see the man that was walking by.

"Darlin' "

Fang was met with the handsome features of Rygdea. There was no denying his appeal, but he still seemed unable to remember to just call her Fang and drop those pet names. The slapping on the ass didn't bother her coming from him oddly enough. Anyone else would find themselves pinned to the dirt with a lance blade to their throats. Not him though. Slightly rolling her eyes, Fang smirked and followed him to put her things in the truck. She had barely anything though, packing light was her thing. Her bag too, had been made recently, and was from the hide of a cat she had slain and turned into a leather bag. Even with the ability to buy things, she still felt this desire to make everything the Pulsian way of old. It was how she felt comfortable.

"We gonna get goin'?

"We would if ya stopped holdin' us up Cowboy."

"We can handle introductions on the way. Who wants to drive?I'll ride shotgun and get us where we need to go. The rest get the fun ride."

Fang shook her head and made her way to the truck as the woman jumped up to drive. Leaping into the truck, she sat and sat down, relaxing and tapping her foot. She was sitting next to Lightning, so of course the seat next to her was open. Nodding to Alice when she introduced herself, she studied her before saying her own name. "Oerba Yun Fang." Turning her head to Light, she uncrossed her arms and relaxed further. "Killed that future brother in law of yours yet?" The truck started forward slowly then, and Fang yawned and stretched, her back arching like a cats. "The hell are we doin' on this trip anyway Mr whatever the hell yer name is?"

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Words:; 901
Muse:; Good!
Tagged:; Light, Rygdea, Cole, Alice
Location:; Gran Pulse
Outfit:; Tribal
Notes:;
Listening too:;[/b] nothing

[rygdea]

“Don't you people ever walk anywhere?”

Rygdea had to laugh at that question, his usual short barking laugh, “Not if I can help it! But hey, Cavalry grunt, flyin’s sorta in the job description.” He had an odd habit of that, still referring to himself as if he was lower down the chain of command than he really was. Here he was running the show and he often had to remind himself that he wasn’t just a Lieutenant anymore. Rygdea couldn’t help but grin at Fang when she barely even reacted to that slap on the ass, which he had been halfway convinced would end up with him being pinned down under her lance. Something told him that was probably a good sign. Although she then pointed out that he was the one that had been last to arrive, so he just shrugged and climbed on into the back of the trick with Lightning and Fang while Cole and Alice were sitting up front, sitting in the remaining seat beside Fang (as if he would rather be anywhere else), but relaxing back against the wall and stretching one of his arms over his backrest to get comfy, turned in from the wall to face the others in the truck. Rygdea had sort of expected to have to drive, being known as the pilot and all, but he was actually quite pleased when Alice took the wheel. Not maybe as pleased as if it had been someone more calm like Lightning, but it was certainly an improvement to driving over bumpy terrain in straight lines at monotonous speeds for hour upon hour. Just thinking about it made him want to yawn. Cars - and especially big heavy trucks - just did not do enough backflips to make the journey interesting and you did not have the luxury of hitting autopilot when you got bored. These were the kind of journeys that reminded Rygdea why he had chosen piloting in the first place.

On the other hand, being a passenger he did not mind at all. The fun ride as Cole put it, heh. Some time with Fang broken up by a good fight any time a group of monsters felt like playing tag with a truck? Rygdea was quite happy with that. And hell, he might actually get his focus done when he was out here. Somehow he had actually managed to make that the lesser priority here to having fun. He was just trying to stay optimistic about the whole l'cie-deal and he had been doing quite well so far. He knew that freaking out would only speed along the process of becoming a cie'th, which was more than enough incentive to try lay back and not worry about it. Rygdea was perfectly good at handling his own business, quite happy to shoulder his own burdens, and while that did not mean he was unable to ask for help if he required it, this focus certainly fell under the label of ‘his business’. He had not come on this trip to try push his focus onto anyone else, but simply so that he could get it done by himself. Besides, he wouldn’t mind the company, especially since he was sure there were times ahead when this brand would probably end up getting to him a bit. It would be nice to not be alone.

Shaking that sobering thought from his mind, he nodded as Alice introduced herself, already being acquainted with her himself. Lightning said nothing. The ex-soldier was hardly one that could be accused of being overly charming or effervescent at the best of times, but today she seemed to just be almost in a bad mood, but at least in the times that Rygdea had met her she had remained quietly positive, pushing towards a goal. Perhaps this was just what she was like when she did not have a goal in mind. Rygdea left it, not wanting to attach too much significance to a slightly moody silence, although he was always one for trying to feel people out, he could not really help it. The woman he was more interested in getting to know was as open as she always seemed to be, diving straight into conversation. “Rygdea,” he simply said by way of an introduction, fairly sure that everyone here knew at least a little about him by now. The only person he had not met before was Cole, and since he seemed to be the leader of this little expedition, Rygdea was sure he had probably asked someone about him before he had arrived. His eyes appraising Fang slightly as she stretched, she then asked a question which he was extremely interested in hearing the answer to. Yes, he was there to try and find portals and really had his own mission alongside whatever Cole had planned, but he was quite eager to here what exactly the other man had planned for their group.

WORDS; 845
TAGGED; Fang/Cole/Alice/Light
MUSE; Good!
OUTFIT; Cavalry Uniform
NOTES; Nope
LISTENING TO?; Something

[Coulson Pike]

Cole huffed a little in amusement at the other man's response. Sounded like Cole wouldn't have any trouble at all getting along with that one, at least - it was more the woman he thought he should probably be wary of. But, honestly, why would Light of all people bring a nuisance along? Well, short answer, he didn't believe she would, so nothing to worry about there. Cole just stood back and watched the interaction between Fang and the man, supposing he'd been uninformed of their close relations with one another before he took Lightning's silent cue to get in the truck and hopped up into the passenger seat, only slightly petrified by the sight of Alice hopping into the driver's seat. It wasn't that he didn't think she could drive...it was that he didn't think she could drive safely. If she handled driving like she seemed to handle the rest of her life, he would be screaming like a schoolgirl before this was over. Shooting her a nod to hopefully acknowledge that she had their lives in her hands, Cole let out a breath of anticipation and stared thoughtfully out the window until Fang and the man had loaded up in the back.

And so the trip began with the first hums of an odd-sounding engine, and Cole turned slightly in his seat so he could look on those behind him, knowing Alice could keep to the dirt roads for at least a while before he'd have to start directing her more specifically. "Yeah, just keep to the path for now. We've got a few miles before we need to break off," he informed her, motioning out the windshield. Hopefully he wouldn't have to watch the road too closely to make sure she didn't run anything down... So, that meant time to meet with the porn star and the tanned lady. Cole finally caught the man's name this time as he introduced himself - Rygdea. The brunette's greeting wasn't quite as...cordial, since he was granted the flattering name of "whatever he hell your name is", but hey, he could work with a little sass. He'd come into contact with quite a few wild women in his time, after all. One more wouldn't hurt, especially if Light trusted her.

"...I'm tempted to let you call me by that whole title instead of by my name," Cole told Fang, feigning seriousness. "But to keep you from pulling any muscles, call me Cole. I'd give you both a handshake, but I'd probably strain my back trying to turn that far in the seat." He did, however, turn in the seat as far as he could without interrupting Alice's driving, making himself able to face everyone in the back with a turn of his head. His eyes rested on Fang, aiming to answer her question. "What you'll be doing - or what I hope you're willing to do, since you came along in the first place - is helping out with all the Pulse lore. Reading things written in Pulsian, relaying ghost stories, telling us not to step on the part of the floor that leads to the giant axe chopping off our heads. You know, stuff only you know anything about. You're the resident encyclopedia." After a short pause, he looked to Rygdea, the one person on this trip Cole knew to have as much stake in this as Cole himself. The other l'Cie. A fellow Cole knew he'd be talking to quite a bit over the next days and weeks. Eventually, he mustered up the guts to bring up their shared curse. "What we're going to do is figure out a way to get rid of these damned brands. If we figure out a way to get rid of the fal'Cie while we're at it, all the better. I don't want anyone having to deal with this crap in the future."

Words – 722
Muse – Excellent!
Notes – I think after this next round of posting, we can mini-timeskip? Everyone agreed?[/size]

[Lightning Farron]

Great, now that everyone had finally shown up, Lightning was ready to get this over with. She assumed it would take quite awhile, but that really wasn’t to be controlled. She didn’t want to spend an eternity out here on Pulse though, she had other things to worry about of course. She wanted to go see Serah and what not, though journeying wasn’t a bad thing, she was curious as to the old legends of Pulse as it was, Fang was the perfect one to interpret anything foreign that wasn’t something she could read. Gazing at Fang, Lightning nodded at the sound of her name and respectfully responded, but briefly. "Glad to see you’re still in one piece.” She shrugged a bit with her arms folded across her chest, not saying much more. There was nothing else to be said, she wasn’t leading this expedition, that was all up to Cole. Normally had she had a bigger stake in something like this, she probably would’ve been more vocal, more encouraging or whatever, striding towards a goal, but alas she was just acting like a carry on for now. Simply a tool to help rid of the nasties that blocked their path.

After hopping into the back of the truck and taking a seat, her gunblade in her lap instead of sitting on it, Lightning kept her gaze down towards the bottom of the truck, arms still folded and her silence still lingering. As the red head got behind the wheel, Light felt her heart stop for a moment. She knew the type, reckless and stupid…it was like having Snow take charge, it was never supposed to happen unless you wanted it all to end badly. Though there was one good difference between Snow and Alice, at least she didn’t run around saying ‘hero’ every five minutes. ‘We’re all going to die.’ She thought to herself with a heavy sigh before leaning back against the truck walls and just trying to make herself comfortable before they took off. She at this point would much rather summon Odin and ride him along side or just go ahead instead of risking her own life at the hands of this…crazy woman, Alice, whatever. ‘Just stay calm, she couldn’t possibly kill everyone in a crash could she?’ she thought to herself before she felt the truck start to move, and her eyes flickered up as her eyes met with the faces of Fang and Rygdea in the back of the truck with her. Oh an enjoyable trip this would be. ‘Not.’

As Fang spoke with her, Lightning couldn’t help the tiny amused smirk on her face. “No, not yet. Haven’t seen him for awhile, been doing things of my own, but I’m sure once I get back home to Serah and Snow, I’ll be fighting back the punches once again.” She shrugged as she had spoken in a slightly humorous tone before drifting back to that infamous silence was she known well for. Sitting back and being quiet while Cole explained what their motivation so to speak was for all of this. It was like déjà vu, finding a way to get rid of the brands, looking even harder than they had the last time…maybe this time around things would be different? ‘Highly unlikely…though, it couldn’t hurt to try.’ She needed to be optimistic, after all it was she who had fed Cole the words of hope and a future. Loopholes, defying fate, it was no easy task, and if this is what it took to relieve a few l’cie from a disastrous fate, then so be it. She’d been in their shoes, as had Fang, it wasn’t a lovely road to travel down, so anything they could do to save them was important. That’s what friends did she supposed. Since when had Lightning softened up and gone out to make new friends? Perhaps it was because there some something common between her and some people…it made it easier to tolerate people…though that could also be false, Snow was a prime example. Shaking her head slightly, she just remained quiet and closed her eyes as she leaned back, sinking a bit as she sat. The sooner they get this trip over with the better, and hopefully from here it was nothing but smooth sailing.

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Words:[/color] 837
Muse:[/color] Good
Tagged:[/color] Fang, Rygdea, Alice, Cole
Wearing:[/color] GC Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Into the West: Annie Lennox
Notes:[/color] Silence is golden.

[alice]

Alice gave Fang a nod again in the rear-view mirror. She then put her eyes back on the road, watching the road pass by her. Alice rested her elbow on the rim of the door as she drove, might not have been the best idea while driving with four passengers. But nothing had happened yet. She gave a nod to Cole as he instructed her to stay on the path for now. She then listened as he explained what Fang should be doing or willing to do anyways, and then what Rygdea should be doing, Ohh well that was just fantastic! While one played archeologist and two played with their I’Cie junk Alice and Light were left to do the blunt work or at least that was how she put it together anyway. But she was wrong, she knew that each were specific to what they would be doing, and all would putting forward the effort if any baddies came round. Alice at this moment looked in the rear-view mirror at Light and then back to the road. She listened then to the rest of the conversation, knowing that she was there just as mere fists. But she was not complaining, anything that got her out of the city for now.

Alice pulled herself up in the seat more just as the road started a slight incline, placing the other hand back on the wheel now. She shifted up a gear again as the punched the gas again, sending the truck into a slight jerk, but it was getting them up the hill, and as far as she was concerned that was all that mattered right now. She had it to the floor as she continued up the hill and even as they crossed the top of the incline now going down the other side. Alice felt the speed of the truck pick up speed with each passing second. She could feel the wind atop her face as a slight smirk came across her face, not directing it to anyone in particular. She bit her bottom lip as the speed would now be reaching a slight peak on the speedometer. Maybe it was just her thrill of things that made her this way, but she did not care at this point. Alice was then caught off guard when she heard the name, Snow. Her being startled caused the truck to clip a tree making the driver’s side mirror fly off, hitting trees behind it as it then settled itself in the dust behind them. She gave a slight cough getting the truck back to where it was supposed to be, but the speed had not changed yet.

“Didn’t nee’ it anyway’.” She said with a shake of her head. She decided that she would leave that part out, that she knew him, maybe it was best that way. In the time that they had been talking, Alice had gotten a fair distance, at least four miles. She hoped that Cole had not gotten distracted and she had missed a turn, like two miles back. Alice gave herself a slight laugh as she continued at the same speed, very in control of the wheel at this point. She looked to Cole as she drummed her fingers on the wheel and then back to the road again, well what road there was. She could barely see any sign of tracks now, but none the less she kept going in the same direction as she had been. Then arching a brow as she was now plowing through a field of brush, no problem at all, of course she could not help it if stray branches were attacking the trucks occupants. Alice herself at one point had ducked to avoid getting smacked in the face. “Are you sure tha' left turn wasn't' back there some where?” She asked with a smirk as she pointed behind them.




----------

words: 652
tagged: cole! light! fang! rygdea!
outfit: same as last...?
listening to: farscape
notes: haha *giggle*

[Oerba Yun Fang]

"Glad to see you’re still in one piece.”

"Hell, ya know me Loight. To stubborn t' doie. Which I'm sure is the reason yer still aloive too." Relaxing, Fang felt herself pressed up against Rygdea and leaned against him slightly, her eyes still on Lightning. Fang couldn't help but smile as well, it WAS nice, being alive again, and all in one piece. That really was a miracle. She had yet to find Vanille. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she had agreed to this crazy expedition. Then again, as she'd assured Rygdea, Vanille was fine. They were on Gran Pulse, the place they had grown up, and though she cried a lot, Vanille could take care of herself. Despite that, she worried, even if she didn't voice it aloud. She had taken down an entire world to save her friend before. If she had to rip another apart to find her she would. Thankfully, this was Gran Pulse, no reason to fear here. Despite everything being a lot meaner here, she felt she could relax.

"...I'm tempted to let you call me by that whole title instead of by my name, but to keep you from pulling any muscles, call me Cole. I'd give you both a handshake, but I'd probably strain my back trying to turn that far in the seat."

Fang shrugged when he mentioned he might just let her call him that the entire time. She would if she had to, hell, she didn't really give a damn what his name was. He was just another face, not important, at least not yet. Neither was the girl. The only two important to her at all were Light and Rygdea. She knew them, trusted them, and respected them. She didn't know either of the other two, not in the slightest. And thus, she didn't give a damn if she really knew anything about them. Sure, they might be good people, and she'd be stuck with them for awhile, but until she actually had a reason to like them, or a reason to care about them, she didn't really care. They could do whatever the hell they wanted, and she would call him 'guy' if she had to. "Don' really give a damn wha' I call ya. Don' strain yerself on my account." Fang had to slightly roll her eyes there, but was curious about the answer he was going to give her, as to just why they were here.

"...Reading things written in Pulsian, relaying ghost stories, telling us not to step on the part of the floor that leads to the giant axe chopping off our heads. You know, stuff only you know anything about. You're the resident encyclopedia."

Fang nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sounds loike a good idea. Good thing ya got the expert on Gran Pulse." Fang couldn't seem to stress that 'Gran' enough with these fool Cocoon people. She couldn't blame them though, they'd grown up just calling it simply 'Pulse.' But it'd been what...three years? They could put the blasted Gran in front of it. She didn't know about these two, but she really hoped she wasn't going to just have to take care of a bunch of sissy tenderfeet. Rygdea and Light could take care of themselves, so at least she wouldn't have to worry there. Hopefully she could teach them some Gran Pulse information as well, they all needed it.

"What we're going to do is figure out a way to get rid of these damned brands. If we figure out a way to get rid of the fal'Cie while we're at it, all the better. I don't want anyone having to deal with this crap in the future."

Fang shrugged. Living with the Fal'cie had always been the way it was. That would always be the way things would be in her opinion. But that, of course, was just her opinion. They could defy their focuses. After all, hadn't the gang done just that? In destroying a world they had saved it. "Hell, I can do tha' easy as can be. But we'll be needin' Lady Luck on our soide ifn' ya wanna stop the fal'cie for good. Best be prayin' fer it."

“No, not yet. Haven’t seen him for awhile, been doing things of my own, but I’m sure once I get back home to Serah and Snow, I’ll be fighting back the punches once again.”

She didn't doubt it either. Always the same old Lightning and Snow. And Fang would have them no other way then exactly what they were. Snow was an idiot half the time in her opinion, but he got things done, and as stubborn and hardheaded as he was, he could get things right once in awhile. Lightning was an entirely different machine, but she liked her, more then most. She hoped they'd stay themselves. Fang was altogether to distracted by the sudden jerking and revving of the truck beneath her. Extremely sensitive to change, Fang turned her green eyes toward the woman driving. Sure, she didn't really give a damn about the woman, but as of right now, she was driving the contraption they were all in, she'd like to get there in one piece. "Hey Red, Alice, whatever the hell yer name is, ya gonna get us there in one piece?" Tensing up slightly, Fang remained poised but relaxed, ready to bail out if the woman did anything crazier then what she was doing right now. On Bahamut, Fang felt perfectly comfortable living on the edge. In this blasted contraption, she didn't feel quite so comfortable, but her face was the same as always. Prodding Rygdea in the side slightly, Fang raised her eyebrow and watched him, her voice low, and though holding a teasing note, was also serious. "Think we're gonna live through this?"

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Words:; 1209
Muse:; Yay muse! Yay...annoyed Fang muse? XD
Tagged:; Cole, Light, Rygdea, Alice
Location:; GRAN Pulse (Fang made me)
Outfit:; Tribal
Notes:; ^_^
Listening too:;[/b] Nothing

[rygdea]

“Tellin’ us not to stand on the bit of the floor that leads to the giant axe chopping off our heads,” Rygdea repeated, throwing Fang a look, “I do like the sound of that. Although that’s trustin’ that Fang wouldn’t find our decapitation hilarious, which I’m not entirely sure ‘bout,” he grinned, indicating he was only joking, although Fang was certainly an unpredictable one to be trusting with your life. However, she certainly wasn’t cruel enough to deliberately not prevent their deaths on some ancient Pulsian contraption... probably. Rygdea caught the stressed Gran Pulse in her reply and made a mental note that this was both something he should be careful to say and also a possible way to annoy her by not saying it, slightly amused by his own childishness even as he thought that. Fang was certainly right in calling herself the expert on Gran Pulse though. “So ya really think we have a way around our focus then?” Rygdea addressed Cole again. Rygdea was not so sure on that one, he knew the story of the l’cie a couple years ago and he knew he must have some faith that Cole was onto something, or else he would never have come along on this trip in the first place, but he was also a skeptic by nature. All he could really think was, if removing your brand was possible, why had nobody else done it before. Well, maybe because they had accepted their fate so quickly that they had never thought to look. Rygdea was still really on the fence about the whole thing, partially skeptical, another part of him pushing to stay positive, yet another trying to figure out if he should just complete his focus after all. He really had no idea, but that was what he needed from this trip most of all. The time and space to clear his head and make his choices. These ones were sort of important.

“I’m with ya on that,” Rygdea nodded, as Cole came out with something he could certainly agree on. No more l’cie, no more taking away freedom from the people, that was what Rygdea had really wanted all along. The sanctum was supposedly dead, one of his battles was won, but that hardly meant the war was over. If nothing else came from this whole debadacle for him personally, if he could find some way to prevent others ‘having to deal with this crap in the future’ as Cole put it, then he would certainly go to his death a lot more satisfied. However, in some ways that was even more unlikely than being able to remove his own brand. Rygdea was a little surprised when Fang leant into him slightly, not entirely sure if it was a conscious gesture or not, but he didn’t mind a bit either way. He accepted Fang’s comment about them needing to pray if they were really going to try stop the fal’cie for good. To a certain extent there was no stopping some of the fal’cie and some of them were not even malicious. Rygdea thought of Titan, the fal’cie that had branded him not so long ago. How could people ever bring down that thing? It would be like trying to fight a mountain. Again, it was a matter he would have to think on.

He didn’t say anything more about it, just smiled as he heard Lightning’s response to Fang’s question. Personally Rygdea found Snow Villiers quite likable, a bit of a moron at times, yes, but certainly likable, and he certainly seemed capable of taking care of those people that had gone with him to the slightly remote town of New Bodhum, which was a notable achievement when even the centre of Academia could be full of danger at times. Rygdea thought it might be best to keep those thoughts to himself, Snow was not marrying his sister after all, so that sort of eliminated any right he had to contribute to that particular conversation. Not unless he wanted to be in Lightning’s bad books and right now he was fairly sure he was in them just for giving her reason to be here in the first place. She really was a woman that could do with loosening up a little; but she was a good soldier. What else could he say?

For a moment he drifted off in thought, thinking once again about that strange prophetic dream from which he was supposed to decipher the meaning of his focus. The portals, his soldiers, monsters... He was still sure that the portals were the most important part of the puzzle, but he also held his doubts as to whether he was supposed to guard the portals or destroy them. The monsters were clearly a warning, an alert of future invaders from other planets that would use portals to enter this reality, but the details of how exactly he was supposed to defeat them, well he was not 100% on that yet. Was it so simple as guarding the portals with men and repelling each attack as it came? Simple in theory, yes, but perhaps one day they would not be ready, an attack would be too strong, something would fall through the net... The only other option would be to destroy the portals though, and Rygdea had no idea how that could be accomplished. He didn’t even know if it was possible.

The swerve and snapping of the wing mirror brought him juddering uncomfortably back to the present situation and Alice’s erratic driving. Rygdea was starting to think he really should have driven himself - how had she even managed to do that? It was a straight road. She must have hit the only tree in about a mile. That practically took talent. A gentle prod in the side brought Fang to his attention and he shook his head and smiled at her comment, “I really don’t know, but suddenly I miss my ship and especially auto-pilot.” With a smile, he looked at Alice, although she was too busy driving to look back at him (or at least, she should be) and added. “See later when we arrive at the standard dangerous, twisty cliff road that all these old ruins inevitably have? I’m drivin’. Else we walk.” Out here, wing mirrors or not, Rygdea was not genuinely worried about Alice flipping the truck, that again was something so extreme that again it would practically take talent to achieve, but if there were any roads like the one he had described... no, he could just imagine Alice accidentally accelerating them to their doom. If she argued at the time he might just have Fang and Light pin her down in the back if that’s what it took. She’d be better off with a bruised ego than dead. Somehow he felt the others would probably agree with him.

WORDS; 1184
TAGGED; Fang/Cole/Alice/Light
MUSE; Pretty good
OUTFIT; Uniform
NOTES; Nope
LISTENING TO?; You Me At Six