Live To Rise [Noel]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

This was it. It was time to get started and not fail anyone. This wasn’t just for Serah, this was for Snow, Lightning, and everyone else that existed on Gran Pulse. With the determination of a thousand people on her shoulders, Vanille strode across the airship, not being able to sit still. She was ready to get going, she wanted to land at this exploration site that she’d heard only little about when she’d actually personally spoken to Coulson Pike. She didn’t know they’d discovered some sort of ancient spell that could resurrect the dead, but if it was possible, then why not give it a try? Vanille was a medic mage as it was, if anyone could bring someone back with ancient Pulsian tales and spells, it would be her. With a heavy breath, Vanille had laced her fingers together, she was nervous, she didn’t want to fail anyone, especially when Fang told her to do what she was assigned to do. Get Serah back and watch over Noel, those were her orders given, and she’d do her best to achieve those goals.

Hearing the airship slow down, the red head moved and took a seat, strapping a belt over her lap and waiting for the official stop for Noel and Vanille, of course with Serah’s body in tow as well. Not having said anything since they left, Vanille was feeling anxious, wanting to do what she could to lighten the mood, but there wasn’t much she could think of to say. If this failed, then they were really at a loss, it was a saddening thought, but not everything worked, especially old legends and tales off of an ancient shield. With a slight bump of the airship, it came to a complete halt on the ground, letting the two travelers know that they could get up and get going. Stepping up to her feet, she walked down the slope that led her outside and looking at some sort of moss covered ruins, a hole near the top area where it looked like it had been broken through. Someone during the expedition had found their own way in then…that was the way they needed to go, so long as it was easy enough for Noel when he would be carrying Serah.

Turning around and facing the brown haired youth, Vanille then walked over and gave him a small yet very sincere smile, patting his shoulder. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine! We have to believe in this spell thing that was found…I memorized the ritual and hopefully we can get it right on the first try.” She encouraged before turning back around and taking the lead. The ritual site was on the inside of these ruins, it wouldn’t take long to follow the trail of damage that Cole, Rygdea and the rest of them no doubt left during their journey through here. Easing herself down the hole and into the ruins, Vanille landed on her feet easily, the drop wasn’t far at all, if only a few feet, and that’s when she flicked on a flashlight she had gotten from the ship. Looking around she saw a few unnatural changes to these ruins and started to follow the trail of destruction. Carefully she stepped around debris and avoided stepping on weak spots on the floor, anything she could do to cause as little trouble as possible would be best.

“Noel, you doing okay?” Vanille called over her shoulder, hearing a slight echo of her voice as she continued to keep her eyes ahead, knowing he was a strong and tough guy, able to handle himself, there was nothing to worry about, everything would be restored to normal in no time…Vanille promised it would be, and when prayers turn to promises…well, fate was more likely to be defied. Everything was going to be okay.

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

Words:[/color] 745
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] >>Click<<
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] Hope this was okay!

[Noel Kreiss]

It had been quiet the whole trip, aside from Vanille's footsteps. Noel couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He wouldn't know what to say to her if he decided it was a bad thing, anyway. He kind of knew the general stuff about her, from what Hope had told. The two of them were close. Vanille was...a older than she looked and maybe than she seemed, too, even if you didn't count the crystalstasis she'd been in for five hundred years. She was a pretty cheery person, which Noel had been able to figure out just from the half an hour since he'd met her. And she was probably a lot more dangerous than she looked, too. But Noel wasn't paying that close attention to her anymore. He'd only studied her pacing for a few seconds before his eyes had settled on Serah and on his thoughts for the rest of the trip as he sat beside her body, impatiently holding his short sword and wishing these airships could go even faster than they already did. He wanted to perform this Gran Pulse resurrection ritual that Hope said could work, and that Vanille, being a native of the world almost twelve hundred years before Noel was even born, could help them perform right. If they could get this thing done...it would be Noel's first step to fixing everything he'd put wrong.

His thoughts and the rhythm of Vanille's stepping actually made the rest of the trip feel shorter, and Noel could feel, now that he'd been on a few of them, that the ship was starting to settle down in place. They wouldn't be close enough to just move Serah to the right place, the pilot had told them before they even took off, so Noel would have to carry her. He didn't have any problem with that at all, so long as his feet could carry him to the right place fast enough. Standing and unhooking the latches that had been holding Serah in place during the trip, Noel's mind kept bouncing from optimism to pessimism. On one hand, he knew they were closer than he thought they would ever be to actually getting her back just by having the whole ritual thing to try. But that was just the thing...this was a try and nothing was guaranteed about it, even if Vanille really was as great of a medicine woman as Hope had claimed her to be. They might not even have the right materials or the place where they were supposed to perform it could be gone or caved in or...anything. But looking at Serah's peaceful face before him, Noel was reminded of what she would say on the matter. She'd probably say it wasn't worth worrying about what could go wrong when so many things could go right, wouldn't she? Something like that. So taking in a deep breath for confidence's sake, Noel unhooked the last latch and slid his arms underneath her to lift her up and out of the protective stretcher. In silence, he joined Vanille outside of the ship and took in his surroundings, which were completely alien to him. Seeing plant life, especially overgrown plant life, was something he wasn't used to at all.

The ruins they were headed to didn't look all that special to Noel even if he was surprised by how much moss covered it, but this was apparently the place where they'd found the shield that the ritual had been written on. So...they had to come here, find some kind of specific room and stone slab and place Serah down on it to even have a chance to get the ritual going. He stared at it with scrutiny for a few seconds before the feeling of a hand on his shoulder brought his gaze down to the small redheaded, green-eyed woman accompanying him. Vanille seemed to like her quick, reassuring pep talks, he'd noticed. He didn't mind it at all, since he didn't like to have everyone around him be down in the dumps either. You had to find something good in even the worst things to be able to keep going. Though Noel didn't know Vanille beyond their few minutes in the same time and place, he figured that was a common place where they could level and get along fine. "You don't know how much I wanna believe you're right about all that...", he told her, unable to say he was completely convinced yet. But he wasn't going to let a little doubt slow him down.

Following the woman up the ruins to the top carrying Serah was the easy part, and only took them a minute or so. Getting her down would be a little trickier - there were plenty of opportunities to make a slip-up and fall if he wasn't careful, so he inched his way down after his unburdened companion, only making a slight jump down once he was within just a few feet of the bottom. He peered around, only able to see what the dim outside light was spilling in on and whatever Vanille pointed her little light source at. This was more what he was used to. Completely ruined buildings that were barely standing straight anymore.

He trailed along behind Vanille, trusting her to not run them into any problems, remaining fairly silent aside from his mental talking to Serah and telling her they were about to bring her back as long as everything would go right and, wherever she was out there, to lend them a hand with it. His attention was given to Vanille when she turned to him, though, and he picked up his pace of walking a little bit, keeping Serah steady by the back and knees, to catch up with his companion before he answered. "I'm pretty sure I could keep going right now if a whole army was in front of me," Noel assured her, before a thought occurred to him about the ritual itself. Vanille had memorized it and he knew basically nothing about it, so he figured asking and actually having a small clue as to what they were trying to do here might be worthwhile.

"Hope had a word for the ritual....what was it...arcane?" Arcane was a word Noel could never really remember hearing more than maybe once his whole life, and he'd definitely never bothered to use it himself or figure out what it meant. "What did he mean?"

Words - 1148
Muse - Excellent!
Outfit - Usual
Notes - So...much...Noel muse.[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

This was one of those few moments where Vanille took everything completely seriously. That didn’t mean she needed to be quiet, unfeeling or grumpy – unlike the tactic that some people she knew took – she was a pure optimist through and through, you couldn’t expect her just to be quiet when those around her were unsure about things. If anything, she was more than positive that this would work. She remembered some of the old tales from when she was a small girl living in Oerba, the legends of these rituals, some believed they were just stories for entertainment, some believed they actually worked, with her mind set on the latter, then it had to work. Noel just had to believe, and in due time, he would, Vanille would make sure of it with every little chipper pep talk she dished out. Nodding her head towards the other Pulsian – that was kind of weird when it wasn’t Fang – and she gave him a small smile, understanding his words and how difficult it was just to believe in something. “In time you’ll see, everything tends to work out if you believe.”

Moving on…

Trailing into the ruins wasn’t bad, Vanille didn’t feel like voicing any concerns just yet, even though it was pretty dark, they’d be able to find their way around, she was a careful person when it came to places like this, but never had Vanille really been a leader of sorts. She was always the one to follow a group, let the more experienced take the lead, the only time she actually remember leading through places she didn’t know was…with Hope, through the Vestige – which she kind of knew at the time – and with Sazh through the Sunleth Waterscape, following the smell of nature and flowers was easy, but that kind of talent wouldn’t apply here whatsoever. With hesitant movements to make sure they didn’t step on anything that would crumble, Vanille led on as best as she could, pointing her light around to make sure she had a general idea as to the layout of these ruins.

After taking a few feet into the actual ruins, stepping carefully and lightly, Vanille figured she needed to say something, she was generally concerned about this task as a whole, but...she had plenty of time to worry later. “Alright, if anything comes up though…let me know, we’re a team now.” She voiced in her usual tone of optimism before taking a few more steps, watching the floor carefully, knowing these types of old ruins – to even before her time – could crumble at the drop of a hat. Stepping forward carefully and pressing her foot a few times on the ground, she felt a slope, as well as saw it when she flashed her light on it. It didn’t look like any stairs would be possible to find in this clutter of debris, so standing there, she turned around in time to hear Noel speak once more, a very good question, but it took Vanille a moment to come up with a good answer. Explaining anything Hope meant wasn’t necessarily a challenge, but…she had a general idea of the word and how to put it into context with all of this.

“I believe…this ritual thing, it was a legend in my time, believed by very few, myself included. Only a good handful of people knew it I guess. So it was very…Arcane, known by few, disregarded by many.” She said with a small shrug of her shoulders before trying to decide how to take the rest of this. “There’s a slope here, it looks smooth enough to simply slide down, nor is it that steep, I didn’t spot any stairs or an easier way down so…be careful.” Vanille advised before carefully inching her way on the slope before sliding down carefully, pretty slow, and smoothly. After having hit the bottom, she quickly moved off to the side and kept her light flashed on the base of the slope, where Noel would land. Wherever this ritual thing was, they’d make it there after a bit of time. So far so good, no troubles had really jumped out at them, at least not yet. Vanille had to wonder if Cole and his group of trustee explorers had come across any troubles, any detours that needed to be taken…they’d figure that out later, so long as Vanille paid attention and didn’t get distracted by the simplest of things.

Whirling around to continue leading on. Vanille took two steps forward, her foot nearly sliding off the floor as she waved her hands around trying to catch her balance and pull herself backwards with a small yelp, she took a step backwards finally, and gazed down at the floor with her light. Thing was…there was no floor. It had collapsed sometime previously, and that made the red headed Pulsian groan in frustration, looking around to try and find some sort of path they could take…but the only way to go was down. “Maybe they should’ve sent someone else with us…this is going to get very difficult.” She warned, less chipper, and more…straight forward. Hopefully Noel could handle keeping Serah safe, while keeping himself safe as well. Vanille was ready to help in any way possible. “Any ideas?”

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

Words:[/color] 999 <-- wow
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] Already linked
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] Blah post is blah

[Noel Kreiss]

Noel didn't want to tell Vanille...but he'd done lot of believing lately, and none of it had panned out yet. He'd been through some pretty bad things in the past, and it wasn't necessary to mentio that the worst of them had been the fact that everyone around him, including his best friend, had died. Through it all, he'd managed to stay optimistic and keep pressing forward with the hope he'd find something better. But what had happened to Serah..and Etro and...everyone, Noel had to admit to himself...his faith had faltered there for a while. None of what he and Serah had been trying to do as they traveled through time had ever been much of a guarantee, but Noel had really, really believed they could pull off saving Lightning and the timeline. And he'd been wrong. Noel would have loved to believe without a doubt that this ritual would work, but if he got his hopes up again and ended up wrong a second time...well, he didn't even want to think about this not working. He just needed to go with the flow for now, get Serah to the right spot and put a little trust in Vanille to do a good job leading the ritual. Taking in an anxious breath, Noel gave his companion a nod of understanding and acceptance before they continued on. It didn't matter if he was all that confident in the ritual. Any doubts he had weren't going to stop him from doing everything he could to make sure they got the chance to at least give it a try.

Once inside the ruins, the going wasn't as bad, at least at first, as Noel might have expected it to be from the outside. Just a little picking around for good footing, which Noel - and apparently Vanille, too - knew all about. The rest of the building, though, he couldn't be too sure about. And he hoped to Etr- well, hoped to Cosmos, for the time being, that there weren't any monsters down here. But...Fang and some of the others had been down here before, hadn't they? Hopefully, they'd cleared it out. But Noel wasn't about to voice any of those concerns out loud. Vanille had just been telling him not to worry so much, after all. At her announcement that he should say something if any problems came up, he simply gave her a confident "Will do." and continued on, eyes occasionally shifting over to some of the longer shadows that gripped these ruins.

He noticed what she was looking at when he caught up with her. Some kind of downward slope...looked like someone had carved out a staircase once that was now so worn down that there was barely anything left to put your feet on besides the downwards incline. It wasn't too big of a problem, since Noel was sure he could hold onto Serah just find while sliding on his back, but if this was any indication of the shape the rest of the building was in, it was going to be some tough sledding to find the room they needed for the ritual. Those were obstacles to cross when they came to them, though. What Noel wanted to know was...what was this ritual? Hoping Vanille wouldn't mind his session of twenty questions, he got ready to follow-up his question about the word "arcane" with something else about the reason why no one would have known the ritual or believed in it. He'd hold onto it, though, in favor of getting past this little slope here, as Vanille had in mind. The last thing he wanted to be was an annoyance when they had a small problem they needed to deal with.

"Let's just hope there's something to stop us at the bottom," he commented, realistically, before taking a step back to give Vanille any extra room she might have needed. She disappeared from his sight on her way down, though he could still see her light. And she didn't say anything to make him believe there was a problem waiting below. So in he went, he supposed. "Coming down!" Dropping himself down onto the edge of the slope, he made sure to tuck Serah in a little closer before he reclined a bit and used his foot to give him a start, sliding down and hitting a few painful, jagged rocks, but nothing too bad. He slid in beside Vanille a few seconds later, no complaints to be made. "Not a bad start for the first thing in our way...", he said, quietly, before pushing up on his elbows to get himself to a seated position before he got his feet back underneath him.

But his companion almost didn't have her feet underneath her. "Vanille!", he called when he turned just in time to see her nearly slip off the edge of a chasm that he would have missed, too. Stuck between needing to hold Serah and wanting to reach out and pull Vanille back, Noel was maneuvering Serah gingerly against the slope when he saw Vanille make her own recovery. Stopping mid-motion, he closed his eyes and let loose a breath of relief. "That was too close. You okay?" Once he'd recovered and had Serah secure again, he stepped forward beside the fellow Pulsian and glanced down where her light was shining. No floor. Now what? "We can still do this," he responded, not realizing he was turning the tables on the whole optimism thing while he was trying to come up with a plan. He swallowed in concentration, eyes shifting at everything around them that he could see.

"Vanille...do you know Blizzard spells?", he asked, mind working and not considering risk too much. They were beyond worrying about risks now...they just had to get this done.

Words - 1038
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Yes, he is planning something crazy. [/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

Vanille knew well that there would be many obstacles to overcome in places like these. She’d never really been through an ancient ruin before – ancient even for her – but it seemed far too interesting, this was no leisure stroll though, they had a task to complete, so looking around at different carvings and artifacts would have to wait for another day. With a small bit of worry at how bad some of these obstacles would be, Nille continued to lead the way with her little flashlight and a good sense of direction. This wasn’t her first go-round in the dark by any means, but there were a lot more risks at hand today. After sliding down the slope that lead to the next lower floor, she stepped to the side to make way for Noel, with Serah in his arms. She hoped things went smoothly and just waited at the bottom to see if he needed any help, her eyes hopeful and watching, her weight shifted back and forth on her feet, waiting…


…waiting…

And down he came!

“That wasn’t too bad! Let’s keep going.” She said whipping around and nearly falling to her ultimate doom. It took a second between the realization that she could fall and her yelping to try and get herself balanced again. Waving her arms around like a maniac, she finally was able to shift her balance backwards in order to take a step back and away from the ledge that she nearly walked right off of. Pressing her free hand to her heart, she let out a sigh of relief, shaking her head and glancing down at the ground that just wasn’t there. That could’ve been a nasty fall, if not fatal. “I’m…I’m fine. Close call, huh?” she added, trying to get the shaky and fearful tone from her voice with a bit of optimism. It was time to continue onwards, but by the looks of things, they were sitting ducks. Unless they wanted to risk breaking an arm…a leg…and everything else just to get to the floor that was far below them. If one of them got hurt, then it was pretty much a failed mission, something Vanille couldn’t live with. Placing one hand on her hip and letting her light flash around the room, she began to ponder, asking Noel if he had any ideas.

With his words reaching her ears, Vanille turned to face him, raising an eyebrow in the dark as she gave a small nod, not that it was seen. “Yes, I do. From blizzard to blizzaga.” She commented, looking back at the giant gap in the floor. What was he getting to? Did he want her to…try and manipulate the blizzard spell to either get them down or across? Look, now her own mind was going to crazy ideas! It was far too risky, but…hey what choice did they have? One thing that was silly was not thinking about Hecatoncheir, that Eidolon would’ve been perfect for a job like this, able to catch them at the bottom with ease and such gentility. Too dang bad that didn’t come to mind, and here they were thinking about making an ice skating rink or something to get them across…oh the minds of forgetful people.

“Maybe I can get the ice to become thick and solid enough for us to cross to the other side, or down to the bottom. Sort of like the slope, yes? I mean…which way do you think we should go? I don’t exactly know the details as to how they found the shield or where, I just know it’s somewhere here and how to perform the ritual.” She shrugged a bit with an uncertain tone, continuing to glance back and forth between Noel and the floorless…floor. Whatever it was they came up with, you can bet it was going to be crazy, dangerous and perhaps far too risky, almost as risky as just jumping off this ledge…but hey, whatever works, right?

Words:[/color] 767
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] Already linked
Listening To:[/color] FFXIII Stuffs
Notes:[/color] NONE

[Noel Kreiss]

Noel wished he had a free hand to rub the anxiety from his forehead. He'd almost witnessed Vanille dying right in front of him. "No kidding," he responded to her, exasperated. "I don't even know how I could've caught you." Well...that was one near-disaster out of the way. Noel grit his teeth lightly at himself for even letting himself think he could still hold onto Serah and just stand there while Vanille started to fall to what could have easily been her death. He was responsible for her as much as he was for Serah's body, despite her being ten...well, physically ten...years older than he was. At least, though, he didn't have to go dropping Serah onto the stone ground since Vanille hadn't made any indication of falling forward and had instead caught herself with a pretty impressive show of balance. Still, Noel felt a bit of nausea in his stomach just thinking of what could have happened to her if her foot had landed an inch farther, without catching the edge of the stone. Okay, it probably wasn't a good thing to think about it. Noel would just be thankful that the worst hadn't happened and would make sure as they continued on through the ruins that nothing so potentially bad could happen again.

"That's exactly what I was thinking...", Noel told her, looking down the drop-off for signs of a solid floor below. "I can help, but...I can't promise anything I can make with ice will be perfect. Finesse isn't really my thing." But the question was, which way did they need to go if they were going to pull this off? Noel thought a slight incline might be safer than trying to slip and slide their way over a chasm that could have been...gigantic, for all they knew. Not only was the idea of descending a little safer in Noel's mind, but he also had a feeling that there would be more below them than across from them. "I dunno too much about ancient ruins, but if I was gonna make a room where there was supposed to be some kind of important ritual, I'd make it as deep in the place as I could," Noel brainstormed, glancing down at the ominous darkness below them. Yep, that was what they were going to need to do by the sound of it. They didn't really have any other choice.

He turned his gaze back on the dim form of Vanille. "Think we should go for it? You'll have to lead the way once we start down," he told her, motioning his head towards Serah. Once Noel started sliding, he wasn't going to be much use for magic-casting. He wasn't about to let the person they were hopefully about to save fall out of his grasp just to save himself. This was going to be a tricky one...but if someone had managed to get Cosmos on Etro's Throne, Noel figured sliding down a sheet of ice into an invisible hollow in the floor might be a piece of cake. Yeah, he might have been fooling himself, but...Vanille had been preaching optimism, and he was going to abide by that preaching.

Words - 601
Muse - Great!
Notes - Freely godmod him as casting a spell to help make the slope![/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

Close calls were never something Vanille liked, especially when they happened to her or those she loved. With a heaving breath and being far too thankful for having such good balance, she had taken a step back from the ledge, now that she knew where it was instead of risking falling off again. That had to have been quite the scare, but now that she was okay, she brushed it off as if it were nothing, there were more important things to worry about at the moment. Taking a glance at Noel, Serah in his arms, she frowned slightly. Her pausing here and not having the quickest of ideas was slowing them down, and Serah needed to be rescued, it was up to them and them only to get her alive. Vanille had a lot of pressure on her shoulders with all of this, but that didn’t bother her so much, she’d been good at handling pressure, but then again, everyone had their limits.

“I think if we time it just right, we can make a nice thick slope and make it down before the magic shatters or wears off. I can cast a good amount, but like any normal person, magic tends to wear me out.” Vanille advised, plotting this all the way through as she gazed down at the floor below, covered in clutter and debris from when the floor had fallen through somehow. It seemed logical after Noel spoke that they should go down. To the deepest part of the ruins was where they needed to go, at least that’s what it sounded like. At least they had a rough idea as to where to go, and with the idea of leading the way, casting ice as she went, it simply laid more pressure on the pulsian’s shoulders. With a deep breath, her gaze flickered from the floor below which faded into darkness, this was going to be no easy task, but with a mage like Vanille and with the assistance of Noel, hopefully everything would run smoothly, or rather, glide smoothly.

With a deep breath, Vanille inched herself towards the ledge, feeling the magic tingle at her fingertips. She was more of an elemental fighter rather than a physical fighter, so this was going to be relatively easy, but cast after cast was going to run her dry after a few casts one right after the other. “Okay, down we go. I don’t care if you end up running into me, just stay close. I don’t know how long these spells will last, especially since it’s rather warm down here.” She advised in a tone that read complete determination. Of all the times to be super serious, this was the best time of them all. Flicking her wrist forward, the first sheet of blizzard had been casted and latched onto the current floor, sloping downwards in the direction that Vanille had casted it. Stepping onto the ice she immediately started to slide, and with the help of Noel’s casting at first the path grew so that she didn’t slide off to the floor, once he stepped onto the icy path though, it was all up to the redhead to take care of the rest. With both hands ready, she flicked her wrists around and down, casting more ice just as she was about to reach the new sheets. So long as the ice stayed while they passed, that’s all that mattered.

Hearing the ice crack and then shatter behind her, she knew that they were moving fast enough, but if something should happen, the ice was going to melt quicker, weaken quicker and ultimately give out quicker. Moving a bit faster and bending her knees a bit to quicken her own pace, she kept up the ice spells until her feet hit a flat and sturdy surface. Catching her balance, Vanille spun around once and pressed her back into the wall, watching the remaining ice that was leading towards the count start to crack and then fade away. With a few deep breaths, it felt as if sand bags were tied to her arms, she felt sore from the magic and out of breath. Sliding down the wall she had been leaning against, she sat on the ground and crossed her legs, lifting a hand for a moment. “Just…give me a second…then…we can continue.” She breathed out through her gasps, heaving in and out air as the weighted feeling only made her want to sink into the ground for the time being. This was all going to be worth it in the end.

This was creating a miracle, not waiting for one.

Words:[/color] 881
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] Already linked
Listening To:[/color] Viva La Vida: Coldplay
Notes:[/color] Dat new template yo!

[Noel Kreiss]

Okay, so Vanille agreed with him and was willing to lead this little suicide slide. Noel would have been happier if he wasn't only a few seconds away from watching as she almost fell to her death. But they were going to be ready for this maneuver this time, and Noel was going to have faith that she could keep this slide going as he kept Serah's body safe. He didn't actually know how great she was with magic because, before today, he'd never even met her once before in his life, but that was what situations like this did to a person, right? Made people trust those they didn't even know all that well yet. It was what Serah had gone through when he had shown up in New Bodhum, too, so it was fitting that it was the way they were going to save her, too. "Alright, sounds like a good plan to me," Noel confirmed, "but don't wear yourself down too much. I'll make sure I can keep in line behind you. Easier to cast in a straight line, right?" The last thing Noel wanted right now was to get Vanille hurt from his stupid plan...so he was going to make sure he held up his end of the bargain if she could lead them down.

And she was ready to do it. No hesitation. Maybe Noel had more in common with her than just the decision to stay optimistic despite what was going on around them. Stepping in behind her, Noel took in a breath, kind of glad he wasn't the one standing on the edge to lead the way down. "Just keep moving and I'll stay close," Noel assured her after she'd given him one final warning. Alright..this was it. Shifting slightly so he could be closer to the edge and ease Serah's legs down to the ground, Noel prepared to support her with his own spell as she got onto the ice. Her first sheet was a thing of beauty if you asked him, and Noel reached forward with his hand to thicken and widen it underneath her so she could start the process. Then, it was his turn, and he was going to have to be fast. He picked up Serah's legs again and angled himself sideways so he could step onto it and immediately go to his back to start sliding, and he had to make sure he was on a straight path. Steering wasn't going to be happening with his having Serah in his arms. It was all up to the angle of his body...good thing he was a hunter or he'd have no chance at avoiding a screw-up.

They picked up speed quickly, Noel gritting his teeth as he heard the ice only a few feet behind him starting to crack. He didn't take his eyes of Vanille, though, making sure he only put his feet lightly against her back when it looked like he was going to run into her. For the most part, though, they moved along at the same clip. Come on, ground, get closer. Vanille was completely brilliant in her casting, though...heck, she might have been a better mage than Serah. Noel couldn't fully appreciate it, though, as he shifted his body slightly to prepare for the upcoming ending which would be coming...soon...and....there! She was off the end!

Noel brought his legs up to absorb the shock of connecting with a rougher surface, and boy was it a shock. He caught himself on both feet, but the momentum carried him forward until he had to push himself to she side and let his shoulder connect with the wall sharply. It was there he would remain to recover, wincing and slumping up against the wall beside Vanille. Serah, though, was still perfectly okay. He'd done exactly what he wanted, so a bruised shoulder wasn't a big deal at all. He peered up at Vanille, with a little chuckle, when she breathlessly spoke. "After that, I think you can have all the seconds you want." He gave her a grin. "That was pretty amazing."

So they'd stick here until Vanille was back in shape to get moving again, but that didn't mean Noel couldn't pop up once his arm started feeling better and figure out their next path. He did just that, trying to figure out how this room was laid out despite the lack of light. Not an easy thing to do.

Words - 799
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - I'm guessing they could be beyond where Fang and Cole ended up, so more near to the proper room? Maybe a hallway away.[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

As crazy as an idea like this sounded, Noel and Vanille didn’t seem to have much of a choice. Unless they wanted to press their luck with going back, finding a roundabout way to get to this room where they needed to be…that could just be a waste of time and well, who knew what they’d run into or which direction they’d end up going. It was a wise choice to risk this and go down, potentially falling into the right path towards the ritual room where they could revive Serah, this was just a gut feeling though, one they both seemed to have. Vanille always had a gut feeling when it came to things, whether it was good or bad, right or wrong…she knew which path seemed to be the best one to take, not that she necessarily took it each time it came to mind…for example. When she’d been revived with Fang in the Bodhum Vestige…she should’ve come clean about her memories, but instead, played dumb and simply ‘ran away’ from just about any problem you could think of. Now wasn’t the time to simply run the other way.

Moving herself close to the ground, there was ice being cast…Vanille slid herself onto the ice and began to cast away, making sure to cast quickly so that there wouldn’t be any issues or the possibility of herself or Noel falling off or through the ice. It was a quick slide down, and that’s exactly what they wanted, right? Better to get down quickly when your path was shattering right behind you than to take it nice and slow, and potentially fall off and break your neck. Yes, quick was best. It was also very tiresome, not giving Vanille a chance to rest, let alone breath as she kept flicking her wrists ahead of her, watching her blizzard magic go to work and drain her of the energy she had left. She’d bounce back though! She was an excellent mage and was very skillful, but needing a moment would be necessary, otherwise Vanille would most likely keel over from exhaustion…that wouldn’t work well with the tight schedule they were on right now.

Upon hitting the ground and moving forward with the momentum of having picked up speed from the slick ice, Vanille turned herself and was sure to stop her moving before hitting a wall, moving to the side and resting against it before sliding down and sitting there for a moment, nearly breathless as her green eyes turned to Noel, she’d only need a few moments, a couple deep breaths to regain her energy. Sinking down where she was sitting, she felt a long exasperated sigh escape her lips before she took a hand and rubbed at her eyes, still feeling a bit drained from all that quick magic casting. A smile did form on her lips though as Noel spoke. “Thank you. I guess one could say I’m best at prominently magic.” She informed, thinking back on her travels with Lightning and the rest of the gang, she was primarily a mage or a healer…that was just her knack, that and debuffing enemies…but hopefully they didn’t come across any enemies while in these dark ruins.

“Okay…I think I’ll be fine.” She said with a breath as she moved to her feet, stretching up tall on her toes and finally resting back down to her normal height. Vanille felt refreshed, a bit recovered, but in time her stamina would return when it came to magic, that she wasn’t worried about. Placing her hands on her hips and looking to Noel again, she put on that optimistic tone of hers that always seemed to shine through no matter what situation. “So, are you ready to continue onwards? I have a feeling that we’re getting very close…”

Words:[/color] 751
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] Already linked
Listening To:[/color] Nothing actually.
Notes:[/color] Nada!

[Noel Kreiss]

"I'd say so," Noel responded to Vanille's words with a choppy laugh, watching as the very last of the ice turned to mush and eventually, disappeared entirely. He'd seen Serah do some pretty impressive things with magic, and he wasn't completely incompetent with this kind of thing, but still, he couldn't remember seeing anyone ever using magic in such a...practical way. This would have helped him out so much in the past. "It's a good thing one of us is...", he added, to secure the compliment, as he started the easy process of getting to his feet without letting Serah jostle around too much. He leaned on his sore shoulder, ignoring a slight pain going through it, and finally stood straight, letting go of a sharp breath. Alright, things were going well so far...good sign, right? Signs had fooled Noel before, with what had happened when the Chaos had first spread, but he was still pretty willing to rely on them if he had to. It was a part of the Paddra faith, after all, to put some meaning to the things that happened with the passing of time. Noel just hoped too much time wouldn't pass until they reached the right room...they had to be close now, this place couldn't be much bigger...

Noel watched silently as Vanille announced she was ready to go and stretched out, giving her a nod once she was done with the process. Boy was she tough...Pulsian through and through, no doubt about that. No average person could pull that kind of magical effort off and then pop back up a few minutes later. These people...Noel would never figure out how so many great ones had all ended up in the same place. With a shift of his eyes down what looked to be a corner that led to a new passage, Noel spoke up in response to her. "More than ready...and I think you're right." He backpedaled to stare down the passage, seeing that it was much more ornate than the other ones they'd passed through. It possessed indentations on the walls that formed arches, as well as places where an elaborate row of torches had once been but were now all burnt out. A couple of the torches looked newer than others. He turned his gaze back to Vanille, motioning his head down the length of it. "I think we've got it...look down here, this has got to lead to some place that was pretty important to whoever built this place."

With that comment made, he turned and started to move down it, expectation starting to take hold of him. Was this going to work? Was the room even going to be accessible? Would they perform the ritual right when the time came? Noel glanced down to Serah again. He could not let her just be gone like this...this had to work. Something out there hated him way too much if it didn't. Taking in a breath that partially served to reinforced his confidence but also to highlight his fears, Noel spoke aloud. "We've almost got you saved, Serah. Just give us a little more time."

Trying to believe those words himself, Noel led the way towards what looked like a doorway that stretched tall - orotoise tall. It was broken open, one of the doors lying back inside of the room, but the other door was still up...partially. It was basically hanging on its hinges, looking like it could fall at any moment and crush whoever came too close. Noel glanced back to Vanille. "That one's going to end up like the other one if we're not careful." Carefully, he stepped up onto the thick, fallen door and quickly made his way into the room to evade any kind of bad end. The door remained silent, seemingly watching, wounded, as the pair of human beings entered. Noel watched too, but not the door. Just the room ahead of him.

This was definitely the place.

The room was thick with smelly heat, pounding on Noel's nose violently enough that he was forced to let out a cough or two before he recovered from it. Two statues sat at the back of the room, he first noticed - one was of a male, with a knife in hand. A knife he was holding against the palm of a female, seemingly levitating in the air. Part of the statues were broken off, but whatever was being depicted there didn't seem pleasant in the slightest. What worried him more? Right below that statue was a long, stone slab table with what looked like shattered shackles where a human being's wrists and ankles would be. The rest of the room seemed just a frame for this centerpiece. In spite of the assault on his lungs, Noel took in a deep breath and approached the slab. "I guess this is it...", he said, hearing his own voice echo in the acoustics. "Right?"

Words - 888 (har har)
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - Wow, I had muse here. XD[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

To say that Vanille was tired would be an understatement. She was wiped out to be quite honest, but there was still a lot to do, and once all was said and done…then she could take a nap or whatever it was she wanted to do. With a deep breath, she felt her energy slowly regenerate, and by the time they did make it to the ritual room, she should be good to go. At least that was what she was hoping for. Slowly rising up to her feet, Vanille dusted off her clothing and stretched a bit, loosening her muscles before continuing onwards. There really was no more time to waste, she’d gotten a few moments of rest, and now it was time to go save Serah. Though Vanille was sure to need magical abilities in reviving the pinkette as well…this was just going to be quite the tiresome day, wasn’t it?

Turning and looking towards Noel, her green eyes followed where he was looking. In a corner area there seemed to be a new way to go…that was…probably their best bet, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like Vanille was going to be making any magical slopes again anytime soon, especially not after the effort she’d just put out. Taking cautious steps towards the new passageway, Vanille took the lead once more, stepping ahead of Noel and examining the architecture of the building now. It seemed a lot more…well built, more…elaborate. This was what they had been looking for, unless someone really wanted to go all out when constructing a simple hallway. “I think this is it.” She gave Noel a nod over her shoulder, as well as a pretty sincere and confident smile that just wouldn’t go away, not now. They were that much closer to saving Serah…that much closer to correcting all the wrong that had been done. Everything was going to be okay, of that she was sure…hopefully everything went according to plan, and even if it didn’t, even if there were little obstacles in their way, they’d still find a way to fix everything, they always did.

Letting Noel pass by as Vanille took one extra moment to look at the arches within the hall, she trailed behind him carefully now, making sure to keep her eyes and ears open for anything. Coming towards the broken down doors, Vanille simply kept her silence, running through the ritual she’d read off the shield in her mind. It was some hard text to remember, but since she was alive over 500 years ago and counting, it wasn’t too extremely foreign, but still…many years before her time. It was hard to remember things that far back, she’d gotten so used to Cocoon ways, it was amazing she could even translate the shield in the first place. Lucky, but should she not have been able to…it was said that Fang had once before, on that expedition with Cole and whatnot. Whatever, this was all going to work…she was going to MAKE it work. For someone with the ability to cast instant death, casting instant life should be a piece of cake, right? After all, she was the best medic…but even a medic would have a hard time bringing someone back to life…especially with how Serah had died in the first place.

Going against a Goddess, now that was something. Never had Vanille let that kind of thought cross her mind. Maybe going against a fal’cie, which she and her friends had done on several occasions, but going against Etro’s power? It was some added weight to her shoulders. With a deep breath, she carefully followed behind Noel and was hit with the same uncomfortable smell of the room as Noel had been. Twitching a bit, she felt a sneeze work its way through her nose before she made herself accustomed to the room and it’s little oddities. “This…is definitely it. It’s exactly as history spoke of them…” she let her voice trail, thinking back to when she was in school in Oerba…the things she was learning about these ancient times on Pulse, it was exactly as it had been told to her. “They used these rooms for lots of things. Rituals to the gods…sacrifices and blessings…but…yes this is the correct place, you can set her down.” Vanille spoke with the upmost serious tone in her voice, no longer the squeaky happy girl she always was. There was more at stake now.

Slowly moving herself to the ground so sit on her knees, she patted her hands on her knees and straightened her shoulders. She’d placed herself right in front of the slab that was closer towards the ground than anything. Looking around, her eyes caught sight of a few candles, they hadn’t been lit in forever, but I suppose it was all part of the ritual. Feeling a bit of magic on her fingertips, she gently grazed a finger or two over one of the wicks of the candles, lighting it and giving them a tiny bit of light, which was better than pure darkness. “This…may not work the first time around, Noel. We just have to remember perseverance. Persistence. It WILL work.” She reminded not only him, but herself as well.

Words:[/color] 1005
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] Already linked
Listening To:[/color] Stuff!
Notes:[/color] Prepare to watch me BS some ancient ritual!

[Noel Kreiss]

Something in Noel's mind was screaming to him that this wasn't going to be fun. He was pretty sure it was the weird statue and the cuffs and...well, everything else about this room that didn't look all that welcoming. If Vanille hadn't confirmed his near-certainty that they were in the right place, he would have been fine with going off down another hallway to find a room that looked a little more...pleasant. But life and death weren't pleasant things, and Noel knew that more than most. His eyes lingered on the statue above them, hearing Vanille say they performed sacrifices here. "Like that one," he said aloud, shaking his head slightly at the scenario being presented. "I hope that's nothing like we have to do for Serah... Though I don't think what they're doing with the woman in the statue is giving her life." If it meant bringing Serah back to life, he guessed any kind of means would be...at least mostly worth it. He just didn't hope he had to harm her in some way to pull her back from wherever she'd been taken. In fact, he was pretty sure harming her was something he could not do...thank Et- thank whoever that Vanille was here too.

Taking Vanille's cue to put Serah down, Noel eyed the areas where the clasps were and tried to ease Serah down in the middle of them. He hoped the fact that they were there didn't mean they had to use them. They were all four broken, anyway, so Noel just slid what remained of them aside before placing Serah neatly on her back, trying to make sure she didn't end up in an awkward position. Once she was down, he eased himself back as if moving to suddenly would cause something to go wrong before they even got started. And ultimately, he made his way back to Vanille's side, looking down at the position she'd gotten into before trying to position himself the same way...if that was even something he needed to do. It probably wasn't, but Noel felt like he had to be doing something productive to make sure this went the right way. He'd be pacing back and forth and a bother otherwise. "Okay...let's go."

Vanille had a good idea to get things started with actually illuminating the place a little more than it already was, and the heat that quickly came off of each of the candles she illuminated provided a stark contrast to how the rest of the place felt. And the glow it provided, against the room, the statue, Vanille, Serah...it almost sent a chill down Noel's spine in spite of that twinge of heat. He didn't notice he was wringing his hands a little until Vaille spoke up and put things in perspective for him. He nodded. "I don't care how many times it takes...we're gonna get this done," he assured her. Noel would stay here a month if it meant finally getting Serah back...after he'd let her be taken away from her friends and her family. Nothing about the Chaos that currently waited for them outside or whatever was going on in Academia mattered right now. He just needed to get Serah back...then they could worry about the other things.

Words - 616
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Let us do this thing B| We can talk about what to do for it if you want. [/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

These ancient ruins were always so creepy, yet so interesting. Vanille wasn’t frightened by the images that were made in stone or carved on the wall. She could translate the words written, and some of them were a bit creepy and very old fashioned, but this wasn’t about Vanille’s fears. This was about saving Serah and correcting the future to what it should be. Looking towards Noel with a hopeful look on her face in this quiet and chilly area within the ruins, she was ready to get started, cracking her knuckles a bit and just shaking the fear from her limbs. With a deep sigh after Serah had been placed where she needed and after some candles had been lit, Vanille knelt down on her knees and adjusted herself to become comfortable. This was going to be challenging, she was a fabulous medic, yet she had a deadly power that came with her former l’cie abilities…reviving people like this was never one of them.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and thought back on the shield she’d examined, the instructions she needed to remember, it all came back to her. Opening her eyes in the dimly lit room, she looked to Serah and felt a small sincere smile cross her face. “To the gods above, Lindzei…Etro…oh Hallowed Pulse, we beg for you listening ears, for a soul whose time had not come properly should be restored for the good of all that is Gran Pulse.” She spoke in a calm, serious and very nonsqueaky tone that was usually Vanille. She was completely focused as she kept her eyes on Serah Farron. “A mistake has been made, and I speak to you as but a humble Pulsian looking out for the future of my world. There is a looming danger…and this girl, Serah Farron can help show us the way. She is a servant of Etro already…but her presence is needed now…there is no time to waste.” She silenced herself, giving herself a moment to continue thinking, to make sure she gave her ritual enough time to actually take place. Another deep breath took place. This was feeling complicated…but it was a complication Vanille was willing to bear.

Looking at her hands for a moment, Vanille felt another twinge of a smile form on her face. Closing her eyes once more she began to speak in a more ancient language, a language Fang could decipher, something Vanille knew well from her time before the War of Transgression, and maybe something even Noel knew from stories being told over time. ‘Oh Hallowed Pulse, hear our plea, the one we wish to revive is one Serah Farron, her end was a mistake, and only you can correct it. Your powers are mighty, as are our wishes…if you deem us worthy of such a gift please…bring Serah back to us. As a show of my loyalty…a demonstration of the power I withhold as a servant of someone with higher power.’ She spoke in that ancient tone, opening her eyes and gently twisting her wrist towards Serah, casting a light cure spell before simply sitting back flat on the ground, watching Serah and waiting. Her hands were intertwined with one another as her eyes flickered to Noel. These things took time, and if their wish were to be granted – as stupid as something like this seemed – it would happen in due time. Color would return to Serah’s face…breath to her chest…all they had to do was wait.

Words:[/color] 705
Muse:[/color] I dunno...
Tagged:[/color] Noel
Wearing:[/color] Already linked
Listening To:[/color] Nothing
Notes:[/color] I BS'd this like a boss. Or like a fail. ROLL WITH IT!

[Noel Kreiss]

Noel could easily say he'd never been more nervous in all his life.

And he genuinely didn't think he could do anything, but he wanted to. Maybe there was some part of the ritual he could help with, or maybe even something as grab something Vanille needed to use as she performed the ritual or...something. Noel was stuck in place, though, and eventually he settled on resting with his body leaned forward and his hands holding him up. And then...Vanille started. Noel looked at her as she spoke, saying a little prayer in his own mind as she spoke that he somehow thought would make the whole thing unmistakable for the god or gods or whatever that was out there listening. He swallowed once she was finished, looking to her expectantly. That...couldn't have been it, could it? Nothing ever seemed to be that simple...and Serah was still as she'd been before, motionless and...not looking like Serah.

He was tempted to ask his question before Vanille spoke up again, this time in a language he wasn't...getting very well. It must have been in Pulsian, because though he could pick out the smallest of words within, he didn't have a clue about most of it. So...he was still stuck in place, eyes bouncing between the redhead and Serah before he saw the former motion her hand towards the latter. A...cure spell? That seemed a little light for the situation, but Noel wasn't about to go questioning the ritual just yet. Instead he glanced to Serah as Vanille sat back, expecting something to happen since it seemed like Vanille was done. He waited what seemed like minutes but must have been no more than a handful of seconds, before he turned his eyes to Vanille again. "Do I need to do anything? It's...." He shrugged a little, taking a closer look at Serah as he almost started to infringe on the stone slab but making sure he didn't touch it.

It was when he did, though, that he thought he noticed something slightly different. Slightly being the key word...she looked...if he didn't have any better way to say it, he would have said she looked more peaceful, not...like she had before. He wasn't sure what it was, but it had him staring at her expectantly nonetheless, getting back to that praying he'd been doing before. He knew he'd asked for a lot, but he thought he was pretty right in saying that the wrong person had been taken from them, and they deserved to have her back.

Words - 475
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Serah can jump in after your post? Hence why I left it short. XD[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

To say Vanille was nervous would be a huge understatement. She felt jittery on the inside, in fact, it was amazing she was keeping her composure as well as she was right now. The redhead knew this was important...it was a task given to her and Noel and she wasn't going to screw it up. No matter how many times she had to perform the ritual, no matter what God she had to pray to....Serah would walk out of here alive. Whether she had to speak to Lindzei, Etro or even the Maker...the job would get done, it was that thought that kept Vanille calm. It would all work out in the end like it usually did...all she had to do was believe and pray that all her optimism was successful in all of this. Hopefully Noel believed as well.

Sitting back and staring towards where Serah had been laid, Vanille simply kept her hands clasped together, folded and resting against her legs as Noel's voice gained her attention. Turning and giving him a small shake of her head, Nille spoke silently, as if she would break the ritual should she speak any louder. "All we need to do now is wait. If nothing happens...we try again until it is a success." That is...if this current attempt didn't work. Vanille wasn't sure as to how long something like this would take...in fact, she wasn't sure if it would take a minute or an hour. All she knew was that she continued to pray and to hope...anything that would help grant Serah a gift of life once more. Serah deserved this, not just because it would help everyone overcome this timeline trouble...but she really was a hardworking girl who had sacrificed a lot to try and save her sister...to try and fix time and put things back to the way they should be. Speaking of Lightning...Vanille couldn't help but wonder how that rescue mission was going.

Sitting back a little more until Vanille shifted herself to sitting criss cross, she kept her eyes on Serah before folding her hands in her lap and just...patiently waited. Maybe the ritual hadn't worked as well as she thought it would have. Maybe she needed to try again? "Just another moment longer..." she quietly spoke, more towards herself than anyone...but as she focused in on Serah a little more, she noticed a pinker tone coming to the girl's cheeks. Flushed, but definitely full of life...at least compared to the pale cold person she'd been minutes ago. And that's when Vanille started to hold her breath. This was it...the moment of truth.

[/color][/blockquote][/size]

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

Words:[/color] 525
Muse:[/color] good!
Tagged:[/color] Noel, Serah!
Wearing:[/color] already linked
Listening To:[/color] noooothing?
Notes:[/color] enter Serah? And sorry for shortness D8