Honestly I don't know how you can stay away from it. It's been a struggle sometimes to not just use all my lore for it. Just putting things together to see what comes out the other side kept us busy for nearly a week.
Hm. I'll get going then. I don't know how long it'll be dry, see you there in a couple of hours.
[It's a bit of a flight even for Sephiroth, but at least it's certain he won't be too tired out when he gets there. Takes more than that even on a bad day.]
[It is reasonable, when the goal is climbing a frozen mountain in the middle of winter in Wintermute, that there should be some preparations. And so he has, but not as many as most people would probably bother with. When Sephiroth arrives by air, continuing to scorn the use of things like public transportation, he's made some nods towards the inevitable weather! He's got a nice puffy jacket (black of course), boots better suited for outright hiking, an actual hat, and .. a pair of sunglasses.
The snow gets painful to look at in any kind of bright light.
Things like climbing cleats, or safety ropes, or emergency supplies are entirely foregone; he's got a spoon and a collapsable bowl, it's good enough. Time's allowing him some measure of the grace he'll be known for as an adult, practiced enough with his landings by now that it's casual in its ease. Zack's easy to spot so it's in his direction he heads - and the wings stay for now, fluffed all up against Wintermute's cold. It's like wearing a living warm blanket.]
[He's definitely more prepared than Zack is, who is geared up with... pretty much exactly what he'd had at Modeoheim. Usual gear only. His sword has a couple of stocked materia in it, and his boots are pretty decent for climbing already, so... it's probably fine? At least, he doesn't look worried as he straightens up with an easy wave.]
Yeah, all set! It's not raining here, either. Should be a nice breezy climb.
[Well, okay, it's still cold. But he's not bothered.]
[The moment Zack mentions rain, Sephiroth casts a look skyward that is nothing short of starkly suspicious. It's true, it never actually RAINED in Wintermute, and nothing seemed off about the snowfall, but he really didn't trust that prismatic rain at all.
He's going to go home and find himself turned into a horse or something from it, he's sure. That's how these always start.]
Sounds good. Walking to the mountain or flying?
[Or he supposed, motorcycle, but he's not really keen on that option; if they ran into trouble somehow it'd have to get left behind. And he didn't spend all that time figuring out an ideal model just to have it left in the snow.]
[There's no motorcycle around, so it seems as if Zack was of a similar mind, at least by the time he got close enough to discover just how much snow is in the area. He rolls his shoulders a bit and glances towards the mountain in the distance.]
I'm cool with walking, but if we wanna climb up before the end of the day, we'd better fly and get started ASAP. You game?
[Sure, they could fly all the way up, but that isn't what they're here for. The purpose is the journey, not the destination!]
[The only reason he didn't mind Legend, really; it saved on a lot of walking and STILL let him get in plenty of cardio. That he cheats a little with gravity is not important, it just makes getting off the ground again easier and as quiet as ever. The owl feathers had uses.
As did finally, FINALLY figuring out hovering in place, waiting for Zack to do the same. It wouldn't be THAT far by air but if Zack had a specific mountain or glacier he wanted to climb, then he'd have to lead the way. Otherwise Sephiroth's going to pick one at random.]
[Being able to fly is awesome and useful, it's true. Zack had resisted for a while, considering all the issues he'd ended up with when it came to wings and those attached to them, but eventually he'd been able to embrace the potential, thanks to a handful of good people and good lessons. So when he draws out his wings, he launches into the sky with gusto, taking off for a similarly random-picked mountain, which ends up being one sort of in the middle. It looks like a good challenge without being too unreasonable for a day trip (for a pair of SOLDIERs, at least).
He sweeps down to land near the base, at a spot with a healthy incline to get them started walking and, gradually, shift to a proper climb the higher they'll go.]
This looks like a good spot to start! What do ya think?
[It is purely coincidence and SURELY not at all a planned thing that when Sephiroth backwings to land not far from Zack, he comes down in a powdery drift instead of anything firmer, promptly disappearing in a shower of snow.
He surfaces almost immediately.]
If there's an ice cave, we should investigate. You never know what might be in one.
[Delicately his new shroud of snow is shaken off - and the wings are staying again, once more puffed up. Had it not been for EVERY Legend winding up with wings in some form he'd probably have been very uneasy about such an obvious, visible mark of inhumanity, but ... it was common enough where he'd simply never built up a negative association.
It helps in moments like this. A convenient warm blanket to wear.
The mountain is eyed. For a normal unenhanced human it would probably be outright dangerous, especially since neither of them have any climbing gear at all.]
I've only ever climbed the one in Cruel Summer, maybe there won't be any caves at all.
[Zack tries and fails to not laugh when Sephiroth vanishes into the snow. Pale and white-haired, he practically disappears even when he gets up again. Poor guy. (It's hilarious.)]
I agree! Caves always have some weird stuff. Or fun stuff. Or just stuff in general.
[And sometimes the stuff explodes! Sometimes it tries to eat you! These are also fun and weird options. Zack starts forward up the path anyway, undaunted by its appearance or their lack of proper gear. They'll manage somehow! But mayyyybe he's keeping his wings out longer than usual, too. Just in case. He can survive falling off a mountain - crashing through Aerith's church from the top plate kinda proved his fall durability - but that doesn't make it fun to do.]
[He manages a remarkable amount of dignity for being snowed and the laughter, but he doesn't actually seem bothered, either by Zack's amusement or the drift. Reasonably snow free, he heads for a decent start point for the climb, rubbing his hands a little on his pants to remove the remainder.]
Oh, it does. Good for hiding in when the sun gets too hot, just wait it out in the dark until closer to sunset. You just gotta watch out for trolls asleep in them.
[It wasn't a bad way to spend the heat of the day, in the back of a nice cool dark cave. Aside from the trolls, anyway, but those were easy to deal with.]
I haven't found a lot interesting in them though. Just glow in the dark mushrooms.
[Huh. Now he's rethinking the idea of visiting some of Cruel Summer's caves. He doesn't mind fighting trolls or whatever - par for the course in his life, let's be real - but exploring new places is a thing he likes just about as much as fighting. Any time he went to Cruel Summer it was mostly rocks and sand... this sounds far more intriguing.]
Glow in the dark mushrooms are kinda interesting. Are they tasty?
[The kid from Gongaga wants to eat weird mushrooms, news at 11.]
I don't think I'll be going to Gongaga and devouring all its mushrooms any time soon.
[Though it did make him wonder if that's where most people got their mushrooms. If Banora's major export was apples, did Gongaga export weird mushrooms?
Things to find out if it ever occurs to him later when he's back in his own time.]
I think only one should be fine, as long as the mushroom isn't immediately lethal. I can cast for both of us pretty well, and if it incapacitates me suddenly you'll just have to pick up my sword and cast it yourself.
[Why double up! Well sometimes there's reasons to double up, but that's usually active fighting when the chance to snap off a heal or cure isn't really going to happen often.
He didn't think mushrooms in Cruel Summer would count.]
Or you can eat it, since you're familiar with mushrooms, and I'll watch to make sure you don't start hallucinating or foaming at the mouth or something.
Hmm. Okay, but if I start foaming at the mouth you gotta promise not to take any pictures. I don't need an uncool mushroom-foaming reputation following me home.
[Some things, you can never outrun... (And the answer to his unspoken question is "probably, yeah".)]
[The measuring silence that draws might not bode well.]
I won't. [That conclusion takes WAY too long to reach.] I don't have anyone acceptable to show it to even if I did. Mr. Valentine doesn't care I don't think, and Cloud would probably try to kill me for letting you get poisoned.
[Although it's terribly dry, there's something in his tone that suggests he's not ... ENTIRELY serious. A morbid joke, but a joke it might be.]
But if the glow from the mushroom is contagious I may have to.
[Zack doesn't entirely believe him, but you know what, if he's foaming at the mouth he should probably prioritize getting help over his dignity, so. Fine.]
Eh, I'll worry about that if it happens. Most of the time you can cook the poison out of stuff, so worst case scenario we'll know raw is off the table!
You know, I thought I replied to this already and yet..
People used to tell me I need to plan more. I'm gonna tell whoever says it next that Seph wants me to plan less!
[He's laughing anyway, trudging through the snow to get to the next flat edge requiring a proper climb, which he'll immediately grab onto and heft himself up. Maybe there's a cave at the top!]
[He really should clarify. He should. Misunderstandings cause all KINDS of problems. But he's reasonably sure that none of this is serious and Zack isn't going to use it in more dangerous settings as an excuse to charge in blindly. Probably.
He's also a bit slower to work on getting up the ice and rock, not for lack of strength but lack of reach, requiring a bit more scrambling to get where he's trying to go. Could they probably jump it? Yes. Could they fly? Also yes. But that's not the POINT.]
[The good thing about going anywhere with Zack is he's got limbs for days, so once he's up the most recent ledge, he leans over the side and offers his hand out to give Sephiroth less of a stretch to heave himself up there. Teamwork!]
How's your dog's sense of smell? Most of the good mushrooms can be sniffed out.
[ONE DAY he'll have equal reach, if not greater, but until then he's stuck with the woes of adolescence: being short.
So accepting the offered hand is easy enough, and though he's heavier than a fifteen year old normally is by a good margin, it's still not going to be anything of a problem for a SOLDIER.]
Um, I can't say we've ever tried to sniff out a mushroom.
[Especially since his Omen's senses were no sharper than his. Would he be able to smell a mushroom?
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Hm. I'll get going then. I don't know how long it'll be dry, see you there in a couple of hours.
[It's a bit of a flight even for Sephiroth, but at least it's certain he won't be too tired out when he gets there. Takes more than that even on a bad day.]
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long answer is i get bored of waiting for it to finish and THEN forget
[that's not that much longer an answer, but that's just Zack texting for you. He'd be better off materia-melding with company.]
ok I'll be there in 2 hours! see you
[Zack'll be in the Wintermute station sure enough, doing squats in a corner with a thermos at his hip and the Buster on his back.]
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The snow gets painful to look at in any kind of bright light.
Things like climbing cleats, or safety ropes, or emergency supplies are entirely foregone; he's got a spoon and a collapsable bowl, it's good enough. Time's allowing him some measure of the grace he'll be known for as an adult, practiced enough with his landings by now that it's casual in its ease. Zack's easy to spot so it's in his direction he heads - and the wings stay for now, fluffed all up against Wintermute's cold. It's like wearing a living warm blanket.]
Have everything you need?
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Yeah, all set! It's not raining here, either. Should be a nice breezy climb.
[Well, okay, it's still cold. But he's not bothered.]
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He's going to go home and find himself turned into a horse or something from it, he's sure. That's how these always start.]
Sounds good. Walking to the mountain or flying?
[Or he supposed, motorcycle, but he's not really keen on that option; if they ran into trouble somehow it'd have to get left behind. And he didn't spend all that time figuring out an ideal model just to have it left in the snow.]
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I'm cool with walking, but if we wanna climb up before the end of the day, we'd better fly and get started ASAP. You game?
[Sure, they could fly all the way up, but that isn't what they're here for. The purpose is the journey, not the destination!]
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[The only reason he didn't mind Legend, really; it saved on a lot of walking and STILL let him get in plenty of cardio. That he cheats a little with gravity is not important, it just makes getting off the ground again easier and as quiet as ever. The owl feathers had uses.
As did finally, FINALLY figuring out hovering in place, waiting for Zack to do the same. It wouldn't be THAT far by air but if Zack had a specific mountain or glacier he wanted to climb, then he'd have to lead the way. Otherwise Sephiroth's going to pick one at random.]
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He sweeps down to land near the base, at a spot with a healthy incline to get them started walking and, gradually, shift to a proper climb the higher they'll go.]
This looks like a good spot to start! What do ya think?
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He surfaces almost immediately.]
If there's an ice cave, we should investigate. You never know what might be in one.
[Delicately his new shroud of snow is shaken off - and the wings are staying again, once more puffed up. Had it not been for EVERY Legend winding up with wings in some form he'd probably have been very uneasy about such an obvious, visible mark of inhumanity, but ... it was common enough where he'd simply never built up a negative association.
It helps in moments like this. A convenient warm blanket to wear.
The mountain is eyed. For a normal unenhanced human it would probably be outright dangerous, especially since neither of them have any climbing gear at all.]
I've only ever climbed the one in Cruel Summer, maybe there won't be any caves at all.
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I agree! Caves always have some weird stuff. Or fun stuff. Or just stuff in general.
[And sometimes the stuff explodes! Sometimes it tries to eat you! These are also fun and weird options. Zack starts forward up the path anyway, undaunted by its appearance or their lack of proper gear. They'll manage somehow! But mayyyybe he's keeping his wings out longer than usual, too. Just in case. He can survive falling off a mountain - crashing through Aerith's church from the top plate kinda proved his fall durability - but that doesn't make it fun to do.]
I haven't done that one. No caves there, huh?
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Oh, it does. Good for hiding in when the sun gets too hot, just wait it out in the dark until closer to sunset. You just gotta watch out for trolls asleep in them.
[It wasn't a bad way to spend the heat of the day, in the back of a nice cool dark cave. Aside from the trolls, anyway, but those were easy to deal with.]
I haven't found a lot interesting in them though. Just glow in the dark mushrooms.
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Glow in the dark mushrooms are kinda interesting. Are they tasty?
[The kid from Gongaga wants to eat weird mushrooms, news at 11.]
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Generally I don't eat things that brightly colored, it's normally nature's way of telling you it's toxic.
[...On the other hand.
On the other hand, now he's thinking about it, and he trudges in silence, considering things very, very carefully.]
Later on I'm going to make a poison esuna materia, and then I'm going to eat one. I'll let you know.
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[Everything's brightly coloured there, and lots of glowing things. The trick is identifying the markings!]
You should make two and invite me along! [Or he's inviting himself, apparently.] I'd eat one, too.
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[Though it did make him wonder if that's where most people got their mushrooms. If Banora's major export was apples, did Gongaga export weird mushrooms?
Things to find out if it ever occurs to him later when he's back in his own time.]
I think only one should be fine, as long as the mushroom isn't immediately lethal. I can cast for both of us pretty well, and if it incapacitates me suddenly you'll just have to pick up my sword and cast it yourself.
[Why double up! Well sometimes there's reasons to double up, but that's usually active fighting when the chance to snap off a heal or cure isn't really going to happen often.
He didn't think mushrooms in Cruel Summer would count.]
Or you can eat it, since you're familiar with mushrooms, and I'll watch to make sure you don't start hallucinating or foaming at the mouth or something.
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[Some things, you can never outrun... (And the answer to his unspoken question is "probably, yeah".)]
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I won't. [That conclusion takes WAY too long to reach.] I don't have anyone acceptable to show it to even if I did. Mr. Valentine doesn't care I don't think, and Cloud would probably try to kill me for letting you get poisoned.
[Although it's terribly dry, there's something in his tone that suggests he's not ... ENTIRELY serious. A morbid joke, but a joke it might be.]
But if the glow from the mushroom is contagious I may have to.
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Eh, I'll worry about that if it happens. Most of the time you can cook the poison out of stuff, so worst case scenario we'll know raw is off the table!
You know, I thought I replied to this already and yet..
Really. Ignore any and all proof to the contrary.]
We'll have to find a glowing mushroom first, so perhaps planning what to do with it when we find it should wait until then.
[Until then: climbing! And keeping a weather eye out for likely cave systems to investigate in the doing.]
uwu what a tease
[He's laughing anyway, trudging through the snow to get to the next flat edge requiring a proper climb, which he'll immediately grab onto and heft himself up. Maybe there's a cave at the top!]
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[He really should clarify. He should. Misunderstandings cause all KINDS of problems. But he's reasonably sure that none of this is serious and Zack isn't going to use it in more dangerous settings as an excuse to charge in blindly. Probably.
He's also a bit slower to work on getting up the ice and rock, not for lack of strength but lack of reach, requiring a bit more scrambling to get where he's trying to go. Could they probably jump it? Yes. Could they fly? Also yes. But that's not the POINT.]
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How's your dog's sense of smell? Most of the good mushrooms can be sniffed out.
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So accepting the offered hand is easy enough, and though he's heavier than a fifteen year old normally is by a good margin, it's still not going to be anything of a problem for a SOLDIER.]
Um, I can't say we've ever tried to sniff out a mushroom.
[Especially since his Omen's senses were no sharper than his. Would he be able to smell a mushroom?
.. He was going to have to find out.]
I guess later on it's worth trying.
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Anything's worth trying once! Worst that'll happen is it doesn't work.
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There's a lot of mountain to climb.]
Do you think familiars get the senses of their animal forms? Maybe Mr. Valentine can find them. Chocobos have good noses, don't they? ..Nares? Beaks?
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me giving up on trying to remember if this came up before: zack also forgot
part of it did!
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