Tireless march

[genesis]

What seemed like an endless march was beginning to get to Genesis. There was no signs of other human life anywere. Strange monsters he had never seen or heard of before were the only inhabitants he had seen so far. Although it was no wasteland. From what he had observed so far this place was once populated by humans. Ruins dotted the area and more were always on the horizon. Cliffs blocked his view enough to stop him getting a good look at the surrounding landscape.

Hours past and he kept moving onward. The ground became more and more broken. The effort to take note of were he was walking was beginning to annoy him. It occured to him that he should just fly above the cliffs, getting a better vantage point on the area. This occured to him 5 hours ago to. The pain he was feeling from his resurrection wasn't going away anytime soon. Everytime he tried to spread his wing the pain coursed through his body. His regen magic wasn't working as swiftly as he hoped. He needed rest after the tireless march. He figured if he kept moving it was only a matter of time before he encountered some people. Then he could relax and refer to Loveless and ponder his next move.

More time past and the sun began to set. The hunger and fatigue set in. Since he awoke he had only eaten a banora white. Finding it stuffed in his jacket pocket was a blessing from the Goddess. He hadn't seen anything edible in this land since then. The vegetation was so strange he had no idea what was edible and what wasn't. He continued on hoping to find an inn or at least confirmation he was heading in the right direction towards food and somewere to rest his head.

It was pitch black now. The sun had set and he was still no closer to food or a bed. He had to start using his MP to cast a constant fire spell to light his way. Falling into a hole or chasm wasn't on his list of priorities right now. Without the regen magic his fatigue and hunger took over. Although he had avoided monsters up to this point, if they came after him now he didn't like his odds. He wasn't done recovering yet. He was the chosen of the Goddess! Hunger, fatigue and simple monsters were beneath him. Telling himself that over and over was all he could do as he marched onward. The Goddess brought him back. He would not fail her. That fire kept Genesis marching onwards. Even as he slipped into unconciousness and fell flat into a patch of grass, he dreamed of marching onward.

[penelo]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; border-left: 20px solid #595454; background-image:url(http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/Sara_Shadow/PRIVATE/texture.jpg); padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;] i walked across, AN EMPTY LAND. I KNEW THE PATHWAY LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. I FELT THE EARTH BENEATH MY FEET. SAT BY THE RIVER AND IT MADE ME COMPLETE. OH, SIMPLE THING, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? I'M GETTING OLD AND I NEED SOMETHING TO RELY ON. SO TELL ME WHEN YOU'RE GONNA LET ME IN. I'M GETTING TIRED AND I NEED SOMEWHERE

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to begin,

somewhere
only we know

After travelling from Academia on foot, Penelo was more than a little delighted when she finally set foot on the grass of the Archylte Steppe again. The sight of the rolling plains and more natural way of living was a relief to the blonde. This was a lot closer to what she knew than the towering city she had been in, with its flying 'cars' and moving walkways. While she wouldn't willingly admit it out loud, the city had frightened her and she was pleased to have it behind her. She wouldn't go back unless it was necessary. Here was where she fit in.

After finding one of the villages that were only just setting up she had used her experience with both children and hunting to talk them into letting her stay. Apparently quite a few of the other world refugees preferred these free range villages to staying in the big city. From what she could tell, a lot of them were as uncomfortable with the mass technology here as she was. Most of the refugees were civilians, used to getting their supplies from small stores or trading with people more acclimatised to the wilds. This made it easy for her to establish herself as someone useful; she could hunt and knew how to create things such as blankets and shelter from what she found around her.

It had been a while since she had settled in to the village and she was on a long term hunting expedition. The supplies were in short supply and she had volunteered to head out and gather what she could. There were some others who could get food so she was focused more on gathering pelts. She had no idea when winter would set in and deemed it best that they stock up on that which would keep them warm first. After that was done they could worry about furniture and non essential things.

While she travelled she had also been gathering samples of several plants. There wasn't much she could do with them right now but after she got back she could experiment and maybe talk to some of the natives who lived in one of the other villages. Once she knew which ones were useful for cooking and healing and the like she thought that she might start a little booklet so that she could keep track of everything that she learned. With a book it would also be easier to share that knowledge, especially if she included drawings. She wasn't particularly artistic but surely someone would be.

Right now she knew that she was a long way from the village and that her feet hurt. She had left the sweeping plains a while ago, after getting curious and ducking into a path lined with massive cliffs. She had considered staying out in the open but had been plagued by the thought of missing something important, like a plant that only grew in one area or a deposit of ore they could use. The route had eventually opened up into a less narrow but more treacherous path. There were quite a few overhangs and places where the path dropped off suddenly and as the sun set her progress slowed significantly.

Even after the sun was completely gone the blonde kept moving, using a torch to see. She wasn't particularly tired yet and was curious as to whether or not there were any nocturnal plants out here. Something caught her eye and she turned away from where she was carefully following the cliff wall. There was definitely something in the grass and whatever it was didn't look like it was supposed to be there. Curious, she moved forward and let out a gasp when she saw it was a person.

She drove her torch into the ground until it was resting steadily and crouched down next to the body. Pressing two fingers to his wrist she was relieved to discover that the male was alive. From what she could see he looked exhausted and was unconscious. Crossing her legs, she settled down next to the figure. She couldn't just leave him out here to be eaten by any passing creature and she could always check for nocturnal plants another time. As far as she could tell he didn't appear to be injured so she kept her cure spells to herself and lightly slapped his cheek.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

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746 WORDS, GENESIS, outfit, NOTES
SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by KEANE
made by ANYA of caution 2.0

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[genesis]

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

Genesis had heard a voice. He awoke from his marching to the voice of what sounded like a young girl. He opended his eyes slowly then he immediatly became alert. A young blond girl was crouched beside him. His eyes darted around as he struggled to remember how he ended up asleep on the ground. He noticed the sun still hadn't come up. He wasn't out to long then. In his mind he let out a sigh of relief. Being the Goddess's chosen and being killed by some monsters while asleep in the wilderness was not how he planned his new life to go.

The hunger and fatigue hit him again. He was well trained to never show any weakness to the enemy, or in this girls case a stranger, so he kept it hidden. His mind boiled with questions about not only were he was but who she was. Was she a turk or another agent of ShinRa sent to track him down? He was lying back on his wing, maybe she hadn't noticed and he could get the jump on her.

He focused his look on the girl. Trying to judge his odds in a confrontation. Realising of course that he could barely stand up let alone fly and attack here. His MP was still to low to use his magic. The girl also appeared to be stronger than she looked. "This girl is a survivor" rang through his head. Even subconciously his training and experience made him take notice of that fact. He knew then that he needed her if he wished to survive the night. Enemy or not, he had no choice.

"I'm fine". He struggled to stand up, revealing his wing in the process. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, Nothing shall forestall my return".

[penelo]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; border-left: 20px solid #595454; background-image:url(http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/Sara_Shadow/PRIVATE/texture.jpg); padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;] i walked across, AN EMPTY LAND. I KNEW THE PATHWAY LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. I FELT THE EARTH BENEATH MY FEET. SAT BY THE RIVER AND IT MADE ME COMPLETE. OH, SIMPLE THING, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? I'M GETTING OLD AND I NEED SOMETHING TO RELY ON. SO TELL ME WHEN YOU'RE GONNA LET ME IN. I'M GETTING TIRED AND I NEED SOMEWHERE

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to begin,

somewhere
only we know

Penelo leaned back slightly as she saw the man open his eyes. She didn't know what mental state he was in and the last thing she wanted was to get gutted because he panicked and thought she was an enemy. She raised her hands in a placating manner as the alertness came back into his eyes, making it obvious that she had no weapons in them. Granted, as a mage she didn't really need weapons but he didn't know that and the point behind the gesture was still there.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

[/color] She rather doubted that he would believe that; assuming that strangers told the truth was a rookie mistake and he didn't seem to be untrained. Still, it tended to be somewhat reassuring to hear, or so people had told her. Penelo had long ago given up on being reassured herself - found the whole process futile if the truth be told - but had kept practising, aware that other people seemed to like it, especially her kids.

She honestly didn't understand how a few words could make someone feel that much better when words never solved the problem, never brought people back from the dead or mended broken lives, but she supposed that if people were able to take comfort in them then she wouldn't begrudge them a few words. She certainly understood comfort well enough, even if she didn't know where to find her own any more.

The man claimed to be fine, something she didn't believe for a minute given that she had found him collapsed on the ground, completely unconscious in a wild area. The idea of him being okay was completely destroyed when he started babbling on about about the morrow and his return. That sounded like a head injury from where she was standing and if it was then he was likely lucky that it hadn't killed him already. Even just falling unconscious could have wound up making damn sure that his grand 'return' never had a chance to happen.

Most of what she knew about head injuries came from dealing with Vaan and Kytes whenever they damaged themselves on their 'grand adventures' but she had spent some time trailing after the healers in Balfonheim and Archades and had picked up some of their knowledge. 'Concussion' and 'haemorrhage' were words she had never heard in Rabanastre but it didn't take long for her to join the dots. 'Concussion' was what she saw after someone got bottled after a poker game gone bad and 'haemorrhage' was just a fancy word for bleeding.

"Mmhm, okay, well I'm just going to have to check for a head injury."[/color] Giving him with a thoroughly concerned look, she rooted around in her bag until she had found a smaller torch than the one stuck in the ground. She lit the small from the large and drew closer to his face, keeping an eye on how his pupils reacted. Holding up the hand without the torch she curled her fingers until all but the pointer were in a fist. "I need you to follow my finger, alright?"[/color] She moved the single finger slowly from side to side, waiting to see how his eyes reacted.
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545 WORDS, GENESIS, outfit, NOTES
SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by KEANE
made by ANYA of caution 2.0

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[genesis]

Genesis gave the strange girl a bewildered look. She clearly didn't know who he was. More questions came to his mind. Why wasn't she phased by his wing? Did she not recognise the mark of SOLDIER? She clearly wasn't a turk or an agent of ShinRa. It occured to him that he hadn't been treated like a normal person in almost 7 years. Even then it was only Angeal and Sephiroth that did. In that moment he felt thankful for her misplaced concern.

Shoving the girl's hand aside, he walked around her to see if there was any lights in the distance. Being so quick to offer assistance he rationalised that she must come from a nearby camp or town at least. There was still no clear view. Cliffs still surrounded him everywere he looked. Turning back to face the girl, he decided that the only option he had was to ask for directions. He disliked the idea of travelling with a stranger, let alone relying upon them with his life, but he had no other choice left to him.

"I'll be fine. Just tired. I appear to have gotten off track. Could you give me directions to Junon? Or at least to the nearest town." He took care with his words. Careful not to reveal anything about himself. Her reaction would most likely determine his fate at this point. His faituge was taking over again. He knew if she did not assist him, he would most likely pass out again at any moment.

Genesis expected a response but the girl appeared to be distracted. He then took notice of what was distracting her gaze. A large creature was slowly moving up behind them. Genesis turned to what he could only describe as some kind of behemoth. Unlike any he had ever seen before. He quickly drew his Rapier but the beast began to charge. He was so tired he could not focus enough to aim a killing blow. In that moment the beast leapt towards him, he pulled at his mind for some solution. He wasn't ready to die, not yet. The beast made contact with his body. He should have been impaled. Instead the beast had been knocked back, letting out roars of pain and rage. Genesis then realised that his body had become transparent. His fatigue and hunger had faded. He felt as if he had been entirely rejuvenated. Was this the girls doing? He knew of no such magic as this. His body quickly became normal again and the thought dropped from his mind as he turned his focus back to the monster. Raising his hand he released dozens of fireballs. Each one connecting to the beast tearing it apart and setting it abalze. In an instant he tore through the beast with his rapier, leaving burning chunks of meat on the ground were the large monster was stood.

He turned his attention back to the girl. Still not quite sure what happened to him moments ago, he approached the girl. He still needed her help in getting to a safe place. He didn't know wither he would return to a weakened state or not. The sooner he found an inn and some food, the better.