[Action in Lindblum (I think?)]

[dualcast]

[Anyone could be forgiven for thinking there wasn't a forest full of the birds at the base of Mount Ordeals with how Porom's been jumping at every little sound and demanding to know if Ursula thinks it's a chocobo. Apparently, hearing that they're expected back soon only managed to make her fret more. Which is quite the achievement, considering how much she was fretting already. In fact, she's so busy wondering if non-chocobo-related sounds are chocobos that she almost manages to miss their actual return.

Almost.

It's probably a good thing that she managed to get some rest and that wearing herself out isn't an immediate danger anymore. Because, well. Doublecasting curaja before actually checking if anyone's injured.]

Comments

[for-cosmos.livejournal.com]

[The healing is only mostly not needed. It's pretty much impossible for the warrior to emerge from a battle with Chaos/Garland completely unharmed. The worst of the injuries had been healed soon after the battle, after magic had tried and failed to revive those who had died, or had woken those who were knocked out.

The healing isn't as surprising as seeing who it's from, though. His dismount is probably the fastest and most ungraceful in the history of chocobo riding.]

Porom!

[dualcast]

You're back! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Do you need anything-

[...yeah, that might be continuing for a while. She's just a little frantic as she checks him for injury.]

[for-cosmos.livejournal.com]

I am fine. I promised you.

[Curespamming probably had something to do with that. He's not about to tell her the rest of what happened yet, since it will probably only make her more worried, instead of less.]

[dualcast]

[-it takes her a few seconds to process that. Because she's already worked herself up into a bit of a frenzy with worry. But eventually she calms down, at least enough to remember how breathing works.]

...thank goodness you're safe.

[for-cosmos.livejournal.com]

I am sorry for causing you to worry. Did anything happen while we were gone?

[In those few seconds, he takes hold of Porom's hands. He doesn't think much of it. It's the first thing he can think of to reassure her more.]

[dualcast]

[It's only when she calms down that she notices. When she does she smiles, squeezing his hands.]

Nothing. It's been quiet.

[trinitycrusades.livejournal.com]

[Cecil doesn't immediately notice the pair, as he dismounts from his chocobo and helps Rosa dismount from hers. First he looks for Ursula, who seems to be in good spirits as she reunites with Ceodore, which he's relieved to see. He himself is none too worse for wear thanks to Rosa's healing, but the paladin's armour and shield have taken a battering from taking the defensive role in the group.

Cecil smiles as he spots Porom's fretting, and the Warrior take her hands in his. It reminds him so much of himself and Rosa that he can't help but call over to them.]

Worry not, Porom, Rosa has been taking good care of your Warrior.

[vulgarascetic.livejournal.com]

[ Prishe had opted to accompany Porom to the woods, and had been pacing around the immediate area, more exploring than anything else. She didn't do standing around and waiting very well, and besides, despite her boasts to the contrary, she was a little worried about the Warrior.

People had been telling her all kinds of things about Garland, and while Prishe was confident that the Warrior could take him on...

She heard the chocobos approaching before she saw them, and darted back to the clearing to where she and the white mage had been waiting.

And she stopped promptly in her tracks and hid slightly behind a tree when she saw Porom and her Warrior greeting one another.

Oh ho. So that was it. Peering out from behind the tree, Prishe opted to wait just a little bit longer. Things were getting interesting. ]

[for-cosmos.livejournal.com]

[....Oh, right, there were other people there, weren't there. The warrior had completely forgotten them, in the process of calming Porom. The sound of Cecil's voice startles him, and he pulls back from his grip on Porom's hands. ATTEMPTS TO ACT LIKE NOTHING UNUSUAL WAS HAPPENING = GO.He's still not quite as linefacey as usual, though. Because. He isn't Porom's warrior. Really. Where did you get that idea, Cecil?]

Yes- Rosa's help has been of importance to us.

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[Ceodore's eager to dismount the moment his chocobo hits the ground, and even before that landing, he's scanning the faces of those waiting for their return, trying to pick out a blonde head. The moment he spots Ursula, he's urging the bird to hurry up and as soon as it's close enough to the ground, he's off and running for her. Porom's curespam goes unnoticed even because he's doggedly focused on getting to Ursula as fast as humanly possible.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Of course Ursula is there. She seems better off than went he left her...physically, at least. Granted, she didn't fall to pieces after he left, but some concern was inescapable. Upon spotting him, though, she sighs in relief and rushes toward him. There's so much she wants to know, but at the moment, she's just glad she's alright.]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[First things first, he catches Ursula for possibly the tightest hug he's ever given anyone, and then hides his face in her neck and does nothing more than breathe. He's taking the outcome as hard and serious as can be and losing Lilisette when he'd been the one to protect her was shaking him to the core.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

Ceodore....

[She says his name softly, concerned but not prompting him to speak before he's ready. She also doesn't let go, wanting to give what comfort she can.]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

[It takes a while but eventually Ceodore lifts his head and sighs heavily.]

He got away.

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Ursula frowns, but nods, not completely surprised. Garland has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, after all.]

And...what else?

[There's something more. She can tell that much from his eyes.]

[lunarianlegacy.livejournal.com]

Lilisette's dead.

[Blunt and right to the point. If Ursula's paying close attention, it's pretty obvious that he's blaming himself for that.]

[petalwhirlwind.livejournal.com]

[Urusla bows her head, blinking back tears. She remembers Lili well from her rescue and the Wind Shrine expedition.]

...I'm sorry, Ceodore. She'll return.

[Stubbornly ignoring rumors of the Iifa Tree not being what it was, for now.]

[rebornaninsect.livejournal.com]

[Meanwhile, Golbez is waiting at the edges of the group for the party to return. His first concern- that Cecil and Rosa didn't make it back- is assuaged the moment he sees the group arrive. It's also a relief to see Ceodore and Kain safe, though the last merely because the death of his friend would do little for Cecil's well-being.

He waits until the rest of the greetings and activity has died down, before beginning to approach his younger brother.]

Cecil.

[trinitycrusades.livejournal.com]

[It's not difficult to spot Golbez, and Cecil turns to greet him as he approaches. The Warrior and Porom were a momentary distraction, but there's now a noticeably sombre mood about Cecil, after Lilisette's death... and what happened to both Zidane and Lufene. Even if Lufene had been an enemy, even if she'd personally tried to kill them aboard the Lunatic Pandora, and all her other crimes, she hadn't deserved such a terrible fate. Lilisette had deserved hers even less.

He's still carrying the pouch with Lilisette's belongings, and he's not about to let it out of his sight. Even if he couldn't protect her, taking care of it is the only thing he can do, now.]

Brother. [He decides to get straight to the point -- because Golbez would want to know.] Garland has escaped us.

[rebornaninsect.livejournal.com]

[The solemn mood is obvious as Golbez approaches, so he expects bad news- hearing this of Garland isn't what he expected, or wanted, to hear, but it doesn't completely shock him. After a moment he nods, and gets right to the point himself.]

How?

[trinitycrusades.livejournal.com]

Before we could defeat him, four monsters appeared -- not unlike the four Archfiends of our world. I don't understand exactly what happened, but somehow, they changed Garland into Chaos, and allowed him to flee.

[What bewildered Cecil is that those four fiends were exactly the same as those he remembered battling from the crystals on the Creator's Moon. Not to mention...]

It's almost as though Garland and Chaos are one and the same, but that makes little sense. Garland was a Warrior of Chaos himself, wasn't he?

[rebornaninsect.livejournal.com]

Garland became Chaos?

[Golbez frowns and crosses his arms. He wishes he could have had the chance to ask about this before- that he had dared approach the other Chaos warrior.]

Yes. Garland was the warrior closest to Chaos. I do not know how it could have happened, even with the power of four elemental creatures.

Perhaps you should ask your warrior. It is he who is Garland's foe.

[trinitycrusades.livejournal.com]

I still do not know if he remembers much of his past... but I can try. Of any of us, he the most likely to have answers.

[And if even Golbez doesn't know, quizzing other Chaos warriors like Jecht isn't going to net him much more helpful answers, either.]

There were losses on both sides. [Involuntarily, the hand carrying the pouch clenches. Lilisette's death has hit him hard, even if, as ever, he's putting a brave face to it.] Lufene is dead -- killed by Garland's own hand.

[rebornaninsect.livejournal.com]

He wishes to see this through, no doubt. If there is any help he can give, he will.

[He can't say that he's affected by the loss to those who were fighting Garland, but he understands what Cecil must be feeling. His voice is solemn when he replies.] Thus is the price of war.

[trinitycrusades.livejournal.com]

It never becomes any less of a terrible price, even after witnessing all the wars that we have.

[He shakes his head, weary. He just feels tired at this point, wishes for nothing more than the world to return to peace. This confrontation was supposed to have been the last.]

But they say death is not permanent on Gaia. There's a chance those who die are given life anew. [And while he isn't sure if Gaia would be better without Lufene, if there's a chance Lilisette might return to them... he's willing to believe in that.]