Solarization (Open)

[acidgypsy]

Maji's grin seemed bloodstained in the flickering flames still lit from the lizard's incinerary breath. Even her eyes resembled that of an eager young predator at ease with her opponent. In this case, her method of slaying such a beast would be more along the lines of whittling away at it's senses; such as blinding, deafening, and finally using those advantages to hamstring it.
Cruel? Perhaps. But only a little.

Two of her more 'specialized' combat knives would do well here. They were designed as such to make it possible for Majidah to reverse her grip and lock the blades into the plating on her forearms, leaving her hands free to draw another two knives if she so chose. So effectively that left the choice to use either or both of melee in stragetic spots or to throw a blade accurately from any distance. Thank god she remembered to make that upgrade at the Forge downtown last weekend.
Now, Maji wasn't normally one for flair when it came to combat, but she could hardly avoid it in this sort of situation anyways.

Her grin widened to nearly maniacal proportions whilst her long fingers rummaged around in her pants pocket and resurfaced with her blue shades; balancing them on the bridge of her nose. One had to look the part of a heroine, no? Besides, it helped her vision in terms of clarifying the Dragon's shape against the twisting pillars of smog and the writhing hands clawing at the sky that was fire. Brimstone, the scent of which seeming so foul and overpowering, caused her to wrinkle her nose momentarily in disgust.
A long whistle escaped her pursed lips to get the beast's attention as she approached from one side; her loping stride seeming so careless to the point of irrationality.

"Hey-o, Dragon! Care to try your luck on a faster subject?"

In the split second between the rising and falling of the gigantic taloned paw, Maji's form blurred, leaving an afterimage simply from the swifness of which she moved forwards-- using a scaly hind leg as a springboard up onto the creature's back. The ridged spine beneath the scales made it more interesting when trying to keep her balance, but since Rikelus' slow spell made the attempt much easier than it might otherwise end up being.
Whilst the Dragon was busy looking puzzled at the sudden disappearance of the annoying urchin under it's foot, Alharad made use of the respite and drew another two knives in preparation for her next move.

In due time it figured out where she was, reared, and let rip a bellowing roar that rattled poor Maji's eardrums something fierce. But it lacked the longer, sleeker neck of it's eastern cousins (Namely Wyverns). As such, it grew increasingly frustrated at the girl latched on to the scales just out of reach no matter how hard it strained to turn it's head just a little further. She actually managed to reach out and pat the scaly muzzle once with a peal of laughter that surely seemed to border on insanity.
Adrenaline spiked through her system gave her that familiar high; a feeling of heady recklessness equalized by a generous amount of mobility. She loved that feeling... lived for it, even. One could say she was addicted to it as hopelessly as a drug-crazed hobo on the streets.

The knobbly dragon's spine beneath her boots helped her to clamber up the neck quiclkly enough to evade having a leg caught in the clashes and gnashing of teeth made by the hungry beastie. It was but a short matter to make a one-two hop up on it's brow, down to it's nose, and easily pounce in a graceful arc off it's nosetip.
Twisting in midair, her hands flashed out and released the blades in her grip...

The resulting roar of pain and fury for the monster dwarfed the first and deafened Maji for a few seonds after she landed safely on the ground again several meters away. It clawed at it's face, ineffectively attempting to dislodge the knives buried up to the hilt in it's pupils.
Tossing a look over her shoulder at both Mana and Rikelus, her expression looked very much akin to the cat who got the cream. So they thought just because she was younger, that she didn't know what she was doing? Pah. We'll see about that.

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

Rikelus Deverell glanced over at Maji before his grin slid into that rather devious switchblade smirk before he lowered his sword to his side chuckling softly as his eyes slid from that vivid Mako green back to that deep crimson red. The audible sound of his boot heels clicking rapidly across the rocky, cracked desert terrain was barely audible over the dragon’s writhing. The Dragon’s huge jaws snapped open, revealing cascading torrents of blood, Rikelus kept his eyes focused on the beast as he charged it, running literally past the past and holding his hand outstretched with an armlet in his hand. “Gotcha.” He spoke as that smirk slid upwards into an amicable smile. He tossed the trinket up into the air, and slid it onto his arm turning around abruptly and watched the monster flick its tail around rapidly. It seemed somewhat distraught and off balance as if it’s entire equilibrium had shifted out of whack.

Rikelus Deverell had handled many Dragons of different proportions before and this one was no exception to any rule what-so-ever. The dragon continued to stumble around with a blood slit running down it’s rear leg causing it to whip around and charge rapidly towards nothing due to it’s blindness. Dragons were actually pretty smart monsters; but Rikelus was smarter, he lifted a semi large rock in-front of the Dragon luring it dead infront of him staring in the opposite direction. Rikelus trudged forth, running towards the dragon, and dropped down into a baseball slide rolling underneath it’s soft underbelly. During all his experiences this was the most valuable spot located on reptilian beasts. Entrails literally dropped from the creature no longer tangled up, in their proper place, along with the combination of a little slice and dice resulted in turning the soil a deep ruby red, which was fitting, with the chaotic scene at hand. The rocks, the sand, the sky, no the entire world seemed blood Red or maybe it was Rikelus’s eyes playing tricks on him for a moment. Rikelus evaded being pounded by one of the dragon’s large front legs, rolling up to his feet walking away from the beast as blood poured freely from the creature, it no longer growled in pain; but seemingly lost the will to fight and collapsed leaving 2500 gil on the ground.

Rikelus received key item, “Dark Dragon sample”


A slight breeze began blowing down vast wasteland, sending pebbles of sand towards his eyesight, he canted his head to the side relaxing as the forces of nature began to take their hold over the solitary land. Neither one dared break the the unnatural stillness moving sand across the vast plains, not even Rikelus had the audacity to do that. It was quite beautiful if you could appreciate it, there was no other scenery like that outside of Edge save for Cosmo Canyon.

He finally broke the silence and strode towards Maji, seemingly in the darkness of the night there was some light in their location due to the constellations above them, and the moon. His movements were precise and never faltering; he had nothing to fear from the darkness that lay in front of him. It treated him as if it were it’s master, and almost seemed to know that Rikelus Deverell was not one to be disrespected, or turned away. Seemingly the moonlight enveloped his pale complexion with it’s shimmering light, the Shadows only helped to make his demeanor more tactical, and professional. The first class soldier removed the Dragon Armlet from his wrist tossing it to Maji, along with 2,500 gil. “Not bad for a mercenary, I don’t see the point in telling you that you’d make a fine soldier, when you obviously despise ShinRa. Although, I disagree with some of your thoughts, and your hard-headedness you’ve proved yourself as being a very formidable fighter.”

Mana interrupted Rikelus’s phrasing at the end and threw in a bit of her own input, “And even if you don’t have pride nor dreams, find something worth fighting for a hold onto it until the very end. Life can be a bitter experience if you choose not to.” With that being said Mana seemed to drift out of the lime light and shadow Rikelkus’s movements, he glanced over towards Maji, “Although were actually working on a mission as we speak, there’s bound to be valuable items, and large amounts of gil available for the taking along the way. You can tag along, if you’re interested, I’m sure it’s better paying than your other jobs.” Rikelus’s amicable features made it hard to stay mad at the Soldier, even if he verbally mocked you at times, he figured Maji wouldn’t have a problem with spouting more curses towards him that a ShinRa sailor. Either way, he had nothing but time, so he awaited the mercenary’s reply.

[acidgypsy]

Maji cracked one of those self-directed sarcastic smiles, shoulders rising and falling briefly in a shrug. She didn't have much choice anyways-- the deadline for her payment was coming up, and she'd seriously need to get her butt in gear to scrounge up enough gil if she passed this one off.
She spoke again in a prim tone of voice whilst sliding her new accessory over her wrist; inspecting the shiny new item with impish glee. It always felt more deserved if she took down a formidable creature or particularly dangerous target after a classy finishing move or two.
Stylish, no?

"Technically, I don't have a personal vendetta against ShinRa. I simply distrust them. There's a difference, you know."

That was pretty much her way of saying 'Sure, I'd love to accompany you' without directly giving the affirmative. A mercenary of her standing had to keep up appearances after all. Especially when dealing with SOLDIERs of any and all kinds regardless of the situation or relationship... Majidah wasn't quite to the point of trusting the duo, but she was no longer inclined to knock one or the other out, steal their gil, and leave him or her in an alleyway.
Not that she really was working towards that end a few minutes ago. No sirree.

Running her tongue over her bottom lip, she ran a hand through her dusky red/black hair and cast a longing glance at the glow of city lights faintly visible on the horizon.

"Er... not to be a pain or nothin', but I'm fancying a steak dinner at the moment. Could we perhaps skedaddle over to one of the yonder towns for a quick munchie or two?"

Her hunger hadn't been dulled by the few meager strips of jerky she had consumed on their trip here. Quite the opposite, in fact. Maji felt like she could eat a seven-course meal and still be hungry after. She did have to have a fair amount of food in order to suply herself with enough energy to fuel both her physical activity and her hyperactive mental drive.
'...dreams, huh?'
That gave her pause alright.
Surprisingly enough, she couldn't quite think of a goal in life that kept her going other than to simply survive the day and make enough profit to afford food and lodging. Nor was she particularly interested in pursuits such as megalomania or saintly deeds. That would require some thought in the future if she remembered to remember.

[/size]

[mana]

Perhaps it was the fading light that dulled the magnificent beast’s glassy eye as it drew it’s last breath or the way her reflection drew brighter, but Mana’s gaze remained locked with the creatures despite the urge to look away. It deserved one last moment of honor despite the horror it had unleashed upon the trio. Gripped in her hands the length of chain trailed to the beast partially wrapped around the dragon’s neck and with a flick of her wrist the large metal sphere bounced back at her command swinging around in a large arc and slowed it down to a lazy sway. Good work Skoll. It’s brother remained unused at her waist as she didn’t deem it necessary to use both. The beast had been an easy take but Mana held back allowing Rikelus and Maji to gain victory over it and smiled at the oddly misplaced grin that skewed across the young mercenaries face. Rikelus had moved as she expected, efficiently, quick, flawless. Her mako enhanced eyes enjoyed the lethal display of SOLDIER instinct.

Blood splattered across the toe of her boots, unnoticed, and the SOLDIER preoccupied herself with cleaning the droplets of blood from her poi and wrapped the chain loosely, tucking it back into a snap, the meteor falling into it’s holster with ease. She took her place beside Rikelus, chiming in momentarily with more then she had said in the last two days. As much wishing as she could have done Maji had chosen her path and even in the dark, one needed to aspire towards something.

Curling her hands behind her back, Mana coked at her head in Maji’s direction, listening to her talk but her eyes remained on her fellow SOLDIER. After already breaking a few protocols and procedures, it was ill advised to keep doing so but hell, dinner sounded awfully good and their companion needed to eat to sustain energy and a well balanced mind, a fault in either would cause problems down the road. Mana’s eyes refocused as the vibrant aqua faded into the normal blue and the gentle rustle of a inner voice faded, leaving her with a moment of confused detachment. A furrow of her brow was her only give away before waiting for Rikelus to give an answer. At the very least she could keep the two out of mischief.

[rikelusdeverell]

Rikelus shot Mana a mirthful glance nodding to her before speaking softly, “No great dead would become accomplished, if you went exactly by the rulebook, the rules were elastic and meant to be bent to an extent. Depending on the nature of the threat, some rules can be pushed aside, that’s one key rule you learn during a time of crisis. It seems that that crisis hasn’t been alleviated from the core, perhaps maybe we’ve only seen the lighter side of it. I hope not.” Rikelus Deverell’s thin dexterous fingers wiggled their way into his pocket pulling out a two sided gil, the coin landed on a seven. “Seventh Heaven it is.” Rikelus Deverell’s deep crimson red pools traced their way across Mana to Maji, who he nodded reassuringly to before affirming, “Yeah that sounds nice, we’ve got our work cut out for us.” He still had many other samples to find scattered throughout Edge and Midgar, and the dark dragons were possibly the easiest enemy they would run into.

Rikelus Deverell believed that in this case, they may actually need more than lunch, and whatever bittersweet endeavors that lady luck herself could provide. Within just a short distance they reached the marketplace, of Edge, which consisted of many bars, taverns, fruit stands and just about anything else that you could imagine thrown into the cobblestone paved market of commerce. He previously made arrangements so that whatever items they salvaged along with dragon scale would be taken a look at by the local merchant of choice. While that was going on between Mana, and Maji, Rikelus had snuck his way into Seventh heaven, where they would rendezvous for a late night dinner after Maji cashed in. Rikelus took a seat near the barstool, to where he could admire all the surroundings instead of immediately at a dinner table, or near the grill. He preferred to enjoy the sights and sounds of the local barflies. Only three people sat in the room. A couple no doubt was pretending to be asleep in a shady corner using their folded arms as pillows against the hard wooden surfaces of the tables.

Two empty pint glasses seemed to almost walk themselves to the edge of the bar top despite the occasional movements of the drunk who haphazardly shoved them here and there before making his way out of the bar and no doubt back to his home. Rikelus seemed to be staring blankly at the oak bar top for a moment while he drummed his fingers idle on the counter and waited patiently. In Soldier, you learned how the wait, there never was anything to hurry for when you dealt with the chain of command. Something caught his eye he hadn’t seen in Ages, a person who entered from the back room conveyed such an odd sense of curiosity to Rikelus he could swear the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Nah it couldn’t be her he reminded himself before he just had to order his drink.

[acidgypsy]

((Okay, to sum it up, Alharad went on a drinking spree, started several barfights, etc etc. Kinda makes you wonder how on earth she can still manage to stand, let alone walk. xD ))

After a somewhat...boisterous tour of the Edge underground, Maji would admit she had perhaps imbibed a tad too much alcohol for her system to handle. It was a challenge to walk in a straight line out of a doorway without the same doorway suddenly veering to the left or right, ending in the hunter staggering face-first into the wall.
Damn walls. So inconsiderate.

So after smacking the impudent wall a few times with a fist, she managed to walk through the door, down the alley, and collapse outside.

Ugh. How did she get herself ito these situations?

"Damned dammity cocktails... so addictive..."

((Sorry for shortness-- muse's comatose today. x.x))

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

Rikelus had been browsing around in the Seventh Heaven bar during all of this, and gained a bit of useful information per say. The soldier looked down at his PHS which vibed almost nearly out of his pocket. Rikelus took the phone out of his jacket’s pocket ever so gently, before looking down at the number that had dialed him, and almost scoffed out loud, as a grin slid across his face, soon after. The first class soldier quirked an eyebrow at the crowd which seemed to move onward past him snaking out to all corners of the alleyways. Edge definitely wasn’t a sight for sore eyes, even at this time of night everyone seemed quite busy. “Yeah, I’ll catch up in a few.” He spoke out loud to the PHS before clicking silent on the side of it and letting it fall back into his jacket pocket. He seemed somewhat distracted from his train of thought, before he noticed Maji in a rather drunken state, which made his rather distant gaze snap in the same fashion that a Midgar Zolom snaps towards it’s prey.

Rikelus narrowed his ruby red eyes towards Maji, canting his head downwards and shaking it. He walked towards her and came within a close proximity before he crouched down and extended a hand to the rather belligerent woman, “Looks like you need a hand instead of another drink.” He commented rather sarcastically towards her; although his facial expressions seemed rather amicable and distinguishing. Rikelus didn’t view her as a raging alcoholic from one instance; but, he’d take her drinking/fighting spree into consideration where they pittled with their free time next time, there were hours to spare. The phone call by the way was from the director, who he knew was probably going to inform them, when he returned his call of the results of the sample along with further missions. He’d just have to wait and see, it’s not as if the Director was going to go anywhere soon, he’d probably get more out of a voicemail from the man than a conversation or a sheet of paper either way.

Go figure….

[acidgypsy]

Maji's bleary gaze shifted between the proferred hand and his face with some suspicion, squinting a bit against the harsh backlight of neon glowing from up and down the street in most shop or bar windows.

"S'not like I can't stand on my own, thankyew very much."

After a few attempted staggers to get up, she pulled a face and eventually took his hand to pull herself to her feet. Who knew pit-viper sake and sweet potato wine was such a potent mix? She honestly felt like she had just gotten belted in the side of the head several times with a baseball bat. Or another pot had bee dropped off the balcony whilst she had been coincidentally walking past.
Note to self: no more 'house specialty' drinks without enquiring first.

She sighed and ran a hand over her face in resignation; mumbling out from between her fingers.

"So? Any news as to the plan of action next?"

[rikelusdeverell]

“Hrmmmm, after what I’ve seen in Seventh Heaven it seems AVALANCHE knows more than what they’re telling me. You know it’s kinda funny for a group of rag-tag individuals cramped into a small bar, they’re seemingly very organized, I would’ve never thought that without seeing it.” Rikelus stated his opinions on what had transpired in Seventh Heaven, he couldn’t help but have a feeling that that man was behind all of this. That man, which they had all fought to save, and rescue many years ago who turned his back on everyone who had ever believed in him for dreams and aspirations only a madman could believe in. It left Rikelus wondering all these years, what was the Goddess’s Gift? What did it truly mean? Was the Goddess’s Gift, the meaning of what you truly wanted to accomplish in life realized and attained?

Rikelus seemingly trailed off before responding, “First, we go to the INN and get you sobered up then, I’ll check my sources for updates on what they found in the samples, which will most likely lead us towards Kalm. There’s rumors of a Midgar Zolom running around, that’s been eating everything and everyone in sight.” Rikelus nodded affirmably to the drunken woman before he figured he’d try helping her make her way down the cobblestone path to the INN. Cobblestone was pretty tricky when it was slick, and your walking pattern was a random stagger from one side of the wall to the other. Rikelus didn’t seem to be bothered that he was sort of babysitting her in a way, whereas Mana would disprove he found that solving social problems, and doing the little things is what made life worthwhile after a while.

~Flashback~

"Honestly, Mr. Deverell," a man in a labcoat snorted, scoffing at the soldier with enough venom to poison the man, "I always thought you were a sentimental idiot. I cannot understand why everyone admires you so much. The 'great' leader of the Alpha Divison in Soldier prone more to petty emotion than reason!"

To contrast Professors ever present demeaning expressions, Rikelus showed the least concern for he believed that let death take him, or may he live forever in contempt. Either way he didn't seem to care. He stood slouched up upon two weak feet, still clutching his injured arm even though he hardly noticed the pain; the mental anguish felt far bitterer than what he displayed physically it was as if a loss had carved a deep gaping wound into his heart. The callous professor stood leeringly at him before he threw his hands up into the air manically. "And this only proves my point! Look what you betray me for! A bumbling lunatic!" snarled professor gesturing towards a figure in the shadows, "The mere thought that you would develop such a pathetic...'soft spot' for this wretch! UGH! Throw the specimen into the antechamber."

Rikelus blinked once or twice before he tried to make his way forward but fell, as if his feet weren’t under his own control. Seemingly it felt was if it was all one big game, and he was just a pawn within it all. He believed the professor was pulling his strings like a puppet, the way that he often did everyone else, even his assistants. What did it mean..…

~End of Flashback~

Rikelus didn’t stagger nor stumble between, but almost walked straight into a lamp post during mid-daydream. The Soldier first class readjusted his path, and stood outside of the INN, cutting a crimson eyed glanced over to Maji, “So what do you think..?” Albeit he probably didn’t want to hear the answer it was worth a shot either way.

[rikelusdeverell]

Two paths met, with two lives crossed. Tell me, is this destiny, Or a twist of fate...?

Between glances I noticed her looking at me with her leisure self-proclaimed morality, her eyes seemed rather soft, maybe even scared in a sense.... I don’t necessarily think that she’s scared of the present; but, more or less something lurking deep down inside her even beneath the alcohol circulating through her veins. I leaned my head awkwardly against the side of my clavicle glancing towards the INN.

Plenty of our jobs in Soldier didn’t quite go exactly as planned. Plenty of times I had my ass almost beat real good. I didn’t care, though. It was me. Hell, I probably deserved some of those beatings, anyway. In all my years I’ve been through some shit, but this takes the cake, the ice cream, and the balloons. I never saw myself carrying a highly intoxicated mercenary down the slippery, wet, damp cobblestone streets of Edge. The wind howled out like a wolf in the wild, adding to the bleak atmosphere of Edge, as well as heralding the approach of a nearby typhoon. Lightning flashed, and it seemed as if Odin himself had reclaimed the skies for a moment, as bolts of white outstretched across nearly the entire sky illuminating across the void of darkness momentarily. The tempest remained brewing, seemingly about to rage, as droplets of rain began to pour from the sky.

It was cold, almost deadly cold…anyone still outside in this dreadful weather would have been chilled to the very bone.. Within an instant, he had made his way into a building nearby the INN, swiftly kicking the door nearly off the hinges. It seemed as if someone had sacked the would-be bar way before Rikelus had made his way into the room. He noticed mismatched red wooden tables, half broken and teetering on un-level legs. The tables themselves, were cluttered with empty liquor bottles covered in dust, along with molded potato chip crumbs, vomit, and pieces of materia strawn about haphazardly. A few chairs lay broken in heaps of scrap on the floor, along with drooping barstools. I was unable to find a source of light among the heap of rubble save for a sole candle which I lit and sat in the corner of the window looking outside at the tsunami that engulfed the streets.

For a second I could have almost seen an amused smile on her face, that flawless face which possessed almost angelic like features underneath the dim candle light. Usually in dealing with her it held much scorn, and resentment. In this meager setting I felt as though we were but a mere pebbles whirling within a tempest. It’s funny when you think about it, pebbles can still be used as skipping stones, and within the game of skipping stones there’s always a beginning and an end. I wondered exactly when I was going to lose my momentum, and sink to the bottom of the lake. What day would I lose my edge? Seemingly was I now? I was caught up in a merrygo-round of deceit, with ghosts from my past fleeting as they may be chasing me down with vengeance and respite in their eyes. Even now, with everything I had to deal with, I was with Maji sitting in a broken down bar under an inadequately light setting via candle. My squad would roll over dying from laughter, had they seen the great Rikelus Deverell carousing around with a mercenary in conditions like this. It didn’t matter to me what they thought, the true measure of a man was his spirit, not in the way which he was perceived.

War. Gambling. Luck. Booze. Deja’vu. These were the sort of things that make me who I am. And I was just telling her about a few instances, and she was just getting to know me I reached an epiphany. Don’t laugh but bear with me, I just find it funny all of a sudden that I kinda wanted her to know me too. I’ve heard most of her life story summed up in less than fifteen minutes and I’ve not really put out a tenth of what I had in storage. Most of the time, I don’t think people want others to know them. Not really, at least. When people get close to each other, it can get as awkward as Palmer chasing a bandersnatch wearing Scarlet’s undergarments.

I know I keep most of my past to myself, because I don’t see any reason to bother other people with it. Besides, there’s stuff in my past that I’m not proud of. I didn’t want to hide anything about myself; I didn’t want to have to pretend I’m some sort of saint either... I just seemingly have this weird sort of closeness feeling with Mana that you could ever achieve without disclosing anything. I wanted to have that feeling with Maji, but would she accept me?

[acidgypsy]

ooc|| Ooooh man. Sorry about the...uh... two month wait. xD
We'll just say Miss Alharad passed out and had to get carried to her room the previous night.

bic (Finally!)||

Morning. Soft, gentle sunlight filtered in from the ratty shades pulled over the window to play across the merc's closed eyelids and chest in dappled hues of beige and yellow-white. Outside, the trilling song of several songbirds perched on the windowsill caused Majidah's eyebrows to furrow into a grimace as she pulled the pillow over her head and let out a long groan; knowing the inevitable would evetually come. The dreaded thing she had to do every day.
Getting up.

Bah. Mornings like this should go die in a pit full of rabid wolverines for another hour or two.

"Goddammit..."

After much grumbling and cursing under her breath she did eventually summon up enough discipline to roll out of the bed and plod to the washroom. There, she got the sides of the sink with both hands in a white-knuckled deathgrip and let her head hang, blinking rapidly to attempt a speedier waking time. Well, the good news was that she didn't have a hangover that required an hour-long session with the toilet bowl, but on the other hand she did feel like someone set off several small packages of explosives off in her cranium. Not to mention she could only walk a few wobbly steps before she felt like collapsing again.

Only after taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth did it dawn on her.

"How the hell did I get here in the first place?"

Real intelligent Maji.

She grimaced; pulling her clothing on somewhat hastily. Well, hopefully Mana or Rikelus would show up soon before her fears got the better of her. If they didn't get her up here, then who did...?
Ugh. That didn't bear thinking about.

While she finished buckling on her weaponry, the mercenary let her mind wander. Hopes and dreams... to tell the truth, she couldn't remember what it was to have any hopes or dreams that really counted towards anything major or heartfelt. Usually she just hoped to have enough money to pay back the mafia and dreamed of killing off the lot of them when she got the chance. But that wasn't what her two companions meant, was it?
How frustrating. She claimed to be better than the two in some areas and just as competant in others, and yet they could hope and dream for things while she couldn't. How very, very depressing.

The bedsprings creaked in protest as Maji let herself drop back on the bed; propping herself up against the wall to stare blankly at the aged wood of the closed door. Well, she might as well amuse herself while she was recovering, right?
A subtle rasp of metal on metal sounded as she drew a knife from one of the bandoliers criss-crossing her chest, flipped it around to hold the knife by the blade, and sighted with one eye closed-- the tip of her tongue poking out from the corner of her lips.
And down the knife flew, whizzing easily through the air to bite deep in the door timbers.
Thud.

Hopefully nobody was about to open the door until she ran out of ammo, or they might have a lawsuit on their hands.

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

A piece of paper drifted off from a cherry red stained desk in the corner and blew upon Maji’s bed. The paper was a detailed memoir from Rikelus, along with a business card that had his PHS number inked on it. The paper read…

“My name is Rikelus Deverell. I’m a First Class Soldier. I became a member of ShinRa’s military elite at the height of the Company’s power. And this is my story. It was a lucky chance, more than anything, that made me join Soldier. Which was peculiar, because up until that point in my life I hadn’t really had very many lucky chances. I’ll probably explain it more thoroughly later, but I will say that maybe there are certain times in a person’s life where something happens that completely changes everything. It’s hard to know these things when they happen and sometimes even a very long time after they happen. But when a person looks back on life in a certain light or with a different perspective certain things stand out and you know that; even if you didn’t realize it at the time, they changed everything.

I’m twenty-eight, and I’ve seen the rise and fall of cities, politicians, and people’s entire way of life, and even continents. My entry into Soldier changed life as I knew it. I’d spent eight years of my life learning how to be the same as everyone around me, how to fit into a certain mould of behavior and duty. I was suddenly thrust into a place where there were no rules and there were Soldiers around me who behaved like Soldiers, Soldiers who behaved like mercenaries, Soldiers who behaved like spies, and Soldiers who behaved like children. Everyone had his or her place, and I comfortably settled into mine. For the six long years I really didn’t come into my own. Everyone saw me as Commodore Deverell, when I just wanted to be me. Just Rikelus you know.

Training to be in Soldier and actually being in the Soldier are two very different things. Particularly with the superior I’d been assigned. I don’t really remember what I’d been expecting when I first met the Director, but whatever my expectations had been, I’m quite sure he completely blew them out of the water with his wayward thinking. He was very forward. I suppose I’d been hoping for someone who was a little more by the book like myself. To be a Director he had a blatant disregard for authority and somewhere along the line had hit upon the idea that the rules we’d been taught to follow were more like rules and more like suggestions. He said that we were supposed to be our own men, and make our own decisions and become more holistic instead of being a killing machine. A soldier was supposed to be more than that; he was supposed to be the first and last defense to the ShinRa Empire second only to his honor, his comrades and the President.

The truth about me is I grew up in the shadow of a mountain my entire life, and it’s been long hard arduous journey trying to climb over it. I was always the brother of a well respected hero and not a man left to his own destiny. I don’t want to be just another Soldier; I want to be a human being, an individual, myself. Not someone lost in the darkness with a rifle. I’ve never considered myself a savior, or a hero---although the actual thought of being a hero was once a goal; but now it was seemingly a fleeting dream. I wanted to be a hero to one person, and one person only.. I’m just a guy trying to help his friends, of course I’m flawed of course I’m weak, inadequate at times, but these shortcomings and traits give me the ability to fully understand the suffering of those around me in this dismal place. If I die in the line of duty, or by the hands of a terrorist so be it, It’ll be a worthy death, for their needs outweigh mine, and that’s why I’ve taken my leave.

We are mere pebbles within the whirling tempest known as the world. We are but pebbles and pebbles cause ripples when they are skipped across a body of water or a lake. You see, our lives are never constant, sometimes that stone looks like it’s going to lose momentum and sink; but something happens in that instant, and it keeps going. As long as my heart still has a beat I’ll skip my stone back to you, back to the place you call home.”

Sincerely




Rikelus Deverell
Soldier First Class

[acidgypsy]

Maji's eyes flickered back and forth across Rikelus' spidery writing; her expression becoming less politely disinterested and more genuinely surprised with each line. He might not be much of a talker, but man... he sure had a story to tell. Made her life look like a walk in the park in comparison to tell the truth.
Whilst she kept the sheaf of paper elevated between the fingers of her left hand, she paused in her lazy knife practice to tap her bottom lip thoughtfully with the blade tip.

"Well, well. I never expected such drama coming from that particular area..."

Folding up the letter into a neat little packet, she stuffed it into one of her many pockets, got up completely, and wandered on downstairs; making sure to pry each of her knives from the door on her way out. Her side ached from the variety of barfights the previous day; dull, throbbing pain making it difficult to descend the rickety staircase to the main floor.
Maji's boots made a somewhat off tattoo on the wooden floor as she crossed the room to retrieve her coat and scarf from where the garments were neatly draped over the back of one of the old, cracked chairs littering the room.
The merc made a sweep of the room with her narrowed green eyes; tucking her scarf neatly around her shoulders.

Figures. Rikelus didn't even wait for her to recover before waltzing off on his own, huh? Just wait 'til she caught up with him... After getting more supplies and handy combat attachments, of course. All that gil she got from their last mission was just screaming to be spent.

The door creaked twice as she stepped through into the open streets beyond; leaving the dust to settle in peace once again.

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