[closed] a least someone’s keeping up

[activatingcombatmode]

Who: Zack Fair & Cloud Strife
What: Exploring the Hammerlocke Citadel Ruins and having a good ol’ adventure time
Where: Hammerlocke Citadel Ruins
When: Late November
Content Warnings: TBA

Comments

[activatingcombatmode]

[By now Zack Fair is getting used to the fact that this place likes to have things appear out of nowhere, mashing up several things into new things out of thin air. Or even taking stuff and crunching it up into something else entirely. It is a confusing concept and every day it still startles him but he’s slowly getting used to it. Besides, it’s not like he has any other option to go back to Normal so this occurrence happening has to be the new Normal for now.

At least the ruins seem like something interesting to look at. It towers over everything else like it’s going to swallow everything whole. Large stone wing-like structures towering above everything... And for some reason that gives Zack the very idea that he wants to check it out because something as magnificent as it is there has to be something interesting to find inside of it.

Or he’s just bored and want to find something to do. One of the two. And why not bring a friend along with him to check it all out? He’s more than happy to drag a SOLDIER pal with him to do the very adventuring that he wants to do. It is beside the fact that Zack has been trying to steer clear of Cloud to keep his safe distance in lieu of all of his memory issues. He still knows he should probably keep his distance and keep his mouth shut. But a big part of him also struggles with being able to actually do that. After all, it’s kind of hard to ignore Cloud Strife when all Zack wants to do is to talk to him again.

So-- This is a start. A careful start.]

Get it together, Cloud! Think of this like a mission. A reconnaissance mission. Hell ya.

[Up the path towards the ruins they go!]

[memorate]

[ Hell ya?? ]

Do you normally get this amped up for recon missions?

[ Even if Cloud were to think of it like a mission, why does it have to be the least exciting type? If anything, he thought his own enthusiasm level was appropriate, but now he's feeling somewhat self-conscious. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Hell ya!!]

I think I'm just amped up to be up and about, man! Aren't you?

[He gestures to the big wide expanse in front of them. And to the giant citadel ruins too.]

Look at that thing. It's crazy.

[memorate]

I'm always up and about - nothing special to me.

[ Oh Cloud, if you only knew.

Still, as weird as Zack's enthusiasm is to Cloud, he doesn't particularly mind it. He would have fit right in with the AVALANCHE trio, he thinks.

As for what they're looking at... it's definitely crazy, only in the sense that it appeared out of nowhere as usual. ]

Half of this place is Raihan's, you know... something tells me the other half isn't from his world, though.

[ Not surprising. They have a similar situation with the bar since the very start of this new story. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

Raihan, the guy with the big dragon monster friend, right?

[He's still learning everyone's names but he does pick up on that one. As they walk up the path Zack remarks how the ruins are so jagged and cut out it does look like a mash-up between two different structures and it doesn't know what it wants to be.]

That's why I want to check it all out, there might be something interesting to find. Maybe some answers about this place or something from home, hey?

[Even if it doesn't really look like anything out of Midgar or the like...]

[memorate]

Sounds like you know at least one of them.

[ Raihan is that dragon friend guy, but he's certainly not the only one, lest they forget about Lance and Dragonite! ]

Guess I know what you mean about reconnaissance now... [ So that's the reason they're here? It still feels more like a sight seeing tour with how much fun Zack is having. ]

Speaking of home... you're not really from Midgar, huh?

[activatingcombatmode]

[Let him live this sightseeing tour. But as soon as Cloud comments on not bing from Midgar he can't help but stumble over a rock or two and have a big case of the deja vu.]

Er... Yeah, nope. [He kicks that rock into the distance.] I'm actually from Gongaga.

[Me? GONGAGA.]

What about you? You don't seem like the big city type.

[Even if Zack already knows the answer to this question...]

[memorate]

[ He'll answer his question in a moment, but-- ]

W-What? What makes you say that? Do I really look like I don't belong there?

[ He did always try his hardest to blend in with the city, but he can only blend in so much with a giant sword on his back whenever he rides the train. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[He grins and shrugs casually.]

Dunno, you got that small-town vibe about you. Like you'd be better around less noise.

[Even if Zack has an advantage here by actually knowing that Cloud is a small-town kid.]

[memorate]

[ "Better"? Trust Cloud to misconstrue that comment. ]

I can work just as good with noise, I already told you I'm ex-SOLDIER.

[ Huff!! ]

... It's Nibelheim. Doubt you heard of it, but... I guess we're both "small-town" guys. [ That's enough about Nibelheim, though... Cloud doesn't want to risk another headache just thinking about it. ] C'mon, let's get this job over with.

[ It's not really a job, Cloud... ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack raises an eyebrow. Looking half-amused at the huffy way Cloud dismisses him but also a little half-worried. Time to keep that to himself for now.]

Small towns, yeah... Nothing around in those things.

[...! ANYWAY...

He falls into step beside the blond up the path now. There's the rocky entrance to the tall old-looking ruins. Cracked pathing makes it hard to walk so best to watch where they're stepping.]

Have you had any run-ins with other monsters and crap wound here before? I saw some of those bears with spines near the church once...

[On other jobs??]