Just a legend, cold words on a page

[thatsit]

So far things had been going as well as could be expected, if not a little better. The hotel staff, well used to discretion as they were, had been adept at keeping an eye on matters. There had been some tense moments in the restaurant, if the waitstaff were to be believed, but they'd resolved themselves peacefully.

It was a good sign. Ila were the only clan to have come from outside Khamja, and their history with Skite had been less than amicable. Their inclusion was probably the biggest risk Ignis had taken with his recruiting, but when it had come down to it they needed powerful healers, and if they came accompanied by tough fighters then so be it. That they could control themselves, and that members of Khamja didn't feel the need to break into violence around them, was only a bonus.

Everyone had stayed within the hotel's confines for the day. Ignis had been glad of that. One or two had been less than pleased with the request, and some had been less pleased again regarding the issue of tags, but he was reasonably sure he'd managed to placate most of them.

He read over the notes he had for their itinerary while he waited for everyone to assemble in the conference room. He'd been up late last night trying to get a somewhat friendly member of the Kingsglaive assigned to the survivalist training, to no avail, and he'd been up early again this morning ensuring everything was in order for the swift processing and manufacture of the tags they'd require so their esteemed guests didn't have to remain confined to the hotel for too much longer. His third can of Ebony of the day sat half drunk by his chair. After so long on the lowerworld and rationing his supply to make it last he'd consumed enough in his first two days back in Insomnia to give himself the jitters, but he'd become accustomed to the caffeine once more rather quickly.

The conference room was one of the hotel's largest. A huge, oval table occupied the centre of the room, and a projector hung from the ceiling, directed to a huge blank wall where it could be used for presentations and displays. Ignis had no intention of using that, but he did prefer the table set up of the room. It would be interesting to see who chose to sit next to whom, for one.

Ignis took a drink from his can and cast his eye over his papers again. Weaponry, clothing, chocobos, food, potions, ethers, camp supplies, water, medical supplies, communication; they weren't going to be heading to Pulse quickly with a shopping list this long and involved, but at the very least the time could be useful. They needed to ensure everyone was capable of surviving in the event they became stranded with nothing.

It was just a pity they'd refused to give him Nyx for that purpose.

Comments

[thesilentstorm]

Lumi wasn't entirely sure what a Cie'th was, short of it being a monster restricted to Pulse, for some reason, but if they could be killed by the same weapons as Hollows, he didn't see much reason to be concerned.

He slid a glance to Kadaj, though he knew that others at the table had their own Zanpakutos, even if they were the cannibal blades of the Arrancar. Between himself, Kadaj and the six Arrancar, they shouldn't have too much trouble with undead menaces, even if they were different to their usual type.

His map, at least, would be useful. Landmasses could change slightly, with rivers altering their courses and some large rock formations ending up weathered beyond recognition, but he doubted the differences would be that severe that his map would be entirely out of date. If nothing else, if they were correct about the cities being abandoned and the continent itself depopulated, at least there wouldn't be too many man-made changes to contend with.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj listened to Ignis, and Fang. It sounded like they knew what they were talking about, but Kadaj found himself feeling like they were half speaking another language. Daemon was the Lucian word for Hollow, he knew that bit at least.

"What's a Cie'th?" he asked, steeling himself to sound like the stupid one. He hadn't attended much school, most of his education had been at the hands of the clan members. He'd learned classic literature from Kuja, how to fight from Orochimaru, and how to survive from Gin. His education had been somewhat lacking in the department of Cie'th. Ignis made it sound like they were going to be going up against them, and according to Fang being a Hollow hunter would help, but they were obviously different to Hollows if Ignis wasn't just calling them Daemons.

Cie'th and Daemons, he'd said. So what were Cie'th, if not Hollows?

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith had clasped her hands beneath the table as she listened. Ignis was right when he said they weren't going on a pleasure cruise, but the thought that there might be people there, fiends, or Cie'th alike, only made her want to go all the more. It wouldn't be much, but they could bring people some peace, if they needed it.

She didn't doubt the same thing was on Fang's mind, too.

"It's a l'Cie that ran out of time," she said, softly. "A l'Cie is given a job to do, and the power to do it, and a time limit. If they complete their task, they're rewarded. If they don't then they become a monster. I suppose it's like becoming a Hollow without dying first." She looked to Ignis. "Death is the only mercy they can hope for."

[declaregamuza]

Nel frowned. Aerith was well informed, but that wasn't much of a surprise given what Gamuza had said about her.

Still, the idea was an unpleasant one. Becoming a Hollow without dying wasn't impossible, but you were more likely to have it take over.

During the Arrancar project, more than a few had been taken over by the Hollows they'd been paired with. Murcielago had taken a few before it had settled with Ulquiorra. She hadn't been Gamuza's first pair up either.

It was a horrible fate no matter how it came to you.

"Luckily, most of us are equipped to fight Hollows."

[innatelunacy]

Saix looked around at the assembled Arrancar. The fact that most of them were Hollows itched in the forefront of his mind, but he held that back. The Arrancar might be Hollows, but he was Ryoka, and the Arrancar knew that perfectly well too.

"Which we're going to do for the sake of historical curiosity," he muttered, loudly enough to be heard. Ignis had never given him a proper answer last time, when he'd asked what they were looking for. It was all about the society's origins, and historical significance, but the more information Saix heard about what they were likely to face, the less he believed that. You didn't pay this many people the sort of money they were getting paid to go unless you were going to profit at the end of it.

[thatsit]

Ignis listened to the rumblings going around the room. The depth of understanding Aerith and Fang displayed still had his curiosity, and he was hoping to get some time to speak to them both properly to go over the stories they knew. Fang's village sounded like it was part of the diaspora, and Aerith's mother must have been in contact with it too.

He nodded along with Aerith's explanation, and then sighed at Saix's interjection.

"Technology," he said, simply. "Among other things. We have very good reason to believe that some of the developments that existed on Pulse outstrip anything we have now." That very good reason was Noctua. Before that it had all been fables and stories, but seeing it, tactile and working and beautiful, had solidified it. "We have come a long way, but if we can really study our history, we may be able to improve our future."

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt, who had been halfway to bored and wondering if he could bean Ulquiorra in the face with a bit of balled up tissue from his pocket and survive, perked up.

"Well now you're talking," he said, his eyes lighting up.

He was Al Bhed. Heading off to long abandoned and dangerous places to salvage ancient machina was his thing.

[theschemer]

It all made sense to Ienzo.

Pulse was an unknown, they hadn't even done a fly-by mission, though that was presumably because Jagd-proofed ships were so hard to come by. Even new-built ones needed old engines, because the power source that yet to be re-created. Salvage was required for further exploration, especially since there were whole areas of the world, Pulse among them, that had become Jagd in the space between the old dawn of air travel and now.

The idea of there being awful monsters there didn't bring him much joy, especially given what the last eldritch abomination he'd met had done to him, but there were, at least, plenty of Zanpakuto wielding warriors along for the ride. Not to mention enough of them who could conjure reishi weapons for a similar effect. Short of digging up a Quincy, they were pretty well set for a mission into the unknown.

"How long are we likely to be--" he began, trailing off when the door opened.

[thewingsoffreedom]

Levi pushed the door open in spite of hearing voices within the meeting room.

Politeness dictated that he should have waited for a lull in conversation before making his entrance, but he just didn't care. He had been sullen ever since he'd been told he was expected to participate in a meeting full of Lowerworlders for some supposedly secret mission to a lost continent that he wouldn't be going on anyway, thank the Goddess.

So he walked straight in, catching one of them mid-sentence. He couldn't tell which it was, because they'd stopped immediately, but it didn't matter anyway. All guesses fell by the wayside as he looked at the assembled weirdos around the table. Only five of them looked anything approaching normal. The others had brightly coloured hair or, in one case, grey skin.

They weren't going for subtlety, then.

He didn't apologise about his tardiness. He just made his way around the table towards Ignis, not keeping his distaste for this near bureaucratic shit off his face. Meetings weren't this forté. He didn't like them. He didn't do well as a face of the Glaive, that was what Nyx's arse was for. Drautos's supposed military training. Erwin Smith's charisma. He looked more like a kid who'd been asked to come to the front to read out the note he'd been caught passing to a classmate.

He'd arrived in his Kingslaive uniform of black and grey, adorned with the black and white sword-feathered wings of the dragon Bahamut, the division's mascot. Although clearly a service uniform, it didn't stop him looking a little like a lost schoolkid. Over his uniform, he wore a set of dog tags, dulled silver but buffed to a shine, on a chain.

"You can finish what you were saying," he said, his voice deeper than one might expect, his tone bored, flat and even.

[thatsit]

Ignis's eyes shot to the door when it was opened. Levi Ackerman was finally gracing them with his presence, then. Every fibre of Ignis's being longed to tell him he was late, or dryly thank him for finally joining them, but he refrained.

Apache could understand Jyllandi, after all.

"Apologies, Ienzo," he said, once Levi had come to a halt. "I believe you were asking how long we're likely to be on Pulse? We're planning on an expedition of three months, but will be prepared for delays and setbacks should they occur."

He gestured to Levi with one hand. "Which brings us nicely to Levi here. As one of our foremost members of the Kingsglaive he's been tasked with ensuring we're all sufficiently capable of surviving that long should something go awry."

Ignis smiled, thinly. "I assure you his punctuality isn't representative of his other skills."

[gracefuldahlia]

Marluxia raised an eyebrow at the intrusion. Zexion wasn't the only one thrown by the sudden appearance of a stranger, but Ignis had said that he was waiting for someone else and was beginning without him.

Apparently, this was him.

Three months, or potentially more, in a battered wilderness filled with monsters while they searched for lost technology. It wasn't the worst way to earn gil, and if they were truly expecting to find technology more advanced than that of Lucis's own right now, Lumi was likely firmly in favour, monsters be damned.

The sour little Kingsglaive that had interrupted had an air of Ulquiorra about him. The same unsmiling face, and flat tone, and disregard for the comfort of others was on display.

"How does he intend to ensure that?" he asked, skeptically. Marluxia doubted there was much that could be taught to himself and Lumi, for one.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow stared at the little shrimp who had taken to the front of the room.

If he didn't know better, he'd assume he was related to Ulquiorra. He wasn't grey, sure, but he had the same miserable little puss, same diminutive stature and the same self-assuredness that could only come from being very powerful and very short. He'd only ever seen that body language in that type, or small dogs who made a habit of picking fights with much bigger ones.

He'd been about to ask if this guy was really one of the best in the Kingsglaive, or if it was the only one they could strong-arm into being involved in the briefing, but Marluxia spoke first.

[thewingsoffreedom]

"He," Levi said, looking at Marluxia, "is going to have to train some of you in survival to make sure you know how to camp and hunt and not die when you're out in the wilds of Hell." His accent was slightly unusual. Different to both that of Ignis and Gladio, he spoke like he understood the language he was speaking in, but wasn't quite as good at it as somebody who had learned it almost alongside their mother-tongue.

And, well, he hadn't. He'd been given lessons in the Kingsglaive and then he'd been trained by a certain higher up later, much to his consternation. It was easy enough, but he rather felt that if people were going to come to Lucis, they should learn to speak the local language rather than expect the locals to speak theirs.

He folded his arms across his chest and looked at everybody assembled. For a bunch of brightly coloured foreign people, especially some that should clearly be wearing Tags, some of them looked rough. Scars were a common enough feature, both on the arms and the face and he could tell that some of them were more than just pretty faces. They hadn't assembled a catwalk to explore a new continent, after all, as much as it looked that way. They had to have something about them.

"I expect some of you can already camp," he said, cutting off any dissent before it started. "And hunt. But you need to be either taught properly, or assessed, because for some reason the Crown gives a shit whether you can survive to Kingsglaive standards instead of just trusting that you can do it to your own. If nothing else, it'll be a nice getaway for you and you might learn something new. Otherwise, you're going to have a lot of time to kill in the city."

[thesilentstorm]

"What sort of assessment will there be?" Lumi asked, looking from Levi to Ignis.

He and Marluxia knew full well how to camp. He expected that both Clan Skite and Clan Ila knew, too. Ienzo and Ulquiorra were less certain, Szayel almost certainly didn't, and Nel and Even weren't really there for their camping expertise anyway. They all had areas they specialised in, but it did make sense to give them all crash course in survive where needed. He, after all, couldn't hope to start a fire without a lighter or matches, but somebody like Axel, or Tayuya, would have no issue. Even so, he didn't much fancy spending time out in the wilderness of Lucis with them on a training course.

He'd leave dealing with camp to other people anyway, he was far more suited to hunting and he could prove that easily enough.

[thatsit]

Ignis smiled at Lumi's question, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hunting and field dressing, fire-making, first aid, chocobo riding, and shelter building, I believe," he cast a sidelong glance at Levi. "The idea is that if we were to become separated or stranded we can last until help arrives."

He nodded in Lumi's direction. "Obviously if you feel yourself adept enough in all of those skills already you need only demonstrate them to Levi's satisfaction, but any who fail to meet his standard, or who would prefer to brush up on skills they are less assured of will join us in a training exercise."

Which included himself, as much as the idea of submitting himself to Levi's instruction landed a stinging blow to his pride as a member of the Crownsguard.

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra didn't need to attend such a thing. All the skills Ignis named were ones he already held from working with the Gotei Division. They could be away from headquarters for days or weeks at a time clearing an infested area, camping in the wilds.

Ienzo-san, on the other hand, would be less adept at things such as hunting and field dressing. Ulquiorra doubted he'd have issues with shelter making, or building a fire, but it was unlikely Ienzo-san had ever skinned a dreamhare.

He looked at the tag around Levi's neck, a dog's collar, identifying and marking him as different. He wasn't wholly familiar with the ranking system in use on Jylland as yet, but at his estimation Levi was more than his stature suggested.

"How long?" he asked, his voice deep and flat.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya groaned and leaned forward across the table with her arms outstretched.

Camping. Going out on a 'training exercise' camping with these bastards to prepare themselves for three months of camping with these bastards.

"This is such a crock of shit," she complained. "We're all hunters already," she looked around, her eyes falling on Szayel and staying there while she curled her upper lip, "most of us, anyway."

[declaregamuza]

"That's as may be," Nel replied, looking at Tayuya. She understood why Tayuya was objecting; she was one of Orochimaru's underlings, a Ninja from one of the hidden villages. They were trying to teach a grandma to suck eggs. Ulquiorra too, she knew, and likely a few of the rest of them didn't need to be trained to do something they'd been doing for a while.

"But I think it'll be useful for us to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, as well as improving our own skills, since we're going to have to work together when we're up there."

[thesilentstorm]

"Is it necessary for each of us to have all the skills?" Lumi asked, looking at the two at the front. "Or will an array between us be sufficient?"

He didn't lean forward with a show of attention, or flop forward like Tayuya in complaint, he just sat there, waiting. He was as patient as a crocodile, so he had no real need to get the meeting over with quickly. He preferred to get all the information before embarking on anything, even if he could work on the fly.

"I can hunt and field dress," he said and then indicated Marluxia to his side. "Marluxia here is an expert botanist. Together we can deal with camping. However, I lack the capacity for making fire without tools -- I am not able to use magic, but there are a few around this table who can produce more fire than we'd ever need unless we wanted to raze large potions of Pulse to the ground. Neither of us are healers, but we can bandage an injury and use potions. Marluxia can make them. I would prefer not to be camping unnecessarily before the trip, I have other matters to attend to before we go, but I'd be happy to demonstrate my relevant skills."

[theschemer]

"I'd find it useful," Ienzo said, giving a shrug of one shoulder. "I don't know much about camping, my skills lie outside of living rough."

As a researcher, would-be historian and Alchemist, Ienzo was never going to have been invited for his abilities to survive the wilderness. He'd be more useful where civilisation had fallen and only half because, as somebody who had contributed to more than one of those, he considered himself well-versed in it.

"I can build a shelter using Alchemy," he pointed out, "and I'm adept enough with magic to be able to make enough fires to make up for the lack of magic in others, not that it will be necessary with people like Tayuya and Axel in the party, but I could use the lessons, I don't mind admitting that. I daresay Even and Szayel are in much the same position."

He turned to see Even's grimace and held his smirk down.

[thewingsoffreedom]

Levi listened, looking from person to person as they argued or agreed. It made sense for them to voice their views on the subject, he wouldn't want to be tested by some perfect strangers to see if they were good enough at the jobs they were hired for, but it didn't mean they weren't going to have to back up their claims.

"You won't all need to be experts at everything," he said, addressing that issue right off the bat. "You just need to be assessed on first aid, camping skills and all the other shit, to make sure enough of you have a spread of abilities so you won't die. You don't all need to make fire, you don't all need to be able to skin a wolf, you don't all need to know what plants you should avoid putting in your faces, just enough of you, so that if you split off for separate recon, you won't end up with three skinners and nobody who can set up a tent, or two healers and one person who can start a fire, but nobody that can kill anything to cook over it."

Levi couldn't expect everybody to know how to do everything. He couldn't make fire either, not without a match, and healing was way outside his realm of expertise. A lot of Glaives would judge the white-haired one for not being able to use magic, but it hadn't stopped Levi getting the highest kill-count out beyond the wall. The only reason Nyx was the face of the Kingsglaive was because he looked better on the posters.

And he wasn't a criminal conscript, that too.

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

"Speak for yourself," Szayel replied, throwing a glare in Ienzo's direction. "At least I can butcher an animal." He might not look like he could, but he had trained as a surgeon and when it came down to it, it wasn't that different. "And my first aid skills go without saying."

The rest of it, on the other hand, might be more of a problem, and he got the distinct impression Nel was going to insist he go on this ridiculous training camping trip because of it.

"We're not all eager to cuddle up to Ulquiorra for warmth as we sleep on the floor."

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra didn't blink, didn't move except to utter a single Rozarrian word in response.

"Trash."

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt made the effort to ignore his brother trying to needle Ulquiorra and the creepy Ryoka. Their whole thing was creepy, and weird, and thinking about it too much made questions pop into Yylfordt's head that he didn't want to have answered. Like whether or not Ulquiorra was that colour everywhere.

Maybe his skin got darker in places. But the pink bit of his eye was still pink, so maybe--

And that was about the point that Yylfordt shivered and made himself latch on to the actual topic. "All right, pnu," he said, "so we go and do this camping test, and then what?"

[thatsit]

Ignis straightened up a little in his chair. He hadn't realised he was beginning to slouch, and he corrected himself, crossing one leg over the other as he did.

"Following Levi's assessment that you're capable you'll be fitted for protective clothing and any other such equipment you may require. The ships will be stocked with supplies, including chocobos, and then we will be on our way." He afforded the group a smile. "Those of you that are pilots we will meet with nearer the time to discuss the flight plan. You know the individual capabilities of your ships better than anyone here might. Currently we anticipate departure in approximately six weeks, although that is of course pending Levi's assessment and any delays due to weather or supply concerns."