The lines are blurred, you keep rubbing your eyes.

[thewingsoffreedom]

Duscae was one of the more pleasant regions that the Kingdom of Lucis controlled. Or, at least, "controlled".

Politically, Lucis was a reasonably large Kingdom. Its territory stretched from the east coast of the northern portion of Eos all the way to the desert in the West and was divided from the neighbouring country of Niflheim, now a self-styled 'Empire', by only a skysea inlet and a small land bridge in the sand. It was comprised of different biomes, with dry eastern scrub transitioning into plains, wet fenland and reasonably temperate forests in the valleys of Duscae and Cleigne. Cleigne also included, nominally, the lands that used to be the independent Kingdom of Glenys, but that one, with its self-governing exception and distant capital, was definitely a political inclusion more than a territorial one.

Realistically, Lucis was just the City of Insomnia. Outside the Walls of the Crown City, there was a general feeling of alienation and Othering from the people within, a separatist mindset that meant that those from inside the walls considered those from outside of it to be Foreign, in spite of the Kingdom's borders and the nationality of all from the north to the Skysea being, ostensibly, 'Lucian'. This wasn't helped by the fact that the majority of the Kingdom outside the walls was empty. There were a few settlements, the main ones being Lestallum, Balterossa and Galdin Quay, but for the most part, outposts and service stations aside, it was uninhabited except by farmers and ranchers.

Governing it was considered unimportant to the short-sighted ruling Class who never passed through the city walls and they all operated independently, either officially as with Balterossa, or effectively, like the others.

It was no surprise, though. A periodic, unpleasant phenomenon that caused an uptick in the number of Daemons had plagued the Kingdom for centuries, and the uninhabited land that came to be the Kingdom for centuries before that. It seemed to be a focal point and that made living outside the protective, probably magically enhanced walls dangerous. Attempts had been mounted, mistakes had been made and now the countryside, fen or forest or plain or scrub, was littered with the bones of towns and villages, all abandoned, all empty and most ruined or well on their way to it.

Levi didn't mind it. He liked the empty country. The Daemons were an issue, but they tended against coming out in the sunlight. As such, days were a risk only by dint of the local wildlife, larger and more aggressive than that of countries with similar emptiness due entirely to its empty period between the Solheim days and those of Lucis.

The nights... they were different.

All over Spira, both Ivalice and the floating continents, Daemons roamed the night, preying on people too weak to fend them off, or each other in the absence of their preferred food. They weren't too common in civilised lands, with only small fry appearing near population centers on account of the measures put in place to keep even the small numbers down. In the more remote spots, where people had died away from others, unable to be Sent and with regrets or anger tethering them to the Seen world, or the Daemons had moved to escape those who hunted them, they grew bigger and more ferocious, able to take more punishment in a fight and deal more accordingly. Unless they strayed across people and caused a problem, they were largely ignored.

In Lucis, they retreated to the old ruins, those that opened only at night, and infested them. Then they emerged when the sun dipped below the horizon to hunt. Elsewhere they could be rooted out in the daytime, when they were at their weakest, by organisations dedicated to the killing of them, but Lucis's interesting local history kept them safely sequestered during the day and their anti-Daemon force had nothing on those of other countries. It made for a strange situation and took away the single advantage hunters had during the day. The Daemons had no such disadvantage during the night, they could roam freely and had, at various points, ruined the chances of colonisation.

These days, there were wards that could keep Daemons away from ranches and service stations, bright lights that could be affixed to poles near the edges of the grounds to keep them away and keep those in the houses safe, but that didn't help Hunters. Hunters and, by extension, the Kingsglaive, only had their wits to keep them alive.

Well, their wits and Havens.

Havens were their single lifeline. Not quite the fortresses the Daemons had in the Solheim ruins, they nonetheless provided small bubbles of protection on rocky outcrops marked with symbols, the meanings of which had been long forgotten, the composition of the paint unknown.

Levi supposed that books existed somewhere, in some library or repository of tedious information, that gave names to them and their meanings, but he didn't give enough of a shit to go looking. As far as he was concerned, they gave the Glaives and Hunters somewhere to bed down if they needed to, allowed them to keep watch and take a break from putting their lives on the line to protect the pricks who were already safe behind the walls of Insomnia.

He could see why the Pulse party had been given the wider Kingdom of Lucis for their training. The land had been abandoned for centuries before the Lucians landed there and had then been ignored for centuries more. Other places, though wild, had been visited or inhabited at some point, or left as real areas of wilderness, unplagued by Mist except after the relatively brief Saturation that had covered the world after some war or other.

The only other landmass apart from Lucis that had been treated in a similar way was, undoubtedly, Pulse. Unless Levi just didn't know about another one that was the sort of monster-filled, Daemon-ravaged spiritual shitshow that Lucis was, at least.

It was the only logical location for their training to take place, the only approximation of their destination, not that they could know for sure. Somebody had mentioned the Wildlands, but somebody else had poo-pooed that comparison with superior experience, or so it seemed. Levi hadn't paid that much attention to the bickering of his charges. It helped, of course, that Lucis owned the land the training was taking place on, were funding the mission they were training for and had expendable Daemon killers with criminal records to try and keep the similarly expendable foreigners alive.

Levi didn't like some of them, but the majority were all right. Most had come with skills that helped and were just expanding their skillsets, others ... were a liability.

Still, a good number, liabilities or not, were equipped with Zanpakuto. They were apparently the best weapons against Daemons, equal to Innocence, and outstripped Levi's own weapons considerably. They were, from what he understood, magical bullshit soul-blades, uniquely specialised in cutting through the ridiculously hard Daemon skin.

He, conversely, had a sword that had been forged with magic. It was an old technique, and some families had ancient exampled each imbued with a different element, but these were relatively mass-produced, included small amounts of Holy magic and, while they cut through the Daemons and allowed them to do their job, weren't a patch on the historical blades or, of course, Zanpakuto.

They could do some of the heavy lifting.

They were camped in Duscae, in the camp that would be their home for the next week or so, and were in a reasonably comfortable Haven thirty or so miles away from the Wiz Chocobo Ranch. The air wasn't too humid, the temperature was neither too hot nor freezing cold and the levels of Mist were good enough to bring the risk of Daemons, but not the certainty of them. That the local wildlife was big and edible helped.

"So, today... some of you are going to go hunting," Levi said. "Who's shit at it?"

Comments

[palehornedprince]

"Szayel!" Yylfordt called, wasting no time in dropping his brother in it. He'd done little but complain or huff since they'd set out.

Yylfordt didn't mind the camping. The climate in Duscae wasn't to his taste; he much preferred the rocky, sun-beaten dustbowl of Leide, but aside from the weather it reminded him of when he was little and his dad used to take them out on salvage expeditions.

Szayel had done nothing but complain back then, too. The sun was in his eyes. It was too hot. The engine grease was getting on his clothes. Their dad had stopped bringing Szayel, eventually, and left him behind with their mom who was losing a lot of her sight by then anyway. Leaving Szayel to look after her made things easier for everyone.

He hadn't toughened up any in the intervening years. If he was honest, Yylfordt was enjoying watching Levi deal with him. Levi was an aggy little twerp, emphasis on the little; like Ulquiorra but with extra attitude in place of the ass-kissing. He was a bossy, short tempered little prick, with a foul mouth. If he'd had the right eyes and hair, he'd have fit in back at Home.

He flashed Szayel a grin across the Haven. It had been weird setting up camp on a stone covered in glowing writing, and Del Toro had been uncomfortable with it. Ignis had prattled on about it over dinner last night, and Yylfordt had only been half listening, but he'd caught enough to know Havens were supposed to keep you safe from Daemons, which was what the Lucians called Hollows, so it probably figured that Del Toro wasn't a fan. He didn't remember if Ignis had said anything about how they worked, but it hadn't done any of the Arrancar any harm as far as Yylfordt could tell and that was all that mattered.

"And probably the mages," he added, conceding that Szayel wasn't the only one that would be crap at gathering food. Although at least the mages could pre-cook it.

Szayel, on the other hand, flinched away from Dreamhares.

[thewingsoffreedom]

Levi knew Szayel's name would be the first one to come up.

Szayel was a nuisance. He was a medic, according to him and the others, and preferred being left in a laboratory to tinker with whatever bullshit it was that took his interest to being out in the world, putting up with the damp and hot and cold and creatures.

As such, Levi had thus far endeavoured to make him endure as much of the Great Outdoors™ as possible. He'd had him dig and forage and clean stuff other people had hunted, so he'd not got off light because 'it's not my area'. He got the idea that Szayel didn't like him very much, either because of this or because he ignored all the crap that came out of Szayel's mouth that seemed to make everyone else hate him, but his lack of tolerance and sympathy for his whining seemed to make the rest of them happy.

"Obviously Szayel," he said, giving a small shrug. "Anyone want to volunteer, or are you gonna let the assholes volunteer you to do it?"

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith tentatively raised her hand, uncurling her fingers in slow motion. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Levi was looking for volunteers to go hunting, and Aerith wanted to hunt about as much as she wanted to spend all week listening to Szayel complain.

She could defend herself. She didn't have a problem with that, or with killing dangerous beasts, or fighting Hollows, or whatever else might be in store for them on Pulse. Going out and finding animals to kill, however? That was something she was more comfortable leaving to Fang, and Saix, and Lea.

She followed up her slow hand raise with an awkward, self conscious smile. "I suppose you could say I don't have that killer instinct," she confessed.

[thatsit]

"Hardly a surprise," Ignis responded, giving Aerith a soft smile and a nod.

She was nice, probably the nicest person in attendance, and that included Nel who was next on Ignis's list. Most of those that Ignis wouldn't expect to be much for hunting had strove to be useful to the camp in other ways, aiding with setting up, cooking, washing up, watch duty, latrine digging and so on.

He'd felt more comfortable about camping at a Haven. Their first night had been out in the midst of nowhere, and despite the company it had left Ignis on edge. The glowing sigils of the Haven stone had been reassuring, although Ignis had still been up with the sun.

The view had been worth it. Duscae was picturesque; an untamed version of the artificially cultivated woods and waterways within Insomnia's walls, and the sun rising above the treetops had been a pleasant way to start the day. Although the peaceful soundtrack of distant wildlife had been marred by the fact that a number of their campmates snored.

"I daresay I'd benefit from more experience," he added. "Combat is one thing, hunting to eat is quite another."

[theschemer]

"I could use the practice," Ienzo admitted.

He was never going to be a major hunter in the group. Not for a second. He would probably be better suited to logging discoveries and noting down creatures, and maybe building water-tight shelters in a pinch in bad weather. There were too many others in the group who would be better placed to gather most of their live food, but it didn't hurt to have the skill. Nobody knew what was going to happen, or if they might get separated at any point.

[thechillyacademic]

"As could I," Even said, managing to keep the huff from his tone.

He didn't enjoy hunting. He would rather prefer to keep far away from animals and the requisite teeth and claws and, most importantly, drool, but it was a skill he supposed he'd need. On the plus side, he was certainly well-suited to the preservation of meat, what with being an Ice Elemental and all.

[thewingsoffreedom]

"Great," Levi said, watching the nerds chime in.

Aerith, Szayel, Ignis, Even and Ienzo. They'd work. He figured it would be a minor disaster, but he rather hoped they'd make an effort to prove them all wrong. If not, well they'd have to starve. Or just eat vegetables.

"Piss off then, go catch some dinner."

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Szayel fixed Levi with a look that would curdle milk, sicken cattle, and ruin crops. Levi didn't like him, which was fine because it was mutual. Szayel wasn't liked by anyone, but he hadn't found a way under Levi's skin yet and that annoyed him. The squirt issued orders with all the grace and charm of the average slug, and he showed no respect for Szayel's superior intellect.

Worse, Szayel was supposed to respect him because he was one of Lucis's resident Hollow hunter force, the Kingsglaive. As far as Szayel had been able to work out they were a ragtag bunch of undesirables with some talent at felling your average Hollow. The Arrancar could have wiped them out. The Gotei Divisions made them look like a laughing stock.

And he was supposed to take instruction from this?

"And what are the rest of you going to do?" he challenged. "Shine your shoes and flex your muscles?"

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith screwed up her nose.

Some of them had been out with Fang on the first night, so they had a rough, very rough idea of how to find animals they could eat. Between them they could probably even manage to kill something. Bringing it back would be no problem with a float spell or two.

But... "Do we have to bring him?" she asked, giving Szayel a sideways glance before fixing Levi with a pleading look.

[thewingsoffreedom]

Levi felt for Aerith, he really did.

Szayel was easily the worst member of the group. Truth be told, Levi couldn't fathom why he was even there, even with the healing aspect. He was whiny, reasonably useless apart from being a healer, and an aggravating fuckwit who would probably be better stuffed into somebody's locker and left there until he transitioned from Bullied Nerd to a literal Skeleton in the Closet, though he half suspected he was already that for the Granz family anyway.

Him being a healer seemed a sillier and sillier reason to keep him around, with the silliness growing in intensity every time he opened the whiny hole in his face. They had two perfectly good healers, one in training, a little shit who claimed he could make potions because he was studying some ancient art of drink mixing or whatever it was -- Levi had stopped listening after the word 'reagent' had been used -- and would be given a job lot of potions besides.

What was the point of Szayel? Bait, maybe. The one they all had to outrun? He stopped thinking about it. It wasn't his problem and if he went missing on Pulse... well, it was Hell, wasn't it?

"You do," he said. "Half because he's always going on about how analytical he is and whatever the fuck, that should help you, and because I don't want him here sulking like a bitch." He turned to the sulky bitch himself. "Never mind what they're going to do, it's none of your concern."

[thechillyacademic]

"I could always freeze him for the duration," Even said lightly. "It probably wouldn't harm him too much."

He'd heard that Hollows could be frozen for a surprisingly long time and survive. He wondered if it would work on a Hollow clad in a human skinsuit. Perhaps. Perhaps not. He wondered, vaguely, if it was ethical to experiment to that effect. He doubted it. But then again, would anybody object to ethically dubious experiments where Szayel was concerned..?

"Let's go, then."

[theschemer]

Ienzo got to his feet and brushed himself off.

He didn't really relish the idea of killing something to eat it, but he didn't usually have to. If he went out, he went out with Ulquiorra. He couldn't entirely put a finger on when that transitioned from 'escort' to 'companion' but it certainly had at some point. Once upon a time Ulquiorra had been there to stop him running away, now he asked him to come along whenever he left the Palace and tended against it when he wasn't available.

He'd have to stay behind now. He didn't need a helicopter guardian stepping in if things got hairy. Not that they should. Between himself, Even, Szayel, Ignis and Aerith, they should be able to handle catching dinner, even if they were all primarily mages and none of them specialised in hand-to-hand combat, with weapons or otherwise.

Besides, taking Ulquiorra would be like using a tactical nuclear strike to dispatch a snared rabbit.

[thatsit]

"I'm sure he'll be useful," Ignis said, directing his glance to Even. "Depending upon what we end up hunting, we might need bait."

If nothing else, Szayel had certainly mastered the 'provoke' technique sufficiently well that he could be used as a distraction. As parties went, they could do worse. Aerith wasn't naturally combative, but she could get closer to most wildlife than the rest of them as a result. Meanwhile, between himself, a mage of Even's purported calibre, and an alchemist they could take down some fairly sizeable prey.

And for all Szayel's whining he was an Arrancar, and having one present in the unlikely event they ran into Daemons or happened upon something unexpected, even if that Arrancar was Szayel, could save their lives.

He made his way across the camp, towards Even, flashing Gladio a quick nod of reassurance, and Levi a slight smirk. Doubtless, Levi had the same ideas about Szayel's potential usefulness to a hunting party. "I expect we'll find plenty of creatures in the vicinity of the Slough."

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Duscae was wet. Marshy, even. They'd taken the chocobos because it would make transporting their kill back to camp easier, and the humidity did nothing for their smell.

Or for Szayel's hair.

He wanted a shower. Every morning he showered and the most they managed while camping was a quick wash. They were, collectively, starting to smell like Al Bhed. Some of them could deal with it, some of them were just fine being filthy, sweaty, and smelly. Others were Szayel.

The Slough, as Ignis referred to it, was basically a swamp. A herd of something large enough to have no interest in them gathered in the centre of it, lowing at each other like giant cattle.

Catoblepas, he concluded, although different from the variety found on the mainland. Island Gigantism at work, perhaps, or a mutation brought on by Mist, of which there was plenty.

There were small plains, and ruined buildings, and forests that began near the water's edge. There was also a herd of things that looked like Nanna that had undergone a similar mutation to the Catoblepas. Szayel spotted a couple of calves, that would be sufficient to feed the camp for a day, and there were adults that would keep them going for a few days.

The herd didn't react to their presence. They weren't aggressive creatures, then. On the other hand, they also weren't fearful. At least they wouldn't have to chase them down.

"Shall we get this over with?" he asked, with a note of complaint.

[theschemer]

"We could drag it out," Ienzo suggested, giving a shrug. "We all enjoy listening to people whine at length about something they're going to have to put up with for probably months on a remote, unexplored continent."

The idea of Szayel acting like he was during training for the entire duration of the Pulse trip made him wonder if Aizen knew that Szayel would be unlikely to survive the trip and decided to give him the opportunity to be murdered, abandoned or left to be eaten.

"Are any of them predatory? I'm sure you could look tempting if you tried."

[thechillyacademic]

Even's lip curled.

He could think of a thousand things he'd rather do than spend time with Szayel complaining forever about something that would be over faster if he didn't, up to and including doing a chicken dance, naked, in front of the catoblepas, but voicing that would only lead to more whining.

"Indeed," he said. "Do we have to take one each, or will a group effort be sufficient, do you think?"

[thatsit]

Ignis eyed the herd of Garula critically. Garulet meat was usually more tender, but the adults had more flavour. They were also, typically, docile, although they'd quickly cease to be docile once they were being attacked, and then the entire herd would come in for the fight.

"We were told to bring back dinner," he pointed out. "If we were expected to do so alone we'd have been sent off alone."

Instead they had to endure Szayel. Lucky them.

"Those are Garula," he added, looking to Ienzo. "Herbivores, but they can put up quite a fight if threatened."

[sipthehoneylikeabutterfly]

Szayel rolled his eyes at Ienzo. Zexion. Whatever he called himself. The Ryoka all had different names for each other when it suited them.

"They're showing no fear of hyur so far, and they've got young," he pointed out, "so at least some of them are more likely to stand and fight than flee." Of course, given their size, they also weren't likely to be good at accelerating, or particularly agile. On the flip side, that also meant they were more likely to have thick skin so they'd be harder to land killing blows on.

"Speed and agility will be their weakness," he added, before giving Even a pointed look, "and fire, so you have something in common."

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith chewed on her bottom lip. She didn't like the idea of going up to some innocent, harmless grazers and trying to kill their babies. But they had to eat, and they'd have to eat on Pulse where they'd need to take every opportunity they could for a relatively easy meal.

She sighed. "Let's not make them suffer," she murmured. That was the least they could do.

[thechillyacademic]

"Let's also try not to suffer in their place," Even said, looking at the herd of cow pig looking things happily grazing and minding their own business.

With any luck they could take one out, with minimal fuss from the rest of them, and then deal with it quickly and take it back to the camp. The faster the better, in Even's opinion. Dealing with Szayel for longer than necessary was a worse way to spend his day than butchering something and with those things combined ...

[theschemer]

"I can always try to corral one of them," Ienzo said, looking at the herd. "Separate it from the rest."

Alchemy could do that. How he did it, at any rate. He could even put the landscape back to normal after he'd finished doing it. He could make weapons too, should anybody need it, but given the amount of water around and Even's talent with Ice, he expected he'd be more comfortable with a spear of his own making.

[thatsit]

"A good idea," Ignis mused. They didn't want to end up battling an entire herd for the sake of one animal, after all. "If it's possible to do it without spooking them, all the better."

He glanced at Even. An ice elemental mage would be useful for the preservation of the meat, Szayel's needling aside. Ignis wasn't a fan of frozen food, but one couldn't have everything when one was camping. "I expect we could feed everyone for a few days with an adult."

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith turned to Ienzo. She was still on edge about hunting an animal, but she was willing to give it her best.

"I might be able to help," she said. "I can separate one to make an easier target for you." And then once it was penned in, away from the rest, they could get to work. It should stop the others getting worried and attacking, too.

[thechillyacademic]

"Weapons on hand then," he said.

He didn't intend to get his hands dirty, as such, but if things went sour he didn't like the idea of wasting a moment to produce a weapon when he could be using one. To that effect, he held up a hand and, pulling the moisture from the air, forged himself a short javelin from ice. It wasn't elaborate, but it didn't have the crudeness of a lost stalactite about it either. It looked bright and sharp until frost started to form on the surface, furring it in white.

[theschemer]

"That would be best," Ienzo said, pulling his sleeves up a little.

He didn't need to, not really. It wouldn't make a difference whether he had his sleeves rolled up or not, the Alchemy worked the same, just as it worked with or without gloves. Currently, he had them on, not wanting to get dirt or moisture into the working of the automail even if he had been assured that it wouldn't make a difference and the lack of power source meant that he would wash it thoroughly, still attached, with no detriment to the mechanism.

He realised then that he wasn't entirely sure whether Ignis was aware of his talent with Alchemy. He knew he was an Alchemist, of course, but he knew neither how much he knew about the art and its rules nor whether he had been informed that he could perform the circle-less kind and, if he did, whether he would know how strange that was.

Well, he figured he'd see.