sephiroth, “tol alien boy”, SOLDIER first class. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
supersoldier) wrote2022-02-07 09:19 pm
supersoldier) wrote2022-02-07 09:19 pmAbraxas inbox
Coming soon!!
supersoldier) wrote2022-02-07 09:19 pm
early March; week 3 post-escape.
We're somewhere in the mountains north of the Singularity.
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The mountains? Are you safe? Are you being pursued?
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Better than being trapped in that cave.
I'll check in once we've safely bedded down for the night.
[ In quite a few hours, according to the sun. But Ciri doesn't want to split her focus, between her own exhaustion hampering it and knowing others less used to the wilderness are relying on her.
Eventually, she does check in again, catching him up on how many people escaped, the fact others are still trapped, reassuring him briefly that she's physically well enough to fend for herself and that Geralt is with her. She'll let him know also that Viktor and Jaskier have maps of their approximate location and that she knows search teams are being put together.
She doesn't ask, but Ciri sort of expects him to be in one of them, honestly. ]
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Of course he's in one of them, and though Sephiroth does not waste time with overtly long communique when she reaches out to him again—now is not the time to let his emotions get the better of him, at least not until he sees her face-to-face again—every hour in the time between then and now feels like an age crawling by.
“Now” being, of course, when the sounds of a search party echo in the distance, several days having passed; footsteps crunching in the snow, soldiers murmuring between soldiers. Perhaps the glint of telltale silver amongst them all — the hue of Sephiroth’s hair, or the glint of his long blade, held tightly as they tread forward, green eyes sharp and thrust ahead, scanning the wilderness.
Perhaps they find someone playing lookout — maybe it’s Ciri herself. Either way, it’s only a matter of time before he finds her, his gait quickening once he does.]
Ciri!
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It's impossible to miss the sound of so many feet. A group, voices carrying, though without clarity enough for words. At first, Ciri thinks it might be those acolytes again.
She slides behind the thick trunk of an evergreen uphill from them, clutching her makeshift spear against her, and peers around, waiting for the group of people to come into view.
The first thing she sees is the uniforms, familiar by now. Odd in the snow. Cadens military. There's a rush of relief, hope and excitement sparking, thundering in her chest. Ciri steps out from behind the tree, starting down the hill so fast, she slides in the snow.
It's not until she hears his voice that Ciri realizes one of the soldiers isn't just a soldier either. Her eyes snap to him, quickly finding the silvery shine of his hair in the sunlight. ]
Sephiroth!
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His breath puffs white in the frigid air, his steps long and forceful as though the snow should dare get in his way. That the incline of the hill is nothing compared to his determination to close this awful space between them, and in the end, it isn't.
He's up to meet her, somehow pushing himself into a run, and his sword simply dissipates in a show of magic to free up both arms, so that he might catch her in a tight, tight embrace. Chin down, face buried in her hair.]
Ciri, you-
[His emotions, so usually kept in control, now feel full to bursting.]
You idiot.
[Romance.]
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When he calls her an idiot, she just laughs. Buries her face in his throat and laughs, breathlessly. ]
It's good to see you too.
[ All in all, Ciri's looked better-- but at least he's not seeing her at her worst. She's grown thinner, not emaciated so much as wiry, some of the softness gone, all hard edges and lean muscle. There are some healing scabs on her arms, the torn and bloodied sleeves long cut away, but she's mostly covered with a ratty cloak currently, and some animal furs atop it. Her hair has certainly smelled better. ]
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Her laugh, echoing there warmly against his throat. He can only hold onto her tighter, like she might slip away if he doesn't.]
You look terrible.
[Again, romantic. But he holds her there, still, a pocket of stilled time, while his heart steadies itself in his chest. While that spike of adrenaline, upon seeing her face, rides out through every nerve-ending, making his own exhale shaky.]
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You've seen me looking worse.
[ Debatable. Overall physically, maybe not, but she's certainly not acting like she's in great pain or about to fall over, so in many ways that's better. ]
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It does not. He's just so weak to her in so many ways, it would seem.
A hand raises, gloved thumb brushing against an old, healing scratch across her face.]
Have I?
[Yes, debatable.]
I should be so angry with you right now.
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Be angry with me later.
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Later. It'll have to wait for later, like she said. For now, his hand moves only enough to cup the side of her face, slotting gently against the contours.]
I suppose... [A wry, almost rueful smile.] It'll have to wait until later, yes.
[Is now the time for it? Probably not. Does he care? A resounding "no". He leans in to kiss her.]
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Ciri wraps her arms around his neck again, breath hitching. It feels so good she almost cries. Instead, she manages to hold her breath until the urge has passed, and pulls back after a too-long minute, flushed and watery-eyed.
Now's not the time to fall apart. They're not out of the woods yet-- figuratively and quite literally. ]
Jaskier said there's a portal further down the mountain. [ Maybe not the thing to say after a reunion and a lingering kiss, but she's already all business again. It's all that she's been able to focus on for weeks; it's hard to relax now. ]
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Either way, it lingers as long as they require, and then Ciri pulls away; Sephiroth glances down at her a little rueful, nigh able to see how she's holding herself together, driving home the fact that they should continue to push forward until they're safe -- until there is a time and a space where she can if she needs to.
Business again, then. He falls easily into it, as well.]
Then we're here to escort you the entire way. Do you have very many injured among your number?
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No one who can't walk. Some are still suffering the effects of...
[ She hesitates. How much does he know? ]
There are some among the Summoned who have been influenced by something those masked fuckers gave us. It causes lesions and growths, and it addles the mind. They're better out here than when we were underground, but they are most in need of healers.
Do you have supplies?
[ Considering he brought a whole retinue. ]
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His mouth draws itself into a thin line, and Sephiroth buries those emotions for now. No, right now, ensuring a safe return and tended to the ill and wounded are the priority.]
Yes.
[Indeed, they'd be a sorry rescue group without giving even a thought to healing supplies.]
Enough for the return trip, at least. They'll have to wait to be seen to properly when we're out of danger.
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Good.
I'll lead you back to camp. They should be packing up preparing to move again now that it's light. We're still being pursued, and there are dangers in the mountain.
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All right. We have enough soldiers with us to discourage anyone from trying to surprise us. [Hopefully. That will do very little to aid them against the natural dangerous, though.] If we move quickly, we should be fine.
[He'll take a moment to speak with a fellow soldier, who then ushers down the information to the rest: back to camp, then to help them expedite the journey back home as safely as possible.]
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They pick up camp, and decide to move forward in groups. Despite Ciri's misgivings over leaving Geralt behind, she knows he can handle himself, and there are others who need him more. Jaskier helps convince her (and perhaps Sephiroth too) and together, their group makes its way down the mountain.
There's still some ways to go when, at some point, the rumbling starts. A chill that has nothing with the weather jolts down Ciri's spine, leaving her straight-backed and on high alert, head turning this way and that. ]
Seph...?
[ It's a question still, as if she's hoping that he didn't feel it too. ]
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But it goes smoothly, all things considered. Sephiroth remains close to Ciri, and while they still have a ways to go to reach the portal, it’s almost as though the rest of the journey will be relatively uneventful.
But then, like a death knell, a low rumble in the distance. He can feel the tremor in the snow beneath his boots. And he realizes, with a cold kind of logic, that this will not be as easy as it seems.]
Ciri…
[He echoes her name back, a sort of unspoken verification between them. Already, he’s twisting himself around to look at the mountain they’ve slowly begun to leave behind, the way it looms over them.
The rumbling becomes louder. But more concerningly: at a distance, a seemingly-thin sheet of white is careening down the side of the mountain, so far away it seems to be happening in slow motion. Sephiroth knows better.
Shit.]
Everyone needs to move! [It’s a command slung out to literally the entire group. He whips his head around, from the group, then to Ciri.] Avalanche!
[And they won’t know how bad it is, how far it travels, until it’s far too late. They need to get to the side of it, or they need to hang onto whatever they can.]
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[ Ciri shouts as well, shoving some people ahead of her if they need help, casting about for the faces of those she knows to make sure they're not lagging behind. ]
Run far as you can to the side and hold onto something!
[ They're unlikely to outrun it fully, but there are some large rock outcroppings and wide-trunked trees all around. No dense forest unfortunately, the mountain face mostly frosted-over had ground where grass would have been, sparse evergreens and rolling tundra. It isn't terribly steep, which at least is a boon; the avalanche sloughs down the side of the mountain, but it leaves enough of itself behind there's at least some hope it won't bury them all. They just need to be sure not to get swept away in the fast-moving layer of snow.
Ciri follows her own advice, sprinting down and diagonally to get to the side of the part that looks densest. ]
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As long as they're not swept away, they can survive this. And it's a blessing that no one seems to hesitate, frozen by fear and anxiety; weary as some may be, maybe what happened to them in the Pit was far worse than any amount of angry snow could offer...
He's moving. He finds Ciri in the whorl of movement, and dashes the same way, down, down, though she's ahead of him, so when Sephiroth does jump to land just behind a sharp outcropping of stone, he's on the opposite side.]