[LOG] A Package To Balamb
WHO: Squall Leonhart, Cloud Strife, Cait Sith
WHEN: May 29th, 2008
WHERE: Balamb Garden
WHAT: Cloud delivers a package to Balamb Garden, and decides to meet the SeeD recently put on retainer to the IPA.
WATCH FOR: Maybe I'm A Kitten?
The elite Balamb Garden Training Academy is at the start of a new semester. The SeeD exams have just past, and those students who didn't pass are returning to the regimen, as well as all new students. The new SeeD members are getting settled in to their new roles. Some insane people are trying desperately to get the short lived hot dogs from the cafeteria, while others still try to organise festivals, or stew in detention.
Squall Lenhart certainly DOESN'T fall into the category of 'insane person doing wacky hijinks'. Right now, he sits on a bench, his gunblade resting beside him, having finished with the training center for today, and looks over the criteria and categories for the next SeeD Ranking written exam.
(....just true and false? Even Zell could pass this without thinking.)
A certain would-be SOLDIER had planned on taking the day off -- Tifa had requested (more like ordered) as much, but he couldn't resist taking just one single courier order. To Balamb Garden, Cloud had heard on the cellphone, and smiled a little at the reminder.
Right. He intended on meeting that 'SeeD' sometime. This looked to be interesting enough to be well worth working through lingering fatigue. Not that he hadn't slept enough, just that his sleep hadn't felt all that productive!
It'll pass. The trip was pleasant and uneventful, the real sight was witnessing Balamb Garden itself, which didn't really look like a garden more than a ... well, kind of like a really elaborate space ship that got stuck somewhere. He'd stated his business, received a visitor's pass, and went to go make his delivery.
On the way back, Cloud decided to have a look around.
Eventually, the jagged shadow of the mostly dark clad (but lighter-haired) visitor falls across a certain Gunblade. "...Well, well. This must be a Gunblade." It's got the chambers for bullets and everything! Cloud folds his arms. "So -you- must be that SeeD. Squall Leonhart, ...right?"
The SeeD member looks up at the world's swordiest delivery man. He just stares at him. Not for too long, but long enough for it to be uncomfortable. The voice sounds kind of familiar.
(....oh great. It's one of them. What does he want?)
That thought having gone through his head, Squall looks back down at his book.
...The shy (or antisocial) sort, huh. That's okay, Cloud thinks, he was like that for a long time. People thought he was just acting cool, but it wasn't, not really. The courier unfolds his arms, plants a fist on his hip and reaches out with the other...
Intending on plucking the book out of Squall's hand and walk away with it. "Huh. Training area's this way, is it."
Definitely the antisocial sort. Squall is not intending on letting go of the book. So as Cloud moves to snatch it, he looks up at the older man.
"The green door." He says, looking Cloud in the eyes for the first time in the whole conversation, indicating the training room with his free hand.
(Now will you leave me alone?)
That's a start. Cloud, for the record, does not smile. "Uh-huh." A sharp tug on the book, not enough to rip it from his grasp, but enough to suggest he isn't going to give up just because there's a little /resistance/. "Thanks for the directions, but I feel like a more personal tour." A personal tour requested in such impersonal tones, and just to make sure he doesn't lose the younger swordsman the second his back is turned, Cloud releases the book.
And grasps the back of his shirt and jacket near Squall's collar, to pull him upright and, like one feline might carry its young by the scruff, Cloud stoically marches off towards the Training area with the SeeD in tow in this manner.
Better grab that Gunblade quick, you'll need it.
Squall relaxes for a second as Cloud lets go of the book. Which is why he is caught unawares by the collar grab. Instinctively grabbing his gunblade, he tries to move his arm under Cloud's, and elbow him to get him to release his grip. Not that Cloud won't have gotten his desired effect now.
(What's his problem?)
"Fine. I'll show you there myself." He says, not pleasantly. In that tone of voice that implies 'I am going to feed you to a T- Rexaur.' It's far too late for either of them to walk away now.
Blond brows arch at the thrown elbow, but Cloud's somber expression cracks a very brief and very faint smile when Squall starts on ahead, offering to lead the way. Just. As. Planned.
Cloud makes a single swipe at his longer sleeve as if to dust it off in the wake of Squall's successful attempt to free himself, and follows behind. Was he ever this antisocial? Sure, he must've been, but man... This is a /serious/ case.
He should introduce this guy to Zack. "So, that Gunblade..."
"Any good in a fight?" Of COURSE it is. But Cloud may, in fact, be trying to provoke a response.
As they transition from the halls of Balamb to the jungle terrain of the training center, Squall says nothing of the sword. "There are live monsters in here. Mostly Grats and the like, but there have been multiple stronger ones." He doesn't specify what, though.
The young man continues to guide the saviour of another world through the depths of the training center to an area more suited for, well, dueling. It's there that Squall stops, draws his gunblade, and turns on the spot. "Are you ready?"
The blond who, at one point, thought himself a SOLDIER nods. Ready? You bet.
Reaching up behind him to grasp the red handle visible over his shoulder, Cloud draws the Final Buster and drops his other hand to the grip, hefting the large component blade. That... might just look a /little/ excessive as far as weapons go, but considering Cloud had just picked the guy up one-handed and dragged him a short distance from his seat, not surprising to see him carry it with ease.
"Show me what you've got."
The brown haired SeeD doesn't waste time, charging at Cloud, his Gunblade flashing out as he swings it at the guy with the massive sword. He doesn't, however, pull the trigger as he does so. Squall seems to be...testing the waters, more than anything, waiting to see what Cloud has. After all, you don't just jump carelessly into combat with someone wielding a sword that's almost as big as you are.
At least not if you've got any sense.
Cloud feints much at the same time for identical reasons, a brief skitter of metal skirting metal and a ripple of black cloth before the would-be SOLDIER stops with his back to Squall a short distance away. He turns his head - just a fraction - to glance at the SeeD out of the corner of his eye from over one pauldroned shoulder.
And decides, rather suddenly, to skip just 'messing around' and go on full aggressive. This kid. He's /accurate/, even when testing things out. So he finds little danger in simply hammering every attempt to guard with enough force to numb the arms, challenge the darker- haired combatant with driving slash after heavy swing.
(He's strong. Stonger than I am. But I'm faster.)
Squall turns to find Cloud going on the total aggressive, as Squall tries to block. A misstep on Squall's part, however, as between his footing and the sheer force of Cloud's blows, Squall gets knocked back hard, slamming against a tree.
(....that hurt.)
The Gunblade specialist decides to change tact, suddenly charging at his opponent, moving to strike with an overhead blow that will hopefully force Cloud to block him if he doesn't want to get hit. It's tricky, but possible.
It may be promptly detected - particularly by a combatant elite like a SeeD - that Cloud holds back, a little, once he's driven Squall into the tree. This is only an unannounced test of Squall's abilities; hurting him in a potentially serious manner is not on Cloud's list of things to accomplish in his lifetime. Holding back only enough to avoid possibly causing genuine injury, but not enough to put into question his opponent's strength.
As the Gunblade user charges, the blond turns in place, hauling the Final Buster up in a sweep to meet and lock with the incoming weapon.
"Not enough," Cloud warns the other, past locked blades.
Squall doesn't grin, persay. Doing that would ruin his brooding image. But the look on his face does change, ever so slightly, if momentarily. Cloud has the more strength here, it's true. He can't just power through. But Squall is a gunblade specialist. As he pushes, he pulls the trigger.
BANG
The explosion that comes from the revolver hilt is not the part to be worried about. The sword sends a vibration through it's blade, and, in turn, through Cloud's, as Squall's blade seems to just shift, passing AROUND Cloud's guard, effortlessly, as the Gunblade is all of a sudden on the other side of the Final Buster. And Squall is taking advantage of this.
"Not enough, huh?"
A sound like a gunshot going off near one's face is enough to make anyone flinch; Cloud's no different, who is used to his twitch reflex occasionally being the only thing that stands between him and a headshot. He quickly turns his head away and--
"!!"
A click-cling of metal, and Cloud is suddenly armed in both hands, a smaller blade having slid from the Final Buster to parry as Squall presses his quick advantage. It's barely enough, his own inferior speed and the shattering of his defense a disadvantage he had to battle with just to deflect the Gunblade's counterattack.
"...I could be encouraged to amend that."
After his little... -talk-... with Red XIII-- one that hailed from another plane-- Cait Sith decided that he really needs to track down the rest of AVALANCHE. If the Cosmo Canyon warrior was telling the truth, then not only does everyone already know of Reeve's identity, but the future holds many unpleasant events for ShinRa and Midgar. And from what Cait Sith knows about Red XIII, he's not one to tell lies.
At the very least, Red XIII also mentioned that there was another Cloud running around. That gave Reeve a good place to start searching. However... on hindsight, while asking around, Cait Sith probably could've chosen to ask questions less vague than "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know of any guys with weird hairdos who wield big swords, wouldja?"
This is why Cait Sith, riding his cave moogle, finds himself wandering around in Balamb Garden (and attracting stares like crazy, but he just ignores those). He's kind of lost! At least until the sound of a gun(-like object) firing reaches the robotic cat's ears. "What in the world's all that commotion about?" Cait mutters, looking around for the source of the gunshot; with a shrug, he commands the cave moogle to trundle in the direction of the fight.
... and then he spots Squall and Cloud, going at each other with their trademark oversized swords. Cait Sith blinks and stares, and the first thought that comes to his mind is: is that a -gun- attached to that guy's sword!?
It's Squall's turn to be surprised, as Cloud pulls an offhand weapon out of his sword. This could get tricky. Squall leaps back, taking his sword with him, rather than continue to press. He'd be at a disadvantage here. Squall looks at the situation. Another frontal strike won't work, and he knows the trick of the Gunblade now. So, Plan C. Squall lowers his word, and places a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. There has to besomething.
And there it is. It's an odd way of storing the magic, but there it is. A small ball, rather than flowing. But still... Squall thrusts his hand out, and opens his eyes, as there is a drain on the materia. "...Draw Fire."
A blast of flame launches from Squall's hand at Cloud, using the other mans own magic against him. Hopefully that will throw him.
Yeah. It's a gun attached to a guy's sword. Kind of cool, isn't it? Cloud sure thinks it is! Then again, he also thinks having sword racks in his motorcycle is -really awesome-.
He's just not nearly as expressive as Zack is.
The corner of Cloud's mouth betrays a very brief smirk. When Squall jumps back, he inserts the off-hand blade back into the Final Buster, toggling it to latch it into place. His gaze drops to his bracer when he hears - no, not really /hears/, but senses - one of his Materia activate.
Cloud throws himself into a roll to the side as a gout of flame scorches the ground beside him. "--How..?!"
"Basics of magic." Squall says, automatically. Apparently, that came as a surprise to Cloud, though, in spite of the fact that he's the one storing magic in little balls. Still, as Cloud rolls, Squall charges towards Cloud, aiming a swipe at his side, and then planning to keep going. Staying too still would be bad here.
That said, Squall is probably fighting more than he normally would in training, but you picked him up like a kitten, damnit!
Cait Sith doesn't know about Cloud's billion-swords-in-one weapon! At least, not -yet-, because he's too busy staring at Squall. Draw Fire? What's that? Is it delicious? He's not close enough to note Squall's utter lack of materia, nor does he have any clue what just -happened-, so the cat continues watching.
Cait's also clutching his tail in his paws. This is getting intense! It doesn't LOOK like either of them are out for blood, but any more and he's... really going to have to cut in. Maybe. Perhaps. Assuming that he isn't cut to ribbons by the gun-sword before he can even REACH Cloud's side.
(OOC: Game was then called on account of Cait Sith.)
WHEN: May 29th, 2008
WHERE: Balamb Garden
WHAT: Cloud delivers a package to Balamb Garden, and decides to meet the SeeD recently put on retainer to the IPA.
WATCH FOR: Maybe I'm A Kitten?
The elite Balamb Garden Training Academy is at the start of a new semester. The SeeD exams have just past, and those students who didn't pass are returning to the regimen, as well as all new students. The new SeeD members are getting settled in to their new roles. Some insane people are trying desperately to get the short lived hot dogs from the cafeteria, while others still try to organise festivals, or stew in detention.
Squall Lenhart certainly DOESN'T fall into the category of 'insane person doing wacky hijinks'. Right now, he sits on a bench, his gunblade resting beside him, having finished with the training center for today, and looks over the criteria and categories for the next SeeD Ranking written exam.
(....just true and false? Even Zell could pass this without thinking.)
A certain would-be SOLDIER had planned on taking the day off -- Tifa had requested (more like ordered) as much, but he couldn't resist taking just one single courier order. To Balamb Garden, Cloud had heard on the cellphone, and smiled a little at the reminder.
Right. He intended on meeting that 'SeeD' sometime. This looked to be interesting enough to be well worth working through lingering fatigue. Not that he hadn't slept enough, just that his sleep hadn't felt all that productive!
It'll pass. The trip was pleasant and uneventful, the real sight was witnessing Balamb Garden itself, which didn't really look like a garden more than a ... well, kind of like a really elaborate space ship that got stuck somewhere. He'd stated his business, received a visitor's pass, and went to go make his delivery.
On the way back, Cloud decided to have a look around.
Eventually, the jagged shadow of the mostly dark clad (but lighter-haired) visitor falls across a certain Gunblade. "...Well, well. This must be a Gunblade." It's got the chambers for bullets and everything! Cloud folds his arms. "So -you- must be that SeeD. Squall Leonhart, ...right?"
The SeeD member looks up at the world's swordiest delivery man. He just stares at him. Not for too long, but long enough for it to be uncomfortable. The voice sounds kind of familiar.
(....oh great. It's one of them. What does he want?)
That thought having gone through his head, Squall looks back down at his book.
...The shy (or antisocial) sort, huh. That's okay, Cloud thinks, he was like that for a long time. People thought he was just acting cool, but it wasn't, not really. The courier unfolds his arms, plants a fist on his hip and reaches out with the other...
Intending on plucking the book out of Squall's hand and walk away with it. "Huh. Training area's this way, is it."
Definitely the antisocial sort. Squall is not intending on letting go of the book. So as Cloud moves to snatch it, he looks up at the older man.
"The green door." He says, looking Cloud in the eyes for the first time in the whole conversation, indicating the training room with his free hand.
(Now will you leave me alone?)
That's a start. Cloud, for the record, does not smile. "Uh-huh." A sharp tug on the book, not enough to rip it from his grasp, but enough to suggest he isn't going to give up just because there's a little /resistance/. "Thanks for the directions, but I feel like a more personal tour." A personal tour requested in such impersonal tones, and just to make sure he doesn't lose the younger swordsman the second his back is turned, Cloud releases the book.
And grasps the back of his shirt and jacket near Squall's collar, to pull him upright and, like one feline might carry its young by the scruff, Cloud stoically marches off towards the Training area with the SeeD in tow in this manner.
Better grab that Gunblade quick, you'll need it.
Squall relaxes for a second as Cloud lets go of the book. Which is why he is caught unawares by the collar grab. Instinctively grabbing his gunblade, he tries to move his arm under Cloud's, and elbow him to get him to release his grip. Not that Cloud won't have gotten his desired effect now.
(What's his problem?)
"Fine. I'll show you there myself." He says, not pleasantly. In that tone of voice that implies 'I am going to feed you to a T- Rexaur.' It's far too late for either of them to walk away now.
Blond brows arch at the thrown elbow, but Cloud's somber expression cracks a very brief and very faint smile when Squall starts on ahead, offering to lead the way. Just. As. Planned.
Cloud makes a single swipe at his longer sleeve as if to dust it off in the wake of Squall's successful attempt to free himself, and follows behind. Was he ever this antisocial? Sure, he must've been, but man... This is a /serious/ case.
He should introduce this guy to Zack. "So, that Gunblade..."
"Any good in a fight?" Of COURSE it is. But Cloud may, in fact, be trying to provoke a response.
As they transition from the halls of Balamb to the jungle terrain of the training center, Squall says nothing of the sword. "There are live monsters in here. Mostly Grats and the like, but there have been multiple stronger ones." He doesn't specify what, though.
The young man continues to guide the saviour of another world through the depths of the training center to an area more suited for, well, dueling. It's there that Squall stops, draws his gunblade, and turns on the spot. "Are you ready?"
The blond who, at one point, thought himself a SOLDIER nods. Ready? You bet.
Reaching up behind him to grasp the red handle visible over his shoulder, Cloud draws the Final Buster and drops his other hand to the grip, hefting the large component blade. That... might just look a /little/ excessive as far as weapons go, but considering Cloud had just picked the guy up one-handed and dragged him a short distance from his seat, not surprising to see him carry it with ease.
"Show me what you've got."
The brown haired SeeD doesn't waste time, charging at Cloud, his Gunblade flashing out as he swings it at the guy with the massive sword. He doesn't, however, pull the trigger as he does so. Squall seems to be...testing the waters, more than anything, waiting to see what Cloud has. After all, you don't just jump carelessly into combat with someone wielding a sword that's almost as big as you are.
At least not if you've got any sense.
Cloud feints much at the same time for identical reasons, a brief skitter of metal skirting metal and a ripple of black cloth before the would-be SOLDIER stops with his back to Squall a short distance away. He turns his head - just a fraction - to glance at the SeeD out of the corner of his eye from over one pauldroned shoulder.
And decides, rather suddenly, to skip just 'messing around' and go on full aggressive. This kid. He's /accurate/, even when testing things out. So he finds little danger in simply hammering every attempt to guard with enough force to numb the arms, challenge the darker- haired combatant with driving slash after heavy swing.
(He's strong. Stonger than I am. But I'm faster.)
Squall turns to find Cloud going on the total aggressive, as Squall tries to block. A misstep on Squall's part, however, as between his footing and the sheer force of Cloud's blows, Squall gets knocked back hard, slamming against a tree.
(....that hurt.)
The Gunblade specialist decides to change tact, suddenly charging at his opponent, moving to strike with an overhead blow that will hopefully force Cloud to block him if he doesn't want to get hit. It's tricky, but possible.
It may be promptly detected - particularly by a combatant elite like a SeeD - that Cloud holds back, a little, once he's driven Squall into the tree. This is only an unannounced test of Squall's abilities; hurting him in a potentially serious manner is not on Cloud's list of things to accomplish in his lifetime. Holding back only enough to avoid possibly causing genuine injury, but not enough to put into question his opponent's strength.
As the Gunblade user charges, the blond turns in place, hauling the Final Buster up in a sweep to meet and lock with the incoming weapon.
"Not enough," Cloud warns the other, past locked blades.
Squall doesn't grin, persay. Doing that would ruin his brooding image. But the look on his face does change, ever so slightly, if momentarily. Cloud has the more strength here, it's true. He can't just power through. But Squall is a gunblade specialist. As he pushes, he pulls the trigger.
BANG
The explosion that comes from the revolver hilt is not the part to be worried about. The sword sends a vibration through it's blade, and, in turn, through Cloud's, as Squall's blade seems to just shift, passing AROUND Cloud's guard, effortlessly, as the Gunblade is all of a sudden on the other side of the Final Buster. And Squall is taking advantage of this.
"Not enough, huh?"
A sound like a gunshot going off near one's face is enough to make anyone flinch; Cloud's no different, who is used to his twitch reflex occasionally being the only thing that stands between him and a headshot. He quickly turns his head away and--
"!!"
A click-cling of metal, and Cloud is suddenly armed in both hands, a smaller blade having slid from the Final Buster to parry as Squall presses his quick advantage. It's barely enough, his own inferior speed and the shattering of his defense a disadvantage he had to battle with just to deflect the Gunblade's counterattack.
"...I could be encouraged to amend that."
After his little... -talk-... with Red XIII-- one that hailed from another plane-- Cait Sith decided that he really needs to track down the rest of AVALANCHE. If the Cosmo Canyon warrior was telling the truth, then not only does everyone already know of Reeve's identity, but the future holds many unpleasant events for ShinRa and Midgar. And from what Cait Sith knows about Red XIII, he's not one to tell lies.
At the very least, Red XIII also mentioned that there was another Cloud running around. That gave Reeve a good place to start searching. However... on hindsight, while asking around, Cait Sith probably could've chosen to ask questions less vague than "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know of any guys with weird hairdos who wield big swords, wouldja?"
This is why Cait Sith, riding his cave moogle, finds himself wandering around in Balamb Garden (and attracting stares like crazy, but he just ignores those). He's kind of lost! At least until the sound of a gun(-like object) firing reaches the robotic cat's ears. "What in the world's all that commotion about?" Cait mutters, looking around for the source of the gunshot; with a shrug, he commands the cave moogle to trundle in the direction of the fight.
... and then he spots Squall and Cloud, going at each other with their trademark oversized swords. Cait Sith blinks and stares, and the first thought that comes to his mind is: is that a -gun- attached to that guy's sword!?
It's Squall's turn to be surprised, as Cloud pulls an offhand weapon out of his sword. This could get tricky. Squall leaps back, taking his sword with him, rather than continue to press. He'd be at a disadvantage here. Squall looks at the situation. Another frontal strike won't work, and he knows the trick of the Gunblade now. So, Plan C. Squall lowers his word, and places a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. There has to besomething.
And there it is. It's an odd way of storing the magic, but there it is. A small ball, rather than flowing. But still... Squall thrusts his hand out, and opens his eyes, as there is a drain on the materia. "...Draw Fire."
A blast of flame launches from Squall's hand at Cloud, using the other mans own magic against him. Hopefully that will throw him.
Yeah. It's a gun attached to a guy's sword. Kind of cool, isn't it? Cloud sure thinks it is! Then again, he also thinks having sword racks in his motorcycle is -really awesome-.
He's just not nearly as expressive as Zack is.
The corner of Cloud's mouth betrays a very brief smirk. When Squall jumps back, he inserts the off-hand blade back into the Final Buster, toggling it to latch it into place. His gaze drops to his bracer when he hears - no, not really /hears/, but senses - one of his Materia activate.
Cloud throws himself into a roll to the side as a gout of flame scorches the ground beside him. "--How..?!"
"Basics of magic." Squall says, automatically. Apparently, that came as a surprise to Cloud, though, in spite of the fact that he's the one storing magic in little balls. Still, as Cloud rolls, Squall charges towards Cloud, aiming a swipe at his side, and then planning to keep going. Staying too still would be bad here.
That said, Squall is probably fighting more than he normally would in training, but you picked him up like a kitten, damnit!
Cait Sith doesn't know about Cloud's billion-swords-in-one weapon! At least, not -yet-, because he's too busy staring at Squall. Draw Fire? What's that? Is it delicious? He's not close enough to note Squall's utter lack of materia, nor does he have any clue what just -happened-, so the cat continues watching.
Cait's also clutching his tail in his paws. This is getting intense! It doesn't LOOK like either of them are out for blood, but any more and he's... really going to have to cut in. Maybe. Perhaps. Assuming that he isn't cut to ribbons by the gun-sword before he can even REACH Cloud's side.
(OOC: Game was then called on account of Cait Sith.)