Axel didn't look amused at that suggestion. Being subjected to a naked Xigbar first thing when you wake up was tantamount to torture. Axel was secretly convinced that if anybody from Spira captured him, they'd forego experimenting on him and make a brand new myth to scare small children into tidying their rooms out of him. He shuddered.
"Actually, I'm good." He said, holding up a hand and shaking his head to stop him right there.
He scratched his head and sighed softly, groaning at the earliness. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at the moogle. He didn't look thrilled about having to remount again. He ached all over from the chocobo's gait, the energy put into staying on the thing and the stretching to get on and off it. That, and one other thing got right up his nose, quite literally.
"I'm sick of smelling like chocobo," he complained, doing a test-sniff on his sleeve that he responded to with an unhappy grimace. "Can't they do anything to make them smell less revolting? Augh."
Even Timcanpy hadn't attempted to bite one. He hadn't on Axel's trip from Midgar to Rabanastre or this one and, if the smell of something put Tim of having a test-nibble, it had to be bad. Tim, incidentally, was still curled up quite happily in Axel's hair, not about to get up early for anybody. He'd been grumpy at the initial wake-up but had simply relocated and gone back to sleep.
At least getting their chocobos was a quick process. Two, already fully tacked up and waiting, were pointed at. Saix wasn't a natural rider, and didn't like them, and for the most part, chocobos didn't appear to like him, either. They stank like a chicken coop, their gait was uncomfortable to ride for several hours, and they often seemed to resist letting him mount them in the first place.
Like now, when the chocobo he was attempting to climb up onto decided to swing itself around and out of mounting range. Saix scowled, and yanked on the reins. His second attempt was more successful.
Once he was seated, he looked over at Axel. "Cooking them may be the only solution."
His own chocobo warked with alarm and unhappiness as he said it.
Axel laughed and pulled himself up onto his own, without much issue. He wasn't a natural rider, but he'd learned during his travels to the desert and had gotten quite good. He grinned over at his friend with a cocky 'hah hah, I'm better at this than you' expression on his face. Of course, Sod's Law came into play and quickly wiped the look away when the bird tossed it's head, clawed the ground and made a brief but concerted effort to throw him. Clearly, it was too early for the chocobo, too.
He sulked after that.
"Wonder what they taste like?" He asked, settling into the saddle and gripping the reins in two hands. "Probably icky, but in a desperate situation... you think you would?"
He gave it's flank a kick, urging it on at walking pace. He'd speed it up once they reached the boundaries of the village, but tearing through that early on a heavy mount could probably be considered rude.
He dug his heel in, and his chocobo walked on at its steady, if bobbing, pace. Saix was already saddle sore from the last couple of days of riding; he'd be glad to ditch the chocobos for a good few weeks, once they finished the job and went back home.
"It would make an acceptable change to riding the things," he commented, after a few more seconds. He hadn't vocally complained much on the journey so far, taking the discomforts, and the absence of his husband with as much dignity as he could muster.
But it was early, even for him, he still ached from yesterday, and he longed for a thorough soak in the shower. He could be excused a quiet grumble, under those circumstances.
Axel laughed and spurred the chocobo into action once they were outside of the village gates and away from anybody that the thudding footsteps could wake up.
They were travelling light. While they were armed with their weapons, potions and a few other small medicinal supplies, the owner of the Inn had packed them up some food to take with them since it was too early for breakfast. It was just a lunchpack of some simple sandwiches, a piece of fruit and a flask of something to drink, but it would be enough to tide them over until the evening, at least.
If not, dreamhares were more than edible.
Axel liked the Calm Lands. Sure, so it looked like the scarred landscape of a battleground from years gone by, but it was free, rolling and, other than the occasional hill, you could see for miles around, especially from the back of a mount.
Saix knew they made a sight. A ninja, and a berserker, in full class uniform, racing on chocobo back into the Calm Lands.
He wasn't wearing his gloves. He rarely did any more now that he could summon his claymore; he preferred to have the full dexterity of his hand available, and the oversized paws that were part of his uniform were counterproductive. But he still kept them with him. If he had to fight unarmed, i.e. in the presence of people who would suspect about weapons summoned and formed at will from spirit particles, they were far better than fighting bare handed.
At this time of the morning, the Calm Lands were calm, but far from empty. Predators and prey were present in abundance, taking advantage of the early start. Sunset would be the next time it was like this.
In the early morning light, with the morning mist just beginning to burn away, still lingering in the low-lying areas like white ribbons draped over the landscape, the calm lands looked quite pretty. There also didn't seem to be any other humans out on it yet.
He paused his chocobo as he scanned the landscape. Somewhere out there would be their mark, probably already enjoying breakfast. "Now begins the tedious part," he said, shifting in the saddle because it was uncomfortable. Searching for the one monster in the area that they actually intended to hunt, and hoping that it hadn't moved on to another area by now.
Axel pulled his chocobo to a halt just ahead of Saix and stood up in the stirrups to look around. He switched the rein-loop to one hand and used the other to shield his eyes from the bright morning light. Despite his earlier hopes that the mist would Go Away, he had somewhat changed his mind. Sun wasn't very good for visibility either, especially when it was shining directly into your eyes.
"So, it's supposed to be big, right?" He asked, scanning the grasslands as though he knew what he was looking for. "Man, you could hide an elephant in this place. Why can't Marks come with flags and sirens, huh?"
The description on the bill classified the Pylraster as a Greater Tyrant, meaning that it essentially looked like one of the tyrannosaurus-like dragon creatures that prowled the Estersand of Dalmasca. The 'greater' in the name implied that it was quite large, but Axel wouldn't believe it until he saw it. His last Mark, after all, was a cactus. Though spiky, it had been neither scary nor imposing, even if it had sprayed him with needles.
He sat back down and urged his mount on. It was apparently last sighted prowling one of the gaps in the flatlands, so it was quite possible that it had hidden itself from view. Something that big would be easy to spot on the horizon otherwise. Still, Axel wasn't about to take risks like heading right into one, just in case their quarry was there. That could be suicide, depending on the size of the monster. That said, most beasts tended not to attack chocobos. Axel knew they could attack viciously in response to a predator, but he pretty much figured that their smell even put the monsters off. Even so, for all he knew, chocobos could turn out to be bite size for it.
"Any creature bearing something which identifies it position from a distance," Saix said, giving Axel a significant look, "would not survive long enough to become big enough to be a mark." There was a note in his voice that suggested he was teasing, it was difficult to discern, but it was there.
So was the faint suggestion that he relished the thought of what lay ahead of them. Not the part where they were likely to spend the next hour searching for their mark, but the part where it would be the two of them against a Mark for which they would likely be a light snack. Something that was mean enough that someone was willing to pay money for somebody else to kill it.
He urged his chocobo on to follow Axel's. They weren't in any real rush, although Saix would be glad to be able to get off the bird. "Let's start downwind," he said, "there's little point in giving our quarry all the advantage." The sun might be in their eyes, but that was easily rectified when it came to the fight, but they didn't want the mark smelling them coming too early on.
Axel snorted a little and shook his head. There was something funny about Saix's statement regarding scent, really.
"Is there any such thing as 'downwind' of a chocobo?" He asked, not knowing how monsters with a keener sense of smell couldn't catch a waft of these things for miles regardless of direction.
Still, he agreed with Saix and followed him. He wasn't much of a hunter, so he didn't think like the animals they were tracking. He just wanted to smash them and get paid. Saix, however, seemed to be well-versed in this type of hunting, so he got to take point and Axel was content to follow behind.
Of course, any comments made about Saix's animalistic nature would be met with casual innuendo about Saix's sex life, and, ultimately, agreement. He knew it would be sufficient revenge, and would stop any such smart aleck-y comments being made again in a hurry.
"On the bright side," he said, as he guided his chocobo to a fresh vantage point, "their smell may help to mask ours." Provided their mark didn't discern between wild chocobos and domesticated ones. To Saix, they smelled much the same.
They searched for a while, roving slowly and methodically through the plains. The fog had lifted entirely, leaving no trace of morning behind it when they spotted something on the horizon, just far enough off to make out the species. There had been a couple of previous raised hopes, and subsequent disappointments with much more normal Tyrant beasts, so Saix didn't get excited, but he pointed it out and led them to investigate.
As they got closer to the monster in the distance, Axel noticed that his chocobo was beginning to fret. It warked nervously and pulled to a stop without his instruction and, even with urging, refused to go any further. For a creature usually undaunted by Fiends and Beasts, that sort of acting out could only mean trouble. Trouble of the 'Full Of Teeth' kind.
Axel turned his head to Saix, wanting to look to check whether his companion's mount had done the same as his, but at the same time, he didn't want take his eyes off the Tyrant in front of them and did so only for a second.
It looked bigger than the ones they'd seen and the ones he was used to. Not a great deal, but markedly so. It's back was decorated with a spined and ragged sail that was visible even from a distance. Axel noticed that it's skin was criss-crossed with the scars of many past failed attempts on it's life and, quite likely, fights for dominance with it's own species. It looked weathered, but the muscles that rippled beneath it's well-marked skin didn't give it the appearance of something weak and old and it's stained claws and teeth certainly didn't belong to the sort of creature that was going to lay down without a fight. Whatever had scarred it hadn't lived to tell the tail, that much was apparent.
"That's the thing, right?" Axel asked, awaiting confirmation of their Mark's identity before dismounting. He didn't sound too worried.
He was, of course, but just a little. He'd not taken on one of the local Rabanastre varieties so he had nothing to compare it to, but he didn't want to look like a wimp in front of his buddy. Especially not his hunting partner. He'd fought comparable Heartless in the past, but he'd never felt like his life was on the line. Still, this thing was reported to be weak to fire, which boosted his confidence tenfold and raised both his anticipation of the coming battle and his heart rate. He was going to enjoy this.
Saix began having similar difficulty with his own chocobo, but only after Axel's had stopped. It danced, giving an unhappy wark and trying to step backwards before Saix gave the reins a sharp pull.
His chocobo stopped, rooted to the spot for all of two seconds, and then it backed off again as the thing ahead of them caught the scent of scared chocobos and showed interest. It probably was big enough to eat them, if it felt like it.
"That is our mark," Saix confirmed, already starting to dismount. It was easy enough to tell; it was bigger, and it was angrier, and it looked as though hunters before them had tried their luck and found it to be lacking.
Once his feet were on the ground, and determinedly ignoring the ache in his buttocks, Saix summoned his claymore. He could do it faster than most, but it was an ability that was crippled when he went berserk. Creating the weapon required concentration; something he significantly lacked when he was in a berserk state.
His chocobo backed off another few steps, but stayed, unhappily.
"Are you ready?" He asked, without looking over at Axel. Having him on this hunt would make all the difference. It would also make the fight into twice the fun.
Somewhere, deep, deep down in Saix's heart, it brought back those memories of what it had been like to run off on dangerous adventures with Lea. Now his skin prickled with the thrill of what was to come.
Axel smirked as he dismounted, reassuring his Chocobo with a pet to the wing.
"Good chocobo. Stay." He said, pointing at it in time with the command. When he was satisfied that it wasn't going to bolt, he looked back at the Pylraster. Needless to say, the Tyrant looked even bigger now he wasn't sitting on the back of a giant bird.
With his hands now free, he pulled his pair of weapons free and looked at Saix, looking more than up for the battle ahead of them. His eyes looked alive, there was no trace of falseness or anything forced in his grin and he took a moment to loosen up before holding his arms out straight and igniting the wheels in his hands.
Saix smiled, bright and cruel, the wolfish expression of a predator that intends to enjoy the prey. He hefted his claymore, swinging it behind him, and took off.
He didn't intend on going berserk just yet. Not this early into the fight. He preferred to see what the Pylraster was capable of. Going berserk wasn't always the best plan, it was simply Saix's preferred one.
With an enemy this size, standing on only two legs, there was an obvious enough place to club. Saix made damn sure to stay out of teeth range as he headed or the creatures legs, the spikes unleashing from his weapon with audible sharpness before he hit. He kept one eye out for what Axel was doing, and what the beast was doing, as he went to work.
He knew full well the range of his hunting partner's swing and didn't want to risk getting in the way of it even for a second. Instead, he darted up behind him and stopped just short of it's maw. Keeping his attention on it (and it's attention on him) gave Saix ample opportunity to try and disable it's legs.
Of course, the first swing from the claymore hit with a dull thud. The monster roared with both anger and pain at the assault and swung around, trying to club at it's attacker with it's long, thick tail. It's leg was already bleeding --something not new to it judging by it's well-marred hide-- and it's forelegs were too small to be worth much in the way of retaliation.
Axel held out his chakrams and concentrated his chakra into his hands. In seconds the flames spread from his fingers all the way to the tips of the spiked, using the framework as paths to travel along. When he was sure Saix wasn't going to be hit by one, he threw the leftmost, sending it spinning at the Tyrant's face and spraying embers out into the air as it did. It's left eye was already blinded from somebody's earlier attempt at the same trick, but putting the other out of commission couldn't hurt.
Saix's blood raced with adrenaline. He enjoyed the fight, always had, even when his quarry was a pack of wolves, or the other, more common beasts that roamed the deserts of Dalmasca, or the Highwaste near Lindblum.
He enjoyed this more. It wasn't the element of danger, but the beast being a more equal match. Fighting alongside Axel helped, too. He could get into the fight, without being concerned for a healer, or having to watch what he did, because Axel knew him well enough to know how to fight alongside him.
He blocked the swing of the creatures tail, but he could still feel the blow rock his balance. It was powerful, but that wasn't a surprise.
As Axel attacked its eyes, Saix swung again at its legs, hitting hard at the ankle joint, and bringing his claymore around again for a successive swing. He hoped to cripple it. If he could slow it down so that it wasn't quite as fast with that tail, he could let loose in full.
"Actually, I'm good." He said, holding up a hand and shaking his head to stop him right there.
He scratched his head and sighed softly, groaning at the earliness. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at the moogle. He didn't look thrilled about having to remount again. He ached all over from the chocobo's gait, the energy put into staying on the thing and the stretching to get on and off it. That, and one other thing got right up his nose, quite literally.
"I'm sick of smelling like chocobo," he complained, doing a test-sniff on his sleeve that he responded to with an unhappy grimace. "Can't they do anything to make them smell less revolting? Augh."
Even Timcanpy hadn't attempted to bite one. He hadn't on Axel's trip from Midgar to Rabanastre or this one and, if the smell of something put Tim of having a test-nibble, it had to be bad. Tim, incidentally, was still curled up quite happily in Axel's hair, not about to get up early for anybody. He'd been grumpy at the initial wake-up but had simply relocated and gone back to sleep.
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Like now, when the chocobo he was attempting to climb up onto decided to swing itself around and out of mounting range. Saix scowled, and yanked on the reins. His second attempt was more successful.
Once he was seated, he looked over at Axel. "Cooking them may be the only solution."
His own chocobo warked with alarm and unhappiness as he said it.
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He sulked after that.
"Wonder what they taste like?" He asked, settling into the saddle and gripping the reins in two hands. "Probably icky, but in a desperate situation... you think you would?"
He gave it's flank a kick, urging it on at walking pace. He'd speed it up once they reached the boundaries of the village, but tearing through that early on a heavy mount could probably be considered rude.
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He dug his heel in, and his chocobo walked on at its steady, if bobbing, pace. Saix was already saddle sore from the last couple of days of riding; he'd be glad to ditch the chocobos for a good few weeks, once they finished the job and went back home.
"It would make an acceptable change to riding the things," he commented, after a few more seconds. He hadn't vocally complained much on the journey so far, taking the discomforts, and the absence of his husband with as much dignity as he could muster.
But it was early, even for him, he still ached from yesterday, and he longed for a thorough soak in the shower. He could be excused a quiet grumble, under those circumstances.
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They were travelling light. While they were armed with their weapons, potions and a few other small medicinal supplies, the owner of the Inn had packed them up some food to take with them since it was too early for breakfast. It was just a lunchpack of some simple sandwiches, a piece of fruit and a flask of something to drink, but it would be enough to tide them over until the evening, at least.
If not, dreamhares were more than edible.
Axel liked the Calm Lands. Sure, so it looked like the scarred landscape of a battleground from years gone by, but it was free, rolling and, other than the occasional hill, you could see for miles around, especially from the back of a mount.
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He wasn't wearing his gloves. He rarely did any more now that he could summon his claymore; he preferred to have the full dexterity of his hand available, and the oversized paws that were part of his uniform were counterproductive. But he still kept them with him. If he had to fight unarmed, i.e. in the presence of people who would suspect about weapons summoned and formed at will from spirit particles, they were far better than fighting bare handed.
At this time of the morning, the Calm Lands were calm, but far from empty. Predators and prey were present in abundance, taking advantage of the early start. Sunset would be the next time it was like this.
In the early morning light, with the morning mist just beginning to burn away, still lingering in the low-lying areas like white ribbons draped over the landscape, the calm lands looked quite pretty. There also didn't seem to be any other humans out on it yet.
He paused his chocobo as he scanned the landscape. Somewhere out there would be their mark, probably already enjoying breakfast. "Now begins the tedious part," he said, shifting in the saddle because it was uncomfortable. Searching for the one monster in the area that they actually intended to hunt, and hoping that it hadn't moved on to another area by now.
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"So, it's supposed to be big, right?" He asked, scanning the grasslands as though he knew what he was looking for. "Man, you could hide an elephant in this place. Why can't Marks come with flags and sirens, huh?"
The description on the bill classified the Pylraster as a Greater Tyrant, meaning that it essentially looked like one of the tyrannosaurus-like dragon creatures that prowled the Estersand of Dalmasca. The 'greater' in the name implied that it was quite large, but Axel wouldn't believe it until he saw it. His last Mark, after all, was a cactus. Though spiky, it had been neither scary nor imposing, even if it had sprayed him with needles.
He sat back down and urged his mount on. It was apparently last sighted prowling one of the gaps in the flatlands, so it was quite possible that it had hidden itself from view. Something that big would be easy to spot on the horizon otherwise. Still, Axel wasn't about to take risks like heading right into one, just in case their quarry was there. That could be suicide, depending on the size of the monster. That said, most beasts tended not to attack chocobos. Axel knew they could attack viciously in response to a predator, but he pretty much figured that their smell even put the monsters off. Even so, for all he knew, chocobos could turn out to be bite size for it.
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So was the faint suggestion that he relished the thought of what lay ahead of them. Not the part where they were likely to spend the next hour searching for their mark, but the part where it would be the two of them against a Mark for which they would likely be a light snack. Something that was mean enough that someone was willing to pay money for somebody else to kill it.
He urged his chocobo on to follow Axel's. They weren't in any real rush, although Saix would be glad to be able to get off the bird. "Let's start downwind," he said, "there's little point in giving our quarry all the advantage." The sun might be in their eyes, but that was easily rectified when it came to the fight, but they didn't want the mark smelling them coming too early on.
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"Is there any such thing as 'downwind' of a chocobo?" He asked, not knowing how monsters with a keener sense of smell couldn't catch a waft of these things for miles regardless of direction.
Still, he agreed with Saix and followed him. He wasn't much of a hunter, so he didn't think like the animals they were tracking. He just wanted to smash them and get paid. Saix, however, seemed to be well-versed in this type of hunting, so he got to take point and Axel was content to follow behind.
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"On the bright side," he said, as he guided his chocobo to a fresh vantage point, "their smell may help to mask ours." Provided their mark didn't discern between wild chocobos and domesticated ones. To Saix, they smelled much the same.
They searched for a while, roving slowly and methodically through the plains. The fog had lifted entirely, leaving no trace of morning behind it when they spotted something on the horizon, just far enough off to make out the species. There had been a couple of previous raised hopes, and subsequent disappointments with much more normal Tyrant beasts, so Saix didn't get excited, but he pointed it out and led them to investigate.
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Axel turned his head to Saix, wanting to look to check whether his companion's mount had done the same as his, but at the same time, he didn't want take his eyes off the Tyrant in front of them and did so only for a second.
It looked bigger than the ones they'd seen and the ones he was used to. Not a great deal, but markedly so. It's back was decorated with a spined and ragged sail that was visible even from a distance. Axel noticed that it's skin was criss-crossed with the scars of many past failed attempts on it's life and, quite likely, fights for dominance with it's own species. It looked weathered, but the muscles that rippled beneath it's well-marked skin didn't give it the appearance of something weak and old and it's stained claws and teeth certainly didn't belong to the sort of creature that was going to lay down without a fight. Whatever had scarred it hadn't lived to tell the tail, that much was apparent.
"That's the thing, right?" Axel asked, awaiting confirmation of their Mark's identity before dismounting. He didn't sound too worried.
He was, of course, but just a little. He'd not taken on one of the local Rabanastre varieties so he had nothing to compare it to, but he didn't want to look like a wimp in front of his buddy. Especially not his hunting partner. He'd fought comparable Heartless in the past, but he'd never felt like his life was on the line. Still, this thing was reported to be weak to fire, which boosted his confidence tenfold and raised both his anticipation of the coming battle and his heart rate. He was going to enjoy this.
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His chocobo stopped, rooted to the spot for all of two seconds, and then it backed off again as the thing ahead of them caught the scent of scared chocobos and showed interest. It probably was big enough to eat them, if it felt like it.
"That is our mark," Saix confirmed, already starting to dismount. It was easy enough to tell; it was bigger, and it was angrier, and it looked as though hunters before them had tried their luck and found it to be lacking.
Once his feet were on the ground, and determinedly ignoring the ache in his buttocks, Saix summoned his claymore. He could do it faster than most, but it was an ability that was crippled when he went berserk. Creating the weapon required concentration; something he significantly lacked when he was in a berserk state.
His chocobo backed off another few steps, but stayed, unhappily.
"Are you ready?" He asked, without looking over at Axel. Having him on this hunt would make all the difference. It would also make the fight into twice the fun.
Somewhere, deep, deep down in Saix's heart, it brought back those memories of what it had been like to run off on dangerous adventures with Lea. Now his skin prickled with the thrill of what was to come.
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"Good chocobo. Stay." He said, pointing at it in time with the command. When he was satisfied that it wasn't going to bolt, he looked back at the Pylraster. Needless to say, the Tyrant looked even bigger now he wasn't sitting on the back of a giant bird.
With his hands now free, he pulled his pair of weapons free and looked at Saix, looking more than up for the battle ahead of them. His eyes looked alive, there was no trace of falseness or anything forced in his grin and he took a moment to loosen up before holding his arms out straight and igniting the wheels in his hands.
"Let's dance!"
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He didn't intend on going berserk just yet. Not this early into the fight. He preferred to see what the Pylraster was capable of. Going berserk wasn't always the best plan, it was simply Saix's preferred one.
With an enemy this size, standing on only two legs, there was an obvious enough place to club. Saix made damn sure to stay out of teeth range as he headed or the creatures legs, the spikes unleashing from his weapon with audible sharpness before he hit. He kept one eye out for what Axel was doing, and what the beast was doing, as he went to work.
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He knew full well the range of his hunting partner's swing and didn't want to risk getting in the way of it even for a second. Instead, he darted up behind him and stopped just short of it's maw. Keeping his attention on it (and it's attention on him) gave Saix ample opportunity to try and disable it's legs.
Of course, the first swing from the claymore hit with a dull thud. The monster roared with both anger and pain at the assault and swung around, trying to club at it's attacker with it's long, thick tail. It's leg was already bleeding --something not new to it judging by it's well-marred hide-- and it's forelegs were too small to be worth much in the way of retaliation.
Axel held out his chakrams and concentrated his chakra into his hands. In seconds the flames spread from his fingers all the way to the tips of the spiked, using the framework as paths to travel along. When he was sure Saix wasn't going to be hit by one, he threw the leftmost, sending it spinning at the Tyrant's face and spraying embers out into the air as it did. It's left eye was already blinded from somebody's earlier attempt at the same trick, but putting the other out of commission couldn't hurt.
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He enjoyed this more. It wasn't the element of danger, but the beast being a more equal match. Fighting alongside Axel helped, too. He could get into the fight, without being concerned for a healer, or having to watch what he did, because Axel knew him well enough to know how to fight alongside him.
He blocked the swing of the creatures tail, but he could still feel the blow rock his balance. It was powerful, but that wasn't a surprise.
As Axel attacked its eyes, Saix swung again at its legs, hitting hard at the ankle joint, and bringing his claymore around again for a successive swing. He hoped to cripple it. If he could slow it down so that it wasn't quite as fast with that tail, he could let loose in full.
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