[closed quest] and when it's time for leavin'

[supersoldier]

WHO: Sephiroth and Steve Rogers
WHEN: Mid to late September
WHERE: Free Cities, Solvunn, and back again
WHAT: A supply run quest!
WARNINGS: Possibly blood and/or violence, will add as needed!


((ooc; link to quest info here))

[There are many truths about war, but Sephiroth has come to believe that one remains universal, no matter the infinite distances between worlds: armies live and die by how well they are stocked. And when that same army still needs to tend to an injured populace, as well as prep for stints of future conflict, they will have to be well-stocked to comfortably face the oncoming days.

It makes sense, then, why he had been deployed with a handful of other soldiers to act as an escort to a supply caravan, with the intent to visit Solvunn and carry back wagonfuls of what the settlements can spare them. The journey is not short, but setting out had gone smoothly enough as they followed the arid desert roads, Sephiroth riding atop his horse with the vague familiarity of someone who has done so before; taught the nuances of doing so in this world. (A far cry from a chocobo, after all, even if there were some similarities.)

He is not the only Summoned deployed on this task, though. The man accompanying them is not one he thinks he knows, at least until names are exchanged, and then memory sparks: the soldier who left his own army back on his planet. A Steve Rogers, who has the mien of the military all the same — not something so easily stamped out. And though Sephiroth is not keen on small talk (or talented at it), he does exchange niceties now and again as they travel. A passing status check, a comment on the road ahead. He'd like to believe there's solidarity even in those passing sentences between two Summoned.

Today, the road winds ahead to the mouth of a forest, the horizon thick with trees, a sight so alien after traveling this far across the desert. Sephiroth nudges his horse to quicken its pace, just slightly, to catch up with Steve ahead.]

We're nearly to the border. [—he remarks once he's astride the other man.]

Comments

[supersoldier]

[A man trained in using a… winged jetpack? A genius engineer? He supposes that Steve’s world is also far more technologically advanced than Abraxas, maybe around the same level as his own.]

I’ve seen Tony Stark over the network in passing.

[Probably arguing with the MCU cast. That acknowledgment is the last reply he has until they’re situated again on their horses, riding astride the bulk of the convoy. He watches the backs of the soldiers taking the lead ahead, occasionally scanning the horizon for any signs of trouble along the road. Again, it seems relatively peaceful as they continue.

Steve’s question temporarily dislodges him from his observations, and he turns his head to look at the man. Sephiroth cannot help himself; he frowns.]

There was. [If there were ever more, he never knew it. But he definitely remembers the man who was here, the flash of his eyes filled with rage, the glint of his sword aimed straight at him—] His name was Cloud Strife. He’s not in Abraxas any longer.

[He glances away, eyes back on the road, his expression schooled into something hard.]

He was an infantryman in the army… Or at least, as I last remember him. When I met him here, he was older. Angrier. There was something… wrong, I think, with his memory. [He supposes that's more information than what Steve was actually asking after, and he reels it in.] We never reached an understanding.

[Needless to say.]

[assembles]

[ Steve isn't expecting his question to cause Sephiroth any distress, but that does seem to be what happens all the same. When it came to suddenly stumbling upon familiar people from home here, it could run the whole gamut. Steve's been lucky enough to have friends here rather than enemies, but even then it's been complicated — to say the least.

When Sephiroth drops the name "Cloud Strife," Steve only gives a small shake of his head to indicate they never met, even as he works on maneuvering the reins in his hands to keep his horse moving at a calm, steady pace. Still, he's familiar with how people can be brought here from different places in time, and the kind of issues it can cause.

Though it doesn't sound like Sephiroth ever got to the bottom of things, or learned much about his future.

Steve glances over, only to see Sephiroth averting his gaze, so he focuses on the path in front of him. Back to the portal. ] That sounds... frustrating. Not getting any answers, even if he had reasons for not telling you. [ He could leave it at that, but there's something else about the story that bothers him too. ]

It doesn't help that we don't really know what happens to people when they disappear from here. Sure, some have gone home and then come back, but not everyone.

[ Who's to say they haven't been captured and held somewhere? There's no evidence toward that, but there's no evidence against it either. It's just one of the many things that bothers him about this place. ]

[supersoldier]

[He never did get to the bottom of things, even if Cloud seemed certain of his future — at least in regards to how the mission at Nibelheim would play out. The man had been more than willing to throw accusations at him, couched in his white-hot rage, and Sephiroth could not gather more in regards to context, or motive, or anything that made sense. Strife would clam up; refuse to talk to him, barely even look at him.

But he doesn’t want to get into that. Doesn’t want to discuss the crimes he was supposedly guilty of, in a time that never came to pass. Instead, he nods, and finds a quiet appreciation in the fact that Steve doesn’t seem willing to push any further.]

I did go looking for him. [Which sounds strange, maybe, given the tension between them. But to have lost someone from Gaia (and someone from the future, no less) was like losing an invisible tether. Like becoming slightly more unmoored, a discomfort churning in his chest. Even thinking about it makes a ghost of that feeling rise up again.] I scoured the city, and what I could of the desert.

[His horse whinnies slightly, shaking out its mane. The wagons pick up the pace, wooden wheels turning a little faster as they make their way down a gentle slope.]

Either way, he’s gone. And no one else from my planet that I know of remains here.

[assembles]

[ It is interesting to hear that Sephiroth had tried to track down this Strife person in light of everything he's just said about him, but Steve also gets it. If he'd been the only other person in Abraxas from his home, and if he'd also had answers about what the future held, then it would be hard to just accept he was gone.

Steve imagines that Sephiroth had been thorough in his search, but he's also only one man. Cadens and the surrounding desert constitutes a lot of ground to cover. If the Summoned who disappeared really are being held captive somewhere, Steve doubts it'd be an easy-to-find place. As much as the thought unsettles him, he doesn't think there's any feasible way for them to uncover the truth about this.

As they start down the slight incline, Steve adjusts his hips on the horse and keeps a close eye on the wagons, but they seem to be moving forward without incident despite how much heavier they are now. It helps that these roads are well-kept, meaning the likelihood of a wheel getting caught in a ditch is low.

Steve lets out a breath and bobs his head into a slow nod. It must feel strange for Sephiroth, being the only one from his world. Lonely, even. Not that Steve knows him well enough to draw those sorts of conclusions about him. ] That must be a strange feeling, whether it's your preference or not. You can have a sort of shorthand or mutual understanding with someone who comes from the same place as you. [ Shared life experience, and the lack thereof. He knows a thing or two about it. ] Even if you're not friends.

[supersoldier]

[That’s exactly it, the sentiment that Sephiroth never had the capacity to form with his own words, spoken with such ease from Steve. A shorthand or mutual understanding. That vaguely grounding feeling—even if it existed in a man with whom he could not get along with—simply disappearing overnight.

A low exhale.]

You’re right. Still, at least there’s a sense of camaraderie found with the other Summoned. We all share in these same circumstances.

[The wagons continue to move at a steady pace. A few of the soldiers remain vigilant but have taken to chatting idly with each other, much like themselves.]

And soon, we may all share a war.

[No point in lingering his thoughts on those who might be lost to him, now. Eventually, the conversation falls into companionable silence, and the road stretches onward.

* * *

The return trip is no longer nor shorter than the initial journey to Solvunn’s territory, though even less eventful — given that there are no injured strangers hobbling up to them, asking for help. It’s with some relief when they eventually see the portal whorling open at the end of the last stretch of road, the convoy slowing and organizing again into a single file line so that everyone may pass through without too much issue.

Sephiroth is fine with being one of the last to cross into the portal, overseeing the wagons’ passage, as well as the soldiers that follow intermittently in between. He chances a glance over at Steve, who he assumes has taken up a similar role.]

Everything still accounted for?

[assembles]

[ This is essentially the home stretch, and while Steve may not be that used to traveling by portals when compared to certain Masters of the Mystic Arts, he's starting to adjust to it after enough time spent here in Abraxas.

Of course, usually it's just himself going through, not an entire caravan, so he is taking extra precaution to make sure that everyone passes through without any issues. Both he and Sephiroth fall into this role of taking up the rear without actually consulting each other about it. Maybe it's their training, or maybe they just have similar instincts.

At the question, he gives a quick nod. One by one they've all gone through, and there's just one wagon left. ] I just checked, everything's where it should be. [ They would have noticed if something had been lost on the trip, but better safe than sorry.

The wagon jerks forward and rolls its way through, disappearing through the portal. That leaves a few more soldiers, who follow suit, and then the two of them. Steve gestures Sephiroth forward. ] Go ahead.

[supersoldier]

[Sephiroth never had experience with portal travel until his time in Abraxas — and frankly, he isn’t sure he will ever get used to the jarring way it works, being in one place one moment, and another in the next. At least he doesn’t suffer from motion sickness (portal sickness?) like a certain someone he had just been discussing with Steve—

He pushes the thought from his mind. Now’s not the time to ruminate; he can indulge himself in that bad habit later.

With the last wagon rolling through the yawning portal, followed by the remaining few soldiers, Sephiroth gives Steve one final glance and nods.]

...Mission success.

[A safe assessment, at this point. He walks through, silver hair trailing behind him, and disappears to the other side.]