[IC] Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

[AlteredTundra]

"Fine, I suppose there isn't any avoiding it." Savayna let out a sigh, looking to the Roselia brothers. The disappointment couldn't be retrained as Savayna would give Lorenzo an annoyed glance. She understood the logic, though. No matter how inconvenient it was, it also made sense. She might not have known much about magicite, but the theory was if you have foreign magicite in a magicite-powered machine, it would get sucked into it, and that could be catastrophic for said machine, especially if those machines had people near it.

Besides, there was a lot of truth to what he said. Ozmone was just a few hours away from Rabanastre. The journey did wholly dependent on whether or not it was the wet season in Giza Plains. It was so random that one day it was dry as the Dalmassca sands and the next it was like a monsoon. If it was dry, then the journey to Ozmone was two hours tops, but when it was wet and water flooded the plains, they would have to find alternative routes across the vast wetness. Not to mention there was the immediate danger of lightning storms. With Savayna being an ice/water magick user, that didn't spell good things for her.

"We'll meet at the southgate in half of an hour. That should be plenty of time for us to get what we need for the journey ahead." Savayna told them. She gave both of them a nod.

[Hero]

"Sounds like a plan, I'll make it easier and just prebuild what I can here, that way I can just pop in the magicite, fine-tune, then Grant can grace us with his wangst and other depressing commentary that he so loves to give," Lorenzo agreed with Savayna's statement, outright ignoring her annoyed deposition. "Hopefully it's still Dry when we set out, but I know better than to hope for something good when the world insists on crapping all over your fun. So be ready for either or! I'm going to get started. As he finished talking, he would immediately begin to scrounge around the garage, pulling tools from different places and spare metal sheets whenever he could get his hands on them. Settling on an empty workstation, he would pin the blueprint in front of him, flexing the metal and occasionally giving it a glance.

Grant knew better than to disturb Lorenzo when he was in 'the zone'. He honestly wished he could help him, but he figured it was best to just leave it to him. Grant was pretty sure he was alright on his own supplies, considering he hadn't used too many of them on the Paramina Rift, but securing a cloak in case of the rains was a higher priority for him. Not that he would ever admit it, but he disliked the rain at that moment.

He would take his leave, heading to his room, though along the path he spotted a sulky Keiran. Was this truly how everyone else saw him? Grant would make a mental note to stop being so sullen as he would approach the man. Keiran looked at him, his expression dark at first, though he would cheer up considerably. Perhaps all this time, his smiles were fabricated. A pity, really. "Heading out, are we?" Keiran asked him, his hands in his pockets. "You look like you're in a hurry, so I figured as much."

Once he had a way to communicate, he would be sure to ask Keiran just how he was able to read him. The man grinned, thumb across his nose as he leaned back against the wall. "Yeah...I was thinking of disappearing for a while. Not that anyone here would miss me, but it's been fun chatting with you at least. I know I was annoying, but at least you listened." Disappearing? "Not that I'm gonna go off myself, but I'm sure the moment Mr. Ascended spots me, he's going to make sure he cleanses me properly. To tell you the truth...I don't really feel like dying. Not yet."

He wanted to think Keiran had turned over a new leaf, but there was something particular about his behavior. Keiran winked at him. "Don't give me that look! You'll see me again. I'll pop up when you least expect it," He said, patting Grant's shoulder as he would walk away.

Least expect it? What is he up to?Grant couldn't help but narrow his eyes, a piercing glare at the back of Keiran's head. There hasn't been any commotion, so Emiri must be fine. But...if he really is up to something, why would he tell me? Does he not think me a threat? Or is he just that confident?

[AlteredTundra]

Savayna had been the first one to wait by the Southgate, which was surprising. She was often the last one up due to her innate ability to be one of the laziest people in all of Ivalice. However, she seemed extra motivated. She didn't have a lot to gather. The rations that she needed was on her person at the time. She had a few potions in her pocket and when she got to her room, she grabbed a small pouch which had some other medical supplies in it. After she would grab that and a cloak in case of the rain season in Giza, all she would need was her sword. As soon as she had placed that on her hip, she had left.

"What the hell is taking them so long? I told them thirty minutes, not thirty-one, not thirty-two - but thirty fucking minutes." She tapped her heel rather loudly against the stone-plated ground.

[Hero]

They were late.

Grant figured he should have gone straight to the gate, but knowing how Lorenzo was, instead he went straight to the garage. Now, despite his goofiness, Lorenzo was usually punctual. He was usually responsible (well, most of the time) and as a father made sure to set a good example for his daughter. Grant was usually the lazier one; while Lorenzo was often the first to rise and shine, Grant was usually the one getting dragged out of bed. So in a way, the two brothers balanced one another out, each one of their weaknesses covered by the other one's strengths.

Now, if only Grant could get Lorenzo out of that chair.

Despite his waving, knocking on tables, and everything short of grabbing Lorenzo by his collar, Grant's visual warnings were ignored. He would've resorted to just dragging him out, but Lorenzo wouldn't budge, insisting that he was nearly complete. Ever the perfectionist; though Grant kept looking up at the clock. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. They were late--and Savayna had little tolerance for being kept waiting.

"Keep your panties unbunched, I've done what I have to," Lorenzo told him as the unfinished collar would be placed on a soft scarf. He would gently wrap it, securing it in a backpack, and he would finally deem himself ready. The pair finally left, Grant pulling on Lorenzo the entire time, but even as he tried to rush, they ended up arriving five minutes late. "Ready to go, Savanna?" Lorenzo cheerfully greeted Savayna, ignoring Grant's annoyed look.

[AlteredTundra]

After a while, she had started talking to herself, those around her worried she might go and do something crazy, or that she was crazy. Truth be told, she was barely holding it together. Grant, of all people, knew that she was impatient. She valued punctuality above else, so imagine being her and it running on nearly ten minutes of her having to wait for them. Mateus tried his best to distract her, but he was met with such an icy retort that not even his inner realm could reach such cold temperatures. One might say that he retreated into his domain and cut off contact with her for the time being.

Only when Savayna heard Lorenzo’s voice did her mumbling and rabid tapping cease. The same could not be said about her face. She was absolutely livid with them right now. “It’s Savay--oh, you know what? Just forget it. We’re running late as it is.” Savayna roared, turning around as the two were probably behind her.

She briskly walked, leaving the Rozarrian brothers behind her chilly path of at least five paces. She approached the gate and was met by a couple of Dalmascan soldiers. She requested they open up the gate. After a brief exchange of words, they happily did it; though one of the partial reasons was to not feel Savayna’s cold wrath. Even to them, she displayed a nasty snarl like a Behemoth in the winter of Omisace.

The large gate sent vibrations through the most southern portions of Rabanastre. Even those in the palace could hear it. It was so loud it would bring an uncomfortable feeling for about five seconds until the sight of the plains came into view. And as their luck would have it, they chose the day it was the wet season. Thankfully, Savayna prepared herself for it and had brought her snow-colored cloak that perfectly matched her light blue and silver dress-armor set.

Briefly, she looked at Lorenzo and Grant who took advantage of the time the gate took to open. With a one-second glance at both of them, she noticed Grant came prepared, but Lorenzo was wearing nothing to protect him from the wetness of the rain and the shocker of possible lightning. “Now that’s what you get for keeping me waiting, dumbass.” Savayna told Lorenzo, whacking him on the back of his head as she led the charge into Giza, her fur-edged cloak over her head and icy eyes focused on the sight ahead.

Time to go on their adventure!

[Hero]

How did he know it would be the more difficult of the two seasons? Either way, he would secure his cloak around him, daintily pulling his hood over his head. He tucked in his hair into the hood, making sure every single strand of hair was protected safely. He let out a sigh of relief as he would follow Savayna, though he noticed Lorenzo's snickering as they walked. "Want to protect that beautiful, lustrous hair? A little water never hurt anyone! Bring it!" He hollered, his arms in the air as he charged forward.

The dark haired prince rolled his eyes, simply watching Lorenzo as they would walk. The clouds hung overhead, though not a drop fell on them. Lorenzo grinned at the pair, as if saying that he was right. Grant simply pointed at the rather dark cloud ahead as they walked; the rain was visible from their position, and was the way to go to boot. The blonde haired man froze for a moment as Savayna and Grant would simply keep walking. "Sheesh, does it always rain that hard?" He asked, sneaking under part of Grant's cloak, much to his brother's annoyance.

[AlteredTundra]

Rain or shine, Lorenzo never fails to complain. honestly, Savayna could remember how he was when they arrived at the gates of Rabanastre about how hot and humid it was and now he was bitching about how wet and rainy it was. If she hadn't needed him to build this damn contraption for Grant, she would've simply made this journey with Grant. However, seeing as how that was not the case and Lorenzo was the only one who could build it, she had to make due. It didn't make her growing annoyance decrease, though; from where she was walking, despite trying to distance herself by pulling Grant in a brisk walk, he still was as loud as ever.

The trio would make their way in the entry point of Giza Plains and it was amazing how green the plains got in such a short amount of time. Truly it was one of Ivalice's several mysteries that couldn't be explained properly. The only thing that could be said was how amazing it was to see. And, of course, the swampy ground made it a hell for anyone in heels. Luckily, Savayna could use her magick to flatten her heels until they got to Ozmone.

As they traversed further into Giza, without warning, a lightning bolt came down and struck near Lorenzo just as he was commenting about how hard it rained. "I think the gods are trying to tell you something, Larry." Savayna mocking Lorenzo. Since he had the tendency to forget people's names, she would accidentally forget his. She chuckled; though she caught Grant's approving glance.

[Hero]

Grant couldn't quite hide his grin, particularly loving her mischeviousness. His grin would fade as he realized Lorenzo would practically push himself under Grant's cloak. Grant scowled at Lorenzo as he whimpered, attempting to give his younger brother a pleading look. Unfortunately for Lorenzo, Grant had no sympathy for him.

"Oh come on! I'm freezing here! The rain is really cold!" Lorenzo whined, snuggling against a very unhappy Grant.

[AlteredTundra]

"Whatever happened to you being a man, huh Larry?" Savayna kept on teasing and mocking him as she couldn't help but notice how he tried to soak up the warmth from Grant's cloak. His comment about it being cold only made her laugh. As an ice-user, she had an additional resistance to cold weather. She felt at home when it was freezing cold.If it wasn't for it actually raining and her not wanting her hair to become all poofy and big, she probably would do away with the cloak.

She stopped, looking at Lorenzo. "Poor baby can't handle a little chill." She got real close to him, smiling coldly. As she did, Savayna flipped her hair. "If you let your whining go, you'd see the cold would never bother you, anyway - just look at me! I'm barely covered up and I can't hold it back anymore." Savayna got even closer to Lorenzo, "just let it go, Larry."

[Hero]

Lorenzo scowled at Savayna--s scowl that would make Grant proud--as he refused to budge, shuffling awkwardly as Grant walked. Now that he really looked at Savayna, he did notice that she was certainly handling the colder temperature with relative ease. Ice Queen gets matching required secondary powers, huh. "Well us normal people prefer the beautiful sun and all it's warm glory! Besides, the cold is only good for snow but beyond that point, it's just mother nature telling us all to go die. That and the cold might make Grant even more sick!" He would inform her rather boldly.

For the first time, Grant was actually glad he couldn't talk, because Lorenzo was just plain wrong on practically everything he had just said. For a moment he wanted to tell Lorenzo off, but honestly, despite his idiocy, Lorenzo had his heart in the right place. He shook his head at him, though he would unclasp the cloak, letting Lorenzo get better coverage. Lorenzo rewarded him with a tight hug, grinning at him. Instead of rebuking him like he usually did, Grant simply smiled back.

[AlteredTundra]

As Lorenzo had started talking, her mind was stuck on his use of us normal people. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was being talked down to, especially by someone who was everything but normal. This was coming from the guy who overreacted every time the topic of Nadeline growing up and becoming a woman; not to mention how he always exaggerated his emotions, often crying out of whatever bullshit emotion he might be feeling at the time. It was hilarious he called himself normal when he's just as absurd as calling Dominic normal. Those two are just two zany peas from the same pod.

Eventually, Savayna's smile would fade into a subtle scowl. In one long moment, as they would near an overpass that had a section of between two patches of swampy grass being connected by a thick tree branch, they would start to cross it. Just as Lorenzo had got on, Savayna would simply use her mist to "gently" push Lorenzo off the tree and send him wherever the current would take him. "How's that for normal?!" She yelled out to him, watching him flail as he was carried away by the current.

[Hero]

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Came Lorenzo's long, rather drawn out response. Grant watched as his older brother wailed helplessly, whisked away by the current without putting up a fight. He groaned out loud, shaking his head at Savayna. Did she really have to go that far? He let out a sigh, the glyph on his hand glowing as he summoned Zeromus. He pointed to Lorenzo, and his Esper would obey.

It was rather comical to watch Zeromus follow the river, only pausing to scoop up Lorenzo. The man clung to the claw that saved him as Zeromus floated back, putting Lorenzo down gently. He shivered madly, drenched from head to toe. "Grant would like me to say, 'We should at least try to get moving. I'd like to make it back before sunset'. That is all," Zeromus would voice Grant's thoughts, and as he finished, he would fade away.

"N-N-now I'm really c-c-cold..." Lorenzo whimpered.

Grant sighed once again, unbuckling his cloak. He swiftly bundled it onto Lorenzo, patting his older brother slightly. He looked up at the rain that showed no signs of stopping, though he resigned to it. He still had his longcoat, so he figured he could bear it better than Lorenzo could. Taking out a spare hair tie he had in his pocket, he would swiftly wrap his hair into a long, low braid. As Lorenzo would chuckle, he rolled his eyes, walking ahead.

[AlteredTundra]

There was a moment or two that Savayna had devoted to just laughing as she saw Lorenzo wail and flail away with the current, not at all doing anything to try and help the man. It was his fault for ticking of Savayna. Maybe that'd show him not to cross Savayna Glacie. Of course, Grant had to save his brother as he always had. He did so by summoning Zeromus and having the esper be used as some sort of floatation device as he pulled the blonde Rozarrian from almost drowning and brought him to safety, much to Savayna's disappointment, of course. If she had her way, he would meet them near the entrance to Ozmone so Grant and Savayna could have a bit of peace from Lorenzo's constant yapping.

But, of course, that wasn't going to happen. Instead, through Zeromus' powerful, surprisingly elegant voice, Grant's sensible opinion about making haste would be heard. What's even worse, Savayna agreed, albeit with the leftover scowl she had given Lorenzo before she shoved him off the tree bridge. "Fine," Savayna simply stated.

As they would walk, the trio traversed through Giza's swampy grass. They fought whatever monsters came their way. Some didn't even require them to draw their weapons. It was only a matter of punching and kicking them in the right place; though some did provide an even greater danger - such as the Storm Elemental. They would've avoided it, but there seemed to be more than just one of them. "Seems like there's no other choice," She looked at the Storm Elementals in front of them. They multiplied five times over, blocking the entrance to Ozmone. If they wanted to get there, they had to fight their way through the elementals first.

Savayna drew her sword as mist surrounded her body. In an instant, she focused it at her feet and she began to slide forward as ice magick continuously covered the ground to help speed up her movements. "It's fight or die, boys," she said, striking forward at one of the elementals. "And I'm far too young to die to these things!" Down came a swing of her Ice Queen, slicing one of them in half, the magickal energy from that Elemental causing a lightning recoil; though Savayna's mist blocked it in the nick of time.

[Hero]

The cluster of Elementals was pretty inconvenient. Last he recalled, they usually traveled on their own, indifferent to anything around them with the exception of spells. They could probably just walk right through them with little issue. Of course, that was too easy for Savayna, who declared them a threat and went running in. He missed Nadeline in that moment; she would have confirmed his thoughts, most likely. At the presence of Savayna's magicks, the Storm Elementals became crazed--much too late for him to stop anyone at that point.

Lorenzo watched Savayna's charge, a frown on his face. "Yeah...punching the equivalent of pure lightning doesn't seem like a smart idea," He said, scratching his cheek.

Now you want to be sensible?! The thought crossed Grant's mind as he unloaded several bullets onto the stray Storm Elemental off to the side with the intention of keeping them all grouped up. Holding his hand out, he would crush something in the air, a Darkja spell erupting from the ground. It didn't finish the job, but it did manage to hit them all. One elemental decided to give him its full attention, to which he beckoned towards it. As he charged a single bullet, it flew right through the elemental, the monster exploding, shooting lightning all around it. Grant felt himself get yanked back before a bolt had struck the very place he was just standing.

He looked back at Lorenzo, who was more focused on the group. "As they say, only in the worst weathers do the elementals come out to play," He said. "Use your distance to your advantage, they're pretty selfish so they'll try to take you out even as they're dying."

[AlteredTundra]

Savayna wouldn't say that she enjoyed fighting elementals or anything, but as she kept swinging her magick-laced sword at the elementals that decided to give her its undivided attention, there was a shriek of laughter that came from her. On some level, the lightning bolts that had been shot repeatedly at her and she responded by parrying them one after the other brought life to Savayna's movements. Through whatever stroke of destiny that was in the monsoon-plagued plains, both seemed to be aware of it. Even though Elementals were mindless, often neutral creatures, the one that had taken a liking to Savayna.

As a wave of ice magicks made its way to the elemental, a wall of lightning appeared before it, canceling out Savayna's attack. She wouldn't let up, though. continuously, the blonde swung her sword that produced thin sickles of magick at the elemental and every single one was parried by a projected lightning veil that was just enough and quickly-cast to block each and every one of her attacks, prompting the blonde to go even stronger and with more force added.

Savayna launched herself five paces into the air, hovering over the elemental, and extended her free hand. A glyph appeared in front of her and as she started to recite an incantation, something bizarre was happening below her. If she didn't know any better, the elemental was speaking as well; though, that couldn't be right. Elementals were mindless creatures that had no soul. they were created from the mist and were a product of magickal power in conjunction with the environment. And yet, Savayna's ears didn't deceive her. The elemental, as well as the other two that remained, all spoke in echoed, layered voices. Their bodies crackled like the very lightning they were formed from, and their respective formless shapes came together.

And in that moment, Savayna projected herself away from the combined form, landing near Grant as she looked on as the elementals shined brilliantly with blue and purple lightning. As the merger became more evident of what they would look like, Savayna raised an eyebrow towards it and hen looked to Grant and Lorenzo. "What on Ivalice is going on?" She asked them. Truly, this was an enigma of all enigmas.

"Humes of Ivalice." The Lightning Elemental spoke, its voice loud and echoed. It looked at the trio, it's new form was a humanoid shape. It had lightning for legs and arms with half of its body having solidified armor of blue, purple, and gold. The sound of crackling lightning ever present and continuous. "You who have created me with powerful magicks--I salute you."

"Do what now?"

"Existence was granted to this one through your strength."

Savayna had to take a long moment to tell if this thing was serious or just yanking her chain. Of course, after close examination, though made purely of lightning, this Elemental was...smiling? No, that's not right. "Are..you actually smiling?" Savayna had to ask.

"It's as you Humes say.." The Elemental seemed to be thinking, "I've got the will to live - to exist."

Right. She gave the Elemental a smile. "One moment please." She looked to the Rose Bros, giving them a rather conflicted look. "Well, this was certainly unexpected." She admitted, briefly looking back to the Elemental who would wave to Savayna. She waved back then returned to Grant and Lorenzo's gaze. "What do you do? Doesn't seem it wants to fight us." She said, scratching her head. why did the difficult and weird things always happen to her?

[Hero]

The battle was actually going in a relatively positive direction. Despite his reluctance, Lorenzo served more as a spotter for Grant, only really fighting whenever the enemy decided to get too close. The rain made his aiming a little harder, but Grant couldn't say he minded. Finally, they were down to three, and Grant let Savayna go wild on them. He slicked his hair back, off his face; the rain actually felt refreshing as it hit him, though something in the air changed. Even Lorenzo had noticed, though his wide eyes and dropped jaw were already tell-tale signs that something was up.

To say this was a first was probably understating it.

"Oh man, can we keep it?!" Lorenzo asked excitedly, not even bothering to think about the ramifications of having a warrior literally made of lightning. "It could sure help us out with the uglies in the Caverns when you think about it."

Grant honestly didn't think they needed additional help, considering Savayna's unsaturated bloodlust. Still, the fact that it had its own will was...unprecedented. What would Nadeline do in a situation like this? Analyze it, make an educated guess, then go about proving her theory. But she wasn't here, and Grant was, so the ball was in his court on what to do with...it. One thing was for certain, considering its words, Savayna had somehow come to own it, as it stated it was a creation of hers.

Lorenzo saw Grant thinking, shaking his head. "Never look a gift-chocobo in the mouth, that's what I say," He said, crossing his arms.

[AlteredTundra]

“As always, Larry, you’re no help at all.”

Savayna let out a frustrated sigh. What was she to do with this sentient elemental? It obviously was strong. The very air around it was bent to it will and the magickal energy that surrounded converted all moisture into lightning magick. Added to that, it looked at Savayna like that of a servant to their master. So, yeah there was that. The only thing that the blonde could think to do was let it be and let the adventuring trio go on their way, but somehow that didn’t seem like it was going to happen mostly because this thing looked like a lost puppy that would follow anymore.

After thinking about it, Savayna approached it...no, it must be more than an it. “Tell me, does this one like to be called he or she?”

“This one does not know.”

She scratched her head. “Okay, then what does this one in front of me wish to identify as?”

“This one gets a choice?” The Sentient Elemental asked.

Savayna nodded.

The Elemental seemed to consider the choice carefully. The lightning around it radiated in several colors. It looked at both Savayna and the other blonde of the trio, Lorenzo. Both seemed to be drawn to it; though it would approach Lorenzo, sizing him up. Its hand rested on Lorenzo’s shoulder and the blonde would feel a sudden, non-threatening jolt of lightning surge through him. “My choice is this one. I shall identify as…” The Elemental sized up Lorenzo again. “What is it that they call you? Cis male?”

[Hero]

Grant let out a groan, knowing anything that liked Lorenzo was never a good sign. He watched, feeling helpless as Lorenzo's eyes positively radiated with mischievousness. He wasn't sure what direction this was going, nor did he like it as Lorenzo would watch the Elemental with a boundless curiosity. He half expected it to just fry Lorenzo on the spot, but that didn't seem to be the case. He crossed his arms somewhat nervously, shifting from one foot to the other as he would watch it speak to Lorenzo.

"Who, me? I'm Lorenzo Roselia," He replied rather cheerfully. "Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

[AlteredTundra]

"Roselia?" It looked at Lorenzo curiously. "But is a name that is taken from a flower, is it not?" It mused, looking at Lorenzo still. "And yet, you are male. Roses are female." It tipped its head to the side, getting even more curious. "And you are pretty like girl. and hair is gold like sun. Do you follow the normal stereotype of being slow like others of your hair color?"

Savayna had been laughing up until the comment made about how those with golden hair were dumb. "Wait, you trying to say I'm dumb?"

"No," the Elemental said. It gestured to Lorenzo. "I am calling this one dumb. I mean, Lorenzo. Dumb is a good thing, is it not?"

And so Savayna was back to her laughing, though she looked at Grant who seemed to have a look of urgency. She sighed, approaching the Elemental and Lorenzo. "Hurry it up, ladies."

[Hero]

For something so attuned to nature, it sure made some broad assumptions with the rose mentioning. Technically plants were genderless, although symbolically they were female, so it was half right. Grant rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as it would continue to converse. The rain had gone on long enough that Grant's hair was now sticking to his face, getting him more aggravated. So much for saving his hair. Luckily for him, Savayna had caught his annoyed look, telling the pair to wrap up their comical yet pointless conversation. "What do you mean 'hurry it up'? Let's go, if Thor here wants to follow it's up to him!" Lorenzo barked back, hands on his hips.

Grant rolled his eyes once more, though he decided to continue to walk, outright ignoring Lorenzo. The blond scoffed at him, though he decided to follow suit.