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

[AlteredTundra]

Ivalice never did cease to amaze with her environments and weather seasons. Where it was a monsoon in Giza, drenching all of its vast land in inches upon inches of water pouring down heavily, Ozmone ranged from having the same rain to being overcast, and then finally, being as sunny as a spring morning in the Phon Coast.

As the group of four had gone through the entrance of Ozmone from Giza, it was a mix of overcast and sunny. A majority of Ozmone was overcast, though some rays of sunshine came through to illuminate the green fields and ridges. As far as the eye could see, there were monsters that typically roamed The most common of them were the flightless beast-birds known as Wu. In the distance, there were at least three dozen of them in just one section.

“They sense me, I fear.” The Elemental said, looking on as the Wus of the area turned and stared at it.

“Don’t mind them. We can take them.”

“Be that as it may, I cannot proceed any further,” the Elemental said, turning to Lorenzo. “Man-Girl Hume, I entrust my power to you.”

Before anything could be said, the elemental was gone and disappeared into Lorenzo, giving him a rather large power boost.

“Talk about anticlimactic,” Savayna stated, feeling a bit underwhelmed by that transfer of power.

[Hero]

Grant couldn't help but sigh in relief as the sun shined down on them. Slicking his hair back once more, he would strain it, trying to get all the water out. Once no more water would come out, he released the braid, whipping out a comb. He ignored Lorenzo's snickering as he passed it through quickly, though he caught his eye as he pocketed the comb. He did sneeze, rubbing his nose slightly, though he would sigh once more as they would spot the cluster of Wu in the distance. To his surprise, the elemental would inform them that it could proceed no further.

"Man-Girl, wha--OI OI OIIII!!!" Lorenzo literally jumped in place, lightning crackling around him for a moment. "Whoa! That was amazing! I feel like I can take on anything! Like I can--LEAVE THIS TO MEEEE!" He yelled, charging immediately into the many Wu.

Every single one would give him their undivided attention, swarming around him. For a moment, Grant pondered if he should do anything, though he let out a gasp of surprise as a rather large surge of lightning exploded, literally frying every single Wu. Lorenzo stood over his conquered prey, laughing maniacally. Oh great, he's a walking bomb, Grant thought to himself as he watched Lorenzo bounce in place.

"What a rush! Leave it to me, I'll clear the way! You two just sit back and watch!" He declared, his eyes darting this way and that as he would go out of his way to search for more monsters to kill.

No use stopping him now, Grant let Lorenzo have his way, instead walking up to Savayna, taking her hands in his. He figured while Lorenzo would go running ahead, he could enjoy the stroll with her.

[AlteredTundra]

Wonderful

"Wonderful"

Both Savayna and Mateus echoed each other's musings as Lorenzo's vexatious visage had run rampant among the denizens of Ozmone, causing complete destruction of flesh and bone, corpses of the bird fiends either nonexistent or little of their form scattered about. It was hard to control Lorenzo. Savayna caught glimpses of that in the times she had been with him when they [the others including Jaakuna and Emiri] had gone on some type of adventure; though it wasn't until the moment that just passed did she truly see what Grant had been voicing through grimaces: Lorenzo was a handful. It seemed even more so now that he got that major power boost.

Lorenzo had gone all over the place. He wasn't sticking to just the area of Ozmone that Savayna and Grant were. He went close to the entrance to Jahara, to where Henne Mines was, and where the entrance to the Gilmore Jungle was. He did this in a short amount of time - time that Savayna and Grant seemed to be thankful for. As he was taking care of any and all beasts that would've otherwise been a chore for them, the two could focus on taking it easy. After the rain and then Lorenzo in general, they deserved a breather. Or at least, Savayna thought so. She couldn't tell if Grant felt the same, but considering how he appeared to be near his breaking point with his brother, the Archadian blonde had to assume the break from him was just what the doctor ordered.

Amidst the walking, they were still a few dozen yards from the entrance of Zertinan Caverns. In the meantime, Savayna had done away with her rain cloak. With a snap of her finger, magick particles surrounded it and it unthickened into more of a transparent veil that hugged to her armor, complimenting with the perfect amount of style and grace; though white and silverish-blue specs of magick remained around her, drawing sunlight into her form, and made her entire body shine like a snowflake. Additionally, her hair had the same allure as it too would show signs of blue mixed in with the gold and her eyes had sparkles of snow as it serenely danced within the iciness

Just as it had thinned out, she caught Grant's look. "What?" She received his glance with a curious expression.

[Hero]

I wish I could tell you how beautiful you look.

Amidst Lorenzo's rather loud and obnoxious cackling, Grant ignored him for the most part, simply watching Savayna. Truly, she took his breath away. He simply smiled back, a small shake of the head, as if trying to say, 'it's nothing'. That smile would quickly fade, his eyes wide as Lorenzo would tackle him to the ground. "I feel like I'm supercharged!" He announced gleefully, jumping to his feet almost immediately. "I feel twenty years younger! Say what you will about that Ice Queen, but right now I am on FIRE! Oh, there's the entrance! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" His hyperactive charge had clearly robbed him of whatever little brain he had, though at the very least he had the courtesy of yanking Grant back up to his feet, immediately running off once more.

Grant scowled as Lorenzo dashed off. Couldn't he bother reading the mood at least once?! Though he realized that Lorenzo had dumped his cloak onto him. Rolling his eyes, he folded it up, placing it neatly back in his pack. He didn't really use magicks in that sense, more focus on combat oriented ones, though he had a feeling their usage would be coming into play. As they approached the cave entrance, Grant would pause to look up at the sky. They had progressed rather quickly, but the sun was no longer overhead. Dusk approaches. Ah, not that it matters since we'll be going into the caverns, and we did get here pretty quickly all things considered, He thought to himself. As long as we make it back up before it gets too dark, we should be fine. Suppose we could always rest with the Garif if it gets too late.

[AlteredTundra]

His forced silence was making it hard to gauge just what exactly he was trying to tell her and Lorenzo's bothersome battlecry wasn't helping, either. but with all of his obvious faults, at least him venturing all across Ozmone brought him to the entrance to Zertinan. Little did he know, Savayna and Grant were already aware of where it was located. Unlike them, Lorenzo didn't go off battling monsters, wasting that excess energy of his. However, maybe it was for the best. Better he blows off all of that steam in the open and kills all of the monsters than cause a ruckus in the caverns. in Zertinan, the wrong amount of force applied to an unstable area could be disastrous for the already shoddy-foundation that the caverns had.

Savayna glanced up to the sky, noticing how beautiful it looked with the different shades of pink and violet swirling with the darkened blue, and how the stars were starting to come through. It was just the final illumination that Ozmone would get before it surrendered to nature and darkness would take over - just like how the trio would surrender to the dark caves as only dim lighting awaited their periphery.

And so Savayna descended where Grant and Lorenzo had.

It was damp, water coated the dirty ground, and whispers from all over could be heard. This wasn't necessarily as dark as she thought it would be, though. last time she was here, it was with Jaakuna - or following him. She wasn't necessarily sure what the circumstances were. She did remember it was darker then. Maybe because of Lorenzo's lightning, it wasn't nearly as dark. "So, where can we find this thing that Sonosis Magicite comes from?" Savayna asked Lorenzo.

[Hero]

Grant let out a small cough, the difference between the plain and the Caverns was staggering. He peered through the darkness, his eyes roaming around as Lorenzo would finally come to a halt. He had, whether intentionally or not, become a living lightsource; the lightning continue to crackle and spark every so often, though he still seemed jittery. He took one look around, crossing his arms for a moment, though he would uncross them, hands on his hips triumphantly. He probably thought they were at the entrance. Grant figured, reading his brother like an open book.

"They like the light, so I thought they would be pretty close to the entrance," Lorenzo stated. I knew it. Grant couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Well, not like we have to go that far in. They usually come in packs, too, so just make sure they don't overwhelm you. We just need one good Sonosis Magicite--but don't go killing them too harshly, otherwise the magicite will just crumble inside them." He said rather wisely, almost sounding normal for a moment.

Headshots shouldn't damage the magicite, Grant couldn't help but think smugly as he brought out his gun, ensuring he had enough bullets. He nodded at Lorenzo, who let out a cheer, though he would continue inwards, looking for any signs of the toad-like monsters.

[AlteredTundra]

"Then Grant should do the deed." Savayna quickly stated, giving him a nod. "Let's face it, Sparkles: we're too erratic with our fighting tactics. You like to punch and punch and I get carried away. Grant, however, is focused and minimal, not to mention he's the only one of us who uses a gun." She added, staring rather sternly at Lorenzo.

She joined Grant in the search for toad monsters. Since Lorenzo said they were looking for a toad or frog-looking beast. After a few moments of looking around, there didn't seem to be one near them, so the likely option would be to bring it to them. "Larry, make it shine in here but don't make the cavern come down on us, got it?" Savayna ordered him. "And then, Grant, when you see it and have it in clear shot, take it right in the center of its fat head."

With her usual demeanor, they probably forgot that Savayna was a master tactician. Half the time, she forgot it herself, but teh fact remained was that she felt at home ordering people around. Grant and Lorenzo were no exception to this.

[Hero]

"Wow! You're actually smart!" Lorenzo stated, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "No wonder Grant likes you so much, he's a goddamn nerd. Anyways! Let's light this place up then!"

If he continued to roll his eyes, Grant was more than sure they'd end up getting stuck. Instead he would nod at the pair, gun at the ready as Lorenzo would rub his hands faster. For a moment, he wasn't entirely sure what he was going until Lorenzo's hands were literally crackling with lightning. A bright ball of lightning was formed, and Lorenzo would throw it into the air. It hit the ceiling, causing some dirt to shift down, though they would be surprised as the lightning would fizz out over the air, illuminating their current area. Lorenzo nodded, the area effectively been lit up much better now.

"We search the area for now, then, if there's none, we move on," Lorenzo said. "I can light the place up at anytime! Hmm...I feel like I'm forgetting something, I know we have to be careful of their numbers, but there was something else..."

[AlteredTundra]

"That's not the only reason he likes me," Savayna smirked Lorenzo's way, somewhat nudging Grant. Despite him being silent, she could hear him condemning her for that comment, followed by an obvious scowl.

Savayna had simply shrugged as Lorenzo and Grant did as she commanded. While the blond would conjure up a thunderball, he gently - or what he thought was gentle - up to the ceiling that caused a few pieces of rock to fall on them. It had the same feel and amount of force as harmless gravel. She was about to berate him, but then she saw her plan worked. The ball of lightning did what it was meant to and lit up the cavern like a tree for Archades Day.

Hearing Lorenzo speak, Savayna nodded. She would then move forward with the Rozarrian brothers beside her as the light continued to illuminate the cavern darkness. However, she couldn't help but wonder about what he said. What was it that he forgot? Hopefully, it wasn't anything too serious. She didn't want to run into any surprises for this very simple mission. All they needed to do was get one piece of that special magicite and then they could get out of the caverns as soon as possible.

And then, as they came to a turn, there was one in front of them. "Okay, there's one. Get ready, Grant."

[Hero]

Grant nodded in response to Savayna's call, bringing his gun to eye level. He would grasp it with both hands, eyes narrowing slightly as he would take his aim. Inhaling softly, he steadied himself as his finger touched the trigger. As the toad came to a halt, he saw his chance. However, in the instant that he pulled the trigger, a shadow had slipped behind the still monster. His shot rang through the air, though he would surprise his brother and girlfriend by immediately taking a second. The first shot zipped through the monster, but as it fell, his second bullet seemed to have grazed another Speartongue, though before it could react, a jaw unhinged itself and swallowed it whole.

His eyes widened, recognizing the snake as it slithered beneath the surface, though that wasn't the only thing they had to worry about, as several other Speartongues would appear, presumably to avenge their fallen comrade. One croaked, and the rest followed suit, hopping towards the group. Lorenzo looked around as Grant would take charge of getting rid of the Speartongues, essentially sniping as each one tried to approach them. "Oi, what's wrong?" He asked, recognizing the uneased look on Lorenzo's face.

There was something else! He wanted to yell, though as a shadow appeared to his left, Grant raised his gun and shot at the ceiling. A Marilith slithered about, revealing itself to them, though as Grant was distracted, more Speartongues approached.

"Grant!" Lorenzo suddenly shouted as Grant turned around to find three Speartongues in front of him. As he raised his gun to aim, the Speartongue spat out a bubble. "DON'T!" Lorenzo's second call came a fraction of a second too late as Grant shot at the bubble. It bursted, a mist surrounding it, and as Grant coughed, he felt his whole body suddenly losing energy. He then dropped to the ground, asleep. "GRANT!"

[AlteredTundra]

It all appeared to go according to plan. The Speartongue was in sight and Grant aimed carefully, then shot at it. In that moment, all seemed well. She was actually starting to think how easy this was going to be. Maybe it was actually going to go without any complications. So in that, Savayna wouldn't close her eyes just so she'd be able to savor the moment. However, as her ears waited and waited to hear the vibrations of the firearm sounding off through the hollow walls of the cavern and the sound of steel piercing flesh, immediately, she noticed something was wrong because neither of those things happened. It only took her a moment to catch a shadow arise from behind the toad.

Moments later, as everything unfolded, the visage of a viper-looking monster came into the illumination from Lorenzo's magick and it was huge. No larger than Savayna remembered the deceased Judge Magister Robur was. Of course, nowhere nearly as bulky, but it was tall as he was, not to mention as ugly, too. Distracted by it, Savayna hadn't noticed the gathering of more Speartongues. By the time she did realize this, there were almost a dozen of them. One had shot a bubble out from their mouth and Savayna nor Lorenzo would be able to stop what happened next.

THUD

Grant's body fell to the ground. Hard. Apparently, the liquid held a sleeping side-effect. Whoever was hit by it would feel the effects of it and find themselves on a one-way ticket to the land of Sleepytown. Just as she was going to pull out a spare awakening she had in her left pocket, she noticed one of the Speartongues lept for her. Unprepared and defenseless, Savayna looked and then, as if sensing her notion to be protected, Mateus was summoned and his trident sliced through it cleanly.

Looking at the fallen toad beast, Savayna was thankful for that, but at the same time, she was in despair because now they had to find another one for the Sonosis Magicite.

"Apologies, Savayna. I know you needed it alive, but, well you were going to die, so sorry but not sorry." Mateus said, disguising his snark as an apology.

She scowled at Mateus as she gave GRant the awakening. When his eyes started to open, she kept her own on them. When she would get the non-verbal cues that he was okay, she stood up with him. "Next time, don't shoot the snot bubble." She warned him.

And so they were back at it again. Mateus with his trident and floating in the air, Savayna wielding her Ice Queen Sword, Grant had his gun, and Lorenzo his lightning aura and fists. It was an all-out battle from here on. The goal? To retrieve an unharmed SOnosis Magicite.

Ready? FIGHT!

[Hero]

Grant opened his eyes, his head spinning. What happened? He was surprised to see Savayna looking down at him, and it took him a moment to remember what had happened. Great, those stupid bubbles must have been what Lorenzo couldn't remember. As he stood, he looked at the Marilith once more, then at the bundle of Speartongues, and let out a tiny, muted sigh. Okay, the situation wasn't as bad as it looked. Sure, it makes getting the Sonosis Magicite a lot harder, but it was more under control than before. He snapped his fingers at Lorenzo, pointing at Savayna, and then at the Marilith. He then motioned to himself, and spread his hands over the damned toads.

"I should've known this wouldn't be straightforward," Lorenzo commented as lightning ran around his gloves. "But I think I've got the gist of what you want. I'll unleash my fury on that snake!"

The prince rolled his eyes yet again, though he turned his attention back to the Speartongues. Taking in a breath, he raised his gun once more, holding it with both hands. Lorenzo wasn't kidding when he said they came in packs--there were easily a good dozen left. Focusing his magicks, he shot once, aiming towards the center. A Darkga erupted, spreading them out loosely. Spotting one slightly farther than the rest, he readied another shot, though rather than kill, he gave it a taste of its own medicine, putting it to sleep by shooting its leg. He reloaded, taking aim once more, though this time he focused entirely on his targets. Every time a bullet was shot, another Speartongue hit the ground. One by one they each fell, Grant concentrating on the closer ones.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo went charging in. The Marilith was slightly faster, dodging his lightning-charged fist, and sending him into the wall. The area shook from the force of his attack, and he let out a yelp as he dodged a fallen rock. "Oi! Savanna! Freeze this thing so I can kill it already!" He yelled as he gave chase.

[AlteredTundra]

"And another one bites the dust."

With combined efforts of Hume and Esper, the Speartongues fell one by one. Grant took out several of them with a Darkja and a ray of bullets from his gun. Mateus nabbed three of them with one swing of his mighty trident, their cries envigorating the merman esper. Savayna fed off of Mateus' joyous warcry as she too let out one of her own, blasting speartongue after speartongue with her magick and swinging her Ice Queen sword at them. If they weren't sliced to bits by her masterful swordswomanship, then they were frozen then sliced to tiny chunks of ice. This would continue until just a few remained.

And as soon as she would eye them, the toads seemed unfazed. This brought a smile to her face as she gave Mateus a devious look. The two might bicker, but boy did they love killing monsters. It was what they bonded over. Plus, they had this rivalry going on. who could kill the most before the bell rung? Only one way to find out!

Savayna rushed and Mateus did the same, but midstep, Lorenzo called out to her, flat out ordering her to freeze the Marilith. She huffed, but she noticed that it would be easy. However, Mateus cackled as he eyed it too. Savayna looked to him, irate. "No, he called me. I'm going to freeze it."

"Your aim sucks. Besides, you stole one of my kills. I should get this one."

"Merman please, you blocked my shot. You're lucky I didn't cave us in with my last shot."

As they kept bickering, little did either of them know they had unleashed their respective blizzaga towards the snake beast. Sure, they froze it where it had been pinned, but due to their egos flaring, the freezing area of effect also included Lorenzo and - well, as Savayna would look over, assuming she did her duty - she noticed that he was frozen with a petrified expression his face. "You see, now look at what you did, you egotistical asswipe!" Savayna snapped at Mateus.

"I'm not the one with the bad aim." Mateus retorted with a pout, turning his head around as if like a child.

"Oh sure, like that's going to solve any problems." She huffed, looking to Lorenzo and the snake beast. "You'll be fine," she said, sighing as she refocused on the beasts in front of them. "Grant, Mateus - just let Larry freeze for now. He needed to chill out, anyway. Let's just focus on the Speartongues." She told them. "we'll distract two of them, Mateus, and Grant you'll take the other one. And this time don't shoot the icky snot bubble, okay?" She reminded him of his past mistake. "ready...GO!" And her and Mateus took off, taking on the two on the left and right respectively. Using enhancements from their magick, the two would pierce their two respective Speartongues against the furthest wall, killing them instantly.

That only left one for Grant to deal with and no other distractions. You got this, Grant.

[Hero]

Good to see Savayna hadn't gotten Grant's notice. God, he wanted his voice back.

He ignored Lorenzo's wail, assuming he probably got frozen in place and confirmed by some grunting, though the silence was what really nailed it. Can't they ever get through anything smoothly? As he aimed for the next Speartongue, Mateus form appeared. It was a good thing Grant hesitated, though he watched Savayna with a slight scowl as he lowered his gun. There was no sating that bloodlust of hers, was there? She seemed to be enjoying herself, though as she chided him, he shook his head, though rather than aim at the last monster, he instead turned around. Taking aim, he shot through the Marilith, an instant kill as it shattered, and he gave Savayna a look. At least finisht eh job, woman! He chided her mentally, though as he turned back to the still sleeping Speartongue, he shot right through its head.

Letting out another sigh, he approached it, gun still in hand. The Caverns had gotten a lot quieter now--he could hear Lorenzo's grunting starting up again once more. He reached into his pack, taking out a sharp knife, and looked at the Speartongue. This was going to be disgusting, wasn't it? Bracing himself, he sliced it open, nearly gagging as it practically spilled its guts. How magicite stays there is beyond me... He thought, tenderly picking up the slime-covered magicite. He held it up for Savayna to see, though was clearly displeased. This was gross.

[AlteredTundra]

With the death, albeit more personal, of the final Speartongue, Mateus had faded away and Savayna flipped him as he did. After he was gone, she snapped her left index, middle, and thumb fingers to cease the ice that had Lorenzo frozen. Whether he would catch himself before falling was on him. The important thing was that Grant seemed to have what they needed. So she'd happily go over to him, seeing for herself exactly what it looked like. Upon viewing it, however, she echoed his nauseated expression. The slime, the goo - it was going to make her hurl up the breakfast she had earlier in the day.

"So, that's supposed to make you talk, huh?" She joked, giving him a laugh.

Savayna sprayed some misty water magick over it while in Grant's hand. As the brown and forest green slime washed off, the magicite would slowly be revealed. To her surprise, it didn't look like any magicite she had seen. The Sonosis Magicite was flat and it swirled to the top like a spiral dome. It had deep ridges starting at the top that led to the flat surface. It was as big as Grant's palm and it didn't have the same shine that typical magicite had.

"I wonder--" as she spoke, the magicite had a gleam of pure white, specks of magick shooting from the top. When she stayed silent, it went away. "I see, so that's how it works. It responds to sound." Savyana said as low as she could muster, seeing Lorenzo finally join them. She would gesture him to be shush.

[Hero]

"That's Sonisis for you, Lorenzo said in a hushed voice, rummaging in his bag for the unfinished device. He would take the magicite from Grant, plopping onto the ground. After placing the magicite where it needed to be, he would charge the device with his mist. Taking a few tools out, he would adjust the device and fine tune a few things. Grant watched him, slightly nervous. As much as he wanted Lorenzo to hurry up, he couldn't help but feel that this had better be worth it. He wasn't usually impatient, but being voiceless for so long was getting the better of him.

Lorenzo would cough, though as he would beckon Grant to come closer, he would show off the finished product. It looked more like a choker than anything, though he didn't care what it looked like. Fastening it around Grant's neck, he signaled for Grant to speak. "If all goes well, you should be able to speak. In theory." He told the pair. When Grant gave him an incredulous look, Lorenzo dismissed his concern with a wave. "Go on, say something."

Grant opened his mouth slowly, bracing himself. "H-Hello...?" As he spoke, and much to Lorenzo's surprise, his voice was...ah...rather high pitched. "Wh-wha--why does my voice sound like that?!"

"it's a workaround, not an actual solution," Lorenzo seemed disappointed, though understanding the situation. "Whatever is blocking your voice from speaking is Mist related, it's causing interference. I had a hunch, but..."

Lorenzo was taking this well all things considered. Grant groaned, his hands on his head. He didn't know what was worse, being mute or sounding very much like a teenage girl.

[AlteredTundra]

Throughout the day, Jaakuna and Emiri, though they actually had gone to bed for a few hours, had spent the entirety of the evening until nightfall came planning how they would sneak out and what they would bring with him. They both agreed that the best thing for Jaakuna to bring was his new, fancy sword that ended up becoming less of a burden than he thought it would. Originally, it was a large sword, but it bent to his will to become lighter to accommodate his fighting style. After that was settled, they simply would feign unconsciousness until they were certain that everyone had gone to sleep.

And then they would execute their plan, which was a simple one. Once everyone had retired for the night, they would wake up and sneak past the guard patrol through the halls of the royal palace; which seemed a lot easier than it should’ve been. The next step would use the secret entrance to Lowtown that was on the west wing of the palace and down a flight of stairs. Emiri so happily lets Jaakuna in on this secret during their preliminary planning stages. Going through there was easy enough. No one knew about it, so it wasn’t guarded.

The pair would make their way into Lowtown and after they met with Old Dalan, explaining where they were going, he gave them his blessing. From that point on, it was to the teleporting crystal and setting a path to Jahara. It only took a few moments for them to spawn in the secret village of the Garif. The crystal alerted the Garif, to which Jaakuna and Emiri quickly evaded due to their vitality being better than them. Plus, as soon as they had set foot on the land, a cloaking spell was placed on them, hiding them from the view of the Garif patrolmen.

And with swift running, Jaakuna and Emiri ran out of Jahara, the cloaking spell ending just as they ran into the night, heading towards Henne Mines, unaware that they were found out…

Jaakuna stopped briefly, hearing the musings from Emiri. “Oh it’s nothing, I thought I heard something. Probably was just the wind.” He gave her a smile as they continued forth.

---

Savayna could have sworn that Lorenzo was just like Jaakuna when he went to work on whatever invention that he was working on. Just like Jaakuna was during the time he spent in his own respective garage as he built some of the many weapons that Archadia used, Lorenzo was as serious as her ex-husband was. He fit the magcite into the contraption that would go around Grant’s neck. He tripped some of the magicite off to make it fit and after a few moments of tweaking with it, he approached his brother, clicking it on his neck.

The suspense was so thick you could cut it with a knife and still not trim it down at all. She waited, giving Grant all of her undivided attention, eager to hear him speak. And as he opened up his mouth, though she heard sound coming from his mouth, it was not what she expected. Unlike his deep, eloquent voice that was pristine and what royalty sounded like, he had a whiny, complaining, completely befitting of all of the whining and complaining he did. The voice was so high, it made most teenage girls sound like a guy.

And as Grant would question why it was so high, Savayna couldn’t help it: she fell to her knees, bursting into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, coughing because of the severity of her cackling. “Come on, say something else, Granella.” Savayna teased him, looking to Lorenzo. “Larry, forgive me, I didn’t think you’d be able to do it, but you’ve truly given Grant the voice that matches his moping.” She gave him a thumbs up as she went back to Grant’s gaze, who seemed to be pouting. “Oh, come on, you got your voice back. It might not be what you’re expecting, but as he said, it’s only a temporary solution until you figure out what is actually wrong with you.”

After a few more moments of getting it out of her system, Savayna would lead the two brothers back through the way they came. Going of a ridge within the caverns, they came up from the entrance of Zertinan to Ozmone, and it had gotten pitch black.

“Just as Grant feared.” Savayna expressed her disappointment, looking directly at Lorenzo. “This is all your fault. Had you not forgotten about the Speartongue’s snot bubble side effects, we would’ve made it in time to Jahara before it was nightfall.” She scowled, bonking him over the head. Savayna made a huff forward. There was still enough light for them to see a path to Jahara. “Come on. Perhaps we can plead with the Garif to give us sanctuary for the remainder of the night. We can suggest it’s a matter of diplomatic urgency..” She mischievously cackled, starting to walk forward, huffing and puffing herself to leadership once again. Thankfully, there was a light coming from Jahara that made it just a little easier for her.

The light remained active long enough for the trio to make it to Jahara. They were about to enter the sacred village, but Savayna heard the stomping noise of one or two pairs of footsteps originating from Jahara, but it came for Savayna and the boys. As if to hide from it, she pulled the boys behind a mountain formation but sneakily glanced at who or what it was. To her surprise, she saw familiar golden hair and a recognizable red jacket.

“What the fuck?” She stated, irate. What on Ivalice were these two doing here? “We’re following them.” Savayna suggested, though it was more of an order. The blonde, instead of going towards Jahara like they originally planned, went to follow Jaakuna and Emiri. Whatever they were up to, she wanted to know.

[Hero]

"I'm slightly more concerned about the interference," Lorenzo outright admitted as Grant stared at the sky. "I made some slight adjustments to counteract it, but its a lot more extreme than I realized. Whatever's blocking your voice is determined to keep you mute for a very, very long time. I'll put it this way: without my adjustments, you still wouldn't have been able to make a peep." Grant groaned once more. This couldn't be happening. The humiliation was too much. He followed Lorenzo and Savayna, sulking, though he was quite alarmed when Savayna would suddenly yank him behind the rocks. As he was about to question it, he noticed Jaakuna as well, with a familiar looking woman with him. Lorenzo squinted at them, a small frown on his face as he scratched his chin. "Who's that chick with Jaakie?" He asked quietly.

"Probably Emiri?" Admittedly, Grant hadn't gotten the same look the other two did--only spotting their hair colors. Considering the only other dark haired person in their group was Wesley, it was safe to reason this.

"Was it? She looked older than Elizabeth," Lorenzo seemed lost in thought. "Am I losing my mind...? I thought she was only slightly older than Nadeline, but..."

It was then the pair realized that Savayna had gone ahead, the brothers quietly following suit. Grant watched Jaakuna, noticing that they were in quite a hurry. Where were they going? It was then he got a better look at Emiri. He now understood Lorenzo's confusion--she really did look older. How? Putting the possibilities to the side, he seemed to realize the direction they were headed. The Golmore Jungle was in the other direction, and considering they had just come from the Zertinan Caverns, it was safe to say that wasn't where they were going. "It looks like they're headed towards the Henne Mines," Grant informed the two quietly.

Meanwhile, Emiri found herself quite enjoying their escapade. Considering that nearly every other time they're split from the group, it was hardly just her and Jaakuna. It was quieter, sure, but it was easier stealth-wise, at least. Her uneasiness seemed to rise the closer they got to their destination, though she managed it well. Jaakuna had believed to hear something in the wind, but she had assumed it was likely a stray monster. As they approached the gorge that separated them from the mines' entrance, she would dig into her pocket. Signaling for Jaakuna to follow suit, she approached the tall grass, waving around the Gyshal Greens.

A soft 'kweh' was heard, Emiri letting out a small squeal as it promptly gobbled the greens. Seeing their chance, she managed to climb onto its back, and once Jaakuna would get on behind her, they would guide the chocobo through the thickets. It seemed to know where they wanted it to take them, and in a moment, the large opening to the Henne Mines was in sight. There was definitely something in there--though as to what it was, who knew.

"Do you feel that?" She asked, shuddering.

[AlteredTundra]

"The only thing I feel is this Chocobo's fur rubbing in places it shouldn't be." Jaakuna itched inside his dark green pants, trying to find that spot that felt the itchiest.

The Chocobo heard Jaakuna's comment and made its trademark kweh noise that Jaakuna had to assume was its way of scowling at him. It huffed as it jumped the gap between the cliff of Ozmone to the entrance to Henne Mines. As it landed, however, it became evident to Jaakuna that the Chocobo was a vengeful creature; for the moment its skinny feet made contact with the ground, it popped up its behind, which sent Jaakuna flying off and landing face-first on the cold grass.

Jaakuna caught himself about a few moments of being on the ground. He saw the Chocobo looking at him with an ever-present smug-like expression. He scowled as the Chocobo denied Jaakuna's attempts to getting on his back. "Emiri, tell this dumb bird to let me on!" Jaakuna demanded, glaring at the Chocobo.

[Hero]

She had to hold back her giggles as she watched Jaakuna try (and fail) to get back on the chocobo. The chocobo let out a rather innocent sounding 'kweh' in response to Jaakuna's statement, as if smugly indicating that it had zero interest in letting him ride. Emiri let out a laugh, petting the chocobo's neck. It was finicky when it came to him, it seemed. Perhaps it was because Jaakuna was holding it wrong? It seemed fine with her riding it. "Be nice, I know he looks rough, but he's a good guy at heart," She assured the chocobo.

The chocobo didn't seem convinced--or rather, it didn't seem to care. Letting out a small sigh, Emiri would jump off, letting out a small cry of surprise as the chocobo would immediately nuzzle her, as if asking her to get back on. "It's not fair to let him walk by himself, now, is it?" She asked the chocobo, letting out a small giggle. "We're over the hole, so we may as well walk the rest of the way."