Of Chalices, Trees and S'mores

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

Characters: Cissnei, Reno, Zack, Tseng
Progress: Closed; follow-up post here
Summary: The Turks are out and about, investigating Cissnei's Crystal Chalice
Location: Qu's Marsh and the routes in-between
Date: September 30, 1804
Warnings: Reno cussing, Cissnei being somewhat emotional, violence and monster killing


After Reno helped Sephiroth to settle in at the mansion in Lindblum, the two began to trek to Qu's Marsh. According to amassed information, there was a strange tree at the Marsh. Maybe it's a Myrrh tree like the ones the Selkies spoke of? They wouldn't know until they got there. The Chalice had been such a mystery to Cissnei, and now that a total of three people had a Chalice, there surely had to be a reason why they all found one.

They walked across terrains, talking of nothing and everything, sometimes staying silent for the sake of Cissnei, who sometimes truly could not handle Reno's confusing motormouth. It was turning late, a little too late, but luckily they managed to get most of the way to the Marsh. Both decide that it was a good time to stop and rest and finish the rest of the trip the next morning.

Cissnei starts to set out her sleeping bag underneath a large tree they came across. "Hey, Reno... Um..." She pauses and tries to figure out how to word her question without offending him. Rufus seemed quite flat about what he told her. "Rufus... Rufus told me that Veld's daughter was behind AVALANCHE. When? Why?"

Comments

[fairesthero.livejournal.com]

After the hug from Cissnei, and thanks the gods, she seemed to be in a lot better shape now, Zack accepted the spoils of their fight. He stored the potions away and gave Reno a small smile when he was given the dragon fang. He didn't want to come off as smug for dealing the final blow, and holding the prize didn't help matters.

Quietly, he stored it away, as well. "I'll make sure to give you guys a share." And that was that. He watched the Turks go on with their conversation, and how they fell into their familiar role. Zack had always had a shaky relationship with the Turks, but now that he had taken a step back and was able to witness them, and see them happy, he realized they were really close. They really were a family.

He gave them space and smiled gently, feeling his adrenaline start to wear off, but his previously wounded arm started to twinge in discomfort. It was healed for the most part, but now that the excitement was over, that internal pain was coming back in full force. He simply held it with his free hand, not wanting to bring attention to himself.

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

Cissnei shook her head when Zack mentioned splitting the prize. "It's yours, Zack, we have our prize." She took the Chalice out of the black pack, carefully holding it in both hands. "Time to collect some myrrh."

She led the way towards the tree, skirting dead monsters and jumping over little tufts of mud and swamp. When she approached the tree, she noticed a huge slab of stone set just in front of it, right below where two of the points met. The slab had a small insertion, just the right size for a Chalice to fit in. "Cross your fingers," she called out when she placed the Chalice on the slab.

In moments, both the tree and the Chalice began to glow. Beams of light began to shoot around in a net-like pattern as if it were energizing. Cissnei's jaw dropped at the scene, as it looked very much like "...The Lifestream." She didn't mean to say it out loud, but she did. The tips that met began to glow and shift into a bright white color. One single, shining drop fell into the small crystal that hovered above the Chalice. The Crystal Chalice was filled a third of the way up when Cissnei removed it from the slab.

"I think it's time we called it a day, don't you think?"