The Birth of SOLDIER (BC)

[Saerenna]

Sephiroth did what he could to not ride stiffly, so that hopefully his muscles wouldn't become sore, and maybe he'd even get used to it. He offered little in response to Freyr's rambling, making it somewhat of a one-sided conversation. But as long as Freyr didn't mind talking to a teen with the verbosity of a tree, then he wouldn't stop him. Sephiroth's mind wandered from one topic to the next, though not uncontrollably. He went over things he had been taught in SOLDIER. Things like stealth, and different battle techniques depending upon the situation. It helped relieve the tedium of simply riding through various landscapes.  

[Janus HighPriestOfPlayer]

Ragger's bike moved swiftly through the dense terrain, he couldn't see the people he was following, but he knew roughly where they were. He was trying to keep out of sight as he kept up with them, keeping track of their progress. His bike was quieter than some, but still made plenty of noise, which was why he was keeping his distance. His naginata, or 'spear sword', was strapped onto his vehicle, as was his high powered sniper rifle. Both hi weapons of choice. He knew one of the individuals he was tracking, they'd studied under the same master for a time, and they also both knew some of the same friends. In fact one of their mutual friends was the reason he was here, taking notes and recording data for th friend in question.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Freyr kept up a brisk speed and a continuous monolouge. His ability to chat about anything that caught his attention without revealing overly much about himself was stunning. Mentally he kept himself entertained, taking careful note of the surrounding terrain. I think he would be at about the hill now,... he thought to himself, next the small sand-patch alright and the rocks... His mental dialogue tracked the progress of something at the very edge of his heightened hearing. now the bunch of trees and... "Oh wait! the Cliff!" He suddenly blurted, interupting his one-sided conversation with Sephiroth, at that moment they both heard a distinctive "Aaaaaiiiih!" in the distance, that startled cry was followed by a muffled thump, Freyr winced in sympathy with the unseen follower, "I hope the bike's okay..." He muttered cryptically.  

[Saerenna]

Sephiroth's head shot to the side at the sound of the yell, his eyes suddenly focused on more physical things than just passing thoughts. "What was that?" he asked Freyr, trying to see where the cry had come from. His hand was already finding it's way to his new sword, and he was ready to jump off into battle should the need come.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Freyr did not slow down in his pace but turned his head to smile over his shoulder at Sephiroth, "Oh don't worry, that's just our stalker.... I think he'll be alright but he misjudged the distance of that short drop we hoped down earlier." The 'short drop' had been an almost 30 foot cliff Freyr had leapt down in two bounds without slowin down considerably. Freyr gazed in the general direction he was refering to with sympathy, "He'll be feeling that one I think."  

[Saerenna]

"Stalker!?" Sephiroth exclaimed, with more emotion than usual. How did he not notice that they were being followed? He mentally berated himself for not paying enough attention, and resolved to think less self-absorbant thoughts. "Are they dangerous? Who are they allied with? Why didn't you say that before?" he questions Freyr.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Freyr chuckled, "He, does not mean us any harm what-so-ever, and actually I'm personally aquainted with him. He isn't yet aware of my awareness of him, but why don't we say hi when we set up camp tonight?" Freyr was pleasant and calm as ussual but seemed to derrive great amusement from Sephiroth's startlement and alarm. "I didn't mention it earlier because I didn't want to alarm you. Ra.... I mean our stalker is pretty good, and I wanted to see if you would notice yourself."  

[Saerenna]

Sephiroth looked at the sword by his side somewhat ashamedly. He should have noticed. Maybe he should work on noticing things around him all night. But then he wouldn't get any sleep. Daytime it was, then. After all, they were going off to fight Wutains, and he highly doubted that they would stand out in the open and wait for people to attack them. And if they WERE doing that it would be best to stay away, as it would obviously be a trap. He set a goal for himself to see and sense every animal that he could as they continued on.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Freyr continued to grin, they had been heading south for most of this day and the one before, reaching an area of the mountains which was more passable. Freyr paused to 'make camp' and let Sephiroth dismount sooner than ussual. "Alright Seph, go ahead and stretch your legs a bit. I'm going to invite our stalker over for dinner okay?" He chuckled to himself even as he pranced off without waiting for Sephiroth's answer. He dug around in one of their packs until he found an old shirt. Then he removed a marker and began skribbling on the off-white fabric. In no time at all he had a sign that read:

Quote:

Would you like some lotion?... Oil?... IQ?

As puzzling as it seemed to Sephiroth Freyr snickered continuously as he scoured for sticks and secured his odd sign to them, facing it in a generally north-east direction.  

[Saerenna]

Sephiroth decided to just not ask. Freyr could be odd, and maybe now a bit moreso than usual, but he figured he would just trust the chimera on this. Why a sign with an odd question, he had no idea, but again didn't comment. He stretched his cramped legs with a wince, pacing rather than sitting and letting them stiffen again. "So how do you know our stalker? Is he a SOLDIER?" The silver-haired teen ventured to ask.  

[Ermak Lorde]

"Nope. Rag... I mean our stalker is an old aquaintance of mine." Freyr quickly informed him, fidgiting like an over-eager child as he twitched at his sign and snickered to himself. Finally he forced himself to work on their camp, setting up a small shelter and putting together a fire-pitt for some hot food. all the while visably impatient. Finally he grabbed up his Glaive and turned to Sephiroth. "How about we do some sparring before dinner?" He asked with a smile, obviously he was in need of a diversion while he waited.  

[Saerenna]

Sephiroth decided to humor the impatient chimera, and nodded as he fetched his sword. He did a couple stretches, just to make sure that his stiffness from the ride hadn't affected him too much. "Alright." he said, adjusting his grip on Sleipnir. He wasn't in any hurry to meet anyone, and didn't really care what they did. As long as it was within reason. Who knew what Freyr would make them do if Sephiroth wasn't so formal?  

[Janus HighPriestOfPlayer]

Ragger cursed the stupid cliff which apparently had blown his cover. It had to be that, he couldn't think of anything else he'd done which would have made his presence known. The fall had scratched up his bike and caused him to have to spend a few minutes looking for his gun once more. With Mjollinir secured he'd set off after his quary. Already he'd transmitted a sizable amount of data on the two from the previous sparring matches. This kid looked very promising as his employer had always hoped and suspected. When he set himself up on the ridge ignoring the aches and pains from his earlier wipe out he smiled a bit to himself. Maybe they hadn't heard him after all, they were just getting ready to spar and... He saw the makeshift sign and for a moment it made no sense, then realization seemed to dawn on him quickly. That joker thought he was going to get away with this! Not only had he obviously heard him he seemed to have easily identified him. He guessed there was no more need for pretense but he wasn't going to let Freyr off easy. In no time at all he was back on his bike, his naginata "Odin" was in his hand as he revved of the engine and took off at full speed. He flew off the ledge, landing expertly between two trees and was screaming off the short distance to the small camp. He hit the delayed shuttoff button for his bike and stood up on the seat, leaping into the air and coming down at fast speed directly above the chimera as his bike came to a stop to one side. The blade of his dual fighting spear came arcing down in a blow which would have certainly decapitated any lesser creature, but he knew Freyr was no ordinary warrior. The next minute would likely serve to satiate his anger, and hopefully give the jesting beast some wounds and bruises to think about the next few days.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Freyr moved like he knew Ragger was coming, he slid backwards from Sephiroth, blocking his protege's blow expertly while in the same motion leaning forward and drawing his rifle from it's sheath on his back. Ragger's blade clanged against the gun and Freyr's paw swiped with blinding speed, throwing the warrior aside. The chimera made no move to halt his sparring match with Sephiroth but instead welcomed this second challenger with a grin. "Took you long enough Ragger, and I see you're a light-weight as ever." With that he pressed his attack, it quickly became evident that despite his equine portions he was as flexible as a cat all over. Every possible lim became a weapon, and with Ragger he didn't bother to sheath his claws or soften the blows of his hooves. It was a dance one would only see among rivals who knew each other like the backs of their hands. It seemed as though Freyr knew Sephiroth's moves better than he had previously indicated.  

[Saerenna]

Sephiroth was surprised at Freyr's ability to continue a fight with two capable opponents. His idea that this would slow the chimera down resulted in a few barely blocked attacks. So Sephiroth stepped up his own ability, trying to find some way to exploit the fact that Freyr was now fighting two rather than just himself. It also made him wonder what kind of aquaintances these two were. Who exactly was this 'Ragger' person?