Unappreciated - Sephiroth/Zack Title: Unappreciated Authors:skeren and icedark_elf Characters: Sephiroth and Zack Fair (matched as above) Fandom: Final Fantasy Seven Theme Set: HW1 Theme(s): 22 Invincible Warnings and Notes: Grumpy boys in this part. Again.
Zack: *Is exhausted. Hadn't gotten any real sleep at all the night before, and they had been up and moving all day. Even if Sephiroth was listening for danger, Zack hadn't relaxed at all, and his entire body was telling him just how exhausted he was. All the muscles were tight and knotting up, and that wasn't helping his ribs or his headache at all. Now his eyes are starting to burn, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay up too much longer. Normally this wouldn't have been too bad of a problem, but not with the injuries on top of the lack of sleep. So he staggered up. It seemed like night was half through, so he could wake the other man up without feeling too guilty and leave him to watch the rest of the night. Slowly crouches next to him and shakes a shoulder* Hey, your shift.
Sephiroth: ::Reacts immediately, jerking away from the contact, but he didn't lash out, a low growl in his chest audible, though he eased out of the almost attack stance when he registered who it was. Nodding sharply, he moved back and rolled up to sit and moved to a better position. At least his sight was more or less starting to come back. Though, that could be because it was dark out.::
Zack: *dry tone* So glad you are one of those chipper, happy morning people. *moves to settle next to a tree, hissing slightly as he got as comfortable as he could* Wonder if there is any possible way of convincing the showers to give up actual hot water instead of luke-warm mud when we get back.
Sephiroth: Use fire materia. ::He found a nice spot and sat, still feeling vaguely sore, though nothing like the day before::
Zack: Fine. Can I borrow yours? *shuts his eyes*
Sephiroth: ::He quieted for a moment.:: Fine.
Zack: *actually opens his eyes again, blinking in surprise, then grinned faintly* Thank you in advance, then. *shuts his eyes again, trying to relax enough to actually try to get the sleep his body was demanding*
Sephiroth: ::Doesn't say a word, just frowning at him a moment before turning his attention back outward and settling to watch for the night. He had no intention of keeping the teen awake further::
Zack: *dozes, though doesn't sleep too deeply. Twitches at any loud sounds, but is counting on Sephiroth to keep him from being eaten by anything, so doesn't wake up fully.*
Sephiroth: ::ends up in a bit of a trance by the time the sun came around, but manages to shake himself out of it for the most part, circling camp to determine anything like fruit that might be nearby::
Zack: *continues to snooze, but is starting to wake up a little more, as he can hear the movement around him. Didn't want to wake up, cause knew would be in a world of hurt when he did, and he really didn't like that idea.*
Sephiroth: ::finally comes back and sets the things he found down and considers how to wake his companion. He started away a few paces:: Zack.
Zack: *mutters and slowly drags himself to full awareness, shifting as he did* Ow. Fuck. *Oh, he had been right on the whole hurt thing.* Hey there. *He focused on what the man had gotten, blinking.* Wow.
Sephiroth: Hmm. ::doesn't say anything else, instead picking up a piece, he hadn't gotten many, to start on, commencing with ignoring him::
Zack: *Isn't really feeling all that hungry, but pushes himself up anyway. Hells, by the time he got all this really fixed, he was going to have knots from where things just remembered pain. Not hungry, but grabs a piece anyway and nibbles on it, eyes blank as he figured out which way they should be going from here*
Sephiroth: ::Watches him without actually looking at him, pleased to note he could make out more of the teen's features now, more easily as well, than he could yesterday::
Zack: *Gets his bearings and sighs quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to make the headache fade. Stupid copter crash. Checking his pocket to make sure he still had the dog-tags, he nodded to himself* Whenever you're ready.
Sephiroth: ::Slight nod and gets to his feet, picking up the last bit of the food and looking down to the other man expectantly::
Zack: How's your sight today?
Sephiroth: It has improved to a decent extent.
Zack: *Nods* How many fingers am I holding up? *Holds up his hand*
Sephiroth: ::He focused a bit, managing to actually get his hand to focus in his sight:: Three
Zack: All right. *starts off for camp, grimacing as he did. Okay, would limber up as they went along, but ow.*
Sephiroth: ::falls into step behind him, fully capable of seeing his feet now, so he wasn't as slow::
Zack: *As they walk, takes out a few of the stones he had collected at the spring the day before.* Here, if you want these, something to throw at anything that might attack us. Never leaving camp without the Buster again.
Sephiroth: Advisable considering the circumstances. ::accepts the rocks::
Zack: *Yawns, but slowly settles into a good pace, now that Sephiroth seemed to be able to track better. If they were lucky, they'd make it to camp sometime the next morning.* So, what do you think brought us down?
Sephiroth: Magic tucked into inadequately scouted areas. That or it was sabotage, one or the other.
Zack: I don't remember hearing anything too odd before we started going down, and neither of the crew seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Sephiroth: Then likely magic.
Zack: *Nods* Thought as much. *Rubs his ribs absently* So, now that you are seeing better, any other issues? I'm sure I'll be asked how I broke you. *is starting to get his sense of humor back, and really was trying to clamp down on the sarcasm.*
Sephiroth: No new problems, no. I'm mending.
Zack: That's good. I think when we get back, I'm going to borrow that fire materia, take a nice, hot shower, and sleep for a week. *He wouldn't, but it was a nice daydream. Maybe he'd even get to take that shower eventually.*
Sephiroth: ::He just arched an eyebrow at him with that announcement and hummed noncommittally, staring here and there to see if he could see past immediate distance:: Are you having any issues that I should be aware of?
Zack: *Shrugs* Cracked ribs. Long enough that I don't feel really safe setting them with materia.
Sephiroth: ::nods slightly and takes note of it, but otherwise falls quiet as they tramped through the greenery. He had nothing to say::
Zack: *sighs and wishes the man was a bit more talkative* What did you think of the reports?
Sephiroth: Before we crashed? ::glances to him::
Zack: *Turns his head to give him a look of "duh" before looking ahead again.*
Sephiroth: ::Considers the question, though falls quiet, a small frown crossing his face as he tried to remembered what exactly the reports were, it coming more sluggishly back to mind than he really was expecting::
Zack: Weren't paying a damn bit of attention to me, were you?
Sephiroth: I was. ::glares at him:: More than I seemed to be. ::rubs his temple a bit, annoyed with himself::
Zack: Hmm. *Just gives a soft hum and keeps moving. He wasn't sure if he believed the man.*
Sephiroth: ::Finally gives up on it:: What were the reports about?
Zack: Incoming SOLDIER personal and spy reports on Wutai movements. *Keeps moving, not looking back. Had been getting his humor back, but that looked shot to hell. Wonderful.*
Sephiroth: ::Is... relieved. He'd remembered at least part of that, and he relaxed a bit, not liking the mass of problems the crash caused. He'd be most displeased if they kept up:: I'm going to have to go back through them, if there are any copies at least ::a murmur::
Zack: *Hums again.* Of course. I'm not that irresponsible.
Sephiroth: ::Frowns at him:: I don't recall stating you were.
Zack: I didn't take the originals with us.
Sephiroth: Good. ::comes to a still for a moment and rubs his forehead. He hated concussions, certainly hated recovering from them. Discerning that things stopped aching worse, he resumed his step::
Zack: *Continues on quietly. So loved having implied incompetence like that. As if he would drag the originals around like that? It wasn't like they didn't have three or four copies of the things.*
Sephiroth: ::Just settles into walking in silence again, listening intently to their surroundings and trying to ward off the renewed headache at once::
Zack: *Does glance back at him from time to time.* We should stop for lunch soon.
Sephiroth: ::Makes a sound of affirmative, finally looking back at the other::
Zack: *Keeps going till they hit another spring. Decides this is a good spot and nods to himself.* Here look good?
Sephiroth: ::nods slightly and is relieved to come to a standstill, closing his eyes and just settling his head while he has the opportunity::
Zack: *Crouches carefully and uses the water to rinse his face, sipping at it as well.* How you doing?
Sephiroth: Fine. ::holds his hand over his eyes for a moment before dropping it to his side and moving to the water edge to drink himself::
Zack: No offense, but you are a horrid liar. At least at the moment.
Sephiroth: Simply a headache.
Zack: You want the Restore again?
Sephiroth: ::Considers, then shakes his head:: It would make it worse, not better.
Zack: All right. *Tries to relax as best he could.*
Sephiroth: ::sips more at the water, listening, but he finally looked around for prospective food::
Zack: *Drinks another handful of water. Should eat something, but still not hungry. Maybe for dinner.*
Sephiroth: ::Finally rights himself and starts to pick his way near the spring for edibles::
Zack: *Lets him, not moving, and soaking up the cool that drifted off the patch of moving water.*
Sephiroth: ::finally finds something and comes back to just sit, picking at the items and offering the other a bit of it::
Zack: *Takes it, but doesn't eat, eyes shutting.*
Sephiroth: ::watches him for a moment before finishing the food in his hands, ignoring the way his stomach twisted. He knew it wasn't the food causing it, so it wasn't something to address::
Zack: *Another drink of water, and then looks at the other man* Whenever you are ready?
Sephiroth: ::makes sure his stomach was entirely under control before getting to his feet:: Ready.
Zack: *straightens slowly* All right. *starts walking again.* Next clearing I'll go up another tree. *and that was going to hurt. Didn't remember it hurting nearly this bad yesterday.*
Sephiroth: ::a small nod, and he started after him, studying the way the teen was moving::
Zack: *Was pretty sure it was just the muscles slowly knotting up. Glances back from time to time, and frowns.* What?
Sephiroth: ::blinks back:: What?
Zack: I'm not so blind as to not notice when people are watching me, Sephiroth.
Sephiroth: Good ::still not sure what he was asking about::
Zack: So why were you?
Sephiroth: Is there a reason I shouldn't have been?
Zack: *shrugs* Seems like lately the only time I get watched like that is to see if I mess up.
Sephiroth: ::blinks:: No.
Zack: *hums softly and pauses when they come into a clearing that will work.* This is going to not feel good at all. *starts up a tree*
Sephiroth: ::eyes him, but doesn't interfere, just going to the base of the tree as he gets up far enough::
Zack: *clings like mad* We're still going the right way. I think we're making better time, too.
Sephiroth: ::keeps an eye on the blur that was Zack once he got far enough up his details fuzzed::
Zack: *comes back down, hissing as he hit the ground.* All right. We might make it back to camp by tomorrow if we keep this up, Seph. *rubs his side absently, looking the direction of camp.*
Sephiroth: ::Eyeing him seriously::
Zack: *blinks at him.* What?
Sephiroth: Did you just foreshorten my name?
Zack: Um...yeah.
Sephiroth: ....Why?
Zack: Cause your name is long, and I like Seph.
Sephiroth: ::frowns at him:: But it's not my name.
Zack: It is. Just shorter.
Sephiroth: No. Shorter makes it another name.
Zack: It's still distinctly your name. More your name than a nickname.
Sephiroth: ::frowns more:: I don't have nicknames.
Zack: Oh, you have nicknames. Just none people will call you to your face cause you do that scary glare look and managed to threaten impalement without doing a thing. *nods*
Sephiroth: My name is Sephiroth. Nothing else.
Zack: Sure...Seph. *wicked grin, feeling better again, and starts walking for camp once more.*
Sephiroth: ::Growls darkly, then starts after him::
Zack: *chuckles softly. That had felt good, actually. Let the other man know he wasn't invincible to everything.*
Sephiroth: ::just continues to glare at him for a while::
Zack: *just keeps going, pleased. At least that had gotten a real reaction.*
Sephiroth: ::Gives up the effort after a bout of hiking, going back to focusing fully on their surroundings::
Zack: So, think they are panicked over us yet? Well, you, at least?
Sephiroth: Very likely there is concern. They'll delay reporting.
Zack: *a nod* That's good. Now to get back before they do report.
Sephiroth: That would be best ::Doesn't even want to think of the sort of consequence that would be attempted if he was marked as deceased or missing on the field::
Zack: Well, as I said, we're closer than I thought before. Tomorrow night at the latest, I think.
Sephiroth: ::tilts his head slightly:: They would be appreciated
Zack: *grins slightly, and keeps moving. Well, maybe the man was human after all. Now, to see how much he had buried under that icy shell of his. Never could resist a challenge.*
Sephiroth: ::narrows his eyes at the grin, but just stays quiet.::