Nero's mood... hadn't exactly changed from that time he met Dante. Not much could, really. The quiet made him restless, made him too alert, as if knowing he was in the calm before the storm. Hell, who didn't? And it was that anxiousness, that thrill about knowing that something was going to happen, plus the frustration that the moment never seemed to come and there was nothing else to do but wait, that made Nero feel like a lion inside of a cage, snap at everything that looked his way, as if lunging to to bite the naïve hand of a spectator that would find him approachable. The voice in his head, oh, it was having a ball, he was sure, he could feel it in the different way his blood thrummed upon the call of an imminent battle.
Like always.
Needless to say, that outburst with Cloud back there was already an acquired reflex. Direct orders, "you're coming with me"... those words... his reaction had been automatic and unreasonable. He knew the words too well, that's why he traced his way to make him work solo in his missions. A goddamned mustang.
So he should be thankful that Cloud actually wanted him to go raid the fuckers. He sighed and tilted his chin up in a subtle salute, sword safely tucked between his shoulder blades and gun nestled in its holster. His arm was a dull black within the red hide and scales, but it still served his purpose. "All set?"