Intro Log: The Forgotten City

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS

This time for real!

WAKEY WAKEY.

As the storm finally peters out and characters can once again move above ground it becomes abundantly clear that the landscape has changed. Where vast expanses of sand dunes once laid is now the half-buried remnants of what looks like some sort of...city? Full of structures. It stretches so far it's really hard to tell. But there is one thing characters will notice:

There are more stasis pods.

Revealed by the sandstorm, a whole new flurry of pods can be found scattered on the way to the city (curiously though, not in it. Hurry and wake those guys up!

SPREAD THE LOVE. OR ACID.

With the departure of the storm there's even more new arrivals to be found besides those fellow travelers of yours! The "Seedlings" and "Cactus" are now both available, the former blown in by the storm and the former uncovered.

The Seedlings are generally pretty harmless. They like to burrow into the sand so only their "Leaves" plant-like leaves remain above ground, and they're quite happy to stay that way until surprised. Then they pop up and trip over themselves a little, before slowing down and wandering aimlessly. When they find a patch of sand that looks comfy they begin burrowing back down.

Pull or yank on their leaves though and you'll find yourself with a face full of pollen that makes you want to just tell everyone how super-cool they are. It lasts a while, and then you get a fever and vomit for two hours. Good times.

The Cacti are much less harmless and just...why would you eat them? Everything about this plant is poisonous, and cracking it open causes a corrosive acid-like substance to spill out. It'll eat through everything but...dirt, oddly. Metals and flesh are like hot oil on plastic.

DON'T GET LOST

And last but not least: The Forgotten City. Maybe you want to check out the Hull first for some loot, but maybe that's not such a cool idea anymore? Although it looks like the ship's definitely more powered after draining the suits of whoever went in, now it's started to spread and fill the sinkhole the ship's in. Suits can go from 100% to 0% in just ten minutes--not good!

Lucky for everyone else, it looks like finally there's some sort of civilization up ahead. Go on and check it out!

OR DO. THAT'S OKAY TOO.

Go nuts, have fun, and enjoy! (This is the wildcard option)

OOC

The Flora, Fauna & Resources page has been updated with information on the seedlings, cacti, and crystals! These items are now all available for Discovery, and The Forgotten City will be available indefinitely from now on! Characters can take this time to settle & build up a foundation for themselves, explore the area, and of course, harass those poor little seedlings.

We encourage players to make their own open posts for this setting--you don't need to stick to just this intro log! But make sure to make our newbies feel welcome!

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Lying would be worse, really. Of course Zack doesn't have an answer, not one that'll fix anything, but what he does say is enough to make him straighten up a little. Just the reconfirmation of what he's thinking himself is better than nothing.

"Yeah..." nodding, Cloud snorts softly, hesitating because he's a little embarrassed, now, but he hadn't been very clear, honestly. "I didn't really mean everyone here, but there's some here that woke up before us."

A pause, and Cloud looks out over the desert surrounding them, squinting into the sunlight and the ruins in the distance.

"... I mean, why just us? There was a whole village... and Sephiroth." Whatever this is, whatever happened, clearly however potentially dangerous someone can be doesn't affect choice, because Zack is right here. So taking someone like Sephiroth seems like it'd make more sense than... than, him.

Briefly, he wonders if Sephiroth is okay. If his mother and Tifa are. These pods... shaking his head, Cloud looks away from the glare of light on the sand.

There he goes again... Talking about Nibelheim so casually. But now it's not just Nibelheim. Now, it's Sephiroth, too, and that? That's enough for Zack to give pause. That's enough for him to just stare at Cloud now as he looks off to the distance.

"Hey... Cloud. What's the last thing you remember? You know.. Before you woke up here."

He tries to go for casual in his words, really. He gives it his best shot. But he's always been one to wear his heart a little too much on his sleeve and it shows. In his voice. In his eyes that wince just a little too much in concern. In the hand that gestures loosely in front of himself before reaching back to rub the back of his neck in indisputable unease.

"Um... Going to bed? It was my turn to check on Sephiroth in the morning..." Cloud says easily, but the words slow as he looks back at Zack and just... takes in the unease that fairly radiates from the SOLDIER. And maybe that's just because of the situation; Odin knows he feels unsettled (and maybe a little scared) about it himself, still.

But why would Zack need to ask that?

"... you okay, Zack? I noticed the disorientation settles a little, after you've been awake for awhile... and while I doubt the dates apply here," pausing with an eyeroll that's not quite as easy as he'd like to pretend it to be, Cloud steps up close beside Zack, not quite enough for their elbows to brush but almost, feeling a little easier about doing this now than he'd had a week ago, "it should've been the thirtieth, right?"

"The thirtieth... huh."

He remembers once what seems like a long time ago now. Something about trauma he'd heard from Kunsel, information broker he was. How sometimes people would repress things, but if that's the case, this is the first time he's ever seen it at work. It would still be difficult to believe, but considering how much Cloud had been exposed to mako- tons of it at a much higher dosage than what would have ever been allowable in the SOLDIER program... Is that what did it?

Zack doesn't know. He doesn't know in the least, but what he does know is that it definitely wasn't the thirtieth. But as he actually looks back at Cloud then, he finds himself swallowing roughly.

"Doubt the dates apply here, no. Especially if we're on another... planet..." Which gauging by the way he surveys their surroundings again, he's still not quite believing that either.

Something in Zack's tone leaves Cloud feeling uneasy for a completely different reason than... well, than everything else that's going on right now. Frowning, and the earlier attempt at brushing things off, if not outright levity, gone now, Cloud reaches out. Hesitating before his fingers brush against Zack's elbow, his hand settles there for a brief moment.

"... Zack?" Dropping his hand and looking out over the same surroundings Zack is, Cloud suddenly feels like he's missing something. Or they're having two conversations, but he doesn't know how to ask about that. So he falls back to what Zack's saying, which... well, it is a response to what he said, after all.

"... yeah. It's... I don't get how. But we didn't have an extra moon before." And their moon had certainly not been as large as these two were.

"No... No, we didn't last time I checked. I didn't even know a planet could have two moons. Guess that goes to show just how much we know about space."

Sure, they'd known roughly about some things out there, but it had never been any core part of their program. ShinRa really hadn't been that set on something that felt so out of reach, after all. Not when they had plenty of resources in their clutches as it was. Space was no more than a trophy matter, really. A trophy matter that had just become... reality for them.

Zack glances belatedly at that nudge at his elbow. Then back to Cloud and tries for a smile. "Well, at least we've got each other, right?" He wouldn't wish this on Cloud for a hot minute, no. But he's glad he's at least there with him. Good at what he does- he is. But stranded alone in a new world at that? That would be really tough for... well, anyone. Even him.

"Wonder if that means... you can have more than one sun, too..." It was something to think on that didn't feel uncertain and unsettling, even if he's thinking about it because of the situation.

Looking back up at Zack as he shifts, Cloud... meets that attempted smile with an attempt of his own. Both of them seem to be failing, today, but it feels especially wrong that Zack can't manage it. Cloud's not sure what he can do to fix it though.

"Yeah. We do," he says and nods, decisively. Tries not to think about how his stomach had churned while he'd been going through the pods, wondering what he'd do if Zack - or anyone else - wasn't among them.

"You know, I wasn't sure... if it'd be right to hope you were here, but I'm..." licking his lips as he pauses, Cloud's next small, shy smile is a little easier, if still rather pale, "glad you are, though. It's not a snowy mountain, but... it's pretty backwater anyway, isn't it?"

It's a dumb, pale attempt at... not really a joke even, and it makes him feel awkward right as he says it, Cloud ducking his head, but it's earnestly meant.

"Well, nothing we backwater experts can't handle then, right?"

It's said so automatic in turn. And it's such a dumb joke, really. But then so was Cloud's. So dumb and an echo of a conversation that feels like an age ago. Enough to make Zack pause. Enough for his original train of thought to suddenly crash and burn, left forgotten in the midst of the attempted smile and the attempted reassurance and the attempted humor.

But maybe that's exactly why Zack laughs so loudly, almost too abruptly. Seriously, he's in hysterics and might seem like he's going utterly insane. Because it really is such a stupid joke. It's always been one, but there's something in it that's just so outlandishly normal after so much that hasn't been, that's far from been. It's the last thing he'd ever thought he'd hear him say and that's if he'd ever thought he'd even hear him say anything again never mind have a sense of humor.

By the end of it, he's wiping tears from his eyes. But when he's finished using Cloud's shoulder to hold to to lean on while he recovers, he's got a smile on his face brighter than before and an anchor to his words that wasn't there until then either.

"I'm glad you're here, too. Well- maybe not here, here. But.. aw, you know what I mean."

It was a dumb joke and Zack's follow-up is also dumb, but Cloud ends up smiling a little wider anyway, and a few chuckles escapes him, but Zack suddenly falling silent stops Cloud too. He's about to turn around when Zack suddenly bursts out laughing, loud and a little too sharp and---

"... Zack..?" Staring, Cloud reaches out hesitantly, then lets his hand drop. Then Zack's leaning on him, still laughing, and Cloud's... pretty sure it wasn't that funny. Feels mostly confused, but doesn't dare to move. About to ask if Zack's okay when he finally straightens up, the bright smile on his face answers Cloud's unasked question and despite the fact that he's still confused, Cloud can feel something relax a little at the sight of it.

"... Yeah, I do," he says with a nod, and even if he doesn't, really, know what Zack's talking about, what Cloud thinks Zack means, he certainly understands. Then he grimaces, dragging a hand through his hair. "Just wish... it wasn't so hot."

At least these suits seem to keep the sand from getting inside them. Otherwise things would be... uncomfortable and unpleasant both.

Seeing Cloud looking at him like he's crazy isn't really a surprise considering what just happened. But somehow, they both still seem to fall into step again. Enough that Zack has to chuckle again and shake his head a little at the complaint, his own hand coming up to mess with his companion's spikes, of course. Because the way he'd just ran his hand through his hair had totally been an invitation right then and there to copy him, right?

Probably not.

But Zack's still space invading anyway. Because he can.

"Come on, Spike. It's not that hot." Only it is. It totally is and more and he's actually kinda surprised they aren't roasting even more than he feels they should. The sun's definitely making his hair feel like a desert in it of itself, alright. But the low grumble might spell out something different that's bothering Zack right then.

And as Zack's hand comes up, as if magnetically drawn to his hair, Cloud groans out a protest and tries to dodge - not quite fast enough, so he has to resort to pushing the hand away, then try to ruffle them back into proper form again.

Not that he ever needs to do much for them to arrange themselves as they will, naturally.

"Yes it is, Zack," Cloud says, frowning intently, if a bit exaggeratedly. But it absolutely is that hot. In fact... "I'm... kinda surprised I haven't even burned a little, yet."

He'd been trying to keep his head down while exploring the pods, but even now his face doesn't feel more than the sort of regular hot because it's hot out, not because he's turned into a roasted ham in the sun.

Zack at least can take a hint when it's given to him. Like when Cloud pointedly shoves that hand away. But he still grins like the pain he is. Because, well.. It's Zack. And he's enjoying the little things, okay. It's easier than focusing on the big things right then if just for another moment longer.

But that's a curious thought. Enough to get him craning his neck and searching Cloud a bit.

"What? Just how long have you been out?"

He hadn't suspected it was that long judging by Cloud's reaction, but... who's to know? But if it's been for a while now... yeah. Why wouldn't he be burned already? No offense, buddy, but you've got skin that screams 'Bake me something fierce' written all over it.

Rubbing his neck, Cloud thinks it over. He's got a pretty good head for estimating time passed, at least normally. But like this... Waking up like they've been, on a whole new planet, too...

"An hour... and hour and a half?" he says slowly, frowning at the ground for a moment, "mentioned something about these suits being life support, but I don't think that would have anything to do with not getting sunburned?"

It's confusing, honestly. Unless the sun here doesn't have the same effect it would at home, despite how hot it is.

Zack nods just a little at the estimate and then again at the mention of life support though this time it's accompanied by furrowed brows. He looks down at his own suit now with that pinched expression, giving it a prod here and a pinch there. Wincing when he manages to pinch himself through the suit.

"For being something for 'life support', it sure is thin..." he mutters, more to himself than anything. "But I guess they did say going out to space without something might'a been pretty dangerous. Guess it's not too farfetched to think that would include other planets."

Still, he can't help but start to do stretches here and there and... everywhere for kicks. Maybe it's just a little easier to focus on that, too. "Sure is flexible."

They're weird, these outfits, and Cloud would rather not wear it, but he doesn't have any other clothes and if the planet itself is hostile... better keep it on. Looking down at himself, cloud rubs an arm and then steps to the side to scoop up his rations, which he'd dropped when finding Zack in the pod earlier.

"Doesn't really... seem like something you'd have to wear in space," he says, agreeing with Zack's muttered observation. They're thin and despite that they nearly cover him from head to toe, Cloud feels... a little naked, honestly. Then with a sigh, he stands up and ends up staring at Zack as he goes through... stretches.

Blinking and looking away after a few moments, feeling awkward for some reason he's not sure why for, Cloud's gaze lands on the pod and the rations Zack dug out of it. Didn't Elma say something about the pod...

"It's a good thing it's flexible, if we need to fight. But Zack," stepping back away from the pod again, Cloud looks around. No pods seem to have blown up yet, but if it happened once... "The woman who woke me up said their pods exploded after a while... we should probably move away of these."

One moment, Zack's raising an eyebrow Cloud's way at the odd look he's been given. The next?

"Explode?"

Yeah, sorry, Spike. That's more or less the first thing on the agenda as soon as he hears him say that. He might also be catching Cloud by the shoulder at this point, completely forgetting the weirdness of his suit, fetching what all he collected from the pod before he starts to move them away at a hurried pace.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Just imagine if we'd gotten too caught up talking!" He's really not yelling at Cloud, but he's- he's certainly tense about this new development to say the least.

If that look had gone on much longer, Cloud might have ended up blushing. Luckily it doesn't, but having Zack suddenly explode into action and finding himself basically herded away isn't that much better.

"Zack---" groaning, Cloud's torn between irritation and his own earlier worry and imagined scenario of having the pods explode before he'd looked through them all to see if Zack was around, "I wouldn't have... sorry. I got a bit caught up."

Shrugging, Cloud glances up at Zack, then back around to the pods spread around in the sand, relieved to see most of them - at least the ones that were intact and had someone in them - seems to have been opened by now.

"... None of them have exploded since I woke up, at least." Which he's so very thankful for, because what if someone (anyone, not just Zack) would've been in whichever had exploded? Luckily, that doesn't seem like it'll be the case.

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Intro Log: The Forgotten City

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS

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