Faeris Scherwiz--Taejin's Army

Faris Scherwiz. Former Captain of the Syldra. Current Commando and Sentinel in Taejin'sArmy. _______________________________________________________________ Mun's GMT Timezone: -6 ________________________________________________________________ This is a closed roleplaying blog set in an AU, and thus does not reflect the original character portrayed in Final Fantasy V.

[faristaejin]

Taejin Mission 036: Peacemaking | Faris and Zack

[zacktaejin]

Zack had actually been hoping to help the crew mates. Docking into port bored him to no end. The boats took forever, even Shin-Ra’s, to finally stop and by then Zack would be bored of just watching the water. “Can’t we be there yet?” He pouted and slouched forward. Boats were fun but it sucked traveling in them. It hadn’t seemed like Faris paid attention to him though. He looked up from his pout to see her just staring with some weird look on her face. He dropped it though since he really had no idea what he should say and it didn’t look like she was exactly sad, but not happy for sure.

When the boat did finally dock, Zack was off it faster than a Chocobo. The only reason he didn’t go running off was because he literally had no idea what to do from here. It wasn’t something as simple as go in, take out the target and return for once. Thankfully Faris had that covered for him, but seriously a bar? Though it did make sense. “Drinking already?” He joked. “It’s fine with me, we can keep it off the record.” He winked and nudged her with his elbow. “Anyways this looks promising.”

He gestured to the sign hanging above a doorway with a faded picture of a skeleton drinking some sort of booze out of a bottle. The name was too smudged to actually read though, but it was probably something that even Zack would regret reading anyways. He didn’t wait much longer to open the door and the inside was pretty much what you would expect from a port side bar; packed, dark, loud, and something that Zack could definitely get on board with. “You lead the way, I’m lost from here.”

[faristaejin]

She smirked back at his jibes, "I don't think there'll be any need t'keep this off the records. Army sent us here to negotiate with pirates, they should know what t'expect." 

With that, she followed him into the bar, her purple hair trailing behind her as she did so. The sounds of the bar erupted around them and Faris shook her head at Zack's reaction. Grabbing him by the elbow, she steered him over to the counter, casually ducking under arms and weaving her way through the crowd with a practiced air. 

Once she had the barkeep's attention she ordered two tankards of the house brew for her and Zack, which were promptly shoved over the counter to them. Passing one to Zack, Faris took a long swig of beer while allowing her eyes to roam over their surroundings. 

"Just need to find the right kind of pirates," she said quietly enough for only Zack to hear. 

A group of men gathered in the corner caught her eye. Some of the members of the group were facing away from her or wore hats but from what Faris could tell they seemed drunk enough to be in a divulging mood while still sober enough to know what was what. And they were definitely pirates. 

"They might do," said Faris, but she ran another scan of the bar to make sure. 

[queentaejin]

Falling To Pieces | Queen and Faris

[queentaejin]

In that moment, Queen was truly thankful for Faris’ company, both as a soldier and as a friend. It was comforting to know she was somebody whom she could rely on when she really needed to, even moreso somebody who understood the great responsibility of serving as a soldier.

Casting her gaze around, she observed the surroundings which she had failed to take notice of beforehand, being too caught up in the aftermath of her confrontation with Lightning. True to Faris’ words, it was a fair distance from Agardon but as the monsters were unpredictable in their number and movement, it was probably safer to keep their distance from the town centre.

"You did well, Faris," Queen reassured the other of her judgement, similarly standing up to her full height and dusting off her skirt. Straightening the rest of her uniform, she now knew what she needed to do. Walking alongside Faris, the pair started on their way back to the main heart of the camp, seeking to aid Serah and the other soldiers.

[faristaejin]

"Glad to have Queen's stamp of approval," said Faris, who chortled quietly.

Her arms swinging loosely at her side, she walked beside Queen as the two of them made their way back to camp. Casually, Faris glanced at her companion out of the side of her eye. She wasn't that concerned; she knew Queen was as strong as they come. 

As they reached the edge of camp, Faris's mood darkened again. All around them were injured evacuees and soldiers. A determined look on her face, the former pirate turned to the medic at her side. 

"So where are ye headed? Maybe I can lend you a hand," characteristically, she broke the tension by laughing a little, "menial grunt work is all m'really good for in these situations." 

Her fingers fiddled with the sword and tried not to feel inadequate. She found that she had to remind herself of the speech she gave Queen. All soldiers had their strengths and hers was on the battlefield. Cleaning up the mess that followed... Well that was something for Queen and her peers to worry about. 

Doesn't mean I can't help however I can, Faris thought, squaring her shoulders a little as she did so. 

[faristaejin]

ooc: an explanation + some reminders

First and foremost I want to apologize for my absence and lack of activity. I realize people here are generally understanding and respond along the lines of "It's fine! No sweat!" but I still want you all to know that I truly regret stretching out my inactivity this long and I plan on getting back on top of things as soon as I can. 

That being said, I'm gonna go ahead and offer something of an explanation (i.e. just a summary of my schedule basically) as to what I've been doing and whatnot. This isn't an excuse but I think it's good if you guys can know a little more about me (especially those of you I haven't spoken with as much) and it's the least I can do after holding out on the group for so long. 

My academics are a mash up of English and Education courses at the moment and one lonely political science class; my schedule is totally full class wise. I'm technically over 18 credit hours but it is only counted for 18 because an education course doesn't count its included observation hours as part of its credit hours (so my official total is 18 credit hours instead of 21). I'm working two jobs: working in the dining halls and as a tutor at my University's tutoring center. The latter involves a huge research project that you all will hear more about soon enough ho ho ho. ;) 

On top of all that, Final Fantasy XIV... And that is all I have to say about that. 

So like pretty much everyone else in this group I'm obscenely busy but that being said... 

Reminders for Everybody: 

The limit on images and graphics is one reblog per day. It's not a big deal but we do try to keep our dashboards focused on writing. :) 

The requirement in this group is a sign of activity every TWO weeks. I know we have all, including myself, broken this rule before and that is fine but please keep your threads in mind guys. The group needs to be at least somewhat active to keep going so I hope we can all shake the dust off our feet soon. On that note, try not to sit on your mission briefings for too long. Again, I understand that we are all busy but if you've been given a mission briefing it should at least be started within some kind of reasonable time frame. 

Final Notes: 

This post is not meant to point fingers at anybody at all but rather a reminder of our rules and the standards we should try to hold ourselves to. Nobody should feel defensive or pointed out by this post; I don't want anyone to interpret it that way. I fall behind just like any other member so this applies just as much to me too.

In the end, we each joined this group in order to write as our characters and really just to write so let's try to ensure that at least some writing gets done. :) 

[cloudtaejin]

In The Shadows of Midgar | Cloud, Zack, Faris, and Tifa

[tifataejin-blog]

Stunned, Tifa wasn’t sure what to think. She hadn’t seen or heard of Cloud in years. He was part of the reason she decided she wanted to travel around instead of staying put in Nibelheim, though she wasn’t expecting to see the blonde anytime soon. When he mentioned Midgar, Tifa looked away for a moment, before bringing her attention back to her old friend.

"They let me on because I forgot my gloves in here…" She held up her red and black combat gloves. A gift from her father and Master Zangan. They were padded well, although by now they were quite worn. She couldn’t count the times she was forced to use violence in the bar she used to work at.

Confused, Tifa followed the boy. She wasn’t familiar with a Zack or Faris. Though, she didn’t really interact much with the other members of the army. Hell, she hadn’t even known Cloud had enrolled. “I’ll take any consequence, I doubt you could convince them you kidnapped me.” She shrugged. “They’re going to believe me coming on board first was part of the plan anyway.”

She paused. “Why are you going to Midgar?”

[zacktaejin]

Faris had to be a natural  pilot. Even if his take off was a little wobbly as they left a base, Zack was sure no one could pick up flying that fast. Though Faris looked like he was concentrating pretty hard so he figured he would let him be for now. No one was a bigger distraction than Zack, he had a problem with not being able to sit still, but if he really needed to he could.

Or not. In fact with his entire idea to stop thinking about Midgar, he realized how that sole idea made him calmer. It was something for him to focus on, and now he was going to stop there so he wouldn’t worry anyone. He was there to make people relax, not have to be down, but he wouldn’t be able to if all he was focusing on Midgar. 

It was a good thing Faris needed help figuring out where to go cause Zack was pretty sure that he was gonna start talking for the sake of something to do other than stand still. “Sure thing!” Zack may not understand how any of the controls worked but navigation was something they had hammered into his head. And he knew where exactly Midgar was located. It wasn’t long till he was telling Faris where to go.

[cloudtaejin]

Cloud smirked at Tifa’s words, “I’ll take any consequence…” The two had just met and she seemed to be fearless in this situation. Wow, no need to hide anything from anyone I guess, right Tifa? Cloud thought to himself as he made his way to the others.

"Either way, we’ll try not to get you in trouble with anyone at HQ, that’s the least we can do y’know? And as for the reason we’re going to Midgar well… I’ve just wanted to see how things were, that’s all."

The blonde responded and reached the door to the cockpit and looked back at Tifa with a serious face. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”He entered and was relieved to see everyone was fine and Zack seemed to be assisting Faris with the location of Midgar.

"I found someone on the ship, but she wasn’t one of the guards, she’s a friend of mine. She’ll be coming with us obviously and ca-"

Cloud stopped quickly. He was already thinking about any troubles they might encounter upon their arrival, but he already said that everything was going to be fine.

"She also knows Midgar as much as Zack and I do." He added to cover up what he would’ve said before.

Cloud moved towards a seat and waved an arm over for Tifa to sit across from him. Three of us know Midgar really well, it gives us a good chance of handling anything that awaits us, and Tifa’s combat skills are nothing to be worried about, she can take care of herself pretty well. I just hope I didn’t drag her into something I’ll forget later on. Cloud thought to himself as he looked outside towards the horizon as they passed by the clouds.

[faristaejin]

Zack's navigational skills were perfectly up to par. With his directions, Faris was having no problem steering the ship along. Every now and then the ship would rumble or dip a little and she would remember that she needed to adjust some of the power thrusters or the flight stabilizing equipment but by and large the ship was comfortably under control.

They were traveling over land, deep into territories of Gran Pulse that Faris rarely ventured into. Most of what she knew about this area was through hear say or casual glimpses of maps that covered more space than she needed.

The trip went on for the better part of the day. Luckily the ship had some food on board that they were able to eat (the ship making somewhat more frequent lurches as Faris ate her share and tried to pilot at the same time).

Eventually, Faris spotted something in the distance. Large and metal, crowded with buildings, industrial. Her eyes widened.

"That your Midgar over there? Where do ye want me to set her down?"

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[bartztaejin]

Bartz had to snicker at Faris’ remark. “And of course no one here would want your behind or anything else to get hurt when sitting down."

  He followed her and listened to the instructions, nodding obediently. Once she had laid out the vegetables he picked up the knife and started cutting up some carrots. The knife proved to be equally good in shape to her other ‘cutlery’ so he didn’t have much trouble.   Hearing his host pick a large piece of meat out of the freezer the brunette turned and commented: “You know you don’t have to serve me your best. I’m a simple guy with simple taste." He hesitated for a moment before adding with a grin: "Except when it comes to women. Only the best and most exquisite of you, of course."   He continued with with the leek and resisted the urge to use Haste. There was enough ime even if the smell slowly coming from the pan started to make his mouth water already.   Thinking of a topic to pick up he realized something he didn’t know yet: “So, are you like some big shot in the army already? Like, should I address you with ma’am or so. Or do I need to stand to attention if we meet on duty?" He snickered at the last remark after he realized it could also be taken for a childish joke. "I mean, I guess since you’re here a while longer than me with the house and all you’re probably above me in rank but how many guys are in between? Do you know Captain Ronsenburg? Are you in his league when it comes to ordering my kind around?”

[faristaejin]

"S'fine," she said, waving off his concerns over the quality of the food, "I had to get around to eating that anyway. Besides, ye should always share your best."

Being a pirate had involved a pretty casual approach to money and riches. While she and her crew had certainly hoarded their fair share, piracy entailed indulging every now and then. And they certainly never restrained themselves from making use of and even giving away their money.

The food situation was where this philosophy really stemmed from of course. The crew of a ship was family and when you were out at sea for extended periods of time sharing food between everyone on board was a necessity. Besides, there was no point in holding onto the good stuff.

Faris barked out a short laugh at the questions Bartz then posed.

"A big shot, eh?" she shook her head, "Well I wouldn't really know."

She picked up a knife and pointed it in his direction menacingly (with a slightly joking tone), "But if ye ever call me ma'am or do any of that other nonsense you'll be joinin' this steak over here, ye understand?" She jerked the tip of the knife at the steak which was sizzling away on a pan.

After lowering the knife and shaking her head, she smiled again and continued, "'Cause of leadership losses and other necessities, the higher ups at the Army decided they needed a Captain in charge of each role. S'how my friends and I got our new positions. That puts me above you and Basch, though I don't really know his rank. Don't really care either. He's a tough guy and reliable, kinda grumpy too but m'sure I could count on him in a fight. That's what matters."

She made a face before continuing, "I try to give my orders informally. Not interested in official dictatin'."

She punctuated her speech by flipping the steak over.

[queentaejin]

Falling To Pieces | Queen and Faris

[queentaejin]

Different. That word rung out to Queen, and she tilted her head slightly in confusion. As Faris began to explain her reasoning, she nodded her head slowly, accepting her explanation. Yes, it was true there were many different soldiers in Taejin’s Army. In her position, a number of different outcomes could have arisen depending on the soldier.

Unfolding her arms from around herself, she held her head up high, newfound resolve rising in her. She couldn’t afford to dwell on the past any longer; she had to keep moving forward. Her choice had been made, and it was only one of many she would be forced to face ahead of her.

"You are correct," Queen addressed Faris, her previous grief forgotten. “What is done has been done; we must look towards the future now."

And part of moving towards the future would be aiding her fellow medics in treating the rest of the casualties. They were doing their share and working hard to fulfil their duty, and Queen needed to do the same. Handing back the bandana to Faris, she smiled shyly at the other.

"Thank you, Faris; for believing in me."

[faristaejin]

Faris almost shook her head in disbelief at Queen's reaction to her speech. The medic was unwavering, and in so many ways stronger than Faris herself. Though, as the person who had just dictated on the importance of different soldiers and different strengths, she shouldn't be dwelling on that, Faris reminded herself.

Accepting her bandana from the other, Faris grinned (though the weight of current events had it wavering a bit), "Well, hey, ye know I'm just returning the favor." She rubbed at her nose self-consciously while pocketing the piece of clothe again.

She smiled more calmly then, truly appreciating Queen's unshakeable strength and resolve. Knowing the medic was a Captain with her was a true comfort as always.

Standing up and stretching, Faris looked down at Queen and asked, "So what do ye think of the camp? S'not bad, I think. I wanted a location closer to Agardon but Serah wanted something near a water source. I think it might have been for the best. M'surprised how far out the monsters made it."

[faristaejin]

Taejin Mission 043: Establishing Sanctuary | Faris and Serah

[phaedracross-deactivated2014012]

Once Serah had spotted the commando racing to her aid, Serah released a cloak of delicate white magic, which was absorbed instantly. With this, Serah slid her potions away from harm, and concentrated on aiming her arrows. 

Serah got some distance away from the corrosive custards, and seized her bow upright. Her crystal blue eyes noticed the single custard heading her way, she shot a single arrow towards the custard which was easily deflected by the custards crusty skin. 

Fear began streaming through Serah’s body, as she sent three more arrows at the custard. One of these arrows stopped the custard from advancing, and seemed to have a small effect on the custard. 

Noticing this weakness, Serah sent an arrow through the open mouth of the custard which knocked the monster back into a small blob on the floor. Serah threw a ball of white magic at Faris which absorbed into her skin; then gave a small smile. 

She then re-focused her attention on the custard knocked down. Running as fast as she could Serah made her way toward the custard with her bow and a single pink arrow in her hand. Hovering over the custard she sent a final arrow into the weak area of the custards flesh. 

Serah focused her archers eyes onto the purple haired girl who was fighting two custards on her own.  ‘Faris!’ Serah yelled. Stretching the elastic string of her bow, Serah fired an arrow with a small vial of potion into a tree not far from Faris, as she slowly crept closer to assist Faris.

[faristaejin]

While both custards were recovering from the blitz attack, Faris brought the Brave Blade across one of them in two quick successive blows. It shrank back at that, and Faris took the opportunity to kick the other Custard square in its center.

That was when Faris heard Serah call out her name and saw the potion Serah had sent to her, but was unable to get there. She was too preoccupied with the custards in front of her. She grunted and glared at the Custard in front of her, "I want that potion, damnit, get out of my way!"

With that last angry shout she jumped up and angled her sword downward, plunging it into the Custard's gaping open mouth. Its corrosive body burned against her skin but she grit her teeth and sunk the Brave Blade deep into its weak spot. The Custard let out a shrill shriek and wasted away before the Commando's eyes.

With one Custard down, Faris sprinted to the tree where Serah's potion was and and ripped the top off the bottle, downing the potion in one swift motion. Immediately, the burns from the Custard felt much more endurable and Faris felt some of her strength return.

"Thanks, Serah," she called out. Faris glanced around as she moved in on the last Custard. The rest of the monsters were still aways off so she didn't need to worry about them just now.

Right as Faris began slashing at the last Custard some more, pleased to discover that Serah had defeated the Custard that had been attacking the medic on her own, she heard a barrage of bullets and looked up in the sky to see a relatively small airship flying nearby. A soldier was leaning out the airship's door and shooting a blitz of bullets down at the monster party that had been headed towards Serah and Faris.

"Serah, I think that's our back up! We need them to set up the base," Faris said, "We gotta make sure they see us, can ye fire some arrows into the arrow and draw their attention?"

Faris turned back to the Custard and delivered a powerful finishing blow to its head (or rather the top of its blob-like form).

[faristaejin]

Taejin Mission 036: Peacemaking | Faris and Zack

[zacktaejin]

Zack didn’t register the slap to his back; it was still numb from the one it received when he landed on it. “I think it’s cause there wasn’t anything to stop me from falling. I‘m too excited to actually stay still.” Fetching his sword from the beam it was resting on, he moved it so it would attach to the magnet on his back. He gestured at the door with a mock bow “Ladies first.” Since Faris most likely knew where the food would be. Zack hadn’t bothered to learn where it was.

The kitchen was actually really close to where they were sleeping and surprisingly, it wasn’t jammed packed when they got there like he was expecting. Did people wake up earlier on wooden boats than the metal ones he was used to riding? The food was a lot different too not that he was complaining. “What do people usually get on a ship then?” There obviously wasn’t a fridge like on Shin-Ra boats.

Rather than follow Faris’s example, he simply ate his food as fast as he could foregoing the coffee. He was already wide awake and raring to go. He’d give his share to someone else. There was a guy sitting not far from him that looked like he could definitely use it. He gave the mug to the crewman before walking up to join Faris. Sometimes he forgot how fast a boat could travel. They were practically at the port now. “Do we have to help them out or anything or do we just let them do their thing?” Zack wasn’t used to boats that didn’t stop with just the press of a button.

[faristaejin]

Too excited to be still even in his sleep? Puppy indeed. Faris shook her head and grinned while leading him to the kitchen.

Speaking around the bread in her mouth she responded, "Pickles and pickled foods are always a staple. Anything that can be preserved. We get a lot of dried meats too. Sometimes there's fresh fish if the crew has time to fish."

Once she was on deck, she breathed in the watery air deeply. It wasn't salt water [this was a lake after all] but it still had a certain appeal to her. She smiled at the sight of approaching land. It had been years since she'd been to this town. Since the Syldra had been an ocean faring ship, they had rarely ever bothered traveling inland to Eundaise.

Soon enough, Zack came up behind her, already exemplifying his good natured and ceaseless curiousity. She shook her head and smiled at him again.

"Don't worry about it, the crew can handle it. Our job starts once we land," she looked around the ship as the crew proceeded to get the ship ready for docking. Faris watched the Captain of the ship issuing orders to his men, her face unmasked and overtly wistful.

Eventually they came to a halt. The former pirate made her way over to the Captain, thanking him for the trip and informing him that she and Zack would return to the ship once the mission was complete (or checking in before that if necessary).

With that done, she exited the ship and began making her way to town, turning to Zack she added, "Alright. Pirate 101. If ye want to meet your fellow pirates, there's always one place t'check first," turning her head forward she concluded, "a bar."

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[bartztaejin]

Bartz couldn’t stop himself from blushing slightly when Faris placed her hand on his thigh. When he also felt her fingers toying with his hair he decided to make their kiss a little more intense.

  But shortly thereafter she broke the kiss and asked something he didn’t quite catch at first. "Huh?" Opening his eyes slowly he looked at her smiling face and still missed the soft pressure on his lips. Then he managed to order his thoughts and realized what she had said. "Oh, right, dinner. We were supposed to have it!" he laughed and carefully backed up a little lest he would be tempted again to delay their meal.   He jumped up hastily and stretched for a moment to check for any possible injury he might have missed while lying down or being otherwise distracted. Luckily everything seemed to be fine. The brown haired man looked around and while lending the woman still sitting on the floor a hand to get up said: "It seems we’ve done a good enough job, haven’t we?." It still didn’t look like what he might expect Captain Basch’s place to look like - even though he could also be terribly wrong on that account - but it looked like a place you would let your children play without fear of them losing an eye or worse.

But one thing caught his eye that needed fixing. "Well, maybe I should pick that up since it is kind of my fault." He went over to the chair which had suffered from their mock battle and looked for any permanent damage. "Hm, seems to be alright." He placed it back where it had stood earlier. "Lucky me. Imagine I’m coming over to help you clean your place and instead trash your furniture." He grinned at her once more and stuck his tongue out mischievously.   He still felt a little tense when he turned his attention back to his companion - her looking at him with these amazing green eyes didn’t help any with that - so he took a long deep breath to calm himself. "Alright, Faris, you know best what you got in store. So, what is on the menu today and how can I help you? I may be not as good with a sword like you but I’m pretty decent with a kitchen knife!”

[faristaejin]

Faris laughed a little self-consciously in response to Bartz's reply. In all the, ahem, excitement, she had nearly forgotten about dinner altogether herself. Accepting his hand, she stood up as well and put her hands on her hips while surveying the room.

"I'd say s'good enough," she said, "anything cleaner than this and I really wouldn't recognize the place at all. Least now I can sit on the sofa without bein' liable to hurt myself."

She waved his concern for the chair away, "Don't ye worry about that. Those chairs came with th' place; M'not fussed about them." 

Faris made her way over to the kitchen, pausing when she heard what Bartz said and grinning. She reached into the cutlery drawer and pulled out a kitchen knife.

"Alright then, ye can handle the knife. We can stir fry some vegetables  once ye cut them up," she moved to the fridge and began pulling out some assorted vegetables and placing them on the counter.

That done, she began burrowing into the freezer, so to speak, and pulled out one large Behemoth steak. She grinned at him.

"I was savin' this but I think now's a good time. Looks big enough to split." She grabbed her pan and lit the stove, "This should thaw nicely."

[queentaejin]

Falling To Pieces | Queen and Faris

[queentaejin]

When she broke down like that, she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. She was supposed to be professional and level-headed, but somewhere in the whirlwind of emotions she had completely forgotten all about keeping her walls up and her true self hidden. Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, she forced herself to look at Faris again as the other spoke. Her reasoning did make sense, but she still felt as if she had let so many people down, including herself.

"Does… that make me selfish? For putting my own life above the safety of another?" she murmured quietly, hugging her arms around herself.

Even if a lot of people had died today, that wasn’t what bothered Queen. It was the fact that she didn’t even try to help the situation, before things had fallen too far to be fixed. If she had been less logical, less calculating about the issue - or maybe she had just been scared. She was afraid of letting her emotions rule her judgement, fearing that they hindered rather than helped. But in this recent mission, they could have done more good than harm.

It was a difficult burden, forever having to be reminded of the life she failed to save. In a way, it made her question her role as a soldier, made her nervous in the case that she would be assigned to a similar mission like this in the future. But then again, whether she chose to serve as a medic or a ravager, either way peoples’ lives would be in her hands. In her work as a medic, she knew there were some cases even she couldn’t treat.

With that in mind, Queen knew there was no time for mourning. There was still much work that needed to be done, in both this mission and future ones. She couldn’t afford to let one mistake let her down; she refused to let the same mistake happen twice.

[faristaejin]

Self-preservation was only natural. In the right circumstances, anyone could feel that same instinctual desire Queen had felt. The most basic of sentiments. No, Faris shook her head, that wouldn't make Queen feel any better. Heck, just thinking it didn't make her feel better. It was just empty, justifying ideology.

That being said, Queen's actions were understandable and probably the right choice in their own way.

"Nah, I wouldn't call ye selfish, just different," Faris finally spoke, "things aren't that simple, yeah? S'not about selfish or selfless. You and Lightning are just different types of soldiers. Both are good to have around."

Faris paused and reflected on the situation. She almost asked herself what she would have done in Queen's position but then the answer was too obvious for her to even finish the question in her mind. The former pirate would have charged in recklessly, with barely a thought to her own safety or the practicality of attempting the rescue.

And then what? she asked herself. And this time she took a while thinking of the answer. There really was no way of knowing after all. Perhaps, Faris and her partner would have been able to save the girl and get out okay. Or perhaps at least one of the three would have been injured, or worse...

She glanced at Queen out of the corner of her eye. She and Queen weren't just soldiers anymore. They were Captains, Chief of the Medics and Chief of the Commandos. Moments like this made Faris question, just how much that had changed things for her and her friends. Did their lives hold a special weight now? Or did these promotions require them to pay special care to the lives of their comrades? After all, Queen's choice could have saved Lightning as well.

Faris squinted her eyes a bit, utterly perplexed by all these musings Queen's predicament were throwing her into. Finally she broke her long pause, "Ye need to think about what you think is best. If ye regret your choice now, then it's a lesson for next time. But ye gotta keep in mind that ye did what ye thought was best this time around."

[cloudtaejin]

In The Shadows of Midgar | Cloud, Zack, Faris, and Tifa

[tifataejin-blog]

Carefully, Tifa was maneuvering around there were supposed to be guards set up so they surely would’ve told whoever was supposed to use this aircraft that she was still in it. By the sounds of it, the ship was being hijacked. There were voices coming up from the lower deck and Tifa flexed her hands in response.

Suddenly there was a voice and Tifa was on the defensive, ready to strike but…. Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar blonde boy. No way. But he called her name out she relaxed.

"Cloud….?" Just then the ship began to rise and Tifa had to steady herself against the wall next to her. 

"What’s going on!?"

[zacktaejin]

He looked down at Faris for a moment, was it that easy for him to tell Zack was riled up or..? No, Zack was pretty sure that he wasn’t that obvious. He didn’t hide stuff often, but all the times he had, no one he knew could tell. It was probably just because Faris didn’t know him that well things seemed off. He was still ok then, not that he thought Faris would tell Cloud if he knew, but he just wasn’t in the mood to talk about Midgar more than he had to this trip.

“Yeah, it’s just nerves, ‘been a while since I saw the place.” Not a lie, not the whole truth either but he could get away with it. He watched Faris as he muddled around with the confusing controls of the airship. Zack would never be able to understand them, good thing it was never a requirement for anything he wanted to do.

“Roger!” He said when Faris told him to buckle up. He only sat down though, he’d ridden in airships often enough to not need to. I wonder if Cloud still gets motion sickness. Zack mused before they were off in the air. All things considering, it was a pretty smooth takeoff. “You sure you’ve never flown one before?” he joked.

[cloudtaejin]

"Uhh… wow out of all the people for me to find here." Cloud said not sure of how to explain to Tifa exactly where the airship was heading. 

He stood quiet for a few seconds until he realized that there was no way to sneak around this one. 

"We’re going to Midgar…" Cloud said quietly. “But what are you doing in the airship anyway? We knocked out a few soldiers back in the hangar and the guards that were watching out for intruders, and right now I was making sure the airship was empty… Have you seen anyone else on here with us? He asked concerned that the soldiers could sneak up on Zack and Faris. The blonde knew for sure that this would be an interesting adventure for the four of them after this reunion.

"I think it’s better if we join the others since it seems you’re the only one here." Cloud suggested as he looked around making sure everyone was gone. He turned around and waved his arm over telling Tifa to join him. 

"The others are Faris and Zack, who are also members of the army. I asked them to help me with this since they’re the only ones I kind of trust at the moment." He explained as he continued up the stairs.

"I don’t know what kind of trouble we will get in when we return, if anything, we’ll have to tell them we kidnapped you after finding you on the ship." Cloud explained to Tifa to try and save her from the mess that he just got her into.

[faristaejin]

Not one to show nerves, Faris was not accustomed to the current display she was putting on. Her brows furrowed and she grit her teeth. Underneath her gloves, her knuckles were white from her vice grip she had on the steering wheel in front of her and the throttle.

"Trust me, Zack, I definitely haven't done this before."

Confident in her abilities, she still had no doubt that she would be able to steer this ship to Cloud's destination but it would definitely require her full attention. The ship lurched forward and the interior of the ship shook alarmingly for a moment. Glancing to her right, Faris quickly flicked a couple of switches nearby and the ship seemed to stabilize a little. She let out a breath through tightly gritted teeth and pushed the throttle forward more.

With a slight shake, the ship increased its speed and left the Army's hangar. They had cleared the building.

Things'll be easier now that I've got more room to move this thing, she thought to herself, relieved that she no longer had to worry about crashing the ship during take off. With that thought, she removed her left hand from the throttle so that it could join her right on the wheel. Almost immediately, the ship began tilting to one side. Faris cursed and increased the pressure on the throttle, and this time when she removed her hand the ship continued flying steadily.

Finally feeling like she had a good handle on these controls, Faris turned her gaze towards the navigation panel to her left and called out to whoever was in the cockpit with her, be it Zack or Cloud if he was done looking around, "Oi, I need a little help on the navigation over here! One of you's gotta give me some coordinates for this Midgar."

[faristaejin]

ooc: missions

I'll be starting work on the first missions for Squall, Cecil, and the incoming Alyssa over the next few days. Let me know if you are particularly interested in getting a new mission. It's fine to not volunteer if you're not really looking for another mission. If nobody volunteers, I'll end up selecting the characters with the least ongoing threads.

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[bartztaejin]

Bartz nodded in response to her question. He was about to give a proper answer when Faris grabbed his shirt, pulled him down towards her and sealed his mouth with hers. He was dumbfounded for a moment and his eyes went wide with surprise.

  He had no issue with intimacy or showing his feelings and while the brunette had been considering doing the same she had caught the young soldier off-guard by her sudden initiative. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the comforting chill that accompanied the sensation of having her soft lips on his own and closing his eyes he carefully returned the kiss. He also moved his hand to gently squeeze hers still holding onto his sword arm. While he didn’t mind a farm, intensive kiss, he wouldn’t let her have all the fun.   This was certainly not what he had planned for the day when he had left the baracks this morning but he could not claim it was an unpleasant surprise from any point of view. Not only had he met a person he had fun being around (and who was a pleasure to look at), the meal he was promised had even turned into something that tasted much sweeter than anything he could have expected.   Once the green-eyed girl had loosened her grip on his shirt he slowly broke the kiss and smiled looking at her, still breathing a bit heavily. The brunette pushed himself up and holding her hand pulled the former pirate along so both were sitting upright on the floor. He mustered her and his smile turned into a grin. "Hehe, your hair is kind of a mess," he laughed and added giggling "Well, I guess mine always is, so I’m probably better off. Wait, let me help you fix it."   It was nothing but a poor excuse to get close to her face again but he tried to put the purple strands back into some kind of order. "Just now you got the better of me but now it’s my turn," he teased and closed his eyes while guiding her face towards his. He placed his lips on hers and began to kiss her in a more gentle manner than she had done before.

[faristaejin]

Lady Luck seemed to live on Faris's side, so many of her gambles turned out for the better. She grinned into the kiss a bit, pleased that he had reciprocated.

Bartz was a gentle kisser, which seemed to suit him, Faris thought to herself. Thoroughly enjoying the warm touch of the other's lips, she loosened her grip on his collar, allowing Bartz to part from her for the time being. She grinned back at him once they were both sitting up, completely fine with her hair being the way it was.

She chuckled at his comments, "Leave it." She said, though she made no attempt to stop him from fumbling around with her hair to try to get it to return to some semblance of order. When he began ushering their faces back together, she didn't resist and met his lips again eagerly.

Allowing him to set the tone of this kiss (so much softer than the first), Faris placed her hands on Bartz's thighs, leaning forward a little. Their noses squished together for a moment as heads tilted, and Faris snickered at the contact. They stayed like that for a while, content to be half sprawled on the floor of her house. The former pirate raised her hand to the other's brown hair, wrapping her fingers into the shorter messy strands.

The purple haired girl pulled back, smiling at the other and cleared her throat self-consciously, "So, what do ye say about that dinner?"

[baschtaejin]

Physical Therapy | Basch and Faris

[baschtaejin]

Picking up the cart’s handles, he nodded and said “Sure. It’s the least I could do.”

Making their way back to the wood, he mulled through things. In his mind, Basch knew what Faris made sense, but he felt she was too complacent about it, that there was no other reason for her to want to be here apart from “Bad things are happening out there”… But was his reason any better? He was too involved, the problem was too personal.

“My father once told me something, Faris. He told me that chaos is a part of life. It walks the wheel of existence, and it has always been and will always be. But this isn’t chaos. Chaos is untamed, and random. I don’t know what’s happening, but it doesn’t seem like its normal, like it’s part of the plan.

He shrugged, “Such thoughts will drive one to madness though. It’s best to just ignore it”

[faristaejin]

They wheeled and pushed their carts back through the quiet streets of Oerba. It was a rather subdued afternoon in the town. Faris and Basch made a point of steering around the area he lived just in case his guards were still lurking around and decided to object to his activity again.

As they made their way through the quiet town, Faris mulled over what Basch had said. What he said was something she had to an extent been aware of. She sighed.

"There's talk about it all over Gran Pulse," she said, "nobody really says anything outright 'cause, well like ye said, it's maddening. Nobody really knows what's going on that's causing all these problems but people whisper, rumors start up."

She shook her head ruefully, "Nothing to them though, I'd say. People seem just as clueless about what's goin' on behind the scenes no matter where ye go."

Faris looked at Basch gravely, "S'not our jobs to ignore what's going on out there. We're soldiers. Maybe we're not the brains in the operation but we're here 'cause we want to do something about it, right?"

They arrived outside Faris's dwelling and dumped the contents of their carts to the side of her house. Making a mental note to return those axes she had borrowed later, Faris turned to Basch and bid him farewell, "It was good meeting ye, Basch. Hope to see ye around Oerba s'more."

With that, her gaze drifted out towards the lake. She frowned thoughtfully; Basch really had given her a lot to think about with regards to Gran Pulse, and the role of a soldier... As well as what kinds of things might really be going on behind the scenes in Taejin's Army.

[faristaejin]

Taejin Mission 043: Establishing Sanctuary | Faris and Serah

[phaedracross-deactivated2014012]

Serah’s worry began to overwhelm her. Gripping her bow tight, she took a deep breath, and remembered the task at hand. Serah’s blue eyes targeted the enemies once more, as she checked the distance they had, before they had the chance to get too close. 

‘Good call, I’ll take out as many as I can from here, and warn you when back up arrives!’ Serah shouted, whilst admiring Faris’s stength.

Serah seized her bow up into a shooting position. Lining the arrows up with the Yaksha’s wings. She sent a pink arrow darting through the crisp air, before sinking into the Yaksha’s flesh. Without any time to think, Serah sent another three arrows, which implanted into three Yaksha.

A group of Rust Pudding was knocked back by Faris’s quick use of magic. Serah with ease pulled up her bow, and sent an arrow into the back of each of the rust pudding. A small smile crept out from Serah’s mouth, from witnessing the two girls making a large dent in the number of monsters attacking the village.

With this distraction, Serah failed to notice a small group of corrosive custard closing in on her. Serah relaxed her bow. Then suddenly, Serah recieved a blow from the extension of the corrosive custard. A shriek escaped from Serah’s mouth, as she hit the floor. 

‘Faris!’ Serah screamed. 

Shaking with fright, Serah began scrambling away from the group of monsters, with her bow, and small collection of potions.

[faristaejin]

She had been preparing to be ambushed by that grouping of Rust Pudding. Her magic being as weak as it was, it was only a matter of time before they closed in on her. However, it seemed her comrade had taken care of the beasts. A grin on her face, Faris was just about to shout her thanks to Serah when she heard the scream followed quickly by her own name being called out.

The grin instantly fell off her face when she spotted what was attacking Serah. Corrosive Custards were stronger than the other monsters they had been fighting so far. Faris bolted from her location, making a beeline for Serah.

They had already made a fair dent in the monsters headed their way so Faris could run for Serah without much worry of being ambushed from behind.

The Custards were closing in on the medic who was retreating as quickly as she could after being knocked down. As Faris got closer, she shot a ruin at the Custard closest to Serah. The weak spell barely seemed to phase the monster and Faris cursed her lack of magical prowess, "Serah, fight back! I'll help you!" she yelled once she was close enough.

"Oi, scumbags!" she bellowed as loudly as she could using Provoke as she did so. Her Sentinel training was far from complete but she hoped she had the hang of this spell enough to attract at least one of the Custards from Serah. A slightly red hue surrounded Faris's body for a moment and two of the Custards turned to face her.

Hoping that Serah would be able to hold off the one Custard who continued to focus on the medic, Faris gripped her blade and unleashed a Blitz on the two Custards, dealing both enemies a fair amount of damage.

[faristaejin]

Birds of a Feather | Bartz and Faris

[bartztaejin]

“Cadet?" he laughed, "So do you expect me to call you ma’am now?”

Bartz was just about to try a kick when Faris attacked his footing which made her action all the easier. (Not that he could have found a way to get out of this situation otherwise.) He flailed with his arms trying  to somehow keep his balance but failed terribly. Then the much more experienced fighter even got a hold of his arm and he realized he was going to crash right on top of her. Without his arm he couldn’t even stop his fall so he hastily used a Protect spell on her to reduce the damage he would cause. With a loud "Ouch!" and awkwardly trying to catch some of his weight he slammed on the floor , or more precisely his hostess who inadvertently served as a cushion for him. Even though, he was dizzy for a moment and only gathered his thought when the woman lying under him started to burst into laughter. Bartz couldn’t help joining in either. ”Are you hurt?" Bartz asked concerned after a while when both of them had calmed down. He was about to get up but he became aware of the the rather pleasant sensation of the soft, warm body lying underneath him. Also, Faris’ green eyes were only a few inches from his and he could hear her still slightly excited breathing from their exercising just now. The brunette wondered considerably longer than a moment whether getting up really was the best option right now.

[faristaejin]

They stayed there on the floor like that for a while, laughing till their lungs hurt (it didn't help that Bartz was largely on top of her). Eventually the laughter died down  It was only now that she had time to regain her breath that Faris realized Bartz had cast some sort of spell on her to soften the blow.

"M'fine," she said, still all smiles and grins from the laughing fit, "you did something though, didn't ye? That didn't hurt as much as it should've."

She was grateful for that assistance, even though she was fairly confident it would have been fine without the spell. It was a pretty caring thing for Bartz to have done nonetheless. Smiling up at the other (not yet bothered by the weight he was placing on her torso), Faris blew some hair out of her face. The long purple tresses were a true mess now, splayed out all over as a result of the tumble.

With a start, she realized that her hand was still holding his sword hand (although both of their weapons had been released a while ago, probably during their laughing session). She considered releasing it for a moment, but then, still breathless from it all, she glanced back at him through a sheen of purple and decided against it.

That was when Faris felt a sort of swell of emotion she had become unaccustomed to. Running into Bartz today had certainly brought out a lot of emotion in her, and as a result of said meeting, she had found herself here, lying on the floor with Bartz heaped on top of her. It felt like her rib cage was being pushed; she flushed, thought not out of embarrassment anymore.

Faris was generally a largely impulsive individual. She went through life following instinct, and doing what she pleased most of the time. Sometimes that impulsive behavior had gotten her into considerable amounts of trouble. Looking over the other's face for any signs of discomfort, Faris hoped this wouldn't be one of those times.

She reached forward with her free hand and  did what she did best, acted on impulse. Grabbing Bartz by the collar of his shirt, she brought their faces closer before tilting her head forward and kissing the brunette firmly on the lips.

[queentaejin]

Falling To Pieces | Queen and Faris

[queentaejin]

She hated that she had to appear this way in front of Faris. Weakness was something she had always refused to show, and to be breaking down like this in front of one of her comrades, it was something she hated herself for exposing. That cool facade she had spent so long building up and maintaining was gone, which frustrated her.

Even then, Faris seemed understanding; she didn’t press, didn’t pry where she wasn’t meant to, nor did she judge her for her behaviour. It was somewhat welcoming, and came as a small relief to the medic.

"There were plenty of options," Queen choked, clenching her hand into a first. “I just chose the wrong one."

Taking the bandana from Faris with a small word of thanks, she took off her glasses and dabbed at her eyes. Her fingers clenched around the small piece of cloth as she forced herself to meet Faris’ gaze.

“There was a survivor left behind in the ruins; a young girl whose mother had charged me with the task of saving her," she began carefully, the unpleasant memories of the recent mission causing her stance to falter. “When we did find her it was already too late - we could not risk saving her without endangering our own safety. Miss Farron and I had a disagreement; she wanted to save the girl in spite of that danger, while I could only think of saving ourselves."

Queen’s shoulders began to shake, and her stance wavered again. Her next words were a forced whisper, fresh tears staining her cheeks as she struggled to maintain her composure though she was quickly failing at doing so.

"I… I let her down, Faris. I lacked the same resolution as Lightning did. If only I had been stronger I-I could have changed things. I have failed as a soldier… I am meant to protect people, not let them die!"

[faristaejin]

It was interesting seeing Queen this way. The shock value came from the fact that Queen was usually so composed and professional. She did so well at remaining unphased by whatever life in Oerba threw at her. Faris was almost tempted to think that this breakdown was "not like her at all."

But then, in so many ways, Queen was still classic Queen even in her current state. Even the way she finally broached the task of explaining her ordeal was so like her. "There were plenty of options. I just chose the wrong one." In her mind, she had already broken it down the story into strategics. It was such a logical explanation of what was clearly causing this emotional reaction.

Little details like that made Faris have all the more respect for Queen. At times, she questioned whether or not modeling herself after Queen would make her a better Chief for the Commandos.

When Queen finished her explanation, Faris let out a breath. It was a difficult burden to bear, feeling that you had let another down to their death. Faris could understand that on some level, though she had never had someone die on her watch while a soldier.

"A lot of people died today," she spoke, breaking the silence that had followed Queen's story, "Guess that doesn't really make ye feel any better though... S'not like the bigger picture really makes the smaller one any prettier."

She chewed on the inside of her mouth a bit, mulling over how best to comfort Queen about this. It really wasn't her area of expertise.

"Lightning sounds like a brave soldier, willing to risk her life to save anybody," Faris paused and shot Queen a significant look, "but you are too. Ye signed up for the Army, and ye came here today. That means you're willing to risk your life too. We all are. We just risk our lives a little differently.

"S'not like our jobs to come out here and risk our lives for no reason. We're risking our lives to save people and we each have to make our own choices about how we're gonna save lives. Ye made a choice that made sure ye could live longer to save more people. That's all."