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[ A very familiar "WARK!" can be heard in the background. Aengus is not impressed by this comment, Diarmuid.

Zack laughs. ]

He was very helpful!

It wasn't too bad at all!

Helpful was he?

[Don't be a baby, Aengus. You know just how much of a troublemaker you can be.]

Well then, why doesn't he introduce me to his new friend? We will have to figure out a good name for her.

Helpful when he wasn't being pushy, yes.

[ Another indignant trill comes through, but Zack smiles anyway. ]

I think she's pretty.

[ He swaps to video for a moment so Diarmuid can see the pair -- one green, the other a lovely shade of blue. ]

Pushy, hu? Well, he is the impatient sort.

[He knows Aengus is going to make him pay for this sometime, but for now, Diarmuid can't help but tease.]

Oh, a blue one! I was expecting one of the more common yellow ones. What a fine lady you have wooed, Aengus.

[ Aengus ruffles his feathers and makes proud, smug sort of sound. Of course, he wooed a fine lady, was there ever any doubt?

The blue one makes a soft trill of her own.

Zack snorts a little. ]

Don't congratulate him too much. He tried to woo a boyfriend first.

[ Which...all right, he wouldn't have judged, necessarily, but no eggs would have happened that way. ]

A boyfriend was it? Perhaps he is trying to emulate my king and collect himself a nice little harem. He is named after my father who was a god of love. Love is all encompassing after all...

[Just how many other ways was the chocobo going to end up taking after his namesake? Would he start collecting swans and butterflies next?]

Now, my guess would be blue is water magic. Do you happen to remember if that is true from the chocobos that were on your homeland, Zack?

Really?

[ A god of love for a dad, well, that IS something... He shouldn't be surprised, he supposes, given what Gilgamesh told him about his own lineage.

He's just....not going to touch that harem comment.

The question about magic has him scratching he head, though. ]

As far as I know, chocobos couldn't use magic where I'm from. [ Different worlds, clearly. ] Different colors meant they could navigate different terrains.

[ He looks at Aengus and the unnamed blue bird. ]

Green ones were called mountain chocobos, and blue ones could cross over rivers and shallow water.

Rarer ones could do more than that, but I've never actually seen any of those.

Well, if we are being technical, he was my foster father and not bound to me by blood, but he raised me as if I was and that is the important part. I will never call anyone else but him 'father.'

[Zack's answer causes Diarmuid to frown slightly.]

That's interesting. I just assumed that they would have magic across all the worlds that had them. Now I wish I made a note of what Lumina told me each color did. Have you noticed anything odd happening element-wise around her? Sudden winds? Sudden rain? Sudden snow?

[It's pretty safe to rule out fire, Diarmuid would guess, but maybe they shouldn't just limit it to water.]

I know Lumina said she has a couple rarer ones, but I haven't seen them either.

[ Ahh, Diarmuid. That pulls at his heartstrings. ]

I'd agree with that.

[ He remembers his biological parents just fine and loves them, but Angeal was like a father-figure in the absence of his own family.

To the questions, he looks at the pair of birds again and shakes his head. ]

Not really? It was a little chilly last night, but I haven't seen anything strange.

[ He hums softly. ]

Do you have a way of contacting her?

Did you have a foster father as well then?

[While Diarmuid might not always agree with what Aengus did--especially when it came to blocking his memories on that night--he understands why his father did it. Aengus loved him, maybe even a little too much sometimes if that was possible.]

Yeah, that doesn't really scream one kind of ability or another. Fortunately, I do have a way of contacting her, so I will just ask her when I do.

[Messenger birb, go!]

You said it would be a couple of days and then you would be back? Will you be staying long?

[ Ah, such awkward. Zack rubs the back of his head a little. ]

Not exactly? I left home when I was about fourteen and enlisted so I didn't get to see my parents much. The man I told you about - my teacher - kind of filled that role for me.

[ Gods but Angeal was so embarrassing sometimes. Too much hair ruffling and trolling. ]

A couple days if I push it, yeah. [ Which he will, of course. ] I'm not sure, yet? I told Gilgamesh I would try to help a bit with Leathann, but I don't know exactly what that would entail.

It is good you had someone to fill that role for you. The more I hear about this teacher, the more I like him. Perhaps one day he will be brought here so that you can introduce him to me.

[Aengus had done the same to Diarmuid. While he will never admit it, Diarmuid still likes having his hair ruffled because it reminds him so much of his father...]

Probably a lot of things. I would plan on staying a while. If we are going to save the island, there is a good chance we are going to have to move it and moving a whole island is no small task.

[ Zack smiles, but it's a little bit sad, too. He misses Angeal and so many others.

Unlike Diarmuid, though, he doesn't like his hair being ruffled. It just reminds him of how quickly he had to grow up. ]

I think you would, if you met him. He'd probably like you, too.

[ He can't even discount the possibility that Angeal could turn up. After all, Zack can't deny that he was about to breathe his last breath before the faeries picked him up.

As for Leathann...well. ]

I already told Gilgamesh I can't pick it up and carry it on my shoulders. The earth-based magic I have isn't that powerful, besides.

[ A beat, then- ]

It'll take...a whole lot of something to manage a feat like that.

Edited 2015-06-25 02:44 (UTC)

[Diarmuid nods in understanding at that sad smile. He wears a similar one when he thinks of his father and the friends of his first life who he will likely never see again.

Zack's statement makes him laugh, though.]

No, I don't think anyone could do it alone no matter how strong they are. It is going to take a lot of work, magic and luck I am guessing. That is why we need to start as soon as possible. I think they might have been able to save Mt Verla if they had just had more time to prepare and practice.

[There just wasn't enough time. That is all there is to it.]

Whatever that something is, we are going to find it.

[ It's hard being honorable and knightly. 8(

And whoa, wait, what's this about a mountain? ]

What happened to Mount Verla? Where was it?

[Oh, that's right. That was before Zack's time and considering how long he was out chocobo hunting, he probably hasn't talked to anyone who would have mentioned it.]

Mt Verla used to be out on the edge of the the Unseelie lands. I say 'used to be' because it was lost to the Void not long before you arrived and with it the pyrii who made it their home. Without any pryii, the Drabwurld lost all of its fire magic. There was an effort made to save it as I mentioned, but there just wasn't enough time.

[ He was pretty far out in the boonies.

Zack's brow furrows at this news. ]

The fire magic is gone?

[ He thought his fire-based materia stopped working for the same reason his summons did, but maybe that's not the case. His other elementals were level down, not nerfed entirely. ]

I was wondering why I couldn't use mine when everything else seems to be working fine. Just less powerful than it used to be.

[Diarmuid nods, looking slightly sad, but also determined.]

Recently a new fire god was born, but he is weak and needs to gain strength before fire magic will return to everyone and everything. Until then, only those who have learned to use their shard's power to a certain degree and could use fire magic back home can use fire magic.

[A curious look enters Diarmuid's expression.]

Have you talked to anyone about activating your shard?

[ A new....fire god.

Well. Stranger things have happened, he supposes.

He shakes his head. ]

No. I didn't even know you could activate it.

What does it do?

A lot of things, though like with most learned skills, you have to start with the basics.

[Not that many people are passed the basics as it is, but at least they know there are steps beyond them.]

Once you activate your shard, it can be used to strengthen yourself or your weapons. The boost is temporary, but it can be used in countless different ways. Need to strengthen your armor to deflect a blow? Sure. Have a healing ability and need to heal a wound faster in the middle of battle? You can do that too. I am sure you could use it to strengthen the magic that your materia creates if you wanted to. Or your sword.

[ Zack listens, and honestly, it...does sound interesting. He's still not sure how he feels about having a mystical shard implanted in his chest, but using it can't be too different from using Materia, right?

He lets out a soft hum. ]

It sounds useful.

[ A beat, then- ]

I would like to find a way to protect and preserve my sword, if I can.

[ If nothing else, the battle with Gilgamesh taught him he wouldn't always be facing conventional weapons. The Buster is a sturdy blade, but the prospect of damaging it somehow in battle bothers him quite a bit. ]

[Comparing a shard to materia might not be too far off, actually. Is there a life materia or maybe a creation one? If so, shards would probably be the most like them.]

If you want something to protect your sword permanently--and I would recommend that since it means so much to you--then I would look for someone to place actual protective spells or runes on it. Shard magic cannot be used constantly as it will drain energy just like any other skill will and then you will need to rest and recharge. You don't want to leave your sword unprotected during times when your shard energy is low.

[ Well, there's Holy and Meteor. Zack, unfortunately, knows nothing about them.

The advice, however, is helpful! ]

I might do that, then.

[ It would make him feel a whole lot better about protecting his sword. ]

My teacher would probably kill me if I broke his family's sword.

I can direct you to a couple of good enchanters who I know in Caer Glaem. I've worked with them before and always been happy with their work.

[Zack's sentiment about not wanting to damage or break such an important family heirloom has Diarmuid nodding in agreement.]

If my weapons were breakable in any way other than my own hand, I would be worried too. They were gifted to me by my father and waited a long time for me to become great enough to wield them. I would not want anything to happen to them.

[ He smiles a little. ]

I'd appreciate it.

[ The Buster is one of the few things he has to remind him of home, of the life he left behind. He would be devastated if it broke. ]

You'll have to show them to me sometime.

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