[SP-F1] Courageous Beyond Measure VII (Complete)

[Azide 0]

And so, with McGonagall's familiar at work in the heavens above, the two had once again set out on their journey. For some reason, it occurred to Azide that it felt as if it had been quite some time since they'd last done any traveling on this travel of theirs. True- in a technical sense, it had been about three days since he'd passed out after his little forey up the side of the canyon will. But there was something more to it- as if there had been a considerable amount of fluff in this adventure thus far, including a rather in-depth dream about an encounter with a boss he'd never actually witnessed. In fact, he wasn't even sure if the Molten Hydra in his nightmare had come anything close to resembling the historical one.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

But he decided to ignore this feeling, and banished it away into the depths of his mind. In the meantime, he turned to McGonagall as they marched through the rugged, yet otherwise straightforward path. While this was by no means a grassy stroll through the park, they had not yet encountered very much difficulty other than the constant turns and changes in elevation. The only thing that really annoyed him in particular was that the ground was very hard, and walking across it for an extended amount of time was making his heels ache.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Azide lifted his chin so that his eyes met the sky, but Jamie the eagle was nowhere to be seen. "I guess that means we'll be on our own in the meantime," he reflected. There was no telling how long that might be before the familiar turned up again. In the back of his mind, he supposed he was also aware of a certain possibility that McGonagall had overlooked in that brilliant plan of his- that there might not be a shortcut at all. After all, was there really any law that a shortcut must always exist when convenient? He recalled the historical real world answer to this- the nonexistent, but much sought after northwest passage.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Half out of boredom and half out of sudden curiosity, he shot a sidelong glance at McGonagall as they maintained their steady pace. "Hey, McGonagall," he called, noticing the gleeful look on the man's face when he had spoken. One of the countless differences between McGonagall and himself that he couldn't help but notice was the lackaisicality with which the former conducted himself, even in their unenviable circumstances. There was a certain spring in the man's step which was noticeably absent from the latter's.

[Azide 0]

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" answered McGonagall, scooting closer to the other player. The two now walked so closely beside each other that the taller man's elbows kept knocking against Azide's, making the latter very uncomfortable and annoyed. McGonagall, to his credit, did not seem to notice any of the many cues which indicated this. Whether it was the clenching of teeth, the clearing of the throat, or the pointed glare, McGonagall remained oblivious to them all. Not for a moment did the goofy grin leave his face.

[Azide 0]

"Yeah, sure," Azide remarked, as he weaseled his way out of McGonagall's range by stepping over to the side. The fact McGonagall simply closed the distance by following in his footsteps only provided further cause for dismay, and he simply decided to quit while he was ahead. And so, with the oaf shadowing him in and standing well within the boundaries of his personal space, he attempted to blot out the unpleasantness as he had done before with the incessant squawking (which had turned out to be McGonagall's familiar, Jamie).

[Azide 0]

Soldiering on through the unpleasantness, he promised himself that he would take a good long break once this was all over. Perhaps a nice relaxing trip to the geothermal hot springs on the ninth floor? Yes... that sounded absolutely heavenly. But for now, he would simply have to keep walking until they either reached their destination or his feet fell off- whichever one happened first. At their current rate, and with no sign of the bird, both possibilities seemed about equally likely.

[Azide 0]

Realizing that he'd known little of the man outside of his general personality, he figured it would be worthwhile in learning a bit more about this McGonagall, considering the guy was unlikely to make for a compelling conversation partner in just about any other topic. Likely, McGonagall's trove of knowledge began and ended with McGonagall. In any case, he'd come up with a few talking points to began as they'd begun their trek, although he had held off on asking them until it'd become apparent that their trip was not ending anytime soon.

[Azide 0]

He nudged the other man's elbow away sharply with his own, only for McGonagall to apparently take this as a challenge, and could do little but mutter a few complaints under his breath as the man reasserted his elbow dominance with ease. "This isn't even fair," thought Azide. "The guy is so stupidly strong..." Brains were supposed to beat brawn, and mind was supposed to overcome matter- but this man seemed to fly in the face of it all, and it was a point of frustration which annoyed him to no end.

[Azide 0]

Figuring the man might give him some space once he unloaded the first of his questions, Azide did just that. "What was your life like before all of this, McGonagall?" he asked, as he struggled to keep the hulking man from forcing him against the canyon wall. With a big guy like him, construction was one of the more obvious possible occupations, although something like personal fitness trainer was not out of the realm of possibility either. Whatever it was, he had trouble imagining the man staying in business for very long. Had he gotten lucky by being trapped here in Aincrad?

[Azide 0]

McGonagall spoke freely, and Azide supposed that this was another difference between them. One had a tendency to filter his words and thoughts, while the other's words flowed freely without any threat of impediment by the brain. Each side held its own pros and cons, of course; some might describe Azide as more aloof, and somewhat more manufactured at times, whereas McGonagall was significantly more prone to gaffes and would likely come off to most as a bit of an airhead.

[Azide 0]

In any case, McGonagall did not hesitate in his answer, and his mouth was something of a babbling brook as the answer bubbled out of his mouth in all of its frothy glory. "Ah, McGonagall was wondering when you might ask that, Azide. A long time ago, before he got stuck in this online videogame, McGonagall was once a logger. The lumber company saw a big strong guy like McGonagall and said even they had trouble telling apart from the trees around him. McGonagall didn't understand what they were saying, or why they were laughing."

[Azide 0]

Azide considered this first tidbit, needing some time to digest what his partner was telling him, regardless of whether or not McGonagall was going to place any strategic pauses in his ramble (and of course, he did not). A lumberjack certainly made a great deal of sense for a man of his build and stature, and it would go a long way toward explaining those arms of his... And in fact, hadn't he made the very same comparison the other day? Something about McGonagall just seemed to scream tree-sized. And if not him, then certainly that thing he'd swung around and called a sword.

[Azide 0]

Moreover, moving beyond the fact that McGonagall was nearly bigger than the trunk of an oak, and about as tall- he was not surprised to hear that McGonagall himself had been confused by the joke. Still, he did not doubt that the man had laughed along anyway, whether or not he understand why everybody was laughing in the first place. Neither did he doubt that McGonagall's laughter would have been genuine anyway, as the guy seemed to need no excuse to laugh, joke around or smile that big old smile of his.

[Azide 0]

But before any more analysis could be done, McGonagall that there was no stopping this train of his, and continued on with his story. In fact, the man had never actually stopped in the first place- Azide had to remind himself that those conclusions had been stitched together between every word that came rushing out of the man's yap. "Anyway, so there McGonagall was: a strapping young man in a big, unfamiliar world. He was very handsome, of course. Basically just imagine me now, because age has been too afraid to touch the chiseled face and rugged good looks of McGonagall."

[Azide 0]

And though he would not comment on McGonagall's supposed rugged good looks, he did have to admit that the man retained plenty of youthfulness in his appearance. If anything, age did not seemed to have scarred him at all. It was as if he were a lone sandcastle which had remained upright amidst a line of indistinct sandy mounds that had been washed away by a sea of change. But that more or less summed his thoughts on this part of the story- what else was there to really say about McGonagall praising his own appearance?

[Azide 0]

"For years, McGonagall honed his gifts of immense strength and stamina as he chopped down a countless number of trees. One by one, he watched each and every trunk as it was severed to its critical point- the point where it would no longer remain stable enough to stay standing- and he would keep watching as the toppled over and fell. Hundreds, or even thousands of trees of all sorts- McGonagall was there for them all as they fell. He was like a machine, they said. They never said what sort of machine, but McGonagall could only assume that they were talking about a tree-cutting machine."

[Azide 0]

That would just about explain how the man managed to even lift the earth-shattering sword, let alone wield it and swing it all about. That McGonagall was strong was something he had taken for granted- he had never considered just how strong this man really was. Once again, McGonagall made reference to a comment that was just a bit beyond him, though the fact did not seem to bother him. He felt even a pang of remorse as he realized that McGonagall had lived in a world where he had not understood various things that had been said about him- and here he was, doing just the same with the occasional sly remarks.

[Azide 0]

"Then one day, it hit McGonagall. No, not a tree- otherwise even McGonagall would probably be crushed, as big as he is. What hit McGonagall was a realization- that he did not want to be cutting down all of these trees. Maybe he had known deep down inside all along, that something had not been feeling right, but it had never been so clear until then. You see, when the company finished its work in the area, it took every man and machine along with it. That included McGonagall, of course- he was worth a whole squad of men, that he was. But anyway, like McGonagall was saying; on that day as McGonagall left, he turned around and saw it: stumps upon stumps for miles to see. Every tree, gone. And then McGonagall just knew, he knew that he did not wish to be cutting down trees anymore."

[Azide 0]

Azide looked at the man appraisingly. Even though McGonagall had never stopped smiling, he thought the man's eyes looked just a tad shinier than they'd been at the start of this story. Not brighter- as in cheery-eyed. It was more like they were glistening. The last leg of the story had been spoken with an underlying somberness which had lurked just beneath the surface. In hindsight, these final details brought perspective to the rest of McGonagall's tale, and he could sense that the man held his fair share of regrets. If anything, their experiences suggested that McGonagall had gone on to repent for his personal misgivings, and all of that excitement to be amidst the great outdoors no longer seemed quite as out of place.