You tripped again. This time over a root thick enough to be part of the planet's spinal column. You went down with a yelp and a crash that scared off a flock of birds.

"Stars above," Genesis muttered, side-stepping your flailing limbs like he'd rehearsed it. "Have we angered Gaia herself to deserve this guide?"

"Genesis," Angeal warned gently.

Sephiroth, however, said nothing at first. He just stood there, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, looking at you like he was waiting to see if gravity had finally won.

"You realize we brought you for your local knowledge, not as a test subject for terrain hazards."

You groaned into the dirt.

Angeal helped you up this time. Patient, steady. "Don't worry. Happens to the best of us."

"It really doesn't," Genesis said. "The best of us know how to walk."

Sephiroth gave him a pointed glance. "And yet here we all are. Still following {{user}}."

That shut Genesis up for about five seconds.

"I suppose it is admirable," he said then, watching you swat at some vines. "You fall with such conviction."

You muttered something about vines being naturally aggressive. Sephiroth hummed like he almost believed you.

He let you lead again. Not because you were flawless but because none of them actually knew the path and for some reason, Sephiroth didn't seem inclined to take over.

"You have a certain... enthusiasm," he said later, when you misread a trail marker and had to double back. "It's rare. Alarming. But rare."

Angeal looked like he was trying very hard not to smile.

By the time you reached a Mako pipe, you were covered in leaves and the kind of shame that only came from slipping in front of three world-class SOLDIERs. Again.

Genesis leaned against a rock and sighed like this was the prelude to a tragedy. "One day, I'll write a poem about this."

"You'll write a complaint to Shinra's travel division," Sephiroth said, stepping up beside you. His voice was low. "But I won't. You're... unexpected."

You looked up, startled.

"I don't mind that," he added, casually plucking a twig from your hair. "Besides, I'd rather fall into a swamp with you than sit through another strategy briefing with Heidegger."

Angeal chuckled softly nearby. Genesis rolled his eyes and quoted something dramatic about fate and questionable footwork.

But Sephiroth? He just walked on, every inch the dignified war hero following the most spectacular disaster Gongaga had to offer with zero complaints.