thestormishere | ☈ strike #04 (voice / action)

[ It takes a while before Lightning finally attempts getting in touch with those she interacted with the most (and who she assumes probably figured out who she actually was) while aged down and in Zack's body. When she does, it's filtered to those mentioned, but not particularly secured against hacking or anything, clearly having been 'posted' quickly and with a tone of voice that's very short and to the point. ]

Zack, Aerith, Cloud- we need to talk.

[ And after that's all been taken care of, well... all that's left is to gather up her dignity and try to move on from the whole damn mess, right? Get some fresh air and cool her head, pick up something from the grocery that isn't in a can and won't choke her with flavor....

Problem is... the experiments' effects are far from done with her.

One of these is what Lightning is this evening, instead of the pink-haired ex-soldier she should be. And as if suddenly finding herself as a chocobo isn't bad enough, that's when that oh-so-nice random teleportation kicks in too, sending her... oh, who knows. The middle of town? Your front porch? Who wouldn't want a massive eight foot tall yellow bird in their bathroom? Look at those long curly eyelashes ~~and huge killer claws~~! ♥ ]

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[ Wow is this guy... really that cheerful all the time? Lightning had been inclined to think he might have just been acting that way for her benefit, when she'd been half-panicked out of her mind and all. ]

You could say that.

[ And if that sounded a little forced, the next question is even more so. She's not really interested in having this discussion on the journal system- from what she's seen? She doesn't trust it at all. ]

... Are you at your apartment?

No-- I don't know!

[ She ruffles her feathers a bit, looking for an exit. It just figures the boy would point out the smell too- she doesn't notice it, but... augh, yeah, she knows quite well the fact that they tend to be... distinctively-scented. ]

You didn't say anything bad.

[Which Claire really didn't. You know...just that they were the ones taking care of Cocoon and all ~~like pets!~~]

[ Maybe not in Aerith's opinion, which is pretty lucky for her from Lightning's point of view- it's still hard to imagine there are people out there not used to the not-so-benevolent fal'Cie overlords. Her voice turns just a little harder- ]

I mean it. It was different, back then.

...It's all right. I believe you. No point talking about sore subjects.

Hm.

[ Lightning glances up and notes the thoughts there, but knows that, even if it does bother her to have it out there at all, it's probably natural that Aerith would wonder. She's just definitely not going to elaborate, right now.

But...

...also...

..... ]

Thanks. For taking care of me.

Yeah, I'm there if you want to drop by.

[He assumes that's what she wants, anyway. Actually he's curious about what she wants to discuss, though it was probably weird to be in a SOLDIER's body. He definitely felt different in the body of a little girl, after all.]

[ That... actually seems kind of awkward right now, to her. Short pause while she thinks, and then decides on 'suggesting' neutral ground instead. ]

Meet me outside instead. Ten minutes.

[ He'll have to forgive the... bossiness. 8| ]

Ah! So you aren't mad. I'm glad.

But don't mention it. I'd hope most people would take care of someone in the same situation.

Got it, I'll be there.

[Thankfully Zack is used to accepting orders, and getting bossed around by a pretty girl is way more satisfying than Shinra bureaucrats with tendencies towards backstabbing. He's fine with indulging her with the small stuff. He's also hoping she means outside the community building, since "outside" is big and vague and uh. Yeah. Anyway, he'll be outside in ten minutes, as instructed.]

[ .... She didn't think to be mad about that. It's not like it's Aerith's fault, after all, and she'd be in trouble if someone didn't do something with her. ]

Yeah, I guess.

[ She has to wonder whether she'd do the same though. Probably yes, but after all she's done questioning her own personality isn't too hard to do. ]

[ Yeah, that's exactly what she meant, and exactly where she'll be when he shows up, arms crossed and leaning against the side of the building with her proper clothing and holstered weapon. Pretty obvious that she's far more ~~hott~~ serious than the panic-prone little girl Zack happened to switch bodies with now, huh? ]

You guess? I guess I know who not to call as back-up babysitter if I ever need one.

...Say, Lightning...

[ That gets a small frown, but. Yeah, she's no mother-y person in her opinion. However... ]

Call me Light.

All right. And don't take me seriously, Light! I like to tease.

But...um...you didn't...see me think anything funny, did you?

[ ? She puts a hand on her hip, with a slight tilt to her head at that. ]

Such as?

[There's just a flash of images--a giant glass tube large enough to hold people, a flash of sword and red on pink--before she realizes the obvious problem and throws her hands up over her head, the imagery changing to flowers.]

Oh, don't that! Just--ah-- [She sighs.] No, if you have to ask what's strange, you wouldn't have. Don't worry about it.

[ ...... Hm, so it seems Lightning's not the only one with stuff to hide, then. ]

If I saw anything, I don't remember it, Aerith. Just... lots of flowers.

[ Right now it's a lot like a dream to her than real life, anyway. ]

[Definitely different. So different that he almost wanders past her without even noticing, but her obviously pink hair causes him to do a double-take and stop.]

Lightning? [Maaaan, why couldn't he have switched bodies with this babe D| Oh well. He offers his hand out to shake.] Like I said before, it's nice to finally meet the real you!

[ Zack might consider himself lucky... there's no telling what Lightning might have done to his body had she thought there was reason to protect hers by threat and force. ]

Hm, same.

[ She pauses, glancing down, but then smoothly pulls off her right glove before taking his hand. However, she continues to remain stiff, her eyes narrowed. Mild suspicion much? ]

[Huh. He wasn't expecting the ungloved hand, especially considering her expression. He gives her a firm but hopefully warm handshake, not holding on too long. Women can be pretty scary when they're mad.]

Is something wrong?

[ Geez, doesn't she have reason to be a little weird after spending most of a week out of her mind and in another's body? But yeah okay, there is more to it than that. ]

Aerith said you were a soldier... right?

Not so many to make you sick of them, I hope.

[ Well there's the whole rose thing before that too, Aerith. And oh yeah, the part where you were making 'Claire' help out here too how about that.

... Though seriously, if she was using that to cover for other things... ]

No.

That's right. I used to be part of a military back home. [He's kind of curious about how much Aerith told her now.]

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