☈ strike #07 (action)

[thestormishere]

[ So. Even though there seems to be an 'experiment' in full swing this week, several days later Lightning still has yet to be affected for some reason. Not that she's complaining, of course, considering she has several new problems on her hands anyway-- namely, the recent appearance of both Hope and Sazh to Luceti. Talk about complicated. Needless to say, Soldier Girl here needs another outlet; therefore, she has decided to develop a new skill:

Knife-throwing.

Because clearly, being a superpowered, magic-slinging former-sergeant trained in the use of a gunblades and bazookas and airships and who knows what else doesn't make her quite dangerous enough. Yeah, she knows the basics of using a knife in hand, and she can throw one fairly decently already, but that... is not enough.

And so she's practicing, outside near the forest and in a particularly snowy patch of ground- this is because not only is she working on her ability to toss sharp objects, but is trying to improve her maneuverability in the snow at the same time as well. After all, you never know when something like that might become important.

She probably makes an interesting sight too, holding a knife out in front of her like she's taking aim, but then turning around completely and launching herself backwards into not just one flip, but two - briefly touching down between them, off-hand braced in the snow - before flinging the knife mid-flight. However, although the weapon hits her target, once Lightning has bounced to a stop and surveyed the throw, she still seems unsatisfied (you know, despite pulling that off at all in the first place).

So she does it again, and again, and again, until finally, she feels like she's gotten a little better and gets ambitious enough to try something a little different. Setting her feet, she picks up a knife in both hands, jumps back again and-- abruptly loses her equilibrium in the air, so that the knives go flying off-course entirely, and she goes crashing down unceremoniously with a bark of surprise. A moment later, she's rolled to her feet, looking bewildered and displeased, and a moment after that, she looks down and notices that she's no longer herself. Again. ]

... Oh.

[ Yeah. "Oh" is right, considering she's suddenly several years younger, with longer hair and a face that's far more used to smiling than frowning-- her little sister, Serah's, actually. Furthermore, despite so many others getting to keep them, for the time being she's been stripped of her powers completely. If you... just got a knife to the kidney, then sorry, blame the Malnosso, and hopefully it didn't go too deep?

Replies will come from strikingusdown. ]

Comments

[strikingusdown]

[ The gesture might make a little more sense when Lightning moves that hand from arm to upper chest, eyes downcast in thought. Instead of making another only semi-related comment, however, she falls silent again while she pulls off her gloves... and then jumps right into something else before Aerith has a chance to pick the conversation back up herself. ]

I don't think I'm a l'Cie right now.

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

[She pauses for a long moment, finally sinking onto the couch.] No...you wouldn't be. Because it's branded on your body, so with that changed... [She frowns slightly. Why couldn't the Malnosso fix it?] At least there's some time to not worry about it progressing.

[...But from the sound of it, Hope had one too.]

[strikingusdown]

To my body... [ Even though they've already played with the idea, that still brings up some weird implications, to say the least. Lightning's concentration is evident as she leans against the end of the couch, nearly admitting that as Serah she should still have a Brand... but distracted by various explanations she can come up by herself for its absence. ]

If the Brands aren't actually connected to the soul somehow, then that... that still means the final stages act to trap it when it gets that far.

But nobody knows what happens to a l'Cie who dies before that happens. It could still be connected. [ Sullen and just thinking aloud there. Also, a thought: if Lightning had let Sazh kill Serah, would she have just turned Cie'th anyway before getting the chance to crystallize? Would she and the others have turned if the plans to execute them had worked? ]

...I can't think of anything else but:

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that's so morbid. No one's dying here.

[And Aerith has gone back to herself here. This has nothing to do with me getting tired of the same two icons, no sir.]

[strikingusdown]

[ At that Lightning just goes and stares for several moments far too long, expression tight, before deliberately turning her face away. It's morbid, yeah, but there's not much she can do about that. Also what, this place is so, so weird with all this changing stuff. ]

Then we'd better figure out a way to get the Brands off. Quick. It's not just me we have to worry about now.

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

[That way-too-long look clues Aerith in that something's off before she looks at her hands... her hands. The sigh of relief is so obvious--until Lightning says that.]

How far along is Hope?

[strikingusdown]

[ Lightning pauses, shoulders rolling forward uncharacteristically at the thought... when it comes to Hope, that uncertainty that had been strangely missing during her own admission of possible fate-- it makes its sudden appearance quite noticeably. ]

Farther... than he should be. We'll be going down together, if it comes to that. [ With the strain of seeing the other go Cie'th? Yeah, it's pretty unlikely whoever is left will stand much of a chance. ]

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

[Oh, but. No pressure, right? Her cheeks puff out briefly before she stuffs down her own uncertainty--that's not what Lightning needs.

What Lightning needs--actually, it's a lot of things, but a hug is seeming like one of them, so Aerith does just that.]

Let's try soon. You really need that gone so you can relax... [Because seriously, when is Lightning laid back. :(]

[strikingusdown]

[ Unsurprisingly, Lightning's a little awkward in being hugged... but she doesn't resist Aerith trying, at least. She slowly nods at the comment (and regrets her sister's fringe not being as long as hers). ]

Whatever it takes. [ Because really, even if whatever they try kills her... she'll still do it if there's a chance it will help somehow. That's something she won't say aloud for now, though. ]