thestormishere | ☈ strike #10 (video / action)

☈ strike #10 (video / action)

[ It's really just the icing on the cake that, after everything's that happened to Lightning here- trapped away from her home, failing her Focus by force, conscripted to fight in a war she has little stake in, turning Cie'th on the battlefield of all things... she's finally returned to Luceti, not a week following her eventual death like what's supposed to happen, but ten days after the fact instead. It's not as bad as it could be, of course, but it's definitely enough to cause worry in a way she really wouldn't approve of at all.

And not only that, but it's raining as well. It's quickly approaching evening, and huge drops are heard landing heavily on the pages of a 'recording' journal laying open somewhere outside... and then suddenly a shriek- not unlike another one heard two weeks earlier, although this time it's localized not far from the center of the village. A minute later, and anyone then paying attention to this particular 'video' will get treated to a rather erratic view of the sky, an overhead structure of some kind in passing, and the occasional fleeting glimpse of Lightning, wearing a white dress and with most of her hair plastered wetly to her face.

There's also the sound of ripping, as someone in a state of acute distress begins tearing the pages out of said journal in handfuls. Overlaid on that is the sound of heavy, uneven breathing, what sounds suspiciously like the occasional sob, and-- ]

Stop it. Stop it!

[ ... Obviously, Lightning is not well right now- a fact that is not only apparent over the journals, but in person as well. It's certainly not normal for a woman in what looks to be New Feather garb to be sitting in the middle of the school's playground in the rain, hunched over and trying her best to destroy her own journal. Please help? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Calming down a little lets Lightning at least try to compose herself, even if her mind's a mess and not much is helping right now. She's still disoriented and on-edge, and doesn't notice the newcomer at first...

But then she does, and looks up with a start; in the next moment, she's on her feet, stance defensive... but doesn't do anything. The risk here is that the magic she displayed as a Cie'th didn't come from nowhere, and as a human she should be far more versatile in using it (and without anyone else here to distract her, there should also be little chance she'd miss this time).

However, although it's entirely possible she might have fired off a warning shot to keep him away in this case... something is wrong. She just stands there, tense and silent with her left hand poised loosely in front of her chest. ]

[Hesitation is a good thing in his book. Shikamaru's still hesitant to speak lest he set her off again, but it's a little difficult to convey you're not here to fight without words.

Difficult but not impossible. Shikamaru takes his hands out of his pockets and holds them away from one another and out in front of him, palms open and fingers spread; not a weapon in his hand.

Besides being a somewhat universal symbol for 'please don't kill me, kthnx', it goes double for him. He needs to make the handseals to use most of his jutsu, and a part of him is curious to know if she remembers that.

If not, and she decides to blast him anyways, he's hardly defenseless this time around. Ninjas move a lot faster when they don't have a jutsu to control and keep them stationary.]

[ Were he closer, he might have noticed the mark on her chest actually bearing a mild resemblance to the red one that was in the middle of the Cie'th's as well. Now, however, it definitely doesn't stand out as much as it once did- more like an alarmingly elaborate burn scar than anything else, white against the pale skin around it.

But she hasn't noticed the change yet, even if it has a lot to do with why she really doesn't attack, rather than any real logical hesitation on her part- the first thing she wants is to tear him to pieces. Not that she understands why... she remembers, but not with any sort of clarity at all, which means this encounter is running on instinct.

Although... while something tells her to be on-edge, another, conflicting instinct tells her to think about this. Confused at even trying, she shakes her head, and holds up her other hand as a warning. ]

Stay back.

...all right. [He keeps his voice low, staying where he is, but he's testing the waters. Because seriously, it would be really nice if they could talk some of this out.]

[ Lightning takes a step back, for good measure. Talking things out, while she's admittedly traumatized and currently soaked in freezing rain and mud? That's a lot to expect out of her right now, you know. ]

Why are you here? [ Her tone is relatively even, although her unease is definitely far from dissipated. If he has an eye trained towards that kind of thing, Shikamaru's bound to notice there's the slightest hint of her being unsteady on her feet... though not really because of anything physical. ]

[Well maybe not talking everything out, but he would like to be limited to more than just standing around waiting for her friends to show up and take care of her.

As it stands though, he does have an eye for that - detail in general, really. Physical or not, she shouldn't be out here right now.]

Honest answer? I wanted to make sure you were all right.

... You mean myself. [ Seems pretty obvious to her, although her voice goes and only vaguely resembles stability on that note. Subconsciously, her mismatched wings fold closer to her body, and she regards him with narrowed eyes. Clearly this guy is just ready to try and kill her again at a moment's notice, right? ]

I mean you. [Her body language indicates she doesn't quite trust that, but he reiterates it anyways, just as placidly as before.] And maybe it's just me, but it doesn't look like you are.

[...he's sorry for that.]

[ She's... not sure what to make of that. Her expression tightens in agitation, and then the hand that had continued to hover over the Brand on her chest finally moves to rest against it. Not herself?

It's only then that she notices the difference there, even without looking- the skin there is still raised slightly, but the edges less well-defined. She can also feel her heartbeat going wild under her fingers, but also... more importantly, can tell that something vital in her unwilling contract has been changed here. Right before she turned, she just knew how little time she had left- as if she could sense someone standing right behind her, but was incapable of doing anything about it.

But now that's gone, and she feels no different than when the mark had first been put on her. Baffled, she just looks down to stare at it, ignoring Shikamaru despite her wariness only moments before. ]

[He watches her, a little puzzled. He's curious though - he hasn't missed the fact that the spot where her hand is hovering around is about the same place that weird eye was on the monster.

Shikamaru gives her a few moments before speaking again.] Is something wrong?

No... [ The response is immediate, even if on the surface her behavior seems to contradict it. But she has no idea how else to react- white means her Brand is sealed, like Fang's had been... it means the progression is stopped and the threat of turning Cie'th - again - is nonexistent.

And that her Focus, which her Cie'th form had been so 'obsessed' with, is no longer an issue in relation to her.

.... So has she gone back to the beginning, then? Without thinking, her hand leaves her chest again, tracing the air in a practiced gesture. However, what should come to her naturally, for whatever reason, simply doesn't. She tries again, an odd look on her face as she concentrates, and then again several times in succession, only to cause the slightest hint of purple-white light to flare once before immediately fading away. ]

I don't think... you've got much to worry about. [ Her voice is unstable, though whatever emotion is causing it isn't clear. ]

In case you haven't noticed, it's not me I'm worried about here. [If he'd planned on putting his own safety first, he wouldn't be here.

Even so, his hands lower to his sides now.] Look, why don't you sit down before you fall down.

[It's not just her voice that isn't steady.]

[ Lightning stares at him blankly- obviously, she's not doing a whole lot of comprehending so far today. Then, however, her lips press together, and after another beat, she steps sideways. First one step, then another.

She backs up, until she's beneath one of the playground's roofed structures, then leans against a post, wrapping an arm around it... and slowly slides to the ground, her legs beneath her. Her eyes remain fixed in Shikamaru's direction, even if it's probably hard to tell with her head down, fringe wet and mostly flattened into her face. ]

[That's one step in the right direction. He knows there's not much he can do for her right now, but he's not about to leave and be done with it here.

With one hand, he gestures to the journal hanging out of a coat pocket.] Mind if I take this out?

[Right now, he imagines what Lightning needs is to be able to get inside and rest... and maybe have that friend of hers explain thing to her after that. Since it's not an option until she shows up, however, he'll try to keep her occupied in the mean time. After that broadcast on the journals, he thinks getting her to engage in some conversation is a good step.]

.... What for?

[ Not to be cute, she's not afraid of him throwing it at her or something- he hadn't been acting alone during the draft when fighting against her, had he? She's not too far gone to realize that it would still be possible to cause her more trouble with the thing. ]

I want to make sure your friend is on her way. You're not about to go anywhere with me, obviously, but I'd feel better knowing you're not sitting out in the rain.

[ A soft scoff, though the thought causes a welling of... what? Guilt? Uncertainty? She lifts a hand to rub briefly at her face, though it's mostly ineffectual, with the general wet and muddiness of everything. ]

...so was that a yes or a no?

... I don't care.

[He nods, then reaches for his journal and quietly checks the contents within.

He doesn't close it right away when he's done, studying her expression from over the book.] Looks like it shouldn't be too long of a wait.

[ No answer to that at first- she just stares at the ground near Shikamaru's feet, focusing on the automatic things like breathing. After a few seconds, though- ]

Name? [ Her voice is rough, but unusually businesslike for her downtrodden state. If the two of them have talked before, it wasn't enough for Lightning to have come away with knowing that. ]

Nara Shikamaru. [He closes the journal gently; shields it from the rain.] You and I talked about oatmeal once.

[It wasn't an earth-breaking conversation, and they didn't even exchange names. But it was a discussion before that and as silly as it may have been, he's hoping it can humanize him some for her.]

Edited 2011-03-19 21:54 (UTC)

[ Later, Lightning is definitely going to wonder which of those names is his given one. For now, she responds with nothing - not even her own name in return. She's... trying not to think much of anything, right now. ]

[It's not like he needs it. In any case, he thinks he can hear footsteps in the distance now. More or less his cue to leave.]

Look. I don't understand a lot of what happened out there... and right now I'm willing to bet that you're fuzzy on the details yourself. I trust your friend will fill you in on it.

If you want to leave it at that then, fine. I can respect that decision. [He turns to leave.] But just so you know, it wasn't something I wanted to do.

[ Lightning tenses slightly and there's a pause, maybe even long enough to let Shikamaru begin leaving... but then she glances up and says forcefully: ]

It's not going to happen again.

[ ... To her, at least. ]

[Action]

endgames - 2011-03-20 04:00 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only