☈ strike #12 (action)

[thestormishere]

[ With the latest experiment screeching into an abrupt-as-always end, Lightning is, unsurprisingly, furious at everything because of it. Finding herself out in the middle of town, middle of the night, completely blindsided with the realization that everything she thought for the last week was a lie... that was not in her overall game-plan. The dreams were true. Her "family" was an elaborate, baffling fabrication. Ergo, Lightning is pissed.

However...

Making her way home would be much, much easier if the woman wasn't completely smashed on the alcohol her alternate apparently decided would be a good stand-in for sleep... and if her body wasn't trying desperately to go and expel not only that but apparently everything she's eaten in the last week. The taste of too-strong booze and-- and cigarettes is in her mouth, choking her, and it's only by a show of tremendously formidable will that she manages to stumble home, to make it to the right building at all...

Just to burst inelegantly through community housing 4's front door, smack into a wall bodily, and then promptly get lost in the semi-darkness as she tries to make her way to her apartment. Not so easy, when her intoxication-ruined grace has her tripping on the stairs, cursing not-so-quietly under her breath....

Feel free to run into her at any point between town and apartment. Anywhere, really. 8| ]

Comments

[wingenvy]

[Zack's just on his way home after helping Lilly cart her stuff home, so he happens to meet up with Lightning at the building entrance. He blinks at her for a long moment, kind of boggled, because- well, it looks like Lightning, sure, but at the same time, the staggering, stumbling, drunken look of her movement is really... not like her. At all.

It's been one hell of a night, though, so he can't blame her. Shaking off his surprise, he jogs over to catch up, opening the door for her.]

Hey, hey! Are you okay there?

[thestormishere]

Hnn... [ Well, she certainly looks a lot like Lightning even if her behavior's off, especially with that glare she levels at him-- aims at him, rather, since she's not doing so well with the level thing right now. ]

Yeah. Ssshure.

[wingenvy]

[...Yeah, ssshure. She looks real okay. He steps closer, grabbing her shoulder to try and steady her.]

Had a little too much at the bar, huh?

[thestormishere]

[ You have to ask? The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke is on her so strong, the only reason it isn't much affecting her any more is because she's had to more or less get used to it over the last... however long it's been since normality was switched back on. She doesn't even know, man.

... She can't really think of anything sufficiently dry and/or witty to say, though, so she just goes with making a disgusted face instead, reaching up to put the wrist of the hand touching her in a strangle-hold. ]

Essperiment.

[wingenvy]

[She's not the only one who snapped out of it in an awkward position, okay. He's got a terrible case of the blue balls and he's a little tired of women around him being stupidly stubborn tonight, so with a grumble he uses that stranglehold to get her arm around his shoulders so he can help to support her.]

I figured as much. It's gonna be one hell of a morning tomorrow.

[thestormishere]

[ She lets him do it even if she feels obligated to groan in annoyance at him- she's definitely never been anywhere close to this drunk before and... really doesn't feel like being That Girl who needs help walking because of it. Not that she can really help it. ]

Definitely gonna... tear this whole damn plase aparrt. Trus' me.

[wingenvy]

[So long as she's not punching him in the face, he's fine with her internal grumbling. (Since. You know. He can't hear it.) Instead he focuses on walking, keeping her steady, and hopefully distracting her from the position with the upcoming destruction of the enclosure. Because suuuuure you are, Light.]

Want help? I'm sure there'll be a whole crowd of people ready to do the same thing.

[thestormishere]

I can do it myself. No nneed. [ Just... as soon as she finds her gunblade, of course.

... You might want to hide it from her, actually. ]

[action]

[unbalancedsoul.livejournal.com]

[And that banging into walls is going to bring out one very annoyed resident of community building 4. Once she finds the source, she'll wince a bit at the reek of booze and cigarettes.

Still, if she didn't do something about this she'd never get back to her rest.] Hello?

[thestormishere]

...worse th'n-- ow!

[ Whatever something is worse than is cut off by another bang, however, Lightning accidentally kicking one of the stairs instead of stepping up on it properly. The sharp exclamation that follows it is more out of surprise and annoyance than actual pain, though. Heavy boots and all. ]

Hmn. [ She looks up at Aella from her lower position - half-bent, death-gripping the railing - but doesn't really answer. At least she managed to keep from falling? Yeah. ]

[unbalancedsoul.livejournal.com]

[Aella's going to continue looking at the nearly fall over drunk in the stairway with a raised eyebrow. She's not going to reach to help her, not yet anyway. She's still reeling a bit from the smell.]

Need some help?

[thestormishere]

[ Being seen like this by a woman she knows lives in the building but not at all otherwise is... not what Lightning needs right now, and her frowning expression is intense as she - don't puke on the stairs - straightens up to try and get back to her upward journey. ]

No just ... sstupid village.

[unbalancedsoul.livejournal.com]

[A frown. She's going to fall and crack her skull at this rate, and Aella as the nearest doctor would have to patch her up, wouldn't she.

Damn. Reaching over and grabbing her by the arm to steady her.] Come on, let's get you upstairs.

[thestormishere]

-- What? [ Lightning just stares at Aella as she takes her arm, her anger at the indignation of the past ten days still beating through her like it's fire in her blood, uncomprehending why someone would be trying to help.

And so she's compelled to elaborate, somehow: ] I'm jusst... thought I was sssomeone elze. [ Kind of? Hard to explain when the world is busy spinning so wildly at the moment, all because that 'someone else' eventually became so disturbed by what she saw in her dreams... ]

[unbalancedsoul.livejournal.com]

I think we all did, some more then others. [She seemed to have gotten off easy, but losing all her memories of her life, her world, the things that made her who she was- It wasn't right, and it definitely was rage inducing. She already knew if she ever saw that Bil bastard in person she'd make him feel a world of hurt.]

Come on, I'll help you get upstairs then give you some medicine to clear your head. If you pass out in the hall or crack your head open it'll make a mess.

[thestormishere]

Tch...

I think... I c'n make it up just another ssset of stairss. [ Unfortunately, she's not all that appreciative of being talked to like that right now, and her annoyance is clear in the set of her body as she stares downward, focusing really hard on accomplishing that assertion.

Those stairs are an awful long ways down, though, and it just so happens to be right then that she's re-reminded just how awful the air hanging around her is. Why does this sort of thing have to happen to her? ]

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

Hey! Be careful, there's flowers there! [Middle of the night. Woke up from a nightmare just in time to realize it was a memory, and that she forgot everything important for ten whole days. Aerith is a bit irritable with everything herself, and. well. They're flowers.

Also, not recognizing that careless drunk as her friend yet. :|a It is darker.]

1/2

[thestormishere]

[ There's a gasp and shuffle at that- geez Aerith, are you trying to give her a heart attack or what? ]

I knnow where they arrre! [ ... Kind of? On the ground somewhere... right? Stomp stomp sto-- ] -- Gah!

[thestormishere]

[ ...Oh, here they are. They'll survive a drunk woman tripping over into them with a sudden flump, right? ]

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

Oh, hones-- [She's already walking toward the figure, but she falters for a second (SHE KNOWS THAT VOICE) before picking up the pace.]

Lightning? Light, are you sick-- [...Okay now that she's rushed closer, she knows that smell, too. And is in fact backing off from it.]

You're drunk. ... I never pegged you for a drinker. [Okay. This is a FLOWER GIRL here who is awesome enough to be a SOLDIER, but she does not have that arm strength. So she's pausing to get too close to Lightning, which is admittedly a little bit because of the smell but also because she's hoping Lightning's sober enough to get back up on her own There is going to be mucho awkwardness if Aerith has to support her.]

[thestormishere]

[ Give her a break- if misery or anger had a scent, either would definitely be drowning out the rest of it right now. She's really feeling the trampled by chocobos / run over by a train / sent crashing down through a roof vibes, here. ]

'M not. [ And well, apparently she's still able to pull herself up to all fours again at least, squeezing her eyes shut and trying very hard not to make a mess all over the flowers on top of making them break her fall like that. Actually, this flowerbed-- ] Is... thiss youurs? Ssorry about that....

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, okay. You're drunk because you're not a drinker. I see. [Despite that bit of much dubiousness she IS getting down to her knees as she sees Lightning's having trouble with coordination, balance, and...everything.] Well, don't make a habit of it. But they're tough, they'll get better. Now, I'm pretty sure you should be in bed, so... up we go? [Slooowly trying to help up with hands. And not jostle the drunk. The last thing she wants is puke on the flowers or her dress because...just ew.

ewww.]

[thestormishere]

-- No! [ At that, she starts nearly shaking again in drunken fury, reminded all over again of why she's like this. Thank goodness she isn't anywhere near the violent drunk she could be, though. Punching her best galfriend would be kinda bad. ]

Eks-sper-ri-ment, Aerith! [ The whys may be hazy, but she does know this much: she would never ever do this to herself if she were... well, herself. And come on, if the whole Cie'th thing wasn't enough to drive her there...? ]

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

Hey. I'm right by you, I can hear you perfectly fine. [It comes out slightly sharp, but then she softens her voice--she's cranky, but Lightning's obviously feeling worse. And though she is surprised it's the experiment (she didn't pick up any new habits from it), that's fades as soon as she remembers she'd stumbled on Lightning smoking and had known she'd smoked before... even though Aerith knows very well now she only saw that one occasion. She sighs, rubbing Lightning's shoulder.]

I get it, the experiment did this. What a stupid shift. Please calm down?

[thestormishere]

[ If she could, Lightning would have certainly tried to grab the ground and flip this entire damn village already; when it comes to experiments, this is without competition the worst one so far.

... But not just because she's drunk and sick right now- over the last week and a half, there were definitely a few people that she doesn't even know that she'd been talking to like it was perfectly alright to share her secrets with them, implying relationships that shouldn't be there, letting strangers into her apartment...!!

SMOKING AND DRINKING.

And well, yeah. Being in this kind of position again in front of Aerith isn't fun at all. She makes a drawn-out sound of extreme disapproval at her predicament before bracing herself into some semblance of steady enough to try and get back on her feet. Considering she's the kind of person who can do a backflip from a standstill, that's not quite as hard as it would be for many, but... still. ]