thestormishere | ☈ strike #13 (action / voice)

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☈ strike #13 (action / voice)

[ Today, Lightning's doing something fairly unusual in comparison to her normal - and recently even darker than normal - behavior. For once, she's outside and yet doesn't seem busy, merely watching as her puppy Baldr frolics about in the general area of community housing 4 in search of sticks to defeat, things to dig up, and nearby people to greet. In fact, the young woman and dog look pretty safe to come 'visit' with today- especially since there's also no gunblade in sight, and as she sits down to lean against the outside wall, she makes a pretty inane-seeming public message. ]

These seasons... usually last about three months each, right? How much warmer does it get?

-- Filtered to Sigmund --

Sigmund. About earlier... when and where?

-- - --

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[ Yeah, she figured as much too, but it seems her sarcasm is on in full-force today for some reason. It's just... kind of hard to wind down, when you're so used to being wound up. Safe to say she's got a lot on her mind.

Although... uh... if he keeps pretending to take her seriously, that kind of diminishes the effect, you know? She raises her eyebrows at him. ]

You're impossible.

I've dressed up boys and let them make fools of themselves on their own. I won't pick anything bad! [The first one was not bad Lightning is just a prude 8| Oh, she should look for something more modest then... a tankini, maybe?

Also she loves Cloud she just can't help using the HANDY EXAMPLE.]

Hmmmm... this one (http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/michael-michael-kors-shirred-bandeau-tankini-top/3150650?id=12384037&largeImg=0&tn=largerview_popup&tname=product)? [waving it in the air]

[Sigmund takes Hope's wrist in one hand and... for a bit, just seems to frown at it, eyes half closed. Internally, he's pushing at his glyph - or at that part of his spirit that's been altered by the glyph - to try and force it to tell him something useful. It doesn't seem to be reacting... but this is important. This is someone's life at stake. If there's even the slightest chance... He'll do everything in his power. Finally, his lunaglyph seems to... to burst; a flash of red light in an ornate sigil across his chest, there and then gone.

He lets go of Hope; pulls his hand away like it was burned and clutches it to his chest in a fist.]

Sorry. I shouldn't have- Did you feel anything?

[ ... Haha, what. Lightning looks mildly amused, both at the mental image (LITTLE DOES SHE KNOW) and Aerith's seemingly unstoppable drive to find her something to wear. C'mon though, she just doesn't want to suffer a wardrobe malfunction if she does anything but walk around! ]

Maybe... we should just grab a bunch to take home and try.

[ She continues searching and pulling something out here and there, though it's noteworthy that the kind of thing she's gravitating toward aren't all that modest. 8|

... Momentary confusion at what seems to be a hair tie on one of the hangers for some reason, before yanking out something particularly colorful... ]

And what about you, Aerith?

[ Although... wait.... ]

Hmm, that's a good idea. Gives us time to decide. [Also gives her an opportunity to tease Zack on "accident".

Oh, that is noticeable. So it was something else that Lightning didn't like about the other one--it was a little less practical than these.

...Scrunchie? What is that doing here?]

They must have put it in the wrong place. [She's still looking at it with a confused expression when Lightning asks about what she's doing, and she turns around--

Oooh, that's cute--

--but it'd horrify Zack. No teasing in that one!

Her face falls from its moment of delight until she puts on a more neutral smile.]

Umm... it's really nice, but it's not my thing. Let me look around a little more! [Definitely going with a one-piece; even with a tankini, she wouldn't want to risk the top riding up. She ducks back into the swimsuits.]

And you're willingly trying to live with me. Who's the crazy one now?

[He's just out to have fun, Light.]

Ah... right.

[ Aerith mentioned something about "one-pieces only" already, didn't she? Except that was during the experiment where everyone thought they had different lives, so it--

Then again, they'd been talking about their odd dreams at the time... which had turned out later to be pieces of their actual realities. Lightning's hands keep moving on the swimsuits, and she manages to avoid tripping over Baldr laying completely crashed on the floor when she moves, but she's not quite paying attention to the task at hand as she thinks and tries to piece things together... ]

... You got pulled from a different time than the rest of your friends, didn't you?

[Her hand stills on the rack as she glances over at Lightning for a brief second. And though she quickly returns to brushing through swimsuits, her thoughts are more preoccupied than before.

Why is that question being asked? No, it's a normal thing to be curious about, but why right now? Did Hope say something? Or... no. She'd said something. During the experiment... but maybe she's overthinking.]

Mm, you're right! That's just how it happens here. Zack's much earlier... so...

[She closes her mouth tight and sticks to picking out swimsuits, distractedly, because all she wants to say is please don't say anything to him, which isn't right because there isn't supposed to be anything to say. She had not been expecting to think about this while swimsuit shopping. But, it's okay. She can stay lighthearted, or at least talk like it, and if she talks lightheartedly she always goes back to being it, eventually.]

Cloud was later, and Tifa was too, and Vincent's wa-a-ay later. He's got years on me.

[ Her, apparently, though she just... glances down and appears vexed instead of answering. If Zack's out to have fun? At their core her most marked reasons for this are just about the opposite, in that they have almost nothing to do with her or what she wants for herself.

... As such, she takes a deep breath, briefly looking toward the building again in what is transparently an attempt to make sure they're not being listened in on... and then seems to switch her tune completely. ]

Listen. I know that Hope... pretty much locked himself in our apartment after the last... recruitment.

[ She is getting at something with that though, and frowns as she pulls idly at the stick that Baldr's gotten a re-grip on. ]

[...Ahaha, that's a serious comment. The mirth fades from Zack's expression, shifting into a more reserved look, and he nods in agreement.]

Yeah, he was... pretty upset. It's never easy, being the one left behind.

[And then to get bad news brought home, instead of the one you're waiting for? It was terrible.]

[ She's silent for a second more, eyes down. Is it really a surprise that she has such serious-business motivations for this, though? ]

That's why I think we should do this - if something happens to one of us, we should look after each other.

[ Read into that as you will. That's just how she's learned to do things- she definitely wouldn't go as far as saying Zack and Aerith are like family like she would with the other Pulse l'Cie, but... well, Zack was the one that kept insisting they were all friends, right? They're like... her only friends right now. This is as close as it gets for Lightning here in Luceti. ]

[ That should be enough, but honestly, Lightning's not very satisfied despite her question being answered in full. She presses her lips together, staring over the short distance between them with hard eyes but a soft frown. Frankly, she's known for a while now that there's something she's missing, though obviously, she's just never bothered to directly ask... ]

It just seems strange that you don't talk about it very much.

[ She can't come up with an answer fast enough to stop an awkward pause from forming. All she can keep thinking, her shoulders hunched up in tension, is that she absolutely does not want to talk about this.

It's too late to stop thinking about it, though. And... Lightning...]

You've... kind of figured it out already, haven't you...?

That time I was attacked from behind... Who wants to talk about something like that? It was a scary time. [She shakes her head.] I just want to forget it happened!

[Zack nods again; there's no argument for that, and he wouldn't want to even if he had a good reason to refuse. It's just how it works here- people have to learn to look after one another. Especially friends.]

It's nicer to come home to a big house than a lonely little apartment, anyway. Even if you do have a roommate. I say we go for it.

[But if he had felt anything, Hope wouldn't know it just yet—his attention's immediately caught by that bright flash of light. At first he'd thought it to come from himself, for an instant, but then he realizes it had flared up from the other man somehow. A fraction of a second for him to catch it before it's gone.]

What was—

[The brand on his wrist seems to throb with an uncomfortable warmth, and that's when he directs his gaze toward the marking. It shines a faint golden hue, pulsing brighter. The colour it normally glows when magic's involved— but it's supposed to be the sort that comes from him. He's not hurt in the slightest, but Hope draws it to his chest, cradling that wrist in his other hand.

There's a brief flash of panic, brief like that glowing sigil. What if a reaction is just the shock he needs to make it advance further? He's not sure if he can last another impact like that. Hope can feel his stomach lurch, and his fingers tense like a vice around his own wrist. Obscuring the entire thing - though the illumination can still be seen, faintly, subtly lighting his pale skin.]

I really don't think this is a good idea. [His voice is even, but there's a sharp, wavering intake of breath.]

... You don't have to tell me, but... you know, you can't just get by ignoring the things that have happened for forever either, Aerith.

[ Just look at Vanille! However, Lightning's voice is quiet and low. She's really only curious and a little concerned by now- it's not anything world-threatening as far as she knows or anything, and it's not like Lightning is Aerith's mother or whatever...

But. She's starting to wonder, considering Aerith may have just confirmed a bridge between the two topics- it seems an odd thing to be so sensitive over, when she's had friends who could tell her about what happened afterward.

Then again, considering this is Lightning who has a pretty special view on attacks and, despite having an entire world back home who hates her intensely, still wants to go back, perhaps she's biased too. Shaking her head, the ex-soldier bites down on a list of pointed questions she could ask but won't; she may be kind of new to this brand of friendship, but she feels certain she also doesn't want to start a confrontation while standing amidst swimwear. ]

[ Lightning tenses immediately, then with a stressed, gusty sigh, rounds to sit heavily on the edge of the couch. Her first priority is reaching for Hope's arm, to make sure the teen's okay and that the Brand hasn't actually progressed any, though she also glances to Sigmund with more of a frown tugging at her lips as well. She's already seen his lunaglyph looking bad during the course of the experiment; as desperate as she is here, possibly hurting himself for the benefit of people he barely knows isn't really something she's expecting out of him. ]

It's like they're trying to protect themselves. [ Great. Just what they need is to find out is that there's some sort of actual will involved here or something, and that what happened to her wasn't just a fluke.

Hope hadn't lost consciousness or anything like she had, though. Yet. Lightning grits her teeth, frustrated and uncertain... then turns, pressing a hand to her chest. ]

There's my Brand too. It still works, just... doesn't change any more.

[ ... Lightning stares for a second longer than she probably should, but then for once she smiles slightly- genuinely, if maybe a touch sad as well. ]

Right.

...I'm not... [But she's better off not thinking about it when there isn't anything she can do. But if there's nothing she can do, doesn't that mean it's hopeless? No, she can't think that, it's never hopeless...] I'm just... [Deep down, she's really scared that's it. Everything she's heard says it's impossible, and she can't think of the first way to fix things so she can live and go back home.

Lightning wouldn't give up on it, though. She's been so strong facing her and Hope's brands, so Aerith can be that strong too, right? Even if she doesn't feel like it.]

...I'll get by. [Her tone lightens as she waves her hand to indicate the store at general, finally turning back to Lightning.] Besides, this really isn't the place to talk about serious stuff. How about we take these swimsuits and head home?

[ Doesn't take a genius to tell that whatever it is behind this, it has Aerith very, very upset. Lightning looks down, pressing her lips together. Great job utterly ruining something lighthearted, Farron. ]

... Alright.

[ She can definitely respect the 'not the place' point, even though it can also... give more time to agonize and clam up. Maybe. But she just sighs, starts grabbing everything that had been picked out, finding a bag to shove it all in without discrimination... it'll be fun untangling it all later, that's for sure.

And meanwhile, while Lightning's totally preoccupied, she definitely doesn't notice that her dog's gotten up at some point and gone missing from where he's supposed to be laying. Oops. ]

[Aerith doesn't notice either; she gets her own bag, occasionally looking in Light's direction but not trying to catch her eyes as she half-heartedly puts in a few outfits. When she's finished, she walks out ahead of Lightning, though she stops in front of the entrance. She might want to just leave the conversation behind, but she doesn't want to ditch her friend... and she's still going over in her head whether she should tell Lightning what happened or not. Light's always had so much to deal with about her brand and Hope's, it wasn't fair to tell her that if she vanished from Luceti, she'd be dead. It just wasn't.

...Aerith really wanted to lean on someone, though. Even if it wasn't fair. It had been easier to bear when Cloud was here. Because he wanted to help her, and he was close by... now he was back to his own life. She was happy he was back there.

But do you still remember your promise? To get me back home? She knew the reality was that he probably didn't. Which made it feel like it was just her again, out of those she considered closest.]

[Sigmund isn't quite ready to take his hand away from his chest yet. He wasn't expecting that; but then, he'd never pushed his glyph like that. He didn't use his glyph at all. Thankfully, he learned something useful from this. Possibly two useful things. He looks at the suppressant thoughtfully.]

No, I... think I've seen enough. [He glances around; he'd really like to sit.]

I think the suppressant will work, if you wish to try.

[ Yeah, Lightning's mind is completely on Aerith and whatever this is all about, and without even thinking she's quick to go right out the door behind her. Not that she knows what to do now, of course; even though she's got a pretty good idea of what she wants to ask or say... if the clothing store was an inappropriate place to do so, then the plaza is even worse.

Which leaves her drawing a blank, then. And even though she could do what's been fairly normal for her in the past - act like nothing's wrong, just stay silent until something changes and she's compelled to respond - for once she feels like she should say something. So... what? ]

... I seem to be pretty good at ruining conversations, huh?

[It pulls Aerith out of her thoughts, and she smiles a little.] Mm, maybe sometimes. But really, you're only being a good friend, right? So it's okay.

[Just. That whole give-and-take part of friendship. What is that. 8|;;;]

...It is really quiet now, though. Even Baldr's finding the air heavy, huh? [And she looks around Lightning's feet for the dog, but... wait.]

[ She... tries, at least? It's not just that she's a touch clueless- sometimes she's not sure of her own intentions anyway, particularly when it's her at the center of them. ]

Something like...

[ Uh. And Lightning senses something's off and glances down too... just as a slightly-muffled howl of heartbreak sounds out behind them. Oh. Sighing quietly, she closes her eyes, brows coming together. ]

... Be right back.

[ Embarrassed but hiding it, and she breaks into a slow jog as soon as she's turned back around. See, stuff like this is part of why she never wants her own kids. 8| ]

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☈ strike #13 (action / voice)

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