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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Hmmm, are you sure? I don't think that kind of yellow would be flattering. But if you want to try it--!

[Yyyeah if that was meant to be retaliation? Lightning didn't say, so Aerith chooses to act like it was serious.]

I was lying. I think you would look great in yellow.

[ Driest sense of humor ever. ]

Oh Lightning. [a giggle before she becomes slightly more serious. ...still plenty light-hearted.] Okay, what do you want in a swim suit?

[ Something super-hot so she can attract all the boys and girls!! Or not. She puts up the one she was holding rather unceremoniously, idly brushing through the ones near it. ]

Mm... I don't think it makes much of a difference. Just... something that's not going to embarrass me.

[ This is Lightning- if she can't do a back-flip without flashing everyone...? That would be a problem. She frowns again as she seems to think about it too, though. It might be changed now to a state that's not as obvious, but she does still have that damned Brand on her chest.... ]

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]

[ ... 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.]

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.

[ 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!

... 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. ]

...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.]

[ 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| ]

Huh. He missed us fast! [That heartbroken howl. How dramatic... Baldr might be hitting puppy puberty, but he's still more like a toddler when it comes to missing mommy.

Lightning did say be right back, so Aerith will wait for them rather than immediately pursue, though she is looking curiously back at the shop. ]

[ Well, surely Aerith must feel lucky for being able to witness what is apparently the happy reunion of the century, once Baldr is finally released from his clothing-filled prison- tail-wagging, jumping up a bit in sheer joy...

... It's obvious from the reaction and look on Lightning's face that it's not really anything new, though... save for the part where she's also, uh, having to extract a bikini top from over the puppy's head too. Dogs. Her expression is completely flat as the two make their way over.

With Baldr at a sprint. Watch out, Aerith. ]

[Watch out? Naw. Aerith's going to be encouraging a little of Baldr's puppy naughtiness here. Not that she really means to, but when she sees Baldr's lively enthusiasm, she impulsively crouches down, opens her arms for Baldr to fling himself at, and falls over with him. At least her swimsuits don't fly out the bag.]

[Best way to forget depressing thoughts about death: cold puppy nose and playful tongue all over the face. The giggles come up by reflex and she pets him fondly. Puppy~] You found us!

[ And Lightning just puts her hands on her hips as she crosses the short amount of distance left between the puppy launch site and Aerith's position on the ground, watching her tumble with that SEEMINGLY-ENDLESS SOURCE OF HAIR AND SPUNK. ]

You know I'm trying to teach him not to do that, right?

[ She doesn't sound too upset, though. ]

[Nooo just a few more seconds with magical puppy love... which actually stretch on a bit, but after a nice cuddle she feels a lot better.] Okay, Baldr. No more. Be a good boy.

[HEADTILT. DOES HE GET ONE OF THESE? Still, his distraction lets Aerith get back up, dusting off her dress.]

Edited 2011-06-08 23:12 (UTC)

... Baldr, heel.

[ Lightning doesn't make a show of the order- just says it with neutral firmness, and fortunately, for all the nonsense that comes out of having a puppy that can talk, Baldr is indeed good enough to follow it. Probably because he does get praise and a small treat for doing so, as Lightning picks up the leash and sorts it out before getting back to walking home like they'd planned. ]

Should probably do something about the... separation anxiety.

Probably. But, it's kind of cute.

[It feels much easier now that they're talking about neutral subjects... though she wonders if that'll change when they get back to the apartments. ...Even though she knows she'd urge someone else to tell her, she's always kept her troubles to herself. Most times, she had to. It was the safer way.]

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