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thestormishere) wrote2011-12-28 05:45 pm
thestormishere) wrote2011-12-28 05:45 pm
☈ strike #19 (action)
[ It's absolutely freezing and the village is covered in snow, but although Lightning would usually be all for avoiding that kind of weather like the beach-town native from Cocoon she is, today she's out anyway... and accompanying Baldr, who has definitely been inside way too much lately.
Hard to believe that a year ago saw her struggling with what to do with the little puppy she suddenly found herself saddled with, but now? That little black fluffball is a full-grown dog: long-haired, well-muscled... and currently bounding about, snuffling through the white covering, and chatting back to his pink-haired human about his various findings. Still a puppy at heart sometimes, that's for sure.
And while he doesn't run up to just anyone and bowl them over or anything - look at who his trainer is, come on - he does pay special attention to anyone else who happens to be out as well, ears perked forward, snow in his ruff, and a hearty Hello! to most who cross their path.
As for Lightning herself, she's... a noticeable contrast, solemn and distracted as she keeps an eye on the dog, making her way slowly into the middle of town. A visit to the flowershop later, and she's carrying something pretty unusual: a small bunch of pale pink crysanthemums. Where she's heading after that, however, remains to be seen. ]
Hard to believe that a year ago saw her struggling with what to do with the little puppy she suddenly found herself saddled with, but now? That little black fluffball is a full-grown dog: long-haired, well-muscled... and currently bounding about, snuffling through the white covering, and chatting back to his pink-haired human about his various findings. Still a puppy at heart sometimes, that's for sure.
And while he doesn't run up to just anyone and bowl them over or anything - look at who his trainer is, come on - he does pay special attention to anyone else who happens to be out as well, ears perked forward, snow in his ruff, and a hearty Hello! to most who cross their path.
As for Lightning herself, she's... a noticeable contrast, solemn and distracted as she keeps an eye on the dog, making her way slowly into the middle of town. A visit to the flowershop later, and she's carrying something pretty unusual: a small bunch of pale pink crysanthemums. Where she's heading after that, however, remains to be seen. ]
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For... an anniversary?
[So very awkward...]
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[ Lightning frowns, her mouth set in a wry line. Yeah, she's already seen and heard it all- the shock, the awkward apologies, the pity-- which is the last thing she wants. The worst are the people who think they can get away with something like, "that's a hard thing to go through," as if she somehow doesn't already know. She hates feeling like all her hard work to survive and drag both herself and Serah through growing up by themselves - for five years, perhaps even longer if you considered their mother's frequent illness, lack of their father since Claire was eight - can be tossed aside so easily.
As unfortunate as it is that she lost both her parents at such a young age, she made it through- an entirely different person than she would have been otherwise, but that's... how it is. ]
Near as I can tell, anyway...
[ With the stupid, unpredictable, 12-based calendar here. She keeps her eyes down, only briefly glancing up as far at Zack's face. Is he still up for hanging around after that? ]
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I haven't seen my parents for about ten years now. It can be pretty rough sometimes.
[And lonely. Even if it was his choice to run away like that.]
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On the other hand, Lightning gets his reasoning a whole lot more than she used to, even if it still seems pretty outrageous--
Cuz you know, they're both totally normal in every other way, right?
-- But, well. She does wonder now, if Zack would even get the chance to see his parents again, even if he got sent home and wanted to. Given what they'd finally forced Aerith to reveal some time back...?
What a terrible thought, though. She forces herself to refocus. Mostly. Her voice is quiet when she responds. ]
... You think they'd be mad? After so many years?
[ Or even care? Man, she doesn't even know. His relationship with said parents is still just a huge question mark to her right now. ]
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[Zack glances upwards, watching the clouds roll by with an idle expression on his face. He doesn't think about his parents often, and he certainly hadn't thought much of them while he was in SOLDIER, either. He'd been too preoccupied with everything else that had been going on in his life.
Nibelheim, though... he'd thought about them a lot. And Aerith, and Sephiroth, and Angeal- everyone he'd missed, over the years. He didn't really have much else to do when Hojo was otherwise occupied. He'd been on his way to see them back home, though- he remembers that much. A stupid move, perhaps, but...]
I wrote them a letter a long time ago- back when I finally became a SOLDIER. [And got a girlfriend.] That was it, though. I didn't leave an address or anything... we didn't exactly part on the best terms.
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[ Lightning follows his gaze, tosses the ball for Baldr one last time before they finally draw up to the barracks. That sort of life, that sort of relationship is pretty foreign to her... but the idea of parting on less than the best of terms is also far too familiar. Her situation's different - and she could never imagine not trying to fix it in hers - but... still. ]
... Sorry.
[ Explaining that kind of thing today probably wasn't in his plans, but she can't help but be awfully curious all the same. She blinks over at him slowly. ]
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I guess I just-- wonder.
[ Ugh. Her voice is heavy with frustration, at once bursting with pent up energy and reluctance. ]
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...Wonder what?
[Man, sometimes he really can't tell what's on her mind at all.]
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... What... they'd think. [ Abruptly any resemblance to a hard tone melts at the admission, expression twisting as she stares downward. ] My parents.
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I think they should be proud of the amazingly strong person you grew up to be.
[He can't speak for them, obviously, but what parent wouldn't be proud of someone so independent and powerful? Not just physically, but in the ways that matter. Maybe she's not the most girly or emotionally open person ever, but there's nothing wrong with that. He certainly can't complain.]
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I'm not the person they knew at all. That Claire Farron...
[ What teenager hasn't changed drastically when they're an adult a few years later? But, Lightning really does sound like she's talking about someone else besides herself there, even though that's still technically her name and everything. ]
After Serah and I were made l'Cie - [ Another tight-lipped pause, but then a little louder: ] Guess I'll never know, though.
[ Maybe it's better that way? ]
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[He's had so many questions he'd wanted to ask over the years, especially back in Nibelheim, or even Modeoheim; if he'd done something, said something different, if he'd stayed with them, maybe they'd-
...But there's no point in asking, because unless Sephiroth or Angeal showed up in this place, not a single person could give him the real answers he'd be seeking.
Light's no different.]
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Too many questions, not enough answers, huh?
[ Like... the difference in how many hotdogs there are in a package versus how many you get in a package of buns, ugh. >:T ]
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That's life, isn't it? It's enough to drive you kinda crazy.
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[ Because yeah, even Lightning herself is aware that she's not exactly the epitome of sane, even when she's not currently running around trying to destroy the government and stuff. ]
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You're not crazy, Light, come on. People can do crazy things when they're pushed into a corner, but that doesn't make them crazy.
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...Hey. I've seen a lot of crazy, and trust me when I tell you that you're not it.
[When you've watched a friend slaughter an entire town and burn it to ashes after a couple of all-nighters in the basement, anti-government terrorists are surprisingly reasonable.]
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Not that Lightning's ever claimed or would claim to be any sort of hero, of course (that's Snow's job), but the point remains. Sort of.
She is so not in the mood to argue in defense of a negative trait, though- especially when the topic was raised out of such an offhand comment, and-- when given the situation. Sighing, she just turns her face away to watch Baldr again, hoping Zack will go ahead and drop it. ]
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... Hmm, she doesn't really seem to know what to say, though. ]