☈ strike # 21 (action)

[thestormishere]

[ Lightning surprises herself with how upsetting it is to come back from the draft and see the village torn to pieces like this, not repairing itself like usual. The general destruction is bad enough, but when she gets to house #41... well, chalk up one more emotionally affected by the flood damage to the town's vegetation- the storm has not been kind to the yard-- to Aerith's flowers, which are all but washed away now. When she first sees it, it actually takes a few minutes before she's able to move past it, touching the leafless, lifeless remains of a something-or-another that she's forgotten the name of, her expression unreadable...

- And after she's assessed the damage to the building itself, worked the last couple of days just to make it livable again and helped out with the worst of the destruction throughout the village, the yard of her house right off the town's center is where she is again, walking along the perimeter of the destroyed fence there.

It's not until she's yanked and pulled at a section to try and right it again that she notices something else: beneath it is a rosebush, but despite it too missing its flowers and a good deal of leaves, half-turned over out of its placed in the ground... it's obviously still growing. Still alive. The fallen barrier must have protected it, somehow.

Without a word, she simply shoves the wrecked fence out of the way... and starts trying to upright the abused shrubbery instead.

- A little while later, she wanders back into town, a lot muddier than she usually is. She means to go somewhere else, but funnily enough, she ends up getting distracted by visiting Good Spirits instead, then the smithy, which is all but flattened to the ground. Not a very good place to be if you didn't feel like sustaining some sort of injury due to the high number of unlucky weapons that had been there.

Considering there's nothing to do there too, she's just about to move on when she suddenly pauses, her brow furrowing as she looks at the wreckage; call it yet another case of inexplicable l'Cie intuition, but something stops her. She takes another look.

... There, in the mud and half-hidden by a hunk of twisted metal, is something she's pretty sure she recognizes. With a sudden, obvious sense of urgency, she starts pulling things aside, trying to get closer. ]

Comments

[bondsprofoundly]

[Not that Lightning needs the help, but Castiel grabs a nearby support beam and hefts it up and aside like it's a toothpick. Is he helping her find-

Oh nope, looks like he's just looking for something for himself. Hopefully he's not getting in her way by throwing debris all over as well- yep that's a sword he just tossed aside.]

[thestormishere]

[ A random guy rummaging through dangerous debris not too far off? That's at least enough to distract Lightning- momentarily, at least. A frown creases her brow as she turns to look at him, her own hands still closed on a muddy pipe in front of her. ]

Hey, careful.

[ Wat r u doin, man? ]

[bondsprofoundly]

[what r U doin, lady?

Castiel spares her a glance, then tilts his head.]

You're looking for a weapon as well? [She doesn't look like she's clearing for the sake of rebuilding, like some of the others wandering around in ruined buildings.]

[thestormishere]

... Sort of.

[ She guesses? In all seriousness, she's not sure why else he'd expect her to be here, although she can't decide if her impression of his own actions are as easy to explain-- despite that "as well" tacked on there. ]

i don't know how i got it into my head now that i reread but she's looking for her knife, right

[bondsprofoundly]

[Don't mind this guy, he's just poking around in your surface thoughts.

What? Conversations are time-consuming.]

Your knife. It's there. [He nods toward a small pile of rubble that had shifted down in her -his, their, whatever- hurry to get things moved and unearthed.]

yeah! and... sorry for the slowness, btw D8

[thestormishere]

[ For a moment what he says doesn't quite register; for a woman who relies on being able to think and react quickly on her feet, sometimes she's pretty easy to hit off-guard.

And then her gaze snaps over, as her brain finally decides to accept that there's just no possible way to interpret that in a way that makes sense with what information he should have here. Quick to jump to conclusions, her body stiffens, anger rising... guess who distinctly does not like having her thoughts/memories/internal emotions/WHATEVER poked through without her permission? ]

[handmotions]

[Destruction through natural disaster isn't anything new to Noel. It's still not easy to see loss, but he couldn't think negatively. There were things that needed to be done and buildings had to be repaired. This kind of task is impossible for one man alone. He's willing to help out.

They still have time to fix things together.

Though when he see's Lightning's figure in the distance he kept thinking about their last encounter. How well did that one turn out? Poorly.

He figured he'd be alright as long as he smiled and told the truth. Helping her out didn't seem like a bad idea either.

Noel invited himself to where Lightning was. Then he tapped at his head two times before pointing to Lightning.]

Need some help?

/changes her mind on which one AGAIN

[thestormishere]

[ Of course, Noel comes along right at the point where Lightning is slowly beginning to realize that there's just no way for her to accomplish this thing with the rosebush without getting herself absolutely covered in the mud that, several days later, still has yet to dry out entirely. Fortunately she had the obvious foresight to tie her hair back and avoid wearing white, but otherwise...

She pauses when she hears him approaching, and simply eyes him silently for a long moment or two even after he's spoken. Her problem is far from the same thing that had her suspicious and unwilling to speak with him when she'd first met him, however. Rather, she's not sure what to do when she knows now just how much she'd probably messed up then- now that Serah was here to back up his various and wild-sounding claims.

Eventually, she just looks down again, stepping aside slightly to return to what she'd been doing. ]

... I don't suppose you know much about replanting things.

[handmotions]

[Planting? No, he doesn't know how to do that. In the first place his knowledge has its limits. On Gran Pulse they went through hard times. If his grandmother were alive, then maybe he could have known all about gardens and planets.

For a moment he smiles and then taps his forehead with his index finger.]

I'll be damned if I know.

Back where I'm from we didn't have this.

[No gardens or trees. The Farseers tribe somehow manages through hunting and Etro's guidance. ]

[thestormishere]

[ ... Ohhhhkaay, that's not really what she expected to hear. She starts to send yet another dubious look over at him, but then deflects it just in time to look towards him but not directly at the young man.

Congratulations Noel, you win... more silence, at least for a few more seconds. However, this time at least it's lacking the anger she'd shown off her temper with during that first meeting. In its place is left just sort of an awkward air as she attempts to sort out how to approach this, frowning down at the half-drowned bush. ]

EDITS THIS FOR THE LAST TIME..

[handmotions]

[After talking with Serah it'd probably be a good idea to not mention any of the events that took place in the future. He isn't trusted yet. The least he could do was smooth things over from their previous encounter. Though, he didn't exactly know how to go about to do it. He flapped his arms around like a bird and frowned a little. ]

Sorry about earlier and that's pretty much it. I mean uh... [That seemed a little too awkward for his tastes. Maybe he should back off more and give more of a explanation.]

Serah told me not to bring those things up with you. I won't mention them again unless you want me to.

Just know that I'm not here to cause trouble, really.

[His words were as honest as he said it.]

[thestormishere]

[ It just figures that Serah would have instructed Noel on how to deal with her; Lightning can only imagine what that conversation must have been like. Honestly, she tends not to concern herself much with what others might think of her, but... this is admittedly a bit different. She's still not sure at all what to think of this whole mess now that she's been inducted into the club of those who know people here from considerably different points in their world's timeline.

At least it says one thing, however: Serah did in fact care enough to try and help Noel smooth things out. Whether it works or not has yet to be seen, but at least Lightning tries to tame the urge to turn standoffish again.

She sighs heavily before she turns back, hand finding her hip. Needless to say, her gaze is pretty intense. ]

... Serah seems to trust you, so that's at least one point in your favor.

[wise_maiden]

[When Lightning passes through the village center, Raine will be outside the flower shop, mostly accessing the damages still and focusing her attention on some of the ill-faring plants, using her magic to encourage them back to health. While the building itself is not completely ruined, the water that had settled inside was definitely not a fun mess to clean up, giving it an almost swampy and unpleasant odor. She will glance up and give the other woman a wave when she notices her presence.]

[thestormishere]

[ Lightning is, to put it the most simply, far from the most friendly person in Luceti. Unless she's got something to address with them, people waving at her generally doesn't warrant much reaction from the woman, save for perhaps a nod or similar...

But as it is, it does happen to turn out today that the flower shop - and those who might still attend to it - is fairly relevant to her interests at the moment. She turns when she notices the wave and then approaches Raine, something clearly on her mind. ]

[wise_maiden]

[She hadn't expected the woman to approach her, so even as she smiles she tilts her head questioningly.]

Good afternoon, Lightning. ... How have you been faring? [She had seen very little of her since Aerith was sent home.]

[thestormishere]

Alright.

[ Automatic answer, although at least it's better than what she might have once offered; the small-town feel of Luceti is good for some things... in this case, Lightning's superficial politeness.

Not that she's reflecting like you might expect, too busy turning her gaze on the water-damaged shop instead. She's been by it a few times already... but this is really the first time it's been under full light... ]

[wise_maiden]

I'm glad to hear it.

[The other woman's gaze doesn't go unnoticed.] Is there something I can do for you? I'm afraid the shop itself is in need of a good cleaning.

[thestormishere]

[ For a moment more she continues to stare and, oddly enough, there's something strangely defeated in her eyes that usually never gets to see the light of day out of someone like Lightning...

And then it's gone, for the most part, as the woman turns her gaze back, speaking in a tone that's just as neutral as it was before. ]

I know you're busy, but do you think you could come by house forty-one when you get the chance?

[searched]

[ The last few days hadn't been easy, but Serah had managed well enough. Pulling through difficult situations was another Farron trait, after all. So far, she's been helping where she can around the village to repair some of the damage. It reminds her, a little, of when New Bodhum had been nothing more than an uninhabited piece of land near the beach that had reminded her of a destroyed home. Perhaps if she'd been living here longer, it would've affected her just as much as that had.

As it stands, though, she's far more concerned about some of Luceti's more seasoned residents - her sister included. And so when Serah comes across Lightning moving debris aside to get to something, she quickens her pace and comes to a stop as she reaches her. ]

Lightning - [ Serah breaks off with a frown, then moves closer and starts to lift things herself. She's perhaps not the physically strongest person around with her twig-like arms, but she doesn't drop anything, at least. She sees a glint of metal beneath all the mud and glances at her sister. ] Hey, are you okay?

[ Well. It doesn't hurt to check, not after the chaos that's been Luceti recently. Especially considering the draft. ]

[thestormishere]

[ It's true that Lightning has probably been in a pretty weird mood the last few days; she usually is right after a draft or experiment, even when the town isn't so torn up as a result.

When she looks up, it's with an odd expression at first- like she's confused that the younger woman is there and attempting to help, but without the general signs of surprise you'd expect if that was the actual case. After a quick beat she seems to shake it off, and yet... ]

Yeah, it's just-

[ She frowns, resisting the urge to wipe her forehead with a muddy hand. Okay, so figuring out exactly what to say here isn't something that comes easily. Not when it's Serah and... what if she's mistaken about that object she thinks she sees anyway?

While she might feel a hint of apology for it, she just shakes her head rather than answering, and then redoubles her effort to get closer to the hint of shininess. ]

another smithy thread

[markofthewise]

[Lightning what are you even doing. Sokka watches as she pulls out a weapon from the wreckage. Well... she is the one that saved his life.]

Couldn't wait for us to be open again, huh?

you know sokka should have chosen smith as a last name and been all proud of his creativity

[thestormishere]

[ The village is loud enough right now with the sounds of people trying to piece together some semblance of coherency out of the chaos left over that Lightning doesn't look and notice Sokka until he's addressed her.

Most residents she would have been fine with ignoring for a minute more while she continued her impromptu quest, but here she pauses as she remembers their rather... memorable encounter on the draft. Setting aside what was in her hand, she shakes her head. ]

That's not it.

Sokka Smith? Please!

[markofthewise]

[Memorable is one way to put it. He's not... super eager to talk to anyone about it. But he's already told Katara. And ran into Raven, also at the smithy ruins. So...]

What did you find?

>:T

[thestormishere]

[ Thinking back to when she'd been in a... sort of similar situation, she figures he might have something to say to her about that. However, she won't be the one to bring it up before he does; frankly, she'd be fine with ignoring it entirely if that's what made him feel better.

In any case-- ]

Thought I saw something.

[ ... But that doesn't answer the question, Lightning. Whatever it is though, apparently it's important enough that she's willing to crouch down, streeetching past a hunk of metal that's too heavy to push aside when everything's so slippery. ]

[markofthewise]

[He'd help with that if he could, but all that rubble? Not exactly safe to be moving around in.]

Well... whatever it is? It's not going anywhere.