☈ strike # 22 (filtered voice / public video / action)

[thestormishere]

[ Again.

For the third time now, someone Lightning has cared for has left; unfortunately, despite it being a major staple of life in Luceti, it doesn't get any easier-- especially given the identity of the absent person in question.

But it is different this time, if only because her explosiveness in reply to it seems sapped... when she speaks up on the journal, her voice is flat and quiet, deceptively even. ]

-- Voice only, evening of the 8th, filtered to Hope & Noel --
I thought you should know... Serah's gone home.

[ ... And that's all; with that she's gone- locked in her room if anyone cares, without answering, touching, or even looking at her journal...

It's not until well into Thursday afternoon that Lightning makes a reappearance to the 'public.' That said, it would be hard to pinpoint anything's wrong at all for those who don't know her fairly well, save for a sort of distant demeanor- evident in her averted gaze and too-smooth voice.

She's sitting on a beach in her transmitted video, but it's not Luceti's beach, given it's clearly night where she is, in contrast to the real sun still shining away cheerfully outside. ]

I'm looking for people wanting to spar-- maybe help me test something. Weapons, hand-to-hand, anything. Send me a message. Or just come to the battle dome.

[ "-- I don't care." There's a short pause, while she briefly taps her fingers on her knee, tries to think of anything else worth mentioning.... ]

Magic is a bonus too, if you've got it.

[ And then there's an abrupt end to the 'feed' once again. Anyone who doesn't catch her message or decides to just go ahead and wander over to the battle dome will find her fiddling with the simulation controls, armed with an unusual, bulky weapon - looking somewhat like some sort of gun - hanging holstered behind her hips.

... No, there's really no words for how much pain she's in right now, but perhaps distraction may help. In any case, no matter how much she sometimes seems set on it, she knows quite well by now that cutting herself off has a very low chance of making her feel any better. If nothing else, this is at least worth a try. ]

Comments

[burningdownfate]

No problems. [He might be late for "family" dinner but... well. He'd make sure to talk to someone before he left. Better that than facing the inevitable lectures afterward.]

[thestormishere]

[ A deal made short and to the point. She can definitely live with that right now.

And since she actually has a specific time set for meeting this particular responder, she's in fact waiting for him, from the point of a few minutes before what she mentioned. Note that she really has no idea who she was talking to and didn't catch a name, but... she figures since her initial message was sure to have a fairly clear picture of her, there's not really a need to worry about it as she leans against the main area's wall with her arms crossed, eyes on the door.

She's armed, though for now the gunblade is obviously folded and inactive in its holster. Chances are she could have gone and gotten something else in the meantime, but considering she doesn't know what kind of 'swords' this mystery guy uses, trying might have turned out useless anyway. ]

[burningdownfate]

[He's punctual, at least. It's one of the things he tries to pride himself on. He hates to be kept waiting, and so, he hates to keep others waiting. He recognizes her fairly quickly and raises a hand in careful greeting.]

I'm Zuko. [Probably should start out with knowing each other's names, huh? That usually helps.]

[thestormishere]

[ There's a moment where she simply looks at him, appraisingly, before she dips her head slightly. ]

Lightning.

[ He's fairly young-- yet scarred up, too. Now that she sees him clearly, she's sure she's seen him around- it's hard to forget someone like that, after all... although naturally she remains as serious and quiet regarding her internal thoughts as ever.

She does have to wonder though, given he already told her he uses fire. She still finds herself a little stunned whenever she meets someone with a scar quite that prominent, if only because it would have never been allowed to stay that way back in Cocoon.

In any case... ]

I already had something programmed from earlier, if you need warming up.

[ If they're using here rather than somewhere else in Luceti, might as well make proper use of it, right? ]

[burningdownfate]

[As she sizes him up, Zuko is doing the same. He can't tell much about her, other than that she's probably a serious type. That suits him just fine. If he's going to end up involved in an impromptu spar, he'd rather deal with someone who's serious about what they're doing.

He glances toward the dome, nods, and looks back to her.] I won't need much. I can show you what I can do and we can work from there.

[thestormishere]

[ She doesn't reply verbally, but hopefully her body language says enough about her agreement as she turns to lead him to her aforementioned simulation designed for warming up in.

... Except that once's it's open and she's walking him into it, it's obviously not quite what you'd expect from her general demeanor and bare description. Inside the air is cooler than out but still warm, which fits well with the surrounding area: what would seem to be a forest by a beach during late afternoon, if all the trees looked nothing like the ones you might see around Luceti or a region similar to it.

And if the area showed little sign of any kind of a normal tide system. Some of the plants are outright unusually colored - in purples or reds or blues, while some only have unusual leaves or shapes... but none of them seem particularly affected by the waves a ways off, or the sand which transitions into the soil Lightning and Zuko are now standing on and then to greenery in a suspiciously short distance.

Lightning says nothing, just turning back and looking to Zuko. ]