thestormishere | ☈ strike # 25 (video / action)

[ After quite a while with nothing of special importance happening in her Luceti life, some time of relative peace rather than any events worthy of anything like bouts of anger or mind-consuming frustration... Wednesday morning, Lightning wakes and finds herself freezing. She's not in her own bed, and even though that in itself is not so unusual...

Zack's gone, and she knows it even before she's managed to sit all the way up. His room's gone bare, a sight way, way too familiar to her by now.

She doesn't cry, even though she's dealt with this sort of thing enough times during her stay that she figures it's bound to happen eventually. In a way she always knew that one day this would happen, had it on her mind even back when the two of them were just friends. Knew that even if they managed to keep from hurting each other somehow that their time here had an astronomically better chance of getting cut off abruptly than... whatever else.

Unsurprisingly, it's just as unpleasant as she feared, and since she can hardly do anything without visiting Guilt Station, she hates the thought that he must have felt like this when she'd disappeared a few months ago too. Worse is the fact that given the circumstances, she feels certain that, like Aerith's disappearance, this can't be anything but permanent.

She needs something to do and - she can't stay in this house alone she can't - so, she starts packing. There isn't much left; she didn't 'inherit' many things from the others, and her personal stores took a hit when she lost everything- aside from Zack's own weapons, what is here now is mostly what she happened to recollect since her return. Needless to say, it doesn't distract her for long, and before afternoon has much of a chance to take hold, she's forced to make the decision between finally leaving the house or... ]

Zack Fair has gone home.

[ The woman's voice is flat, her face expressionless but unhidden for the journals, her pride refusing to allow anything else. Even so, there remains an all-too-telling pause after she's gotten that most important part out, her tongue tied by the knowledge of just what going home means for him in particular. It takes her a moment to press on towards the rest of what she intended to say, but then- ]

The leadership of Brave Vesperia is left to Sokka, Luke, and Emil... under the concession that the name remains as it is. Everything else will need to be sorted out... as well as his bar shifts.

[ ... Another brief pause, but then there's just nothing more to add without prompting; lips turning down for just a moment, she cuts the initial message off right there.

And once that's done, there's not much else to do aside from what she probably should have done before gathering up all her belongings: scoping out somewhere else to go that's not the house she shared with her friends here for so long. Accompanied by her doggy shadow, she wanders the village with apparent purpose but... without an actual goal in mind.

At least a conscious goal, that is. By the evening, she's there at Good Spirits anyway, even though technically she doesn't have a reason to go any more. She simply slips in and finds a table to frown at, eventually wondering herself why she feels a need to be in public at all, when most people in her position (especially with a personality like hers) would be hiding away.

The answer's not too hard, but it keeps her mind occupied well enough. ]

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[ Lightning's a little more familiar with Sokka and Luke, from first-hand experience and through Zack alike, but as for this kid... there's not really anything huge that sticks out in her mind about him. She considers it for a minute before answering, her voice a touch tired this time. ]

You're Emil, right?

That's right.

[...]

Are you Lightning? Zack told me about you. He said he'd introduce me to you someday, but...

Yes.

[ She really wonders what he said about her, but she'd definitely already learned quite a while ago that she had to pick her battles, just subtly reminding him every once in a while not to spill something embarrassing, not really investigating the matter herself...

Now it's a moot point, and she falls silent after this admission, stomach feeling leaden. ]

I'm sorry. But... I promise to do the best that I can to keep Brave Vesperia running. I know he and Yuri would want that much, and if he thinks I would be a good leader, then I'll give it my best.

He hadn't given me his reasoning... it will be up to you and the others to work out what to do with the organization now.

[ Basically repeating his words back, but. If nothing else, at least she still has the ability to go on auto and pull out that smoother, calm tone, reminiscent of a time totally detached from where she is now-- back when she had control of - if not everything - at least a few things. ]

I will. I don't know Sokka all that well, but Luke and I are friends, so I think the three of us will be able to handle it. No... I know we can.

[ That's what she likes to hear, even if her own heart's feeling low. She nods even though it's not visible, eyes closing. ]

Good.

[ It's what Zack would have wanted to hear too, after all, even if he also likely would have mustered... a little more enthusiasm. Or a smile, at least.

That's probably not gonna happen here. ]

[... she still sounds sad.]

Will you be all right?

Yes.

[ Sad, sure, but she also sounds certain about that at least. She's endured worse, and knows she stands to suffer something far darker back in her home-world if she fails at accomplishing a certain task set to her. Plus- ]

Losing myself would be a disservice to the time we shared here... to him, and the others who have left before him.

Yeah. I don't think he'd want us to be sad for that long... Zack isn't that kind of person. In fact, he'd probably laugh at us if he saw us acting all depressed over this.

[ For a moment Lightning's fine, but then she quickly finds herself growing annoyed, the pressure of her emotion seeming to press up from deep inside her chest. He wouldn't have wanted them to be sad, but... considering what happens.... ]

I think that... he would understand.

[ Because he'd known too, and when she had left, even if it was only temporary, she could sense that he'd been upset at her absence. And-- ]

[Did he say the wrong thing? Maybe he said the wrong thing. He can't really tell.]

I guess you're right, but I still think he wouldn't want us to be too upset over it.

[ A long pause, but then: ]

I wish you luck with leading Brave Vesperia, Emil.

[ Which is... yeah, probably about the most blunt way to go about changing the subject and at once hinting the conversation's gone on far too long for her tastes, without outright dipping into saying blatantly rude things. It's safe to say she Doesn't Want to Talk About It. ]

☈ strike # 25 (video / action)

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