ＤＯＮ’Ｔ　ＴＵＲＮ　ＯＵＴ　ＴＨＥ　ＬＩＧＨＴ

( October 2nd, House 41, tl;dr )

( Later October 2nd, voice, filtered to Noel )

October 4th, Voice
[ It's been since before her disappearance and then almost immediate return that Lightning's made any sort of widely public, intentional post, but today apparently she's got something heavy enough on her mind to warrant attempting to soothe her curiosity.

It doesn't bother her so much though, and even those who have only seen or met her in passing should be able to tell that there's something subtly different about her- in a way that surpasses the fact that she's apparently sustained a haircut, and those wings fanned out slightly behind her are different colors than before, once-red wing turned white, once-white turned to silver and gold. She regards the journal thoughtfully a moment before speaking, her voice deliberately even. ]

If I remember correctly, the viewpoints over what happens to us after death... are as varied here as the worlds we're pulled in from. Reward and punishment, returning to where our spirits belonged in the first place... simply fading into oblivion....

[ She pauses, and a clock fixed to the wall behind her - an antique-looking, wooden piece of work - fills the air with steady ticks and tocks as she takes in a breath or two, looking up and over past the 'camera.' ]

When we die here, we return but a week later... although missing a piece of who we were before. [ Another breath. Tick, tock. ] What do you suppose happens, in the meantime?

Do you believe it is different than 'home?'

[ Sure, she knows this sort of thing's been brought up before, but... if it's ever been in these exact words, she definitely isn't going to waste her time digging through years of others' entries looking for it. ]

Alright. Two questions. First off, are any of you from Pulse or Cocoon?

Second...

... How long is 'Seventh Heaven' open?

[ As it's probably obvious from Lightning's voice, these two questions (the first of which she was already reluctant to bring up and the second actually not what she was originally planning on asking) come from a very tired and frustrated young woman right now. You see, although she soon received access to personal explanations, the journal network, and the guide after she woke up... that doesn't mean she had to truly believe it all. Without anyone she knows around to basically tie her down, that's why on the morning of the 13th, she got up, deliberately avoided running into anyone, and gathered up what she could before heading off into the forest- to find this 'barrier' around the place herself.

A few days later, it finally hits her for real that she's in serious trouble here. The other l'Cie are unaccounted for, she can't figure a way out, and most importantly, she doesn't know how much time she has left. The Brand on her chest left by the Pulsian fal'Cie changed when she arrived here, and that means her Focus is most likely still in effect. However, away from her own world, she can't complete it even if she wanted to.

And so, looking rather rough around the edges, she's finally making her way back into the main part of town, then heading over to the restaurant Adell had mentioned to her earlier. If you're wondering how she made it out there and back in such a short time despite having zero experience navigating in a place like this... well, it's not like she could get much sleep out there when she was all by herself, right? ]