Day 52: Lunch

Oct 01, 2010 09:13

[from here]It was a race. A fight against patience and a Song's call. Still, the sedation's dredges churned through him. Two close at hand had a potent effect--much like the night that they were left in that town, and the morning after. Rubedo had came then. Came for them like something out of place, and wasn't that so ironic afterwards--when ( Read more... )

kirk, naruto, klavier, tsubaki, anise, minato, the doctor, sam winchester, uhura, goku (dragonball), luke fon fabre, zex, niikura, taura, claire bennet, peter parker, snow, lunge, lana skye, mello, brainiac 5, xemnas, ange, natalia, albedo, masaomi, agatha, soma, tear, two-face, yuffie, tomoe, edgar, the scarecrow, ishida, kadaj, morgan, battler, howl, spock, zack, kratos, l, rubedo, haseo, sechs, kenshin, jo, asuka, bella, scott pilgrim, gumshoe, aigis, izaya, gren, sora, prussia, woody, javert, gant, dean winchester, m, hanekoma, shizuo, guy, kairi, venom, abe sapien, mitsuru, nigredo, depth charge, ilia, kibitoshin, lightning, rita, castiel, allelujah, fai, riku, yomi, kaworu, ema skye, locke, scar (tlk), muraki

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heroesdontshave October 1 2010, 20:13:08 UTC
Apparently, Snow had made a huge mistake. See, he and Zevran had agreed the thing they'd been served for breakfast wasn't anything close to edible, so they would just hold off on eating for a bit. But that just meant that, come lunch time, Snow was pretty much starving. He was almost to the point where he didn't care what it was they were serving so long as he got to eat something. And whatever it was had to be better than the soggy meat in bread thing from this morning ( ... )

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thestormishere October 1 2010, 23:52:30 UTC
[ YES, S-S-S-SPOILAHS START HERE. Also, TL;DR apparently. ]

Fortunately, by the time those in charge had decided her time in the window-lit room was over, the drugs running through Lightning's system had finally diminished in their effects' overall strength. Not so fortunately, the more their hold over her weakened, the more furious she became about it. Needless to say, the 'calm' that had taken her over since being overpowered and sedated in the hallway had come to a rather non-ceremonious end while she sat brooding and by herself.

Lightning now knew that even before she'd been forcefully subdued, here there was something else that had been very wrong with her. Many people-- most people, actually, may not have noticed when their physical abilities had taken a sudden, inexplicable blow. But unlike the majority of Cocoon's citizens, Lightning was trained to fight... and she soon realized that she had been far too slow in her attempt in getting away from those men in the hall. It wasn't even a matter of being defeated- that was ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 2 2010, 01:29:25 UTC
The mess on Snow's tray suddenly became much less interesting. He'd been too distracted to notice her approach, but now that she'd caught his attention, he blinked at her in obvious surprise.

"Sis! You're..." alright, he almost blurted. But of course she was. Was there ever really any doubt when it came to Lightning's well being? Of everyone, she was the one he could trust to handle herself better than anyone else. But it was that same fact that made her presence here all that much more surprising ( ... )

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thestormishere October 2 2010, 04:46:55 UTC
Lightning blinked as well, her eyes quickly narrowing in agitation. At least it seemed she didn't have to concern herself about him that much. He was as... himself as ever, apparently. She slid into the seat next to him after a moment, looking up at his face, down at the bizarre food laid out in front of him, and back. The sight of the stuff and the strong smell of it put her off just like the previous 'meal' had, even as she was busy instead trying to decipher Snow's response. It appeared one of the lingering symptoms of being drugged was a lagged train of thought. Terrific.

"Been better," she decided on, clipping the statement short, so that it lead into a heavy pause while she pressed her lips together and lowered her chin. What sort of question was she supposed to start with in a situation like this? She had absolutely no idea about the discrepancy between what they both remembered as being most recent, naturally- the last she knew, they and the four other Pulse l'Cie had just landed on the surface of the huge, utterly untamed ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 2 2010, 14:34:34 UTC
"Perceptive" was definitely not a word one would use to describe Snow, but even he could tell there was something a little strange going on with Lightning. She wasn't really one to pause like that before responding. Maybe she was distracted. Then again, there was something about her that always seemed distracted. It was probably some side effect of being a soldier. You know, always paying attention to a million other things going on around you. Or something. He wouldn't really know ( ... )

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thestormishere October 2 2010, 18:55:21 UTC
Two days?! So either Lightning had been entirely unconscious for at least that long, or she was outright missing those memories of the time between now and landing on Gran Pulse, their mysterious capture lying somewhere in between. The latter didn't seem quite right though... Snow almost made it sound like they hadn't been taken in together- that is, if she also read into that first comment of "you made it" as "you're still alive." What had happened that would make him think she wasn't okay?

"Last night," she confirmed, her expression twisting as if the answer left a bitter taste in her mouth. Admitting a potential weakness wasn't something she found easy under any circumstance, and so the question she wanted to ask immediately afterward came only after another tense beat of irritation and a glance around to ensure nobody else seemed to be listening in on them ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 3 2010, 03:06:23 UTC
Okay. You know what? He was really not liking these long pauses she was giving him. It was was like she was trying to make him nervous or something. Not that she was succeeding or anything. No, Snow knew she was just nervous herself was all. It was understandable, right? A Sanctum holding cell wasn't exactly the happiest place to be, especially if anyone figured out they were actual l'Cie rather than just people who'd had potential contact. Still, he wished she wouldn't worry so much. It's not like they were going to stay stuck in this place forever.

On the other hand, with that question and that look following the pause, he was now wondering if maybe she wasn't so much nervous as she was irritated about him having gotten caught. Not like there was much he could really do about it now. Still, he broke eye contact with her for a moment like maybe he was thinking over the answer ( ... )

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thestormishere October 3 2010, 22:58:14 UTC
Well, that was a disappointment. One of the only parts worth much notice was the mention of monsters- if that was true, it put a little more weight into Neku's claim about not being able to escape. Lightning could buy even Pulse natives being wary of beasts if they weren't trained or l'Cie... or even if they were, depending on how tough the creatures were. Of course, considering Pulsians being normal was still somewhat strange, after growing up in the land that considered anything from outside to be its well-supplied mortal foe, but no matter....

That wasn't what concerned her much. Even Cocoon had monsters, and really, both she and Snow at least had been dealing with them before the whole l'Cie scare had begun (if under different... 'organizations,' though that was a source of irritation for another time). The way random people were being rounded up and put in here, though ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 3 2010, 23:53:14 UTC
Yeah, that was the mystery. Why round everyone up and throw them in here rather than just taking them down on sight? It might have had something to do with them not being sure which of them were really l'Cie and which weren't, but he knew that wasn't the real truth. l'Cie or not, everyone was equally expendable in the Sanctum's eyes. So what was the point in throwing them all in there? Snow had a pretty good idea from what fragments he'd gathered here and there. The "why" was still up in the air, but in the end, did reasons really matter ( ... )

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thestormishere October 4 2010, 01:08:20 UTC
Whatever Snow was meaning to say after that would... definitely have to wait. The instant Lightning saw the Brand on his arm, almost everything that she'd been dwelling on before was suddenly and utterly thrown out. That was not at all what she was expecting to see, and shocked, she immediately lashed out, grabbing hold of the man's arm and restraining it there as she stared.

It wasn't as if Lightning spent much time staring at the stupid things- if nothing else, it could be said she tended to avoid it. However, she knew perfectly well the general level to which Snow's should have been at... it had been a definite concern of hers that all of them with active Brands were getting alarmingly close to the final stages Fang had described. But the one in front of her now didn't seem that much farther than one on someone who was totally new to being turned l'Cie... it didn't even have any red in it at allShe'd never heard of a Brand progressing backward. Ever. It wasn't supposed to be possible ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 4 2010, 01:39:41 UTC
That was definitely enough to cut his words off. Before he had any time to react, Lightning reached out and snatched his arm to stare fiercely at it. He made a brief, surprised noise, like he was a second away from yelling "Hey!" He didn't actually say anything, though. He just froze, trying to keep himself still as it seemed that was what Lightning was trying to do: Keep him from moving. ...Not that he had been waving his arm around or anything that required restraint, but you know what? Not gonna argue. Instead, he frowned slightly, baffled by the expression on Light's face.

"How did... what happen?" She couldn't be asking how the Brand itself happened, could she? Did they hit her head or something when they brought her in? What was the matter with her?

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thestormishere October 5 2010, 01:28:21 UTC
"This!" Lightning retorted, her voice quieter but no less on edge in tone. Finally she pushed his arm down so that it was between them, indicating the mark with a jerk of her chin before finally letting go. "It's gone back, Snow!" She'd just seen him look right at it... had he seriously not noticed? Her annoyance swelled, though the irritation at him not seeming to have had it covered - and confusion as to why that hadn't been a problem yet - was more belated.

Of course, once the moment of shock at seeing the stunted Brand had worn off, in set the concern about making a spectacle of themselves instead. She'd been trying to keep an eye on the people around them, but when she spotted the guard-woman who'd been accompanying her all day once more approaching, a mere second or two after she'd been pointing out Anima's signature on Snow's skin, she had to suppress a flash of reaction at potentially being caught.

She hissed under her breath, but didn't back off entirely in the interest of not seeming any more suspicious- no sudden ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 5 2010, 02:44:28 UTC
He blinked at her a moment, looked down at the mark on his arm, then back up at her again, still obviously lost. What was she talking about? It's gone back? What's gone back? His Brand was right there where it had always been. Nothing had really changed. But whatever Light was trying to tell him seemed very important. She might have a tendency to get mad pretty quick, but she definitely didn't get distressed like this over nothing.

He was about to ask her again what she meant when he noticed her attention had shifted slightly. She managed to shoot him a quick look before he finally noticed what the problem was. One of the nurse-guards. She was making her way right over to them both. Snow clenched his fists as he watched her approach. Definitely not good. The patrol must've noticed the Brand he was waving around. They'd be after him then. Light, too, but only cause she'd touched him. It would really be him they'd want. And he was fine with that. He'd keep the attention aaall on him. If they wanted to press their luck trying to take ( ... )

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thestormishere October 5 2010, 06:13:54 UTC
"... Right."

Lightning practically ground her teeth in disgust the moment she said that, trying to avoid the trap of asking herself too fervently why she'd learned to tolerate Snow at all. She was just upset... and for some reason, he'd chosen a reaction that brought back those irritated feelings especially strong in her. Sis?

Without a doubt though, the smoothness with which she agreed with that... ludicrous series of claims had nothing to do with being a good prisoner or... anything like that. In fact, a savvier person would have known from just that one word, delivered in that kind of tone, that trouble was brewing. Lightning might not have been aware of it, but the last time Snow at least would have seen her use that approach she'd gone and taken on an entire squadron of PSICOM soldiers. And won.

Yet despite how her body felt almost painfully taut with the desire to do something... somehow, she held back. Between her and Snow, there would have definitely been a better chance of fighting their way out, but now she was faced ( ... )

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heroesdontshave October 5 2010, 22:49:27 UTC
Looked like Lightning wasn't willing to fake a smile. In fact, he could practically feel the pent up hostility buried under that tone. Light wanted to fight. And if she did, he definitely would go along with her, no doubt about that. Him and Light? Back to back? Heh, it'd be like a two man wrecking team! Place wouldn't know what hit it. That was the approach he normally would have taken himself. Just seemed like a better idea to do it this way. You know, stay on the down low a bit until both he and Light were on the same page about things.

In the end though, Lightning just went along with it and the guard wandered off none the wiser. Mission accomplished! But before he could feel too victorious about it, Light had to go and say that.

“Huh…?” The face he gave her very clearly read as, What did I do? Again, he didn’t actually say it. Come on, give him a break. Snow thought he'd handled that pretty damn well! Especially since that sort of thing wasn't really his style at all. He was all proud and stuff. And it worked so what was the ( ... )

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thestormishere October 6 2010, 16:35:32 UTC
With a question like that, it was probably too optimistic to expect any sort of rational answer, but regardless, it now proved impossible for Lightning to hold back her half-irritated, half-utterly-baffled expression once they were alone. Why did it have to be so hard to get things through this guy's head sometimes? It didn't make any sense- Snow had been one of the most enthusiastic proponents of moving forward and searching Gran Pulse for answers... searching for a way to protect Cocoon as Serah and Cid Raines had wanted, in spite of their Focus and the path laid out in front of them. Had he forgotten that?

However, what might have been the answer (or at least, part of it) then finally came to her: if something had been done to her that made her slower and easier to contain, was there something else in play that made Snow act... especially idiotic? Maybe it had to do with the food, or more directly, was like the apathy-inducing drugs she'd been given when she'd attacked the guards. In any case ( ... )

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