witchesreign | [ action ] Ϟ [ 01 ]

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[ action ] Ϟ [ 01 ]

[ OOC~ Backdated to... a reasonable amount of time before the 'home' event start!

Regardless of the rather strange act of making sure to sneak in without anyone noticing at first, Claire Farron has now decided that she won't be hard to find any more- at least for now. There's a very distinctive, pink-haired presence around Balamb Garden again, and though most of what she's up to currently - making sure her rooms are in order, going through any changes that have taken place since her last visit before missions... make no mistake. The school's latest new Instructor is definitely eying up wandering students and anyone else who happens to pass her by as well.

And she's obviously, almost painfully tense, looking very severe in her dark, form-fitting clothing as she stalks the lobby, dorm, and classroom areas with broody purpose and a stack of various folders in-hand. Every time she bothers to take pause, her arms are crossed, posture stiff. Yes, she knows perfectly well that they are around here somewhere, and the idea that they've been allowed to teach and train here makes her blood boil. Time has done very little to fade the dark feelings she has towards the cursed Pulse l'Cie from her home.

Although "Lightning" won't really object to others coming to talk to her too, her sharpness is palpable- when it comes down to it, she knows that either she will find them... or they will find her. It's just a matter of when... and she might as well get it over with, in addition to 'greeting' those she'll be spending time near from here on in general. ]

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[ Dysley. Does he know about--? No, surely not. Maybe the Primarch... made some sort of announcement or something, updating the populace on new information and... a warning to be wary or something.

But what he's saying doesn't quite make sense, and Claire finds herself with a spinning head as she tries to figure it all out. On one hand, he's talking about the Vestige, luring more people to be l'Cie, and yet... the idea that maybe her initial impression was wrong and he was actually pulled from around the time the Purge started doesn't add up either, when he's talking about something to do with Dysley.

It doesn't help that just talking to him is frustrating; the desire to gain more information outweighs the one to leave, but she's clearly not happy about it. Finally, she comes up with: ]

Why in the world are you telling me this?

Because you asked!

[The frustration and pain in his voice hit a rough pitch as he punches the wall next to him, then leans on his fist as if for support.]

I don't -- Dysley was lying. Serah's Focus was the same as ours. 'Destroy Cocoon.' She turned to crystal because she defied it, not because she fulfilled it. Dysley just said whatever he wanted, to try to make us destroy Coccoon.

[In a way, telling her is a sort of catharsis for all the emotions she'd stirred up. It's not conscious.]

[ ... He's crazy. Why would the Primarch - actually a Cocoon fal'Cie - want them to destroy Cocoon? What he's saying is preposterous, right down to his claims about Serah, and mentally she chastises herself for not catching on sooner that his concept of reality is obviously warped. He's a Pulse l'Cie, so of course it is.

The show of anger makes her take a step back, but definitely not out of fear. Abruptly, she's just done, here... and she does something that 'his' Lightning would probably never, ever do in this situation-

She laughs at him. Incredulous, breathy, and quiet, but unmistakeable all the same. ]

Right. Well then... good for her.

[Oh, she's not done, because Snow has yet to break the bad news -- news of what he thinks will what happen. What WILL happen to the Lightning he thinks she is.]

Light... you get branded too. You were... [He presses a fist against his chest, palm in.] You were there with me, and -- and the others, you wouldn't know them. The Pulse Fal'cie that branded Serah marked all of us, too.

[ She is tempted to just let him talk and keep giving her information she might be missing... but in the end, she's quickly deciding that trying to pull any sense out of his insane ramblings might be harder than just finding a way home and finishing the job without. Her lack of reciprocation is deliberate as well. It's poor form to show your cards to an enemy... even a completely delusional one who is apparently supposed to be your colleague now. ]

Stop it. [ Clearly that last claim has hit a nerve though, and she lifts a hand to point right at him. At this point, her desire to try and strike him down when his guard is obviously so lowered is nearly overwhelming, but after a moment she takes a breath, swallowing down the more physical manifestations of her hatred for this man. ] I don't care about your-- made up fantasies. Just tell me this: is Serah a l'Cie or not here? Now.

Yes. But they're not fantasies, Lightning!

[He practically yanks his fist away from the wall, straightening up. He knows, or thinks he knows, exactly what's coming -- he'd forgiven (his?) Lightning for those punches long ago, but this one had never delivered them.]

[Still, he hasn't given up. Some things never change.]

You didn't believe me, and Serah, once before and it was a mistake, Lightning. Don't do that again. I know you -- [He pauses, swallows, then forges on.] -- I know you hate me, but I'm not lying.

[ It's as she thought then... the irony being, of course, that his attempt to give her some sort of hope has only ended up ruining the sliver of what she already had instead. If Serah is a l'Cie, then she too is the enemy... and that's all there is to it. ]

... Let me enlighten you, Snow Villiers. [ Her gaze lifts from where it had briefly fallen to the ground, her expression set, voice low and dangerous. If he doesn't remember this, then it's up to her to make it clear, regardless of what he wants to believe. No more run-around here. ]

I am not your friend. Not now, not ever. And once I find a way home, I intend to finish what I started. [ A pause as she considers her words, eyes boring into him. ] You Pulse l'Cie are safe here for now, but only here. Understand?

Killing the Fal'cie that did this to her won't save her or stop any of this.

You don't have to be my friend, Lightning, but I am not your enemy, and neither is Serah. You can hate me all you want, but your hate doesn't change who I am.

[Of course, he's convinced that what she's talking about is Anima's death. It's what she'd tried, after all, when they had all found the Fal'cie in the Vestige, in the middle of the Purge. Could he change that future, his past, if he talked to her? He didn't know. All he knew was that he had to save Serah... and so long as Lightning was lost, so was her sister.]

[But that doesn't stop him from feeling a small, hot core of anger over her words. She may think she's threatening or warning, he can't begin to guess, but he's not afraid of her.]

And we're more than 'Pulse l'cie'. We're still people. Whatever these brands mean, they can't take that from us! And neither can you.

[ Declaration of not-enemy status: Denied. ]

.... Your fal'Cie is already dead, you know.

[ She shakes her head slowly, eyes never leaving him. She'd almost feel sorry for him here, in that she thinks she's breaking the bad news to his unbalanced mind. Obviously, she doesn't really care how he feels, though. In fact, she's almost amused. ]

Its Vestige was destroyed- dismantled and thrown down to Pulse.

[ That's what she was told, anyway. ]

It's -- what?

[Is he surprised because the Fal'Cie is dead? No, no matter what she would of course think.]

Lightning, you were --- you were there for that. You're the one who attacked it, while I was pleading with it to give back Serah...

[It's starting to click. Those small differences. That attitude, more hostile than he remembered, might not just be because time has softened his memory.]

[He takes a step back.]

The Purge. The Purge -- the Purge hasn't happened yet, for you.

Has it?

Of course it has.

[ Very carefully, she crosses her arms, turning slightly away... and continuing to watch him only until the motion is complete. Only then does she finally glance away in marked disinterest. ]

But as for the fal'Cie... you're wrong on that front. Even if I would, I've never attacked any. Sorry.

[ Because although she was on the Palamecia, pulled from duty rounding up people trying to hide from the Purge, she wasn't even given clearance to engage in the attack on the Vestige... she'd had other responsibilities, instead. ]

[He leans sideways -- all but falling, really, till he catches himself on the wall. For a moment he shuts his eyes, building up strength -- then opens them again to look at her.]

[How can he describe something in his past and her future -- when apparently it never happened?]

When the... When the Purge came, you quit the GC and boarded the train to get to the Hanging Edge. When you got there you broke out of the train, and -- you and I ended up in the Vestige, with -- you wouldn't even know them yet! But that was where you and I were branded l'cie!

But -- [There's almost a frantic note in his voice now.] If the Purge has already happened and -- and you weren't there...

...what is going on here?

[ Claire is generally unaffected, her disgust evident. Snow's already proven he's crazy to her, so she's pretty sure she knows the answer to that question.

However, this bizarre story he has going with her inserted in it... just keeps getting more and more interesting, and after a moment she simply raises her eyebrows incredulously as she processes just what he's getting at. ]

'GC?' ... Guardian Corps? [ -- But then she raises a hand, shaking her head again. ] Never mind. I don't want to hear it.

You ought to listen, Claire.

[He intends that as a surprise, a shock. After all, he had only found out Lightning's name from Dysley-as-Serah on Pulse; to a Lightning that hadn't experienced that, or even one who hadn't given Snow her permission to ask Serah way back in Palumpolum, his knowledge of the name ought to be outrageous. And would it make her mad? Of course it would, but maybe it would make her realize something was wrong.]

[Most likely, though, it would fall out the other way...]

You plan on making me, Snow?

[ Yes, the hand stays in place, her expression unwavering save for the slightest hint of a smirk at that. Honestly, she'd prefer some actual frustration aimed at her, over whatever emotions he was showing just a minute ago. She can deal with that because it's what she's familiar with. It's what she expected.

Considering she was just parroting his sentence form, she doesn't even notice the switch over in names until a moment later... and then she really only wonders internally what the reason for it is. ]

I--

[Why didn't she react to that? Maybe she thinks he heard it from Serah anyway -- she doesn't know that he wouldn't ask...]

[But her question, rather than provoking him, seems to drain the fight out of him instead. He slumps visibly, seeming to shrink just a little.]

I don't plan on making you do anything, Lightning. [But he sounds so sad, saying that. As if he'd lost a sister. Because really, as far as he knows, he has.]

But I'm not your enemy. Or Cocoon's. I swear that. On my love for Serah.

[ -- Again she's let down. By now she probably should have known better than to expect any sort of predictability out of this encounter, though. ~~Even if it's due to her own misconceptions.~~

She's also pretty embittered. Mentioning the whole ~love~ thing is about the worst way to get on her good side, you know, because as far as she's concerned, this man and Pulse took her sister away from her. The only way she can picture them not being enemies? Is in death. End of story. ]

... Stay away from me. [ She turns so that the line of her shoulders is perpendicular to him, eyes half-veiled as she looks at him from the corner of her vision. ] And learn to address me properly. It's Instructor Farron, now.

[ Just wait until he finds out all her records and such are in the name 'Claire Farron' too. No 'Lightning' in sight, considering that's just a nickname by word of mouth, here. ]

[Especially since the records previously had 'Lightning'. Especially since the records now show two instances of cadets with the same name.]

[Then it will all start to click.]

[But for now, he can't stand this any more. He needs to go find Serah, and -- warn her, as horrible as that is.]

[But, being Snow, he has to have the last word as he turns away.]

Angry because you can't keep moving, and you only want to keep moving so you don't have time to stop and think. I'll say it again, I'm not Cocoon's enemy or yours, no matter what Dysley wants.

[This all would have been a lot easier in the long run if Snow were the sort to use the fal'Cie's name instead of that of his assumed guise... too bad that just wasn't his style.]

[But he'll start walking off now. Any parting shots?]

[ The words mean very little to Claire, but her eyes narrow anyway- she's had time to stop and think, alright... but she hasn't been forced yet to question herself or her mission. This entire time she's been avoiding it; instinctively, she probably knows that doing so, acknowledging the clues that something is amiss, the words of the l'Cie here and back home that try to point that out, would require her to rip her entire worldview and purpose apart. ]

Only takes one of us to make us enemies... it's what the people want. [ She doesn't raise her voice at all... but the sting is still there if he manages to hear it. One has to wonder just how long it will take him to notice how reminiscent of a particular silver-haired man that line is, though.

And in any case, she doesn't waste any time either. Immediately she spins on her heel to leave in the opposite direction. She has other things to do. ]

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