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[ 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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[How would you like to trade horrible anticipation for a sick certainty and dread?]

[Because there's only one person, ever, that tall, in that outfit. And he's walking down the hallways, heading generally Lightning's way. Hasn't noticed her yet, but it's only a matter of time.]

[Wait for fate to meet you, or go face it head-on?]

[ Certainly something she doesn't like it at all and... Claire knows she could do neither of those things- duck away and leave before he catches sight, do something that saves herself from that and the feeling of at least one hand curling into itself so hard she's bound to be leaving nail indentations even through gloves.

But even before she was trained as a SeeD, she's never been a coward in any sense of the word, and her fate... well. That's a funny story, really. Needless to say she decides to face it, stepping into Snow's line of sight from some distance away, glare firmly in place.

Of course, she has no idea that it's just about impossible for her to truly be ready for what's in store. For all she knows, he should be pretty willing to return her dark look without hesitation. ]

[Not at first -- in fact, on spotting the pink-haired girl, Snow's first reaction is to grin broadly and lift a hand. He hadn't seen Lightning for a couple of months now, and he and Serah had figured that she'd fallen victim to time compression. So the relief and happiness at seeing his sister overwhelms the small details he ought to be noticing.]

Hey, there --

[But that glare isn't the glare Lightning gives him even when irritated. Not even the glare she gave him back in Bodhum at her birthday party. And noticing that brings the other small details into focus, like the difference in the uniform. He slows his forward pace, hesitantly.]

...sis?

[And the way he lowers his hand offers a glimpse at the burned-out brand on his forearm.]

[ ... At first his reaction definitely doesn't make sense, and for a split second Claire wonders if this man might actually from the time compression pulling someone from earlier than when she remembers- possibly even before one or both of them were made l'Cie. The fact that he knows her, though... that suggests it being past the point at which her sister had started seeing him. Before--

Then, she spots the Brand, completely whited out now just like hers... although with a much more sinister shape. It takes a long moment before she's able to drag her eyes back to his face after that, revulsion written into every inch of her expression and posture. ]

Instructor Villiers...

[ And yeah, if the behavior and that tone aren't enough, she does look a bit different too: subtly different haircut, uniform in dusky colors... although not with the illuminated stripes. If there's something this world has taught her about that, it's that it's not always wise to glow in the dark...! ]

[Claire might be tough as nails and scary to boot, but Greece never really pays attention to things like auras.

Of course, it helps that you can't pay attention to... well, anything, really, when you lean against a wall and then pass out.

Occupational hazard, all right?]

[ There is a man against the wall-- sleeping? That's definitely not something you see every day, and it's by far enough to give Claire pause as she... looms over him with a frown from a few feet away. His breathing appears normal, and yet-- ]

Hey. [ She bends to touch his shoulder, tone sharp. ] Wake up.

[Greece stays put, still completely out cold. She might as well be whispering, for all the effect that has. ]

[ Not cool. Somewhere between concerned and annoyed, now she kneels down to one knee beside him, deftly tugging off a glove... ] Hey! Are you alright? [ ...and pressing her fingers into his neck, peering at his face at closer range. If his unconscious self knows what's good for him, he'll be waking up soon before she has the chance to do more. ]

[If it's possible, he actually slumps a bit more when she touches his neck! There's nothing wrong, he just... passes out at horrible times, like now.]

[And this is one of the younger cadets near the lobby. John has been trying to make a decision on his Major for the last week and this time he's pretty much told himself HE WILL DO THIS.]

[So he is kind of staring intently at the catalog of classes.]

[And doesn't seem to realize he's floating a few inches off the ground.]

[ Trying to figure out if this guy is asleep or actually sick... it's ridiculous. Claire does not have time to be messing around, and yet the situation is so weird, she can't help but be conflicted.

Gritting her teeth, she hooks one arm under his knees and the other around his shoulders and neck, pulling him away from the wall to properly lay flat. Last chance. ]

[CHANCE: IGNORED. ~~Laying him out like that just makes him more comfortable.~~]

[ Oh Garden... apparently, today is just not Claire's day for normalcy. She's just about to pass John by entirely when she notices... he's not exactly the best example of a well-grounded child right now, is he?

The clipped sound of her boots comes to an abrupt stop, her pale eyes half-lidded as she turns her head to look down at him. No, by no stretch of the imagination is that the weirdest thing she's ever seen, but... ]

[He seems to have not noticed Claire, rather he scrunches his face at the paper and pushes up his glasses.]

I guess if I majored in magic I could still take the weapons elective...

Man, this is hard.

[Oh wait is that the feeling of being watched. He looks up.]

Oh.

[ Most grown men would wake up from being moved around, you know. But this guy doesn't, and yet at the same time, he still doesn't seem distressed to her. And now Claire is fed up. She's not going to carry him halfway across Garden unless he really needs it.

Remember that ungloved hand? It's now used to deliver a sharp slap across the face- just a tiny fraction of her full strength, of course, sounding much louder than it probably hurts at all, but that's beside the point. ]

... You're free to take any of the electives regardless of what you specialize in, so long as you have the time for it.

[ Significant pause, and then as if this actually needs to be asked: ] Are you a new cadet?

[Oh crap he must be talking to a teacher. He does his best to not look embarrassed.]

Pretty obvious, huh?

[He hasn't stopped floating though.]

Are you an instructor?

[WHOA WHAT WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT

brb a slight jump and eyes shooting open WHAT IS THIS]

[ Claire is... not-so-concerned with his embarrassment. In fact, she keeps glancing aside every so often like she's looking for something, demeanor and expression tight. At the question, however, she inclines her head slightly. ]

Yes. Instructor Claire Farron. Military Movement, Advanced Firearms and Projectiles.

[ And... ignoring how odd it feels to be saying that- almost like she's introducing someone other than herself right now. The strangeness isn't helped by the fact that this boy is just a kid, and this place is more like just a school despite the... overall subject matter. With people from Cocoon, even if they're used to barking orders at subordinates back home like she was, there's no way around it: as a whole, they're sheltered. They didn't train children to fight.

But in any case, about that floating there: ]

... You should know that, generally, 'magic' inside Balamb Garden is... discouraged.

[He arrives at a partially-correct conclusion that, while perfectly logical, sends him down a path of complete misunderstanding. He looks down and away, but there's no mistake the pain and regret on his face.]

Sorry. I just--

[And then he makes the entirely wrong decision for all the right reasons. Even a Lightning from before Pulse -- from even the worst moments after the branding -- really cared about one thing more than anything, right? Can you blame him for trying to give Lightning some hope and happiness?]

Serah is here. She's -- she's not crystal any more.

[ At least she didn't zap him.

Now that he's awake though, surely she's free to feel annoyed without worry, and so pressing her lips together, she leans back to start putting her glove back on ~~like a boss~~. ]

Get up. This isn't the place for sleeping.

[ Yeah, she already knows that Serah is here... and yet her face doesn't change at all like it should. Something odd is going on, that's for sure, but it doesn't take long at all before her anger at him overrides any chance of her caring that he's acting off.

... Save for one thing. Not crystal any more? ]

What's that supposed to mean?

She's... not crystal? [He's not sure how to describe it any better than that, and while that wouldn't ordinarily be helpful...] Somehow, when she came here she turned back.

[When she came here... not any other time.]

[ Guess who's completely unaware that the Serah from her world was also crystallized? By the time the newly-branded l'Cie hit the solidified Lake Bresha, Serah was already back to normal... and if the event had been mentioned when the l'Cie confronted Claire on the bridge of the Palamecia, she'd definitely been too irrational to absorb it. ]

Why... was my sister 'crystal?' [ Safe to say Claire is absolutely horrified at the implications here, though her tone is so low and dangerous right now it's a wonder things in the immediate vicinity aren't spontaneously being covered in ice. ]

You don't remember?! I mean -- you don't know?

[She isn't the only one horrified at implications. If she didn't know her sister had become crystal, than that means --]

The Purge. Your birthday. What do you know?

[Snow is honestly scared and not hiding it.]

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