witchesreign | Loss. [Action

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Loss. [Action | Front Gate]

[Not wanting to suck the life out of the quad and not feeling up to training, Snow had found himself a seat on one of the raised planters that held a few small trees and some decorative plants, out past the ID checkpoint in the landscaped area. There he sat, hands on his knees, head bowed, and thought.]

[In his right hand, he held a crystal.]

[As far as he knew... he had lost a sister. And he was amazed how much it hurt.]

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I can sympathize. To see one whom you've grown so fond of and to not have that affection returned...

[Cid pauses.]

If it provides you with any comfort, I can tell you with utmost certainty that she is not the one you are familiar with, despite appearances. [He closes his eyes for a moment before continuing.] This Farron is a Sanctum l'Cie.

[ Vanille had been wanting to talk to... Well, everyone from the moment she'd spotted Lightning walking through the halls, and had spoken to her to not-so-great effect. Things had gotten a little insane around here, recently, but she finally had her chance to look around and find everyone— and she was going to take it. She may not have gotten another one for a while. ]

[ Despite how unmistakable he usually was, Snow had been hard to find. She wasn't about to give up until she'd combed every part of the Garden— twice, if she had to. It was with luck that she spotted him outside the front gate. ]

[ Her heart dropped, seeing him like that. Lightning's attitude had been tough on her, too, but to see what was obviously his reaction to it was... Well, heart-wrenching. She was scared of what was to come, but she swallowed her uncertainties, approaching him. ]

Ah... Hi.

[His smile is wan but genuine and unforced as he looks up at her. He'd always seen Vanille as a bright spot in his days, after all. (So, good work on hiding all that angst and heartbreak around Snow, is the message here.)]

Hey.

You met her too, huh?

[He makes a 'have a seat' motion.]

A--

Sanctum l'cie?

[That earns a few moments of open-mouth shock as Snow gets to his feet. He wants to disbelieve, but he can't imagine Lightning OR Cid lying about that sort of thing no matter the circumstances.]

But -- how?!

I don't know, but I can guess. Time compression can take people from the same world in different times, right? What if -- what if someone from our world came here, from before the Purge, and met someone from after it? And then they went back knowing everything. Things would change.

Maybe something like that happened here.

[Cid holds up a hand to stall Snow.]

I spoke with her, and from what she has told me, I can only draw one conclusion: instead of merely being of a different time, she is of a different reality.

There are far too many inconsistencies between her story and what we know. Her actions, her words, her very perception of things... [He shakes his head.] I do not believe them to be a lie.

She -- she said some weird things. [That the Purge had already happened. But he'd thought maybe she meant that it had begun, and she'd come from the middle of it, before she'd been branded. This was...]

[One hand dives into his coat pockets to come up with his Garden roster, which he starts flipping through. There's her name, and ...]

I didn't... I didn't even think about that.

[Cid steps a little closer to see what Snow's pulled out of his pocket.]

It was an emotionally charged meeting. I do not doubt that you had other things on your mind at the time.

[Bulla's on her way back from a brief shopping excursion. She can't spend the way she used to, but it's taught her to appreciate good bargains on fashionable clothing a lot more. Shopping bag in hand, she spots Snow outside of the Garden looking uncharacteristically sombre.]

Are you all right, Instructor Villiers?

[She thinks about this for a moment and then shakes her head.]

I'm sure that could happen, but I'm not sure that's what happened here. At least I hope not, because it's hard to believe that something said here could change my sister that much.

[Sighing, she glances down at her feet for a moment before continuing.]

A few weeks ago if someone had asked me what I was sure of I would have said you and my sister both. Because I know that no matter how hard things might get in the end you'll always be there for me.

The Lightning I know, the sister I've grown up with...would never do this no matter what someone tried to convince her of.

If she's not our Lightning... we'll never know, but that's important to remember. She's not the Lightning we know.

[He drops his hand, rosters still held loosely, to wrap it back around Serah and hold her tight again.]

Whatever happened to her... must have been horrible.

Hey, Bulla.

[He's a little cheered up now just from her presence. He LIKES Bulla!]

Time compression is rough.

[After talking a little with Lightning, Sazh honestly didn't know what to do, and he was sure that everyone else, especially Snow and Serah, would be at an even bigger loss than him.]

[So when he spots Snow sitting outside, Sazh walks up to him and sits down.]

Hey.

[Thinking back to her run in with "Claire", Serah sighs again.]

That's not something I'll ever be able to forget.

[She smiles a little as his arm tightens around her before shifting her arm so that her hand can rest on his.]

I can't even begin to imagine it. [She murmurs, shoulders drooping fractionally.] I wish there was a way to help her.

[ She does take a seat, right beside him. ]

... Uh huh.

[ She bites her lip, glancing over to him, not sure what to say. ]

She said some weird stuff...

She probably didn't even recognize you, huh.

[Snow is still under the impression that Lightning has come prior to her own branding; he doesn't understand, hasn't even guessed yet, what's going on.]

We'll find a way.

[He turns his hand palm up to twine his fingers with hers. Can't be Serah's hero without saving her sister, too -- even in these crazy circumstances.]

[After a moment, he chuckles.] I think by the end of this I'm gonna be missing the giant Pulse monsters.

You met her too, huh.

[He doesn't look up, but he almost, very distantly, sounds amused.]

That's... crazy even for Lightning.

[He had his answers, and isn't certain Cid will understand them, but he tilts the roster to show him anyway.]

Her name's just listed as 'Claire Farron'.

[His shoulders slump a little as he feels, alternatively, foolish and sad.]

How did -- the only Sanctum l'cie in forever are you and Dahj, right? How did she get branded? Why would she even admit it?

She recognized me.

[ She frowns, bringing a hand up to her mouth, biting down on her nails. ]

She's not like us.

Edited 2011-05-21 20:12 (UTC)

[He straightens up with a jerk like he's been kicked.]

But -- she didn't even meet you till we all were in the Vestige. And she hasn't been branded -- this doesn't make any sense!

[ She shakes her head. ]

She knew me from somewhere else. [ And for once, she's not telling a truth she'd kept hidden for a while, even though it feels just as bad as doing that. She grips the hem of her skirt in her fingers. ]

She's branded... But... She's not like us.

[He looks over at her curiously, starting to catch on that she means something significant with that.]

What do you mean?

While I would not say that she is happy, I do not think it impossible that she is proud to wield the power of a Sanctum l'Cie, serving Cocoon and her people as few can.

As for how, she did not say outright, but... [Cid goes quiet for a moment and looks down at his right hand, gaze hard.] It is surprisingly simple. All it takes is a single private audience with the Primarch.

[You just said the magic word, Cid.]

Dysley.

[He punches his left palm so hard it has to hurt, but Snow doesn't seem to notice, growling through clenched teeth.]

Everything he did to us wasn't enough? Now he's gotta use Lightning? Pretending like he cares about Cocoon and she's some proud soldier doing her best to defend the Sanctum from our threat?

He'll pay. He'll PAY!

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Loss. [Action | Front Gate]

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PRETEND THIS ISN'T 7 YEARS LATE

It's like a day after I posted it! That's not 7 years!

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what is being on time

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... seven years.

Seven days?

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Something I am bad at too!

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OH GOD seven daaaaayssss

And then Frank Parker was in the Pope's body!

And we were all wondering why Ezio wasn't around to punch him.

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