Ｖａｎｉｌｌｅ ❀ №1 ❀ Spoilers for FFXIII up ahead!

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[ The orientation had been over for a few hours. The roaming Vanille finds herself somewhere inside the training center. A wistful hum tickles her throat as she skips through the battered terrain. Content as can be with the abundance of plants, she happily makes her way through the series of trails. A hollowing ROAR puts the small redhead to a stop dead in her tracks, her happy bubble officially burst. Slowly gazing up and up, she finds herself face to face with a T-Rexaur. ]

Whoah uh...uhhhh

[ Quickly glancing around, she decides to carefully trace her steps backwards. The T-Rexaur takes one step forward, provoking a full blown shriek from girl as the ground beneath her trembles. Without another hesitation, she stumbles into a sprint back the way she came. ]

Comments

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

Eh...Sorry.

[Slowly she picks up her fork again, this time unsure where to start.]

I don't think I can finish all this food. Some of it looks so weird like...like this [She points to the hot dog tucked on the corner of the tray.]

They called it a hot....a

hot dog?

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

...I wonder what kind of animal it comes from. Never heard of "dog."

[ Dubious about food that isn't discernably part of plant or beast, Fang picks it up from Vanille's tray using forefinger and thumb and sniffs it. ]

Smells bland. Bit salty.

[ She takes a bite, and by that, I mean Vanille now has only half a hot dog remaining. ]

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[Hope watches curiously. Almost expectantly, even.]

...Was it hot?

/edits 50 times

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[Vanille is also watching, mostly trying to comprehend what it came from.]

The cafeteria lady said that "Balamb Garden hot dogs are the best item on the menu."

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

[ The brave warrior is chewing slowly, her face void of opinion. ]

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

[ When she finally swallows the bite, though, Fang grimaces and sticks out her tongue. Blegh! ]

Aeuragh--if this is the best they've got, I'm gonna starve before a fortnight!

1/3

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

It's that bad?

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[Hope looks down at the uneaten half, and suddenly, the red piece of meat looks much more ominous.]

Guess looks can be deceiving.

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[A pause.]


Try that one, too!

[He points to a small dish of bright green something.]

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[ Well so much for that, the inside hardly even looked like meat anyway! ]

Yeah! I think they called it something like 'che-llo'?

[ She pokes at it with her fork, demonstrating the square's characteristic jiggle. For some reason it reminds her of a flan...which if it'll taste anything close to that, it won't be enjoyable at all. ]

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

Two of you, what do you think my stomach's made of, anyhow?

[ For a moment, Fang considers trying it. Her nose scrunched up, she watches it undulate before picking up the ramekin. Closer scrutiny reveals nothing that threatening, except a rather sweet smell that is almost fruitlike, but not any fruit she's ever tried before. ]

[ She might be close to chickening out, after all, the stuff won't stop wobbling, but Vanille seems so intent on the outcome... ]

Right. If I croak, kid [ she indicates Hope with a finger ] my blood's on your hands.

[ Down the hatch. ]

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[This might as well be the variety show of the decade, the way he's watching. His nose wrinkles a bit as he watches her down that globby mess. In his experience, bright neon green things never meant anything good, but if worse came to worst, at least he had a Dispel ready. He's almost afraid to ask-]

Wh-what does it taste like?

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

Aah?

[By this point she was partially leaned over the table, expression frozen in suspense. She is pumped like something so pumped.]

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

[ And the verdict- ]

Tastes like...
Sort of...
A bit frui-
well, let's just say it's better than hot dog, but that ain't saying much. [ A shudder. ]
You can feel it wigglin' all the way down, almost like something you dug up out of the mud.

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[What kind of thing wiggles in your mouth when you-

Hope stares down at the jello very suspiciously, now.]

...I'll, um. Stick to my omelet.

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[Just another thing to cross off the list. How can people ruin something so simple!]

Oooh! Yuck! [ Vanille shakes away the sensation Fang had described, returning her attention to the other small plates of food arranged before her. Stinky yellow mush, slimy beans, maybe she just picked all the wrong things.]

I'm not really hungry anymore...

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

[ Going. To starve. ]

No? Guess I'll just have that slice of cake, if you don't want it.

[ She shares a wink with Hope, then reaches to take the little slice out of Vanille's reach. ]

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[Hope laughs, watching as the heist is pulled off without even a moment's delay.]

Oh, that was one of the only normal looking things Vanille got, too.

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[Watching that slice of heaven drift away causes the tiniest little whimper in the back of her throat.]

Ah--well.....it's probably good. [She kind of wants it....maybe just a little bit.]

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

Mhm, I bet. It smells sweet, and [ Fang's fork breaks into the slice ] it's fluffy and soft...

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

I saw it on the menu - it's a daily special, too. I think that means we won't get that cake again until a while has passed.

[All smiles and sincerity here.]

You're so lucky, Fang!

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[Tiniest little lip bite. Cue hazy glow slow zoom. It looked so sweet, so chocolaty, so......moist. Was that her mouth watering? She swallows, still leaning slightly forward. ]


Y-yeah....really lucky.

[brokenbrand.livejournal.com]

That's me in a nutshell. Lady Luck and me are like this. [ She crosses two fingers together to indicate the level of closeness. ]

[ She deliberately lifts the forkful right past Vanille's face. And the airplane starts its descent, heading in for the hangar- ]

[fleeorflight.livejournal.com]

[Hope watches with amusement, leaning his elbows on the table.]

Did you eat something bad, Vanille? You look kind of funny.

[lacqualia.livejournal.com]

[Another small whine tickles the back of her throat. This was torture, they all knew it too! She's wiggling in her seat.]

Oooooohhhh!!!! No more!

I can't handle it!