Disclaimer: I do not in any way own any part of Final Fantasy XIII.
Lightning cringed as she bit her tongue. Another pulse of pain shot through her stomach as she tried to keep herself from crying out. She had been fine that morning, but as the day bore on, her stomach had started to hurt, and heat seemed to radiate off of every part of her body. Hope, having observed her from a distance inquired as to her slightly hunched appearance, but she merely denied every possibility of being anything but fine.
Pulse was proving to have difficult terrain, and even more difficult monsters to contend with. That, coupled with the fact that by the end of the day she could hardly stand without crying in agony, Lightning was having a hard time. Knowing that she would not be able to sleep through her pain, she opted to take first watch for the night.
By this time everyone else was asleep, and the faint image of cocoon lay in the sky, shrouded by a veil of stars in the background. The air was warm, and it would have been the perfect night, had it not been for the current discomfort the fearless leader was currently being subjected to.
Before it had just been a burning pain the background, but suddenly she felt a gut wrenching jolt of pain coupled with extreme nausea. Launching herself from her perch on a rock, overlooking the rest of her sleeping companions, Lightning distanced herself as far as she could. That however was unfortunately not far enough for her fellow travelers not to hear her retching, and come to her aid.
She coughed miserably, and held her stomach in pain. Hope was the first to find her, curled up against a tree, holding her head low in shame. At this point she could no longer deny that she was ailing, and in need of assistance. Hope wet the necktie he had around his neck with a nearby canteen of water, and held it up to her face, to wipe away the beaded sweat on her face. Soon the others pitched in as well. Snow picked her up, and lay her down on what few blankets they had managed to scrounge on their journeys. She soon passed out, and was therefore unaware of their worried glances and thoughts as she drifted into a delirious haze.
When she next woke, Lightning noticed that it must have been midmorning, from where the sun was shining in the sky. She also noticed the damp cloth on her forehead, and that the familiar weight of the gun blade holster was missing from her waist. She sighed, and was about sit up when another pain from her stomach effectively ceased every notion of the sort.
"Ow…" She let out a small exasperation of pain, which notified those around her that she was awake.
"Light…how are you feeling? Other than bad of course…you obviously don't feel good…" The boy was rambling, but Lightning knew that his heart was in the right place.
"I'm fine. We should get going." She made another attempt to get up, and this time would have made it further, if not for the firm hands her sister's fiancée.
"I don't think that's a very good idea, not right now anyway. You, young lady are in no condition to be doing anything but resting." Snow tried to jest, but his smile faltered, as he continued. "Honestly though, why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling good? We could have taken a break yesterday-we were just scouting out the area anyways."
"I…I didn't think it was that bad." Her voice came out in a weak tone that even managed to surprise Light herself.
"Not that bad? Are you serious? You we found you throwing up last night, and sweating buckets! You truly think that it's no big deal?" Sazh had joined the lecturing at this point as well. Vanille and Fang however, were no where to be found. Wanting the attention to be taken from herself, Lightning chose to comment on this observation.
"Oh. They're actually off trying to find some plants and stuff to make medicine for you. They think you're sick from the poison of a monster we faced yesterday. They think it might have entered you from that gash on your arm." Hope gestured to the clean white bandages bound firmly on her arm, near the twin bracelet she shared with her sister.
"I didn't even notice I'd been injured…" She drifted off, and the others were about to start another round of disciplining her on the merits of communication, when they noticed her blanch considerably.
"Umm, Light-are you okay?"
Choosing to answer truthfully, she muttered a soft "No." before pushing herself up and leaning over some nearby bushes before letting herself vomit again. She felt someone hold her hair out of her eyes and another brace her shoulders comfortingly. By the time she was done, delirium had set in once again. Putting up very little fight, she let strong hands guide her back to lying down, and slowly drifted off to sleep. She wished she could stay awake and protect them, but for now she would just have to trust that her friends would be able to fend for themselves for a while. As much as she didn't like having the role of protector taken away from her, it would have to do for now.