"Too long... she's been gone too long!" At this point, panic had permeated the teen's already fragile voice. The last word cracked at an awkward angle, and the Estheim boy would have winced if his face wasn't already tense with worry. His words resonated all too much in the quiet dusk air.
Oerba dia Vanille placed a motherly arm around the silver-haired adolescent and leaned into him.
"Come on now. You know what Lightning's like. I've lost count of the amount of times she's wandered off on her own. Sometimes she needs to collect her thoughts, or take out her frustrations, or maybe she just needs a private moment..." A nervous giggle followed, but no one else laughed. The giggle faded quickly. Lightning had been gone for four hours now, Vanille acknowledged; it wasn't just that, but the manner of her disappearance that was most concerning. Usually Lightning notified the group of some solitary task that needed doing, or made some sort of dramatic exit. This time she had vanished while on a routine lone foray into a pack of Gorgonopsids in the Eastern Tors. Sazh and Snow had searched the area to no avail. Lightning was gone. And though she was a gifted warrior, the wilderness of Gran Pulse was not forgiving to non-Pulsians. Often Vanille wondered if their de facto leader had any idea of the dangers of the place.
Oerba yun Fang was tired of this passiveness. In fact, she was rather annoyed with the whole deal. Not only was Lightning a difficult character to deal with, more so perhaps than any other woman she'd encountered before, but she was their self-appointed leader! What sort of leader leaves the group for hours at a time? Lightning was assertive, yes, and a decent young warrior, but she was cold, insensitive, and, Fang felt, more than a little arrogant.
"For goodness' sake. Enough. I'll have a look for her," Fang said, irritably. "You two better not have missed anything," she said, glaring in Sazh and Snow's direction. The two men looked up, nonplussed. Before anyone could protest, Fang had leapt away to where Lightning was last seen.
Frankly, she was glad to be free of the group. Not only did Fang hate standing around, but she couldn't stand the tense atmosphere either. Being with them was suffocating. She had all the time in the world for Vanille, but couldn't bear to see her concerned face because of a certain pink-haired soldier's impulsivity. Snow and Sazh, while good-hearted, were clearly incompetent. And something about the Estheim boy irked her. Fang supposed she could understand now why Lightning often sought her alone time.
Dragging herself from her thoughts, Fang scanned the landscape; the Eastern Tors of the Archylte Steppe. It was a difficult area, but not quite the Northern Highplain, or, Maker forbid, Aggra's Pasture. She would be surprised if Lightning had found any trouble here. The Pulsian native paced around, her emerald eyes surveying the growing darkness for any sign of her quarry. It didn't take her long; a pack of what looked like former Gorgonopsids lay scattered around an enclave surrounded by the mountains. Fang squinted. The terrain was different. Disturbed. It was... a Chocobo trail? Oh Maker! How had Snow and Sazh missed this? In far greater visibility, no less!
'Men,' thought Fang.
Still, Fang couldn't recall Lightning ever riding a Chocobo. While the majority of the creatures were mellow and placid, there were a few specimens that were more... impulsive, and not so considerate of the inexperienced rider. 'Not so different from Lightning', thought the dark-haired warrior. Fang regarded the tracks. A large, lone Chocobo had approached the massacre from the southeast, slowly, then stopped. Lightning had mounted it here. Why? Then - Fang raised an eyebrow, and swallowed in slight concern - a sudden increase in speed, to the north. Large paces, uncertain paces. She followed; at times the Chocobo veered slightly towards the left or right, possibly avoiding a baying fiend. Other times it swerved dangerously close to the nearby Adamantortoise herds. There were struggles at intermittent intervals; she suspected Lightning wasn't in full control of the Chocobo. Yet it continued to advance north; the more it did so, the more concerned Fang became. The paces became faster and faster, to the point where it would be dangerous to dismount. Further north, in leaps and bounds now, in clear panic - possibly being chased - and yet further north, to a sudden stop. Fang looked up. She was at the mountainous entrance to Aggra's Pasture.
"Oh Maker...", she sighed.
Then, a piercing shriek. Fang had never heard Lightning scream before, but there was no doubt that it was her. There was no time to consider or look for help. The hunter expertly ascended the cliffs and dashed through the winding passageways; as she moved towards the source, the cries became more urgent, more pained, and yet weaker. 'Maker knows what she's met at this time of night,' thought Fang. As she arrived to the deceptively leafy clearing of the pasture, she found her answer. A Neochu, with a pack of its offspring. That was a sight she'd observed before, but what she hadn't seen was a single suicidal person attempting to engage the monstrosity. The Neochu was one of the most feared creatures on the entire planet! And Lightning of all people was picking a fight with it. She knew the little miss could be headstrong, but never this foolish. She swore loudly at Lightning; amid the Neochu's roars and the clashing of steel and magic, the soldier glanced towards the hunter.
"Fang!" Such was the venom with which it was uttered, a more reasonable person might have left Lightning to deal with it herself. Fang, however, knew that the soldier was simply embarrassed; she also suspected Lightning had never been so pleased to see her. Despite herself and their situation, a grin eased across Fang's face. She couldn't help but relax and take things less seriously whenever the uptight soldier was around. As she leapt into the fray, Fang's grin faded to a countenance of concern; Lightning was seriously injured, with cuts to her face and arms. They had no chance against the Neochu like this. Fang provoked the brunt of the assault and expertly dodged its offspring's enraged attacks; she struck out with her spear, coaxing squeals of pain from the small yet ferocious creatures.
"Impressed, soldier-girl?" No reply.
"I know you're a quiet one Lightning, but giving me the silent treatment for saving your life is a bit-" Fang took the opportunity to look back at Lightning, who had backed off to recover. No, 'recover' wasn't the word; she was clearly struggling, sheltering under the large Chocobo, frozen in fear, that had somehow avoided injury.
"Fine. Looks like I won't be able to show you how it's done!" Firing off a fire spell at the Neochu and its horde, Fang retreated. Glancing back at the oversized beast, she noted that it appeared to be inhaling heavily, as if ready for an almighty sneeze. With greater urgency, she lifted the frail woman onto the Chocobo and jumped on herself. With an encouraging kick, the Chocobo obediently fled from the pasture, no doubt fearing for its own safety as well. They were lucky the Neochu was as monstrous as it was lumbersome; it stood no chance of keeping up with the flighty Chocobo. There was only an almighty roar and a menacing shaking of the ground just as they reached the plains of the Archylte Steppe.
Fang considered whether to reprimand Lightning. From her own experience with the soldier's lectures, she knew Lightning wouldn't appreciate one of her own condescending talks right now. She still hadn't spoken since her shouted greeting in the pasture. The soldier's ego was no doubt just as bruised as her body, and she would be tired, unsettled, and rather irritable.
Fang decided she would try a provocative quip. That was until she felt something on her waist; something cold, placing a gentle pressure on her midriff. She looked down. Pale, scratched, yet feminine arms had wrapped themselves around her. Fang felt a wave of sympathy for Lightning. They'd probably been there since she first jumped onto the Chocobo. Now, in the peaceful, fragile darkness of the twilit Steppe, she could appreciate them. It was most out of character, but Fang found that she'd rather not disturb the situation. She dropped the quip, and directed the Chocobo towards a calm pond in the Central Expanse of the Steppe.