Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all these characters!
Etro's Boon
Chapter 1: Lightning's Day
"To Claire Farron, my dearest sister."
Lightning flipped the brown package over and tried to pry it open with calm dignity. Her twitching fingers endured this for a full minute before giving way to impatience, and she began tearing off the thick wrapper with a vengeance.
"Stupid-ngh-wrapper…!" She growled through gritted teeth.
Scraps of brown paper floated to the ground dismally. A blue head poked in through her open front door.
"Oh yeah, Lightning! I forgot to pass you this ca–" Yuj paused in mid-speech to stare at the mess that pooled her feet.
Lightning's face reddened instantly. She had received the package from Yuj just moments before, with barely more than a grunt of acknowledgement. She had carefully forced an expression of casual indifference even after the puzzled teen had repeated that it was sent from "Serah...your little sister…?".
The blue-haired teen now looked at her with a knowing twinkle in his eye. In that desperate instant, Lightning briefly considered the prospect of murder.
"…what?" She growled, glaring at him menacingly.
Yuj had the grace not to smile.
"I forgot to pass you this card from Serah." He repeated, holding up a crisp yellow envelope. "It was in my pocket."
Lightning held onto the package possessively, and stepped forward to pluck the envelope out of his extended hand. He smiled encouragingly as she turned her face away to savour her sister's delicate script on the big envelope.
"Well, I'll leave you to it then." Yuj said gently, misty-eyed.
The NORA member was just turning to leave when he heard Lightning's voice crack at him like a whip.
"Hold it!" She ordered sharply, storm clouds brewing on her face. "You never had this in your pocket, did you?"
Yuj gulped.
"Aha-ha-ha…what do you mean, Lightning?"
Lightning advanced slowly towards him, the air about her sparking dangerously.
"You were just trying to spy on me…weren't you?"
The blue-haired teen fled.
"I just wanted to see what was inside…!" He yelled back, voice trailing off to a distant cry.
Lightning glared at Yuj's retreating back and slammed the door shut.
"Hmph." She grunted, her face still flushed from embarrassment. "Idiot."
Lightning scanned through the offensively cheerful greeting card for the fifth time and gave a forlorn sigh.
"Serah…when are you coming back?"
She tapped the polished table impatiently.
You don't need me now that you have Snow, do you…?
The pink-haired soldier sighed again and buried her face in her gloved hands.
"That's unfair…" Her muffled voice admitted in frustration. "You begged me to come along, didn't you?"
But I insisted on staying behind for Fang and Vanille…
"Tch! Who goes off on a honeymoon for six months at a stretch anyway!" Lightning burst out suddenly, bringing her fist down onto the tabletop causing the glass to rattle violently.
Her lips twisted into a characteristic frown.
"He'd better not get her pregnant."
It was later in the night that the pink haired soldier was plagued by a wispy voice.
[Light…]
Lightning tossed and turned in her large bed, annoyed by the ethereal voice in her head.
[Light…]
She gritted her teeth and wedged her head between two heavy pillows.
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
[Light.][Light.][Light!]
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" She yelled at last, slamming her pillows down and forcing herself into an upright position.
But there was only silence. Resisting the urge to swear, Lightning laid back down again and folded her arms behind her head.
Yet another sleepless night…
She glanced out of her window and stared unblinkingly at the glorious crystal pillar that towered over the surrounding landscape. It seemed to hold up the very sky. Lightning stretched forth a hand as if to touch the sparkling monument, and grasped at sheer emptiness.
"I would tear down the sky to save you…"
She clenched her hand into a tight fist, till her knuckles turned white, before finally letting it drop lifelessly to her side.
Deep in the heart of the enchanting pillar slept two of her dear friends. They were locked in crystal stasis…frozen in time and space. Forever blissfully detached from the rest of the world…
…from me.
Lightning turned her back to the window. The thought of the two of them sleeping side by side through all eternity suddenly became too much to bear. She blinked back unbidden tears.
I miss you…Fang.