Mornings. Etro, do I hate mornings. Lightning slowly opened her eyes, gazing around her room, fresh sunlight reflecting off the polished blade of her Blazefire Sabre. Brushing a wayward strand of hair from her face, she sat up, turning to sit on the edge of her bed before turning off her blaring alarm clock. Anything new? She picked up her phone from the bedside table, examining the messages she'd received through the night. A picture of her sister holding a kitten, an invitation to her school's "Spirit Festival" (whatever the hell that was...), and a couple assorted messages- nothing too exciting.
"LIIIIIIIIIGHT!"
Oh joy. Why did she have to do that?
Serah's voice rang from the hall once again, "LIIIIIIIIIIGHTNIIIIIINNGGGG!"
Lightning glowered, marching in her underwear to the door before throwing it open and glaring at her sister. "I'm hardly awake yet, so just stop shouting."
"Sorry sis, just wanted to make sure you were awake!" Serah responded in that annoyingly happy way of hers, her pink pigtails bouncing along with her nods. "I, ah.. I made your lunch, too!" She held up a brown paper bag, marked with a neat and accurate drawing of her sister's strange tattoo. The strange, black-and-red, pointed design seemed to have no source, no model for creation- just Lightning's funny fascination with the design she seemed to have come up with. It really was a cool design, Serah had been tempted on multiple occasions to get a matching one.
Lightning only nodded in response, the sleepy look in her eyes giving Serah a laugh. "Just.. Give me a moment." Light poured herself a cup of coffee, taking a sip of the scalding drink. "Where's this from? It's different than usual." She looked pensively into the dark liquid, swirling it around in the cup.
"It's from this adorable little coffee shop in Bodhum! I saw this girl there, I think she goes to our school.. Claw? Talon? Ah, I forget.. Something like that."
Lightning sipped the dark liquid slowly, thoughtfully, savouring every note of the complex flavour. "It's good, Serah. Nice choice."
Serah laughed quietly to herself. Classic Light. Everything was said in the same flat tone, real complement or not. Serah knew, though. If there was a soul in the world that could read her sister, it was her. "Light, we gotta go!", she chirped, drinking the rest of her coffee before throwing Lightning's car keys to her.
"Another year.." Lightning sighed, scoffing a little. "I'm so sick of high school. I just want to graduate and join the Corps already." She shrugged, frown slowly fading as she got nearer to her car.
"You'll be done before me, sis!", Serah quipped, hopping into the passenger seat in almost perfect synch with Lightning. "I still have 4 years of this bull." She shrugged, a bit too cheery for Lightning's preference.
We're on the way to Dissidia, quit being so cheery. Whatever, she can do as she wants, I guess. Lightning shrugged subtly, narrowing her eyes as she stepped on the gas, speeding onto the highway. Normally, she could shut out the world, tune in to the roar of the engine and the buzz of the road, blocking everything out, but.. there was something.. someone.. else on her mind. I can't.. Why can't I focus? This is new. C'mon! She shook her head a little, putting two fingers against her forehead.
"Light, are you okay?" Serah frowned at her, concerned. "You look.. I don't know."
"I'm... I'm fine. Just.. Thinking." She blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from her mind as she drove.
