-1A/N: Alright, I know this chapter wasn't the best. But I personally liked it because I love writing about the history and culture of Gran Pulse and what I think it could have been like back then. You all get to learn a little bit about Fang's life before Oerba, and just what happened to her and the process in which she became the orphan of war that we all know. All in all, it isn't my best writing, but I kinda like this a little more than the previous chapter because I could bring out Fang's more playful but still have elements of the seriousness side. It also is for a majority of the chapter explained from Lightning's perspective as she tries to put two and two together and such. Which honestly is an enjoyable thing. So, all and all, okay chapter my standards. Also, I'm quite surprised by the amount of alerts and such that I'm getting XD Thank you all so much 3

There's a place I like to go
where I can hear the cotton grow
Midnight train whistles blow
A dozen miles down the road
all I have to do is be still

There's a place I love to be
Momma, Daddy, my sister and me
First time I ever saw the beach
Back to 1983
And all I have to do is just be still

- Tim McGraw, Still

Chapter II

Conflict, the voices of reason and emotion will always be fighting within you. For Fang, that was a fight that not only had been going on for far too long, but actually had evolved into an all out war. That war created rules the huntress followed without fail. But what happens when just once she breaks those rules? Perhaps when we feel it all fall apart, is when we gain the most wisdom in our lives.

Don't go, such a simple command, something that would change the course of what the two warriors perceived from each other. Lightning had drawn herself away from Fang, sitting back on her cushion, now observing the huntress who honestly looked like a she was fighting with every ounce of strength not to speak of something that her eyes screamed. Lightning heard the silent plea, and now only waited for Fang to heed it as well. The rose haired woman reached to the table and picked up her mug, and placed it to her lips. The tea had cooled down to a drinkable temperature and as she took a sip she was rather... surprised at the taste of it. The sensation that danced along her palate was something she had never experienced, it tasted spicy, like the cinnamon that was inside of the cookies Serah had baked... and sweet like the kiss that still lingered on her lips.

It warmed her, and it seemed that with a heavy sigh Fang was ready to speak. The huntress was quite uncomfortable; apparently it was something she didn't even speak to Vanille about. Perhaps, Lightning in her ignorance however never really calculated how much she knew about the huntress compared to her red-haired compatriot. " 's a losin' fight to try an' bullshit my way outta this one." Fang laughed dryly "So ya wanna know what's been tearin' me up?" Light raised a brow, but kept herself quiet withholding any speech until she found it appropriate to speak. "Today's not jus' the holidays fer me there Sunshine. Today, five hundred an' a few years ago is the anniversary of somethin' I'll never forgive myself for." Fang's eyes lingered on Lightning's figure as the soldier silently told her to continue. "Light, I let hundreds of people die... An' killed thousands more..." So, that's what was on her mind eh? Lightning leaned over once more; even Fang had her demons that haunted her.

"It doesn't make you a monster." The soldier's voice was resolute, was completely assuring in its tone, and yet Fang pushed away the comment ignoring it. This however, didn't amuse the soldier, perhaps it was the militant side of her showing when her soft gaze turned icy, almost dangerous as she looked Fang dead in the eye, "Had you been a monster, I would have killed you long ago." The comment earned a grin from the warrior as she considered the soldier's comment. Obviously there was something humorous in the icy words and the threat that the soldier posed against her.

"An' knowin' ya, I wouldn't 'ave put it past ya t'do somethin' like that Sunshine." The soldier smirked; she was triumphant against these demons of the warrior for now at least. However she still in the long while she knew Fang was not used to the open physicality she used to express her affections for everyone. Yet unlike the jovialness of her usual banter, this was different in a weird sense. It was the same Fang, yet she got a whole different feeling when she found the arms hold her in a tight embrace. And for once, no, she didn't want to be held by the huntress, she felt no need to be held. So, without much effort she broke the embrace only to switch it. Fang was in far more need of this than her. In ways, Lightning she felt lost when approaching Fang and her demons that made the mind of the huntress so restless and weary. Fang was from a different time, different place, in a way she was someone completely alien and yet she was the closest friend she had ever come across in her life.

Trying to sort through everything that was Fang would take time, dedication and a whole lot of support to her as she tried to make sense of this new world that had risen from the ashes of her home. Lightning estimated it was probably close to eleven thirty at night by the way houses were slowly dimming their lights and normal people began to head to bed. However the twosome that resided within the Yun residence were far from tired or even considering rest. As the embrace broke, Lightning almost visibly cringed at the sudden rush of cold air on her body. Hell, why was it so cold in this house? Fang grinned a bit and chuckled, "Little chilly there Sunshine?" the grin was that all to annoying cheeky smile that drove the soldier to want to smack it right off of the Pulsian's face sometimes. Fang walked across the smooth wooden floor and proceeded to kneel down in front of an odd looking hole in one of the walls. Lightning having lived on Cocoon her entire life had no clue what a fireplace was. There was no need for it where she came from. It was with relative ease that suddenly Fang had a roaring fire going in the fireplace.

"Y'see Sunshine, 'ere in my house we keep things a lil greener than most o' ya Cocoon-types." She paused and then finally seemed to care enough to check the time, "Oi, I don't think it'd be a smart idea for you to walk home tonight. 'S almost one in the mornin'" Lightning blinked, her estimate had been way off. Watching Fang's form glide its way back to the couch she chuckled, conceding that walking home wouldn't be a smart idea. However, Fang's rest on the couch was short lived as she walked right back towards the door and then picked up the flute she had left there. Walking back to Lightning, the jade eyed woman sat herself back down. Lightning eyed the instrument curiously; she had heard Fang play in the glade. Perhaps Fang knew it was her and that's why she brought the instrument back out. Fang then eyed the soldier and chuckled, "I knew it was you back in the wood." It earned a brow raise from the soldier as she watched the huntress hand the flute to her. She took it and examined the instrument, completely perplexed by the simplicity of the instrument and the absolute beautiful song she had heard...

Fang reclined in a relaxed manner, almost cat-like in her movements. Causing the soldier to stretch a bit herself, "I got a story to tell ya Sunshine, 'bout another time, 'nother place." Lightning could have sworn she heard Fang's accent grow thicker as suddenly she found herself in almost another world...

A young Fang now sat herself upon a flat rock that rested on the shore of the great ocean in front of Oerba, the sun beat down mercilessly and yet it was welcomed by the tanned child. Garbed in a black top and a blue robe about her waist she sat there whittling away at a small piece of wood, small being relatively speaking. The water in front of the child calmly lapped against the shore tickling her toes as it ebbed away and flowed back in a rhythmic pattern. This girl known as Fang took her attention away from the wood for a little while, looking to the nest in the sky. The source of everything happening here on Gran Pulse; It was perplexing to the child's mind, how did so many vipers escape from that nest when it was completely enclosed? She shook her head and went back to whittling away at the wood, smiling at her work.

Fang had been told to wait here, because someone wanted to speak to her without anyone else around to hear them. So she had come straight here, afraid that she may have been late to meet whoever it was that was requesting her presence. Ten minutes had passed since then and finally she could hear footsteps behind her, turning to figure out who it was that had finally arrived. She was rather surprised to see the matron of her Orphanage sitting down beside her and looking at the youth with a soft gaze. Fang always likened the matron to an aunt, unlike some of the orphans, Fang had known and loved her parents for eight years of her life before it was ripped away from her and she was left for dead by the Cocoon forces. "Fang," the voice was very soft, almost pleading in tone. "You have things that are haunting you; things that I can tell are far more painful than just the loss of your family..."

The youth stopped her crafting a small fang shaped dagger and dropped the wood and knife on the ground beside her before turning, almost looking at the matron defiantly. "Shit happened." The matron, rather taken aback by the sudden hostility sighed softly and rested a hand on her shoulder. If anything, in the two years Fang had been here in the orphanage, she'd only grown bitterer, and more hostile towards the other children. She'd healed very little in that amount of time she had resided in Oerba. Looking the girl directly in the eye, she murmured, "Just tell me one event at a time, or tell me as much as you're comfortable with." Promptly Fang removed the hand from her shoulder, turning back to the water she began to recount a story that in many ways broke the Matron's heart.

"You already know my parents were killed, they dragged the adults out of the homes and executed every single one o' them with their fancy-ass weapons. But for us kids, they had us in a separate line, and one by one they began to kill us as well. I remember the blood had to have been up to my ankles, because... all I remember was the red from it all. They didn't just kill everyone, they slaughtered everyone." The hands now were fists, clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white with the strain. "When they got to me, I remember the first one, white as the fucking snow here sayin' 'aint she a pretty one eh?' and then a second, walked over, smirking like he was Anima's right hand and agreed with 'im. After that I thought they had killed me, I blacked out or somethin' but when I woke up..." The youth trailed off, obviously becoming more uncomfortable with the story. A pit was forming in her gut, and the dread, the embarrassment, the absolute shame that she felt was returning like a tidal wave. The hand returned to its place on her shoulder, a supporting presence as Fang tried to continue the story as best as she could.

"I woke up, completely naked in some field in the plains when one o' those guys came over and told me to shush and pinned me right to the ground... He did... they all did unspeakable shit..." Fang's jade eyes met the amber ones of the matron, who suddenly knew why Fang's eyes never showed a naive light in them, "They forced 'emselves on me, and let me tell you. It hurt to even move for days after they moved on and left me for dead out there. When I told you I wasn't a child, I meant it." The matron's gut wrenched. Despite Oerba being a relatively happy village, there were values which were concrete in their standing. A woman and a man must retain their innocence until they go through the formal union of themselves and another person. Unlike many people Oerba was accepting of all relationships. So, as long as you had gone through union with another person and were loyal, your loss of innocence wasn't a big deal.

However, there were many stories of women who had lost their innocence, and men who had done the same before they were 'ready' in society's mind and ended up rather alone and ignored people. The matron grabbed Fang and pulled her into a hug, muttering apologies to the child for having brought up the subject. Fang however wasn't the typical child, she was far from it, she pushed herself away from the matron, promptly picked up her woodcarving materials and then walked away. She would leave the matron to think about her actions and her curiosities about the past of a person who wished to leave it behind...

Lightning seemed to have become starry-eyed by this point in Fang's story. Intently listening to every word the Pulsian spoke, it was like a child listening to tales about Santa Claus or hearing fantastical tales of a fairytale land that existed only in dreams. Lightning's mind drew pictures of what she though the world she now lived in looked like back in that era when People were more abundant than just the measly population that lived here now. Fang had paused in her story, amused with Light's intent on listening and grasping every word with a certain sort of vigor that only she had. Fang cracked her signature smile, a feral grin that showed every single one of those pearly whites, and made her really live up to the name of Fang.

"Y'know Sunshine, th' reason why I'm called Fang, 's 'cause in the shock of the war back then and when I got to Oerba I looked like some wild creature that had just rolled onto the path. I didn't remember my own name, so I adopted one from the elder in the village." Lightning could believe it, and she really couldn't see the huntress with any other name but Fang. She voiced it quietly, and Fang snickered a bit. Lightning could see Fang was feeling better... for the most part. The holidays bothered her for reasons that were now quite clear in Lightning's head. The village though, it was as if Lightning could have felt herself there, felt the emotions from both of the people and perhaps it was because of that story that she looked at Fang with compassion in her eyes. She would have never guessed the hell the Pulsian woman had gone through as a child. She could have guessed that war was war and well, that was that. She would end up having a hard time living, but to know that soldiers... they had done that to her was almost sickening. It made her feel sick to be a part of the military in some ways. But then again, those were different people in a different time when the fear between Pulse and Cocoon had come to a head and fighting was the only real definite way to try and eradicate that fear from either side. Fang looked back at Lightning again who was quietly waiting for her to continue. And without futher adieu Fang obliged the curious soldier.

The sixteen year old Fang never grew to worship the Fal'cie per say. No, she never worshipped the Fal'cie directly. Unlike anyone else Fang paid her respects to the six protectors and right hands of the Fal'cie. First off Odin, this protector often took the form of a white steed and roamed around the plains of Gran Pulse eradicating viper forces that posed a threat to nearby villages. Odin often also took the form of a grand knight clad in emerald armor, said to have put the jade of the grasses on the plains to shame. The second was Brynhildr. This protector lived within the great volcano deep within the mountains of Gran Pulse. She caused eruptions from the mountains that would shake Gran Pulse to its core and often destroy enemy forces from a long way away.

Third were the twins. Nix and Stiria. They lived within the depths of Sulyya springs appearing in front of unsuspecting forces and supposedly tempting them into the depths of the water with whispers of desire and siren songs from somewhere deep inside. They drowned countless forces with their hypnotic spells. They often took the form of two koi fish swimming perpetually in a circle waiting for their next victim. Fourth was the great Alexander, he became the walls and the protector of the 'capitol' of Gran Pulse. He was the one the people came to when in need of stability and needing something to lean on for just a little while. Fifth was the keeper of the subterranean habitats Hecatoncheir. He kept the forces of Cocoon out of the underground labyrinth of Atomos. Using his many arms he could decimate forces without much trouble at all. He often took the form of a large bear, tending to scare away the forces without much bloodshed at all.

Finally, the last of the living guardians; the one Fang found herself attracted to and intrigued by the most, The huge ebon scaled dragon known as Bahamut. Bahamut was the ruler of the skies and the supposed lord of the dragons, which was funny because Fang had never seen a dragon once in her life. Perhaps that was a good thing. Supposedly this guardian roamed the skies of Gran Pulse by night and its ear splitting roar would be the last thing you ever heard before it was lights out for anyone who flew into its path. The teenager found herself staring at the sky almost wondering if she'd ever catch a glimpse of the great beast. Bahamut was also the only guardian not tied down to a specific Fal'cie, where as others found themselves bound to the great beings. Bahamut was one that either was serving Anima or just didn't have a Fal'cie to serve.

She thought for a moment of the countless adults she had seen leave the village to become l'cie and protect Oerba at whatever cost to them, it was here that Fang knew what her fate would be. She would keep Oerba safe no matter the cost, especially after they took her in when she seemingly was beyond help. The teen held a bright red spear at her side, the reward for completing her training as a huntress in this village. Fang wandered around for quite some time, finding herself sitting at the edge of a field of the pale white flowers which grew in the thousands all around Oerba. She sat there and looked hard on the horizon, maybe she could see her future from here, and see if Oerba would ever need her saving in the end. Vanille had become a huge factor in her drive to become a huntress, she wanted to keep Vanille safe, so that the young girl could live her life as peacefully as she could.

After all, the poor kid had it rough. It was only right for Fang to give her at least one thing; at least one form of support system. She would make sure Vanille would be safe and sound so that she could be the person she wanted to be without worrying whether or not she may end up dead by a surprise attack from Cocoon. Fang's loyalty is something that often was commended; over and over Fang showed tremendous loyalty to Vanille as her older sister and turned down many requests for other less dangerous jobs. Jobs she probably may have liked in a different time and different place.

Fang laughed at the bitter irony of the last statement, different time, and different place. She was offered those jobs and she turned them down because she didn't want to be useless if there ever came a time where Fang would have to fight tooth and nail again to keep those she loved safe and out of harm's way. It was yet again that Lightning saw herself in the Pulsian hunter; yet again she saw the resoluteness and dedication to keeping Vanille safe and okay. But suddenly those skills aren't needed. Lightning fortunately was quite sharp and put two and two together without much trouble at all. Fang didn't know what to do now that there was no pressing L'cie crisis, or war going on outside. However, whatever it was she had been thinking could wait. She felt herself nodding off, and barely opened her eyes when Fang rested her hand on her shoulder and told Lightning she should head upstairs and get some rest.

"Do I bore ya that much Sunshine?" She joked as the rose haired woman found herself in Fang's bedroom. "Oh, yeah. I apologize Sunshine, there's only one bedroom here unless you want to sleep in Vanille's room." The visible cringe from Lightning earned a grin from Fang as she herself turned away from the soldier to rid herself of everything but the familiar black tank top and black shorts she tended to wear underneath everything. Lightning had already found a comfortable place to lie down and Fang soon followed suit, pulling the warm blankets over them, they both finally fell asleep as the clock blinked four in the morning.