Season of the Seeress
Warning: The end might sound a bit sexual because of Fang. Just letting you know ahead of time.
Lightning's day started after waking from a nightmare. As many know, the pink haired soldier wasn't afraid of anything. But this particular one made her scream on the top of her lungs like she just experienced the scariest occurence of her life.
This was her nightmare.
It started off at church. Everybody knew she knew were sitting down in suits and dresses, whispering amongst each other excitedly. The first thing that crossed Lightning's mind was 'Why am I in a church?'
She looked downand realized she was dressed in a pink bridesmaid dress, her shoulders exposed, the sleeves wrapped around her bicep. She was also holding pink flowers in a bouquet. Behind her were Lebreau, Vanille, and Fang in that order wearing kind of the same thing, but with some white mixed into it.
Standing at the altar was an elder priest, Snow who was wearing a tuxedo, and Gadot also wearing a tuxedo standing as the best man.
'Oh my God. This isn't...' Lightning's mind stuttered. 'Their getting married now!? No! I'm not ready for this! They can't why...they said they weren't getting married until...why are they rushing into this!?'
The Wedding March began to play and the doors opened. Sazh was wearing a tuxedo holding the bride in his arm. It was no surprise that Serah would have Sazh stand in as the father figure.
Serah looked beautiful, her make up made her look angelic, and her gown...'WHAT!'
Lightning dropped the bouquet at the sight of her...bulge.
'She...SHE'S PREGNANT! Why have I not noticed this?'
And it wasn't a normal pregnant look eighter. It looked like about six or seven babies were sleeping inside of her stomach. And was continuing to grow.
Every step, her stomach grew bigger and bigger, till she was waddling and you could hear tears in her dress. Nobody even seemed to find anything disturbing of the scene. They were in awe of her beauty.
As she came closer, all you could see was her stomach.
The scene suddenly changed and Lightning found herself at Serah's house. "Aunty Claire?"
Lightning's head swiveled over to a mini Snow baby waddling like a penguin towards her. It seriously looked like somebody photoshopped Snow's head and placed it on a body of a baby. And the voice was like Snow's voice cranked up on a high pitch setting in an audio manipulation program.
And if that wasn't disturbing, there were six, seven other babies following after him screeching "Aunty Claire, Aunty Claire, Aunty Claire!" They began climbing all over the soldier.
"Get your ugly bodies off of me!" Lightning yelled. She usually had a soft spot for kids. But not when they all looked, sounded, and acted like Snow. The house shook like an earthquake as a GIANT Snow baby bursted into the room.
"Where's mommy?" He asked, his voice slow and rumbly. 'Oh my god, please don't cry, please don't cry...' "I want my mooommmmyyy!"
"Momma!"
"Momma!"
"Daddy!"
"SHUT UP!" Lightning screamed waking in a cold sweat. "Shut u-p!" her voice cracked when she saw the clock, which was on her side table next to the rainbow rose. "Shit! I'm late for work! Damn it!"
The Lieutenant found it odd when Lightning didn't come in for her usual morning training. "Has anybody seen Farron today?"
"No sir." The men said at the same time.
The doors burst opened as Lightning ran in. Amodar examined the young soldier, and noticed that her pink hair was greasy and clinging to her red and clammy face. Her nose was also red like a Christmas deer, and she was breathing very heavily, which she never does.
"Farron? Where were you?"
"I'm sorry I'm late, Lieutenant Amodar, sir!" Lightning realized she accidently saluted with the wrong hand and quickly switched, standing erect. "I will accept any consequence you see fit."
"Uh..." Amodar had a soft spot for Lightning, ever since she enlisted at the age of fifteen. She (and Serah) were like the children he never had, and hoped that his future kids would be just like them. But he also knew how Lightning was. She always put her sister before anybody, and is always the last to notice something wrong with herself.
Like now. She clearly didn't get good sleep and she looked sick as hell. Amodar quickly brushed the bangs away from Lightning's eyes in a fatherly gesture and felt her forhead. "Damn, Farron, your burning up. Go to the clinic ASAP."
"Open wide." The nurse directed. Lightning did just that, embarrassed that she hadn't realized her illness sooner. She didn't feel bad, but when she finally got a glimpse of herself in the mirror she felt like kicking herself.
'I can't believe I showed up like that. I look horrible.'
Shortly after the nurse got done checking Lightning's throat, Lieutenant Amodar entered the clinic, concerned. "Nurse?" He asked.
"Nothing to worry about, just a cold. It's been spreading around. " The nurse stood up from where she sat throwing away the instrument she used to check Lightning's tonsils with. "I suggest the Sergeant take a day off. Or a few until she gets better. if she stays on her feet like this, it could only worsen."
Lightning hated the idea of being sent home, especially after having that nightmare. Now all she's going to do is think about that stupid dream.
"You heard the lady," Amodar enforced, "Go home and get some sleep. And that's an order." He said sternly, knowing that the soldier wouldn't say no to an order.
"Y-yes sir."
While in the car, Lightning realized she wasn't feeling too well. Her stomach growled informing her that she was hungry. She didn't have any time to eat breakfast since she was running late for work (eigther though they just sent her right back home).
She tched at herself when she remembered she forgotten to buy groceries. Upon seeing Lebreau's Bar just up ahead, she swung by to grab something to eat.
Serah was usually the cook in the house, but now that she moved out and is now living with Snow (Lightning was trying not to dwell on it) she would have to fend for herself, which resulted in ten creative ways to eat ramen.
She would ask Serah to make her soup, but she remembered Serah was in school, and didn't get out till three. Lebreau had satisfactory cooking.
But just when Lightning thought her day couldn't get any worse...
"Hey, if it isn't the boss's little sister!" Gadot's voiced boomed throught the bar, scaring a customer he was serving.
"I'm not his sister. Where's the girl?" Lightning asked, not in the mood for games.
"Lebreau stepped out. Left me in charge. Can I get you anything?"
"Bye." Lightning was already making her way to the exit."
"Wait! Your not going to get anything?"
Lightning was about to make a snarky remark when she suddenly sneezed, scaring all the other patrons. She sniffled, her nose now starting to bother her.
"Do you have a cold or something?"
'No, I just like sneezing in public places to scare away patrons.' Lightning thought to herself.
"You know I may have somthing for that." Gadot said in a hushed tone.
"No thanks, I refuse to take medication from any of you. You especially since your Snow's best friend. I don't know or trust you, but I expect you to be as big as an idiot as he is. or worse."
"Ouch." Gadot groaned, clutching his chest as Lightning exited the bar.
Her stomach grumbled again but she ignored it. 'I'm sure there's something at home.'
Serah was deeply concerned when she got a phone call from Lieutenant Amodar about her sister. So as soon as school ended she drove home real quick to prepare her sister some soup. Then she drove straight to her sister's house.
She parked out front, got out her car, struggling to keep the heavy pot (she made alot of soup) from slipping from her grasp. When she got to the front door, she awkwardly leaned the pot against the door, her body pressed against the other side, and rung the doorbell.
"Claire, it's me. Please open up. I brought soup." Serah yelled loud enough for her sister to hear. She quickly held the soup back up before Lightning could open the door. Lightning soon was at the door, changed into a gray old t-shirt and sweatpants, the television could be heard on low volume.
Lightning looked sick, she had puffy red eyes, a red nose, flushed cheeks, etc. But she didn't look bothered by it. It was like she was unaware she was really sick. Shortly after she sneezed an almost mannish sneeze, meukus spraying out and landing Serah on the face. The younger Farron would have probably been grossed out by it if it had been anybody else.
"Claire, I heard you were sick." Serah quickly rushed into the house to set the soup down in the kitchen. It was really getting heavy.
"My Lieutenant?" Lightning asked, sitting back down on the couch. Her stomach growled which caused Serah to giggle from the kitchen. Lightning had been starving and it was like Serah was sent from heaven with the soup.
Serah quickly fixed her sick older sister a bowl, with crackers on the side that she found in one of the cabinents. She set the bowl down on the coffee table and noticed goosbumps appearing all over her sister's body.
"I'll go fetch you your blanket. You must be freezing." Serah scurried into her sister's bedroom, yanking the covers off the bed, her eyes landed on the rainbow flower that sat on Lightning's bedside table. "Aw, how pretty."
Serah quickly assumed that her older sister had an admirer, or possibly a boyfriend and was perfectly content that her sister wouldn't grow up as a bachelorette for life.
But the flower seems familiar. Have I heard something about this before?
Not being able to put a memory to it she assumed it wasn't as big of a deal and returned to Lightning with the blanket.
"Thank you for the soup." Lightning said, her voice hoarse. Serah sat down next to her, watching her eat her soup in silence. The television played a sitcom, but neighter sisters were paying much attention to it. "Serah?"
"Hm?" Serah looked over at her sister, wondering if something was wrong.
"Have you and Snow decided on a date for your wedding, yet?" She asked, not looking her younger sister in the eye. But when she didn't answer, she saw that her younger sister was twiddling with the hem of her skirt nervously.
No...Lightning thought.
"We have." Serah answered, now smiling. "I had wanted to tell you later but I guess I couldn't keep it a secret long."
Lightning couldn't even think of a response or a proper facial expression. Serah seemed so happy though. "W-when is it?" Lightning asked monotonelessly.
"December." She said. Lightning internally sighed in relief. It's almost a year from now. "Well I better get going." She said after another moment of silence.
She stood up making Lightning do a double take. But you just got here. She wanted to say. But instead it came out as a "Oh?"
"I promised Noel I would help him with something. Get better Claire." She gave her older sister a swift kiss on the cheek and skipped merrily out the door.
Lightning continued to sit there in a dazed state. It always felt like Serah never had time for her anymore. Yeah sure they spent some time together on the weekends, like a walk on the beach or going to see a movie. But most of the time Serah would bring that giant oaf, Noel, or Vanille along with her.
I guess I'm just being selfish. I just want Serah all to myself.
Maybe that was also why she didn't want Serah to get married. At least not yet. Because she'll be married to Snow, then they'd have kids, then Serah will have to work twice (or if her nightmare came true 7x as hard) just to support her, her seven Snow babies, and her hobo of a husband.
No...Snow will make a good husband for her. He will eventually get a real paying job, and he already treats Serah like a princess.
They'll be alright.
Maybe I'm imagining all that stuff because...I want there to be SOME reason I don't like Snow. Because...I don't want to lose her. She'll be so absorbed with family life and...no...she won't forget about me. I'd be...ugh..."Aunty Claire".
But a smile somehow made its way on her face at the thought of being an aunt much, much, much later. After Snow and Serah get married.
I'm gonna spoil their kids rotten.
It's not like they were really going to look like Snow. At least not in a disturbing way.
Her incoherent train of thought was interrupted when the doorbell rang again. Serah?
She almost jumped up to answer the doorbell, wrapping the blanket around her like a cocoon. When she opened the door she was disapointed to see Hope standing there.
Damn it, what does he want?
"Light?" He asked, already walking into the house. He took note of Lightning's appearence plus the blanket cocoon. "You look awful."
Lightning could only narrow her eyes at him, slamming the door wih a little too much force. "Thanks." She muttered, tugging the blankets tighter around her.
"I didn't mean..." Hope trailed off, blushing. "Are you sick?"
No, I just get pink during this season. But instead- "Yeah, I caught a cold. I think."
"You think?" Hope questioned, sitting where Serah was previously.
"Well, I've been sneezing and whatnot, but I don't feel particularly sick."
"You were fine, yesterday." The silver haired teen noted.
"Guess it snuck up on me." Lightning answered quickly, seating herself on another couch, tucking her feet underneath her.
"I'm sorry to disturb you." Hope apologized, fiddling with his fingers, a nervous habit. "I saw Serah outside and she just said she stopped by for a visit. She didn't mention you weren't feeling well. I think she mentoned something about going to help Noel with a Time Gate, though." Hope shrugged at that. Though Lightning tried to act like Serah's not mentioning of her didn't bother her.
But Hope saw through that. He didn't know why she seemed sad all of a sudden, but he didn't question her any further on the matter. "Did you take any medicine?" He asked.
She shook her head, eyes landing back on the television as a commercial appeared. Hope stood up from where he sat and was heading towards her bedroom. "The medicine is in the main bathroom." Lightning called out to him before he entered.
Hope looked back at Lightning's back with a sheepish expression before entering the main bathroom.
It was strange. Hope wasn't family, but she had no problem with letting the boy handle with her medicine. Unlike when Gadot offered her his when she was at the Bar.
"Hey, Hope." Lightning called back to the boy just as he was leaving. He looked up from where he was reading the directions on the back of the medicine. "Do you know anything about this medicine that NORA has. Mostly Gadot."
Hope cocked his head to the side in thought as he popped the top of the medicine. He shook his head. "That's...strange." He handed Lightning two pills and started his way to the kitchen. "Alot of weird things were happening today. But my dad thinks I'm just being paranoid. Remember that story Fang told us last night."
"You mean the one I left in the middle of?" Lightning asked with an eyeroll. "Don't listen to her, she's full of...crap." she filtered her words despite the boy's age.
"I know. But still," Hope continued returning back to the living room with a glass of water. "Today, I thought I saw this witch everywhere. She even was carrying that rainbow colored rose that Fang said was not meant to be accepted."
Lightning's mind stuttered a bit at the information. Seriously? But she didn't think anything of the rose that Lightning took and is now in a vase and sitting on her bedside table. Whatever, those stories aren't real. And the girl didn't look even remotely like a witch.
"Vanille even tried taking the rose, but I convinced her not to. The last thing we need is to be cursed."
Cursed? Lightning rolled her eyes again.
Hope continued talking, "Hopefully, your right, and Fang was just talking like you said and-you took your pills already?"
Lightning nodded, eyeing the glass of water in Hope's hand. She ignored Hope's slightly exasperated expression and accepted the glass with her own version of a 'cheeky' grin and downed the glass.
Hope's phone rang then and he fished it out of his pocket. "It's my dad." He said when he read the caller id. Lightning nodded letting him know to answer it, which he did. "Hello?...I'm at Light's house...yeah but dad...okay I'm coming. Do I have to wear the unform?...okay cool." He hung up and gave Lightning a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry, my dad says I have to come with him to an Academy meeting. They're soo boring." he groaned.
"It's fine Hope." Lightning said, standing up and patting Hope on the head, messing his hair up. He pouted up at her. "I guess I'll see you tommorrow."
"Get better Light. Get plenty of rest, and the bottle says to take those pills every four hours if your still feeling sick..." he continued talking like a worried mother as Lightning was practically shoving him out the door.
Meanwhile, As Serah and Noel were driving to their location...
"You sure you wouldn't rather go back and stay with your sister?" Noel asked after hearing another comment about forgetting to check to see if Lightning took medicine.
"No." Serah said, keeping her eyes on the road, "I told you I would help you. She understands."
"Well, why don't you give her a call when we get there." He assured the younger Farron, sensing her distress. Those two are alway so close.
It was while she was driving that she suddenly remembered where she has seen that rose before. Fang's story! That rose is cursed. Wait...there's no such thing as curses.
She shook her head which made Noel look at her in confusion. "What's up?" Noel asked.
"Nothing, nothing."
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Noel said, leaning back against his seat.
She didn't know why, but she blushed at that comment. Just the way he said it. It was so reassuring. "Well, remember that story Fang told us last night."
"The one about the witch and the rose." He said.
"Yeah...the funny thing was while I was over there, I saw the exact same rose from the story. the rainbow colored one. I think she may have a secret boyfriend she's not telling me about." Serah giggled at the thought. When she looked over at Noel...he was pale. "Noel? You...you don't actually believe that?"
He blinked a couple of times look back out the window. "Well, I've heard stories...but I assumed it was completely different since, you know I'm from seven hundred years in the future and their from five hundred years in the past. That's kind of a gap. But..."
"You don't...think she's cursed do you?"
"Well, she was fine, yesterday right? That's usually one of the first stages of being cursed. Then it could spread."
"Spread?"
"Yeah bad l-SERAH LOOK OUT!" Noel screamed. The two had been so engrossed in their conversation that Serah wasn't even paying attention to the road almost running into an old man crossing the street. Noel quickly took the wheel when Serah screamed and swerved the strange vehicle (he wasn't used to cars) into a nearby tree. He quickly placed his arm in front of Serah, saving her from the impact of her face against the car wheel.
The airbags blew up after.
The two sat in silence for a moment before Noel finished his sentence. "-luck..."
"WATCH WHERE THE HELL YOU GOIN' YOU ROTTEN KIDS!" The old man yelled, shaking his fists angrily at the pair, continuing to swear.
Hope was also plagued by bad luck when he was walking to his house from Lightning's. He didn't notice this at first, but a strange white van began to follow him. It wasn't until 2/3 of the way there that he noticed.
His heartbeat picked up as he glanced at the van. Prepared to scream on the top of his lungs, the window rolled down to reveal a beautiful woman with red hair. "Hello." She greeted sweetly.
"Can I help you?" He asked, calming down.
"No. It's okay." She said.
Hope thought that strange and was going to ask again when he saw what was sitting beside her in the back.
A box of rainbow flowers.
Hope was already backing away. "I-I I got to go." He mumbled already speedwalking. He glanced back at the witch a couple of times to see if she was following him.
With an almost psycotic expression, she began driving at lightning speed, her evil laugh pealing as Hope began running in full sprint.
He was already at his door just as the van pulled up in front of the house.
"Hope, what was taking you so long?" Bartholemew was lecturing, fixing his tie in front of a hallway mirror.
"Dad, there is somebody in a van following me."
"Again?" Bartholemew groaned, exasperated. He walked towards the front door and peeked through the peephole. "There's nobody there Hope."
"She's right there!" Hope opened the blinds from the front window, and his father was right...nobody was there. "She was, dad! There was a woman with red hair in a white van and she was following me!"
"Oh boy. At least your stalker is a woman this time."
"Dad! This isn't funny. And that one guy wasn't a stalker it was just Yuj kidding around."
"Why didn't he just tell those soldiers that..." Bartholemew muttered, going back to doing his hair. "Anyway, it's just a figment of your imagination. Now get dressed."
Back at Lightning's house...
Lightning decided to take a hot bath to relax her muscles when her cellphone began to ring.
Yes, she keeps her cellphone next to her when she bathes. You never know if an emergency strikes, right?
Anyway, she answered it and it was Fang.
"Hey Farron. Whatcha' doin'?" She asked in her usualy cocky accent.
"Taking a bath." Lightning answered, narrowing her eyes despite that the exotic pulsian on the phone won't be able to see it.
"So...you're naked right now." She said in a suggestive tone, then purred.
"I'm in a bathing suit." Lightning lied, ignoring the blushing in her cheeks.
"Whatever. Hey Vanille," Fang was now talking to her pulsian partner who was obviously in the same room as her, "let's take a bath."
"Okay!" Vanille could be heard on the other line.
Lightning cringed at how open Fang and Vanille were on their...relationship. Well, Fang brings it up while Vanille gets extra excited which makes almost anybody uncomfortable.
"So what's up?" Fang continued.
"I'm sick, Fang." Lightning said, "didn't anyone tell you?"
"Oh, that's why you sound less hot on the phone..." Fang muttered, but Lightning still heard her. "Try clearing your throat like this." She demonstrated by grunting, clearing her throat.
"Is there a reason you called?" Lightning asked, not even bothering to amuse her.
"I can't call my best friend?"
"We aren't friends...Fang." Lightning said automatically. Obviously that statement wasn't entirely true. Lightning did consider Fang as her bestfriend as well, though she'd never say that out loud.
"Playing hard to get, eh?" Fang said. "You just watch, Farron. You will join me and Vanille in a threesome."
Lightning choked on her own spit at the open assumption. "I'm not going to be a third member in that!" Lightning's voice cracked in the end in spit of herself.
"Aw, hell. That little runt who's always following you can come too. Why not. Not into penises but he can watch-"
Click.
"Hello?" Fang asked looking at her phone. "Farron?" She shrugged, closing her phone and tossing it to the side. "Vanille? You in the tub yet?" She asked hopefully.
"Yes."
"Sweet." Fang said with a grin, already stripping, humming to herself.