Chapter 2
The Black Ocean
Val's Note: I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and favorited the story. The favorites surprised me a lot since it was only on the chapter, but I was pleasantly surprised! Here's chapter two. I hope you enjoy!
Lightning Farron slipped her sore feet into the cool river beside the unknown village next to her. It had been five months without any human interaction of the sort; so she was relieved when she miraculously discovered the little village. She was even more thankful that they were such a hospitable group.
It was a week ago that she stumbled into the village. The sun was shining brightly as she tried her hardest to approach the people in the distance. She was clutching her arm—which she was pretty sure was broken in more than once place— tightly and she could barely walk due to a badly sprained ankle. Fresh blood was dripping down her face as the cut on her forehead reopened. Her clothes were dirty and badly ragged. It was the worst physical state she had been in while traveling.
"Water! Quickly! Get me some water and bandages!" a woman cried out as she saw the state Lightning was in.
Lighting could feel herself nearing the breaking point. The world around her was spinning and it took everything out of her just to take another step forward. Her conscious was slipping farther and farther away. The people running towards her and the village behind them were losing their color until everything finally turned black.
She couldn't remember much after that. All she could remember was standing next to a large black ocean with monstrous black waves. The waves were nothing likes those on Bodhum or Oerba. They were desperate waves that didn't know which way to go. As a result, they kept colliding into each other, creating loud claps of thunder in the process.
Lightning crouched down on the black sand and buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to look at the intimidating waves. What am I doing? Why am I still searching for what can't be found? What am I even searching for? I'm lost. I don't know where to go. I'm sorry I failed you, Vanille, Fang. I tried.
Go home, Lightning.
Her eyes slowly opened and looked around for the source of the sweet voice that had told her to go home.
"Vanille?" she softly whispered and felt something wet on her forehead.
"Shh shhh," an older woman hushed as she patted down the edges of a wet cloth on Lightning's forehead. "Your body is under a lot of strain right now. You must rest," the woman told her and Lightning nodded as much as her stiff neck would allow.
"Were you having a nightmare? You were shaking a lot," she asked and pulled a chair up next to the cot Lightning rested in.
"Something like that," Lightning shortly remarked and looked around the house she was in. It was a simple wooden cottage with a fireplace. Elaborate beads and feathers hung from the ceilings. Animal furs lined the floor and the blanket she rested under was made of similar fur.
She examined the old face of the woman, estimating that she'd be somewhere in her late fifties. Her thick white hair was down past her shoulders and her skin had a natural tan. She had beautiful emerald eyes and a kind smile.
Lightning couldn't help but be reminded of Fang as she looked at her. She wore a similar, although more modest, wrap around the same color as Fang's. The familiarity of the woman brought comfort to Lightning. For some reason, she felt that she could trust her. It surprised Lightning considering that it typically too some time to gain her trust. Something about the woman just felt right to her though.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Lightning asked, desperately wanting to know.
"My name is Aaina and you're in the village of Yampeir," she said and gently took Lightning's arm. "Still swollen. You really did a number to it," she said placed it back beside her.
"Yampeir…I've never heard of such a village…" Lightning mused. After traveling Pulse for three years, it was rare for her to see people out so far in the wilderness.
Lightning had been extremely lost before she arrived there. She spent most of her nights sleeping in caves and foraged for food during the day. She could tell that the people from Cocoon had not reached that part of Pulse yet. She didn't even see one plane that frequently flew the skies of Pulse now.
"I'm not surprised," Aaina said with a heartwarming laugh. "It's probably the only Pulsian settlement around," she explained and Lightning's eyes grew in surprise.
"Pulsian settlement?" she repeated, not sure if she heard the older woman correctly.
"That's correct. Have you heard of the War of Transgression that took place over 500 years ago?" the woman asked and Lightning nodded. "Well…" she started and then looked at Lightning's expectant face. "I don't know if I should be telling you this..."
"Please," Lightning quickly interjected, her eyes pleading. "I need to know. Any information about Pulse could possibly help me." Aaina gave Lightning a curious look for a moment, but closed her eyes and smiled.
"The people in this village used to live near Sulyya Springs. The fal'Cie Bismarck always protected us and the springs. It was our home until one day we were transformed into l'Cie with a purpose to destroy Cocoon. It was horrible," she admitted and looked down at the palms of her hands. "We were all branded, even the children. All one hundred and forty were expected to participate in the war." She stopped let out a soft sigh.
"How are you still alive?" Lightning wondered aloud and Aaina gave her a strict glance.
"I'm getting to that, child. See, our people refused to fight in the war and traveled as far away as we could. Many died on the way, cutting our numbers down to eighty. Our bands grew and we awaited our ultimate fate as Cie'th. In our last days, we were prepared to turn into Cie'th but were turned into crystals instead. We woke three years ago to find that our brands were gone and the people of Cocoon saved. We believe the reason we were spared was because we defied our focus and the Goddess took pity on us," she explained and Lightning couldn't believe she was meeting someone who lived while Vanille and Fang were alive. She even had a similar accent.
"I'm looking for a way to save the Pulse l'Cie that saved Cocoon. They sacrificed themselves to save the people. I believe that they're still with me in spirit," Lightning commented weakly as the room around her started to spin again.
The woman took her hand. "Perhaps they'll wake up one day. I'm sure it'll happen when the time is right. I'm sorry I can't be of more help," she said and released her hand. She took the cloth off of her forehead, dipped it in the bowl of water next to her, and placed it back on. "Try to get some rest," she said and left the room.
It was a week later that Lightning started feeling well enough to stand as much as she could. The people of Yampeir lent her a wooden crutch that she used to keep as much pressure off of her ankle and her arm was bounded in a sling of animal skin. They gave her a new dark brown shirt and an off-white top which wrapped around her chest and exposed her midriff. They adorned her neck with beautiful beads and her good arm with bracelets as a symbol of their acceptance. It didn't take long for her dress to resemble something out of Vanille's clan.
"How are you feeling today?"
Lightning turned around to see a tall man in his early thirties behind her. He had dark wavy brown hair and a very masculine square face. His muscular arms were scarred in many places, possibly due to all the hunting he did. He wore pants made of leather and a similar jacket which was decorated with feathers. He had the same emerald eyes and tan skin as Aaina, which made sense considering he was her son.
"I'm alright," she said and immersed her foot deeper into the water. The cool water helped with the pain.
He sat down next to her. She paid no attention to it. Her mind was far away.
"What do you plan on doing after you heal up?" he asked and she shrugged.
"Leave," she responded bluntly. Despite living in the same village with him, she didn't know him well. All she knew what that his name was Kobi and he frequently visited his mother who she was staying with. As a result, she saw him a lot but didn't actually know him.
"Anyway I can convince you to stay? The people here have really taken to you," he commented and she shook her head.
"I have people I need to get back to. I've made them worry for far too long," she said and kept her eyes fixated on the clear water in front of her. He reached out to pat her on the back and she flinched, making him draw his hand back.
"You really are quite a mystery. What kind of past do you have?" he asked and her eyes fell.
"Probably one you could relate well to. You too were a l'Cie, after all," she said and didn't bother looking at the shocked expression on his face. She knew it was there just by his silence.
She grabbed her crutch with her left arm and started limping away from him to find a more secluded area. He called out her name but she ignored him. She wanted to be alone.
Lightning found a large shady tree just outside of the village which she leaned against. She hated being so weak and she hated the megistotherian that inflicted these wounds upon her. It took all her strength just to escape from the wretched creature.
She tilted her head up and looked up towards Cocoon. She couldn't help but remember Vanille's words. Vanille wanted her to go home. She wanted Lightning to give up and live her life happily. Lightning had a feeling that her suffering was causing them pain. The last thing she wanted to do was to give up and forget about her crystallized friends. She knew that she had to rethink this frivolous journey of hers.
The whole reason Lightning had left Oerba was to look for a way to save Vanille and Fang. She searched ruin after ruin looking for a way to reunite with her two friends. She even taught herself the Pulsian alphabet. Nothing that she read had anything to do with how to save them from crystal stasis.
Lightning buried her face in her hands, feeling like a complete and utter fool. She spent three years searching only to come up with nothing. She could only imagine how worried Snow and Serah were. It was cruel of her to leave Serah after only being reunited with her. She just didn't think that it would take this long to find the answers she was searching for.
She had a feeling that Snow and Serah weren't the only two worried about her. Sazh was probably concerned too. Lightning missed all of them so much and longed to see their smiling faces again.
She closed her eyes and there he was again, standing before her with his silver hair and green scarf. He was smiling up at her, his face light with innocence.
"Hope," she whispered softly and brought her knees up close to her chest.
Lightning found herself missing Hope as badly as she missed Serah. It was always one of the two haunting her. On occasion she even missed Snow, but it wasn't as frequent as her longing for Hope and Serah.
Today was a special day for Hope. It marked his eighteenth birthday. The only way Lightning knew was because of the calendar inside Aaina's house. It had been months since Lightning had seen one. She was thankful that she wasn't going to miss his birthday again.
She wondered what he was like. Hope was no longer the fourteen year old boy she knew. He wasn't the boy that kept popping up in her head. He was now a grown man. What was he doing with his life? Where did he live? How was his father? Was he happy? Did he have a girlfriend?
She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. She didn't want to think about Hope with another woman. It was far too strange for her to even fathom it.
What Lightning wondered more than anything is if he ever thought of her. She wondered if he missed her or if he was even worried about her. She often scolded herself for thinking about such ridiculous matters. She couldn't deny the fact that she thought about him almost every day though. It was strange to her, but thinking about him brought her a glimmer of hope and a feeling of reassurance.
The sun was beginning to set and the horizon burned a bright orange. A light breeze swept through her pink hair and she could smell the flowers blooming in the field nearby.
"Happy Birthday, Hope," she whispered, hoping that her words would reach him.
As soon as she was healed, she planned on making her way back to Oerba. She didn't know which direction Oerba was but she knew that she'd find her way back home; to Snow, to Sazh, to Serah, and to Hope.
End Note: Alrighty then! Yay for the inclusion of original characters? I actually had a lot of fun with this chapter. I had to do an annoying amount of research when it came to Aaina's back story. I really liked the idea of Pulsians actually living on Pulse. Then there was the whole issue with their names. I wanted to give Aaina and Kobi unique names but names that I felt fit the norms of Pulse five hundred years ago. I'm always hesitant about putting my own characters into my fanfics. This one just happens to call for it though. Hopefully it's not a turn off. :)
Any comments you have are always greatly appreciated! They also make me write faster. Witness the power of the comments.