Lightning and Serah walked towards the three knights they had decided to spend their valued lunch time with. As the pink-haired women grew ever closer to the trio encased in gleaming breastplates, Tifa happened to look up, noticing the arrival. Warm wine-colored irises beamed in their general direction and a large beatific smile bloomed across her sweet face. A hand rose in greeting, garnering attention from the two males accompanying her. Tifa's suitor, Zack Fair, lifted his stunning blue eyes from where they were previously occupied, opening his mouth to shout out a friendly, "There's the reigning champion!" towards the eldest fuchsia-haired warrior.
Lightning furrowed a brow in annoyance of the compliment; she did not want to feel the prying eyes on her as she walked passed. Ignoring the blatant ogling and stares, icy blue eyes resolutely centered on the three people she most respected in the knights' ranks. Zack grinned oafishly at the women as they joined their places at the trio's sides. His gravity-defying black hair blew gently in the breeze, his handsome face alight with mischief and the joy of life. He slung an arm around Tifa, drawing her in against his muscular side. "Well done out there, Farron! That was a hell of a match! Ser Eurich did not know what hit him!" Tifa nodded her head, dark hair fanning around her slighter frame. "Yes, you were quite the picture out there Light; although nobody was really surprised. Eurich is a good knight and a decent enough teacher, but he could never stand toe to toe against you. If you keep winning the Knight Games, the rest of us might as well just retire and leave all the glory to you!"
Serah giggled at her place by her sister's side, looking in adoration at her knighted sibling. "Isn't she just amazing with a blade? It is like watching a dance…only deadlier." Blue eyes mock-glared at the young woman, admonishing her without a word. "It was not all that like everyone seems to think. It was just one battle; the real test will be when the Pulsians come around." Dead silence greeted her words; nobody wanted to say anything that would spiral the pinkette into a fury. All four of them had seen how Lightning got when Pulsians or the Farron elders were mentioned. It was not pretty by any means. Cloud spoke up for the first time, steering the talk away from loaded subjects. "How about we all go for a bite to eat, eh? Lebreau's sounds good right about now."
Lightning turned towards the spiky-haired counterpart of Zack's. The two, although not blood related, we closer than most brothers. Whereas Zack was tall and finely muscled with obsidian hair and eyes that looked like a mirrored copy of the ocean, Cloud was thicker with soft blonde spikes and sky blue orbs. He was also rather more serious than Zack, who was the self-elected jokester of the tightly knit group. Cloud and Tifa had grown up together; Cloud's father had been killed in battle when he was a wee boy, and Tifa's family adopted him into the Lockhart folds. Cloud kept his father's last name out of respect; his mother had died in childbirth. Many thought the two were destined for each other, until Zack Fair sauntered into the picture and wiped Tifa off her feet. Everybody assumed Cloud would be devastated but instead a beautiful young healer named Aerith Gainsborough caught his blue-eyed gaze and he never let go.
"You might want to get that measly excuse for a beard trimmed before we go. I would hate to be seen walking next to you like that." Zack and Serah burst out into loud peels of laughter while Tifa tried gamely to hold her own in. Cloud stroked the beginnings of a light-colored beard gingerly, frowning at his friends' amusement. "Thank you Lightning; I can always count on you to be honest. Man, I thought it made me look more mature and tough. That is what Aerith told me…" Zack was dying at this point, tears streaming down his face in rivulets. "Dude, she told you that because she is too nice to tell you otherwise. She would tell you anything if she thought it would make you happy." Cloud sighed, pouting at the reception his budding facial hair endeavor brought him. "Alright, I will shave later after we eat. But not before. I need a pick me up after all the trauma I just went through…" Tifa shrugged, settling a hand on her best friend's broad shoulder. "Hey, there is a silver lining here. You could be like Ser Eurich right about now!" "Hmmm, fair point. Okay guys, let's go get some grub!"
Zack and Cloud hooted loudly, dragging the girls behind them as they eagerly rushed to the enticing food Lebreau was so popular for. The five companions would bask in the revelries of that moment, enjoying the bond they amicably shared. Teases would be thrown around casually and meager punches would land on many a shoulder. It was nice to have no worries about battles or whether or not a beloved friend would be marching home. Lightning, for the first time in weeks, was able to let herself go and relax. Although she would soon learn the merriment was short-lived, in the here and now she was content.
Miles away, on the outskirts of Cocoon, a tall figure stood silently as they gazed at the bustling activity on the edge of sight. The man withdrew the dark cloak festooned on broad shoulders, letting it flow down halfway to his chest. Tattoos covered the glistening tanned skin, signifying him as a Pulsian hunter. Long raven hair ran effortlessly across his back, a few feathers braided into the silky locks. Dark eyes took in everything with interest, a sneer marring his otherwise handsome face. In a scarred hand the man held a spear, the blade tipped with Ovaku, or "the liquid of death" in Pulsian. The hand that was not clutching the weapon of destruction caressed the scar that ran from his left shoulder to his right hip. Calloused hands ran along the puckered pink marring, malicious eyes darkening further as a hoarse cackle burst from his mouth. "It is time for you to pay, Cocoonians. Too long have you stood by and killed my people, taking what you want by force and justifying the slaughter of innocents. No more; one day, one day soon you will all pay for what you have done, for taking my family away from me!" The depraved noises continued from his mouth, ringing out around him while the citizens of Cocoon lay unaware of the evil that would soon befall them.