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A/N: Thank you once again for all the reviews, anonymous ones especially, since I can't reply personally. There were very much appreciated.
Reflections - Disconcerting
Pulse was a contradiction. Pulse was like Fang.
The view from above had been breathtaking, and she was sure she has had her fill of awe for the day but the first step, that first moment when her feet touched the ground, that was surreal.
She couldn't really put a finger to what it was at first; she'd been in the Sunleth, but somehow it felt like this was on a completely different league altogether. The earth was soft beneath her and the air, there was a strange quality to it. It was raw, yet at the same time crisp. She felt warm, and disturbingly…comfortable. Everything about this place was so disarming. The vast blue skies, the endless greenery, the muddy soil. It was wild nature all around her. It was dangerous. It was peaceful. It was real.
This was hell. Pulse.
The click of boots behind her snapped her to attention. She turned, craning her neck to look up at who it was. The grin was the first thing she noticed, plastered there on the face of the figure who stood tall, proud, and confident on her symbol of power, the black dragon king. Viridian eyes flicked to her.
"Wondering where all the fire and magma is?"
It took Lightning half a moment to realize the question was directed at her, and another half a moment to realize an answer wasn't wanted. The eyes had already moved on to the silver haired kid next to her.
"Not quite what you expected, is it?"
Hope sheepishly looked down, shaking his head. "Not at all."
Lightning observed that Snow and Sazh too were rooted where they stood, half disbelieved look on their faces, taking in their new environment. She was pretty sure they were all thinking along the same lines. This was a far cry from what Cocoon had them believe.
Fang landed right in front of her, having jumped off Bahamut. The hunter's piercing eyes locked with her own and immediately she felt vulnerable. In the beginning she could resist it, but now it was getting harder and harder to. Especially under direct gaze. What was it within those eyes that made it seem like they could see right through her? Like they could read her every thought? She did the only thing she could. She looked away.
"Well now you know."
With that, Fang brushed pass her and Hope, heading towards Vanille further away from them.
"We should set up camp. Night falls quickly here."
No kidding. It wasn't two minutes that those words left Fang's mouth that they sky began to darken. Within an hour, they were in pitch darkness if not for the fire Vanille and Hope made. The moon should have been a bright enough light source, but the enclosed valley that they were in blocked out much of it. There was at least one advantage to the narrow space. With only one route in and out of the base camp, they were less susceptible to enemy attack and the towering walls around them also protected them from much of the elements. The sounds of the howling winds confirmed her suspicions that they would be freezing if they were on any of the open lands she saw whilst on Bahamut. So in short, this was a most ideal campsite.
But was she expecting anything less? After all, it was Fang who chose the spot.
Lightning looked over to the campfire from where she was perched against the valley wall. Everyone was asleep, or halfway there. Vanille and Hope lay huddled together in one corner close to the fire, Sazh on the opposite side. Snow sat upright, pretending to be vigilant, but she knew that he was already in dreamland. She hugged Blaze Edge to her chest, feeling the cold metal against her skin. She could sense her own fatigue catching up to her. The former soldier shifted to a less comfortable position sitting on one leg.
When they were in the Fifth Ark, the group had barely gotten any rest. The Pulsework Knights and other monsters were everywhere. No matter how many times they slayed them, no matter how many times they cleared an area, there always was an endless stream of them. It seemed appropriate, considering the purpose of that place but they were wasting energy fighting the same things over and over again. The only solution then was to keep moving. They were sitting ducks if they stopped for too long. Then Raines happened, then Bahamut and next thing they knew, they were on their way to Pulse, which wasn't an easy journey in itself. So really, this was the first instance in a while that the group has had to get some real rest.
Their gathering around the fire had been uneventful and quiet. Even Snow was silent, contenting himself with staring at Serah's crystal. No one mentioned anything about food, everyone deeming rest and sleep to be more important at this point. Lightning herself felt she needed recharging, but when Fang stood up from her spot next to Vanille to take up guard duty, her soldier's instinct flared within her. She was in an unfamiliar territory she knew nothing about, and she'd need to learn up everything in order to survive. To keep everyone safe. She had stubbornly insisted to join Fang and even though the Pulse native turned her down at first, the hunter eventually relented when she didn't back down.
A defeated 'suit yourself' was thrown her way before Fang made her way to mouth of the campsite and propelled herself up onto a ledge on the rocks about ten feet off the ground. It was a good spot for a bird's eye view of the camp and the surroundings but as Lightning followed, she quickly found there weren't any other ledges around the area. The one Fang was on seemed wide enough for two people but Lightning paused at the thought of it. There was something very disconcerting about sitting cramped up next to Fang, even if it was for a valid reason. She had settled to sitting on the ground beneath the ledge.
Lightning looked up now; she couldn't see any of Fang save a leg dangling off the ledge. The other had been silent ever since they took their positions. But it was only natural. She figured Fang must be tired too. It wasn't too long ago that the hunter battled her Eidolon. She knew first hand how taxing that was to the body. And to summon Bahamut again right after that, if the dragon was anything like Odin, she was impressed at how Fang was holding up. Every time she summoned Odin, she would get this surge of energy flowing through her veins, making her feel like she could do anything, but the moment she dismisses him, the energy would all drain out of her, leaving her feeling just a little weaker than before she called him. It was slightly alarming how Fang didn't seem affected at all.
Of course, she knew Fang was strong. Perhaps, her equal, no- perhaps stronger than her, as loath as she was to admit it. She knew it the moment she laid eyes on her in Palumpolum. Fang was dangerous. She'd appeared carefree in nature, but there was no mistaking the power in the twirl of her lance, in her low battle stance, in her precise strikes. They had fought together in the Cocoon city, and while she thought their cooperation had been near flawless, she didn't fool herself into thinking that Fang actually needed her help. No, she never did put the theory into practice, but she knew that she could have stopped fighting at any point, and Fang wouldn't bat an eyelid and finished up everything by herself.
It was a disconcerting yet at the same time, comforting fact.
Her time with Fang had been different than the others. She was a trained soldier; that itself put her above them when it came to combat. She believed that she had to look out for all of them. It was her responsibility to keep them safe. They were in this together after all, right? But with Fang, she was relieved of all that. Fang matched her stride for stride, and she never felt the need to look over her shoulder to see how the hunter was doing. It was liberating. The weight of the whole l'Cie business seemed a tad lighter with Fang around.
Lightning's hand hovered to her chest, over her brand. Fang didn't have to be with them. She didn't have the time constraints that they all had. If not for Vanille…the former soldier looked to said person. The young girl slept on her side, back to the fire with Hope next to her. Lightning smiled lightly at the sight. It seemed warm over there. She rubbed her upper arms, as opposed to over here, where it was getting chilly. She leaned her head back on the wall, tilted upwards. The dangling leg has disappeared.
She brought her eyes back down to the adjacent wall. Her eyelids felt heavy. She blinked, and then closed them.
xxXxx
Sleep was a peculiar phenomenon. To reach the state of deep sleep, the sleep that the body needs, one has to go through several lighter stages of sleep first. In stage one, the earliest stage, sleep was superficial. One could still be aware of their surroundings, still hear sounds around them and thus would not be aware or believe that they were sleeping if not for the minutes loss when they're convinced their eyes were closed for mere seconds. Also in stage one, people wake easily. Just the slightest activity around them that is unusual would have them stirring.
That was exactly what was happening to Lightning Farron. She heard the rustling in her head first, deemed it foreign, and then her eyes snapped open. The first thing she noted was that it was strangely dark. The briefest glance at the fire confirmed her suspicions that she had dozed off, for it was embers now when it was burning brightly before she closed her eyes. But that's not the pressing matter now. She turned to the rustling noise originating from the opposite side of camp.
There was something there, not too far away. She couldn't really make out what it was, the lack of light and the shadows of the walls hiding the creature. But as she watched it move, her eyes widened. Whatever it was, it was huge.
She immediately got to her feet, one leg first, then the other, when it gave away straight from under her. She hissed when her knee hit the ground before the realization hit her. That's the leg she had been sitting on in hopes that the discomfort would ward away her sleep. And how long ago was that? She snarled, rubbing the feeling back into her leg. Another rustle and she froze, from the corner of her eyes catching the creature turn its head to her. She made a grab for her gunblade.
A hand dropped on her shoulder, keeping her still while the other clamped around her mouth. She tensed at the sudden contact, her body already in full on fight mode. The hands around her gripped tighter and she almost struggled against the hold until she caught sight of the hands' owner from her peripheral vision. Fang. When did she get beside her? And more importantly, why didn't she notice?
Fang regarded her seriously, motioning towards the creature and then sharply shaking her head. The message sunk in instantly. Lightning stilled, nodding her head but Fang had already turned back to the potential threat, carefully watching for any offensive move. The creature seemed to be regarding them as well. It stalled there unmoving, as though it couldn't decide whether or not to attack. Finally, after another moment or so, the creature began to move again, this time backing away. Only when it slipped around a corner did Fang relax, the hand over Lightning's mouth dropping away.
Fang turned to her. "Sorry about that."
Lightning shook her head, dismissing the apology. Fang's other hand was still on her shoulder. "It's okay."
"We should avoid battles if possible," Fang started, gesturing towards their camp. "It's rest time."
Lightning turned to where Fang gestured and saw the other four, still peacefully in slumber. Completely oblivious to what just happened. But if she had engaged in combat, it would have woken them up, and they would have joined the fight. Fang was right. The aim now was rest. She looked back at the hunter and was greeted with a knowing smile.
"Besides, you don't want to fight that. You see one, but there's probably two or three. They never move alone," the hunter went on. "I'm not saying you couldn't have handled it anyway, but the fighting would attract scavengers, and that's another world of horror."
"What was it?"
Fang raised her brows. "Hmm, that? Dire flan. Big eyes, but really lousy night sight. It probably couldn't even see us back there," she explained. "It was trying to sense movement or sounds though."
She nodded, processing the new information for future reference when Fang leaned back suddenly, pulling her along. Lightning startled when her back hit the wall. She whirled towards Fang, question on the tip of her tongue but Fang beat her to it.
"Leg's asleep?" Fang eyed the said limb, Lightning's hands still on it. "Shouldn't put any pressure on it."
Lightning felt warmth creeping to her cheeks. Fang undoubtedly saw the whole spectacle of her falling over just now. She clambered to her feet, keeping her face pointedly away from the other. This time, she didn't fall down. She flexed her leg a couple of times.
"It's fine now."
Fang chuckled lightly behind her, but slowly got up as well. She stretched her arms, before circling over to Lightning's front.
"You look tired, Light."
The gentleness in Fang's voice, coupled with the warm hand that now rest just below her shoulder plate, made her jump lightly in surprise. But then the words set in, and she felt a growl of defiance. It's true she dozed. Didn't mean she was going to let it happen again.
"I'm fine."
"Sure you are," Fang's gaze shifted towards the camp. "Hey look, the fire's out," she looked back at Lightning. "Think you can fix that?"
Lightning blinked, bewildered by the directional change of their conversation, if it could even be called such. "…sure." She picked up her gunblade which was leaning against the wall and holstered it, casting a glance at Fang before making her way towards the fire. She wasn't two steps in when the taller woman spoke again.
"While you're there," Fang waited for Lightning to meet her eyes. "Get some sleep."
She stopped, feeling the anger swell within her again. "I told you I'm fine."
"We don't need two tired people tomorrow," Fang shot back, though her voice retained its previous gentleness. Lightning didn't budge. The Pulsian sighed, walking right up to shorter woman, never breaking their eye contact. "You want to be ready for what's out there, I get that. That is what tomorrow is for. Sitting here isn't going to help. You want to be prepared? You get some sleep."
She clenched her fists, staring back into the hunter's eyes. Fang had read through her again. And needless to say, her reasoning made perfect sense. But maybe it was that she didn't want to admit Fang was right that her legs stubbornly remained unmoving. Fang smirked suddenly, like she'd just read that thought straight out of her. Again. She tore her eyes away, finally breaking their contact.
Fang backed away, hands on her hips. "You know I'm right. Now go on. I can handle it here."
Lightning bit back her protest at the look on her comrade's face. There was concern there, yes. Concern for her well being, but there was also something else. She took a step back, just barely nodding her relent. "Fine."
A grin came her way before Fang retreated towards her ledge. Lightning reluctantly went the opposite direction, heading into the campsite. She carefully maneuvered her around the four sleeping bodies to get to the fire, idly noticing that Snow had found his way onto his back sometime during the night. Picking up some of the dried branches and twigs they had collected, she tossed them into what remained of the fire before charging her own fire spell to reignite the flame. It burned a deep orange, instantly giving out warmth and illumination. She sighed, letting the heat thaw her chilled skin.
Pulse was a place of contradictions. It was warm when they first arrived, but now it was colder than she liked it. And with all the predators prowling around…she rubbed her palms together. How could a place so beautiful be so treacherous? Her eyes rolled slowly to the side, landing on the raven haired woman. Pulse was like Fang. A contradiction. Her hand grasped over the spot just below her shoulder plate, where Fang's hand had been just moments ago. She turned to face Fang fully, and perhaps it was random chance, Fang turned to her too. Even through the distance, the smile didn't escape her. Dangerous, yet gentle.
She sat down on the ground, watching Fang sit alone on the ledge, one leg dangling. Fang has gone back to guarding, face focusing away from camp. Somehow, she didn't think it was just concern that had Fang sending her away. The look on her face just then, was almost pleading. Lightning lay back, keeping her eyes on the lone awake figure.
Did Fang want to be alone?
The thing about sleep and stages of sleep, all true, though it was very tip of the iceberg. Wasn't going to go into the whole science of sleep. Happened to me more times than I can count. During lectures, no less. I could literally still hear the lecture in my head, though technically, I am sleeping (yes, horrible. I sleep during lectures. But the lecture hall seats are really comfy, and the air conditioning and lighting I swear is designed to make people nod off but anyway...). Stage one sleep is really peculiar. The sleeping legs is also true, if anyone have ever slept with pressure on your limbs, you'd wake up with it completely numb. I slept sitting on both my legs once, and when I woke up and tried to stand, I fell. Painfully, on my knees. I tried again, and fell again. Couldn't get up for like...a few minutes or so. Just saying...