((hey guys, it's me again. I don't know how long it's been since I last posted something, but I apologize if it's been too long. Thanks go to Rachael for reading and reviewing so much. I appreciate it. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but soon the action will start, I promise. New trailers have come out and with them new information that I need to think about. Enjoy chapter 6!!))
Chapter 6
Lightning sat in the shade of the many tall trees of the forest. She couldn't see the sky, therefore she could only guess that the afternoon was beginning to slip away. The shade had been getting darker for about an hour now, and soon she would be unable to see past her hands, if that. Her Gunblade sat next to her, the shine from the above light fading.
Her eyes stared in awe around her, even though it had been hours since she first set foot in the amazing forest. Not only were the trees and bushes rather tall, but lining the trail, thirty some feet apart from each other, stood large, odd shaped crystals. They were sharp at the point, but she didn't second guess it. It was probably a defensive maneuver to keep flying enemies away.
She lay her head back against the thick trunk of the tree. She could feel the aura of both tension and relaxation clashing together. The birds sang a soft hum of a tune, while the heavy footsteps of a far away creature sounded through the trees. It was nature's song, and she was a part of it now.
She remembered Sera's words about the herd of dinosaurs. 'Tonight they'll be near the river. I'll take you there if you want.'
She didn't want to meet Sera there, but maybe she'd go see them herself. See what they look like. Her enthusiasm dulled when a complication came up. Sera had also said that she always saw them on her walks. Would she be there? If so, she would just have to stay hidden in the forest. Get a look from afar.
The sun was very low now, about sunset. The light around her was a reddish orange color, and she once again felt at ease. It was always a peaceful time of day for her. All of the bad things tended to wait until night time to happen. But maybe today would be different.
Lightning stood up and stretched. She'd rested for nearly an hour and a half, and it was time to get started on a place to sleep. She rested her Gunblade in her holster and started plucking twigs and small branches off of trees for fire wood. She placed them off to the side of the trail, and then scanned the area for a decent place to sleep. As she looked, her eyes rested on a particular tree. The bottom of the trunk was caved in a little, due to the way the tree had grown. There was a small cave in where the roots spread apart, creating the perfect secure sleeping area she had hoped for. She picked up the pile of branches and set up camp inside the little crevice.
By the time she finished everything, it was dark. The trees were just black silhouettes in the distance. They all looked exactly the same from the spot she stood at. In the distance she could hear the loud roaring of the dinosaurs. A small smile played across her lips. She took off in the direction the noise came from. Her feet pounded almost noiselessly along the dirt and leaves on the ground. The wind howled in her ears as she sped in the opposite direction of its flow. It was cold air, but after an hour of setting up camp, it felt good to her.
A noise above her startled her, veering her off course. She skidded to a halt before nature had the chance to slam her into a tree trunk. She sighed angrily and looked around for the source of her surprise. Nothing was in sight. The only thing visible was the outlines of the shrubbery around her.
A sudden movement grabbed her attention and she reached out to grab it. Her hand clapped around a handful of hair. She rolled her eyes as she realized who it was. The thickness of the red pigtail in her grip gave that away almost immediately.
"What are you doing here, Sera?" She asked, annoyed. The girl turned to face her.
"I told you I'd take you to see them." The light tone of her voice gave away her hidden smile. "I never take back a promise."
Lightning let out an exasperated breath of air. "I was doing just fine. I know where to go." she said, stamping away from the girl, who didn't get the message. Sera followed happily as the strawberry haired woman tried to hint her away.
"But how? You don't know the area very well." she pointed out.
"I was following the sound. It's not that hard. Well, it wasn't until you showed up." she replied grumpily.
Sera frowned. "Well, sorry, grumpy pants. Not my fault that you're stubborn."
Lightning stopped quickly, putting her arm in front of Sera to stop her. "Shhh." she said, listening.
"What do you hear?" she asked.
"Shh!" Lightning said harsher.
Sera waited a moment. "Well?"
"Right now I don't hear anything but you, and I won't unless you shut your trap." she answered, annoyance taking over.
She turned back to the noise and listened carefully. It was a roar, but it wasn't like any other one that she'd heard. It was close. She spun around to Sera. "We're close."
When she was able to look at the girl, she noticed that she wasn't even look at her, she was looking past her. "Well, yeah. Look behind you."
Lightning turned around slowly, as if trying not to scare whatever was there away. Or better yet, attempting to avoid a battle with an unknown player in the game. Her eyes soon caught sight of what Sera had seen. A dinosaur's leg had landed only a few feet away from them. She wondered how she had missed the sound of it landing.
"Whoa…" Lightning breathed. It was amazing. The creature was very big, maybe ten feet tall, fifteen feet long at the least. It's skin shimmered in the moonlight that was available in the clearing only two feet away from her. It's neck was short, but the two stubby horns on the top of its head made up for the missing length.
She was in too much of a daze. The thing was scary, but beautiful at the same time. It was dangerous, yet peaceful at the same time, capable of killing someone, but looking too at peace to do anything of the sort.
"Look out!" Sera yelled, grabbing the back of Lightning's shirt, pulling her out of the way of the huge creatures steps. The foot missed her by a half a foot. She stared after it in amazement. She was too shocked to actually comprehend what had happened, but soon it sank in: she had been careless. That things beauty had distracted her.
She looked at Sera, then away. "Thanks." She said, then walked into the meadow, taking in the scene. Many dinosaurs of different kinds grazed in the grass. Most drank from the river. She watched as one spit the water back out. She grimaced. "Remind me not to bathe in the river." she said.
"Oh, no worry, the river flows, so that water will be long gone by the time you're ready to bathe." Sera replied. Lightning eyed her rudely.
"I know that. It was supposed to be a friendly joke." she muttered.
"Oh."
Lightning sat down in the meadow, at the very edge to keep safe, and watched the large beasts. Her eyes drooped slightly and she shook herself awake. It wasn't best to fall asleep in the same field as something that could kill you.
Sera noticed her fatigue. "You ready to go to bed? I can carry you back if you fall asleep."
"No, I'll walk myself." She replied stubbornly.
She got up and brushed off her skirt. She took one last look at the dinosaurs, then walked away, heading back the way she came from. Sera looked back and forth between the two species on each side of her, the dinosaurs and Lightning. Her curiosity won her over and she followed Lightning.
"So, you sure you want to stay here? You can always stay with me." she offered.
"I'm fine. You're the second one to offer me that." She scoffed. Sera made a face.
"Who else did?" she asked, hating to be second at it.
"Some guy named Snow who swears he was my best friend when we were kids. Which I guess is possible…" She rambled. Sera thought about it for a moment.
"Oh, Snow Villiers!" she exclaimed, completely interrupting Lightning's thoughts. "He's an awesome friend. Kind of a loner if you ask me, but you beat him at that, I guess." she stated.
Lightning huffed. "He kind of freaks me out." she muttered. Maybe he wasn't so bad…
No. She didn't know him. She couldn't put all of her faith in him. She sighed, then stared into the sky. If she had known him before, then she would apologize when she remembered. She didn't have time to make new friends. She needed to find a way to remember her life.
Sera was following her still, and she could hear the very annoying, very loud humming that she was producing. She was not a very careful person. It was awkward to be stuck with someone like her.
Lightning breathed out heavily. She stopped and looked back at the girl. "Look, not to be rude, but I'd prefer to be alone. You are a loud person." she said. Sera stopped her whistling and stared.
"I…annoy you?" she guessed. Lightning nodded.
"No offense."
The girl looked up at the sky. She let out a quiet breath. "None taken." she said after a minute. "See you later."
Lightning watched as the girl spun on her heels and took off in the direction of the village. Even after what had been said to her, she still seemed giddy. It was annoying how happy she was.
After a few minutes of walking, Lightning came across her camp site and lay against the crevice in her tree trunk. She started up a fire and sighed contently as the warmth of the fire consumed her. Now all she needed was food…
That could wait until the morning. She was tired, and she had a feeling she'd need her energy for the next day. With all of the thoughts rushing through her head, it took her a while to actually fall asleep. Thoughts of her secret past flowed to her. She wondered what she used to be like. What it was like to be her before whatever it was that happened.
Every once in a while, she'd hear a shriek or cry of some creature in the forest with her, but relaxed when they never came any closer to her. Soon her thoughts dulled out and a heavy sense of sleep began to take her. As she leaned against the tree, a bright, warm fire in front of her, her eyelids closed and she fell asleep.
