A/N: Chapter 27 of Howling Star: Dance in the Shadow of Light. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. FFXIII belongs to Square Enix.
Special thanks goes to those who have reviewed so far and has given this story some love and attention.
Chapter 27: Hitting the road again
Star's POV…..
We arrived at the farm and everyone greeted us with a shower of kisses and tears…mainly tears. Lightning was still unconscious so we gave her some space for recuperating and regaining strength. While she was resting, the rest of us did chores around the house. Snow and Sazh were in the field, Fang and Hope were doing the laundry while Vanille played with Emily for a while. I helped Susan in the kitchen and in my spare time, visited Lightning every now and then. We made up for lost time, chatting about what happened to each of us after the split up. I was angry at Dysely for what he did and I vowed to kill him the next time we run into him. At dinner, Lightning couldn't really pick up the utensils and she had a tough time eating, muttering to herself whenever she had trouble.
"Here Light, say Ahh!" I said, picking up her food with my utensil and waited for her to open her mouth. She gave me a skeptical look.
"HAHAHAHA look at Light, getting fed like a baby!" Fang chuckled and the table erupted into a light laughter.
"...fuck you Fang..." Light muttered to herself so that she wouldn't offend a child like Emily and she opened her mouth like instructed instead of striking back. I smiled and popped the food into her mouth.
"Chew slowly Light." I said as I continued spoon-feeding her. Fang and Snow continued laughing together about Lightning's helplessness and were oblivious to the intense stares that Light was sending their way. After dinner everyone washed the dishes and retired to the living room for movie night. Lightning took Fang and Snow outside for a bit. No one moved a muscle until they came back, Fang and Snow both had hand prints on their puffed up cheeks. Lightning had a smirk plastered to her face and settled comfortably next to me. Emily at first felt intimidated by Lightning's soldier presence but she warmed up and is now on her other side, smiling broadly. I had a feeling that Light was starting to like children now.
"They so had that coming..." Sazh, Hope and Vanille whispered as they huddled around the couch. At first there weren't enough space inside the tiny living room, everyone jostled one another for some good view. Robert remembered this huge projector screen he kept in the attic along with a really old movie projector that still works so he raced upstairs to retrieve it. Susan ushered us outside, Fang and Snow were ordered by Light to get the couch but she changed her mind and ordered them to move it back. Hope and Vanille helped Robert setting up the screen while Sazh popped two huge bowl of popcorn. The reason Light didn't want the couch was because I morphed into my huge wolf form and flattened the grass underneath with my paws for some comfortable seats. Luckily there weren't any PSICOM units that were patrolling the area so we were safe.
"Alright kids, huddle around the movie is about to start!" Snow announced and everyone sat down on the grass. I settled down behind them, acting as a large pillow for them to lean against. We watched the movie with interest, munching happily on the popcorn, though when Fang complained that the snack had no taste she whipped out her special hot/spicy sauce and drizzled some in one of the bowls. I managed to stop Emily and Light from eating that bowl and gave them the neutral bowl but everyone else munched on the flaming hot popcorn, paying attention more to the movie than the food. A few seconds later they passed out from the hotness and intense spiciness.
"Hmmm? You guys sleeping? You're missing the best part!" Fang exclaimed as she munched on the snack, it seems as though she was immune to hot spicy foods. Light and I just chuckled and continued watching. Emily fell asleep somewhere in the middle so it was just me, Light and Fang watching the movie together. Once the movie ended, we moved everyone back into the house and managed to catch some shut-eye.
The next morning...
"Maaaaaannnnn, I never got to see how the movie ended!" Snow complained at breakfast. Everyone sat around the table, munching happily on eggs and bacon.
"Yeah...my head's hurting just trying to think of what happened." Sazh agreed as Hope, Vanille, Robert and Susan nodded their heads.
"I told y'all not to sleep during the good parts!" Fang hollered from the kitchen, getting coffee.
"WE DIDN'T SLEEP! THE POPCORN WAS JACKED UP WITH HOT/SPICY SAUCE!" They gave her angry glares but Fang brushed them off.
"Not my fault you guys don't have the guts to handle intense hot/spicy sauce." She retorted while Light and Emily snickered. I smiled at the liveliness. Today was the last day on the farm before we head out to Dysley's place: Orphan's Cradle. Everyone packed up and headed out.
"Watch your health dearies." Susan gave everyone a hug, Light tried to keep a stoic soldier look but she allowed the hug. "If you ever need help, you know where to find us."
"If we have time, we'll stop by your place every now and then." Light assured her. I gave Emily one last hug, the poor child was crying her eyes out.
"I'll return someday...I promise." I told her gently. She nodded her head and watched everyone walk away.
"EVERYONE!" She called out after us. "BE SAFE! WE'LL WAIT FOR YOUR SAFE RETURN!" We looked back and smiled, every single one of us. It was a promise. We waved goodbye and disappeared, leaving the farm behind.
A/N: Done. The race is on towards Orphan's Cradle and Dysley.
