Lightning concentrated, shifting her face back as she gazed around at the house. Serah had to lean aside when Vanille darted past, already racing into the living room. Fang rolled her eyes as she walked into the house as well, Hope following behind her.
Vanille jumped up to sit upon the couch, and her eyes went wide as she carefully picked up one of the photographs between her claws. "Puppies..." She examined the pictures, a grin spreading over her face.
Anima glanced over from the opposite couch, revealing a tiny smile at Vanille's antics.
Serah closed the front door, before she herded the group into the living room. She looked up at Lightning, frowning at her sister's expression.
Lightning tried to smile, before she quickly patted Serah's shoulder. "I just need some quiet, for a while." She turned to walk up the stairs, and Serah's shoulders sagged.
Fang sighed, sitting down on the floor. "She's been dealing with a lot, the last few days..."
Serah sat down on the sofa, her brow drawn in worry. "What's wrong?"
Fang closed her eyes, and held up an arm. She kept still for a moment, before her carapace began to crumble around her hand, human skin growing to replace it.
Anima tilted her head to the side. "Impressive."
Fang opened her eyes. "It's not me, exactly..." She paused, gazing up at the stairwell. "Light's able to do it too, but she's been real tense ever since."
Anima stood up. "I'll speak to her."
Fang frowned, having already shifted back the skin upon her face. "That doesn't sound like a good idea..."
Anima chuckled as she walked up the steps. "It would seem that I often lack 'good' ideas."
Caius stepped out upon the front steps to find that a chill breeze awaited him, and he looked down at the porch. "That's enough for today."
Snow nearly collapsed, pausing to catch his breath. "Did you forget about me? It's already dark..."
Caius shook his head as he turned back to walk into the house. Snow had to duck down and maneuver sideways just to get through the door, struggling to keep in ceiling intact.
Snow sat down on the floor after a moment, still attempting to catch his breath. "So... How is this supposed to help me?"
Caius kept silent for a moment, before leaning against the opposite wall. "How do you feel?"
Snow sighed. "Exhausted."
Caius nodded. "Life is exhausting... It will only get more so as time moves on; you need to be able to keep up."
Snow closed his eyes. "You're trying to prepare me for life?" He laughed under his breath. "I've already 'lived' a while, you know."
Caius shook his head. "Endurance. You want to raise a family?" He took a step forward. "You want to prove yourself? You'll need endurance..." Caius began to walk away. "And not just physically."
Lightning lay sprawled upon her bed, and she clenched her fists, her spikes bristling out over the sheets. She struggled to breathe from her mouth, her nostrils clamped shut, refusing to open them. Lightning's ears twitched at a knock, but she kept silent.
Anima called out from the hallway. "I believe that I may know something relevant to your situation..."
Lightning sighed, rolling over to sit up on the bed, her spikes tangled in a mess of blankets. "Come in."
Anima strolled into the room, and she raised an eyebrow at Lightning's spikes, which were raised to their full height. "Are you in need of-"
Lightning shook her head and snarled, yanking the blankets away.
Anima kept silent until Lightning had torn away the sheets. "Elevated agitation, correct?"
Lightning narrowed her eyes, and she nodded.
Anima leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. "Has anything unusual happened to your brain, recently?"
Lightning's eyes widened.
Anima cleared her throat. "In her reports, my sister wrote that she blocked the regeneratives from your brain, for a time..." Anima paused, her brow furrowed in thought. "Jihl also reported that the sudden reintroduction managed to heal your injuries, but you displayed heightened agitation and aggressiveness... I believe the results of that process could be why this is occurring now."
Lightning reached up to touch her horns. "But I haven't-" She paused. "One let go... Could that have the same effect?"
Anima raised a single eyebrow. "One? Can you elaborate?"
Lightning sighed. "It's sentient..." She tapped at her horns.
Anima froze. "Are you serious?"
Lightning nodded.
Anima's eyes widened. "How do you know?"
"She spoke to me, in a dream..." Lightning closed her eyes. "I was lucid at the time; it was like having a conversation."
Anima's mouth opened slightly. "Sentience..." Her eyes were very distant for a while, before she shook her head. "Jihl has already roamed too far; I should not..." Anima drifted off, staring at Lightning's horns.
Lightning clenched her hands into fists. "Is it reversible?"
Anima frowned. "I fear that anything I could alter would cause more damage than good."
Lightning hissed through her teeth.
"Are you feeling it, now?" Anima paused, her gaze sliding to the door. "Please let me know if I should prepare my last words..."
Lightning snorted, and she covered her face with her hands.
Anima kept silent for a while, until her eyes narrowed in thought. "Do you know why I used the name 'Adam'?"
Lightning shook her head.
"It was my name, once..." Anima took a step forward. "But it wasn't who I wanted to be." Anima concentrated for a moment, before she placed a clawed hand upon Lightning's shoulder. "Who do you want to be?"
Lightning moved her hands away from her face. "I'm not sure."
Anima nodded. "When, and if you are sure..." She turned around, leaning back against the wall once more. "Do what feels right."
Lightning met Anima's gaze. "What if tearing your throat out 'feels right'?"
Anima shrugged. "Is that who you want to be?"
Lightning looked down at the floor, her shoulders slumped.
Vanille shuffled through the photographs. "They have spikes, like us..."
Fang leaned over to look. "Funny looking critters, aren't they? That one looks more like a pincushion than a dog."
Vanille giggled at that, and she handed some of the pictures over to Fang, as well.
Serah smiled at them, before turning to look at Hope. "I met someone, the other day."
Hope looked up at her. "Yeah?"
Serah nodded. "Your mother wants to see you."
Hope kept silent, carefully running a claw over the edges of his book.
Serah leaned back on the couch. "At first, she wanted to run into the fire and find you..." Serah closed her eyes. "We had to talk her out of it, convince her that everyone would keep you safe."
Hope's eyes narrowed in thought. "She's not here?"
Serah shook her head. "She's close, though... I could call her for you, tomorrow."
Hope paused, before he slowly nodded. "Alright."
Serah opened her eyes, and she smiled.
Lightning lay back against the bed, her eyes narrowed with a grimace.
"Now, if you can just reform your arm..." Anima nodded as she prepared a syringe. "This isn't the strongest dose I have, but I believe it will help with the restlessness."
Lightning grit her teeth, and she closed her eyes when Anima lowered the needle.
Anima paused. "Are you sure?"
Lightning nodded, snarling under her breath when the metal point pushed through her skin, a rush of cold leaking out into her veins. "So... You just carry those around?"
Anima chuckled. "Habit, I suppose."
Lightning exhaled, her muscles unwinding as she relaxed against the sheets. "Do me a favor?"
Anima tilted her head to the side.
"Grab some..." Lightning trailed off for a moment. "Night-clothes, from my..." She had to reposition her tongue, as the muscle was nearly unresponsive. "My dresser, please?"
Anima walked over to retrieve the clothing in question, and she placed them upon the bed. "I'll take my leave, then; Serah has my number, should you need another dose."
"Thank you..." Lightning's breath began to slow down, her mind drifting into a haze.
Anima paused at the doorway. "Rest, for now... We'll speak again, soon."
Lightning waited until Anima had walked downstairs, before she began to shift back, her carapace folding in on itself, crumbling away. She reached for the night-shirt to tug it over her head, but the flannel caught against one of her horns. Lightning grumbled, and she reached up to untangle the fabric, soon pulling it over herself. She tugged on her bottoms before falling back against the sheets, almost completely limp. Lightning dozed for a while, her thoughts finally at rest.
There was a knock at the door as a muffled voice from called out from the hallway. "Light?"
Lightning opened her eyes to realize that the sun had already set. "Fang..." She tried to sit up, but she found her vision far too dizzy. "Come in."
Fang pushed open the door, gazing over at Lightning with a sigh. "Anima said that she gave you a sedative."
Lightning tried to nod, but her eyes were drifting shut. "I asked her for it."
Fang remained in the doorway. "That was a big risk."
Lightning hissed through her teeth. "Bigger risk... Staying amped up." She rolled over, forcing her eyes open to meet Fang's gaze. "I'm not going to..." Lightning struggled to speak, her tongue nearly weightless in her mouth. "I won't have Serah's blood on my hands... Never again."
Fang sighed. "I know... I just wish you would have-" She trailed off, staring at her feet. "Told me, first... I dunno."
Lightning exhaled as she turned to lay on her back. "Come here."
Fang shook her head. "I won't take advantage of you, Light."
Lightning rolled her eyes. "It's just a sedative." She let out a soft breath, her eyes squeezed shut. "Don't leave." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Everyone leaves..."
Fang frowned, and she slowly closed the door behind her, before making her way over to sit beside Lightning. "I'm here."
Lightning lay in silence for a while, her lungs slowly moving beneath her chest. "Shift back?"
Fang chuckled. "I don't exactly have clothes, right now."
Lightning opened her eyes a bit. "I don't care... I didn't think you would, either."
Fang shrugged. "I don't. Just didn't know if you were-"
"Fang." Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Shift back."
Fang grinned, having already started to concentrate on her face. "Yes, love."
Lightning rolled her eyes.
Fang shook out her hair upon finishing; her horns were the only remaining trace of carapace. She stretched out her arms, a contented smile on her face as her joints creaked, settling back into place.
Lightning reached to wrap her fingers around Fang's wrist, gently tugging her down.
Fang raised an eyebrow. "Frisky, eh?"
Lightning quieted her with a kiss, and she ran her tongue along Fang's lips. "I didn't get to finish last time."
Fang let out a quiet laugh, flopping down on the bed as Lightning moved to straddle her hips. "Well, your house did burn down, the next morning..."
Lightning leaned over to nip at Fang's neck. "I don't care... Maybe I should, but I don't." She licked along Fang's skin, lingering around her pulse. "It's in the past."
"You really don't-" Fang gasped when Lightning bit down on her neck, but it was gentle enough to keep the points of her teeth from piercing the skin.
"Later..." Lightning took a deep breath as she struggled to stay awake.
Fang curled her fingers into Lightning's hair, breathing heavily. "Sure you can make it that far?" Fang cracked a grin, and a trickle of sweat ran down her face.
Lightning narrowed her eyes, rising back on her knees.
Fang let out a quiet gasp, and her fingers tightened in Lightning's hair when she nipped at Fang's inner thigh, a tongue soon accompanying the pointed teeth.
Fang chuckled as she lay her head back against the pillow. "Evening the score?"
Lightning nodded against Fang's skin, moving her tongue in lazy circles, her eyes half-lidded. She lowered her mouth to let out a quiet breath, a tiny smirk on her face when Fang jumped. Lightning's eyes fell shut, and she closed the distance.
Fang pulled one of her hands out from Lightning's hair to grip the sheets in a fist, and she trembled, sweat running down her face as a coiling tension shivered within her stomach, muscles alive beneath her skin. Fang opened her mouth, pointed teeth snapping the air as her jaw flexed, her eyes fluttering shut when Lightning swirled her tongue lower, lingering at the slick heat upon Fang's skin.
Lightning purred, using her hands to hold Fang steady, breathing against her curls. "Is that good?"
Fang hissed, arching her back as she choked out a response. "Keep going..."
Lightning started along once more, moving one of her fingers beside her tongue, slowly stoking against the heated skin.
"Light..!" Fang's brow furrowed, her voice slightly cracked with a whine. "Don't tease..."
Lightning couldn't help but chuckle under her breath, lingering only a mere moment, before she gave Fang exactly what she wanted.
Fang bucked into Lightning's fingers, a long hiss escaping her teeth. She writhed, her eyes squeezing shut; she shuddered against each push, leaning forward with a silent gasp, a ragged breath on her lips.
Lightning hummed, her tongue twisting, swirling, suckling Fang's skin; her fingers began to move in a rhythm beneath, sliding back and forth, curling within. She could feel Fang tremble before her, and Lightning held a tiny smirk against her skin, before increasing the pace.
Fang let out a wordless cry, curling up as she trembled, heat flooding out into her muscles, spasming as she shook, breathless. Fang whimpered, slowly falling back against the sheets, her lungs expanding, before she lay flat, her limbs trembling.
Lightning kissed into Fang's skin, trailing her tongue along as she licked over the wetness, before pulling back. She began to crawl forward, and Fang welcomed her with open, trembling arms, pulling Lightning close.
Fang mumbled against Lightning's hair, inhaling her scent. "Quick... Damn quick learner..." She trailed off, still shivering.
Lightning sighed as she curled up into the warmth, her head tucked beneath Fang's chin.
Fang took a deep breath, silent until her eyes drifted back into focus. "Why don't you care about your house?"
Lightning grumbled, pressing her face into Fang's chest. "Not now..."
Fang chuckled as she ran her fingers along Lightning's back, before sliding them down beneath her night-shirt. "I'm curious..."
Lightning took a sharp breath when Fang's hands wandered lower, teasing the hem of her shorts.
Fang purred, her fingers lingering beside Lightning's waist. "Tell me?"
Lightning huffed, and she grit her teeth. "I just don't..." She sighed, opening her eyes halfway. "The memories are there, but I don't care that it's gone."
Fang kept silent for a moment, before kissing at the top of Lightning's head. "Maybe the memories are more important?" Fang pulled her close, her hands rising to rub along Lightning's neck and upper back. "Just hold on to them, then..."
Lightning nodded, whimpering as Fang's thumbs circled her shoulders, massaging deep into the muscle. Fang smiled when Lightning went limp atop of her, soft sounds escaping her throat with every caress.
Fang lowered her voice to a whisper. "Sleepy?"
Lightning could barely nod, instead settling on a sigh, her eyelids drooping shut.
Fang smiled. "I'm not gonna leave you... You know that, right?"
Lightning tried to open her eyes, but she found that she couldn't quite muster the energy. She only mumbled for a moment, before drifting off to sleep.
Fang closed her eyes as well, tracing circles along Lightning's back; strong, yet gentle fingers pressed into her skin.
