Lightning's Thoughts

On Diving

Perfect form. It had been something Lighting had strove for when she was younger and now, she knew she had it. She took pride in her jumps. Sometimes, it almost felt as if she were flying.

Even among the chaos, she couldn't help but acknowledge her skill in compassion to the others. With an expert jump, she shot down with the group stumbling awkwardly behind.

"That's how people get around on cocoon," she heard Fang say.

"That's how Light gets around!" Hope shouted.

Lighting smirked, how indeed.

Claire had a plan. She always had a plan, but this one was far more exciting than anything she had thought up in a while. For a while now she had watched the upperclassman at the military academy train and perform their daily work-out routine. She knew now from watching them that there was a tradition, a way in for the underclassmen like her.

"A picnic!" Serah exclaimed, bouncing to her feet with excitement.

"Yeah, up on the pier," Claire pointed in the direction, "over there." Serah seemed suspicious about her sister's insistence on a specific spot, or that she had suggested the idea at all. "See if Yuj wants to come too."

With that, Serah let her suspicions slide. "I'll go call him!"

Claire waiting until she heard Serah's footsteps fading down the hall before quickly putting her swimsuit on under her clothes. The pier was the highest in all of Bohdum, the rock seemed to jut out from the city and outstretch all the way into the sky to Eden.

If she could do it, if she could dive off of the pier, the other soldiers-in-training would have to take her seriously. No more nicknames of "Short-Stack," "Pinkie-Pie," or "Strawberry-Shortcake" for her.

"Light, Yuj can come!" Serah ran back to their room, radiating excitement.

"Get your shoes on, then."

The walk over to the Sanctum facility where Yuj lived wasn't very long. The problem she had with that place, was that those idiots from NORA lived there too. She hated the thought that by going there, those two would meet her sister and somehow corrupt her. Serah was far too trusting for her own good.

Yuj had been ready and waiting outside of the building when they arrived. Claire was glad that Serah could have a friend like him. He was an honest, friendly boy, and she was also fairly certain that she would have to worry about him trying anything with her sister.

"That is probably one of the most beautiful spots in all of Bohdum!" Yuj was saying as they started up the huge hill. "Especially when it starts to get dark and the sky gets all pink and yellow like the rose of the rockery!" Yeah, she was certain he was the type of guy who would never even think about trying anything.

Finally they made it to the top of the pier and sat down in a patch of grass. There had at one point been a fence that went around the edge so that people wouldn't fall off and injure themselves, but after years of wear and vandalism the fence was all but gone.

The three at sandwiches while Claire eyed the edge of the pier. She had already calculated the best distance to start running from, now she only had to visualize herself doing it just right.

She stood up, sliding out of her shoes and pulling her shirt off over her head.

"What are you doing, Lightning?" Serah asked warily.

"Practicing," Claire muttered, stretching out her legs.

"Practicing what?"

She pointed to the edge of the pier.

"That's way too high," Serah stood up but Yuj grabbed her wrist.

"I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing." He said, "haven't you seen the soldiers practice their gravity jumps off of this thing?" Serah made a face and crossed her arms, but sat down anyway.

The majority of the pier was rocky rather than grassy, and so it would make running barefoot painful. Claire had prepared for it by walking over hot coals like she had seen on reality television shows, which had been a whole other bad idea entirely. Still, now she barely felt the pointy rocks jabbing at her feet as she readied herself to make the dash.

Step one: Strong push-off. Step two: Keep steady pace. She though to herself while playing over in her head a visual of her succeeding. Claire pushed off and dashed towards the edge. Step Three: Arms center. Step four: Step together. She was just at the edge. Step five: Bend knees and leap, spread out arms for extra momentum. Step six: Flip forward to minimize impact..

The water was unbelievably cold. It was as if thousands of little needles were jabbing into her skin. Claire kicked towards the surface, a huge smile on her face. That was . . . A lot of fun! She gave Serah and Yuj a thumbs up before swimming back to the beach. Her heart was pounding like crazy with adrenaline.

She strutted back up the hill, proud of her accomplishment. "So?" She asked, resting her hands on her hips.

Serah and Yuj glanced at each other before breaking out into laughter.

"What?" Claire got her answer by a starfish slipping off her head.

Note to self: Check for hitchhikers.

A/N: These last few have been a bit "eh" :/

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