Wild Rose
They didn't know how, but before they knew it, somehow…Lightning and Firion had ended up in the Pandaemonium. Knowing right away that it was enemy territory, they raised their guard as they moved forward carefully.
"We should hurry and get out of here. There's no doubt in my mind that the rose isn't here anyway." Firion said, hastily.
Lightning only responded with a light nod as they kept moving. With all the walls and corners in the place, there was no telling for sure what they'd run into – which only made it more enticing for them to get out. The last thing they wanted was to encounter a warrior of Chaos when they already had enough going on.
"Figures. We would end up in a place like this – all because of…" Lightning grumbled, but she didn't finish.
Firion looked at her – that feeling of guilt and dread swelling up inside of him again. This was it. It was so obvious now that she did indeed find him responsible for all of this. But, he already knew it pretty much was his fault. It was only a matter of time before Lightning could no longer deny it either.
He sighed as he stared at the floor.
"Lightning. It's okay. You can say it. I already know anyway."
"What?" she asked, looking at him in question.
Seeing his face, she realized what he was getting at and shook her head.
"Firion, when are you going to get it? I don't blame you for what happened. You need to stop expecting the worst. The only one putting that burden on you…is you."
He stared at the floor, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Okay?" she said.
He nodded lightly in response as he slowly lifted his head.
Lightning looked ahead again as she scanned the area.
"Well…it doesn't seem like there's anyone here." she said.
She looked back at Firion.
"Come on."
They continued walking forward when they finally ran into someone.
"Well, this is a sight: Lightning and Firion."
They breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing who it was.
"Jecht." Lightning said calmly.
He smirked at the mention of his name and the sight of them before him…together. However, seeing their faces, he couldn't help but wonder.
"Is there a problem?"
They knew by now it was all too obvious something was on their minds. They didn't try to hide it anymore, but they still wished everyone would stop asking. If things were so evident…what was the point in asking? At least, that was how they saw it.
Still, Lightning again spoke up as Firion stood in silence with anticipation… of something good, for once.
"This may sound strange, but we're -"
"I've heard." Jecht said, cutting her off.
Lightning smiled lightly, but unfortunately…his words didn't hold much hope for them either.
Jecht just stared at the ground as he shook his head. He knew what he was about to say wouldn't be of any merit to them, but he was only being honest. He hesitated to speak, but he had to tell them something.
"…Haven't seen a rose." he said, grumbling a little.
Really, he was more affected by his inability to help them then they were. Despite their hope, it had still been expected that nothing new would come up regarding the whereabouts of the rose, but they still held to a small hope that it could change at any point.
Lightning saw he was struggling with something even a little right now and tried to make it a little easier on him as she smiled lightly in gratitude for his concern.
"…Of course." she said, a clear tone of disappointment in her voice.
"Our sincerest apologies." Firion added.
They both walked forward as Jecht watched them leave, still upset that he couldn't be of any help in their search.
Even so, however, as he watched them walk away, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of them together as a light laugh emerged.
"Those two. Who'd have thought…"
He shook his head in amusement as he turned to walk the other way, giving them his approval in his head.