Wild Rose

A bit later, Lightning found Firion alone staring upward – lost in thought yet again. She turned her head slightly as she closed her eyes, folding her arms and letting out a light sigh.

"Some things just don't change, do they?" she mumbled to herself.

She relaxed again as she looked ahead and slowly walked toward him. He was unaware of her approach as his thoughts completely distracted him. Frankly, seeing him in such a constant state of distraction and silence was beginning to aggravate and depress her. It was becoming a problem and that was the last thing she needed. For someone whom wished only to relieve themselves of problems, they sure had a way of piling on the more she tried.

Firion let out a gentle sigh as she approached.

"Firion…?"

He quickly turned his head at the sound of her voice. He was immediately overcome with a bit of panic, knowing she would almost certainly bring up the subject once again. He still wasn't ready and he just wished she'd leave it alone for now.

She looked at him calmly as he tried not to let her see the fret in his eyes: that she might again ask him the question he still had no answer for. He was still searching for exactly what the answer was, but he needed more time. He just didn't know how much.

Lightning moved her head so she could see his face a little better as he kept trying to hide it.

"Please. Talk to me." she said, softly.

Firion glanced at her but still remained silent. He knew it wasn't fair that he was keeping things to himself, but at the same time…he wasn't ready to share them. He didn't even really know where this had come from. All that they had been doing was looking for the rose. How did all of these emotions and thoughts come into play and when? His head was full of doubt and questions that he just wanted to be clear.

"Firion!" Lightning said, her tone slightly raised this time.

It was all to clear now that she definitely expected an answer. He just didn't know what answer to give her. He didn't want to lie to her, but he had nothing he could say – at least not without it sounding senseless.

Still though, he remained quiet: only bringing himself to mutter two words, and struggling to do so at that.

"I just..." he mumbled.

He tried to think of something he could say, but nothing came to mind. He couldn't think in this situation. He never knew Lightning to be so nosy; concerned in any way with those around her. He kind of wished she was her usual, quiet self right now. It would definitely make things easier on him.

He dropped his head.

"…I…can't." he said, as he sighed, staring at the floor.

"Why not?" she asked.

They looked at each other for a moment and for the first time he could clearly in her eyes exactly how much this got to her. She really wasn't asking for all that much from him, yet still…he just couldn't find it in him to tell her what he felt. As pathetic as it sounded, the rose had always been what gave him his confidence; what he looked to in the hardest of times to let him know he could get through anything. Without it…all of that felt stripped away by just one unfortunate turn of events. He didn't feel like himself at all anymore: just an empty shell, devoid of confidence, strength…and fighting to hold onto that last lingering bit of hope. How could anyone understand how he felt – even Lightning? He just couldn't tell her.

He stood in silence, still unable to answer her question – or even say a single word, at that.

Finally, Lightning sighed, grumbling lightly as she looked away for a moment. This was getting nowhere. She didn't know for sure what was going on with him, but she couldn't stand this awkward tension between them. It was beginning to drive her crazy. She needed him to give her something to work with; anything.

"Firion, you and I are allies; partners. If we can't trust each other enough to say what's on our minds time to time…we'll never make it through anything while we're here. However long that may be." she stated.

She took another step forward as she looked at him closer and he continued to try and hide his face. He couldn't let her see all he was struggling with. If she did, they'd never get out of here. He'd truly be backed into a corner until he finally cracked – and that would be far worse than the current situation they were in.

"I want to hear you. I want to know what's on your mind. You have to give me something." she said, a hint of pain in her voice.

Hearing her tone, Firion turned toward her at that moment as he spoke again – although, again...nothing really came out.

"Lightning, I…" he mumbled in regret.

He took a breath and then looked at her again – the pain she felt now showing a bit on her face. He couldn't believe how much this was beginning to affect her. He wasn't trying to cause any problems. He just didn't know what to make of everything that was going on: the rose, his thoughts, his feelings…everything. Seeing her like this, only made things that much harder for him. He'd never known Lightning to show such frailty before and it wasn't a nice sight. As much as he wished this would all just go away, he knew that wouldn't happen. Only one thing could make it all better…and they still had yet to even get a clue as to its whereabouts.

He tried to ignore the look on Lightning's face for just a moment as he finally spoke again – hiding his shame and regret as best he could.

"…I just need to find the rose. I'm sorry."

Lightning's expression changed instantly as she lashed out at him for a moment.

"Is that all you care about right now?" she asked, angrily.

Firion was surprised by her reaction. She suddenly snapped at him out nowhere and he didn't know how to take it.

"What? What do you mean? I thought that was the whole point of this." he said.

Her face dropped. She wanted to say more, but she refrained. If she kept talking, nothing good would come out of her mouth after that first bit.

She turned away from him as she let out a sigh.

"…Firion…"

She folded her arms before speaking again.

"…Forgive me. I overreacted. I'm sorry."

She turned back toward him as he looked at her closely - still a little dumbfounded by her sudden, brief outburst.

"You're right. We're in this together. All that matters is finding the rose. We'll leave everything else aside for now. Don't worry about it, alright? It doesn't matter anymore." she said.

She knew she was lying completely, but what else could she do? Obviously, Firion had no intention of telling her anything and she was getting tired of trying to get him to. If he didn't want to talk to her, she could only hope he'd tell her when he was ready to. Despite the fact that she couldn't stand this burden it put on her, she was going to have to deal with it until that moment came, provided it ever would. Whatever it was that Firion was keeping from her…she had to keep hoping she'd find out eventually somehow.

She turned her head to the side a little, motioning for them to keep moving. Continuing their search was the only she knew she could get her mind off of this. As long as she was moving forward, focused on a goal…nothing could distract her. It was the only outlet she knew for relieving stress of any kind. Though Firion wasn't directly responsible, he still took a role in it – and she hated to think about that. Even she didn't want to blame him for anything befalling her, emotionally or mentally. It wasn't like he was doing it on purpose, after all. Everyone was entitled to their secrets. Even she couldn't deny that.

"Let's go. The sooner, the better."

Firion nodded.

"Right. Thank you, Lightning…for understanding."

Lightning just forced a light smile as he walked past her, continuing on the way.

She watched him closely as he walked. This wasn't going to be easy for her, but she'd have to try. She just wondered how long she could fool him. This had just been the first time, and rather brief at that – and something told her they still had a long way to go.

"One of these days…I will get you to talk to me."

She sighed once more as she started following him again. Right now, she could only hope that maybe, when they found the rose…somehow all of their problems: all of their struggles, thoughts, and fears…would fade away.

*Author's Note* - Oy...I have GOT to stop writing at late hours. Hopefully this chapter wasn't as redundant as I fear it might be.