AN - Did you know that this weekend in my town there is an entire festival based on garlic bread? That's just fantastic. Here's a chapter to celebrate garlic bread.

"Hello," a shy voice called out, bringing Fang from her thoughts. She was perched on the roof of the mansion, smoking a cigarette. It seemed that she couldn't catch a moment of peace in this place, but the voice was unfamiliar. Turning her head slowly, she scanned the surroundings until her gaze landed on a short boy hiding by the nearby chimney. Fang stubbed out the cigarette and gave him a small wave.

"Hey there little dude, what are you doing up here? Don't be shy, I don't bite."

"Not what it looked like the other day. With Lightning, I mean."

It was a clipped response but one that Fang didn't try to defend. She knew exactly how she would have looked with that stunt she pulled. She gave a half-hearted shrug and took a drink from her can of soda, frowning at the lack of liquid from within. After crushing the empty can with her claws and throwing it over the edge with a sigh, Fang turned to find the shy teen vanishing from the roof in a puff of smoke. "Huh. Guess I do bite then." She muttered to herself, staring back out to the grounds beyond.

Another puff of smoke filtered through the air and the boy had returned, awkwardly handing out a fresh, cool can while avoiding eye contact. "You were empty. I come up here to read. Not usually anyone else up here."

Fang took it gratefully, moving slowly so as not to startle the young L'cie into vanishing. This was the first time she'd managed to get a proper look at him, the last few times he was often hidden beneath a hoodie. His blue skin was a similar shade to her own and she could tell from the darting of his eyes that he was comparing the colour of her arms. "Name's Fang."

"Funny name for someone who supposedly doesn't bite... Um. Sorry. Hope. My name is Hope."

A low chuckle emanated from Fang as she cracked the can. "Come on, kid. What's your real name?" The boy's cheeks grew a darker shade of blue as he stared at his four-digit hands. Three fingers and a thumb on each hand flexed and he gave a tiny smile as a spaded tail came into view, mildly startling the brunette.

"Diabolos. Seemed fitting, seeing as I already look like a demon anyway."

Ah. Coming to the conclusion that he was incredibly self-conscious about his appearance, Fang hummed to herself, trying to figure out the safest approach for the young boy. He winced at the hand clapping his shoulder, Fang as always diligent to avoid hurting anyone with her claws. "That's a badarse name, kid. But why don't you have the attitude to go with it?"

There was no response, his yellow eyes darting away. After a while he shrugged and took his gloves off, revealing his blue hands. They trembled a little and Fang couldn't help but feel for the kid. "How long you been out as a L'cie?" She asked, a little gentler.

"About a year or so."

"Ah, so still getting used to everything, right? Can't blame ya, really," she paused, shifting into her other form. Her fiery mane spilled down her back and Hope gasped, scrambling back a little. "It's hard work to look this good."

After a few more moments of silence, Hope finally cracked, giving her a small smile and a quiet laugh. It tapered off as he slumped his shoulders, a long sigh escaping him. "At least you can turn back into something that looks human."

"True, but why be human when I can be more? We're gods, you and me. I mean shit, little guy. You can go anywhere you set your mind to. Literally. That's cool as hell."

Hope clenched his jaw and frowned, not wanting to look at her. He had been warned by Sazh to be wary of any of Fang's speeches, that they likely would have come from Caius himself. Yet the appeal of her words made him realise why the warning would have been there. He wondered if this was the party line that lured young, lost L'cie into the fold before the intentions started to become more insidious. A single digit crept into his vision, Fang waggling her claw at him to get his attention.

"You shouldn't have to hide who you are, Hope. Or make excuses, or placate everyone around you. Humanity in general is shit."

"Sazh warned me about your hatred of humanity speeches, you know."

Fang scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Sazh gives speeches. I speak truth. And I am talkin' about the greater encompassing shitness. If it weren't for the emergent L'cie, it'd be over somethin' else. The colour of someone's skin, the fact that some of us are from Gran Pulse and not Cocoon. The fact that some women like women, some men like men, some like both or none at all. The fact that some gods are different to their gods. Humanity have always and will always find reasons to be shit to each other instead of ways to reach out. I guarantee you if aliens showed up on the lawn tomorrow the populous would immediately find twenty reasons to hate 'em."

Hope tried, but couldn't find fault with her words. Now he really knew why Sazh warned him about anything she'd try to say along these lines, as she made some valid points. It was just a shame that extremism lay beyond them. He glanced over at Fang's shifted form and sighed. He wished he could look that dangerous, it might make him feel more confident.

"I've seen the face of humanity and experienced their cruelty first hand, you know." Fang said quietly, shifting her form back to something more human and pulling up her shirt, revealing a landscape of scars across her abdomen. "Humans are cruel, but we're stronger. They will kick us while we're down, but we'll keep getting back up. And when you've got a bunch like these guys around you, they won't let somethin' like this happen to you. You've got strength in yourself, Hope. But you can also find strength in your family here. Let them build you up, show you the person you really are."

Hope certainly wasn't expecting that kind of response, especially from someone that held a lot of animosity towards Sazh's methods and stance regarding his approach with L'cie. He looked at her curiously, her human face contrasting with the blue arms peeking from under the sleeves of her jacket. "What about your family, Fang?"

What a complex question from a small person. Fang's expression grew dark, her heart aching at the reminder of her loneliness. Now would be the time that Gadot would tell her to stop being so mopey and hand her a beer. Or Caius would drag her into the yard and spar until the exhaustion took over her awareness rather than her problems. Or Lebreau would whisper terrible jokes into her ear with that Basilisk voice of hers and have Fang rolling around the floor in stitches, her previous gloom erased from her mind. She hated that the cost of Serah's freedom was everything and everyone she knew, Vanille being the exception. And even that was tenuous with the way they were around each other.

There was a part of Fang that wondered if it would be easier just to walk into a Sanctum HQ with her hands up and let them execute her. That hollow feeling in her chest just grew, and she ran her tongue along one of her canines in a vain attempt to rid herself of her melancholy.

"I tried to kill my sister when I first awakened, and any of my brothers and sisters wouldn't help me now that I turned my back on them. I know I did the right thing, getting Serah out of there. This place is better for her, as much as it grinds on me. But I don't think I'm going to find that same family here."

She gave Hope another gentle pat on the back and stood up with a stretch. She was done talking. "Anyway, I've taken up enough of your readin' time, kid." Fang gave him a lazy salute and jumped from the roof. Hope crawled to the edge and watched her land effortlessly far below. The shifter shoved her hands in her pockets and walked off across the grounds, darkness settling on her thoughts.

It should be so easy, all things considered. Vanille was alive, and safe, and happy. Reunited with her sister who had seemingly forgiven her for what she couldn't control, and wanting to reconnect and get back to the closeness they once had. But Fang couldn't stop flinching around the young Pulsian, couldn't stop the guilt searing her heart every time she looked at her sister's face.

Serah had been a good friend. That she was in a place where she would be safe should have been something that made Fang happy. Etro knows, Serah tried to include her in things, make her feel welcomed in this new place, but the more she tried the more Fang seemed to withdraw, sending her on her way back with the other L'cie with a sad smile.

If anything, the longer she stayed around the people she cared about, the more miserable Fang became. The louder Caius' voice would echo in her head about her being a mindless beast, the worse the nightmares got. Even her own sister was at a loss of how to reach her. Hex at one point about a month in had made a comment to Sazh that Fang was beginning to look like a caged animal, immediately regretting her choice of words when her sister stood in the doorway, hearing the entire conversation. She withdrew even more after that, just aimlessly wandering the Haven grounds or staring at the ceiling on her bed.

Lightning had heard the screams from Fang's room, as the Pulsian woke from her frequent nightmares. She found herself starting to feel sorry for the shifter, knowing that being here couldn't be easy for someone that has likely lived a life of violence in one form or another. She sat in the library, reading a book while in one of her more contemplative moods but her distracted mind kept taking her thoughts back to the abrasive brunette. Spying both Serah and Hex in the corner conspiring to find ways to get Fang to be included, she rolled her eyes.

If the Pulsian wasn't interested in opening up, any amount of forcing her was just going to push her further away. If Lightning was being honest, it reminded her of when she first arrived at the Haven, always ready to bolt at any given moment. Remembering how the others tried to do the same thing that her sister and friend were attempting to do with Fang now gave her an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Whatever Fang had gone through in her life, this kind of teamwork-centric love-fest wasn't going to be the right way to go about it.

Serah sat down on the seat next to her sister and sighed, resting her head against Lightning's shoulder. "I know you don't care, but I just don't know how to get through to Fang."

"It's not that I don't care, Serah," Lightning replied, exasperated at the constant accusations that she was some sort of surly, prickly icicle. Well, maybe she was, she corrected herself, but that was no need for everyone else to jump to those sorts of conclusions. "It's just that you're over-thinking it. She doesn't seem that complicated, so I don't know why you two are trying to cook up elaborate schemes. Again might I add, Hex."

The redhead gulped and looked away, knowing full well that Lightning was referring to all the ridiculous shenanigans she had gotten into trying to win the elder pinkette over. When Hex had first arrived, it was about a year after Lightning had decided to make the Haven a permanent home. Until the redhead had come crashing into her life, Lightning had otherwise kept to a solitary existence, just content with not running. But Hex wouldn't allow it.

"Yeah well one of my schemes must have gotten through to you seeing as you're nice to me now." Hex retorted with a smirk. Lightning scoffed and shook her head, trying to figure out a more tactful way to explain herself without upsetting anyone.

"What I mean is… She needs an outlet. You can tell Fang is bored out of her mind here, if she leaves she runs the risk of being caught by either Caius or the Sanctum, but if she stays she runs the risk of hurting someone because she can't control herself."

Hex straightened her spine to give herself some extra height, all hands landing on her hips. "If you think that Fang is some sort of dangerous –mpfh!" Lightning clamped a hand over Hex's mouth to stop her protesting.

"I don't mean that at all, but it's what she thinks. And trying to do this whole group togetherness crap isn't going to get someone who has gone it alone for so long to suddenly jump in and be a team player."

"Hmph. Well if you're so smart, you do it then."

Somehow, Lightning had a feeling that this was Hex's plan all along, and she sighed before closing her book. She tried to stare the redhead down but that challenging gaze niggled at her competitive nature, itching to prove her point. "Fine. But you owe me."

Leaving her conspiring sister and friend in the library, Lightning zipped off to her room and got changed into her sports gear. Giving herself a cursory glance in the mirror she shrugged and slung a towel over her shoulder. "Yep. This was absolutely planned."

Meandering the long way through the mansion, she found Fang exactly where she thought she'd be, looking defeated on the couch, idly channel surfing with whatever daytime television could offer. Lightning made a bit of noise, dragging her feet as she walked past. Not that she needed to, based on what she knew about Fang's heightened senses. Regardless, it had the desired effect, catching the Pulsian's attention. Possibly in the wrong way considering how her eyes quickly raked over the exposed parts of Lightning's body from her gym wear.

"You look like you're dressed for success. Where you headed?" Fang asked, curious.

"Gym. Gotta do something other than sit around here listening to your sister talk about books and boys with my sister all day."

Fang gave a small but genuine laugh, knowing full well that it was a not-so-subtle dig at her recent melancholy. Over the last month the two had an uneasy truce since that day in the forest, though Fang still kept her distance from any interactions with all of them. "So how far out of town is it?" She asked, feeling a little jealous that not everyone was house-bound.

"Out of town? It's just downstairs. I asked for Sazh to install it a couple of years ago to keep fitness levels for all students up."

"For real? Huh. I didn't notice. That's… That's pretty cool."

They remained silent for a few moments, staring at each other until Lightning began to shift her weight onto her other foot. "Anyway. It's downstairs and next to the auditorium if you're ever needing to work off any restlessness." She shrugged and left the room, Fang watching her depart.

The Pulsian sat there on the couch for a few more minutes before sighing and dragging herself from it. "Fuck it. May as well do something other than sit around." She grumbled. After she had grabbed a change of clothes from her assigned room, Fang made her way down to where she knew the auditorium was, finding the gym right where she was directed.

Entering the room, she was pleased to find a decent setup, with all sorts of equipment to target different disciplines and goals. Or, as Fang noted with mild amusement, different levels of stubbornness. Lightning was over on the weight bench, having a hard time with the bar. From what Fang could tell, she had over-stacked the weights and now was struggling to get it back on the rack. The Pulsian dashed over and caught the bar effortlessly, giving Lightning a chastising look.

"You know, if you want to kill yourself there are probably easier ways to go than bein' crushed by a barbell." Fang drawled, placing the bar back onto the stand with minimal fuss. Lightning gave a small grin and sat up, flexing her fingers.

"Well Sazh did say I was all speed and no strength." Lightning replied sardonically, internally pleased that her plan had worked. She had timed it perfectly so that the moment she had begun to "struggle" with the weights would be when Fang would walk in and be… persuaded to assist. She eyed the brunette's shifted torso and took a moment to observe the plated blue and red muscle that looked inhuman. Well, she may as well make use of that strength while she was being roped into this mad scheme to satisfy her sister and friend. "No idea what I'm doing wrong though," Lightning said innocently.

Fang clicked her tongue at her and shook her head. "Well your form's off. All you're gonna do is injure yourself with the way you're liftin' shit." She bit her lip and took a look around the gym. There wasn't anyone else there, just the two of them. So if she were to help the elemental, just for something to do, nobody would witness it. Nobody else there to give her hell for caving to someone that has because of that aforementioned speed had handed Fang her arse on more than one occasion.

"Here, I got nothin' better to do today, if you want I'll help you run through a few formations that won't lead to a week's worth of ice baths to recover. You know, if you want." She gripped the bar carefully as the pinkette took hold of the bar as well.

With a quick glance Lightning noted that one of the brunette's arms had returned to a more human appearance, her left bicep showing off a wicked tribal tattoo of a beastial maw. It somehow managed to make her look even more intimidating than the full shifted form she had spied that day on the mountains. Still. Perhaps if Fang was less focused on maintaining a line of defence all the time, she could relax and even fully return to a human form. Lightning had yet to figure out whether the semi-shifted appearance was intentional or something the woman wasn't able to completely control.

Lightning watched the Pulsian carefully for any signs of animosity and when she found none, nodded in acknowledgement. "It would… Be appreciated."

"Though if you give me any shit about how you melted my boots to the pavement you're on your own, you giant cattle prod."

The smallest of smiles twitched at Lightning's lips as she extended her middle finger off the bar. Fang merely laughed and gave the pinkette a lop-sided grin of her own. "Alright come on, we'll start with five reps and see how you feel after that."

From another room, Serah and Hex watched the interaction from the security camera network the redhead had hacked. Serah gripped Hex by the shoulder, positively beaming.

"Gods, Hex. I don't know who is the bigger genius here- my sister, for finding a way to rope Fang into something other than moping, or you for coercing them both by way of sheer manipulation."

"You're welcome. I take payment in cake form."