(no subject)

[frozenlightning.livejournal.com]

Who: Zack and Lightning
What: Fighting a fiend and making some promises
Where: Nibelheim and the Binah
When: The course of a day
Rating: PG-13


Zack stretched as he exited the Binah, rolling his shoulders. Things seemed to be going alright.. Lightning's family had settled nicely in Gongaga, and Lightning seemed to be doing alright. "Ready to find this Imp Lord and chop him down to size?" he smiled back to Lightning, "Remember, you're supposed to be learning to fight a slower battle, so you don't blow your big guns on small fry."

"Alright," she muttered wth a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. She wasn't looking forward to this hunt anymore. Everything else had just spoilt the fun, really. Clothed head to toe in her Cocoon attire, the woman toyed her hand at the hilt of her weapon, scuffing her boots on the ground as she walked. "So, this is Nibelheim?" Her first thought was to mention how backwater it was but she kept herself quiet.

"Yeah.. good ol' Nibelheim. Cloud's gal Tifa grew up here with 'im. Nice place. I'm glad they got it all rebuilt after everything that happened here.." he smiled to Lightning, and held a hand out to her, "Hey, what's on yer mind? Awhile ago you were rarin' to try my way of doin' things. What's up? You still hangin' up on before?"

Lightning grasped his hand, drawing her weapon to be ready. "I think I'm allowed to be hung up on it... but mostly I just have a vile headache. So bad my eyes hurt." She sighed a little more, walking with him through the small village. "It's nice here. Peaceful. I suppose they deserve their peace after everything."

He kissed her cheek and smiled, "Yes.. you have every right to be hung up on it Lightnin'. I just wanna help ya however I can is all." he hugged her with one arm before letting the girl go, "Yeah.. peace is fleeting, though. Angeal once told me somethin'.. that without a little chaos, the people aren't gonna appreciate the peaceful times. I guess that makes sense hmm?"

"I guess it makes sense. Still, when you're amidst the chaos, you wish for peace. When peace comes, we complain of boredom. It's human nature to be dissatisfied with what we have," she glanced around, twisting her blade in her hand. "Where do you suppose this Imp Lord is? This village is so quiet that I doubt he's here..."

He paused, and looked around, thinking, "Probably up the path towards the reactor. Shall we?" he drew his sword, walking along slowly, keeping his eyes peeled for the Imp Lord, or any of it's little minions.. After a long while, he asked, "Are you dissatisfied, Lightnin'?"

She stalked alongside him, her eyes sharp for signs of an Imp of any kind. When Zack spoke, she quirked an eyebrow. "I have my complaints, but everyone does. I assume. Why?" She tilted her sword, catching a glint of sunlight and watching it refract onto a nearby rock. She could sense a discussion coming up that might be uncomfortable.

"Curious, that's all." he flashed her a winning smile, and continued to walk along, glancing all over for the slightest threat, "No real reason." he paused, catching a fleeting glimpse of something darting away, "There!" Zack pointed, "It's going to lure us into an ambush, but that's what we want. C'mon, just keep a normal pace." and with that, he began to jog after the thing.

Lightning wasn't so sure he was just curious but she wouldn't bug him into having any kind of argument or anything like that. She wasn't stupid, after all. When he pointed at the darting creature, her eyes snapped to follow it. "Got it." She followed Zack as his pace, rather than jetting in all sped up, blade drawn and getting herself thoroughly screwed.

Zack kept his shining sword low to the ground as he ran, and it seemed to be a good idea, because once they got into the rocks, several Imps, nearly a half dozen, leaped out to confront them. The Imp Lord had launched a Fire spell his way, but Zack batted it aside with his weapon, pleased to note that it didn't so much as scorch. "Awright, remember, cut 'em up and let the adrenaline keep their hearts beatin'."

She gave a nod and, as a trio of Imps decided to make an attack on her, Lightning began to retaliate. Swinging her Blaze Edge around as if it weighed nothing, she cut at the Imps, batting them away with the side of her blade whenever they got too close. Her eyes never remained focused on any particular creature, always darting between them, fixed in that cold glare.

Zack spun and dove, doing less actual fighting and more whirling, defending Lightning whenever she missed something, letting her set the pace. "'Cause the way the fight goes, a good cut'll have their blood on the ground, and not in 'em, in less'n a minute." his hand darted out, and he stroked her cheek almost casually, giving her a lingering look. Zack was worried about her, obviously, having seen the way she took damage in battle.

The woman's jaw tensed as he touched her, almost in a stand-offish way, but really she just didn't want to get distracted. She was quite capable of being distracted when it came to Zack. Twirling her sword, Lightning slit open an Imp like cutting through butter, letting its guts spill out as she moved to behead another. Okay, so maybe she had some issues she was working through...

More Imps showed up, and Zack cursed, glancing around. Lightning was doing great, and would continue to do so as long as she didn't start blasting them with all she had.. But the Imp Lord would continue summoning minions.. "I'll handle the big guy, if you'll keep this lot busy."

"Alright." She gave a nod and continued her movements which had, in actually fact, began to look like a dance. Indeed, she'd do well as a dancer if she was able to dance with a weapon in her hand. Lightning narrowed her eyes, almost to the point they were close, her free hand moving as a graceful steadier to keep her balanced.

Zack grinned, and tensed as he crouched, launching himself up into the air with a powerful jump. He twisted around another ball of flame, and spun to land on an outcropping of rock. The Imp Lord pointed at him, but all of his minions were busy with Lightning. Zack narrowed his eyes with a grin, "My turn." the words, spoken softly, still carried like he'd shouted, as a gesture and a spin of his sword drew a line of thunder in the air, crushing the monster against it's rocky shelter with the force of the sound.

Finishing off the rest of the lesser Imps with only a few more swipes of her blade, Lightning seemed to slow herself down before stopping, her cheeks flushed and her brow sweaty but a quite a serene look on her face. Therapy of the best kind, sometimes, it seemed. She Watched as the fiends vanished then flicked her hair over her shoulder with a blood splattered hand. "How's it going with the captain over there?"

Zack hit the ground in a crouch, and pushed himself to his feet, spinning the Omniiken and sheathing it behind him with a satisfied grunt. "Ground meat on the wall." he held out a hand, and caught a falling fang, grinning, "Good work with these guys. Didja get hit or mageburned?"

"I got clawed on my thigh. Didn't break the skin..." She rubbed her hand over the raised scrape marks on her leg, making them fade almost instantly. Shrugging a little, she wiggled her semi-gloved fingers against the weapon in her hand, squeezing a little before sheathing it at her hip. "I guess we're done here."

The man nodded, and smiled, "Not just yet. Didja learn what I was tryin' t'letcha learn here?" he looked around, noting that she hadn't really gone all out, which was the point. Conserve strength for when you really needed it.. no reason to give it all up in one go.

"Keep myself reined?" She shrugged again, scrunching her nose up, trying hard not to look like a school kid getting a lecture but failing dismally. "I understand that perfectly well, I'm a trained sergeat. I just tend to give it all like it's my last battle because, well, it could be." Lightning crossed her arms, his gaze falling as the breeze swept her cape out. "With my Focus and the war and the Sanctum... I figure it's only a matter of time..."

Zack sighed and patted her shoulder, "It's not that you shouldn't fight like this battle could be your last.." he thought for a moment, "It's almost like.. chess. You need to be aware that if it isn't your last fight, it could attract another fight, and while you're wounded and winded isn't a good time to fight and fight. Keep your head and only do what need's doing. Anyone can show strength, but it takes true honor to show restraint." quoting Angeal.

Lightning quirked an eyebrow at him, almost as if she was going to get really irate with him, but instead she just gave a nod. "I see." That said, she uncrossed her arms and turned to head back. "We should return to Rabanastre soon. My need to speak with Snow is growing more urgent." She'd got a few things to tell him, aside from that apology.

He nodded, and walked along with her, "I took from it that it doesn't always hurt to give it.. well, not your all. Save your all for a challenge, y'know?" Zack was well aware she was growing impatient with him, but he felt it would be a disservice to her to not try to get it into her head. Angeal never stopped with him when he got pissy.

"I got it, Zack." She gave him that signature glare, though she directed it ahead of her instead of directly at him, and tightened her jaw. She was getting impatient but she knew Zack was right, so she'd behave for a while. Still, she couldn't shake off the stuck-up nature she had and was always going to be irate when her fighting came into question. "Oh, remind me to take some painkillers when we get back. My headache is getting worse."

"Yeah, okay." he was quiet for a few minutes, then slipped the fang into his pocket, snagging her hand with his. Zack didn't say anything, but simply held her hand, figuring that now wasn't the time to press an issue. "So next up on the agenda; Dalmasca, t'punch the King in Waiting?"

She shook her head slightly. "I'm not going to punch him. I'm actually going to be somewhat pleasant this time, surprisingly." She knew that, more often than not, she ended up lashing out at Snow but it was generally well deserved, in her opinion. She would always see him as a complete jerk, just because of Serah, but she would also call him a dear friend now.

"Oh, well, that should be like a punch, after the last time. He'll flinch, you just wait." he squeezed her hand and smiled brightly, "We gotta go back to Rabanastre anyway to report th'Hunt. Then we can take on a new one, right?"

"Sure." She smiled lightly at him, almost like she was glad of his enthusiasm to going on more hunts. "He might flinch. I guess I like to keep him on his toes." She shrugged a little. "I had more than enough plans set to break up him and Serah, then she went and got herself crystallized."

Zack sighed, and listened to her for a bit, then blinked, "Crystallized? How'd that happen? I dunno what happened to her, y'know, just that Snow screwed up." apparantly. Zack doubted that it was entirely the big man's fault, like Lightning insinuated.

"He... didn't protect her. Then she completed her Focus, and got crystallized. That's what happens." She shrugged a little, squeezing his hand affectionately. "He should've protected her." Just that instant, with her emotions running high because of the conversation, Lightning paused in her tracks, pressing the heels of her palms over her eyes, groaning and doubling up in pain as she received a l'Cie vision, a fast, hard, blurry vision.

"Wait.. -what-?" and he was going to let her do that? What would he do then.. she'd be gone. He shook the idea off, and sighed, then blinked as she doubled over. "Lightnin'? You okay?" he put his arms around her, and tried to help the blonde stand, brows raised.

Panting a little, she staggered in place but soon the pain faded and she rested her hands on her knees. "Y-yeah... I'm alright..." She'd gotten visions before, mostly in her sleep or when she was almost asleep or just about waking up. Still, they hadn't ever been as sharp and forced as that one.

Zack was already worried for her, wondering what would happen if she -didn't- complete her Focus.. but he couldn't ask her to abandon it, either.. It was a conundrum, but oh well.. he'd find some way of saving her. "You sure? It looked like it really hurt, what the hell happened?"

She caught her breath and stood straight, brushing her hair from her eyes. "I got a vision, it's alright. l'Cie get visions about our Focus. They're cryptic, often blurry and I hear they get more painful the more off track you get." She gave him a slight smile. "I'll be fine. It's nothing. I can handle it."

"So.. yeah, uhm.. what kinda vision was it?" he rubbed her back gently, sighing softly, "Sweetie.. I.. what happens when you don't complete your Focus? I mean.. is there some kinda timeline involved here? Or some horrible thing, more horrible than crystallization?"

"Blurry. A lot of noise, mostly. Kind of like static. It was loud, kind of angry..." She shrugged slightly then frowned. "I... might have mentioned it, but... you either succeed and become a crystallization, for eternity... or... or, if you fail, you become a Cie Corpse." She let her gaze find her feet as she crossed her arms.

"Well, those choices kinda suck." he sighed, and patted her arm, "I love ya, so I ain't gonna try to hold ya up from yer goal.." which meant a lot, really. He was desperately trying to think of a way to save her, though.

"It's not my goal. I don't know my Focus or want it. It was the powers we needed. The Sanctum and the fal'Cie have to fall before my Focus is completed or failed." She scuffed her boots together. "I think I'd rather fail, if I was stuck with those options. While a Cie Corpse is just a body with a red crystal keeping them locked in damnation, they can be killed. Being crystallized... ugh..."

"Well.. whatever you wanna do, Lightnin'." he smiled, and hugged her tightly, "You know I ain't gonna leave yer side for nothin'. I love ya and all, y'know?" he grinned, and led her by the hand toward the Binah, "C'mon, we got royalty to barge in on!"

"Hey... hey, Zack...? If I fail and become a Corpse... I won't ask you to kill me but... maybe have Snow do it?" She didn't figure he'd want to kill his girlfriend. Beside the fact her face woul still be the same, she'd be trying to murder him, which would put a big dampener on things. "Right! We can go and get things sorted with Snow!"

Zack paused and almost missed a step, then caught up to where he'd been.. "Well.. if that happens, I ain't leavin' it to someone else t'do.." he seemed resolute, "I'm yer man, I'll handle it if it comes to that." he didn't sound like he wanted to, but he did sound like he would..

"O-okay." She gave a nod then headed onboard, going to the bathroom to wash the Imp blood off her hands. She was surprised by that, but relieved in a way. Having Zack be the one to end it for her would be bittersweet, in a way. She didn't want to weigh him down with the death of another girl, though, so she planned to end Cocoon before.

The man headed up to the cockpit, to tell Xaon where they'd be going. That done, he was on his way back to the cargo bay when he ran into Kiri, "Heh, hey there little lady." he stooped and gave her a hug, grinning. "Another Hunt down." honestly, he was worried that the two wouldn't count their raiding Cocoon supplies, and hunting things as piracy..

Kiri squirmed as she was scooped up, throwing her tiny arms around his neck and kissing his cheek noisily. "Good, good, kupo! You'll be top of the Clan in no time!" She squeaked happily, bopping him on the head playfully, smiling up at him. "What's wrong with Lightning, kupo? She come in looking all down in the dumps..."

"Guess she's ticked at me tryin' t'help her with fighting.. Well, that and she had a vision about her Focus.." he explained quickly, then sighed, "And with her folks and everything, I guess she's just down and out." he hugged her again, feeling a little down himself at the prospect of losing her, or having to kill the blonde. "You and Xaon happy with your shares and life here on the Binah? We ain't exactly pirating, after all.."

She wrapped her arms and legs around him, this time, clinging to him and nuzzling his cheek affectionately. "She'll be okay! She's a tough kid!" Ruffling Zack's hair, she smiled sweetly at him. "We're great, kupo! Between the Binah and the bug, I've got my hands full and Xaon doesn't seem bothered by anything, kupo. Pirates we may be, but we're deckhands for hire, first and foremost!"

He rubbed the tender spot between her wings, and gave her pompom a gentle kiss, having been more affectionate with the grumpy engineer since their celebratory night together.. "Thanks Kiri, Iono what we'd do without you two on board. Plus Big Guy and Nora had their baby, so our lil family's just gettin' bigger." Zack felt a bit more cheerful just then.

With soft squeaks, she shivered, her wings fluttering at the feel of his hand between her wings and that kiss. She was a little tender for being in season, not that she'd state that. A woman needed her privacy. "Oh! Kupo, I wanted to mention that! The baby is getting big, -big-, fast, and we're gonna need to move him out soon or he won't fit!!"

"Yeah.. I'll get on that later. The cargo bay's gonna need some cordoning off.. can you and Xaon make a nice pen for the birds? We can use their room for trade storage, or something, I guess." he gave another little kiss to her pompom before releasing her with a smile, "But yeah, I never thought of them having a Fat Chocobo, but there won't be anything better to guard our cargo."

"Sure thing! I'll hop to it, kupo!" She fluttered her wings again, batting at her pompom as it decided to hit her on the nose, dragging it back from her face. "Ah, he's cute, kupo, so I think he fits in well! I think Nora's nicer these days, too!" She nodded a few times, her ears twitching as she put her hands in the pockets of her pink jumpsuit.

Zack nodded, and stood after a long moment, grinning to Kiri and winking playfully, "We should all get together sometime, you, me, Lightnin' and Xaon, and try t'cheer that girl up some. I mean, it's a drag about her folks and all, but we gotta help remind 'er that she's still got 'em, and us."

Kiri snorted, slapping his thigh playfully. "Yeah, well, not this week! Got myself some ladies' issues, kupo!" She bounced off, back towards the workshop, heading inside to begin working on a pen for the Chocobos. They needed a new home and she was just the right moogle to make one! Well... a better choice than most.

Zack got the message there, and laughed softly, and turned to see to moving some of the heavier cargo to one side, stacking it so that there was plenty of room for a new Chocobo pen. He hummed softly, his mind no longer simply on losing Lightning. No, he'd never let that happen.

Hearing all the moving, having found herself drawn to the Chocobo room, Lightning made her way to the cargo bay, a lumpy, round ball of feathers with a lazy face curled up in her arms. "Hey... what you doing?" She seemed to be making idle conversation almost like they'd had an argument as her fingers ran through yellow feathers.

"Makin' a place for Kiri to set up a new pen for our Chocobos." he smiled over to her, relaxing in the motion of simple manual labour. His muscles strained, and he grunted from time to time, lifting boxes he shouldn't have been able to. "How're you feelin'?" he hadn't seen her family much, or even Angeal lately..

"I'm alright. I met a friend of yours being wrestled by Nora. He seemed happy." She smiled softly, holding the baby Fat Chocobo like it was her own. "It was only because Angeal was distracting her that I could get the little one away." Lightning watched him with admiration, always amazed by his strength.

He heaved a box stacked with Cocoon's weapons into a corner, with others he'd never ever sold.. These got dumped into a trench in the ocean where the Binah's instruments said it was deepest. The armor and medical supplies went to Nabradia, mostly. "Heh, well, he seems like a pretty friendly little dude, huh?"

"He's a bit smelly, but I think that's because Nora sits on him all the time, keeping him warm." She chuckled softly, ruffling the feathers on the baby's head, and receiving a happy little warble. "He's really nice... I like him better than Sazh's one. That thing had an attitude." Okay, maybe she had the attitude, but a baby Chocobo popping up when you're trying to be serious is no laughing matter.

"Well, Chocobos can be smelly, they're musky." he grinned at Lightning, and blew a kiss at her, "But he's got a lotta his momma in 'im." he nodded to the little bird, who was now nipping at Lightning's hand, no doubt looking for food to fuel his boundless growth, "When he's, well, much bigger, we'll have to ration his intake. They won't stop eating if you just let 'em go at it."

"I kinda figured, with how he's trying to, well, eat me..." She chuckled and shifted her hand enough to get him to stop nipping. "I think he needs a name... we can't keep calling him the baby or the little guy... since he'll be bigger than Big Guy." She smiled, shifting to sit on a crate he'd moved, craddling the Chocobo baby like it was her own, tickling gently at its crest.

"Prolly something more creative than 'Fat Chocobo', too, hmm? Got something in mind, Lightnin'?" Zack smiled at her, and moved, grabbing another crate as if it were nothing for him. Really, he'd only worked up a very minor sweat by this point.

"Hmmm... something creative...?" She scrunched her nose up, rocking the large baby to sleep in her arms, smiling sweetly to him. "I'm not sure... maybe something strong, like Buddy or... um..." She wasn't exactly the most creative when it came to names. She'd taken ages to even choose her own name.

He set down his box and raised his brows, smirking, "Buddy? Noo.. What about.. hmm.. Sibley?" Zack laughed gently, and finished what he was doing, deeming that plenty of space for the fat baby and his parents.

"Alright then. Sibley." She smiled, nuzzling the little bird in her arms. Sure, he was big for his age but he was still small enough to be cuddled, and that deemed him little in her books. She smiled up at Zack then tilted her head slightly. "Kiss me?"

"Any time." he replied glibly, leaning in to Lightning. Zack took her hair at the back of her head in one hand, gently, and kissed her lips slowly, gradually turning a sweet embrace into a passionate, deep kiss.

A slight moan escaped her and Lightning cradled the bird near, a pale blush rising on her cheeks. She really did love Zack, and that a simple request for a kiss could become so passionate made her heart pound harder. She was always easily flustered or surprised by him, even now, after all they'd been through.

He broke the kiss after a moment, and gave her a serious look, "I love you. Me, the chocobos, and Xaon and Kiri.. we're yer family here on the Binah. Your family in Gongaga's always gonna be there for ya, too." he patted her chest above her heart with his palm, "It ain't what this pumps that matters, it's what this in here means to you that says who yer folks are, and who yer family is. But I'll love you just th'same no matter how you make yer mind up. Y'did good out in th'field today, too, yer a good learner." his smile was warm, and kind for her.

"Oh, baby, it was going so well until the end," she teased, smiling at his mini-speech. She reached up, brushing her fingers over his cheek, stroking that scarred cheek lightly. "Sorry for being a jerk out there. I'm not used to having my battle techniques brought into question. That was my whole role in Team Nora. Hit them hard, fast and take no prisoners. I was there for finishers, y'know?" She chuckled softly, rocking the Fat Chocobo.

"Yeah, I know whatcha mean. But on these Hunts, and when we're just.. fighting things, it isn't always the only fight going on. That's all I wanted you to figure out. Gotta save somethin' for the next enemy.." he paused, and touched his chest, wincing at recalled pain, "That's how I bit it. Forgot that there might be more grunts with guns around, and got myself some ventilation."

She frowned a little, hugging the bird tighter. "Oh..." her gaze fell a little and she scrunched her nose up. "Then I've made my decision about my Focus." And she wasn't planning on telling him that decision. Telling your boyfriend you were set on finding a good place to die would probably be a little silly. Especially telling a guy like Zack something like that. She expected a lecture or argument.

"I see. Well, I hope it's a good one, Lightnin'." he didn't detract from the value of the choice by asking about it. Instead, he kissed her cheek, and sat on the crate beside the young woman, sighing gently. He was happy, just now, with his Lightning at his side.

"The best one, I think." She leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder as she held the baby bird. "Heh... and I bet we look a picture of familial bliss right now..." she chuckled softly, watching Sibley sleep in her arms, actually snoring and making occasional warbbling noises.

"Yeah, if we had a freaky mutant kid. Now, if they knew this was a chocobo, and not your son.." he patted the bird with a chuckle, smiling fondly at the girl and the baby bird. "I'll be with ya every step've th'way Lightnin'."

"Hey, I wouldn't mind giving life to something this cute." She laughed and rested into him a little more, smiling sweetly. She was happy, if only for now, and that was all she needed. "Thanks, Zack. Heh... you and me, babe. Right?"

"Right. You and me, 'till the end." he smiled, and reached an arm around her, snuggling the blonde close and leaning back against the crates he'd stacked up and behind the one they were sitting on. "And th'end won't be all that bad. Never say good bye, just seeya later, right?"

Lightning nestled against him, falling silent for a very long moment. She didn't ever want to say goodbye and with his words like that it put her a lot more at ease. Nodding slightly, the young woman sighed gently, her eyes slipping closed as she held a slight smile. Better to smile than cry, right? "That's right."

"Promise? 'Cause I'll hold ya to it, so don't you dare go dyin' on me. I didn't come back t'life t'find a gal as awesome as you just t'lose ya to a silly thing like dyin'." he chuckled, and nipped her ear, flicking his tongue over her earlobe.

"Hey... never say goodbye, right?" She smiled lightly as he teased her ear, turning her head quickly enough to catch his lips in a soft kiss before he pulled away. "I love you," she murmured, looking deeply into those shimmering blue eyes with a gentle smile and a sincere fondness in her own gaze.

"Right. I love you too.." the little bird made a warbling squawk as it woke up, still hungry. It'd always be hungry, really, but it'd get used to it as time went on. "Heh.. maybe it might be time to actually feed the little big dude."