lucetilogs | when johnny comes marching home

[ Getting Hope taken care of is Lightning's first priority by far, but when Zack doesn't show up too even after some time has passed, she can't help but wonder where he's gotten off to. Surely there's no reason to be too worried though- he can take care of himself, right? And surely someone would know if... anyway. Finding him as well is definitely high on her list, though not yet to the point of panic.

With the rain just starting up, she makes her way to the plaza with an umbrella over her shoulder, thinking that if nothing else, she might be able to help with any more wounded. She may look like she hasn't slept in days (which is more or less true, actually), but her magic has very little to do with how well she is, so...

... Hey, that injured dude over there looks kind of familiar... ]

Zack!

[ And that's the only warning he'll get aside from the sound of heavy, hasty bootsteps before Lightning crouches down beside him, peering at his face as she touches his shoulder. You better not be dead, idiot. ]

[Zack stirs a little, then yawns and stretches out, blinking blearily at her. Most definitely not dead. Actually, he looks surprisingly relaxed for someone covered in blood and sleeping like a bum on the street.]

Mm... Light? Is it morning already?

[Man, and he was so comfortable, too. ...Or at least contentedly asleep.]

Geez, Zack. [ Okay, not really something Lightning usually says, but come on. She shifts her weight back, glancing down very quickly to make sure she's not, you know, kneeling in a puddle that's not strictly water. ]

Are you hurt? Be honest. [ Although screw whatever he answers- she frowns as she scans him, taking quick notice of whatever's visible. Then, she holds out the umbrella. ] Hold this.

Geez yourself, I was tired. [It's only a half-audible mumble, mostly because he's still waking up. He takes the umbrella obediently, though, pushing himself upright.] Wounded...? Probably. I wasn't gonna die, so I didn't bother checking.

[Generally, for a SOLDIER? If you can keep moving without anything breaking or falling off, it's not lethal. The perks of mako enhancement. Now that he's upright, though, he can see (and remembers) that his body is scattered with small-to-medium sized cuts, which is the reason for the amount of blood on him. Most of them seem to have closed up while he slept.]

Is Hope okay?

[Priorities- he has them.]

... The house isn't even that far from here.

[ In Lightning's opinion, there's a time and place for the "if you can move, you're alright" philosophy. Laying out here rather than coming home doesn't really sit well with her.

That said... she also replies to that first as a delay for having to answer the question about Hope, dipping her head slightly and looking down. ]

He will be.

[ They'll worry about that later, in other words. For now, she blinks at Zack a moment more, then puts a hand to her chest, closing her eyes in concentration. Immediately her Brand there lights up blue in response, but though producing a 'Cure' should be absolutely trivial, ever since she came back from the last draft... ]

[That glow is pretty hard to miss, and it wakes Zack up pretty quickly once he realizes what it must be. Hastily he reaches out and grabs her wrist, tugging it away from her chest, his eyes widening.]

Wait, wait, is that...?

[The... l'Cie thing, right? He can't think of what else it could be. Is it really a good idea for her to be using that thing?]

[ Well, considering its location, it's no surprise if Zack's never figured out where exactly her own Brand is located. If he didn't know before, he does now though, even if that glow quickly fades the moment he reaches for her. ]

Wh--? [ She pulls back with an odd look on her face, a touch startled at the sudden interruption. ] What?

[Zack shakes his head, his grip loosening, though not quite releasing her hand yet.]

Your brand. That thing... isn't it dangerous? Don't use it on something so small. I'm okay, I promise.

[He's not going to die, and besides feeling tired, he feels fine. If that's the thing that turned her into a monster, he doesn't want her using it. Certainly not for his sake.]

[ Oh, that. It's not like she's forgotten or anything, but it's also not something she really wants to think about. Of course, that makes it a little hard to keep track of who knows the details... which isn't a nice realization here, considering she's already apologized to Zack before for not filling him in. ]

Not any more. It burned itself out after I...

[ ... She'd like to answer as if the whole thing doesn't bother her, but considering the subject matter, lack of proper sleep, and overabundance of stress the last few days, it comes out a little more emotional than she'd prefer. She shakes her head though, determined to proceed. ]

After I became a Cie'th... and then got pulled back.

Burned itself out? [Zack blinks, finally letting her hand go, mostly out of confusion. It can do that?]

So... you're okay? Nothing's going to happen?

[It's probably upsetting to talk about, but he can't help himself. It's worrisome to think about, especially with Hope...

...no, not now. Not yet.]

[ She pulls her hand back the rest of the way, placing it flat over her heart- she'd actually show him what she means here, but... no stripping for Zacks today, sorry to say. ]

Yeah. I guess the timer running out is permanent.

[ Which brings up kind of a dark perspective for any luck in helping those still under the countdown - is there really anything besides just delaying the inevitable? ]

But it still works, so might as well use it for something good.

[...Whoa. That's... really good. Great news. His relief is pretty obvious.]

That's great! Don't worry about it if it wears you out, though.

It's... I'll tell you how it works later. [ Which might just be an excuse to get him to be quiet about it, but whatever. Threat of Cie'th or not, she still doesn't like it. ] I can at least make sure you stop bleeding. Hold still.

[ And this round she doesn't waste any time, putting a hand right on his shoulder, using that as a guide. Since being deprived of the instinctive knowledge that had always lead her through it before, her technique is much sloppier... if also quite a bit flashier as a result. Her Brand brightens again, and then blue-white light spirals down her arm before making the jump over to him instead. As she promised, even if it doesn't do much, it will help get those cuts on their way, and with luck ease a bit of that lingering tiredness, too. ]

[Zack finally relents and allows the spell, trusting her to know her own limits. And it is a nice feeling, finally getting healed up, so he relaxes.]

Thanks, that helps. Though... you're right, I should probably go home.

[The house is close, and he feels better, so why not sleep in a bed?]

[ When it comes to limits, she could actually sit there and throw spells out all day if she wanted to... except for the part where it would get extremely boring. Lucky l'Cie bastards don't have a set magic limit. ]

... You're not contagious or anything, are you?

[ An abrupt question as she glances up from looking at her hands again. Fortunately she's wearing full gloves, but doesn't he know it's rude to bleed on a lady? Even ones who won't leave you alone about said blee-- okay so it's totally her fault but still. ]

Contagi- what?

[He blinks, following her gaze to her hands, jaw dropping a little. She thought- oh good grief-]

You mean the mako? No way! You're fine, you won't feel a thing. It's not dangerous once it's been absorbed into the body.

If you say so.

[ But for just a moment she thought... well, in any case it's not just that- it's beginner's stuff to know to be careful around blood, squeezed out of overly bright-eyed dudes or not. She lets out a breath in mild exasperation, scooting back a bit. ]

Come on, then.

[ And she stands easily - up into the slowly-increasing rain, since he's still the one with the umbrella - reaching out her hand, if he's so inclined to take it. She's not judging either way. ]

[He does take it, letting her help him up. Once he's grabbed his sword, he steps up close enough for them both to fit under the umbrella, offering up a smile.]

Thanks for coming over to check on me, by the way. It's nice to not wake up waterlogged.

[ Eyebrow raise. Who would just leave someone they know out in the rain? ]

Well... yeah. [ She looks up at the umbrella with an annoyed sigh. ] Rain right now? Either something's broken, or they're just being mean.

[ Probably the latter, ugh. She's not the guy that just got plucked out of a bad-end battle covered in blood, and yet guess who's the one that probably seems less pleased at the moment?

And yes, she's still used to thinking of weather as something that's controlled rather than 'natural.' She hasn't really come across a reason yet to do otherwise, so... ]

[You'd be amazed at how many would. Or maybe he just sleeps like the dead when he's tired and people got tired of kicking him, who knows.]

Maybe it's a bit of both? Or maybe the weather just followed us here. The fighting ended when we were almost washed right out of the forest. It was a heck of a storm out there.

Sounds like it didn't go so well this time around.

[ Her frown is tense - is she actually getting a taste of the sentiment he showed last time, when he'd been the one left behind?

... She seems conflicted about something else too, making a gesture like she means to cross her arms before remembering she's got blood on her gloves. Just how in the world is she even going to get him in the house without making a mess everywhere?

Also, umbrella. ]

[What's wrong with the umbrella, he's totally sharing |D And at her words, his expression sobers, looking like a mixture of irritation and misery.]

We lost. Pretty badly, too. Right at the very end they hit us with a hell of a storm that flooded the whole place. I almost lost my sword in the river because of it.

[ It's just kind of... weird, you know? Lightning keeps her chin down, but then gives a quick glance back to the 'sword' in question when it's mentioned. Yeah, that thing would probably sink like a rock. Maybe she should have offered to carry it...?

Fortunately, their new house really isn't far at all- they're practically already in the backyard! Lightning is silent a moment, then takes an audible breath, her voice taking on a soft but marked finality. ]

Well... it's over now.

Yeah, no small relief there. [He shrugs his shoulders, glancing over as they draw closer to the house.] If I ever complain about this simple boring life we've got here, do me a favour and punch me.

[ After the stuff Aerith's told her... if he did that Lightning probably wouldn't be so pleased anyway. Her brows come together, but she works to quickly conceal it; her eyes are wide as she turns to him, absolutely deadpan. ]

You're asking for it.

[ ... Zack, what have you done? ]

when johnny comes marching home

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