Open - Egret and Fiddlesticks catchall

[enthunder]

Who: Lightning and YOU
Where: 1. Dining Car | 2. Dressing Car | 3. Gym Car | 4. Wildcard
When: Egret + Fiddlesticks (backdating fine, she was on autopilot for most of Egret)
What: 1. colouring books and chill | 2. light fails at makeup | 3. know what this train needs? a 10' magical robot | 4. wildcard
Warnings: N/A

1. colouring books and chill
[ The long table of the dining car is often cluttered with half-finished projects, bowls of snacks, forgotten mugs of coffee... And, sometimes, Light, and whatever she's picked to occupy her free time today. It took her a few months to realise that training and sleeping and training some more was a stupid use of her time - or rather, a few months and a day where she's pretty sure she passed out on more than one person, even if everyone involved is either too polite or too intimidated to mention it.

The point is, she still feels a little silly tucked against the table, her 'colouring book for adults' quote unquote open to a meadow of unfamiliar wildflowers. It's not something she's done since... she doesn't actually remember when she had the time to do something as pointless as colouring. When she was four, maybe, before her parents would let her help with Serah and she had nothing better to do.

So it's with some self-consciousness that she squints down at the pencils that came with it, trying to work out which colour she should start with. ]

2. light fails at makeup
This month was apparently the month for catching up with things that she never had the time or the motivation to look into before now, because when Lightning woke up and, stretching, remembered that the gym was booked up today for some kind of informal (but deeply meaningful) sports tournament involving webshooters, she only cast around for a minute or so before the unassuming tote bag caught her eye.

She'd bought it as an experiment, really. Thea and Misa had reminded her that it was probably going to come up sooner or later; they couldn't rely on missions having a convenient 'kill 'em all' section for Red team every time. Eventually, they were going to have something with a social aspect. Plus, the fact that it was something she didn't know how to do rankled a bit.

Easy to fix, though.

Or, easy in theory. Fifteen minutes later, she and a spider were perfectly amiably ignoring each other on opposite sides of the dressing carriage, and she had a layer of red nail varnish drying on one hand. One nail was already smudged, and her SCA now had a fetching smear of red along one corner.

"How long's this meant to take?"

3. know what this train needs? a 10' magical robot
[ She's picked a relatively quiet time of day for this, and the furthest section of the gym. See, watching the shades gather in the sky made her realise, amongst other things, that she'd let herself get complacent. The missions were challenging, but she didn't think she'd ever felt inadequate, or ill-equipped. Until that moment, that is, when suddenly having the service of a mystical being gifted unto her by the goddess Etro would have been useful.

The thing is, Lightning genuinely isn't sure how the Eidolons work, theologically and physically speaking. A l'Cie has a crisis of faith, and the goddess sends them from the world beyond, right? But, is the world beyond a real place, or just a hokey explanation for a phenomenon fueled by fal'Cie smoke and mirrors? Does the Eidolon live within the l'Cie? The glowing crystal rose that glimmers and sparks in her hand, that until seconds ago was a nebulous feeling of warmth in her chest, indicates yes. (A small part of her, cynical and afraid, wonders how much it will hurt, if she calls and he doesn't answer.)

(That part is crushed down remorselessly.)

Nothing for it. She's cleared the area, warned people that she's going to try something and she'll answer questions afterwards. The crystal goes spinning into the air, and as it begins to fall back down, she jumps up and smashes it with one blow of her knife. No shards fall - they explode outwards into a blinding circle of pink magic. By grace of Etro, let thunder herald your arrival. Come forth, sunderer of falsehood, spins around one petal-like section, and, A name in blood, a pact of truth. Odin shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding spins widdershins against it. ]

Come forth, Odin!

[ There's a moment of stillness, as she catches her breath and stomps down further on the fear, and then the circle is a flower, spiralling upwards, and the end of the gym car is suddenly filled with both deep pink rose petals, and a robot, armour still gleaming with the residual power of the summoning. He drops to one knee, knightly, and still towers over Lightning.

She exhales, shakily, and gives the 'all clear' signal to the rest of the carriage. And brushes the petals out of her hair. ]

Long time, no see, big guy.

4. wildcard

Comments

[radishlobbyist]

[ She falters when Lightning joins her in drawing before picking it up again, careful that her hand won’t get in the way of Light and her green pencil. This is quite nice, she decides, working on this picture together. From the corner of her eyes, her gaze lingers on Lightning instead of the wildflowers - very nice, indeed. ]

Oh. Calligraphy. It is one of the Six Arts which cultivators are expected to know. I was trained in them, as Wen Ruohan’s ward, but I only had use for them as far as they served me in my medical studies. I put great effort into mathematics, which is useful for pharmacy and astronomy, some effort into calligraphy and music as far as it related to cultivation or medicine. I never had much use for charioteering or archery, and as for rites… Well, I know my etiquette but I have no time to waste on it.

[enthunder]

[ Her own pencil freezes as Wen Qing begins to list the 'Six Arts'. All cultivators were expected to know--? Trying not to look too impressed, in case that reveals just how little of that she knows anything about, Light clears her throat. ]

Sounds like you had a lot put on you.

[ Well, she knew something about holding yourself to an impossible standard, but not academically.

She pauses, another memory swimming out of her hazy subconscious. Taps the pencil against the table, in thought. ] ... I wish you could meet my sister Serah. I think the two of you would have a lot to talk about. She was always the smart one.

[radishlobbyist]

You have a sister? [ Her curiosity is certainly perked and her eyes focus far more on Lightning still, her efforts with the pencil almost coming to a standstill except for the occasional movement just to keep up the pretense. ] I would like to hear more about her... if you like.

[ It might be a painful subject, after all, she realizes belatedly, lips pressing together as she quietly berates herself for not thinking of the possibility earlier. ]

[enthunder]

My little sister, yeah. [ She generally prefers not to talk about her, it makes her absence too close, but... well, she supposes it's a matter of who you share it with. It doesn't feel as bad here, sat next to Wen Qing. ]

Don't know about the Six Arts, but she always got top grades. She's three years younger than me, so when our parents died, I basically raised her... [ she sighs, more wry than regretful. ] Not that I did a good job, I was always too busy, you know?

[radishlobbyist]

Being busy doesn't mean you didn't do well raising her. [ Her voice is brusque again, even tinged with a hint of sharp rebuke the likes of which is usually reserved for the troublemakers on the train. Still, she remains turned towards Lightning, and then she even reaches for her, covering her hand with her own. ] I know you wouldn't have been too busy for selfish reasons. You had duties. Protecting a younger sibling isn't always easy, and maybe they don't understand why we do what we have to do but that doesn't make it any less necessary.

[enthunder]

[ It was easier to judge herself now that she's looked back on it, so while she appreciated the support, she has to object a little. ]

Doesn't really change that I could've been there for her when she needed it, but... yeah. Guess hindsight's always perfect. [ She looks down at the hand covering hers, and closes her eyes. When they open again a moment later, her expression has softened. ]

You... want to tell me about your brother, while we're sharing?

[radishlobbyist]

When we look back, we will always wish we could have done many things differently. [ She does sound a little wistful as she thinks back on how much she had focused on her work rather than spending time with her brother, how often she had chided his shortcomings when she could have praised his strengths instead. She shakes her head a little at herself. No, she should be remembering the good times now, not letting herself wallow in regrets. ]

My little brother, A-Ning, he is... He is so kind and sweet. You will never meet a braver man than him. He is shy and easily cowed but he is very courageous when it comes to protecting others. He suffered too many cruelties I couldn't protect him from but he never let anything or anyone turn him cruel. [ She smiles a little. ] He likes archery and he would help me with brewing medicine.

knowing look

[enthunder]

Serah was on her school archery team. [ she recalls, fondly. ] I always figured if she had to fight, she'd use a bow. A-Ning sounds... a lot like her. Kind, but strong. I hope you see him again.

xD

[radishlobbyist]

[ She shakes her head a little, a small, sad smile on her lips. ] I doubt it. I have been so lucky already to have been reunited with Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan, it would be expecting far too much to see A-Ning again, too. They told me that he has survived and that is a gift in itself. I died believing that he had already been killed.

[enthunder]

[ Oh.

That wrenches something inside her, and she slips her hand out from under Wen Qing's, so she can rest it on her shoulder instead. Dying was... the idea of her dying was bad enough, even if she'd started to suspect Qing was one of the 'lucky' ones who had gained another life from their arrival here. The thought of dying with no hope...

At least she'd lingered long enough to see their plan succeed. ]

You didn't deserve that.

[radishlobbyist]

Maybe not. But my brother and I, we deserved it more than anyone else did. [ She places her hand on top of Lightning's on her shoulder - not pushing it away, but rather keeping it right where it is and holding on tight even as a distant expression appears on her face, with her memories taking her back to that desperate last day at the Burial Mounds. ] If we had had our way, we would have been the only ones to die. Such had been the promise of the Jin. [ She purses her lips. ] I suppose I can't fault them for lying, considering A-Ning had just killed their heir.

[enthunder]

[ She separates her own fingers, enough that Qing's could slot between them. An absent gesture, from half-remembered childhood comforts.

Her first instinct is to object - no one deserves that. But her explanation after the pause... Her brow furrows. ]

Going on what you just told me, A-Ning doesn't sound like the kind of guy who'd kill someone.

[radishlobbyist]

Because he isn't. And he wouldn't. [ Wen Qing's voice is firm in this, leaving no room for doubt, neither for Lightning nor for herself. Yet her hand tightens almost desperately on Light's because the truth is... ] I don't understand what happened. Why or how it all went wrong. Somehow he lost control but his control had been perfect all along and... I never talked to Wei Wuxian about it here. I didn't want to. It's... [ She swallows hard. ] It's over. He told me A-Ning survived and I didn't want to hear anything else. We paid the price. It is done now.

[enthunder]

[ Light doesn't answer immediately, but her hand stays where it is for as long as she'll allow it. There's a lot she's missing - why would A-Ning need control, for example, and what Wei Wuxian had to do with that.

She has a suspicion, because she's spoken to Wuxian about his abilities with corpses, but it seems too macabre to ask. In any case, that's not what's important here. As important as he is to her, the fact remains that Qing is here now, and he isn't. ]

Sounds to me like you both got all your choices taken away from you. [ She hums. ] For... what it's worth, I'm glad you've gotten another chance here.

[radishlobbyist]

I'm glad, too. [ They are still holding hands and it is such a comfort, silly as she feels for craving the comfort. But it feels good to be holding on to Lightning, to have the constant reminder that she's not facing these memories alone. ] I'm grateful that I've gotten another chance. I thought... When we surrendered ourselves to the Jin, that was it. I knew we would die. We had already gotten all these additional years Wei Wuxian had gotten us through his sacrifice. But I knew our time had run out. I just wish I could have paid the price by myself. They shouldn't have paid. A-Ning, Granny... We didn't even know if A-Yuan would survive, we could only hope.

[enthunder]

[ She really doesn't know what to say to that that she hasn't already said. These are people she'll never meet, unless they're pulled through time and space to join them on this journey... and even then, that won't change the fact that they suffered as, what, scapegoats? Some power struggle?

A moment's hesitation, a helpless, soft noise of sympathy and frustration, and she reaches with her other hand to pull Qing closer into a loose hug. She wouldn't have dared, or thought of it, but Qing hadn't let go of her hand. Maybe it wouldn't be unwelcome. ]

[radishlobbyist]

[ There is nothing that words could change or fix and Wen Qing doesn't expect them to - just a companion who cares and is willing to listen is enough for her.

A hug, though, a hug is even better and somehow still takes her by surprise after everything they have said and experienced together, and how close they have grown. For a moment she sits there frozen before her arms wrap around Lightning, holding on almost uncomfortably tightly. She clings to her so tightly with her eyes closed. ]

Thank you.[ Her voice is quiet, a little shaky. ] Thank you for... just, thank you.

[ Thank you for being you, really. ]