☼ four; video.

[recalls]

[At first, there is only a tranquil, quiet scene being broadcast. Flowers bobbing gently in the wind, a butterfly floating on the breeze, nothing out of the ordinary. Then a voice is heard, high and sudden. It will be familiar to some, vaguely Australian and somewhere between excited and confused.] Ah, oh! It was real?

[A face comes into view, all

Comments

action; gonna...just assume Fang is lurking near by, if that's fine!

[brands]

Haven't seen them...

[Fang frowns, rolls her shoulders back.] We should look around. If they're still here, they can't be too far off.

action;

[brands]

[And Fang picks up her pace too, slows when she is back to walking beside Vanille. They'll be home soon, and the idle chatter helps to keep her from thinking about the emptiness they might find.] That's not always true. [She frowns at a memory.] Remember that "pet" Gremlin I picked up, when we were kids?

action;

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[Oh, she remembers all right. And unlike Fang, the memory makes her laugh.] Yes, and it was only mean because you encouraged it to attack those boys!

action;

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[She can't help but grin at Vanille's laughter.] Well, they asked for it. They were convinced he wouldn't attack them, and I wasn't gonna stand for a pet of mine being thought of as harmless.

video;

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See! Your fault. [She smiles, looking up at the sky.] Any animal can be nice, if you take the time to treat it well.

[She turns a corner, and the lake is spread out before her, the house she built still standing on the shore.] We're here! Let's see if the others are inside!

video;

[brands]

Maybe you're right. You were always better with animals. [It's true enough. Vanille's sensitivity and warmth lent her well to caring for animals, and people too. Fang had never had the patience, favored tough love over gentleness.

The sight of the house fills Fang with a small amount of hope, despite her sensibilities telling her otherwise. Maybe it's seeing something that so strongly reminds her of Oerba that makes her want to believe that her friends are still there, waiting for them.

But she knows better, has been disappointed too often since awakening from crystal stasis to be optimistic. For Vanille though, she'll try.] If they are, I'll take the lead. [She steps in front of Vanille to walk ahead, and throws a grin over her shoulder.] To catch any swings Light throws, in case she's sore at us for leaving her here.

video;

[recalls]

[Vanille just grins, happy to have won one of their friendly little squabbles, bumps Fang with her shoulder.

The house looks fine from the outside, as Sephiroth said it would, and that gives her hope, somehow, that their friends just missed them on the Vine, that Lightning will be inside hovering over Serah while Hope laughs under her breath.]

You don't think she'll just be glad we're back? [She asks this, but steps behind Fang, anyway. Knowing Lightning, well. She might need an excuse to punch something, and Vanille knows from experience that Fang's existence is good enough an excuse for some.]

action; oops

[brands]

[Fang's smile loses some of its brightness when they approach the house.] She might, but you know how she is. Doesn't take much to get her all riled up.

[She reaches the door, and hesistates before turning the handle. It gives easily, and she immediately thinks that were Lightning there, it would be locked.

It's quiet, inside. Dim. Patches of light flicker through the closed curtains, and the air has a silent, undisturbed feeling to it. No one is here, she knows. She is quiet too, hand still on the door handle. Her face is carefully neutral.]

action; hurrdurr idk why i did that

[recalls]

[Though Fang says nothing, Vanille can tell immediately that no one is home. She knows Hope, at least, would have greeted them with more than the grunt of acknowledgement they might've gotten from Lightning, and Serah, too, would have said hello.

Her face falls, she digs the toe of a boot into the ground.] They're not here, are they? [And then, with a false, hollow optimism:] Maybe they just went out for awhile?

action;

[brands]

[Fang's grip tightens on the door handle, and then loosens. Her hand falls to rest at her side. Thinking that they would be greeted by an empty house is altogether different from the actual experience.

Instead of answering Vanille's question directly, she mutters:] They'll show up again. We'll just have to wait it out.

action;

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[Vanille latches onto that little bit of hope, lets herself believe that because Fang said it, it has to be true.

She squeezes past, into the house, eyes adjusting to the dark. It looks empty, feels empty, and Vanille's eyes fill with tears she quickly blinks away.

She moves further into the house, picks up a rag and begins to dust the surfaces, an easy distraction from the sadness she feels. She won't look at Fang.] We'll just have to make sure it's ready for them!

action;

[brands]

[She follows behind in slow, reluctant steps, and goes to open the curtains, blinking at the sudden rush of light. Now that she can see the inside of the house clearly, the small hints that people were there before makes the loss of their friends all the more poignant. She doesn't say this though, only quietly follows Vanille throughout the house. Pushes chairs back under the table, adjusts the small trinkets in the windowsills.

She wishes, very much, that she could fight something. Hurt something. The anger and the adrenaline from a battle is easier to deal with than this steady, painful tug in her chest.

She notices that Vanille won't make eye contact, and moves to gently place a hand on her shoulder.] Yeah. It'll be fine.

action;

[recalls]

[There's enough to do, enough to clean up and fuss with until it's just so, that Vanille can distract herself for a day or so if she really wants to, and if that's not enough, she'll head out and find something else to do; weaving flowers into wreaths to hang at the door, picking the brightest and best-scented for bouquets to set on the countertops, on the tables. Anything to keep from being idle, to keep from having to think about the emptiness that's set into their home.

When Fang touches her shoulder, Vanille turns, wringing the dust rag in her hands, eyes bright with a cheer she does not feel.] Right! [She turns away, pulls a broom out of a cupboard, holding it out.] Let's get to work!

action;

[brands]

[She's been with Vanille so long that she catches the things that other people don't see. Fang knows that she's hurt over losing their friends, and that words of comfort, however nice they are and true they might turn out to be, aren't going to do much to lift the gloom from her shoulders.

She takes the broom from Vanille's hands, gently sets it to the side, and does the only thing she can think to do: she pulls her into a hug.]

It'll be fine. [she says this close to Vanille's ear.] Much as I can't stand that Queen, you'll see. She'll bring them right back. We're all family, after all. We stick together. [She pulls away after a moment, taps Vanille's chin gently.] So chin up, all right?

action;

[recalls]

[A hug, it turns out, is exactly what Vanille needs. She allows Fang to pull her into it, wraps her arms tightly around Fang's waist, and buries her face in the fabric of her shoulder.

Her shoulders hitch once, twice, and then she pulls back, looks up at Fang with watery eyes.] I know. [When Fang lets go, taps her chin, she manages a smile, reaches up to wipe her eyes.] All right. [Then she leans in, pokes Fang in the shoulder.] Start cleaning, then!

action;

[brands]

[Fang's smile is warm and relieved, and she goes to pick up the broom again.] All right. [a mock salute.] I'm on it.