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[ The rain was beating down across the planes of the land between lands - the land the 012ers had been forced to cultivate, to protect the multiverse. It was never a thankful job... but, at least, nothing had gone wrong for a while. People still came here, on their way to whatever world they were meant to go to. Normally not staying for long, and not remembering it. Only a few stayed... and it felt the world seem more lonely.

Hope had been running for so long - even after entering this land, all she did was run from them. She didn't know quite where she was - but she was away from... her family. Her steps slowing, Hope let out a sigh... before noticing a tent, pitched near to a cliffside, protected from the rain. Anything was better then this rain and tiredness... even if there was somebody inside. Letting out a tired sigh, Hope entered... and froze up. That looked just like Lightning. What's going on. Sleep deprevation? Hoping for her big sister back?

...Perhaps she could sleep here - until this other person awoke. At least that might be a little bit of rest, a bit of time to let her feet rest. Nuzzling up to this lady, Hope couldn't help but smile a little.

...She smelled like Lightning. ]

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[She smelled like Lightning because she was Lightning. Just. Not this Hope's Lightning.

No, this Hope's Lightning wouldn't have cared that her baby sister was snuggling up to her in a storm, still soaked from the rain. Well, that's not true. She'd have cared enough to get up, get a towel and some fresh clothes for Hope, then tuck them both in and go back to sleep.

This Lightning, the one hardened by years without her family and the forever pressing ache of crystal around her heart--even split from Vaan it still hurt--wakes in the instant a rain-soaked body presses against her back. Her inhale is quiet, careful as she slowly turns her head. If Vaan's snuck in on her again--that's not Vaan.

A head of soft pink hair, flattened by rain. Gangly limbs and clothing both familiar and unfit for proper travel. The gentle curve of a body still growing into itself. Her eyes widen minutely, and slowly she begins to lift herself up onto one elbow. Sorry, Hope. This Lightning is too paranoid to sleep through cuddles.]

...Who are you?

[But, at least she's not attacking right away?]

[ The first thing Hope does is flinch, eyes snapping open, as soon as she shifts. Moving her arms around herself once more. Snapping her eyes straight onto Lightning, Hope couldn't get the words out.

Who was she...? Had Lightning... no, this couldn't be Lightning. As her eyes widened, she almost reached for that survival knife. But when she placed her hand into her pocket... she stopped.

Best to answer the question. Maybe she can still rest the night here. But her voice was still choked up, quiet - though it sounded exactly like the Hope this Lightning would know. ]

...H-Hope.

[ ...Just Hope. What point was there telling this stranger her full name? ]

[Exactly like the Hope she remembers. Were it not for the hair and slight but still noticeable differences in body shape--is this person shorter that the Hope she knows or just curled into themselves--she'd buy that this is her Hope.

But it's not. With a frown crossing her face, Lightning pulls back and away. Fire leaps to her hand, the small spell held there for a source of light and warmth, to drive away the chill down her back. Except it doesn't; now that she's upright she can see this person's face and they look exactly like Hope. Baby-faced but angled, bright eyes reflecting the firelight. Were it not for the hair...Lightning's eyes narrow.]

Hope Estheim?

[ --Fire. She has magic - a l'Cie? That's impossible, the Lightning Hope knew... her big sister... she was gone due to that very same curse. Letting out a small yelp as the flames danced slightly, Hope gripped to the knife, trying to appear not completely horrified. It wasn't working.

She looked a lot like Lightning, was it not for her face. Something seemed... older about it. Scarier, twisted. Or was that just her imagination? ]

What? No, [ that was serahs' last name, why would she carry it, why would she do that ] Hope Farron.

[ Those simple words came out more confidently - but not by much. Hope was bracing for a wave of fire - though it was lighting the scene, it could be easily turned on her for intruding this tent. ]

[Scared. This kid is scared and it makes Lightning's heart hurt. She keeps the fire in her palm, showing no sign of releasing it even as that name makes her jolt as if she were just struck by the lightning crashing down outside. Thunder rumbles overhead, masking her soft whisper of "Farron?".

But, really, looking at Hope...there's no denying it now. The curve of the nose, the cheekbones. It's not like looking in a mirror, so much as the still heart-known family photo that had hung on the walls.

Hope--this Hope--looks like Isabelle Farron. Like Lightning's mother.

Lightning stares, eyes widening by the second. How is this even--no. Asking how it's possible after everything else they've been through is stupid. Even so, it's clearly knocked her for a loop. Hope Farron. She'd seen Hope as a younger brother for a while now, sure, but to be actually related to him in some world...the spell flickers, her focus wavering, but she doesn't move. Doesn't release it on this poor soaked kid.]

If you're a Farron, then I'm...not your Lightning.

[Is that the way to put this? They've seen travelers from a dozen worlds, some faces familiar and others not. But this? How does she even begin to explain.]

[ Every word Lightning says - it seems to make Hope... well, not flinch. Not anymore. Instead, he's trying to look confident - and starting to succeed.

Until she says she's not his Lightning. Without thinking, she brashly says: ]

Of course you're not.

[ Before stopping herself from adding more. A different Lightning? How does that even make sense? But this one was like the pink-haired one she dreamed of sometimes. The one who got to go forward, in her dreams. Were they dreams? Slumping back down, looking away, Hope finally added, in a quiet whisper... ]

...She's dead.

[ She's not quite dead - but she's really tired. Too tired to explain - arm gripping the knife so tense. What would she do now? The woman - who did identify herself as Lightning - what would she do? ]

[What'll she do? She'll watch that face--familiar and yet not--as it falls and snarls and breaks in the span of a few heartbeats. Loss, it seems, dogs any Farron.

With a quite sigh, Lightning shifts her position until she's sitting crosslegged with her hands in the scoop of her legs, the spell held firm but still not launched. Seems she's taking the more peaceful route for now...or at least not deciding to burn someone alive at the moment.]

Dead, or crystal?

[She'd thought Serah was dead, too. Before she'd really understood what it meant to be a l'Cie who completed their task.

Before she'd understood what it meant to be one who never could complete it. Her voice is quietly sympathetic, understanding the pain of a sibling lost. Not the exact circumstances, but enough to figure some things out. Enough that even her crystallized heart aches for Hope.

Or maybe it aches for her Hope. She misses him more than she's ever told Vaan, and the chance to talk with someone who sounds just like him...it helps.]

[ It took a while for the word to come to Hope - her mind racing. Slightly shuffling so she, too, was in a sitting position - her voice went quiet, wavering. ]

...Cie'th.

[ That single word made her want to cry - as slight tears were forming. (She couldn't stop it - she was just too emotional right now.) Not just Lightning... all of them. All of those who helped her after everything which happened - after losing everything, and working towards getting it back.

Cie'th... and they were still out there. ]

[Unbeknownst to Hope, something inside Lightning's chest gives way. Cie'th, huh? And he--no, wait. That curve of shadow isn't just the firelight. It's...she is clearly alone here, so that means the others are, too. Hope is alone.

She ducks her head a moment, searching for the words. If they were crystal they could have turned back, but Cie'th? That's a fate worse than death. A fate she's been running from for who knows how long these days. If she was alone, she'd have turned already. That this Hope hasn't is a testament to how strong she is.]

I'm sorry.

[That said, she really is sorry. She knows the loss of family in one way or another, and wouldn't wish it on anyone. Especially not on any version of her family. Not when they're alone. The flame flickers again in response to her emotions and dying focus, but it goes nowhere. Should have packed a lantern.]

[ Releasing her death grip on her knife, Hopes' hand moves to the tattered yellow bandanna covering where her brand would be. Talk like this makes her feel guilty - she shouldn't burden this Lightning with these thoughts. But she was.

Giving a small cough, Hope closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the flames. If it weren't magic... if she thought this Lightning wasn't a l'Cie, that this Lightning could turn...

And then she spoke. ]

...Can I-- May I stay the night?

[ She's tired - her clothes and body still wet. At least this cliffside protects them from the rain... gods, Hope misses home at times like this. Misses the old times. ]

[Can she stay the night? Lightning watches her for a moment longer and thinks. The awkward feeling of being Lightning and yet not puts her teeth on edge and hunches her shoulders, but really...what choice is there? Outside, further over the cliff, the rain is getting stronger. It'll probably be gone by morning, but it's not morning now. She can't send this Hope--any Hope--back into the storm.]

...Go ahead. [She pauses, stops, then reaches over to the small pack Tifa had insisted she take. She's always packed light, but there is a small blanket folded inside. With one hand still holding the fire spell, the other holds the dry cloth towards Hope. Modesty or warmth? Either way, it's on offer.]

You should get out of those clothes before you catch a cold. I'll dry them for you.

[ Hope gave a small gulp, taking the blanket, before nodding. ]

...Thank you, Light... ning. [ She said with a slight smile, before starting to undress, passing her clothes out as she slid them off. Lightning might notice - probably will - that Hopes clothes have blood splattered on the inside. She managed to get the blood out of the outside, but... couldn't really clean her own clothes well while running.

She might also notice a mark left by a familiar Beoulve, hidden in the collar of her shirt - Hope is only in her undergarments, bundling up with the blanket. ]

Good night, Hope.

[Oh, she's noticed. Noticed and is checking the damp shirt for signs of where the blood had come from. Out of a desire to give the poor kid privacy she'd only looked up high enough to take the clothes and hadn't checked for injuries, hadn't checked for bandages or scars. So she keeps the Fire going, checking the black fabric over as best she can.

It's not fresh, but it is wet. Of course after running around in the rain for who knows how long, that's to be expected. What's not is the mark emblazoned like a second brand. The mark of the Beoulves. Her grip on damp cloth tightens enough to turn her bare knuckles white. If that piece of crap has gotten his hands on Hope, on any Hope, she'll kill him herself.

But not tonight. No, tonight she's going to finish drying the clothes, cast a simple pair of Cure on this Hope, and then lay back down to try and rest. Maybe in the morning things will be simpler. Maybe. ...Probably not.]

[ Hope simply lets out a sigh, curling up - freezing as she felt the cure, but relaxing when it didn't hurt.

Lightning... Hope will, of course, move closer to Lightning in her sleep. Her body tense the whole night, ready to leap up at a moments notice. Being constantly on the run does that to you. But something felt more relaxed about tonight... was it having somebody else there? Not feeling the gaze of a monster, knowing she doesn't need to fight them alone.

She's still curling up tiny, however, hands resting where her boomerang lay, by her side. In the morning, however, Hopes got a little smile on her face - right up to Lightning. ]

[In the morning, Lightning awakes a bit slower than the night before. By now the storm has blown through and the wind is whistling by, the land too dead for birds. Sunlight streams through the cloth of the tent, tinting everything oddly orange. If Lightning doesn't look too hard, she can pretend that's what colors Hope's hair. Curled as the kid is, she can pretend it's her brother and not some other Lightning's little sister.

But the mirage only lasts for a moment, and she has to sigh. Carefully, slowly, Lightning sits up and contemplates the teenager beside her for a long moment. She can take her back to Bastok, what's left of that old city, and try to get her through a portal...but if her entire family is Cie'th, then...she nibbles her lip, pensive. Would it be so wrong to keep this girl here for a while? Try and keep her safe? It's still a long walk back to Bastok either way, and...well. She's lonely.

And she's being an idiot. Heaving a sigh, Lightning reaches out to gently give Hope a shake, fingers skimming across the warm blanket.]

Hope. Wake up.

[ Hope snaps awake at the touch - sitting up with a start, letting Lightning see her upper body without thinking. Though she had a loose singlet on, it was clear that she was bandaged underneath - messily, at that. Hope didn't like being undressed in the wild, after all. Her arm - where her brand had been - was dyed a deep black, messily fading to flesh.

It took a moment for Hope to remember last night. With Lightning... not her Lightning. But one who still looked human, even if they were most likely l'Cie. Her face twisting into a frown, she looked away a little. She couldn't let herself delude herself - she was the only one left! They... they saved her, somehow. And she wasn't going to go for revenge again, of course.

Her look turning back to Lightning, she gave a small nod, quietly talking to herself. ]

...That was a nice rest.

[ But she'll need to set out again. Keep running. She just wants to rest... ]

[And suddenly Lightning is very glad she cast those Cure. The edges of bandages peeking out under the edge of her singlet are clean if a bit messy, but it's hard to tell how much blood the rest of them had soaked up beforehand. Even so, that's hardly the concern now.

Like a wild creature snapping, Lightning's hand darts out and grabs Hope's wrist, clamping over the blackness. Where her Hope's brand had been there is now nothing. Literally nothing. Her grip is gentle, but no less iron in its strength and length. The feeling under her fingers should be skin, warm and soft, but it's not. It's...odd. Like having her fingers underwater when they clearly aren't. She frowns, then looks Hope in the eye.]

What happened here?

[If Beoulve had something to do with this--]

[ Hopes' gaze keeps serious - almost pulling away before keeping a serious sitting stance, as he feels... well, doesn't feel Lightning touching it. Her fingers on the skin around it, sure. But there was no feeling there.

Because... it was pure nothingness. Hope didn't even know she existed in a state similar to that Beoulve. ]

When they-- when everybody [ gulp ] changed, this happened to my arm. I don't know what it is, but...

[ eyes to the ground. She doesn't want to look at Lightning as she says this. She hasn't really had time to stop and think about this - what it means. All she did was cover it. Relaxing her shoulders, Hope let out the smallest of sighs. ]

I don't know.

[Well, that makes two of them. Lightning's thumb tracks to warm skin, feels Hope's pulse beat beneath her fingertip, and the woman gives a sigh. Fal'Cie smoke and mirrors will be the end of all of them somehow, or maybe Beoulve would do them in. She didn't know.

What she did know was the sight of Hope looking so sad, so serious, made her entire being ache. So it's with a quiet sigh that she raises her other hand, lowering the zip of her top just enough to expose the top edge of her still controlled turn. Just enough to show the glimmer of crystal where skin had been, dark blue and light blue, cyan and even the faintest glimmers of rose pink in the depths from where her Eidolon sits behind a brand of angry red and black, a replacement heart if there ever was one.]

It's okay. You're not the only one with a messed up brand.

[Or, in Hope's case, what was left of one. Seems they're both messed up now. Again.]

[ Hope lets out a gasp - half-disgusted, half-horrified - before raising a hand to try and touch it. Her body...

They really were both damaged, weren't they? Dropping her hand once more, Hope then... stretched, letting out a little yawn. Wow, she really did rest well. Giving a small smile, Hope then asked: ]

How did yours happen?

[ That is, if she wanted to tell her. They weren't siblings... they were, quite honestly, strangers. She was also looking for her clothes - it was quite warm around here, wasn't it. ]

[Though she tenses, Lightning doesn't pull back. The crystal beneath Hope's fingers is cold and smooth, as smooth as if Lightning has already become a crystalline epitaph, and only warm where it gives way to the flesh of her collar.]

...I fought in a war.

[Letting go of Hope's wrist, Lightning rests her hands on her knees as the teen goes to get dressed. They're strangers, yes, but at the same time there is...something there. Some sort of tenuous connection. Truth be told, Lightning is lonely. Longing for someone who even remotely understands what it means to have been branded, and the fear of those days and nights when the only certainty was death. Vaan has tried. The others have tried. She can't fault them for that, but at the same time...she eyes that blackness on Hope's wrist, then continues softly.]

I fought for a long time. I turned Cie'th, but someone was able to change me back. [Could he change the others? Her family? Maybe. She won't bring it up yet.] This was the cost. I'm not your usual l'Cie anymore.

[ Hope listened, quietly, now resting her hands down. She'd... changed back? How was that possible? Nobody ever changed back. They certainly didn't, as he begged and ran.

But perhaps this Lightning went down a different path. That's what that odd man said, wasn't it? She was just one of many paths, a failed one. Fists bunching up, Hope let out a silent growl. She never even got to do anything to that 'Beoulve' before they... did something to her. ]

Are you still... changing?

[ Hope finally asked quietly, touching her own nothingness. It did seem to be spreading ever so slowly, but not like a brand. It was... hard to explain. She had no powers anymore - but still this spreading nothingness. ]

Yeah.

[Always changing. Always. If it wasn't for Vaan, she'd have turned permanently so long ago. Closing her eyes for a long moment, she has to remember to breathe before she can continue to speak.]

But the man who changed me back stayed with me. He's been able to keep it at bay for a while.

[And turn her back if they're separated again. That first time had been fun, to say the least. But now, here they are. A pair of messed up former l'Cie with no focus and no way home. She sighs through her nose.]

Never gotten rid of it, though.

[ Hope lets out a bit of a sigh - before eyeing Lightning. Was this man her boyfriend? If Serah was here, she would tease Lightning so much...

Serah. Hope still held her tear - the last gift from Snow before it all happened. A sign of trust - did Snow know what was happening?

These thoughts needed to stop, Hope knew it. She gave a nod to Lightning. ]

Of course. There's only one way out of this... and we can't do it.

[ Their Focus - they'll never follow it. At least, Hope... well, hopes Lightning feels the same. But she's seemingly been though so much... ]

Who is this man?

[As if Lightning would even consider it at this point. Even a thousand years of Conflict couldn't make her consider doing what the fal'Cie had tasked her with. She would sooner die a monster than a fal'Cie's slave.

The thought still puts fire in her veins, and she has to tamp it down to keep her tone even as she responds.]

His name is Vaan. He's my...[Friend, she almost says. But they're more than that by now. Boyfriend seems too childish...lovers? Maybe. They certainly haven't avoided the issue before. She makes a pensive noise, then:] It's complicated. He's a friend.