the veil is thin . . .

[thespaceopera]

[ On the night of the 16th, the feeling of tension and horrid anticipation comes to a head. Everything stops when the sun goes down-- even the ever-present music in the hoppingest part of the city center. One by one, everyone turns their eyes to the skies. The young and old alike pour out of their houses, some in bare feet, and they point to the velvety blanket of stars.

It takes a second to find it, especially if one is unaccustomed to the starscape. But even a casual observer can see it.

A brightly-shining star, larger than the others, and growing larger.

An announcement cuts across all communication channels that encourages people to evacuate to the space station, but it’s clear that these are just people and they’ll need some help. Supplies, equipment, organization, there’s something for everyone to do.

Civilization is disrupted by a panicked stampede of people vying for limited seats aboard spacefaring craft. Within hours, there will be crushed glass, looting, and chaos.

The clock is ticking. Will you help? Or would you rather watch the dying gasps of a Singing Planet from a safe distance? ]

[OOC: Please see this post for plot details. Phase two has begun! Feel free to use this post as a reaction post, mingle, etc. or make your own!]

Comments

[soulsflight]

(Then she'll just have to show him, slowly, how much she has changed. The Lightning he remembers doesn't really exist anymore - and she shouldn't have existed in the first place. She had been a fool to bury her past and to forget what it felt like to feel anything except irritation and rage.

What a waste of precious time to be so narrow-minded! She won't let him make the same mistake.)

I am trying to save someone, but he never gives up. (Her gaze is sharp upon him before it flits away.)

I didn't say they had any excuse. (But panicked people are more like animals, really.) Break up any fights, save those who can't defend themselves, but don't leave marks unless you have to. I'm not here to ferry souls and neither are you.

[heroofcocoon]

[Yeah, it's going to take a while for him to realize that she is actually different, that she's not the woman from Cocoon or the Savior. Everything's just going to take time.]

Some people are just stubborn.

[Why is banter with her so easy? He's not sure, but it's just like any other time they've been together over the years. Just like before.

Except he can't help but finding her fucking smug and it irks him.]

I know how to break up a crowd. I've been doing it for a while now. Thanks.

[soulsflight]

(She has plenty of time to be patient and she knows, personally, that regardless of how stubborn and pig-headed he might be, he is worth every minute.)

I guess I have my hands full with you. (Smug likely isn't the right word, though it probably seems that way to him. Claire is at ease with herself; she no longer has to struggle to find where she fits.) Have you? I remember Lumina saying something about you locking yourself away from everyone -

(Too low of a blow? Maybe. But she isn't apologizing or retracting the comment.)

[heroofcocoon]

[He whips around to glare at Lightning.]

Don't. Talk to me. About Lumina.

[He's had enough of that little torture demon.]

Don't play stupid about why I stayed in that stupid, gaudy prison.

[soulsflight]

(He's all anger. But not hot anger - icy anger that is never relieved.)

Technically you are talking to her right now.

(Isn't he glad he wants to marry Serah instead?)

It's not necessary anymore.

[heroofcocoon]

[It's the worst kind of anger because the ice never melts and keeps the pain on the surface.]

You're impossible!

[He can feel his anger at her getting to the unreasonable levels where it makes his brand flare painful and he has to grab his arm to focus on that instead of what it would be like to hit her.

Which is not a feeling he normally has about anyone but Gods and fal'Cie.

As he squeezes the spot on his forearm to center his anger and focus it outward in a thick splay of ice that expertly cuts through a group of people pushing and tugging at one another in the lines to the shuttles, he can feel the rage burn down a bit.]

I might not be stuck guarding a huge chaos pocket anymore, but that doesn't mean I'm free. So why don't you go be impossible somewhere else instead of lecturing me when all I want to do is make sure these people get off of this world before they die.

[soulsflight]

(He is close to exploding. She knows she can't handle one of his punches without nursing some injuries afterwards. It's best if they don't spar. Serah doesn't need either of them banged up or, worse, dying.)

I'll let her find you. I'll let her do what she can for you. Then we'll... (She focuses on his arm.) ...help you fight it. If you're pissed enough, it shouldn't be a problem.

(Ha ha, that was almost a compliment.)

Between Serah and I, the ice will melt. (She motions vaguely at the people around them.) This is a nice distraction. Enjoy it, hero.

[heroofcocoon]

[He can't handle his own anger. He doesn't really want to fight her, again. It wouldn't solve anything. She isn't trying to save his soul this time and he can't die and end up with Serah or just rest peacefully after so long.]

What if I don't want your help this time?

[He's angry. At himself, at the fal'Cie, at Caius Ballard, at everything. All he's ever wanted was just to be with Serah and the world just conspired against them. And now he doesn't even have the hope of release anymore.]

Don't call me that. It's a joke.

[soulsflight]

Too bad. (Snow now ranks amongst the small group that she will literally go to the pits of Hell for...with...whatever is required.) I'll stay nearby until that sinks in.

(There is far more going on and he knows that. It's not just about him and Serah; it's about everyone.)

Is it? Your story isn't over yet. (So start struggling again. She's fine being the one who inspires his anger if it gets him in the fighting spirit again.)

[heroofcocoon]

[If she wasn't Serah's sister, he could ignore her, let her fade into the cesspool of memory that has been his too-long life. But she is. She's one of the few people who really understands how deeply he loves, how much it hurts him to lose.

And it irritates the hell out of him as much as he appreciates the fact that she's not going to give up on. Not...that he's going to say that without something big happening.]

Stop acting like you have all the damn answers. You and I both know that neither of us can control everything around us. So save the mystic crap for someone who wasn't there for most of the real fighting.

[soulsflight]

I have more than you. (And the answers are surprisingly refreshing! He just needs to...find his hope. He used to have a seemingly endless supply.)

My mystic crap will get me through these battles. I'm not sad or angry anymore. I can fight with a clear head and a clear conscience.

Can you say the same?

[heroofcocoon]

[That pocket of self-righteous obnoxiousness is what gets on the last of his frayed nerves and has him walking away. He can't deal with her. Not when there's no hope of any sort of resolution for him. The irritation rolls off of him in waves and the people seem to shy from him instinctively in fear.]