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['What's her deal' is oddly broad, because even Lightning doesn't fully know what her 'deal' is. She knows what Lumina is and why she looks like her, but why she's such a little troublemaker? No idea. And having to explain it is proving to be just as difficult as she imagined it would be the moment she spotted her in Verens.]

She... I made her...

[Which sounds weirder than it actually is? She stares at Noel, watching for his reaction.]

Lumina is... a part of me.

[He just stares back, eyes a little confused.]

A part of you. [He repeats, displaying his confusion.]

She formed from what, the Chaos...?

I'm... not really sure.

[There's a long, drawn out pause because as much as she wishes otherwise, there's no easy way to explain things without telling more.]

You sure you want the answers you're looking for?

[It isn't so much about protecting him as it is herself. It wasn't the Chaos that Lumina was created from. It was something Lightning found far more frightening....]

[He watches her face for a moment before he nods slowly.]

Yes. I think I'll find out eventually. Either from you or Lumina because she seems intent on letting little things slip to me wither I like it or not.

[So really, it's a matter of who should he hear it from more? Lightning or Lumina?]

[Yeah, no. Finding out from Lumina is bound to head down the road of inconsistencies and lies just to get a rise out of Noel. No thanks.

Lightning lets her finger trace along the rim of the glass, trying to think of where to begin. The start would be a good place.]

You know what happened after Serah died. The world was consumed by Chaos... I fell into a long, crystal sleep. When I did, my wish to save Serah's soul was so great that I created a vessel -- something to keep Serah's soul safe while I was asleep. Someone...

... Lumina?

[That little bit is enough to start with. Noel expression is hard to read, a mixture of alarm and confusion.]

Lumina has Serah's soul?

Yes.

[As strange as that sounds, but Lightning keeps her gaze fixed on Noel.]

When a person dies, their soul melts into the Chaos. Without me, Serah's soul would have been lost... I wanted to remember.

[Another pause, because she's about to head into uncertain territory again. Noel had stopped her from telling the story once before, so she starts slow, giving him the opportunity to stop her if he wishes to.]

Bhunivelze wanted to create a world without Chaos. His new world would be filled with brave souls... people without regret or sadness.

[Noel feels conflicted about the next part but he remains silent, giving her a small nod to continue.

If Lumina harbored Serah's soul (even when she's alive and well here) than Noel can't help but feel like they should protect the girl somehow. As strange as she is in both her creation and purpose...

And a world without Chaos, regret or sadness... That seems like a strange concept. What would a world like that be like... Timeless.]

[She takes that nod as confirmation to continue, but she conveniently leaves out any details that might relate to Noel in any way. That's a story for another time.]

Without the Chaos, all of the souls of the dead would be lost. No one would remember them. Anyone's memories of the dead gone. It would be as if they never existed. Before... [Lightning breathes an uncomfortable sigh.] Before I went to defeat Bhunivelze, Lumina returned Serah's soul to me.

Sometimes, I'm not sure I really understand why or how...

[He'll be thankful for her omission later. Noel is still very wary about hearing about his future self. He's unlike Snow who wanted to know. He'd rather not.]

I can't say I understand why she would do that either... She seems like a very independent person.

[And wanting to help Lightning like that... Well... Lumina's motives are never clear it seems.]

What do you want to do with her, Lightning? Here.

[Which is an important question and decision that Lightning has to make.]

[Lumina's motives are the biggest mystery. One moment, it feels like she's trying to cause her grief for a laugh and the next, she's begging Lightning to stay with her while the rest of the world turns to ash beneath all the Chaos.

Her fingers drum against the table again while she loses herself in deep thought -- it's a decision she's been trying to make, but one she hasn't figured out yet.]

I don't know. She's a troublemaker but she won't hurt anyone. For now, leave her alone.

[Noel nods slowly.] No issues with that.

[It's hard not to look at Lumina and think child so the idea of not at least keeping an eye on her seems unreasonable.

He doesn't blame Lightning for not knowing what she wants to do with the girl just yet either. It's been a day.]

She'll find her own way. She always does.

[There's a twinge of guilt in the back of Lightning's mind for even thinking of leaving Lumina to fend for herself, but she's proven herself capable of doing it before. It's not like Verens is that much worse than their own world, if not better than.

Something else occurs to her, though.]

I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Snow.

She ... Yeah. Seems like a Farron, after all. [He doesn't mean that they really are related or anything like that, just that she does seem to have that same knack for fierce independence as the other two do.

He gives her a slightly curious look at the mention of Snow.]

Another ... Issue in the future, I'm guessing?

[If there's any one thing she has in common with the actual Farron sisters, it's that she's just as self-sufficient (and stubborn) as they are. That's it, that's all. Other than that, Lightning will continue to convince herself that they are completely unrelated and totally different. Even though deep down, she probably knows better.]

Mhm. They don't exactly get along. I'd prefer it if she wasn't the one to spill all of the details about Snow's future to him because she 'felt like it.'

I see.

[He sees no real argument against that. It'll be for them to figure out and it's not Noel's place.]

Guess we'll be needing to make some more room around here.

[For Hope and Lumina.]

[For now, Lumina can continue being the stray cat she is. Hope, on the other hand...]

About that... Will we have the room?

[Their family is starting to grow again. Not that she has any issue with that -- in fact, she's quite happy to have Hope here with them as well, but the house is only so big and Lumina can't be a stray cat forever.]

I'll admit, it'll be a little cozy.

[Cramped.]

But we'll be fine. It's not like we can't make a few upgrades to the place too.

[He'll leave out the fact that he's been thinking about moving out lately... He'll wait to bring that up later once he's seen how Lumina settles in.]

[A smile cracks across her face.]

I trust you'll be the one who can make those upgrades happen? Hope'll need some furniture for his room.

[Lumina, too. When the time comes...]

[He smiles as well.]

You can count on me.

I know.

[She always has, and perhaps more than Noel thinks she does.]

Might need to get a bigger place soon, if more people keep showing. Shame, I like this house. It's got a lot of charm.

[Noel glances away and shrugs a little.]

I don't think a bigger place should be the answer. Worked so hard on this place, after all.

[Lightning looks around them, her smile fading a little. She really does love this house. It would be a shame to let it go and all of the memories with it.]

You did, especially. I'm... not sure what we would've done without you here.

[Not just the house, either. Lightning herself never wants to think about what she would have done without Noel here...]

I owe you.

[Noel chuckles lightly under his breath and taps the counter with a finger.]

You would have managed, I'm sure. You always do.

[He's being somewhat nonchalant about it but he does smile. It's nice to hear and he likes helping make their lives easier but still... They would have managed.]

[Lightning visibly flinches a little at that. It sounds eerily similar to what she'd said about Lumina earlier, about how she always manages, and while she doesn't think it was intentional, it still makes her tense.

Clearing her throat, Lightning nods.]

By the way. I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us for now... what we talked about.

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dyingworld - 2017-10-30 00:21 (UTC) - Expand