Fighting Fate

[twistedjudge]

WHO: Oerba Yun Fang
WHERE: Fountain, then wandering
WHEN: June 24, early morning then later in the day
OPEN TO: Jax, then anyone
WARNINGS: Mild violence, partial nudity (okay almost complete nudity), probably mentions of a crappy past? Look this could go a lot of ways

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( Fountain, for Jax )

It all changes in an instant - all the pain, all the agony, all the determination to get through the pink hell and confront the being that sentenced them and everyone around them to a horrible death, all of it is gone. Her family around her, their final goal in mind, spear in hand, the sense that this war would at least be finished even if everything wasn't happily resolved-

And then nothing but water, surrounding her, choking off her breath and causing her to react on instinct, kicking her body into a sharp line and surging up before she can swallow any of it. With no idea how such a change had come about, the only thing she could do was get out of this situation, despite the fabric clinging to her (where are her clothes?!) and the weight on her feet and back-

It's a small, flooded pit she's somehow in, and Fang surges out of the water gasping for air and soaked through, not immediately noticing any of the surroundings other than not covered in enemies and grabbing for the stone rim of the fountain, forcing herself to come into focus again because she knows all too well that dropping that wariness will spell death for her and everyone around her.


( Behind House 41 then Wandering, Open )

After leaving behind that idiot, Fang runs west and ducks behind what appears to be an unused house to stop and take stock of the situation. Everything is completely turned around from what she was mentally prepared for, and she needs to stop and collect herself before she does anything she'll regret. Again. First thing is to rid herself of the sopping wet clothing - not the most ridiculous thing she's ever seen, but a pain to deal with right now when there's other things she has to be focusing on, so off it goes. The red scrubs hit the back stoop of the house with wet smacks, leaving Fang standing there just in her underwear and the boots, which are heavy and cumbersome but are all she has. Not caring about her lack of undress, she crouches next to the stoop to rip open the bag (she does find the zipper) and finds it full of things that could possibly be useful, but most of it not immediately what she needs. The long johns get used as a towel and stuffed back in, followed by the scrubs - what she'll do with them, she has no idea, but maybe they'll be worth carrying around - but poke around as she might, she can't find any weapons, not even a dinky little dagger.

So, next step: weapon. If the best she can do is a tree branch, then that's what she's getting, and it's easy enough to wrench a low-lying one off a nearby tree and quickly snap off the little branchlets growing along it. It's not her spear, but it'll do in a pinch.

Before she sets out, she does actually pull off the boots and wet socks, stuffing the socks into the bag with the rest of the mess someone decided to drop on her and carrying the boots by the laces. With how heavy they are, they'll probably make a decent projectile weapon if she needs to use them as such, and her feet are tough enough to handle going barefoot on relatively even ground like this. Once she's finally ready, Fang hikes the back up on her left shoulder, makes sure of the grip of her branch with her right, and begins to circle the buildings she can see in counter-clockwise movement so she can try and figure out exactly what the hell is going on.

Comments

[twistedjudge]

What happens will be what always happens when Vanille wants a new pet: Fang will evaluate that animal as a potential work or food source, kind of shake her head at the whole matter, and then give in and take care of whatever it was if not quite to the same amount Vanille does, still a pretty good bit. A lot of animals on Gran Pulse weren't meant to be tamed, however, and one incident too many had lead to Fang suggesting that Vanille "adopt" one of the little robots that helped out around the community, since it had an AI that functioned on a high enough level to be receptive to a human. All in all it had worked out. Hopefully this little critter would, too, because Fang could already tell there would be no separating the thing from Vanille, and probably no separating Vanille from it. And of course there's a dog as well. Why wouldn't there be a dog.

"Couldn't leave you again, now could I. Wouldn't be much of a family if I had." Even if she hadn't realized she had, knowing Vanille had been alone for so long still hits her where it hurts. And with that reminder of how much time has passed, Fang takes a further step back, letting the branch drop and reaching down to grab the crocdog as he once again tried to dart between their feet, seeking assurance. With a firm nod, she focuses on Vanille once again, brooking no arguments here. "Let's see that brand. Now." Her own is very obviously on display, since she's still wearing next to no clothing and not caring at all.

[tosavecocoon]

Vanille could say that the dog wasn't planned, but to be honest none of the animals she has were really planned. The four purple ones might have been more so than any of the others. She had at least worked to earn their trust. The reptilian dog had found her and refused to leave her alone and the puppy had just turned up one day. She has a herd of animals all her own.

On the other hand, she could argue that she was the one who had left Fang alone this time, being the first one to have arrived here, but the words die on her tongue and instead she just shakes her head. For a moment, she leans over to give the reptilian dog a pat on its head to reassure it before she starts working the waistband of her pants down. She doesn't have much modesty, either, and Fang has always been family enough to ignore that. Besides, she'd expected the question about her brand right away. It always comes second, if not first thing.

"It hasn't changed since I got here. It's like it's been frozen."

Except it looks exactly as it should, which is all the more puzzling, but at least she isn't as worried about it reaching the last little bit to turn her Cie'th.

[twistedjudge]

Animals were rarely planned with her. It was just something that happened with Vanille, something they'd learned to live with. And coping and adapting they were used it. They could do it again - at least, at long as the brand wasn't getting any worse.

Crocdog wrapped in one arm (and seemingly content to stay there), Fang waits while Vanille pulls down the pants, ready for... just about anything. But even still, she frowns when she sees the brand, still in that last stage that it had been in going into Eden and the Cradle, when it had progressed so rapidly before that. "You've been here a month and you haven't tipped over the line?" That's... never happened, at least not in her experience, or even the stories she's familiar with. Usually the final stages go much faster than the beginning, as the l'Cie begins to worry and panic about the approaching end. This cycle through, Vanille's brand had begun slowly, but after the Purge and all of that mess, it had gotten faster, more in time with the rest of their new little family, and they'd all been right on the cusp of the end.

Looking back up to meet Vanille's gaze, Fang is obviously wary - but her sister will also be able to see a guarded hope in her eyes. "You think it's been turned off?"

[tosavecocoon]

Whether it's hope or sheer desperation and determination or something else entirely keeping her brand from tipping over into that final transformation, she doesn't know. Whatever it is, she just knows that she's still here and her brand is exactly where she last saw it on Cocoon. Someone or something has it stopped for whatever reason.

She shakes her head at Fang's question, answering as best she can. Nothing has changed, oddly enough. It's a relief, but also it makes her worry about the future. Will it ever become active again, like it was? And if it does, will it eventually jump through the time it's already missed? Will she suddenly just go Cie'th without warning?

Those are questions she doesn't want to address, but may not have a choice in.

For now, though, she pushes all of that out of her mind, locking them away like she usually does so she can focus on the here and now.

"Maybe?" she agrees cautiously. "It should have progressed a lot faster by now. But it hasn't... so maybe coming here wasn't the worst thing for it."