dear_mun | (no subject)

Aww, but you looked so peaceful in crystal.

So pretty to look at, but so cold... and unfeeling... and unchanging...

Hello to you too, Lumina.

Just as charming as ever, I see.

[Snort.] Look who's talking, Ms. Savior.

I wonder what would happen if got forced to go somewhere where you had to make friends? That would be a laugh.

[Huff.]

I'm perfectly capable of making friends.

Oh really?

"Hi, my name is Lumina. What's yours?"

You're seriously going to--[Sigh.]Fine, I'll play along.

"Name's Lightning. My friends call me Light."

[Kekeke.] "Nice to meet you, Lightning. What kind of things do you like?"

"Likewise. I enjoy reading, working...and spending time with my sister. You?"

"Hmmmm~! I also like reading! I love playing with people and helping them out too!

I mean, the world has been so dull for so long. I like to think I provide a little bit of excitement in everyone's lives!"

"That's...good. Sometimes people need a little excitement in their lives. Especially in duller times."

... huh. Never would have expected to hear that from you, sis. You're really trying, aren't you?

[Faintest hint of a smile.]

Yes. [After having it drilled into her head that she really should try to be more sociable.]

You know something? That's the first time you've ever asked me a personal question.

I hope you don't get in trouble for slacking. I bet Hope would be like, "it's your duty as the Savior to save souls, not to stand about and chit-chat!"

Surprise.

Hardly. I'm running solo as of this moment.

Well this is news to me. C'mon sis, spill the beans.

I finished my duty, hence why I'm here and not racing around doing God's bidding.

Huh. So the old world... what happened to it?

It sunk into the Chaos.

Hmph. Figured as much.

... You know, I always hated how everyone called you the Savior. Because you could never "save" the world. And you never wanted to.

I couldn't save a dying world, I couldn't save people who didn't want to be saved...

[Shakes her head.]

Unwilling as I was, the proper incentive was dangled over my head.

You never even tried to save the world!

You just cared about the soul of your stupid dead sister!!

[Winces, averting her gaze.]

You're right. I won't deny that.

"You're right"? "You won't deny that"?

What kind of answer is that?! Argh, this is exactly why I hate you! Just close your eyes and let the pain wash over you, right? Because if you even tried to keep your eyes open, you'd see just how much you were really hurting everyone!

What do you want me to say? "I'm sorry I was such a horrible Savior." Perhaps I should have let Noel run me through, or should I have done it myself and saved everyone the pain of seeing my face again?

I tried. I tried!

Well maybe you should have died then!

[It's the kind of childish outburst that one regrets immediately after saying it. Lumina goes uncharacteristically quiet and turns away from Lightning, shoulders shaking.]

[She doesn't know what to say after that, but she tries, once..twice..nothing.

In the end she takes a step forward, extending a hand towards Lumina.]

[Lumina doesn't move, even feeling Lightning's hand on her shoulder. When she does speak, it's barely a whisper.]

... Nova Chrysalia was the only world I ever knew. And no-one cared about it. Everyone just moped around, waiting for their stupid apocalypse to come.

But I cared about it...

[She tightens her grip on Lumina's shoulder just slightly before pulling her hand away, lifting it to run over her face.

She understands now. She understands on a level she couldn't at the time.]

I-- [And she trails off, wondering..could she have saved the entire world if things had gone differently? If she had played a different hand? Come up with a better plan than "wing it."]

I'm sorry. I was told...that there was nothing I could do for Nova Chrysalia. I was told that I could only save the souls of the people there.

[And then she found out precisely how badly she'd been played, how many strings she'd allowed to be tied around her. How...in reality, how terribly she'd failed.]

You're just like the rest. You're no Savior at all... you're one more person who gave up on the world.

But hey, everyone gets to be reborn in the shiny new world, right? You even saved the soul of a robot and a cat. "Everybody" gets to leave. No-one left behind.

[She almost rebukes that first statement. If she knew how the hell to seal away all the unseen Chaos again, she would have.]

That was the goal. Save everyone. Everyone I could...

... would you have saved me?

Or just the soul inside of me? That's what you really cared about, after all. [Lightning can make out wisps of Chaos forming around Lumina, just like it did with Noel, Snow and the rest of her friends...]

[The corner of her mouth twitches just slightly, a varying degree of emotions warring for full control.

Talk about a loaded question, Lumina.]

Both you, and her.

Liar...

You're a liar! You can't stand to look at me any more than I can stand you! Because you don't care about anything! You don't care about saving souls, you don't care about the world and you don't care about your sister!

You're just doing it because it's a "job", right? You're the Savior, so it's your job to save the world. You're a big sister, so it's your job to look after your little sister! Everything has to be a job because everything can be just a bunch of goals that you have to get done by the end of the day, and you can just deal with all the bad stuff like it's some kind of... obligation!

So what's it going to be, Claire? Save poor old Lumina to fulfil your quota? "Oops, looks like she hasn't got a real soul, so she's not my job any more!" Just leave her behind, and focus on the goals you can accomplish! Pull out the soul and leave the body to rot! She'll manage on her own, she's a big girl and she can control the Chaos so she'll be fine! It doesn't matter that she has a sister to take care of, she'll be fine! It doesn't matter that she has to risk her life to feed her family, she'll be fine! It doesn't matter that she has to become something she hates, she'll be fine!

She'll... she'll be fine...

[The tears start to fall.]

... e-everyone left me, Claire... mom... dad...

[She recoils abruptly, a strangled noise of anguish torn from her throat. Lumina had taken a knife and plunged it directly into a half healed scar, stabbed it in over and over until there was nothing Lightning could do to stop the bleeding. So Instead, she found herself staring, wide eyed, tears burning at the corners of her eyes.

Desperation, Fear, Confusion, Worry. It wasn't right---It wasn't right---It wasn't right.

Hatred. Hatred...Hatred. It screamed inside her head over and over and over. What she'd done what she couldn't have done, what she wanted to do.

Every loss, every argument, every harsh word she wished she'd never said. Those seconds where she wished she'd made a different decision. Every. Single. Life. She. took. All of it slammed down on her now, dragging another anguished noise from her.]

A jo--I do--[Her hand went to her chest, gripping the fabric of her jacket.]

You---You--[Lightning's jaw snaps shut, teeth grinding until she tastes blood.]

Nothing I ever did was just a "job." I cared about the plight of every person I saved, I cared more about my sister than my own life!

All the pain, all the times I thought I was going to screw up..or die...you think I just brushed it off as a goddamned obligation?! Absolutely not!

[She couldn't feel as the Savior, but the part of her brain that knew she should managed. She wasn't the Savior anymore, not really...not...]

[Her rage dissipates as quickly as it had flared to life, and she jerks forward, pulling Lumina into a hug...]

But I came back, I always came back...

[Lumina just cries into Lightning's jacket for a while, clinging to her as if for dear life. Eventually she calms down enough to manage a muffled sob into Lightning's clothes.]

I'm sorry... please don't leave me...

[And Lightning just holds her while she cries, only pulling back when she finally speaks.]

I won't...not again..

Savior, have you found the part of yourself to save?

Yes. I have and I did.

I am glad you were able to find her, Lightning.

So am I. How are you faring, Yeul?

I have fared much better recently.

I have begun to splinter, I am sure you know what this means.

Glad to hear.

Splinter. [She has a vague idea, yes.]

Caius asked for my hand, I am glad, but I do not know what will become of us.

It's about time he did...

Whatever happens, I hope it goes well.

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I played with you before ~~~~

Oh haaaii

I MISSED YOU MAN. AMAZING LIGHT FTW

Th-Thank you <3

def. welcome!~

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