cursedwithpuns | .[Hope Estheim - 0.0.2. Action]. The wait is excruciating!~ (Cherrygrove)

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.[Hope Estheim - 0.0.2. Action]. The wait is excruciating!~ (Cherrygrove)

[Hope had gotten up early this morning. After speaking to Lightning on the phone everyday since he arrived? The anticipation of seeing her again was making him fidget. His Absol was standing down by his feet. Watching him pace.

Hope is basically waiting for his welcome wagon to arrive. Feel free to stop by and poke him, call him on the cell or whatever you please really.]

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Lead the way, then. I'll watch the rear.

[There may be nothing to watch for, but she means that...even if it's mostly so he doesn't see her face for a bit. Etro, how is she going to tell him all he needs to know...]

I've got point then.

[He leads the way back to the inn. Thinking about the questions he had to ask Lightning.]

The hot chocolate here is nice. And the Lady puts extra marshmallows on it for me in the morning.

[A nod as she listens. Hot chocolate with extra marshmallows...he deserves things like that, when he can get them. Which won't be that often, though. Not after they leave.]

Enjoy it while you can. It's a week's walk to the next town once we leave.

That's okay. I want to meet more pokemon.

[Hope smiles at Lightning.]

But a week? Wow... How far is it?

You'll meet plenty, don't worry about that.

[As for how far...well, she's not sure.]

I've never tried to measure it, but it's still a long walk. It doesn't take as long to fly over, though.

Fly? They have Airships here?

[Hope blinked. He hadn't seen any airships since he got here he was sure of it! Or... was he?]

No. We fly on our Pokémon, if they know how and can support our weight.

[But she will be damned if she lets you up on a bird, lil' bro. It's so not happening.]

Really?!

[Super excitable midget is excitable!]

There are pokémon big enough to fly us around? That's so cool!

[His enthusiasm is also something she'd missed terribly, so she only nods and smiles.]

Big enough to fly on and some big enough to ride on when we're on the ground. I can introduce you to mine once we're settled.

Okay!

[And for a little while? All the troubling thoughts he had while he was on his own melted away for a few minutes of unbridled dorky joy.]

[Those few minutes of unbridled joy really, really, really make Lightning smile. He deserves as much happiness as he can get, and always will, but there's a lot they've got to talk about.

And they're right at the door to the Inn, too. This could get ugly, fast.]

Which is your room?

This one.

[He walked down the hall and gestured them inside. Hope sat down on his bed, his stuff somewhat untidy, his bag in the corner and his clothes on the floor. He had meant to pick them up...]

So... um. Where do we start?

[The mess doesn't really bother Lightning, and she shuts the door behind her as she enters, taking a moment to take one deep breath. In for a gil, in for a pound.]

At the beginning. What's the last thing you remember from home?

We saved everyone. We'd gone through Crystal Stasis and we didn't have a brand.

[That was an odd question.]

Why? Did you think I had amnesia about that too?

[While her expression is a relieved one at his answer, she shakes her head. Amnesia about this never crossed her mind.]

People can come from different times, have different memories. The last time Snow was here, he didn't remember us defeating Orphan. The last thing he remembered was all of us turning into Cie'th.

[Sigh]

I just needed to know how much you remembered, that's all.

Different times?

[Hope looked at Lightning stricken.]

What if someone turned up with their brand! The shock could turn them into a Cei'th! And then what-- We couldn't fight them off-

[See panicking midget response.]

[See big sis all but lunge forward to put her hands on your shoulders, midget-bro. Calm down!]

Hope, listen to me! We have no magic here. No powers. We're just human here, brands or not. No one would turn into a Cei'th here.

Are you sure?

[What're you saying Hope. Of course Lightning is sure.]

Sorry... It's been a tough few days.

I'm sure. Vanille showed up with her brand the last time and she didn't go Cie'th on us.

[Still, she nods and sits beside him. She can understand how it would be hard to take.]

Don't worry about it. It's a lot to take in all at once.

Yeah.

[He looks down. He can't figure out how to ask this question, but as soon as he heard the different times... it had burst into his mind like a confetti canon.]

Lightning... Could... Could my mom...?

[That question brings Lightning up short. Nora Estheim is long dead, lost to the wreckage of the Hanging Edge, but Johto...Johto doesn't care about that. There's always a chance...]

She could show up. I just can't say if she will. We have no control over who comes or who goes here.

Edited 2012-02-15 08:34 (UTC)

I...

[Hope is lost for a moment. A flood of emotion preventing him from finishing with "see". He looked down at his feet.

His mom could turn up. Out of the blue. One day. That's... impossible. But, he knew, a lot of things they had achieved together were impossible. He sighed. Not really knowing what else to say.]

I guess... Is there any more bad news? I'd rather have that in one go.

[Lightning keeps a hand on Hope's shoulder, trying to anchor him through the flood she can guess is rushing through him, but she's not entirely sure it works. She would probably be the same if her parents showed up here someday.

His question, however, actually makes her flinch. She'd spent nearly the entire flight here trying to find a way to explain this, but she still can't find the words. He needs to know, but she's unwilling to hurt him anymore than she already has.]

There is, but...it's complicated.

It's okay. Just... tell me.

[Hope looked at Lightning, he put his hand on hers. He wasn't prepared to wonder. He'd rather know one way or the other.

He takes a breath.]

I'm ready.

[Lightning stops, hesitating for one second longer to take a deep breath and gain some kind of stability where she sits. fal'Cie, she doesn't want to do this. Doesn't want to tell him what she's going to, but...what choice does she have?]

I'm dead, Hope. Been dead for almost a year now.

[She knows it's not going to make any sense to him, what with his grip on her hand, but....he has to know. Better he find out now than another, more vulnerable time.]

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