Oerba Dia Vanille | FFXIII (sparkofhope) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2017-11-14 07:27:00 |
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It was almost a good thing that Vanille had posted that message while Fang was at work, or at least that was what the hunter kept trying to tell herself. At least at work she had to keep her cool. The other good thing about work shortly before a holiday? People were ready and willing to be extra stupid. Which meant Fang got to be extra rough. Not that these people fully and truly deserved her ire, but it didn’t change the fact that her emotions had to go somewhere. It wasn’t like she could go out and hunt a Behemoth, or slaughter some Cie’th or something here. At least Vanille had apologized. The other woman had also a little too keenly hit the nail on the head about the problem that had occurred between them. Vanille being so reckless had horrified Fang. What if the other woman had been permanently turned into a chocobo? What if whatever fucking Fal’Cie had cursed them decided it had enough of Vanille’s shenanigans and just opted to turn her into a Cie’th on the spot? What if…. What if Fang hadn’t been able to stop Vanille from being lost? What if that had caused her to break her promise that she’d always find Vanille? What if….. What if. Thankfully, none of that had happened, and Fang didn’t need to worry about going home to fight a huge bird out of the kitchen or some other such nonsense. It was a relief as much as it riled her up all at the exact same time. Regardless, once off shift the hunter had hung back at the bar for another twenty minutes. Shooting the breeze with the bartender for a few - catching some entertaining stories along the way - and knocking back a few drinks of her own before heading home for the night. It wasn’t a terribly far walk - would have been faster if she’d jumped about to close some of the distance a bit more rapidly, but… Fang took her time. She walked slowly, hands stuffed into fabric as she mulled over what it was she was thinking, what she’d felt, what it was she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. There was no good way to approach this really. Fang was hurt, and upset, and angry and scared all balled into one tall partly drunk dragoon. Even with taking her time the distance between work and the house seemed far too short before she was fishing out keys to the apartment while standing outside the door. Noctis was right, this shit was complicated, and honestly she’d burn out most of her rage on just…. Being angry before she’d even made it to the door. At this point? The hunter partly just wanted to wave Vanille off, and walk straight into her room and close the door on the other woman for the rest of the night. It was tempting. But that wasn’t how this would go. Instead a deep inhale was taken before the key was inserted into the door, and Fang moved into the apartment her and Vanille shared, nudging the door closed behind her as one hand reached back to lock it - such an odd action but needed while living where they did unlike back home - before shifting to remove her sandals. “You up?” Would be called out - with a mild slur of speech from the booze - into the apartment as it was a bit late. With that Fang put her shoes off to the side and moved into the main living space they both occupied. When Vanille ordered her chocobo costume she honestly hadn't even considered what that might mean to Fang. To Vanille, it was all fun and games. Nothing but a good laugh when everything was said and done. She hadn't even considered that maybe this was some dangerous magic to be left alone. Everyone who had changed into their costume had turned back within a few days, so it hadn't even crossed her mind that maybe hers might end up permanent. However, when Vanille and Prompto had met up with their costumes to try out this whole costume changing business she had been super bummed when she didn't change. Instead of immediately taking off the costume, she had kept it on the rest of the day because she looked adorable! When she posted about how the costumes didn't change her and Prompto she hadn't realized how upset Fang and Noctis would get over the ordeal. She was genuinely sorry for whatever distress she had cause for them both, particularly Fang. The prospect of having this talk with Fang her incredibly nervous. She had apologized. She felt deeply sorry for her actions. So why couldn't they just move passed this without having a talk? She didn't want Fang to be upset with her, but she suspected there was no way around that. Vanille had settled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and only kind of, sort of watching a show. She had eventually fallen asleep, only waking up she she heard Fang call out. She sat up, looking bewildered as she looked around. “Huh ?” Her eyes settled on Fang and she felt her cheeks flush a little as she remembered their conversation earlier. “Oh…. hey,” she said lamely. “Hey.” Fang would offer back passively without much of a thought - her voice telling of exhaustion that was more emotional than physical - as she meandered into the kitchen. “You eat?” While it was dinner time for her normally Vanille would have likely had supper already. It was a struggle between their schedules that she hadn’t particularly cared for, and had caused her to mull over Noctis’ comments that perhaps she should become a trainer instead of continuing as a bouncer like she had been so far. The words had been spoken as she ruffled through cupboards, attempting to figure out how at to eat even though nothing seemed appealing on this instant at all. Vanille quietly watched Fang as she moved to the kitchen. She didn't follow, though. She didn't want to get into an argument or a talk anywhere in the apartment. She felt incredibly guilty, but she didn't want to discuss this. She knew it was necessary but that didn't mean she had to like it. She probably even looked like a little puppy waiting to be scolded. “Yeah,” she called out to reply. Well, not really because her stomach had been full of butterflies. She had picked at a salad earlier. She had eaten maybe a quarter of it and it filled her up. Mainly because her stomach was in knots, but it still did the job. Vanille kept her eyes on the kitchen entrance as she waited for Fang to reemerge. The problem when you were tried - both physically and emotionally - was that nothing felt like it was worth the time and energy to do. Even feeding yourself in some instances. Finally out of sheer frustration with herself, and the circumstances of that night, the hunter simply grabbed a box of cereal and a bottle of water and padded out into the living room with one in each hand before dropping down onto the couch near Vanille. “Good.” Came the final decision for response as Fang simply put the bottle of water down beside her, and began the process of shoving a hand into the box to fish out dry bits of cereal to pop in her mouth. There would be a couple moments allowed to tick by before a heavy sigh would be release and Fang would put the box aside, reaching over to grab at Vanille’s arm and pull the other woman close if allowed to do so. “Don’t scare me like that.” The words were gruff, frustrated, but tender in their own way, filled with a notable concern even if Fang was still a bit sore about the whole thing. Vanille stayed silent as her eyes followed Fang’s every movement when she was back in Vanille's line of view. Really, there wasn't any reason to be nervous. She just didn't like having conversations in which someone was in trouble, which is what she felt this was going to end up being. She was very quiet as Fang ate, biting her lip gently. Her eyes followed the movement of Fang’s hand, not even caring that she was staring. What Vanille was doing was gauging Fang’s emotions, trying to figure out what might be going on in her head. Well, it didn't work very well to say the least. Suddenly she was pulled closer to Fang, her eyes a little wide. She smiled slightly, sighing as she pulled her legs up onto the couch. “I'm sorry,” she said in a small voice, really, truly sorry for scaring Fang the way she had. It hadn't been her intention. She had just wanted to have a little fun. And hey, she had done it in the presence of a friend! So at least there would have been a witness. “What do you think would have happened if whatever was causing people to change into their costumes had worked on you?” There was a bit of grit in this question, one that clearly showed she was displeased with the whole conversation as well, but at the same time was trying her best not just to lash out and yell or put her hand through the wall at the same time. Fang didn’t want to just start growling accusations at Vanille but this had seemed reckless at best, and deadly at worst. One arm slipped around Vanille’s shoulders, laying heavily there as eyes turned down towards the other woman. What the hell would the hunter have done if Vanille had gotten turned into a chocobo? Or worse a Cie’th? Well… The chocobo she could probably deal with but Cie’th were mindless beasts bent on wanton destruction and violence and… Fang couldn’t let Vanille lead a life filled with a mind of insanity and a lust for violence when… Well… That wasn’t Vanille. But killing Vanille? Even if she was a Cie’th? ….. That might just break the hunter more than she’d ever care to admit. “It thought I’d change into a chocobo for a few days and then back to myself,” she said honestly with a little shrug. The thought of being stuck like that had never even crossed her mind. So far, everyone else who had changed had turned back to normal after a few days. Why should Vanille be any different? “I thought it would be fun,” she added. The costume had been put away in her closet, unsure whether she wanted to put it on again even if she had thought it was absolutely adorable. She didn’t think Fang would appreciate her wearing it again, unless maybe Fang agreed to let Vanille put it on in front of Fang as a witness… But she stopped right there before that thought could come out. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Fang. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Fang.” Another heavy sigh was given as fingers smoothed over Vanille’s arm. This was a mess. It didn’t seem like the other woman was lying but…. She’d wait for the other woman to finish with everything she had to say before trying to put together her own thoughts on the matter to discuss it further. “I know.” Her voice was heavy with a weary frustration. “But what if you hadn’t changed back?” Well, that question made her stop and think a moment. She hadn’t thought of that. The idea of not changing back sunk in, realization spreading over her face as she stared at Fang. She didn’t have a good answer to that, because there was no good answer. She had just wanted to have a little fun, see what it was like to be a chocobo, then carry on with her life. “I don’t know… I hadn’t thought about that. But why wouldn’t I? I mean, everyone else changed back, why wouldn’t I? Why would I be singled out as the only one who didn’t change back?” “Magic’s unpredictable. Doesn’t seem like anyone knows what’s caused this or how.” While this hadn’t been the biggest of her concerns on the network, it was something that seemed to be talked about enough that it’d been hard to miss. Though the deeper. Darker thought of the whole mess still lingered in the back of her mind. One the hunter wasn’t sure she wanted to add in or address but…. “Plus, we’ve got no idea how it could have interacted with your brand.” There was a lingering pause, almost like Fang didn’t want to speak, didn’t want to even consider the words and thoughts that had lingered in her mind. “What if this was the system shock that turned you into a Cie’th?” Vanille frowned, because she understood about magic. It was indeed unpredictable and dangerous. Maybe it had shown a pattern thus far, but maybe it could have changed before she tried on that costume. She hadn't even considered that possibility. She suddenly felt a dead weight in the pit of her stomach. Her brow furrowed even more at that last question. Vanille was silent for a couple of minutes as Fang’s words sunk in. She was reckless and she hadn't completely thought this through. She and Prompto had just wanted to have some fun. The idea of turning into a Cie’th was all Fang had to say for Vanille to stay the hell away from any costume. “That never even crossed my mind,” she said very seriously, her tone dark. Vanille thought about becoming a Cie’th all the time. It was why she appeared so cheerful and happy all the time. She needed something to keep her from thinking about her possible fate. Fang hadn’t wanted to bring this conversation to light. Honestly, she really hadn’t, but there was no way to discuss what had happened, and why she’d been so upset at the rash actions other than to delve into the deeper possibilities of what could have happened here. Thankfully, none of it had happened, and it seemed like none of it would, but it still didn’t mean that they shouldn’t talk about what was going on here. The fall in Vanille’s demeanor though? Oh, that was… It was gutting, and instantly made Fang feel like a horrible person for even bringing it up. “Afraid it hadn’t.” The hunter commented when Vanille confirmed that she’d never even crossed her mind. A soft squeeze was given to the other woman’s shoulder. “Done now.” A beat. “Gotta be more careful.” Came a sort of reassurance as Fang attempted to ease Vanille’s worries, or upsetness about this all now. Vanille felt so reckless and selfish right now. She should have known better. She should have left it along until they had been given official notification that costumes were safe. She rested her head on Fang’s shoulder. “I'm sorry,” she said quietly. “I promise I'll be more careful. I'll talk to you if I want to try out anything that might be dangerous.” Which could be everything in Tumbleweed. A kiss was placed against the section of head that was nearest to Fang’s mouth. It was good that her anger had roared out in a burst of flame earlier, it allowed her to be here for Vanille like this when the other woman realized all the problems this could have potentially caused. “It’s alright.” There was another beat, another pause as the hunter took a moment to simply breathe. “That’s all I want.” There was another hesitation here, a consideration. “Don’t always expect you to agree with me, or even like what I have to say, but….” There was a deep concern etched into her voice. “I want to know what I’m going to need to go stab at least.” It was a minor bit of humor interjected as an attempt to lighten them both up. There was really no need at all for Fang to feel bad about Vanille’s current actions. Vanille had at least realized it could have ended very, very badly and she was glad it had been pointed out to her. Vanilled needed to learn sem restraint, in all honesty. She wanted to have fun and make friends and see all the places, but she also tended to forget that sometimes her choices had bad consequences. This could have been one of them. "I know,” she said with a little nod. Vanille finally made a little snort of laughter. “Yeah, it’s good to know what you’re going to have to fight,” she joked. There was a brief moment of consideration as Fang gave the other woman’s shoulders a squeeze. “Hasn’t stopped me before.” The grin couldn’t be helped as they’d both known forever if there was something that needed stabbing? Well, Fang was all too happy to get stabbing. Thoughts regarding how at least she’d always know what she was fighting for were left to linger within the confines of her own mind. For now at least. No reason to add more heavy stuff - even if it was good heavy - to a situation that already seemed to have more than enough of that. It would be easy just to sit here and cuddle and let the night pass them by. |