[There had been little opportunity to search the network while down in what remained of Exsilium, and Fang rarely did so besides. Pointless chatter most of the time, by her reckoning, and lately, infighting she had no stock in. For the few people she cared to speak to, she did so in person.
But something moves her to check it this day — boredom, perhaps. A reprieve from the wide expanse of white she's seen every day for the past week. And when she flicks on the communicator, she sees a name she recognizes in the directory.
The settlement she is in is bitterly cold, but for the first time in days, Fang doesn't feel it. She's too focused on setting up a private feed, and when she speaks up, her voice is almost tentative. Inasmuch as she could be tentative, anyway.]
Vanille? Can you hear me?
[They'd been warned not to have private correspondence with the folks on the moonbase, but Fang has never been one to follow rules.]
[vanille had examined her device a little upon arrival, but had quickly grown restless and bored, and opted instead to explore her immediate surroundings.
so it's a bit startling when she's walking around and it does... something, and after a bit of investigative poking around, transmits a voice.
[When Fang hears Vanille's voice, there's an audible sigh of relief on her end.] And here I thought this thing was playing tricks on me. [...] Are you alright? Are you with Light and the others?
[Vanille can hear that relief, and she lets out her own happy sigh in return - Lightning had told her Fang was all right, but Vanille's prone to worrying, so it's not until just now that she really, truly believes it.] I'm fine! Lightning found me, and we've got Hope with us now, too. [A pause.] We haven't found the others yet, but we're looking!
[There's a moment where she debates letting Fang know just how disappointed she is not to be able to see her just yet, but she keeps it to herself, instead opting to begin what is sure to be a barrage of questions.] What's it like down there?
Just Light and Hope, huh? Wonder where the lovebirds wandered off to. [She doesn't sound too concerned, though. Neither one could be too far away, with how cramped the base was.]
As for what it's like down here, it's cold. Lots of snow, and some animals I can't make any sense of. We found the lot in charge here, but they're none too friendly. I have the feeling our living arrangements won't be handed to us this time.
How's it up there? Better not be anyone giving you trouble.
I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find them! Lightning says there's not a lot of room up here. [She's not concerned yet that the two might be gone; none of the others had given an indication of that possibility, and Vanille defers to their greater experience in this weird new world.
She tilts her head as she listens, feeling some of her earlier worry ebb away. Fang is safe (or as safe as Fang ever is) and there is a world down there where she's not cooped up in what amounts to a metal box. Things aren't perfect, but they're better than they could be, and that's good enough for her right now.]
Oh! I haven't seen snow in so long... D'you think we could make snowmen? [Of course that's what Vanille focuses on... not the strange animals, not the unfriendly Initiative, not the uncertainty over where they might stay... but snowmen.]
It's okay up here! A little cramped, but people say we'll be able to leave soon. [She thinks about what Lightning said, how the moon base is the size of Oerba, and keeps that to herself. She doesn't want to remind Fang of their home and make her sad. Instead she considers the people she's met.] Nope, no trouble! [A lie.] I even made some friends! Some of them said they remember me from before. I don't remember them, but they seem nice!
There's enough snow for as many snowmen you can think of. [Some of the gruffness smooths out of her voice, replaced by something warm and affectionate. She's unsurprised that instead of her warnings, the idea of snowmen would be what captured Vanille's attention, but she can't bring herself to be bothered by it. With all they'd gone through as of late, helping Vanille build a snowman was the least she could do.]
Friends, huh. [She makes a note to keep tabs — Vanille made friends wherever she went, but not everyone on the base was friendly.] A lot of them remember us. Said we've been here before...I remember one time, at least. [A pause, and she adds, a little softer:] You've passed through a few times. Sorry I wasn't up there to meet you this time.
[Fang can probably hear the clapping of excited hands. After all's said and done, Vanille is still young, with sometimes childish desires. She needs to do silly things to take her mind off all the bad, just as Fang prefers to hunt or get into fights when the going gets rough.
Then she remembers what Lightning said, about Fang's belief that their lives were unchanged by their time here. Thoughts of snowmen are abandoned, for the time being.] Lightning, she told me... that you thought time was different here? When I asked her... what would happen to Cocoon if we weren't there to save it.
[And at the last bit, she flaps a hand dismissively at the device, even though Fang can't see it.] Ah, it's all right! You'll just have to make it up to me when you see me!
I think so. [There's the sound of Fang settling down somewhere — the rustle of cloth and the crunch of her boots against the snow.] I haven't got any idea if it's true or not, but I do know I've shown up about up a few times now. The first time, I don't remember at all. But the last time, I can remember clear as day. [...] It's like I got dropped off right where I left off, then I got pulled back here again.
It's happened to the others too. Light's shown up and known more than the whole lot of us, but this time she doesn't. I think we may be getting pulled from different places. Different times. 'Least, that's the only thing that makes any sense to me. Some of the other folks around think the same way.
[Unseen, she frowns.] There's another problem though.
[All this talk is a little confusing to Vanille, but she thinks she gets it. She's not stupid, after all, just kinda strange. But it doesn't seem any more impossible to her than the things they've been through at home, or any more improbable than being here in the first place. So she just rolls with it, making tiny noises under her breath to show that she's listening and comprehending.] Well... I guess it's just as likely as anything else! And if other people think so too, then... I'm sure you're right!
[Vanille trusts Fang with her whole heart, trusts her more than she trusts her own self, even. And what she says does make sense, so there's no real reason to question it. For now, at least.
Her brow furrows as she hears the serious note in Fang's voice. She's almost afraid to ask:] What is it?
The people that brought us here are all tied up in a war with who they call the United Earth. They claim... [She puts an emphasis on this.] that this United Earth can find their way back to our world.
If that's the case, they'll do the job the fal'Cie want us to do. [Even though she's dubious, this unsettles her, and it can be heard in her voice.] I don't know if I believe it, and it won't do us any good worrying about that, where we are. [...] But this all sounds like fal'Cie business to me. This Initiative, the United Earth...we should be careful about trusting any side.
[There's a long pause as Vanille takes all this in. She's inherently more trusting than Fang is, quicker to allow people into her heart, but after everything they've been through, all they've found out about the fal'Cie, and the way they'd been made to feel like nothing more than puppets dancing on strings... She's learned to be a little more guarded.
And if there's anything the war between Gran Pulse and Cocoon taught her, it's that the people fighting rarely know what they're really fighting for.
She's quiet when she answers, a little sad.] I know. But... I think we should try to help, if we can.
[Because that's in her nature, too, like trusting and being a little bit strange; Vanille always wants to help, to try and make everything right.]
[She sighs, the sound more heavy and resigned than annoyed. She'd expected that answer, couldn't say she agreed with it, but...
If Vanille wanted to help, she would too. That was all there was to it.] Alright. But we're gonna all stick together, you hear? No running off and doing things by yourself. If you want to help them, I will too.
[Sometimes, she thinks she's forgotten what it's like to be genuine, having lied so much and for so long, keeping up with the smiles and cheer when she'd felt crushed by the weight of grief and guilt.
But Fang's reply carries with it a something that soothes her, and allows Vanille to put that aside, for now. After a hundred thousand missteps back on Gran Pulse, and then Cocoon, maybe here she can finally start out on the right foot, doing the right thing instead of running from it.
A true brightness filters into the edges of Vanille's voice, not forced or duplicitous.] I knew I could count on you!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice, dec. 4th
But something moves her to check it this day — boredom, perhaps. A reprieve from the wide expanse of white she's seen every day for the past week. And when she flicks on the communicator, she sees a name she recognizes in the directory.
The settlement she is in is bitterly cold, but for the first time in days, Fang doesn't feel it. She's too focused on setting up a private feed, and when she speaks up, her voice is almost tentative. Inasmuch as she could be tentative, anyway.]
Vanille? Can you hear me?
[They'd been warned not to have private correspondence with the folks on the moonbase, but Fang has never been one to follow rules.]
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so it's a bit startling when she's walking around and it does... something, and after a bit of investigative poking around, transmits a voice.
a very welcome voice.]
Fang!
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[There's a moment where she debates letting Fang know just how disappointed she is not to be able to see her just yet, but she keeps it to herself, instead opting to begin what is sure to be a barrage of questions.] What's it like down there?
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As for what it's like down here, it's cold. Lots of snow, and some animals I can't make any sense of. We found the lot in charge here, but they're none too friendly. I have the feeling our living arrangements won't be handed to us this time.
How's it up there? Better not be anyone giving you trouble.
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She tilts her head as she listens, feeling some of her earlier worry ebb away. Fang is safe (or as safe as Fang ever is) and there is a world down there where she's not cooped up in what amounts to a metal box. Things aren't perfect, but they're better than they could be, and that's good enough for her right now.]
Oh! I haven't seen snow in so long... D'you think we could make snowmen? [Of course that's what Vanille focuses on... not the strange animals, not the unfriendly Initiative, not the uncertainty over where they might stay... but snowmen.]
It's okay up here! A little cramped, but people say we'll be able to leave soon. [She thinks about what Lightning said, how the moon base is the size of Oerba, and keeps that to herself. She doesn't want to remind Fang of their home and make her sad. Instead she considers the people she's met.] Nope, no trouble! [A lie.] I even made some friends! Some of them said they remember me from before. I don't remember them, but they seem nice!
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Friends, huh. [She makes a note to keep tabs — Vanille made friends wherever she went, but not everyone on the base was friendly.] A lot of them remember us. Said we've been here before...I remember one time, at least. [A pause, and she adds, a little softer:] You've passed through a few times. Sorry I wasn't up there to meet you this time.
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Then she remembers what Lightning said, about Fang's belief that their lives were unchanged by their time here. Thoughts of snowmen are abandoned, for the time being.] Lightning, she told me... that you thought time was different here? When I asked her... what would happen to Cocoon if we weren't there to save it.
[And at the last bit, she flaps a hand dismissively at the device, even though Fang can't see it.] Ah, it's all right! You'll just have to make it up to me when you see me!
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It's happened to the others too. Light's shown up and known more than the whole lot of us, but this time she doesn't. I think we may be getting pulled from different places. Different times. 'Least, that's the only thing that makes any sense to me. Some of the other folks around think the same way.
[Unseen, she frowns.] There's another problem though.
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[Vanille trusts Fang with her whole heart, trusts her more than she trusts her own self, even. And what she says does make sense, so there's no real reason to question it. For now, at least.
Her brow furrows as she hears the serious note in Fang's voice. She's almost afraid to ask:] What is it?
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If that's the case, they'll do the job the fal'Cie want us to do. [Even though she's dubious, this unsettles her, and it can be heard in her voice.] I don't know if I believe it, and it won't do us any good worrying about that, where we are. [...] But this all sounds like fal'Cie business to me. This Initiative, the United Earth...we should be careful about trusting any side.
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And if there's anything the war between Gran Pulse and Cocoon taught her, it's that the people fighting rarely know what they're really fighting for.
She's quiet when she answers, a little sad.] I know. But... I think we should try to help, if we can.
[Because that's in her nature, too, like trusting and being a little bit strange; Vanille always wants to help, to try and make everything right.]
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If Vanille wanted to help, she would too. That was all there was to it.] Alright. But we're gonna all stick together, you hear? No running off and doing things by yourself. If you want to help them, I will too.
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But Fang's reply carries with it a something that soothes her, and allows Vanille to put that aside, for now. After a hundred thousand missteps back on Gran Pulse, and then Cocoon, maybe here she can finally start out on the right foot, doing the right thing instead of running from it.
A true brightness filters into the edges of Vanille's voice, not forced or duplicitous.] I knew I could count on you!