Goodbye Apathy [Cole]

Branded.

Branded a l’Cie. What the hell was a l’Cie, anyway? The most grammatically incorrect word the still-young Nabradian had ever seen? No, it was far more than that, Cole supposed. Branded. He was property of a fal’Cie now. And to think – two days ago, Cole hadn’t even known what the hell a fal’Cie was. Sadly, he hadn’t had the luxury of a slow, comfortable introduction to them. Nope – first one he’d met had been a complete asshole and had wasted no time in throwing this weird tattoo on Cole’s arm and told him if he didn’t complete something called a focus, he would be a monster sometime in the near future. Cole had genuinely started to like this strange, floating, crystallized planet, known as Cocoon, before his encounter with that…thing. Now he decided he could not have traveled through the last portal and ended up in a worse place.

But panicking wouldn’t do him any good – Cole knew this better than most. So, what did he know so far? Well, not much, to be honest. That’s why he was here – in Eden. He didn’t know much about Eden either, but he had picked up enough information here and there to find out that this had apparently once been the government seat of this planet before it had been turned to crystal, apparently by some l’Cie that didn’t live here anymore…but Cole doubted l’Cie could pull something like this off, considering he didn’t feel any different than before. Regardless, he assumed that, even though this place was partially ruined by the presence of monsters from another planet called Gran Pulse, he could find some sort of library where he could find some more information on what exactly a l’Cie was and what the deal with this whole ‘focus’ thing happened to be. He’d also look for a way to kick fal’Cie ass while he was at it.

Glancing one last time at the markings on his forearm, Cole let out an audible sigh and covered it up in a wrap of bandages. A couple of the people he’d run into after his nice little meeting with Barthandelus had looked at him funny after they’d seen his arm, and he didn’t want someone really having an adverse reaction just because he hadn’t been careful to conceal his ‘brand’. Having done that and returned his pistol to its holster, Cole trotted out from the derelict building he’d taken a nap in and set out into Eden, evading the people that were here to rebuild as best he could without looking like he was trying to avoid them. Needless to say, that didn’t go particularly well, but at least no one bothered him all that much.

-----------------------------------------

A few minutes of walking hadn’t brought him to anything particularly useful, as he’d kind of expected, considering he didn’t know a thing about this place. He’d approached a couple of people so far and asked them where he could find a good history book lying around, but none of them really seemed to know, and they doubted anything of worth had survived the attack on Eden when Cocoon had been crystallized, at that. Frustration worked its way into Cole’s countenance as he walked along, supposing he’d just be ignorant of what this whole l’Cie thing was all about up until the day he just woke up and found out that he was some kind of monster. Cole didn’t exactly believe everything the fal’Cie had said, but hell if he couldn’t help but be worried about what might happen to him. He liked living quite a bit, to be honest, and he didn’t like the idea of leaving one single Pike, his sister, out there in the world. And turning into a monster, even if there was no dying involved, almost sounded like the worst possible scenario he could come up with for his own demise.

A growling thankfully jarred him from his distracted thoughts. Turning to look down a side street, Cole didn’t exactly have to strain to see a couple of ugly, dog-looking monsters coming his way. Sadly, they didn’t seem to want his autograph. ”Why now? Why right now?”, the Nabradian asked the open air, drawing both of his pistols and leveling one at the nearest of the two creatures. He took his shot, the familiar crackling boom accompanying it, and groaned as he missed. This was not the best time for slobbering, teeth-laden creatures to come at him, especially when he was extremely short on ammunition and had no way of getting any here, considering they used far more advanced technology here than back on Ivalice. His second shot pegged one of the creatures on the side of its face, thankfully. Much to Cole’s dismay, however, the creature only faltered and remained standing, soon resuming its attack.

Okay, so this wasn’t going to go well.

He backpedaled briskly, firing yet again as he tried to get himself out of this narrow streetway and into a more open area. The latest shot actually managed to fell one of the monsters, but as soon as one of them fell over, another decided to join the party from behind a pile of rubble. ”Perfect…bring your friends, bring your wife, bring your sister and her husband. There’s a human feast in the neighborhood.” Despite his cynical statement, Cole raised his other weapon and took another shot, again missing and therefore cursing loudly. The sound of more growling brought his backtracking to a swift stop. However, he also heard what seemed to be a human nearby. Dear goddess, he hoped it was a human. Taking a shot to cover himself a moment, he stole a glance down the street he had crossed over into, spotting several more of the creatures surrounding an oddly pink-haired woman nearby. Just from his quick glance, she seemed to be doing a lot better than Cole himself, and she was dealing with a ton of the things.

So, with his ego damaged, Cole stood his ground, aimed properly for a change, and fired, his shot hitting the one on the right almost between the eyes. It dropped nonchalantly. But the next shot tried to take at the other creature never actually materialized – out of ammo. ”Oh boy,” was all Cole could say as he turned his tactical retreat into get the hell out of there, but the monster was right on his heels. Knowing the beast was right behind him and only getting closer to the pack that surrounded the female, Cole had no choice other than to stop, turn, and hope to heaven he could defend himself. He ducked behind his own arms as claws and teeth came lunging for him, and he very much expected to start bleeding profusely any second now. Oh well, then he wouldn’t have anything else to worry about, would he?

A yelp reached his ears. A surprised yelp. And not his own surprised yelp. For a second, Cole just stood still, anticipating the pain. But it never came. Dropping his arms away from his face, the first thing Cole could see was the beast rising to its feet a few yards away and beginning to pace around him, looking all kinds of frustrated. The second thing? Oh, just the really strange, spherical yellow aura that surrounded him on all sides. Yeah, that was probably worth mentioning. Cole’s mouth dropped open and his eyebrows knit as he tried to figure out what the heck had just happened to him. He took a glance over his shoulder towards the pink-haired female to see if she had done anything…and he couldn’t altogether tell, but she sure didn’t seem to have been the one to throw this odd barrier thing around him.

Weird as said odd barrier thing was, Cole hoped it wouldn’t go anywhere until he could get his weapon reloaded, and he eyed the dog-thing to make sure it didn’t get any bright ideas. He also hoped it didn’t freak the woman out, but he didn’t care quite so much about that, anyway.

Words – 1445
Muse – Solid!
Notes – What better way to start than with a little STEELGUARD!? [/size]

”Come on, come on, come on,” Cole mumbled to himself in rapid succession, fumbling desperately as he loaded three fresh shots into his pistol. If he hadn’t been a mess before, he certainly was now, though part of it could be attributed to the adrenaline still coursing through him while he was forced to stand still like this, in his little ball of safety. Now he knew how hamsters felt. It wasn’t enough that his brand would worry him to death, was it? No, he had to have random yellow spheres suddenly pop up and surround him and get chased around a city he wasn’t familiar with by monsters with fifty-thousand teeth. Yeah, the combination was the stuff heart attacks were made of, but fortunately Cole had seen plenty of tough situations in his life and they hadn’t killed him quite yet. Key word there being yet, more than likely.

Finally his weapon was reloaded, and Cole pointed it at the beast that was still pacing around him, trying to get through the yellow sphere. Despite the assumption that his ball of safety could disappear at any moment, Cole stole a glance over his shoulder at the woman, who still seemed to be handling her fairly large group of the monsters with no trouble and now dispatching them with another one of those ridiculously advanced guns they had here. He glanced at his own pathetic flintlock pistol with a roll of his eyes. Well, the beast seemed to take his diverted attention as a time to strike, and Cole yelled defensively and stepped back as it crashed and burned yet again. The Nabradian would have mocked the creature if he could have thought of any good insults, but with his mind running at three thousand clicks a minute and his body tense, thinking straight wasn’t on the top of his list of priorities.

Merely a spectator as the woman approached the last of the creatures and it ran off, Cole felt a relief as the ball of safety disappeared at the same moment. Convenient, if nothing else. Quickly returning his guns to their holsters as she did the same with her…gun...blade…weapon, Cole eyed her up and down for a moment, possibly lacking in subtlety. As had been the case with most of the people here on Cocoon, her garb seemed maybe a little gaudy to a native of Ivalice, but that no longer surprised him. She seemed…really attractive, yeah, but her expression had a coldness to it that told all onlookers to back the hell off. Oh how many times Cole had seen a feminine face with such an expression. Hmm, nice legs, too. She didn’t seem all that talkative, either, and Cole awkwardly put his hands on his hips and looked down the opposite end of the street. At least she hadn’t run away screaming from his little defensive display. Heck, Cole was proud he himself hadn’t run from his own defensive display.

His eyes refused to meet hers for a moment, but he finally stopped looking at the ground and his shoes and her boots and looked up into her face with a good old neighborly smile. ”So…ah…how about this weather?”, he finally asked her. Might as well not beat around the bush about the situation, but still. He didn’t have to go yelling “HEY DID YOU SEE ME DO WHATEVER IT IS I JUST DID? COOL, HUH?” and cause her to stab him for being a l’Cie or anything. Speaking of which…he peeked down at his arm, just to make sure that his brand was still covered. Reassured when he noticed that it was, Cole turned his gaze back on the woman, addressing the beasts partially as a concern, partially just to have something to talk about and keep her from abandoning him out here. All of a sudden, he didn’t feel quite as much in his element with exploring a strange, derelict city as he usually did. He wouldn’t admit that to anyone but himself, though. ”They won’t come back with more of their friends, will they?”, Cole asked her, looking down at one of the fallen monsters. Sweet mercy, it smelled horrible. ”If they don’t kill you in life, they kill you with stink when they die…”

Words – 774
Muse – Good!
Notes – Nothing too much to say. :3[/size]

Cole nodded, obviously not reassured by the pinkette’s analysis but having to take her at her word, since he didn’t know any more about the monsters here than the average aspiring individual who happened to fall through a portal into another world. ”That’s…comforting.” At least he knew that the woman could talk now. He wouldn’t want to be all the way out here in the middle of monster-infested nowhere with a mute. Cole had been forced to talk to himself a little too much these last few days, and he didn’t want the trend to continue. Watching as she poked at some of the monsters with her foot, Cole began to think she knew something he didn’t know and eyed the monster beside him suspiciously, kicking it lightly and cautiously in the stomach a couple of times just to be sure. Thankfully nothing happened, though Cole scared himself a bit when gravity caused one of the monster’s legs to fall over. Good, no zombie dog monsters reviving for today.

Rocking back and forth on his feet a bit awkwardly, Cole decided the woman was taking his whole display of power a lot better than most people would. She still eyed him a little suspiciously, though, and he wondered if she was looking for his mark or some other telling sign that gave him away as a l’Cie. But he stopped all rocking and looked right up into her face when she asked him if he was a l’Cie too, eyes widening in sudden surprise before they narrowed and studied her. That meant two very distinct things. For one, his little display with the ball of safety must’ve had to do with being a l’Cie, as he suspected. Oh, so that was the damned powers Barthandelus had spoken of. Yeah, those would be a real hit at festivals, wouldn’t they? At least until someone brought pitchforks and burned him at the stake like a witch. Otherwise, Cole supposed that by too, she either meant he was yet another l’Cie that she had crossed paths with lately…or she meant that she herself was a l’Cie. He glanced at her arms a moment, looking for a brand, but he supposed that not everyone’s mark ended up on their forearms. Maybe she’d decided to hide hers as well, if she truly had one. Or maybe it was just someplace she that modesty caused her to conceal anyway.

But he supposed he should show her his own mark either way. His eyes quickly moved from one end of the street to the other, making sure that no one seemed to be paying either of them too much attention, and he stepped over one of the beasts, towards his newfound company. Pulling up his right sleeve with the opposite hand and untying the loop in the end of his bandage, Cole quietly sighed at the black markings on his arm once they were once again visible. Hopefully this didn’t get him shot. He said nothing – there was nothing to be said - as he raised the arm and showed off the brand, perched as clear as day just below his elbow, but his expression betrayed just how he felt about it without him having to explain his feelings. Really, he felt angrier about being marked as a l’Cie right that moment than he had at any point over the past forty-eight hours, even after he’d first awoken and noticed the brand on his arm. It just wasn’t fair, plain and simple. Was that immature to say? Maybe. But damn, Cole felt like he deserved to be a little immature about something as ridiculous as being enslaved to a god being. If all that crap about the focus was true, anyway. But hey, optimism could be great sometimes, too. Maybe this woman could give him some answers about all this crap.

Lightning. Now that was a cool name. Sure beat Coulson. Taking the hand extended to him (and wow, nice grip, too) with a somewhat demure smile, Cole introduced himself. ”Coulson…but only my mother ever called me that. Just Cole,” he greeted in return, about as good-naturedly as ever. Though he wasn’t the most trusting individual in the world, especially when it came to the female kind, under the current circumstances Cole couldn’t afford to be picky with potential allies. So what if he jumped to conclusions? Who could really blame him? Not like he could do a background check on everyone he met just to make sure they wouldn't stab him in the back, especially if this 'focus' timer was ticking away. Nope, Cole had to bullshit his way through things, just like he usually did, but with a lot less room for error.

Propping himself up on a little upturned piece of rubble, Cole returned to staring at his feet a bit and wondering what to say or ask next. Aside from apparently being two of a very unlucky kind, Cole figured they had about as much in common as the average chocobo and bureaucrat, especially since Cole wasn't a native and he suspected she was. Though...Light could have been a bit of a loner too, considering she was fighting a bunch of these things all on her lonesome out here where there were barely any people like there were deeper into the city. "Did you live here before...you know, whatever happened, happened?", he asked, as his best idea to continue, unknowing that Light had been one of the very ones to bring Cocoon crashing down not all that long ago. But hey, how was he supposed to know that?

Words – 1007
Muse – Good!
Notes – It’s rather all over the place, sorry. [/size]

"Hmm, it's a shame."

”That’s the understatement of the year,” said the Nabradian, rubbing the fatigue – or possibly the frustration – from his eyes with one hand. He didn’t want to seem bitter or unwelcoming, but damn, if he didn’t have an excuse to be. The brand made Cole feel like he needed two, very differing things – to hit someone or something very, very hard and to find someone who could sympathize with him. He’d found the latter. Just had to make sure he found someone else for the former. Maybe ol’ Barthandelus would show up again and Cole could bash him in the face a good few times, since that had gone so well the last time he tried. Bart would probably go and brand Cole again just to troll him or something. He seemed like the kind of old, godly cretin that would pull a prank like that.

Ah, whatever, Cole couldn’t stand around and daydream about bashing that old fart a new airhole all day. Assuming Light’s brand was under her shirt when she motioned to her chest (and wondering how it got there), he glanced down at his hands, rubbing a recently-acquired scar on one of them. ”Yeah…and neither one of us has control of the oar,” he responded to her, rather dejectedly, about being in the same boat. So…at least he knew he had someone else out here in this weird world in the sky who knew what he was going through. It equally bothered him to know that these fal’Cie were branding their own people as l’Cie too, not just people who fell through these portals they’d created as Cole had. Weren’t these all-powerful beings supposed to be…you know, sort of generous, if a little bit strict? Between the Occuria and the fal’Cie, Cole was starting to think they were all just as prone to childish selfishness as your average human…and maybe moreso.

Thinking about it, though, Cole figured Light had not only the l’Cie thing to deal with, but the shattered ruins of her home here on Cocoon, too. Yet another thing they had in common, it seemed. Eyes turning to the buildings as she gestured to them, Cole recalled his own home city. Nothing much left of Nabudis, either, though Cole hadn’t mustered up the courage to wander back into it until the day he fell through that portal. The only cities that should have been in this kind of shape were the thousand-year-old ones that had been lost for centuries, not a bustling metropolis like Eden or a capital city like Nabudis. Standing to his feet and watching Light study the city, he ended up standing over her shoulder and rubbing at the back of his neck, regarding the broken horizon and releasing a heavy breath. He wanted to at least say something to show he understood, even if he wasn't much of a sentimental guy. ”Losing a home definitely isn't easy... Happened to me once, too.” Just because he’d left Nabudis on his own accord didn’t mean he didn’t still love it. Well, the people that lived there, at least. Too many times he’d had a few dreams about the people he’d known there, wondering if they’d been outside of the city and survived or if they were just another casualty. Too bad he couldn’t have that small sense of optimism about his mother or Rasler…or even his own father.

Nope, they were gone. And now Cole himself probably was too, thanks to his brand. Heartwarming thought right there.

Noticing some of those psy-whatever troops walking by in relative silence, Cole scrutinized them all a moment while they returned the favor. Scratching his back with the marked arm to keep any of them from seeing it, he kept his gaze poised their way and let out a huff once they were out of earshot. ”Yeah, we did your job for you, assholes. Could have been here five minutes ago,” he complained, quietly, obviously talking about having to fight the dog monsters. Cole turned away from them, waving them off listlessly, and immediately wishing something else would come by that he could complain about. Kicking at some rubble on the ground instead, Cole didn’t really have anything else to say for the moment until Light asked him where he was from. Oh boy, now this was going to be a hard thing to explain…

Taking a seat on the hood of a crashed vehicle (he guessed it was a vehicle, anyway), he propped an elbow on his knee and motioned the hand along with his words. ”Well, I’m not from around here, but I'd bet you probably figured that out already,” he replied with an awkward chuckle, looking once more at the absolutely ridiculous technology that was still on display, even in the ruins of the city. This place must’ve been a sight when it was in one piece. ”I was born…well...you know…hold on. Might be easier to explain if I show you.” Feeling around for one of his pouches, he took hold of one of them and pulled a map out. Having unfolded it, he held it up to the woman, figuring she'd either be interested and take it or just scoff at it. ”Ivalice. It’s…ah.........another planet.” Well, there was the crazy part. He paused and studied her face for a moment to make sure she didn’t look like she was about to start laughing, screaming, or any other thing most people would do when a stranger started talking about another planet. Thankfully she didn’t seem all that blown away by it. ”Now would probably be a great time to fit me for a straightjacket, but believe me – a week ago I would’ve thought traveling between worlds was absolute bullshit too." Huffing again, he gave a shake of his head, recalling again how he'd found the first portal and gotten all this crap started. "I wouldn't even be here if...” He stopped his rant before it even started, just trailing off and glancing back up at Light with a look that said You probably know the story without me telling it. He'd spare her of all the details unless she asked.

Glancing down the road where the soldiers were still becoming smaller and smaller as they walked away, Cole decided this wasn't the place to spout out l'Cie stories around the campfire, either. Plus there was the fact that he realized, with a reminder from his moaning stomach, that he was starving, having barely eaten anything since falling through the first portal and especially not since his run-in with Barthandelus. So yeah, now that he'd sat down for a second, he remembered he still had human needs to tend to. "Middle of the road isn't the best place to talk about this anyway, I'm guessing?", he said, standing again and nodding at the soldiers. He went to work trying to fasten the bandage around his arm again - really easy stuff to do with one hand... Yeah, sarcasm. He still had some in him. Still fumbling with it, he looked back to Light. "You know of anywhere we...or I, either one...can get some food and shelter? It's getting kinda late. Doesn't sound like a good idea to be standing out at the open at night with these guys roaming around." He nodded to one of the monsters again, not yet mentioning that he might have some things to ask her...assuming she knew more than he did. Oh boy did he hope so.

Words – 1366
Muse – So much!
Notes – :3 If you'd like, you can have him follow her somewhere in your post. Or they can just stand there LIKE BAWSES. [/size]

"...don't lose hope."

So, it was that bad, huh? Cole could tell enough by the tone of her voice that he didn't need to ask any questions. Even if Light was trying to reassure him, Cole could tell, by the simple fact that she had to tell him not to lose hope, that he would be in for one hell of a time while he dealt with his brand. Realizing this, he just nodded to her in understanding, swallowed, and kept quiet, not even realizing he was scratching an itch on his elbow that didn't exist (and almost drawing blood from a scab there).

Admittedly, Cole didn't know much of anything about the rebuilding here, so he had to search around for something worthwhile to talk about in terms of the city even though he was thankful for the change of subject. "Don't worry, you have PSICOM to keep everyone safe," Cole said, sarcastically.

"I got lucky enough to meet these PSICOM bastards before I even got here." Disgust was evident in his voice as he gestured dismissively towards said bastards, who were turning a corner down at the far end of the nigh-impassible streets. Still fresh on his mind was his run-in with PSICOM back on the first planet a portal had sucked him into. He wondered if Alice had managed to find her way back to Pulse, though he still couldn't understand why she would want to return to a planet where the military spent its free time hunting her. Cole was a strong proponent of "to each their own", though, so if fleeing PSICOM floated Alice's boat, he supposed he didn't have any right to question it. Hopefully she'd made it back in one piece.

Cole chose not to take any conversational bait when Light brought up that she had been a part of a "GC unit". Gods knew that his father's rambling had him permanently disillusioned to all things military, and while curiosity would have dictated he ask her how she'd gone from military to l'Cie, he opted to simply nod his head in understanding. Too many bad memories to merit chatting about it, really, at least while this l'Cie thing already had him rattled. He felt pretty sure that Light would end up telling him something about it later, anyway, if he managed to convince her to give him a little more information on l'Cie.

Watching as Light studied his much-scribbled-on map of Ivalice patiently, Cole prepared himself for "Do you think I'm supposed to believe this?" or some other negative response to his portal story. A blade pressed into his neck was not out of the question, either. He rubbed at the stubble on his chin anxiously until Light responded and informed him that he wasn't completely out of his mind. What a relief. After spending a few seconds mulling over Light's reassurance that the portals were common, he turned back to her with a question. "Think your gods could be causing all these portals?", Cole asked her, contempt for the fal'Cie evident in his voice. "It makes sense, you know. Throw a few portals around, slap one of these things on every clueless pinhead that falls through," he looked to his brand again, "and you've got yourself a battalion's worth of l'Cie to do...whatever l'Cie do."

Having finally re-secured the strip of bandages on his arm to conceal that-which-would-not-be-named, Cole stood and took his map back, stuffing it into his pocket and forgetting it hadn't originated there. With Light seemingly trotting off to at least direct him to the food and shelter he'd asked about, Cole took a slow glance around, still not feeling all that comfortable with the way monsters were popping out of all the dark corners here in Eden, before he stepped over a little strewn rubble and followed behind her, about five steps off of her pace. Light definitely moved like someone who had been in the military, Cole noticed - she could have casually lapped him if he hadn't been shying just short of a jog. Women in these portal worlds....all action. And kind of scary in their own ways.

Since he didn't want to hang back and just watch her walk, since that would be kind of weird, Cole took a few long strides to catch up with her. This quickened pace wasn't even quite enough to draw him even, despite his being four or five inches taller.

But, hey, Cole had felt at least two steps behind the rest of the world(s) for a week now, so why break the trend?

Words – 844
Muse – Good!
Notes – Bad ending, but I already told you that. >>[/size]

Cole quietly listened to Light talking about the soldiers that had passed them, the words compounding his already-disdainful opinion of all things military. It wasn't that he hated any kind of organized fighting force or anything like that - he knew a lot of people in the military wanted to actually help people or serve with some dignity. The rest just wanted to boost whatever bowels-low self-esteem they had by holding power over people or to rise through the ranks as quickly as possible. Even though his dad had been of the former group, Cole still couldn't stand what he saw from other officers in the Nabradian military. Hence why he'd completely ignored the military path when he'd come of age. Cole scoffed. "I bet they think they're hot snot, too. Give a fool a gun or a sword and they think they can do whatever the hell they want. Damn whatever responsibilities they have. Morons," Cole ranted as he stared in disgust at the last PSICOM trooper rounding the corner, wishing he could rip those helmets off and beat them in the face. Then he remembered he was in the presence of someone who was apparently a soldier now, or at one point, or something. Raising his hands in his defense, he squinted in a mini-shrug. "Uh, no offense, of course." He doubted she believed he thought her a fool anyway. She sure didn't seem like one.

"Wait, what? They hunt l'Cie?" Cole did a double take at the pink-haired female just as soon as he'd calmed down and started to drop down on his pile of rubble again. Okay, so he'd thought of PSICOM as assholes before. Now they might as well have been the hume incarnation of pure evil. Double-checking his forearm to make sure the curved mark there was indeed covered well enough, Cole looked back to Lightning incredulously, eying her shoulder pad. So, she hadn't been PSICOM, she'd indicated...but did that make any difference? Seemed like all the branches of the military here might be coordinated, it just made sense...then again, PSICOM could be hunting l'Cie for their own fun. Bah, Cole thought, as he rested his head in his hands. He couldn't afford to overthink things. Just thinking about this situation in general was depressing...

Thankful he could focus on the sights (all these beautiful destroyed buildings) as they walked, Cole huffed at Light's comments about the fal'Cie. Cole didn't know much about the fal'Cie outside of the general stuff he'd picked up here and there, but hearing what Light had to say about them got him to wondering just exactly how they operated. Obviously, Barthandelus just randomly schemed and threw brands on people while scaring people with his fingernails, like a genuine troll. Someone had mentioned that there had been millions of fal'Cie in Cocoon before it had fallen, but most of them had disappeared now. Sounded to Cole like the people here didn't need any gods to help them - he'd seen some of Pulse, and it looked no worse for wear. Why not just....witch hunt the fal'Cie back or something? Then again, this wasn't his home, and he had no reason to judge the people here for what they weren't doing to stop the fal'Cie from turning people into l'Cie. They probably just wanted to be left alone now that Cocoon was...well, like this. Cole kept these thoughts to himself, though. He'd already yakked enough about PSICOM and the military enough to piss Light off, anyway.

These thoughts allowed him to bide the time until they arrived at what seemed to be a somewhat intact bar. It was missing its sign and a window or two, but there were people inside so it couldn't have been in terrible shape. Standing behind his guide in the doorway, Cole - just to be sure - checked the bandages on his arm one more time to make sure his brand didn't jump up and scream Hey, I'm a l'Cie!. He also checked inside for PSICOM, but he didn't see anyone inside wearing military armor. Stepping inside and shutting the door behind him, Cole waited for Light to plop down somewhere until he realized she was waiting for him. "Yeah, let's take a corner," he said, quietly, giving her a knowing look. If some of their nice PSICOM friends wandered in, he wanted to be shrouded in as much shadow as possible. Hence, corner seat. Trotting over to one of the corners and doing his best not to look as uncomfortable and miserable as he felt as he passed people at the tables, Cole pulled out a chair out for Light to take a seat.

Words – 860
Muse – Ossum.
Notes – Nothing really. :3[/size]

Oh, so everyone hated l'Cie. That was great news. "This whole deal keeps getting better and better..." Cole thought it was bad enough to have to deal with this whole turning into a monster thing, and he'd known people might look at him a little funny because he was a strange man from a different planet who happened to have a strange tattoo on his arm. But having not only PSICOM possibly coming after him, but having the random, everyday people look at him as some kind of inhuman? It was almost worth jumping listlessly into the next portal he came across just to get away from that, uncaring as to the next freakshow of a planet he ended up on. But...that would be extremely drastic. Not like he could just run away from this l'Cie thing. Might as well expend his energy on trying to fix it. After all, if there were more people like Light around, maybe not everyone hated him for being an innocent victim. Only...most everyone?

He immediately assumed everyone was staring at him as they approached, entered, and walked through the bar, and made the least amount of eye contact as possible until he had seated both Light and himself in the corner. She had a good view of the door, and he sat at an angle so he could see out the window semi-decently. Whether anyone could deduce he was a l'Cie or not, Cole didn't want to be in the same bar with any PSICOM troops, and leaving as soon as they walked in would look too suspicious. Hence his apparent paranoia. He wanted to make sure his already-bad luck had no chance to get any worse, though he couldn't imagine there could be much worse than getting turned into a l'Cie, but if there was anything worse, it would most certainly happen to Cole. He was a magnet of misery.

He stretched his neck out to peer out said window before settling down and dropping his arms loosely onto the table, tapping his fingers on it a bit nervously. His gaze moved from ever-so-subtly looking around the bar to Lightning as she spoke. "I....don't know yet," he answered, looking off into the space directly behind her. "Probably wallow in self-pity." He let out a sigh, passing off his joke. "I should probably stay here, shouldn't I? Don't want to drag all of this back home with me." After all, Cole had a feeling that if he were to go back home, his sister would either have a heart attack after he told her about this or she'd come under the crosshairs of the fal'Cie, too. Heck, authorities in Ivalice probably wouldn't want him running around freely if they found about this either, would they? They'd probably treat him even more poorly than anyone here on a planet were l'Cie seemed to be at least semi-common.

His eyes returned to Lightning when she spoke again, betraying his confusion at her words. "What, and turn into some kind of a monster, wandering around the countryside and eating babies or something? I think I'll pass," he said, a little bitterly. Admittedly, that's what defying sounded like to him. He sighed again, apologetically. "Sorry..." He checked outside the window once more, lapsing into a short, awkward silence, which he wasted no time in breaking. "How are you still here, though? If you were a l'Cie you had to have completed your focus not to turn into a monster, and you don't look like a mound of crystal-" Cole had to cut himself on as he saw a waitress approaching, flashing a wide smile. He leaned back in his seat, casting Light a knowing glance that said they'd continue once their company had left.

Words – 704
Muse – Excellent!
Notes – Nothing really. XD I always have so much muse for this thread....[/size]