( if you keep your head down, huh? that's... not the most helpful piece of advice in the world, but as far as Serah is concerned, it can't hurt to try something.

and her first thought? take it literally and see what's beneath the water. which seems promising, up until the point that pixies start giggling (how they do that underwater if a mystery even to Serah) and casting spells.

she comes back up to the surface with a desperate gasp of air, treading water as she looks for her familiar. )

I think we're going to have to try something else...

( reasonable enough, right? she thinks so. at least, she does up until he pulls herself out of the deeper edges of the water and sends Flanitor running for the hills, complete with the world's most annoying sound blaring from its mouth. )

H-hey! ( what in the world?! ) Where are you going? Wait up!!!

( is she imagining things, or is her familiar running faster now? )

( admittedly, this quest leaves her stomach in knots. crossing a bridge blindfolded seems... dangerous. which, if Serah thinks about it, is kind of silly, given all the things she's already done in her life. still. she supposes that's just part of being a person. silly, irrational fears.

she takes a deep breath and begins to shuffle her way across, arms spread and hands grabbing for a railing she quickly learns isn't there. it's fine. it's fine. she can do this. one foot in front of the other. that's all there is to it.

easy, right?

well. it is, up until it isn't. it is, up until the whispers start. the voice which calls her name is immediately recognisable, a voice she's heard all her life, in joy, sadness and (once upon a time, mostly) anger. her heart drops to her stomach, weighs it down with a freezing cold knot. )

Lightning?!

( what... what's Lightning doing here? she sounds so close, yet so far. rational thought swiftly gets discarded in favour of the voice she's sought to hear again for so long. the answers she's needed. Lightning's fate after Cocoon fell, her own beliefs considered nothing but the grieving of a young woman who's lost her last living family member.

she knew she was right. )

Lightning! Don't leave me—!

( the voice is getting fainter, more distant, and Serah's running before she even thinks about where she is.

if you're nearby, you might want to grab her before she barrels straight off the side. )

( hit me with something else? )