Aphrodisiac

"It's the Novice's Guide to Herbology. I found it back in Paddra."

Lightning felt her gut twist in guilt again as the boy smiled at her widely, balancing the giant yellowed tome on his lap. It was as big as his torso- he only had one hand free to keep it from toppling sideways and flip the pages at the same time.

-And whose fault is that?

The campfire provided just enough light for him to decipher the strange rune-like characters. Sazh and Snow were sitting across the fire, chatting quietly, with the occasional glance at their leader. They weren't glaring, no, they wouldn't dare- but she could feel disapproval in their glances that weighed heavily on her shoulders, as if the air was laden with lithium instead of oxygen.

"It's got some great vocabulary in it- I was just working on my Pulsian. Since you guys won't let me do anything," he scowled, half-teasing.

It was true, none of the group had allowed Hope to do any of his normal chores while they were setting up camp and cooking dinner- not with the makeshift cast on his arm. He'd complained about sitting like a duck, but no one let him even get up.

It happened while they were out in two groups, scouting the area. Vanille, Snow, and Sazh had gone west while Lightning, Fang, and Hope had decided to scour the north. They were ambushed by a pack of gorgons- which should have been no problem to the group. But a problem that had recurring lately had gotten in the way.

-Watch where you shoot that thing, soldier!
-Why don't you just get out of the way?!

Sure enough, a blinded gorgon had charged at the boy who had been trying his best to fend them off with two distracted teammates- and the monster hit him head-on, at an angle that grotesquely folded his arm against his chest.

-Look at what you did, Miss Almighty!
-Oh, now it's my fault you were being a headless moron?

"I'm so sorry, Hope. I really am."

He frowned. "Hey, it was an accident. Besides, I'll probably be up and running by tomorrow. Don't worry about it."

Why were they getting into so many arguments?

Just a while ago, they had been friends. Best of friends. The Pulsian was the soldier's equal in almost every aspect, the only one who could sympathize with being an older sister. Their teamwork came as naturally as breathing.

Then… Lightning couldn't say exactly when, but somehow, things had started accelerating rapidly downhill. Maybe it was the stress of being l'cie, maybe it was the fatigue…

Or maybe it was the fact that Fang decided that the soldier didn't exist anymore.

Whenever Lightning entered a conversation, Fang was out of it in a snap- she spent all her time babying Vanille, even to the point of avoiding the soldier. It was frustrating- Lightning had finally managed to let someone in, to rely on someone- she almost thought that the late-night banter they had on watch was the only thing keeping her from exploding in to a full-blown cie'th. And now they barely talked.

And when they did talk- it was like telling a behemoth to sprout wings and fly. She tried to be civilized, she really did- but then the damn Pulsian would shut her out completely or insult her and aggravate her- trying to be calm was impossible.

What was her problem? Lightning ended up acting as childish and obstinate as Fang by the time they had exchanged five words.

How did I become so obnoxious?

It was her fault, she had to admit. Not letting anyone in had served her purpose so perfectly; she could function as Serah's protector without and distractions of her own- but then she had to befriend someone who should have been her worst enemy. Would have, had the circumstances been different. Could have.

It was hard not to like Fang. Not for Lightning. The warrior was blunt, honest, strong, brave- but compassionate at the same time, a quality Lightning herself lacked. Annoying as hell, but still, it showed that she cared. Not many people in the world had cared about the soldier. No one had been persistent enough to win her respect.

And now she found herself here- humbled, guilty, angry, frustrated- wanting to smash a certain someone's face in. It was a confusing mixture, and that aggravated her even more.

What is it with you that makes me act like this?

"I promise nothing like this will ever happen again."

"Light, it's not a big deal-"

"No, I mean it. I'm solving this problem, once and for all."

With that she made for Fang's tent, where the warrior would be sulking. She was going to apologize, and get an apology out of the damn pulsian- and if she didn't get one, then the blame was not hers, she was the one who was acting like a whiny kid-

"Just be yourself and don't let your mouth run away with you! She'll understand, she likes you too-"

Vanille came bouncing out of the tent, smiling, and nearly crashing into Lightning. She raised a brow, arms crossed.

"Oh- hiya, Light! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to Fang. And you?"

"What do you mean? I was just talking to her too."

"Not when it's your turn to clean up. What exactly were you doing?"

Vanille just smiled. "Oh, just telling Fang to apologize… you know the tension between you guys is becoming a real problem, just thought I might help out…. But oh well, back to cleaning up!"

And then she bounced off again. Lightning frowned as she watched her squat by Hope.

-What the hell was that about?

She brushed the thought aside and entered the tent-

And immediately knew that something was very, very wrong.

Number one- despite Vanille having just left the premises, the tent was, Etro forbid, messy. The girl cleaned up whatever tent she happened to be in like some sort of OCD, and yet the small shelter was covered in dried leaves.


Number two- There was something in the air that made Lightning's skin tingle, like it was charged with electricity. Goosbumps rose on her skin, she felt restless, weird. The inside of the tent was warmer than normal-

-What the hell?

She found Fang in the corner, sprawled on her sleeping bag, with a scowl that could make Lightning run for her money. She glared up at the soldier, with a hint of color in her cheeks; was that a blush?

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to settle things."

"Apology accepted. Get out."

Lightning scowled back, already infuriated. "I wasn't here to apologize," she growled.

"Just get out," Fang growled back.

"What is it with you?! Everytime I try to talk-"

------------
CRASH

Hope winced as he glanced behind him. "So much for settling things. Why can't they hold a conversation without fighting?"

Vanille smiled devilishly as she shifted the giant book and flipped the page.

Elixicamus Eros

A tree that grows off the cliffs of Haerii, known for its leaves that become a powerful aphrodisiac when dried…

"Oh, I wouldn't say they're fighting."