Chapter 4

Lightning watched Noctis remove a plastic sheeting that had been covering a large, sleek black pod with wheels. He smiled at it, as if proud, then headed over to its side where a handle was. Retrieving a set of keys from his pant pocket he pressed a button built into one of them.

BEEP-BEEP

The pod unlocked from the inside, and Noctis pulled on the handle. The first thing that she thought, seeing the cushioned seating was: a carriage? Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she moved closer (albeit warily).

"What is that thing?"

"It's a car," Noctis replied, not thinking much of it, but Lightning was fascinated.

"Car?"

"We use it to travel from one place to another. Sometimes continents if we have enough patience." He paused. "Um. Out of sheer curiosity, how long have you not been human?"

"Much too long for you to comprehend." She indicated to him with a finger. "Come here for a moment." His face was puzzled, but he walked over nonetheless. When he was in front of her she reached up and placed her hands on the side of his head. He swallowed nervously, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"You're…not going to kiss me again, are you?"

"Knowledge is learned and stored in the mind. All I have to do is concentrate and—" the human jolted as though a spark of electricity had shocked him "—it is done." She stepped away from him and turned to examine the 'car'.

"Audi R-Eight. Top speed 300 kilometres per hour, zero to a hundred in four seconds," she said, from what she had gleaned from him.

Noctis chuckled quietly. "Nice trick."

She glowered at him. "It's not a trick."

"No I didn't mean it like—" he let out a quiet chuckle to himself-"ah, never mind. Anyway, it'll probably be easier for you if we hide your brand."

"Why?" Lightning frowned.

Noctis went over to the 'boot' of the car and opened it. She watched him peel off his bloodied shirt and jacket slowly with a wince, and tossed them inside. Reaching in, he pulled out a large bottle of water, and started pouring it on his wounds.

Lightning's nose wrinkled at the smell. The water was stagnant and unclean, and this imbecile wanted to pour it on an open wound? She wrenched the bottle off him and emptied it.

"Hey!" he tried to reach for it, but she kept him back with her hand on his chest.

"Just wait!" she snapped. She forced him to lean against the car and focused on the empty bottle in her hand. Water, she called.

While the bottle began to fill, she pointed to the large balls of cotton in the 'first aid kit' inside the boot. He passed it to her, watching with interest. She poured water on them and started cleaning his gashes, wanting to knock him for every time he winced or asked if she could be 'a bit more gentle'.

"Pass me the antiseptic." Noctis did. "I'm a knight, not a healer," Lightning told him as she started dabbing him with it. "I cause injuries, not heal them."

"Sorry," he mumbled. He stared in the distance and gritted his teeth together while she worked.

"Why do I need to hide my Mark?"

"No one has ever seen an eidolon for over…" he sat, trying to calculate, then gave up "a very, very long time now. Just imagine an entire city, the world, reacting like I did when I found you."

Lightning refilled the water bottle and handed it to him. "Drink." While he did, she used a fire spell to reduce the bloodied cotton and his shirt to ash, letting it scatter in the breeze. "Is my existence that much of a fascination to you?" she asked. Years ago it had been the complete opposite.

Noctis finished drinking and offered it to her. She shook her head. He took a long draught, finishing it off. "More of a morbid fascination," he said finally, tossing the empty bottle back into the boot. "Put it this way: they would very enthusiastically try to take you apart to see what makes you tick…and then try to put you back together afterward."

"Wonderful."

"Sorry."

"I guess it's not so different from back then," Lightning remarked. She held a hand over his wounds. "Cure."

Green light flickered unsteadily under her palm and the l'cie suppressed a grimace. Her healing ability was still as horrendous as ever. But at least they're closing. If Noctis had a clever remark about it, he was smart enough to keep it to himself. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Cure spells had that effect.

"So they hunted you back then as well?"

Lightning nodded. "There was a human who came close, once." She peered at him closely. "You resemble him a great deal. But he was much more skilled. Dangerous, too." She found a fresh white linen shirt in a backpack sitting in the car's 'backseat'. She tried to give it to him, but he shook his head. His eyes were on her brand.

"Hiding that should be your first priority."

"What about you?"

"It's a hot day. And my cuts are closed...mostly anyway. I'll be fine for the most part."

She put it on and buttoned it up, noticing him give her an odd stare when she was done. "What is it now?"

The blush returned to his cheeks. "Nothing, it uh…I…nevermind," he cleared his throat, walking around her to shut the boot. "We'd uh, better get going."

"We should."

"We'll have to make a pit stop at my house first. I need to grab a few things, and I think you should get a change of clothes too."

"Very well," Lightning answered, hiding her discontent.

"Next, we're going to have to think up a story for you. People are bound to ask questions. It'll be much easier if no one knows you're...you know" he said, gesturing to all of her.

She folded her arms, swallowing her pride. "What do you propose?"

"How about….bandits attacked and robbed you, and I found you unconscious in the woods."

"I...guess…" she said. She tensed as he took a step toward her, reaching into his pocket for a tiny vial filled with purple sand. "What now?"

"I found you unconscious in the woods, remember?" He pulled off the stopper and emptied some of the sand into his palm.

"I could just 'pretend', you know. What's in that? Get awa-"

Without any warning, he blew the sand into her face. Fatigue suddenly came over her, turning her limbs into lead. Her eyes went half-lidded and she fell forward. Noctis caught her. She glared at him weakly. "What did you…?" If she had any of her strength, she would have punched him in his perfect teeth. Later, she promised herself.

The l'cie closed her eyes, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.