estoria | [closed] too cold, too cold, vanilla

Entry tags:

[closed] too cold, too cold, vanilla

Who: Athena Cykes

psycholawgy & Simon Buttquill

shacklebreaker
When: Backdated to 26 Jan (?), post CERES tours
Where: Medical facility for now
What: Sailor Moon got owned by Jadeite and it's Tuxedo Mask's duty to save her
Rating/Warning: Simon likes to threaten people a lot

[ Right after the dumb tour at CERES, Athena heads straight for the medical facility looking like a total hobo. Her hair is wet, and so is her dress, and she has no shoes on. And is that blood? Yeah, that's blood dripping from her ankles. It's painful to walk, but what can she do? Oh, and she also reeks. Like garbage. Have you ever met the personification of garbage? That's Athena.

Eventually, she manages to arrive at the medical facility's ER where she immediately gets tended to. They also make her take a shower, or ten. The robot doctors disinfect her legs to prevent any diseases that might come out of it, and has bandaged both her legs for now. So... Walking isn't exactly an option yet. But at least she's been given some ankle support. It's still going to hurt when she walks, but it'll lessen the pain.

She's still in the ER wondering how to go home... Ryuko is likely busy with Nonon. . . Maybe she can text Simon? He'll be like a prince saving her from trouble. So dreamy. But since her CereVice is busted, she has to wait six hours for it to be back up and running again. Fortunately, the tests she had to undergo to make sure she was healthy. Not to mention they also had to check her psychological state of being. All of this took quite some time. ]

At the medical facility ER. Can you pick me up, pleaaaaaaase?
Also please bring a jacket because my clothes are dirty :(
And maybe some shoes too?

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[ She turns to the side, not looking at Simon. She holds Widget close to her. ]

Not really. But I wanted to take a picture, anyway.

...

[He can't argue with that face, though he still can't imagine why she'd want to take pictures now, of all times. Maybe she hit her head again, on top of everything else.]

We're not far from the apartments, now.

Hey...

[ Well, she's not sure how else to call for his attention. Calling him by his name just seems so. . . formal, and that's what she's trying to avoid. If she wants to be friends with him, then she has to be casual around him. Or, rather, more casual than they already are. ]

I'm not really heavy, am I?

[ Tread carefully, Simon Blackquill. ]

[Good luck getting him to relax and act casual in a situation like this. He looks away from her, before replying.]

...No. You've simply grown since I last carried you.

[Which had been what he'd meant from the beginning, although she misinterpreted it.]

[ Then maybe he should have been clearer about it!!!

But that does send relief all over Athena. ]

Well, I was much younger back then. . . [ A pause. ] It's different now.

[ And talking about this has made her slightly uncomfortable. Sure, she may have enjoyed being close to Simon than usual, but... she just wants to be on her own two feet now. By the time they get to the lobby to the apartments, she requests to be put down. ]

I can stay with you for a while tonight, can't I? Ryuko's probably out with her girlfriend.

... it's been that way recently.

[He puts her down as asked, and heads over to the elevator to call it down. The less time she's on her feet, the better.]

I guessed as much. [He glances back toward her. He doesn't particularly know Ryuko well, but he's observant, and it was hard to miss the pink-haired girl making increasing amounts of visits to their place. Playing third wheel can't be too fun for Athena.]

You know you don't have to ask. Come over whenever you please.

[ She still clings onto him once her feet are on the ground. It's to balance herself, and that's totally the only reason there. And truthfully, just taking to Simon made a bit of the pain subside. It really is like that when you're with friends. ]

Really? I can do that?

You said that I might be-- something. . . [ She's trying to remember Simon's exact words back then, but she can't phrase it the same way he did. ] You said that I might be coming off too strong, or something.

...It had nothing to do with how you come across. [He helps her inside once the elevator arrives, then presses the button to their floor.]

Understand that I have spent the vast majority of the past seven years in isolation. I am unaccustomed to company. [Or accepting help or concern, of any kind. No matter how much he slowly gets acclimatised to it, it's still a long process.] Even so, if you need me, my door will always be open to you.

[ She lets out a slight "oof" as she takes a few steps into the elevator, one arm still linked to Simon, while the other is making way for the handrails. ]

We can work that out, right?

[ Because gosh darn, Simon Blackquill. If you need saving again, she will dive right in. ]

It's been a work in progress ever since my arrival here.

[He quirks his lips into the ghost of a smile, still carefully supporting her as the doors close and they go up. The elevator reaches their floor, and he leads her out to his room.]

I'll prepare a bed for you. If you're tired from your ordeal, you should rest before aught else.

[ She walks right by the wall, a hand grazing through it just in case she falls. Of course, Simon's supporting her too, so all is good. ]

It's fine. [ It looks like she's cheered up - and it's not just the fake kind of smile that she puts up when she's upset. ] I want to talk about what happened.

Very well. [As they reach his apartment, he swipes open the door, ushering her inside. Only when she's safely seated does he let go of her.]

Tell me everything that happened, starting from the beginning.

[She's been in court long enough to know the kind of thoroughness he expects from testimonies. He'll want to know everything, down to the last detail.]

The tour was fine at first, but the Mr. Mosley led us to waste management. He said we had to be the trash, and he made us go down this chute. It was like a roller coaster, and we were sliding for about ten minutes. We ended up in CERES' incinerator room.

[ She pauses there to see what Simon's reaction might be. ]

The only exit was a door that led to some kind of dock? There wasn't anything important there, but a body of water. And I fell, along with Miss Hawke. Miss Hawke was fine, but I was sure there was something there. I wanted to investigate what was underwater, so I dove, and a giant fish monster grabbed me.

[ That's about it for now. Feel free to cross-examine the witness. ]

[He moves over to where Taka is perched on his usual stand in the corner, greeting the hawk by stroking his crested head. He doesn't immediately offer a reaction at first... at least not any visible one.]

...And I assume that was when your legs were injured. [His voice is quiet. Which, despite how calm he is, is usually a sign he's very, very angry.] What motive could he possibly have to fling you all down there? Aside from taking the idea of a behind-the-scenes tour to some absurd extreme.

That was part of it.

[ the story gets worse. ]

The fish eventually let go because Ms. Hawke saved me, but then another fish ate us. Then it spit is out in anoter dock -- this time, it was outside the city, and it was so far away. I lost my shoes sometime before we landed, so I had to walk back to the city barefooted.

But it wasn't so easy. There were debris everywhere, and some scraps of metal that I stepped on every now and then. And then the junk around us suddenly started moving on its own and started attacking us.

... Please don't get too angry.

...

[Too late, he's already livid. With nothing (or no one) to vent his frustration on, he slams a fist into the nearest wall, with enough force to make a sizeable dent.]

I'm going to hunt that Mosley down, tear him to pieces, and feed him to those monsters myself! Any who dare to stand in my way will be cut down along with him.

[Who knows if he's talking metaphorically or literally. He certainly looks angry enough for it to be the latter.]

Don't...

[ That will just get him into more trouble, and Athena can't just have that. If he'll let him, she'll reach for his hand, and just hold it tightly with both of hers. ]

The important thing is we're alive. That's- That's what matters, okay?

Don't tell me what matters. [He doesn't pull his hand away -- it's starting to bleed where he split the skin -- but he does scowl at her.]

What matters is that you could have been killed. I've heard enough of you trying to act as though anything that befalls you in this city is of no significance, while you've been made to suffer through the errors or the whims of our keepers here this entire time.

I thought I could be patient with this new CEO, but I have had enough.

[ She's not sure what hurts the most: the anger she's hearing, or the fear she's feeling. Whatever it is, though, she's begun to cry. And she lets go of Simon. ]

I was scared... I- I've never felt more scared in my entire life, [ and Simon being angry at her is making her even more scared. It's not helping. ] I'm sorry if I've just been...

I don't know.

I just want to believe that we were saved, [ She chokes up a sob. ] and there's something for us to do to get our worlds back. That's- That's what keeps me going.

[ She retreats to the couch and just sits there, her chin resting on her folded legs. It hurts like hell, but she manages to cover her face and muffle her sobs that way. ]

And if you die here, what will all your work to return to our world have been for? Do you expect CERES will simply bring back your code, when it is so insistent on placing you in danger to begin with?

[He feels a twinge of guilt for making her cry, but only a twinge. He has practice in being harsh in order to lay out some home truths -- or to hide certain truths -- and it's a part he's grown accustomed to playing. Even if it means hurting those he cares for most.]

This isn't court. Your childish faith in whatever you wish to believe in will only hurt you in the end.

[ She fully believes that when you die, your code will be replaced and you'll be brought back as good as new... but perhaps saying that out loud is just making more excuses. It won't make Simon any less mad. ]

I'm sorry. I thought I could do things on my own. If I could find answers, then I'd be able to help everybody here.

[ A beat. ] But that's just another excuse, isn't it...?

It's as though anything I say to you goes in one ear and out the other. No matter how many times I tell you you needn't handle everything alone, you persist in doing so.

[Frustrated, he leaves the room. At first it seems like he's stormed out, until the real reason soon becomes apparent: he returns a few moments later, offering her some tissues so she can dry her eyes.]

Still... There is no use chafing at a hopeless cause like you, when the blame ultimately lies with CERES. Just focus on getting some rest.

I was with other people, and we were helping each other-- [ But yet again, that's another excuse.

She starts sobbing even more when Simon leaves the room, feeling absolutely miserable. Not that Widget can be seen from the angle she's positioned, but he's blacked out already. When Simon offers her some tissues, she just shakes her head vehemently. ]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [ And she'll keep repeating it in between sobs. ]

Edited 2015-07-08 18:04 (UTC)

[To see her sobbing like this manages to twist the knife of guilt a little further, and it occurs to him that maybe he really was being too harsh. Setting the tissues aside, he sits down next to her.]

...It's all right. [He says it gruffly, as he reaches to put an arm around her, the only thing he can think to do to try to comfort her.] Please don't cry.

[ She just leans on him, but whatever words she says are muffled by her sobbing. But eventually, it hits her that she's not the only one in pain.

With a heavy breath, she wipes away her tears, and takes hold of Simon's hands again. ]

Sorry; I'm sorry... this [ she pertains to the blood, and what else may come to his fists afterwards. ] happened because of me.

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