Sara Chidouin (
samuraiwomen) wrote in
yogen2022-03-04 09:37 pm
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Entry tags:
like a bitter stranger
Who: Everyone
What: Our monthly family meeting.
When: March 5th, 2000.
Where: Yogen dorms common room.
Warnings: Discussions of murder, suicide, child death...more?
[ A message goes up on the forums late Friday evening.
S.chidouin: Group meeting in the dorms Saturday. 12:00. No punching. No stabbing. I'll bring stickers.
If your character would not find a post from Sara worth listening too, Bonnie is wandering around, vaguely noting how important this meeting is, and how very much you should attend. No further details are forthcoming.
The meeting itself is a quiet affair. The fireplace is not lit, there are no snacks. Sara waits in the corner for everyone to arrive and get settled and then she clears her throat to speak. ]
As most of you know... [ It's hard to start, but her voice gets firmer as she goes on. ] We spent the last two months investigating Maya Arisu's murder. That case is solved. A few weeks ago, Bonnie-chan and I found the culprit.
Rantaro Amami killed Maya Arisu, Hiro Arisu, the vice principal and is presumably responsible for the scene with Keigo Arata. He is also dead. I just figured...everyone should know. To many people got hurt the last few months. I'm sorry.
[ She fiddles with her hair. That's all...she really has to say. There's not much more then that as the gist of it. ]
What: Our monthly family meeting.
When: March 5th, 2000.
Where: Yogen dorms common room.
Warnings: Discussions of murder, suicide, child death...more?
[ A message goes up on the forums late Friday evening.
S.chidouin: Group meeting in the dorms Saturday. 12:00. No punching. No stabbing. I'll bring stickers.
If your character would not find a post from Sara worth listening too, Bonnie is wandering around, vaguely noting how important this meeting is, and how very much you should attend. No further details are forthcoming.
The meeting itself is a quiet affair. The fireplace is not lit, there are no snacks. Sara waits in the corner for everyone to arrive and get settled and then she clears her throat to speak. ]
As most of you know... [ It's hard to start, but her voice gets firmer as she goes on. ] We spent the last two months investigating Maya Arisu's murder. That case is solved. A few weeks ago, Bonnie-chan and I found the culprit.
Rantaro Amami killed Maya Arisu, Hiro Arisu, the vice principal and is presumably responsible for the scene with Keigo Arata. He is also dead. I just figured...everyone should know. To many people got hurt the last few months. I'm sorry.
[ She fiddles with her hair. That's all...she really has to say. There's not much more then that as the gist of it. ]
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Sara...!?
[He's rushing over, grabbing at the blue scarf on the way, tugging at it, unwinding it... the markings on it flare bright cyan and it comes to life as he half skids to a halt next to her. That looked utterly horrific... but there's no blood?]
Just... hold still, okay?
[He gingerly holds her arm while the soft fabric painstakingly winds itself around it, anchoring itself at her shoulder, pulling her fingers back into alignment within a blue blob. He's doing his best to keep all the fragments where they reassembled so they don't move further, multitasking the careful movement of an extra limb and remembering how to bandage, but he was taught on a bullet wound and a stab wound not... this. At least nothing's broken through the skin. The scarf itself is adamant; once set in it's rough cast it does not move, the markings quietly pulsing. Shin's feeling the pull on his small magic reserves already, keeping his hand on her shoulder to not break contact with it.]
The nurse should...
[The nurse is on holiday. Oh no. Shin's head lifts, scanning the crowd for Clamor... or really anyone he knows who can heal. Is Senku here?]
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...Chidouin-san, you're going to hurt yourself even worse. Please, stop moving.
( anything else, she can do anything else, but even komaeda knows there's nothing he can do as he draws his hands back, and let them down by his side. touching her will only make things worse, and with add gone, that's probably the only person on her mind at the moment than thinking of herself.
he doesn't want to touch her anymore, he doesn't want to cause her pain and suffering either.
as shin rushes over, which won't be enough, but it's something. )
Someone's here... it'll be fine.
( even if he doesn't believe those words himself. )
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[ It's not easy to stay still or quiet when someone is pulling your fingers back into place. Auuugh...who even taught Sou how to do this? ]
Oww..ow ow ow...I'm fine. I'm not...urgh...dying! [ She just broke her arm, in the worst way possible. The pain has gone back from superhumanly awful to just the normal agony of a broken bone. She's never going to forget how it looked as long as she lived... Which...she's getting kind of light headed... Sara pats Sou's shoulder with her free hand. Let her um...let her sit down for a moment. ]
Someone needs to go after Add...
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Could have fooled me... I wouldn't call that fine...
[It's a tiny mutter as he sits down with her, one arm on each other's shoulders. He knew Add was powerful, but he's never seen this before and quite honestly never wants to again.]
Kinda need to be this thing's battery right now... Unless you want to do it, Komaeda?
[Shin stop sending him to the pool.]
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( it's fine, it's better than what he's seen. she's still breathing, she's still conscious, and that means there's still a chance that shin can help her.
he argues with himself, thinking of what he should do until shin speaks for him. komaeda doesn't do well with someone handing him orders, he's does the exact opposite. this time, he doesn't even what to do yet, instead he finds that they don't need him.
add doesn't either, he said it himself that komaeda should be dead, and that he should have left him to drop into the void.
he doesn't mind if shin just told him to leave, but that was already a thought in his mind. )
Mhm! Yeah, of course.
( he starts, but that's a lie, that's nothing more than a fib dropping off the tip of his tongue. he doesn't really do that, but there's nothing else that can be done considering sending him only means this will happen again. then who would be next after sara?
he looks down at the two, a slightly bit of worry in his eyes before he closes them, and turns around to leave the meeting. maybe this will turn out better once...
...
ah, that's for later. )
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He keeps his distance away from Sara and Shin, instead following after Komaeda. He'll try to catch him once he's out of earshot of the group, clustered together as they are, reaching out to wrap a hand around the wrist of his prosthetic arm. He doesn't take his hand, afraid that he might pull away too.
What does he say here? What can he say? It's a disaster, they're always a disaster, and Ranger thinks his help should be unnecessary next time. Exact time of death? Pharmaceutical and medical knowledge? Midori can handle that for the living and the dead. Any knowledge Ranger has passed on by now wouldn't evfen come close to matching the laser precision of someone in the field.
He doesn't really care about that right now though. ]
... You leaving? I'll come with you then.
[ He keeps his voice low, and there's a note of concern to it. He doesn't so much as pay a glance back. ]
The atmosphere here is unpleasant.
[ ASUNARO never had an unpleasant toxic air about it. ]
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it's words to unpack, things to do, wondering if sara will be fine after this, or will it change the trajectory of everything; now he wonders if she'd hit him. it'd be good if that's where her feelings were, it means he wouldn't be breaking the promise of using what she gave him, because all he needs is a few extra pieces. they're obtainable, he thinks, but the best part of all is that she won't be mad at him. it's not like she has to know.
his beliefs are better than anyone else's beliefs, it's always been like that when komaeda's very self-righteous, but he doesn't have to be selfish about this. give them what they want, a part of him thinks, but it never works out properly because of his luck, but if he's desperate enough; oh if he thinks it's something good for them then— he doesn't feel it when someone touches him, but he can tell he's being held back from the tug, and he's quick to look behind him with his eyes widening before relaxing normally. he sees ranger, but he doesn't see him, he's putting together the formulas of why, where did he come from, and did he call him as soon as he was leaving?
it calms his mind down, shifting away from nasty thoughts to look down at his arm to see what's being held, and it's his wrist.
...
he hears him at least, but it's difficult to give an answer to the first question when yes, he's right, but he's supposed to be looking for add. a painful lie, but he doesn't pull away. he stands there, thinking over what happened, and then he looks up at the ceiling; there's nothing there. komaeda wants it to rain tonight so he doesn't have to hear his own thoughts, but that's rare in itself; and he looks back to ranger. )
I'm sorry... ( he starts, instantly he knows even when the other looks back. ) Aha... that's because of me.
( unpleasant, or maybe it was at the start, but komaeda blames himself regardless. why it went as sour, why he can't stand what he did. )
I'm pretty unlucky today, so... ( he searches, his mind comes up empty with what words he wants to say, so that poetic speech of his falls flat. ) I'm really unlucky, and you might be next.
( he'll end up hurting him too.
emotional response? or just simply stating facts? his luck hasn't been on his side. )
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... Me too.
[ It's a response to both statements. He only has to look at the expression on his partner's face to imagine what thoughts are running through his head. He's human too. He bleeds if cut, feels pain when bones snap, thinks too much and cares too much and is hurt by those same feelings. Ranger isn't surrpised to be thrown away now, not when he had already been tossed aside by people who had never seen him as anything more than a means to an end, but acting in such a manner to someone who's done nothing but offer his assistance is different.
No one in ASUNARO was ever so kind, no one there was ever this vile. But that's what happens when people refuse to be honest, and it's what happens when they stop taking responsibility for their own actions. It's so much easier to vent their feelings on another person.
He moves closer, standing next to him and tilting his head slightly to look up. If he leaves now, who else is going to notice he knife in his chest?
Ranger doesn't want to return to the dorm room that they'd taken over. It's not a reminder he wants now, so he doesn't bother suggesting that. Really, he doesn't want to be anywhere near this disgusting place, not until they've opened all the windows and let all the poison in the air clear out.
Maybe the bad luck will be that nothing happens to either of them. The thought has a bitter taste to it. ]
Do you wanna go to the library? It should be quieter there. And...
[ There's the obstructors in there now, but he's not worried about those. As long as you're not shouting or setting off alarm clocks or something stupid, it's still a nice enough place to hold a conversation. He doubts anyone will be in there today. He'll lift their intertwined hands now, bringing them close to his chest and resting them over where a heart should be. ]
We should at least have each other.
[ They'll both just be alone otherwise. ]
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Uhm... yeah, that's fine...
( he can't comment on the second part, not right now anyway, there's too much freedom where he thinks the floor will collapse under them. does he feel... wronged? no, he thinks he's done something bad, that he shouldn't have been here. there's a small snap in his mind that tells him to remember that hope is made through this, that something good will come even if he can't see it now. he doesn't even dare look up to check the room, and instead he stares into ranger's own. )
Confessions by Kanae Minato might be nice to read...
( it's not the perfect book, but that doesn't stop komaeda from suggesting it, and he's read it so many times that he wants to reread it again. something to get their mind off the meeting, indulging in another person's story, and there being no consequences for their opinions, but through the smallest despair... a bountiful hope is harvested; it'll just take awhile for them to pick it, to rinse off the dirt, and realize what they have in their hands.
it's that, and he can tell that ranger doesn't want to be alone himself. it's easy for him to understand with his comment, and the other must be lonely in a different way where someone else being there just doesn't cut it. he wants someone that matters. )
What do you think?
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But it's not like those words will mean much, no more than a person saying don't feel bad will dismiss the raincloud that's formed over his head. ]
... You didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault that they won't try to understand you. Not you or Amami. They're gonna keep tearing each other apart like this until they start really looking at each other.
[ It's the truth, it's what lies at the heart off the matter, and it's why these incidents repeat in an endless loop. There's nothing worthwhile about a belief that will fade the moment a person doesn't match the ideal. They have to learn if they're ever going to break that cycle. It's not something he should say when everything he can say and do will only inflict more pain, but it's too painful to say nothing at all. He doesn't expect a response though, and he won't push any further.
Ranger gives his hand a little tug to show that he wants to stalk walking instead. The quicker they leave, the faster he'll be able to breathe. He moves on, not intending to push the matter any further now, ]
Confessions, huh? Yeah, I like that one... Maybe you can help me understand a couple things later.
[ The text is easy enough, but there's often little things that are lost on him, either due to his lack of experience or the need to contextualize emotions. ]
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blood is so familiar, he finds that he can smell it if that was the case. red liquid rolling from under the debris along with a visible blue fabric, and strands of orange hair, but at least the substance touches his shoe and then forms around it. he would be lucky then, because thats a reminder to stay away. a mix of individuals he would have to call them, because at that point, he wouldn't even know if that death was enough to dub them stepping stones. his stomach twists and turns, an uncomfortable feeling settling in, making itself a home in the darkest parts of him. with an exhale, komaeda coughs as if he can expel it, but it's still there biding its time until it cuts himself from the inside out.
no matter how he feels, he can't give up on his beliefs or his actions, so he shakes his head slowly as they walk. he knows that ranger was going for leaving it with his thoughts, accepting it as so, and looking at the faults of the group. while that is visible, he can still believe in them, it's all he ever does as long as they have hope. )
There's great hope to be made even after despair, because it's so insignificant that it could never put out everyone's flame. ( with his voice low, he continues like it's a secret, but he's actually tired, feels bad enough that he doesn't want to hear his voice. ) If they can get through that, why wouldn't they get through this, even if they tear and rip each other, break themselves down... it's with those hands they can rebuild, make one another stronger, and understand what made them do so in the first place.
( it's the same with him, how experiences mold a person, prepares them for next time, and how they can engage peacefully if that's their objective. all is not lost, and he won't let it be, not for ranger who was made by the hands of humans, knowing they're the creatures that gave his life meaning. he doesn't allow for that disconnect because the group has to stay together, komaeda has to help their hope, even if it means acting in ways they'd dislike. )
It'd be easier to do if you didn't so fast, you get to tbe part that confuses you before me...
( but he's still walking along, joking where he can, for both of them because maybe it'd be funny to mention; even if it's only them that'll find it hilarious. )
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He still can't forgive what was done nor what was said, but his expression softens into something downcast. He's frustrated, hurt, and worried. He hates how tired the other sounds, all those little tells of the blows he took during that meeting. He could name several people there who disgust him, but none more than himself who can't offer protection nor help nor even comfort.
But he nods one more time, adding a quiet "you're right" now to seal in the idea that Komaeda had presented to him. It's sometimes necessary to break things down in order to rebuild them. It wasn't everyone either, and he knows that to be true when he really stops to think about it. There were others who understood, they just seemed quiet compared to those who didn't. ]
Ahaha, would it? I'll slow down if you'll pick up.
[ He does manage a little chuckle though. He's quiet for a little while, not wanting to force conversation now. He speaks again once they're out of the dorms and he can breathe clean air once more, ]
... Do you wanna hear a story? Well, part of one, anyway.
[ The entire thing would be too long, and his shorter stories too long, but this one piece should be just enough. ]
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( he points out, and he slips his hand into his pocket as they walk, but the other is held onto by his partner, and so his only one slips into the warmth of his jacket. he can feel how warm his hand is there, but and he doesn't know how warm the other's is instead. he relishes in it, though, the half of him that can feel, and the other that can't touch a thing. he wonders if he's defected because of that, even add had gotten excited at the prospect if komaeda could feel through his prosthetic because the state of it shouldn't allow that. it was then he was so close to asking about it because maybe it was a good thing if he could, but doing that would mean being closer to a person— knowing when they hold onto him, catching when they squeeze his hand.
a quick glance down at their hands, and he looks back up properly to see him before looking forward again. it's to the wisteria tree first, because he knows the lightening had done something. he wonders if it's filled with electricity so that they glow even brighter as they carry on. )
About the keys...?
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But for this story... ]
It's one I heard back at the facility... It's not one with a moral, but it's not a bad story.
[ It's nothing with that dreamy yet grim storybook writing. If he were to assign a word to it, he supposes it might be inspirational. It's a little bit bit happy, it's a little bit tragic without being sad. ]
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( something to think about and with no moral, there's no need to feel like they were wrong. it sounds like a story that he can make something out of nothing. what sort of character will he find in here? animal? human? dolls? there's so many considering the other came from the facility, and so he finds that it must be something in relation to just that. living in a facility does sound lonely, but it's a learning experience for ranger. there's so many books he can read. )
Tell me about it.
( as they pass the wisteria, he stares up at it for a moment, stopping. he squints, trying to see which one may be amami, and which one may be keigo; did they survive the shock, are they okay? he can remember so much about the tree, but petal placements are lost upon him, considering he wasn't able to see what it looked like after his desires, and then before the storm. )
...
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[ There should be nothing surprising about that. He doubts there's any need to explain what that role entailed. It was a mediator to take charge of all of her conflicting parts as much as to protect and satisfy the needs of those disgruntled toys of her. If not for him, there would be infighting and unreset. It's not quite a story about morals or roles, but one of a child's memory.
As Komaeda has been in a medical setting so often himself, he might recognize the different roles that professionals can play. There are those who study and treat, those who calculate and crunch data, and those who offer comfort and reassurance during difficult times and encouragement when they do well. An ally.
He stops when Komaeda does, glancing up to the tree. It's not difficult to imagine what he's thinking, and there's a slight frown as he considers. He notices each and every slight difference, but even so he can't give an assured answer here. His heart sinks, and he continues on, ]
He did his job well. He was the image of neutrality. He could consider and emphasize with all sides while encouraging others to do the same. He found compromise and solution to every problem, and so he was the most loved at all of them. But caring about anyone in return ran contrary to his nature.
[ He pauses there to let Komaeda process the context of their story first. It's not a long one, nor a particularly deep one, and so there's no need to try and rush through it now. ]
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keep them humble, making sure nothing they did would display disobedience. it makes sense to be loved, he was on everyone's side, and then not at all. he fixed the problems, so he was nice to have around. )
...
( komaeda keeps silent though, it's just a story, and is it meant to be something he should apply to his daily life?
he watches ranger, it's an expression that reads for him to continue because he can get an answer from this story unlike the unknown one from the wisteria tree. )
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He was kinder than the others, so those people that were nothing more than playthings for the girl and experiments for the rest found it easy to reach out to him. He wasn't attached to them, but others kept growing attached to him. He was just a fragment of a person's soul, just a role that was being played, but because of that after about a year or so of being poked and prodded and loved by people, he fell in love with them in return.
[ And at that moment, he ceased to be a mediator. It was a broken role, a tangle in the cord that should have never occurred. Sympathy, care, love - those lead to hatred for those who bring harm. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he became a fully realized person. ]
So in the end, he decided to find a way to save them... The obvious way would be to kill the source of the problem, right? But a fragment can't defeat the source, so he was branded a traitor - a "bad dog" - killed, and eaten on screen instead. I asked why, 'cause it doesn't make sense if you already know what's gonna happen, and the person who told the story just said that it was something that needed to be done no matter what.
[ Why that is, Rio still isn't sure. Was it because it hid his true intentions? Was it because humans have to try, no matter how small the chance of success might be? Was it because a major shock like that would cause such anger that it would spur others to act? Or was it because more than any words or attempts to offer small comforts, such a sacrifice would be undeniable proof that those watching were loved?
The storyteller isn't here, and so the answer is lost. ]
Either way, he must have known what would happen, and put effort into preparing for it. He left a message hidden behind, nothing more than a simple letter holding his feelings in it, and promising them he left behind something that would help them in his absence.
[ He pauses again there to let his partner process what's been said so far. Had he not left that behind, how might the story have changed? How much would it hurt to be responsible for the death of the one and only ally in a foreign world that seeks to break down its captives at every turn? ]
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because he was dead... that means the mediator was free, right?
there's something left behind for the rest, and komaeda closes his eyes as they come closer to the school. he hears the crunch of the ground before him, and once he feels pavement under his feet, he looks properly, pushing the door open so that they can finally get inside. )
They're all pieces of the first person you spoke about... each of them a part of her, just in the image of others?
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[ Not even static memories, but the simplest interpretation of them. It's probably disingenuous to call those she kept hostage playthings. The girl was a child, so she probably thought of them as people who would fill the gaps in her life - friends and family and companions - telling them that they would have a happy life together.
But no one was happy, and no one would want to be friends with a selfish and harmful person. How infuriating must it have been to see them love a fraction of her life that she didn't? Something that was a toxin which she'd expelled? ]
... There's a little bit more if you want to hear it.
[ Just enough to carry them the rest of the way, he thinks, now that they're this far. ]
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( it comes down to that once more, listening to a story that he hasn't heard which has no actual meaning, and so why is rio telling him it?
in a way, aren't the fragments just herself, and feelings that she casted away, and learned to make something of their own? isn't it unfair to be upset when they rally against, because if she had placed herself back together then there would be no problem. one loses control of themselves when they break down, and you learn their true colors piece by piece. he'll figure out the moral once they're towards the end.
he nods for the rest of the story, turning to look at rio.
it helps get his mind off everything else. )
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[ He created a unique entity, and yet he did not. She was a broken off piece of a fragment, the parts of himself that he wanted to give away to others most. It was a brilliant plan, too, because she couldn't be tracked nor used, but nor could she betray as he had. It was a gift, and it was love, and it was a bright candle that would burn for just the smallest amount of time. ]
In the end, his plan succeeded. His android carried out his will flawlessly. The girl died in the end, and everything important to him was saved. They all returned to where they were taken from. The tower was empty after that, and without the girl to support it, it collapsed on itself.
[ It's a nice story, he thinks, one that he can see the appeal of. Technology is a wonderful thing. Humans grow old and die, they have accidents, they foolishly sacrifice themselves, but they can leave behind bits and pieces of themselves to carry on for them. It's like a will, it's a power, and it's a means of finding happiness.
What of the android after all those wishes and feelings were realized? She was left behind, and in the end she was all alone.
It's a happy story. ]
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...
komaeda doesn't say anything as they take the right path to the library, and as they enter, ranger was right— it's just them. no one else. he finds a table to sit at, he sits on the opposite side of where the other is, and he crosses his arms, and lays his head into his arms. no different from a student who wants to fall asleep in class without a book in front to hide them from view.
for a child, innocently, they would love that story, because it sounds like such a nice outcome for those who have been tortured, and if they don't think of the robot as a person; it gets even easier. they're creative minds could think the android shut down afterwards, or that it went back home because it carried the will of the fragment who died, and so on, and so forth.
his feet scoot along the floor beneath him, not too much of a loud sound, but it's something to keep him busy.
everyone went home, but they were all part of that girl— scattered pieces, a test subject that lost control, but it's hard to take sides in the matter.
there's too many questions he has for this story, like all other stories. )
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[ She tries to look up when Komeada turns too leave, she didn't mean... there were things she wanted to say... but its getting hard to focus as the intial adrenhaline of the situation starts trickling away.
It hurts, and she's dizzy with it. Sara feels lucky so much of the killing game involved painful shocks or dodging sharp objects... she's not passing out at least.
When she looks up again, he's a bit away, with Ranger there. So he's not alone... thats about all she can focus on before she falters, leaning further onto Sou. ]
Pretty weird to... see you this worried? [ Wait, its actually really funny now that she thinks about it. Where did all that concern come from?? She'd get wanting to twist her fingers around...but he's still sitting here. ]
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Well, it looked like you were about to die just now, Sara.
[His tone is dry, an 'I'd say that's worrying' style of voice even as he's trying to deflect himself from his own reaction. His pupils are still alight with the same blue glow as the scarf as he shoots Sara a look and then glances away.]
...I said it, didn't I? [That he didn't actually hate her.] Despite what you might think... that wasn't a lie that time.
[It's one of those things where saying it out loud makes it calcify; some part of him internally shrinking in on itself. Time to get off this topic immediately, and go over it on repeat, card through it, later. Some of that spike of the aforementioned panic is fading into a sharp sensation in his gut.]
Can you stand?
[She's leaning against him, and his shoulder's probably going to hurt after a while because of it, but more importantly... even if the nurse is away, there's probably still things there that can help, if nobody's springing to action. Aspirin, at least. Somewhere to rest... it's a question of if she's actually able to get up and make it past the wisteria right now.]