[PRP] Things We Lost In The Fire (Stormy & Abbi)

[medigel]

Stormy perked at the idea of a double-date, though her eyebrows raised. "So the guy you mentioned when we Christmas shopped . . . ?" Her expression grew warmer at the news. "I'm glad to hear it! Hope everything works out with you two. A double-date in New York sounds amazing~"

But it was clear Abbi was heading towards an unspoken boundary with her questions. Stormy's mouth closed, her smile turning sadder. "I liked it enough," was all she felt like saying on the matter, her heart threatening to start creeping up her throat like it already was with the Moon's evident confusion.

She actually seemed like she meant it, too.

"I wasn't even a real leader that whole mission," Stormy told her, scratching around her ear self-consciously. "One knockdown and I'm just gone. Couldn't even help you guys fight them off. And then, after all that, we find each other and I just . . . break it." Her voice got dangerously close to cracking, so she stopped there.

AyeAvast

 

[AyeAvast]

Both of Abbi's hands flew up to smack against her cheeks, half an expression of genuine glee and half to cover the sudden red hue of her face. She wiggled from side to side in her seat, far too pleased than she rightly ought to be to finally get to say something.
"Yeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Turns out I had enough affection points after all!" But she softens and drops her hands between her knees, her elbows tucked in so she could press her cheek to her shoulder. "I wasn't ever expecting it to... To work out so well." She smiles though, a little one that says more about how she feels regarding her relationship status than a large one would. One hand tucks a pigtail behind her shoulder for something to do before she laughs just to ease the bubble of happy in her chest.

There is no more talk of home, not when the girl opposite shortens her sentence considerably. Already there were the warning signs that the topic was getting too close to a bad place, but Abbi couldn't help herself. Stormy felt so similar, at least enough to want to compare like normal teenagers might. She doesn't make any movements before dragging her knees closer to herself, as though it were just because they were straying to an even more serious topic.
With a hum, Abbi pushed her chin down between the small valley created between her knees, eyes trained on the ceiling until Stormy stopped talking.
"See like... I think you're being too hard on yourself." One hand unhooked from her leg to tap gently against the floor.
"None of us would have been able to lead everyone like you did... No one knew where anything was, and no one followed any directions given beyond yours. Trust me, I tried." The smile that flashes by is self deprecating, though liberally sprinkled with honest humor, but fades quickly.

Abbi sighed heavily and shakes her head, smacking her chin against herself before it rests back.
"Toto ranks above you and he... He got overwhelmed. You didn't. You fell in that pit and... You made it out. Because you had to. Because you're really strong." One glance is chanced at the girl across the way, one of admiration and equal parts bashfulness over that respect.
"And you didn't break it. No one broke it except whatever cruel fates conspire against us. You tried harder than all of us, so it wasn't you."
For a moment she lets the silence go, comforted by her own racing thoughts despite Viveca's quietness.

"If anything... I should apologize to you. I... I shouldn't have left you." Her eyebrows pucker over eyes that will not look up off the floor. "B-but... You said to go and Toto was... He was in real trouble, like two seconds away from just... Panic Attack City, population that guy." Becoming more and more nervous about talking about this, the girl found herself in the position of talking more about it because that was obviously the smartest thing to do. "But I shouldn't have and I wished I hadn't and I'm really sorry, we had it so easy and I wanted to help and I couldn't and I'm sorry an--"
{ Enough, Little Bit. She understands, I'm sure... }
Abbi swallowed, not even bothering to look up again because it could mean too much and she's totally prepared to bolt out the door. She's done it before for someone she's felt needed to be impressed far more than Stormy, especially when Stormy considered her good enough to bring along on a mission, and is fully prepared to do it again.  

[medigel]

It would have been a lie if she said she wasn't soaking up Abbi's praise like water in the desert, or feeding off of it like it was life giving energy. Stormy was a creature built on doubts and adaptivity, always second-guessing herself even if things don't fail as spectacularly as that mission had. She wanted to believe that she had tried harder, but that would have been selfish to think. Egotistical. Uncalled for. It was different if it came from someone else's mouth.

They were idealized and thus unbelievable if applied to her, but she understood Abbi's sentiments. Stormy still wouldn't accept it as truth, but her words were soothing nevertheless.

"No," she said quietly, "it wasn't because I was strong. It's because someone was counting on me to get through." Multiple someones even, if she decided to be generous. But someone strong wouldn't have walked out of there like she had, barely conscious and infested. Someone strong wouldn't have let the artifact get broken. Someone strong wouldn't have gotten split up from the group in the first place. These thoughts weighed her down too much.

Shifting the presents off to the side of her bean chair, Stormy leaned forward until her knees were on the floor. She scuttled slowly to the Moon and wrapped her arms around her, bringing Abbi into a grateful and warm embrace. "Nothing t'be sorry about. I brought you along because you need experience like this. Sometimes the best thing you can do is help keep people calm and organized. You did the right thing, staying with them." For a moment her heart ached; if it had been Gale instead, she would have tucked her nose in and breathed his scent. But not yet. Not until she could come back victorious.

She took a deep breath to ward off further urges to cry.

"You did good," Stormy told her with a smile as she peeled back, though she kept her hands on Abbi's arms. "And you survived. It's just part of the life here."

AyeAvast

 

[AyeAvast]

"But like... Why can't that be strength too?" The voice that spoke was soft, a steady strength keeping it from falling into a whisper. But Abbi was being honest; Why couldn't someone be considered strong just because they did something someone else was counting on them to get done?
Maybe a small part of her wanted to help Stormy feel better, but in all honesty the girl was looking for some grace for herself. She felt she had done poorly in their mission, having only done well in keeping Otto from bolting and bringing the torches along to encourage the others. She hadn't wanted to do any of that, she hadn't thought she could, but for them she had managed... So why couldn't that be strong too?

Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Abbi did not notice the girl leave her chair, only realizing something was happening when she was hugged. A squeak left her, but she did not fight the affection. For a moment she listened, unsure what to think at first, only sure that she hadn't helped as much as she wanted. Finally the girl gave up and dropped her head against Stormy's shoulders while she lifted her own arms for a hug. It felt odd to hug someone nearly the same size as she, for Abbi inwardly marveled at how very tiny her friend was, but she also had gotten used to hugging men on the Island and hadn't really gotten the chance to share something like this with another girl. It was nice, and Stormy was warm, and smelled like smoke and perfume and something sour, and her clothing was soft and comfortable.
Maybe she ought to feel embarrassed to find herself enjoying a hug from another girl so much, but the kindness offered was rare and hastily snatched up. Abbi sniffled against the shoulder, sighed out her discontent before she nodded.
"Thanks." She said, unsure whether to break the hug now or hold on in case Stormy wanted to cry too. Curious, she snuck one last breath to try and determine what scent her friend was wearing before wondering if her own strawberry shampoo was too strong, hoping it was not but quite certain with the amount of hair she had that it most likely radiated like a hued aura. At least she'd showered that morning...

Ol-j-man