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 Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:45 pm
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Her hair was damp from the third shower.
It still didn't feel enough, but Gretchen wasn't sure her skin could survive a forth shower, not with how hard she'd been scrubbing. Pale skin was still faintly pink, nerves rubbed raw and over sensitive. She felt both hot and cold at the same time, and that might have been an interesting sensation if she hadn't felt so terribly numb inside.
Shock, probably. She'd felt it before, but she'd been very young at the time.
The trainee had walked away from the mission with so much as a scratch on her, but not everything that could hurt was physical. Too much to take in all at once, Gretchen was overwhelmed, and Devika, slithering around her mind like an angry ghost, wasn't really helping. They'd fought--the naga reducing the trainee to tears somewhere in the middle of the second shower--and now she just lingered, disappointed and irritated while Gretch did everything she could to ignore her.
Finally, restlessly, the girl pushed herself off her bed and, grabbing the top blanket, headed for the door. She kept moving until she made it to the roof. Once thee, drawing in great lungfuls of cool evening air, a sense of calm started to creep back to her. As the trembling in her fingers faded she pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a message.
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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 5:46 pm
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When Isaac arrived he'd find her laying on her blanket towards one corner of the roof. Not too close to the edge, but out of the way and not immediately noticeable if you weren't looking for her. Honey colored eyes were directed up into the sky, a hand resting on her brow, but she pushed up on her elbows to look his way as she heard the door shut behind him.
If Isaac looked unphased by their recent stint in the mall, Gretchen looked as if she were carrying the experience for the both of them. The smile she flashed him, though genuine, was strained, and dark eyes were a touch wide. "Hey." If she had to guess, based purely on appearances, Gretch would have said Isaac had remained on the island.
She tugged her t-shirt back into place as she sat up completely, then pushed wet hair back behind her ears before dropping her hands into her lap. Now that he was here she felt a little silly for having messaged him to begin with. Reaching out for company when she was feeling overwhelmed was just one more sign of weakness according to Devika.
Pushing those unfriendly thoughts aside, the trainee gave the blanket beside her an inviting pat.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 5:45 pm
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A vaguely startled expression dominated Gretchen's features as Isaac hurried over to take a seat so very close beside her. It wasn't unwelcome, just unexpected. As was the blanket draped over her lap, tucked around her by strong hands until there wasn't enough left for the other trainee himself. This pulled a small, protesting sound from the Death, but it was lost in the heavy exhale from the burly young man.
"No, I didn't get hurt." Which she was still eternally grateful for. At the decontamination camp, as they'd been waiting to clean up so they could be cleared, Gretch had seen some of the injuries her fellow hunters had walked away with, and they'd left her feeling a little green around the gills. She'd never been very good around blood, guts, or gore.
Her nose wrinkled as she made a face, then shook her head to clear away all the unsettling memories.
"I wanted t show you this," she told him, smiling again as she brought up a hand to point the sky above them. It was clear, the moon a bright presence with a haloing haze of light. The really show was the stars. pin pricks of light that dotted the darkness like diamonds.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 7:47 pm
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While Isaac stared up at the stars above them, Gretchen watched his face, the look of reverence that lit up his features. That made her feel a little better, and the tension in her shoulders eased by inches before she was dropping back down down on the blanket beside him so she could watch the sky with ease.
"Isn't it?" It was a little amazing ow much of a difference a little good company could make on a person's mood. Drawing in a deep breath, Gretchen let it out slowly as she folded her arms behind her head and drew her legs up. Cool air felt fabulous against raw skin, but it wasn't quite cold. Before Isaac had covered her with a blanket she'd been alright, now she was down right comfortable.
With a soft, thoughtful hum she pointed up as what was possibly the most well known constellation of them all. "That one there, the one that looks like a cup with a long handle. That's the big dipper, which is also Ursa Major." Her hand shifted, pointing to another. "The smaller one is the litter dipper, A.K.A. Ursa Minor." She tipped her head, then stretched her handout to point to a row of three bright stars. "That one's Orion's belt, those tree there. They're a part of a bigger, squarish set that makes up Orion. He's also called the Hunter, I think."
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:45 pm
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Gretchen couldn't help with agree. The Sky above them, while a whole hell of a lot brighter, was still familiar. She'd still seen it countless times while laying out on a blanket in her old backyard. The Death drew in a breath, letting it out as she allowed herself a moment of homesickness before calling back that soft smile.
"I think there;'s a dragon that twists between the two bears." She drew an 'S' shape in the sky between the big and little dipper, head tilting gently to one side. "Draco, I believe." There was a chance she was mistaken. "I'll admit, I'm not the most well versed on the stars, just think they're pretty." The hand she'd been pointing with came down to rest on her upper chest, and honey eyes flicked from one cluster of stars to another before she noticed Isaac had turned his head to look at her.
She blinked at him questioningly, searching that sweet face, trying to read behind the look he was giving her.
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:40 pm
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Oh. Oh.
Dark eyes skipped away at the mention of the mission, and she caught her lower lip between her teeth, worried briefly, before letting it go.
He was so earnest, so genuinely nice. It was both refreshing and terribly disarming. Kind eyes turned up skyward again, and for a moment or two she just lay there and watched him, a thoughtful little from on her lips, before she too rolled on her side so she was facing him.
"Better now," she answered honestly, her own voice almost as soft. "But still a little shaky." Focus slipped from his face, gaze not resting on anything in particular now as the mingled screams of countless people returned to her. She grimaced. "It was awful."
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 4:14 pm
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"It was," he agreed solemnly, "very awful. But it is not good to think about the bad things. I do not think that it should be ignored, but it is okay to be thankful that you are still alive, and well, and here on the roof with a sky to stare up at."
Isaac paused and hazarded a glance in Gretchen's direction. He offered her a smile.
"Sometimes it has been hard to remember the good things - like fishing, and picnics, and how the air smells when it snows. Or.. sunflowers, and peaches to eat."
He shrugged and turned once more to focus on the sky.
"I will not ever focus on the bad. I like the good too much."
There was a silence, and he whispered very quietly, "It is easier to be happy, after all."
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 5:33 pm
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Hard to believe he was real. That there was anyone this genuinely nice in the world, let alone here. Gretchen had only met a handful of the many hunters that lived on the island, but there seemed to be a shared hardness to them earned through countless encounters like the one they had just gone through. It made sense, it truly did, if that was what they had to deal with in their lives. They would have to grow hard, how else could they stay sane?
But here was Isaac, with his soft voice and his kind eyes. Remember the good. It was so ridiculously simple, but could it possibly be as easy as he said?
She reached for something happy--picnics in fields full of wild flowers. Standing in the current of a river, fishing with her father. The first, unsteady steps she'd taken on her prosthetic leg--and the frown softened and faded until something almost peaceful remained.
"That's a very good outlook, Isaac." God, she hoped it continued to work, not for her sake, but for his. Don't ever change. Hang onto that goodness for as long as he could.
Shifting, she tugged on the blanket he'd tucked around her so she could drape it over his legs, and when she lay back she was close enough for the warmth from their bodies to collect between them. "You're a kind soul." It was soft, and she lay her hand lightly against his cheek as she smiled at him.
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 5:51 pm
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"It is much easier to be nice than it is to be awful," Isaac grinned as he continued sharing his great knowledge on the topic. It seemed as though Gretchen had relaxed, which was very nice - just like their shared warmth, her smile and the touch of her hand against his cheek. Their close proximity did not seem to bother her, and it did not bother him either - he had never been bold or very good with women, and so if she did not seem phased, he would not be.
Reaching up he patted her hand where it rested against his skin. Once finished, he lowered his hand to his chest.
"You are a good friend, Gretchen," he said solemnly, closing his eyes as he grew more and more comfortable. "This was a very good idea, coming up to the roof."
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 7:21 pm
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"That is true." She felt the pat of strong fingers against her own where they rested against his cheek and she smiled, giving the edge of his beard a soft scratch. She was relaxing, and with that calm came the exhaustion she'd been fighting off since they'd arrived at the contamination site. Sleep was essential, but Gretchen hadn't been in any hurry for the nightmares she was sure she'd be facing.
(Weakling.) The his was faint, like a warm wind across the back of your neck, but Gretch ignored it.
The compliment made her smile, bu honey eyes were getting heavy. The ground beneath the blanket was hard, but the blankets themselves were soft, and with Isaac's close proximity and warmth she was actually pretty comfortable. Comfortable enough that a big enough lull in conversation might be her undoing.
"'M glad you like it," she mused, rolling her eyes upward again before letting them fall closed. "Knew you would."
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