Welcome to Gaia! ::

Samantha raised an eyebrow. "Uh...huh." She didn't even pretend to understand that comment. "Well, that makes two of us then, I suppose. Err...about the 'conversation' thing I mean. Can't say I know what you mean with that last part there."

She leaned forward, arms resting on her knees as she looked out across the yard, thinking aloud. "I haven't been around many people in months...years maybe. I used to be pretty active...up until all the trouble started. Been in and out of more hospitals than I can count since then. No one really to talk to other than family or the doctors and nurses who were supposed to be in charge of taking care of me. They just bustled in and out, all business and non-personal like that. They were like zombies or robots or something. And family...well, they were too busy pitying me to provide any sort of intelligent conversation."

She had no idea why she was babbling on so freely like this. This wasn't like her, but was she SO desperate for human contact that she'd talk about her most personal issues with a complete stranger? Apparently so.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably boring you with all this," Samantha apologized to Raena, glancing up in time to see another non-CRONUS employee enter the yard. Frowning, she watched the new arrival for a moment, noting that she seemed even more hostile about the situation than she herself did. Interesting.

Should she introduce herself or not? It might not be such a good idea, considering the icy glare in the other girl's eyes. Instead, she leaned in whispering discretely to Raena, "Hey, do you know her? What's her story?"

Samantha frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm...interesting. Seems like we're in the middle of a nice little ice-breaker meet-and-greet then, eh?" She chuckled softly, wondering if they should seek out more company or not. She could just imagine the introduction. 'Hi, I'm the resident snarky b***h. She's the emo. Who are you?' She nearly laughed out loud at the internal monologue, but settled for smirking to herself. She'd really have to control those sarcastic impulses or she wouldn't have any friends around here.

Coughing to cover her private amusement, she shrugged at Raena. "So, what do you say? Looking for another friend, or do we leave her to her quiet peacefulness?" She grinned, unable to resist her teasing. Companionship in here had to be better than glaring at the guards all day, right?

Samantha blinked, looking at Raena in surprise. "I didn't...ah, I guess I didn't tell you, did I? I got to babbling and wasn't even paying attention to what I was saying, I suppose." She laughed nervously, rubbing her neck. She hesitated slightly before speaking again. Did she really want to go through all that again, even if it was only mentally? Sighing, she shook her head, resting her elbows on her knees. Why not?

"As I was saying, I've been very sick for a long time. I used to be your typical, active teenager; though I suppose I haven't been a teen for some years now either." She scratched her head, bemused. Had it REALLY been that long since she'd left behind her active lifestyle? Just thinking about it made her miss it even more. She couldn't wait to get out of here and get back on a bicycle...or into a dojo...or on a pair of rollerblades...

"Err, anyway...a couple years back, something went wrong. I've been a diabetic since I was a little girl and I'd never had any problems before then. They determined that was the root of my problems, even if they couldn't explain why or fix it. One-by-one, my organs just started shutting down for no reason. My body was practically falling apart and no one could figure out why." She closed her eyes, dropping her head into her hands.

"I got desperate after a while. Who wouldn't when the only other choice was certain death, right? I got to the point where I'd try anything if it meant I could live. I never even hoped to get back to my old quality of life. I just didn't want to die. I was out of options when my Uncle Carl came to me with one last chance. He said he could get me in here at CRONUS for some experimental surgery that might save my life. I figured if I was going to die anyway, I'd give it a chance."

She sighed, only now realizing she'd never asked for all the details of this 'surgery.' Yes, she and Uncle Carl were going to have to have a little 'talk.'

"Something about extensive organ transplantation and another treatment to prevent my body from rejecting the organs. I don't know much more than that. I sorta' forgot to ask. The good news is that it seems to have worked. This is the first time in years that I haven't been hooked up to some machine just to stay alive. I'm still here, I'm alive, and I'm doing so on my own. Whatever it was they did, I say it was worth it."

She finished speaking and fell silent. For some reason, she felt completely drained, what energy she had built up was gone now. Instead, she was tired and just wanted a nap, but she knew she needed to stay for some reason. Plus, it'd be rude to just up and leave, exhausted or not. "Err, wow...I feel like such a drama queen now...or something," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Samantha sighed tiredly, the silence slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Maybe so," she commented finally, disregarding whether Raena had been talking to her or not. "But I think you might be right. There's something about this place that just sorta'...rubs me the wrong way, ya' know? Something strange is going on here...I mean, why else would they have so many guards around with just us out here? Why watch us so closely? Do we really strike them as that much of a threat? That's just stupid," she sneered, glaring at the closest guard. "They can't be that pathetic to feel threatened by a couple 'girls.'"

Few things ticked Samantha off like chauvenistic attitudes, but she had to acknowledge that they did exist. To refuse to do so was foolish as well. At least as long as you acknowledged their existence, you could deal with them accordingly.

"So," Samantha continued, trying to lighten the mood and turn attention off of herself. "I've had my pity party. How about you? What's your story? I don't mean how you got here, necessarily, but more along the lines of what you did before ending up here. Got a hobby? Friends, family, Pokemon?"

Samantha frowned, suddenly feeling bad again, though not for herself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I didn't know it was off limits... I'm sorry," she finished lamely, unsure of what else to say. Everyone had things in their past they'd rather not talk about. She was working through some of hers, but not everyone had the same types of things to worry about, nor did they deal with them in the same amount of time.

She needed something to talk about...a new subject and quickly, desperate to turn the conversation away from the negative. Normally she did that with humor, but she needed a whole new topic this time. She looked back at the other girl in the yard. "I wonder what her story is...?" she mused aloud.

Samantha couldn't hold back a chuckle, smirking darkly. "I think it's a safe bet to say that I don't think any of us are particularly happy about being here right now." She shot an angry glare at the guards, unconsciously beginning to pop her knuckles again, whether they needed it or not.

"Geez...ya' think they're trying to drive us mad with boredom or something?" She grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe that's it. We're all experiments for some sick plot. They're trying to see how long it takes for us all to go insane here." She laughed at the absurdity of the idea. At least it was something for them to amuse themselves with for the moment.

Samantha laughed loudly, nearly falling off the bench in amusement. "See?" she shouted, pointing at Raena. "I was right! Didn't take long, did it?" She giggled, taunting her new friend teasingly for a moment before another fact struck her.

She fell silent, frowning. "Wait a minute...why the hell am I Watson?!?!"