Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sherry had barely noticed the mist trainee. It wasn't until Jake's familiar voice addressed her that Sherry looked up.

"Huh? Oh," she said, sadness evident in her own voice. "No, I think...I think," she couldn't say that she was ok, because she wasn't.

"I'll find you if I need anything," she she offered a small smile to Nevada, sad though it was. Sherry knew there wasn't much the girl could do to help her, but she deserved more than the rudeness Jake had offered.

As for Jake, she didn't glance at him, or even think about scolding him. His first mission, and it turned out like this. Poor kid.




((Sorry for being slowish~ work. xD ))

I'm sorry.

They were words that Eva couldn't bring herself to say aloud as she wrapped her arms around Gale's shoulders, holding him against her as she felt his body wracking with sobs. Giving up, she didn't resist as a tear slide down one of her cheeks, and then the other, giving the blond boy a tight squeeze as she briefly buried her face in his shoulder.

I'm so, so sorry.

She willingly moved back when Candace moved to pull the boy into her arms, and Eva used her newly freed hand to swipe at the wet trails on either side of her face. When the mist hunter asked for her assistance, she was more than happy to oblige, gently leading Gale forward and urging him to forward to Candace's back.

"...Just for a little while," She agreed quietly at the offer before following them out.

[[ Exit ]]

Deryk just shook his head, not saying or moving any further than that. While he didn't know Minerva that well, he was grateful for her being here, attempting to comfort him. It didn't help that much, but it was still something. His body was pretty unharmed so no bandages were needed. The most he really had were probably some bruises. No. He was just being affected on a much more mental level here.

After a little while, he managed to stop shaking, in which he was just kind of there, sitting limply.

"There's no other way than to survive, is there?"

Saya whispered, at Ryan's vehement declaration to live. She had been silent up until this point, simply listening to all the conversations around her and before her. She clutched Prompto, eyes red but dry, fresh tears staining Prompto's tablet.

All the vibrance was gone from the trainee, with little left to cry. it was a feeling one got, from looking, that there was nothing left, every fiber of her being exhausted. Nothing was left.

She stood there, like stone, hands linked together like she always did, in a form of prayer. A mantra in her head repeated over and over, as she watched the bodies carried away.

"Miracles dont exist."

Hearing Sherry's voice only confirmed his suspicion, but didn't bring much comfort. Though, he guessed it was better than having some random stranger sitting beside him. He had already decided it was impossible to make this girl leave him alone.

He hadn't even noticed that the two hunters brought back had been taken away, pronounced as dead.

Alone...
It was so strange.
Only hours ago, he had cursed Chester's existence for invading his head space, but now... it felt odd without him there. There weren't any voices telling him what to do, reprimanding him, and well, stopping him from making stupid mistakes. But now with his head utterly quiet, there was nothing for him to do except reflect. Reflect on everything he did wrong, and how his poor decisions had costed another life.

He heaved a heavy sigh, and finally looked up. The 18-year old looked tired. Ragged, like he had gone through a lifetime of ordeals. His first mission, and he had already gotten his partner killed. Way to go. He looked over to his side, tracing a finger over the runes on the smokey tablet. Was it going to dissipate... like those insanity creatures?

He gripped it tightly, as if to confirm that it was solid, that it wouldn't just up and disappear on him. Chester...

I'm sorry. I screwed up. I screwed up so so much. I'm sorry.

He dropped his head into his hands again.

Wilson tried to tug at his goggles around his neck, but once again found they were no longer there. His gaze flickered toward the tablet in his lap. “Isn’t that what always happens?” he mused with a wry grin. “I wonder when we’ll ever know why we do what we do. I feel like I’m permanently left in the dark. Caelius? Mmm…” He bit his inner cheek. “A dead leader isn’t good, regardless.”

He leaned over to bump his shoulder against Ryan’s. “And if it doesn’t heal correctly? What will the island do with you then?”

“Survive,” he breathlessly echoed Saya. “Isn’t that what we always do? Survive, stumble around blind, get hurt, and survive some more?” Sighing, Wilson clasped his hands together. He reached out to wipe away the tears on Prompto’s tablet. For the most part, his own eyes were dry and calm. “Don’t say that. Miracles exist somewhere. Somewhere…” Just not here.

[enter]

Jerry had moved like a ghost, clutching the stone tablet tight against his chest, silent as the techs tended to his once-over. The world felt distant, muted, although he could hear everything.

He felt numb.

It was all too quiet too quiet there was a ringing in his head of a sound you're long used to that is suddenly gone. An absence filled with white noise.

Roar was gone.

All other details, large and small, were muted as he stared at the stone piece in his hands, his brows knit.

Another hunter asked him a question. His mouth opened but he couldn't find his voice and so he closed it again. They left to find someone a bit more useful to talk to.

It was the sudden singing that made him lift his head, glassy eyes searching for it's source, swaying slightly to the familiar sound.

We'll bring those monsters to the gallows...

The song was cut short as he saw them move the bodies.

Bix and Ceres were dead. He hadn't known Ceres very well but she had always been there, as long as he could remember anyway and Bix.... a brother Sun. He couldn't really be...

They weren't immortal. Killzone was testament enough to that.

They were durable but they weren't immortal. Bix was dead.

He had stood, staring after the doorway the bodies had been taken through, the sobbing figures, the shouts... his eyes drifted down to the tablet still clutched in his hand, his expression trembling-

- until with a sudden howl of rage he hurled it away and crumpled into a trembling crouch on the floor.

The bickering, hugs and general noise around him were only somewhat acknowledged. He was too busy thinking. Wondering. There were so many here without a weapon now, that maybe there was a greater need to find a cure for it. If perhaps the weapons were not truly dead then...

Sobbing and crying caught his ears, his gaze moving to two bodies being removed from the site.

Such finality. No way to pretend what happened didn't happen. So much loss all in one small time frame. There were too many people around. He felt lost. But he also feared being alone now, alone to wallow in the silence of his mind.

Sticking around would do no good. Wait for orders? What orders? He felt like useless cattle waiting here...