Welcome to Gaia! ::

While Sailor Atlas experienced a long an arduous night warring between the Negaverse, crevices filled with molten lava and a leopard with an equally-hot temper, Alba battled her own night terrors. However, it wasn't nearly as dramatic nor as painful as the former, though it had left her exhausted by the time the sun's rays lifted from the far off horizon.

It began peaceful enough: there were very few things that would render Alba into the kind of tranquility one would search for through meditation, and lying snuggly in the crook of Simon's bare arm had done just that. She had fallen asleep, her head nestled against his shoulder, and while that normally yielded a restful night and pleasant dreams (and an even more pleasant morning to wake up to), she instead was struck by a nightmare. Alba's eyes snapped open in the dark, her body drenched in a cold sweat and her heart beating heavily against her breast, and yet--

She couldn't remember why, nor was she able to calm down. Whatever had woken her up before left her feeling anxious and upset, and no amount of careful tossing and turning rewarded her with heavy eye-lids. Not wanting to wake Simon up (and somewhat surprised that she hadn't by now), Alba scooted to the edge of the bed and walked over to his desk to pick up her charging cellphone. A quick touch of the side button notified her the time in a dim glow: 3:21 a.m.

The remainder of her night was spent scrutinizing the unfinished puzzle scattered along the desk's surface, the table lamp turned on to shed light on the missing pieces she shuffled around with her fingers. It had been an idea to work on it until she became sleepy enough to head back to bed, and in the end, kept her occupied until a rustling noise broke her concentration. Not only had Simon kicked off the sheets in his slumber, but a faint light began to peak through the closed blinds of the single window of the dorm. It was nearly dawn, and Alba's eyes were red islands in a sea of dark circles.

She groaned; today would not be a good day. Her actions were heavy and sluggish, though she managed to get herself up and ready to cover Simon with the bed sheet until she noticed beads of sweat rolling down his face. One touch of his forehead with the back of her hand caused her brow to furrow in concern, as he felt feverishly hot. Instead of covering him back up, she journeyed to the bathroom and soaked a towel with cold running water, wringing out excess moisture into the sink.

When Alba returned, she was shocked to find Simon awake, and even more so to see that he was bleeding. Everywhere.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, closing the distance between the two in a clumsy hurried step. "Wh-what happened to you? Are you okay?"

Well, it was clear he wasn't, and she was already forming an idea as to the cause of this disaster while she gently wiped away some of the blood off of his face.

There was another fight.

Alba's dabbing paused over his forehead as she took the news in, allowing the chilled cloth to absorb any heat that radiated from his stained skin. Her assumptions had been spot on, then. It would explain her inability to sleep through the night, and how her nightmares kept her uneasy despite not remembering a fraction of them. It was strange to be on the other side, not fighting in tandem with her comrades to protect the one realm of Earth the Negaverse hadn't tainted with their very presence.

Or at least, it had been until last week's failure.

After mulling it over, her hand lifted from his brow and began to scoot the cloth along his jaw line and down to his neck, where blood had pooled by his collar.

"Of course I'd believe you." Alba reassured him. The last time she had been to Elysion her back had sprouted thick gray wings that gifted her the power of flight. At this point, nothing seemed too far-fetched if it came from the world of dreams. It also helped that she fiercely trusted Simon's word, particularly after what happened the last time she didn't believe him.

While she was curious of the outcome of the battle, she was more preoccupied over his well-being and health. "Do you need to go to the hospital? I can take you. Or if you need anything, just ask." It was hard to keep her voice steady, as she hadn't seen Simon in such awful shape before.

Had she only been there to protect him.

Alba's hand squeezed his in return, her fingers tangling and curling around his without giving it a second thought. She could feel his warmth, which made her wonder if Simon was carrying a mild fever on top of his injuries after all. At his question, she gave a sympathetic smile, her mouth closed and eyebrows still knitted at her brow with worry. He most definitely looked like he needed to see a doctor to double check his bones and make fully sure that he wasn't bleeding internally. Instead, she said: "Well....you've certainly looked better. But if you think you haven't broken anything, then I won't push you to go. If you begin to have second thoughts, please tell me, okay?"

While she spoke, she had flipped the cloth over and begun to dab at the few cuts that were obtained below his shoulders. It was a good thing Simon habitually slept without a shirt on; it made her job that much easier and allowed her to relax a little more knowing that there wasn't a secret bleeding gash hiding on his abdomen. Most of the wounds had already stopped bleeding, leaving the slender boy a canvas of dark bruises and developing welts.

Hopefully the magic of Neosporin would keep them from marring his skin permanently.

"The time?" Alba repeated and paused her hand just above his belly. "You are not going to class, Simon. It's important for you to rest, get the sleep you missed last night and give your body a break."

"Besides," she continued. "You won't be able to pay attention to any lectures if you're exhausted. Which is why I'll be staying here too."

Alba hardly hid her surprise over how easily Simon was swayed to stay in bed for the day. She knew that he had developed strict habits and rules to abide by in Hillsworth, a school that was more military camp than a dorming city high school on any given day. Either he was finally getting used to the lax atmosphere of Sovereign Heights (or at least in comparison to Hillsworth) and allowed more flexibility on the days of school he could miss, or he truly felt as awful as he appeared. "Hopefully it won't take you too long to re-coop, Cariño. Just get some rest, and I'll be here if you need anything. A glass of water, food from the store, extra kisses to soothe the soul."

To emphasize her joke, Alba leaned forward and gave Simon a quick peck on the forehead before untangling her hold on his hand and lifted herself off the bed. "Anything you want, and I'll do my best to keep you comfortable. If it keeps you out of the hospital, it's worthwhile." She flashed a tired smile before returning to the bathroom, stained cloth in hand. Simon would hear the faucet running as she scrubbed the hand towel with soap and rinsed it as clean as it could be, and when she came back, she held a small yellow and white tube in its place.

She carefully sat back down on the bed next to him and squeezed out a small amount of Neosporin on her fingers. "This is to prevent infection to your cuts. It'll feel a little cold, but it shouldn't hurt..." She was sure Simon knew, but she preferred to reiterate before she applied it to the cuts on his face without saying anything. Alba was quiet as she dabbed away at his skin and payed attention to his story.

"I wonder if it was the same leopard from before." She mused aloud. "There was a quail in the fields when I was there, but he wasn't quite as aggressive as what you're describing."

When he came to the part about the Negaverse lieutenant, Alba did not immediately react in recognition. It would seem she was a lot more tired than she was letting on, and as she continued to dress the wounds on his upper torso, she asked, "A mask? Was she hiding her face?"

Alba wasn't the kind of person who reveled in the art of secret keeping, or rather, not when it came to her own thoughts and sentiments. If a friend needed someone to confide to, she would keep that closet locked and secured and free from exposed marrow, like any good friend would. However, as she was applying the gel in tiny smudges across his face, her eyes roved over his sleepy smile and understood the satisfaction that shone brightly among the dimples in his cheeks. As much as she was devastated to see Simon in pain, the mere thought of him disregarding that discomfort because she was there, dotingly taking care of him, elated her like a kite on a spring afternoon.

And she will keep that with her and her alone.

The corners of her mouth twitched into a small and adoring smile before fading for a response. "Maybe! Helios is the guardian, and that's kind of like a unicorn, right?"

With Simon's shoulders finished and glistening in dots of translucent ointment, Alba reconsidered moving her hands any lower. There were a few more cuts to tend to on his abdomen, though her sudden infliction of painful shyness and embarrassment kept her from touching them. It was silly. This was silly. She should not be feeling so bashful over a bare stomach. Over Simon's bare stomach.

It was about this time that she became aware of him describing someone's hair. A braid? That mental image had jogged something in her memory, something that caused her stomach to tighten in a nausea-inducing knot. Her hands were still, curled atop her lap as she tried to remember, though it took her a few moments to wade through sleep-laden fog. When she finally caught it, Alba drew in a sharp breath and held it.

"Was the mask red?" Her voice was quiet and strained, almost like a whisper. "Did it have the face of a monster?"

It couldn't be. She was left for dead.