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 Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:25 am
Somehow, Eva managed to push herself to live through the last few days in relative normalcy, relative being the key word. She would wake up, go to the cafeteria to eat, trying to socialize—or at least greet—anyone who she happened run into, and…
And that was it, really. Sometimes she would just sit in the cafeteria alone, staring at the doors in hope that someone else would come in—someone that she could talk to, to fill the emptiness that Chara had left. There were times where she was lucky—another trainee would walk through the doors, and her blank eyes would brighten slightly—but they could never stay for long. Not long enough, at least, never long enough. Although she was sometimes tempted to cling to them, to plead that they stay with her just a little longer, Eva could never bring herself to ask. Some people, she knew, just wanted to be alone, and others were genuinely busy.
It was a new morning, and as per her usual schedule these days, the dark-haired girl was quietly seated in the cafeteria. Eyes downcast, she absently nibbled at a piece of toast, her other hand gently set on the tablet that sat in her lap.
It was just another day.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:54 pm
The days dragged on like weeks. Otto kept trying to reason with himself that he'd lived without a presence in his head long before Deus. He'd been fine all that time. he knew loneliness better than most other emotions. He was sure he could deal with it.
And he could, for a time. Here and there he managed to keep busy enough to distract from that pain. But hobbies were few here, and without drums he had no release for his temperament. No weapon to spar with. No voice to keep himself sane. No music to distract him. The first few days had been eased with the company of others, like Ami on day one, and Clerise on day two.
But the in betweens were killing him.
Otto was hungry. A welcome excuse to walk around and go somewhere. When he walked in though, he saw Eva, and beelined toward her rather than feed himself. His pace quickened to a jog until he found her table, scraping a chair across the floor and sitting in it backwards, right beside her and staring intently.
"Talk. To. Me." He demanded, eyes wide.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:16 pm
Ironically enough, after staring at the cafeteria door so intently for ten minutes, Eva tore her gaze away to look elsewhere just as the blond boy entered. She stared down at the tablet in her lap, idly running her fingers over the etchings that decorated the tablet's surface.
They'll be able to fix you...right, Chara?
She let out a quiet sigh, and just as she moved to take another bite from her slice of toast, she was suddenly startled by the sound of the chair across from hers screeching as it was dragged over the cafeteria ground. Flinching, Eva's head snapped up, her piece of half-eaten toast landing on the tray in front of her with a little plop.
Eva gaped at the boy in front of her for a good few seconds, afterwards in which she pushed herself up to her feet, leaned (quite uncomfortably) over the table, and threw her arms around Otto's neck.
"OttoOttoOttoOttoOtto--"
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:41 pm
"That don't count as talkin'!" Otto retorted with a strangled voice. He should have expected this, really. The teen patted her shoulders with both hands; a show of affection and simultaneous you're hurting me please let go.To be honest, seeing Eva so downtrodden and lonely was unbecoming of the normally bright woman. Seeing that little light fade out was unnatural. "Are you okay? I mean.. considerin'. n stuff.."
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 9:06 pm
Almost unwillingly, Eva slowly let go, drawing back to stare at Otto with round eyes, her brows drawn together. It felt like ages since she had seen him, and she knew that she should have visited him earlier, but...
"Sorry," The girl apologized, the corner of her lips quirking up in a weak, sheepish smile, "I, er...I didn't hurt you just now, did I?"
At the question, she blinked at him blankly for a second, and then suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up. Plucking her chair up, she moved around the table and set it down beside the boy. Sitting back down--and setting Chara's tablet back into her lap--she wrapped her arms around one of Otto's arms, ignoring any potential protests by burying her face in his shoulder.
"I'm good," Came the muffled and clearly not entirely truthful reply.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 8:20 am
"No, it's fine." Otto lied, averting his gaze for a moment. His brows furrowed and looked back to Eva. She was taking a while answering him. He watched her with disgruntled curiosity as she moved around the table to sit next to him. He hadn't noticed before, but she'd been cradling Chara that whole time it seemed. Tenya too was always in Otto's pocket, no matter how heavy she was, weighing down the fabric of his hunter's coat. His intense glare seemed to soften even if only a little, as Eva grasped his arm and leaned her head down into his shoulder. "You don't gotta lie, ya know." Otto mumbled, looking down at the top of her head. He'd had a chance to break down in front of someone already, even if he fought it tooth and nail. And somehow it had helped, even if only a little.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:45 pm
There was a long silence, and then she sighed, slowly tilting her head so that her face was no longer buried in the boy's shoulder. "It just feels so...lonely here now. I mean, I really miss Chara, but..."
But it wasn't only that. "Almost everyone is...well, understandably upset. A lot of people seem to prefer being alone at times like this, and I want to respect that, but...you know me." She laughed, still hugging Otto's arm. Despite the blond boy's nickname, Eva knew that she tended to act more like the stereotypical puppy. Love, company, friendship--they were all things that she craved and desperately clung to. A part of her wondered if she should use this chance to change, to finally close herself off to everyone else--enough with the hugs, and the teasing, and the shows of affection!--but...
There was another pause, and then she suddenly laughed, a quiet, weak sound that lacked it's usual brightness. "If you're worried, don't be--I'm not going to cry or anything."
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:12 pm
Otto listened. He usually preferred listening. Giving advice or offering comfort wasn't something he knew how to do. Being there? Well, he could manage. he kinda sorta liked Eva, so he'd deal. Like she said, otto tended to be one of those many people who preferred to be alone when he was sad. Then again, he liked being alone on good days too. Interaction once in a while was enough to tide him over, usually. He knew Eva was much different. But he'd also assumed she had a lot of people she could go to other than himself. So why was she alone? "That ain't why I'm worried." Otto replied in a flat tone. "Cry if ya wanna, just don't force yourself to be happy if you're not."
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:03 pm
"I'm not going to cry," She said again, looking stubborn as she squished her cheek against Otto's shoulder and shook her head, "I'd like to hope that as long as we have these tablets, our weapons can be..."
She trailed off, her gaze flickering downwards to the tablet in her lap. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed, finally pulling her arms back and drawing away from the boy. "Enough about me though--how are you? Considering...the circumstances, I mean." She leaned back a little farther to look him up and down, taking in his overall appearance.
"I wanted to visit you earlier but...you know. I wasn't so sure you wanted to see me." Considering how he had approached her just now though, it seemed as if Otto may have been feeling just as alone as she had. Eva could count all the people she had had a decent conversation with since the mission on one hand.
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:09 pm
He didn't respond to that. He placed no hope in that option. Not yet. The tablet was not Tenya anymore. He watched her face with relative interest as she reversed the attention to his situation than hers. "M'fine. Dealing with it.." Lonely as Hell but too stubborn to seek others out. After all, he felt awkward with people as it was. Having Tenya had been an excuse not to interact with anyone, since she'd been some semblance of company. But now... "Why wouldn't I?" Otto turned his head away, scratching his neck. "Well.. I guess not right away but.."
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:53 pm
Something that looked akin to Eva's usual smile spread over her lips at his answer. "Ah ha, you see? I thought that maybe you would want to be...well, alone for a little while."
Her mind flickered back to the memory of the battlefield. Tenya's scream, Otto's anguish, and the sheer sadness and rage that had welled up within her at the sound. How dare anyone do that to him? To her puppy, to her friend, to--
She was quick to shake the memory away, her lips momentarily twisting into a small grimace. Without warning, she suddenly pushed herself up to her feet, her voice taking on a chipper tone as she motioned towards the cafeteria line, which was pretty much empty, save one or two people who had wandered in while they had been talking. "You should get some food! That's what you came in here for, yeah?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 3:37 pm
"Yeah.." He murmured as she got up, slowly rising to join her. She seemed okay, but he hadn't missed that twisted frown. But what could he do? Nothing. So he left it at that. He was no good at helping people anyway.
He followed her, awkwardly wondering what to do or say. His mind felt so barren, his own thoughts bouncing and echoing off walls without Tenya to receive them. He hadn't been a talker before Deus, and certainly not after. But he couldn't shake that horribly lonely feeling that kept getting stronger.
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 11:00 pm
If there was one thing that helped distract Eva from her own troubles, it was helping others with theirs. Perhaps that was why she had, once upon a time, strived to become a nurse. It would have been a way for her to drown out the shadows that plagued her by helping others instead.
And so, she seemed significantly more cheerful pushing along the tray for Otto, picking up toast, butter, fruits, muffins, and a variety of other things for her friend. Whether he would consume all of these things or not, she didn't know, if it was a nice way to get her mind off of things.
Once she had grabbed everything she deemed necessary, she picked the tray up with one hand, balancing it on her palm as she linked her other arm with Otto's and pulled him along back to the table. Setting the tray down, she slid back into the chair that she had dragged beside his. "There you go, a full meal. You probably haven't been eating properly the last few days, have you?"
...So said the girl who had just been eating a single piece of toast and some water right before he had arrived.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:47 pm
Woah. That was quite the spread of food things. Otto obliged to getting dragged back with her, sitting down to eat what she'd picked. "Proper?" Otto gave Eva an arched brow, taking one of the muffins first. "...Guess no, I havn't." Eating involved leaving his room, after all. He'd eaten, just not 'properly'. "Look who's talkin." He somehow said with a mouthful of muffin, pointing to what remained of her toast. He swallowed the large morsel and waved the muffin at her accusingly. "Least have a milk with it or sumthin'."
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 3:02 pm
Eva began to lift her piece of toast back up to her lips, only to pause and lift her brows at Otto's accusing tone. There was a moment of silence, and then she laughed, her lips spreading into a real grin. "I thought I was supposed to be the nagging one," She teased, flopping her slice of toast at him, "But it's fine, I'll just steal a sip from your carton if I have to."
She suddenly seemed much more at ease now, her previously distant and tired expression having brightened and relaxed slightly now that she had company. She wasn't sure just how long she would have Otto's company, but it was nice. At the very least, it had taken a huge weight off of her shoulders to see that he was safe and...relatively healthy.
...
"Don't forget to eat those fruits after, Puppy," She piped up suddenly, waving her now bite-sized piece of toast at all the fruits she had gathered on his tray.
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