Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been both a comfort and a painful blow to see her sister's slumbering figure within one of the pods. A comfort to learn that she was here, that she was safe, and that she would, given time, awake for real. It hit like a blade between the ribs because Deus was dangerous. For all the happiness that Peyton found there, for as much as she thrived, she would worry over Astrid, as she always had. Call it over protection, but Peyton had been fallen into that role almost a decade ago, and it was not an easy thing to shake free from.

There was also the matter of her father. If Astrid was here, then the man really was dead, because the younger Creedy would not have left otherwise.

That reality settled in a heavy burden of guilt over Peyton's shoulders. She had caused that, or at the very least contributed to it. Her leaving, her dying had only made things worst.

She was numb as she made her way back to the dorms. Numb as she walked silently down the hall towards her room. Her eyes were red-rimmed, puffy, but there were no more tears, she was empty as she reached for her door knob to let herself in.

And stopped there, because she didn't want to see her room in pristine order. She wasn't ready for that, not yet.

So she let her hand fall away, arms coming up to wrap tightly around herself, and she walked those few feet down the hall to stand in front of room 112. "Taym?" Her voice managed to be soft and still be soft. Fragile, as she leaned against the door frame, rapping gently at the wood.

Please let him be in.

The door opened and pale misery met dark wary darkness before the expression on that familiar face softened and her caught her hand to pull her into the room and into his arms. It was a shock, whenever he offered more then a passing brush, or a one armed squeeze. It was always a shock, but a matching tension didn't creep into thin shoulders. She leaned into him, small hands curling into the front of his shirt as he smoothed her hair back and offered his sympathies.

if she'd had any tears in her she'd have started crying again then and there, but there was nothing left. She was used up, empty, drained. It was barely noon, and already it felt like the day had dragged on well beyond it's allotted twenty-four hours.

Or maybe that was the mission that they hadn't really been on. The monster they hadn't really fought. The shattered femur she hadn't really had(but god had that hurt), the deaths that hadn't really taken place. All of that, all of that strain, only to wake up to the realization that she had been talking to, hanging around, sleeping with, nothing.

For a handful of minutes she just stood there and let him pet her hair, and she drew in that familiar scent of smoke and bleach. Claiming what comfort she could from the person on the island that knew her better than anyone else. When she did speak it was quiet, voice a touch horse. "I've been in the pod room. America went with me, had the idea that maybe it wasn't complete fabrication. We found her down there."

She let him settle her on the edge of the bed, and was grateful when he brought the chair up close so she could keep hold of his hand. Long, thin fingers that gave the occasional tremor, but they were warm, and familiar.

A nod followed his comment, features a touch grim. Jesus Christ indeed.

Her thumb rubbed along the side of his fingers, an absent, fidgety little gesture that let her concentrate on the feel of his skin rather then everything else weighing on her.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, before a small crease formed between her brows. "There was a lot of dust, a while I think." Peyton had been in the pod for a while before Warrick had woken her up, for all she knew Astrid had been there the entire time.

She licked her lips, drawing the lower one between her teeth for a sharp press before releasing it. "Her being here means my dads dead." An emotional burden he likely wouldn't appreciate being laid on him, but they weren't the same people they'd been almost a year ago. They had been through hell together, they were closer now, they'd grown up(or so she'd like to think.).

Her attention lingered on their clasped hands, even as he gave a soft squeeze. Even as he tried to paint a silver lining around the dark cloud that had settled over her. She kept her gaze on thin, pale fingers wrapped around small tanned ones, and she breathed in the all too familiar scent of stale smoke and cleaning supplies.

But damn if she didn't want to believe what he was saying. That it wasn't just some cruel twist of fate, that everything was indeed connected, and when Astrid did wake up she'd remember her brief stint in the waking world, even if she had not actually been conscious. They had all shared the same dream in wonderland, even one of the podded recruits, surely this had been shared too?

"I hope so." It would hurt less, if it were true. She wouldn't have to go through the guilt of her little sister realizing the elder Creedy was still alive. She wouldn't have to hear how life had not gotten better after she'd left, but had, in fact, gotten worst. Selfish, but true. It had been hard enough to hear the first time. "I feel kind of lost," she admitted, gaze flicking up briefly before dropping again. Lost, and tired. Never mind that she'd basically been asleep for well over a week.