Welcome to Gaia! ::

The hospital lobby was a quiet place, something Christa liked about it despite the sickly fluorescent glow of the overhead lights. They made for eye-straining reading, but she wasn’t too concerned with that at the moment. With a book under one arm and a dollar bill in the other, the elder of the Calloway siblings was standing before one of several vending machines that lined the back wall. Beneath the pale yellow glow sat the second most important object of her brother’s affection - a bright orange bag of Cheetos. Christa had heard his “twitterpated babblings”, as she called it, many a time, but hadn’t yet had the chance to meet the lovely young lady who was on the receiving end of Zach’s fluttering eyelashes.

His recovery had been partially assisted by Christa, as Kallichore, pouring excess energy into him. Now she was taking on the job of ferrying junk food to her younger brother and reading at his bedside. The family’s distinctive gray hair was easy to spot under these lights and, when combined with her demure attire and reading glasses, Christa would be very easy to spot in a crowd. She stood out as being dressed almost too conservatively for this day and age.

As the Cheetos careened down into the bottom of the tray for retrieval, Christa quietly chuckled to herself. ”I need mah dangerous cheese fix… he says… Then he’ll get this orange powder on everything...” Sigh.

“Oh, my apologies…”

Christa found she wasn’t paying too much attention herself, not having the time to move out of Gale’s way before the two of them collided. When the brunette landed on the floor, Christa immediately bent to help her up. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going, myself. Are you alright?” The Cheetos bag went flying into God-knew-where (probably one of the potted plants hospitals seemed to like to keep the vending machines company), but that was the least of Christa’s worries.

The girl didn’t seem injured, which was a nice change of pace. Even if she was, a hospital would be the best place for it!

When Gale seemed fine, at least physically, brown eyes had taken notice of her distinctive hair. “I hope you don’t mind me asking,” she started, watching Gale with a rather inquisitive look, “...I couldn’t help but notice your hair. Are you Gale Perkins, by any chance? My brother had said you had lovely, spring-green tips to your hair. I’ve not met anyone else with hair like that. He’s…”

She turned away for a moment, as if choosing her wording very carefully. “...quite enamoured with you, if you don’t mind me saying. I hope he hasn’t caused you too much trouble?”

Christa seemed confused by the girl’s reaction initially. Blinking, she swallowed an anxious lump in her throat. Here was the chance to provide comfort to someone, but being as aloof as she was naturally, would that even be possible? Zach often complained of his sister’s rather icy demeanor, especially when he needed comforting most.

What would Sibyl do?

Now was the chance to practice. Carefully, considering both Gale’s trembling shoulders and her pigtails, Christa slowly wrapped her arms around the girl. Cheetos were forgotten.

“...why on earth would I hate you, Gale? From what Zach has said, I have no doubt you would have been there had you known about it.” Zach, no doubt, would have fought to keep Gale safe if she had arrived - which may have saved both of them from injury. But that was neither here nor there. Christa was rather touched by the fact that Gale was as upset over her brother as she was. “He’ll be just fine, don’t worry. Besides, he can’t be too badly injured or he wouldn’t be demanding Cheetos every few hours.”

Sibyl would have caressed Gale’s head as a means of comfort. Christa wasn’t sure she could do such a thing just yet. “Your willingness to protect him means a great deal, Gale.”

Christa was surprised at such a negative reaction. Did she do something wrong? Hmm…

When searching for what Sibyl might do, she realized Gale was on her way out. It seemed like such an unusual reaction, but perhaps Zach had said something upsetting to her?

“Gale, why are you punishing yourself like this?”

As Gale moved around her, Christa turned to keep facing the brunette. Zach would be very upset if Gale left in such a hurry, especially if they’d had a fight in the hospital room. Do you often hate yourself when something happens outside your control? She could relate to such a thing. Self-critical analysis was part of her nature, really.

“...I hate myself too, for not stopping him from running in like that.” came a quiet admission. There wasn’t any hint of tears in her voice, but it was softer than before. “As his sister, I should have put more effort into stopping him. He had no business being there, regardless of whether or not he thought he could save whoever called for help. If it’s anyone’s fault he’s in the hospital like this, it’s mine.”