corrinesbell | 115. Light

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115. Light

Hey. We've got a lotta new people this month, huh? For anyone who's new, I'm Sheena. I think the guide answers just about every question, but I've been here for a really long time, so if anyone wanted to ask, I'm okay with answering about stuff.

I was thinking about trying out that battle arena thing. Anyone done it already and wanna tell me what it was like? If it's like the coliseum I dunno about trying it.

What would you guys think about having a winter, uh, festival thing like we did a couple years ago?

[Yuri]
I met your crazy rival.

[Raine]
Hey, are you up for visitors? I know it's gonna get late soon...but hopefully Albert'll forgive me.

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...Then what were you talking about?

[and the fingers she's holding with her own are still...trembling. Almost without really thinking about it, she's got Raine's other hand, too. And it's the same, even without a mark (that she knows about)]

What's this thing doing to you, Raine?

... I-I don't know. I don't know if it's related to that, exactly, or just ... an effect of something else from the kidnapping.

But something's happening. So what is it?

I --

[Is it really worth hiding at this point? She hasn't been able to meet Sheena's gaze for a while.]

There's just been... pain. A lot of pain.

...Is it really bad?

[bad enough, apparently. Have some unasked-for healing right now. There's still not a lot of energy there to work with, but it's something]

The medication... helps. I'm managing.

[A pause, when she realizes --] Sh-sheena, you don't have to do that ...

You'd do it for me, right? [and for a moment she lets her voice up into a joking tone] Quit being ridiculous.

[but the joke doesn't last] Besides, it helps. When you say 'managing' you probably mean something like hiding how bad it is until everybody's out of the room so they won't think you're weak.

[She doesn't say anything for a moment, before very quietly:] ... and hiding it from myself as well.

Raine...

[but what can she say? This is how Raine is. Letting other people in just isn't something she usually does. Sheena doesn't let go of Raine's hands, even though she's out of magic; neither does she raise her voice much louder than Raine's just was.]

If...if your medicine doesn't work maybe you should try something different. ...Are you in pain right now?

It works well enough... and there aren't that many other options. It's not really so bad right now. [She looks down at their hands.]

What's 'well enough' mean, exactly?

[she looks at their hands, too.]

I ... that I can deal with it. It allows me to rest without ... constantly thinking of it.

But it's still there, right?

[and she doesn't wait for the answer]

That's not good enough.

I can live with it. It's a side effect that will have to pass eventually. [Even though that's probably incredibly hypocritical, given that she's a healer. But she just doesn't view herself the way she views others. Not easy to grow out of.]

If this were backwards right now, and I was the one in pain all the time and I said to you what you just told me. What would you say back?

[...at least she said all that kind of slowly?]

I ... [She knows what you're trying to do. You're not supposed to turn this around on her, that's not how it's supposed to go.] I wouldn't let you get away with that. But you're not me and I'm not you. So ...

But the...we're still the same people. I can't let you get away with it either.

[and something Raine said earlier has been bugging her. It didn't really stand out at first, but now it does seem...odd that she brought it up, from nothing.]

And you shouldn't think you've gotta deal with this all by yourself.

... I'm sorry. I know I'm being foolish. It's just ... harder sometimes, when I'm with those of you from home. Especially since you're used to me being a certain way. It's ... always difficult for me to accept when you have to see me like this. Even though it's happened before ...

So we're used to you being one way. D'you think that makes us not wanna help you when things happen, or something?

[Sheena has to take a breath. Slow down and stop her voice from rising. Frustrated and confused won't get either of them anywhere now. When she starts again, it's calmer and with more purpose. Without the edge that might make it sound as though she was accusing Raine of something.]

Being friends goes both ways. You see us 'like this' all the time, even when it's tough to look weak or...or stupid...in front of you. We know you're just worried. ...But you shouldn't think so much about how we see you if you get hurt, okay? We just wanna be...be there for you as much as you always are, for us.

[and she's a little red-faced now, because talking about friendship? When it was only a few years ago she really started understanding it in the context of other people? It's a little tough, and she feels like she does a poor job of it.]

I don't think of you differently for stuff like this. Stuff you can't control. ...Okay?

I...

[She listens quietly as Sheena speaks. She doesn't know how to respond to it. How she should respond. Her reasons... why it's just been so difficult to accept something like that. Had her image really become that important?

It was just... hard.]

... I-I suppose I still have a lot to learn about friendship. It feels like everything I've learned from the journey has just ... become so warped. Distorted. [Even if she's been made aware of things like this before. It's one thing to acknowledge, another to actually accept and move forward with it. A step forward, a step back, until she could no longer remember where she had been standing to begin with.]

My weaknesses are constantly exposed here. Whenever they're pointed out ... I feel so foolish. Hiding them makes me foolish. I can't overcome them. But I still want to believe that I can. And when others see me that way ... I ...

[There are a lot of questions Sheena wants to ask in those pauses. She opts not to, though. This is the most she's heard out of Raine all at once in a while - no reason to cut her off. Only when it's clear the pause is going on for longer than before will she quietly say something]

You...what?

I ... I just want to hide it even more -- even if it's futile to. That's how I've always been. Even though I know that ... deep down, I ... wish I wasn't this way. It just doesn't feel right to ask you all to be strong for me.

...You don't have to hide it, y'know. From us. ...We wanna help. It kinda starts to feel like...like maybe we're not worth a whole lot if you think you've gotta hide all your problems.

['Us.' She's not sure who the plural is. After all, the only perspective she has is her own.]

And it's not being strong for you. You're strong on your own. It's just...helping you remember that. Or being strong with you, if that's what you need.

Edited 2010-11-17 01:56 (UTC)

I ... I suppose I don't really know what I need. I tend to ... not think about that, or ... how I may affect others by not letting them in.

Well if you think about it now, maybe. ...What would you say?

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