Dayshift 62: Sun Room [Third Shift]

[avengingfists]

Last night had been a nightmare. That had to be what it was, but Ilia couldn't deny reality. In her anguish, Ilia had slept through the first half of the day plagued by nightmares. In her dreams she saw Rose's broken body all over again with Gamzee standing over her, his club raised to strike again. Somewhere, she could hear Martin Landel laughing.

Much like the battle last night, Ilia was overcome by her powerlessness. Was she really so useless? Why did it have to be the children who suffered pain and death? Why was she left alive here? She didn't wish for her own death, but if she could have given up her life to save Rose... But nothing could be done now

Ilia had failed to save an ally in need. If only her Captain could have been here, then just maybe his uncanny luck and drive might have saved them. He had a miraculous touch that could solve anything. Ilia now understood why she would never be on equal footing with him.

Miserably, Ilia roused herself at her nurse's insistence that she come eat. She didn't take a moment to brush her hair or wash her face. She just followed along as directed, trying to ignore the hallow feeling in her chest. Ilia wasn't hungry, but she took one of the bags offered to her and trudged to the bulletin. She addressed a few notes then added one herself. It wasn't the prettiest note, but Ilia couldn't produce the level of prose that Rose deserved. Instead, she wrote it quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. Short. To the point.

Her task done, Ilia found seat in the corner and sunk down into the cushion. Burying her face in her hands, she concentrated on breathing. She couldn't face the sun today.

[For her children Claude and Anise]

Comments

[ryuuzaki]

Still trailing around, he thought, and directed the resulting frown at his sandwich. He had spoken with Terra twice before, although because the second time had been two days earlier, just after Aguilar was ousted, it had involved more eating than talk on his part: there had been real breakfast food for the first time in days. In each conversation, she had seemed vague, unsure of herself. If she had experienced a breakthrough in her amnesia, he would have expected a corresponding change in her demeanor, even if it was nothing more than a slight uptick in confidence.

He slipped the sandwich back into the bag without unwrapping it, and dug around for the grapes--they seemed more appealing. At the same time, he turned his full attention to her again, and his expression brightened until it was almost a smile.

"I didn't see you yesterday. I was worried." Interested, curious... it wasn't strictly accurate, but it wasn't a lie. A patient with an unstable identity could be easier to brainwash, and he had wondered if she'd been released already, or hurt or killed in a way that hadn't made the rounds. He popped a grape into his mouth, then spoke around it. "You haven't gone out alone at night, have you?"

[ultimagi]

Her eyes left his face for a moment, glancing towards the doorway back to the cafeteria, before with an exhale she shook her head. A frown pulled at her face. "I woke up, and went to breakfast... and then I woke up again. I..."

Edgar had been firm on the idea that her spots of lost time was something everyone went through, but she didn't know if she could trust that. With so much of her life missing still...

The girl shrugged her shoulders. ".. I guess amnesia's not done with me yet."

[ryuuzaki]

The grape's juice was sweet and tangy, much better than the sandwich would have been, and it felt good going down his throat.

"Sometimes people here sleep more than they should, or more than they need to. We haven't figured out yet whether or not that's something to worry about, although there's a rumor that people sleep more than usual before they're released."

He paused, popped another grape into his mouth, then pushed it into his cheek with his tongue and added, "Things have changed for the better since our last conversation, hm? Only a little, but almost any improvement stands out here." In truth, conditions were terribly unstable at Landel's at the best of times, but there was no reason to say so. He had already had one ominous conversation with her, and apart from that, as an observation on their surroundings, it would belabor the obvious.