Day 65: Arts & Crafts Room (Fourth Shift)

[unpriest]

Seishin didn't have the opportunity to visit the arts and crafts room before, but handicraft wasn't something the former priest had ever been particularly skilled at. He would have been content with remaining in the library, but the nurse insisted that he'd pursue a more social activity than something so isolating as reading a book. Pushing one's own ideas of what was good for them onto others was not something limited to just Sotoba, he guessed, and in the end Seishin had little choice but to quietly follow along.

The room was still empty when Seishin entered, leaving him with little else to do but eying the materials with relative uncertainty.

[Dr. Facilier]

Comments

[avengingfists]

She had hoped not prying into Guy's turn down there would dissuade him from asking about her own. Obviously she had been wrong.

The skin around her eyes tightened a bit, but she set her jaw and bared through it. "A friend of mind killed another friend of mine." She shrugged, looking away. "She woke up the next day in the morgue and has pretty much recovered."

To say Ilia was okay with the situation would be a lie, but there wasn't much she could do about what had already happened. She had already cried her tears. A soldier didn't dwell on the past, or else they would never move forward. She looked down at her hands, which were clenched into fists on the table. She made a conscious effort to loosen them. "I've talked with the person who did the killing. He couldn't remember her dying, let alone that he was the one who had killed her..."

[nobleman]

Everything that Ilia revealed was exactly what Guy would have expected, but that didn't make him any happier about it. He knew how it turned out, had seen a few examples of it by now, and it never got any easier to hear. Even if he didn't know the others involved, the fact that Ilia hadn't been able to pull out of that trap before it clamped down on her was a huge shame.

"It happened to me too," he said after a pause. It was still such a relief to actually be able to discuss it like this, since he felt as if he'd never gotten the proper chance to when it had initially happened. Not to mention he'd been trying to shove so much away, to heal from the wounds and move on. He still had horrible memories of it all, but he'd mainly recovered.

Which was why he needed to help Ilia through it now. In a way, that was part of the healing too. "I was the one who died, I... woke up in the morgue half-dead. But the memory loss, it didn't work that way for us." No, Sync had remembered his acts in perfect detail, which was part of what had been so horrible about it.

"Anyway, that's why we tried to warn you. I wish we would have been able to say more, but it doesn't work that way." Which was why history kept repeating itself in the worst way.

[avengingfists]

Ilia listened to Guy's story with her mouth falling open in shock. For that to have been him... And he had been so sweet from what she had seen. For him to be the one to die... Well, none of her three friends would have been a good choice, but there was no way out in that scenario. Landel didn't allow it.

Ilia tried to reach over and give the blond a pat on the back of his hand with hers, wanting to give some comfort and maybe receive a little in return.

"I'm... sorry, if I was insensitive about it before, Guy." She shook her head. "And I understand about not being able to say anything. It's not simple at all."

[nobleman]

The moment that Guy saw Ilia's hand reaching out for him, he knew that something terrible was about to happen. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to pull back, and so contact was made, causing him to tense up and scoot his chair backward as far as he possibly could in one movement.

He'd managed to avoid screaming, at least, but he started heaving in breaths as he felt his throat close up. It took a few seconds for him to calm down, at which point he gave Ilia an apologetic stare.

"Sorry, I... I have a condition," he admitted. "It's... well, I can't have women touch me without responding like that." Or worse, but he didn't need to admit to all of the gritty details. "Anyway, you don't have to apologize. You weren't insensitive at all, really. I just wish Claude, Anise, and I had been able to properly warn you." He also hoped they could move past that little hiccup with his phobia without it being too big of a deal.

[avengingfists]

Guy's intense reaction caused Ilia to flinch, jumping a little in her seat. A flash of irritation crossed her face, then he explained and it all melted away into concern.

"A condition? When you touch women?" Sure, she had heard of gynophobia before, but she had never experienced a case firsthand. In her time and world, people could either choose counseling or find a pretty decent drug to help them overcome issues with time, but phobias weren't things that were easily cured.
".... I see. Sorry again."

In a way, that helped one issue, but she was sure it caused a whole bucketful of others. Ilia filed the information away and continued on with their conversation.

"You guys didn't have a choice. I understand that." They really had literally been unable to utter a word about the coliseum. No one could fault that kind of mental block.

[nobleman]

The reaction that Ilia went through was pretty normal for anyone finding about his phobia for the first time. Guy didn't take it personally when people were initially bothered by his outbursts, because it was something that seemed horribly rude at first glance. He wished he could lessen the way he reacted, but it wasn't something he had much control over.

Still, Ilia accepted the explanation easily enough once it had sunk in, which Guy was thankful for. "Thanks for understanding," he said, his voice still somewhat weak as he recovered from the shock. Slowly, his heartbeat started to calm.

More than that, Ilia didn't seem to blame them for their inability to stop her. Guy was sure that now she realized why they had all tried so hard to prevent her from going to the coliseum, but it didn't count for much in the end.

"Uhh... the one who died, are they okay?" he asked somewhat awkwardly. He wanted to make sure that everything was settled now, or at least as much as it could be. "I know how it is, so if they're having a hard time, I wouldn't mind talking about it with them." He'd done the same with Sai, though come to think of it, he hadn't seen the man around lately... That wasn't a good sign.

[avengingfists]

She nodded, but wished there was something she could do to put Guy more at ease. He seemed to be doing better, but she felt a little bad knowing he wasn't comfortable around her in close proximity and probably would never be. It was just... unfortunate. Setting that aside, they had some more important matters to discuss.

"She's fine, now," Ilia said, eyes falling to her hands on the table. She shook her head. "Her name is Rose. She's.... thirteen."

Ilia gritted her teeth. One hand formed a fist and it took all her self-control not to slam it against the table. "She shouldn't have been the one to fight, but...!" There wasn't anything Ilia could have done to change it. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. "I would appreciate it if you did talk with her, Guy."

[nobleman]

While Ilia said that this Rose was fine, the fact that she was thirteen made that hard to believe. Guy wasn't about to underestimate anyone just because they were young, of course. Anise was only fourteen, after all, and she handled herself just fine in most situations. But if Anise had been the one to die in the coliseum that night, Guy definitely would have worried for her.

"Don't... dwell on that. We don't get to choose who fights, not really." There was the blood-spilling that was done at the beginning, but there was no way to know what that meant at the time. If Guy had been able to tell them, then he could have at least imparted that information, but there was no point in getting hung up on what could have been.

"I'll definitely try to track her down at some point," he said with a nod. The bulletin would be the best way to go about that. It might have to wait until he'd gotten Claude and Anise's situation under control, but then again, there was only ever so much to be done during the day.

[avengingfists]

It was true there was no way of knowing or choosing, but still! Ilia wasn't the kind to let her past bog her down. She had seen too much of that being in the army, and just being Ronyx's subordinate, but she couldn't help but think about it. The cruelty of Landel knew no boundaries.

"I appreciate it, Guy." She couldn't express it physically with a pat on the back or a squeeze of his hand, but she could try to smile. He was such a sweet man.

"I'm glad Claude and Anise have you around to take care of them." She chuckled, gaining a bit more of her good humor back. "I guess it might sound a little weird, but I kind of feel like they're my kids and I need to protect them from this place."

[nobleman]

It was good to see that Ilia seemed capable of moving on even after what had happened. While Guy wished that it had never had to take place, worrying about it now would be pointless. Besides, with some of the patients set to turn into monsters, getting caught up on the past would be a mistake.

When Ilia mentioned that she saw Anise and Claude almost as her children, Guy had to fight not to falter or let anything show in his expression. The fact that the statement was truer than Ilia could ever know was not a secret that he was allowed to reveal at this point. No, that was something that Claude would have to tell Ilia himself, and Guy had to wonder when that day would come.

"I don't think it sounds weird. Obviously they mean a lot to me, too, and I can promise you that I'll keep them safe however I can." His words held more weight considering the illness both of them had, but Guy couldn't make that clear to Ilia right now. Still, he hoped that the sentiment came across well enough despite that. He meant it.

[avengingfists]

His words gave Ilia heart, and quickly she found herself returning to her usual confidence. "I'm counting on you." She chuckled. "No pressure."

After all they had been through at least one thing could be certain. The worst had been experienced. Death of a friend before your own helpless eyes. They could carry on with the rest of the trials as though they were a cake-walk. Probably.

"I guess you guys are making progress, though? You seemed to be, last time I checked."

[nobleman]

In a way, it felt good to be relied on, and to know that Ilia trusted him. Granted, she wasn't aware that she was basically putting her son's life into his hands, but Guy still appreciated it. He offered a smile, wanting to make it clear that there were no hard feelings even after his little episode earlier.

"Progress? Well..." It was true that they had been for a while, as much as getting through random trials in the caverns counted as progress, but the past few nights they'd obviously had to switch their focus.

Before he could say much more, though, the intercom went off, meaning it was time for dinner. Which also took them one step closer to nightshift. Guy drew in a breath and stood up. "Well, looks like we'll get another chance now," he said, finishing his sentence in a different way than expected. At least he'd dodged a bullet there.

"Good luck tonight, all right?" He didn't know what Ilia was up to, but hopefully she'd take extra caution now that she knew what this place was capable of. "And sorry again about earlier." He gave her a sheepish look before moving away to meet with his nurse.

[avengingfists]

It sounded from Guy's hesitancy that progress wasn't at its best. Ilia smiled, her eyes full of empathy. "Just gotta do what you can."

She sighed and stood along with him, pushing her chair back under the table. There was still one issue she had meant to breach, or at least subtly prod at, that she hadn't managed to get across to Guy with. But maybe next time she'd see what he thought about Claude.

"Hey, same. Stay safe." That was the best she could hope for him and their friends. She waved off his apology. "No, it's quite alright. Have a good night." And with that, she also moved to follow her nurse back to her room for the night.