adventure without risk is disneyland [closed]

[commentboxtroll]

Date & Time: 4/22 through 5/3
Location: From Exsilium to southern UE territory and back again.
Characters: Caesar Silverberg, Collette, Asami Sato, Stephanie Brown, Ellie Linton, Nash Latkje, Gamora, Balder, Nathan Summers, Khisanth, guest-starring Clive.
Summary: Over the channel and through the wastes to the UE's house we go.
Warnings: Violence, spiders, swearing highly likely.
Notes: Any format goes. Feel free to start your own threads outside the subsections; those are just guidelines, not rules. Timeline and info is here if needed (or there are any further questions).

[ on a boat. ]
[ wastelands. ]
[ spiders. ]
[ onward. ]
[ civilization. ]
[ compound. ]
[ space. ]

Comments

[whatsupcroc]

The thought makes Collette laugh, a bark of sound followed by a hiccuping and firm shake of her head. It gets her smiling. That's almost like returning to normalcy for her. "Oh, gross! That's the worst, crying and bleeding from the nose. Then it's all going down your throat and blech!"

She sticks out her tongue, mimicking gagging. As far as topics of distractions go, it's not particularly pleasant, but it's far better than lingering on the hurt and pain. That's all still there, but she's getting the worst expressions of it under control, but by bit. "It really sucks," she says, either a follow-up to the bloody snot down the throat comment, or to everything from before.

[controlledvariable]

"I thought I was gonna drown in my own blood and phlegm," They're the classiest pair of ladies, but Steph's never really been fussy about gross things, and at least she made Collette laugh.

She rubs her hand along Collette's arm, partly for comfort but also to rub some warmth into her, because it's getting late and Steph can feel goosebumps on her own skin, so she assumes Collette might be cold, as well.

"You wanna talk about it?" Assuming she meant that as a follow up to whatever it was she's crying about.

[whatsupcroc]

Collette draws in another breath, sounding less shakey than before. She's not sure how to frame everything in her head, stirring her all up. What she blurts out isn't what she expects.

"Can you teach me proper first aid? I just... I don't know what to do. When people get hurt, I know how I handle myself but not... and it's different and I don't know what to do with everyone else and I can't carry a lot on me all the time but if I'm there first," she says, but it's all a tumble of words and Collette doesn't even know what she's asking.

"What do you do when they're nothing you can do? It's right there, and happening, and you should be able to help, but you don't know what to do, or how to make it better, you just hope someone who does comes along before it's too late and then if they don't you --"

She's looking distressed again, realizing slowly that it's not a lack of faith in what the people around her can do, or that they can handle themselves. It's an uncertainty that she really can handle having to know how fragile and at risk the people around her were while they were taking similar risks to her own. Or even if they hung back, they could be killed for no better reason than close association.

She knows about mortality, her own, and that of her friends. It's touched family and every aspect of her own life. And now it's that kind of time, with that kind of war. She's scared realizing how quickly she can lose all these people she cares about, and have it sometimes, possibly, be her fault.

[controlledvariable]

"Hey," She waits through most of the words, before taking Collette's and giving them a gentle squeeze to catch her attention, to slow down that torrent of words. It's easier now that Steph understands what this is about, but she isn't quite sure what to say, so she just holds Collette's hands for a moment and tries to figure out how to address everything.

"There's always something you can do," It seems like a good place to start, and it's clear from her tone, from her experience, that it's not just a platitude, that she really believes that.

What she's about to say is crueller, but she thinks it's important, too, "You aren't gonna be able to save everyone, that's just how the world works, but being there makes a difference, trust me."

Because she remembers how scared she was, in that hospital bed. Then Bruce had stayed by her side, taken her hand and let her cling with what little strength she had left, because she might not have died, but in that moment she'd thought she was going to.

She takes a steadying breath, "I'll teach you first aid, so you'll know what to do."

[whatsupcroc]

"I know it does." There's not much in her right now to resist admitting to the reality of the world they live in, no matter the different shade they'dd come from. "You can't save everyone, and sometimes, you can't even save some one. Or anyone. Sometimes you can't get out of bed, but you don't give up then, either." She swallows, rubbing her nose against her shoulder and sniffing hard to prevent further unwanted leaking. "I don't want to lose everyone here, too."

She's quiet and tired in the wake of such emotional intensity. Collette isn't making all that much sense. Still, she hears Steph, and she looks up and focuses and nods her head. She's not smiling in that moment of acknowledgement; she's concentrating on the fact it's been said, committing it to memory. Her smile is quavering, found a moment after the fact.

"Thank you."

[controlledvariable]

"You never give up," It's an agreement, and despite how quiet Steph is being, too, there's something defiant in her tone, directed at the world rather than Collette. There are days when they can't save anyone, when it is hard to get out of bed, but that just means they have to fight harder the next time.

She wishes she could reassure Collette that none of them are going to leave her, but it's impossible, with the nature of Exsilium. Steph could promise not to die, but this world isn't her home, and if she was given the option to return home, she'd take it.

So her smile is sad, apologetic, but she's at least relieved that Collette seems somewhat reassured.

"You're welcome."