[open] a friend in need is a friend indeed
There is so much Lily Fuchizaki needs to do. There's the whole catching up on grad school after her ward went partially insane bit, but right now, she's on her way up to see Iris in the Kashtta. That doesn't mean she won't bump into a few other people on the way. If anything, it's pretty likely considering how overly polite she can get.
Sailor ( Read more... )
Sailor ( Read more... )
She looks up when Lily approaches, which is a good sign, and calls out her name, which is another. She's also out of bed, and kneeling on the ground: she appears to be fairly well-mired in paint, paper and tools, her wing trailing awkwardly around the explosion of craft supplies now littering the floor of isolation ward three. Her wing shifts position slightly, almost casually-- though to trained Fuchizaki eyes, the motion is, no doubt, anything but casual-- to shield the canvas from her visitor; but there's a smile on her face, if weak.
It doesn't really hide her unease, a slight restlessness that, in truth, has little to do with what she's painting and everything to do with waiting: waiting, interminably ( ... )
Reply
It's been a long time since she's worked with her brother. They were quite the team, a long time ago. Was she a different person back then? It's hard to tell. "Iris," Lily says with a big smile, looking for somewhere to sit. "Glad to see you're keeping busy."
Keep the conversation light at first. Figure out where the holes are and then which need to be seamed and which need to be ripped open further.
Reply
She's had a lot of trusts betrayed, lately. Caution is, at the least, prudent now.
"Mm," she says, nodding noncommitally and setting her painting aside, its face to the wall. "Have you been okay? How're Kaden and Molly?"
She's keeping things light too, though less because she's testing the waters and more because she isn't sure what else to say.
Reply
At the mention of Kaden and Molly, Lily looks down, every move calculated. A strained smile crosses her face, and she shrugs. "I haven't really seen Molly in a while, to be honest, and Kaden's being kind of distant with me. All I know is that he's pretty hurt. Problem with being a Guardian, though -- you know they're hurting, but sometimes, you can't tell what, why, or what to do. From what I've heard from Kaden though, Molly's functioning. Alive."
She honestly doesn't know much about the situation with Molly, beyond the fact that she had an insane stint. Which isn't too surprising, considering her heritage.
"But enough about us. How have you been doing?"
Reply
Functioning, at least, is more honest. And she needs honesty now. They've been evading each other for far too long, and she'd like a shot at actually communicating for once. Molly's crazed babble at her over the journals had broken her heart, what there was left of it that wasn't already numbed, but in a way, she'd welcomed it. Even when Molly told her she didn't know how to love, that she wasn't sure if she loved Iris... she'd welcomed it. Because it felt like the truth, and for far too long, in one way or another, she' ( ... )
Reply
Reply
"I understand," she says, softly, sadly, not reaching towards Lily for an embrace or a consoling pat-- nothing quite so intimate, nothing quite so open-- but holding that compassion in her eyes. She notes a fallen feather, and some instinct in her almost makes a move to grab it, to hold it close, or maybe to offer it back to her, but she isn't sure what's appropriate here, and so she leaves it well alone.
Another Iris might have said, You don't have to talk about it. But this Iris just wants knowledge. Wants to know what to do, to get her through these lean times, or if they should be gotten through at all ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
It feels like a release, in an odd way-- the idea that she can just give up on the idea of what's good and what's not, that she doesn't have to carry the burden any more. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. She wants, so badly, to abandon it. She has worked and worked, and all has come to nothing ( ... )
Reply
Because who wants to live broken? Losing everything that's the core of you? It may abate the Calling, make things hurt less, but at the same time, you are not longer what made you you. And that's just not good for the psyche.
"But no, I can't fix them. I can't make them whole again. But I can help them find fulfillment in other things. Perhaps, even after time, help them not see themselves as defective or crippled, but just as they are. Right now -- I don't think you're in a place where I can completely help you. But if you can just stick around, a bit longer, so we can see. See if I can help. Because that's all I want to do."
Heal them first, so when you break them later, it's all the better.
Reply
She nods, softly. "I'll be here for a while," she says. "Or... well, I'll be somewhere, I guess. If I'm not here-here, then... the journals. You know."
Reply
Lies. All of the lies, adding up, the pain twitching in her wings. They jerk, brushing up against the bed. She pulls them back in, looking upset. She should have better control than this.
"Speaking of, I brought you something." She reaches into her bag, pulling out a wrapped package. Inside is a small collection of books. She never was much of a fiction reader, but the clerk at the bookstore had been more than helpful. There's a bunch of YA fantasy and one book leaning more towards science fiction.
Reply
Reply
"There are quite a few," she says. It's a lie. There aren't that many, and really, she needs to be looking at wing removal as a cure for some of the problems AoVs deal with, but Iris doesn't need to know that. There's so much Iris doesn't need to know.
"You know, even with the art, it's kind of hard for them to hear your voice when you're gone. Let's show people together."
Reply
Leave a comment