They'd taken her to a new room at dinner. Her roommate wasn't there. Instead, there was an unfamiliar figure wrapped in blankets, seemingly dead to the world
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There was silence from behind the door, and Soma's heart suddenly jumped into her throat. Her nerves were still on edge from the sudden discovery of Senna's katana, and it was stupid of her, but suddenly a hundred possibilities sprang into her mind. What if Rapunzel had been taken for experimentation? Special Counseling? What if she'd been released?
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Rapunzel finally responded, and she allowed herself to relax slightly--until the other girl told her not to freak out.
"Why?" she began, a flicker of worry appearing on her face again as the door swung open. "Is something wro--oh."
She stood silent and wide-eyed for a moment, unsure of what to say or how to respond. How on earth did that happen? She'd heard of patients getting their powers back at night, but their hair? It was well past Rapunzel's ankles now--and it was pooled on the girl's bed--was that even possible--
Marie was quicker to recover than she was, and the immediate It's so beautiful! was enough to return her to her senses somewhat. "That's--" Unbelievable. Ridiculous. Like the fairy tale. "--a lot of hair," she said lamely, and then immediately felt bad about stating the obvious. "It's really pretty," she added quickly, hoping Rapunzel wouldn't take her reaction the wrong way.
"Ah, yeah! Yeah, it is," Rapunzel said with a strained smile, relieved that she had been right about Soma not freaking out, but also feeling incredibly awkward watching her new friend stare at her like she had just seen a unicorn. She knew it - Soma was uncomfortable with this. She should have just told her about the hair to start with, though Rapunzel; it wasn't like the girl had seemed untrustworthy or anything. Was paranoia about people like Gothel betraying her going to keep messing her up for all kinds of personal connections for the rest of her life? Stupid, stupid, stupid-
It's really pretty.
"Huh?"
It took Rapunzel a second to process Soma's words, but when she did, a more complete relief washed through her. The other girl had just been overwhelmed. Okay. That was a little easier to take, she thought. "Oh! Uh, thanks," she answered, her smile a bit more at ease now. "It's, uh, actually not even as long as it was back home! It was about double this before. I don't know why they'd bother letting it grow back out if they're not gonna put it all back, but there you go," she rambled, letting words fall out of her mouth while she gathered some more of her thoughts.
She paused then, and started to reel in the hair, gathering it up into her arms with her flashlight still held in one hand. "So... Yeah. I bet you can kinda guess, but this is what the person who kept me in that tower wanted for all those years. This is the thing I thought this place took away from me when I woke up at first, too."
"Really? Is it heavy? How do you keep it from tangling?" Soma's tone of voice was one of faint wonder rather than skepticism. Rapunzel was practically radiating nervousness, and in a situation like this it was easy to push back the lingering doubt of Isn't this more of a liability than a blessing? If the woman Rapunzel had mentioned had kept Rapunzel hidden away for her hair, there had to be something special about it. Landel didn't just take away things that had no value.
She leaned forward to get a better look, curious. Does it do anything? seemed too rude a question to ask. "This place usually takes away what we find valuable--abilities, powers, things like that. You said you could heal, right? I should warn you--if you get your powers back at night, they're usually reduced significantly."
Rapunzel gave Soma a quizzical look at her questions. Of course her hair wasn't heavy, she thought. Should it be? Why would it tangle? It all stayed together easily enough, like fibres of a rope. Didn't that stop most people's hair from tangling?
Then she thought back to when she had first woken up and remembered: hadn't her hair felt a little heavier than she had expected it to? She had gotten used to it since, but now that she thought about it, it was strange. "No, no it's not that heavy... Huh. I wonder if that's just me, then. Is hair suppose to be heavy if there's a lot of it?" Rapunzel asked, honestly curious. "And I never really had to worry about tangles either. Nothing that a hair brush couldn't take care of, anyway."
She really hoped that her abilities weren't just limited to keeping her hair light and tangle-free, if they were indeed "abilities." She supposed the only way to find out whether that was the case or not was to go out and do a test. "That's what I've heard," she answered back after Soma's warning, nodding. "But yes, my hair heals when I sing, actually." Again, she hoped that the revelation didn't throw Soma off too much. "It's, uh, it's simple enough, I think. So here's hoping there's not much they can limit short of just taking that power away." She swallowed a small, dry lump in her throat before it could grow any larger. "I mean, it's worth it to try, right?"
After another awkward silence, she coughed to clear her throat, pulling up the trail of her hair into her arms. "So. Uhhh. You wanna get the door?" she asked with a nervous laugh.
Soma nodded, faint curiosity in her eyes. Having hair that long that could stay that well-behaved was...an interesting special power, she supposed, though she wasn't sure why on earth Landel would see the need to limit it. "I'd imagine it should be a lot heavier than it feels." That, or Rapunzel had neck muscles of steel. "You're lucky--mine tangles all the time after I've flown a mission."
She tilted her head slightly, not comprehending. She'd expected Rapunzel to have some sort of healing ability--like Hinamori's, she supposed, some kind of glowing light that sealed injuries shut. "I'm not sure I understand. Do you have to touch your hair to the wound? Is it just injuries, or can broken things be fixed, too? How severe can the injuries be before they don't heal?" And what sort of injuries did she have to deal with in her own world, if her hair was that long?
Abruptly she realized she was babbling and stopped short, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. We can talk on the way to Kratos's room."
She pulled the door open and gestured for Rapunzel to exit ahead of her. Hopefully whatever power she had would still make a difference. Otherwise, there probably wouldn't be much point in Rapunzel keeping it that long.
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Rapunzel finally responded, and she allowed herself to relax slightly--until the other girl told her not to freak out.
"Why?" she began, a flicker of worry appearing on her face again as the door swung open. "Is something wro--oh."
She stood silent and wide-eyed for a moment, unsure of what to say or how to respond. How on earth did that happen? She'd heard of patients getting their powers back at night, but their hair? It was well past Rapunzel's ankles now--and it was pooled on the girl's bed--was that even possible--
Marie was quicker to recover than she was, and the immediate It's so beautiful! was enough to return her to her senses somewhat. "That's--" Unbelievable. Ridiculous. Like the fairy tale. "--a lot of hair," she said lamely, and then immediately felt bad about stating the obvious. "It's really pretty," she added quickly, hoping Rapunzel wouldn't take her reaction the wrong way.
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Everyone always said that, it seemed.
"Ah, yeah! Yeah, it is," Rapunzel said with a strained smile, relieved that she had been right about Soma not freaking out, but also feeling incredibly awkward watching her new friend stare at her like she had just seen a unicorn. She knew it - Soma was uncomfortable with this. She should have just told her about the hair to start with, though Rapunzel; it wasn't like the girl had seemed untrustworthy or anything. Was paranoia about people like Gothel betraying her going to keep messing her up for all kinds of personal connections for the rest of her life? Stupid, stupid, stupid-
It's really pretty.
"Huh?"
It took Rapunzel a second to process Soma's words, but when she did, a more complete relief washed through her. The other girl had just been overwhelmed. Okay. That was a little easier to take, she thought. "Oh! Uh, thanks," she answered, her smile a bit more at ease now. "It's, uh, actually not even as long as it was back home! It was about double this before. I don't know why they'd bother letting it grow back out if they're not gonna put it all back, but there you go," she rambled, letting words fall out of her mouth while she gathered some more of her thoughts.
She paused then, and started to reel in the hair, gathering it up into her arms with her flashlight still held in one hand. "So... Yeah. I bet you can kinda guess, but this is what the person who kept me in that tower wanted for all those years. This is the thing I thought this place took away from me when I woke up at first, too."
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She leaned forward to get a better look, curious. Does it do anything? seemed too rude a question to ask. "This place usually takes away what we find valuable--abilities, powers, things like that. You said you could heal, right? I should warn you--if you get your powers back at night, they're usually reduced significantly."
Reply
Then she thought back to when she had first woken up and remembered: hadn't her hair felt a little heavier than she had expected it to? She had gotten used to it since, but now that she thought about it, it was strange. "No, no it's not that heavy... Huh. I wonder if that's just me, then. Is hair suppose to be heavy if there's a lot of it?" Rapunzel asked, honestly curious. "And I never really had to worry about tangles either. Nothing that a hair brush couldn't take care of, anyway."
She really hoped that her abilities weren't just limited to keeping her hair light and tangle-free, if they were indeed "abilities." She supposed the only way to find out whether that was the case or not was to go out and do a test. "That's what I've heard," she answered back after Soma's warning, nodding. "But yes, my hair heals when I sing, actually." Again, she hoped that the revelation didn't throw Soma off too much. "It's, uh, it's simple enough, I think. So here's hoping there's not much they can limit short of just taking that power away." She swallowed a small, dry lump in her throat before it could grow any larger. "I mean, it's worth it to try, right?"
After another awkward silence, she coughed to clear her throat, pulling up the trail of her hair into her arms. "So. Uhhh. You wanna get the door?" she asked with a nervous laugh.
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She tilted her head slightly, not comprehending. She'd expected Rapunzel to have some sort of healing ability--like Hinamori's, she supposed, some kind of glowing light that sealed injuries shut. "I'm not sure I understand. Do you have to touch your hair to the wound? Is it just injuries, or can broken things be fixed, too? How severe can the injuries be before they don't heal?" And what sort of injuries did she have to deal with in her own world, if her hair was that long?
Abruptly she realized she was babbling and stopped short, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. We can talk on the way to Kratos's room."
She pulled the door open and gestured for Rapunzel to exit ahead of her. Hopefully whatever power she had would still make a difference. Otherwise, there probably wouldn't be much point in Rapunzel keeping it that long.
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