fourth bullet :: video

[headedforhope]

[The feed clicks on. Mami's sitting against a tree on the outskirts of the Gardens, knees tucked against her chest and arms loosely wrapped around them. The camera angle is awkward, showing as it does only her back and a partial view of her side; still, it's enough to see the corners of those gold eyes and how red they are from crying

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[aureation]

[Gabrielle doesn't remember her mother; she was far too young to even remember her death. All she remembers of her is songs that come back to her when she least expects it and in photos on the walls of her father's house.]

[And yet, watching the girl on the vine-she can't help but feel something familiar. A sense of loss; someone she loves haunting her. The smallest hint of fear like tendrils in her fingers, rising to her throat.]

[ a lost little girl who was left behind. ]

Mami- [She tries to gather her words, before she forgets them completely.]

video;

[headedforhope]

[It takes awhile for even that single word to reach her; Mami is trying to retreat into herself, hide away from this nightmare made real. How often has she imagined what her mother would say, or her father, if they could meet her again?

Obviously they'd despise her. Blame her. Wonder where they went wrong. What sort of daughter would sell out her own parents? It doesn't matter that she was dying, going cold, couldn't tell up from down. She had failed them, and thus completely earned their hatred.

It's just like the Labyrinth all over again; maybe this was just a charade, another cruel trick of the Gardens, and yet it was one so very easy to believe that Mami can't help but fall for it. All Gabrielle will get in response, for now, is a miserable sniffle.]

video;

[aureation]

[She doesn't know all the details, but she's understanding about how Mami feels. The crippling loneliness, the dreaded dark feeling consuming, haunting of your past-she knows exactly how it feels. She swallows away the sadness and gives the girl a compassionate smile; now is not the time to let the mask fall.]

Mami... [Her voice is gentle, warm. The monsters have not come for her yet.] You're not useless.

video;

[headedforhope]

[After a few dozen, painful heartbeats, Mami slowly raises her head and turns toward the voice. Her gold eyes are watery and vulnerable as they have been only once before, here, and never so public.

Damn the Vine. Damn it to hell. That's what she'll think later, for exposing her like this. A shaky swallow, and all she can manage is:]

...Miss Monsigny.

[First there's only recognition, the realization that the world isn't made up of just her and the spectre that probably isn't her mother but might just be. Nothing else has sunk in.]

video;

[aureation]

[She wishes the mirror were not between them, that she could crouch down and comfort the young girl. Even with words, she finds it hard to tell her how much she understands. The loss, the vulnerability, the loneliness, all of it.]

Would you like some company? [It's all she can do right now; comfort the younger girl. In Mami, she sees herself. Scared, lost, and alone, even if she doesn't openly say it to anyone else. The kindness written on her face speaks understanding.]

video;

[headedforhope]

[She flicks her gaze away and takes in a deep, shuddering breath. Dimly, the epiphany of being seen blooms in her mind, but Mami's in a stupor and can't react as she usually would; the apparition has torn down her walls, and some time must pass before they can come back up.]

No, thank you.

[An automatic and brittle lie.]

video;

[aureation]

[And Gabrielle knows it; but her quiet gaze remains on the young girl.]

Where are you?

video;

[headedforhope]

[She keeps looking away. There's a low, angry hum from offscreen again.]

....sorry, I shouldn't have made such a fuss. You don't need to worry.

[a pause, mouth working for a moment, an off-putting and nervous vapidity to her words: it's like what you might hear when a student's rattling off what they hope is the right answer to a problem in hopes of appeasing the teacher- trying to get it over with quickly, and so escape.]

Really, I'm fine.

video;

[aureation]

[Gently, she shakes her head. The tone of her voice becomes a bit more stern, but the kindness and understanding still remains.]

I can worry all I'd like. Where are you?

video;

[headedforhope]

[silence, then: a terse sigh, hands curling tightly, nails digging into skin]

-is seeing me like this not enough for you, Miss Monsigny?

video;

[aureation]

[She freezes for a moment-trying to fight back a small sound of curious surprise.]

...I've seen far worse. [She's been far worse.]

video;

[headedforhope]

So have I. [And so has she- nearly. Charlotte was terrifying and left her shattered in the afterlife, but even that trauma pales compared to this. The blood of scabbed over wounds is darker, more vile, and she's been carrying this scar for far longer.] Things can always be worse.

video;

[aureation]

They can.

Which is why it's always better to have company than be lonely. [And it's years upon years of loneliness building upon her; years of loneliness that consumed her and turned her into the monster she briefly was. A feeling that shattered into her skin like a long thing piece of glass, that dug deep into her bones, and never seemed to leave.]

video;

[headedforhope]

I'm not alone. [a world of difference] I'm many things, but someone who talks to herself isn't one of them.

[again with the flickering gaze to the side, but the shadow is silent and offers no support in any form.]

video;

[aureation]

You don't have to talk to yourself to be lonely.

video;

[headedforhope]

And I don't have to be around others to feel otherwise. You're an adult; you should be able to understand that sometimes not even a roomful of people can make a difference, in that respect.