And the skin you call your home holds a heart that quits

[with_coffee]

((OOC: Sorry for all the new posts this one is necessary though. -_-))

Robin Rice has finally made it back to the hotel. It took longer than he anticipated but his brain isn't exactly functioning at its peak at the moment. He has a large bottle of pills to take two times a day. They make it difficult to care about much though he can still manage a

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[smithnjones]

Martha smiles at her when Medusa grins. It's nice to see that. Happiness. So many people are walking around as if the world had ended with all the dead in the street, the grime, the pain still left in so many hearts. It's a great relief to see even a moment of joy

[smithnjones]

Martha raises her eyebrow at the almost growl as she pulls her hands away slowly. If she notices the blushing, she doesn't say, not even to the narration (thanks Martha). She has a tendency to be perceptive of people so she probably notices something.

"You will be if you rest that leg. After I get it bandaged and cleaned," she says, fetching the antiseptic and cloths (or how ever doctors clean wounds like that. The narration does not know and is a lazy ho).

Martha pauses as she stands over her with that antiseptic in her hand.

"... are you alright? I mean you look a bit uncomfortable is all. It's alright," she says with a slow attempt at a comforting smile. "You're in safe, practiced hands. I promise."

[neveravictim04]

Medusa makes an effort. A huge, lung-burning effort to control whatever it is that is affecting her like this. She doesn't understand it, she doesn't like it, but she inwardly swears by her own strength and experience that she will be able to control it.

Dammit. Still ... heat. In her face. What is this?

"I do not wish to rest," Medusa mumbles (yes! Actual mumbling, by god! The narration is amazed!), finding it a little hard to look at Martha. Then her voice gets a little stronger. "You have no way of making me."

Yes! She still has some control!

"I am only uncomfortable at the thought of rest." No doubt. Wonder what kind of dreams she'll be having now. "I - I believe I am safe."

Only that smile of Martha's? Yeah, it doesn't make her feel safe. Not one little bit.

Medusa has not had any experience with crushes. Blind adoration of a Goddess, yeah. Crush on a mortal? Not in her repertoire. She doesn't even know what that feels like.

Well, turns out, Meddy? Kinda like how you're feeling now.

[smithnjones]

Martha raises an eyebrow as she looks at her. How is it that she has so many stubborn people in her life who refuse to rest when she tells them to? Honestly. The number of times she's had to sedate people... it's ridiculous.

"Actually I do have a way, and if I feel that you're not going to get the proper rest that you need, I'm not against using it on unwilling individuals as much as that would be ground for suing if I were practicing medicine in an actual hospital," she mutters that last bit as she realizes that Medusa wouldn't understand.

She stands back. Her eyebrow is still raised. Yes, she's not so sure about how someone could be uncomfortable with rest. Not in the way that Medusa seems to be uncomfortable, but she won't comment further on that subject. Not at the moment.

"You really shouldn't be so uncomfortable about rest. It's good for your body." She begins to clean the leg, slowly, carefully. "I used to walk around this hotel on very little sleep. There was so much to do. Something was always happening, and honestly

[neveravictim04]

Medusa is unmoved by the eyebrow. It just makes her resolve stronger, and brings her back into herself a little bit. Which is more than welcome at this point.

She doesn't understand most of what Martha says, but I do have a way is enough. Medusa sits up, keeping her legs still but her upper body is now upright. "What way?" She asks this suspiciously, already eying escape routes. There don't seem to be any, aside from knocking Martha out. And Medusa does NOT want to do that.

However, she's not above it, either.

Yes. Using the distractions. Avoiding the memories. This is what Medusa wants. And it makes her glare at Martha even more suspiciously.

"If you understand so well why I do not want to rest, why are you trying to make me? Rest can wait." Dreams can wait. "Perhaps I will not be at my peak, but it will be good enough. Good enough to earn my keep here, to keep busy."

To live again, though she doesn't want to say that to Martha. She doesn't want to guilt trip her.

Yet.

[smithnjones]

Martha takes in a deep breath as she starts dressing the leg, quietly.

"Because I shouldn't have done that," she says. "I pushed myself too far and it was worse for my brain and everything else in the long run. I should have rested when I needed it, and I didn't understand that until later. There's nothing that's so pressing that needs to be done this instant, and I can understand needing to earn your keep, but I would prefer it if you were well before you did so. I promise I will give you the opportunity to do so after you've rested and you've been through enough during the plagues that I'm positive rest will be easier for you than it ordinarily is anyway

[neveravictim04]

Medusa opens her mouth about five times during Martha's speech to interrupt her, but then Martha just addresses whatever argument Medusa was about to give.

Medusa is certain it will be easy to rest. Her body is crying for sleep even now. She ignores it. She will not close her eyes.

We have two very stubborn women on our hands.

It will not make it easier if the memories are anywhere else. Then they are out there instead of safely contained in her head. Besides, they don't really bother her.

Salt, and the ocean, moonlight shimmering -

It's just the dreams. If she can just avoid having another dream like the ones she had when she was practically collapsing from lack of sleep -

Footsteps in the temple, her eyes, her watchful gaze the blade swinging her vision blurring as she is lifted - Medusa feels a sharp pain in her stomach - it makes her jerk, and curl up a bit. But the instant it happens she's gasping out, "I am fine. Talking will make nothing easier

[smithnjones]

If she were saying any of that out loud, Martha would disagree with her. The memories are far more dangerous when they're contained within one's head, pent up, shut down, gone over again and again on one's own. There is safety in releasing them. It's a certain freedom that is difficult to describe.

She doesn't say anything though because Medusa isn't saying any of that out loud. Martha has her hands in a drawer, quietly fetching what she needs because clearly Medusa is not going to listen to her. It really would be too easy if everyone listened to her, wouldn't it?

Martha keeps the needle out of sight as she returns to Medusa's bedside, wincing with concern when she sees the way that the woman jerks in pain. There's no way that she could help them with anything until she's properly rested and having her help now will only create further injury to herself.

"You need rest. You're hurt. I'm not going to let you hurt yourself more by pushing your body past its limits. You're injured and in pain, and I care about you. I'm sorry,"

[neveravictim04]

No, Medusa doesn't say any of it out loud. She keeps it in. She's been keeping memories for years now - the dreams are just one more thing to keep. It doesn't hurt her to keep them shut down.

It's easy to believe that when you've been living alone for too long.

Medusa trusts Martha more than most, but she's still keeping a wary eye on her. She has an instant of confusion when she hears Martha's apology, and then she sees something slashing down at her arm. It's entirely too reminiscent of that blade slashing towards her and she actually screams - a tiny, gasping scream, true, but a scream nonetheless. She flings her arm up as if to protect herself - and the needle goes in. Probably not where Martha intended it to, but it still goes in. If Martha's quick enough, she'll be able to inject her sedative.

Of course, if she does, she's going to want to keep sedating Medusa at regular intervals. The Gorgon will be pissed off when she wakes again. And worse than that, she'll feel betrayed.

(OOC: We can definitely RP Medusa waking up

[smithnjones]

((OOC: XD Martha doesn't run. So that'll be... uh... fun.))

Martha feels guilty about this especially when Medusa gives that scream, but she knows what needs to be done and she injects the sedative into her. Her heart hurts, but she locks her jaw and continues on. It's for Medusa's own good so that she'll stay safe and healthy, which she realizes won't go over well in the end but it's all she has. The only reason that she can give, and she'll face the music no matter what that means. She pulls the needle out, again, and takes in a deep, heavy breath. Her chest feels heavy... for more than one reason.

Playing God again, Martha?

That bitter voice in her head for once isn't Robin's. It's her own.

[neveravictim04]

Medusa dreams. And it is more vivid, more colourful and real than ever before. Some part of her realizes that she is dreaming, this is not real and she will wake up soon - she will make herself wake up -

But she can't. And it seems she dreams it all over and over again. She cannot escape. His god hands. Her unsmiling face. The eyes and the blade.

You were there, oh goddess, you were there for it all -

Then sounds seem to swim through her consciousness. Her eyes flutter. Blink. Open. And she pulls herself up.

For a moment, just an instant, it is not Martha she sees. And then, slowly, thick with drugged sleep, she speaks.

"... What have you done to me?"

[smithnjones]

Martha looks up. She'd been sitting in a seat in the corner of the room waiting. Medusa has every right to be angry with her, and Martha is not want to shy away from anyone or anything. Not anymore. She faced down the Master after all and has been through so much since that she's not even the same person as she was when she laughed in his face.

She stands out of the chair and looks directly at her.

"I gave you a tranquilizer so that you'd sleep. Your leg needed the rest."

[neveravictim04]

Medusa slowly brings herself to a seated position. Her eyes aren't fully focusing and her mouth tastes strange, feels strange - she would like to sleep more, but feels she can't -

"You made me rest. Against my will."

There are two reactions warring within her, and soon there are physical manifestations of those reactions. She smiles, a sickly smile that certainly doesn't reach her eyes. Because a part of her admires this. It was a good move that she almost didn't see coming and didn't have time to stop. And she was awake for it this time. So she respects that.

And Martha had told her, hadn't she? She had been warned.

But still. Still there are tears popping into her eyes. Because it was against her will and it brings so much physically to the forefront, the rage at being under another's control and the absolutely bloody taste of betrayal in her stomach that one she trusted did this to her again. But she told her, she told her she would, so there is no reason for upset, isn't that correct? She should simply admire the move. The

[smithnjones]

Martha is quiet. She's very quiet. The silence could drown her but she'll face up to the threat of it without blinking, without backing down. She could give more reasons for what she did. She could explain her thinking but that would cheapen the action. She did what she did, and it's done.

If anyone can understand how it feels to be under the complete control of someone else, she would. She does. Those are memories that are never far enough out of her reach to allow her to continue through her life completely untainted.

There's nothing she can say that will make this better. She realizes that, but she can't say that if she was given the choice again... that she'd choose any differently.

"No," Martha says. Her voice is soft but not lacking in strength. She looks at Medusa. "You're still weak. You need rest still. If you want me to leave, I can, but I thought I should be here when you woke up."

[neveravictim04]

Medusa swipes at her face as she tries to get up, and it turns out to be an unwise move. She sways, and settles back against the table. Perhaps she does need to rest. She is angry at herself for this, as angry as she is about the weakness she just wiped from her cheeks.

She looks at Martha, expecting an apology. Something.

There is nothing.

She can feel the fear and anger coalescing into that bubbling in her chest. She pushes it down instantly - this is the person who has been kindest to her, helped her -

"I will watch you."

Medusa puts her head in her hands. This was not to harm her. It was to help. She believes that. Martha said this long before she even attempted her attack move.

In the deepest part of herself, Medusa acknowledges that she does not want to be alone right now. Even, she wants Martha here.

But she will never say this.

She climbs back onto the table and lays down, letting her eyes close. Her voice is tired. She is tired.

"We must all do as we wish."

[smithnjones]

Martha apologized before she puts her under, and she always felt that apologies do very little. She is sorry that she did it. She's sorry for the way it is between them now.

Medusa doesn't tell her to leave so Martha sits down in her seat again. She fully believes that if Medusa wanted her to leave then she'd tell her so even though she's not saying that she wants Martha to stay... Martha's making assumptions.

"I should have explained more before I did it. I should have given you the choice but I'm too used to stubborn people in my life getting themselves hurt because they can't rest when they need it for whatever reason. That's not an excuse. Certainly not a good excuse but what's done is done," Martha says and takes in a deep breath. "I am sorry."