[Closed]

[alchemyfreak]

who: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Valeria Myles (Possibly Others)
what: Backdated Catch All for October
when: After Val's arrival
where: General Store, Communal Housing, Possibly Other
warnings: That Horror Game CRAU Life - Hospital/Horror/Silent Hill/Pyramid Head References.

Comments

[alchemyfreak]

[It takes him a minute to realize what she's referring to, but when it registers it makes sense. Of course it's taking too long, rest like that would with the condition that she was in arriving on the moon. They were used to having to be ready for anything, always on edge, in survival mode.]

It's going to feel like that for awhile. This place isn't like what you're used to, it takes time to adjust. You can rest here, there's no reason not to.

[whenturksfly]

I really want to believe that.

[ As tired as she honestly feels in that moment, she really, really does. Were it anyone else, she might not entertain those words, but they're Ed's and she turns them over in her head. Feels them out. There's no reason not to, huh? ]

I'm not sure which is more dangerous. Do you really believe that?

[alchemyfreak]

[He expected it, fresh from Purgatorium it was a hard concept to swallow, and every moment was spent waiting for the next big thing to happen. Ed considers his response carefully, he knows that he's so far removed from the mentality that she has that he can't fully wrap his mind around it anymore. The months away had certainly done things to settle him.]

I do. This isn't Purg anymore. There are authorities and hospitals that aren't haunted by monsters. There's a lot going on here that we didn't have there.

[He doesn't fully believe it, not in the sense that they can let their guards down, but he does think she needs to focus on resting and recovery right now, which she does have time to do here. He doesn't say sleep doesn't come as easily here, surrounded by strangers who all live on different schedules, that seemed like a joke compared to what they endured in Purgatorium. Add to it sharing dreams, bed space, and a fire in the middle of the night with no warning.]

If being where I have been since Purg has taught me one thing, it's the importance of rest when you need it. Otherwise you won't be in your best shape when you actually need to be, and that's important.

[whenturksfly]

[ She can't help but tense and shift uncomfortably at the mention of hospitals haunted by monsters for the flash of a particular towering monstrosity behind her eyelids when she blinks. He's there and gone, there and gone, but she can still smell the rust and rot and feel that tall shadow stretch, curling over her even now. It's not until a kitten deigns to land on her feet that she starts with a gasp and finds it in her to shove that seething dread down, down, down because this isn't Purgatorium and he's not here. None of those monsters are here and it's a mantra she repeats in her head for a good moment over the sound of that great knife dragging across broken cement until it gets farther and farther and she can't hear it anymore.

She breathes. Hadn't realized she'd stopped for the gulp of air she takes as she tries to regain her composure. No, this isn't Purgatorium. She almost wishes it was in that moment. She knows how to deal with flesh and blood monsters well enough. They're an easier opponent to face than herself and these ghosts that turn dreams into nightmares and find her so easily when she's awake or towing the line between dreams and wakefulness. New ghosts, different ghosts than the ones she's looked in the face for the longest, whose faces she's tried so hard to grasp and hold onto.

Shaking her head, she turns her eyes to the screen and reads the second text, pausing a moment to help Kyrie adjust to his newfound place at her shoulder. How does she...? ]

I know you mean well, but can we please not talk about hospitals for a while? It's not so distant for me.

[ Enough that her eyes dart to and fro briefly in checking all available entrances into the room, every shadow. Just because it's not so distant for her doesn't mean it needs to be the same for Ed, though, and she sighs, lifting a hand to rub at her face. The paws trying to catch her fingers is a small comfort. ]

I don't think I'm going back to sleep any time soon. I know I need to rest, but I just don't think that's possible right now. Later. I can't let you pull all the weight.

[ A beat, then -- ]

Are you busy?

[alchemyfreak]

[He has no idea what she's experiencing, small blessings or complete inconvenience that text was. It is only a good thing that he's not capable of following along with her thoughts in that moment, because the monsters there weren't always so easy to combat. Better to combat the memory in one's own mind than be face to face with the invincible creatures that called their prison a home. When the message comes it actually startles him, and in checking he can only regret the message he'd sent. He hadn't put much thought into the significant pause before she got back to him, but the words on the screen now make his blood run cold with realization. Fresh from Purg as she was, he should have considered his words better and he can't help the muttered fuck that escapes him with the realization. Not caring if that may have offended anyone nearby because now he was far too concerned with damage control on the front of this misstep. Cursing himself for an idiot as he reads the follow up texts before replying. Carefully this time.]

Shit. Sorry.

Don't worry about me pulling the weight, we're not the only ones here. You just need to be concerned about yourself for now.

[A pause. He still hadn't had a chance to get everything she asked for, but focus of priorities seemed to have shifted at this point. He can head back out once he's sure she's fine and finish the project he was working on within her company. He'll shoot her another text before packing up, fully intending on at least stopping at the pharmacy on the way back, tampons and painkillers couldn't take too long to locate.]

It's nothing that can't wait.

[whenturksfly]

[ And there's that sense of dread creeping in again as her eyes move between her phone and the shadows of the room. Any hint of sleepiness is gone from her now and replaced instead by that hair on end feeling that enhances her still increasing wakefulness. She's pushing herself up now, reaching to untangle herself from her cocoon. She needs to get up, to move, to put her gloves back on and turn a blade between her fingers. That's what she needs to do right now because she doesn't feel -- she doesn't feel safe, not in the shape she's in, not against the sort of creatures threatening to flash before the backs of her eyelids. There's only so much the Quilava asleep at the edge of the bed can do and even then -- ]

Come back. [ Please.

There's only one person in this world she trusts to have her back, that she might consider relaxing beside right now and Ed? Well, Ed's him. ]

[alchemyfreak]

[He had already packed up before texting her back, so he was already out the door by the time her text to come back came through. The guilt twisted sharp, rising in his throat because even if he didn't - he knew he'd caused this, whatever she was going through right now. More than anything, the fact that it was his fault is the pressing thought, because he wants to be there for her, he wants to stop whatever she's going through, but he knows it was his own error that caused the memories to surface in the first place. The urge to rush to her side, to not leave her alone with those thoughts, is only amplified with the words in her text. The unspoken please not going entirely unnoticed either, with how well they knew each other. If anything he shouldn't be anywhere near her, not at the risk of causing more pain, but he couldn't deny her request. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew without the words even spoken that no one else would do.]

Already on the way. I'll have to get your clothes later.

[He's fully intending on keeping the conversation going until he can make it there, not wanting to leave her alone at all until his arrival - even if this was all he could offer. In the bustling store and then rushing as he was text was going to have to suffice in the mean time, before he could reach her.

When he does arrive, a moment isn't even spared to set the bag aside, moving straight to the bed where she should be. Sure enough on his arrival she's sitting there and his expression gives in to the guilt eating away at him with the visual, the fresh reminder of his words and what they'd caused. There's a moment's hesitation, as if he wasn't sure what to do before setting the bag down where he stood and approaching the side of the bed. He sat on the edge without a word, unable to look at her just yet, swallowing hard before speaking softly.]

Sorry...