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[There’s a number of reasons Ed decides to text Al rather than video or call him. It would be out of the ordinary enough for his brother to receive a text at all, unprompted from Edward, but the content makes it all the more unusual.]

A friend came through the portal. She’s taking a nap at the General Store before I take her back to Orientation.

[Short. Simple. Straight to the point.]

[When Alphonse arrives at the apartment, the General Store is locked up. Valeria is asleep in their bed over the kitchen, and Ed has moved a stool from the first floor to sit beside the bed, evidently having been keeping an eye on her the whole time. He has his device for the network in one hand, not even glancing up at the sound of Al entering the small space.]

[ texts from ed are rare. usually both elrics prefer the video function of the devices, but this time, for some reason, ed chooses text. it makes al instantly curious and a little concerned. he mentions a friend, but it can't be someone they both know or ed wouldn't use text and come straight out with who it is. so it's someone from purg, al assumes, and immediately hopes the woman or girl is okay. ]

Is she okay? Does she need anything? Can I ask who it is?

[Leave it to Al to ask the complicated questions that shouldn't be complicated.]

She'll be fine, she just needs rest.

[A lot of it. He's not about to tell Alphonse she arrived here shortly after a huge fight they had or that Ed doesn't remember said fight. He's not intentionally downplaying how bad off she is, but there's a perspective one has being in Purg that others simply wouldn't understand. Coming straight from Purgatorium, she doesn't seem so bad off. Oh, right. Al asked another question.]

Her name's Val.

[ that's all well and fine, al thinks, but there are still a lot of questions he has. is this girl from purg, what is she to ed, and why did she show up now? not that ed would have an answer for that last question, but al still wonders. ]

Okay. I'll let her rest. Let me know if/when anything is needed.

[ al doesn't bother with much in the general store when he finally gets to the apartment. instead, he bypasses it to head towards where he figures ed might be. so far, there's only the one bed on the property and if one of ed's friends is resting, that's where she would be. of course, when he gets there, he hesitates, not wanting to intrude on what looks like a deathbed scene. his eyes go immediately to the figure in the bed, noting the malnourished appearance, and wonders if that's how ed had been while he was there.

keeping his footsteps as quiet as he can, he approaches until he's close enough to lay a hand on ed's shoulder. he chews his lip for a second, debating whether he should speak and eventually decides on murmuring a soft "Brother". ]

[Ed looks up at the touch, offering another glance to Val before motioning for Alphonse to head down to the kitchen. The last thing they needed was for her to wake up in the condition she was in. The kittens and Quilava are resting behind the counter in a comfortable pet bed, seeming just as exhausted as the human that carried them there. When Ed speaks his voice is low to keep from waking any of them, gaze shifting restlessly as if uncomfortable not having her in his direct line of sight now.]

She came straight here, she's going to have to go right back to Orientation when she wakes up. After she gets enough rest, at least. The last thing we need is these people thinking we're hiding a fugitive.

(CW: Hospital/Horror/Silent Hill/Pyramid Head references later in thread)

[ He'd told her to ask if she needed anything and she understands his reasons and the logic behind it. She agrees with him despite the volume of that portion of herself that even now insists she could go herself, that she would be fine. Louder than that is just how tired she feels and the still lingering haze of sleep she's been fighting to lift. That's why she's propped up against the pillows in Ed's bed trying to review the the list she's managed to put together while Kyrios and Kyrie make a game of tumbling over her legs while they play. After a moment, she reaches for the phone and manages to punch out a proper text. ]

Hey, Ed. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind picking some things up for me from the store today? I'm probably forgetting some things, but I've managed to put a list together. It looks enough like one, anyway.

[To say he's surprised to see the text would be an understatement, but more than that he's relieved. She could have refused to ask for any help, or even attempted to handle things herself despite how much she should be resting at this point. He's well aware of that, and he knows she's just as aware that if she chose to get up and do these things on her own he'd have no way to stop her.]

Of course. Just send me what you need.

[There's a pause before another text follows, as if he'd realized something.]

I probably won't be back for awhile so if it's something pressing let me know.

[ It's that first text that sees her pause. She can't quite help the corners of her mouth turning just slightly upward despite herself. Were it almost anyone else, she might not have considered asking for help like this an option, but it's Ed and there's no question issued in her mind where it might otherwise be. That it's Ed is reason enough and it sees her try to quiet that tiring, persistent voice if only for a moment as she reaches to tuck a few messy strands behind her ear. ]

There's nothing immediately pressing that I can think of, so take your time. I'm fine here. Give me a moment and I'll send it over.

[ It's a beat longer than a moment for having to wrestle with a pair of kittens, but sure enough, that second text follows and in a particular styling. Even now, the inventory styling of the Cait comes second nature to her. ]

2 x shirts
2 x pants
1 x coat
1 x bottle of painkiller med. strength

[He's not too concerned with the delay following the first message, although the second text makes him pause. Sure, he could run to the store and grab a few basic items, but it would probably be easy to get some fabric and just make whatever she needed out of it. Knowing the residents of Floor Six, there was also probably plenty of pain medication around, but there was no harm in getting more considering how easy it was to go through.]

Got it. Let me know if you need anything else.

I will. Thanks, Ed.

[ And with that, Valeria will be lowering the hand in which she holds her phone to her side -- ]

[ -- only to pause. It's not even two minutes later that she's lifting it again for a certain realization. Hm. ]

Come to think of it, could you grab a couple of pairs of socks, too?

[ It's as she's about to lower the phone again that she pauses once more, brows lifting just so as another realization registers. There is a store here. Stores, even, right? Stores that may have proper inventories and supplies. If they have clothes and pharmaceuticals, then it stands to reason they'd have feminine hygiene products, which is honestly something she would rather pick up herself, but considering her circumstances... she's going to sink her fingers into the keys before she can second guess herself any further. ]

I'm not really sure what the stores carry here, but could you pick up a box of tampons if they have them? Super or stronger preferably if it's not too much trouble.

Socks, right.

[Did he really need to get socks? He's never had to stop and think about the benefits of buying vs. making before, since no one's asked him for such a specific store run, generally he'd transmute whatever without a thought. Before he even has a chance to debate over it though, the communicator goes off again. He's just going to stare for a moment, chances are there were hygiene products at the communal building since she was hardly the first girl on the floor but- not going to point that out. She's just going to get a one word response to that.]

Sure.

[ If there was ever a time she was glad for text, this is... well, it's one of them and she'd just as soon not think back to the various others. She's well aware that she'd likely regret not only revisiting those instances, but expending the focus and energy to arrive at those various points to begin with. She shifts. Draws her knees up to her chest and inhales deeply. Right. ]

Sorry. I'd go myself, but you know.

[He'd brush the apology off, because a necessity was a necessity no matter how either of them looked at it, but he's immediately more focused on the second part of that text - which thankfully was far less awkward to navigate around.]

Don't mention it.

[No, seriously. Don't. Ever again.]

You shouldn't be going anywhere until you feel up to it, anyway.

It's taking too long.

[ It probably isn't the best thing to say and she realizes that in retrospect, but that's how it feels and she doesn't like it. As much as she's sleeping, as hard, she's losing invaluable time and it's that much more difficult to grasp when she does manage to keep her eyes open for any substantial amount of time. Half the time -- no, more than that, she doesn't want to close them and when she does wake up, before she opens them, there's that inkling of fear that maybe she'll open her eyes and he'll be gone because it's happened once, because she doesn't know that it couldn't happen again in this reality and she won't, not until she can get up and move and look into this strange new world for herself. She grips her phone a little more tightly with that and forces herself to relax her body where she's managed to tense, frowning. ]

I know this is the best thing I can do right now, but it feels like it's the last thing I should be doing, you know?

[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.

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?

[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.

[ 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?

[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.

[ 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. ]

Edited 2017-11-25 07:34 (UTC)

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[text to al - val's arrival]

[Al's Arrival]

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[Val - Shopping List]

TEXT | Backdated to October 13th

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1/IDK

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