♕ 5th - video - The Sight

[skjalf]

[ there had been a point to her opening this channel. in light of the tragic losses they have suffered here, she has wanted to hold a dinner to celebrate the memory of those who have died and vanished. her mouth moves, but no words are produced. her face becomes deathly pale, her eyes wide and dilated as though in fear. but she has not seen a ghost. no, what she is seeing is something else entirely.

horrible images play before her, which only she might see. the blank look she sports is soon replaced with a one of complete and utter horror. ]

It is hot.. too hot to fight! The Dragon has come from across the sea to wage war against the Boar. Ah, the sun blinds the eyes!

[ she shudders, blinking her unfocused eyes. ] The field is an ocean of blood. I can barely hear over the din of it. The Dragon is swooping in, and his men roar behind him.

His Grace is brave to wear his crown to battle. He is winning.. standing alone in a field of dead, blood coursing over his boots. Ah, it is splendid and horrible!

[ once again, her face becomes a mask of pure terror, scrunching up while her eyes are too-wide for her face. ]

But here comes Lord Stanley! "For Tudor!" he calls. And His Grace has lost his horse. Treason, treason, treason!

[ and that seems to have snapped her out of it. still on camera, elizabeth exposes vulnerability for the first time to those aboard the ship at large, as she cannot control the violent shaking of her form or the tears that appear in her eyes. this is, unsurprisingly, a result of the nightmare she endured within the maze.

she cannot seem to speak for a long, long time. elizabeth covers her mouth with her hands to cover the fact that she is biting her lower lip so hard it is bleeding. and while she is able to finally get a few words out, it is muffled and quavering: ]

Forgive me.

[ she then abruptly ends the broadcast. ]

Comments

[skjalf]

Do not be, please. [ she is also silent for some time, and then ventures quietly: ]

Would you mind joining me here? I wish to read or talk or.. do anything which will help me forget.

[endureandsurvive]

I-- [She wants to say no by instinct or default, but she stops herself. Sets her teeth with a small click that the comm may or may not pick up at all. Then:]

Sure, okay. Where, uh, are you exactly?

[skjalf]

The library on the 28th floor, for the moment. But we can go wherever you'd like.

( it's the company she's after, really. )

[endureandsurvive]

Let's go to the gardens.

[Simple enough, right? Besides there were trees and flowers and shit there; medieval times seemed to like that kind of thing.]

[skjalf]

Very well.

( she closes her comm and leaves the library straight-away, intent upon meeting up with her at the entrance. )

action;

[endureandsurvive]

[True to her word, fifteen minutes later Ellie comes up through the corridor to the Oxygen Gardens and finds Lizzie just there at the entrance. She's evidently unarmed (not so: there's a knife in her pocket, but whatever), and seems slightly skittish in the moment before she catches sight of the older girl. And then whatever's drawn taut in her smooths and she lifts her hand, waves.]

Hey.

action;

[skjalf]

( elizabeth yet appears to be shaken, and her eyes are red and swollen from her breakdown earlier. she nods to ellie, glad to see her. though she cannot manage more than a small smile. )

Good eve.

[endureandsurvive]

[She's not good at this - the whole comfort thing. Which is weird, right? She kind of feels like she used to be way better and this shit. But here she is, weirdly dancing around the whole idea.]

There's some awesome trees on level three if you like that kind of thing.

[skjalf]

( she inclines her head in acquiescence. )

I should like to sit beneath them with you.

[endureandsurvive]

[Ellie nods in return, crossing her arms a little awkward across her chest and tucking her hands in under them as she shifts away and changes tack - leading Lizzie up toward the ramps that twist their way up through the levels of the garden. It's easy walking and she doesn't say much, just powers on through the tall grass and the shorter moss.

She knows a lot of the shit that leaves her mouth doesn't make Lizzie happy, but at the end of the day, she doesn't really know what kind of conversation the older girl likes.]

[skjalf]

( elizabeth follows ellie quietly, a prisoner of her own thoughts as much as the other girl while they walk up to the third level. her fingers trail idly against the blades of long grass as they pass by, and the silence seems to deepen and hang between them.

she has long-since become used to ellie's colourful vocabulary, so there is truly no need to worry about offending her. but if they stop, as it seems they have, then she will say nothing at all, and simply step forward to embrace ellie. )

[endureandsurvive]

[Hugs are-- it's not that she doesn't remember the last time someone hugged her, it's more like she knows exactly when it happened down to the hour, to the feeling of it, down to the sensation. Ellie stiffens under the contact, freezing up like Lizzie's struck her instead of embraced her. She doesn't know what to do with her hands, where to put her face or which direction she's suppose to turn. So instead she just stands awkwardly, arms at her sides, and feels increasingly like an idiot for every microsecond that passes.]

[skjalf]

( it doesn't last long, because ellie is clearly uncomfortable. elizabeth steps back, slackening the hold her arms have on the other girl and glances away. )

Apologies. ( instead, she'll move forward to continue their ascent. )

[endureandsurvive]

[Ellie bristles, opens her mouth and rocks forward onto her toes by a few paltry degrees. Lizzie doesn't have to apologize. It hadn't been bad, just--] No, it's-- [Different. Weird. Suddenly leaves her feeling lonely and more awkward when Lizzie's pulled away and started to head up again.

Ellie closes her mouth with an absent click of her teeth. She lapses into silence for a solid minute as they move up the ramp, worrying at the inside of her cheek with her teeth. Right. Trees.

She cuts ahead again, lengthening her stride to pull out in front of the other girl as they reach one of the upper levels.] Come on, they're over here.

[It's overgrown here, not used for agricultural growth so much as it is simple oxygen production: large leafed foliage and tall, ropey looking trees. Ellie makes a path through it all with the air of someone who's been through it before.]

[skjalf]

( she doesn't pause, but does turn her head to glance at her for the duration of several seconds before she turns her gaze back to the path ahead. no, she'd said. so what had she meant? despite herself, she wonders. really, she would just let it lie and not push her friend further than her boundaries seem to have been so clearly drawn. yet she prefers to be close to people she cares about, if she can be.

ellie cuts ahead quite abruptly, and she blinks, her hand poised in the air for a moment before picking up the hem of her skirts and jogging forward several paces to gain the ground she's lost. when once again she finds herself side-by-side with her, she turns to ask: )

What were you going to say? ( usually, she doesn't deign to pry; but today she is so tired, and merely wishes to be close to someone. so she will ask, and if she is rebuked, she will apologize and leave it alone.

silence hangs archly between them, until they reach their destination. elizabeth gazes at the sight of the trees before her with the makings of a small smile upon her face, before she finds herself playing catch-up once again with ellie. where are they going? now, her curiosity is completely engaged. )

[endureandsurvive]

[She's not really expecting it to come up again - they'll both pretend like nothing happened, they'll check out some weird space plants, it'll be fine. Whatever, right? Instead Lizzie-- picks. And Ellie doesn't really know what exactly she was going to say in the first place, much less now, so it's impossible to give her anything like a straight answer.

Instead she shoots her a sidelong glance, shrugging as she climbs over some densely twisted roots.] Careful. [Muttered. Seriously Lizzie, get some pants or something girl.] I don't know. Just, I mean, that it's fine or whatever. Sorry.

[She makes a vague gesture between the two of them, as if that awkward collection of words and hand motions really means anything.]

[skjalf]

I shall be. ( elizabeth picks up the hem of her skirts and picks her way industriously through the roots behind ellie. for shame, she shall never don a pair of pants in her opinion. not because breeches are for men, but because they appear terribly uncomfortable. though perhaps not as much so as a tightly-laced gown, she could concede.

through the hike, she remains silent, waiting on ellie to answer her query. when she finally does, she finds herself smiling slightly. )

Very well.

( having just been given permission by way of ellie's gesture, she moves forward to embrace her again, though far more lightly this time. as if the other girl is fashioned from glass. )

[endureandsurvive]

[It's still awkward, something in her still taut and uncomfortable with the contact, but after a moment Ellie does her best to return the favor - her arms clumsily wrapping around the older girl. She doesn't really know where to put her face, what to do with her hands exactly, but she muddles through it for at least a few seconds before she starts to squirm backwards.]

Sorry you're having a crappy time.

[skjalf]

( she appreciates the effort, truly. and the moment ellie's discomfiture seems to be at its highest, she immediately drops her arms and steps back to regard her quietly before she nods tiredly. )

I am grateful for your support and friendship. They mean the world to me.

[endureandsurvive]

[She shrugs - shoulders up and down, hands coming automatically together to pick faintly at her cuticles. There's something genuine and honest, a beat of sheepishness in her expression. Because who even just says that just like that? It hits something soft and gentle in her.] Sure. It's not a big deal.

[Pushing down the urge to chew in the inside of her cheek, Ellie forces herself to stop picking at her fingernails, instead gently tucking her hair behind her ears and as she squares her shoulders.]

I mean, we're friends. That means I'm supposed to be around for you. That's just bros one-oh-one.

[skjalf]

( elizabeth says what she feels now, just like that, ellie. after seeing enough people come and go or out-right die, she does not feel like remaining mum about how important some of these people have become to her. ellie included.

a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, until she is beaming warmly at the other girl. )

"Bros one-oh-one", is that what this is called? Then I like it very much, indeed. And you are correct. But people at home are neither so genuine, nor so kind.

I appreciate both perhaps more than you might know.

[endureandsurvive]

It sounds like people at home blow then. [Which probably isn't really fair of her, but fuck it. That practically makes them blood sisters in 'from shitty places where people suck'-landia or whatever and that counts for something.

Ellie fights down any trace of a smile (tries to, it kind of slips into the corners of her mouth), wrinkles her nose and squints ahead through the dense foliage.] We're almost there.

[And moves ahead, stepping across a few more tangled root systems until she reaches a thick wall of vines and wildlife. She shoots a glance back to Lizzie, hesitates--] Don't tell anyone about this, okay? [--and then pushes through, disappearing between the twisted flora to whatever lays behind it.]

[skjalf]

( the corners of her mouth twitch upward, and ellie becomes the recipient of a brief, but brilliant smile. ) How right you are. They truly do.

( not only is she beginning to catch the lingo, as it were, but she is also feeling the kinship between them. it's a wonder, and a comfort. she is thankful that they are here rather than their respective homes and that they have this opportunity to be friends. elizabeth will be certain never to squander it.

that smile so wants to brighten ellie's face. what it ends up doing is adorable, and again, she can't help but smile in return.

as she steps over the roots in order to join ellie by the wall of vines, she looks up with wide-eyed wonder. dully, she can process the fact that she is nodding her head. )

On my honour, Ellie. You have my word. ( then she steps forward, parting the vines to catch up to her friend once again. )

[endureandsurvive]

[The curtain of vines gives way to something of a meadow blooming with a kind of fern, blooming with heavy succulent leaves studded with velvety red and yellow flowers. They look like something out of a comic book, strangely alien and overlarge as they wind down in delicate curves to what must be the center point of the plant nest: a large, twisted tree like plant with rough coppery bark and branches broad enough to create a canopy between them and this level's top - small coin-shaped leaves turning absently in the still air, silvered on one side and bright red on the other. It's weirdly pretty, she thinks - quiet and still but not dead quiet.

Ellie turns, spreading her arms slightly.]

Ta-da.

[skjalf]

( to say that the sight before her is beautiful would be to do this flora a grave injustice. and it would also be a gross understatement. in fact, it is so very stunning that elizabeth is struck entirely speechless by it. her eyes are wide as she pans her gaze up and down, right to left to attempt to take in the entirety of the panorama before them. slowly, her mouth ceases to form a small 'o' of awe and instead allows a smile to replace it, fragile and tremulous before brightening with each passing moment.

ellie really does know her. she turns to her, still beaming and reaches to clasp their hands together. )

I have never before beheld such loveliness! Thank you. I am truly honoured.