11-12-2009, 03:27 AM
‘Get stuck in a gas chamber: check. Wake up in the middle of a freaking ghost city: check. Stumble into the woods: check. Get into a fight with a bear...’ Sophia scoffed as she thought, looking at the chunks of ice that hadn’t melted at that point. ‘Heh…check.’
Some party this was turning out to be.
Mulling through a checklist in her head, maintaining all that had happened to that point, Sophia couldn’t help but laugh at the predicament she was in. Getting revived was supposed to be a good thing. She recalled the feeling of exhilaration, brief as it was, and wished she could just go back to that point. She wanted to back to a time when she didn’t have to worry about not only the well-being of herself, but the well-being of others as well—as if she ever had that experience at all in her lifetime. Sophia shrugged and wringed some of the water out of her hair; if she was going to start wishing, having not jumped into her fiery death would have been a good start.
Breathing a gentle sigh, the edges of her lips curled into a smile as the ice-hybrid came into view, a look of concern visibly pasted upon her face. “A-are you…okay?”
Sophia chuckled. She had just frozen her seemingly without hesitation, and she was asking about her health. Cute kid. “Yeah, I just…I didn’t know what to expect when you, uh, froze me,” she said. “That was…different.”
“Oh…I didn’t mean--…”
The healer wasn’t having any of it. Sage just saved her life, and there was nothing to apologize for. “It’s fine,” she breathed a sigh. Her eyes widened as she remembered why there was a need to encase her in ice to begin with. Looking around for the bear, she frowned. “Did…did you…?”
“I…chased it away. Sc-scared it with a-a storm, I think,” Sage explained.
Sophia inhaled, mulling over that explanation in her mind. The quarter-saiyan didn’t look like she could even move when Sophia glanced back her before…she didn’t doubt her story, but she had to wonder what brought about such a surge of strength and confidence. “Huh,” was all she said initially. “Good job, Sage.”
“Thank you,” Sage smiled bashfully, which made the healer smile in turn. Sage wasn’t a bad kid, but it was sort of a downer how stiflingly timid the girl could sometimes be. Sophia felt a burst of pride when a smile, small as it was, creased her lips. She was so pretty when she smiled, and Sophia resolved to make sure the girl smiled more often.
She had to quickly snap out of whatever instinct she had to smother the poor girl, though, as she wouldn’t smile again if they didn’t keep on the move. “So, what happens now?” she began, making use of Sage’s extensive knowledge—in comparison to her own, anyway—of the game. “There’s just... trees in all directions. After that bear chased us who knows how far, I don’t really know where we’re at, anymore.”
“Well…um…well, we don’t have to go to a bunker anytime soon, so we can go…wherever we want,” the girl shrugged.
Sophia clicked her tongue. “And where would that be?”
“I don’t know…” she sighed. Sophia shrugged—maybe it too much to expect her to know everything. Besides, this place wasn’t exactly easy to navigate, no matter how much prior knowledge that a person could have. She stroked her chin during that thought, a thought so deep that she didn’t notice that Sage was still trying to say something. “Sophia, I…I’m sorry if this is r-rude, but…um…wh-what can I…I mean…” she stopped talking, which might have been a good thing for a normal person. She could tell that Sage was definitely going somewhere with that, so she let her go on. “So, what’s it like? To, uh, be dead, I mean.”
Sophia laughed out loud at the question, though she didn’t really know why. There wasn’t anything particularly funny about it, but the abruptness that came with it surprised her a bit. Besides, the healer had scarcely thought about it. Pondering on the question for a bit, Sophia shrugged. “It’s a lot like being alive, really.”
“R-really?” Sage looked on with interest.
“Yeah…there are people. Entire cities of people, all sorts of people, all doing things that folks would do here,” the healer began, talking in her best storytelling voice. It reminded her of reading to the children of her temple. “I ran into a merchant, for example.”
“Th-they have money in the afterlife?” the girl inquired.
“Well…no. Not where I was, anyway,” Sophia put a finger on her chin. “People bartered, mostly. People make things up there, and when they no longer need it, they trade it for something that another person made,” she stopped. Maybe she was over-doing it. “But I’m sure you know what bartering is.”
“I…I do…” Sage frowned.
Sophia sighed and rubbed her neck. “Let’s see…you still have to eat and sleep up there. When they let you keep your body, that is,” she smiled. “I was lucky, I guess.”
“Do…” Sage hesitated. “Do you…”
“Do I regret dying?”
Sage widened her eyes a bit. “Y...yeah.”
“Well…” the healer thought about what she was to say. She had to be careful not to give the wrong impression. “Yeah, I guess I do a bit. I could have done a bit more to help you guys, I feel. But if your question is if I’m sorry for why I died, I’m not. I’d die a thousand more times if it meant saving the lives of my friends.”
Sage remained quiet, her lower lip trembling. Sophia kept in a laugh, almost sorry that she had said that to begin with. She was always prone to playing the hero, even when she didn’t realize the role in which she fell into. Of course, she did tell a little bit of a fib—she was sorry that she was the one that had to die in order for all of them to live, but meeting Sage and Kaden one last time made her feel better about her decision. They didn’t deserve to die—not when they had so much more to give.
“Hey, uh..." Sophia nudged Sage playfully on the arm. “Let's go, huh? Plenty of forest left to explore. If we’re lucky, we’ll run into a rabbit or a deer instead of a gigantic freaking bear.”
Some party this was turning out to be.
Mulling through a checklist in her head, maintaining all that had happened to that point, Sophia couldn’t help but laugh at the predicament she was in. Getting revived was supposed to be a good thing. She recalled the feeling of exhilaration, brief as it was, and wished she could just go back to that point. She wanted to back to a time when she didn’t have to worry about not only the well-being of herself, but the well-being of others as well—as if she ever had that experience at all in her lifetime. Sophia shrugged and wringed some of the water out of her hair; if she was going to start wishing, having not jumped into her fiery death would have been a good start.
Breathing a gentle sigh, the edges of her lips curled into a smile as the ice-hybrid came into view, a look of concern visibly pasted upon her face. “A-are you…okay?”
Sophia chuckled. She had just frozen her seemingly without hesitation, and she was asking about her health. Cute kid. “Yeah, I just…I didn’t know what to expect when you, uh, froze me,” she said. “That was…different.”
“Oh…I didn’t mean--…”
The healer wasn’t having any of it. Sage just saved her life, and there was nothing to apologize for. “It’s fine,” she breathed a sigh. Her eyes widened as she remembered why there was a need to encase her in ice to begin with. Looking around for the bear, she frowned. “Did…did you…?”
“I…chased it away. Sc-scared it with a-a storm, I think,” Sage explained.
Sophia inhaled, mulling over that explanation in her mind. The quarter-saiyan didn’t look like she could even move when Sophia glanced back her before…she didn’t doubt her story, but she had to wonder what brought about such a surge of strength and confidence. “Huh,” was all she said initially. “Good job, Sage.”
“Thank you,” Sage smiled bashfully, which made the healer smile in turn. Sage wasn’t a bad kid, but it was sort of a downer how stiflingly timid the girl could sometimes be. Sophia felt a burst of pride when a smile, small as it was, creased her lips. She was so pretty when she smiled, and Sophia resolved to make sure the girl smiled more often.
She had to quickly snap out of whatever instinct she had to smother the poor girl, though, as she wouldn’t smile again if they didn’t keep on the move. “So, what happens now?” she began, making use of Sage’s extensive knowledge—in comparison to her own, anyway—of the game. “There’s just... trees in all directions. After that bear chased us who knows how far, I don’t really know where we’re at, anymore.”
“Well…um…well, we don’t have to go to a bunker anytime soon, so we can go…wherever we want,” the girl shrugged.
Sophia clicked her tongue. “And where would that be?”
“I don’t know…” she sighed. Sophia shrugged—maybe it too much to expect her to know everything. Besides, this place wasn’t exactly easy to navigate, no matter how much prior knowledge that a person could have. She stroked her chin during that thought, a thought so deep that she didn’t notice that Sage was still trying to say something. “Sophia, I…I’m sorry if this is r-rude, but…um…wh-what can I…I mean…” she stopped talking, which might have been a good thing for a normal person. She could tell that Sage was definitely going somewhere with that, so she let her go on. “So, what’s it like? To, uh, be dead, I mean.”
Sophia laughed out loud at the question, though she didn’t really know why. There wasn’t anything particularly funny about it, but the abruptness that came with it surprised her a bit. Besides, the healer had scarcely thought about it. Pondering on the question for a bit, Sophia shrugged. “It’s a lot like being alive, really.”
“R-really?” Sage looked on with interest.
“Yeah…there are people. Entire cities of people, all sorts of people, all doing things that folks would do here,” the healer began, talking in her best storytelling voice. It reminded her of reading to the children of her temple. “I ran into a merchant, for example.”
“Th-they have money in the afterlife?” the girl inquired.
“Well…no. Not where I was, anyway,” Sophia put a finger on her chin. “People bartered, mostly. People make things up there, and when they no longer need it, they trade it for something that another person made,” she stopped. Maybe she was over-doing it. “But I’m sure you know what bartering is.”
“I…I do…” Sage frowned.
Sophia sighed and rubbed her neck. “Let’s see…you still have to eat and sleep up there. When they let you keep your body, that is,” she smiled. “I was lucky, I guess.”
“Do…” Sage hesitated. “Do you…”
“Do I regret dying?”
Sage widened her eyes a bit. “Y...yeah.”
“Well…” the healer thought about what she was to say. She had to be careful not to give the wrong impression. “Yeah, I guess I do a bit. I could have done a bit more to help you guys, I feel. But if your question is if I’m sorry for why I died, I’m not. I’d die a thousand more times if it meant saving the lives of my friends.”
Sage remained quiet, her lower lip trembling. Sophia kept in a laugh, almost sorry that she had said that to begin with. She was always prone to playing the hero, even when she didn’t realize the role in which she fell into. Of course, she did tell a little bit of a fib—she was sorry that she was the one that had to die in order for all of them to live, but meeting Sage and Kaden one last time made her feel better about her decision. They didn’t deserve to die—not when they had so much more to give.
“Hey, uh..." Sophia nudged Sage playfully on the arm. “Let's go, huh? Plenty of forest left to explore. If we’re lucky, we’ll run into a rabbit or a deer instead of a gigantic freaking bear.”