Too many things were happening. Too many things.
Sophia felt like her head would spin off of her neck when she tried to compute it all. Kaden. Sage. The healer walked inside the bunker and saw them laying there. Neither of them seemed to be enjoying life, and she resolved to make their days a little bit better, even if it made her own day that much worse. Ashe. Belle. They entered the same room, one after another, each with their own interesting perspective on the subject. The pink-haired girl looked like she took quite the beating, and Belle…Sophia forced out a laugh. She never knew what he was doing in the short time that she had known him.
So many stories had compiled in the short time that they were apart. She had a hard time separating them from each other. Sage had accidentally killed someone, or was it an accident? She obviously did it in self-defense—they all had—but it was equally as obvious that her conscience tore her up about it. Ashe looked like the poster child for abuse, and the awkward glances between her and Kaden, not to mention the flecks of blood still on Kaden’s hands and clothes, made her come to the conclusion that their stories hadn’t been separate for as long as they would have liked.
Belle was still being Belle, from what she knew of him. There wasn’t much to read into there.
Sophia sighed as she floated in the background, like a ghost that they couldn’t see. She was a ghost, technically, but her experience in that bunker made gave her an ethereal feeling. She wanted so desperately to put her arms around Sage and tell her that she had done nothing wrong. Her heart strained as she thought about comforting Ashe, tending to her wounds. She wanted to cry for them, to die for them, but she knew that they just needed space. Neither of them had been particularly approachable. In fact, neither did Kaden, but at that moment, for some reason, her thoughts concentrated solely on him.
Was it that he was forced to fight Ashe? Was that it? Did he fight someone else? Did he kill him? So many scenarios raced through her head, and she wanted to pick the one that made the most sense. She wanted to understand him, although she knew that she did not. She just wanted everyone to be happy again, despite their circumstances. She reached up to touch her halo as she pondered that-- she didn’t have the time to waste.
As more time passed, Sophia found herself sitting in the corner. Everyone else had wandered around, doing their own things. The healer had long since given up on trying to act like the cheery one—after all, Belle had filled in that role quite nicely, though he was likely oblivious as to how he was behaving. The boy was in the middle of the room, talking to Sage. Sophia felt a little sorry for the cyan-haired girl, but she seemed to be handling the conversation well, though she did more listening than talking.
She continued her inspection of the room. She didn’t know where Ashe was; she was likely in another part of the bunker as she attended to some of the nastier cuts she had received. Her eyes found the door to the supply closet, the place she had likely gone to. Her lips gently curved into a smile, but it faded as her eyes drifted to the side and landed on another door, leading to another bedroom. Kaden was probably there, if the snoring was any indication. Let him sleep, she thought. He needed his rest. All would be well when he woke up.
She let a sad chuckle escape her mouth. It wasn’t likely that he would suddenly wake up with a cheery disposition. Tugging at her clothing to straighten it, she stood up. The steps she took towards that room were cautious, hesitant. She didn’t like serving as a human alarm clock, especially twice in one day, but she knew she couldn’t avoid it. Sage and Belle hardly seemed to even notice that she was there as she reached for the knob and turned it, swinging it open to the dark room within.
“…you really enjoy waking me up, don’t you?” Kaden’s voice echoed through the silence as the healer closed the door behind her.
Sophia winced, whispering even though he was awake. “I’m sorry…did I wake you?”
What a stupid question. Of course she woke him up. Fortunately, Kaden didn’t make her pay for the foolish inquiry. “Yeah, but…it’s fine. Was there something you needed?”
He sounded a bit better, though there were still undertones of despair still present in his voice. The healer fought off the urge to just turn around and run away as she answered. “N-no…not really, I just…I wanted to talk, I guess.”
“Oh…” she couldn’t quite see him, but she could hear him turn to his side. “I…there’s really nothing to say, Soph. Maybe we should just get some sleep.”
“Oh…okay…” she hung her head and turned around. She stopped, her hand halfway to the door, and shook her head. “No.”
Kaden yawned. “What?”
“No,” Sophia flipped on the light switch, causing Kaden to lift his hands to his eyes as his pupils struggled to adjust. “You should talk to me about what happened.”
The courier sighed and sat up on his bed, looking at her with his red eyes. They pierced her for what seemed like an eternity before he responded. “What…do you want me to say? What am I supposed to say?”
The healer said nothing initially. She merely pressed her lips together and walked towards the courier and sat on the bed opposite from him. Sophia hesitated before she spoke. “…anything. Say anything. I’d like to talk about what happened, of course, but even if you don’t want to talk about it, we can talk about something else.”
“What do you want from me, Soph?” he said through another sigh.
“I just want you to stop brooding,” the healer poked him. “Sleeping it off might help, but talking does wonders. Try me—I’m a really good listener.”
Kaden’s eyes lowered. “How do you do it?”
“What?” he obviously dodged the question, but his sudden response intrigued her. “How…do I do what?”
“Act so goddamn cheerful all the time,” the courier looked back up at her. “Sorry if that sounded mean.”
“No, it’s…” her voice trailed off. Sighing, she sat back on the bed, propping herself up with her arms. “Being raised in the temple, I guess. When you’re a healer, you start to learn that most injuries are in the head,” she raised a finger to tap her temple. “A simple smile can brighten someone’s day…even if the sun isn’t out for me.”
“So you fake it?”
“I guess I just got used to smiling,” Sophia gave him her best grin. “You still remember how, right?”
“Sophia, I don’t really want to…” Kaden shook his head.
“Oh, come on!” the healer reached out towards the courier. Hooking the edges of his lips with her index finger and thumb, she lifted them upward. “See? It’s that easy.”
Kaden laughed, pushing her hand away. “Stop it, stop it.”
The pair shared a laugh before the room went silent once more. Sophia was still smiling, though this time, it was genuine.
Sophia felt like her head would spin off of her neck when she tried to compute it all. Kaden. Sage. The healer walked inside the bunker and saw them laying there. Neither of them seemed to be enjoying life, and she resolved to make their days a little bit better, even if it made her own day that much worse. Ashe. Belle. They entered the same room, one after another, each with their own interesting perspective on the subject. The pink-haired girl looked like she took quite the beating, and Belle…Sophia forced out a laugh. She never knew what he was doing in the short time that she had known him.
So many stories had compiled in the short time that they were apart. She had a hard time separating them from each other. Sage had accidentally killed someone, or was it an accident? She obviously did it in self-defense—they all had—but it was equally as obvious that her conscience tore her up about it. Ashe looked like the poster child for abuse, and the awkward glances between her and Kaden, not to mention the flecks of blood still on Kaden’s hands and clothes, made her come to the conclusion that their stories hadn’t been separate for as long as they would have liked.
Belle was still being Belle, from what she knew of him. There wasn’t much to read into there.
Sophia sighed as she floated in the background, like a ghost that they couldn’t see. She was a ghost, technically, but her experience in that bunker made gave her an ethereal feeling. She wanted so desperately to put her arms around Sage and tell her that she had done nothing wrong. Her heart strained as she thought about comforting Ashe, tending to her wounds. She wanted to cry for them, to die for them, but she knew that they just needed space. Neither of them had been particularly approachable. In fact, neither did Kaden, but at that moment, for some reason, her thoughts concentrated solely on him.
Was it that he was forced to fight Ashe? Was that it? Did he fight someone else? Did he kill him? So many scenarios raced through her head, and she wanted to pick the one that made the most sense. She wanted to understand him, although she knew that she did not. She just wanted everyone to be happy again, despite their circumstances. She reached up to touch her halo as she pondered that-- she didn’t have the time to waste.
As more time passed, Sophia found herself sitting in the corner. Everyone else had wandered around, doing their own things. The healer had long since given up on trying to act like the cheery one—after all, Belle had filled in that role quite nicely, though he was likely oblivious as to how he was behaving. The boy was in the middle of the room, talking to Sage. Sophia felt a little sorry for the cyan-haired girl, but she seemed to be handling the conversation well, though she did more listening than talking.
She continued her inspection of the room. She didn’t know where Ashe was; she was likely in another part of the bunker as she attended to some of the nastier cuts she had received. Her eyes found the door to the supply closet, the place she had likely gone to. Her lips gently curved into a smile, but it faded as her eyes drifted to the side and landed on another door, leading to another bedroom. Kaden was probably there, if the snoring was any indication. Let him sleep, she thought. He needed his rest. All would be well when he woke up.
She let a sad chuckle escape her mouth. It wasn’t likely that he would suddenly wake up with a cheery disposition. Tugging at her clothing to straighten it, she stood up. The steps she took towards that room were cautious, hesitant. She didn’t like serving as a human alarm clock, especially twice in one day, but she knew she couldn’t avoid it. Sage and Belle hardly seemed to even notice that she was there as she reached for the knob and turned it, swinging it open to the dark room within.
“…you really enjoy waking me up, don’t you?” Kaden’s voice echoed through the silence as the healer closed the door behind her.
Sophia winced, whispering even though he was awake. “I’m sorry…did I wake you?”
What a stupid question. Of course she woke him up. Fortunately, Kaden didn’t make her pay for the foolish inquiry. “Yeah, but…it’s fine. Was there something you needed?”
He sounded a bit better, though there were still undertones of despair still present in his voice. The healer fought off the urge to just turn around and run away as she answered. “N-no…not really, I just…I wanted to talk, I guess.”
“Oh…” she couldn’t quite see him, but she could hear him turn to his side. “I…there’s really nothing to say, Soph. Maybe we should just get some sleep.”
“Oh…okay…” she hung her head and turned around. She stopped, her hand halfway to the door, and shook her head. “No.”
Kaden yawned. “What?”
“No,” Sophia flipped on the light switch, causing Kaden to lift his hands to his eyes as his pupils struggled to adjust. “You should talk to me about what happened.”
The courier sighed and sat up on his bed, looking at her with his red eyes. They pierced her for what seemed like an eternity before he responded. “What…do you want me to say? What am I supposed to say?”
The healer said nothing initially. She merely pressed her lips together and walked towards the courier and sat on the bed opposite from him. Sophia hesitated before she spoke. “…anything. Say anything. I’d like to talk about what happened, of course, but even if you don’t want to talk about it, we can talk about something else.”
“What do you want from me, Soph?” he said through another sigh.
“I just want you to stop brooding,” the healer poked him. “Sleeping it off might help, but talking does wonders. Try me—I’m a really good listener.”
Kaden’s eyes lowered. “How do you do it?”
“What?” he obviously dodged the question, but his sudden response intrigued her. “How…do I do what?”
“Act so goddamn cheerful all the time,” the courier looked back up at her. “Sorry if that sounded mean.”
“No, it’s…” her voice trailed off. Sighing, she sat back on the bed, propping herself up with her arms. “Being raised in the temple, I guess. When you’re a healer, you start to learn that most injuries are in the head,” she raised a finger to tap her temple. “A simple smile can brighten someone’s day…even if the sun isn’t out for me.”
“So you fake it?”
“I guess I just got used to smiling,” Sophia gave him her best grin. “You still remember how, right?”
“Sophia, I don’t really want to…” Kaden shook his head.
“Oh, come on!” the healer reached out towards the courier. Hooking the edges of his lips with her index finger and thumb, she lifted them upward. “See? It’s that easy.”
Kaden laughed, pushing her hand away. “Stop it, stop it.”
The pair shared a laugh before the room went silent once more. Sophia was still smiling, though this time, it was genuine.