lucetilogs | Zompania Draft: Coming Home

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Zompania Draft: Coming Home

Who: Anyone drafted to Zompania, or recruited as reinforcements, or left behind in the village. SO. Everybody!
What: The draftees and reinforcements return to the village.
When: May 26, early early in the morning
Where: Back in Luceti
Summary: Most draftees and reinforcements return to Luceti in the very early hours; now, instead of a medevac site for the draft, the village is a welcome (?) refuge from the nightmare of Zompania for its own. There's a high likelihood it still looks a lot like it has in the past few days; those in the fight didn't even get a chance to shower before returning.

(This is the place for all your post-draft trauma and reunions and every other thing. Have fun! And don't forget to entry-tag your character.)

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[Nephry also changed, and then returned to the kitchen to set the chair back at the table and get a few things together. When she hears Ion coming, she leaves it all temporarily to meet him in the living room and guide him toward the couch.

She can see on his face that he cried. It's no surprise, she thought she might have heard it, even. One hand cups the side of his face and then, surprise registering on Nephry's, touches the shorn ends of his hair.]

Sit down, unless you want to go to bed instead. You're exhausted.

[Ion moves with Nephry when she guides him to the couch, but he doesn't sit down right away.]

[Instead, he reaches out and pulls Nephry into a hug -- the hug he couldn't return earlier when he was still too covered in blood and mud to do so. But even after getting all cleaned up, his arms are still shaking, and it almost seems like he's afraid to let go -- like he might wake up and find himself trapped on that horrible battlefield again.]

[All at once Ion's hugging her again; she returns it gladly, and she can feel him continue to shake. She rubs his back a little, still standing, reminded with sudden clarity of a false family. One that had Ion in it, and Saphir, and Tear, and that was content if not always happy.

Now one of them was gone, one of them dead, and one here in front of her, aching and broken.

Nephry sits with him, without breaking his hold.]

[Sitting was definitely better. He was still exhausted after all, regardless of whether or not he felt he would be able to sleep. But even as he clings onto Nephry, face all but buried into her shoulder, he manages to refrain from crying again. Though not even Ion is sure whether he's holding back on purpose, or whether he just cam't bring himself to let his emotions loose. Even crying in the privacy of the shower had been difficult, in a way...]

[There were still things he needed to do. His wounds needed redressing after his shower. His hair could use some straightening out. And he probably didn't get nearly enough water out there. But what he really needed right now was comfort, and of that, Nephry had plenty to give.]

[She's glad of the quiet, if only so they don't wake the house, although she doubts most of them are asleep, if it's this bad for Ion.]

I'm so sorry.

[Sorry that it happened, that she couldn't have done more to stop it, that everything could fall apart so very easily.]

[Ion just shakes his head -- Nephry had no reason to apologize. Even now, she was doing more than she probably even knew just by being here for Ion. There weren't many people out there whom he felt he could truly depend on so unconditionally.]

[But while it might be emotionally comforting to sit here with Nephry, physically his wounds were starting to sting from underneath his pajamas. Though none were so severe as to still be actively bleeding, it wouldn't be wise to leave them uncovered for long. Which is what eventually encourage shim to pull back, even if only a little.]

[When he speaks, even he finds himself surprised by how weak his voice sounds.]

...I-I had to take off some bandages when I took a shower. Could you help me redo them?

I intended to, if you had any. Stay here for a minute. I'll be right back.

[That's her cue to head back into the kitchen; she returns with their (substantial, after all this time) first-aid kit and a glass of something with ice in it. It's not water; the off-gold color and little bubbles belong to ginger ale instead. She holds the glass out to Ion, first.]

You should finish this, but it's understandable if you can't stomach it.

[Ion takes the glass and nods, holding it carefully in both hands so as not to drop it. He sips at it, hoping that maybe numerous tiny drinks will settle in his stomach better than drinking it all at once.]

[After managing about half the glass, he sets it aside for a moment and starts rolling up his sleeves and pantlegs. Most of the cuts weren't that bad, save for a particularly bad cut on one of his arms (which had even been given stitches) and both his hands and knees, which were pretty badly scraped up and covered in dark bruises, indicative of him having fallen over quite a lot.]

[Looking at them now, Ion didn't even realize they were this bad. No wonder he'd been walking so awkwardly before...]

[The last few days gave Nephry quite a lot of practice at handling minor scrapes like Ion's; it unnerves her to see this kind of damage on someone who shouldn't have been fighting at all. She's quiet while she works, cleaning some of his cuts where she doesn't think a shower did the job. Anything too large for a band-aid gets gauze taped over it instead. She stops at the stitches, a pained look crossing her face before she wraps that one, so nothing bumps into it accidentally.]

If Natalia feels up to it tomorrow, I'll ask her to look at this for you. [If not, someone already did enough to start it healing until she does. A few minutes later Nephry's finished, rolling down his last sleeve for him.]

Are you in a lot of pain?

[Ion nods, though really he was all right with letting his wounds heal on their own. Natalia may be even worse off than he was in terms of how exhausted she must be.]

...I'm not sure. I think I may need a day for the shock to wear off first.

[Though seeing the wounds for himself did make him somewhat more aware of them than he was before. Rather than any particular pain, right now his whole body just felt sore.]

You can have all the time you need.

[Gently, she pushes some damp hair out of his face, surprised all over again at how quickly she runs out of hair at its end.]

What else can I do to help you?

You've already helped me more than enough right now. [He'll probably be able to show his appreciation for it better when he doesn't still feel like death warmed over.] But I... I-I think I'd like to try laying down for a little while.

[He doesn't say sleep. Because he's really not sure he'll be able to sleep after everything that happened. Not until he his nerves settle a bit more.]

[Nephry approves.]

Out here, or in your bedroom?

[If the not-privacy of the living room could be enough to keep some of the inevitable nightmares at bay, she won't argue.]

...I don't think I have the strength to stand again.

[As nice and comfortable as his own bed sounds right now, he'll have to make do with where he is.]

That's fine. I'll bring you a real pillow to use out here.

[She can see, still, the tremor in his hands. Nephry reaches for one of them, then throws that idea away in favor of pulling him into a hug again.]

I know it's...things aren't all right. They don't have to be, not right away.

[Hugs are always nice. They helped him feel safe -- even if only for a few moments.]

[He nods against Nephry's shoulder, hugging her back. She'll probably have to say something if she wants him to let go though, otherwise he'll be clinging for little while.]

[She did say she would get a pillow...but it matters more to sit here, holding him, stroking his hair. If he needs it - she thinks they both need it, for different reasons - then he deserves more than enough comfort for what he's been through.

After a while, she's humming a little, so quietly it's a feeling more than a sound. Nephry barely notices herself doing it.]

[At times like this, phantom memories of a childhood he never had drift into his mind, giving a sense of nostalgia to things that may have never really happened like before. But whether it's a genuine nostalgia or not, the comfort it brings is the same, and he finds himself giving into the feeling.]

[It's only when he can actually feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness that he pulls back. Partially because it's a sign he should lay down, and partially because he's not sure what would happen if he did fall asleep on Nephry and then, perhaps, get violently awoken by a nightmare.]

...th-thank you, Nephry. I... I needed that.

You're welcome. [She doesn't want to leave him alone out here, and she lifts his chin gently with one hand.] Are you certain you can't make it to your room, even with my help?

[She expects yes. He's barely holding himself up now, isn't he?]

[He actually does think it over again, but then ultimately shakes his head. It just didn't seem worth the risk. He's not sure Nephry would be able to support him if he just collapsed on the way.]

I'll be all right out here. But... [He averts his eyes, perhaps realizing it was an almost childish request. But after what they've all been through, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.] ...could you leave the lights on?

Of course. [She gets up carefully, making sure he's sitting up without relying on her support first.] I'll get you some things to make you more comfortable out here.

[With a nod, Ion leans back into the couch, taking a few steady breaths to try and keep himself calm. Even now, he still had the strangest feeling like someone or something was watching him, just waiting for him to fall asleep... it was unnerving, and he couldn't help but wonder if that was really just his nerves acting up or not.]

[When Nephry comes back, she might notice him staring off in a particular direction, almost as though trying to look at something behind him without directly turning around.]

[She returns with his pillow and a sheet and blanket - and Colonel, doing a perky but half-asleep trot at her heels. The dog takes no note of Ion's lost stare or apprehension, clambering onto the couch and trying to push his way to getting as much of himself on Ion's lap as possible.]

Colonel, please. Ion's very tired. [But she can never get their dog to listen to her when Ion is involved. Ignoring his antics, she sets the pillow down at one end of the sofa and leaves the blankets on the arm, in case Ion needs help lying down.]

[Unfortunately, Colonel might be in for a bit of a spook. When he jumps up into Ion's lap, Ion was so distracted that he jumps and very nearly knocks him off the couch. But despite looking a bit appalled (or at least, as appalled as a dog can look), Colonel gives only a single, quiet woof before settling down across Ion's lap anyway.]

[But Ion doesn't push him to move yet. His mind is still somewhere else -- right now, thinking about who else Colonel probably wanted to cuddle up with, but couldn't.]

[How long would it be until he realized Tear wasn't coming home with them? No later than today, certainly. Would he even be able to understand what it meant, that she would be gone for a week? That she would come back missing something precious to her?]

[With a shaky hand, he reaches up and pats Colonel on the head. He feels as though he should say something, and for a moment it seems like he's going to -- but no words come out. And in place of words, tears begin to trail down his cheeks, as the full impact of everything that happened out there starts to sink in.]

[Colonel is a laid-back dog at three in the morning as long as any roughhousing ends in snuggling. In all likelihood he's pretty oblivious to Ion's tears.

Nephry, however, is not. She sees Ion begin to cry and it surprises her enough that she stands there, still, for several seconds. Careful, not wanting to burst into his space if he needs it, she sits on the edge of the sofa beside him. It could be so very many things. She wants to reach for him but doesn't, not this time, not without some sign that he would welcome the interruption of his privacy.]

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