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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[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.]

[They're silent tears at first -- like the sort that seem to happen without him even being aware of it. It's only when he reaches up to wipe them away that the dam breaks, his shoulders shaking as he lets out a few nearly-silent sobs. He keeps the hand that had reached up over his face, almost as though trying in vain to hide the fact that he was crying -- though it was much more in an attempt to calm himself than it was to hide it from Nephry. By all means, even if it might look like he needs his space right now, what he really wants is some comfort.]

[To go in such a short time from wide-eyed and bloody to...this, it's astounding, it tells her everything she ever needs to know about how horrible the draft was. Without a word Nephry picks up the blanket she brought from his room, unfolding it to drape over his shoulders. Then she reaches for him, one hand pressed against his far arm to draw him closer. She can't just let him sit there and cry alone.

Soon her other arm joins the first, and she's holding him loosely in an embrace that will tighten if he allows it.]

[As it turns out, doing so without a word may not have been the best choice. The instant that blanket hits his shoulders, he jumps again, this time looking downright terrified -- perhaps due in no small part to the close proximity to his wings.]

[But hopefully that alone isn't enough to scare Nephry off, because right after that happens, he'll wind up meeting her halfway for that hug -- wanting more than anything to just feel okay again.]

[And though the hug isn't enough to quiet his sobs, with Nephry and Colonel by his side, he can at least feel a little bit safer. Even if only for a little while.]

[She doesn't expect he will stop crying until exhaustion claims him. And that look of terror in his eyes...]

I'm sorry I scared you. [Still holding tight, she lets one hand stroke his hair and rub his back alternately. There is no good answer for such heavy sobs, not one that she knows. She lets him cry for a little while with silence and presence for comfort, before she tries saying anything else.]

Shh, Ion. [And even then, it isn't much.] Shh. Take some deep breaths. It's all right.

[If she cries a few tears of her own? Well, he won't see most of them, anyway.]

[Ion practically clings to Nephry, still struggling to calm back down. But it seems like once the tears started, they needed to run their course before he could really reel them in. It was the same when he started crying earlier, and was one of the reasons his shower had lasted as long as it did.]

[But by the time Nephry speaks up, he'll be making more of an effort to try and calm down. He takes slow, deep breaths, keeping his eyes closed as if that might help stop more tears from flowing. When he does finally seem to quiet down, it's only because he's just too exhausted to cry anymore.]

[Feeling him settle differently, heavy, Nephry stops her hand on the back of his head. What if he is asleep? She has a plan, if that's true, but she cannot assume either way.]

You're tired and you need your rest. [Wary of making enough noise in the living room that they might wake more of the house, she keeps her voice very soft. If he is asleep against her, or mostly asleep, she's willing to stay that way for what remains of the night.]

[She might feel him nod against her, but that's about as much of a response as he can manage right now. He's still not sure he can sleep; even as tired as he feels, his mind is still wired from the battlefield. Even if he could somehow fall asleep, there's no doubt he would just return to that same battlefield in his dreams -- which wasn't something he was looking forward to.]

[So for now he just stays where he is. Really, even though a part of him knows he shouldn't be keeping Nephry like this, he also really doesn't want her to leave him here like this.]

[Good, because he isn't keeping her, she is choosing to stay. She does shift closer to the end of the sofa, gently pulling Ion with her. Colonel whines and lifts his head, hopping down to turn circles and flop on the floor instead.]

Put your feet up, Ion. [He'll have to find the strength to do that within himself.]

[He nods again, but the request might take him a bit of time. His knees were definitely the worst in terms of injuries, so having to bend or shift his legs at all was a chore. It was a good thing he'd been training with Cliff all this time, or his legs would have probably been even worse off.]

[But eventually he manages to pull them up, leaning more against Nephry as a result.]

[Good. Nephry shifts further, grabbing the pillow at the same time and putting it under his head before he can end up just lying in her lap. ...He rather is still doing that, halfway, but this way if he does fall asleep, she can get up if she needs to without disturbing him.

She pushes the remnants of his hair off of his face, and pulls the edge of the blanket to cover him better.]

Try to sleep, hm?

[Ion doesn't manage a reply. It's not until his eyes are closed that he finally nods. His mind is still racing a million miles a minute, and no matter how tired his body is, sleep won't come to him. It probably doesn't help that the more he recovers from the shock of everything that happened, the more aware he becomes of all the injuries on his body.]

[But the only indication he'll give that he's still awake is to occasionally open his eyes and look up -- as though checking to see if Nephry was still there -- before quickly closing them again. He probably won't be able to really fall asleep until later that night, but he might doze off long enough for her to find a chance to move.]

[On the contrary, between the warmth and the terrible surety of just where everybody was and how they fared (it isn't safety or comforting but it is better than not knowing, mostly) and her own long days, Nephry dozes off with her head against the back of the sofa. If she feels him stir too much, she'll wake to check on him. With injuries like those and all of his exhaustion and emotional pain, Nephry will not be surprised if he gets sick on top of it.]

[In that case, she may end up sleeping well into the morning, as the early hours of the day change to a more reasonable time. Ion managed to doze off enough for a little bit of rest, but overall no more than an hour. It's only once a few hours have passed that he starts trying to sit up, resting against the back of the couch by Nephry and trying not to wake her.]

[He's still exhausted, but at least now he feels far more sure that he's actually home and not still on that dreadful battlefield. A part of him would like to try moving to his own bed, but he wouldn't dare attempt to stand on his own. Even the thought of kneeling down on his aching knees right now was unappealing, and the pain was beginning to become more apparent.]

[Feeling the couch around her move, Nephry stirs out of sleep. Is Ion all right, she wonders before she sees him there, sitting up.]

You're awake again. [He still looks so tired.] How do you feel?

[He turns quickly when he sees Nephry awaken in the corner of his eye, hoping he hadn't woken her up. At the very least, he looks less shaken than he had earlier and manages something akin to a smile. Though with his hair still choppy in places and combined with his bedhead, he looks like something the dog dragged in.]

I still feel rather tired... I don't think I slept very much. [His voice sounds a bit more hoarse now than it had before, probably from all the yelling and the like during the draft.] I think the pain in my knees is starting to catch up with me.

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