capeandcowllogs | (no subject)

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(no subject)

WHO: Sarah + Laura + later Kiden
WHERE: Kiden and Laura's place.
WHEN: March 2nd, right after this.
WARNINGS: Self harm. Oh and possibly Kiden's mouth idk.
SUMMARY: BAAAAAAAW
FORMAT: no

She had been listening.

She was ordered to wait in the room. Not to hurt anyone in the apartment. To rest, if she wanted. The last part was unusual. If she wanted?

She was not tired. Tried to sleep, regardless. It was an order.

But there was noise. Talking. Sharp and loud in her ears. So she listened. She heard every word. The crying, too.

She did not understand.

There were names she did not know. One was Kiden - the girl who was crying - part of the Facility? Unfamiliar. And Laura. Unknown.

They were talking about her, as well. She could tell. But she did not understand.

This was not the Facility. She could not leave the Facility unless there was a mission.

She was told she had a mission. Before being here. But she awoke here and she could not complete it. The Facility was not here. She had searched for it and failed.

She had failed. Then where was her punishment?

She had not been punished. Instead, she was here, with Doctor Kinney and this crying girl that she was not supposed to kill.

Wait in the room. That was the order. So she sat with back pinned against the wall, and listened.

She had been dragging her claws across the inside of her arm the whole time. Going over cross marks that had begun to fade. Thinking about Kimura breaking every bone in her body again and again and again because she failed.

Waiting.

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It was the second time she'd seen Laura hurt herself, years since she had first see the scars, foolishly thinking they were Rice's doing, and still all Sarah could initially do was freeze in the doorway. This Laura was younger, smaller than the one she'd met in the City, dragged in from a past no one should ever have to return to—it made Sarah's chest heavy, to see her like this again, after she'd tried so hard to help her escape, to make sure she was free.

Dropping the book she was holding on the end of the bed, Sarah managed to get herself to move, and knelt down in front of Laura. She wrapped one hand around the back of the wrist of the arm that was bleeding and pulled the other away, firm but not forceful.

“La—” Sarah began, but cut herself short. That name meant nothing to her at the moment. “You don't need to do this.”

Sarah turned her arm in her hand, so she could better see the new cuts. Looking up from them to Laura's eyes, she smiled sadly and told her that she'd be back in a moment. Darting out of the room and into the kitchen, Sarah made her way back to her bag and pulled out a clean towel.

Kneeling back down by the side of the bed, pressing the towel against the inside of Laura's forearm to soak up the blood, Sarah used the time to think long and hard about what she should tell Laura first. About the City, and Iron Man's porter; her name; that there was no more Facility, no one left to hurt her; or that she loved her.

Once she'd done all she could for Laura's wounds, Sarah rose to her feet, and then sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You can sit up here,” she said softly, like it was a suggestion and not an order. “It's a lot more comfortable than the floor.”

She offered no resistance as Doctor Kinney pulled her arm away, staring blankly up at her face and saying nothing in reply. X-23 continue to stare at her as she rose and left the room, and her eyes remained fixed on the door even after Doctor Kinney was out of sight.

When she returned, she simply knelt back down, towel in hand, and pressed it against X-23's cuts.

It was unexpected. X-23 felt her body slack against the wall, and did not move until Doctor Kinney was finished.

When she spoke again, X-23 quietly obeyed. It was even stranger than the order from before, not even phrased as a command, and she did not understand how comfort was of any relevance. But it was clear that, regardless of how it sounded, she was intended to do as she was told. So she rose and sat down as well, far enough from Doctor Kinney to ensure there was no unnecessary contact.

Sarah waited until Laura was sat next to her before moving. She turned to the side a little, so that she was facing her, one knee hooked up and resting on the bed; but other than that, she didn't dare to move. She wanted to reach out, to place her hand against her shoulder and pull her closed—but she knew that it'd be too much at once.

“I need you to listen very carefully,” Sarah began, “We're not with the Facility, anymore. There isn't even a Facility here—you don't have to worry about any of that ever again. There's no Kimura, no Rice; there won't be missions from now on. Do you understand? Is there anything you want to ask?”

Sarah paused, allowing Laura to absorb the information and react appropriately—if at all.

Edited 2009-03-03 21:22 (UTC)

The words passed through her mind, but their meaning did not seem to sink. She went over them in her head. Once, then again. Her head felt lighter than it ought have been. Blank, no matter how much she urged herself to think. The whole of her body was rigid, still, and she did not speak, only stared.

No, she did not understand.

She was supposed to accept what she was told without questioning. And still, she found herself echoing: "No missions?"

Edited 2009-03-03 21:54 (UTC)

Sarah couldn't say that she hadn't expected a similar reaction—but Laura was talking to her, and asking questions through her own reasoning. It was a good sign.

“No missions,” Sarah repeated, trying to cement the idea into her mind, “You don't have to do any of that, any more—no more killing, no more training, no more fighting. You're free to do as you choose.”

She did not expect an answer, but having received it, she pulled her knees to her chest, toes curling around the edge of the bed, and rested her head on against the back of her hands so that she was looking at the wall in front of her.

The sole reason she was created was to complete the missions assigned to her. Without missions, there was no point in her existence. No reason to keep her alive. Even if there was no Kimura here.

X-23 would wait.

She watched as Laura pulled her knees to her chest, and instinctively, before she could stop herself—because there was no reason she should stop—Sarah gently rested her hand against her shoulder. There was no weight behind it, no pressure, as if she were barely holding her at all.

“This might—no, this will—seem unbelievable, at first, but this is your home now,” Sarah said slowly, choosing her words carefully, “You and I, as well as many others, were brought here by Iron Man; this is a universe other than our own. Stranger still, it seems that the you that was here yesterday was older. From a different time altogether. You're not the only one to have been affected in such a way—but try not to worry about that. Just know that you have somewhere to live here, and people who care about you.”

Neither wanting to divulge too much information in one go or keep anything from Laura, Sarah paused, wondering if she'd already said too much.

“I know it's a lot to take in at once,” she said, trying to sound reassuring.

Edited 2009-03-03 23:15 (UTC)

X-23 buried her head deeper into her arms, not pulling away from the contact nor leaning into it. She tried to accept what she was told without thinking about it; whether she understood it or not was of no importance. She was being told facts, and she was expected to listen, even if there was no sense to be made out of the words leaving Doctor Kinney's mouth.

'People who care about you', she said.

Laura didn't speak, and Sarah waited a full three minutes, on the off-chance that the silence would coax her into replying. She nodded to herself when nothing more was said, and squeezed Laura's shoulder ever-so slightly, before getting to her feet.

“I'll be back in a minute,” Sarah said, and left it at that; no orders, no suggestions. Nothing.

She left the door ajar as made her way back into the kitchen, taking out a set of clothing she'd picked up along the way. What Laura had on now was hardly substantial, and the clothes her future self owned hardly seemed—well, suitable. Sarah folded them over one arm, hoping they'd fit. She was fairly certain she didn't need anything more from her bag; and it was best to leave it there, anyway. Moving too much into the room at once might disrupt Laura further.

Pushing the door closed with a click behind her as she stepped back into the room, Sarah made sure to smile at Laura, even though she wasn't looking. She put the clothes down next to her, and gestured to the jeans and the sweatshirt.

“You can put those on, if you'd like. I thought you might be cold.”

When Doctor Kinney left for the second time, her return was no different than the first; she was carrying something again. Intended for her.

X-23 raised her head, looked at the clothes, then at Doctor Kinney. She could still not understand it.

Cold?

No, not enough for it to be considered a hindrance.

She had worn the same clothes for years. There was no need for her to wear anything different, unless she was on a mission that required it.

Laura didn't move towards the clothes, didn't do anything more than glance at them, but Sarah decided not to push the subject.

“As long as you're comfortable, Laura,” Sarah said, and stopped dead, not having managed to catch herself the second time, until it was too late. “Ah.”

Sarah placed her fingers flat across her mouth, not sure how to handle the situation—she hadn't wanted to tell Laura any more new information yet, but this wasn't something she could back out of. Besides, it was important; she regretted not starting with it.

Crouching in front of Laura so that they were face to face, Sarah tilted her head, briefly studying her face. She placed her hands on the edge of the bed, so as to resist reaching out and touching her cheek.

“I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you this. I wanted to tell you before, believe me,” Sarah said, and then exhaled heavily, “Your name is Laura. Not X-23. You're—you're Laura.”

Edited 2009-03-04 02:03 (UTC)

Upon hearing that name again, this time directly referring to her, the corners of X-23's mouth twitched, before she pursed her lips together, tighter than before.

It should not have been much of a surprise; she had known they were talking about her, before, and Doctor Kinney nearly called her that once already.

And yet it made her throat clench.

As Doctor Kinney crouched down, she lowered her knees and dropped her feet to the floor, so that she could look at her with nothing between them. She listened to her talk, palms pressed flat on the bed, and she could feel her pulse, inexplicably loud against the mattress.

Laura.

It was different. It was a name. Not a designation. It sounded--

Why did she have this?

She had a name. She had clothes. She was away from the facility. There were no missions. And there was no explanation for any of it. At least, not one she could comprehend. It bothered her more than she was supposed to allow.

She was still waiting to be punished.

Still no reply. Sarah remained crouched there for a few moments, trying to smile, trying to convey something in her expression—something, anything, to let Laura know that it was going to be alright. That she was safe, now, no matter how daunting the changes were. She hoped she'd emphasised that enough when she said there was no Facility, and therefore no Kimura to punish her, but she couldn't be sure.

She didn't think that words would work, either. Laura needed time to see for herself—and it had definitely been more than enough for one day.

Getting to her feet, Sarah leaned across the bed and picked up the book she'd dropped there when she first came into the room.

“Would you like me to read to you, Laura?” she asked.

This was something familiar, at least.

Edited 2009-03-04 03:06 (UTC)

The ease with which Doctor Kinney called her by that name - her name - made her think about things like how long she had been here, for how long she had had that name, and if it was as different here as it seemed to be, with no missions, and with no Facility - and if it had been that way before, what did they do with her? What purpose did she serve? The thoughts clattered and clanked inside her skull, and she struggled to silence them all.

It was difficult.

Regardless, she placed her hands in her lap, back straight; she would listen.

Laura moving her hands and straightening her back was invitation enough to continue for Sarah. Sitting next to Laura—much closer than Laura had deigned to sit—Sarah opened the book to a random page, creasing the spine down the middle.

Clearing her throat, Sarah began to read. “Crying as if his heart would break, the Marionette mourned for hours over the length of his nose,” she said, reading each word carefully, clearly, so not as to make any mistakes—hoping that the words would ring familiar, and Laura could find some sense of balance there.

She read through the whole chapter, occasionally looking up at Laura, and even going so far as to make slight gestures with her hands. “'What an awful world to live in! Where shall we find a safe place for gentlemen like ourselves?'” she concluded, and then closed the book around her fingers.

She looked down at Laura, not sure what to do. She could keep on reading, of course, and Laura wouldn't say no, even if she didn't want to hear any more; and she didn't think that asking Laura if she'd like to eat would get her very far.

And so Sarah smiled at her, trying to show that she was willing to be patient.

Edited 2009-03-04 22:22 (UTC)

She sat still as Doctor Kinney read the story, having heard it so many times before that she would have been able to recite it, were she asked. Doctor Kinney read it with some sort of urgency, and while X-23 -- Laura -- spent most of the time looking at the wall in front of her, she caught Doctor Kinney making hand gestures, or glancing her way. It was peculiar, but she turned her head towards her regardless, and waited for her to finish.

When she did, she smiled - not for the first time that day. The more she smiled, the more confusing the situation seemed, and the unfamiliarity of it closed down around her. She let herself sag against Doctor Kinney's side, even though she knew she was not allowed to. She felt tired.

Sarah placed the book back down on the bed, careful not to make any sudden movements. Laura's body was slack against her own, and Sarah's throat closed tight as she remembered the way it had been in the past; how she would have to nudge Laura off of her, firmly. But now there was no need for that, and so she rolled her shoulder back and reached out an arm, gently wrapping it around Laura's shoulders.

She shifted a little she that she could pull Laura closer to her, but didn't put the other arm around her, yet. She didn't want Laura to feel closed in, as if she was being restrained. It was nice, sitting like that, and she brushed her fingers lightly across the side of Laura's upper-arm, enjoying the silence.

She automatically stiffened at the touch, taken by surprise, but after a moment her body relaxed again. For the first time, she did not feel the need to question Doctor Kinney's actions, to try and wrap her head around them. It reminded her of the way her sensei was with her, although even he was never like this, never this close, because he had to make sure he was careful, and even that had not been enough.

Doctor Kinney was very warm.

Her head came to rest on her shoulder, and she closed her eyes.

With Laura's head against her shoulder, something shifted in Sarah, and she lifted her other arm, placing it around her. She pulled Laura closer, suddenly feeling the urge to hold her so might tighter, and barely being able to resist. She was glad that Laura was held closer to her like that, because her chest was heavy and the feeling of Laura there was the only thing that could relieve it. Her eyes began to water, and she stared hard at the wall over Laura's shoulder, before finally closing her eyes and resting her head atop Laura's.

Going off on instinct more than anything, she placed both hands on Doctor Kinney's back, fingers balling into fists around the fabric of her shirt. Doctor Kinney's breathing had gotten somewhat heavier, and she wondered about that, but with her head atop her own, she chose not to move.

Kiden really did have the best intentions of sleeping, but the moment her head hit the pillow, she knew trying would be futile. Her mind was crowded with thoughts, too jumbled to even be put into words and made sense of—and worse of all, the whole damn room reminded her of Laura. She laid down on one side of the bed out of habit, and when she realised that nobody would be joining her, she felt no desire whatsoever to roll over and take up the whole of the bed herself.

She attempted to convince herself that things would be fine, that she wasn't in such an emotional state that she had to get comfort from Sarah, but even she didn't believe what she was saying. This wasn't the kind of thing you could sleep off.

Laura wasn't Laura any more.

Throwing the bed covers off minutes after she crawled under them, Kiden grabbed a change of clothes and groggily dragged herself to the bathroom. Locking the door behind her and turning on the water as hot as it would go, she tossed her nightshirt on the floor, and stepped into the shower.

That should've cleared her mind, relaxed her a little. If nothing else, she could tell herself that her eyes were only red and stinging because soap had got into them—but once again, she wasn't doing a particularly good job of lying to herself.

When the heat of the water started making her feel dizzy, Kiden jumped out and towelled herself off quickly, running her fingers through her hair, but not bothering to either brush or dry it. She dressed and headed out of the room, leaving her nightshirt in a mess on the floor behind her, and had intended to go back to her room—for what she wasn't sure. To stare at the wall, most likely—but found herself stood outside of Karolina and Xavin's old room.

Which was now Laura's room, she supposed.

She pressed one hand against the door and kept it there for a long time, listening in. She heard nothing, and didn't know whether this was a good thing or not, but at least it meant that she wouldn't be interrupting any important conversations. Kiden turned the handle and pushed the door open, poking her head in at first, as if to test the waters.

There was Laura, smaller than she could've ever imagined, sat on the bed with her arms around Sarah. Kiden froze, not liking the feeling that rose up in her one bit, hands balling into fists. But she took the opportunity to look at Laura—when she'd woken up and found her next to her in bed, she hadn't been able to see her properly. The same went for when Sarah had called her back to the apartment; she'd moved quickly, allowing herself to become isolated in the room, and Kiden had been more interested in holding her head that rapidly felt like it was splitting apart together.

Kiden wanted to kick herself. Of course this was Laura. She was younger, but not entirely different—and with her arms around Sarah like that, she'd never be able to doubt that.

It took a lot for her to step into the room, but she did so anyway, closing the door behind her to signal that she was going to stay. After a moment, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Hey, Laura. You okay?”

She looked towards the door. Kiden stood there; the girl whose arms were wrapped around her when she woke up that morning, who was crying less than an hour before.

Kiden had definitely known her before. She thought about what Doctor Kinney said. She thought about waking up in the bed with her, before the confusion and dread took over, and even though it was all somewhat blurred together, she remembered feeling the way she felt right at that moment, unexplainably warm, comfortable, safe. Trying to find a reason for it now, she thought that, perhaps, it was how she would feel when she was older.

It was very strange.

As it was, when she looked at Kiden, she saw nothing but a stranger. But she still felt some sort of vague curiosity, and that was what caused her to drop her arms from around Doctor Kinney and turn entirely her.

Edited 2009-03-05 01:43 (UTC)

Laura didn't say anything.

It didn't surprise Kiden, really. Hell, sometimes the Laura she knew didn't feel like talking, wouldn't do more than tilt her head in answer to a question. It was going to take a lot more than a casual greeting to get a response out of Laura at this age, in this state.

Kiden wanted to be angry, to shout and to kick something—maybe the door, but the wall would do—but none of this was Laura's fault. She couldn't blame her for a single thing, and wouldn't, either. Instead of anger, there was a dull aching lodged behind her ribs, and it reminded her, hazily, of the time Laura had disappeared from the City during the night, so many months ago.

She thought long and hard about what to say, and even when she managed to find the words, her tongue felt heavy, as if it were made of lead and could not be moved.

She flexed her fingers awkwardly, and then dug her hands into her pockets.

“I guess Sa—your mom told you about everything, huh,” she eventually managed to say, voice not ranking much above a whisper, “And I know that you don't know me, so hey. I'm Kiden.”

The information being nothing new to her, she remained silent and kept looking at Kiden, to see if she would say something more.

No reply yet again. Not unexpected, but disheartening nonetheless.

She moved across the room, no longer sure of what to say. There was only so much good an introduction would do, and Kiden knew that 'So, in a few years time you're gonna be my girlfriend, and I'm going to make you really awesome bacon sandwiches in the morning,' was about as far from appropriate as she could hope to achieve.

And so Kiden sat on the edge of the bed, back rigid, not too close to Laura—but not so far away that she would appear apprehensive or hesitant in her actions.

She picked up the book and turned it in her hands, studying the cover and then the back upside-down, before flicking through it, picking up odd words and phrases.

“Any good?” Kiden asked, not expecting anything in the way of an answer.

She blinked. The question did not seem too serious, and she did not have much of a reply to it. She was starting to wonder if Kiden had come in with the purpose of saying anything specific, as what she had been saying so far seemed trivial and unimportant, and if she had not, what reason did she have to come in?

After a few more moments of silence, she finally said:

"Who are you?"

When Laura finally replied, Kiden almost wish she hadn't.

She heard her voice before the words, and it made her heart jolt in her chest, happy before she could line the pieces up—and then the familiarity of it began to sting. It was Laura's voice, the last damn thing she heard before sleeping and what she woke up to, when her mind was too clouded with sleep to make sense of the world outside dreams.

But it was what she was saying that didn't fit. She saw Laura's lips move, but it was as if somebody else was using her mouth to give voice to their thoughts. Who was she? The words were foreign, heavy, and Kiden swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to shake off the feeling of nausea that had spread down to her fingertips and toes.

She rested her elbow against her knee, her forehead against her palm, and closed her eyes.

“I'm your friend, Laura.”

That made her tilt her head. She had never had a friend.

Kiden looked very upset. More than that - she looked like Megan after she broke off her handcuffs and removed the gag from her mouth, curled up in a corner, so weak that she could not get up to her feet without assistance. She was not sure why it reminded her of that, but she thought that Kiden might use assistance as well, although, as far as she was aware, she had not just been freed from captivation by a child kidnapper. Which left her with the question of what kind of assistance, exactly, she required.

Eventually, she reached out and touched Kiden's arm; just with the tips of her fingers, but not too lightly.

Kiden turned her head, taken aback by the sudden contact. She watched for a moment, scared that if she so much as breathed Laura would pull back, and then moved her gaze away from Laura's fingers, up to her face. Maybe she was confused; Kiden didn't trust herself enough to be able to read her expression, anymore.

But Laura had reached out to her, and that was a good thing—Kiden wasn't sure what she should do, to show her how much she appreciated it. Wasn't sure how much was too much.

Bringing her hand up, she covered Laura's fingers with her own, equally as lightly, for the briefest of seconds. She withdrew her hand as soon as she touched her, bringing it back to rest by her side.

She smiled a little, but didn't feel it. “Thanks, Laura.”

Even though she smiled, Kiden did not seem much happier. Studying her for a while, she drew her hand away from Kiden and dropped it to the bed, feeling that she had not served much of a purpose by touching her.

She paused, sniffed, and then got up to her feet and walked out of the room, not caring much whether or not she was being followed. Kiden's scent was very strong, and all over the apartment; she followed it around, from being pressed against the door, to walking down the hallway, to the shower, then back out of it and into the room she first found herself in.

It was not just Kiden's scent which was prominent in the apartment. She could sense the smell of a teenage boy, and a girl the same age, both of which she did not recognize, and another girl, one that smelled like make-up and leather and, if she inhaled harder, focused more-

Smelled like her.

She closed her eyes. Sniffed again. There was no doubting it. It was her.

She had not just been there since that morning. She had been there for a long while. She sensed herself in every single room.

When she got to the bedroom - which was, by the scent of it, most certainly Kiden's - she stopped dead in the center of it, and her nostrils flared.

Kiden stood with one hand against the door frame as she watched Laura make her way around the apartment, not sure what she was hoping to achieve, but glad that she was actually doing something, without the need to be prompted. She moved in a circle, and when she came back around to the room, Kiden stepped to the side, thinking she wanted to come back in.

But she kept walking—apparently aimlessly, as far as Kiden could tell—until she reached the door of Kiden's room. Kiden had been determined not to interfere, but seeing her make her way into the room made her heart sink. Glancing back at Sarah wide-eyed, she hurried across the apartment, and followed Laura in.

She didn't think it was a good idea for her to be here. She didn't know exactly how much Laura could sense, but everything in the room—the bedsheets, the clothes, even the floors and walls—must've smelled of her. Not sure of what to say or how to react now that Laura was in the centre of the room, Kiden bit down on her lower lip and asked:

“Everything okay, Laura?”

For a minute, she stayed still, taking in everything she could of the room. She did not reply, and it was as though Kiden wasn't present at all - until she turned to her.

She stopped to think for a moment, then placed her hands around Kiden's wrists and pushed her towards the bed until her legs hit the side of it. She then moved her hands to Kiden's shoulders, pushed her down on the mattress, and positioned herself above her, legs around Kiden's midsection, hands placed on both sides of her on the bed.

She did not move any further, looking down at Kiden's face.

Kiden let Laura move, for a moment, not certain where she was going with it; as Laura took hold of her wrists, Kiden reluctantly stepped backwards, uncomfortable already. When she pushed her against the bed, it fully cemented the idea into Kiden's mind that this really was just some incredibly fucked-up dream. One that she wasn't going to wake up from, but a fucked-up dream nonetheless.

Laura was on top of her, straddling her—Kiden wasn't sure if she should've felt sick, but she did, from the pit of her stomach to the back of her throat. Laura was—shit, she had no idea what Laura thought she was doing, what she hoped to achieve, and she didn't even want to think about it too hard.

She didn't want to move, to give Laura any hint that she should continue what she was doing; she didn't want to touch her, to be able to feel her legs clamped down around her.

And so she laid there, heart pounding against her chest, terrified that Sarah was going to walk in at any moment, or worse, that Laura might move, might try something else. Kiden stared at her, hard, not speaking, scared in some foolish way.

She turned her head to the side, eyes fixing on the wall closest to the bed, and said in a very quiet voice, “You need to stop this, Laura. Get off of me.”

Edited 2009-03-05 05:34 (UTC)

The moment the last of the words left Kiden's mouth, she swiftly swung her legs over to one side and, hands still planted on the mattress, thrust her body forward so that she was sat on the edge of the bed, feet dangling down.

In the room, she could smell the sex, the scents of their bodies tangled together. Yet Kiden was upset.

Was that not what she was supposed to be doing?

Kiden didn't know what she would've done if Laura hadn't moved of her own accord. She wasn't sure how easy it would be to force her off, without it seeming like she was angry at her—without scaring her.

Laying there, staring at Laura's back, Kiden slipped into No Time. Just for a moment, just so that she could clear her head. The room was overtaken by a thick haze—nothing visible, nothing clouding; more of a feeling, really. She was in control, here. She could take her time, figure things out, and there'd be no one to interrupt her.

Of course, she always came back to the same conclusion: that there was nothing beyond what she already understood to figure out. Kiden sat up with a start, and swung her legs around the side of the bed, so that she was sitting next to Laura. Laura who—hell, Kiden didn't want to torment herself any more by staring through No Time at her.

Tapping Laura very lightly on the arm, Kiden shifted back into the regular time stream, and the air felt as heavy as it had moments before.

She turned her head to face Laura, and considered her words carefully.

“Look, Laura. I'm not sure what you think you sniffed out—an' I know how crazy your senses can be—but that's not something you should be thinking about doing. That you was different. Older. Definitely older. You shouldn't—don't ever feel as if you have to do that kind of thing for me. Or anyone, for that matter.

“It's just that I know you don't remember me, and I realise you don't understand what's going on, but I want you to be happy, Laura. To do whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

She was silent.

What Kiden said was reminiscent of what Doctor Kinney had spoken of. She had given up trying to make sense of it already, although she paid attention to every word.

She looked down at the floor.

'Happy'.

Kiden considered placing a hand against Laura's shoulder to comfort her, but found her hand hovering in midair, not quite willing to commit to the motion. Maybe physical contact wasn't the most appropriate thing, right now. Whether she meant that for Laura or herself wasn't clear, and so Kiden settled for leaning forward a little, trying to put herself on the same level as Laura.

It was becoming more and more evident that nothing she was going to say would get through to Laura. Still, that didn't mean Kiden wouldn't be stubborn, and most likely end up making things worse; it wasn't worth giving up, just yet.

“Hey,” she said, and this time she did reach out and place a hand against Laura's shoulder, without so much as thinking about it, “What do you want to do?”

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