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Post by Pyrefly on Apr 20, 2010 23:15:44 GMT -5
“Bryce, you can’t be dead…” A phrase she had been heard repeating every time she drifted off to sleep. When she awoke, she often couldn’t tell the time of day, days ran into nights and vice versa. Occasionally she would manage to stand up or move about her room, though most days she lacked the will to do so. Her most vibrant interactions occurred when on the phone with her family, though only Sahra was allowed to speak with her. Caine Saoirse didn’t allow Jae to speak with her but two times and even he, himself only spoke with her once. Until she showed more positive behavior, Caine wanted nothing to do with Arianna.
Several nurses and a doctor returned Arianna’s hospital bed back to her permanent room after a very intense psychological examination. The diagnosis wasn’t very bad, but it was also inconclusive. They really couldn’t explain why she began exhibit mental instability or the mild selective amnesia, except to attribute it to the trauma and the radiation poisoning.
The idea of life without Bryce frightened her; the last thing she can remember vividly was prying the cockpit of Bryce’s GM LCT open and seeing him lying there. He was in pretty bad shape, his proximity to the blast making the burns across his flesh much more than she was ready for. She remembered calling his name and not getting a response, and then a very long pause. It all faded to black, and her next memory is in the hospital being wrapped up in bandages and gauze.
Today proved to be a “better” day, she wasn’t as delusional though she exhibited a greater sense of detachment. She remained lifeless in bed, a very blank gaze trained on the window as clouds passed over head, casting shadows that would roll and soon dissipate and the imagery captivating her.
The clouds reminded her of a much simpler time on Side 6, when her whole day was going to school and then spending the afternoon with Bryce. They often would spend whole afternoons staring up at the clouds and talking; Bryce about the parents he never knew and Arianna about her mother, who she missed very much. A part of her longed for that once again, though she wouldn’t trade most of her experiences with the Earth Federation for anything. It had forced Sahra’s respect and it made her father very proud of her, she just hoped that things would look better from this point forward.
A nurse entered to check on Arianna’s vital signs, “Pvt. Saoirse, there is good news! You have been given the okay to receive visitors, once again. I think that will be good for you, don’t you think?” She smiled, hoping to receive a response. “Bryce, you can’t be dead…” She muttered lightly, her green eyes catching the glimpse of sunlight streaking through the clouds overhead.
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Post by Spade on Apr 21, 2010 13:09:36 GMT -5
Bryce was excited, he was going to see Arianna again. The past couple of times she was sleeping, so all he got to do was see her. Now he would be able to actually speak with her for once. He could hardly keep the smile off of his face as one of the nurses greeted him in the hallway and showed him to her room.
Entering, he saw her sitting up in bed, staring out the open window. A cool breeze blew through the room, the smell of fresh air comforting to the senses. There was a chair over by the wall next to the window where Bryce took his seat. He scooted up closer next to Arianna's bed and placed his hand on top of hers. His eyes tried to meet hers, but they still stared past him, outside to the landscape.
"Ari? It's me, Bryce..." He called to her, not getting much reaction from her. "Ari, I'm glad you're awake finally. You were scaring me there for awhile, not waking up. I didn't want to have come this far only to have lost you in Zeon's wake." He smiled, letting out a sigh of relief, enjoying the moment he was given to talk to her.
Still no response though. Bryce was stricken with a confused look upon his face as he contemplated what was occurring. Was she mad at him? It's possible, he did join Zeon despite knowing she was apart of the Earth Federation. If that were true though, she would have expressed that anger back in South America when he first met her since their life back on Side 6. It was troubling, he couldn't figure out what was going through her head. He usually was able to at least ballpark what was wrong. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach started to form. He could have sworn it was some side effect thanks to the radiation poisoning if it weren't for the perplexing silence that he was receiving from Arianna right now.
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Post by Pyrefly on Apr 21, 2010 22:27:02 GMT -5
Large green eyes slowly moved from the window and looked downwards; staring at his hands placed on hers. She didn’t flinch nor move, her eyes slowly returned to the window. “Bryce, you can’t be dead…” She whispered, a gust of wind blowing curls of her long purple hair over her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she remained motionless in front of him and remained for the most part silent. He identified himself not once but twice as Bryce, but in her eyes there was no sense of recollection.
“I like sleeping… things are much simpler while I sleep.” She replied to him, the same answer she gave to the doctors who ran the tests on her earlier that morning. “This is the only thing better than sleeping, enjoying a very pretty day.” She paused again, taking a deep breath that was an attempt to hide the pain she still felt from the burns that littered areas of her body. Her eyes opened, turning from the window and now back to the man in front of her as she turned slightly to face him, studying his face carefully.
“You made a promise to me that we’d be together… always.” She said in a hushed tone, though the expression on her face remained unchanged. “But that day, it changed… it all changed. I went to check on you, but you didn’t respond. I couldn’t take it…” Her voice waivered as she attempted to focus, her whole body weary, her mind now fatigued. “Everything goes dark then, and I’m back on Side 6 with Bryce…” She blinked, tears welling in her eyes as she stared at the one who identified himself to her as Bryce. “Bryce, you can’t be dead… but, you don’t answer me when I call your name. I see you in your Mobile Suit, but you don’t respond….” Tears soon streaked down her cheeks, the only show of emotion her relatively lifeless body could muster.
“ I’m… very tired. If you happen to see Bryce, could you please tell him I’m waiting…” She said to him, her hand still laying in his as she leaned back on her bed, her head resting against her pillow as she turned her gaze once more to the open window.
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Post by Spade on Apr 22, 2010 16:47:23 GMT -5
The words spoken to Bryce took the wind out of him with such force that it put the explosion from the ICBM to shame. What was Arianna saying? He was right there in front of her. This couldn't be some game, she wasn't the type to play this kind of cruel joke. He turned his head slightly, his confused gaze still locked on to her face.
"Ari... I'm right here though. I..." He stopped himself short, realizing that talking wasn't getting anywhere. "Don't worry. I'll tell him you are waiting in this room."
He sighed and looked down at her hand in his. Gently squeezing his hand, he closed his eyes, aware of what was now going on. It was evident in what she spoke to him about that she went through a lot of stress in the recent battle. What occurred on the field was so traumatizing to her that she now is rejecting reality. Event though he was present before her eyes, her psyche refused to accept the truth.
Zeon has hurt something else dear to Bryce. The anger started to swell up inside of him all over again. He let go of Arianna's hand and stood up from his seat. He was more than serious now. It was the last straw. They pushed him to the limit and now have left the lion's cage open. He would protect Arianna no matter what, but whilst doing so, Zeon would burn. Burn to smoldering ashes on the ground before Bryce. He would not stop until every adversary that stepped before him was face-first on the ground. No more harm would come to Arianna, no matter what the cost would be to Bryce.
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Post by Pyrefly on Apr 25, 2010 20:26:37 GMT -5
Having her father pull strings to get her here was a daunting task within itself. Complicating the matter was that she was not her father’s favorite daughter, thus making her odd request even more difficult. His ‘favorite’ happened to be bed bound and losing her mind; and she was held by her word that she would at least attempt to prevent it from happening. So here she was, from Side 6 all the way to Earth to visit Arianna in the hospital. It’d be their first meeting in quite some time and Sahra could feel the animosity they’ve always harbored for one another rise in her once more.
“I must admit I do hate the relationships our mothers’ had, Aria.” The elder Saoirse said, quickly entering the hospital room and shutting the door behind her. Sahra’s long red hair pulled very neatly into a braid that traveled down the most of her back, her long bangs framing her face though occasionally several strands would fall out of place, forcing her to tuck them back behind her ear. As far as physical looks went, they both took after their father with dark skin and large green eyes, though Sahra was older, a bit taller and was definitely Karin’s child – her red hair the tell tale sign. Sahra and her mother were serious to a fault, loved their work more than life and found it very difficult to invest the time in to nurturing familial relationships.
“I often wonder what their relationship was really all about, as I’m sure you do. They had a very unique love-hate, wouldn’t you agree…?” Sahra turned around from the door, wearing a black, white and red military inspired shirt and long black pencil skirt. Cutting her sentence short, her brow furrowed as she came face to face with Bryce Hollerfelt, another who she harbored a secret contempt for. “Well well, the prodigal son returns, so I hear. Your father must be so proud of your achievements, Pvt. Hollerfelt.” She mentioned, smirking as she walked over to Arianna’s bed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she looked her over. “Shit, she is in a lot worse condition than I first imagined…I imagine they have blood samples...” The concern slightly present in her voice didn’t show in any way on her face as she poked and prodded Arianna like a test animal. “I wonder if I could see them.” She spoke out loud, looking to Arianna’s hand still in Bryce’s and shaking her head slightly.
“Arianna, what’s going on here? Where are you?” She asked of the younger Saoirse, reaching down and brushing Arianna’s hair from her face. “Tch, it’s such a shame. You really remind me of her.” Sahra sighed, walking over to the chair Bryce was in and making a shoo motion, while waiting to take his chair and a response from the bed ridden girl.
“S…Sahra. I didn’t think you’d come. Did you see Bryce? Did he answer you?” Arianna said to her older half-sister, her eyes focusing and a sense of clarity to them for the first time since she had returned to the hospital room.
“Say what? Did he answer me? Heh, that’s funny. He never does, neither of the two of you listen or respond very well.” Sahra scoffed, her arms crossing tightly over her chest once more. “I asked you where you were, so tell me.” Her words grew sharp as her features tensed, curiosity and mild concern now giving way to impatience.
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Post by Spade on Apr 26, 2010 12:20:30 GMT -5
Bryce sighed upon seeing Sahra enter. Tension between them grew to uncomfortable proportions before she left for the Zeon military. Despite spending a majority of his life growing up with the Saoirse girls, he could never understand why she held such contempt for him. He moved aside, letting her take his previous seat and crossed his arms.
"Prodigal son, huh? Well, father was glad to see me, more or less. I couldn't say the same about him when he revealed his identity to me." He finished, shaking his head.
He watched Sahra interact with Arianna, unsettled by the conversation. She acknowledged her sister perfectly fine, but still cast aside his own existence. He would have to ask the doctors about possibly treating this condition. Bryce shifted his weight to one leg after Ari finished asking Sahra where Bryce was.
"Speaking of not responding, how come you never spoke to me when I was apart of Zeon? I was there long enough for you to at least catch up. What could I have possibly done to get you to resent me so much, Sahra. We got along so well when we were younger."
Bryce looked over to Arianna to see her reaction to his conversation. She was obviously unaffected as her gaze was still fixed to her sister at bedside. This was a worse position to be in than Bryce originally made this out to be. With Sahra here, and Arianna in this condition, she could easily manipulate Ari's thoughts and feelings to benefit her own desires. He decided that it would be best to stick around until Sahra was done with her visitation before he took his own leave. He could possibly even get more information from her once they left Arianna's room. Sahra wouldn't just visit because Arianna was family. There was more to this.
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Post by Pyrefly on Apr 26, 2010 21:50:47 GMT -5
“Where am I? I… don’t know.” Arianna placed her head against her pillow, taking a deep breath that forced her to wince slightly. “I was fighting Sahra, there was a nuke and I thought for sure I’d die. Instead though… Bryce didn’t answer me. So maybe he is answering you now.” Arianna turned her head slightly from Bryce to Sahra, whispering softly. “Sahra, why are we so close, yet… so far…..” Arianna fell silent; her gaze shifted to the open window once more.
“Well, that’s because our mothers were the same way. I can’t tell for sure, but they either loved each other to the point of hating one another or the vice versa. In any case, we followed suite, Aria.” Sahra’s tone was unwavering, speaking in a very matter-of-factly fashion as she took Bryce’s now vacant seat. “Things have always been this way between us, I just think we allowed things or people to help us forget… besides, we seem to function quite well this way.” Sahra, sighing as she heard Bryce chime in, then turned to her gaze to him, strands of her red hair falling over her face as she did. “Well Pvt. Hollerfelt, I was a researcher for Zeon. I was working FOR them, you on the other hand were just using them as a means to an end, which is probably why the two of you are in the position you are in now. More so, we were both busy. You staying alive and my dedication to my research, though I do apologize I suppose for not trying to keep in touch.” She shrugged lightly, her eyes trained on Bryce for a moment before she caught glimpse of Arianna looking out of the window.
Crossing her arms over her chest once more, Sahra sat back in the seat, crossing her legs as she stared at Arianna. “All of her trauma has caused her to want to completely shut down. I do imagine she’ll come out of it soon enough though. She has before…” She muttered lightly, tucking the loose strands of hair up and out of the way, a smirk evident on her face as she glanced to Bryce out the corner of her eye. “Bryce Hollerfelt, what are you going to do now, hmm? If Arianna forgets who you are?” A giggle escaped her, curious as to how Bryce would respond and whether or not the idea hurt him.
Arianna blinked, her expression changing to one of confusion. She had heard Sahra speak to Bryce which certainly meant that he was alive. “Bryce… is here? I can’t hear him, he won’t respond. Sahra…. Make him respond to me?” Arianna whimpered, her eyes moving from the window and quickly to Bryce before glancing to Sahra as she pleaded with her.
“It’s ok to remember what happened; I promise you that Bryce is fine. He’s actually very concerned for you, but you will never know unless you come out of this. So, Arianna, stop running away…” Sahra said looking to her sister, a degree of sympathy showing on her countenance. “I don’t know why I’m trying to help, it’s not like you’d show that you appreciate it much, Bryce. “ She scoffed, the idea of Bryce prior to beginning his courtship of Arianna coming to mind and forcing a sigh out of her. “Things were much simpler on Side 6; she might be right about that though…”
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Post by Spade on Apr 28, 2010 20:06:40 GMT -5
Bryce's face flushed red following Sahra's comment. He turned his head away and stumbled on his words before he could compile a response for her.
"You realize Ari is the only one for me. If she forgets about me completely, then I will have her fall in love with me again. That's all there is to it, Sahra." He shook his head as his finished, shaking off the thought of Arianna not loving him. It also came to mind that maybe his relationship with Arianna was the very thing that upset Sahra.
He moved over next to Sahra and look down to Arianna's face. Her eyes looked up to him for a brief moment. No expression change in her eyes though. They were still devoid of any emotion. Bryce put a hand on Sahra's shoulder.
"Thank you for being here. Not only is it good to see you but maybe you being here will help set a foundation for me to bring Ari back to her senses. I'll continue to guide her out of the darkness. I'll show her where Bryce is." He looked down to Sahra and smiled. "Why don't you stay for awhile. Arianna would love it. I'd enjoy it too..."
Bryce felt a vast pit open up in the bottom of his stomach. Emotions felt long ago were starting to surface again after years of being forgotten. His mind recollected the moments when he and Sahra were alone. During their final years of school, their subtle flirting, all inevitable in the end when Bryce chose Arianna.
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Post by Pyrefly on Apr 28, 2010 23:03:52 GMT -5
Seeing that her comment had hit its mark, Sahra smirked, reveling in her victory even though his response had the potential to strip her of the enjoyment. “Of course you would, Private Hollerfelt. I expected nothing less out of you in reference to Arianna. You always gave her everything you could and that’s highly admirable.” She retorted quickly, shrugging off his response and letting her eyes survey the room then more closely at Arianna as she found herself curious. “You miss Zeon don’t you, Bryce? I can see it, among other things in your eyes…” Tilting her head, she watched him cautiously as he walked towards her.
“You want me to what? Stay here, with you two?! And do what…?” She frowned, her lips forming a pout as she shook her head, green eyes moving slowly to stare at his hand on her shoulder. “Hmmph, I’m sure that she would. I don’t know that you would.” She brought a hand to very gently nudge his hand off of her, uncrossing her legs as she moved over to Arianna. “What am I to do with you two?” She mused, waving her hand in front of her younger sisters’ face to see if she was still attentive. “Oh, I know! You have to have it around here somewhere, Aria. You’d not go anywhere without it…”
Arianna turned to look at her sister, a quizzical look to her face as she wondered what she was talking about. “I’d not go …. “ Pausing, her eyes grew wide as very subtle smile took to her lips, a bit of her light-heartedness returning to her. “Well, it’s nearby. I should make you guess but...” Arianna reached behind her pillows pulling out her journal and placing it in her lap, her eyes looking upon it longingly.
“I shouldn’t be asking you this, so I apologize, but may I read it? Just a few of the earlier entries…” In all honesty, Sahra did feel horrible about asking to read something so personal to Arianna, but she was curious and that was far more a priority. Before Arianna could answer, Sahra reached into the breast pocket of her button down shirt, pulling out a pair of small square framed glasses and quickly placed them on her nose. Pushing them upwards slightly, she began to flip through the entries of the journal. “Let’s see here. Bryce, you are aware that she knows, right? I mean even with the Tutoring cover, she was keenly aware of what was going on…” She thumbed through to the appropriate entry and then handed the book to Bryce. “Go on and read it, she’ll be angry but it will be with me; something I am more than accustomed to.” Sahra said to Bryce, her arms crossing tightly over her chest as a hint of remorse presented itself in her voice, however faint.
The entry wasn’t sordid or even brokenhearted in tone; it simply stated that Arianna at that time thought that Bryce might have liked Sahra more. Despite Arianna’s feelings for him, if it made him happy she was more than willing to encourage it. Her only disappointment was in Sahra, the younger Saoirse was always questioning Sahra’s motives. She knew that Sahra wasn’t one to be so emotionally attached and that could be due to their very turbulent childhood. Inevitably there was little she could do, she’d just hope for the best.
“Maybe you going to Zeon while she was with the Earth Federation proved to be more pre-meditated than either of the two of you want to admit…” The red haired woman mused, removing her glasses and folding them only to tap them against her lips lightly. “Maybe she wanted to step away from the situation? Even after you chose to be with her, and maybe Zeon was the better fit for you…”
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