thermalwind | Life Aftr IC Inbox

[She can't use Carmen without remembering being hurt. He internally winces. How can he help with that?]

...take your time with it. Let yourself deal with what happened. We can work on making Carmen feel safe again later. ...let's focus on what we can do.

I can teach you field medic first aid if you don't know how.

...Okay.

[ she hates feeling like this. she really feels like she's being such a burden to him right now. ...she stops in her tracks and looks up at him before she pulls him into another hug. ]

Thank you, Keith...

[He blinks then relaxes, wrapping his arms around her.] Any time. Friends support each other, right?

You helped give me something to focus on when that fake shade of dad was around. ...and reminded me not to push people away. No matter how afraid I am of losing them.

[She reminded him of how important bonds are. He will never forget that.]

Now it's my turn to help you.

[ he says that, and ann feels tears welling in her eyes once more. she helped him. she did something good for someone who's done nothing but be kind to her since they first met. and right now, she needed to hear that. more than ever. ]

Keith... You sap...

[ but she's hugging him tighter. she's so glad they're friends. ]

[He puts a hand to the back of her head. She can’t see his face so the relief on it is hidden to her. He made her feel even a little better. That’s something.

It’s a step. He lets her hold onto him for as long as she needs to.]

We all are a little sappy eventually, right?

Fine... [ she sniffles again, pulling away to wipe at her eyes. her voice is stuffy, but he'll still be able to see a glimpse of her humor peek through her sadness: ] You're way sappier than I am, though.

[ oh, ann. ]

So... First aid. Right. Can we work on that later? I'm just... [ she sighs. ] I'm not really in the mood for it right now. Sorry. I know I'm being a downer.

You just went through a really traumatic time. Even for a soldier in wartime, they'd need support to get through it. Lean on me as much as you need to. We're in this together.

[He says softly, his thoughts on soldiers of the coalition and planets they'd liberated. How many of them had been just people before? He decides on his course.]

We'll eat and draw in the sand instead. I don't have a drawing journal here...but I've been practicing since I was a kid.

Yeah.

[ together, huh. sometimes it's easy to forget that...but she's glad she has keith. she's thankful for his presence, for his support. his friendship. it means so much to her, more than she can ever say. ]

I'm pretty bad at art, but that doesn't sound half bad.

Best thing about art isn’t how good you are. It’s getting what’s in your head out of it. [He says, with a small grin on his face. When words weren’t enough art gave him a voice. No one else heard it for a long time. But that had been okay. He could voice all the things he couldn’t manage to put to words.

That was often. Keith leads her across the bridge towards the cottage. Things will be okay some how. They just have to put one foot ahead of the other and keep moving.]

...you know I didn’t really appreciate cooking until I met my friend Hunk. He says cooking and food bring people together. I think part of why we began to gather was we all liked his food and his kindness.

That's true, but... The best thing that came out of art for me was meeting my best friend. Shiho. [ there's a ghost of a smile on her face. it's probably the happiest she's looked since the trials...but it fades. fast. ] She told me about how horrible my painting was in art class. It was the first time someone saw past my looks and decided to be honest with me.

[ she misses her so much. ann thinks about her every day, and what she wouldn't give to be with her right now. ]

Hunk, huh? That's a pretty funny name. But he sounds like a good guy to be around.

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