saveourearth | Grandma's less pleasant memorabilia [mingle]

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Grandma's less pleasant memorabilia [mingle]

Date: 24-27th of September
Characters: Everyone!

A few weeks ago, they started building at the very end of the High Street. They're tearing down one of those ugly houses that were built after the war to replace all the buildings that had been destroyed in air raids, which Mossgate, being a coastal town with a significant harbour at the time, saw a lot of.

It's not an exciting rebuild in itself - Premier Inn is building a hotel to have a foot in Mossgate's reviving tourist industry. It is, however, kind of exciting to see new buildings, as there hasn't be much building activity on the High Street since the recession hit.

Or, well, it certainly causes some excitement. Because one of the typical hazards of building foundations in this area strikes: You tend to either hit Roman ruins, in which case you need to let the archaeologists have a go at it before you can continue - highly annoying for the builder. Or you hit a WW2 bomb, which needs to be defused and removed before you can continue - highly annoying for everyone who lives, works or shops nearby.

In other words, around 11am of the 24th, anyone within a certain distance of the bomb will be evacuated indeterminately while the experts come in and have a look at the bomb. So far, so annoying. The constables say that it shouldn't last longer than two days.

Due to the location and size of the bomb, the area of evacuation includes shops, a part of residential suburban Mossgate, a school, a senior residence and the town museum.

People who live nearby have to evacuate their houses and either stay with friends or relatives or bunk up in a hotel or emergency shelter in one of the local school's gyms.

Shops have to shut down and leave their goods in the hands of their security systems and the local police force.

A call for volunteers goes out to help evacuate the residents of the senior residence, as there isn't enough staff to evacuate all of them quickly enough.

Bus lines get rerouted.

Constables are pulled in from other locations and volunteers activated to send people away from the dangerous area, and tape goes up. Interested Bystanders [tm] gather and have to be argued with to make way for evacuees and professionals. Some local press gathers. Car drivers who just need to go through real quick, there's no reason to be like that Constable, don't you know who I am need to be sent away.

The excitement dies down some on the following days, though the evacuation lasts.

On the 25th, the Super announces that according to the experts the bomb should be in a state to defuse it and take it away safely.

On the morning of the 26th, a second announcement follows: No, it seems that the fuse and the bomb is too corroded to be defused, and that a controlled explosion will have to be undertaken.

Straw and other materials are brought in to pad the bomb and thus protect the neighbourhood from the detonation, other precautions are taken and preparations made, and on the 27th a controlled detonation removes the danger. But as detonated explosions go, they are still explosions, and the shock wave damages a wall of the next house, which holds McDonalds, while some of the straw catches on fire and is taken up by the sea breeze to set a roof two houses over on fire, which is the town museum. The fire department is present and quickly takes care of it, but the damage is still done.

After that, everyone is allowed to return to their houses, schools, shops, and so on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sadie perches herself on the very edge of Walter and Russell's sofa as directed, not wanting to lean back with her current clothes on. As she waits, she focuses down on her hands, even with the shaking the claws were obvious. Sharp and curling out of her nail beds, exactly like large cat claws, and nearly like those of her memory, only lacking the vibrant nail paint of the other person's.

She looks up as Walter reenters the room, "...Where should I change?"

"Bathroom shouldn't be an issue; Russell's out right now," he says, pointing up in its direction.

He'd say she could use this room, but she might not be entirely comfortable with that.

"I can walk with you, if you want...?"

On the one hand, it's not as if she hasn't seen it before by this point. On the other, Sadie would be absolutely in the right to not want to be alone right now.

Sadie nods, pushing herself slowly and not quite so steadily off of the sofa, and wobbles back towards the door to pick up her shoes, they were also going to need a wash but thankfully they were leather boots. She then follows Walter to the bathroom.

"Would you wait outside for me please?"

"Of course."

If she hadn't picked up the shoes, Walter would have insisted on washing them himself.

He's not going to loiter just outside the door or anything - he'll be close, but not obsessive.

Sadie shuffles into the bathroom, and gently closes the door, just shut, not locked, and places her shoes into the shower. The next order of business was to shower down her shoes and then strip, which is exactly what she does, slowly removing each layer and placing those into the sink. Only once she's rid of her hoodie, t-shirt, and jeans does she take in the mess she has accidentally made of her arms.

The outer side of Sadie's arms is covered in scratches and deep gouges where she had accidentally gripped onto herself. Sadie feels her lips and hands tremble as she changes into Walter's baggiest clothing, choosing to forgo the jacket, not wanting to get blood on it, and exits the bathroom, her own clothes in hand.

"I didn't want to get blood on the jacket." She explains to Walter why one piece of clothing was missing. "Where's the washing machine?"

Walter inhales sharply as he takes in Sadie's wounds, and the blood on her clothes.

"The kitchen - but I'll have to go at them with ammonia beforehand, anyhow. Otherwise it'll stain." He speaks from experience. Very unpleasant experience.

He looks pointedly at her arms again.

"You should clean those, though. And there should be bandages in there..."

If she needs his help to put them on, it's no trouble.

Sadie nods miserably, gingerly handing the tightly bound bundle of clothes over to Walter, the cleanest layer of clothing wrapped around the others to help Walter keep his hands clean, before heading back into the bathroom and sticking her arms under the shower.

She chooses a lukewarm temperature and makes sure that the spray isn't too strong before rinsing both her arms and her boots off. It doesn't take her long to find the bandages inside one of the cupboards, and so she heads out into the lounge once more to sit herself down on the sofa. She holds up the bandages to Walter, a wordless request for help.

"...What did you see?"

Tepid water isn't exactly the best idea, but rinsing things off will doubtless help.

Having set out the clothes to clean them later (given the smell, it may be best to wait until Sadie falls asleep - if she does), he returns and starts bandaging up her wounds.

Ah; time for distraction.

"I was- seeing out of a girl's eye. She looked about your age, though a little shorter. Darker hair," he says.

"Just looking at herself in a mirror; it wasn't a long memory, but it also wasn't the only one. The other..."

The pause is strictly for effect as he keeps moving the bandages into a comfortable tightness.

"I suspect I was looking through her eye again, only this time she was watching a video, of an ape painting. Portraits, even."

He smiles, looking up at Sadie's face.

"Doesn't sound like something you see every day, now does it?"

Sadie wants to answer Walter properly, because it sounds fascinating and it is certainly unique, but talking again is proving to be a struggle and instead she has to settle with a tired, wobbly smile and a nod. She promises herself she'll ask Walter more about it later.

Once bandaged, Sadie tucks her legs up scrunching into as small a ball as she can, head resting in her knees. Now she just had to wait for Ben..

By the time Sadie has cleaned up and her wounds have been treated, the wait will not be long. Benjiro disembarks from the transport and heads down the street towards the flat of Walter and Russell. His initial urge is to run again, but still anemic and hurting, he needs to temper his pace in order to make sure he is not falling over by the time he reaches the flat.

A little woozy as he approaches the front door, he pauses to breathe while counting the seconds to forgive the oxygen deficit created. Ten seconds allowed to himself makes a difference in slowing his respiration rate, and he reaches to knock. Once the door opens, the pale, bruised teen steps inside and immediately shuffles off his backpack and shoes.

He doesn't have to ask where she is, as he can see her curled up on the couch with her forearms wrapped in clean gauze. He frowns with worry etched deep in his expression as he starts towards her, "...Sadie?"

As soon as Ben walks through the door, Walter does his best to stay out of the way.

These two might really be the best comforters for each other.

"I'll- go start cleaning those clothes. Apologies in advance for the smell."

He can't help one last, worried glance at Sadie's form - as well as another, longer one at Ben's visible injuries.

Sadie takes a moment to respond to Ben calling her name, her initial distress having been replaced by this odd cotton-wool numbness as she forces herself to think of a million other things but what she saw.

Seeing Ben, still bruised and a little battered, knowing that he had come all the way here for her wipes away the cotton in Sadie's head and her face crumples, her breath hitches, and Sadie starts to cry again, ducking her face away to be shielded by her knees again.

“Thank you, Walter,” he speaks quietly, hand reaching briefly to touch his upper arm as reinforcement of sincerity. Benjiro is grateful to him for the support and dealing with such an unpleasant chore as the laundry.

Steps slow as he starts towards the couch, Sadie responds with delay to her name. The way her calm shatters into tears only to retreat sends a phantom spike into his chest far more painful than his cracked rib. He limps the last steps to the couch as quickly as he can muster, and upon reaching her, turns to ease himself down to sit barely a centimeter apart with his more intact half nearest her. Voice hushed and lower as he speaks to her slowly, he lifts his hand up to her shoulder for a first point of contact with merely the weight of it pressing, “...I promised you, Sadie. I’m here.” Movements gentle, his hand slides behind her shoulders and across to wrap his arm around her back as his other hand brushes over her hair, coaxing her towards him without force.

Even with his augmented speed and decelerated time perception, it's still going to take time to de-stain the clothes.

Over in the kitchen, Walter clenches his hands on the counter and reminds himself not to hover...

Fortunately, the tea will be ready soon.

Unlike the sluggishness of Sadie's response to him calling her name, her response to his coaxing is immediate as she turns and buries her face in his chest and starts to sob harder as she feels her claws prick through his top and brush against his skin, she immediately lets go and drops her hands from his back.

Sadie shakes and sobs. It's a struggle but she has to tell Ben if only to stop what she saw from rattling around her head.

"I-I killed someon-on-one." She chokes out. "R-riped-d his thro-out out." She shakes harder and brings her hands back up, being more careful in how she holds onto Ben as she tries to use his presence to steady her.

Touch initially kept light as she turns to bury in against his chest, Benjiro wraps one arm over her shoulder blades to draw her further into his arms, and lays the other over with his hand spread to rest on the back of her head. With the sound and tears partially absorbed by his chest, he clutches her tighter as she sobs more harshly when her claws scare her into letting go. He felt the sharpness of her claw tips through the fabric, so he understands and adjusts his grip slightly lower to bolster the security of his grasp on her to make up for it without letting his strength waver.

Slowly he begins to sway forward and back in a gentle rhythm with his hips providing the power needed to rock her. That motion stays steady as she collects herself enough to speak, and when she does, he tucks his head forward as her hands find a new place to grip. The nature of the disturbing memory revealed, Benjiro sympathizes for the fear he has of such a memory lurking in his future. Shaking his head and pressing his cheek to her hair, he speaks only loud enough to be heard above the sounds tearing at his heart, “That’s what you remember, Sadie. Not what you did. Here and now, you are Sadie Moore. What happened in that memory was not your choice…!”

Edited 2018-11-02 17:58 (UTC)

~~Well, that isn't going to be relevant at all in the future...~~

The kettle goes off, then, and Walter rushes to quiet it and ready the mugs.

In Russell's opinion, he's had a bit of a night. What was meant to be a comfortable, casual, illicit wandering through an empty part of town - thanks to the mandated evacuation - resulted in getting caught. No one dragged him to the constable or anything, but he got a bit of a lecture and a suspiciously timed flash of memory as some unsettling man snooped even worse. It's enough that he wants to go home, have something to drink, maybe watch a good show.

As he opens the door to the sound of the kettle going off, sobbing from the couch, and comforting reassurances being given, he reassesses how his night has been.

"...Err. Should I come back in a few, maybe... pick something up?" This might be a situation that calls for ice cream, or something.

Russell's entry is the next thing to get his attention, and he feels a flash of relief - followed shortly by guilt and the quick stomping of both.

"That might be good, actually," he says, coming over to Russell while balancing the teas.

"Or-" I could get something?

But that feels like cheating, or running away, and both of those are the last thing he wants to do to Ben and Sadie right now.

Russell's entry and his brief conversation with Walter go entirely unnoticed by Sadie, tucked up and hiding against Ben as she is. The sobs have started to settle down once again, Ben continuing to hold onto her and rocking her gently is helping her separate herself from the very visceral memory.

"I-I know b-b-b-but..." She shakes against Ben's chest. She does know intellectually, this other person isn't her and any other time she would be able to write it off but this, this memory was so visceral, so real. "I can st-still feel the-the blood, a-a=an-d mus-scle between my-y-y fingers."

Aware of his cousin returning to the flat, Benjiro leaves it to Walter to explain as he does all he can for Sadie.

The rocking continues as he hears her acknowledge that essential distinction from the individual Numbered source. Logic has no footing here, so he appeals to her emotions. Nodding his head in a nuzzle against her hair so she can feel it, he replies, “Okay... Okay, you remember that and you cry all you want. Don’t restrain any of it. And while you do-” Benjiro maneuvers his hand from behind her hair and shifts his arm to reach and take her hand. He tucks his fingers into her palm and separates them to slip between her fingers to interlock. His hand is warm, but there is no slippery wetness. The new sensation of his dry skin will contradict that phantom flesh. “-I’m going to hold your hand until you can’t feel it anymore.” All night if necessary.

Russell considers the teas Walter's carrying, and peers into the living room just long enough to make out who's on the couch before giving them visual privacy again. Not much to be down for the sound carrying. Not directly, anyway, but he can turn his attention back to Walter and nod.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asks in a soft voice. "I can't tell from here if this a situation that calls for sweets, or a punching bag, or just something savory to help them sleep it of."

"Sadie and I encountered a man- a stranger- well, he was that and also strange - at the bomb site. When we tried to question him, he left - and we received Echoes simultaneously."

Which was very suspicious.

"Whatever Sadie saw was much worse for her than mine was for me."

He hadn't pushed her too hard on the details.

"Sweet or savory might be good. Both, even. Oh," he adds, "and Sadie injured herself, so if something smells off in the kitchen, it's because I'm cleaning the blood out."

That might be important for his flatmate to know.

Sadie's crying hitches as Ben gently twines their fingers together, the solid warmth of his hand starting to beat back the wet and flesh. Her stomach starts to settle, and ever so slowly her crying tapers off until she is curled up with her head resting on Ben's chest.

Her eyes drift closed as she listens to Ben's heartbeat, barely realising that her breathing has slowed to match. "...I'm scared I'll see it again. Will you stay, I feel safer with you?"

Holding her in both his arms with one hand linked to hers, Benjiro continues to rock her as his eyes half close with only occasional glances away from Sadie herself with his cheek left gingerly resting on her head. He listens to every sound through those minutes, and as the rhythm of her breath starts to even, the motion of rocking lessens in speed and depth. Once Sadie relaxes and stills, he mirrors it by sitting stationary with his arms remaining secure to support her.

The sound of her voice, once more without disruption, soothes the aching in the core of his chest. He lifts his head, only to place a soft kiss to the top before he answers in a quiet voice, “Of course…” Giving her hand a gentle yet extended squeeze, he gives her a warning of his intention, “I won’t go anywhere, but I’m going to move us backwards on the couch, okay?”

Time allowed for her to respond, he’ll push through his legs as he holds her a little tighter to lift and scoot directly back to where he can lean into the support of the couch while allowing her to remain curled up and tangled in his embrace. Once repositioned, he loosens his untethered arm and begins to smooth his flat, broad hand up and down the curve of her back with a soft, slow exhale of his own.

Feeling more confident Sadie has reclaimed some of her security, he looks up to the residents of the flat to make eye contact with both Walter and Russell. He gives a soft nod of his head to them to signal silently they can enter.

She’s going to be okay.

Grandma's less pleasant memorabilia [mingle]

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Since I don't recall if the flat is one floor or two...

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cw: cuts to the arm

WELP.

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I'm fine with Ben dropping in whenever from now on

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Ben is feeling the pain we all are right now.

mwahahahahahahaha >:3c

Ben would rather break more ribs kthnx

D= Beeen.

summoned by tea

No idea who should go next anymore lol. XD

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Oops, accidentally dropped this ¬.¬'

It happens /pats shoulder

Russell popping back out, since Walter's not taking the chance, simplifies the tag order a little

o7

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