theycalledmeacurse: (216)
rogue. ([personal profile] theycalledmeacurse) wrote in [community profile] fateandfortune 2020-07-04 07:11 pm (UTC)

Being back at the mansion... To say it was bittersweet would be an understatement of exponential proportions. The drive up to the building had her heart in her throat, the grounds overgrown but still beautiful beyond measure. By the layers of dust they found in the garage and throughout the rooms, it had been years since anyone set foot inside, but by some miracle, the security measures were much the same in this world as her own. She'd guided them inside and shown Knock Out as much as she could—

But it was so hard. The comical stories of her teaching days mixed with memories of fleeing in the night, taking only what they could carry, the students crying in fear as they lost their home. The familiar halls she knew like the back of her hand were dotted with furniture she didn't recognize, rooms were rearranged, and she had no place here. And, above all else, a pervasive dread and thread of terror crept through her veins with every second that passed, all centered around the one room she purposefully avoided.

Finding small joys became her lifeline in the days they spent there. With security still in working order, they were able to relax without fear of being ambushed, and it was good to see KO working with technology again. And truthfully, she did enjoy sharing these glimpses of her past with him, trying to her best to focus on the good times before the war had ruined everything in sight. But those dark moments still threatened to claw their way to the surface, again and again pulling her attention from her friend and causing her to wander off while lost in her own thoughts — she felt immeasurably guilty for causing him to worry, but she couldn't bring herself to explain. Not yet.

It was the comfort she found in his presence that brought her to drag that first mattress to the garage, suddenly appearing with it from the connecting hall. But the moment she'd seen him there, she'd decided, and she was grateful for his holoform's help. There were no pillows quite big enough for him, though she did drag down quite a few larger couch cushions as a substitution. For her part, she has just one blanket and pillow; it's far more than she had the last time she was in the mansion.

In the dim light of the garage, she wakes slowly, the bad dreams chased away by the quiet sounds of his engine that she's come to associate with safety. She can see his dimmed lights, a subtle reassurance that he's still alive and well. After spending a few minutes watching him in such a peaceful state, she doesn't even think before moving, wrapping the blanket around herself and slowly crawling across the sea of mattresses to the hollow space beside his curled form. That quiet purr is louder here, soft and soothing, and she lays down on her side to listen to it.

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