all this time

[lighthearted]

WHO: Sora, Soldier: 76, and various
WHERE: All over New Amsterdam
WHEN: Early December
WHAT: Moving in, cheering up, etc!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Will add if needed.

[ Pre-discussed starters in the comments below! If you would also like to plot something, feel free to PM me. ]

Comments

[culver]

[Her eyes dip to the glow at his chest for just a moment before she brings them back up to his face. She can't help it--she's nervous. She doesn't know what this is going to feel like, or if it will even help. Sora has told her what his power is, but she simply can't imagine how it works.

Calmness rolls over her like a wave, and she can't help but suck in a startled breath, eyes widening, lips staying parted for a few moments as she reels from this new feeling--or is it a lack of feeling? In the moment, she isn't sure. Everything seems so much... lighter than it did just a moment ago. The fog of grief she's barely managed to hold back all day retreats just enough for her mind to clear, and she realizes that she's grateful that Sora offered to share his power with her. But she also realizes that just because her feelings are suppressed, or hidden, or whatever it is he's doing, doesn't mean they'll go away.

And she finds that she's alright with that. She remembers someone on the ship telling her once that grief is natural. If she let Sora try to take away all the hurt, she feels like it might actually get worse.

Nill slowly lets her fingers close over his, squeezing once and managing to smile.]

Thank you, Sora.

[It's harder than she'd thought it would be to break the contact, but she doesn't know how much this takes out of him, and she isn't keen on letting him feel what she's feeling for too long. So she gently takes her hand from his, settling it in her lap along with the other.]

That's an amazing power. I do feel better.

[lighthearted]

[ Sora also doesn't think that completely removing someone's pain would be a good thing. The pain they endure in their lives, the hurt that they suffer through, it's part of who they are. To remove all of that would turn them into a different person, wouldn't it?

When Nill squeezes his hand, he squeezes back, but he makes no attempt to hold onto her when she pulls away. This is all about her level of comfort, and when she decides that she's had enough, that's fine.

It's the smile she musters up for him that makes him feel as if he did his part, and he nods. ]

No problem. Any time you need a little boost like that, you know where to find me. And... when things get rough, just try to remember how it felt.

[ He pauses there, glancing down at his lap. He may have helped, but it all feels so temporary. He knows this isn't a real solution; it's more like slapping a bandage over a wound, rather than healing it.

At first he glances out across the park as he speaks. ] If there's anything I can do to help you get back to him... [ Then he looks back to Nill, setting a hand over his chest which has already lost the blue glow. ] Know that I'll do it.

[culver]

I will.

[Nill has met very few people in her life she would call selfless, but Sora quickly and easily become one of them. Every time they've spent time together, he's surprised her with his willingness to give, to help. It softens a part of her heart that she'd hardened a long time ago, and she's glad for it. Over the years she's been slow to let herself see the good parts of the world, but Sora makes it less difficult just by being himself.

She bites her bottom lip when she hears his vow, a facial tic she's picked up over the years. Her eyes drop to her lap, mostly so he can't see how glassy they've suddenly become with tears she tries to blink away. He's so nice, and she's in such a rough spot emotionally right now that she can't check how she reacts to it. Eventually she gets a hold of herself, nodding though she still has her eyes glued to her lap.]

Thanks, Sora. I know you will.