♚ tenth step ♚

[polarization]

[ Oh boy, it's been a while Plane! There is a good reason for this, and this reason is a doozy. This is quickly seen when Sefton appears; not only are his wrists strapped to the gurney that he's brought with him, but he's also dressed in a pair of scrubs, barefoot, and trying to wrest his hands free from the bindings in quiet panic. ]

Come on, come on, come on, come on...!

Agh! [ He flops back against the pillow, momentarily defeated and breathing heavily. Looking for all the world like the scared, helpless fifteen year old that he is. ] Dad... Dad... why would you do this...?

[ Standard Sefton disclaimer applies, yes. ]

Comments

I really don't have appropriate icons for this. :|a

[polarization]

[ Sefton shirks away automatically, trying to edge himself to the opposite side of the gurney. His fists are clenched and he watches Naminé warily. ]

Am I all right?

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[His moving away causes her to flinch backwards a step, and she stares at him with wide eyes. Her voice is very quiet when she speaks again, like she's afraid of getting kicked in the face or something if she says the wrong thing.]

I... Alright, I shouldn't have asked that, but I can untie this if you'll hold still.

[polarization]

[ ... the sad thing being, he might have actually kicked at her if she'd tried approaching closer to his feet. He's more than a little spooked right now.

He holds his position, edged away from her as far as he can manage, while still keeping an eye on her. ]

Not exactly moving a whole lot, am I?

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She winces again, but... well, that wasn't a no. Still, she gets the feeling he won't be happy no matter what she does. She doesn't say anything else to him, just starts pulling at the knot until it finally gives way. She then steps backwards, staring pointedly (and very, very sadly) at the ground.]

[polarization]

[ Wasting little time, he flexes his now free hand and moves to free his other hand. He tries to scoot off the side of the gurney next, and quickly finds that his legs are currently crap at doing their job and grabs onto the gurney for support. There's a quiet sound - panic, frustration, fright - and he simply stays where he is for a moment, eyes shut tight. ]

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She looks up at the noise, watching but entirely unsure of what to do or how to help. Or, well, if she should help at all. One more try wouldn't hurt anything though, right?]

Can I... help you? At all?

[polarization]

Doubt it. [ Harsh, hopeless words. Why was she still here? He just wants to be alone, wants to shut down, wants the damn ride to stop so he can get off. But there's no end to this rollercoster and he's lost his grip somewhere along the way. ]

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She nods once, eyes closed, tears already starting to form.]

Good luck. [And she just turns and leaves. Quickly.]

[lostandfinder]

[Everything's a mess, and he could use that as an excuse, but he'd probably have run into her either way: Chivy's never been all that good at watching where he's walking.

Reason or no reason, Chivy manages to keep from falling over during the collision, and grabs hold of Naminé's shoulders before he completely realizes what's happened.]

Sorry! [A moment later and he's stepped back, his estimate of the personal bubbles of others is a little high right now.] I should have been watching.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[Naminé definitely would have fallen backwards if Chivy hadn't grabbed her shoulders, so she's grateful for that. She looks up at him, blushing a little... but more noticeable is that her eyes are red and she's crying. She sniffles.]

It's okay, Chivy. I'm sorry, too.

[lostandfinder]

[He may be distracted by his own trouble, but he'll never be able to miss someone else crying.]

What's wrong?

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She shakes her head, rubbing at her eyes with the back of one hand.]

There was a boy. I thought he was in trouble, since he was tied down. I thought I was helping, but... I don't know. [She chances a glance over her shoulder, back toward Sefton, but then she just looks at the floor.]

[lostandfinder]

Tied— [Sefton. Unless there's someone else, but...] Oh, no. No, that... that isn't your fault.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She shakes her head again.]

It... feels like it. He was so angry. I only wanted to help.

[lostandfinder]

He's just— [prickly, but that explanation doesn't seem to fit the moment] He doesn't like getting helped. It's... a Sefton thing. It really isn't your fault at all.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She considers that, and eventually nods twice. She doesn't understand, but it's probably explanation enough.]

Sefton? Is that his name? [She glances back at him once more, biting her lip. When she turns her attention back to Chivy, it seems like her sadness from the situation as a whole has been replaced with just plain concern.] Will he be alright? Should I... should I leave him alone from now on?

[lostandfinder]

No, just, for now? He'll be better. [Chivy hopes. He doesn't want to think about things getting worse than they are now.] And if you don't try to touch him it's better. [He doesn't really want to encourage the prickles, but he really doesn't want her crying again to be a possibility.]

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

I didn't... touch him. Just the ties. I wasn't going to. But... I guess it doesn't matter. I'll apologize to him when I see him again.

[She dries her eyes one final time, then gives Chivy a small little smile... but even as small as it is, it's brimming over with gratitude.]

Thank you, Chivy. I'm sorry you had to see me cry.

[lostandfinder]

Sorry you were crying. [Any other time and he'd be giving Sefton a lecture about being nice to people who are trying to be nice to you, but... this one time can slide, but that's only because of the extreme circumstances.]