[ she's terrified. not only because she's suddenly been forced to recognize the falsehood of the memories she's been living for the past month, but because even with that revitalized awareness, she doesn't return to the place that she knows, a place that in the most peculiar of ways has become something of a strange comfort.
and her magic — it's gone.
without that instinctual place of solace within herself, she reaches out, seeking the people she's found it with all these months, seeking out her sister — ]
[ she's been huddled up under just about every blanket sam could track down for her here, even though she'd reassured him countless times that she doesn't really need it, not as much as others might — especially the ones who were trapped in the water for a longer period of time and haven't been able to change out of sopping-wet clothes.
but she's got her fluid back with her, rescued from the bottom of the trunk that had mysteriously ended up here too, and she's been scrolling through old messages trying to make sure no one has reached out to her when it chimes with a new message. ]
[ despite the audio setting, she nods first, though it seems less like an answer to dana's question and more of an assurance she's trying to give herself this time. ]
I'm okay.
[ she's not. ]
I'm ... I'm at the station, I think. I just ended in that ball transport that brought me here and — [ her voice shakes, swallowing. ] All of my memories, they just came back. All at once, and — Dana, what is this place? My magic, it's gone.
I don't know. It's — there's something affecting most of us, I think. It's harder for me to sense things. Before, I could do it without even having to think about it, and now —
[ Now, she has to practically tune out every other sense she has just to be able to use one; if she closes her eyes and tries not to listen to anything else, she can pick up on the scent of Sam in the other room, clothes that smell like salty seawater even now that they've mostly dried.
But the sound of Wanda's voice reels her back in and everything else fades into the background as she draws in a quiet breath. ] I didn't remember anything either. On the ship. I didn't remember anyone. It's... still a little muddled. In my head, I... I'm trying to sort through it all, but it's all twisted together. My memories.
[ so it isn't just her, which should be a comfort, but it isn't. not when that means they're all being left vulnerable here. sensing had once come easy to her too, so easy that it took an effort just to fight it, to block out the emotions that ran so freely and wild into her own head. now she seeks those free roaming sensations just for a little peace of mind. ]
I ... I forgot, too. I remember us in the room, but — I didn't recognize anyone. Not until it all came rushing back at once after coming here.
[ she chews her lip, still guilty of it, of forgetting. ]
Kai, he — he stayed back in town. On his own. He reached out to us, but no one had answered. They ... they made us forget so easily.
I'm just glad you're okay. I... I think I was trying to get as many people as I could off, and then something happened. I think I fell in, and that was what — that was when I remembered everything.
[ she won't go into detail, won't mention how long she had floated in that freezing water before being picked up by another boat with enough room; if she'd still been human it would have been a lot worse for her, and she knows that for a fact which is why she doesn't even want to dwell on a worst-case scenario that hadn't even ended up happening. ]
He's not here now, is he? God, I haven't even started really looking for anyone yet, it was pretty chaotic back by those pod things. I didn't even realize I still had my Fluid until I heard it going off at the bottom of this trunk. [ and as soon as she'd heard the ringtone she'd tossed everything out looking for it, so there are dresses scattered every which way around this room right now. ]
Dana. [ she won't ask her to explain further if she doesn't want to. really, the important thing is that she's okay, that they both made it this far and they've both been brought back to their senses.
maybe they got by alright through the course of the ship's travels right up until the sudden sinking, but she's not sure if ignorance is very comforting. ]
He is. Apparently, these lighthouses — they showed up in Deerington, too. So he came in the same way we did. He's alright, though. He pretty much hasn't left my side since he's arrived, but he went off to look for supplies just now. [ which she realizes they could very well share if necessary. ] What about you? Are you alone? You could come join us.
[ she breathes a sigh, because that's one less person she has to worry about locating — but she doesn't mention the name, the face that's still nagging at the back of her thoughts, how her concern only grows the more time that passes without hide nor red hair of her, how there's every possibility that she might not have made it off the ship and then —
she shakes her head, even though wanda can't see it, curling in on herself beneath the drape of blankets. ] No, I'm — I'm not alone. Sam's here with me. Some fishing boat happened to be passing by while we were in the water. They were collecting survivors, and... [ it's still awful for her to even think about, the sounds of the screaming she could hear from a distance before ultimately falling silent, an aspect of history she's read about more times than she can count and yet no amount of what she'd absorbed in school could have ever prepared her for how terrible it truly was. ]
We're okay. We're all okay. That's all that matters.
[ there's something in the silence, and though she can't see her, can't spell exactly what she it is, she can tell that there's something that still has dana shaken. but then again, what wouldn't — everything that's happened, the sinking and the trauma that comes with it, this place, it's too much too fast.
but she's relieved when she hears that at the very least dana's with someone; she doesn't know much about sam aside from what she's heard directly from her roommate, but there's enough to know she can trust in him to keep her safe. ]
Okay. [ she says quietly, though she means to say much more than that. as soon as the word slips though, she finds her eyes growing damp, throat tightening. she can't tell if it's from the relief or her body still trying to overcome everything. ]
I'm — I'm really glad you're safe. I want to see you, but — we should both stay low for a while. Try to stay in cover for as long as you can, okay? Don't wander if you don't have to.
[ it's a little absent at first, when it leaves her, like she's already distracted thinking about something else — and to an extent, she is, mind racing ahead to everything she feels so much more cut off from down here. she hadn't realized how much she's come to rely on her increased senses — smell, hearing, vision — until she came down and it felt like every inch of that water enclosed her in too, dulled her ability to distinguish as easily as she could before. even now, she has to resist the urge to shake her head like she's trying to clear the water out of her ears.
but wanda's voice pulls her back from that self-induced reverie and she straightens up from where she's seated, voice firmer this time. ]
Yeah, you too. I don't — I can't tell for sure, but I think there's something out there. In the dark. I've been hearing things, but... I don't know what they are. And I really don't want to get close enough to find out.
[ maybe sometimes she's been braver than this, more confident to dare to conquer what's in the shadows. but they're vulnerable here, and she isn't willing to take the chance right now, especially not if it means putting her friends at risk. ]
If we can avoid encountering what it is that's there, that's probably the best idea. We shouldn't take any risks here.
[ she'll openly admit that she's terrified, evident in her voice, the shakiness of her hands as she curls her fingers tight in her lap. ]
Just stay safe. I'll find you when we get the chance, okay?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice;
and her magic — it's gone.
without that instinctual place of solace within herself, she reaches out, seeking the people she's found it with all these months, seeking out her sister — ]
Dana! Dana, please tell me you made it.
voice;
[ she's been huddled up under just about every blanket sam could track down for her here, even though she'd reassured him countless times that she doesn't really need it, not as much as others might — especially the ones who were trapped in the water for a longer period of time and haven't been able to change out of sopping-wet clothes.
but she's got her fluid back with her, rescued from the bottom of the trunk that had mysteriously ended up here too, and she's been scrolling through old messages trying to make sure no one has reached out to her when it chimes with a new message. ]
Are you okay? Where are you?
no subject
I'm okay.
[ she's not. ]
I'm ... I'm at the station, I think. I just ended in that ball transport that brought me here and — [ her voice shakes, swallowing. ] All of my memories, they just came back. All at once, and — Dana, what is this place? My magic, it's gone.
no subject
[ Now, she has to practically tune out every other sense she has just to be able to use one; if she closes her eyes and tries not to listen to anything else, she can pick up on the scent of Sam in the other room, clothes that smell like salty seawater even now that they've mostly dried.
But the sound of Wanda's voice reels her back in and everything else fades into the background as she draws in a quiet breath. ] I didn't remember anything either. On the ship. I didn't remember anyone. It's... still a little muddled. In my head, I... I'm trying to sort through it all, but it's all twisted together. My memories.
no subject
I ... I forgot, too. I remember us in the room, but — I didn't recognize anyone. Not until it all came rushing back at once after coming here.
[ she chews her lip, still guilty of it, of forgetting. ]
Kai, he — he stayed back in town. On his own. He reached out to us, but no one had answered. They ... they made us forget so easily.
no subject
[ she won't go into detail, won't mention how long she had floated in that freezing water before being picked up by another boat with enough room; if she'd still been human it would have been a lot worse for her, and she knows that for a fact which is why she doesn't even want to dwell on a worst-case scenario that hadn't even ended up happening. ]
He's not here now, is he? God, I haven't even started really looking for anyone yet, it was pretty chaotic back by those pod things. I didn't even realize I still had my Fluid until I heard it going off at the bottom of this trunk. [ and as soon as she'd heard the ringtone she'd tossed everything out looking for it, so there are dresses scattered every which way around this room right now. ]
no subject
maybe they got by alright through the course of the ship's travels right up until the sudden sinking, but she's not sure if ignorance is very comforting. ]
He is. Apparently, these lighthouses — they showed up in Deerington, too. So he came in the same way we did. He's alright, though. He pretty much hasn't left my side since he's arrived, but he went off to look for supplies just now. [ which she realizes they could very well share if necessary. ] What about you? Are you alone? You could come join us.
no subject
[ she breathes a sigh, because that's one less person she has to worry about locating — but she doesn't mention the name, the face that's still nagging at the back of her thoughts, how her concern only grows the more time that passes without hide nor red hair of her, how there's every possibility that she might not have made it off the ship and then —
she shakes her head, even though wanda can't see it, curling in on herself beneath the drape of blankets. ] No, I'm — I'm not alone. Sam's here with me. Some fishing boat happened to be passing by while we were in the water. They were collecting survivors, and... [ it's still awful for her to even think about, the sounds of the screaming she could hear from a distance before ultimately falling silent, an aspect of history she's read about more times than she can count and yet no amount of what she'd absorbed in school could have ever prepared her for how terrible it truly was. ]
We're okay. We're all okay. That's all that matters.
no subject
but she's relieved when she hears that at the very least dana's with someone; she doesn't know much about sam aside from what she's heard directly from her roommate, but there's enough to know she can trust in him to keep her safe. ]
Okay. [ she says quietly, though she means to say much more than that. as soon as the word slips though, she finds her eyes growing damp, throat tightening. she can't tell if it's from the relief or her body still trying to overcome everything. ]
I'm — I'm really glad you're safe. I want to see you, but — we should both stay low for a while. Try to stay in cover for as long as you can, okay? Don't wander if you don't have to.
no subject
[ it's a little absent at first, when it leaves her, like she's already distracted thinking about something else — and to an extent, she is, mind racing ahead to everything she feels so much more cut off from down here. she hadn't realized how much she's come to rely on her increased senses — smell, hearing, vision — until she came down and it felt like every inch of that water enclosed her in too, dulled her ability to distinguish as easily as she could before. even now, she has to resist the urge to shake her head like she's trying to clear the water out of her ears.
but wanda's voice pulls her back from that self-induced reverie and she straightens up from where she's seated, voice firmer this time. ]
Yeah, you too. I don't — I can't tell for sure, but I think there's something out there. In the dark. I've been hearing things, but... I don't know what they are. And I really don't want to get close enough to find out.
no subject
[ maybe sometimes she's been braver than this, more confident to dare to conquer what's in the shadows. but they're vulnerable here, and she isn't willing to take the chance right now, especially not if it means putting her friends at risk. ]
If we can avoid encountering what it is that's there, that's probably the best idea. We shouldn't take any risks here.
[ she'll openly admit that she's terrified, evident in her voice, the shakiness of her hands as she curls her fingers tight in her lap. ]
Just stay safe. I'll find you when we get the chance, okay?