[FIN] The Fallen

[BlackFireKitsune]

When she'd received Dove's text, its contents were completely unexpected, but since she knew of Luke's preexisting heart condition, she figured it'd be a good idea to visit that same day rather than wait a few days or something. Upon arriving, she had nearly fallen over at the sight of Luke looking like death itself and rendering Dove's tame text completely outrageous. She could have at least mentioned that he had gotten kidnapped and then shot and now he was in a coma and would probably die in less than a week if he didn't have an immediate heart transplant. Curiously, all of those things were missing from Dove's text and such details had been immediately and infuriatingly demanded upon her entrance.

She didn't remain there long, however, and instead stormed out in a huff to go wander the halls in the comatose wing (because what the hell else would they call it) and try to clear her head. The thoughts and emotions whirling around were so foreign and encroached upon her sense of security, that all of her friends were fine and they'd be alright - that Luke would obviously get a heart transplant within a few months and then he would be fine. Except he got shot, bled too much, was in a coma and now he could die in as little as a couple of days. It almost left her reeling, the realization that one of her closest friends could die, and she wasn't at all prepared to handle the situation.  

[Suudonym]

A voice would reach the hallway, and consequently Seraphine, from one of the rooms, its door left slightly ajar, "Seriously, if you're thinking I'm gonna pick up another job or something, then that's just cruel. The hours for that damned shipping warehouse are so irregular it makes a guy wanna choke a b***h. And you know, maybe it's my stupid pride, but I don't wanna just leave things to Cory. Feels like he's just waiting for me to come begging for help so he can jump in all knight in shining armor and save the day. I mean I know Cory's not like that, but still." There was a pause for a long silence, and when the voice resumed its one-sided dialogue, it was in quieter tones, "How long are you gonna keep this up, El? It's ********' depressing."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Seraphine halted her meandering, directionless wandering to pause, mid-step, outside the room from which a voice came. A curiously familiar voice. She wasn't anywhere near Luke's room, not that she really had any idea where she was in the wing at this point anyway, but still... Who...? Surely it couldn't be who she thought it was, that would be just silly..

She sidestepped to shamelessly peek through the door, if only to make sure her assumptions were incorrect -- but her actions only confirmed them. One small hand raised to gently rest against the door frame while the fingers on the other repeatedly balled into a fist before relaxing. No, that was definitely who she suspected it was, but who was that on the bed..? El.. That was obviously short for something, but she'd never heard him mention any relatives at all, let alone any names for them.

Though her curiosity was great, her desire for a distraction from thinking of Luke's predicament was what caused her to gently push the door open a few more inches, the fingers on one hand curled around it. A single word escaped her in a small, slightly bewildered, tone, "Nate?" She was a little surprised at how meek her voice was, but considering the fact she had literally just found out within the past hour that Luke had been shot, lost a lot of blood, passed out, gone to the hospital, fell into a coma, and would die without a new heart, it made sense for her to sound so uncertain. Her countenance clearly spoke of such uncertainty, as well as confusion and even a hint of fear for her friend's dwindling health.  

[Suudonym]

Nate started at the voice, turning suddenly in the bedside chair to find the source. As he did so, Seraphine might have noticed the face of the person lying in that bed, a woman with features similar to Nate's, curling white hair framing a pale, quiet expression. "Sera," he said, surprised and perhaps just slightly put off. He forced a short laugh to cover up the latter, "Uh, fancy meeting you here?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera did indeed notice the woman on the bed and the similarities between her and Nate; that, coupled with his tone and [removed](and just a general feeling of unease on her part), she suddenly felt very guilty that she'd intruded on something she shouldn't have. She tilted her head and gaze to the floor, at least a little of that realization seeping into the mix of emotions already present in her countenance. Regardless, she opened the door a couple more inches but remained firmly in the doorway. "Yeah, I didn't really.. expect to see anyone else I knew here.." Again. That happened last time too, when she happened across Luke after his surgery.

She raised her gaze to him again, debating asking him what he was doing here, but she knew that was an obvious answer. Visiting a relative. His sister, maybe. Instead of asking Nate an obvious question, she felt inclined to give some sort of explanation for her own actions and reasons for being there, her gaze dropping again as she did so, "I was just visiting Luke.. s**t happened earlier and I just.. I don't..." I don't know how long he's going to live. The darkness of the thought that could very well turn into a terrible reality in a few days was too much for her to voice, and instead her grip tightened on the door and fear briefly won the battle for dominance over her expression.  

[Suudonym]

This was kind of different from the Seraphine he knew, so while Nate's first instinct was to inquire as to the exact identity of this Luke - the name was familiar and hearkened back to the hot springs visit, though he couldn't associate a face - he decided instead that there were important things to talk about. He stood from the chair, moving towards her and gently taking her hand from the door, "You okay? What's wrong?" Someone close admitted to the hospital, he knew the feeling too well.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

She took a step into the room when he pulled her hand from the door, and she didn't even seem to realize that her fingers had instinctively curled around his for the sole reason of having something to hold onto. "Well," she started, her brows furrowed as she made every attempt to start at the beginning and not ramble and sound like a complete and total dumbass, "you remember Luke, right?" Her gaze raised again to meet his. "From the hot spring. Red hair, was pretty mopey the whole time?" It was hard to miss someone like that, really.

"Well, he's been having heart problems for a while and even had heart surgery to fix it, except it didn't fix it, so they told him he needed a transplant or something, and he was all depressed that he wouldn't qualify, but last time I saw him he said he did end up qualifying and he even had his Flareon back that got stolen and then Dove texted me and all she said was that he was in the hospital and didn't mention anything else, so when I got here I found out that they were ******** hostages or some s**t and he got shot and he lost so much blood that his heart can't take it so now he's in a coma and if he doesn't get a transplant in the next couple days--" The long-winded explanation, though it started out slow and normal, had gradually increased in emotion and speed, tapering towards the end before it stopped abruptly. Her fingers, too, had gradually strengthened their grip on his hand as she spoke, and her face changed accordingly as well before, with the end of her summary, she suddenly moved forward to cling to him and bury it into his shirt while she trembled. It was suddenly really difficult to not cry. She'd never had so much trouble not crying before, but she was incredibly determined to hold it off for as long as she possibly could.  

[Suudonym]

He nodded, the name and description joining in his memories. The awkward guy he'd had to walk past and had then proceeded to make fun of. Hrm. He preferred not to think about that, instead listening to Seraphine's increasingly emotional explanation. It was kind of… a lot to interpret. That was the kind of stuff that happened in daytime soap operas, so it was hard to think of as something real, especially since he didn't even really know the guy. The tightening of Seraphine's hand around his and her sudden presence in his space, however, were very real. Nate wasn't known among his friends for his compassionate insights, but knew Seraphine's feelings too well to let her just deal with it all on her own. He surrendered his hand to her grasp, tucking his head over her shoulder and raising his unoccupied fingers to the back of her head.

"It'll be okay," he said. "And you know what, I know that sounds like the biggest pile of bullshit you've ever heard. Did to me too two years ago when all my friends were saying it after my sister went comatose. I'm not saying it shouldn't hurt because that's just stupid, but no matter what happens, sooner or later something will come along and put a smile on your face, you know? Even if you don't want it there." He breathed a sigh, his thoughts returning to the unconscious woman in the bed and the circumstances that had led to that state. "Not crying when you feel like sure ain't gonna help anything." He wouldn't say it, but that was also a familiar experience.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera did indeed think it sounded like the biggest pile of bullshit she ever heard, though didn't have the chance to voice as much. Instead she merely stood and listened, her hand still clinging to his and her shoulders trembling slightly. Even though it would've probably been more comfortable or natural to cling to his middle with both hands, that would require letting go of his hand first, and she wasn't quite sure her fingers would comply.

Silence reigned for a time until her trembling gradually stopped, and she shook her head. "M'not gonna cry. I hate crying," she said emphatically, though her words were slightly muffled. Crying was stupid. Comas were stupid. She was finally better friends with Luke after, what, over a year? She didn't want to lose him now that they'd finally accomplished that. Sera released a heavy sigh and finally relaxed, both hands falling back to her sides, though she didn't move away or raise her gaze yet. "I guess I just... I dunno. It's like, he was just fine yesterday, and today he looks practically dead," she said with a small, helpless shrug. "Like how the hell even..." Ugh. Everything was stupid.  

[Suudonym]

"Stuff often happens that way," he said. In Ellia's case, the signs had existed for ages, but the call from the hospital was still sudden and unexpected. "I'll be honest, though, there isn't really anything I can say that's gonna make you feel any better." His volume fell, his tone wilting slightly, "All there is is waiting and hoping." He wasn't sure which of them was better off: She who would have her answer in less than a week regardless of whether it was good or bad, or he who had waited for years and could wait for years more before learning of his sister's fate.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

She released another sigh, but his words did make her smile briefly. While he was helping somewhat, he was right; she would only feel better once she was sure Luke would be fine. Until then, she suspected, she wouldn't feel better at all, or even remotely good.

The tone he used for his final phrase caught her attention however, and she focused on that. Waiting and hoping. ..he'd said that his sister went comatose two years ago? Two whole freaking years. It was difficult for her to even imagine such a thing - Luke had been in a coma for all of a couple hours at this point, and would only stay that way for presumably less than a week. Two years?

She broke the long, silent pause as she wrapped her arms around him and asked softly, "What's her name?" She couldn't just call her 'Nate's sister' or anything like that; she felt safe in assuming the woman had a name, at least.  

[Suudonym]

"Ellia," he responded after a slight pause, adding for clarification, "my older sister."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ellia," she repeated, testing it. Not a common name, but it wasn't weird or anything either. "I'm gonna guess she didn't have heart problems, huh?" She said as she finally pulled away and looked up at him. Though it was mostly said in jest - younger people didn't generally have heart problems, to her knowledge - it was still a little difficult to think about. Well, really, everything was hard to wrap her head around today. First Luke, and then finding out that Nate's older sister had been in a coma for two freaking years. Come to think of it... "I didn't know you had any siblings." For some reason, she'd kind of just assumed he was an only child.  

[Suudonym]

He gave a light laugh in response, "Yeah, no." No, Ellia couldn't blame her situation on genetics. She had only herself to fault. He replied to her curiosity with a shrug, "She moved out a long time ago, so I've been a sort of only child for a while. No other siblings though." He left out the little fact that his parents would have preferred to call him an only child at this point, but it didn't stop the mild disdain that arose in his features.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ohh, okay," she responded with a small nod. That made sense, having only one other sibling that moved away a long time ago - obviously over two years ago - and then living with just your parents for so long would probably feel more like being an only child. She assumed, anyway. "You probably already guessed, but I don't have any siblings at all," she supplied, not that he'd even asked.

Since her gaze was no longer directed downwards like it had been for a while earlier, she didn't miss the negative look on his face. It made her frown lightly and made her curious enough to ask, "What's wrong?"