[MINGLE] One-Man Show

[sixthiteration]

WHERE: Inari Shrine and elsewhere
WHEN: 25 January 2019 through ?
OPEN TO: All opted in characters
WARNINGS: Please warn in the subject line of your comment as needed, and remember to move anything turning adult to a new post.
IMPORTANT NOTES: Final reminders and informational links are here. Please label all top-levels clearly so that there is no confusion who they are open to and what they are for, and DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR TAG!
Have fun and ask questions here!

Comments

Response to Rinoa

[to_defend]

She starts to feel a little better as people are talking about orienting themselves and finding the village; there's at least some idea on what to do next. But, just as she's starting to relax, everything shifts again and she's - floating? She tenses again as she watches it play through, the destruction, and the idea of being lost and slowly dying in this vast space, leaving 7 with a sense of emptiness the size of which she's never seen before.

It's seems like an eternity before they return to the shrine, and after a moment to collect herself, she's aware of Rinoa - Rinoa - down on the ground and holding herself. Without a thought 7 drops down in front of her and grabs her in a hug, holding her tight and looking to the other with bewildered eyes. 7 is beyond words for the moment, looking for any other help she can get to comfort her friend for the horrors they'd just seen.

[spoileralert]

Steph wraps her arms tight around herself, shivering a little in the cold. It didn't bother her before, but the terrible void of space felt so real that she even found herself holding her breath. Now she lets out a long breath and rubs her arms.

She doesn't know what to say. She doesn't really know Rinoa that well. What can she say?

[plate_builder]

Perhaps saying something is the wrong choice entirely. There is little that you can say to work with PTSD that bad. He's been to enough therapists to know that rather well. What he can do, however, he does immediately. The man moves toward Rinoa, unbuttoning and shedding his coat as he goes. Panic attacks he can deal with. Soon he's on his knees next to Rinoa and 7, draping a coat over Rinoa's shoulders, and therefore 7's arm just a little bit. His hand rests on her shoulder through the coat.

"Tell me if that's too warm," he says, keeping his voice as low and soothing as he can. Which, actually, is a bit lower than his normal register, but for now, the goal is to calm the young woman. Without, of course, saying 'calm down'. That would be terrible in a situation like this. "For right now, I'd like you to focus on breathing, alright? Focus on the sound of the air sliding slowly in and out of your lungs. In, try to hold. Out, try to hold. Can you do that for me, miss?"

Meanwhile he looks to 7. Is there a way to quietly indicate that she should loosen her hug just a bit? If Rinoa needs to get up and move around she should absolutely be allowed to. After that memory of helplessness, of being unable to move herself, leaving her in a position where she couldn't move if she wanted to may be a poor choice. Unfortunately he cannot think of a tactful way to do so.

"What's your name, my dear?"

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa feels 7 hug her and she's grateful for it, but she can't say so because she's too busy having trouble breathing. The panic hasn't fully set in but it's not far away. The hug and then the warmth of a coat does ground her in the place where they physically are, bringing her out of space and to here. Where it's cold but now warm, and her knees hurt, and she's not drifting hopelessly to her own death.

Dark scared eyes look up at Reeve and she nods even as she keeps breathing a little too shallowly, trying to follow his words. "Ri--rinoa," she whispers between slow suck in of each breath, shaking like a leaf. "I'm ... I'm sorry," she says just as softly, realizing they all had to live and see that too. Even now her thoughts go out to them.

[to_defend]

With the coat, and with Reeve's attention, 7 slowly lets go and settles back, giving Rinoa space but staying close. She doesn't know exactly what the girl is going through, and she's not exactly sure how she can help, but she wants to help.

She smiles slightly, reaching out to take Rinoa's hand. "You don't have to be sorry."

Now that the immediacy is burning off, she's starting to realize just how cold it is here, and just how unprepared she is, but her focus remains on Rinoa.

[spoileralert]

Steph feels useless and awkward. She’s been scared like that before. She should be more sympathetic, she should know what to do. Instead all she can think is that she has a bad feeling about how this thing is going, and she wants out before it ends.

"Why us?" she finds herself murmuring in question. "Why four? Why any of this?" And who next? A fifty-fifty chance.

[plate_builder]

What Rinoa needed right now was distraction, and that didn't happen in a vacuum. She needs interaction. So he turns his attention to Steph.

"Steph, my dear girl, have you had the chance to meet Rinoa yet?" Talk to her. Just talk to her for a moment, ladies. "Rinoa, this is Steph. She's a trouble maker who I didn't manage to to get to take mattress surfing on New Year's Eve. I think I saw you there. You danced, right? Very graceful. Do you know anyone else here?"

Give her as many topics as she wants, so she can pick one that suits her. That trauma, watching your life count down... isn't something she should have to deal with alone.

[plate_builder]

[OOC: Continued here, please see new warnings.]