Twenty-Second Strike - [Action]
[End of classes usually signals happy, excited chatter and the footsteps of many different students, young and old, as they exit the school building to head home for the day and begin homework or other daily activities like work, chores, or just other hobbies. One student, however, lingers in the playground as the last of the people trickle out
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Last time she had met Presea, she wasn't this depressed. She had actually looked happy. What could have happened to her since then? For a moment, she had a flashback of Mithos in the same exact situation. It was when she was picking him up from school, she found him sitting on a swing. He didn't bother looking up until she held his shoulder in comfort. Without knowing, she had started to approach Presea just like she had done with Mithos. The memory was still playing in her mind before slowly Mithos' face was replaced with Presea's. ]
Are you all right?
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It was only when someone actually spoke to her in a familiar voice did Presea finally look up and acknowledge the one speaking. Her shock is clearly evident when she does recognize the face of being one she remembered rather well, a face she thought had left months ago.]
Martel...?
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Presea, is everything all right?
[ The concern is evident on the healer's face. Even though she doesn't know Presea as well as Lloyd or Yuan, she can still bring herself to feel concerned for her. The girl has been through a lot. Spending more than a decade in an emotionless state with no awareness of what's happening is hard to deal with. Especially when you finally wake up only to find your only living family are dead and you - only you - are stuck in a child's body. ]
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Presea hesitates, then raises her arms and returns the hug rather stiffly, her voice soft and quiet.]
Y-Yes...I-I am all right...Martel. I was merely thinking.
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She wants to wish to change in the past, but she's too unsure of what the possible future holds to truly desire it. ]
Then please smile. It really saddens me to see you like this.
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[She what? She doesn't know how? No, that's a lie. Presea knows how to smile and laugh; she's done it before, after all. But right now, even if she tried, it'd be a false smile. Put there only because she was told to. And she doesn't want to lie to someone like Martel. She was really trying to cheer her up, and Presea appreciated that. Already her mood was improving by just the hug and her company, but...it wouldn't be that easy.]
I am...sorry. I-I will, I just... [Need some more time.]
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I'll just sit here for the time being.
[ With that she didn't say another word. It didn't seem like she wanted to talk, but Martel couldn't just leave her there. Besides, she believes that just by being there was support enough. Sometimes words are never needed. ]
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...That is unnecessary. I-I apologize, but I cannot...not now, but thank you. For your assistance. [She looks away again, then back towards Martel.] I was not aware you had been returned.
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There's no need for you to apologize. I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have asked you to smile if you weren't in the mood.
[ Her hair falls back as she looks toward the sky. So Presea knew her before she was sent back home. ]
I was not aware I have returned either... I'm sorry, but I can't seem to recall this world at all. In fact, if others have not told me, I would have assumed this was my first time here.
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[She remained silent for quite some time, unsure if she should respond to what the woman said afterward. Her throat felt constricted, and her chest was just aching painfully. So, she remained quiet, but nodded to let Martel know she had heard her. She didn't remember... Yet Martel still reached out to her. Why?]
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You're wrong, Presea. You do have someone left to return to...
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[She turns her head toward Martel, looking both stunned and curious. Is Martel from her future as well? Is something going to happen there, that will reunite her with a member of her family? How? When? Who? But that couldn't be. There was no way to bring back the dead... There just couldn't be. Neither of the two worlds had that kind of knowledge, technology, or power. Plus, it posed so many problems, even if the more selfish part of her wished it were true.]
Who is it?
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Your friends.
[ She kept eye contact. The pain and sadness in those eyes were so overwhelming that she wanted to pull away, but she stood her ground. ]
Presea. You're never alone. Your father and sister may be gone, but you still have a family to return to. Even if they're not related to you by blood or marriage, they're your family. And a family is something you could always return to.
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[Yes, she did have them. Raine, Sheena, Zelos, Colette...she'd eventually meet them, right? They'd share time together, journey together, and experience many things together. The thought still seemed so foreign to Presea, but she had indeed made friends with Raine and Sheena already. She trusted them, and--]
Family?
[Her friends could be her family, too? Again, another concept she couldn't really understand - families weren't just bound by blood? It was confusing for Presea, who had lived on fact and encyclopedic knowledge. Deeper things were those that she would often tilt her head at, but...it made sense. Her friends would always be the ones she'd go to first with troubles, and she'd trust them.]
I cannot understand completely but...I believe you are somewhat correct. From before I received my keycrest...I had trusted you, and Kratos as well. [The actions he did, that she could remember, she had even called him her father, once.] Thank you, Martel.
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[ It was a bit disappointing that she was unable to get Presea to completely understand. Though Martel doesn't mind. She knows that sometimes there are people who refuse to understand or listen. To her this is quite an accomplishment to have someone who has a little comprehension.
She can remember the time when she struggled to explain to a pair of humans that she and her brother couldn't help being born half elves. The faces of disgust and pure hate still burned inside her mind. In the end, they continued their unexcused racism, and it might have been even stronger after that day. ]
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