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31_days2007-01-18 12:32 pm
amethystlight.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2007-01-18 12:32 pm
[Jan 18] [Gundam X] Mind Echo Part Two
Title: Mind Echo Part Two
Day/Theme: Jan 18 / Would you like to go after him?
Series: Gundam X
Characters: Olba Frost, misc extras
Rating: PG
Four weeks into his physical therapy Olba took a short walk by himself to the hospital arboretum. He hadn't thought much of plants before he found himself trapped and alone in a hospital whose exact location he still had yet to learn, and every mental image of flourishing scenery brought a memory of he and his brother standing somewhere on Earth. As the days passed he began to hunger to see the outside world again and relive another memory.
Physical recovery was not the only thing he needed. But his exercises to shore up the hole in his mind were something he did completely on his own. No one could understand the mental connection he and his brother had shared. No amount of talking to someone else would repair the damage.
He settled onto a bench, placing his crutches on the ground then took out a small sketchbook. He had asked for it and some pencils and was surprised when the request was filled. He had thought they wouldn't allow him any objects that could be turned into an improvised weapon. But he had no plans to do any such thing. He merely wanted to draw once his preferred hand was healed enough again. And so he had, starting the previous week. He had already gone through a fourth of the pages.
They were all sketches of Shagia. He wanted to capture his face and mannerisms before he started to forget. Not that he could forget, when his brother was all he had known for the past seventeen years. He couldn't summon up a picture of their parents. He knew they had existed but he couldn't remember what happened to them. It hadn't ever concerned him enough to ask Shagia.
Today he began by sketching a few of the trees in the arboretum. He hadn't bothered to look at any of the plates stating what type of tree and what region it had come from. He found he liked trying to copy the texture of the bark. Then there was the way the sunlight filtered down and changed the way the leaves looked from one to another...
He almost felt a measure of peace. Almost. He relaxed a little, focused on his sketching better, and his mind began to wander away from that which had him in the grips of obsession from the second he awoke. After two hours he had a finished drawing that did not include a trace of Shagia.
~*~
Nurse Imthie came looking for him. She was overseeing his therapy and was his unofficial keeper, but she knew to give him his space. While he had sworn to hate everyone involved in this farce, he had decided he liked her enough to treat her with less disdain than the others. She was very deft at avoiding the subject of his brother.
She wasn't surprised to find to find him in the arboretum -- it was the first place she chose to look. What did surprise her was the smile on his face. It was soft and distant, more genuine than any she had seen him express before. It made her wonder how sincere he had been all the other times. It also made her hesitate to disturb him; he must be very vulnerable sitting there looking like that. She glanced around and grabbed a blank clipboard laying amongst several others on a dark, untended counter. She pretended to be closely scrutinizing it as she strolled past the arboretum, hoping he would notice her so she wouldn't have to say anything to him.
To her relief, it worked. "Imthie...Good morning."
She stopped and looked over at him, then checked her watch. "Good afternoon now, Olba."
He shook his head and glanced at the clock over the counter. "It is. I didn't realize I had been here so long..." He looked about himself and quickly closed the sketchbook, then started to lean over to retrieve a pencil that had fallen.
Imthie watched him with a critical eye. He was still very stiff and she caught a wince as he got far enough to reach the pencil. When he didn't start up right away, she went to his side and took his arm, placing a hand on his back. "Easy now."
"I think I've been sitting here too long," he offered with a brief chuckle.
"Possible. You've been doing well but even anyone not on recovery can get stiff sitting still for a while." She helped him sit up and lean back against the bench. All in all, he didn't seem too bad off for it. "Would you like me to walk you to your room? I can take a few minutes from my other duties."
Olba debated. He was glad for his recent freedom and liked to spend the least amount of time possible in that cell. Regardless of a distinct lack of bars and the inclusion of some home comforts that had been added over time. None of his own doing. The majority was at Imthie's suggestion and he had humored her.
After another moment he agreed. "I guess I should go back. I'm due for a check, aren't I?" He tucked his book and pencils into a pocket.
Imthie smiled and nodded. She picked up his crutches and held them out, then stepped back after he accepted them. She waited to see how well he did on his own.
He eased himself up onto the crutches and made his way out of arboretum with Imthie watching closely. He made it to his room with incident, although Imthie did get the door for him. He thanked her and went to toss his sketchbook and pencils onto the small table in the corner. He started to lean his crutches against the armchair. "Imthie...is there anything you can tell me about my brother?"
"I don't have anything different to tell you, Olba." That was always her response. He thought maybe one time she might slip.
"Will anyone ever tell me?"
"I don't know. ...I wish they would."
He glanced over at her, trying to mask his astonishment and failing. She had slipped.
She looked back at him sympathetically. "You do deserve to know. Whatever your crime, I have seen the torment in your eyes. You have suffered enough. But no one has told me, so I simply don't know."
He stared at her for a long moment, not moving. Then he collapsed onto the chair, one hand going to the side of his head. "Nii-san...Nii-san."
Imthie bit her lower lip. She had taken pity on him, when she should have kept her mouth shut. She understood that he missed his brother but she didn't know what triggered the lapse into calling for him. He had shown he was recovering but right before her now he was falling again. She knew there was nothing to do but wait for him to bring himself back around. She cursed herself for disrupting that rare peace he had shown earlier.
Day/Theme: Jan 18 / Would you like to go after him?
Series: Gundam X
Characters: Olba Frost, misc extras
Rating: PG
Four weeks into his physical therapy Olba took a short walk by himself to the hospital arboretum. He hadn't thought much of plants before he found himself trapped and alone in a hospital whose exact location he still had yet to learn, and every mental image of flourishing scenery brought a memory of he and his brother standing somewhere on Earth. As the days passed he began to hunger to see the outside world again and relive another memory.
Physical recovery was not the only thing he needed. But his exercises to shore up the hole in his mind were something he did completely on his own. No one could understand the mental connection he and his brother had shared. No amount of talking to someone else would repair the damage.
He settled onto a bench, placing his crutches on the ground then took out a small sketchbook. He had asked for it and some pencils and was surprised when the request was filled. He had thought they wouldn't allow him any objects that could be turned into an improvised weapon. But he had no plans to do any such thing. He merely wanted to draw once his preferred hand was healed enough again. And so he had, starting the previous week. He had already gone through a fourth of the pages.
They were all sketches of Shagia. He wanted to capture his face and mannerisms before he started to forget. Not that he could forget, when his brother was all he had known for the past seventeen years. He couldn't summon up a picture of their parents. He knew they had existed but he couldn't remember what happened to them. It hadn't ever concerned him enough to ask Shagia.
Today he began by sketching a few of the trees in the arboretum. He hadn't bothered to look at any of the plates stating what type of tree and what region it had come from. He found he liked trying to copy the texture of the bark. Then there was the way the sunlight filtered down and changed the way the leaves looked from one to another...
He almost felt a measure of peace. Almost. He relaxed a little, focused on his sketching better, and his mind began to wander away from that which had him in the grips of obsession from the second he awoke. After two hours he had a finished drawing that did not include a trace of Shagia.
~*~
Nurse Imthie came looking for him. She was overseeing his therapy and was his unofficial keeper, but she knew to give him his space. While he had sworn to hate everyone involved in this farce, he had decided he liked her enough to treat her with less disdain than the others. She was very deft at avoiding the subject of his brother.
She wasn't surprised to find to find him in the arboretum -- it was the first place she chose to look. What did surprise her was the smile on his face. It was soft and distant, more genuine than any she had seen him express before. It made her wonder how sincere he had been all the other times. It also made her hesitate to disturb him; he must be very vulnerable sitting there looking like that. She glanced around and grabbed a blank clipboard laying amongst several others on a dark, untended counter. She pretended to be closely scrutinizing it as she strolled past the arboretum, hoping he would notice her so she wouldn't have to say anything to him.
To her relief, it worked. "Imthie...Good morning."
She stopped and looked over at him, then checked her watch. "Good afternoon now, Olba."
He shook his head and glanced at the clock over the counter. "It is. I didn't realize I had been here so long..." He looked about himself and quickly closed the sketchbook, then started to lean over to retrieve a pencil that had fallen.
Imthie watched him with a critical eye. He was still very stiff and she caught a wince as he got far enough to reach the pencil. When he didn't start up right away, she went to his side and took his arm, placing a hand on his back. "Easy now."
"I think I've been sitting here too long," he offered with a brief chuckle.
"Possible. You've been doing well but even anyone not on recovery can get stiff sitting still for a while." She helped him sit up and lean back against the bench. All in all, he didn't seem too bad off for it. "Would you like me to walk you to your room? I can take a few minutes from my other duties."
Olba debated. He was glad for his recent freedom and liked to spend the least amount of time possible in that cell. Regardless of a distinct lack of bars and the inclusion of some home comforts that had been added over time. None of his own doing. The majority was at Imthie's suggestion and he had humored her.
After another moment he agreed. "I guess I should go back. I'm due for a check, aren't I?" He tucked his book and pencils into a pocket.
Imthie smiled and nodded. She picked up his crutches and held them out, then stepped back after he accepted them. She waited to see how well he did on his own.
He eased himself up onto the crutches and made his way out of arboretum with Imthie watching closely. He made it to his room with incident, although Imthie did get the door for him. He thanked her and went to toss his sketchbook and pencils onto the small table in the corner. He started to lean his crutches against the armchair. "Imthie...is there anything you can tell me about my brother?"
"I don't have anything different to tell you, Olba." That was always her response. He thought maybe one time she might slip.
"Will anyone ever tell me?"
"I don't know. ...I wish they would."
He glanced over at her, trying to mask his astonishment and failing. She had slipped.
She looked back at him sympathetically. "You do deserve to know. Whatever your crime, I have seen the torment in your eyes. You have suffered enough. But no one has told me, so I simply don't know."
He stared at her for a long moment, not moving. Then he collapsed onto the chair, one hand going to the side of his head. "Nii-san...Nii-san."
Imthie bit her lower lip. She had taken pity on him, when she should have kept her mouth shut. She understood that he missed his brother but she didn't know what triggered the lapse into calling for him. He had shown he was recovering but right before her now he was falling again. She knew there was nothing to do but wait for him to bring himself back around. She cursed herself for disrupting that rare peace he had shown earlier.