xp_logs | Angelo & Sooraya

Angelo attempts to talk with Sooraya after what happened on the roof...

She didn't quite know what she was feeling... The world looked very strange... Something the colors would be bright and clear, the other moment pale and dim. It was the same with the sounds... One second she could hear everything clearly, the next it was much like a faint buzzing in her ears... And her feelings... they were just one crazy whirlpool... She was so lost in her own world, she didn't notice Angelo settling down next to her...

"Something happened at the broadcasting centre, didn't it", he said quietly, and it wasn't a question. "Before you came up to the roof?"

Slowly the world came in to focus and she managed to concentrate on Angelo. Sooraya had to take a few moments to sort through his statement. When she finally did, she replied quietly: "They were attack and I came to warn you... That was bad but okay... But of the roof..." She shuddered a little...

"...ah." He'd barely noticed the man bleeding in all the chaos of their retreat, but now he put the pieces together and shifted to put an arm around her shoulders. "I remember that." >

"He was gonna hurt Maddie..." Sooraya shuddered again, but her voice remained mostly toneless. "I could not let him hurt her..."

"Of course not", was the calm response. "Everyone'll understand, but... that's not really the point, is it?"

"I didn't mean too... but I killed him... didn't I?" She buried her face into her hands as the realization sunk in. "I killed a man..."

"Sooraya, look at me." He pulled at her hands, trying to make her look up. "This is a war. One of us was probably going to end up killing someone, I'm just sorry it was you."

She looked up and Sooraya did hear what he was saying. But the words didn't really register... "I trained so hard... I tried so hard... I swore that after Mahad..."

"Sooraya." He tilted her head up and their eyes locked. "The first time I did it, I was 14. I cried for days, I do know how it feels. But it <I>wasn't your fault</i>."

"I took his life... His blood is is forever on my hands now..." She met his gaze for just a few moments, but very quickly tried to direct her gaze back to her hands....

"None of that. You took his life, but you just said you didn't mean to. Sometimes there just isn't time to be careful."

"I can see what you mean, Angelo..." Sooraya said very quietly, finally hesitantly meeting his. "But the look in Maddie's eyes when she looked at me... It was like..." The world also seemed to be settling a little, her hearing finally clearing up and she could hear things normally again, now that she was a little more focused.

"Maddie's just a kid, whatever she thinks", he said gently. "If she was scared, it's maybe not an unnatural response, but it was only of what she saw, maybe of the powers. It doesn't mean you're a bad person."

"Maybe..." Sooraya finally met his eyes from her own volition. "I hear what you're saying, but... I just can't believe it... It all feels so strange... Maybe if..." She paused, a faint feeling of determination pushing up from somewhere. "Maybe when we get home..."

"When." Angelo said firmly. "I know a guy, Jack Leary, if you need somebody professional to talk to. He's heard it all before."

"I'll keep it mind okay... For now... I just want it to go away..." Sooraya paused for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. "As much as it can go away... I still need to help to get us home..." The world seemed to be settling a little bit more again and this time the world evened out... the colors settling in a kind of pale dimness.

"It will. Or at least, it'll get better. Let's go to the kitchen, I'll fix you a hot drink. Help with the shock."

"I think I'd like that... Thanks Angelo..."

"It's what I'm here for."