The Color of Horror - Safe
Nov. 20th, 2021 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsBackdated - When Topaz wakes up in the medlab, of course Amanda is there.
Somewhere between the chapel and the med lab, Topaz fell asleep. Or passed out. It was hard to tell, all things considered. Either way, it was dark when she woke, blinking blearily several times, frowning. It was dark, but not the right kind of dark. The surface she was sleeping on wasn't a hard ground, her pillow was definitely not her bag. Everything just felt wrong, like the entire world had been moved slightly to the left. She was about to panic when her gaze fell on the woman sitting beside her
Right. She scrubbed one eye with the heel of her palm. That had happened.
At the movement, Amanda looked up from her phone and smiled. "Hey, kiddo. Welcome back." She reached over to the bedside table and handed over a plastic cup with a lid and a straw. "Docs say you're a bit dehydrated, try drinking a little of this before you try talking."
Topaz propped herself up on her elbows, taking the cup. Yeah, she couldn’t remember when her water had run out. She took a few sips, her brain struggling to catch up with everything. It finally landed on one major concern.
“This is the right universe… right?”
"As in the one you left from? Definitely." Amanda was quick to reassure her. "You've been gone just over two weeks."
Oh. Okay. She took another sip of water and a moment to process that. Two weeks. She had definitely missed the deadline for her paper. "Is everyone else okay?"
"Everyone got out fine - you warned us in plenty of time. We've all been worried about you, at least until Marie-Ange did a reading and confirmed you weren't actually gone gone. And now you're back, they'll probably want to swamp you with TLC." Amanda chuckled, and then dug into her pocket. "Speaking of which, I charged your phone, if you want to talk to anyone. I think the docs are going to have you taking things easy for a while so it might be a little bit before you can do much face-to-face."
Topaz pushed herself up a bit more so she could sit steadily. She still felt a little out of sync, but having another person around was helping. She took the phone, staring at it uncertainly. "I'm sorry," she said finally.
Amanda blinked, then sighed. Of course Topaz was apologising for being trapped in a pocket dimension. "You have nothing to apologise for," she replied with gentle firmness. "You did what you had to do and you weren't responsible for how it turned out. So I'll let you get away with that one 'sorry', but no more, okay?"
"I mean, yeah, but also just... for worrying people." She fidgeted with her phone, giving it a bit more attention than it really needed as she turned it on, then went to the pictures. "Damn."
"Again, not something you can apologise for - people will worry." At the last word, Amanda gave her a quizzical look. "What's up?"
"I tried taking pictures - I swear every time I blinked I forgot what everything around me looked like." She paused, taking another sip of water."I was hoping maybe something came out in the pictures, but..."
Topaz shrugged, turning the phone to Amanda. Every recent photo in the gallery was black.
"Ah." Amanda grinned a little. "Maybe it's camera shy?" she joked lamely. "So, you spent all that time in the dark?"
"No?" It was more of an uncertain question. She scrubbed her eye again. "I don't... know how to describe it. I could see, I saw... things. I remember seeing things, just not what they were."
"Whatever it was, it's not important now. The main thing is that you're back." Amanda reached over and patted Topaz's blanket-covered knee. "Plenty of time to get you back on your feet before we start doing reports."
She jumped at the hand on her knee, then looked up. "Yeah." She took a deep breath and nodded. "I know you're busy, but would you mind... staying a bit longer? I..." She wasn't quite up for admitting she didn't want to be alone, but the implication was there.
"Of course. You're not getting rid of me that easily. Don't worry."
That got Amanda a small eye roll and a tired smile. "Never should have thought otherwise."
Somewhere between the chapel and the med lab, Topaz fell asleep. Or passed out. It was hard to tell, all things considered. Either way, it was dark when she woke, blinking blearily several times, frowning. It was dark, but not the right kind of dark. The surface she was sleeping on wasn't a hard ground, her pillow was definitely not her bag. Everything just felt wrong, like the entire world had been moved slightly to the left. She was about to panic when her gaze fell on the woman sitting beside her
Right. She scrubbed one eye with the heel of her palm. That had happened.
At the movement, Amanda looked up from her phone and smiled. "Hey, kiddo. Welcome back." She reached over to the bedside table and handed over a plastic cup with a lid and a straw. "Docs say you're a bit dehydrated, try drinking a little of this before you try talking."
Topaz propped herself up on her elbows, taking the cup. Yeah, she couldn’t remember when her water had run out. She took a few sips, her brain struggling to catch up with everything. It finally landed on one major concern.
“This is the right universe… right?”
"As in the one you left from? Definitely." Amanda was quick to reassure her. "You've been gone just over two weeks."
Oh. Okay. She took another sip of water and a moment to process that. Two weeks. She had definitely missed the deadline for her paper. "Is everyone else okay?"
"Everyone got out fine - you warned us in plenty of time. We've all been worried about you, at least until Marie-Ange did a reading and confirmed you weren't actually gone gone. And now you're back, they'll probably want to swamp you with TLC." Amanda chuckled, and then dug into her pocket. "Speaking of which, I charged your phone, if you want to talk to anyone. I think the docs are going to have you taking things easy for a while so it might be a little bit before you can do much face-to-face."
Topaz pushed herself up a bit more so she could sit steadily. She still felt a little out of sync, but having another person around was helping. She took the phone, staring at it uncertainly. "I'm sorry," she said finally.
Amanda blinked, then sighed. Of course Topaz was apologising for being trapped in a pocket dimension. "You have nothing to apologise for," she replied with gentle firmness. "You did what you had to do and you weren't responsible for how it turned out. So I'll let you get away with that one 'sorry', but no more, okay?"
"I mean, yeah, but also just... for worrying people." She fidgeted with her phone, giving it a bit more attention than it really needed as she turned it on, then went to the pictures. "Damn."
"Again, not something you can apologise for - people will worry." At the last word, Amanda gave her a quizzical look. "What's up?"
"I tried taking pictures - I swear every time I blinked I forgot what everything around me looked like." She paused, taking another sip of water."I was hoping maybe something came out in the pictures, but..."
Topaz shrugged, turning the phone to Amanda. Every recent photo in the gallery was black.
"Ah." Amanda grinned a little. "Maybe it's camera shy?" she joked lamely. "So, you spent all that time in the dark?"
"No?" It was more of an uncertain question. She scrubbed her eye again. "I don't... know how to describe it. I could see, I saw... things. I remember seeing things, just not what they were."
"Whatever it was, it's not important now. The main thing is that you're back." Amanda reached over and patted Topaz's blanket-covered knee. "Plenty of time to get you back on your feet before we start doing reports."
She jumped at the hand on her knee, then looked up. "Yeah." She took a deep breath and nodded. "I know you're busy, but would you mind... staying a bit longer? I..." She wasn't quite up for admitting she didn't want to be alone, but the implication was there.
"Of course. You're not getting rid of me that easily. Don't worry."
That got Amanda a small eye roll and a tired smile. "Never should have thought otherwise."
