Difference between revisions of "Logs:A Sweet Girl"

Even though she's being allowed visitors, Teris hasn't been exactly welcoming to most of them since she ended up in the infirmary. She can't really be blamed for that. The apprentices that keep watch over her room have gotten better about ushering people that end up being even more upsetting to her than usual off in short order. The ex goldrider is currently laying down, a tray of untouched food nearby and a tiny green firelizard curled up near the back of her head. The door isn't wide open but it's cracked enough for the currently single apprentice, who who's sitting outside right now, to keep an eye on her if she starts doing anything worth keeping an eye on.

For all that she now lives at Harper Hall and not at the Weyr, Lilabet is a recognisable figure in the infirmary, enough so that no one really blinks an eye when she arrives. It lets her waltz past that apprentice with nothing but a cheerful smile, through that door and into Teris' room. It's surely an accident that leaves the door slightly further closed after she's made her way in... surely. Her smile turns more serious, then, as those blue eyes take in the former goldrider; her chin lifts. Uncertainly; "Aunt Teris?" Now thirteen, she has her father's eyes; his chin, too.

Normally, not that anything has been normal recently, Teris might scream at the intrusion. But her dull gaze shifts toward the intruder and she very nearly almost smiles when she recognizes her niece. "Lilabet," she murmurs, barely more than a whisper. She looks like she might want to say more as she moves a hand to hold out for the girl to come closer, but nothing else comes out.

That hand is invitation enough for Lilabet, who immediately launches forward in a flurry of adolescent limbs, to push herself into a seat beside Teris, both hands aiming to take and clasp the former goldrider's hand. "I had to-- I'm so sorry." Her eyes are wide and upset, tears hinted at in the corners. "It's wrong. What they're doing to you. It's so wrong and I just wish there were something I could do."

There are tears in the corners of Teris' eyes now. The fact that one of the very few people in the world she cares about is here to see her is a little overwhelming, evidently. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Lily. But I'm glad you're here. Don't worry about anything else, okay?" She tries to smile a little more properly, but Lilabet is surely old enough to recognize that it's forced and shaky.

Lilabet doesn't even attempt a smile, not even to answer Teris'. "Don't be sorry," she says, staunchly. "Don't be sorry about anything. I can't even... I'm supposed to be in class, but I had to see you." Her voice is a little thick, and now, now, there's a definite tear threatening to trickle down her nose. "I wish my mother was here. Even if it meant I didn't get to say goodbye. Are you... do you need anything? Can I do anything?"

If Lilabet were anyone else, Teris' answer would be quick and easy. But even if she hurts more than she's ever hurt before in her life, there's still something inside of her that doesn't want to hurt the girl, too. Just maybe not enough to not say anything at all. It just makes her hesitate for a long few moments. "I need to be with her." She's never needed anything else so badly. "B'tal was lucky, I think."

"They went together." Lilabet can grasp that much, putting the words together with solemn reverence and quiet regret; it's not fair that she has almost no memories of her father, but that doesn't mean she can't understand. Or, at last, try to understand. "You should be together, too." This is firmer, even to the point of determination. "I... I think I know where my mother would have left her keys."

"He'd be so proud of you. Maybe I'll get to tell him how beautiful and smart you've gotten." Those last words of Lilabet's make Teris' demeanor change just slightly, though, more tense. Her hand tightens, as much as a woman who hasn't eaten since she lost her other half can really tighten her grip, and she looks at Lilabet like she doesn't want to involve her. But assumes perfectly well what she's suggesting. "Do you think you could look?"

Lilabet's tears fall faster for those first words; this time, just briefly, there's the hint of a smile, proud and sad all at once. It doesn't last, not when there's that other elephant in the room, and that tightening hand. Her shoulders straighten; before she can say anything, she gives a tiny, barely present nod. "I can look," she says. "I will look. You're... you're my family, Aunt Teris. I won't-- I can't let them do this to you. And in a way, it's better if I do it." She's thought it all out. "They can't punish me in the same way they could punish someone else."

"Thank you, Lily," is all Teris can bring herself to say at first, tears still in her eyes, stubborn about falling. A young girl shouldn't have that much, or that sort of, pressure on her to do anything like Teris is letting her consider. But the blonde isn't at her best judgment. And maybe even Madilla could forgive her for letting Lilabet think about these things. "You're a sweet girl. You know I love you, don't you?"

"Yes," says Lilabet, immediately, squeezing Teris' hand as hard as she can. "I've always known it. And I know you always will, even when you're gone. I know B'tal does, too. And... I love you, too. And I hate that you're going to die, even though... even though I know it's the right thing." Her voice is quavery, now, though she's more-or-less managing to hold it together; but then, she's always been an unusual child. "I... should I go now? In case someone realises I shouldn't be here."

"Good," murmurs the woman, eyelids starting to look heavy as she studies her niece's face. Being grounded enough to be lucid apparently also makes it easier to give in to her exhaustion. "I don't care what anyone thinks. It's nice to have you here." But Teris will be unconscious in short order, so the girl can go now or wait until her aunt doesn't know the difference.

In the end, Lilabet waits; it's the least she can do, really, to hold on to that hand until Teris is unconscious, and only then to withdraw, pressing a kiss to the woman's cheek. When she leaves, it's as a woman on a mission; she has keys to find, a robbery to plan. This, too, is the least she can do.