2024-08-01: Nurse Fairy Bear Bear
- Log: 2024-08-01 Nurse Fairy Bear Bear
- Cast: Sheryl Nome, Lucine Azul, Liam 7-020
- Where:
- OOC - IC Date: August 1, UC 0099
- Summary: Lucine and Liam come visit Sheryl in the hospital. They talk about the aftermath of the Vajra attack on Sheryl's concert and Sheryl's fall, and about a cute present Lucine brings her.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
News has gone out that Sheryl Nome is in fact alive after her harrowing close call with the Vajra in Lagos. News has also gone out that while she's alive and stable, she was also gravely injured. This is very true. Even with regenerative therapy, it'll be many weeks before she's recovered enough to be able to even get out of bed.
Which is bad for a lot of reasons--if better than being dead, at least--but high among them is that Sheryl has no company to alleviate her boredom. Granted, she told Grace she didn't want company, because she didn't want anyone to see her in this state... but after Alto and Ranka showed up anyway, she's starting to emotionally relent on that.
So she had Grace send out an invitation to Lucine, with permission for her to bring her boyfriend if she wants to. After her closest friends, that's who she wants to talk to first. When Lucine and her guest arrive and check in at the Frontier hospital, they'll be discreetly escorted back, up an elevator to the VIP suites at the top of the building, and shown to Sheryl's room.
Inside, it's spacious--almost more like a hotel room than a hospital room, with how plush the seats and even couch are, how elegantly the walls are decorated and how big that wall-mounted HDTV is. The wall-wide windows are draped with velvet curtains, even. It's very much a room for VIPs. However, there's no mistaking the heart monitor, the e-clipboard at the foot of her bed detailing her condition, the tile floor around that bed, the medicated bandages (changed twice daily) that cover a significant portion of Sheryl's body, the IV stand and the IVs that keep her hydrated and medicated, or the elevated casts on her right arm and both her legs. (On the positive side, at least there's also the wall-to-wall get-well presents--mostly flower bouquets.)
Sheryl herself lies on her hospital bed, eyes shut as music videos play on the TV, volume down to just below reasonable. Every so often, her lips form words around the lyrics. Dark semi-circles ring her eyes, and even her golden tresses look limp. A bedside table in reach of her one good arm sports a glass of water, a small stand from which her fold quartz earring hangs, and a couple of remote controls.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Receiving the invitation from Grace, Lucine quickly phoned Liam, knowing it would be tougher for him to get time off than it would be for her (she imagines Yurika would drive the Nadesico there if Lucine decided to not to go for some weird reason).
Thankfully, all the stars aligned, and now, Lucine is being escorted along with Liam through the hospital and into the elevator, for an awkward, quiet ride up to the VIP suite. Dressed in that pastel pink linen dress with the lace shawl she's worn a few times, she adjusts her hair, and walks out with the door dings, the slight heels of her matching shoes echoing on the floor.
The 'hotel room' was certainly not what Lucine was expecting, somehow, as she walks in. Part of her briefly wonders if Sheryl was actually alright all this time, and was just in hiding, but her senses... quickly blot that little conspiracy out.
Fatigue. Boredom. Loneliness.
"Sheryl..." Lucine hesitates, then smiles. ".... Thank you for inviting me and Liam." She assumes Sheryl was behind it, anyhow. "How are you healing?"
Flowers were first on her mind for what she wanted to get Sheryl, but that... felt a little *too* expected. She gave Sheryl that miniature rose that one time, and with the amount of get well bouquets Lucine expects she'll see, she doesn't need to contribute one more. Now, looking at the display of get-well presents, Lucine realizes that she definitely was right to second-guess her first idea.
The Get Well basket may be a little more on the cutesy side, but the look of the white-furred teddy bear with the iridescent fairy wings, miniature wand, and tiny med kit was too adorable to *not* get. The pack contained some very generally soft-feeling grippy socks in different shades of teal, pink, and purple, some packs that can be heated up or cooled down as well as cloth bags to put them in, and, as a last minute moment of genius, a complex coloring book with a complimentary set of coloring pencils.
(The little med kit holds a small batch of brightly colored bandaids. That was the deciding detail.)
"I'm afraid I can't wheel you out," she says, with a wry grin. "But I can keep you company for a while."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam didn't have much time to prepare himself before this visit, but he wasn't about to leave Lucine hanging. He was there, too, and he needs to be there now.
The cyborg follows Lucine into Sheryl's room, and finds his eyes drawn to two things in quick succession: first, the wall of bouquets and other presents, and then Sheryl herself. Liam sucks in a breath, involuntarily. He's gotten much better with medical facilities, but seeing Sheryl so weak and fragile-looking, stuck in bed, surrounded by medical equipment... It couldn't be further from her usual vivacious presentation.
"Hello, Sheryl," Liam says. He's more casually-dressed than Lucine, in a grey t-shirt and cargo shorts, and he feels like he may be underdressed. "We brought you a gift basket." He indicates Lucine's get-well basket with a look.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
The sound of the door opening doesn't get Sheryl to open her eyes. It's instead the sound of Lucine's voice. She rolls her head over a bit and gives her and Liam a faint smile. Her blue eyes tick down to the get-well basket in Lucine's hands, and her smile broadens when she sees the teddy bear and other goodies within.
"Hey, Lucine. Hey, Liam," she says. To the former, she adds, "Better than it could be, I suppose. I've been getting regenerative treatments, so it's going smoothly so far. But it's still going to take a long while." To Liam: "So I see. It looks cute! I can't wait to rummage around in it." A coloring book in particular might be hard to handle with her having only one good arm--and it being her non-dominant arm--but it'll be something other than endless doctor and nurse visits and TV shows she doesn't want to see.
"Getting wheeled out in this condition would be a giant pain in the ass anyway. Literally," Sheryl says wryly. She doesn't have her usual energy, for obvious reasons, but she at least still has her attitude. She reaches for one of the remotes, and it turns out it's for the TV, as shown when she hits the power button and turns it off. She sets it down, and her blue eyes soften. "How've you two been? After everything that happened at Lagos... It was hell for a while there, huh? Not to mention what happened afterwards..."
Sheryl doesn't actually know what happened afterwards. But Grace won't tell her, and Alto wouldn't tell her either. If asking directly isn't working, then she'll just have to be sneaky. Hopefully the two of them don't see right through her...
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Somehow, in Lucine's haze and rush to get here, she had forgotten Liam's own complicated feelings towards hospitals and hospital equipment, up until she feels that brief flash of emotion from behind her.
Just a blip, and it settles. Liam knows his limits.
"I suppose." Lucine grins. "I brought you a coloring book, but... I didn't think about your arms." It *is* hard, seeing and mentally comparing the Sheryl here with the Sheryl that sang in that concert, weeks ago. "... But at least you have another friend to keep you company." Even if it's a teddie bear.
"We've been doing okay." A bit of a lie, there, but at least it's the truth *now*. "Standard boring pilot things... the usual." At least, that goes for the things she *can* talk about. The kaiju that have attacked around the tokyo-3 area are another matter.
As Sheryl recounts what she remembers, Lucine can sense the thread of curiosity extending from that statement. However, she doesn't have the sense of Alto and Ranka to hold back, feeling her own sense of frustration.
It's no fun, being in a cage, even if it's because of your own injuries.
She starts at the beginning. "... I... sensed you were in danger. I had the Dianthus pin the Vajra coming for you." Was it truly coming for Sheryl? What draws the Vajra in, and how would they react to a source? "However, I wasn't able to secure the Vajra well enough when it began to thrash around. That's... when you were injured. We were able to fish you out of the water when you fell, but... there's still being studies done on what happened, exactly."
She hesitates. "... So be careful about any news you hear. Things are still in the air, and a lot of people are scared. Scientists are trying to pin down causes.... if there's any to be found at all."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"Sounds like you're in good hands," Liam says. Sheryl looks so small and hurt right now, but at least she has that. "I can't do medical things, but if you want something moved, I'm here." Even turning off the TV has to be a bigger pain than usual. Anything he can do to make her life a little easier...
Liam glances at Lucine. "It's..." he begins, when Sheryl asks how things have been. "It's been tough." But it has to be tiny compared to what Sheryl's been through. How does 'I miss being able to live with my girlfriend all the time' compare to 'I almost died, and was merely horribly injured instead'? Liam looks away from Sheryl, a pang of guilt in his heart.
He reaches out to hold Lucine's hand anyway, as she starts to recount what happened.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Liam offers to move things if she wants. Sheryl leans her head back on her pillow to think, then rolls her head to look at the curtains--and the many, many bouquets that line the wall there. "Actually, if you're offering, would you mind rearranging some of those bouquets--maybe put them over by the couch? It's nice how they frame the window, but I can't use the remote to open the curtains without knocking them over."
Sheryl scoffs at Lucine when she brings up the arms. "I've got one working arm! I'll make it work," she says firmly. Indeed, now that she's actually in a conversation with someone who isn't a nurse, there's a bit of a spark returning to her eyes. She reaches out to pat the teddy bear, then pulls it out from the gift basket. "Adorable! And I know just the place for it~!"
Thereupon she tucks it under her hospital gown to rest between her cleavage. She grins and winks mischievously at her guests. This, above all else, is a sign that Sheryl will be all right.
That wickedness abates as Lucine describes the aftermath as 'standard boring pilot things.' "Seriously? Even after an attack like that? I can't believe it! When is NUNE going to take the Vajra threat seriously? --oh, but you're not in NUNE," Sheryl corrects herself, cutting off a fit of outrage before it could really get rolling. Liam weighs in too, and that does have weight with him being a member of NERV. "I bet... It looks like it's been tough on you." (That's Sheryl misunderstanding why Liam looks away.)
She hints at Lucine and Liam about the aftermath of the Vajra attack, and Lucine tells her something that honestly surprises her. Sheryl's eyes widen. "It really was coming after me?" Her eyelashes droop at the rest.
Then she scoffs, gesturing dismissively with her one good arm. "I already heard some of it! Some people will broadcast anything if they think it'll get them more ratings." She breathes out; she looks tired again--tired and irritable. "...But thanks for the warning, Lucine."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"... Liam's good at moving things, I can confirm." Despite the sight of the injured Sheryl, something begins to settle in Lucine's soul seeing her still... be Sheryl. Underneath the exhaustion, the aches, the roughness of her condition, there's still that spirit.
...... Yep, that's Sheryl, alright. Lucine blushes slightly, but giggles into her hand. "It's the right size and everything. Though... I wonder if the nurses will appreciate it, when they have to shift you around." Lucine's fingers give Liam's a squeeze if and when he leaves; she sits in one of the chairs by Sheryl's bedside. "I suppose the bear needs a name..."
".... The Vajra... I can't say they're not taking it seriously, just that-- yes." Sheryl gets it in one. "There's probably still things under wraps, but... trust me, I understand that frustration."
Lucine's own train of thought derails as Sheryl reacts. 'It really was coming after me?'
"...." It's almost as if Sheryl read Lucine's own doubts, or felt them herself. ".... I felt danger," Lucine says, after a moment of though. "... To be truthful, I can't know exactly what will cause it. I just have my suspicions on where the danger might be. Usually, I am right, but... in this case, I may have caused another in resolving the first."
But is she skipping over something Sheryl noticed, from her viewpoint? Would Sheryl even remember? Lucine's mouth opens, then shuts. ".... It's just as likely it would have knocked you over while moving. I... don't know if they necessarily distinguish any of us apart, as opposed to just 'a danger'. In that way, they... feel different from the Jovian Lizards' drones." Another moment of hesitation. "... Do you... remember something, Sheryl? Ah, don't push it, if you don't. All I can tell you is what I saw and felt... and... my senses are as fallible as the ones we share in common."
She breathes in a sigh. "I blamed myself, for not being able to keep you out of harm's way. Even if I know I did everything I could, that attack took everyone by surprise."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"Of course," Liam says. He even cracks a smile at Lucine's remark. "How would we have moved in if I wasn't there to lift the furniture?" Wait, lift? Leaving that matter up in the air, Liam steps around Sheryl's bed to the bouquets bracketing the window. Rather than pile them into his arms, he picks up one in each hand, holding them delicately--like they were precious gifts. (They are.) Liam walks over to the couch, sets them down with exacting care, and returns for more.
Sheryl tucks the teddy bear into her cleavage. "The right size...?" Liam says, as he glances her way, and immediately starts to flush. He sets down the bouquets, and clears his throat. "Looks very comfortable." And that's all he's going to say on the matter.
"Yeah, the tabloids are all over it." The final bouquets are transplanted to their new, temporary home, leaving a window clear of obstructions and an artful pile of arrangements on the couch. "A couple reporters realized Lucine was the pilot who fished you out, and had to be politely reminded she wasn't interested in speaking with them." As for the matter of this being tough on him, Liam nods. "I've been stationed in Tokyo-3 most of the time," he says. "Not just because of the Vajra. We've had other kaiju attacks, too."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It helps that there's people here--not just people but friends. Sheryl is a consummate extrovert, and it's easier to relax in the presence of friends she doesn't have to be "on" for. Even if Lucine and Liam are also fans, they've hung out enough that she's sure (perhaps incorrectly) that it won't be that big a deal to see her in this state. Just like Alto and Ranka made clear.
So she giggles a bit when Lucine blushes, and even more when Liam looks over and blushes and comments on the bear's comfort levels. Perhaps not as energetically as she normally would, but that spirit is there. "They'll just have to deal~" A name, though, huh... Sheryl toys with one of the bear's ears. It's fluffy and white, with wings and a wand... ... ... ...nope, she's got nothing. "I'll have to think about it," she decides. Maybe something will come to her when she's a little less medicated. (She's basically never not medicated these days, so that might take a while.)
"Thanks a bunch. That's a big help, Liam," she adds as he starts transporting the bouquets with care. She didn't even have to specify that part! She's pleased to see it. It's something to be pleased about, at least.
She sobers as Lucine starts describing what she'd sensed. "Not really," she says, of remembering anything. "But that was the main point at that summit, right? That I made the Vajra attack happen somehow." Her gaze turns slowly towards her fold quartz earring. It glints in the artificial light. Her grandmother had poured so much research into the stone set there... "I've seen Vajra tear people limb from limb before." She looks back at Lucine, grim. "I'm not keen in being in this horrible get-up. But between this and being chunks of meat in a monster's guts, I way prefer this. I'm grateful to you, Lucine. Seriously."
After all, she's right: that attack took everyone by surprise. Right?
She shifts her gaze over to Liam. "Figures. Glad you managed to shoo them away," she says dryly of those reporters. Concern glimmers in her eyes as he mentions not just the Vajra but other kaiju. "Sorry to hear that. There's all kinds of monsters in the Earth Sphere, huh?" Though she stops short of implying not all those monsters are kaiju.
She breathes a sigh and drapes an arm over her face. "Ugh. Sorry--suddenly I'm feeling worse. That's most of the time, though, really, so don't mind me." She gestures at the TV. "If you two want to hang out for a while longer, feel free to put a movie on."
Even with her suddenly feeling worse, she's not in a rush to send her guests away.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"That's my boyfriend~" Lucine chimes, in a singsong voice. "... I didn't let you do all the lifting yourself, though." In this case... no, Lucine did not lift anything heavier than what would be expected of someone of her size and ability.
Where others would lift many in a show of might, Liam takes his time.
Sheryl's display, while it made the two blush (which may have been part of the fun), it does seem to make Lucine's upper body relax, just a little more. It's a sign that Sheryl retains her spirit, bright and bold. ... Though some of it may be the drugs, too.
Plus, it means her gift was *perfect*. Lucine's confidence will be riding high on that for a while. "... I'm sure that's just part of it. Not every day you get to tell Sheryl Nome to turn off the TV because the doctor is coming, or draw her IVs."
The sobering topic of the Vajra attack, Lucine winces. So, Sheryl *had* seen the summit. "... I... was afraid of that. .... They don't know what they're talking about." There's a protective tone, almost, to her words. "If it's your sound that influences them... you and anyone else with these abilities could be the next Minmay... but..." Her hands interlace in her lap. "... The Newtype part of me says... that I hope that this isn't the case. The Zentradi became allies. The Vajra... could become weapons. And you and..." Does she know about Ranka?
".... And anothers, will be put into situations that you shouldn't have to deal with." Lucine omits that part, for Ranka and Sheryl's sakes.
'I way prefer this. I'm grateful to you, Lucine. Seriously.'
Lucine is quiet, her hands clutching her lap.
It's weird; she had been confident that Sheryl would be the last person to ever blame her, no matter how much Lucine blamed herself. That was how Sheryl was, after all. But to hear her say it...
Lucine begins to tear up. "... Sorry... I knew you wouldn't blame me, but... I was so scared you wouldn't even be able to say that... at all... I'm so glad you're back with us, Sheryl... And that you're still you." She steals a tissue from Sheryl's bedside table. "... I'm okay, give me a moment."
She doesn't speak about Liam's kaiju; that part is better that it's his, as some may be sensitive information. It gives her a moment to compose herself too.
Sheryl voices her feeling worse, and Lucine looks up, about to move.
".... I think we could watch a movie or two. It's more fun when you're watching with someone else." She grins towards Liam. "... Ah! I know this one!" It's an older movie, a cowboy western from the western revival period way back. "There was a cowboy that based his name on this, ah, instead of 'Cowboy Jack' he called himself 'Cowboy Blackjack'." She pitches her voice low. "'Cowboy Blackjack's back and he ain't takin' any flack!" Or... that's what he'd often say, when he was on the TV."
She doesn't mention he died, like many cowboys of her dad's generation in often glorious but violent ways, but that was a story for another day.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam's flush and smile return at Sheryl's compliment. "It was nothing," he says. It wasn't nothing, but even if they're friends--something Liam never, ever thought would happen--Sheryl Nome just said he was a big help. The smile fades just a hair as Sheryl brings up the summit, and what could've happened to her. "I'm glad you're alive, too."
Lucine isn't just speaking about a hypothetical when she talks about potential exploitation. That happened to people like Lucine. It happened to Liam, in another way. He curls an arm around Lucine's shoulders and just holds her, providing gentle support while letting her stand on her own. "I'd be down for a movie," he says. Even if it's not a good movie, they're watching it as friends.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl chuckles again, this time at Liam and Lucine's back-and-forth about furniture-moving for their mutual apartment. She laughs a little brighter at Lucine's joke about the doctors coming for her IVs. "I hardly ever do this kind of service for my fans!" she declares, winking.
God willing, after she's healed up, she never will again, either.
There's something Lucine dances around when talking about people who might be able to influence the Vajra. Sheryl already knows about Ranka's potential... but she can't know for sure that's what Lucine is getting at, so she keeps her mouth shut. That's not for sure either, anyway.
"I know," she murmurs instead. "I'm not interested in that at all."
The next Minmay, though, huh... If anyone could pull that off, it's definitely Ranka. Something in Sheryl's chest squeezes painfully at the thought.
Fortunately, she doesn't have to focus on that, because Lucine starts getting emotional when Sheryl absolves her of blame. Her eyes go wide, and she shoots Liam an alarmed look--but fortunately, Lucine says she'll be okay. Sheryl smiles softly, and when Liam holds Lucine, she reaches out and pats her hand. "Of course I'm still me! I'm Sheryl Nome," she declares, if with a tinge of exhaustion creeping back in. "Even a few broken limbs won't keep me down for long! I'll be back on stage before you know it!"
It sounds like they're both up for a movie--and Lucine's right; it is more fun to watch with friends. "Let's do it, then," she says, and settles back in, grabbing a bedside glass of water to wet her throat, to watch and listen to Lucine's commentary on the cowboy film while she lets herself relax. ...as best she can, anyway.