2024-07-14: Fourteen Years Later
- Log: Fourteen Years Later
- Cast: Anita Rosetta, Rena Lancaster
- Where: Side 1 - 30 Bunch
- OOC - IC Date: UC 0099 07 14
- Summary: Fourteen years after the 30 Bunch incident, Anita and Rena visit to pay their respects to the departed. For Anita, a heavy weight on her shoulders is lightened - just a little.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita has been unusually quiet over the course of the day. She's usually some degree of quiet, of course - she's a laid-back person, comfortable with long, companionable silences but more than willing to engage in conversation. Today is different, though. Today, Anita feels more... subdued, as if there's something hanging on her mind.
It isn't until that night, laying in bed still awake and staring up at the ceiling that Anita finally opens up.
"Hey, Rena... You awake?" Anita ventures quietly. "There's... somewhere I wanna go. It's, uh."
She trails off for a moment, unsure how to put the feeling into words.
"...I don't want to go there alone. Can we make some time?"
And as it happens, that place is...
Colony 30 - 30 Bunch. The site of a tragedy on an unimaginable scale, where 10 million lives were stolen in response to the protests that had been forming. But before that, and before her mother and father had fled the colony with her, such a short amount of time before that incident... It was Anita's home, where she and her family lived.
Anita and Rena walk through its streets, now, on the way to the park where there a memorial for the incident has been erected. She doesn't have much in the way of funeral clothes so she's gone with the next best thing, electing to dress more formally today in a black blazer, dress shirt and slacks. Resting against her shoulder, occasionally tapping against it, is a large bouquet of flowers in an eclectic assortment of types and colors. And across Anita's face... is a look of something akin to 'anti-nostalgia'. She frowns, her brow furrowed.
"...Feels strange." Anita murmurs. "Like I'm walking through somewhere I should remember, but don't." She frowns, flexing her left hand open and closed idly in her discomfort but carefully, so as not to crush the stems of the flowers. "It's... I remember the, the street layout, but everything else... It's all different."
A lot will change in fourteen years. And here, by necessity, given what took place. The colony was renovated, following the incident - and as new people moved in, things changed to suit the needs of its new residents. If anything of the old remains, it's only as a memento of what came before.
Anita had said once before that she'd had yet to return her old colony after her family left it, that it felt like there wasn't much point. It's not hard to imagine why, now.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena could tell Anita couldn't sleep. It is a side effect of being a Newtype; while Anita's emotions are harder for her to detect in detail than another Newtype's, years of living with her has made her aware of little things about Anita.
So she knew Anita couldn't sleep. She didn't point it out -- it's not really playing fair, especially if she wants to sleep.
When she speaks, though, Rena rolls onto her side. Her brown eyes look at her, thoughtful for a second. "Hey," she says. She is quiet, listening for a moment. "Sure... sure, of course. We can make time."
Rena is dressed similarly, taking her cues from Anita. She has a white button-up shirt, a black tie, and a black blazer on. She has a skirt instead, and her hair is neatly combed -- hanging in a loose braid behind her back.
She looks at Anita, and she can't quite keep the worry off her face to see that expression. "Yeah," she says, her voice soft. "I... heard how they repurposed it, so people could live here. But... they must have replaced everything."
She looks at Anita, for a moment longer, and then down a couple of streets. "...Where did you live, Annie? I know the house isn't here, anymore, but... was it around here?"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena rolls over, and Anita turns her head to meet Rena's eyes. But she says 'sure'... and so Anita smiles, a weak smile, and nods.
"Thanks. Fair warning, I'm probably not gonna be a whole lot of fun."
Anita looks toward Rena briefly, but it's easy to see that she's only half looking at her, with her mind elsewhere.
"Yeah. Most everything, anyway." Anita replies with a nod. Rena looks at her a moment longer, and that's enough to get Anita to refocus on her fully.
Where did she live... Anita looks over the horizon to get her bearings a bit.
"Yeah. Let's see, from here..." Anita starts, doing some counting and comparing in her head. "...Would've been three streets over, and a couple of houses down from where we are now."
She massages the back of her neck before looking back toward Rena.
"...We could swing by on the way back if you want to see where it was?" She offers.
She tries not to stare at her surroundings too much. She feels like a tourist in her own home. Anita breathes in and out, exhaling deeply.
...She's glad Rena came with her. If it had just been her... she would've turned around and gotten right back on the shuttle. But this is something she wants to do, even if it's difficult.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Love you either way, Annie," Rena says, leaning over, and kissing her on the forehead.
She isn't bothered when Anita's gaze is distant. She can only imagine what it feels like; her expression is focused, conversely, on Anita. She watches as she focuses.
She glances down the street, though. Three streets over -- and a ouple of houses down. She looks that way, but she can't see much. She looks back at Anita, and she hesitates.
"Sure... sure, if you want to, okay?" she says.
She reaches a hand out, taking Anita's right hand. Right now, she wants some contact that Anita can feel, as they walk towards the memorial.
"It's a block or two ahead, isn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"...Yeah." Anita replies with a nod. "Yeah, let's."
They'd taken their current route so as to avoid it, but not that they're actually here... she does kind of want to see it. Or, maybe less 'want', but feels like she 'needs' to.
Rena reaches out and takes her right hand, and Anita accepts it gratefully. She relaxes just a little at the feeling of contact, and nods.
"Should be just up ahead, yeah." She confirms. Anita goes quiet, then, and they continue.
It isn't long before the park comes into view. It's a meager park compared to those back on Earth, but in a colony, you have make the best you can with a space you have. For the people who lived here, this is what they had - their little slice of nature in the middle of colony life. Anita sees it, and is struck immediately by remembrance. It's a lot more familiar than the rest. By it's nature, there's only so much that can be changed. They must've had to replant everything, and the park equipment is new, but... it feels the same.
"I remember this." Anita murmurs. "I used to play here all the time as a kid."
She manages a chuckle.
"Scraped up my hands and knees really bad trying to fly off the swings, once. I was banned from going by myself for a month." She says.
Her attention turns, then, to newest addition, the one that stands out the most, and the reason why they're here.
The memorial. A large, carved stone slab, decorated with reliefs and a message of remembrance. Ten million names is too many to fit on a single monument - if they were to try, it would surely encompass much of the colony itself. Flowers have already been set out around it from previous visitors, and there are some people already present here. Thankfully, they're focused on their own business.
Anita inhales sharply and shakily, and then approaches.
"H-here we are." She manages. "I'm a little late, but... I'm back."
She shuts her eyes tight to hold back tears, and then carefully, slipping her hand out of Rena's just briefly moves to set down her bouquet at the foot of the monument.
"Tried to remember what you all liked. Sorry if I got anything wrong." She apologises to the air. She exhales sharply, shutting her eyes again. And this time, the tears don't stop. Her right hand reaches out again, grabbing for Rena's and holding on tight.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena stays quiet, as they get to the park. She can feel some of Anita's emotions; there's the recognition for her, too, of similar parks in other colonies. Snow-covered ones in Winter Wonderland; more ethereal, too-warm ones inside of Axis; ones under the huge industrial lights of Side 3.
She stays quiet, until Anita speaks, and she looks sideways at her, and then she smiles. "I can totally see you doing that, from when we were younger."
But not quite as young as Anita was, then. And, of course, when Anita first came to Winter Wonderland...
Things were different.
Rena looks at the stone as they approach. She looks over the memorial; the flowers already laid out, the messages or remembrance, the reliefs carved into it. She swallows, her chest heavy, and she steps up beside Anita.
She looks at it, for a moment. It's the closest to a grave for her parents as they could ever manage. A grave for everyone in Colony 30, who she grew up with. Ten million people, a number that still boggles her mind -- and the lives that were affected in the aftermath, too, like the Rosettas on their flight from the colony.
Rena bites her lip. She squeezes Anita's hand tightly, then steps forward. She puts her free hand on the stone of the memorial, taking a second to find her voice. It wavers when she speaks. "H-Hi," she says. "I'm Rena," she says. "I... I know you're out there, looking after her."
She steps closer to Anita, her expression stricken. She puts her other hand on her shoulder. "Annie..."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Always did like flying. Maybe a little too much, before I got any actual wings." Anita replies - and she actually laughs a bit.
And soon enough... Anita stands before the memorial, Rena by her side. It helps. Standing here, right now... it makes everything seem more Real, more than it ever has before. The reality of it all hitting her like a mace.
Rena introduces herself, and Anita smiles weakly.
"You'd like her. I really do. So don't worry. I... I've got people looking after me here, too. So, I... I'm alright." Anita starts.
Rena moves closer, a hand on her shoulder... And Anita leans against her. The gesture of care helps uncork everything she's been holding back... and Anita cries, burying her face into Rena's shoulder with a sob.
It's so much. Too much, for any one person. At least she isn't alone.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I'll... I'll do my best for her," Rena says to the memorial, and her voice breaks a little on her last words. She blinks a few tears of her own back, and she looks sideways at at Anita.
She blinks when she feels her lean against her, and then there's a soft, surprised noise when she buries her face against her. Rena wraps both arms around her, then, and pulls Anita in close.
"H-Hey," she says, quietly. "Annie..."
She hugs her tightly, but she doesn't say more. She has tears on her cheeks, too, but she doesn't mind being the one for Anita to cry on.
"It's okay," she says. "I've got you."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena pulls Anita close, hugging her tightly. For a moment, Anita just stands there - arms hanging limp by her side as she cries into Rena's shoulder. Rena assures her that she has her. And that, gradually, gets her to move, arms awkward wrapping around her to return the hug.
It takes a bit before she cries herself out - and once more, her arms fall back limply to her sides. She stands there for a moment, gathering her breath.
"...Th-thanks, Rena. For being with me. For being here with me." She manages. "I, uh... I couldn't have done this alone."
She's quiet for a moment longer.
"...I still think about it sometimes, you know? I get so mad, frustrated... But everyone responsible is already gone, or, or..." Or so untouchable that it doesn't matter, or an unknown that'll never be uncovered. "So all of that just... turns in on itself, with nowhere to go, and then I think about everyone... We didn't deserve this. Nobody deserves this. It's just..."
She trails off, unable to find the words - and a little too exhausted to come up with a substitution.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Hey... hey," Rena says, as Anita thanks her. "Of course. I--I wasn't going to let you come alone. And I... I wanted to be here. I wanted to see for myself."
She puts a hand on Anita's cheek, her thumb brushing away tear stains on her cheek, looking at her. She swallows, her voice quiet for a moment.
Rena nods.
"I know," she says, her voice quiet. "It's okay to be angry about it. About how... how unfair it is, what was stolen from you."
She wraps both arms around Anita again, pulling her into a hug. "But... you're still here. And you bring them with you, wherever you go. A-and... there's still good things ahead of you in your life. When you get to those things... you bring them with you, then, too."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita nods quietly as Rena assures her that she wasn't going to come alone. She feels her brushing away tears with her thumb.
Rena says that it's right to be angry about how unfair it is, then pulls her into another hug. Anita wraps her arms around her weakly.
She's still here, bringing them with her wherever she goes.
"...Yeah." She says. And there's still good things ahead of her, and she'll bring them with her then, too... "Y-yeah."
Anita shuts her eyes for a bit.
"I just... wish they could see it." She murmurs. "But... I guess I'll have to see it for 'em. So they don't worry."
She's quiet for a moment longer before...
"Hey... can we sit down for a bit? My legs are starting to feel a bit like jelly..." She admits with a small laugh. There's a bench not far from here, at least, facing the memorial.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena's fingers slide through Anita's hair, as she sighs, and holds her with both arms. She looks down at her, watching her close her eyes.
"...I wish they could too. I wish I could meet them." She shakes her head. "But... you'll see it for them. And--and they'll be with you, with us, every step of the way."
When Anita asks that question, though, Rena blinks -- and she makes a bit of a startled noise. But she smiles, too.
"Y-Yeah, of course!" she says. She starts walking over with her, towards the bench. She looks at Anita, as they do.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena assures her that she'll see it for them, that they'll be with her - with both of them.
"...Yeah. With both of us." Anita agrees. That means a lot to her. Rena leads Anita over to the bench and Anita settles onto it. For a moment, she just sits there quietly staring at the memorial, before eventually...
"...I'm glad we did this. I was agonizing over it all day, but... I'm glad." She says. She feels a little better, now. That anger and that sadness are still there, will always be there... but she does feel like she's shed a little weight from her shoulders.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm-hm," Rena murmurs. She slides her arm around Anita's shoulders, and looks at the memorial too. She stays quiet as she does, but her eyes shift -- looking sideways at Anita.
"Yeah... I know it couldn't be easy to consider. But I'm glad you came." She hesitates for a moment. "And... I'm glad you asked me to come."
She hugs her, tighter, as she looks at the memorial. She wonders, a little, about Anita's parents -- about the family that Rena never met.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena slides an arm around her shoulder and Anita leans against her, letting Rena support her.
It wasn't easy. And still still feels a little uneasy - and will again, on their way out. But right now... She really is glad.
Anita's family... she's sure they'd be happy for the both of them. She's sure they'd be glad to meet her, to know that she's being looked after. Rena hugs her tighter, and Anita looks her way consideringly. The way she's looking at the memorial.
"...I know they'd like you." Anita says. "They were always pretty open, you know? They had strong opinions, and they cared about people. They jumped onto the protests pretty much as soon as they started."
And they only left, in the end, because they had Anita to think about.
"I think... we're doing them proud." She says with a nod. They'd be glad to know they're standing by what they believe in.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena smiles, looking at Anita as she leans against her. She keeps that arm around her shoulder, as she looks at the memorial and listens to Anita talk about her family. She stays quiet, for a moment, as she considers.
"I'm glad," Rena says, quietly. "I can... I can see that. I think I'd have liked them, too. Though... I'd probably have been really nervous the first time I met them."
She laughs, sheepishly. And briefly, before she looks back at Anita.
She doesn't have to consider what she says. She nods.
"I know we are," she says. "I don't doubt... they'd be proud of you and everything you've accomplished."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena laughs - and Anita actually laughs, too.
"Oh, I don't doubt that. Have to make a good first impression on your girlfriend's folks, right?" Anita says, teasing gently - but her smile settles as Rena agrees, assuring they'd be proud of her.
"...Yeah." Anita agrees with a nod, her eyes turning above. She'll continue making them proud, too. They both will.