You saw my pain, washed out in the rain (OPEN)

[astrogator]

Who: Arilanna Tayrey and YOU!
Where: The infirmary
When: Early October
What: Visit her! Or visit the infirmary for another reason and notice her.
Warnings: Head injury and its consequences, discussion of violence, possession, and the ethics of torture.
Notes: Also works as a catch-all for later threads when she's better!



1. But you saw no fault, no cracks in my heart

[This is what it takes to get Lieutenant Tayrey to actually rest. A nasty head injury with concussion. She's been in and out of consciousness for days, and while she's out of danger now, she's staying put. This is new territory; while the infirmary is well-supplied and Doctor Watson is very competent, the resources here don't compare to the advanced technology of the Tradelines. Her genetic enhancements protect her, mean that she heals quickly, but she can't tell just how long it might take - and given what she witnessed on her visits to Earth's past, she's very worried about infection.

That and function, although she's held off on running cognitive tests on herself just yet, in case the medicines she's taking have some side-effects. (She needn't worry, Cardalek genetics are more impressive than even Miri Carrington realised, and she'll be fine.)

Now, however, she's well enough to sit up in bed, her head bandaged. Despite everything, she's still wearing her Tradeline jacket. It keeps her warm, and it's a comfort, and now that she's feeling a little better, she's once again concerned with the impression she's giving. It's her intention to stay as cheerful as she can, not complain about the pain or the unfairness of the situation. Physical injury was always a hazard of her job, and she'd been taking a risk by trying to use Harvey for her own purposes.

When a visitor arrives, she might be sipping a mug of Cardalek coffee, or trying to braid her hair to keep it neat and away from the bandages, or watching a comforting old episode of For the Company on her slate computer. Using the computer for work isn't advisable yet, but holovids are no trouble.]

2. So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

[Wildcard! For anything else. PM or MillisaK if you'd like to discuss ideas.]

Comments

[ss_buttcrack]

[When he found out Ari was still recovering in the infirmary, he begged to be let out of his cell just long enough to come see her for himself. He needs to apologize and over text just isn't enough. His escort is waiting outside with his gun, ready to intervene if needed, but he wants to do this alone.]

Lieutenant Tayrey...

[He stops in the doorway, nervous about coming too close and spooking her.]

It's... Crichton. I... wanted to see how you're doing. I can get lost if you don't want me here. I'd understand.

[astrogator]

[There's no instant reaction when she sees him, no sudden, visceral response borne of her trauma. Tayrey's own gun is by her bedside, and anyone who thought that inadvisable was asked whether they could provide her with full-time security protection from anyone or anything here that could harm her. She doesn't reach for it now, however. She simply stares at him.]

How do I know? How do I know you're actually Crichton?

[ss_buttcrack]

You don't. You... can't.

[That's why he's still over here in the doorway.]

I don't know any test that works. So I... I'll keep this short. I'm sorry. I didn't know what he was doing. I didn't have a clue about any of it. But that's not an excuse because I should have known he'd pull something like this. If I'd seen it coming, none of this would have happened. So, I'm sorry. I betrayed your trust whether I meant to or not.

[astrogator]

It's not your fault.

[Sure, there's a chance that even now she's talking to Harvey, but she decides to give him the benefit of the doubt. If Harvey had wanted to finish the job he'd started and kill her, he could have done it much earlier. Crichton's the one who would have needed to wait until she was reliably conscious and lucid enough to have this conversation.

She beckons him over.]

Come here. It's not your fault, Crichton. I should have seen it coming too. I could have shot him, you know? I decided to talk instead, and knowing what he's like... well, I can't say you didn't warn me plenty.

[ss_buttcrack]

It was my responsibility.

[He takes a few halting steps closer, unsteady on his feet and not really able to hide that fact. A couple of people have thrown some food his way while he's been down in the brig, but he hasn't had much appetite.

Slowly, he lowers himself into the chair at her bedside, immediately leaning hard on his arms in his lap.]

He's good at that. He knows what to say to... get at you.

[crushed_pearls]

It takes a couple days for Erin to show up. She's ragged, and she's worn; no sleep since her confrontation with Valdis's body, too strung out on stress, guilt, worry.

But her friend has been hurt. Badly. Erin sits heavily in the room's chair, and slumps like her strings have been cut.

"...I'd say 'peace and prosperity' but I suspect in this situation the happiest motherfucker in the Tradelines would still deck me for it."

[astrogator]

Tayrey sits up a little straighter when she sees Erin walk in. The trouble with bed rest is that when you're conscious all the time, it can get incredibly boring.

That opening remark makes her smile a little. She replies, 'You're probably right, except I'd have to get out of bed to do that, and that's... not as easy as it should be right now.' She can do it. She does do it, but only when there's a compelling reason to.

'It's good to see you, Erin,' she says warmly. Erin's alive. That's a comfort.

[crushed_pearls]

"It's good to see you too. I've got...news."

(Breathe, Peters.)

She breathes.

"...Valdis is still out of the action, and I can't explain why without breaking her trust. If you see her body...do what you have to. Running won't work, you'll just die tired. That's the bad news."

[astrogator]

'I appreciate you telling me this, honest I do, but-' she bites her lip, looking suddenly very ill-at-ease. 'I already know. At least some.'

Now it's Tayrey's turn to take a deep breath. 'Harvey's not the only trouble, right? I... I wrote to Valdis. Straight away, first chance I got, priority one. To apologise, because I broke contract. To warn her. Only she was already gone. Then when she came back... well, someone else came back. Offered to exact her own penalty for the breach.'

She puts her hand down on the blanket that covers her, stares down at her own fingers. 'I likely won't have a chance if she comes for me, but I don't think she will. She keeps sending messages. Telling me when someone dies.'

[crushed_pearls]

"...Jesus fucking Christ," Erin breathes. "...I'm sorry. That's. Fucking cruel."

She reaches out a hand and offers it to Ari. A touch of human contact. A friend's comfort.

[abhorrently]

[she comes into the infirmary, intent on familiarizing herself more with the contents and thinking about what she could do to stretch her supplies, but the figure in one of the beds catches her sight. that's...Lieutenant Tayrey. bandaged head, fussing with her hair - something serious, then, and Fever makes sure her steps have more weight on them as she approaches. being usually light of foot means you sometimes just startle people.]

Tayrey. Didn't expect to find you here.

[she keeps her tone bright, conversational, friendly for now.]

[astrogator]

[She hears Fever's approach, and gives the other woman a small wave as she steps closer. Her hair, Tayrey abandons for now, half-braided. It's not as if she's going to look her best under the circumstances, either.]

I can't say that it's my favorite place to be, but it's likely for the best right now. How are you?

[She can't guess how much Fever knows about Harvey, and Valdis, and all the rest, so she does her best to mirror that bright tone.]

[abhorrently]

Settling in still. There's ups and downs.

[an aggressive roommate, the arcade, getting turned into a mini grove, talking to guys about magic....]

You mind if I ask what happened, or are you sick of answering that?

[astrogator]

I don't mind.

[She does, a little, but that's not Fever's fault, and it's no trouble to her to explain, really.]

I got hit in the head with a bowling ball. [Will Fever know what that is?] Large, spherical, very heavy object. It turns out a friend of mine was actually being controlled by another entity that lives inside his head and... well, that part's complicated. Essentially I trusted him when I shouldn't have, then I... hesitated to attack him, because he was wearing my friend's face. He didn't hesitate.

[There is is, her confession, her weakness. She should have shot Harvey when she had the chance.]

[abhorrently]

[there's a wide-eyed expression of shock, on the edge of horror that comes over her when she hears that about another entity in someone's head. outwardly, it looks like normal reactions to the idea of possession. inwardly, it's her running over thoughts in her head - what if the creature's just dormant, not dead as she hoped? outside of the protection she'd had - there has to be someone in this place who can tell her if it's there or not.]

You couldn't have possibly known. And I think anyone would hesitate, if it was a friend.

[it's not weakness, to not want to harm one's friends. it's an innate thing to hold onto as tight as a grip can be made.]

Is he still here?

1.

[decohere]

[with Tendi gone and no longer maintaining the infirmary, there's nobody to talk her out of relying on sleeping medications to get through the rougher nights. all nights have been rough lately, the spike in nightmares blending in with the daily horrors.

so she's not really expecting anyone at all when she enters, much less Tayrey. she startles slightly, seeing her injured. wondering if she's another victim of Tiamat's rampage.] Lieutenant. What happened?

sorry I failed at keeping up with this post! back properly now

[astrogator]

Agent Starr. [She remembered this time. She tries to smile, but her head still hurts, it has more than a little of the grimace about it.]

I was attacked by Harvey. With a bowling ball. [Does Ava know who Harvey is? If she doesn't, she needs to, so Tayrey is no longer excessively concerned with protecting Crichton's privacy.]

Are you alright? [Ava doesn't look injured from this angle, but Ari knows that Tiamat is on the loose.]

[decohere]

... [a brief remembering of tossing a bowling ball through one of the rifts and splattering the brains of somebody in Pratt's memory...]

I'm glad you're not hurt worse. After hearing what he's capable of...

[she rubs her forehead, stressed and tired from recent events.] Physically, yes. But I had a run in with Tiamat. Trying to drain the soul out of my husband.

[astrogator]

I almost died. [There's almost a curiosity in her voice as she says it, as if she wonders just how close she came. Today she's lucid, sitting up in bed, but she'd been in and out of consciousness for days after.

Still, Ava's not wrong to say it. It could have been worse.]

I think Harvey was too impatient to check he'd finished the job properly. I'm lucky Doctor Watson was around. [She has no idea how lucky.]

But you - the two of you managed to hold off Tiamat? [Ari's trying not to sound too surprised, but she can't help it.] I thought she'd gone quiet. She's been texting me. How did you manage it?

[decohere]

[before, Ava thinks it would have been better to die rather than suffer the painful recovery of sustained injuries... but that was before the imposed consequences for death. before it took three entire days to come. now everything is running low on power. less new people are trickling in. several more have disappeared. everything feels like it's grinding to a slow halt.]

We're all very lucky for Dr. Watson. [she steps a bit closer, observing Ari quietly. she doesn't want to fuss over her, but there is a desire to comfort.] Can I get you anything?

[hesitates] She gave me something. In case of emergency, that I could use to maybe get through to her. It worked for just long enough. I nearly had her, but she took a swipe at me and I had to let go. She escaped. [clearly frustrated.] I haven't found her since.

[theotherright]

The first day that Ari spends sitting up, she'll hear footsteps and the telltale rattle of Arthur's cane approaching the infirmary door.

A pause, outside. An exhalation. This isn't the first time he's visited, and it's still astounding to him how... well, how unusual the idea has become. When the hell did friends dying and resurrecting become more commonplace than a friend needing hospital treatment? Come to that, what the hell does he do if she doesn't wake up, but also doesn't die; if she's just... in limbo?

A quiet, muffled word or two to himself, and then he knocks gently on the door before letting himself in. "Erm," he says, speaking just as softly. He clears his throat. "Er, Doctor Watson?"

sorry I failed at keeping up with this post! back properly now

[astrogator]

Ari's unaware of just how many people came to visit her when she was unconscious. She'd be touched by it, if she knew. Touched and a little alarmed, because friends are very welcome, but not everyone on this ship is a friend. Still, she hasn't been harmed. She's recovering.

She looks over as Arthur steps inside, a little surprised to see him.

'Doctor Watson's not here just now,' she calls over to him. 'Only me!'

no worries! <3 I've been kinda slow too

[theotherright]

Surprise crosses Arthur's face, followed quickly by delight, and a smile jumps on there before he has time to have a say in it.

"Tayrey," he says, voice thick with relief. "Jesus. You're all right." A huffed breath, and he's clearly glad to have the chance to say this again: "Peace- peace and prosperity."

[astrogator]

'Peace and prosperity,' she echoes warmly, because it still delights her when someone cares enough to use the Tradeline greeting.

'I'm... alright, so long as you don't ask me to stand up, I'm just fine,' she says with a dark little laugh. 'Concussion is rough. But I'll get better. I think Doctor Watson saved my life.' Undoubtedly. Her voice isn't as strong as usual, but she's awake. She's lucid.

She speaks up again. 'There's a chair to the right of the bed, if you want to sit and wait for him?'

[theotherright]

"No need now," Arthur announces: "I wanted to ask him how you were recovering, and, well. Now I can hear it from the horse's mouth."

In the horse's none too healthy sounding voice. He tries not to focus on that part. He certainly doubts that Ari needs reminding of it.

"You can believe I am immensely grateful to him. Are you... in any pain?"

He does start to move to the chair though, turning... oh no. Did Ari mean her right or Arthur's. He picks one at random and goes for it.