milliways_bar | (no subject)

[OOM: History will one day remember it as the last major offensive of the war, but for those who live through it there is only one thing to remember: death. So much death.]

The Makita who trudges into the bar today is almost unrecognizable as the girl who left only a few days ago. Her clothes and face are still spattered with the blood and grime of days of fighting in the streets, but that isn't uncommon for her.

No, the difference is that this Makita is hollow-eyed, almost empty. Her steps are slow and heavy, her eyes are blank, and she doesn't even appear to be aware that she's back in Milliways at all. A close look at her face will reveal the twin streaks of oddly clean skin running down her cheeks; the path the tears have scoured out.

She's not crying now. She has no tears left.

Makita has been many things in her life, but broken has never been one of them. Until now.

[This post open for days and days as it's sort of important to Makita, and likely to go slowtime since I'm still traveling. But don't let that deter you from tagging.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There is only one thing to do when you see a face that filled with pain.

You just grab Kita for a hug. You say nothing because it really is beyond words, but you hold her, at least till she shoves you back.

Mel doesn't hug, she just carries on until either Makita's face is clean or she can't access it anymore.

She's waiting for the breaking to finish.

With the numbness that was protecting her pulled away be her friends, the shuddering sobs become more and more intense until Makita inhales deeply and releases a piercingly loud wail of anguish.

Startled, Alex lets go. The howl washes over him, terrifying and sad.

Mel sits back for it, and then sits up next to Makita, taking over hug duty. She knocks her hat to the floor and rests a hand on 'Kita's hair.

"I know."

More than once Makita has to pause for breath before trying, again and again, to express just how much she hurts when words are simply insufficient. But she's been days without sleep, and now that she's stopped and warm and (somehow) safe... she doesn't even notice when her eyes slide closed and her breathing evens out.

"Is she asleep," he whispers very carefully to Mel.

"Probably."

Mel pulls Makita's prone body to her, not letting her out of the hug yet.

"I'll keep her here overnight."

The pain etched into Makita's features remains even in sleep, but it's far less harsh as her breath slips in and out rhythmically.

"Yeah, of course." He slowly gets up. "Listen...if you need anything, or if she needs anything, come find me. Or Rapunzel. She's family to both of us, and..." He can't say anything more as he chokes up, scared for Kita, her howl still echoing. He gives Rapunzel's room number (now his room as well). "And thanks for being here, Mel."

"She's mine too." Simply.

"Come see her tomorrow if she's not in bar."

Mel looks up at Knox finally. "You know it could be only one thing, right?"

"Yeah. The goddamn war. That terrible miserable war that made her an orphan." He doesn't curse. Somehow he never got the habit. But the tone of his voice, the strength of his anger, make every word sound like a profanity. To match that war.

"I meant," Mel says blankly, not looking down at Kita.

"She only had one last thing for the war to take away."

He can't help but look at Kita. Even sleeping it's as if she's radiating pain and horror.

"Yeah.

"And I don't know how to stop it." He knows it's not his job to fix things. He just would like to.

Mel strokes Kita's hair softly.

"You can't," she says. "It doesn't stop. You just live with it."

Under other circumstances, with other people, he might try to dispute this. But at the moment, there is nothing he can say.

"Mel...thank you for doing this. If I see Goldie or Steph, I will send them here."

"Steph lives here," Mel informs him. "But thanks, Knox. Seeya later."

"Oh. Didn't know that," he says as he leaves. "Later." And as he goes, he fights back what might some small tears of his own.

Mel sits on the couch for a few more minutes, before bundling Kita up like a child and carrying her into Mel's own bedroom.

Mel's a twin who grew up with not enough beds to go round. Sharing a bed with a family member is just natural to her.