[He's awake. He's awake and that should be a relief, except that Jill's assailed by a different sense of dread as Joshua succumbs to an all-too-familiar pain. Immediately, Jill cuts off her aether, but it does nothing to bring warmth back into the room, and so she's left standing there shivering for a moment, taken by both adrenaline and the cold.
Mostly adrenaline, if she's being honest with herself.
With the same abundance of care as before, Jill moves to the front and side of Joshua, placing one hand on his shoulder, the other on his knee – softly, gently, like he's a broken-winged bird and all too easy to spook. There's a tremble to her hands that she can't steady, and she takes a moment to curse herself for what feels like a lapse, even if she has managed to remain ahead of everything. For the most part, anyway.]
You're all right, Joshua.
[He's not; she knows this far too well, and that understanding only swells as the smell of blood rises from where it spills into his palm. Everything about him rebels against something so viciously that she can't imagine there's a single part of him that feels anywhere close to all right.
So, she adds:]
You're awake now.
[It's no more helpful, she knows, but at least it feels more honest.]
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2024-02-04 07:24 pm (UTC)Mostly adrenaline, if she's being honest with herself.
With the same abundance of care as before, Jill moves to the front and side of Joshua, placing one hand on his shoulder, the other on his knee – softly, gently, like he's a broken-winged bird and all too easy to spook. There's a tremble to her hands that she can't steady, and she takes a moment to curse herself for what feels like a lapse, even if she has managed to remain ahead of everything. For the most part, anyway.]
You're all right, Joshua.
[He's not; she knows this far too well, and that understanding only swells as the smell of blood rises from where it spills into his palm. Everything about him rebels against something so viciously that she can't imagine there's a single part of him that feels anywhere close to all right.
So, she adds:]
You're awake now.
[It's no more helpful, she knows, but at least it feels more honest.]