Day 120 :: action [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Mireille (or possibly other NPCs) and anyone who wants to see her
Open: Open
When: Day 120
Where: the hospital
What: suddenly a baby
Format: action
Warnings: none

[So, remember how Mireille, one of the friendly NPCs, has been really pregnant pretty much since the Calamity happened?

Well, the baby arrived, and thanks to Stein's help everything turned out alright. Anyone who is awake early on day 120 will see her being escorted to the hospital by Georges, and if anyone stops by the hospital later in the day she will be in a room in the A wing with her little baby boy.

Also, for the time being, Rin will be cooking the meals in the Distillery instead of Mireille.]

Comments

hey big bro hey

[astras]

[ Hearing for sure what this place was and what had become of her home had put her in more of a panic then she had been in before. She was usually the optimist of the group; after all, when you have to face your own death for so long, you have to really work to find all of the beauty In life, right? The news that the world they had worked so hard to save was fine, though ... the news that the one she loved had gone with ...

That would be enough to break even the biggest optimists.

She knew, In the back of her mind, that she couldn't keep wallowing in her own little pool of grief, and that even if she did, eventually the friends of hers that were here would pick her up. It looked as though Frederic already had a plan for that. She looked up at him as he entered her room, but at first, she didn't say anything. Instead, she started at him for several moments.

... as much as she wanted to tell him to go away, she didn't have it in her. So, slowly, she nodded and pushed herself to stand from her bed, making her way toward him. ]

<33

[orzelbialy]

[It wasn't difficult to tell just how badly Polka was taking everything. He knew from his own experience that it was easier just to wallow in it then get up and find something else to focus on until the morose, melancholy feelings passed, and he, too, had been feeling much the same way she had for vastly different reasons.

But they couldn't remain like that, and even as she responded in silence to him, he offered her the tiniest of hopeful smiles and his hand to guide her out of the room.]

I understand how you feel, Polka. You worked so hard to save your world from all that pain and misery, over and over again, only for an outside force to take it and those you care about away from you. Similar things happened in my own world, in my home, and I was just as powerless to stop it then as I was now.

But I want to show you that there is still hope even in such a dire place as this. Life does go on.

[astras]

[ She didn't look at him directly as they began to walk, hand in hand, but she was listening. She knew that what he was telling her was true.

Their lives went on. The lives of the people in this place all went on. But what about Allegretto? What about Beat, and March, and Salsa, and everyone who had been in their world when it was destroyed?

Why had she been saved, with only a few friends, when the people she had been so willing to sacrifice her own life for were destroyed?

She felt like she should not rightfully be alive.

But Frederic, Viola and Jazz all probably felt similar. Polka knew she didn't have to take on all of the guilt on her own, even if she would never wish the kinds of feelings she had on any of her friends.

How was what Frederic had to show her going to make her feel any differently than she did now? She didn't know. She was going to see, though. ]

[orzelbialy]

[They did feel that way, but to Frederic it was just as much the natural order of things as it was the unnatural intervention of whatever had occurred to make all this happen. People lived and people die. Wars took more than they gave, and there had been faces back home that Frederic would never see again because the war or illness simply took them away before they had a chance to grow old. What had happened in Forte, and even what had happened here was no different.

But as with the passing of his sister and his inability to return to his home land, he had to stand back on his feet and continue ever onward. As did Polka, when she finally felt strong enough to do so.

But he kept quiet as he led her in to the hospital, stopping only when they came across the room where a single baby was sleeping in a hospital crib, it's little chest rising and falling visibly.]

One of the other survivors here was pregnant when we arrived. I was told by the leader here that because of the efforts of others, she was able to give birth without complications.

Polka... we may have lost our friends. And we will always feel that pain in our hearts. But good can still be done here. This newborn should give us hope, because he and his mother both survived in this difficult place thanks to others selfless actions.

[astras]

[ A baby? In a place like this, would the baby have a chance at a good life? Still, she couldn't deny that life was something to celebrate. Finally, she looked up at Frederic. ]

The baby is really okay? And the mother, too?

[ She returned her gaze to the sleeping newborn, her expression softening as she watched his little chest rise and fall. He looked so sweet and innocent… ]

Would this world really be okay for him to grow up in? I know the people here are trying to rebuild, but ... it would be difficult to raise a child here.

[orzelbialy]

[Frederic nodded to her questions, tucking his hands behind his back as he watched the child sleep.]

They both appear to be completely healthy.

[He paused for thought on the other things she said, eventually deciding that his honest opinion on the matter was better than trying to speculate beyond that.]

Truthfully, I can't say for certain if it will be alright for him to grow up here. But the raising of a child is not just the duty of the mother, but everyone around her, so it is something we will all eventually take part in to ensure that he lives with good influences all around him.

And for whatever it may be worth, this is the world he will know, for better or worse. Unlike us he will have little to pine for because he simply won't know any better. Certainly, we can tell him of our worlds and what's been lost, but to a child born in to this his world will be none other than the Bastion.

And with that in mind, it is the generations that follow us in this place that will continue to make it grow and thrive.

[astras]

[ Polka is quiet for a long time as she listens to Frederic's words. She moves a little closer, watching the sleeping child with a gentle expression on her face. Something about what he had said before, about it being everyone's responsibility to help raise the child ... it struck something within her. Back home, she had been prepared to give her life up so that the people she loved had a chance to live on in their beautiful world. While she knew that wasn't going to help here, and would never help again ...

There were other things she could do. She had to help raise the child, like everyone else.

It was a small thought, when compared to how much she still mourned the losses of Allegretto and everyone else in their world who hadn't made it. It was something that could keep her going, though. She couldn't help anyone back home anymore. She hated that. But she could help people here.

She could help the baby. ]

I wonder ... I wonder if his mother would accept me as her baby's older sister?

[ It was a thought she hadn't meant to speak aloud; it had sounded silly in her head, and it had sounded sillier when she had spoke it. The moment she realizes she had spoken those thoughts, she looks away, a blush on her cheeks. ]

[orzelbialy]

I'm certain she wouldn't mind you asking that in the slightest.

[Frederic offered her a smile and a gentle hand on her shoulder with that. Naturally he would have his own problems finding where to fit in to a place like this, but he could tackle that later when his friends were feeling better.]

If you wish to speak with her, I'll leave you to it.

[He should probably go find Jazz and say hello.]

[astras]

[ She looks up at Frederic and smiles, nodding a little in response to him. ]

I think I will. Thank you, Frederic ...

[ Oh, he isn't going with her? Well that's all fine and dandy, but where is he going to go? To see Jazz, maybe? Or Viola? Or somewhere else entirely? ]

Where will you be going?

[orzelbialy]

[It's good she's feeling better, because that was what he had set out to do.]

To see Jazz, of course. I think it's about time I pay him a visit.

[And with that he bowed to her.]

If you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave now. Please take care of yourself, Polka.

[astras]

[ She nods and curtsies a little in response to him. It was only polite. ]

Please, give Jazz my well-wishes? I will make sure to visit him a little later.

[ She looks back into the room, at the mother of the child. Now to gather up the courage to go in there ... ]