thebastion | [OPEN] We're smiling all the same [Day 207]

Who: Ahime, anyone checking on her in the hospital
Open: Open
When: 207
Where: Hospital
What: The warrior has finally woken.
Format: Any
Warnings: Talk of impaling injuries

Being a Warrior of Atlantis, and the right hand of the Queen at that meant knowing your life was constantly going to be filled with risks. Their life expectancy was a tad higher than the average soldier due to their naturally imbued magic being higher than others due to what was passed on via genetics, but that didn't mean that there weren't those who fell in battle young. Entire Warrior lines had been wiped out in the past, and it was often considered a blessing if one passed on due to natural causes instead of something more violent.

When that house had exploded and Ahime had been impaled, she had thought this was finally her end, in a world away from her own with no Warrior to call kin near her. After all, no one but her had survived past the Calamity. She saw it as going out valiantly if she took herself and her injury to battle with the Ura men that were trying to stop them from getting the cure for their friends. At least then she would have been reunited with her family and friends.

But then she had been grabbed and... that was it. She didn't recall anything beyond that point.

Waking in the hospital had been surprising, and she lay there staring at the ceiling breathing in and out slowly for a long moment before a tired, hoarse laugh escaped her.

"Even now, you're looking out for me, aren't you... ?" she asked to no one in particular, lifting an arm to drape it over her eyes. "What a cruel joke..."

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Honorary Ura, clearly.

"I just--... it's strange but I feel like there was something I heard, right before I passed out."

Clearly.

"Do you remember what you heard?"

Zahi had been talking in Ura, and he had seen an amulet laying on the ground, so he had thought that nobody would understand what had been said. Maybe she misheard some Ura as something else?

Except that the amulet had been Roze's, and no one else had lost theirs. Ahime had been hearing things exactly as they should have been.

"... some one said--"

Wait, it couldn't have been. But that moment, just before she had passed out, she swore she'd heard some one address Zahi directly.

"... some one called you "General"."

...So she had heard it after all. Damn. Zahi was hoping he wouldn't have to explain this.

Sighing, Zahi leans back in his chair, taking a moment to think of how to explain this. "I was a general, a long time ago," he admits, "Back before. But most of my men died in the Calamity, and of those who survived, they died or disappeared one-by-one, until only me and Zayna remained.

"I recognized one of the men. He wasn't one of mine, but he was from the military. So I thought that, even though I don't go by that title anymore, if I gave them my name and rank, they might listen to me and stop shooting."

If Ahime had been anyone else, she might have bought that fairly convincing explanation. There was truth to it. She could tell. But something continued to feel off about the situation and she forced herself to sit up some, fixing him with a long stare.

"Career military does bring a level of respect I suppose..."

She can feel that it's off if she wants, it's the truth.

Though that 'off' feeling is why he hadn't wanted this to come up, it's not an easy thing for him to explain.

"That part of my life is done with, though. It only came back because it was the best option for stopping a potential conflict. Here in the Bastion, I'm not a general anymore."

It's also why he's reluctant to go on that 'find the Ura again' mission. He buried that part of his past for a reason.

She normally trusts her instincts. She's just as military as him (more so, really, considering she was basically second in command to the Queen) and it's her instincts and skills that kept her alive up until this point.

"... is that why you're here then? And not with them? From what I understand most Ura weren't exactly... comfortable with the Caels or their inventions."

That, and there's one other reason.

Zahi hesitates for a moment, and he frowns thoughtfully. "...we came here because of Night," he says, speaking quietly, "When we found her, she was near-death. I didn't know where to take her, we certainly didn't have the medicine to treat her. She told us how to get here, and we brought her here, so that she could be saved."

Only to die a month later. Zahi felt so helpless, just like he had when his men had all died off. Why were people so fragile? Why did they pull through such tough times, only to die from something simple?

"After we brought her here, we just stuck around. Plenty of food, safe shelter, and people to be around? Even if it's because of a Cael's work, you can't be too picky nowadays. Most of you guys aren't Caels, so it doesn't really matter anyway."

Night. Of course. She had been saved one time before, though most had forgotten that by the time Rin had came stumbling back home, bloodied, dying, carrying her lifeless friend in her arms and sobbing all the while.

What a terrible tragedy that had been...

Ahime sighed, forcing herself to relax. Of course they would have stayed. This was safer than out there and old grudges seemed to matter little when survival was on the line.

Those other Ura... they had attacked indiscriminately. Race hadn't mattered - it was all about saving their own skin.

"You're right. I'm sorry..."

"Nah, it's alright," Zahi says earnestly, "I've got nothing to hide, and I know how much one nagging doubt can grow into a rift. Given that we all have to work together here, it's better to put worries to rest, right?"

Even if talking about the loss is painful, Zahi can manage.

He's glad nobody has asked him about his family, though. Even months later, it's still hard to remember all the children and grandchildren he had lost in the Calamity.

"Yes, of course. We've already had to deal with dissent and distrust, I would not want to be the one to rekindle a fire that's still smoldering..."

Zahi nods in understanding. He still hasn't forgotten the theft problems from before.

"Though, if you don't mind? I'd like to keep it quiet, if I can. Not that I mind sharing my past, but...well, it ain't easy to talk about. My men were my kids, in a way."

"Oh. That's fine, I won't say anything. I understand how that is..."

She was in the same boat. Her Queen, her comrades, all of the soldiers she had been training... and her actual family, as well. All of them gone.

[OPEN] We're smiling all the same [Day 207]

The baby that still has no name

The baby's name is Junior, remember?

Is it really? ... that seems like such a copout xD

Nah, it's just a placeholder until we think of something better.

okay good. ... we should do something about that. some time.

Eventually, yeah. ....we could do popular vote for the baby name.

There we go, put it on everyone else xD

yep

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