Office Hours - We Could Be

[shieldof]

[Faith's door remains closed, the brass "PRIVATE" plaque silent and unyielding. Trying to force the door yields no results, but- she said you could contact her here, so just go ahead and knock. Worst case scenario, you're no worse off than before, right?]

((OOC: Please tag your top-levels with the appropriate week and day.))

Comments

Week 1, Saturday bc i cannot stop threading with faith...

[reflectsdargent]

[ After last time's, um. awkward situation. Shannon hasn't been back to see Faith, not even to check in. Too ashamed, maybe?

But that doesn't last.

Around the time of Ahko's party, Shannon knocks on the door. ]

Re: Week 1, Saturday bc i cannot stop threading with faith...

[shieldof]

[There's a moment of hesitation before the door swings open. Faith is at her desk but rising, on her way.]

Lady Shannon?

[reflectsdargent]

[ She enters slowly, arms wrapped around herself. There's...this air of embarrassment around her, shame, but it's not the driving factor behind her visit today. ]

I'm not trashed this time, you don't have to get up.

[ She closes the door behind her. ]

We need to talk.

[shieldof]

I- believe we do, yes.

[She sits carefully at her desk.]

...I wish to apologize.

[reflectsdargent]

[ Shannon approaches slowly, taking a seat in the chair across from her. ]

For what part?

[shieldof]

You've a great many questions, as you should. And I'm unable to provide the kind of answers you deserve.

[reflectsdargent]

...You're not going to like that I have another one, then.

[shieldof]

Likely not. But it remains my duty to at least attempt an answer.

[reflectsdargent]

[ ... ]

First, I'm sorry too. For...all of that, before. It was a bad idea.

[ She leans forward a little. ]

But you need to tell me. Was I just injured? Or was I dead?

[shieldof]

[blink]

What..?

[reflectsdargent]

There was something in one of the capsules that damn clown has. It was a cross, like...a grave marker. It had my name on it.

Do you know about those things? The ones that we get from him?

[shieldof]

I do not.

[Her face is a little pale, actually.]

Are you certain it could not just be-

[Maybe some kind of cruel, strange prank? That seems fitting, for the clown. But Shannon seems so certain-]

I- you were terribly wounded, I know. How much do you actually remember?

[reflectsdargent]

[ Her jaw tightens for a moment. Then, stilted... ]

I...was running through the jungle. I was trying to...catch up with Walt, or...at least a vision of him.

I reached a clearing, and there were people. [ Michael, Jin, Sawyer—was it them, or was it just...her wishful thinking? ] I couldn't get a very good look at most of them. One of them.... She shot me.

[ And her hand finds its way to her stomach, upper right side. ]

It felt... [ Shannon shakes her head. ] I think I was in shock. I stumbled back through the trees, to-

[ Ah. Now she has to look away. ]

Sayid.

[ She is. SO incredibly embarrassed about her last visit here. ]

I remember... [ She closes her eyes. ] He caught me...when I started to fall, and...he tried to hold me up. I remember, there was- so much blood, and I felt like...like I was on fire, all over.

I remember trying to say something, but, I couldn't...

[ ... ]

I saw the light behind him, but...I wasn't really focusing on it. Or...anything. It was hot, but...it was cold, and...

[ Shannon takes a deep breath to center herself. She opens her eyes, and they're steely. ]

Then I woke up here.

[shieldof]

...I see.

[She chews her lip for a moment.]

It is- recovering someone from. Revival after death is possible, especially if it happens immediately. But- time between realms is inherently disconnected. In the circumstances, it is equally possible that you were healed before dying, and this- artifact if from a possibility that no longer is.

[reflectsdargent]

...I would've died. Just- if you hadn't... If I didn't end up here, I really...

[ She knows Jack would've tried to fix her up if he could. But she also knows the look on Sayid's face said a lot about her chances. Faith's god is the only reason she's alive, and that really sets in, just now. ]

[shieldof]

I'm- sorry. Do you, ah. Need. A moment. ...Or anything more material.

[reflectsdargent]

[ She rests her elbows on the arms of the chair and settles her head into her hands. ]

No. I... I don't know. I've never had to... I don't know.

[shieldof]

[Faith sits for a moment in awkward silence, then reaches into a drawer and pulls out a small mug and metal bottle. Opening the bottle, she pours some steaming coffee into the mug before quietly sliding it across the desk to Shannon.]

[reflectsdargent]

[ Shannon doesn't move or look up while Faith is preparing the mug, though when it's practically in front of her eyes, they raise slowly.

Without a word, she takes the mug. It's hot against her hands, but that's what she needs right now. ]

[shieldof]

[There's a long moment of silence, before Faith speaks very hesitantly, quietly.]

For. Whatever it is worth. Even if I am sorry it was for a purpose such as this. I am glad you have been given a second chance at life.

[Literally or not.]

1/2

[reflectsdargent]

[ ... ]

A third chance.

My second was on the island.

[ And, while she's not about to fall into a sobbing mess over it again, it still hurts to think about leaving it behind. ]

2/2

[reflectsdargent]

...Thanks.

I guess I'm glad to be alive.

[ Even though it feels...empty. Raw. ]