[Rina]

Mari

"Wh...where am I...?" Before the dark wizard was a blizzard, blowing heavily over on this mountain. Out of instinct, he pulled his cape in to try and warm up, but he didn't feel it. He was just merely a bystander in this dream world and is made to visualize this. The snow didn't even react to his steps. He was a ghost, even. He isn't dead, just simply absent from the scene in time. But what could be the reason he's dreaming this? "...Huh. I see something in the distance..."

Back into reality...

How long has it been since that incident at the shop...? It felt like months to him, but in reality, it was only days. Heck, it was a miracle that his recovery only took days. The doctors had to keep close watch over him due to all of the frostbitten patches covering his body, gently bringing his body back to normal heat temperature, and supplying him with warm fluids into his system. With much care and monitoring, he was able to make a recovery, and is lulled into a normal slumber. Perhaps a bit feverish, but he'll live to see another day.

"Wait...Is that...?" The figure came to focus as he got closer. The armor seemed to resemble his, but the coloring and the style seemed to differ. The hair color seemed to blend in with the snow... Wait a second... "You're..." His father. He was lying still in the cold, his life slipping away right before his eyes. He was falling victim to the harsh winds and snow, slowly losing all semblance of motion in his body...

But the dream wasn't made to last.

"FATHER NO!!"

Schezo jerked himself up, ending the dream right there in an instant, leaving heavy, frazzled breaths as he woke up from such a horrible vision. The sudden shouting caught attention of one of the nurses, tending to his side to check on how he's feeling. From how he forced himself awake, he could be better...

"Mr. Wegey, are you okay? You're sweating bullets..."
"I am...I think..."

Schezo looked around, seeing he's in his hospital room, and in hospital clothes. His original clothes are stowed away, and his left arm indeed has scars covering it from the incident. It definitely happened, and it wasn't some horrid nightmare that he last night. Furthermore, he can barely feel himself from the waist down. He isn't going to leave on his own anytime soon, and if he had to move around, he needed to be wheeled around.

"Where is it? Where's the doublet...?"
"Huh...? It's right here, but..."

As soon as he was presented the arming doublet, Schezo snatched it up, and clinged onto it like a child's security blanket. He felt a part of his life got torn up into shreds experiencing loss, even if it was just a dream. It was so vivid...it felt like he just watched his own father die right in front of him, even if he didn't know how he actually died. The need for company is rampant, and the nurse's presence doesn't appear to be nearly enough to help him cope.

"I wanted to tell you that you have a visitor."
"I...I have a visitor?"

Visiting hours already, huh? Schezo peered through the door to see who it was, eyes widening to see a familiar face...

[Mari]

"Hey~, you're awake!" Arle greeted as she stepped through the door and began moving to Schezo's side... in what... Was that a nurse's outfit underneath her armor? Woah. Schezo's next dream aside... "Every day since you got here." a familiar voice spoke up to correct Schezo. Raffina soon followed Arle into Schezo's room, greeting him with a smile. As Arle finished moving to Schezo's side and began helping him to change his bandages, it would become clear that Arle was actually here to help take care of him and not as a visitor. Since when did she have a job as a nurse?? ...And how did she get a job as a nurse?? You would think that would require some specialized training or something, but here she was filling the role. "You're looking better already! You gave Raffina a good scare when she first visited." Arle remarked in a lighthearted tone, poking fun at Raffina as the other settled in nearby. The pinkette got a little flustered, recalling the way she freaked right the heck out after seeing Schezo's initial condition. "...How are you feeling?" Raffina would ask after a moment's hesitation, resisting the urge to scold Arle for embarrassing her like that in front of him. At least she hadn't gone into detail. Turns out Raffina was squeamish about gore.

[Rina]

Huh, when did Arle get a job here? I understand she has healing magic but...

Schezo looked genuinely surprised to see Arle in the nurse's uniform under her usual armor (No Schezo, don't stare). Seems she's here on business, approaching him with a roll of bandages. unlike the other who was with her. He made sure to keep himself steady while the wraps on his arm were changed out for fresh ones, briefly revealing the haphazardly scrawled scars that cover it. Just when he thought the one on his neck couldn't get outdone (the one on his right eye from another mission isn't nearly as noticeable), this one comes to challenge that notion, earning a look of genuine disgust. The freshness of the scars make seem like it could fall apart at any moment. It's also a numb sort of sore, but still functional if he doesn't move around too much. At least that isn't his sword arm, otherwise Schezo would have to be out of the frontlines for much longer. Oh the woes of presenting himself as a sword-wielding mage.

"Heh. Did I?" Schezo let out a self-deprecating laugh.

The other surprise was Raffina, who was a repeat visitor ever since he was rushed in, in spite of having no conscious to communicate during that time. How thoughtful! Schezo turned to her to answer her question, sounding much more sheepish than he usually is.

"Better...I might need to work in the use of my limbs again, but I'm no longer a frozen corpse."

Having said that, Schezo's eyes drift away from Raffina and into his father's doublet, his expression souring incredibly fast. This is not the calm, cool-headed glow he's exhibiting, but a melancholy, troubled one. Not only did he let himself panic back in the freezer, but the entire fact he let his guard down and get trapped in is causing some memories of old misfortunes to resurface. Compounded with the horrible dream he had, it's very obvious he's not emotionally okay and is making no effort to suppress it. His body may have recovered, but his confidence is still in shambles.

...it's likely the girls heard his outburst too. With a defeated sigh, he turned back to the girls to ask something.

"...I take it you heard me screaming in my sleep?"

Heard it or not, he is in no mindset to hide his emotions from them, and plans to swallow his pride to tell them why he isn't okay.

[Mari]

Arle's smile understandably vanished on a dime observing Schezo's wounds. Even if she was used to this sort of ugly business, that didn't make it pleasant. Of course, this was what her sanitized gloves were for! The mage steeled herself to protect her lunch from potentially being lost. Right. Right. Work time and fun time didn't mix. Gotta be serious for a bit. Raffina, meanwhile, just kind of averted her eyes in fear. The poor thing wasn't a dungeoneer like Arle. She was used to going to school and picky petty fights with her friends, not ...this. It was a bit too much for her. A gentle incantation was spoken and Arle began gliding a warm, soothing hand over Schezo's body, specifically the parts she'd just finished changing bn She wasn't normally this touchy feely, but well... this also wasn't really an affectionate touch. She was just kind of doing what she had to. Given the state Schezo was in, her magic touch probably felt like ecstasy. It had te effect of hyper-accelerating and assisting the healing process beyond what the human body was normally capable of. One couldn't be sure that it would completely heal Schezo in one pass, but he also wasn't her only patient and they both knew how taxing healing people constantly was. This was about the best she could manage without putting herself in danger or some extra fuel.

"Yyyeah." Arle hesitantly replied. "Were you having a bad dream? Hold on--Ms. Raffina? Did you bring the sake?" Arle went on to question, only to turn to Raffina expectantly. She'd been told that the other knew of a place that sold the elusive magical drink. "I did!" Raffina replied, offering up the slim bottle to Arle. Taking one look at it, Arle knew she'd look like a fool drinking it. Come on, there had to be a cup somewhere... Aha! She promptly found a little paper cup and awkwardly poured herself some of the clear drink, only to immediately choke on it on her first sip. "Eugh... This is alcohol!" Arle remarked with overt disgust. This was the opposite of helpful! She glared at the bottle for a moment for misleading her before the sudden terrible realization occurred to her. "--...They let you buy alcohol?" Arle asked in bewilderment. Raffina just sort of squirmed uncomfortably in response, not wanting to talk about the strings she'd had to pull and the black markets she'd had to visit to pull that off. ...Really it wasn't hard at all, but it was shameful in her eyes. She'd only done it because Arle had seemed weirdly insistent on that specific drink and she wanted to help. Realizing this, Arle's gaze softened. Raffina had tried her best; maybe she'd neglect to mention this to Peach.

Suddenly, Carbuncle dressed up like a doctor hopped through the air and performed a twirl, snatching up the bottle of sake with his tongue and swallowing it whole as he landed beside Schezo on a nearby counter, striking a little pose. One could just see a moment of intense regret in his eyes, though they wouldn't be blamed for missing it because of the big grin on his frozen face. "...I warned you playing Doctor wasn't as fun as it is inside the TV box." Arle softly scolded in exasperation, turning her gaze back to Schezo.

"Sorry, Schezo. I guess we got the wrong drink... What was your nightmare about anyway?"

[Rina]

Is it just him, or is Arle making his arm feel much better already...? While Arle was doing her thing, the dull pain and numbness seemed to have passed much quicker than he thought, feeling like he could use it again within a couple of weeks. Well, he shouldn't yet obviously, but it's starting to heal rapidly, and it felt incredibly soothing too. The soothing feeling won't help dispel how horrible he's feeling right now. The antics with the supposed magic sake is amusing, but not nearly enough to get him out of his funk, clinging onto the doublet even closer to him.

"...The dream...it involved my father."

As much as Schezo wants to tell them, it's clear he's still shaken up from it. His eyes have grief in them, especially considering this was the few times he saw his own father in ages. In the most atrocious way to remember. He couldn't even look at the girls in the eyes.

"All I saw in my dream was a white tundra, harsh blizzard blowing over making it impossible to traverse safely without preparations. I couldn't feel it; all I could do was stand and watch. There was one man in that dream, and he struggled to cross the cold, and his hair was white as the snow he tried to brave through. White as mine, even. But he could barely stand, let alone function. I wanted to help him, but alas, I was made to be a bystander. I phased through him. It wasn't long until he breathed his last...to which the dream ended there."

Schezo REALLY wanted to curl up, behaving like a meek child, but he could not in his condition. Memories of his past are hitting him hard, and he could only enact the worst of them and barely any of the happy ones. As he continued to talk, it's becoming evident he's emotionally falling apart at the seams by just the tone of his voice.

"I grew up with a mother and a step father, not knowing who my birth father very well as he disappeared from my life and was presumed dead. This swordsman's doublet is the only thing I can remember him by, as it belonged to my father. I could only really grow close to my mother, but even I couldn't keep that luxury due to the circumstances that led me to leaving home, not helped that I developed a fear of abandonment from his disappearance. Just when I thought I'd have a dream of my birth father, it turned out to be a curse in disguise playing out a death of him to realize the unrelenting cycle of time. I...I don't know how he died but..."

"What kind of cruel joke are the gods playing by enacting a my own father's death in my dreams!? Not being able to remember him is one thing, but playing out his dying breath when I'm terrified of people disappearing from my life is..."

At this point, Schezo's buried his face in the cloth, trying very hard not to cry through it. It's stifling, but he still very much wants to keep up his image and firmly believes he has no time to cry. It isn't very like him to be emotional, but something like this is a particularly special case that robs Schezo his peace of mind. Choked up, frazzled, he could use some consoling badly.

[Mari]

Arle quietly froze up for a moment. ...Y'know, the way Schezo was putting all this sounded familiar to her. Had they lost their parents at around the same time..? She deflated a bit for a moment but quickly dismissed that thought. She... didn't want to talk about her parents. It was probably not what Schezo wanted to hear anyway. Raffina got up and hesitantly moved to place a comforting hand on Schezo's shoulder, gently rubbing in an effort to soothe him. "That's a terrible nightmare..." Raffina softly offered, as if to scold Schezo's dreams for not being nicer. "Schezo, I'm sorry..." Raffina went on to offer in an equally gentle tone, not wanting to speak too much for fear of discouraging Schezo from speaking his mind. Meanwhile, Arle just kind of quietly sat on the bed next to Schezo, folding her hands on her lap. She watched what Raffina was doing, but somehow found herself feeling rather helpless. She wasn't sure what to do, how to help. She wasn't really the touchy-feely type, and well--She'd always just repressed her own feeling on the matter of her own parents. What even could she say besides what Raffina already had? It made her question if she was being a bad friend, but what was she supposed to do..? She began to quietly reflect on this.

[Rina]

Sometimes a moment of silence is needed to have someone cooldown. If saying anything is a minefield of insensitive commentary, the best course of option is to let Schezo cry it out. He's still got a sliver of pride in him, trying his best to keep himself quiet because he doesn't want to show how weak and feeble he's become. If one listened closely, there are soft sniffles coming through the garb he buried his face in. He truly misses his family, and unlike Arle's case, he can never see them again. Ever. There was that one time he got to see his mother in a mirage, but... it was that. A mirage. It was real to him, but it was temporary. If he could spend just one day being carefree like he was all those years ago, there'd be nothing better. The consoling hand on his shoulder helped ease him, but it would still take him a long time for him to recollect his composure.

A long silence passed...
Schezo barely spoke a word...
He eventually regained his calm a bit.

Pulling away the doublet from his face, his eyes are only just misty-eyed, but it's clear he tried really hard not to cry in front of the girls.

[Mari]

Arle took notice when Schezo began to move, but only out of the corner of her eyes. She'd been looking to Raffina or away at times, just kind of trying not to succumb to a good ol' group cry. When the air finally cleared a bit, Arle was the first to speak up. "...Are you going to be okay?" Arle softly asked, unsure whether it was okay to speak yet or whether the other needed more time to vent. "Do you need me to stay here for a while?" she went on to ask after a moment. Arle likely had lots of other patients to tend to, but was offering to put that on hold. She was running low on mana anyway. As Arle said these things she shifted on the bed next to Schezo to an angle closer to facing him. It was pretty unusual for her to get this close to him. Normally she was kind of an arm's length kind of girl, but right now their legs were all but brushing up against eachother. This time it was Raffina's turn to be quiet. She on the other hand had nowhere to be, and didn't feel the need to ask. Besides, having a bunch of people talking at once was not calming. Better to take turns for Schezo's sake.

[Rina]

It was hard. It was hard for him to accept the fact his own family is long dead. He's all what's left of his family name and it hurt. Really hurt. Being reminded that life will slip away from his fingertips is reason why he chose to live in solitude. He remained silent in spite of the first question, as even a single word would likely make him burst into tears, something he refuses to do. He nodded at the second question, noticing Arle get close to him and would've noticed her brushing up to his leg, if he could feel them right away. He turned to make eye contact, but as it stands, this conversation is at a standstill as he refuses to talk. He's just about ready to burst into tears just trying to hold back and is DEFINITELY not emotionally okay at all.

Maybe if he was convinced that it's okay to let it out, he could start feeling better. Sometimes letting it out is for the best, even with the rampant stigma that men shouldn't cry.

[Mari]

Luckily for Schezo, Arle knew about as much about being a proper man as she knew about being a proper lady. The stigma is lost on her. And then, Arle did something weird--weird for her, anyway. She pulled off her sanitation gloves and set them aside before leaning over and gently pulling Schezo into her! He was being cuddled, and without the burden of her breastplate to make it any less squishy of a hug either! The idea had come to her in that moment of silence. She might not know what to say, but she knew how to feel. She'd cried a lot over the empty beds in her home, a constant reminder of how suddenly life could change. "...Alright. If you need to get anything out, we're here for you." Arle softly offered.

[Rina]

He couldn't really pay much attention to what Arle is doing, feeling lost in himself more than anything. He didn't know how the girls would feel if he just...lets go. Would they think less of him for just falling apart? And then, there was a sudden warmth embracing him: Arle's. Without the usual armor on their person, it feels so different. There was no wall in between them, it felt...right. Emotion welled up further, astonished that Arle would actually do something like this. Even knowing that he's trying to better himself, it seems he can't get over his disconnected inclination so easily. All was silent while he was in her arms...

'If you need to get anything out, we're here for you.'

Those words resonated with him. It sat in his mind, learning that she'd think no different of him if he poured his emotions out. He could barely let out a sentence without breaking down, sniffles and sobs in between each uttering he could let out before absolutely breaking down into the emotional mess he's become.

"...Why did my life turn out this way...?"

"...I don't like being alone..."

"...They're long gone..."

"...They've passed...

"...I can never see mother and father again..."

......

"...and it hurts so much!"

He cried in Arle's arms, letting go of his dignity to let it all out. He doesn't care that anyone else could be hearing this. He's held it back far too long. His body was trembling. But at the end of the day, it won't last forever. He fell silent for a moment, trying to regain his composure from his emotional episode. He still stayed in her arms until she let go, but he is feeling much better than he was before.

"...thank you for letting me pour my emotions out..."

[Mari]

Hoo boy. The sense of looming doom was strong in both of the girls hearing Schezo's words. There was an uncomfortable kinship there, a vision of an inevitable future that neither of them were willing to face. Especially Raffina, with her emotional fortitude of soggy tissue paper. Schezo's pain was... contagious. But therein lied a truth. "It's alright. I think a lot ot us understand exactly how you feel." Arle very softly replied, acknowledging what Raffina didn't have the courage to. They'd all lost their parents, and though Raffina was no more open about it than herself, Arle suspected it probably hurt--a lot. She was, by this point, very familiar with Raffina's true colors. She had no reason to believe the other was strong enough to confront that reality, and so she just sort of did the honors. "That's why you don't need to be alone~" the mage went on to reassure. She hadn't let go of Schezo.

[Rina]

Comforting words aided Schezo in cooling down from pouring his heart out, leaving him in a more serene silence. He was always so stand-offish because he never really felt he was on the same page as anyone he met, but feeling her still by his side made him truly understand. He won't openly admit to it, but he's finally come to accept her as a friend. He might be softer learning how to open up, but that might change him for the better. After all...

"Thank you. I needed to hear that."

...he's always wanted to reform his image, as one of the heroes of Li. He might just be getting that wish.

[Mari]

"...Let's do something nice! I've got a board game if you want to sit down and play for a while!" Arle offered, attempting to transition into something nicer they could enjoy. "...It took me a few tries to find one that didn't start talking or trying to hurt me." she went on to lament rather awkwardly. See Arle, your mistake was not bringing along a boy to break the Girls Night Out curse. She was trying to transition nicely into something nicer and calmer. They'd have time to super violence bad guys later. For now, it was time for something more innocent and sublime. "Where did you buy this again..?" Raffina asked. She'd only heard legends of the sort of nonsense that went on at the life sphere's mall. It had been enough to convince her supporting small businesses instead.

((End of Thread?))

[Rina]

"That... that sounds nice."

Thankfully, that wouldn't require much movement, just his able arm. When was the last time he was able to push the heavy stuff behind and have just...fun? Sure, the circumstances are less than fortunate, but it's a much needed change of pace. It'll help break the monotony of just lying around in bed all the time and getting nightmares. And of course, fighting can wait. Schezo can't fight like this anyway, he still needs to recover. He shouldn't keep the girls for too long, as hours are starting to close up.

Although, once he's able and discharged, maybe he should have a day out just to hang out sometime...

[End of Thread]