Post by Liessel on Dec 31, 2019 14:12:25 GMT -5
This takes place at the Dead Regiment, and is after Tomlin's grilling of Aurelia and after Liessel offered to sit in with Aurelia to see if she could help smooth things out.
Bobbi:
Sometime later, after Tomlin's questioning, and after things quieted down a bit, Liessel took the opportunity. It was a light knock to the door frame of the little room Aurelia had claimed for herself, made by knuckles that hit the wood just so to produce the sound. Her hair was much more managed now than it had been earlier, but other wise Liessel was very much unchanged. The knock was followed by her voice, a set of rolling syllables followed by the approximation of Aurelia's last name and the words "Come in?"
Lisa:
It was so quiet in that room. A stillness that was neither peaceful nor heavy. It was just… quiet. That was, until the rap of knuckles upon the wooden door. The noise made her shoulders twitch in surprise. But there was nothing else. The fear of what was to come through that door had passed early that morning. And with Tomlin’s promise of safety, so long as she fit within the set boundaries, there shouldn’t have been anything to fear walking through that door.
Except for one person.
But that was a different sort of fear all-together.
“Come in.” She said.
Saved for a small bed tucked in the corner, the room was bare. No table stands. No drawers for clothes. Nothing but a small bed tucked in the corner of the room. A tiny circular window poured grey light into the room. Just enough light to cast away shadows but not enough to warm the space.
Aurelia was sitting on the bed, her back pressed into the wall for support. Her legs were curled beneath her body. She was staring at part of the mattress. Stared but didn’t see. Those green eyes were lost to memories. Rapidly blinking, the woman’s head tilted up to see her visitor.
“Isabell.” Despite it all, she smiled at her arrival. “Come, sit.” The words spoken with matching gestures to help understanding.
Bobbi:
Bade to enter, she did so. Coming into the room, Liessel took in the state of it. She didn't imagine that any one of the smaller rooms would be too far different than the last, and she was right. Though, Aurelia's bed sat in a different corner of the room, it all looked pretty much the same. In the dim grey light cast in from that small round window, Liessel smiled and moved to sit on the bed with Aurelia. For a moment or two she sat there, just looking at Aurelia before trying to speak, and then came the hard to form words of a language she was only just familiar with, "Are --you -- alright?"
Lisa:
She scooted to give her room. Then made the silent offer for covers to help ward away the chill. There was a leak somewhere in the walls. If the wind blew hard enough, Aurelia could feel the breeze slip through.
A minute of silence to think on the answer.
“No. I’m not.” Her head shook. “But…” Her mind was working. “I need to figure out a way to be. A way to… manage what’s happened.”
Bobbi:
The covers were welcome, but their warm shelter lasted only for a second. Liessel watched Aurelia shake her head, and without hesitation reached out for Aurelia's closest hand. It took some focused listening to hear past Aurelia's accent, but she'd come in prepared for that, "I know you will." She spoke slowly, pulling together words she knew and there weren't many. "--Help you?"
Lisa:
Her eyes were soft. The hand was welcomed, and the hold returned. And it felt good. Not sensual. Not the generic description of the word. But it was like knowing that, at least someone, didn’t think her to be the monster. That there was still something left for her here.
She breathed out a low breath. Her voice strangled when she said, “Your English is getting better.”
Bobbi:
"I -- try." She smiled again, and then frowned as she tried to pull more words together. The effort of that causing a slight pinch to her expression. She settled for pointing toward Aurelia, and shaking her head, "Alone." And then pointed toward herself, "Here." And then gave a squeeze to Aurelia's hand, "Together." She hoped Aurelia would understand she wanted to convey that Aurelia was not alone.
Lisa:
There was so much she wanted to say. Not say but wanted Isabell to hear. To understand. The language barrier was becoming a growing inconvenience. Trying to work her way around it, she nodded and gently squeezed the woman's hand. "Thank you, Isabell."
Bobbi:
Placing her left hand over her heart, she made a giving gesture with it, moving her hand toward Aurelia. What was the word she needed? She made the motion twice more before giving up, making the attempt with "Warm." Instead.
Lisa:
There was a little confused look on her face. "I-I don't... understand." Her head was shaking. "Warm?"
Bobbi:
In a rare show, Liessel tsked in frustration before trying again. It wasn't warm. She had known that wasn't the right word. But then, what was it? Again she brought her hand to her chest, rest it over her heart as she thought for a moment. It did begin with that sound... "W...whel-- come. Welcome?" She moved her hand back toward Aurelia as she had done before.
Lisa:
"Welcome? Welcome! Oh, yes!" Her eyes lit with understanding. " 'You're welcome', are those the words?"
Bobbi:
A quick nod came from Liessel, as did a beaming smile. More than happy at being understood, she tried again, "Yew or whelcome."
Lisa:
"Yor welkem." She said, pronouncing the words very carefully even through her thick accent.
Bobbi:
"Yu-or," doing her best to echo the sound, she repeated after Aurelia, "Wellkim." It was a slow echo, Liessel trying to not let her own accent get in the way.
Lisa:
"Your... welcome." She said it again, feeling a smile tug at her own lips.
Bobbi:
A break was taken, a steadying pause given, and then, "Y-- your -- wel--come."
Lisa:
Her head nodded encouragingly. "Yes." She said with her smile widening more. "Your welcome."
Bobbi:
"Yes!" She knew that word, and laughed as she said it, "Your welcome, Aroolia." Taking another breath she laughed again, all of it done in relief and gratefulness that she'd been understood.
Lisa:
A smile into a grin. She licked her lips and spoke slowly as before. "Aw-RAY-lee-uh."
Bobbi:
Liessel stilled. She watched Aurelia's mouth carefully before trying to mimic, "Awr..." she stopped and shook her head, then lifted her hands. Her left, she folded all her fingers down but her index which she held straight up ss if she were counting the number one, and with the other she made a swishing motion, hoping to urge Miss Dimitru to say it once again, "Awr...."
Lisa:
"Aw." She repeated slowly, allowing Isabell to have a chance to mimic it. "Aw-"
Bobbi:
Quite careful about how she moved her mouth this time, she let her left hand fall while slowly waving Aurelia to continue with her right, "Awr...Awr." No, that still wasn't right. She took a breath and tried again, "A-w. Aw."
Lisa:
"Yes." She nodded with that same encouragement. "Aw-RAY."
Bobbi:
Blinking, she focused, listening carefully, "Awe- RAY- lee-ah." She'd said the woman's name before while talking with the Flynns, and with Mister Jefferson. Having the need to pronounce it while not speaking her native tongue, while trying to pronounce it properly -- there was just something different about it.
Lisa:
"Almost. 'Uh'. Aw-RAY-lee-uh."
Bobbi:
Still, ever so slowly, she focused on the syllables and followed what Aurelia had said to her, "Awe-RAY-lee-uh. Aurelia?"
Lisa:
"Yes! Yes!" She said, delighted. "Aurelia."
Bobbi:
"Aurelia," She grinned, "My," She tapped her right hand to her chest, over her heart, but stopped for a moment and then tapped over her heart again, "My --" That wasn't how the English said it. What was that word.... "Glu-had to know you." Every word was roughly spoken, every syllable needed to be focused on to be said, but she got it out in the end.
Lisa:
"I am glad to meet you." She said, and gave their still grasped hands a squeeze. "Is..." There was hesitation. "Is Isabell... your name?"
Bobbi:
The hand squeeze was returned, and then Liessel nodded deeply once, "Yes. Isabell. I am Isabell." That came out easy enough. She'd had practice with those words when they'd settled on a more local sounding name for her.
Lisa:
There was a look on her face that said she didn't believe that. Her name was Isabell... a very common name... but she did not speak a common tongue.... in fact, the accent and words were nothing Aurelia had ever heard in all her travels.
"You're name is Isabell?" The question was laced with skepticism.
Bobbi:
"Yes," she said again, hopeful this time, encouraging. And then the look on Aurelia's face sunk in and she said, "Is okay? Isabell is okay?"
Lisa:
"You're not Isabell." She said with her head shaking. "Who... who are you?"
Bobbi:
"Isabell." She answered that imploringly. What else was she going to call herself? Liessel Erphale would only raise more questions than she was prepared to answer.
Lisa:
Her face was marred with a frown. Isabell... but... that wasn't her name, was it? She didn't know for sure. There was no proof beyond suspicions. But something nagged at the back of her mind. Something that told her there was more to Isabell than what met the eye.
Bobbi:
She took up Aurelia's hand in her own, seeing the frown, and grasped it if Aurelia let her. There was a question there, her face told the story of someone begging. There was a clear line of fear beneath that. Maybe one day she'd be able to say, but that day wasn't today. It couldn't be today. Not with yesterday having been the first time she'd seen Septimius since coming to this place. "Please, Aurelia. I am Isabell." She needed to be Isabell. How could she tell Aurelia it was too dangerous to not be?
Lisa:
"You're not." Her head was shaking slowly. But her hand held onto Isabell's and she tried for a small smile.
"But I won't tell."
Bobbi:
Wrapping Aurelia's hand between her own, Liessel nodded looking apologetic now. "Tha-hank you." What she said was heartfelt, the gratitude warm and full. Her tone, relieved.
Lisa:
"If... I want to help you." Aurelia wasn't even sure if Isabell could understand her. "If you'll let me... I want to help."
Bobbi:
Those words she was familiar with, but she responded with a shake of her head. She, herself, did not have the words for what she wanted to say in return so she pointed to Aurelia, gestured to Aurelia's hands and then picked up a heaping amount of the blanket on Aurelia's bed until her hands were overflowing with it, cupped as she had them. She shook her head again, gesturing toward Aurelia with her hands full of blanket, while trying to keep it balanced and from falling over the sides.
Lisa:
She smiled and shook her head. Very slowly she began taking some of the blankets into her arms, gathering up half of what Isabell carried so that the weight was shared.
"I can help you. I want to help you. Please."
Bobbi:
Dismayed, she let her hands drop, the blanket falling from her grasp. She looked toward the doorway, and sat that way for a few moments. If only it were that easy. She'd taken a gamble when she had trusted Victoria Pemmel, and then the Flynn brothers. A very large one. It had paid off somewhat, with more proof of that coming to her by the day. Every day she remained alive was a testament to the care the Flynns had taken of her. Reaching up, she let her fingers graze across the mark on her forehead, hidden as it remained behind her hair. Guidance was called for. What she decided on was, "T-halk to the Flynns."
Lisa:
Aurelia could see the seriousness in this decision. It draped across Isabell like an unbearable weight. "Okay." She nodded, reaching through the blankets to take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for trusting me."
Bobbi:
She was still facing the door when she nodded, but then she was looking Aurelia's way and trying for a smile, "Here, together." Was what she said, pointing toward Aurelia, and then herself before shaking her head, as she had when she had first sat down, "Alone." No, none of them were in whatever they were going through alone. There was always someone else who could help even if she wasn't sure just how Aurelia could, or would be able to help her in the end. Aurelia had trusted her with hearing her story -- and that meant something.
Bobbi:
Sometime later, after Tomlin's questioning, and after things quieted down a bit, Liessel took the opportunity. It was a light knock to the door frame of the little room Aurelia had claimed for herself, made by knuckles that hit the wood just so to produce the sound. Her hair was much more managed now than it had been earlier, but other wise Liessel was very much unchanged. The knock was followed by her voice, a set of rolling syllables followed by the approximation of Aurelia's last name and the words "Come in?"
Lisa:
It was so quiet in that room. A stillness that was neither peaceful nor heavy. It was just… quiet. That was, until the rap of knuckles upon the wooden door. The noise made her shoulders twitch in surprise. But there was nothing else. The fear of what was to come through that door had passed early that morning. And with Tomlin’s promise of safety, so long as she fit within the set boundaries, there shouldn’t have been anything to fear walking through that door.
Except for one person.
But that was a different sort of fear all-together.
“Come in.” She said.
Saved for a small bed tucked in the corner, the room was bare. No table stands. No drawers for clothes. Nothing but a small bed tucked in the corner of the room. A tiny circular window poured grey light into the room. Just enough light to cast away shadows but not enough to warm the space.
Aurelia was sitting on the bed, her back pressed into the wall for support. Her legs were curled beneath her body. She was staring at part of the mattress. Stared but didn’t see. Those green eyes were lost to memories. Rapidly blinking, the woman’s head tilted up to see her visitor.
“Isabell.” Despite it all, she smiled at her arrival. “Come, sit.” The words spoken with matching gestures to help understanding.
Bobbi:
Bade to enter, she did so. Coming into the room, Liessel took in the state of it. She didn't imagine that any one of the smaller rooms would be too far different than the last, and she was right. Though, Aurelia's bed sat in a different corner of the room, it all looked pretty much the same. In the dim grey light cast in from that small round window, Liessel smiled and moved to sit on the bed with Aurelia. For a moment or two she sat there, just looking at Aurelia before trying to speak, and then came the hard to form words of a language she was only just familiar with, "Are --you -- alright?"
Lisa:
She scooted to give her room. Then made the silent offer for covers to help ward away the chill. There was a leak somewhere in the walls. If the wind blew hard enough, Aurelia could feel the breeze slip through.
A minute of silence to think on the answer.
“No. I’m not.” Her head shook. “But…” Her mind was working. “I need to figure out a way to be. A way to… manage what’s happened.”
Bobbi:
The covers were welcome, but their warm shelter lasted only for a second. Liessel watched Aurelia shake her head, and without hesitation reached out for Aurelia's closest hand. It took some focused listening to hear past Aurelia's accent, but she'd come in prepared for that, "I know you will." She spoke slowly, pulling together words she knew and there weren't many. "--Help you?"
Lisa:
Her eyes were soft. The hand was welcomed, and the hold returned. And it felt good. Not sensual. Not the generic description of the word. But it was like knowing that, at least someone, didn’t think her to be the monster. That there was still something left for her here.
She breathed out a low breath. Her voice strangled when she said, “Your English is getting better.”
Bobbi:
"I -- try." She smiled again, and then frowned as she tried to pull more words together. The effort of that causing a slight pinch to her expression. She settled for pointing toward Aurelia, and shaking her head, "Alone." And then pointed toward herself, "Here." And then gave a squeeze to Aurelia's hand, "Together." She hoped Aurelia would understand she wanted to convey that Aurelia was not alone.
Lisa:
There was so much she wanted to say. Not say but wanted Isabell to hear. To understand. The language barrier was becoming a growing inconvenience. Trying to work her way around it, she nodded and gently squeezed the woman's hand. "Thank you, Isabell."
Bobbi:
Placing her left hand over her heart, she made a giving gesture with it, moving her hand toward Aurelia. What was the word she needed? She made the motion twice more before giving up, making the attempt with "Warm." Instead.
Lisa:
There was a little confused look on her face. "I-I don't... understand." Her head was shaking. "Warm?"
Bobbi:
In a rare show, Liessel tsked in frustration before trying again. It wasn't warm. She had known that wasn't the right word. But then, what was it? Again she brought her hand to her chest, rest it over her heart as she thought for a moment. It did begin with that sound... "W...whel-- come. Welcome?" She moved her hand back toward Aurelia as she had done before.
Lisa:
"Welcome? Welcome! Oh, yes!" Her eyes lit with understanding. " 'You're welcome', are those the words?"
Bobbi:
A quick nod came from Liessel, as did a beaming smile. More than happy at being understood, she tried again, "Yew or whelcome."
Lisa:
"Yor welkem." She said, pronouncing the words very carefully even through her thick accent.
Bobbi:
"Yu-or," doing her best to echo the sound, she repeated after Aurelia, "Wellkim." It was a slow echo, Liessel trying to not let her own accent get in the way.
Lisa:
"Your... welcome." She said it again, feeling a smile tug at her own lips.
Bobbi:
A break was taken, a steadying pause given, and then, "Y-- your -- wel--come."
Lisa:
Her head nodded encouragingly. "Yes." She said with her smile widening more. "Your welcome."
Bobbi:
"Yes!" She knew that word, and laughed as she said it, "Your welcome, Aroolia." Taking another breath she laughed again, all of it done in relief and gratefulness that she'd been understood.
Lisa:
A smile into a grin. She licked her lips and spoke slowly as before. "Aw-RAY-lee-uh."
Bobbi:
Liessel stilled. She watched Aurelia's mouth carefully before trying to mimic, "Awr..." she stopped and shook her head, then lifted her hands. Her left, she folded all her fingers down but her index which she held straight up ss if she were counting the number one, and with the other she made a swishing motion, hoping to urge Miss Dimitru to say it once again, "Awr...."
Lisa:
"Aw." She repeated slowly, allowing Isabell to have a chance to mimic it. "Aw-"
Bobbi:
Quite careful about how she moved her mouth this time, she let her left hand fall while slowly waving Aurelia to continue with her right, "Awr...Awr." No, that still wasn't right. She took a breath and tried again, "A-w. Aw."
Lisa:
"Yes." She nodded with that same encouragement. "Aw-RAY."
Bobbi:
Blinking, she focused, listening carefully, "Awe- RAY- lee-ah." She'd said the woman's name before while talking with the Flynns, and with Mister Jefferson. Having the need to pronounce it while not speaking her native tongue, while trying to pronounce it properly -- there was just something different about it.
Lisa:
"Almost. 'Uh'. Aw-RAY-lee-uh."
Bobbi:
Still, ever so slowly, she focused on the syllables and followed what Aurelia had said to her, "Awe-RAY-lee-uh. Aurelia?"
Lisa:
"Yes! Yes!" She said, delighted. "Aurelia."
Bobbi:
"Aurelia," She grinned, "My," She tapped her right hand to her chest, over her heart, but stopped for a moment and then tapped over her heart again, "My --" That wasn't how the English said it. What was that word.... "Glu-had to know you." Every word was roughly spoken, every syllable needed to be focused on to be said, but she got it out in the end.
Lisa:
"I am glad to meet you." She said, and gave their still grasped hands a squeeze. "Is..." There was hesitation. "Is Isabell... your name?"
Bobbi:
The hand squeeze was returned, and then Liessel nodded deeply once, "Yes. Isabell. I am Isabell." That came out easy enough. She'd had practice with those words when they'd settled on a more local sounding name for her.
Lisa:
There was a look on her face that said she didn't believe that. Her name was Isabell... a very common name... but she did not speak a common tongue.... in fact, the accent and words were nothing Aurelia had ever heard in all her travels.
"You're name is Isabell?" The question was laced with skepticism.
Bobbi:
"Yes," she said again, hopeful this time, encouraging. And then the look on Aurelia's face sunk in and she said, "Is okay? Isabell is okay?"
Lisa:
"You're not Isabell." She said with her head shaking. "Who... who are you?"
Bobbi:
"Isabell." She answered that imploringly. What else was she going to call herself? Liessel Erphale would only raise more questions than she was prepared to answer.
Lisa:
Her face was marred with a frown. Isabell... but... that wasn't her name, was it? She didn't know for sure. There was no proof beyond suspicions. But something nagged at the back of her mind. Something that told her there was more to Isabell than what met the eye.
Bobbi:
She took up Aurelia's hand in her own, seeing the frown, and grasped it if Aurelia let her. There was a question there, her face told the story of someone begging. There was a clear line of fear beneath that. Maybe one day she'd be able to say, but that day wasn't today. It couldn't be today. Not with yesterday having been the first time she'd seen Septimius since coming to this place. "Please, Aurelia. I am Isabell." She needed to be Isabell. How could she tell Aurelia it was too dangerous to not be?
Lisa:
"You're not." Her head was shaking slowly. But her hand held onto Isabell's and she tried for a small smile.
"But I won't tell."
Bobbi:
Wrapping Aurelia's hand between her own, Liessel nodded looking apologetic now. "Tha-hank you." What she said was heartfelt, the gratitude warm and full. Her tone, relieved.
Lisa:
"If... I want to help you." Aurelia wasn't even sure if Isabell could understand her. "If you'll let me... I want to help."
Bobbi:
Those words she was familiar with, but she responded with a shake of her head. She, herself, did not have the words for what she wanted to say in return so she pointed to Aurelia, gestured to Aurelia's hands and then picked up a heaping amount of the blanket on Aurelia's bed until her hands were overflowing with it, cupped as she had them. She shook her head again, gesturing toward Aurelia with her hands full of blanket, while trying to keep it balanced and from falling over the sides.
Lisa:
She smiled and shook her head. Very slowly she began taking some of the blankets into her arms, gathering up half of what Isabell carried so that the weight was shared.
"I can help you. I want to help you. Please."
Bobbi:
Dismayed, she let her hands drop, the blanket falling from her grasp. She looked toward the doorway, and sat that way for a few moments. If only it were that easy. She'd taken a gamble when she had trusted Victoria Pemmel, and then the Flynn brothers. A very large one. It had paid off somewhat, with more proof of that coming to her by the day. Every day she remained alive was a testament to the care the Flynns had taken of her. Reaching up, she let her fingers graze across the mark on her forehead, hidden as it remained behind her hair. Guidance was called for. What she decided on was, "T-halk to the Flynns."
Lisa:
Aurelia could see the seriousness in this decision. It draped across Isabell like an unbearable weight. "Okay." She nodded, reaching through the blankets to take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for trusting me."
Bobbi:
She was still facing the door when she nodded, but then she was looking Aurelia's way and trying for a smile, "Here, together." Was what she said, pointing toward Aurelia, and then herself before shaking her head, as she had when she had first sat down, "Alone." No, none of them were in whatever they were going through alone. There was always someone else who could help even if she wasn't sure just how Aurelia could, or would be able to help her in the end. Aurelia had trusted her with hearing her story -- and that meant something.