♔ dix-sept || judge it kindly

[ensorceler]

[ The sound of a heart monitor seems to come out of nowhere, at the same time an Englishwoman's voice does, her hand having knocked her journal off the bed in her sudden awakening. With a rushed gasp she speaks before her eyes even open, for any who might already be in the clinic, but open they do when she suddenly is unable to finish her prayer. ]

Lord God have pity on my—

[ A gurgle and cough is all that follows, then more silence outside of the heart monitor as Anne takes some time to realize where she is, one hand over her throat. She's confused, but says nothing else for the moment, gaze slowly lowering to see the journal on the floor.

Stretching to lean down, the woman flips the journal shut so all sound on her end is ceased, then hangs her head and clutches the rails on the bed with such a force her knuckles turn white. She must request her clothes proper, to get out of this hospital gown and to brush her hair, but first she must allow her memories, both of home and of here, to properly blend again.

Anne makes sure there are none else in the room before allowing herself to silently cry, though the door is not fully shut in any case. No doubt the ghosts have been taking care of her this far, she can only assume. It is fitting, now that she is one. ]

[ ooc; Open for anyone in the clinic and over the journal, but she won't respond over the journal until she's back in her castle room. ]

Comments

[sworn]

[Now there's a voice she hasn't heard in some time, though she finds it odd that her prayer cuts out so quickly.]

Is everything all right?

[The delay in response doesn't ease her worry, given that she hasn't seen Anne in quite some time.]

[ensorceler]

[ It would take her a great deal of time to remember names anyway, especially such foreign names. At least she feels better able to in her old castle room a couple hours later.

Vereesa helped move most of these belongings, though they have now collected a bit of dust. ]

General, I am well. Whyfor do you ask?

[sworn]

[There she is. Way to keep a woman waiting.]

I've not known you to cut your words so suddenly.

[No it's not a way to say she talks a lot. Maybe.]

[ensorceler]

[ She is very good at making people wait. ]

I think there must have been something stuck within my throat. You need not worry.

[ No it's not that God can't hear her prayers here, nothing like that nope. ]

[sworn]

Given your absence as of late, a little worrying is a given. But you are well?

[willrememberthat]

[It takes Clementine a while to remember where she knows that voice from, but it comes back to her.]

Anne?

[ensorceler]

[ An even harder name to remember, and she can't even default on a title. But it's a couple hours before she responds, seated in her chamber and simply staring at the journal for a long while before opening her mouth to answer.

A fruit, she learned. Tart but sweet. Has something changed about her voice? It's been too long for Anne to know for sure. ]

Little Clementine, I have missed your sweet company. I think it some time since I have told a story.

[willrememberthat]

[Not as little as she once was.]

Are you okay? You don't really sound too good.

[ensorceler]

I am simply not where I thought I ought to now be.

[willrememberthat]

What do you mean?

[inlifesname]

[Well, that certainly sounds alarming. After a few moments of waiting, Nita speaks up.]

Ma'am? Are you alright?

[ensorceler]

[ And it will be a couple hours before Anne responds. This is a voice she doesn't remotely recognize, and worries if she should. She's careful while responding. ]

I am well, now that I have familiar comforts. I hope you fare just as lightly?

[inlifesname]

[And Nita will respond just as readily as if she had been waiting for a response. She's used to paying attention to book-based messaging systems, after all.]

Oh, I'm fine. You just sounded- [Yeah, that's probably not the most tactful, Neets.] I'm glad you're okay.

[ensorceler]

You are kind to worry so for my sake, though I know not if we have met.

[inlifesname]

We haven't. I guess I just don't like hearing people in trouble if I can do something about it. [Is it unusual that she was concerned? Maybe. It's also part of the job description.] My name's Nita Callahan.

[gottaknockhard]

[It's really only a coincidence that Spike is in the clinic today. After that whole fake-family thing ended with Anne in a coma, he felt somewhat obligated to check in every few days to see if she was still breathing. Sometimes it's hard to trust machines anyway, and he lost his connections in the staff who might have passed a note his way. He tried to keep the whole thing quiet otherwise, like he would have wanted if it were him, so he had no choice but to take up that role.

Imagine his surprise when he catches sight of her moving in the bed right before he was going to poke his head in.

Spike takes a look down the hall to see if any nurses are rushing their way. (If it just happened, it seems like they should be, right?) When he doesn't see any, he thinks about calling one over to check.

That's before he looks back to catch a glimpse of her crying.

...

She won't want to see him there. This leaves him in an awkward position of choosing between delaying any intrusive examining, and letting her have a few minutes without aggravation. Ultimately, he decides that she'll be more freaked out if she doesn't know what happened, even if it comes from him. He's used to being the bad guy.

Hands in his pockets, he slips into the room and shuts the door, still keeping to the far wall in case she feels well enough to slap him.]

Welcome back.

[ensorceler]

[ When she sees the door opening out of her peripheral vision, Anne is quick to wipe her hands against her eyes before glancing up. When she sees who it is, there's no surprise, or venom, but nor is there relief. He has always been there, even if brings no comfort, only strange and conflicting memories.

She touches her knuckles against her lips for a moment, watching him thoughtfully while she attempts to garner a solid control on her composure. It's then that she realizes her hands are bare, her jewelry having been removed with her clothes.

There have been no nurses, only the ghosts, but apparently they're thorough. ]

My ring. Elizabeth's ring. Where is it?

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike can't be too surprised at the odd question; she was in a coma for longer than he'd ever managed, and he always had a weird way of fixating on things when he got out of them. It's just a shame he doesn't have an immediate answer for her.]

I'm sure it's around here. [If someone hadn't stolen it off of her while she was sleeping. He looks around the room anyway, settling on a closet nearby.] They must have taken it off at some point.

[ensorceler]

[ It's the most important object she could ever own, moreso than her rosary, so she can't help but have her thoughts go towards it. She will never again see her daughter, not ever. This ring is all she has now.

Her thoughts are too a-jumble to address anything else. ]

Will you look? Check the wardrobe and fetch it if it is there.

[gottaknockhard]

[He hesitates, thinking she might just want him to focus on something else, then nods and walks over to the closet. Something small like that might have been put somewhere else, but it should at least have her clothes.

And that's what he finds when he opens it. Not that he'll announce that quickly, since she might appreciate having his back to her.]

You shouldn't get your hopes up, you know.

Dictated forever

[whichwayyoulean]

[Well, this, at least, is enough to make him pull himself out of his self-inflicted hole of misery]

...Anne? You're awake!

i can edit if he would have gone to her clinic room when she didn't respond :>

[ensorceler]

[ And woe, she won't respond for a couple hours yet, not even re-opening her journal until she's back in her room. ]

Once.

[ A pause. ]

Master Once-ler. Yes, I suppose I fell. It seems there is no lasting injury. I am sorry if I worried you overmuch.

nooo this is perfect

[whichwayyoulean]

[He breathes a sigh of relief when he hears her speak again.]

So long as you're okay now. That's the most important thing.

[ensorceler]

You and Master Spiegel brought me to the clinic?

[whichwayyoulean]

Sure. I mean, we couldn't just leave you by yourself.

[It was the last thing to do before he went back to his self-imposed isolation.]