bubblywishes | ☆ Eighteenth Wish ☆ - [Action

[Waking was like bursting through a veil of frigid water. Gasping and jerking into a sitting position, Norma casts her bleary gaze left and right quickly, half expecting to see herself surrounded by ash, blood and cultist soldiers. Her chest burns with her quick movements (as well as other parts of her aching body) and her fist clutches the middle of it, digging her fingers painfully into the fabric of her clothes.

With each breath, Norma tries to get a grip on what happened and where she is. The air isn't thick with smoke and ash and the smell of decay like she remembered being in. Truth be told, the air now was fresh, crisp, fragrant... Pushing her hair from her face and just forcing herself into a calm state, she finally manages to make sense of where she was.

It was the Memory Garden. Snorting at the irony, Norma tries to get up, wincing at the cracks and pops of her stiff muscles and sore bones. She really does feel like she just came back from the dead... And as she thinks back on the memories right before it happened, her fingers brush insistently into her clothes, searching for any sort of bullet holes or marks that would give away what really happened. The others may or may not know...and she isn't sure she even wantsto tell them. Norma knows she has to, eventually, but she can't bring herself to even think of going home right now. So, as she gropes around, she finds her journal and shoves it under one arm without even thinking. Her mind's working automatically right now.

So, instead, she drags herself to the bar (it was the closest establishment, and the first she could think of), enters through the back, and just...collapses in a heap in one corner, head in her hands and tears welling up in her eyes. She can taste something sour in her mouth and idly wonders if she's going to throw up - wouldn't that be fun to explain to whoever finds her here - but thankfully the contents in her stomach remain there. But her ears are ringing and her head is a mess of thoughts and memories and fears. She died. It finally happened and she really died in Luceti. She got shot and died and now here she is again. Who knew? Would she have to come clean to her housemates? To Grune? To Sophie?

...No, Sophie shouldn't know. She has to bite her tongue and hope to high heaven nothing was told to the poor kid.

It's a good hour or more that Norma stays crouched in a corner in the back of the bar, shaking and letting the tears dribble down her face before she gets a grip on herself and decides she has to come clean sooner or later. Her intent was to write a written message, but as she presses her pen to the paper and tries to write, all Norma can see are weird shapes and sqiggly lines before it blurs together into one big mess. She thinks nothing of it - just post draft nerves and her own mental instability - and instead takes a massive gulp of air and puts on her well-practiced mask of cheerfulness and indifference.]

Everyone, I'm back! Tell me some good news, too. I could use a serious pick-me-up.

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[When she does, she'll find Grune in the main living area. Just about the moment she finished speaking with Norma, she'd picked up her drawing supplies and moved out of her room. She wouldn't want to miss welcoming her best friend home, after all.

At this point, she's abandoned drawing in favour of looking after after her potted plants. Norma will find her cooing over them when she returns home.]

[It's nerve-wrecking coming in through the front door after she's been out. Norma was indeed put into a better, more calm mood after spending time with Aang and checking out his own garden of sunflowers, but striding up to the house and in through the front door refills her empty glass full of all the guilt and anxiety she spilled out over the past few hours.

Her breath even catches right in her throat when she sees Grune there, waiting for her in the living room. Of course she would, Norma should have expected that, but she was kind of hoping to at least get a few minutes of mental preparation before facing her head on like this. At the least, she gets on the ball quickly, and presents Grune with ahandful of cut sunflowers and a big (if not completely honest) smile.]

Hey, G-Girl, look what Cueball let me take home! You got a spare vase for these or what?

[Fortunately for Norma, Grune is too distracted by the sight of the sunflowers to spend any time really looking at her smile. (That won't last, though.)]

Oh, my, how lovely! I'll go find one right now!

[Off she bustles to her room.]

[Well, crisis averted for a few seconds...and a few seconds is all Norma needs to try and steel herself and put on a brave face. It kind of makes it easier that Grune is so lackadasical with just about everything - Norma can play it off as no big deal or distract her with other things (like the flowers). Better to forget and move on than dwell on rough things like this, right? Brush it under the rug.]

Thought you'd like 'em! Take your time over there, though. [Seriously.]

All right.

[Unfortunately for Norma, Grune doesn't take her time. She's far too relieved to see her dearest friend after such a long separation--especially since she knows the reason for that separation.

Soon enough, she's back with the sunflowers again. They look very cheerful inside her urn as she heads to the kitchen to fill it with water. She can't help but send a smile Norma's way before disappearing into the room.

Once she's back, she sets the urn on a side table, then turns to face Norma with a big smile.]

Welcome home, Norma. I'm so glad you're here.

[The relief is short-lived, and Norma has to perk herself up once again the moment Grune returns. The sunflowers are indeed cheery the way they look - ironic, considering Norma is feeling anything but - but they only manage a tiny lift of her lips. In fact, Norma's smile flickers some after Grune speaks. She's had to wait so long...with the knowledge that Norma was gone. She's a little upset that people had to know and to tell. It's selfish and petty, but it would've been easier for her to just pretend nothing happened and to lie about it or something. She's a good liar.

But that's not exactly an option, is it? She's just got to keep going. Whatever may come next, even if it won't be easy.]

Yeah, I'm...glad to be back.

[Grune has been watching Norma carefully. She knows her expressions very well by now, and she doesn't miss the waver in her smile.

Even though Norma is home, she's still sad. She doesn't quite understand why, but that's all right. It's something that Norma is feeling, and that's all that matters.]

Would you like a hug?

[The answer is almost always yes, but right now...maybe Norma would like a little time to herself.]

[Grune would be correct in assuming Norma's a little hesitant for physical contact, but her flaw is that she simply cannot let people think she's anything other than a-okay. She'd rather endure than share the burden she bears - it's not fair to anyone else but herself. So while she'd much rather just abscond to her room to have her privacy, she feels obliged to give in to Grune's request. As a friend.]

Probably couldn't hurt, right?

I think it would help.

[Then she steps forward and softly, gently fold her arms around Norma.]

[The moment Grune's arms fold around her, Norma' can feel her muscles tense. It takes several minutes for her to even begin to relax, but she does return the hug as best she can. It's hard to keep herself from losing face at such close proximity to her best friend, but Norma keeps it together by the skin of her teeth. The only outward crack in her wall is that she squeezes her eyes shut for just a moment, but that's it.

After a few minutes, she smile her usual smile, and gives her best friend an appreciative squeeze.]

Thanks, G-Girl.

☆ Eighteenth Wish ☆ - [Action | Voice]

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[Action] fml so sorry about the lateness life has been...fun.

[Action] fffff no worries my own schedule has been all over the place, too.

[Action] Yay offline life. orz

[Action] Y...ay....?

[Action] Y...ay.... :|

[Action] orz

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