Awakening of the Shadows [COMPLETE]

Scipio

That was, until I started to get up.

Gingerly (I knew I might not yet be fully healed, and I didn't want to risk hurting myself further), I sat up in bed, wincing as a slight twinge of pain went through my chest. It wasn't bad, per say, but it was irritating. Now, this is a fact that anyone who knew me would understand extremely well: I absolutely hate pain. Causing it, feeling it, seeing it in others; any and all instances of pain make me sick to my stomach. When I see other beings with injuries, I... it's hard to describe. Have you ever looked at someone with, say, a large cut on their arm, or a part of their hand that was burned, or some other kind of injury-related disfiguration, and felt a twinge of pain go up your spine, making your hairs stand up on end (Not in a good way)? If you have, then you'll know what I'm talking about. Seeing any source of pain makes my own body feel a small fraction of that pain as well. It's made me come to see pain as... as something wrong, inherently, as if a little piece of the universe was cut out, leaving a red gash in its place.

Like I said, it's hard to describe.

I wasn't thrilled about the state of my rib cage - what sane Human would be? - but I pressed through the pain and managed to get into a sitting position despite it. I coughed (In doing so realizing that my throat was as dry as the Sahara Desert) and cringed as a short jolt of pressure went through my head as I violently expelled the air.

Apparently, I hadn't looked hard enough, because, in the chair that was placed a few feet to the left of the bed up against the wall, a sleepy voice murmured, "Eldernova?"

Eternity Timewind's dark auburn-framed face slowly looked up toward me. Had she been asleep? Asleep... waiting for me to wake up? Had she been...

Had she not left for the bridge while I'd been unconscious? Waiting... waiting for me to...

She... actually cared about me.

Her head finally leveled out, her gaze staring directly into mine. "You're awake," she said, a little bit of relief at her voice's edge.

"H-how long have you been here?" I asked, my voice raspy.

"Since Ashara granted permission for you to leave the medbay," she said, yawning. "I had us teleported up here, to your room, and I set you down on the bed. After that, I just sat down and waited. I guess... I fell asleep at some point. You've been unconscious for five hours. We got back at about four in the afternoon, to give you some context. Well, I say afternoon." she chuckled lightly. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Um... n-not great," I said, clearing my throat in hopes of making vocalizations feel less like sandpaper being rubbed against my tongue. My stammering out of words was partially due to this, but also...

Now that I'd established the extent of my feelings for Eternity, being around her in a social environment made me indescribably nervous. This did not occur in an environment in which we were engaged in combat, primarily because I would be already so terrified that my brain had exceeded its anxious capacities.

It was, though in part because of my throat, also due to this fact that I was basically a nervous, stuttering wreck. "My throat feels pretty b-bad," I went on. "So t-there's that."

Eternity frowned, her eyes puzzled. "You okay?" she asked, picking up on my stuttering and likely wanting to know the cause.

Shit.

"I... um..." I said intelligently.

Eternity got up from her chair, crossed the room, and sat down at the foot of the bed. "You've had a pretty difficult day, all things considered," she told me gently. "And I really need to know: are you okay?"