private log with saffronpsychic | WARNING: POTENTIALLY SPOILERY BS

[petaldancer]

It took such an effort to open her eyes.

This seemed like it would be normal for Erika, but this was anything but. When she came to, all she could remember was that she was laying on the ground, dirty and weak, and even though she was hardly aware of anything she just knew she wasn't the only one in this situation.

There were hurried, frantic voices all around her, though sound was still muddled for her and the voices seemed to her as though they may as well be speaking in a foreign language; however, her brain could still make out words.

"Para__ics, quickly! We ___ to get these peo___ medical a___ntion, stat!"

Medical attention? Is someone hurt?

It took her a few moments of mulling that sentence over in her head before she realized.

Oh.

She was.

And there were more, too. She wasn't the only one.

Her mouth went to form the words "I'm fine," but she found her throat to be dry, and the words never made it out. She wasn't, but surely there were others in worse conditions, yes?

She tried to move. She could. That was a start. She could figure out for sure what was going on later, she just knew she needed to move. Maybe she could help ...

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[petaldancer]

It was obvious just how hurt this girl was, and from her reaction, it was obvious that she had been someone important to her; perhaps even some kind of stability for her. She felt worse than ever. Her heart hurt, knowing how much the woman before her was hurting.

She tried to keep her distance while still being close to her. She could apologize all she wanted, and it still wouldn't ever seem like enough. Aside from that, she didn't know what she would be apologizing for. Clearly it wasn't her fault that she couldn't remember anything, right?

Then why did she feel like it was? Why did she feel so horrible?

"Um ... c-could you ... tell me about myself? And yourself, too? I want to know your name."

And then, quickly, she added: "I-If it would hurt too much, you don't have to! It's just ... you know more about me than I do right now, don't you?"

[saffronpsychic]

Sabrina's heart was in agony, feeling like it might thump out of her chest. She held her hands to it, nodding slowly at Erika... needing something... anything to hold onto, lest she slip into the tempest of her mind.

"I... I want you to know," she said, still sounding hoarse. "Your... your name is Erika. You were the gym leader of Celadon City..."

She sucked in a deep, ragged breath. "You were... you were..."

She clenched her eyes shut. She couldn't tell her the whole truth now. "You were my very important friend..."

Limiting herself like that felt like plunging a dagger into Sabrina's soul, and she couldn't contain it in her own mind - Erika would likely feel a flicker of the same sadness Sabrina was feeling.

[petaldancer]

Talking about this was hurting her more. Slowly, she reached out and attempted to place a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. Thank you for that. You don't need to say any more if it hurts."

More than anything, she wanted to see that this broken girl before her was taken care of. She clearly needed help.

"Can I call a nurse for you? Is that okay?"

[saffronpsychic]

Even without her memory, this was still Erika. The same kind woman she knew, that she'd grown to love. Even in these extreme circumstances, she was thinking about Sabrina more than herself.

It made Sabrina hurt even more.

"I... I may have disoriented the staff on my way in," Sabrina admitted, unable to look up.

[petaldancer]

"Oh. That ... might be a problem."

She didn't want to leave the girl, but she also wanted to make sure the disoriented staff members were okay. Erika didn't have to wait long, though. One of the nurses who had witnessed the event, but wasn't quite as down and out as a few of the other staff members, suddenly came in to check in on her.

"Miss? Who is this?"

Without missing a beat, Erika smiled at the woman.

"Please do not worry, she is here to see me. I apologize, she was quite excited to see me."

"Excited is one way to put it ..."

The Nurse looked as though she wanted to say something else, but she shook her head. Her colleagues would be fine, and they were being taken care of.

"Visiting hours will be over soon, so you might want to wrap this up sooner than later." Erika nodded in return, and as the Nurse walked away to check in on another patient, she turned her attention back toward Sabrina.

"Should I have asked her to look you over? I-I didn't want to assume ..."

[saffronpsychic]

Sabrina looked almost relieved as the nurse left.

"... There is nothing to look over," Sabrina said, shaking her head. "I have... I have always been this way. My powers have always been like this, and I..."

She grit her teeth. "I have been living alone for a very long time. I have been losing control..."

And not eating well, by all appearances.

[petaldancer]

"I didn't necessarily mean that ..."

Her powers were probably something beyond a Nurse's medical knowledge anyway. No, she meant her sunken eyes and her fairly obvious malnutrition. She wasn't going to call it out, though. Yet.

"What helps you control them? Is there anything that can be done to help?"

[saffronpsychic]

Sabrina let out a whimper as she tried to focus, her jaw clenching painfully as she tried to push through the pain and anguish in her mind.

"Med... meditation... trying to focus on something that gives me peace..."

You were that kind of person is a thought she's unable to keep from leaking out. Sabrina realizes this far too late, and her eyes widen in horror.

[petaldancer]

It wasn't as much of a surprise to hear as it should have been. Erika slowly reached out and took the other girl's hands, holding them gently.

"You can focus on me if you need to. I'll meditate with you."

[saffronpsychic]

Sabrina shakes when Erika takes her hands... and nods, slowly. She starts to calm down a bit, squeezing Erika's hands.

"If... if you're certain. This is all so sudden for you..."