Upon Vestia: Chapter Eleven

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She blinked and nodded, "Yea...?"

Kay nodded. [Apparently so. Do you think you're able to take it easy for another few days? ] He noticed his attempts at humor. [We'll be docking at Defiant station in a few days, what would you say to speaking to a professional about all this?] Of course he meant a therapist, but he hated therapists himself and half expected everyone else to flinch at the word as well.

Shock blinked, looking slightly confused and disdainful, "A therapist? What would they do? They can't do shit about anything..." He said bitterly.

Kay smiled softly, nodding. [Some people find talking eases some of their pain. Give it a try at least. If you don't feel better, at least you attempted it. No, they can't bring back that what you've lost, but they may be able to give you tools to better cope with your grief.] He shrugged, deftly hiding his own hurt. No, he'd never done well with therapy but that was because he really didn't like to talk about his feelings. Feelings were awkward troublesome things that caused pain and misery, it was easier to ignore them than deal with them. He was, at the end of the day, a coward unwilling to face his own demons. [I can only help with your physical injuries, I can't do anything for your emotional pain. I'm sorry Shock. You can't just wave a hand and make everything stop hurting, it doesn't work like that. But believe me on this, over time the hurt dulls. It doesn't go away completely, I won't lie to you about that, but it fades and you'll start to heal. Just take it one day at a time. Surround yourself with friends or work or something that'll distract you, and give the therapy just one shot. Just once, maybe it'll help, maybe it won't but just try. And if you hate it, then any time anyone tells you you should seek therapy you can tell them you already tried that and they need to shut up.] He awkwardly patted Shock's shoulder. [Just no more running yourself to exhaustion okay? It's extremely counterproductive in the long run. Gives you far too much time bedridden to mope and dwell on your misery. I don't recommend it. ]

"Friends, huh..." Shock chuckled dryly then took a drink of his water, "Funny, all I seem to attract here is another misfit. Maybe together he and I can skip along and say fuck all to everything." He laid back and closed his eyes. He didn't seem to be in the mood for Kay of all people to tell him he needed to surround himself with friends.

Kay shrugged and went back to the desk. He couldn't do much else. Shock was in a mood and with his eyes closed Kay couldn't really communicate. Least not in a manner that wasn't hugely intrusive.

Was it his fault Shock hid himself away and made no effort to interact with anyone else? Nope. Funny, Kay mused, the guy would probably get on great with Matt if he ever actually tried to speak to him. They were both on the surface irresponsible childish nitwits.

He slumped back into his seat and looked to the tiny girl.

[Don't suppose you've got any experience of dealing with grief stricken people do you?] He asked.

"Not in this state." Sara said, grunting as she turned another heavy ink-thick page. "I think rest is best medicine, here. And time."

Kay nodded, depressingly, she was right. [I hate not being able to help. It goes against every instinct I have as a medic. Medics heal, but I can't heal this. I don't even know where to begin.] He shook his head. He could however find the tiny girl better books to read.
[Vestia, is there a library on board or anywhere she can find something a little more exciting to read?]

"It's not fully stocked, but there's one on the recreation floor, which has the standard library starter collection," Vestia said.

Kay had no idea what that meant but he looked to Sara. [Probably more interesting than anything we have here. Unless you're particularly interested in medicine.] He stood up to reorganise the shelf she'd messed up grabbing the book.

"Religious texts from thirty cultures, children's classics, self help books, a lot of adult fiction, and the complete Encyclopedia Galactica, 126th edition," Vestia said smugly.

"Ooh," Sara said, watching Kay put the book away as she shimmied down a chair before hopping off the seat. "I guess I'll head that way, then. Thanks, Kay." She smiled up at him.

Kay nodded and waved. [Good luck]

The girl walked out of the room, heading along the hallways to the recreational level.

Kay went back to sorting things, but that didn't take long.
He glanced to Shock to see if he was still ignoring him.

Now, where did Asher put that paperwork? Pool regulations, hmm. Hardly his area of expertise but how much expertise did you need for tedious forms like this?

Shane was in the rec room with Ellie and her rose still

"So what are you playing?" Ellie asked Shane.

"Old Terran game, they called it Pac-man" Shane said, looking to the screen again "It's pretty cool"

"Man, are they all trying to murder you?" Ellie asked. "That's some freaky stuff."

"That's freaky? Have you played Silent Hill?" Quinn's voice suddenly echoed around the room Shane and Ellie were in, "Now THAT, my friend, is freaky."

Ellie squeaked and looked around wildly, before calming down. "Oh hey Fox Girl, how's life?"

Shane laughed and started the game again "Yeah, you are the little yellow guy and you have to eat all these little lines while the four ghosts try to kill you, but if you get these special ones, you can kill the ghosts instead. The levels get harder as you progress through." He said cheerfully "Yes, I have played that, it's a way different format, but still fun."

The shadow popped from the ceiling, upside down. "Boring! Class is boring! History is getting to the boring parts! The advanced magics are beginning to run me ragged! Boring and tedious!"

"If it's boring, then make it a game" Shane suggested without looking up

Ellie laughed. "Or, you know, give up on college and live on a farm. That would work too."

Armin came into the rec room and bowed his head to everyone gathered there.

"Vanessa insists that a proper Anamcara is mastered in all possible magics and should know the history of most civilizations as ageless arcana beings." Quinn said boredly, "The only thing I've found fun so far is voice and ambience magic, and that's difficult."

Ellie noticed Armin at the doorway. "Oh hey there, Armin! Come join us! We're just talking about how Quinn is a delinquent youth."