It was too bright. Everything was over-saturated with light, and far too loud. Everything throbbed and pulsed to the beat of the headache that drummed in Gina’s skull. Loudly, persistently it thrummed, to the point that it was almost unbearable. The sunglasses helped, but only minutely. Still, Gina kept them on. They were dark-lensed, Glamorously large things. Sunlight only crept through the bottom, but that wouldn’t prove a problem unless Gina started staring at the ceiling.

She was dressed comfortably enough, so that her clothes didn’t hug any bruised areas—puffy, tutu-esque skirt with leggings, and a t-shirt. All neon, all far more chipper than the gargoyle seemed to be. Gina was on house arrest, but she didn’t wear the face of someone who minded. After being beaten by a throng of people who were supposed to protect her, as a citizen, nowhere felt safe. Nowhere but inside. It wasn’t a healthy way to think, but so long as it permitted her to recuperate, Gina would adhere to that school of thought.

She was doing it as a favor for Agnes—watching Rebecca. Agnes had a commitment, had to go somewhere, which meant that someone had to keep close watch on Rebecca. Gina wasn’t too sure what happened, as she was preoccupied with her own, upside-down life, but apparently when her world had gone to Hell in a hand basket, Rebecca’s hadn’t been so hot, either. Gina was “grounded”, Rebecca was on house arrest, so it all worked out rather well. Neither of them had anywhere to go.

Gina had stopped to talk to Agnes, to exchange a few short words on Rebecca’s state—she wasn’t anywhere close to normal, but how far from it, Gina wasn’t sure. She didn’t know what to expect. The gargoyle pushed the door open and stepped into the room, inhaling slowly. She then pushed the door shut behind her, surveying the bedroom before her.

“Becca?”

Agnes left.

Becca really did not like it when Agnes left. Her girlfriend explained to her that it was going to be necessary sometimes. Agnes had a job and responsibilities and school was going to be starting again soon. She could not take Rebecca to those places, (even though the redhead did ask.) Even if she could, outside was still out of reach for her.

The hallway was pretty much out of reach for her. Rebecca was slowly venturing out; she even poked her head out (very) briefly before retreating back to the room. It was just becoming something to accept that Rebecca’s recovery would take time. She was doing a bit better in her quest to not fear everything in her world.

Unfortunately, much of her progress was null and void once Agnes walked away. The room was quiet, and the quiet quickly brought back memories of the Ragman. Rebecca could hear the thumping of her heart, which was getting faster and making her more nervous, making it faster still. She needed to find somewhere where she could hide, just until the noise stopped.

She found the desk and pulled away the chair in front of it. She crawled under the desk and pressed her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. The panicking continued for a few seconds, but the pounding started to quiet down. The Scot cautiously smiled.

>> “Becca?”

Panicking again! It was a voice, and not one she recognized, so it probably was not a voice like the ones she heard in Ragman. (Agnes already told her that the voices were not real, and she was trying not to listen to them.) Was she thinking about new voices? It was the same rules, and she had to keep herself from going crazy.

Rebecca shook her head violently. ”No, no, no, you’re nae real! Nae real, nae real, nae real,” she continued to mutter under her breath.

There was no answer. The lack of a response unnerved the gargoyle, but at the same time, she wasn't expecting one. She didn't know how bad Rebecca was, but Agnes had implied that it was very, very bad.

"Rebecca?" Gina tried again, her voice softening.

Her eyes swept around the dorm room. She had to be hiding. Gina padded to the bathroom first, saw no one. She then noticed the dislodged desk chair. Behind that and under the desk, a familiar head of red hair. Rebecca was curled up, arms constricted around her legs, eyes shut tightly as she murmured to herself. Gina didn't dare move the chair. She even hesitated to touch her. All that Gina did was survey her friend cautiously from behind the sunglasses.
"Rebecca...?" Gina said gently, "Honey? It's me... Gina... Do you remember Gina?"

Rebecca was in her own little world, because things were scary and voices were bad. Little would bring her out of her safe place, except for the mention of a familiar name.

>> "Rebecca...? Honey? It's me... Gina... Do you remember Gina?"

"...Genie?" Meekly, Rebecca poked her head out from under the desk to survey the girl. She definitely looked familiar, because she was grey, and most people were usually not. She also had wings, and she remembered Genie having wings.

But there was something wrong! Rebecca turned back into her cave/desk. "No, no, no! Genie has eyes! You have black eyes! You're nae real, go away!" Her imagination was not going to trick her.

>> "...Genie?"

Close enough, Gina answered mentally, smiling.

“Yeah,” Gina sighed, a smile in her tones, “It’s me, Genie. I came to visit you, Rebecca.”

That was far too easy. Mismatched eyes surveyed the gargoyle quizzically, taking in her appearance. This was far, far easier than Gina thought it was going to be.

>> "No, no, no! Genie has eyes! You have black eyes! You're nae real, go away!"

Black eyes? Gina inwardly echoed. She could’ve sworn most of the bruising had gone down, but maybe—an absent taloned hand reached to touch her eyes, to see if her eyes were still bruised and “black” as Rebecca had termed it. Claws tapped the sunglass lenses, and it clicked in the gargoyle’s head. Black eyes, as in sunglasses.

Dang, this is going to hurt.

“Oh no, honey, these aren’t my eyes,” Gina assured Rebecca, her voice still soft, “These are sunglasses. Here, I’ll show you.” Gina slowly raised her hands and grabbed the arms of the glasses, sliding them off. The light was like the slice of a scalding, white knife into her temple. She winced, and blinked, blinded. Her head pulsated threateningly, but Gina didn’t put the glasses back on.

“Look, see?” Gina said, sliding the glasses onto her desk, “It’s Gina. I came to see you, Becca.”

Gina spoke as she would speak to a child—but, in her defense, Rebecca was hiding under a desk.

“Do you feel safe down there, honey?” Gina inquired

>> “Oh no, honey, these aren’t my eyes. These are sunglasses. Here, I’ll show you.”

Rebecca was skeptic; it could be a trick. Sunglasses sounded right though; people wore glasses and dark glasses kept sun away. She watched as Genie pulled the glasses away. It looked like the grey girl was bothered for a moment, but then she spoke softly again. It was a nice voice.

>> “Look, see? It’s Gina. I came to see you, Becca. Do you feel safe down there, honey?”

Rebecca nodded silently. Everything looked right from where "Genie" stood, but she needed proof. She still remembered how to make sure people were right from seeing Agnes for the first time.

The girl reached for Genie's hands to pull her back down. Up close, the girl had horns; Rebecca gasped, but she could remember Genie having horns. They were scary, but they were right. Once that was accepted, Rebecca pressed her forehead against Genie's and looked at her eyes.

"Brown. And pretty." Like sparkly specks.

Rebecca wrapped her arms tightly around her friend's waist. "Genie!" She passed the test.

Gina waited, watching for Rebecca’s reaction. She looked up at her, watching as the glasses were removed. She seemed attentive, as if she expected something to happen. Rebecca reached out and grabbed Ginas’ hands, pulling her close. She gasped at the horns, and Gina’s smile faltered.

If she’s afraid of those, I’m screwed. I can’t take those off.

Rebecca was then pressing her forehead to Gina’s, looking her dead in the eye. Gina quirked a smile. Now she had the right eyes. Now, Gina passed the test.

“Not as pretty as yours,” Gina countered, sighing. She didn’t say this flirtatiously, but in the way that an older person might say such a thing to a kid. Rebecca exchanged a hug with the gargoyle, and Gina laced her arms around her, smiling. Sure, Gina was fulfilling the role of a babysitter, but that didn’t change the fact that her friend was still four inches taller than her.

“Hi Rebecca,” Gina smiled, rubbing her friend’s back, “How are you?”

>> “Not as pretty as yours.”

Rebecca could feel her cheeks getting warmer. Never a girl who could handle a compliment in normal circumstances, after a year or so of forgetting she had any physical features, having any of them called pretty was enough for her cheeks to catch fire. She remembered Agnes saying her eyes were special because they were different. Blue and Green but not at the same time. "Thankye," she muttered.

>> “Hi Rebecca. How are you?”

It was an honest question, but Rebecca was worried she would get in trouble for an honest answer. She was supposed to be getting braver, and she did not want Agnes thinking she was getting worse.

But Genie was someone she trusted. She remembered that. Maybe it wouldn't hurt. Resting her head on Genie's shoulder, Rebecca sighed. "Scared..." There were so many things, and she was not used to being around things anymore. Lots of things were dangerous, but she was still fuzzy on which ones were and which ones were not. "Is that... okay?"

>> "Scared..."

Gina sighed faintly, feeling a protective twinge at the base of her stomach. She didn’t really know what happened. Agnes had best articulated it as an abduction of sorts… but it wasn’t normal. It’d toyed with Rebecca’s head and left her more damaged than before. Agnes was vague, so Gina was uncertain, but it didn’t take a genius to see the impact that the ordeal had had on her.

>> "Is that... okay?"

Gina nodded.

“Yes, that’s okay,” Gina confirmed, “It is okay to be scared.”

A free hand patted Rebecca’s hair lightly.

“I had a scary thing happen to me recently,” Gina confessed, “A very scary thing. I know that it is very hard not to be scared…”

Like the nightmares… oo, the nightmares were attacking the gargoyle with a vengeance. That, and the headaches. She probably had brain damage, or something like that. She’d need to pay a visit to DocProf, just to be sure. A shiver ran through Gina, and she leaned back, looking at her redheaded friend.

“Isn’t it?” she said, “And lots of people want you to not be scared… but it’s hard not to be. You have to be brave when you’re ready.”

>> “Yes, that’s okay. It is okay to be scared.”

Rebecca could feel pressure lifting off her shoulders and her heart. She was so worried about not being good enough because she was scared, and she was only just repairing things with Agnes; she did not want to end up being not worth the effort. If Agnes left again...

Well, she wouldn't. She just wouldn't.

>> “I had a scary thing happen to me recently. A very scary thing. I know that it is very hard not to be scared… Isn’t it? And lots of people want you to not be scared… but it’s hard not to be. You have to be brave when you’re ready.”

It was the first time Rebecca heard that something happened to Genie, and a scary thing was the worst kind of thing. She was not happy that a scary thing happened to Genie, but it did make her feel better to be talking to someone who understood, even a little.

Her head remained resting; it was a cozy position and Genie's skin was soft. "Ah'm sorry a scary thing happened to you. If you can be brave... Ah can be brave, right?"

Thinking about what might have happened to Genie, Rebecca remembered the sunglasses. "Did the scary thing make you wear sunglasses? Coz there's nae sun in here. And..." She did not want to bring it up since she was the one who forced Gina to shed the glasses, but she did notice, and she did not want to lie about noticing things. "It looked like it hurt to take them away."

If that was true, Rebecca did not want to be selfish. Selfishness was a terrible thing, she knew. "You can put them back on if you want. I know you're Genie now."

>> "Ah'm sorry a scary thing happened to you. If you can be brave... Ah can be brave, right?"

“Right,” Gina agreed, smiling. Gina did not include the small tidbit that she had not been brave, lately, and had no intention of being brave anytime soon. But whatever she could do to reassure Rebecca, Gina would do it.

>> "Did the scary thing make you wear sunglasses? Coz there's nae sun in here. And… It looked like it hurt to take them away."

“I think so,” Gina said with a smile, “I’ll have to go to the doctor and ask. But… I’ve had a really bad headache. The lights really hurt.”

>> "You can put them back on if you want. I know you're Genie now."

“Thank you, hon,” Gina sighed.

Gina wriggled free of the hug, and retrieved her sunglasses. She didn’t, however, put them on.

“Okay, Becca,” Gina said slowly, locking eyes with her friend, “You understand that this means you won’t be able to see my eyes, right?”

She held the glasses out to Rebecca.

“You can take them, if you want,” Gina said, “I want you to put them on, if you want to. So you can see that my real eyes are there, even if they’re hiding. Okay?”

Was she overdoing the big kid/little kid act? Possibly, possibly not. Even if it meant maybe not getting to wear sunglasses to shield her eyes from the intense light, anything was better than having Rebecca flip-out when Ginas’ eyes “disappeared”.

>> “I think so. I’ll have to go to the doctor and ask. But… I’ve had a really bad headache. The lights really hurt.”

The word "doctor" made Rebecca cringe, because her experience in the hospital was not a happy one, but she did know that doctors were actually good people, (even if they had sharp needles,) and if they could help Gina, then a doctor was a very good thing.

>> “Okay, Becca, you understand that this means you won’t be able to see my eyes, right? You can take them, if you want. I want you to put them on, if you want to. So you can see that my real eyes are there, even if they’re hiding. Okay?”

The glasses were handed to Rebecca, and she examined them very closely. She remembered sunglasses now, but it was such a distant memory, she wanted to get a bit more reacquainted. After looking them over from the outside, she placed them over her eyes, and the entire room dimmed with a tint of dark color over everything. She never spent much time in sunglasses before what happened, so it was a silly feeling watching all the lights change.

Finally, she removed the glasses from her face and carefully slid them on Gina, being sure the ends got over the ears, like glasses often did.

When the glasses were on, Rebecca got very close like the first time. From a close enough distance, she could make out the shape of Gina's eyes through the darkness. "Ah can see your eyes. Are you sure they're dark enough?"

The question brought Rebecca's mind back to the void for a moment. There was so much darkness; it was the only other thing. Rebecca and the darkness. She immediately began trembling. "Nae too dark though... too much dark is scary..."

Gina watched as Rebecca surveyed the sunglasses, turning them over in her hands carefully, before sliding them on. It was like watching a child, except with less familiarity in the world. Satisfied, Rebecca finally took the shades off and slid them onto Gina’s face quite delicately. Gina sighed noticeably, relishing the return of the weakened lights. Her head still throbbed stridently, as if to proclaim that it still ached, but it was less persistent.

>> "Ah can see your eyes. Are you sure they're dark enough?"

Gina nodded, and gave a simple, “Better than nothing,” with a laugh.

She raked a hand through her hair, glancing around the room for a moment of aimless inward thought. Yet, when she saw Rebecca shivering in her periphery, Gina grew more attentive.

>> "Nae too dark though... too much dark is scary..."

Something to do with what happened to Rebecca, judging by her reaction.

“Oh, honey, no,” Gina said reassuringly, touching Rebecca’s arm, “I’ve got light coming in along the edges of my glasses—“ She traced a finger along the outside, bottom edge of the part of the sunglasses that covered her eyes, “It’s not very dark at all. Plenty of light. Everywhere.”

Gina pat Rebecca’s arm, feeling slightly at a loss.

“What do you want to do, dear?”

What did you do, when you babysat a girl who was older than you…?

>> “Oh, honey, no, I’ve got light coming in along the edges of my glasses— It’s not very dark at all. Plenty of light. Everywhere.”

Gina's voice was soothing, as was her reassurance that there was going to be enough light for her. Rebecca was still getting used to light herself; the world was a lot brighter than she expected it to be. Still, she would take bright lights over complete darkness. It would probably be a while before Rebecca returned to sleeping without a light. Some things just tied too deeply into the psyche.

Still, Gina calmed Rebecca, and she was back to smiling. Now that the year-old memories were returning, it was obvious that Gina was one of the perfect people for Rebecca to be around (besides Agnes, of course.)

>> “What do you want to do, dear?”

What did she want to do? It had been such a long time since she did much at all. It was still hard for her to think of activities, especially when she was confined to the mansion. (Very willingly, but confined nonetheless.)

Whatever they did, there was one thing Rebecca sought for and it was what she knew would make things better. "Something... normal." Her life was a giant puddle of weird; she wanted to do something typical. No extravagance or excitement; she wanted a normal night of chilling out with a close female friend who was not her girlfriend.

"Nae too picky... a movie? Or a game? Or maybe jist talking. Jist..." A chill crept up her spine. "It's been sae long since Ah could jist... hang out."

Still very conscious of her status as a woman in rehabilitation, Rebecca could not shake the paranoia that she was being constantly tested. Timidly, she asked, "Ah mean, is that... okay?"

Gina laughed at the “something normal” sentiment. She wasn’t being derisive, by any means. Not at all. Her laugh was more of an agreement—“something normal” was exactly what she needed, too. “Normal” was all that she wanted. She was more than willing to partake in a normal thing. Rebecca then went on explaining what sort of normal things they could do.

>> "Nae too picky... a movie? Or a game? Or maybe jist talking. Jist... It's been sae long since Ah could jist... hang out. Ah mean, is that... okay?"

“Any of those are perfect,” Gina agreed, smiling, “And I’m here to hang out with you, so it is totally your call. I’m good with whatever—movie, games, or chilling.”