Fragility of the Mind

Gabrielle's hands, which were raised mid-way in interjection, dropped to her sides limply. "Oh, never mind," she mumbled again. She seemed to have that c'est-la-vie attitude most commonly attributed to liberal parents.

"How have you been, Ariel? Has life treated you fairly?" She cocked her head at Ariel, with a gaze that said that she knew more than people thought she knew. Then she glanced at Raine, and smiled uncomfortably. "Usually I'd try talking to you as well, but..." she trailed off.

"Just stay away from her," Ariel spat. Then she roughly shoved Raine in an attempt to get her point across. She went back to Gabrielle and asked a little nervously, "Is it alright if we go somewhere else? I-I would rather stay away from Raine for now." She looked hopefully at Gabrielle.

"I, ah, sure," Gabrielle said nervously. She would've tried to avoid talking aboutherself in detail, abashed by what Ariel's reaction might be. She was also afraid she'd get angry. "I see you dropped the glasses," she said offhandedly. "It look good."

He's interesting, Raine thought, a genuine smile moving her mouth.

"I am quite fine actually, quite the gentleman you are."

Raine then looked at Ariel and Gabrielle, her smile twisting slightly.

"Hey, asswipe," she tossed at Ariel a bit annoyed by her friend's hostility, "don't get your panties in a twist, you've got all night to talk."

She then turned her attention to Gabrielle, her expression becoming slightly sour, not that anyone would notice.

"Oh and by the way, just cause I've been burning doesn't mean I can't hold a proper conversation!"

Ariel ignored Raine, having heard those type of comments from her before. She focused her attention back to Gabrielle and couldn't help but crack a small smile at the compliment.

"Thank you," she said softly. She gently laid a hand on the small of Gabrielle's back and lead her to another room in the base. She would glance at her often, still taking in the sight of her. She seemed quite different, but it didn't appear to be a change for the worse. Except for her now skinnier appearance.

When they were finally alone, Ariel sat down on a chair and gazed at the other woman, thinking about what to say. She finally spoke.

"Things have been...difficult," she started slowly. "Ever since she left things haven't been the same." She glanced up. "I missed everyone. I missed you."

"I'm not respected so I don't really give any," she smiled a bit sadly, remembering the only person who thought she was worth a damn.

"and nice pebble... I suppose it serves another purpose other than going by unnoticed?" she moved away from him, keeping that comfortable distance she always placed between herself and others.

Raine closed her eyes and smiled, "That's quite the trick you have." She opened her eyes again, focusing her green gaze on Josh. She took a small step closer, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor.

"I was never one to eavesdrop but I'll give it a go." She started to play with the many piecings poked into her body, liking the way it distracted her.

"It would be my pleasure." She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

(Damn eavesdroppers!)

Gabrielle sighed and relaxed in her chair, dropping the fake smile. "I missed you too," she said softly. "You know, I'm sorry for having left so suddenly. I didn't mean to, but it just happened, and Christ, I really thought it was a good idea at the time." She looked down. "Lots of things happened. I abused a lot of drugs. that friend of yours, Raine--she reminds me a lot of me, that side of me none of you had the misfortune of seeing." Gabrielle seemed to pause for breath, but then couldn't think of anything else to say.

She looked over to Ariel. She had really become pretty, even prettier than she was, in a way. While Gabrielle went for shock factor Ariel was really the gorgeous one. She was envious.

"I'm still the emotional wreck I was before, and that really bites, Ariel," she said, changing the subject of the conversation. "I wish all the others were here. I wish people would learn to love and accept me, not desire me for my looks and then ditch me for who I really am." She leaned on her hand and sighed, apparently even twice as relieved for having gotten her insecurities off her chest.

Ariel simply stared at Gabrielle, processing what she said. She abused drugs in the time they had been apart? Maybe that contributed to her unhealthy-looking appearance. It hurt to see her like that.

"Raine isn't a bad person despite the choices she makes... But I think it would be best if you stayed away from her. There is a sadistic side of her that does enjoy making people miserable, and I don't want that to happen to you," Ariel said. Her eyes swept over Gabrielle's body, taking in the sight of her figure, going down her slender neck to her chest and torso, and then down her legs before coming back up. How long had it been? A few years...

"It would be nice if everyone else showed up. I've been wanting to see TK..." she started. Then she slowly, almost hesitantly, reached out and grasped Gabrielle's hand.

"You don't seem to be an emotional wreck to me," she said honestly. "In fact, you seem warmer than you used to be." Then she added in a slightly lower tone, almost as if she was saying it to herself, "I still care about you..."

Raine stared at all the colours, dancing before her very eyes. She reached out as if to touch them but she quickly let her hands drop down to her sides. She turned and faced Josh, a mischievous grin on her lips.

"Thanks, really brightens up the world, you know?"

Her grin stopped and she stood still, after hearing what was going on with Gabrielle and Ariel. Her face was a blank mask and she was reminded of what she had vowed to do.

"Raine isn't a bad person despite the choices she makes... But I think it would be best if you stayed away from her. There is a sadistic side of her that does enjoy making people miserable, and I don't want that to happen to you,"

She chuckled darkly, a mean and cold expression forming on her face, "Ahhh, even five years isn't enough time to fill a gap."

They all think and say the same thing about me, she thought, amused.

Raine gave a tight smile, not wanting to debate the topic now that her high had mostly lost it's touch.

She turned her attention to the man who had just entered the room. A sly smile curled her lips and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Got any more of that?" she asked sweetly, gesturing to the beer.

Gabrielle looked into Ariel's eyes and tried to smile. "Is the other you still there?"

Ariel made a small noise in her throat, almost like a whimper. She pulled back, seeming to withdraw into herself. She felt vulnerable around Gabrielle, and now that she had been mentioned again, it only opened up old wounds that never completely healed.

"She...she's not here anymore," she whispered. "Before the fight in the Pit 10 years ago...the last time she was out and we fought that, that thing, she disappeared. She hasn't come back..." Her eyes watered slightly but she managed to keep the tears at bay. Losing her other was like losing the other half of herself. A half that she couldn't get back.