Hey There! Oh, Isolation is being Re-Written! If you want to see the original story (for whatever reason), a Google Doc is available here!
This must be weighing you down a bit.
"Huh"? Bran blurted out to Tor'me, his eyes still glued to the window.
"I said I'm sorry to both of you for not being able to have Joshua stay,"
'Ichael doesn't know how to respond to any of this. After having been so excited to get to stay here, all of a sudden it felt dirty to do anything other than think about Joshua. About him leaving, not feeling like he should stay here. About any of the things they could've done differently to let him feel better about being here. To make him feel the joy 'Ichael has felt because of this place and the people here.
The joy that had intoxicated 'Ichael not too long ago.
Bran sighed, leaning further down the railing. "I'm more upset with myself than you; at least you seemed to be doing a better job than me."
"I don't blame you for getting upset," Tor'me immediately said. "I know this hurts." He stepped away from Bran and sat next to 'Ichael, facing away from the window just like them. He extended a hand to them, palm facing up questioningly. 'Ichael took a second before their hand naturally grasped his, stroking their fingers over Tor'me's fur as Tor'me did the same over their skin. Tor'me looked 'Ichael in the eyes and chuckled as he smiled, showing some teeth before his lips came back together.
'Ichael wasn't quite sure why this came so naturally to them, but they smiled back to Tor'me. It felt good, in spite of everything that's happened recently. Even when trying to show the plaza off to Bran didn't seem to do the trick. It even seemed to make Sarah laugh a bit from behind 'Ichael, reminding them of her existence.
"You both tried," she began. "Unfortunately, this is something we've been seeing a lot, working with all the other missing... kids."
"They've not accepted this very well either?" Bran replied, turning back to look at Sarah.
"Not all of them. A lot of them are still working under the assumption that they surrendered to an alien power, not that they're going to receive humanitarian aid and rehabilitation. They're all adjusting differently; that is, mostly the non-officers."
Bran came to sit down on her left side, opposite 'Ichael. He leaned towards her, listening to everything she said.
"Do you... Do you see anything 'out of the ordinary' with Joshua?" Bran asked.
Sarah turned to him, thinking for a bit. "No," she said back, shaking her head a little. "Not really. He's just invested more emotionally into the fake city than you two have."
"But I'm an officer," Bran started, quickly stumbling back on his words to correct himself. "Was. An officer. We all-- 'Ichael, Joshua and I all experienced a lot of the same stuff. I have had to protect both of them during plenty of it! Why wouldn't--"
"Bran, I can't tell you why Joshua wouldn't want to leave," Sarah interrupted, trying to keep her tone soft. "The only person who can actually tell us... is Joshua, and I know that isn't reassuring." After letting the words hang in the air, she puts a hand on Bran's shoulder. "Look. Sooner than later, Joshua isn't going to have a choice anymore. Galvana is not staying around for much longer. It literally can't. Worst case scenario, he'll be brought back here, and he'll have to learn how to manage without that part of his life. I know that's a bit harsh, but... he's not really giving us a choice either, is he?"
Bran starts crying. He can't help it. The tears, the air in his lungs... It's all just coming out now. "Sorry," he messily says, pulling away from Sarah's hand and turning away to wipe his eyes.
Tor'me walks over to Bran, kneels down and pulls something out of a pocket somewhere. A napkin. Bran takes it and cleans his face up.
As 'Ichael watches, he can see tears coming out of Tor'me's eyes too.
"No, I'm sorry," Sarah replies, after a sigh. "I... I'm not good at comforting people."
I don't think I am either, to be fair. I tried, after Bran asked me about the things Kor'kara, Sarah and I walked around to see but... as soon as we took a break...
...what does Josh think we want for him? After coming here, getting to know people, getting comfortable with the place? Admittedly, I've spent a lot of that time recovering from my assault but even Bran said that wouldn't have happened here. I'm only doing okay because of these people, this place.
"'Ichael?"
Bran's voice knocks 'Ichael out of their thoughts, making them turn around to see Bran's face, now dry, but with eyes still showing some red.
"You thinking about Joshua?"
'Ichael exhales sharply, a sob stifling itself out of surprise. "I just don't understand him anymore."
Bran sniffles a bit. "Yeah." He wraps his arm around 'Ichael, squeezing softly at their shoulder. "Hey," he continued, "Is there anything else you want to show me?"
"I don't think so," 'Ichael responded, quietly. Saying the words felt like a defeat, but to what 'Ichael wasn't sure. He didn't want to feel like Joshua was taking happiness away from him as an option, like he was doing everything he could to make everybody else miserable.
But 'Ichael had to admit it did feel like that to them.
"Are you getting tired?" Bran asked, his tone lightening up a bit.
It was a question 'Ichael needed to take into consideration for a bit. At first, they didn't think they were tired, but then they thought about it. Then they could feel their armpits feeling a bit sore from the crutches, their palms feeling much the same from putting weight down on them. They even yawned as these thoughts occurred.
"Yeah you are," Bran said, ruffling their hair a bit and standing up. "You should probably rest a bit then."
"That's a good point," Sarah replied, standing up and moving in front of 'Ichael. "You've been staying up longer than you should've been."
'Ichael couldn't fight the sentiment, as much as they wanted to. The sun was still shining into the ship, so the day was still young in their opinion, but with everything that's gone on today... yeah, it really must've drained them.
Everybody started talking more after that, but 'Ichael didn't get to listen to it much since they were already being escorted back to their room at the medical wing. And in their silence, their mind came back to Joshua, although their thoughts were a bit muted.
What does he want?
Why can't we give him that?
What does he want?
Why can't we give him that?
With no clear path to guide their thoughts down, this was the spiral 'Ichael found themself in, even while staring up at the ceiling above their new bed. Eventually, the questions left them numb, or their exhaustion did, because soon enough, they closed their eyes as the weight of their body sank down in relaxation, and fell asleep.
As the days just before the end of Galvana dragged on, the world watched, alongside their new intergalactic neighbors. The stories of those who had been imprisoned there dominated the picture in the minds of every single person. This continued, and intensified as there eventually were only a handful of people left in that facade town. To many, the stories became personal, even as these people had no direct involvement, or relation to those who did. The weight of history could not be eased or shared in this way however. It could only be made that much heavier.
"...but even then, things have been really nice down there. I've missed people being so happy around me."
Bran couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean. This, being here... it's given me a... sense of life I don't think I've ever really had."
Tor'me chuckled, but he didn't say anything. Sarah sighed, like she just sat down in a really comfy chair. "Oh god, yeah. Maybe this'll help to bring back some of my hair color," she said, laughing. Bran laughed too, even if he didn't know why that was funny.
"Hey," she said, snapping her fingers. "Maybe you could go down there someday."
Now that was an idea. Bran always wondered what people in the town were like, naturally. Excluding Sarah, he still hasn't met any. Why not learn more about these people?
...Of course, Bran was still trying to get himself past the roadblock of 'I would've killed some of these people and they're probably still a bit scared of people like me', which definitely kept him from saying yes immediately.
But assuming that he'd have some help, like he did with Sarah, maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Eventually, at least. Definitely not doing it with Joshua's ordeal hanging over him.
"Yeah," Bran replied, hesitating a bit. "Yeah, that does sound like a good idea."
"Actually," Tor'me interjected, "I think I heard something about a 'cultural exchange' event happening or something?"
"Oh yeah!" Sarah's excitement raised her voice quite a bit. "I don't have anything to do with the planning, but I'd love to see everything! Really interested to see what you guys do too," she finished, pointing to Tor'me.
"Well I'm not planning anything either, so I don't really know yet. But I'm looking forward to it!" Hearing excitement anything like Sarah's in Tor'me's voice was... kinda weird. But it'd be lying to say Bran wasn't getting infected with it himself.
But it was coming alongside some... reservations. Not at the prospect of getting to see and experience things with these people, but at the fact that these people... had things to do. Other than Joshua & 'Ichael, Bran doesn't really have anything on his plate. At least, not in the same way these two do. Once all of this is over, Bran's probably going to have to figure out his life, assuming everything reaches some semblance of... a good ending?
Normal didn't really fit in his head for this. But, honestly, it was probably the only word that fit better than 'good ending'. Can anything go back to normal after Galvana?
"Bran?" Tor'me said, making Bran realize the two of them had been staring at him for some time.
"Huh?"
"Do you want something to eat? We can go to my room."
"Oh... sure."
Tor'me turned to Sarah. "Want to come with us?"
"Oh, there's one more place I was going to go."
"Alright, see you then!" Tor'me waved Sarah off, and Bran joined him, trying to regain his composure after having blanked out on them. Even then, as Sarah walked off, Bran still felt a bit awkward. But maybe food was what he needed. He hasn't eaten in a hot minute.