(S:RPG) Genesis Game IC

[Chelubai]

Let the games begin! Let the righteous see fruition in their plans, and the evil ground to dust!


A few reminders:
1: Paragraphs that reveal history, or backstory appear in this color.
2:Group notifications, and special character dialogue appears in red, only me and Scout may do this.
3:This color is used for OOC, this may include: your characters location, an explanation of an action, clarifying a meaning, etc.



I will post random links, be sure to watch/read these. They may be important (or frivolous).

The void of one's own mind is scary place to be. It's dictated by the recesses of your imagination, a terrifying maelstrom of things not there, all you see is darkness, all you feel is air, like you are suspended in nothing. But it's so thick you can't breath, you can't think, only feel. You can reach and reach, yet not find a place to grasp. You can cry, you can laugh, believing your face mirrors your emotions. But you forget you are no longer a fleshly body, you are but a stranded soul, looking for reality, for something real. You long to feel for real, to taste, to see, to hear. But you never will in your own little void. Woe to the mind trapped in this void, they forget who they are, what they are, they become detached from their soul.

Gabriel screeched for the thousandth time in his void. This feeling of death, of nothingness, was beginning to become crushing, to thick for his delicate balance of emotions to handle. He felt as if he were kicking, his feet looking for a foothold, a platform to weave patterns to the music he could always feel in his blood. He thought he was reaching, grasping for light, for someone real. He felt it in his veins, it was time to wake up. But he couldn't. A terrifying feeling of surrender gripped him. He would not surrender, someone, something needed him to be awakened. He didn't know who he was that he was needed, but right now he wanted so bad to remember.

Wake up! said a voice, declaring it's will to the comatose boy. I need you awake, your friends need you awake. It promised as if to beckon Gabriel into fury, to become ravenous for awakening. You can't die yet, not without your friends at your side. Again it promised, this voice that resounded so deeply inside Gabriel. It was like music became alive and touched him, searing his skin, and burning the bone. You must begin anew, you must ignite your fire, it is time to be a light unto the world, the first hope. Gabriel cried out in his mind to the voice, words forming on his immaterial lips for the first time in this darkened void. " I can't do this! I have tried and tried!" He proclaimed, "I need help, can you give that to me?" he inquired. Again he reached out, and felt a hand, another hand. Then came a light, it surrounded the hand so brightly he couldn't see its owner, he couldn't see the face. But it pulled him, and he suddenly felt attached to something...was it...flesh?

Back in the real world, Gabriel started to move. Quietly, he began to awake. His toes moved first, twitching, then curling. Followed by his feet he flexed, muscles week from sedation in a comatose. He moved his legs, oh glorious legs. he'd dance again, and he'd do it for that voice, that hand. His waist shifted, his torso contorted, he grasped the bed sheets with weak hands. He rolled his shoulders, his neck twitched. Finally, his eyes fluttered open, not quite snapping. His eyes feasted on colors for the first time, everything was initially a blur, but eventually sharpened into focus. Individual's were in chairs around his bed. He couldn't remember their names, or the objects, not yet. But something told him he'd remember eventually. A smile appeared on his lips, a bit lopsided, but it happened. His eyes became bright and alive, happy like he always was. A coma wasn't going to keep him from being happy again.

[101 Scout1]

"Gabe, c'mon, we gotta go," Michael said, tugging his friend's arm. But another boy, larger than either of them, hadn't let them, stepping in front of them, calling Gabriel some of the worst things he could think of. Mike was never one to react harshly, they were just words, and he just clenched his fist, resisting the desire to absolutely destroy the boy in front of him. Sure, Michael wasn't big, and he didn't know how to fight, but he could be just as crippling without it. It was funny... the boy couldn't even remember now how this had all happened, what exactly was said or who had acted on what to get them to this point, but all he could remember was pulling Gabe and finally getting to move before the dancer was thrown to the ground, smashing his face and falling unconscious. It was at that point that Michael had turned around, fists clenched, and spoken.

The pen has always been mightier than the sword, and it shall always be so. Words cut like knives, leaving scars that will inevitably last a lifetime. At first, the larger boy had gotten angrier, his fury escalating, but Michael had avoided any swings he took, though just barely. He actually did sustain a knock to the shoulder, having misjudged the depth of the swing. Regardless, as the other boy tired out, he was brought to tears, each and every one of his insecurities picked out and played on before he realized exactly what he'd done, and what he might face by the law. He did all he could at that point and ran, Michael had no intention of pursuing him as he turned Gabriel over. He wouldn't wake up... He called the hospital, which then sent an ambulance... He was in a coma.

Mike had been living in the area for a while now, after his father's transfer, and Gabriel was one of his first friends. At first, he questioned the boy's preference for dancing, but he was truly skilled, and they became quick friends. But now, he was in a coma... Michael walked through the door, he visited three times a week for a couple of hours. He didn't have homework anymore, as he'd graduated, but he still had work to do. He stepped into the room, a notebook in his hand. It was wear he kept any speeches, debate notes and ideas, and just topics that he sometimes thought of to take stances on and research. It was just something he always did, thought of different ways to argue the most important issues and problems, he loved it, even craved it. Nobody really debated with him anymore... They always lost.

As he stepped into the room, he walked over to the edge of his friend's bed and grabbed his hand for a moment, his brow furrowing as he gripped the flesh, looking over to be sure the door was closed. "Gabe..." He muttered. Michael always had something to say... He was never one to be at a loss for words, but now, staring at this boy who had been asleep for too long, his speech caught in his throat. He'd said enough, but he was just tired of repeating it... He stood there for a moment, his eyes prickling lightly before he released the other boy's hand, letting it fall back down, and wiping his eyes. He couldn't be crying when the others arrived... They were really just meeting to hang out, to meet in-person for some of them, and none of them felt that Gabriel should be left out of it, even if he was in a coma, he deserved to be there.

Time passed, some of the others entered, Michael looked over to the door, so he missed the first twitch in Gabriel's foot, but when he moved his gaze, about to open his notebook, he saw it. The foot moved. The boy rubbed his eyes, that didn't happen... There was absolutely no way, he was just imagining things at this point. But then the lips curved, a smile... That boy hadn't smiled since he was hit, and Mike stood up, moving over to the bed as Gabe's eyes opened slowly, muttering to himself, "No... way..." It couldn't have been happening... Michael wasn't one to overreact, so anybody who saw him would think him cold or uncaring, but inside he was absolutely psychotic.

"G-guys! He's... He's waking up," He said, looking back to them with wide eyes, disbelief on his face as he reached down and grabbed his friend's hand, "Hey, Gabe... Gabe wake up," He urged, squeezing the hand so that the boy would feel something, so that the nerves would start alerting the brain again, in order to speed up the waking process.

[Satheon]

Lachlan always walked a little slower when it came to visiting the hospital. He cared very little for medical establishments in general, but this one was different; many a times he had done volunteer work with children in rehabilitation, recently crippled in one way or another. It had been an important experience for him since he himself was deaf-mute from birth; having never had the abilities to begin with he had always felt normal. Through various activities, Loch was able to impart in the kids that sense of completion and show them how many ways the world had opened up to them though it seemed it had been closed off.

The violence of the moment came back to him every time he thought of Gabe. Lachlan was late that day meeting up with his friends, which never happened. He remembered turning the corner and witnessing it all: the big guy smacking Gabriel who fell to the ground, smashing his head, and then Mike losing it... Lachlan was completely deaf - he didn't even catch a glimpse of noises - so the entire scene played out like the dramatic part of a movie when the director decides to cut all sound to emphasize how surreal the events really are. It had all played in slow-motion up until the aggressor came running in Loch's direction. Instinct kicked in and he caught him before he had a chance to flee.

The boy was panicking, of course, who wouldn't? Adrenaline made Lachlan that much stronger and he pinned the aggressor to the ground. It was Davis. A real a-hole if he did say so himself, which he couldn't. He had taken to antagonizing Gabe for some time over his choice of sports. Ridiculous that High School bullying would result in what it did. Loch looked him straight in the eyes and pointed ferociously as if saying "You stay the Hell put!". Davis raised his hands and his lips could read "Fine, fine..." He then ran over to Michael who was barely holding it together, which meant it was bad. But in truth it was worse: it was a coma.

Lachlan opened the door to see Mike leaning over Gabriel. He made a bit of noise, pretending to stumble, so as to alert his friends that they were no longer alone. Room 306. It was much more pleasant to visit since he had been transferred down the month before. The recovery ward was familiar and definitely felt more energetic. The idea was to have a bit of life around Gabe in the hopes of shaking him up a little. Not that he would mind a bit of noises anyway. Michael sat back in a chair and Loch set a hand on his shoulder, fist bumping him as they usually did. He was really taking the situation badly. Lachlan couldn't tell if it was guilt or just his powerlessness in the situation that depressed his friend so much. The latter seemed to make sense.

He fiddled with a piece of paper. Sculpting would have been nice in those emotionally trying visits, but it wouldn't exactly be appropriate to break out his chisel and a piece of wood in the hospital. Instead, every time Lachlan would visit he would make origami for Gabe and set it on the windowsill. It was full of animals, flowers, objects... Loch had taken particular pride in the Pegasus. He made it during a very difficult visit shortly after Gabriel's transfer down to the room, when the doctor had informed them there was no notable progress. The parents took it the worst, obviously. Mike just seemed petrified, cold and expressionless like a marble statue. He finally finished his current piece and set it on the bedside table to show Michael. It was a mini paper Yoda. He tapped his sleeping friend's shoulder and signed "Wake up, you must." That was the most frustrating for him: not being able to SAY anything. It had been the first time his muteness actually angered him.

Michael jumped up and had grabbed Gabriel's hand. He was moving... HE WAS MOVING! His eyes opened slowly. Obviously the Force was strong with paper Yoda.

[SebasChan]

Anne had entered the room after Michael, clutching her iPad to her chest. She glanced around the room nervously before setting up in the chair nearest Gabriel's bed. She came here every other day, for two hours. Normally she would use this time to do homework or practice her music. So far she hadn't been caught using the internet in the ward, but there was a first time for everything. Taking a deep breath, she set it up on its stand and moved it so when Taryn went to try and video chat with them, so she could at least see Gabriel every so often, even if he wasn't awake.

She slid her bag from her shoulders and pulled out a pile of sheet music and her favorite pen. Biting the top of it, she passed the hours by studying a new piece she had ordered a week ago. "Gabriel, I'm trying to learn a new piece." She murmured, pushing her hair back to look at him without interference. "I don't know if you would like it... I may try playing it for you, though. The doctors said something about music and it helping people heal." Anne had talked with Gabriel every day since she started visiting, but never loudly enough to disturb the boys that also came to visit.

She had stayed late to work on an essay that day, and sincerely wished she hadn't when she heard the ambulance coming closer. Anne had ran after it, her cello case knocking against her side the entire time. She was the second youngest out of everyone she knew, and was the last one in school aside from Taryn. It meant she missed a lot of things, and this... This was perhaps the most important. She had seen the blood on the sidewalk, and Michael standing over Gabriel as the paramedics took him away, she having only made it just as the paramedics had. She had raced through backyards and jumped a fence to get there in time. As she was running, she had passed Davis going in the opposite direction, which made her heart seize.

"You should really wake up. We all miss you. You must know that we come as often as we can. It must get lonely, being in the ward all alone, night after night. The idea of visiting hours really stink sometimes." Anne gave a soft sigh then looked at Gabriell's prone figure, he seeming so completely at peace; resting. Then she saw his foot twitch. She blinked a few times, moving her work and rubbing at her eyes. It was a cliché motion to be sure, but she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

He seemed to move in a wave, starting at his toes and finally moving to his eyes. He didn't move quite as gracefully as he had when he danced, but anything was graceful after not seeing him move for so long. "Gabe?" She called out, taking his other hand, opposite Mike. "Oh my goodness you're actually awake!" Tears pricked at her eyes, and she leaned across him just long enough to hit the "call" button, to summon the nurses and doctors. They would have to see this. It would make it real. They had to know he was awake, to know that despite all their naysaying, he was awake. She turned to face Lachlan with a broad smile on her face. She was far from being fluent in ASL, but she knew the basics.

I can't believe it! She signed, stepping back from the bed to sink back into her chair. It would be no good to overwhelm him as he just woke up. It would be like overstimulating a newborn. He hadn't fully experienced the real world in so long, and she had no clue how he was going to react to it all.

[Blu]

"Kari, is Gabe better yet?" Alex asked, as Karen put on his backpack. That question had been asked every other day since they got the news that Gabe was in the hospital. Neither of them had been there to see it. From what she heard from Gabe's mother, he and one of his friends got into a fight. The punch hit Gabe in just the worst way. He was rushed to the hospital, but he still hadn't woken up. Karen visited Gabe's parents every day after work to console them. She couldn't imagine how it must feel to have their little boy in such a condition. Karen shuddered, nearly breaking down just from the thought of Alex getting hurt.

"Not yet Alex. Don't worry. He will soon." She watched as Alex's shoulders sunk, and he turned and walked off to the bus. She went back into the house, and started taking care of some of the household chores. Alex had always looked up to Gabe.

It had been just over three and a half years since Alex was dropped off at her parents' house. She was doing everything she could to help out, but she was always busy. Every day, she ran herself ragged, and barely got to sleep at night. At least, finally, Alex was sleeping through the night himself. But she felt sorry for Alex. She was so busy, she couldn't set up play dates with other children, so he didn't get the social experiences that were needed for a child's young development, according to the magazines she was reading. She was doing a terrible job of taking care of him. But then, one day, when he was playing in the back yard, Gabriel was on his patio, practicing his dance moves. Alex heard the music, and stumbled over to Gabe, mesmerized by his dancing. He started laughing, and clapping his hands, like young children do, and trying, and usually failing, to dance too. But every time he fell to his butt, Alex would get back up, and start trying again. And for a brief moment, Karen's panic relaxed, and she watched and laughed along.

Karen's reminiscing was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Of course her boss wouldn't be able to make it through her day off without needing help in finding something. He was a smart man, and good at what he did, but without her he was so.... cluttered. Disorganized. She was surprised the man managed to dress himself sometimes. In fact, she doubted that he did, with a chuckle. His wife probably had to do it for him.

But the number on her phone was not her boss. It was Gabe's mother. She hesitated a moment, before answering. She would only be calling, instead of just walking over, for one of two reasons. Either Gabe was back.... or Gabe was gone. She was terrified at which one it may be. It took all her resolve to answer the phone, knowing that, if things had... ended.... Gabe's mother would need her comfort. She pressed the call button, and put the phone to hear ear. "H..hello?"

Karen dropped her phone to the floor when she heard the news.

[Zhaliora]

Jessica was staring into Irene's closed eyes from her position on the pillow. They had spent the night together at Irene's house and Jessica had just woken up. She could feel Irene's deep breathing against her throat as her nose was just about two inches away from her. Jessica felt every breath they both took as their chests rubbed up against each other. "It can't be easy to have her younger brother in a coma" Jessica thought as she idly stroked Irene's head with her free left hand. Ever since Gabe had entered his comatose state, Irene had become more and more, `clingy´.

Jessica had been at home that day, having no classes to attend when suddenly she had gotten a text from Irene, telling her that she was coming over right away. Jessica had thought it was odd, but she did not mind Irene coming over. In fact, she had welcomed the distraction since she had nothing to do until Irene had finished her classes for the day, thinking that Irene's classes had ended early. The second Jessica opened the door to let her in, Irene had wrapped her arms around her and Jessica had almost fallen to the floor from the impact. She looked baffled at Irene before she noticed the tears that streamed down her face. "Heey...what's wrong?" she asked as she hugged Irene close. "Its--its Gabe.." she said in-between her tears "..he's in a coma at the hospital and the doctors don't know when he'll wake up." Jessica was stunned. Gabe? In a coma? She had a very hard time getting her mind around it. "If he is...then why aren't you there at his side right now?" Jessica asked somewhat uncertain. "I was there until just a while ago...but I could not look at him any longer without breaking" she responded with a shaky voice. "I needed to see you....I don't know if I could remain sane without you right now" Irene continued before she kissed Jessica deeply and started pushing her towards the sofa.

Jessica did not resist any of it. She knew about the emotional turmoil that must be going on inside of Irene right now as she let her do what she wanted. Neither of them cared that they were in the living room and not in Jessica's room as Irene let out her emotions......

Jessica sighed to herself as she recalled that day and stroked Irene's back. She heard a noise coming from Irene's lips..."Gabe." She called for her brother in her sleep. "Gabe, please wake up." Jessica could see tears starting to flow from Irene's eyes and decided to wake her up. "Irene, wake up" she said and lightly shook her. "Hmm?" Irene woke up and stared up at Jessica. "Jessica?" she asked still half-asleep. "Hey..." Jessica said and stroked Irene's cheek. "You had a bad dream, so I woke you up, and from what you said in your sleep, it was about Gabe right?" Irene said nothing and just nodded. "Should we visit him today? His friends were having a gathering in his room today. Perhaps seeing him and them would cheer you up. You have not seen him in a few days now. I don't want to tell you how to deal with it, but I think you should go to his side today." Irene stayed silent for a little while until she opened her mouth; "I..think you might be right" she finally said and kissed Jessica's lips. "But before we do that....lets have another go!" she said and moved on top of Jessica. "Jeez" she said and smiled and soon sounds of pleasure could be heard in the nearly empty house.

After their little bout, they both showered and got dressed, ate some breakfast and left the house hand in hand. It did not take too long via bus to get to the hospital that Gabe was staying in. They told the receptionist that they were here to see Gabe and proceeded to his room. Irene seemed to become more and more tense the closer they got to the room so Jessica wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's shoulder to reassure her before they opened the door together. "Hi, a shipment of two women incoming" Jessica said jokingly as they entered the room.

The scene that met them though was surreal. Anne was crying and holding Gabe's left hand while Mike was holding his right. At first Jessica thought that Gabe had died, but the heart monitor kept up its normal pace and then she saw it, Gabriel's opened eyes. Jessica's mouth dropped open before she pushed Irene, whom was frozen in place, up to Gabe's side. Tears started to flow from Irene's eyes as she leaned in close and stroked Gabe's cheek before she kissed his forehead. "G-Gabe...you're finally awake" she managed to say in-between her sobbing. Jessica stood behind Irene and patted her back gently as the two siblings were finally reunited.

[Mr Mauve]

"Mom, Anne's on her way to the hospital!" Taryn double-checked her phone before poking her head into her mom's office. "So I'm gonna be Skyping with the gang for the next hour or so." Her mother just nodded, and Taryn made her way to her room.

She didn't know Gabe very well: he was just another one of Mike's friends. Even so, she was certainly concerned for the poor man. Maybe it was how much it affected the Captain that connected her to Gabe's plight. Sure, Mike was stoic on the outside, but she could see the turmoil inside. She'd noticed something wrong as soon as he came in. And then there were the others who'd rallied together to vigilantly watch over the sleeping boy. Sleeping, she reminded herself: simply waiting to wake up. As was her custom, she made a stop at her bed before approaching the PC.

"Howdy, God. Gabe's still asleep, and we're all getting a little tired and frazzled waiting for him to get up. Could you maybe give him back soon? Thanks."

It was simple and childlike, but it was the way she always prayed. She squinted her eyes a bit, decided she'd said what she wanted, and made her way to the PC, impatiently tapping a pen against her monitor until she saw Anne pop online. When the call finally connected, Taryn exchanged greetings and continued the painting she'd been working on as a present for the sleeping boy. Halfway through a stroke, though, the foot she was drawing twitched. With a disappointed sigh, Taryn glared from the foot up at Gabe's face. "Stop twitching your..." It slowly dawned on her what was happening, and as soon as the shock was over she squeeled out the news, as the others were recognizing it, too. "GUYS HE'S TWITCHING HIS FOOT! I AM SO COMING OVER RIGHT NOW!"

"Mom!" she shouted as she bound down the stairs, "Gabe's waking up! Come on, I have to be there!"

[Chelubai]

He couldn't exactly grasp what was happening yet, Gabriel that is. The boy was slowly coming into his body and mind again. It was like his soul's rendition of his body was slowly laying itself into all the right crevices, overlapping and all. It took him moments to realize his hands were being held, then that he had a girl crying over the side of his bed... Well two of them, he noticed they both had tears.

The lopsided smile on his face was refusing still to right itself, but that would come later, his brain still needed several hours of stimulus before he could even begin working like normal. Right now though, there was plenty of stimulus. His little smile widened a bit, his eyes slowly accelerating in movement. He was taking in all of it. He was trying to connect faces and names, and words to his mouth. Nothing would come but the emotions he had felt in his void. But he could feel, he was situated.

He squeezed, gently do to lack of strength, to both hands curled in his, small tears stinging at his eyes. "Mike.... Anne..." He whispered, things slowly coming back, at a rate that would be shocking for most coma patients, but he wasn't most. He began to speak under his breath the names of everyone in the room, then of objects, like the bed, his foot. He was waking up memory on his own, he knew he had to be better fast, there was an urgency about him.

His mom rushed in, gently batting aside his friend on his hand, taking Anne's spot and going crazy with tears. He felt his hospital clothes soak, warm tears wetting his skin beneath. Warm hands holding his own. A small curl of hair hung over his nose, his own. It shone in the light of the room and caused him to go cross eyed. A half hearted laugh escaped, it wasn't to loud, yet it wasn't inaudible like the words and names he had already been speaking.

He was happy, an emotion he didn't feel in the void. Joy ran through his veins like streams, pregnant with life giving water. His heart beat a tad faster. His tongue darted out and licked his lip, a gesture that was showing his return to normalcy. He was feeling alive again, everything was snapping into focus so quickly it made him dizzy. Which made him laugh more. In truth he was delirious, out of his mind, but it would pass, how soon it would pass.

Nurses and a doctor came into the room, urging everyone out to check out his signs and reactions. He was too happy to comply correctly, almost drunk on the very air rushing in and out of his lungs. He was lethargic, yet energized, slurry, yet focused. It was like hot and cold water, the two swirling in motions caused by spreading heat. He was psychotic yet slow moving. The young dancer was coming closer to complete awareness.

[101 Scout1]

Mike couldn't even control himself... of everybody, he was the one who could almost undoubtedly pull himself together in these situations, to assess them and take them as they were before rolling with the punches of life. But this... Even he was choking on his throat, which was swelling as his eyes watered for his friend. After moving from Arizona, Gabriel was the only one there for him... Michael wasn't exactly accepted very easily due to his eyepatch... When you move into a town before going into seventh grade, it's the kind of thing that kids will talk about, they'll point and ask questions rather than just letting it be. But Gabriel hadn't... in one another, they'd seen more. Michael wound up, inevitably, being fairly well-liked, despite the fact that he could be somewhat emotionless at times. He watched as Anne was pushed away by Gabe's mom, and was looking over to see if Irene would be joining them, despite the fact that she seemed to be in a very distant place right then.

The warm tears were very gradually pushing themselves from the debater's eyes as he stared in disbelief. The doctors and nurses came, shooing everybody from the room in order to check everything. Michael took this as a god-send and headed for the bathroom, if only for a moment. He grabbed a paper towel the moment he got in and dabbed out his eyes, planting his hands on the sink, and staring into the mirror, collecting himself. It took a few moments, but his eyes slowly faded (though they did stay slightly red), his nose had stopped running, and his eyes were now dry. The boy walked out of the bathroom, coughing a few times to clear out his throat as he looked at everybody.

Say something... Right now, say anything. His gaze scanned over each member of their group, though apparently Taryn was physically on her way, as he thought about what he would actually have to bring up on the subject. He rubbed the back of his neck, "This... Was the last thing I expected today... Or this week... or this month..." He started solemnly, "I'll be honest, I'd been getting less hopeful of the situation..." His eyes moved up again as he stared at the ceiling, letting out a long, relieved sigh of contentment, his eyes closing to relax for just a moment before he shifted his vision back down to the others. "I know that this is exciting, guys, but we also have to remember that it might take him a little bit of time to get used to everything... Even a few days in a coma can make walking difficult, so he might be a little weak in the legs... I'm just glad that today was one of the days that all of us were here... together... For some reason, I'm sure that that has something to do with it..." He said, giving them all a small smile... it seemed not only relieved for his friend, but grateful for the others.

"Anyway, all I'm trying to say is... thanks, for being there for him, for me... For Irene," He said, looking to Jessica at the mention of the last name. "I know it's been hard watching him go through this, but I'm glad you all stuck around... We're lucky to have friendships like this... Not a lot of people can say they have this like we do..." The boy looked down, clearly debating about saying something else. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, "And..." His voice became really low, but he said something that you couldn't expect him to say again or often, "I love you guys..." Turn off the waterworks... Now's not the time... He chided himself as his eyes began to prickle again. The last thing he needed was to fall apart in front of everybody. He took a moment to breathe slowly and to calm himself down before looking up again, his hands moving absently to his pockets.

[Satheon]

Lachlan stood up, patting Gabe on the shoulder and signing "It's a miracle!" to Anne. He retreated a little towards the entry to give everyone the opportunity to shake Gabe's hand, hug him, kiss him on the forehead... They all had their own celebratory/welcoming gesture. One thing applied to them all though: teary eyes. The group had grown very tightly woven over the years. Whether you were new to the circle or a founding "member", you had a special place and role to play in the others' lives. Loch reminded himself how fortunate he was to never have lost anyone in his life and was happy on of the gang would not be the first. He had told Gabirel: one night he stayed late and slid an envelope under his friend's pillow before leaving.

Dear Gabe,

You're an ass hole. There, I wrote it. Seriously, if you saw just how much pain everyone is going through you would be ashamed. Especially Mike, you're missing out on some true blue bromantic moments...

Fine, I'll cut the crap. It's just hard on me, you know. I feel that if I could scream loud enough - or at all - it might just snap you out of it. For the first time in my life I resent God or whatever is behind my life for making me broken... It's the first time I FEEL broken at all. That's some real bond right there, bro. It's easy to want to be stronger for your friends, because there something selfish in it. Being stronger. We all want to deep down, and having someone to do it for just legitimizes the yearning. What's hard though is admitting you're powerless to help someone. That's real love right there, because it's honest. Honesty is hard in life, always. But caring for someone makes you strong enough to achieve it.

That's how much you mean to us Gabe. Every day there's someone here cursing his or herself for not being able to wake you up. We take turns crying around you when everyone else looks away. YOU make us strong enough to show weakness Gabe. YOU make us strong enough to admit we're ants in a game played by forces more powerful than the lot of us combined. It's a precious gift... and that's why we need you back.

I will never forgive you if you don't come back. I just won't be able to.

I love you,

Lachlan

Lachlan wiped away a tear as he remembered the letter and walked out of the room with the others as the doctors dismissed them. As everyone stood there in the hallway, in an awkward but glorious silence, he looked around, signed "I freaking love you guys" and grabbed the two nearest to him for a group hug, hoping the rest would join in. If they didn't he would be deeply embarrassed. He didn't want to be THAT guy that starts a slow clap for no reason...