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[/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=#FF7514][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]The infirmary - Pacific Royal Campus[/I] - [I]Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=#ff7514][b]Take On Me #3.070:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Every Rose Has Its Thorn[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=#FF7514][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=#ff7514][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]Amma [@Rockette] sort of[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=#FF7514][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [color=gray][I]Abyss[/I][/color][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT]
Katja had woken up early this morning. She’d been stirring all night in bed, unable to sleep in the unfamiliar confines of the infirmary. During Haven’s rescue she had taken quite a blow to the head from a chunk of ceiling as she’d tried to keep the way open for the rest of them to escape. And so Katja had been asked to stay the night there as they were trying to make sure she didn’t have a concussion. 

She was up and about right before the sun was about to rise over the horizon. Gazing through her window, she could see the dimly lit garden and was reminded of her conversation with Amma a few days prior. It had been hard to overstate the effect that conversation had had on Katja’s mental wellbeing. She had been on the precipice of the abyss, to the point she had even been contemplating death, only to be pulled back from the brink. Offered a small ray of hope by that girl who had so wounded her days prior.

That girl, Katja realized, whom she still cared for so deeply.

She had been wrestling with her emotions for days now. The whole affair with Haven’s capture only preoccupied her thoughts momentarily. And even then her feelings towards the team as a whole and her fears of exposure hung over her like a sword of Damocles. And yet now, in the silent halls of the infirmary, she kept seeing that broken girl sitting on the stone bench. Feeling emotions she thought had been consumed by wicked arcs of red lightning.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that hadn’t been the case at all. Even during the Trials, when the wounds were still fresh, she had felt the need to comfort Amma when the girl displayed fragility for only the briefest of seconds. The traumatic events experienced during the Trials had just overshadowed her feelings, consuming most of her mind with dread for her future. That fear was still there. In fact, she imagined she’d never get rid of it all together. But at least her mind had been distracted enough that different thoughts could be formed again. Or rather, be confronted by them again.

Feelings she couldn’t ignore.

[hr]

Eternity.

That’s how long it felt like Katja had been standing in front of Amma’s door. It had probably been seconds, a minute at most. But still, time seemed to slow in front of that seemingly imposing doorway. But eventually, finally, she mustered up the courage to knock on the door. With no reply forthcoming she figured Amma must’ve gone on a walk similar to the one she made only moments ago. With that in mind, Katja opened the door, as she had something she wanted to give to the girl.

In her hand was a bouquet of flowers, freshly picked from the gardens. Katja wouldn’t say she had any skills in flower arranging, but she’d like she did pretty well with this piece. It consisted of ten flowers in total, each of a unique type ranging from a fiery Dutch Carnaval Dahlia to a large King Protea. A beautiful black rose served as the centerpiece of the bouquet.

But as Katja walked through the door she saw she had made a terrible mistake.

The open curtains cast the entire room in the morning glow of the rising sun. Katja immediately noticed the damage done to the room, reminding her of how their tent had looked in the aftermath of that fateful conversation. There was only one bed seemingly occupied in the room, betrayed by a lithe shape covered in blankets with a small light on the nightstand next to it that burned brightly. Katja considered turning back for a moment, not wanting to disturb the sleeping girl. But given how she was here now anyway, the least she could do was bring the flowers to Amma’s bedside. 

After carefully pouring water into an empty vase from one of the unoccupied nightstands, making sure she wasn’t being too noisy, Katja made her way over to Amma. The girl’s back was turned towards the entrance, but the raven hair made it no secret as to who she was. Having approached with as soft a footstep as she could manage, Katja turned the nightlight off after putting the flowers next to it, given how the sun was now fully illuminating the room anyways.

Katja was about to turn around and leave when she spared a glance at Amma. Seeing her like that, being so close to the smaller, it made her heart beat faster. She did not know why, but she felt compelled to stir her. So she reached out to the girl’s shoulder, stopping only an inch away as she suddenly felt the raw HZE energy of Amma touch her palm. Katja was no stranger to the sensation of Amma’s powers, far from it. But in this moment it felt different. As small sparks of red and silver bounced back and forth between the girl’s shoulder and Katja’s hand. Katja wasn’t sure if she was being repulsed by the energy, or if it actually attempted to drag her closer.

She sat there for a few seconds, contemplating what to do, whether she should actually wake her. But in the end she decided against that, opting to close her fist, breaking the momentary connection with Amma’s stray HZEs, and step back to face the window. 

She was greeted by the sight of a beautiful sunrise. The dawn of a new day, a new beginning. With the thoughts stirring through her mind at that moment, she couldn’t help but feel emotional. Overcome by them, she couldn’t help but feel the need to air out her thoughts, even if it was just to herself. Or perhaps in the hope that Amma would hear them.

	[color=#FF7514]“I was in a dark place the other day. When we met in the gardens.”[/color] Katja glanced down at the bouquet of flowers she’d brought, a wry smile on her lips. [color=#FF7514]“But talking to you got me out of that mindset. Or at the very least, you set me on a path to heal my scattered mind. And for that I wanted to thank you, Am.”[/color]

She paused, a fragment of doubt seeping into her mind questioning whether she should continue. But she felt a need in her heart to come clean.

And so she did.

	[color=#FF7514]“Back at the beach I had wanted to ask you a question. One that I had later wanted to ask you in the tent too, before…”[/color] She winced for a moment as red arcs of violent lightning flashed before her mind. [color=#FF7514]“Well, before [i]that[/i] happened.”[/color] Katja chuckled softly at her understating that terrifying moment. Taking a breather for a minute before circling back. [color=#FF7514]“Back then I actually wanted to ask you to the dance, Am. Not as a friend, like I offered to some others, but because I…”[/color] Katja paused, contemplating on whether she was ready to open this can of worms.

She considered that she was.

	[color=#FF7514]“You were different, Am. Different from all the others. You were unique. A challenge!”[/color] She hesitated for another moment, a shaky breath escaping her lips as she was reminded of the nature of her next words. [color=#FF7514]“An objective.”[/color]

	[color=#FF7514]“You were never meant to be more than that. An objective, a task, a mission. But as I hung around you, doubtlessly annoying you at every opportunity with my sticky determination, I couldn’t help but be drawn to you. You truly were, are, a different breed from the others. And I don’t know why but, you made me feel things I can’t quite explain. Even though you never particularly tried anything special to elicit those emotions.”[/color] Katja’s voice croaked for a second, forcing her to clear her throat with a soft cough before continuing. [color=#FF7514]“And yet, here I am, struggling with these emotions just the same.”[/color]

She could feel a sting in her eyes and a tremble in her chest. She could see her reflection in the window, the image that of a girl shaken by her emotions. She couldn’t bear to look at it and so she averted her eyes, eventually landing on the black rose in the center of the bouquet. It had tilted slightly, making the whole arrangement seem off. So Katja reached down to correct it, but in doing so she got stung by one of its thorns. Looking at her thumb, she could see a tiny amount of blood pool out of the pinprick. Katja couldn’t help but smile at the irony that out of all the things, this flower would be the first real thing to spill her blood after that night.

Having fixed the bouquet, Katja decided that it had been enough and made her way back to the door. Door handle in hand, it was only then that she spared a brief glance in Amma’s direction with a sad smile on her lips.

	[color=#FF7514]“Rest well Am. You deserve it.”[/color]


[/INDENT][/INDENT][/color]