[AFTERMATH] Resemblance (eve/ezra jr)

[cibarium]

Eve hated physical therapy. She hated it. She didn't think it possible to hate it more than she already did, but with the reset creeping on the horizon and more important things to do, there turned out to be plenty of room for her expanding ire. It was a god damned waste of her time as far as she was concerned, and it had been an ordeal for Leila to convince her otherwise -- on the possibility neuropathy and leg spasms would be more of an obstacle in the long term if she didn't keep up with it. She spent her session in the therapy pool with a sour expression and a curt demeanor, and made a show out of barely listening to her specialist's instructions and suggestions. Take more breaks to check your posture, he said. Your wife could help you with flexibility exercises at home, he said. As if she hadn't already heard all of this dozens and dozens of times.

So what if she developed back problems? Everyone else did. It was called getting old. Eve held her tongue instead of arguing if only so she could get out of there faster.

Her mood stuck for some time, as it usually did, after she and Clover were set free. Normally these appointments were followed up with a pile of junk food and a long nap at home to set herself right again, but Leila had a faculty meeting and Eve would have to wait a bit to indulge. Instead she headed for the cafeteria area near the therapy wing in hopes she could find a bite to eat that wasn't completely depressing.

shibrogane

if this doesn't work for aftermath rp it can be moved out to the main forum :3

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra woke up in the hospital some seven months after the car crash with no memory of anything at all except horrible nightmare flashes. The doctors and nurses insisted they'd never seen such miraculous burn recovery in their lives; they demanded to know who had done the magical healing; but the forensic magician had checked, and determined Ezra's insistence that he knew nothing was correct, and now he'd been released to do... what.

Well, at this moment, physical therapy. His hands were much more mobile than he expected, so he was glad enough to go along with what they told him to do, even when it came to the more painful leg exercises. Still, he was limping when he got to the cafeteria, and he was limping when he spotted Eve. Something awfully like relief broke over his face, wiping away the vague tension of aching injuries. "Mom," he cried, jogging over. He didn't stop to ask before leaning in to hug her, mindful of Clover and the chair without seeming to be, like he'd done it a hundred times before. When she didn't return the hug, he let go, straightened up, a confused look on his face. "Everything okay?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Everything was definitely not okay.

Eve had not expected that voice to call her Mom ever again. She hadn't expected to run into Ezra at all. Her expression went from irritation to shock to sorrow and guilt in the couple of seconds it took to register his presence. Now she didn't know what to say.

It was hard to look at him. His face, his eyes now, made him look too much like Leila. And they knew even less about this Ezra than they did about the Noble Ezra. Did he even know? He was acting like nothing had happened at all.

"I don't..." she started. Stopped.

"I shouldn't... how much do you know?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"About what," asked Ezra, who had stepped back at the look of irritation. "I know I'm missing seven months of my life and my girlfriend says I broke up with her, which, why would I ever break up with her. But that's kind of it. I only got out of here yesterday and now they have me back to see how my physical therapy's coming along."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"I see..."

What a ******** disaster. Eve was grateful Ezra seemed intact and back to the person he should be, at least.

"A lot of things changed while you were... away," she said. Her voice was sort of plodding along, unsure of every word as she spoke it -- probably a rarity from her in any incarnation. "There's a lot to explain. I doubt you'll want to hear it all from me, though." Nonetheless, she settled herself at a table. If he would want anything to do with her after this, count her surprised. But she wasn't going to lie to him. Or herself. Not for the sake of another short-lived fantasy bound to end in disaster.

"I'm not the person you think I am," Eve confessed. "Leila and I are from a different world entirely."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra seemed to be a pretty credulous guy, but his eyebrows still went up at Eve's admittance. "A different world," he repeated. "Like that one I woke up in? with Odal and Silk and those others?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Eve nodded, a little surprised. "You remember them," she observed, quirking half a smile. "Yes, almost. It's more like that otherworld used to be a part of the reality we're from. Now it's a part of this one. An honest mistake," she sighed, "but a terrible one, in some ways."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"So if you're not my mother," said Ezra, "Then... what happened to her? You look... a lot like she did when I was a bit younger."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

And there was the question.

"I took her place. We didn't know that would happen. I'm sorry."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Oh," said Ezra, looking kinda green now. "So... she's gone, then."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Yes," Eve answered. "I'm afraid so." She bit back another apology. It wouldn't do him any good.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Oh," said Ezra again.

He was quiet, and then he said, "And there are. Others like you? Is Mom? Is Melany one of you, too?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Leila is, but Melany isn't," Eve answered. She hadn't seen or heard from Melany in quite some time, not since having her abilities taken away. That was a shame, given she could use the help around the store. "There are others though, yes."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Oh." Ezra said it differently this time. He said it like someone had punched him in the gut, and this was some incidental exhalation of breath. "I. Okay. I'm... I'm sorry for being overly familiar. Since... I'm not your son."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Hearing him say it himself was different from her thinking it, or implying it. It felt so final. "It's fine," Eve said, even though she didn't feel fine. "There's more you should know, but... you probably need some time. And space, and..."

shibrogane