tearmeanewone | SIX + Action / Voice

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SIX + Action / Voice

[VAGUE SPOILERS FOR 'BURIAL AT SEA' BELOW]

Elizabeth Comstock, you have been tried and found guilty of leading this man to his untimely death--

[Booker sits in the gallery, staring coolly back at her, and Elizabeth feels both wet and cold. And bloody--there's blood all down her front. But she doesn't feel shock or even surprise. She knows why it's there, she just can't see the memory. Every time she reaches for it, nothing happens.]

[Words feel unsteady, and she has to chase each one and hold it, own it, before speaking it.]

I was never his! But he… he had to have me! [What choice is she defending herself for making?]

--You have therefore, been sentenced to have your head forcibly torn from your body until you are dead.

[A cord is looped around her neck, Robert and Rosalind almost waltzing around and past her as they do so. Elizabeth scrabbles at the cord as it's pulled taut by one Lutece at each end.]

But he’s right there! He’s right there!! I didn’t kill Booker, he’s right there! He’s been here the whole time! [The cord tightens, Elizabeth’s hands don’t work, her fingers can't get under the cord.] Stop pulling, stop pulling, please! I’LL BE YOUR DAUGHTER!

May God have mercy on your wicked souls, child.

[Action - Locked to Gai and BioShock Infinite Crew]

[Elizabeth writhes in bed, her breathing becoming quicker and shallow as though she were having trouble filling her lungs. And whatever she’s trying to get away from her neck, there isn’t anything there. She’s scratching at nothing.]

[END SPOILER CONTENT]

[Voice – Early, Early Morning of December 1st]

Has anyone here ever had a dream that was prophetic? I know that most dreams are a product of our subconscious thoughts, but… I had a dream and I know I couldn’t possibly have been thinking any of the things that were in it. Not even subconsciously.

I thought that maybe this could be an experiment of some kind. [Read: ‘I’m hoping this was an experiment of some kind.’]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Gai is a light sleeper on the best of days. Years of experience as a soldier has taught him to awaken at even the slightest hint of a disturbance, and though sharing a bed with Elizabeth has gotten him accustomed to her usual night movements and shifting around, her twitching this time is different enough from the norm that he's wide awake in two seconds flat and reaching over to check if she's all right.]

Elizabeth?

[Judging from her quickened breathing and the way she's clawing at her neck, she's having a nightmare, seemingly about something strangling her. Gently he puts a hand on her shoulder to give her a light shake in the hopes that will be enough to rouse her from whatever is haunting her dreams at the moment.]

Wake up. It's just a dream-- I'm right here.

[The light shake does it, fortunately. Elizabeth jerks and looks around the room, wild-eyed. She grips the hand Gai has on her shoulder, her eyes dart left and right, trying to read the ceiling in the dark.]

Oh my God... [She reaches over and gropes for Gai's cheek. She misses and gets his shoulder instead, but good enough--she pulls herself into him, shaking.]

Oh my God, oh my God--

[He's already pulling her into his arms even before she's pressing against him, one hand moving to rub gentle circles on her back while the other buries itself in her hair. He's terrible at comforting; he's all too keenly aware of that fact. Still, something tells him that this is what she needs more than anything right now, and hugging is something he's pretty sure that he's at least decent at.]

It's all right. It was just a dream-- it wasn't real.

[If there's one thing he knows, it's that just being reassured of that fact can go a long way when one wakes up from a nightmare.]

[Elizabeth clings to Gai, getting her breathing under control and trying to soak up the warmth Gai's presence is giving off.]

It wasn't real. It made no sense, it wasn't real, it couldn't have been--

I'm right here.

[And he'll hold her for as long as she needs, until she calms down enough to tell him what upset her so much-- if she feels comfortable sharing it with him, that is. He also knows quite well that some things aren't meant to be shared with anyone else.]

[Holding is just what Elizabeth needs. After that dream, she doesn't know which end is up or down. The images are still burning brightly in her mind, the questions as to why she would have such a dream chasing her no matter how hard she burrowed into Gai's arms.]

I was executed for killing Booker. Why would I dream that? I would never, ever kill him!

[As horrible as it is, to Gai, that seems like an almost tame dream compared to some of the things he's encountered in his own dreams before. Still, it's not hard to see why it would be so upsetting; he's had his own share of dreams about hurting or killing his friends, so he can understand that much.

He just pulls her closer, holding her tightly... perhaps a little more tightly than is really necessary, just to reassure her that he's there and real.]

Who knows? Dreams don't always make sense. Sometimes they're windows into our deepest wishes or fears, and sometimes they're just a slideshow of whatever was on your mind that day.

But that's what doesn't make sense-- he was looking right at me as he, as Comstock, told me I had killed him. And Robert and Miss Lutece, they put a-- they put a cord around my neck and pulled.

All of that doesn't make sense-- I wouldn't kill Booker, I know Robert and Miss Lutece wouldn't hurt me.

You can still fear something even if you know it isn't going to happen. Fear isn't a logical thing.

[He thinks back to not too long ago, when he had been assaulted by unwanted memories just from the sight of Elizabeth's syringe despite knowing that the source of those memories was long since over and done with.]

I know, I know it's not. [She swallows and presses her forehead into Gai's sternum. If only she could just step inside of him--then she would have this cool outlook on a terrifying and confusing dream.]

But my nightmares are usually so predictable. They're usually about being inside that facility, the procedure, Daisy Fitzroy... This was so different.

Can you think of anything that might have prompted it? Anything you've seen or read lately?

[There are certainly times where Gai wishes that he weren't so cool and logical about everything. This would be one of them-- he wishes he could show a little more obvious empathy, but his brain is processing this all in a logical fashion, as usual.

Still, it's his attempt at helping her try to deconstruct the nightmare and find a possible cause for it in her everyday actions.]

[Elizabeth makes a soft negative hum and shakes her head against Gai's chest.]

I miss Booker and Robert and Miss Lutece. But I don't know why missing them would produce... that.

Maybe it's a sign that you're afraid of being separated from them.

[It's a bit of a stretch, but it would make sense in a way. Death is an eternal separation, after all.

He kisses her hair, gives it a gentle nuzzle, and tries to think of what else he can possibly say to her.]

Mm... maybe. I'm just worried something's happened to them. But I wouldn't dream about it, I'm not clairvoyant or anything.

[The pieces don't exactly fit, and it's really niggling at the back of Elizabeth's mind. But Gai is with her, so it's easier for her to keep it to the back of her mind. She takes a deep breath and sighs.]

Have you been using my soaps?

[... oh. Busted. That's a bit embarrassing, because her soaps are very... well, feminine-scented. He'd been hoping she wouldn't notice.]

I ran out of mine in the middle of my shower this morning. I think you can understand why I didn't say anything about using yours for the time being.

I was hoping I could pick up some more in the store before you realized that I smelled like flowers, but I should've known you would notice.

Well my nose is right against your skin.

...I smell pretty. [She grins, clearly enjoying teasing Gai.] I would use your soap if I had to.

And then you would smell spicy. That's not as bad as me smelling like a bouquet of flowers.

[But hey, he will gladly smell of flowers if it makes her smile like that.]

I like you smelling like flowers. It's idyllic. And familiar.

Is it?

[That isn't what he was expecting to hear, and yet he somehow can't say he minds it.]

Mm. [She nuzzles Gai's sternum and breathes him in again.] It's not exactly like my soap, though. It's still you.

[Gai happily pulls her closer to facilitate this, even if her nose is tickling his chest a little.]

I would hope it was still me. I'd start to worry otherwise.

[Elizabeth laughs into his chest.] No Gai, my soap isn't going to turn you into a woman.

I pretty sure I wouldn't be the only one lamenting things if that happened.

[Now he tries to lean back a little onto the pillows and coax her to lie back with him. She's more relaxed now than she was just a few minutes ago, which is good, but he'd like to get that dream completely out of her mind if possible.]

Oh of course. Shu wouldn't know where to look, he'd be apologizing nonstop. [She grins again and relaxes back onto the pillows at Gai's urging.]

[... okay, now Gai is making a rather amusing face at that thought. DO NOT WANT. Being a girl would be bad enough, but being a girl and having Shu looking at him?]

On second thought, let's not think about this too hard.

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