LF tank, emotional boss fight heroic, PST

[howcanihelp]

Who: Stephanie Amell and Hiro Hamada
Broadcast: No
Action: VR Dome, closed
When: sometime right around now

[ Steffa has been spending a lot of time in the VR Dome since their arrival. Not so much that she wasn't helping where she could with the repairs to the Bishop, but there always seemed to be hands on deck as far as that was concerned, and a majority of her free time was spent reading or just relaxing in virtual recreations of the Circle tower she grew up in.

After all, what better way to remind her sleeping mind that there was not always blood and bodies, that there were no longer blood and bodies, than by spending a lot of time there? Right? So she'd be able to stop having nightmares?

It hadn't actually helped with the nightmares, but she thought maybe it would with a little more time. Until she'd pulled up a workroom today, walked in, and could've sworn she saw bodies in the corner. They weren't there, she had looked and they weren't there, but it had shaken her deeply.

Which is probably why she's currently wedged herself in a corner between a stone wall and a bookcase and has her forehead pressed to her knees, trembling and breathing hard, like she's trying to catch her breath. ]

Comments

[everydayhero]

[he's gonna shift a little here, move so he can sit more comfortably with her and keep on holding her the way he's been doing so far. he'll stay here all night if he needs to.]

It's okay. You're okay, Steffa.

[... and when he thinks about it, this is something he can affect, right? that upgrade he got at the end of the month kicked in...

[so he tries. he closes his eyes, concentrates, and projects a soothing air into the room.]

I'm here with you, alright? You've seen me at my worst, I'm here for yours.

[howcanihelp]

[ It's a deep hurt, but even that slight calming helps a little bit. If nothing else, it helps her steady her breathing.

She feels like she should be embarrassed about how she just had some sort of meltdown on a kid 4 years younger than her, but... well, she doesn't have the energy to care right now. She'll care later. ]

[ very quietly ] They died, you know. Almost everyone in the Circle. It would've been all of them, but we-- we went in, to see if we could save some of them. There were bodies... everywhere.

[everydayhero]

[his empathy betrays his age, that's for sure.

[he frowns, though he's more concerned with being her support right now than showing her his expression.]

... I can't imagine how horrible that was.

[howcanihelp]

It was my home. [ Her voice cracks on the last word. ] It wasn't one I chose, and maybe the Circles aren't how mages should be treated, but it was my home.

I thought maybe... if I spent time in the rooms, while we were here. Without the blood or the bodies, I thought... I thought I'd stop dreaming about it.

[everydayhero]

... I'm so sorry, Steffa. I had no idea.

[he keeps running fingers through her hair, just trying to keep her steady while he continues to use his augmented power on the room.]

You did everything you could.

[howcanihelp]

I didn't want you to. [ She sniffles a bit, closing her eyes and trying to focus on the feeling of his fingers combing through her hair, because that's safe and calming. ] Everyone has so much to deal with, I didn't want to put it on anyone else.

[everydayhero]

Hey. I always have room for your problems, too. You had this on you and you still took care of me when Tadashi came.

[howcanihelp]

[ she doesn't quite smile, but she presses into his touch for a moment as a way to acknowledge his words and that they mean a lot to her. Having Hiro in her life since coming here has been a blessing from the Maker. ]

People looked to me to be a leader. I... I didn't have time to have problems.