Gaige sighed as she sat outside of the Crimson Raiders' building, her back to the Guns vending machine, her sketchpad in her lap. She slid the pencil over the page, drawing out contours of a featureless face, but in the back of her mind she knew who she was drawing. A few minutes passed in silence, the sounds of her pencil and Claptrap's loud rambling from around the corner the most that she heard. She pushed the pencil behind her ear, sighing as she did. She looked at the sketch, lowering her eyes.
"Angel, I'm so sorry," Gaige whispered. It'd been just a bit over a year since the fight with Jack, and no matter what the now nineteen year old Mechromancer did, she couldn't get Angel's face out of her mind. Her nightmares were starting to get worse, and she knew she'd been keeping Maya awake, even though the Siren wouldn't admit it. She closed the sketchbook and walked back inside, heading upstairs where she heard Maya and Lillith talking. She stood beside the wall, keeping herself hidden from the two Sirens eyes.
"What are you talking about, Maya?" Lillith asked, and Gaige knew from her tone that the Firehawk had folded her arms.
"She keeps waking up in the middle of the night. Some nights screaming, some crying. I don't know what to do to make it seem like I'm concerned instead of making Gaige feel like I'm being intrusive," Maya admitted, letting her arms drop to the table in front of her, her blue hair covering her eyes.
"You got to give her time. You're her roommate and friend, Maya," Lillith said. "The last year...it's been hard on most of us. Roland, Bloodwing, Angel...everyone's lost someone because of Jack."
"Yeah, but Jack's dead. We shouldn't still be feeling what that facist bastard did!" Maya snapped, her hands clenched into fists. "I just...wish I could help Gaige. Twenty-seven years in that stupid abbey and a year and a half on Pandora, and I still can't help my friends when they need me."
Lillith reached over and put her hand on Maya's shoulder. "Just talk to her. You two take a trip, go to Wam Bam Island, Oasis, Lynchwood, the Highlands, Overlook. Somewhere to have some time to talk. That's really all I can say to do, Maya. I don't have the answers you want."
Maya nodded, sighing softly. "I know. I didn't think you would, but it was nice to ask someone anyway," she said. "I'll try and talk to her."
Gaige bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, and she slowly walked back to the stairs before she came back up, acting like nothing had happened before she walked into the main center for the Raiders. "Hey, guys," she said with a small smile, sitting down on the couch beside the safe.
Maya looked over and smiled softly. "Hi, Gaige," she said.
"Hey, killer," Lillith said, smiling. "Remember what I said, Maya. I'm going to find Brick and kick his ass if he's getting into trouble. Oh, God. Him and Krieg at the same time causing Hell. God help me." She walked out, leaving the younger Siren and Gaige together.
"Well, that was weird," Gaige muttered. "Even by Lillith standards." She set her sketchbook to the side, rubbing her arms.
"You ok?" Maya asked, sitting on the other end of the couch and turning to look at Gaige.
"Fine. Why?" Gaige asked, picking a thread on her worn out skirt.
"Because you haven't been sleeping. You wake up screaming or crying. I...I didn't want to say anything in case you wanted to bring it to someone on your own," Maya admitted. "Gaige, I'm worried about you. What's wrong?"
Gaige down. "I keep dreaming about Angel. Ever since we found out she was what was powering that damned Vault Key and we killed her. I...every night, I keep seeing her face, hearing her screams as Roland and Lillith took out the Eridium injectors, hearing her call Jack an asshole. Then all I hear is his rage and yelling at us that we're child killers and we're as bad as the rest of Pandora. And I go back to the Vault of the Warrior and hear Jack taunting me, but Deathtrap won't spawn and he orders the Warrior to kill me, and none of you are there. All I feel is that giant monster's jaws on my waist and my voice screaming...that's about when I wake up screaming or crying. And I don't mean to, I swear! I just...I still can't get over it. I'm the youngest one of us and..."
"You're scared," Maya said, putting her hand on Gaige's arm. "Being scared is a part of growing up, Gaige. But being scared of the past doesn't help you in any way. Being scred of what's going to happen in the future, that's different because the future's unexplored and you don't know what lies ahead. But being scared of the past isn't a good thing because you linger on that and you can't look ahead."
Gaige nodded, sighing softly. "I'm sorry, Maya. i just need to get away, I guess. Ever since I left Eden-5 I've been scared. I just need a vacation."
Maya smiled, giving Gaige's arm a squeeze. "Tell you what. Why don't you pack some stuff up and we'll take a vacation. I need to get away from Sanctuary for a bit myself. Figure it might be good for us both," she said. "What do you say?"
"Just us? No Krieg, no Zer0, Salvador, Axton, Mordecai and Talon? Just you and me?" Gaige asked.
"We're the only girls here, and Lillith is running the City, and nobody wants to take Tannis anywhere. Yes, just you and me, Gaige," Maya said.
"Anywhere but Oasis, please. Shade creeps me out," Gaige laughed.
"Deal," Maya laughed, standing up. "Don't forget your sketchbook." She handed it to Gaige, smiling as she did. "By the way. You're really good at that. You don't need to hide your pictures of Angel. If it helps you cope, keep drawing."
"Thanks, Maya," Gaige said with a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind."