I had been aware, vaguely, of dark, and cold. I somehow remember both of those, they seemed infinite, everything I'd ever known.
Then there was a flash of light and sound.
It was painful.
But weaving through the blinding commotion was a voice, golden and soothing as honey.
After a moment I realized that it was Tem. Tem was talking to me!
Once I deciphered what he was saying, I was torn between wanting to smack him and tell him to stop being so melodramatic, and wanting to throw my arms around him and never /ever/ let go.
So I followed his voice, using it as a path through the bright cacophony that the inside of my head had become.
I could feel my eyes open, they felt heavy, and the kind of dry that happens after having them open underwater for too long, one by one I noticed other sensations, the telltale spots of damp and sticky that held electrodes to my skin, the almost quiet of the lab, the feeling of breathing, how tight my chest felt.
I could tell that one of my hands was being held, kissed lightly. It took more effort than one would've thought, but I curled my fingers, weaving them more tightly with Tem's.
I knew it had to be Tem, who else would be waiting for me to wake from my years-long nap?
I was waking up. That meant one of two things, I was hoping for the best, and assuming the worst.
After the second try, I managed to swallow, my voice felt thick, slurred, and probably didn't sound much better.
I tried to say "Apocalypse?" But I think it came out more like "pock lips?"
I turned my head, blinking at Tem, he looked the same as when I'd put myself under, but somehow different, like he'd seen things that no one should've had to.
It took him a minute to realize that I was mostly conscious and had in fact, just asked him a question.
He blinked, almost as if he didn't trust his own senses, "What? No, no the world's not ending. You're cured."
As I smiled, I could feel how parched my lips were, painfully so actually.
Tem smiled back, it was nice to see, his smile had always made me melt. No matter what else has changed, that hasn't, "Alix, is it alright to take the 'trodes off?"
I heard Alix somewhere past my head, "Not just yet, give it a couple minutes. Here, " a small jar was passed to Tem, "Get some salve on her lips before they get any worse."
Tem smiled, dipping a thumb into the jar, then smoothing it across my lips.
His fingers were warm, and I could almost taste the ointment when I inhaled, bittersweet and earthy.
Tem laced his fingers with mine again, still smiling faintly, "You don't know how often I dreamt of this."
"Mmm, bet I can guess." Already talking was becoming easier, less of an effort.
I was also aware of the pins and needles tingle in my hands and feet, slowly spreading up my legs and arms, "Mmph, limbs're falling asleep."
Tem smiled yet again, shaking his head, "No, they're waking up. Look at it this way, you've been shut down for the past seven years, and now that you're starting up again, all your systems and components are coming back on line one at a time. Apparently circulation started first. You'll probably be hungry in a few minutes."
I nodded as his fingers started working, deftly massaging the tingle out of my limbs.
By the time he finished, I was indeed hungry. Alix helped me sit up, peeling the electrodes off of my arms neck and head. I could see every one of the past seven years in her face, the way she moved, her entire presence was older.
But her smile was the same, lopsided, roguish, daring. She gave me a brief hug, little more than wrapping her arm around my shoulders, "Glad to have you back Sil. Now maybe something'll actually get done around here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Then there was a flash of light and sound.
It was painful.
But weaving through the blinding commotion was a voice, golden and soothing as honey.
After a moment I realized that it was Tem. Tem was talking to me!
Once I deciphered what he was saying, I was torn between wanting to smack him and tell him to stop being so melodramatic, and wanting to throw my arms around him and never /ever/ let go.
So I followed his voice, using it as a path through the bright cacophony that the inside of my head had become.
I could feel my eyes open, they felt heavy, and the kind of dry that happens after having them open underwater for too long, one by one I noticed other sensations, the telltale spots of damp and sticky that held electrodes to my skin, the almost quiet of the lab, the feeling of breathing, how tight my chest felt.
I could tell that one of my hands was being held, kissed lightly. It took more effort than one would've thought, but I curled my fingers, weaving them more tightly with Tem's.
I knew it had to be Tem, who else would be waiting for me to wake from my years-long nap?
I was waking up. That meant one of two things, I was hoping for the best, and assuming the worst.
After the second try, I managed to swallow, my voice felt thick, slurred, and probably didn't sound much better.
I tried to say "Apocalypse?" But I think it came out more like "pock lips?"
I turned my head, blinking at Tem, he looked the same as when I'd put myself under, but somehow different, like he'd seen things that no one should've had to.
It took him a minute to realize that I was mostly conscious and had in fact, just asked him a question.
He blinked, almost as if he didn't trust his own senses, "What? No, no the world's not ending. You're cured."
As I smiled, I could feel how parched my lips were, painfully so actually.
Tem smiled back, it was nice to see, his smile had always made me melt. No matter what else has changed, that hasn't, "Alix, is it alright to take the 'trodes off?"
I heard Alix somewhere past my head, "Not just yet, give it a couple minutes. Here, " a small jar was passed to Tem, "Get some salve on her lips before they get any worse."
Tem smiled, dipping a thumb into the jar, then smoothing it across my lips.
His fingers were warm, and I could almost taste the ointment when I inhaled, bittersweet and earthy.
Tem laced his fingers with mine again, still smiling faintly, "You don't know how often I dreamt of this."
"Mmm, bet I can guess." Already talking was becoming easier, less of an effort.
I was also aware of the pins and needles tingle in my hands and feet, slowly spreading up my legs and arms, "Mmph, limbs're falling asleep."
Tem smiled yet again, shaking his head, "No, they're waking up. Look at it this way, you've been shut down for the past seven years, and now that you're starting up again, all your systems and components are coming back on line one at a time. Apparently circulation started first. You'll probably be hungry in a few minutes."
I nodded as his fingers started working, deftly massaging the tingle out of my limbs.
By the time he finished, I was indeed hungry. Alix helped me sit up, peeling the electrodes off of my arms neck and head. I could see every one of the past seven years in her face, the way she moved, her entire presence was older.
But her smile was the same, lopsided, roguish, daring. She gave me a brief hug, little more than wrapping her arm around my shoulders, "Glad to have you back Sil. Now maybe something'll actually get done around here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~