It's red. All of it. His face, his eyes, his skin, the ground the fucking dog, the sky. Her eyes water and it looks like blood filling her vision. For a moment, all Mariko can do is blink and then she rubs her eyes again. And then again.
"Shit." They can't change her now. What else are they going to change? The heel of her palm presses to her eye and it's clear any harder would hurt. But she has to get it out. "Shit, shit, shit!"
She takes another step back and forces herself to stillness. Breathe.
In. They have a job to do. Out. In. Falling apart won't help anything. Out. In. She has to be able to do everything Hitori can't. Out. In. Get him back home. Get back to Tatsuo. Out.
She sighs out a breath, even and slow and it sounds like decompression - like something venting as she opens her eyes again. The redness of rubbing and stifling tears is unsettling with the new hue of her eyes it's almost a relief. Robots don't hurt.
"I -" Her voice is weaker than her outward composition and her gaze does flick to his nervously. "Everything is red. I need you to call out anything that stands out to you. I won't be able to tell."
no subject
It's red. All of it. His face, his eyes, his skin, the ground the fucking dog, the sky. Her eyes water and it looks like blood filling her vision. For a moment, all Mariko can do is blink and then she rubs her eyes again. And then again.
"Shit." They can't change her now. What else are they going to change? The heel of her palm presses to her eye and it's clear any harder would hurt. But she has to get it out. "Shit, shit, shit!"
She takes another step back and forces herself to stillness. Breathe.
In. They have a job to do. Out.
In. Falling apart won't help anything. Out.
In. She has to be able to do everything Hitori can't. Out.
In. Get him back home. Get back to Tatsuo. Out.
She sighs out a breath, even and slow and it sounds like decompression - like something venting as she opens her eyes again. The redness of rubbing and stifling tears is unsettling with the new hue of her eyes it's almost a relief. Robots don't hurt.
"I -" Her voice is weaker than her outward composition and her gaze does flick to his nervously. "Everything is red. I need you to call out anything that stands out to you. I won't be able to tell."