abyssianmelody | [CHAPTER 03 - SCENE]

Who: Chester Barklight and Arche Klein.
Where: Daath.
When: A day or so after Rhea leaves Arche's body.
Warnings: The usual when there's Chester in Arche in the same log. :)

The first thing she noticed when she came to was that it was dark. Arche groaned, lifting an arm up and placing it over her eyes, exhaling and trying to make some sort of sense out of her swimming thoughts.

Instantly, a few questions popped up in her mind.

Where was she?

What happened?

Why couldn't she remember anything?

She didn't remember laying in bed ...

She felt like she'd been run over by the Tartarus.

And she didn't know why.

Arche slid her arm back, uncovering her eyes and allowing her fuzzy vision to focus and adjust to the darkness of the room. She stared up at the ceiling.

Okay. This confirmed she was in a bed. A rather comfortable one. But how did she get here? Hadn't she slept on the ground the night before?

Augh ... This was confusing. And Arche made that known by making a frustrated sort of sound.

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"About time you woke up." Chester returned with a bowl of cool water and a towel he was using to make sure Arche's forehead wasn't suffering from a fever. He'd never even heard of spirit possession before, and seeing Rhea in Arche's body... was really odd, to say the least. His expression still a bit solemn at the passing of their friend, he had to wonder whether or not he should have told Arche what had happened. "You planning on staying in bed all day, or are you actually among the living now?" His tone had a hint of sarcasm, but he simply sighed and sat near her in a chair next to her bed.

To that voice, Arche groaned.

"What are you doing here?" Was her immediate response, despite being pretty happy that he was beside her. She was about to go back and find him after their argument, and had stopped for the night when ...

She didn't remember what happened after that.

"Do you have any idea why I feel like a land rover just hit me?" She asked, averting her gaze a little over toward Chester.

She was glad to see him. Even if she sounded like she wasn't. Her lips twitched into a tiny smile at the sight of him.

"... you got sick, and we brought you here to Daath to get you a doctor." Chester lied, unable to look in Arche's eyes when he told her. She didn't need to know what happened with Rhea right now, but nor would Arche accept a 'let's wait and see' explanation, would she? "Get some rest, and you'll be able to be back to your full self in a bit." Not that Chester was an expert, but he didn't even know if he could find a shaman or anything considering that the Order of Lorelei's headquarters was right there, and finding people who were probably persecuted by the church who were experts about this sort of thing was something probably not happening. Rubbing his arm, he looked at Arche again. "You can choose to go on your own again, or you can come with me. Up to you." Not like either of them can return to Engeve anytime soon, anyway.

Arche exhaled, bringing that arm to cover her eyes again.

"That explains the 'run over by the Tartatus' feeling ..." she murmured to herself. For now, Chester? You're safe.

Then, Arche let his next statement sink in. She was quiet for several moments, focusing on breathing in and out, before she let out another breath.

"... M'sorry. I was coming back to you guys before I blacked out. That's the last thing I remember. Guess I ... really can't stay mad at you for long, huh?"

Hey, for once, she was totally serious.

Chester would admit to himself that he was a jerk, but their spats just didn't last for too long. They were jerks to each other, and that wasn't going to change any time soon. But it was comfortable, at the very least. "In any case, I don't exactly know what's going on next, but I was going to ask Natalia what she wanted to do... the safest route would be to take her back to Baticul, but if she doesn't want to go back and run around... well, somebody's got to make sure she doesn't go and get herself kidnapped again." He shrugged.

"So we're basically following Natalia. Got it." Arche moved her arms do that her hands lay one atop the other on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling again.

"Better than doing nothing, I guess."

But damn, she was tired. And she didn't think it seemed right. She closed her eyes and yawned a little.

"Lorelei, why do I feel so exhausted? I should've gotten enough sleep, right ...? Augh. It kinda bugs me that I can't remember anything past the night I started heading back to look for you guys again ..."

It was kinda rare for Arche to admit that something was bugging her, unless it was calling Chester out on being an idiot.

"You can rest here for a while. Natalia has healing artes, and since we're in Daath we have no shortage of Seventh Fonists and doctors. There's nothing physically wrong with you other than fatigue, so it should be all right. Suck it up." Chester leaned his face against his hand on the "Eat your food, walk around the room if you want, but get some conscious rest. I'm no doctor, but..." Chester sighed. He was going to treat Arche somewhat nicer than he usually did, but he didn't need her getting suspicious, either. "You don't like the food, I can get something else."

She pushed herself into a sitting position, a slight glare set in her expression.

"You're awfully pushy to someone who's been sick enough to need a doctor," she commented, then looked over the food for a moment before setting the plate into her lap and beginning to eat.

"I'm awfully pushy because that's who I am." Chester quipped back, standing up and opening the window. She would need fresh air, after all.

"You can't make an exception just once for a sick girl?" Arche said while eating her food, grateful for the sudden opening of the window.

"If I start treating you nicely, then everybody would start expecting special treatment. Can't start having that." Chester lifted his eyebrows as he headed toward the door. "I'll be in the next room over. You need anything, your howling hyena screeches can be picked up by the local wildlife." He sighed, tossing a few of his bangs to the side. "... Take care of yourself."

Arche twitched a little, but decided she was too exhausted to try and make a retort back.

Instead, she placed her eating utensils down, staring into her food.

"... Hey. Be honest. Do you really want me coming along with you?"

Recalling his promise to Rhea, Chester lowered his head as he paused for a second, turning his head to make eye contact with Arche. It took every bit of his pride and if you listened closely, you could hear his grititng his teeth before he spoke the following words: "Yeah, I do." It was a simple response, and he couldn't manage any more without sounding mean.

A part of her doubted his response, but she thought maybe she was just being insecure or something. Blame it on the illness, Arche. Yeah, that must have been it. She'd never been so unsure of herself in her life.

She looked away. Arche couldn't look him in the eye any longer.

"... Okay."

[CHAPTER 03 - SCENE] - how to save a life.

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