[Closed, and backdated to just after Sandry was repodded]

[fireforger]

Today, there was no smoke coming from the chimney of Daja's forge. Normally the forge was almost always in use, as Daja worked and crafted and made things of beauty and strength. But this morning, she was not working.

Sandry was gone.

Daja could still feel her, through the magical connection they shared. But once again it was quiet, and Sandry was unable to respond no matter how much she tried to reach through their link. Daja had thought that finally, finally, her family was returning to her. She'd begun to have hope; if Sandry could wake, then perhaps so could Tris, and Briar. Perhaps all of them could be awake and together again.

Except now Sandry had been returned to sleep and Daja sat alone in her sitting room, clutching one of the cloth neckscarves that Daja had gotten for her sister.

[[ooc: so, this is closed to Daja's close CR and other people who I've already made arrangements with. If you are wanting to tag but I haven't already discussed this with you, please PM me first]]

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[morphitudinous]

It had been a while, Billy thought, since he had last checked with Daja. As he was in the process of moving to his new home in the City, he found himself wandering toward her forge. It was quiet---that was unusual. That probably meant she wasn't home, right?

But he would still check, knocking on the front door. "Daja?"

[fireforger]

Daja looked up, startled. She'd been so lost in her own concerns, she'd forgotten that the rest of the ship was still out there. But even with Sandry gone, that didn't mean her duties had gone away, had it?

Steeling herself, Daja got up to answer the door, neckscarf still clutched in her palm. "Yes, Billy?" she said, managing to keep her voice steady but not really able to hide the sorrow from her face.

[morphitudinous]

"Hey," Billy answered her quietly, taking it all in. "I don't need anything today, if that's what you were wondering about. I just wanted to see you."

And it was clear to him that something was very wrong. He'd seen that face on countless crew members before, and it'd probably been his own not too long ago. "What happened?"

[fireforger]

"My sister...she's gone," Daja said, her voice catching a little. She looked down at the piece of cloth in her hand. Sandry had been so happy, when Daja had finally been able to get some cloth for her...

[morphitudinous]

And Billy understood. He hadn't even had the chance to meet her sister in such a short time, but the pain of loss was too familiar to him. Stacy was unbelievably cruel at times.

"I'm sorry, Daja. Do you want company?"

[fireforger]

Daja nodded numbly, and opened up the door to let Billy inside.

"I'm sorry things are such a mess," she said, trying to clean up a little. "I just haven't..."

[morphitudinous]

Billy set a hand on her arm and shook his head. "That's the last thing you need to worry about. Come on, let's sit down."

And he will make an attempt to guide her to the first seats he finds.

[fireforger]

She didn't resist, allowing Billy to guide her to the chair. On her lap, she held the neckscarf.

"Why did Stacy bring her here, only to take her away so soon?" she whispered.

[morphitudinous]

Billy glanced down at the neckscarf, imagining where it may have come from. It was likely to have been a gift.

"If we could understand a thing Stacy does, we'd probably be better off," he sighed, looking sorrowfully at her. "To attempt a kind guess, I'd say that an avia check that takes place immediately before pod release failed to detect a problem for some reason."

He personally suspected that the motives were less kind, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He shuffled his chair closer to Daja's in the event that he was needed.

"I can't imagine that knowing she's alive is much comfort in the wake of that," he whispered.

[fireforger]

"Did I ever tell you, about the connection I have to her and by siblings, through my magic?" Daja said. "She was the one who made it - we were trapped in a cave after an earthquake hit, and more were coming. On our own we didn't have the ability to protect ourselves, but she was able to weave our magics together. Combined, our magic was strong."

Softly she stroked the cloth. "I always knew she was alive. And I know Briar and Tris are down there too, somewhere. I just..." Daja looked down, tears starting to well in her eyes. "I thought I was going to have my family again."

[morphitudinous]

Billy nodded. "I think I remember. Your bond's clearly powerful, and I wish I could have seen the two of you together."

His emotions were sorrowful at that moment, sharing in the pain of loss with her. He'd said once that missing Renne had been like that, but at least they had had time together. Sandry and Daja hadn't even had a month. It was cruel.

Sighing, he drew as close as he dared and tentatively touched her arm. "I'm so sorry, Daja. If I could, I'd dismantle her coding piece by piece for this."

He didn't care that it would probably get him from zero to Punishment in under three seconds. He just wanted to do something, anything to ease Daja's suffering.

[fireforger]

"Maybe..." Daja bit her lip, and tried to smile - even though it still looked sad. "Maybe one day Sandry will wake up again. I know she'd have loved to meet you, Billy."

She reached back towards him, touching his arm in return. "No, you don't need to do that. I don't blame Stacy. If it's anyone's fault..." Daja took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "If it's anyone's fault, it's the Ohm. For destroying our home in the first place."

[morphitudinous]

Billy nodded. "It could happen! We've had people returned to the pods only for them to recover later." He wanted more than anything for that to be the case for Sandry.

It would, he realized then, probably be best for their sakes to calm down. "I know it's the Ohm, Daja, and that it's irrational to blame, but...I'm probably not the best at redirecting my emotions. I'm just impressed that you are."

And he gave her arm a gentle squeeze, not daring to do anything more.

[fireforger]

"At least I am the one here, and not my sister Tris. She would probably have tried to strike Stacy with lightning," she said, smiling weakly.

She looked up at Billy. "How...how do you get used to it?" she whispered. "How can you, when one day they are here and the next they are gone, and you don't know when they'll be back?"

[morphitudinous]

Billy imagined that with a faint smile. "We've had lightning attacks before, but I'm sure it would've been quite a spectacle with her."

He sighed, the darkness starting to come back to his eyes. "I talked about that during therapy, and I'm not sure that it's really possible. None of my friends from home have ever awakened," he started, of course having forgotten his time with a certain Black Ranger. "But I've forged close friendships with people on the ship who are now gone. It doesn't matter how close you are," he said, pain creeping back into his voice. "You can go to bed with your loved one and find that they're gone the next morning."

That wound hurt the most. "I was afraid to get close to anyone ever again after that," Billy whispered, "but I realized that on my world people came and went from my life too. It was never this frequent, but we knew to hold on to the people we loved while we could because no one was promised a tomorrow. It's even more readily true now."

Billy leaned over in the chair, rubbing at his temple. "It doesn't even make sense when you examine it, but that's how I keep myself together."

[fireforger]

"No, no one's quite like Tris," she said, smiling for a moment before he face falls. "I had hoped that if Sandry could wake up, then Tris and Briar couldn't be far behind. But...they might never wake up, mightn't they? And at any moment, anyone else here could disappear as well."

Daja blinked, suddenly realising something. What if she were to disappear again? She'd already been taken away once, by GLaDOS. What if next time she was sent to the pods themselves, and she never told the people here how much they meant to her? "If I ever get sent home Billy, please know that you've been very important to me," she said.

[morphitudinous]

Sadness at the absence of friends? Billy was right there with her. "To keep myself going, I like to imagine that everyone will be awakened at the end of this war. If we win, we'll definitely see them again." Was he sure? Of course not! But what further reason would Stacy have to keep them unconscious?

He took note of the serious issue and nodded, squeezing her shoulder once. "I know, and as long as my memory's not tampered with again I won't forget. Even then...you've really helped us. That will last."

But the disappearance issue, he realized, applied to him too. "Right. If I don't get another chance to tell you, know that your friendship has helped me quite a bit. You mean a lot to us, Daja, and I'm not just referring to the forged metals. We need a clear and strong perspective like yours."

[fireforger]

"Do you think that will really happen?" Daja asked softly. "Surely...surely Stacy cannot keep everyone asleep forever?" She had to cling onto that hope. That one day, her family would be reunited once more.

She smiled, although it was still a little sad. "I won't forget you either, Billy. You've...made this easier to bear. I hope that one day Sandry will wake again, and Briar, and Tris, and I can introduce them all to you."

[morphitudinous]

Billy nodded. "I'm sure she won't---and if not, by then we'll be able to force her to surrender them." He dropped his voice hoping to avoid repercussions for that. Sorry, Stacy. Billy doesn't really want to rip you apart.

He closed his eyes in thought. "I hope so too, and it would be an honor to show my friends to you. I'm sure you would get along well with Trini," Billy mused, a faraway smile on his face. "If my friends are still out there, I'll bring them to you."

That would have to be a promise. He gazed at Daja, smiling as reassuringly as he could while he decided what to do. Should he hug her? Would that be all right?

He stood awkwardly, reaching forward and abandoning the movement halfway through.

[fireforger]

"I'd love to meet your friends, Billy," Daja said. "They must be wonderful people, to have such respect and admiration from you."

When Billy stood up Daja blinked, surprised by the sudden movement. Then her mouth dropped into a small 'o' of surprise, when she realised that Billy was thinking of giving her a hug.

Daja, admittedly, was not one to show her emotions to people she did not know well. By by now, Billy was a friend. A good friend. So she stood up herself, and stepped forward to hug, and allowed herself to cry, just a little, letting some of those tears in her eyes fall.

[morphitudinous]

"Then it's settled. One future gathering with our friends."

Billy was more than willing to embrace her, quietly resting his hands on her back and bowing his head over her shoulder. He sensed that she wouldn't like a display that was too emotional.

As long as Daja wanted him to be, he was here.