#Miner'sRespite – September 1, 2015

Halisi enters the Respite, having changed out of her doctor's coat and into pants and a loose t-shirt (with a print of an antique Earth movie on it). She heads towards the bar, for once not carrying a bunch of datapads with her.

Damien walks down almost at that exact moment, coincidentally enough. With Va'ynna's recommendation from earlier ringing in his head, he walks towards her, more energetic than usual. Sporting a few new bruises on his face, he plonks down-

Damien -on a free stool, smiling broadly at Halisi. "Doc."

Halisi takes a seat on a barstool, staring down at the counter. Her effort at politely acknowledging Damien is less than half hearted.

Damien 's mood quickly dissipates, a look of concern crossing his features. "Hey, what's up?" He asks tentatively.

Va'ynna walks over to the two taking a seat at the bar. "Hey," she says with a small smile. "Can I get you anything?"

Damien smiles at Va'ynna as she approaches, though he does so sheepishly. He hadn't forgotten she was present the other night. "Yeah, I'll have whiskey with some ice," he says, placing his chit on the table. He looks over at Halisi for a moment before adding, "...and whatever she's having, take it from my chit."

Halisi looks a bit puzzled by the question. She adds hesitantly: "What he's having...?"

Va'ynna nods and walks off to find a whiskey bottle.

Damien rotates back in his seat, looking straight back at Halisi. "So, back to my question. You alright? You look a little... Ehhhh."

Halisi shakes her head, but doesn't elaborate further.

Va'ynna returns with a bottle and finds two glasses, and fills them with ice. She carefully pours the whiskey into the glasses before putting them on the counter. "How... are you... holding up?" she asks, looking at Damien.

Damien sits silently for a moment, tilting his head to the side. He turns and smiles at Va'ynna, graciously accepting the drink. "Better, actually," he says with a smile. "Managed to get a full night's sleep. It did me a world of wonders!"

Halisi looks at the glass, and then takes it in her hand, slowly bringing it up to her mouth to take a sip. She listens to Va'ynna and Damien without saying anything.

Va'ynna returns the smile. "I'm glad to hear that," she says, then fidgets a bit with her hands. "I... was worried for you after... what happened. I... assume you and Jason... talked about it?"

Damien coughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeahhhhhhhh...". He looks off to the side. "It's, uh, all good...".

Halisi looks at Damien with a questioning expression. "What happened...?"

Damien plays with his cybernetic nervously, uncomfortable with telling the woman who could probably inject him with poison and pass it off as a medical about almost turning Jason into a kebab the other night.

Va'ynna frowns. "I'm... sorry," she says, looking a bit nervous. "I shouldn't have... brought it up."

Halisi furrows her eyebrows, sipping the whiskey again. She seems to have taken to it quickly.

Damien shoots Va'ynna a sidelong glance. "Gee, you think?" He smiles slightly to show he wasn't serious, though it quickly fades as he looks back at Halisi. Does she always look that intense? "Well... Good whiskey, right?"

Damien cocks an eyebrow. "What, you haven't had whiskey before?"

Halisi sips the drink again. "No... no, not really." she says with a shrug.

Damien blinks. "Oh." ... Well this is awkward. "So, what's up? You looked a little down when you came in."

Va'ynna grows a little more nervous at his response, but eventually realizes he's joking. She takes a step back, glancing around to see if anyone need anything.

Halisi takes a long sip of whiskey before speaking, causing a faint grimace. "I just mutilated a patient." She says bluntly.

Halisi she lifts the glass yet again, taking another sip. "I cut off his arm. A fully functioning arm."

Damien turns to his drink, taking a greedy sip at it with not even a grimace. He gently places it back down, shaking his head. "He wanted it, Halisi. You can't fault yourself for it."

Halisi glances at Damien and then exclaims "Of course I can! I let him talk me into it!" She empties her glass with an aggressive swig. After closing her eyes for a brief moment she continues. "I'm-... I'm a doctor. And I helped a patient damage himself permanently..."

Va'ynna tilts her head. "Is... he alright?" she asks.

Damien falls quiet, simply twisting the glass around on the counter. Va'ynna asks the question he was thinking.

Halisi shakes her head, pushing the glass over to Va'ynna for a refill. "He was in tears when I left. I-... I just couldn't-... couldn't face him. He already regrets it..."

Damien sighs. "It's his own fault," he says softly. "Me and Renala tried talking him out of it, but his mind was set."

Va'ynna frowns. "Oh... I... I wish I could go see him," she says, looking very worried. She picks up the bottle and pours whiskey into the glass before pushing it back to her.

Halisi shakes her head even more, raising the refilled glass and taking a sip. "No. I should've stopped him. It's on me. It's my job." Another swig.

Damien looks at Va'ynna with a concerned look. Halisi is taking this really badly. "Hey, slow down there, you'll be sick."

Va'ynna nods to Damien, at least thinking she understood him, but remains quiet.

Halisi ignores Damien, continuing to drink. "I'll be fine. Need it."

Damien shakes his head. "You know that's bullshit. Well, the former part anyway. Take it easy."

Halisi does slow down, looking at Damien, her gaze lagging a little bit. She focuses on his face as if just now noticing it. "What happened to your nose...?"

Damien visibly relaxes slightly, glad to see she's at least hearing him out. "Leah and I went a round in the ring down at Quads." He gingerly taps his nose, a crooked grin on his face. "Needless to say, the girl can punch."

Halisi sips what's left of her second glass of whiskey, still slower. She gains a faint smile at the mention of Leah. "She can, can't she? I'm-... I'm glad. She's mobile again. I don't... I don't think... she couldn't have handled it. Being crippled."

Damien chuckles lightly, sipping at his drink. "No shit. A fighter like her, losing her legs?" He shakes his head sadly. "Would've practically killed her."

Halisi 's improved mood doesn't last long. Her expression darkens with another sip. "We... really took a beating. On that planet. Did-... didn't we?"

Damien shakes his head fiercely, clutching at the glass tightly, causing it to crack in his grip. "Don't," he warns. "Please. Don't."_

Halisi goes quiet, mumbling an apology and taking yet another sip of her drink, her gaze focused firmly on the counter.

Damien grunts out a reply, downing the last of his drink. He sits there in silence, his good mood easily dashed by the reminder of the planet.

Halisi empties her second glass, seeming to find the will to speak gain. The glass is pushed back to Va'ynna. "That mission wasn't my-... I'd encountered those things. Before." She pauses briefly, her gaze shifting to Damien. "I worked on... an... mine. Asteroid. Monsters came. Saw my patients turn. Scared. In pain. Tried... couldn't help." She starts shaking her head repeatedly. "Saw

Va'ynna frowns, not eager to overhear that story. She takes the glass and puts it under the counter instead of refilling it.

Damien listens, his gaze turning back to her with a new look. Pity. As she nears the end of her piece, he gently reaches to place a somewhat comforting hand on her shoulder, memories of his experience flooding back. "Halisi...".

Halisi doesn't notice her glass being taken away. She's staring blankly past Damien until he puts the hand on her shoulder, causing her to burst into tears rather suddenly. The lack of anyone to turn to has no doubt been wearing on her ever since she came to Aite. She wraps her arms around Damien, pulling him into a hug in a rather awkward position, whatwith both of them sitting on

Damien blinks in surprise, the rather sudden hug causing him to blush and look around rather awkwardly for a moment. However, the woman's sudden episode paints a clear picture of the pain she's experienced, so he hugs her back, adjusting his position-

Damien -slightly so it is less discomforting. He gently strokes her back, mumbling quietly to her. "Break, just break. For once, take the world off your shoulders." He's not too great at this whole comforting thing.

Halisi continues to sob into Damien's shoulder, not letting go of him. It is a stark contrast to her usual professional self. Some muffled and incoherent mumbling about the horrors of the asteroid mixed with apologies is all that can be heard between the sobs.

Va'ynna tilts her head sympathetically. She notices a patron waving at her, and she makes her way over to them.

Damien continues to hold the woman, humming quietly to her. Her mumblings are partially understood, so he gently shakes his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, okay?" He continues to stroke her back in a comforting manner.

Halisi 's sobs grow less frequent. She slowly lets go of Damien, sitting up properly again. Her face is a tear-stained mess, and largely covered by now-messy black hair. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't-... I don't know what I-... I'm sorry..." She seems very embarassed by her sudden outburst, refusing to look at Damien and reaching across the bar to snatch the whiskey bottle before

Damien lets her go, the sheer pain of the woman's outburst causing him to ache. His problems seem minute compared to hers. As she snatches the bottle, concern crosses his features, her unsteady movements adding to it. Drinking to hide such pain is never going to end well. He should know.

Va'ynna is currently busy serving another patron, not noticing the whiskey bottle disappearing.

Damien pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly debating whether to follow the girl and make sure she doesn't hurt herself, or just brush it off and continue drinking. "Aw hell...". He quickly leaves a chit on the side with rough payment of the bottle and makes to follow her. "Halisi, hold up!"

Halisi continues up the stairs towards her room, stumbling as she takes a swig from the bottle, but soon disappearing from view from the bar.

Damien takes the steps two at a time, his senses not as effected by the alcohol as Halisi. He spots her stumbling around and quickly makes to remove the bottle from her possesion. "Christ, you're going to be sick at this rate."_

Halisi gets one last long swig in before Damien takes the bottle. She ends up with several incoherent expressions crossing her face along with a brief coughing fit before she turns to the door to her room, attempting, and failing, to enter the passcode.

Damien regards the presumably almost empty bottle with a look of worry. He places it against the wall and out of her reach before turning to her, unsure of what to do next. Usually he deals with drunk mercenaries and in these situations, not emotionally scarred doctors. "Halisi... Christ, take a moment, alright? This shit is clearly effecting you more than you think."-

Damien - It is unclear whether he's referencing the events she told or the booze. Or, maybe he's talking about both.

Halisi continues to attempt to punch her room code in, only to be greeted by another flashing red holopanel. Giving up, she turns around, leaning her back against the door and sliding down until she's sitting, hair covering her expression.

Damien watches her slide down in defeat, his face softening. He sighs quietly, sitting down against the wall a small ways from her, giving her some space. They sit in relative silence for a few moments, Damien staring at the wall opposite him. Eventually...

Damien rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, looking off to the side.

Halisi doesn't respond, but also stares at the other wall. She has a distant, weary look on her face as she slides along the wall until she ends up with her head on Damien's shoulder, still staring ahead in silence.

Damien blinks, turning his head to look down at the woman, his cheeks turning a shade of red. He gingerly places an arm around her shoulders and squeezes her comfortingly. "Um...". He falls silent, simply looking at the wall. Silence is probably what is needed more than anything now.

Halisi seems content to remain leaning against Damien in silence, and as time passes her expression softens and her gaze falls from the wall to the floor.

Damien breathes quietly, as if the simple action would disrupt the fragile silence between the two. Eventually though, he speaks, his voice a great deal softer than before. "You need to rest." A simple statement yet, at least to Damien, a wise one.

Halisi seems half-asleep already. Her response is little more than a grunt. She makes no attempt at moving.

Damien sighs, running a hand down his face. "Great," he mutters. "Are you coherent enough to tell me your password for your room? I'm not leaving you in the hallway," he asks.

Damien groans. Gingerly, he shifts himself away from Halisi. He reaches down, tucking his organic arm under her legs while his cybernetic arches behind her back. Bending his knees, he lifts her with a grunt, still stiff from his sparring session with Leah. -

Damien - He carries her to his room and awkwardly opens his door. "You owe me for this," he mutters, carrying her to his bed and placing her down carefully, trying not to disturb her too much. After making sure she's comfortable, he makes to leave the room. There's a poor, unguarded bottle of whiskey that needs to be rescued!

Halisi mumbles something incoherent as she's lifted, holding on to Damien lightly. A faint smile crosses her face. Upon being placed in the bed she maintains a weak hold of Damien's hand, her grip having slid down his arm. It doesn't last long as he makes to leave.

Damien opens the door, pausing before he steps through, his finger hovering above the light switch. He looks back over his shoulder, a faint sensation from where she held his hand. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he flicks the switch and closes the door as he exits. Wait. "Where the hell do I sleep now?"

Damien sighs and retraces his steps back to the bottle. He picks it up and gives it a slightly swig, the liquid burning on it's way down his throat. He turns and makes his way back to his room's door. He leans against the wall and slides down until he is sat.

Damien places the bottle by his side, simply regarding his cybernetic. He has, thankfully, adapted rather quickly to the new body part. Though his body, on the other hand, still needs some time. He snorts a laugh and takes another sip of the bottle, activating his omni-tool and staring at blinking light. A message. How did he miss that?

Damien shrugs, closing down his omni-tool. He lays against the wall for awhile, his bottle ending up empty... Huh, he doesn't even know. Eventually, he sneaks back into his room, adjusting his chair to a comfortable position. He perches on it and kicks his feet up onto the desk. It doesn't take long for his booze addled self to fall asleep.