This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#Leah'sHouse – March 2, 2017
It's 4AM on the 14th of November when the nighttime silence in Leah's home is broken by a series of panicked screams from Tara's room, her voice barely recognizable when not used in its usual restrained way. The screams are followed almost immediately by shattering glass.
There's a few moments of chaos as both Leah and Francois are awoken by the noises. Francois is stood in his doorway peering down the hall when Leah steps out of her room. Dressed in a pair of blue shorts and a white t-shirt, she's gripping a Carnifex in her right hand.
Leah's eyes scan the hallway and she gestures for her father to back off. "Close your door!" she instructs in a rushed whisper.
Francois scowls but nods. "Be careful!" he shoots back before disappearing out of sight behind his bedroom door.
Leah keeps her weapon down at her side as she skulks down the hallway towards Tara's room. She gives a passing glance into the kitchen as she passes it before posting up beside Tara's bedroom door. Without announcing herself, she opens the door.
As the door slides open, Tara is revealed sitting on her knees next to the bed, wearing a colorful pyjamas bought when her and Leah went shopping. Her bed covers have mostly fallen out of the bed, indicating she might have tumbled out. Shards of glass lie in a pool of water on the floor in front of her - the remnants of the glass of water that sat on her nightstand. She has her back to the door, and seems to be frantically trying to
collect the glass shards in her hands, even as sharp edges slice into her palms. It's hard to tell in the unlit room, but both her hands and the cuffs of her pyjamas are covered in blood, and as she continues to try and scoop up glass it mixes with the spilled water.
Leah breathes a sigh of relief, unable to see the blood from her position behind Tara. Not wanting to spook her, she leans to her side and sets the pistol on a small shelf against the hallway wall just outside of the bedroom. "It's fine, dad!" she shouts, "Just a broken glass!"
Tara 's sobbing starts to become louder as she continues to gather up the glass as if her life depended on it - but the slippery nature of both the floor, and her increasingly bloodied hands makes it a hard task, and a particularly nasty cut causes her to drop several shards with a pained whimper.
Leah steps into the room to give Tara a hand and flips the light on. "Hey. Don't worry about it. It's just a glass. Just be careful so you don't cut yourself, Tara." she says, "I can go get the broom-..." she begins to offer when she nears close enough to catch sight of all of the blood. Her eyes go wide and she immediately drops to her knees with little worry about the broken glass and moves to grab Tara by the wrists to stop her
Tara struggles against Leah when she tries to stop her from cleaning the glass up, trying to push her away and yank her arms free and frantically grabbing at any remaining pieces even as tears stream down her face, sobbing born from both pain and fear continuing.
Leah shakes her head back and forth. "No, no, no, no, no. Tara! Sweetie, stop!" she pleads, trying once more to keep her from reaching for any more shards of glass. "Dad!" she shouts, only a brief glance towards the door as her eyes begin to glass up over seeing Tara in such a state, "She cut her hands! Bring us a towel!" She swallows hard, continuing to shake her head and trying to understand what's going on. "Tara, it's just a
glass. It's fine, really! I'm gonna-..." she gives another quick glance towards the door, "Hurry, dad!" she adds before returning her attention to Tara, "...We can just clean this with a broom, okay!?"
Tara shakes her head repeatedly, pushing back against Leah as her hands are grabbed. "No, no, no-... I have to-... I don't-... oh no-.... please-..." is all she manages between sobs and batarian words too unintelligeble for the translator to pick up.
Leah refuses to release her grip on Tara's wrists and allow her to further hurt herself. "No! You don't have to-... It's just a glass, Tara!" she pleads, a few tears beginning to escape at seeing the poor girl in such a state, terrified over little more than a broken glass. Worried that Tara may cause further harm, she simply leans in to wrap Tara up in a hug. "It's gonna be fine! I promise! It's just a glass!" she assures.
Tara continues her distraught struggle against Leah's grip, but she finds herself too weak to break away. She continues to shake her head as tears stream, her expression one of frenzied panic. A second or two after she's wrapped up in the hug it's like a switch is flipped. The struggling stops, but she's quite literally shaking, and the sobbing has given way to hyperventilating.
Francois finally makes his appearance in the doorway with a towel in one hand and a broom in the other. When he catches sight of the blood which is staining both Tara's hands and Leah's shirt, panic begins to set in on his face. "Is-... Are you alright!?" he asks with a glance to Tara as he sets the towel down beside them.
Leah glances to her father as she pats Tara on the back, the sadness clear in her eyes. Now that Tara has stopped trying to push her away, she loosens up the hug. "Come on, Tara. Let's get your hands cleaned up, okay? He's gonna sweep it all up." she says as she gives Tara one more squeeze before she releases the hug and sits back, looking Tara over.
Tara leans against Leah even as the hug is loosened, still shaking as she practically gasps for air, rapid, shallow breaths as she stares off to the side at the bed.
Leah continues to study Tara for a few moments before reaching in and wiping at the remaining tears on Tara's cheek. She sniffles hard, fighting back her own tears and slowly, and carefully, rises to her feet. With one hand she grabs the towel and with the other she gently grabs Tara by the wrist in an attempt at guiding her to her feet as well.
Francois watches the pair. Leah has told him all about Tara's situation, and it's not hard to see that all of this is a result of the life she's had for far too long. There's nothing but sheer sympathy in his eyes. As Leah stands up, he points to a small cut on her leg that she hadn't noticed. "Leah, you're bleeding. Be careful..." he informs her, passing the same late advice that Leah gave Tara.
Leah scrunches up her nose as she glances down at the cut on her leg. "I'll be fine, dad..." she says dismissively before her attention returns right back to Tara.
Tara is still hyperventilating, and she makes no attempt to stand up as Leah tugs at her wrist, her other hand lying limp in her lap, still bleeding as she now stares down at the mess on the floor. Her failure to breathe properly is doing little to help her state, and it almost looks like she's going to pass out.
Leah gives a sigh and moves to the other side of Tara before kneeling back down. "We have to get you cleaned up and stop that bleeding. Okay?" she asks. Her gaze moves down to Tara's hands and she uses her hold on her wrist to look the wounds over. With the towel, she begins gently wiping at the blood. "We can just go right down the hall to the bathroom and bandage you up, alright?" she continues, speaking softly to try and keep
Tara calm. Much in the way one would speak to a child. "It's-... It's fine, okay? You didn't do anything wrong. Nobody is upset with you, Tara." She passes a glance up towards her father, "...Right?"
Francois has began to sweep the shards of glass away from Leah and Tara and into a small pile. When he's addressed, he looks in their direction and forces a smile as he nods. "Of course. Don't worry about it, Tara. Plenty more glasses where that one came from."
Tara 's gaze is distant, but as Leah speaks to her she eventually focuses on her. Her hands are covered in cuts, most of them fairly small, but there's also one large gash in her right palm that is bleeding profusely. Several smaller shards of glass are embedded in her skin. After she manages to focus on Leah she blinks a few times, nodding rapidly as her breathing starts to calm. As she settles down, the crying starts again, and
she is quick to bury her face against Leah, repeated mumblings of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." coming out between sobs and sniffles.
Leah winces at the sight of all of the cuts and glass. As Tara buries her face against her, Leah releases her grip on Tara's wrist and wraps that arm around Tara, patting her softly on the back. "Nothing to be sorry about." she says, doing her best to infuse as much of her usual cheerfulness as she can muster as she tries to hold pressure against the large gash with the towel. "You just need to be careful, okay? Not because of
some dumb glass. The glass can be replaced. You can't, be. Okay?" she says, her voice shaking a bit as she speaks but, in typical Leah fashion, she manages to keep herself composed. As she holds the towel in place to try and stop the bleeding, she sucks in a deep breath. "No more grabbing broken glass!" she instructs, her tone less instructional and more teasing, "It's just a bad idea!"
Francois remains silent, though a small smile crosses his lips as his daughter takes care of Tara. He continues to sweep up the glass.
Tara can be felt trembling as she continues to lean against Leah, making no effort to move her hands as the towel is pressed against her injury. One last "I'm sorry..." slips out, followed by several sniffles. Her face, still pressed against Leah, is a mess of tears and snot.
Leah shakes her head as she continues to apply pressure to the wound. She doesn't seem to be bothered at all by her shirt becoming a mess of blood, tears, and snot. "It's fine, Tara. Really. It's fine." she says as her other hand continues to rub at Tara's back in an attempt at being comforting, "Can we go get your hands cleaned up now?" she asks, giving Tara a playful little shake. "We've got to get those pieces of glass out."
Tara lifts her head a little, and offers a small nod, keeping her gaze low as her sniffling continues. She lifts a hand to wipe her nose, inadvertedly smearing blood across her mouth in the process.
Leah climbs back to her feet once again and helps Tara up as well. She continues to hold the towel in place with one hand and places her other hand on Tara's back to guide her towards the bathroom. "I heard you shout." she says as she starts towards the bathroom, standing in such a way so that Tara can continue to lean her head against Leah's shoulder, "What happened? Bad dream?"
Tara stands up with Leah's help, and allows herself to be guided to the bathroom in silence. She offers only the faintest of nods in response to Leah's question.
Leah continues into the bathroom and helps Tara to sit atop the toilet. "What was it about?" she asks as she wraps the towel around Tara's hand to keep it in place while she retrieves a few supplies from the medicine cabinet. Some gauze, medi-gel, and a pair of tweezers.
Tara sits down on the toilet and stares straight ahead, resting her bloody hands in her lap - her pyjama pants already have more than a few blood stains on them. Her only response to the new question is an equally faint shake of her head, a disturbed expression briefly flashing across her face.
Leah frowns as she casts a glance Tara's way. "That bad, huh?" she asks with a sigh as she cleans the tweezers under the faucet. Once cleaned off, she takes the tweezers and kneels down beside Tara. She scrunches up her nose as her knees press against the cold tile of the bathroom floor. "I was dreaming about-..." she takes one of Tara's hands in her own and pulls it towards her gently, palm side up as she narrows her eyes and
looks off to the side briefly in an attempt at remembering what exactly she was dreaming about. "....Hmmm. I think-... Oooh! There were waffles! I remember that much!" she says as she begins to pluck at a small piece of glass. She does her best to make it quick without causing too much harm.
Tara looks over at Leah as she kneels down. She flinches slightly each time the tweezers extract a piece of glass, but makes no attempt at withdrawing her hand. Her crying has stopped, and the only sound she makes is the occasional quiet sniffle.
Leah looks over Tara's hand once she has removed all of the pieces of glass. Once she's satisfied they're all gone, she begins to put a thin layer of medi-gel on each of Tara's cuts. "You know you're safe here, right Tara?" she asks as she ensures all of Tara's wounds are covered. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise. So you don't need to be afraid. This is your home, okay?"
Tara looks up from her hands, studying Leah with furrowed eyebrows, her face a reddened mess from all the crying. After a moment of silent observation she gives a few small but rapid nods. The soothing dumbness and cool of the medigel being applied to her cut-up hands causes a quiet sigh to escape her, and a tiny hint of a smile briefly tugs at the corner of her lips at the combination of the care paid to her hands and Leah's
Leah begins the process of bandaging Tara's hands up with the gauze. "And-... And the whole-... you know?" she looks up to Tara and scrunches up her nose, "...Glass thing? Don't worry about that stuff, Tara. This is your home." She gives a shrug of her shoulders, "...I mean for as long as you want it to be. And so-... so nobody is going to be angry with you over a silly broken glass, okay?" She gives a brief glance towards the
door to make sure her father isn't around before lowering her voice, "He breaks crap all the time! I swear we used to have, like, 50 glasses! So don't even worry about it!"
Tara lets out a quiet half-sob, half giggle, nodding slightly. She lowers her gaze back down to her hands as they're wrapped in the gauze. "Thank you." she whispers.
Francois appears in the bathroom doorway, broom in hand. "The glass has been taken care of. Just be careful, okay?" he asks, looking to Tara, "I think I got it all, but you can never be too sure." He brings a hand up to suppress a yawn. "So how are my girls doing? Is everything alright...?" he asks, looking between the two for some assurance that Tara is okay without wanting to be too nosey.
Francois rolls his eyes and jabs the broom at Leah. "Yes. Laugh because she has some manners." He looks to Tara, giving a shake of his head at his daughter, "Sometimes I wonder how I ended up with such a disrespectful daughter." he sighs, "But really, sir? Not necessary. Francois. Frank. Whichever you prefer. And don't worry about it. I wasn't sleeping too well anyway."
Tara nods slightly. Leah's exchange with her father causes a faint smirk to tug briefly at her lips, but it never manifests. She turns her hands over in her lap, flexing her fingers a little and wincing at the pain that makes its way through the medigel numbness.
Leah sighs loudly at her father as she climbs back to her feet and grabs the towel to address her own wound. She takes a seat at the edge of the bathtub and wipes at the small amount of blood before applying some medigel to it. "Ya know instead of bothering us, you could go make yourself useful." she says to her father as a smile tugs at her lips, "Waffles?"
Francois sucks in a deep breath, simply staring at Leah for a moment before shaking his head and turning around. "Clean yourselves up. Breakfast in a half hour." he says before starting off down the hall.
Tara gains a faint smile at the mention of waffles. She remains sitting on the toilet, cradling her hands in her lap. Her expression turns to a frown as she studies the blood stains covering her brand new pyjamas.
Leah finishes with her own small wound and shifts a bit in place as she looks across at Tara. Noticing the blood stains herself, she scrunches up her nose. "We can pick up a new pair before work..." she offers with a shrug. "Blood stains aren't the easiest to get out. Annnnnd my life is weird enough for me to know that...." she sighs.
Tara 's gaze darts up to Leah, and then back to her clothes. "I know." she says plainly, before letting her eyes wander. As she looks in the mirror her frown returns and she stands up, leaning over the sink and taking a closer look at her face.
Leah frowns. Not exactly a feel good response. "It's not a big deal, though. We can just leave an hour early and swing by the market." she shrugs as she pokes at her freshly medi-gelled wound. "Not to mention we have the wedding to go to soon, so we need to pick you up something to wear for that, too. Maybe not today, though." She tilts her head, "Unnnnlessss we have the time. Otherwise we can just browse a little~ and maybe get
Tara looks over in Leah's direction briefly. "I-... I don't know." she says hesitantly, offering a small shrug. She looks at the faucet, and then her gauzed hands before sitting back down, her frown deepened.
Leah remains perched at the edge of the bathtub. Her frown deepens to match Tara's as she studies her expression. "What's wrong...?" she asks. Her gaze travels to her gauzed hands and she gives a sheepish shrug, "...Uhh... Besides the obvious."
Leah follows her gaze to the towel. "Oh... Uhh, sure!" she says as she passes the towel across to Tara.
Tara takes the towel in one bandaged hand and stands back up again. She west it with water from the faucet and begins cleaning her face in front of the mirror.
Leah watches in silence for a moment before looking back towards her cut. "Hey-..." she begins and stops, giving a shrug of her shoulders, "I'm glad you're here, Tara." she says. "I hope you know that. I know all of this must be a lot to get used to after the life you've had... But you're going to figure it all out, okay? And I'm gonna be right here to help you every step of the way. Whatever it takes. And-... And if you ever need
anything? Ever need to talk? Whatever? You can talk to me." She brushes a bit of hair back behind her ear as she looks up to Tara. "That's all. I just-... You know. Want you to know that."
Tara puts the towel down as she finishes with her face. She stares at her own face in the mirror as she listens to Leah speak, but eventually her gaze moves over to Leah's reflection. A tiny smile flashes briefly across her face before she blinks, a few tears escaping as she turns around to face the real Leah. She looks at her in silence for a few moments before letting out a sniffle and letting her gaze fall to the floor, overwhelmed
Leah furrows her brow and stands from her makeshift seat at the edge of the bathtub. A guilty look flashes across her face at having brought forth the waterworks again. "Hey now..." she says as she steps forward and wraps her arms around Tara in a hug, "No crying or you're gonna make me cry!" she says through a half-snicker-half-sob.