This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#Leah'sHouse – November 25, 2017
It's morning on the day after the wedding. Despite being up fairly late the night before Tara has gotten up early. Her life has made a light sleeper with a pinpoint internal clock. She's outside, wrapped up in winter clothes and shoveling snow in the face of worsening weather. She's struggling more than a little, her meager physique ill-suited for such a task, but she persists. She's been at it for quite a while judging by the fact
that the porch is all clear, and she's currently trying to clear a path for where the shuttle usually touches down, although new snow is fast replacing the old.
Leah has woken up a bit later. Francois, as usual, is still asleep. After getting situated, she searches through the house for any sign of Tara before hearing the scuffing of the shovel against the porch. In her usual sleepwear of shorts, long sports socks, and a t-shirt, she opens the front door, hugging herself to fight off the cold she's immediately greeted by. "Hey!" she calls to Tara, stepping from foot to foot to keep the
blood flowing. "You know you don't have to do that alone! Get in here and have some hot chocolate while I get dressed! I'll help!"
Tara is in the middle of struggling with a particularly stubborn strip of snow, her face contorting and a groan of extertion escaping as she puts the entirety of her body weight against the handle of the shovel. She lets out a "Pffeh!" as she fails to get anywhere, nearly stumbling forward. She pants slightly as she looks over at Leah. "I-..." she starts, but then her gaze falls to the shovel, buried in a pile of half-frozen snow,
and she frowns, nodding slightly. "Okay..." she says, leaving it standing there as she heads up the steps and through the door.
Leah continues marching in place frantically as she waits for Tara to step inside. As soon as she's in, Leah shuts the door, giving an exaggerated: "Brrrrrrr!" while she rubs at her exposed arms. "Why didn't you wait for me?" she asks, still doing her stepping even after the door has closed.
Tara 's frown grows as she removes her mittens, warming her hands against each other. "I... thought I could do it on my own." she says quietly, keeping her gaze on her hands. Her cheeks are red from the cold, standing out against her otherwise pale skin.
Leah scrunches up her nose. "Everyone knows you can't shovel snow without hot chocolate!" she teases, gesturing for Tara to follow her as she heads towards the kitchen. As she reaches the kitchen, she collects a couple of mugs and begins preparing some hot chocolate for them both. "I didn't expect you to be up so early. Late night and all. Did you sleep alright?"
Tara removes her boots and unzips her jacket before following, keeping most of her winter clothes on as she enters the kitchen. She gives a small nod in response when Leah looks her way, taking a seat at the table and gaining a slightly uncomfortable look as she glances at Leah preparing the hot chocolate. She's obviously still quite cold, and hides her hands away inside her jacket, sniffling slightly from the sudden change in
Leah finishes with Tara's first, sliding the mug in front of her before moving on to her own. "How long have you been out there?" she asks, gaze fixed on her mug.
Tara is quick to relocate her hands to the mug with a thankful nod, letting its heat warm her hands. The question causes her to furrow her eyebrows slightly. "Two... hours?" she says, sounding a little hesitant.
Leah frowns as she finishes up with her own mug and slides into the seat to the right of Tara. "Two hours...?" she repeats as she takes a small sip of her drink. She licks at the roof of her mouth for a moment, deciding it's too hot to drink right away. "Well, take a break for a bit and we can finish it up together, alright?"
Leah falls silent for a number of moments, simply cupping the warm mug in her hands and blowing into it. She eventually decides to take her chances again and leans in for a second sip, nodding to herself when it doesn't burn her tongue. "Thanks again..." she says softly, not looking up from her drink. "...Sorry I put that on you. It's just-..." she sighs, unable to look Tara's way due to her embarassment as she gives a shake of
her head, "...everything that was going on. I guess it got the best of me last night. But-..." she nods before repeating herself once again, "...thank you."
Tara frowns slightly at first, looking over at Leah. She looks a little uncomfortable with the thanks thrown her way, but when Leah is done she wordlessly nods, briefly flashing her a small smile, but it soon fades. It's obvious from her expression that she wants to say something, but she hesitates, and goes quiet, returning her attention to the mug of chocolate, finally taking a small sip. She savors such simple pleasures, and
this is no exception, her eyes closing for a moment and another faint smile tugging at her lips, although not quite forming.
Leah glances Tara's way once she has finished speaking, studying Tara's expression for a moment. When it becomes clear that she isn't going to speak her mind, Leah tilts her head to the side. "What's up?" she asks, genuinely interested in hearing whatever is obviously on the girl's mind.
Tara gains an uncomfortable look as she realizes Leah noticed her expression, and she seems to shrink a little in her seat, her gaze focused on the chocolate. She offers no immediate response, the hesitation remaining in her frown.
Leah continues to look her way. She brushes a loose strand of hair back behind her ear with one hand, the other resting against the warm mug on the table in front of her. She remains silent outside of a simple: "Hmmm?", obviously waiting for Tara to voice whatever is on her mind.
Tara 's frown deepens as she stares into her mug, but eventually she draws in a breath, speaking barely above a whisper: "I... miss my friends too, sometimes."
Leah's gaze lowers to the table. It was easy to think of Tara's life before now as nothing but pain and suffering. Something that Leah rescued her from. She feels a sudden pang of guilt at having not considered the obvious: There were people that were left behind. People that Tara cared about. " I'm sorry, sweetheart." she offers sincerely, her expression growing undeniably sad as she looks back to Tara with this new realization.
"Tell me about them." she requests, trying to force a small smile in hope of giving Tara an outlet if she needs to talk, "I mean-... If you want." she's quick to clarify with a shrug.
Tara grip of the mug tightens, her frown remaining firmly in place. She closes her eyes briefly at the request, before reluctantly speaking, not one to deny such a request even with clarification. "They're... gone." is all she offers, however, her gaze distant and her blue eyes filled with pain as they open, still staring down.
Leah's gaze drops once again. As it lifts back up, she reaches out with one hand and gently places it atop Tara's forearm. "I'm sorry..." she says softly. "You know you can always-..." she stammers, tilting her head to the side, "...I just-... If you ever need to talk, I'm here, Tara. I hope you know that. No matter what it is. I'm-..." she gives a couple of short nods as she pats Tara's forearm, her ponytail bouncing about behind
Tara nods faintly, but offers no response, or even a look Leah's way. She just stares at the steam rising from her mug.
Leah gives Tara's arm a squeeze as she studies her for a number of moments, her own frown deepening as they sit in silence. "...We're going to make them pay, Tara." she finally assures her, attempting to search her eyes from her position. "House Bar'adon?" she gives a stern nod, assuming whatever happened to Tara's friends, they're the ones responsible, "We're going to make sure they can't hurt anyone else."
Tara doesn't seem all that comforted by Leah's declaration, but none the less she offers another faint nod in response to her words. After a few more moments of silence pass, however, she looks over at Leah, her pain having given way to fear. "It's not safe."
Leah forces a small smile and a nod in appreciation to Tara's concerns. "I know, sweetheart. I know." she sighs. "But we'll manage. And then? When it's all over? You won't have to worry about them ever again." Her smile widens slightly as she pulls her hand back, folding it back around her hot chocolate.
Tara seems far from reassured by Leah's words, but she offers no further objection, her attention turning back to her mug with a faint, troubled frown. She lifts the mug to her lips, taking another sip of hot chocolate, although there is no sign of her previous appreciation of its taste.
Leah isn't oblivious to the change in demeanor. She watches Tara, her own smile fading as she does. It's clear that the whole situation is wearing on Tara. Leah would be lying if she said it wasn't keeping her up at night, too. But what other choice do they have? "...I'm just doing what I can, Tara..." she says, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I know it's dangerous. But-... But it's worth it. You're worth it." she says
Tara 's frown only deepens as Leah speaks, and her final assertion causes her to shake her head, a whispered "No..." following as she places her cup down against the table again, not looking Leah's way.
Leah takes a deep breath. "Then what do we do, Tara?" she asks with a shrug. "Just-... wait for them to come? Let them take you?" She shakes her head, brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not letting that happen. The best chance we have of stopping them is to do it on our terms."
Tara goes quiet, her frown lingering as she mulls over Leah's words. There's hints of both determination and dread in equal measure in her voice as she speaks again, keeping her gaze on her cup. "You should hand me over."
Leah is quick to respond. There's the slightest hint of anger in her voice. Not at Tara. At the situation. At the fact that it's even an option in Tara's mind. "No." she says instantly, a big shake of her head accompanying her words. "No, Tara. Just-... No. Absolutely not! Why would you-..." she leans forward slightly, releasing her grip on her mug and setting her palms flat against the table. There's a slight glassiness to her
Tara flinches as she hears the tone of Leah's voice, almost cowering a little and withdrawing her hands into her lap. She blinks several times when Leah finishes, swallowing before looking her way, her gaze almost immediately darting down again. "I-I-... I don't-..." she starts, struggling. It seems even the relatively mild reaction shook her a little in her current state. "I don't want him to hurt you because of me..."
Leah's eyes water up as Tara has such a strong reaction to her frustration. She presses her palms against the top of the table and climbs to her feet just long enough to scoot around the table and take a knee beside Tara. "Hey..." she says softly, hoping to get out ahead of Tara's unease. She looks up to Tara, trying to establish eye contact. "None of this is 'because of you'. Okay? None of this is your fault. It's theirs. I
know you're scared, but I need you to trust me, okay?" she asks, giving a hard blink of her big green eyes as tears threaten to escape. She studies Tara's expression for a moment before continuing. "You're family, Tara." she reiterates her words from the previous night, "...And I'm not going to let anything happen to you." She forces a small smile, tilting her head to the side before adding with a half-hearted snicker: "I
Tara looks down at Leah, turning slightly in her chair and making eye contact when it's saught. As Leah continues to speak she blinks several times, her gaze breaking away. It's obvious that Leah's words is having a major emotional impact, but her fear remains as she looks back at her. "They will be angry. They'll try to take you. If-..." she hesitates, the previous reaction fresh in her mind. When she continues it's practically
Leah blinks hard again in a continued attempt to fight back the tears, but this time she's unsuccessful, and a few stray tears go rolling down her cheeks. "If you go, we both get hurt, Tara." she says, her voice cracking slightly. "This is your home. Okay?" she sniffles, "And-... And we're going to fight to make damn sure that doesn't change." she continues. "They can be angry. They can try to take you. To take me. Nate.
Mendez." she lists, "Because they're going to fail. Because I will never-..." she reaches for Tara's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as a few more tears escape, "...ever let them hurt you again." Despite the tears in her eyes, there's a fire behind them. A confidence. A focus.
Tara frowns as she notices Leah's tears, and her gaze falls when her hand is grasped. She blinks repeatedly as tears of her own starts to well up in response to the intense reaction, and she just barely manages to keep them in. She draws in a breath as she looks back up at Leah, and upon meeting her gaze, and seeing her determination, her fears seem to ease, or at least be pushed back for the moment. She gives several small nods,
Leah remains kneeled for a short while in silence before she finally sucks in a deep breath as she tries to calm herself. She gives Tara's hand one more gentle squeeze before releasing her grip on it and rising back to her feet, both hands moving to the edge of the table. "...I should go get dressed." she eventually says, looking down into Tara's mug. Her mood seems to be dampened. Tara's suggestion to hand her over having shaken
her quite badly. "Finish up your hot chocolate and we'll finish shoveling the snow, okay?" she says softly, bringing a hand up to her face to wipe at the few tears that have rolled down her cheek. She gives Tara a pat on the shoulder before starting towards the hallway, leaving her own- nearly full- hot chocolate behind.
Tara 's frown returns as she notices the change in Leah. She nods slightly in response to the question, saying nothing. After Leah leaves her attention turns to her mug, studying it in silence before looking down at her own. Her appetite seems all but gone, and she starts drinking again seemingly just out of obligation.