formerly at dramadramaduck now homeless

[hetaconcheir]

Hey, it's been a while. I'm glad to see you again--even if the time we had together wasn't all that great sometimes I still enjoyed it. I met some good people on there. Sheryl, her boyfriend...Ranka. I really hope Ranka's doing great; she was more of a friend than I deserved.

To be honest, I'm just surprised she even remembers me... Even if I go back, I couldn't do half the things I did before. I've paid for my mistakes but...

Dreaming about the community wouldn't be so bad.

Comments

[movinghair]

Vanille?

[hetaconcheir]

Hey, Ranka. [It's not a hug, she wouldn't go that far after all this time but she does touch Ranka's arm.]

I wanted to say that after all this time I finally found enough courage to continue to my destiny. [There's a small, sad smile.] Thank you, Ranka. This isn't a dream so I can stay longer but...thank you so much, Ranka.

[fangyunoerba]

Paid for what now?

[hetaconcheir]

Oh, Fang...! I meant--we finally did what had to be done.

[movinghair]

[no, okay. no. there will be some hugging damn it or she is not the superdimensional cinderella. ranka wraps vanille in a tight embrace as soon as she's done speaking. no withheld tears or loud sobs because this isn't a sad occasion. not really.

she smiles instead.]

I knew you could do it, I knew, all you had to do was believe--I'm so proud of you, Vanille.

[fangyunoerba]

Mm. [She doesn't have much to say about this, it was payment for everything they'd done. A way to earn the forgiveness of those she had wronged.]

Not sucha bad fate though, yea?t

[hetaconcheir]

Yes. [No, it wasn't that bad of a fate. They were together, finally, and their promise fulfilled.]

At least we can dream together, now.

[fangyunoerba]

That we can. 'opefully those lunk 'eads will listen and jus' live their lives. [She'll give Vanille a pat on the head before her hand falls to the girls shoulder with a light squeeze.]

[hetaconcheir]

Took me a while to figure it out, even with your help. [there are tears there but those of a nostalgic sadness. it's not terrible. she faintly smiles back as she hugs ranka back.]

We protected Cocoon, Ranka. Fang...she forgave me and we saved Cocoon together. I can't visit your world anymore but maybe one day you'll still meet Fang. She'll want to thank you for knocking some sense into me.

[hetaconcheir]

[She nods in agreement.] I doubt it'll be that easy! Imagine Snow or Lightning trying to sit around and doing nothing. I'm just glad that I was able to say goodbye to a friend I met--you'd like her, Fang.

[fangyunoerba]

[A bitter laugh slips out with a shake of her head, gaze lowered.]

'Course they won't. Whole lot doesn't 'ave a clue what's good for 'em. [While she just wishes they would go, move on to some degree, to simple be... Happy. She knows they won't and there's a faint amount of appreciation in those words. They were family.]

[movinghair]

It'll be really nice to meet her after all this time. [eventually backs away, but keeps a tight hold on vanille's hands.] I had a feeling. There was something different about you, something...well, it felt like when I talked to Mama that one time.

[hetaconcheir]

That's right--but at least they won't forget us.

[hetaconcheir]

[She grasps Ranka's hands, tightly] I'm not dead, Ranka. I'm just sleeping. One day I'll wake up.

[movinghair]

Then I'll wait for you. [ranka takes a deep breathe to steady herself, keep from crying. no falling apart. she was stronger than that now. vanille was happy and proud, and that's what really mattered. she didn't want to ruin this moment for her.] I'll wait for you to wake up, Vanille. Always.

[hetaconcheir]

Then I'll sleep better. [it's vanille's turn to pull her into a hug. it's a bittersweet reunion, she knows that. there's no shame in crying...even if they'll meet again, it doesn't matter. goodbyes are always the worst part of a conversation] It's sad, Ranka, I know that. Sometimes it hurts a lot when you know you won't see a friend for a long time but I promise you: we'll meet again. We'll be together.

[movinghair]

[what starts off as a nod ends up in burying her head in vanille's shoulder.] And you can't run away this time. I won't let you.

[hetaconcheir]

[she touches her hair, holding her to her shoulder.] I'm done running away.

[movinghair]

[she has changed so much since she left and ranka is proud, so proud--

she's sniffling. when did--? and her cheeks feel wet. how did her body betray her like this? wasn't she the one who dictated her emotions?

no. the stage where she sang, her everyday life, they weren't so far apart. you couldn't be successful in either if you never set your inner self free. in front of vanille, she could do that almost to the point of embarrassing honesty. so she stopped trying to hold back. and soon the tears begin falling without end.]

[fangyunoerba]

They've got all sortsa things they can be focusin' on, like rebuildin' their world. [As much as she didn't like Cocoon, the people were going to need to go through a lot of adjustments.]

'Course they won't, jus' like we won't forget about them. [The smile's a little down trodden.]

We're family afta all.