BloodyMary script, scene/part 4
The Convict likes Ryland Grace.
Ryland Grace smells like soap.
Soap stopped being something normal of everyday usage after the rapture. Simon never thought he'd smell something like that again, especially after... after the whole problem with Eden. Whatever.
The smell is divine and intoxicating. It makes him feel beyond pain. Like reminding him why survival is worth it.
Ryland Grace also talks to him, talks a lot, constantly, and touches him. It startled him at first, but he doesn't oppose it. It's an effort not to lean in too much, actually, or at least make it look like an accident. This sort of thing, someone else's warmth. Nothing like-
Simon doesn’t talk back much. He doesn’t... really know what to say, mostly. He's spent so long rationing air and alone that talking to himself or others became obsolete. That, and he doesn’t... have a worthy contribution to whatever conversation is happening.
Ryland Grace also feeds him, because Simon apparently has terrible coordination. Moving even a single muscle can cause a mass domino effect that sparks into pain everywhere, so. He doesn’t try it alone, either. If Ryland Grace aproaches with a spoon, unless Simon feels like throwing up, he doesn’t refuse. Ryland Grace doesn’t admonish him for wasting food, not for eating or not eating everything. Ryland Grace just smiles and tells him he did a good job, and hopes he won't be sick. Simon hopes he'll keep doing a good job.
Ryland Grace introduces him to the strange creatures that often visit.
Simon was scared at first. One learns to fear the unknown when it's almost consumed him. But Ryland Grace befriended the unknown to the point it is now normal even. They speak funny and look like limbed pebbles and rocks, and sound like music. Simon missed music.
They look nothing like the creatures in the blood ocean.
Whatever. He should stop coming back to that.
Ryland Grace never stated a limit for air supply, which makes Simon almost drunk with abundance. He can just breathe. And if he panics he doesn’t need to feel guilty because he isn't actually wasting oxygen. It's funny, sometimes, that he wakes up panicked and worried about oxygen levels- and relief washes over him instantly, as soon as Ryland Grace tells him he can breathe, that he isn't wasting anything.
This feels him with the kind of greed one would see in bible myths. He can just breathe.
Ryland Grace handles him very tenderly, even in strange and vulnerable and awkward moments like doing bodily necessities or washing, or tending to injuries. Especially then, actually. Ryland Grace never forces him, but whenever Simon refuses something, like sleeping or snacks, he whines like he couldn’t just make Simon comply.
It's a mystery. Simon wonders what else he could refuse or ask about that'd cause Ryland Grace to pout and be grumpy, and wonders if Ryland Grace is even capable of actually being angry.
Simon likes Ryland Grace. At least for now... it seems like his safety and Ryland Grace are intrinsically tied together. And Simon finds that he doesn’t mind. He would like if Ryland Grace stayed around always.
