#meliora

“Can you hear the rumble?” Ghoul says yes, there’s a cat purring

“Can you hear the rumble that’s calling?” Ghoul says yes, there’s a cat purring

From ghreddit (credit in image).

Discuss!

Meliora (2015) by Ghost

The creation of her Homs body wasn't what took the most time, of course. That was done only a few hours after Melia had brought her there, the day she'd found her collapsed outside of Colony 9. No, what took the longest was ensuring Fiora would survive the cellular reconnection process, and there was no telling how much time she'd need for *that.* Would it be weeks? Months? Years, even? Or would this whole thing have been futile, and she would simply be...

It didn't bear thinking about. Much like she had done on their travels together, and indeed as she had no idea if it would even *affect* anything, Melia stayed by her side near constantly. Perhaps it was selfish of her; she had much yet to do for her home, after all. But... she couldn't be parted from Fiora. Not like this.

And so, there Melia sat, clutching her hand as though her *own* life depended on it.

In a place like this— an ancient, run-down, empty (save for the two of them) regeneration chamber built by her people who *knows* how many cycles of creation and destruction ago— Melia had naught else to do but think.

Shulk would bring her meals, having long since given up on coercing her outside. He, of anyone, understood the desire to stay locked away with such a purpose to devote oneself to. It was funny, she thought, that *Shulk* should be the one delivering *her* food, after the stories Fiora had told her of packing lunches for him nearly every day for 10 years.

...Was it strange, remaining staunchly at the bedside of a woman she couldn't bring herself to be fully honest with? A woman who had seen Melia at her worst, who had comforted her despite all that *she* had on her plate, who had done *everything* to ensure her happiness at whatever cost to herself - who had told her to stay with Shulk and keep him happy, should her time in this world end too soon - and wanted nothing in return? Was Melia crossing a line of some kind, waiting for her here over standing at *Shulk's* side as she'd pledged to?

Perhaps it was a betrayal of Fiora'a trust, in that case. Melia's own desires to be there when-- *if* she wakes shouldn't have overridden what she'd promised her, back then. But, still, she remained. She couldn't risk the possibility of Fiora feeling so alone ever again.

Truthfully, she'd lost track of the days she'd remained in her place in this chamber of regeneration. Linada and Sharla would come through to check Fiora's vitals frequently, and Melia was convinced they only started coming more on *her* behalf. There were more than a few times already when she'd awoken wrapped in a blanket, apparently having nodded off in place. She could see Shulk being so kind to do that, as well, but the weave was Machina in origin; a special fiber made to maintain a Homs' ideal body temperature, and the same kind that lay over Fiora now. She'd always returned it to Linada, and yet, it always found its way back to her. Admittedly, it did bring her some amount of comfort, being so cared for through her grief.

...Grief. Was it wrong to grieve for someone who wasn't *alive,* necessarily, but wasn't quite *dead,* either?