second trial. | voice (unlocked)

[greenies]

[ thomas has not been a common presence on the network since his arrival to the drabwurld; gaining the ability to talk telepathically with the people who've been close to him have made it fairly easy for him to communicate without it. but this time, thomas addresses the network at large, although only with a (perhaps semi-familiar) voice.

he sounds uneasy. tired. ]

Do any of you have nightmares? How do you deal with them?

[ it's a stab at anonymity, mostly because he doesn't want to show his face, but the storms currently raging over head have not made his life any easier. thomas sleeps fitfully, twenty minutes at a time, wakes up screaming. no one's going to see his face as an effect of that. eventually, he tacks on a soft--]

Thanks. [ --and the line goes dead. ]

Comments

Voice;

[parallels]

More than I'd like to admit to a network full of people.

[But here she is. She understands it all to well. While her nightmares are always shifting based on what ever horrible thing she'd experienced, they were always there. Sometimes they were better, fading to a few times a month. Sometimes she couldn't sleep at night because she had so many. Recently, she'd been experiencing something in-between.

If she had something to offer, she knows she feels obligated to give it.]

I used walk about at night. Listen to music. Writing sometimes helps. Getting it out so you don't sit around and mull over it in your mind.

Voice;

[greenies]

[ thomas chuckles, his tone a little rueful. ] That's why I did the voice call, but I guess it hasn't helped me not get recognized.

[ either way, it's good to hear the experiences of others--to know he's not really alone in this. a lot of the shard holders seem to be sort of fragmented, broken in ways that thomas knows he is. and now that there are things to do here that aren't--death, that aren't thomas running for his life, it becomes a lot easier to remember all those things he wishes he could forget. ]

I haven't tried writing yet, but I'll do that next. It's just becoming easier not to sleep at all.

[parallels]

Don't worry. I won't out you.

[Not that it matters because she is fairly certain that she has never met this person but hey, it's the least she can do. Then her voice grows more gentle as she continues.]

...It's done loads for me. And sometimes I'd fall asleep at my desk and wake up hours later. Might be a good sleep aid.

[greenies]

Anything to help. [ seriously, anything at this point. thomas'll start doing midnight jigs if it means he might be able to grab a wink or two of dreamless sleep.

he pauses, realizes that might have been rude. ] --I'm Thomas. Might as well tell you if you already know my secrets, right?

[parallels]

Pretty much. It's not flattering but it works.

[Then she laughs a little. Clearly, she didn't think much of it.]

Clara. And don't worry, I won't share your secrets anymore than what's already been done.

[greenies]

[ thomas chuckles a little at the joke, appreciative too. it's nice to lighten things up, he thinks--might do him a world of good, as minho would tell him. thomas, you're so serious. thomas, smile more. ] I think I sacrificed my dignity a while ago, so it'll be okay.

Can I-- [ he pauses. "what causes your nightmares?" that's kind of an insensitive question. ] Do you get the nightmares from home, or here? [ that was better...sort of. curiosity thy name is thomas edison ]

[parallels]

Dignity is overrated.

[Says the girl with an irresponsible devotion to hers. Not that she lets anyone know that of course. Then her voice softens, like she's thinking but not actually thinking at all. It's just a reaction to the vulnerability of the question.]

Mostly home. A bit here but, yeah, it's mostly home.

[greenies]

Me too. [ he admits, because it's weird how much easier the drabwurld is. for a place that's supposed to be at war, thomas is finding a lot of peace. ] The drabwurld definitely doesn't pick easy people to pick up, I guess.

[ he snorts, a little derisively. ] Maybe that's why we're shardholders. Makes us special. [ the last thing thomas ever wants to be is special, not again. ]