𝙳𝙾𝙶 𝙾𝙵 𝚆𝙰𝚁. — THE HOSPITAL IS RHYTHMIC ,      all whirring...

THE HOSPITAL IS RHYTHMIC ,      ^{all whirring machines and the quiet hum of doctors and nurses ,   who know the condemned before anyone else .   it’d be soothing if she didn’t hate silence ,   and all the awful things that follow it .   silence means something is coming ,    something is here ,   it means waiting and waiting is never the place one wants to be .    better to do and be done to .   which is ,   no doubt ,   why she lays here now ,   mottled up blue against the sterile white of the walls ,   the sheets ,   the hospital gown she bears .}

^{but war is a present ,   vicious thing ,   and it cuts the silence even   –   especially   –   here ,    with the cries of dying men .    for her part ,   she no longer flinches when it happens .     the dying have become a staple of her career ,    and with that a certain level of    …     desensitization sets in .   but it doesn’t help the way her hands shake ,    waiting for the scream and the gunshot ,    the way she itches for a gun ,    or the way a kind of guilt gnashes at the bones of her ribs ,   aching with the need to be out on the field ,    more than another casualty .} 

^{for now though ,    ashley forces herself into something resembling patience    —    a patient lulled by the softer sounds of turned pages ,   paper on skin ,   the scent of new books .   it was a sweet gesture ,    and hope blusters in the corners of her lungs ,    like there is something after horizon ,    after ruin ,   to salvage .}

^{to her right ,   the door hums and opens   –  likely another nurse ,  coming to check that their charge hasn’t keeled over just yet .   the crack of a woman’s voice rings out next :     sir ,    please wait    and ashley’s head jerks up hard enough to hurt .    —–      ❝       garrus ?        ❞        garrus ,    who she thought was on palaven ,    who she hadn’t been in contact with since before the reapers landed ,   and god   …    she cannot breathe with the weight of that ,    for a moment .     he cuts a fine shape in the middle of the doorway ,   tall and broad and sharp as ever ,    and her heart’s bursting like a bird’s in her rib cage .   wide - eyed and dry - mouthed ,    it isn’t until some poor asari nurse outstretches her arm ,    as if to pull him away ,   that she can speak again .        ❝        uh ,   it’s   –   it’s okay ,   let him in .   he’s a  …   friend .   please .        ❞        please .     only a heartbeat passes before something cut between a laugh and an exhale slips past her teeth .        ❝         you     …     oh my god .          ❞        a thousand words jumble up in the back of her throat ,    each more important than the last ,    but all she can manage is a soft ,   cracked ,          ❝         it’s   …   it’s good to see you .            ❞}       

^{@turianrebel​       :       plotted starter .}