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Gaia’s always been a little off.
She learned rather early on that having a big gap where your childhood was supposed to be wasn’t exactly a common experience, but she just chalked it up to a stroke of bad luck. Back in high school the other kids jeered at her in the halls, calling her a raven, laughing about how she was a walking curse, and that definitely had to be it.
So she couldn’t remember jackshit about her life? Big deal. People get amnesia all the time.
That didn’t mean anything.
No, what made her begin to question everything was when she began to hear the voices in her head. And not like your typical conscience speaking, like, oh, ‘don’t forget to wash the dishes for Mom or else she’ll be sad!’ but rather completely different voices from her own.
She brought it up to Themis once, and he tilted his head looking at her strangely. “Are you sure it’s not just your imagination?” He had asked, bringing a hand up to his chin thoughtfully. “It’s possible that you simply haven’t been getting enough sleep lately, Gaia.”
Yeah, right.
It couldn’t just be that she wasn’t sleeping enough. With what always knocked her off-kilter.
It was when she felt disconnected from her body. Sometimes she’d catch herself going to open a door and her hand suddenly would be unable to budge, as if an invisible force was preventing her from gripping the handle. She’d feel like a spectator in her own body, shoved to the backseat and kicked aside. It was.. frightening, to say the least.
(She hasn’t told anyone that one.)
She definitely hasn’t told anyone that sometimes she feels like she isn’t alone in her mind.
Sometimes Gaia would stare at the ceiling and try to think back to the small details of her childhood. Past teachers, how her favorite color might’ve changed, shit like that. And everytime, without fail, her head would start to hurt and she’d feel a wall slam down in her mind, blocking her from crossing over. So she’d give up and go to sleep.
It was weird, because other times, she would think that she knows the answer to these questions. She’d confidently think that yeah, she used to love the color green, when instead her parents look at her weird and tell her that no, she’s always hated that color.
It was like someone was planting false information in her brain, trying to make her believe that everything was fine and normal when in reality, it wasn’t.
She wasn’t.
A hesitant knock at her door. She shakes her head, banishing the thoughts. Those are problems for future Gaia. “Come in,” she calls.
The door slowly swings open to reveal Ryne standing in the entryway. Gaia sits up, blinking as she comes to her senses, a fog seeming to lift.
“Hi.” Ryne says with a nervous little wave. “I um, I was wondering… if it was okay for Thancred and Urianger to visit today? If not we can reschedule! It’s just.. they wanted to come drive up today and maybe hang out a little! You haven’t really met them yet, so maybe this could.. I don’t know..” She trails off. “Ah! Sorry! I rambled!” She turns pink in embarrassment.
Oh. Right. Her dads.
“Ryne,” she sighs. “You don’t need to ask me for stuff like this. Of course it’s okay.” Gaia shoots her a smile she isn’t quite sure is her own. “I would love to meet Thancred and Urianger.”
Ryne’s expression turns sheepish. “That’s great, because they’re right outside.”
“Oh my god." She’s too stunned to be mad.
“Sorry! I tried to send you a text, but you didn’t respond, and then I tried voicemail.. I got nervous!” Ryne squeaks, burying her face in her hands.
Gaia sighs. This’ll be fun.
As if on cue, there’s a loud knock at their door. “Ryne? It’s been twenty minutes. I’m about to burst through this door.” A voice chuckles, carrying through the walls.
Ryne instantly perks up at the sound of the voice, practically sprinting over to the door with a dazzling smile that Gaia only catches a glimpse of as she shouts, “Coming, Thancred!”
Gaia slides off her bed, slowly trailing behind Ryne at a much more subdued pace. She swallows. She doesn’t know what to expect from Thancred. Urianger either.
Ryne’s stories have so much to go off of and also so little. They tell her that Thancred accidentally mauled a kite on Ryne’s birthday. That Urianger surprisingly enjoys telenovelas, and that Ryne once walked in on him and Thancred tearing up at two in the morning to an old classic.
They don’t tell her that Thancred is fucking tall. Like, fucking absurdly tall.
A memory floats to the top of her mind, unbidden, of Ryne sleepily showing Gaia a picture of her and Thancred together of them celebrating something, his mismatched eyes striking deep into her soul.
She can’t help but look into his brown eye now. She avoids the white one, knowing if she looks she’ll feel the snap and crack of the flames fanning at her skin, leaving behind smoke and despair in their wake.
You’re not there, a voice chimes. You’re with Ryne and her dads, and you’re about to live through this. And for some reason, the words are so incredibly calming to her that she feels her jaw unclench.
“Ah. Perchance thine is known as Gaia?” Another voice asks in an accent she can’t quite place. This one must be Urianger, she realizes. She ignores the snicker she hears inside her head that goes, “you think?”
“Sure am.” She responds dryly, very pointedly ignoring the second voice that whispers for the first to stop antagonizing her.
“Well you’re a right ol’ ball of sunshine, aren’t you?” Thancred jabs lightly, a dark eyebrow raised.
“Thancred!” Ryne yelps, face flaring up in embarrassment.
“What? It’s not my fault. Look at her.” He says defensively, and hey, what the fuck?
She goes to flip him off, only for her hand to suddenly disobey her request. The rage that had quickly begun boiling beneath her skin has disappeared all too quickly, replaced with an unnatural calm. She blinks.
What?
“You’re a fan of a lot of assumptions, Mr. Waters.” Her voice says, and that can’t be right. She doesn’t.. She doesn’t recall wanting to say that, she wants to scream, but no sound comes out. What the fuck?
He smiles. She watches from what feels like a stranger's eyes. “It’s part of the job, I’m afraid.”
“Is thy not off the clock today, Thancred?” Urianger interrupts.
“Bah. My work never stops. You of all people should know this.” The man dismisses, waving a hand in Urianger’s direction as they lightly bicker in the doorway.
Dazedly, it’s then that Gaia realizes Urianger is somehow taller than Thancred, nearly two whole heads larger. It causes her to burst out into laughter, ignoring the bewildered looks she receives from the two, relishing in the glow of the smile she can feel from Ryne.
It’s warm. It soothes her.
Ryne soon bursts into giggles alongside her, clearly catching onto her train of thought. She scoots closer to Gaia with a mischievous grin, whispering, “He’s wearing boots too.”
Gaia looks down at Thancred’s shoes, snorting when she realizes that he is, indeed, wearing mud-caked boots. Oh hell no. “He better not track that into the living room,” she mutters, her smile widening when she can curl her fingers and doesn’t feel so detached from herself anymore.
“Oi, oi, I have manners, you know!” Thancred barks, clearly overhearing her.
Gaia rolls her eyes. “Could’ve fooled me,” she grumbles.
Urianger clears his throat, drawing their attention back to him. “Ryne, might thy deign to showeth us around? We haven’t had a chance to peer around thine’s abode prior, correct?”
Ryne’s mischievous smile fades into something more soft. Delicate. “Y-Yes! I would love to! I can show you my room first, Urianger!”
The tall man smiles. “Nothing would gladden me more,” he replies, eyes widening slightly when Ryne darts forward to grab his hand and tug him along through the hallway to her room, only to fade back into a fond gaze.
The door to Ryne’s room soon closes behind them, and Gaia can faintly make out Ryne excitedly chattering about her posters through the walls.
She frowns, crossing her arms at Thancred.
“Take off your shoes before you come in.” She says bluntly. Ryne’s father or not, she’s not about to let him muck up their carpet.
He sighs. The white-haired man complies, untying his work-boots and setting them down by the entrance, shutting the door as he does so.
Gaia hums, acknowledging the action. “You can look around. Just don’t go into my room.”
“..And which one is that, your esteemed highness?” He snorts.
“First door on the right.” She says, ignoring the jab. Her earlier anger still hasn’t returned, leaving her not quite ready to snap at Ryne’s strange father. She just feels drained.
She hates it.
She hates everything.
“Don’t do anything too rash.” A deep voice murmurs, stopping her from spiraling into a memory lane of Mitron.
It half-works. “You’re panting,” it warns. It’s different from the voice from before.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. She doesn’t know if the thoughts are hers. The very thought is a terrifying one. What does that even mean? Why wouldn’t her thoughts be her own?
She feels a brush of pity against her emotions, sending a spike of panic into her brain.
She rubs at her eyes,very pointedly ignoring the look she can barely make out Thancred giving her. “I’ll be in my room.” A voice that sounds like Gaia’s remarks. It doesn’t feel like her. Nothing feels like Gaia.
It feels like hours before Gaia’s bedroom door clicks shut behind her, and she isn’t even really sure she’s awake.
She feels like she’s dreaming.
It’s all gone quiet.
Her head is quiet too. It’s never quiet. The realization aches, sending a fresh wave of indescribable emotions through her.
She leans against the door, sliding to the ground as she grips her head tightly. She doesn’t understand. Why is this happening?
“Gaia,” the deep voice sighs. “It’s okay.”
It can’t be. It can’t be. She screams internally. She’s losing control again, she can feel it. And once that happens, it.. she…
She doesn’t even know. The thought alone terrifies her.
A knock echoes against the door, almost taunting her.
“Gaia?” Ryne’s voice softly breaks through her despair, slicing it open like a sword. “Are you alright?” Gaia hears her take a deep breath. “Thancred and Urianger are in my room. I put on a movie for them.. I hope it’s okay for me to ask how you’re doing.”
Gaia shudders.
No. Not Gaia.
That name alone doesn’t work.
The realization is staggering, almost making her sick. How could her name no longer fit her? Why does she feel so displeased..?
She doesn’t want to do this anymore.
Gaia gets to her feet shakily, using the bedroom door as support to stand. “Think about this,” someone tries to plead with her.
And wow, that particular notion is ridiculous, Gaia thinks. She’s alone.
She rises to her feet as she turns the lock on the door. The girl feels a flicker of annoyance as Ryne knocks once more. But it’s quickly forgotten when a sudden wave of nausea overcomes her, causing her to stumble away from the door, almost falling on her face when she catches a glimpse in the mirror.
The face that looks back at her isn’t her own.
Her jaw drops.
The knocking has ceased, but she hasn’t even looked back at the door to check, too fixated on.. whatever this is.
The reflection in the mirror scowls back at her.
The strange ‘mirage’ crosses its arms.
“Ah..” She gasps as a headache suddenly pops up, stronger than ever before. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she stumbles, almost losing her balance. It takes Gaia a moment to readjust, and when she does, it’s almost as if someone helped her catch herself.
Her eyes open back up and the reflection is still there. Just staring.
Gaia takes a step forward, placing her hand against the glass, amazed and a little bit afraid when the action isn’t mirrored in the reflective surface.
It’s.. almost sickening, how real it looks.
And yet..
Something about this feels right.
Blurry memories drift along her consciousness, too fragmented to do anything but slip through her fingers. Times she doesn’t recall being present for. Flashes of what feels to be someone else’s life.
One memory in particular floats to the surface, and she gasps, nearly crumpling to the floor as her headache doubles itself.
Remorse bubbles up. Gaia isn’t sure it’s hers.
“Sorry about that.” The deep voice from before sighs, sounding incredibly apologetic. What?
“You.. Who..?” She whispers, gritting her teeth together as she grips her head, tightening her grasp around a handful of hair. This doesn’t make any sense..!
“You wouldn’t believe it even if I told you.”
“Try me.” Gaia mutters, eyes lowered to the ground. She’s officially losing it.
The voice hums. “You can call me Sombra.” They(?) sound.. resigned?
“Sombra.” She repeats flatly.
“Yeah.”
A pause.
“Gaia? Are you okay?” Ryne’s voice cuts through the ringing in her ears.
She freezes. Shit. Shit.
“Yeah,” she lies smoothly, surprised when her voice doesn’t tremble. It comes out firm. “Just zoned out for a while, sorry.”
“Oh!” A pause. “My bad! I was just checking.” Ryne chuckles nervously from behind the door. Gaia can practically feel her fiddling with her hair. “Thancred said you didn’t look so good earlier..? And it’s been about an hour, so I got a little worried, I guess. Speaking of Urianger and Thancred, they went to get us lunch. I hope Thai is alright with you?” It’s phrased like a question.
“Of course that’s fine with me.” Her voice says again. It doesn’t feel like Gaia’s the one speaking.
“Okay! Um, we were maybe going to watch a movie when Thancred and Urianger got back? If that’s okay? It’s still undecided! So you can help us pick!” Ryne chirps.
Gaia nods, only to realize that Ryne can’t see her. Her cheeks warm. “Okay,” she finally says. “I’ll be right out.”
Ryne giggles. “Take your time, Gaia.”
It’s a few moments before Gaia hears the ginger girl begin to shuffle away from the door, hesitating almost as if she wants to add something else but decides against it.
Gaia exhales shakily.
The black-haired girl gets to her feet, crossing over to the door. Sighing, she rests her forehead against the cool wood. It’s soothing. It reminds her that she’s still in control.
..An hour.
Fuck.
...
It takes a few minutes for Gaia to work up the courage to leave the safety of her bedroom. The voice that has decided to name itself Sombra is now silent, which provides her a great amount of relief.
Ryne is sitting on the floor, sorting through the great number of DVD’s they’ve bought at absurdly cheap prices in the buckets at Walmart. It’s nothing recent, and absolutely not anything even remotely relevant, but it’s something that makes Ryne smile, so who is Gaia to argue?
Gaia hums, settling down next to Ryne and her pile of movies in front of their cabinet. “Find any winners?” She asks, curious.
“No..” Ryne replies sadly. She hesitates. “..I think our best bet might be a Fast & Furious movie..”
Gaia’s eyebrows shoot up. “We have those?”
“Yeah.. Well,” Ryne hesitates. “We have the Tokyo Drift movie.”
“Is it that bad?”
Ryne sighs, a tired yet affectionate smile curling on her lips. “According to Urianger, it’s Thancred’s favorite. But…” Her voice lowers to a whisper. “It’s not very good.”
She snorts. “Really?”
“Really!”
“We’re back,” Thancred announces, startling them both with impeccable timing as he and Urianger push open the door with plastic containers in hand.
“Thancred!” Ryne exclaims, quickly getting to her feet and rushing over to tackle him into a hug. He laughs, stumbling back a little as he navigates his arms so he doesn’t drop the food and can still hug his daughter.
Gaia feels something in her chest tighten at the action. A part of her wishes she could get hugged like that, too.
(Part of her thinks that’s stupid.) She shoves both parts aside.
“Were you two able to procure a movie for thine eyes?” Urianger questions, walking past Thancred while plucking the containers from the other man’s hands and placing them on the table.
“Sure.” Gaia shrugs. “Ryne can tell you about it.”
Ryne visibly pauses. Gaia smirks as she feels Ryne glare at her once she realizes what Gaia’s done.
“..We found your favorite!” Ryne chirps with forced enthusiasm. Gaia holds back a laugh.
Thancred’s eyes go wide before settling into something inexplicably fond. “That’s my girl.” He whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Ryne beams, her faked emotions settling into something authentic.
Urianger chuckles. “Age has clearly softened thee. It is most heartening to bear witness to.” He teases his partner.
“Wh-! It has not!” Thancred huffs, wrapping himself around Ryne protectively. “It is not my fault I have the cutest daughter in the world.”
“Daaaaad…” Ryne whines. “You’re embarrassing me!”
“Oh, now I’m embarrassing you?” He ruffles her hair, laughing at her small noise of protest. “I’m sure Gaia’s old folks aren’t much different, starlight.”
Gaia desperately tries to hope that they won’t continue this train of thought.
Her hopes are dashed when Urianger makes a thoughtful noise. “I do believe Thancred maketh a good point. Gaia, what say you of your family?”
A deep sigh almost escapes her. She catches it just in time. “I actually don’t remember much about my parents,” Gaia says with a forced air of casuality. “They’re average, I guess.”
Ryne pulls away from Thancred, frowning. “Surely you must have something…” She trails off, not catching Urianger’s look of warning.
Dammit Ryne. Gaia clenches her jaw. She hates this part.
“Not really anything of interest. I don’t even really remember their names. They’ve always been Mother and Father to me.”
Ryne’s brows furrow. “..Do you at least celebrate your birthday?” She asks, catching Gaia off guard.
She hasn’t heard that one before.
“What?”
“Your birthday. You must celebrate it, right?” Ryne asks, a strange glint in her eye. It’s almost.. determined? And somehow melancholic.
“No.” She says flatly. “Not that I recall, anyways.”
Thancred crosses his arms. “Not a single one?”
“No, Captain Obvious, I lied about not remembering my birthday for shits and giggles.” She snaps. “No. Not a single one.”
Ryne steps toward Gaia, kneeling down in front of her and reaching for her hand, her smile dazzling. “We can start, you know.”
“Start..? Start what?” She blinks, confused.
“Celebrating your birthday, silly. If you want to? With me?” Ryne whispers the last part, clasping both hands over one of Gaia’s own.
And oh, it was so over for Gaia from that moment on. That was the point of no return for her, she thinks. When she consciously dreamed of pressing a kiss to Ryne’s hand and calling her ‘sunshine.’ It was then that Gaia recognized she was fully corrupted.
“I’d like that.” She murmurs softly.
Thancred clears his throat. “Not to ruin the moment, but girls, the food is getting cold.”
Gaia blinks. He’s still there?
Dazed, she simply watches on as Ryne reddens and yanks back her hands with a yelp, jumping up and stomping over to Thancred with a pout.
Gaia blinks and suddenly she’s at the couch, unsure of how much time has passed.
It’s.. for lack of a better descriptor, Gaia thinks, it’s pretty fucking weird.
All she remembers is sitting down, opening up her food’s box and then the next thing she knows is she’s curled up on the couch with Ryne, their legs tangled together as the redhead snuggles closer to her, pointing and giggling at the terrible special effects of the movie.
She stares at the ‘screen,’ brows furrowing as she tries to rack her brain for any memory of the meal she supposedly just shared with Ryne and her Dads. She rubs her head when she comes up blank.
“Is everything okay?” Ryne asks quietly with a small nudge, clearly catching a glimpse of Gaia’s frown.
“Huh? Yeah,” Gaia says absentmindedly. “Just.. thinking.”
“About what?” Ryne pokes her again, blue eyes sparkling. She looks happy. (Gaia wants to kiss her smiling lips.) “Is Tokyo Drift really so intriguing to you?” Ryne teases.
Gaia opens her mouth to reply, a retort fully prepared on her tongue with a smirk, only to frown when a sudden burst of pain decides to knock on her head.
Frustration boils up within her. She was enjoying herself, dammit-! She bites her tongue to try and stop a pained hiss from escaping, letting out a muffled swear when it doesn’t work. Again, the universe hates her.
“Gaia?” Fuck, she’s even got Urianger onto her. “Is thoust unwell? Does one perchance need more of the popped corn?” Urianger inquires, sitting up to give her his undivided attention, unaware of how his actions only worsen her frustration.
“Y-Yeah— I mean—..” She clutches her head, scowling harder. Every word feels like a physical battle. One that Gaia’s losing. Fuck, what is she doing? She doesn’t feel like herself. Why doesn’t she feel like herself? Why does she feel like a different person flip-flopping between emotions? “Ah…” She gasps, squeezing her eyes shut as an agonizing wave of nausea and pain overcomes her.
“Gaia..? Did something happen?” Ryne asks carefully.
Yes.
No.
Yes?
No!
Her limbs feel like soggy jello.
Gaia tries to get to her feet, but to no avail; instead sinking deeper into the couch and into Ryne’s side, unable to do anything but groan in pain as her head feels as if it’s about to split open, completely unaware to Thancred and Urianger’s weight leaving the couch as they exit the room.
She burrows her face into Ryne’s neck, praying that the girl’s light can burn away her imperfections, seeking some form of comfort.
Ryne’s safe, she knows. Ryne won’t hurt her.
Arms protectively wrap around her, soothing the pain like a salve. “It’s okay,” a gentle voice whispers, whisking Gaia off her feet in one smooth motion. “Just focus on me.”
“Aargh..” Gaia groans. She’s trying. But everything is both so overwhelming to a staggering degree and also growing distant by every passing moment.
And then suddenly, the pain is gone. Like someone decided to stop tugging on her brain.
..But things are different now.
Everything feels warped. As if she’s viewing through another person’s eyes. There’s an ache behind her eyes, but besides that she feels almost.. normal. But yet she feels as if she’s a trespasser in another’s skin.
“Gaia?” Ryne’s voice is soft. She’s still holding Gaia. The knowledge warms her. “Do you want to play twenty questions with me?”
Gaia blinks. “Whuh?”
Ryne’s delight beams off her like sunshine. “Twenty questions!” She explains. “We can play, if you’d like. It’s really easy! You just take turns asking each other questions until you hit twenty.”
“..Okay.” Her guard is up. Why is she paranoid of Ryne..?
The emotion scares her. Gaia tries to shove it far, far away. She’s already paranoid enough, she thinks. She doesn’t need to add her best-friend to the mix.
Ryne is the one person she can count on.
She can’t see her in a negative light.
She can’t.
Ryne laughs, drawing Gaia out of her spiral. Her laugh twinkles like sleigh bells. Belatedly, Gaia wishes that she had grabbed it for safe-keeping to tuck it close to her heart.
Even as a few moments pass, however, Ryne doesn’t release Gaia, she notices. She just holds onto the other girl against her chest, humming happily all the while.
And surprisingly.. she doesn’t mind.
She’d rather stay here all day, if they could.
“Okay! First question! Do you have any siblings?” Ryne chirps.
“..No.” She hesitates. “My parents..” Shit, why can’t she remember her own family? She opens her mouth to laugh it off, saying that she just didn’t know, only to feel a blockade slam down in front of her.
“My parents never wanted a child. I was more than enough for them,” instead comes out smoothly, catching Gaia off-guard. ..She doesn’t remember her parents ever saying something like that.
Weird, She thinks. And yet—..
Ryne makes a thoughtful noise, clearly filing it away for later. Gaia loses her train of thought. The vibrations tickle. Gaia smiles. She feels fuzzy; as if there’s something on the edge of her mind that isn’t quite coming into focus.
But it takes her a minute to realize she’s supposed to ask the girl she’s thinking of a question.
“Um… Okay. Ever had a pet?” Is what flies out of her mouth, catching her off guard. Again.
She doesn’t quite know where that came from, exactly. But, hey. If it works..
“Yes!” Ryne grins, and unaware of how relief floods through Gaia’s mind as she realizes she’s succeeded in thinking of a good question. Ryne starts vibrating a little out of pure excitement, her body thrumming with energy. “I had a pet hamster for a few years! His name was Dinosaur! Ooh, he was so cute! You’d have loved him, Gaia! I’m sure you two would’ve been very good friends.”
“..Dinosaur,” Gaia repeats in disbelief. She shakes her head with a smirk. “Okay, sure. Me? Get along well with animals?” She chuckles.
“Hehe. I don’t know! You just have that kinda energy! I’m sure you’d get along great with pets, Gaia!” Ryne giggles. She makes a thoughtful expression, pausing for a moment. It leaves Gaia plenty of time to launch an attack, jabbing a hand into Ryne’s side, delighting in the squeak she drags out. “Hey! Oh, you little devil! Fine! I guess I’ll just hurry up! What’s your favorite kind of cake?” Ryne huffs.
“Red velvet.” That one she knows the answer to.
“Reallllyy? I thought you’d like vanilla..!”
“Gross. I would never. Vanilla is far too boring.”
They continue like that for a while, asking silly questions back and forth until Ryne pauses about half an hour into their game, releasing Gaia to scoot back a little, opening her mouth to speak. “..Do you ever feel like a separate person? From the one you were assigned? As if you have multiple people living within you.” She finally asks.
Panic instantly floods Gaia’s(?) mind.
“No! Why would you think that?” Gaia(?) snaps, their heart pounding. And suddenly, everything’s becoming crystal-clear. The fuzziness from before is gone. Everything is in vivid detail, yet it’s pointed directly at them. Threatening to kill. They can feel their thoughts tripping over one another as Ryne’s expression flickers.
“Gaia,” Ryne says, and her tone is so, so caring. She almost definitely sees their panic. They want to melt. Ryne is so kind. “It’s okay.” But they can’t. They can’t. They can’t let her in.
“H-How can it--?!” They bristle. “How can it just be okay!?”
“Because it doesn’t change anything, right?” Ryne asks, not unkindly. She reaches for their hands. “We’re still going to be best friends, aren’t we?” She says, interlocking their fingers together.
“... I’m not who you want me to be, Ryne.” They mutter.
“Who are you then? Tell me, so that I know who I want.” Ryne prods gently with a smile.
“A shadow.” They mutter. “Just a shell.”
“A shadow..” Ryne muses. “Do you have a name? If you don’t we can think of one! I’m rather good at naming things, I’d say. Never helped name someone before.. But this could be a nice place to start!”
“..Yeah.” They clear their throat. “I have a name.”
“Well, what is it?”
They hesitate. “..Sombra.”
“Sombra,” Ryne tests it out. “I like it! It’s pretty. Sombra,” She finishes with a wink.
Their face goes flush. “T-That’s…!”
Ryne giggles. “Gaia or Sombra, you’re both so shy.” She teases, giving their hand an affectionate squeeze. She pauses for a moment. “I hope it’s okay if I treat you like a friend. I’d like to think that we can be, you know.”
“..I wouldn’t be opposed.”
“Great!” Ryne beams. And, man. It all feels so real that they want to weep. They wish they could stay here forever. “I’m Ryne. Ryne Waters. But you probably knew that, huh?”
“..You could say that,” Sombra sighs, a tight warmth settling in their chest. It’s cozy. “I know your Dads sometimes still sew name tags into your clothes.”
“Well, stars, that’s embarrassing.” Ryne pouts. She doesn’t seem all that torn up about it. “Despite what you might think, it was mostly Thancred as the one doing it, though.”
Sombra blinks. “Really?”
“Mhm! He sometimes knits, too. He likes making me sweaters. Says it keeps his hands busy.” She lowers her voice. “They’re never very good, though.”
That draws a laugh out of Sombra. “As expected,” they smirk. “He doesn’t seem very artistically inclined.”
Ryne coughs to hide a laugh. “You’re so right! Just don’t tell him I said so.”
“Hah. Your secret is safe with me, Ryne Waters.”
“Just Ryne is fine.”
“Alright.”
“Can we keep playing twenty questions?” Ryne wonders. “I had a feeling you were the one I asked to play, anyways.”
Shit.
Well, that was off-putting. And impressive.
“Sure,” they agree easily.
“What’s your favorite color?” Ryne wonders aloud. “I know Gaia sometimes changes with hers.”
Sombra laughs. They revel in the awed look Ryne gives them. “My favorite is blue. But if Gaia ever tells you her favorite is green, she’s wrong. That’s..” They hesitate before coming to a decision with a light shrug. “That’s Loghrif’s favorite.”
Ryne blinks. “Is Loghrif another one of you guys?” She asks.
“Mm. She sure is.”
Ryne appears thoughtful. “Have I met her?”
“Probably. Not one on one, but probably.” Sombra replies. “Loghrif doesn’t like to be out alone. She’s.. more of an internal helper. But occasionally she’ll come out alone. Most of the time, though, she’s out alongside someone.”
“Ohh. Got it! Okay! Your turn!”
Sombra doesn’t even hesitate. “How did you know? About me.”
Ryne winces. “Well…” She takes a deep breath. “I just.. paid attention. I guess. You weren’t really subtle, you know?” Ryne says awkwardly. “You and Gaia have very different mannerisms. I live with her. I know what she’s like. You’re.. entirely separate. Plus, um, I have a relative with a similar situation to yours.” She rambles. “He’s my godfather, and Gaia has a lot in common with him..” Ryne trails off, staring at them nervously.
“..It’s my voice, isn’t it?” Sombra sighs.
Ryne laughs. “Partially,” she admits. “Primarily, it was the drastic personality changes I saw over time. Also.. um, Gaia hasn’t.. really been present today? She had this weird look in her eye. I figured something was up. Your response just kinda.. confirmed everything.”
Sombra sighs. “I should probably explain that.”
Ryne blinks.
They take that as a sign to continue. “Gaia’s been trying to remember her childhood a lot more lately. Due to the nature of.. certain events..” They say carefully, sidestepping any mention of Mitron, “that particular hurdle isn’t possible to jump over at the moment. So every time she tries to remember.. we have to step in.”
“Her headaches.” Ryne realizes. “That’s why she has them all the time. It’s you guys trying to communicate.”
They nod. The space behind their eyes is beginning to ache. It’s a sign they’re running out of time. “When she comes back..” Sombra pauses. “Just be there. She’s already started to catch onto things. You just need to be there for her. Maybe help explain.”
“I wouldn’t leave Gaia behind for the world.” Ryne promises, a steely gleam in her eye.
Sombra nods.
“That’s all I ask.”
Ryne smiles. “It goes for you too, Sombra.”
Sombra smiles back.
..
Everything feels spinny. As if she’s been aggressively shaken around like a soda bottle. Gaia groans, trying to twitch her fingers but to no avail. “What the fuck..?” She mumbles under her breath.
“Gaia!” Another voice exclaims, and it’s all the warning she has before she’s being tugged into a sitting position and wrapped into a tight hug.
She blearily opens her eyes. “Ryne?” She wonders aloud. Everything aches. Ryne’s face is the first she sees, and somehow it’s soothing. It only takes a moment before she hugs Ryne back.
She loves Ryne.
“Oh? Not her hugs, but Ryne herself? Bold.” Sombra comments dryly.
Oh my god, shut the hell up. Why are you still here?
“..You really don’t get how this works, do you?” Sombra groans. Gaia can feel the voice’s annoyance.
What is there to get? You’re just a voice in my head. She snaps. You’re not real.
A deep sigh.
“Gaia?” Ryne asks cautiously. “Can you hear me?” She says, tucking a strand of hair behind Gaia’s ear.
Gaia blinks. Fuck. She’s done it again, hasn’t she? She clears her throat. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Ryne pauses. “We might.. need to talk about a few things.” Oh, fuck. “I’ve noticed a few things, and I wanna tell you about them, but only if that’s okay.”
“Ryne, you’re not making any sense.”
“It’s about your.. stars, I can’t think of a better way to phrase this. It’s about the voices in your head.” Ryne sighs.
“How the hell-?”
“You have to trust me.” Ryne says pleadingly. “Is it okay if I talk to you about this?”
“..Yeah, sure. What the hell. Screw it.” Gaia sighs. “Go ahead.”
Ryne nods. She looks her in the eyes, and begins telling Gaia everything.