Disjointed | Part 2

?Pawn training?? Ghent didn't like the sound of that. He looked to where Ada had her other hand, trying to find some obvious way to remove the arm. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Pulse training." It was like a correction, and she nodded, but she didn't look away from the connections on the robot arm. There was no real way to detach the arm without cutting it off, or calling the technician that had attached it. "Pulse, light, and hallways." Finally, she looked back at Ghent, nodding emphatically. "Light and hallways, Major minor." And then the arm stopped beeping as all of the displays flickered off again.

Ghent was dumbfounded. What Ada had said made no sense to him. He just looked at her and blinked a couple of times. He couldn't even bring himself to speak. It was hard to do, when one had no clue what to say.

The robot arm made one final beep, and then seemed to be back to normal. Ada, despite being able to move her arm again, didn't seem to be able to form a coherent thought, but she was trying. "Down the spiral... down the light spiral. Bad words..." There was a moment where frustration lingered on her face as she gestured a spiral shape to him with both hands.

?Stairs?? Ghent really didn't know what Ada was trying to get across to him, but he was still really worried. When he glanced down, everything on her arm seemed normal. What happened, he wondered?

"Nonono..." She shook her head and then stood up, walking over to the nearest light. Ada's hand reached over the shade and pointed down at the light. "Uhhm... pawn light spirals d-down..." Ada seemed more and more frustrated, and actually went off into the kitchen, coming back with a fork in hand. Then she crouched next to a socket with the fork, jabbing but not making contact with the outlet. "Light and down. Words down."

Ghent watched her actions and stood up as he watched Ada with the fork. ?The shock affected your speech?? He looked over toward the front door a moment.

"Yellow!" She pointed at him and nodded, before she realized she might have said it too loud. Then her voice lowered, and she gestured with the fork. "Down spirals, a-and bad words worse. Worse." Ada stood up and moved back over to him, kneeling in front of him. "Spirals worse..."

He took the exclamation of the color as an affirmative answer. What she meant by spirals, he wasn't sure. Ghent frowned a little again and looked down at her. ?What do you mean, sweetie? A spiral?? He was trying to think about it, but he was starting to lose his cool and not to anger. More like fear.

Ada took a long deep breath, then let out a sigh. Really, though, she didn't seem as frustrated as she had been before. She tried again, lifting her hands to gesture with her words, picking each one carefully and precisely. "Words worse down, down spirals." One hand lifted up, and then dropped with each word that followed. "Bad, badder, worse, worser."

?Your speech is affected badly, but your arm is okay?? It was the only correlation he saw, other than the obvious scale of quality she had made. He was still confused and a little fearful, so he wasn't thinking completely clearly.

It must have been good enough for her, because she dropped her head forward to rest her forehead on his knee, nodding just a bit. Her hair was still a bit fluffy from the shock, but it seemed to be slowly deflating. Ada made a snoring sound, but didn't lift her head. "Yellow..." And back to the snoring sound.

?Do you want to sleep?? Ghent felt terrible. He knew he should have helped her with the light. His frown wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, it seemed.

She lifted her head to look up at him and nodded. "Yellow." Then she pointed at him, making the snoring noise, then back at herself, repeating the noise. "Bulk, pawn and Major minor..."

?With me?? He thought that's what she meant, but he couldn't be sure. Ghent crouched down beside Ada and gave her a hug.

Her arms wrapped around him, and she leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Yellow." Despite everything, she was happy to have a line of communications with him even if she couldn't get out the proper words. "Pawn and Major minor, yellow."

?Okay.? Ghent was a little relieved. Ada seemed all right other than the problem with her speech. He let out a deep breath. ?We need to take you to a doctor tomorrow, all right?? Ghent kissed Ada gently and then let go of her, so he could try to stand up.

She helped him, since she had all of her working limbs. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to protest his idea, but then she just nodded and waited for him to lead the way. "Major minor, hat warm big." Her spare hand rubbed over her heart, before gesturing to him. It was the best she could do, but it was still a form of 'I love you.'

It took him a moment, but Ghent understood the sentiment. He smiled faintly at Ada and nodded. ?I love you.? One more kiss offered, just to be reassuring, and Ghent started to head for his room.

((This is adapted and edited from the play of February 26th, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM Adalia Dodd.))

Dilemma's Pawn

It was another military installation, but Ada didn't seem quite so antsy. They had given her a room, and while there was a very obvious glass wall for observation purposes, it wasn't much more clinical than a hotel room. If fact, the dark glass wall was the only real clue that the room wasn't just a bedroom, aside from a monitoring machine that was tucked into the corner. It wasn't home, though, so Ada felt best that she used her energy to pace for a while.

After some time, his sisters and Jad finally brought Ghent to the outpost where Ada was being observed. He'd been hurting quite a bit during the day for some unknown reason and hadn't come along earlier. He had just finished speaking with the doctor when he opened the door to Ada's room.

Ada glanced up at him and smiled, before offering a wave. Looking him over was her first priority, as she felt it best to make sure he was all right, then she acted like her arm was in a sling and pointed to it, raising an eyebrow. "Mm? Major minor hot?" Of course, the word didn't quite come out right, as none of them seemed to, but she seemed to know that it could have meant more than what she thought it meant, and covered her mouth with the hand that wasn't pretending.

He realized she didn't mean to say what had come out. He only jested about it lightly. ?To you, maybe. I'm sure others think differently. My arm is all right, though. It just hurts a little.? Ghent stepped over to Ada and kissed her on the cheek. ?Are you okay??

Ada nodded and returned the kiss. "Yellow and yellow." She moved back to where she was pacing, though she was much more relaxed about it, now that Ghent was there. "Major minor halt? I-cee pawn."

Ghent wasn't too sure about her question. He paused a moment before answering. ?I didn't stop anything, no. They need to make sure you're okay. Besides, Danar has his eye on this place and they're aware of that.?

Boy, did she wish her mouth could translate what was coming from her brain. She frowned a little and glanced at the glass, then back at Ghent. There was a pointed shrug, and she waved off the glass wall like it was someone offering her a drink. "Pfft."

?You don't care that they're watching?? Ghent lifted a brow. He wasn't too sure. He was in uniform today, for some reason -- the dress uniform that officers wore when out in the cities. He glanced over toward the glass for a moment.

"No." That was certainly clear enough for her tastes. Ada rubbed at her arms and stopped her pacing, letting out a sigh. "Pawn silk. Silk and hot." Her eyes turned to look at him, just because she could. She noted the buttons and the insignias and the campaign ribbons, eyes moving from one thing to the next.

?They gave me a medal for getting hurt.? He chuckled wryly. It was an explanation as to why he was in uniform. He hadn't worn it since the night he'd danced with Ada. His mind lingered on the memory a moment. ?I wouldn't be surprised if everyone else received one for what happened as well. Are you hurting, sweetie?? He wasn't sure, but he was asking since she seemed to have said something similar when referring to his arm.

"Yellow and no." She rubbed her heart and then let her hand drop back to her side. Really, she hated to say it at all, but she knew he would understand. "Pawn I-cee? I-cee lead, Major minor lead?" Ada stepped closer and gestured at his uniform.

Ghent looked down at his uniform a moment. He didn't see anything unusual, so he looked a little puzzled. He blinked a couple of times and looked up at Ada. ?You and I what, sweetheart??

"Major minor lead." She pointed at the campaign ribbons. "Lead." The word was said like the bad-to-eat metal, but Ada knew that it sounded like the other kind of "led" too. "I-cee lead?"

?Lead?? Ghent looked at the campaign ribbons, or what he could see of them, for a moment. ?Lead like a bullet or led people?? Ghent seemed to be a little hung up on that part.

Ada pursed her lips, then glanced around for something. She was a little frustrated, but she really didn't want Ghent to think she was frustrated with him. A hand was held flat, and she used the other to pretend she was writing. "Peon? Sepia?"

He nodded and held up the index finger of his left hand, asking her to wait. He stepped out of the room for a short moment and came back with a paper, pen, and clipboard. The pen was clipped with the paper, so he didn't struggle with it all. Ghent offered the clipboard to Ada when he got close again.

"Torch." It wasn't long before she was taking the pen and unclipping it from the board. Then she nodded Ghent towards the bed. "Bulk?" From there, she moved to sit on the bed, drawing a quick, simple sketch and writing her word over the top. She waited to show him, though.

Ghent went to the bed and sat down beside Ada. His hand moved through his fairly neat looking hair. He still hadn't been able to tie it up, though. His dark eyes moved from Ada to the paper.

It was a drawing of an inverted teardrop with a circle at the bottom, and above it she had scrawled "lead." The clipboard was placed down on her lap, and she added some lines to make the teardrop look like a flat ribbon, and put "#1" in the circle. "Uhh... all-wart? A-wart?"

?Where is the medal?? Ghent had spent a moment watching Ada's lips. It sounded like she was saying "award", plus what the drawing looked like. He concluded she wanted to see it.

"Yellow!" She grinned at him and nodded enthusiastically. "I-cee a-wart. Major minor a-wart." Oddly enough, Ada didn't imagine much of anyone aside from Ghent (and perhaps Jad) would understand her new words without much more practice.

?They shouldn't have given it to me, I didn't do anything but get beat up.? Ghent chuckled a little. He reached into one of his pockets and found a small felt case. He offered it to Ada. He had taken the medal off after it had been presented, something he was in the habit of doing.

Ada gave him a look, and shook her head as she took the felt case. "Halt hotting fro-- no." She stopped and reconsidered the word, then decided on replacing it. "Major minor halt hotting grill. Major minor here-here-oh." Maybe she was getting the hang of using similar sounding words!

Ghent had to listen carefully each time, but he seemed to understand Ada pretty well. He smiled at her. ?Anyone who had half a heart couldn't just let them hurt a little girl for no reason. It wasn't heroic.? He generally downplayed everything he did and this was no different.

There was a moment, where she looked at him, and then she started laughing, dramatically rolling her eyes. "Here-oh. Pawn here-oh, grill here-oh." And she'd likely not let him forget it. Finally, she opened the box and looked down at the medal he had received, taking in the details.

It was a cross shaped medal, even on all sides. It was made from either silver or platinum, the finish made it hard to tell as the medal looked intentionally aged. The letters "V-A-L-O-R" went down the vertical arms of the medal in a golden color.

Ada couldn't help but smile, and ran her fingers over the letters. It really was a very nice thing, and even if Ghent seemed humble about it, she knew it had to mean something. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Pawn prow Major minor."

?Thanks, sweetie.? His words were quiet and meek, but it likely didn't detract from the handsome smile he offered to Ada. He lifted his left arm and moved it around her shoulders.

The felt case was closed, and Ada set it down on his leg. There was so much she wanted to say, but she had refrained from saying much of anything, since she knew she was so hard to understand. She wasn't sure, though, whether she was getting better, or just learning to adapt. "Bad words hot. Fee-ix light, fee-ix tower." She emphasized the last word and held out her robot arm.

?So, there's something wrong with your arm still?? Ghent picked up the felt case and slid it back into his pocket. He was looking at Ada's arm immediately afterward, however.

"Yellow...?" Really, she seemed pretty unsure, but she was looking for answers. "Deities no fee-ix, pawn fee-ix." The statement could almost be called threatening in tone, by the time she finished it. "Mill-tar deities. No Dilemma deities."

?How do you plan to fix it, though, love?? Ghent was unsure of that. He looked at her robot arm again. ?You only want the military doctors to help? Not the neurologists??

"Dilemma no mill-tar, no brown deity, no sausage, no halt." Her brow furrowed and she looked down at the paper on the clipboard. "No Dilemma, no..."

She seemed almost forlorn to Ghent. He frowned a little. He hugged her again. ?Let's just go home...we'll figure something out.? It seemed like she didn't want the doctors involved and he didn't intend to ask her to stay somewhere she wasn't comfortable.

There was bit of a huffing sound that followed, as Ada just couldn't seem to get her point across. She pointed at the glass wall. "Mill-tar deities no bad. Major minor no bad. Pawn no bad. Dilemma bad, bad." Ada scribbled "Dilemma" on the paper, almost harshly, and even scratched through the paper as she underlined the capital D. "Dilemma I-cee pawn, train pawn, hot pawn, kitten pawn! Com-pee-knee."

Ghent shook his head a little. He understood the majority of what she had said, but still didn't understand what "Dilemma" was. ?The military doctors are okay, but the other ones are bad? Why would they try to hurt you??

"Pawn. Pawn Dilemma's pawn." She patted her chest, and then went back to the paper. The year was written, then she drew a line and ticked off marks on it, writing the years backwards until she got back to her birth year. Then she moved ahead two years and circled each date and tick mark as she moved back towards the present, stopping two years shy of the current year. "Training, training, training..." She pointed at each circled year, repeating the word, before looking back to Ghent.

Ghent made the calculations pretty quickly, but it took him a moment to understand the rest of it. ?They want to train you?? Ghent didn't like the sound of that. He remembered the label she had put above the drawing of herself the other night. He nodded a little to show he understood.

"Train-ed." It didn't seem to please her that he understood, but she continued on anyway. "Train-ed brown, train-ed kitten. Light I-cee. No I-cee bee-four light." The clipboard was set aside and she stood up to pace, running both of her hands through her hair. She had one word she felt he might understand, but it wasn't easy to piece together. "Cou-- uh...con-dish-awning?"

?Conditioning? And you saw something after the shock happened? Did they try to hurt you, Ada?? Ghent was already standing up. With everything that had happened to them lately, his tolerance level for other people's tricks was zero.

She held up her now shaking hands and stopped pacing, eying Ghent. "Halt. Major minor halt." For a moment, she just stood there, trying to decide what to say. "No I-cee bee-four light. No I-cee, no mom-rye." Of course, she wasn't answering his other questions, but she had her reasons.

?No memory. I don't know what you couldn't see before the light.? He tried to piece together the meanings verbally as well as mentally. He realized she hadn't answered his other questions, however, and asked the one that was most pressing to him. ?Did they hurt you at the hospital, Ada??

"No." And, they hadn't, especially since she hadn't given anyone a chance to do so. "Jade halt pawn kitten Dilemma deity." Her eyes met with his for a moment, and then she got the clipboard and pointed at the circled years. "Hot, hot, hot, hot..." She repeated for each circled year, and when she got to the two most recent, she changed her word. "Kitten, kitten. No stop 'less kitten pawn ."

Ghent looked like he'd been struck by someone very dear. He understood that the previous hospital in Heor hadn't done anything, but Ada didn't want to be there. She seemed all right with the military doctors. He didn't understand why someone would want to hurt Ada at all. He watched as she pointed at each of the years. ?Why would they hurt you?? It was mostly youthful inexperience that was making him not understand. He viewed Ada differently than most people it seemed, but he was unaware of that. ?Kitten means...kill??

"Yellow..." It was a sorrowful tone, as Ada felt terrible even mentioning it to him. It had been something that had descended fairly slowly after the shock, until she had met with the doctor in the hospital. "Sausage..." She stepped close enough to brush her fingers against his, and then placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning and heading for the bed.

Ghent moved right to Ada and tried to intercept her before she lied down. His left hand moved to touch her side. He stammered. It was that rare habit of his. ?I-I won't let anyone hurt you, Ada. Anyone?? He said the repeated word softly.

She nodded at him. "Here-oh." Then she gestured to the bed. "Here-oh Major minor and pawn?" There was that silly snoring noise that she made to reference sleep, and then Ada looked back and nuzzled his cheek, then placed a hand on his heart. "Hat big warm."

He doubted anyone would make him leave Ada by herself, so he nodded a little bit. The snoring noise made him smile a little at her. ?I love you.? He nodded again at what he knew to be an expression of affection. Ghent moved around to the other side of the bed and got onto it carefully.

Ada wasn't far behind, and even waved at the glass wall before crawling into bed.

((This is adapted and edited from the play of February 28th, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM Adalia Dodd.))