video

[sos_pilot]

[ The video is late at night - not too late to wake a bunch of people up, but it's definitely different than Della's usual videos where it's an earlier time. Not to mention she kinda... looks like hell. Bags under her eyes, all the usual signs of exhaustion - but it's more than that. She actually looks emotionally beat up. ]

... Hey, guys. I figured I owed a bunch of you an explanation about my behavior last mission. Look, I know a lot of the time I'm all "woo, adventure, let's beat up monsters, yeah!" everywhere we go, but last time I was more... out of control. Not listening to anyone, still trying to fight even when I was literally falling apart... and I am sorry. I shouldn't have to make you guys worry more than you already have to, especially in the middle of a dangerous fight.

... Here's the deal. All of you are amazing, you have to know that on some level. You've got super powers, you've got metal bodies, you've got magic, and even of those of you who are about to say "Oh, I'm just some ordinary human" - you're not. So many of you have amazing abilities with your weapons, brilliant minds that have led kingdoms and companies, you're all wonderful, and should be so proud of yourself. I'm proud of each and every single one of you.

... And all I can do is land a solid punch every now and then. Back home, I... I was on a team. My family. They all had their own special talents too, and when I finally came home, maybe some part of me wondered... if they really needed me after all, since they'd done so well without me for ten years. And now, here I am, and I can't even do the one thing I at least KNOW I'm good at, being a pilot. Here, I'm just... me.

[ She sighs, taking off her pilot's cap to run a hand through her hair. ]

Dang, I didn't mean to ramble. Just... I'm sorry. I'll try to make sure it won't happen again.

... 'Night, guys.

[ For anyone wanting to check in on her, she can be found in the lower-carriage of the library, wordlessly thumbing through her copy of the Junior Woodchuck Guide, though not really reading it. ]

Comments

[sos_pilot]

... Uncle Scrooge managed to communicate to me, and tried to get me to turn around. But... there was a meteor storm. I didn't know what I was doing. Turns out, flying a plane and flying a rocket-ship are two different things. So the ship got hit... hard.

I woke up on the moon... with my leg right under one of the broken parts of the ship.

[ She won't go into the gory details of what happened with her limbs, for his sake. ]

... For ten years, I was on the moon. All by myself. Trying so hard to repair the ship and go home.

[helborn]

[He gives her shoulder a squeeze, frowning.]

Ten years... I don’t think I’d make it. That’s amazing, Della. And dealing with food and water and air... you’ve got great survival skills. And the most important one of all - you didn’t lose hope, at least somewhere inside of you. If you did, you wouldn’t have made it.

[sos_pilot]

[ A bitter laugh, but not at his expense. ]

Hold back on the phrase. The "survival" part wasn't all me... the rocket-ship game with Gyro Gearloose's latest invention, oxygen-infused gum. It provided the big O, along with food and water... while tasting like black licorice.

[ Shudder. ]

[helborn]

Still... you survived up there. It would have been easy to give up, and you didn't.

[sos_pilot]

... I tried not to. I was... dangerously close, a few times. But I had an end goal in mind.

Fix the rocket-ship, and I could go home.

... But there's no end goal here. There's no... one thing I can work on to guarantee my way back to those I love.

[helborn]

[He thinks about it for a few moments. A goal...]

Even if you can't fight, you can help out with other things. Repairs, setting up camps, making sure people eat... you seem like a person who's a really good mom, and sometimes people need that. We're not going to get home without everyone working together, and often times the people in the middle of battle don't think about their needs and need some gentle but firm reminding.

I'm a hundred percent guilty of that - even if I don't need to eat or drink or sleep for a while it's not like it doesn't help. And I know I'm not the only one who needs support. It's hard to recover if no one's helping out, and we need people like that - they're arguably more important than the front line people, because we can't function without help.

[sos_pilot]

[ "Seems" like a really good mom... yes, maybe on paper, but the cold reality? She abandoned her eggs. She put her kids in danger without thinking things through.

She sighs, but nods slowly, hearing him through. It makes a good deal of sense, it' just a little harder to grasp through the fog of depression. A heavy sigh. ]

... I hear you. I do. Maybe... it's time I stopped trying to stick in one role, and actually... explore other teams, other angles. I've been so scared of messing up in mine, that I've been afraid to try.

[helborn]

[Well, he hasn't seen her in action. So he can't say with certainty. He takes her hand carefully, holding it between his.]

It's never too late to try. And me and a bunch of other people will be here to help you back up again. It's okay to be scared.

... It took me years to learn that just because you're scared doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

[sos_pilot]

[ She looks at their hands before looking at his face. ]

... I think that's something I've been needing to relearn. That fear isn't the problem... only when it's holding you back.

[helborn]

Exactly. And... that’s why you have friends. They’re here to fight the fear with you.

When you’re scared... I’ll be there to hold your hand, if you’ll have me.

[sos_pilot]

[ She squeezes his hands, grateful for the physical affection - another thing she was deprived of for ten years. ]

Always. I'll always be grateful to have you there.

[helborn]

[He nods and pulls his hands away, resting them in his lap.]

... How are you feeling? I know sometimes when I'm stressed I get hungry afterwards...

[sos_pilot]

[ A hint of a smile. ]

... I wouldn't mind some grub.

[helborn]

... Do you like poutine?

[Look he has like ten of them ready to go, let him feed you.]

[sos_pilot]

Right now? I'll eat anything and everything.

[ In her mood, she might even skip her usual disgust for fish. ]

[helborn]

[Thankfully, it's not fish. Instead he holds his hands out and a warm dish appears in his hands, a fork already stuck in it.]

Here. It's my favorite comfort food. I grew up where it was invented.

[sos_pilot]

[ She's a bit startled, having forgot his powers for a moment. She blinks, and then takes the dish. ]

... You mind if I forgo what little manners I have and just dive on in?

[helborn]

Go for it.

[Even if it's the library, he can help clean up. It's not like the library is all that full, so there's not a ton of books to get stuff on.]

[sos_pilot]

Thanks.

[ She is going to literally NOMNOMNOM that plate, and even lick it clean after. ]