soulus | Catch-all: Alex

. . . Allow me to rephrase: have you forgotten anything this week?

[ she blinks. ]

... Not... that I know of.

[ ... her hand has sort of frozen where rupe was sniffing it, and after a moment her hand drops to the ground to steady herself. ]

Would I even know if I had?

Yes—if it was something obvious.

[He looks down at Rupe, who peers up at Alex.]

[ her breathing has gone a little funny, like she's trying to keep it steady but it's trying to speed up in a panic. ]

But I don't... I still remember everything. I think I still remember everything, I...

What did I forget?

[Ordinarily, he would've let her work it out on her own. But circumstances are special this week, and it's by an urge that he reaches down just enough to touch her shoulder.

Breathe.]

[ week 0 out here making rufus nice.

coaxing rupe over for pets has been forgotten in favour of hunching herself up and pressing her hands against her mouth, trying to breathe slower and deeper against the urge to start sucking in air like she's drowning.

it's not the quickest process, but it works. slow and steady. ]

... I don't have much more to lose.

[ it's a very quiet admission, but it's followed by her hand rising up and covering rufus' -- squeezing once, before she straightens up. she presses her hands to her eyes for a few seconds, firmly, and then drops them to her sides. ]

You... know you forgot your pet, then. That's definitely what happened?

[It takes a while, but his hand remains in place until Alex has risen. He withdraws his hand, which tingles where she's grasped him.]

Yes. I didn't recognize him when I woke up.

[The animal in question doesn't seem to mind this. He's still dutifully following Rufus, after all.]

You should review what you know for gaps.

It's... normal to forget a little, that's just how time and memories work. But...

[ are there any significant gaps from when she joined the benriya until now?

she doesn't know. nothing leaps out as being incomplete, broken or lost in some way. she remembers faces, names, big events... ]

If I did lose a memory, it doesn't seem to be something big...?

[ she glances down at rupe, after a moment. ]

It looks like he still knows you, though.

Only my memories were affected.

[Of himself and Rupe, that is. That's one of the reasons he's realized that Rupe is his.]

If you're that concerned, you should write what you can remember down. There's paper in the inn.