First Aid [Nisha]

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe couldn't believe how strong Nisha was. After they'd dealt with the Shadows, they'd gotten busy carrying the arcade back to the blonde woman's place. Nisha had produced a few cables and said she was going to carry it on her back. Phoebe had tried to protest, not believing she could but...

She's like a superhero.

She said she'd do it and hot damn, did she ever. Phoebe helped secure the thing on Nisha's back and was nothing short of amazed that the woman did indeed lift and carry it without a problem. Though Phoebe took it on herself to be the rear guard in case they got jumped again, they managed to get out of the area without any problems. She was sore all over and her shoulder and arms hurt, she managed to potter all the way back to the Gap after Nisha.

They unloaded the undamaged machine in front of the safe house. Definitely one of the most bizarre things Phoebe'd ever done in her life, fight for an arcade machine. It must be a damn good game.

"Hey Nisha," she said awkwardly, when they were done. "Are you alright? I've got a first-aid kit here, you should at least disinfect any burns you got from the fire spell. I've also got some bandages..."

She clamped up suddenly. What right did she have to get all mother hen? Judging by her strength and powerful Persona, Nisha could've handled this all by herself. She didn't want to think that she'd been a load but it was hard to shrug it off after seeing her fight so effectively. She'd done well, killed all attackers... but she'd taken a bit of a beating. It was just as well that she didn't have much work tomorrow. She'd use up all the day to recover.

"And, um... thanks for everything," she said, pushing her dirtied glasses up her nose. And then she blurted something she didn't mean to: "I never could've pulled this off without you. You're really something!"

She clammed up again, embarrassed and hoped the tall woman wouldn't take that comment badly. Too bad she blushed.

[Nisha Dovickssen]

Considering her monstrous strength, Nisha had few issues carrying the arcade machine, even with the length they had to travel. Granted, she did lean forward most of the trip, using one arm to grip the machine, but that was to make sure it did not slide and that the cables themselves did not snap. Strength was only good when it could be used productively. If she dropped or broke the machine, then the whole point of the mission would have been lost. Not to mention the fact that her self-confidence would have plummeted further. Fortunately, nothing major happened, and the pair made it back to the Gap in one piece. Dropping the machine off (gently, mind you), the women accepted their wages, then shifted away. And then her partner asked something. It was endearing, in a way, but the woman did not want to have someone waste things on her. Phoebe went on to say other things, but the giant just shook her head slowly.

”I'm not. . . that special.” She dismissed the praise, keeping her gaze lowered. Being complimented was embarrassing. It was even worse that she was being complimented for her strength. She didn't work for that. It just came naturally. ”If you keep. . . fighting, you'll get. . . stronger, too.” She nodded to emphasize her point. ”Besides, I don't. . . mind helping. I just took. . . the mission because. . . I know it's better. . . to go in pairs. We have to help. . . each other. . . to see this though.” It was a simple opinion. No single User would be able to defeat everything the Shadows had. The event at the school certainly set that fact in stone. Everyone had a role to play in larger battles, and more of them would, no doubt, occur.

”Ah. . . but don't worry. I'm fine.” She finally went to the first issue. ”You shouldn't. . . waste things on me. I'll be fine. . . with some sleep.” In truth, that was all it typically took for her to get back in tip-top shape, too.

[Phoebe Minola]

"Oh no, don't worry," Phoebe said kindly and shook her head. "It's not wasted. Every little thing helps. Besides, I get these at bulk from a pharmacy near my house. I'm a bit of a klutz so I keep them on me in case I have one of my 'mythic' falls, hehe. Now they're coming in handy after Shadow fights. Here, at least wipe any scrapes you have with this, it's got disinfectant on it."

She handed Nisha a pair of single-use hankies with disinfectant in neat little vacuum-seal packages. She opened one herself to wipe down her hands. The disinfectant stung the open sores and the raw skin but it was better than nothing. She was pretty sure that when she got home and showered, all of her was going to hurt.

"Aw, don't say that, Nisha," she said more gently, sensing unease from the giant. "Everyone's a bit special in their own way. Nothing bad about that."

Nisha suddenly seemed a little vulnerable, to the shorter woman. Not physically, obviously. But she kept staring down and speaking in that manner that Phoebe felt rather strange.

It's weird. She's not the only one that's given me this kind of feeling. Other Users seem... like they're holding on to so much bad stuff. Why is that? Sure, nobody can be totally happy all the time but...

"What you say is correct, I will probably get better at this after a few more fights. And you're exactly right. Everyone has to work hard to survive this mess." She smiled at the taller woman. "And that you're out here with me, doing just that proves just that. I think you're a good person, so... Um, what I'm trying to say is, there's many kinds of strength and people can have all kinds of strength in them all together. The strength of Personas is great but I think it means nothing if we aren't strong... as people."

She laughed and tossed her head back a bit. "Listen to me, spouting cheese. But I really do believe that's the only thing that'll get us through this whole thing, in the long run. So, don't say you aren't special or that anyone's wasting stuff on you. You're here. You aren't a waste."

[Nisha Dovickssen]

Nisha just blinked with the excuse given before she found herself holding a disinfecting towelette package. While she could appreciate the gesture, she was told to “wipe any scrapes” she had with it. Well, that was all well and good, but the only place where the skin broke that she could think of was her leg. While it was only a scrape, and therefore met the requirements, it was also at a spot where just wiping was going to be difficult with the pants leg there. She could have ripped the cut open, but that would have ruined that pair of pants even further. The only other option was removing her pants, and she was certainly not willing to do something like that. With a faint blush on her face, she waited until her partner was looking elsewhere, then pocketed the package. It could be used later, yes. Not there.

That was just too embarrassing.

When Phoebe went on to speak further, Nisha just blinked. There were plenty of issues with being overly strong. There was nothing special behind it. She didn't work for it. The other went on to agree with her opinion on the necessity of teamwork. They seemed to be on the same page on that much, at least. She went on, finally laughing, and then going back to comment on the first aid. It did seem that the woman misunderstood. But that was fine. It at least showed that she was a nice enough person.

”That's not. . . what I meant.” She offered after a moment. She rarely offered contrary statements to others, but Phoebe at least seemed pleasant enough to not mind being corrected. After all, it would prevent misunderstandings in the future. ”I meant that. . . it'd be wasted on me. . . because I'd recover naturally.” She slowly nodded. ”Resources should be. . . allocated to. . . the individuals. . . needing it the most.” She nodded one final time, to emphasize her point. She hoped her point got across. It wasn't a lack of consideration in regards to self-worth, but a logical, observant argument regarding the application and allocation of resources.

Those that needed it the most should have gotten it. Not those that could make due without it.

[Phoebe Minola]

For a moment Phoebe was afraid she'd offended the tall woman and shrugged awkwardly. "Oh um... I see. Well, still, don't worry. Really, these are so easy to come by they're practically as cheap as air," she said and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

Foot, in mouth. Greaaaat... she thought.

Phoebe realized this was what happened when two introverts met. They really couldn't think of much to say to one another, it seemed. She felt sympathetic to Nisha but she just couldn't get over her own barriers. She wasn't one for small-talk or gossip or anything of the kind.

She fumbled with her messenger bag, unsure what to further say. "So... I suppose we better start heading back. We could both use some rest. Do you, um, want a ride home? I've got a car parked just beyond the safe zone," she offered.

[Nisha Dovickssen]

Nisha wasn't quite sure if she had done the wrong thing by explaining, or if she had said the wrong thing in the explanation. Either way, it seemed that Phoebe was at least slightly uncomfortable after what she said. Well, on some level, she supposed it was just a natural occurrence. The other then went on to offer a ride to her. Nisha smiled very slightly, but she also knew that she couldn't take that offer, either. While there was the simple reason of preferring to walk (it was good time to think over stuff, not to mention to just calmly take in the people she was fighting for), the bigger reason for her intended refusal was the fact that she had had very bad experiences with personal vehicles. Most were so. . . small. Still, she didn't need to mention the second part. Or the fact that she'd accidentally ripped doors off in the past. That was less embarrassing and more shameful.

”No, but. . . thank you. I like to. . . walk from the terminal. . . to my home. We may be. . . stuck here, but. . . the air outside. . . is still mostly clean. It helps to clear. . . my head.” She slowly nodded. It was also good exercise, not that she needed it. If anything, a little atrophy might have been nice.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe tilted her head a little. "Ah, alright then. Thank you again for your help. I hope we get to work together again sometime!" she said and bowed a little out of politeness. "Take care of yourself in the meantime and stay safe on your way back."

With that, Phoebe got her bag sorted out and started off slowly towards the city again, rubbing her shoulder all the while. It had been a rough but good fight and she was happy with the results. She'd also met a very interesting person, even though she would have liked to know more about her, it was obvious the tall woman wasn't feeling very comfortable discussing herself, so Phoebe wasn't going to push her.

Perhaps if they met again, the woman would be more relaxed.