#yeah books are neat but not so much when staffs goes crazy and becomes a threat

[drowzyscatterbrain]

​So I had a dream interacting with Wally Darling a while ago-

Was still reeling from it after the next 2 days fr, it’s all kinda blurry now, some details might just be my brain making it up as I type but whatever. (also placed the read more cuz i'm ass at condensing texts & don’t want to make the post too long on dash, either.) cw for some kinda horror description near the end.

Everything felt real, but not at the same time, if that makes any sense. I had my sense of touch and smell, but all of them feels muffled and wonky in some way. Don’t know if dreams are common to have those two senses presence, but anyway-

The dream didn’t take place in the colorful neighborhood, it was a weird place that looked like a hospital and a library smushed together. 

The air smelled like old books and antiseptics, a heart moniter from somewhere beeping constantly. There were hallways and doors like hospitals does, but almost all the walls have bookshelves in them. 

The room we were in was probably the main reading area. It's spacious, has plenty of those long tables with chairs, there were bookshelves standing in rows near the windows, and some walls were covered in books. 

I’m talking about 30cm above ground were all books, almost all the way to the ceiling. 

Felt like the books sucked up all the colors, too. Cuz everything was either pure white or some kind of pale color, then the books were all pretty dark & gives off vibes from a medieval painting.

All except Wally, well kinda. His colors were a bit paler than the official art, but still very vibrant compared to everything else.

All the patients (including me) in there wore hospital gowns, there were plenty of them too. All minding their own business, walking to somewhere, looking for books, sitting down to read, or just sitting...but I can’t see their face. 

Even if I tried to focus, their face remained a blur. It’s like my eyes just decided to censor them. This includes the doctors, nurses, and a couple librarians I saw. Basically just everyone.

Up until I met him, I was walking towards one of those tables, hugging the two books I picked against my chest.

One of them was a thick, black hardback book with a single big golden eye symbol hot stamped on it, the other one was a colorful children’s book, it was old and covered in clear tapes, felt the tape digging into my skin, too. 

Can’t remember much of the book cover other then there’s a chibi version of him near the upper right corner.

So I reached the table, hand on chair about to pull it out, looked up from the books, and there he was. Sitting on the table.

For some reason, he seemed to be made of silicone and metal, his hands and legs were missing, with a bit of wires sticking out and sparks coming out occasionally, but he seemed unaware and was kinda spacing out.

He looked at me 1 second after my eyes are on him. I started talking to him, he replied, this went back and forth for a few moments. Then he lifted his forearms, raptor style, and realized his hands were gone.

He didn’t freak out, he was just like ‘oh’, and got a bit nervous. So I told him to wait and ran off to find any spare parts or tools to help fix him up (I was sure there was a room that has those stuff in the dream). 

I never found that room, didn’t see anything useful on my run, too. Then when I ran out of breath and stopped, I found myself back to the reading room. When I went back to the table, he was all fixed up, now sitting criss-cross applesauce on the table.

I approached, fairly baffled, with a “how did you...?” tumbled out of my mouth, trailing off at the end. And all he replied was “found/borrowed them... somewhere else.” or something like that, while turning and opening/closing his hands, testing them out.

Where did Wally find those parts? how did he fix himself up perfectly in a few minutes with no hands?? I’ll never know.

After a few finger wiggles he looked up from his hands, and thanked me for helping him out. His voice was still monotonic as usual, but I felt his gratitude in every single word. 

Despite the fact that he did all the work, and I basically ended up chasing my own tail with 0 help provided to him. He’s so damn nice, gosh.

Then one of us started another topic, and I eventually sat back down while still talking. The books long forgotten.

During the conversation, I found out the ‘blurry face curse’ applies to him too, but with some twists. I can see his face when I wasn’t directly looking at him. But whenever I looked at anywhere near his head, his face gets blurred up.

I could only vaguely see where his eyes and mouth is(plus nose when he’s in human form), and the blur made my eyes constantly seeing him in different forms, and positions.

Like, at start he was his classic 3ft puppet look, then he moved his head slightly, now he's human, like how Clown drew him in the Pokemon AU and is now sitting across from me, arms folded on the table. 

I spaced out for a second, now he’s back on the table, 3ft again, but in his fleece muppet form. Blinked? He’s across the table again, puppet form and about the same height as me. 

At one point during our chat, the blur even made his face kinda looks like Elvis Presley. (Looked up who he is on Wiki just before bed, might be the cause.)

At around 3/4 of the long chat we were having, I held his face in my hands.

He was back in his 3ft puppet form, leaning a bit closer to me than we first met. I don’t know what I was thinking, or even thinked at all. But I stood up from my seat when he was mumbling to himself and looking elsewhere, reached out, and placed both of my hands on his cheeks. 

His skin felt like silicone with metal underneath and fleece fabric stuffed with cotton at the same time. A bit disorienting, honestly.

Thumbs were about 2cm below his eyes, and I gently stroked his face once or twice before stopping. That seemed to halt his thoughts abruptly, as his eyes widened a bit, his gaze shot straight back to mine. 

A few moments passed, probably processing that I really just went and caressed his face without a word.

Then as I was about to start pulling back from both the confusing texture and the realization kicking in, his response made my brain forgot about them in an almost audible poof:

He closed his eyes, leaned ever so slightly into my left hand, his smile reached his eyes as he let out a few of his unique little laughs. While his hands came up and held mine in place. We stayed like this for a while.

At some point I let go, and he put his hands away, too. Then our chatter started back up again. Now with a bit more positive feelings presence between us.

What officially ended our chat was pretty unexpected, and unpleasant. As it scared us and forced us to find a way out. 

The sunlight from outside started to die down, so did the lights from inside too. And that made the staff members starting to act weird.

Everything except their uniform gradually turned pitch black, like they were ate up by the darkest paint in the world. Their body started to drip like tar and emits soot-like particles into the air, some even grew extra limbs or mutates, with razor sharp claws...and spikes. 

Also they got more and more aggressive the longer it went on, movements became frantic, thrashing and twitching like those faceless nurses from Silent Hill.

Now ‘corrupted’, they started screaming, yelling, begin to throw stuff around and blocking up the corridors with them. At one point the yelling became clear enough to understand, what I heard were basically ‘block up all the hallways and then start killing’. 

The patients started to panic, some of them threw themselves into rooms and locking/blocking up the door, some tried to escape from the windows. But the windows wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard they pried.

Our chatting was cut off by the first shriek, and after we exchanged looks, he hopped off and started speed walking, I got up, went around the table and catching up to him. We held hands as we began to find an exit while trying to remain hidden. 

Despite his height, he was surprisingy fast. As I struggled a bit to keep up with his running.

Also he smelled faintly of fresh apples. Noticed it when I was holding his face earlier, but now it became slightly more noticable. For we were now physically a LOT closer than back in the library. 

He was mostly leading me around, we hid in somewhere squished together a few times, I even scooped him up and bolted once, because he tripped and a staff was closing in a bit too quickly.

The dream started to end when we were just running, at this point, there wasn’t any obstacles in sight. In fact, the whole building kinda just vanished. No screams, no crashes or bangs, nothing. Just white, but we kept going.

The only sound we heard were our own footsteps, echoing across the now completely white void we’re blindly running in.

And then suddenly, my eyes decided to give out. I didn’t slow down, I didn’t let go of his hand. But my vision just kept getting darker, like the lights going out when a movie is about to start, until finally, the blazing white became inky black.

All of my senses soon went with my vision. I was floating in the void, all alone.

And the next thing I knew, I was staring at my bedroom’s ceiling.

[potatosoldier]

Are you still there?

/ Part 4 /

If I ever felt like my feet were going to fall off, it was today. I has just successfully passed my physical fitness test. I was feeling great, but I honestly couldn’t feel my legs. The whole night before I had been practicing to get over those walls over at the training obstacle. Which meant that that none of us in our barrack got that much sleep last night, with Lewis and Richard having been at the map exercise at dusk. 

But here I was once again, at night wondering around to find Skip. I wasn’t completely sure which barrack he was in, but I was determined to check up on his ankle, which had once again been bothering him today. I knew this was inappropriate, but I wasn’t going to drop this. He needed it supported for tomorrow for him to keep it from overexerting. 

“Nurse!”, came a call from behind me. The voice was so sharp it made me jump. When I turned around I was met with a piercing hazel gaze. It was the Dog company lieutenant, Ronald Speirs. 

“Forgive me sir, I’m looking for E-company, Second Platoon. A private needs first aid”, I quickly explain. He just looks at me with even more determination. He then offers me his hand, which I shake firmly. “Ronald Speirs”

I smile at little: “Sonja Winters”. At that the corner of his mouth turns up and he smirks. “I think everyone in this regimen knows who you are, Nurse Winters.” Then he once again turns serious. “You do realize that this could get you into some trouble. With the higher ups and with the men”, he scolds. It’s clear to see the irritation in his eyes. 

“As I said sir, I just need to check up on a comrade”, I reason. I knew he was correct, but I still wanted to make sure Skip was fully alright.

“Well then, Follow me”, he says and turns around. And we walk very very quietly. 

--------------

Once we are in front of the barrack, I thank him. But before I can even fully get my thanks out, he walks away. What an odd man. 

I knock on the barrack door timidly. When the door opens I am greeted by Bill. “The hell are you doing here, come in you mick”, he says and quickly pulls me inside. “You outta your mind Bambi, there are slimy men all over the place”, he then scolds. 

I look around the room and see most of the men in looking at me. I turn to Guarnere to ease my nerves. “I just came to see Skip, Bill. No one except Lt.Speirs saw me”, I softly try to calm him. 

His eyes almost bulge out of his head. “Okay let’s talk about crazy maggots then and not slimy men”, he grunts. Skip luckily comes to my rescue and bows with his hand out “Milady, how can I be of service?”

I grin and take a cotton bandage from my pocket. “Not this again, I don’t need any bandages”, he groans. I push his shoulders and sit him down on a bed. “Private Muck, your ankle is acting up again, it needs to be supported so the twinge doesn’t come back and have worse causes! Do you want Sobel to have you out of training?”, I ask with my hands on my hips.

“Listen to Bambi, Skip. Better have it wrapped up now, than in a cast tomorrow”, Joe comments from his bed. I smile and nod at him. Sweet Joe Toye always having my back. 

Everyone goes back to their own things as I lower myself to bandage Warren’s ankle tightly. Once I’m done I give him a bandage roll. “Have this near, because with all the sweating we do, this probably will be ruined soon. Once you don’t feel hesitation to step on the ankle, take it off and save it for later. I know you don’t want to take a day off, but please be merciful with these skinny things”, I gently guide him. 

He just pats my head and smirks. “Okay Bambi, wouldn’t want to disappoint you.” I shake my head at his antics. “Think of Faye when you take care of yourself, God knows she wouldn’t want her sweetheart hurt”, I reason with a gentle grin. The way Skip talked about his sweet Faye Tanner was adorable. I actually gave him a couple romantic poems from my books so he could use them in his letters. It was a little secret of ours, the guys would ruin the sweetness of the gesture. 

I stay at the barrack for a little while. Chatting with Muck, Don and Penk. I mostly just sat and listened...and giggled. These boys lightened my heart with their jokes. 

“Let’s get you back before someone comes looking”, Joe says jumping up. I shake my head “I can find my way out”, I say and go to the door. Until Bill stoops in front of me. “You ain’t going outta this door without an escort”, he says tapping my nose. 

I roll my eyes smiling and wait for Joe to come. I gently wave at everyone and let Joe lead me out. Once we are out we start softly talking. With Joe it was easy, he was comfortable with silence, and he never saw the need to judge or lie. 

“You miss home yet?”, he asks while lighting a cigarette. I start thinking. Do I miss home? What is home? Me and Richard lived in a barn house in Lancaster. Desperately trying to gather money for our own lot. Do I miss it? Yes I do. In the end there was nothing better than sinking next to Richard after a long day, cuddling up to him in the chilly bedroom. It was not a fancy dream, but it was the nest me and Richard have started with, and that was enough. 

“I do, sometimes it’s just better to not think of it”, I answer. He nods in agreement. “You miss your husband? You seem so invested in Faye and Skip, it’s odd that you never talk about your own sweetheart”, he says blowing out the smoke. 

I gulp and wring my hands together. He seems to notice my nervous reaction and furrows his brows. “You ain’t gotta talk about it if you don’t want to”, he then adds. “But if he hurt you, he’s never walking again”

My cheeks hurt as I smile at him. After the Sobel incident weeks ago, he really had become a dear friend to me. He just needed to see that I was worth the effort. And I sure am happy that I was to him. 

“It’s not like that Joe, it really isn’t. He just..he is in the army too”, I tell him soothingly. His brows lift and he nods. Then he says something that makes me freeze:

“Yeah the LT seems like a proper fella”

My eyes bulge out of my head as I halt my step. “What?!”, I ask sharply. He just shakes his head and smirks. “You look at Winters like a lost puppy and he looks at you like a protective bear with it’s cubs. At first I thought it was nothing, but then I saw him help you with your gear and those looks ain’t just your regular ‘well thank you sir’”

I shake my head and my hands tremble. “Joe you can’t tell anyone, does anyone else know? Oh no they are going to see me as a hussy”, I almost start pulling my hair. It feels like a carpet has been just pulled from under my feet. All my achievements would mean nothing to the men from now on. 

“Hey, hey, Sonja! SONJA!”, Joe raises his voice making me halt. “No one has said a word about you two. I just happened to notice. What you told me made me guess. You two are so professional it’s hard to even tell if he likes you or not”, he soothes rubbing my upper arms. I bite my lip and look at the ground. 

“You are such a proper girl, not one of us would call you a hussy. You ain’t like that, Winters isn’t like that”, he continues. I look at him in the eye and only see kindness. Kindness and honesty in those button eyes. I nod and take one hand that’s on my shoulder. “thank you”, I whisper. 

For the rest of the walk we just walk while he sings softly. Once we come to my barrack he takes my hand again. “You can trust me Sonja, Joe’s cotcha”, he smiles and then takes off. I smile softly too. He and Skip just might be the only friends I’ve ever truly had. 

-------------------

The maneuvers with Sobel have been getting worse and worse. He is jumpy, he is unprofessional and most sadly: he does not know how to work theory in practice. 

Nix also got moved to the battalion staff. He was now packing the rest of his stuff. It felt odd, I had come used to spending time with the man. He was very odd company, but the more you get used to him, the more pleasant you see him. 

“What are you gonna do?”, Lewis asks as we discuss Sobel’s field work. I know it is very unprofessional of me, but my eyes almost become stars when I look at my husband in his Ike jacket. I shake my head and grin at the thought. 

“Nothing, just keep training the men”, Richard answers, just as a short fellow hops in. I quickly stand up too. 

“Am I interrupting?”, the man asks. As me and Nix look at each other. Richard answers for us as he rises up: “No, no. Lt. Lewis Nixon, Nurse Sonja Winters, Lt. Harry Welsh just in from the 82nd”, he introduces. I smile at Harry kindly and shake his hand. “Ahh the beautiful lady wife”, He grins with his tooth gap. 

I smile too, all the officers know the setting.It was easier that way and when things got serious, it was very practical. “Beautiful wife for a beautiful man”, I say knowing it would make my husband flush. 

Harry chuckles and moves to shake hands with Lew.  “Congratulations on the promotion”

“Ah, thanks. If you wanna call it that. You’ll learn them pretty quickly. She’s holy Mary, biblical little lady with a husband to match: No flaws, no vices, no sense of humor”, Lewis manages to hint. I glare at him and he just looks at me with a million dollar smile. 

“Just like your chums up at Battalion Staff?”, Richard quips. I grin at him and go to gently brush his jacket straight. Which it already was, but better be as neat as possible. While I do that Dick turns his head to Harry: “What’s up?”

“I’m hearing a lot of rumblings”, you can hear the concern in Harry’s voice. Lew catches on quickly: “Sobel? We were just talking about that”

“So he gets a little jumpy in the field?”, Harry confirms as I turn back to him and Lewis. “He gets jumpy and you get killed”, Lewis nods. I look at him with raised brows and a dry expression. “What?”, he asks. 

“Aren’t you just tactful”, I say pointedly. He chuckles: “haha, sorry Dick, I’ve rubbed up on her.” I roll my eyes, in his eyes you could see the pride of being bad influence. And I am in deep shame that I’m not immune to it.

Richard just continues with the topic of Sobel. “Listen, if we discuss it, it should be among ourselves”, he says looking at all of us very pointedly. We all quickly agree, and then the devil himself jumps in. 

We are moving out.

@iilovemusic12us​

[balvinia]

Becoming - Chapter Four

For the next week and a few days afterward, Renée worked on learning about shielding during what free time she managed to find.  She already knew that part of the problem must have been how expressive she was. Many of those who were very adept at putting on a show had stronger barriers, although it wasn't always the case. The biggest issue was on a magical level. Renée found the library and pored through books on magical theory, psychic abilities, and energy work. Much of what she found was only informative in a non-practical sense. She was almost ready to give up when she decided to just outright ask for help. She caught the attention of a fellow servant called Erin, one whom she'd heard had also been mortal-born.  "I need to ask you a question, if that's okay.”

"Sure. What's up?" The other fae stopped what they were doing for a moment and glanced at Renée.

"Somebody mentioned something about shielding minds? I guess that's something Aefry-born are more accustomed to than humans, right?" Her voice wavered. The woman's thoughts of feeling silly and inadequate were fading out with her frustration.

Erin shook their head, eyes rolling. "First of all, we're not human anymore. You don't need to compare yourself to them. Yes, it's something the Aefry-born generally tend to have an advantage in at first."

"I just... How do I-?" Renée tried to figure out what she needed to ask, but didn’t know how to phrase the question.

"Learn to shield and all that? It's all about energy. You envision it and go from there. If you pay attention, you should be able to see what others have done. Like me? Pay attention.  There should be a thin veil of energy around me. That's my barrier. Yours is there, but it's pretty damn flimsy. It goes in and out still like a human's does. Focus on your energy and strengthen that barrier."

Renée felt like she was at a loss. She stared at the other Aef for a few moments. The energy surrounding them looked something similar to mist. It wasn't much and could easily be overlooked if one wasn't paying attention.

"Is that...? She started, but changed her mind.  The girl wanted to try to make hers. She closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her mind. The idea of doing anything with this energy was incredibly confusing for her. How did it work, she wondered?  Renée whimpered at the thought of how clueless she was.  When she finally tried to focus on the energy that surrounded herself and change it, Renée felt a sensation something like a light cloth moving around her. She clumsily worked the energy until it felt heavier.

"You're getting it!" The outburst had Renée looking wide-eyed at the Aef she'd been speaking with. 

"I am? It's working?" She sounded hopeful.

"Sure is. It'll take time to perfect your skills with energy manipulation, but you seem to have gotten the idea well enough for now." Erin smiled.

Renée returned the smile with a nod. "Thank you for your help. I guess I'd better get going…" She ran off without waiting for a reply. 

As the next couple of weeks passed, Renée continued doing her work while teaching herself everything she felt that she needed to know. She found time to meet with Erin when she could, asking questions for the things that she wanted help with and making conversation.  Renée had begun to grow attached to the other fae.

“I heard that some of the others were having a party across the fields tonight, do you go?” She wanted an excuse to spend more time with Erin.

Erin shrugged. “I’m not much of a party person, although I could go if you want to.”

She looked conflicted, her face falling even as she felt a tinge of relief. “Neither am I, actually.”

Erin smiled. “We could do something else together, if you’d like.”

Renée’s face lit up. “I would. I’d like that.  Where should we go?” She hadn’t been outside of the palace for anything that wasn’t work related.

The other fae winked with a sly grin. “How about I surprise you? There’s somewhere not far from here. We could go at sundown.”

The two were to meet right outside the courtyard. Renée had just brushed her hair and pulled it into a neat ponytail so that she’d at least have some semblance of looking nice after a day’s work. She didn’t have much in the way of clothing, so what she’d already had on would have to do. She heard a knock at the door. With a sigh, the young woman opened it. She didn’t know who it could be, but seeing Gair stand there surprised her. He hadn’t seemed to be around during the whole time she’d been at the castle. 

“Umm… Can I help you?”

He grinned and stepped inside, pushing her back. “I might need a little favor.”

“Like what?  I was told that I was off duty and that any requests should be handled by the night staff. I’m sure you know who they are.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry, it’s not related to your work. Keep an eye on Erin for me. I’d heard you had been hanging around that one a lot lately.”

Renée raised a brow. “Why are you so interested in Erin?”

“That’s none of your concern. Just do it.” He turned around to leave, but stopped. His back still to her, he added, “Keep yourself safe. I don’t think there’s any reason not to trust Erin, but there are others that you need to watch out for.” Before Renée could ask him what he was talking about, Gair had walked out the door. She huffed and childishly stuck her tongue out in his general direction. That man was being as vague as Ané had always been. It drove her crazy in the most annoying way. She was glad to be rid of him, however. She grabbed a thin coat and ran out the door.

When Erin caught sight of Renée, their face lit up like a bonfire on Samhain Night. Renée didn’t miss it and returned the smile. “Hey! Are we ready to go? I still don’t know exactly where we’re going.”

“It’s over toward the left of the fields. There’s a path that leads to… Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. Just follow me? I think you’ll love it.”

Renée nodded. “Show me the way.”

The two fae walked along a wall until it twisted in a sharp curve where they climbed over and continued to the tree line. The path was narrow with branches stuck out and uneven ground along the way. Several minutes of walking was all they needed before Renée gasped at the yellow lights floating ahead of them. The moonlight reflected itself off of a small pond that was surrounded by fireflies.

“It’s breathtaking…” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“It is, isn’t it? It’s definitely better than what many of the other fae are doing tonight.” Erin’s voice held a tone of contempt.

Renée gave her a curious look. “I’m sure it’s not so bad if you’re a social butterfly. You sound like a party’s a horrible thing.”

“You don’t know, do you?” Shock was evident by Erin’s tone.

Renée slowly shook her head as a slightly uneasy feeling came over her.

“Many of them weren’t born human like us.  Even those who were,” Erin paused as if to consider the words, “they changed. At the parties, some groups of fae like to lure humans in from earth-side. Sometimes the guest gets to go back home. Other times, the guest is killed or forced to stay.”

“You’re serious? Does the Queen know about this?”

“She allows it. You must understand this: The fae are not human. They live by different rules. They don’t all see humans as being equal to us. We are fae. That’s why you need to be careful. I’d hate to see you lose your humanity. Tell me, by the way, how did the Queen come to bring you here?”

“I don’t know. She found me the day I came back home. I missed a couple of years and nobody knew who I was. She helped me out until some guy showed up and then she brought me here and dumped me in the servant’s wing.  I’ve gotten almost no explanations and no guidebook for this fae thing.”

Erin nodded in recognition of Renée’s words. As the two stood in silence, their hands found each other. Neither knew what else to say although both felt the need for some sort of reassurance.

After a while, Renée broke the silence. “How long have you been here? I don’t know your story.”

The other fae shrugged. “I think it’s been a few years or so. My uncle brought me here after I got out of the hospital. He and my great-grandfather had been half brothers. I grew up hearing the stories, although I never knew any of it was true until I got here.”

“So, you were already part fae?”

“I grew up completely human.”

    Renée and Erin lost track of time recounting their last memories of their previous lives. As it turned out, Gair was the uncle that brought Erin to Aefry.

“Wait, he’s your uncle?” Renée had asked. She supposed that would explain why he was asking about her friend.

“Yeah. He arranged for me to come work here.”

Renée looked thoughtful. “He must be important.” She remembered the first time she had met him. The man had seemed bold, yet respectful. At the time, the way he acted toward Ané had been off-putting. The young woman didn’t know then who Ané really was. Once she found out, it had somewhat made sense. Renée was so focused on her thoughts that she had tuned her friend out.

“Hello… You still there?” A hand waved in her face. Erin had an irritated look on their face. “Let’s go. It’s getting late.”

Upon returning to the castle, Renée and Erin paused in the hallway. Laughter could be heard just around a corner. Erin took Renée's hand in theirs.

“I had a good time tonight, Renée,” they said. “It's been a while since I had a friend that I could have a heart to heart with.”

The newer Aef grinned. “Yeah, same. I still feel so out of place here.”

The two friends continued along the hall, coming along a small group. A few of the people they squeezed past were familiar, Summer was leaning against a man who stopped by the castle a few times a week. One person caught Renée's attention: A boy who looked like he could have been just starting college. He looked dazed. Renée heard a voice coming from him. “This sure ain't Huntington,” he was thinking. “This a trip or am I just dreaming?”

Erin scowled at the group and rushed by. Renée stood a moment longer before catching up. “Was he…?”

Erin pursed their lips and nodded. They reached Erin's room before speaking again. “Summer will make sure that one is returned home, at least. I'll give her that much credit.”

Renée smiled. “That's good to know…” She didn't know what else to say.