Mia's eyes are closed and her expression is relaxed, her mouth parted ever so slightly as she takes slow breaths. It doesn't seem to be the kind of restful sleep that comes from exhaustion. It's...just like she's resting her eyes. Except...they've been closed for a long, long while now, and I'm beginning to get concerned. She hasn't responded in minutes.
"Are you...alright?" I say. It feels...unnatural.
Mia doesn't respond. She doesn't even shift.
"Mia?"
Finally, her eyes open a crack. It doesn't look like she's completely there. "...Mm? Sorry, what? What was that, Sarah?"
She blinks a few times. "...Ah." Mia's eyes widen as she suddenly seems to notice the position she's in. "...Did...did I fall asleep?" Her eyes are bleary and unfocused.
"...I think you did." I nod. "I was trying to get you up. It's time to get ready." I don't mention the part about how it looked like she'd been sleeping for the last thirty minutes. There's no reason to make her feel worse.
Given how out of it she still looks - and how exhausted all of us feel, especially in this heat - I'm sure she needed it, anyway. Maybe not here, but she needs more sleep.
"...Oh. Right." Mia nods, her eyelids drooping.
"You sure you're alright?"
Her eyes flick up to me and she smiles. "I'm fine. Just tired."
She doesn't look that different, physically. But there's a kind of...dazedness that I don't think she'd normally have.
Mia yawns, and stands up, stretching. "Ah~...It's too early to go to bed. Too much to do." She nods, and then glances around her, as if taking in the environment. "Ah." She turns back to me. "...Where are we...?" Her expression goes a little blank.
"...Mia. Are you sure you're alright?"
Her expression changes, just a little.
The change is slight enough I'm not even really sure how to read it. "...Ah." She says. "...I'm fine. Just...you know. Thinking. It's almost here. Our meeting time. With the rebels. I don't know if I can...keep it all in mind. You know?"
She smiles at me, but it seems forced and stiff.
I've long learned that Mia will smile even when she doesn't feel it on the inside, of course.
But normally she's better at hiding it than this.
I can't tell if it's just because she's tired, or if the stress of preparing for the reunion with the rebellion - for whatever phase two of the plan is - is getting to her or not.
I can't blame her in either case.
I'm just memorizing walking paths. What I'm learning might not even be useful in the end.
Eric and Mia have to learn much more important, far more complicated things. And they have to work their way deeper into the aliens' trusts.
There's an incredible amount of pressure on all of us, but I'm sure, with how Mia is, she feels it the most keenly.
I...
Wish I could do more to help.
"Hey...Mia?"
She looks up, blinking slowly, her lips parted slightly. "Yeah, Sarah?"
I take a breath. I'm not used to being the one to start this conversation. I never am. I don't know why.
Maybe...because it's too awkward to talk to someone who's smarter than I am?
"...I know it's not really my place but...if there's ever anything you need, let me know."
Mia tilts her head to one side and raises an eyebrow. "...Sarah...? Where did that come from?"
"I mean, it's not like I can do anything, I know." I laugh. It's weak and forced, even I know it. "I'm the most useless out of all of us, aren't I?"
Mia frowns.
I wince. "...Sorry. Let me try again. I'm trying to encourage you, here..." I laugh.
"...Sarah." Mia sighs and leans closer. She sets a hand on my shoulder, her gaze piercing and sharp, like a hawk. "Don't ever think you're useless." She says, voice soft and firm at the same time.
"Mia...?"
"No. I mean it." She says, her voice a little sharp, now. "...You're not the weakest, Sarah. You're...probably the bravest of all of us." Mia says, her eyes locked with mine, unblinking.
"...That's...a lie, isn't it?"
Mia purses her lips and her eyebrows furrow. She sighs, her expression darkening and her hand tightening on my shoulder, just slightly. "I'm serious. If I were you...trapped in a world like this, unable to understand the voices of my captors, never knowing what to do, or why I can't understand...I'd have lost myself to panic by now." She says it like a statement, her words coming out so quickly that it's hard to follow them.
"Sarah. I'm telling you...that you're amazing." Her voice is soft again, now, but it doesn't sound any weaker. "If it wasn't for you, Hestia would have been taken from us, or worse."
"I..." I blink.
I...
I didn't know Mia thought that.
"Sarah." She leans forward and hugs me tightly, pulling my head against her shoulder.
I wrap my arms around her and hug back, letting her warmth seep into me.
"...Thank you, Mia." I say. "...Thank you, so much."
"Any time." She pulls away and grins, punching me in the arm. "And thank you too."
I blink and rub my arm. "...I didn't do much. Somehow I turned my attempt to comfort you into a pity party for me." I sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
She laughs and waves her hand. "Don't even start, girl. You're hopeless sometimes, but...you know..."
She hums, and pats me on the head.
Like. I'm a dog.
"You really remind me of my little sister." She smiles, and turns away. "You two are so much alike." Her voice is warm, fond.
"Hey! Don't treat me like a little kid. You're not that much older than I am." I frown, pouting a little, and push her hand off. "You and Eric both..."
She laughs and nods. "...Right. Well, it's still a compliment, anyway."
I scoff but...
No one's ever said anything like that to me. I'm not someone who was super unpopular in school, but I also wasn't...very popular, either. And I had friends, but not very close ones.
And.
Even if it's embarrassing.
I'm sure that Mia means it. That I remind her of her sister and...
I've never had anyone say something like that to me before.
"Ah~! So much work to do..." Mia yawns. "...Well. Can't just sit around all day. Tight deadlines, right?" She smiles.
"...Right." I agree.
But...I can't help but look back at her, frowning. "...Hey, Mia...? Are you...really okay?"
She pauses.
And she doesn't say anything for...long enough that I'm about to try again.
Finally, she gives me a shallow smile. "...I'll be alright."
It's all she says.
And it doesn't answer the question.