Blind friendship (closed)

With an arm interlocked around Leo's, Freya and the Autumn slowly strolled around the courtyard. A clean bandage was wrapped around her head to hide her eyeless face, and because it'd been a little while since she'd returned from the mission, most of her external scrapes and bruises had been healing decently, but sadly, her emotional and physiological injuries hadn't been healing too well, and every thought and memory of the horrid mission with Maria made her want to break down into tears.

Their mid day walk around the area was supposed to be a peaceful time where she could relax, take a break from the confined quarters of the infirmary, and get some fresh air, but even so, all of her senses were on edge and every sound, from a twig snapping to the distant footsteps of a student made her flinch, thus she made sure to stay close to Leo, having learned to accept his company. Of course it felt extremely awkward to have to cling onto him like this, especially when she'd never been a fan of guys after what happened with Marcus, but she didn't really have a choice. Besides, he'd seemed pretty open in helping her out, and having previously known him, walking through the courtyard wasn't as horrible as it could've been with someone whom she wasn't as close to.

Snapping her head in the direction of where some birds had suddenly flown from a tree, Freya's heart started to race as she wasn't able to tell what had made the sound. One of the oh so wonderful perks of being relatively new to being blind was that is was usually difficult to determine what certain sounds belonged to, especially since she'd lost her sight, so now her hearing senses were heightened and at times, not being able to see, yet being able to hear everything got overwhelming that she wished that she'd lost her hearing to. Not only that, but the fact that she wasn't able to see any faces also started to get on her nerves, and she had to constantly work extra hard to remember what everyone and everything looked like before she forgot them all. Not to mention that she wasn't able to see where she was going and hadn't quite gotten used to walking alone yet, but then again, it wasn't like she wanted to be alone, it was just weird having someone guide her around when she was used to being pretty independent. Well, she could've asked Maria for help, but for some reason she hadn't heard from her much lately and assumed that she was still trying to get over the mission too, hopefully having more luck than she was.

Relaxing a little, the Winter tried to keep a steady pace with Leo, although she couldn't keep track of how many times she'd stumbled over a pebble or a raised brick on the path, and she probably looked like a total loser, well, for the time being, it wasn't like her mind was really on what she looked like. Instead, it was on a dream she'd recently had. Although it had been something other than a nightmare about the mission, the dream hadn't been one to rejoice over and quite honestly, it was an extremely random vision that left her confused. It probably wasn't anything to get too worried about, it having only been a dream, but it seemed pretty real and she felt as if she knew the children that had occupied her unconscious fantasy and she couldn't help but wonder what it meant. Well, whatever, she'd figure it out later. Maybe she could even bring it up during her time with Leo since he seemed to be pretty good when it came to understanding and explaining things.

"Thank you... for doing this," Freya finally spoke after a little while of walking in silence next to the Autumn. She'd started to become somewhat frustrated with this whole 'not being able to see thing' and although it was her fate and she knew that she couldn't change it, she wished life hadn't turned out like this.

Weekdays were the worst. School took up a majority if the day, followed by a quick check in with Freya and Maria, then going to the daycare to work. While working, if things winded down, or if free time was had, Leo would try to finish homework in his spare time. Leo swore that if he did not have the help and support of others, he would not have made it through the first few months. The weekdays were so full, that it was overwhelming at times. There was not enough time in the day to accomplish what he wants to. Not enough time to sit and spend time with friends, family, or Shepard.

While he was lucky that he worked in the daycare, would be able to be there with Shepard, and be with him during the day--it was not like he could only focus on him. He also had to look after the other kids. Not that he minded at all, the kids were amazing to take care of, and they made the day entertaining with their wild stories and obscure made up games. Leo almost wanted Shepard to get older so he could play games in a similar fashion. Almost being the key word, his son was still super cute, and Leo did not particularly want the back talk that the older kids offer.

Now, the weekends were much better. While he still had work, the homework load could get done Friday into Saturday morning. The rest of his time was spent how he wished. Mostly by spending time with friends, taking Shepard on strolls or checking on the two sisters. The last on that list was what he was doing at this moment.

Leo could barely imagine what it would be like to be unable to see. With the additional constant sterile smell of the Infirmary, it would get old pretty fast. The two were getting better pretty fast, in exception for Freya's eye sight. Which wouldn't get any better. However, getting used to the lack of sight is a process, and can progressively get better over time.

To help with this, Leo would take her out on walks to get out of that room as well as get used to not being able to see. Being that he as no experience what so ever with teaching someone how to get along in this situation, taking her out of the infirmary to get a breath of fresh air was the least he could do. "It is no problem."

Giving a nod at his reply, the two kept walking and she wished that she knew where they were going. For all she knew, they had been walking in big circles, and she hoped that she wasn't boring him too much.

Seeing that winter was coming to an end, or so everyone hoped, the school had started to spruce up the grounds, and apparently, that meant trimming the bushes, hedges, and trees. Out of no where, the loud and obnoxious noise of what sounded like a chainsaw or maybe even a broken motorbike filled the air. With no clue as to what was happening or if something was about to come crashing down on them, Freya's muscles tensed up and she clung onto the Autumn's arm like there was no tomorrow, although she still tied to keep with his stride and not step on his feet.

"What was that?" the blonde asked softly, listening intently, though it was a bit difficult for her to be able to focus with all of the other little sounds that came from the courtyard also. While she didn't really know what that cringy noise had been, she was at least able to tell that the more they walked, the less the sound could be heard and leaving it behind sent a wave of relief over her.

If he was being honest, Leo did not expect her to jump at the sound. It came as quite the surprise, and the blond himself almost lost his own balance. The Autumn's arm almost felt suffocated at that moment, although once he was able to regain balance and composure--things seemed to relax a little bit more as they continued along their way. The panic inducing sound faded away from the distance that grew with each step. "I'm thinking someone may need to get their motorcycle fixed." His comment didn't directly answer her question--although it was implied.

Leo couldn't say where he was planning on going. There was no set destination in mind. They've been wondering along the school each walk. None of them had a destination, each time ending up somewhere different. It seemed this time, they were taking a stroll through the courtyard. Leo's mind would wonder, and his legs would follow in suit.

Replying only with a small nod, Freya didn't stop to ask questions. While she would've rather it not, her mind started to wander back to her horrible dream that she'd recently had. Dreams were dreams, but this one had felt... different, and no matter how hard Freya tried, she couldn't stop thinking about it. It had seemed so real and lifelike, all she could wonder was what it meant, and part of her wanted to share it with Leo, but the other part, not so much. What if he didn't understand, or she just confused him? He didn't have children to relate to...

Right then and there, her thoughts came to a halt as she remembered something, Leo did have a kid! What was his name, Sean, Sheldon... Shepard, that was it. Thank God she actually paid attention to Maria when she'd rambled on about her roommate. At least now she had something to chat with him about, even if it wasn't a topic that she usually enjoyed chatting about, seeing that she didn't have the greatest experience when it came to children.

"So, uh, how's Shepard doing?" the blonde asked softly, wondering if she'd made the right choice for an ice breaker. Anyone who knew her well enough would know that she hated small talk, or any sort of talk at all, but it was the least she could for him. Besides, anything was better than the silence that kept settling between them.

A grin split across his face--nothing made him smile more than Shepard. Being a single parent also meant that he had to take over the mother's role of talking someone's ear off about them. A role he could easily fill. "He keeps getting bigger. I want him to stay small, but at the same time I want to play with him like I do the older kids." Leo turned the corner into the courtyard, his head turned in the direction of the Daycare. "Despite being seven months old, he hasn't even learned to crawl yet. Which worries me. Instead of crawling he rolls to whatever he wants. Which is great and all, but he isn't working out his leg muscles as much as he should. Which means it may take him longer to learn how to walk--although he has been trying to pull himself up. It isn't working out too well for him." Leo chuckled, steering Freya around a tree. "He also likes to play with the older kids, even though he can't keep up with them. Sometimes Joanna will sit and play with him, it is cute."

The doting father continued his rambling for a while, mentioning the boy's eating, sleeping and playing habits, then followed with his toy preferences. Slowly but surely, Leo became aware of how much he was talking. Having the decency to blush, he ducked his head down. "Sorry, I got ahead of myself."

Listening to Leo, she never knew someone could be so passionate about their child, especially a teen parent. Usually having an accidental child was a curse, having to care for something so fragile and helpless, but Leo seemed to be all over Shepard, and for some reason, it left Freya with a weird warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest. But confused by the sudden thought of happiness, Freya shook away the unnecessary feelings. If there was one thing that she'd learned through out her life, it was that emotions only got in the way. For now, she needed to focus on what she was going to tell him, not get distracted by useless sentimental thoughts.

"It's alright," the blind girl stated, not really minding how much he'd gone on about his child. It was only natural for a parent to ramble on about their kid, especially if they were close, and while she didn't like long conversations very much, she couldn't bring herself to snap at him.

Still unaware of where the two of them were headed, the girl continued to follow Leo's stride, sticking close to him as they did a small loop around something. Was telling him about her dream the right thing to do? She couldn't help but wonder as they kept walking to what seemed like nowhere in particular. Maybe it wasn't, seeing that it was only a mere vision. He would have every right not to believe her or dismiss it, but then again... the Autumn wasn't like that, was he?

"Leo, I had this dream," she started softly, finally deciding that she might as well tell him. "It was about..." Freya continued, though she suddenly choked on her words. Was she really willing to practically give away her biggest "secret" to a guy whom she didn't know all too well? "About..." she stuttered while her mind was screaming for her to just say it. "My kids," Freya finally spoke. Upon letting those two simple words out, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and her once fast paced breathing started to slow down as she waited in the deafening for his reply.

Leo's face expressed various emotions, most of them a bit shocked. Hell, his usually rhythmic steps shifted in pace, much slower than before. His blue eyes gave the blind student a glance filled with confusion. Quickly, Leo forced himself to gain composure. It seemed that these kids would be older considering that Freya had been at Beata for a while, right? Being a teen parent himself, Leo was aware that people wouldn't like talking about their kids in fear of judgement. However, Leo had no reason to judge. He had been in the same boat, so what was the worry about?

"You did? What about them?" While the Autumn was worried about pushing too far, he also figured that getting her to talk about it may help her get over everything that was happening. It was at this point that Leo realized it was plural. Did she too have triplets like he and Keirsta did? Or twins...?

While she was blind, the slight change in Leo's step was pretty obvious, and she prayed that she wasn't making the wrong decision. No, she wasn't. She was sure of it, or so she hoped that she was sure of it, to some extent. There was no going back now unless she wanted who knows how long of more awkward silence. He'd been willing to ask her instead of staying quiet, and she needed to tell him, there was nothing else to it. But even when she knew deep down that he was a genuinely good guy, someone who she could most likely trust, there was still a lump in her throat that wouldn't let her speak, as if it was holding her words hostage.

"It was kind of random," she spoke shakily, swallowing the blockage of fear and emotion. She had to tell him, she just had to. Something about this dream, the fact that it had felt so real and stirred up long lost memories made it all the more important and she couldn't help but feel like she had something to do with it. "They... were in trouble. Well, one of them was, I think. M-my other son, he seemed to be alright, from the looks of it. I didn't get to see much, but it felt so... real," the girl spoke softly looking down to what she presumed was the ground.

"I wouldn't have told you about it, but I don't really know who else to tell," Freya stated blandly. Not sharing it with anyone was always an option, but this was one of those strange things that she (oddly enough) wanted to tell someone about, and since she'd been spending a decent amount of time with Leo, he of all people was a good choice to share her dream with. Besides, it wasn't like she could've told Maria about it, seeing that her sister was the one who ratted her out all those years ago.

After a few moments of silence where she was lost in thought and her company probably was too, the Winter decided to continued. "I don't really know what to think of the dream, and while part of me wants it to be real, the other part of me doesn't want that," 'for many reasons,' she finished with a sigh. She would do anything to see her kids again, but there was one problem; she had no clue where they were or where to start looking. After her father had taken them, they'd been sent off to God knows were, and since then, she'd never been able to find them nor had the time to look all across the globe for two children.

Who was she kidding, they were gone and for all she knew, they could be dead. But even though she had no clue of their whereabouts, why did she feel so drawn to search for them if there was almost no hope?

Leo listened patiently to what Freya had to say. Most parents worry needlessly over their children. With that being said, in Freya's case--she couldn't check on her kids with a mere glance. Leo could, thus he supposed that her worry was reasonable. Especially by the sound of things that she has not seen them in a while. The blond took another turn around the main building, heading down towards the greenhouse.

"What do you want to do about it? Check on them?" The father responded, blue eyes glancing up to the blue sky overhead. He had made certain to not say 'see' them, a force of habit that Leo wanted to grow out of. Mostly for Freya's own benefit and feelings. Sure, it was dumb. Leo could tell. Yet, it wouldn't hurt anyone if he changed up how he spoke. Just in case it hurt her.

Listening to Leo, her heart started to race at the thought of finding them. But even if she was given the opportunity to look for them, where would they start? There were tons of people in the US, not to mention the entire world, and at this point, couldn't her kids be anywhere? A sudden worry of not being able to find them struck her, and after a few moments of daydreaming, she remembered that Leo had asked her a question.

"C-Check on them?" Freya repeated softly. Of course she wanted to check on them, to find them, to hold them in her arms again, but... was it really possible? "Of course I want to check on them... but where do I start? I have no idea where they are," she added, tilting her head towards the ground in a sad, defeated sort of way. "Or if they're even alive," the Winter finished, trying not to think of all of the possible predicaments that her kids could be in.

Blond brows knit together as he processed what she said. Not knowing where her children were? Hell, Leo had been a father for around eight months, and couldn't imagine the thought of not knowing here Shepard was, or how he was doing. The thought pushed him to slow to a stop, turning to face Freya. He looked over her for a long moment, lips pursed in what appeared to be growing determination to help. This feeling was innate in his being, the core of his power was built on the drive to help others.

"You can't let that stop you. Come on, let's go to the office." He pressed onward, turning around back to were they had originally come from. His pace was set in a brisk walk--hands steady as he guided Freya through their new found speed. Leo's reasoning for his insistence was based on his own experiences as a father, paired with the fact that this expedition may improve her mental state. After all, losing your sight is a devastating thing. Leo will be damned if he couldn't help her find her children.

Go to the office? What was at the school office? She wondered silently, keeping up with Leo and till holding onto his arm. A frown sat upon her slightly flushed face, and if she still had eyes, they'd be filled with confusion. She knew that most of the staff was found at the offices, so maybe they were going to go there to simply ask permission or get a plane ticket, but then again, they had no clue where the heck they were going. Wasn't there some guy who could locate people?

Questions and thoughts raced around her head as the two seemingly turned around and picked up the pace. After their leisurely stroll through the courtyard, it took Freya a moment to adjust to the more brisk pace, but non the less, she managed. Now, onto the next question that popped up in her head. Was Leo going to help her throughout this whole 'quest for her kids,' process, or was he just going to bring her to the office and let her figure it out from there? Thinking about needing someone to help through this made the fair skinned girl's cheeks turn blush red and she'd never felt hopeless and weak. But in the end, she knew that he was really her only option, seeing that she wasn't very good friends with anyone else, and her sister was in no state to assist her. Well, it wasn't like she wanted Maria's help anyway.

"Are you uh, sure that y-you want to help me with this?" the girl asked softly as they continued to make their way to where ever they were headed. The last thing she wanted to do was assume that he was going to stay with her, but she still couldn't help wonder if he was going to assist her in finding her kids or not.