The noise drowned out all other sound - simple things like breathing, loose cloth, the tapping of shoes or feet on the tiled floor. Cat's lips moved, but again Charlie had no comprehension of what the woman might be saying to her; she took a step back, bumping into the German Shepard who was just now starting to look concerned. If there was any indication that he heard the droning as well, it wasn't apparent to those around him. He jumped to all four paws, repositioning himself by Charlie's hip in order to provide support and wait for commands.
With one hand pressed to her ear, the other dug into Jack's coat as she tried to orient herself in the room as the sound proceeded to scoop out the loose confidence she'd developed in the short conversation she'd had with Cat. Another step backward had her nearly headed in the direction of her apartment, the feeling of fight or flight beating in her stomach; but there was nothing to fight, nothing tangible at least. Then, magically, it cleared - but instead of being replaced with the noise of conversations being carried on in the room, she heard something else.
"What do you mean, you're leaving?!" "I'm...just going back home, Charlie, it's not-" "The fuck is this, you sign up because of some fucking spurt of patriotic duty, then flake out when you don't feel like it anymore?!" "What...no, what the hell, Charlie, I'm-"
The sound of something being broken, smashed (a picture, she suddenly remembered a frame being knocked to the floor) abruptly stopped the voice from speaking, and her eyes swung wildly around the room as she tried to discover the source of this particular conversation.
"Go ahead, run away, what, because you're fucking scared?! I think I get it, now, you can read about that shit, but fucking step into it for one day and you turn into a goddamn pussy!"
She knew who both speakers were - the one raging, spewing expletives like candy, was her own. The other was Rylee's, and the topic had been Rylee opting to not reenlist. But why was she hearing it now, in crystal clear tones like it had only happened yesterday?