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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 24, 2020 10:54:20 GMT -5
Solaris | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath® |Sol blinked into the House, standing still with one hand lifted a little, fingers still curled where they had been through her dog's fur. She paused, lifting her hand, as the feeling of fur and warmth vanished, and tilted her head at the ground, processing. Here again. But this time, instead of the stale, temperature-controlled air of the living room, she was hit by an aggressive heat and dryness that seemed to beat down on her skin and get into her lungs, drying them out. Her feet sank into the ground, which was softer and grainier than before, and the wind had vanished completely, replaced by complete, dead silence. Well, this place was nice. To Rue, however, it was midnight. The desert hadn’t gotten freezing cold, but the air was cool, and the moon and stars shone brilliantly overhead where the sun beat down on Sol, flooding the entire scene with a cool light instead of the intense one that Sol was squinting against, trying to shield her eyes from the bright light.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 11:22:26 GMT -5
Rue blinked in, standing very still, hand over her chest. It had been about five seconds since her last blink, but at least she wasn’t hungry anymore, thanks to Myrnin’s coffee/blood concoction. She looked up as the dryness assaulted her, the smell of sand and various other things almost knocking her over. She could see perfectly well despite the fact that it was midnight, and she was instantly aware that she wasn’t alone. She could hear Sol’s heartbeat and she could smell her before she turned to look at her. She smiled a little. Then hesitated. She had no idea how Sol was likely to react to what she’d done, and she found she suddenly couldn’t speak, even though she knew she should let the other girl know she was there. She swallowed, trying to get her voice back. Her feet sank in the soft sand and the complete stillness of the air didn’t help anything, and for a very long moment, she was completely silent. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 24, 2020 11:38:27 GMT -5
Nico shrugged, staring at the floor before letting his gaze wander around the living room. Even after four years… it hadn’t changed at all. Nico had changed, though. The faces he saw when he blinked in had changed. How many of the people he’d known when he first started blinking were still there? Enjolras. Hook, for better or for worse. Shade. Arlo. If there were others… he hadn’t seen them in a very long time. It was a pity that the people who were still around weren’t the people Nico had ever been close to. And yet… here he was, giving something of himself away to a man he’d met three days ago. To a man who’d gone from an enemy to an ally to… well, whatever they were now. Was it friendship? It was hard to tell, honestly. He was letting himself get lost in thought. He wasn’t thinking about the situation at hand, about what he had to do when he blinked back home. About any of it. He was just thinking about the House. About what it gave him. And, he thought, lifting his hand to where the mace wound had been, what it had the tendency to take away. He lifted his gaze back up to Kelsier, noticing the tiny smile there. It was hard to tell if that was just Kelsier’s resting expression, or if Nico had done something to earn that smile. Kelsier seemed to have a whole arsenal of them. He had never thought of smiles as weapons before, but that was before he had met Kelsier. Kelsier had forced him to reconsider a lot of things he’d never paid very much attention to. “Hm?” He was broken out of his thoughts, glancing back down at the chalice of poison. “Sort of? But not… really? It’s complicated.” He sighed, casting a nervous glance back at the scepter. “We all sort of have to be dead to go where we’re going, but I took precautions to make sure we hopefully don’t actually die.” He considered again for a moment, realizing that what he was saying didn’t sound… great. “Don’t worry,” he added hastily, offering a rare, tentative smile, “I drank it first.” He didn’t seem aware at all that that made the situation worse. He was grateful for the distraction of the butterfly. It had been a split-second decision, but there had been a butterfly garden, and they had a gift shop and… he really hoped they would accept drachmas. McDonald’s always had, but Nico had learned quickly that they had a very loose definition of what money was. “I didn’t have time to look at all of the ones they had for sale. I was afraid the alarm was going to go off, but… I hope this one’s okay.” He shifted awkwardly, knowing well enough that, from what Kelsier was saying, it was more than okay, but…. “Oh.” He murmured, after a moment, realizing that his worry had, apparently, been rather silly. Love was a word that people didn’t tend to throw around a lot. Even for objects. “I’m glad,” he managed softly, looking up at Kelsier and trying to catch his gaze for a moment. Was this what he expected? No, not exactly. He hadn’t expected Kelsier’s reaction to be so… genuine. He had more or less expected Kelsier to look at it like a piece of junk, even if it wasn’t, really. |
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Nov 24, 2020 13:04:15 GMT -5
Myrnin | Living Room | ~∂єѕтιиу and HᥲꙆƒꙆɩɠᖾt mostly, but also Lark and Hawk is mentioned 7S's odd acceptance and then refusal of the donut had Myrnin's head tilting to the side. Uuuuh? Odd. "It's been a while," he agreed with 7S, watching Steve. He wasn't sure what he was going to be doing in this blink, other than the fact that Steve would likely make this a touch harder with the blood. Vincent's staring also implied a room. Oh dear. Was he really energetic enough for a room? Would it matter if he was or he wasn't? He'd go anyway. For the most part, he wasn't paying attention to Rue, but instead focusing on the room at large. This could be implied that this was just because they weren't conversing. "Things have been well," he said, a thin lipped smile crossing his face as he answered 7S's question. "There's been a bit of a strain of murders, but we're looking into it. Seems to be solved now, I think." He waved toward Vincent. "You. If we're going to a room, stop making eyes at the hallway. Just go." |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 13:12:44 GMT -5
Kelsier hadn’t been there at the beginning. He hadn’t been there when Nico first blinked in, or even for a long time after that. He hadn’t known Nico that long, really. How many blinks had they had together now? Not many, he knew, not nearly as many as Nico had had before he met the Mistborn. Kelsier didn’t know that many people here, actually. He knew enough about the House now to know just how unfair it was, but he didn’t know nearly as much as Nico did, because he just hadn't been blinking in nearly as long. What were they? He thought they were friends. Nico had almost died for him, and he had carried the boy out of the room, and they had talked about so many things. They may have started out very poorly, but they were working past that, somehow. The House was an enemy to him. The House was the one that had caused so much damage, the one that had decided to tear their secrets away from them and throw them into situations they couldn’t win. Only, they had won. They’d killed each other’s monsters, somehow. Nico had killed an Inquisitor, and Kelsier had killed a titan, and apparently that was not something one merely does. He smiled a lot, yes, but they were not all the same. He smiled because that was something no one could take from him. He smiled because he chose to. And right now, he smiled because of Nico. He blinked, torn from his thoughts as Nico explained. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took that in, because it sounded a lot like Nico was poisoning someone, and while Kel wasn’t necessary against the odd poisoning, it didn’t really sound like Nico. He listened, understanding coming over his expression as Nico explained. “Ah.” He said quietly, watching Nico closely. Well that was...not encouraging. “You drank it.” He repeated. “That doesn’t make me feel better. You know that, right?” He glanced at the scepter, and not for the first time, he wondered about it. He could always ask, but he didn’t want to make Nico talk about his world if he didn’t want to. There had been enough of that, after all. He focused on the butterfly instead, watching the way it glinted in the light. It was so beautiful, and he didn’t often see beautiful things, much less own them. Nico had probably known that, from how much they now knew about each other. He wasn’t completely sure why the alarm would have gone off unless Nico was stealing the butterfly, but he didn’t pry. He was a thief, after all. He wasn’t about to go judging Nico if he happened to start stealing things, too. “It’s okay. More than okay.” He said, and he was still smiling, his expression still surprised and pleased. He meant it. He really did love it. He lowered it slightly and looked at Nico instead, catching the boy’s eye and letting his smile deepen into something even more genuine and easy. Yes, he decided, they were friends. Why else would Nico have thought of him? Why else would he have bothered to find something Kel would like, in return for something that had already been paid back, as far as the Mistborn was concerned. Because he wouldn’t have needed to save Nico’s life if Nico hadn’t first saved his. There was no debt to be repaid. He had done this because he wanted to, that was all. “I wish I had something to give you.” He added, looking at the butterfly again. “My world isn’t quite as good at making beautiful things, unless you’re nobility, but I wouldn’t give you anything from them.” |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 24, 2020 14:17:10 GMT -5
Sol | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath® |Sol didn't hear anyone blink in, but the feeling swept over her so fast she reacted before she could think. Someone....no, some thing was there. Something was watching her. Her hand went to her knife, and she began to turn in a slow little circle, moving as quietly as possible as her eyes roved sightlessly around, trying to pick up some sound of where whatever was stalking her was. It wasn't charging her head on yet, which made her nervous. Only smart, dangerous things waited to strike.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 14:42:23 GMT -5
Rue froze as Sol went for her knife. So she’d noticed something. How? Rue was completely silent now, not even a heartbeat to give her away. She watched for a moment, eyes wide, trying to get her voice back. “Hey, hey, it’s me,” she said quickly, backing away even though she was no longer in danger from the knife itself. Maybe Sol was just good at sensing monsters. “It’s Rue.”” She added, in case her voice was actually as different as it now sounded to her. |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 24, 2020 14:44:30 GMT -5
Sol | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath® |"Shhhhh." Sol's head turned sharply at the sound of Rue's voice, and she brought a finger to her lips, trying to quiet her friend quickly. "Something here. Something bad."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 15:00:19 GMT -5
Rue stayed where she was. She would be breathing hard if she were still breathing at all. She glanced around, making sure that there wasn’t actually anyone else there, but of course it was just the two of them. She could have known that without looking. “Sol.” She said very, very softly. “I need to tell you something.” This was harder than she’d expected. Well...considering she hadn’t planned for this at all, or thought about the consequences, that wasn’t surprising. “I’m the bad thing,” she managed. “I...I’m not human anymore.” |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 24, 2020 15:05:30 GMT -5
Sol | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath® |"What?" said Sol impatiently, still speaking in a whisper. "Can it wait? I dunno where this thing is yet, and - " But at Rue's next words, she froze, her blood running cold. Her hand gripped her knife a little tighter, and she took an instinctive step backwards, eyes leveled at Rue's approximate location with no small amount of caution. "When?" she asked, her voice very, very quiet. "Where's the bite?"
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 15:12:48 GMT -5
“What?” Rue blinked, startled by Sol’s reaction. What was she... Oh. “No, I’m not...I’m not from your world, remember?” She said quickly, trying to explain as fast as she could. “I’m...I’m a vampire. Do you know what that is?” This was so much harder than she’d thought. She hadn’t thought about how this would affect other people, she had only thought about how it affected her. It was too late to take it back now, even if she wanted to. Which she didn’t. She would take any future over none at all. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 24, 2020 15:17:01 GMT -5
“I won’t die from it,” Nico replied distractedly, glancing up at Kelsier. “Probably,” he added after a moment. “Really, you shouldn’t worry about it.” Again, not the most comforting thing he could have said, but it was true. If he had done his job right, then he wouldn’t die from it. If he hadn’t… well, then the entire world was going to be destroyed anyway, he’d just be among the first to die. At least he had the common sense not to voice that bit out loud. He didn’t need Kelsier worrying for him about the end of the world. “Look,” he added after a moment, shrugging. “I had to, because the sooner we fix this whole thing, the sooner I can get rid of… that.” He glared at the scepter like it had done something to personally offend him. It hadn’t, but the way he’d gotten it had. Either way, he’d just as soon be rid of it. Besides, he figured he’d probably not have seemed quite so much like a nobleman to Kelsier that first time. The thing was more trouble than it was worth, except for the fact that Nico’s use of it might help save the world. He still hated it. He let his gaze drift back towards Kelsier, shifting uncomfortably at the way Kelsier was looking at the scepter. He could ask, if he wanted. Nico would respond, but there was a lot there. He didn’t want to talk about it any more than he had to. And he had the feeling Kelsier wouldn’t really approve of what he was about to do, even if he knew it was the only way to save the world and prevent a lot of people from dying. Nico didn’t claim to be a good person. He just had a feeling Kelsier thought he was a much better one than he actually was. He had broken in some place to take the butterfly. He hadn’t exactly stolen it… he had left a few drachmas there to pay for it, too. Hopefully the shop owner would see it as valid currency. Nico managed another, slightly less forced smile. It was still an uncomfortable expression on his face, but he was trying. It was the best he could do. It had been so long since he’d felt the emotions that would allow him to smile, but there they were, burning deep in the pit of his stomach. Happiness, maybe. Or just... relief. Gratitude? Something. Something to describe what it meant to give someone a gift and see that it changed something.“I don’t need anything in return,” he managed with a soft shrug. “I don’t… have a lot of friends. Or people that are willing to save my life, I don’t… I don’t know if we’re friends, I don’t want to… assume…” he trailed off, then shook his head firmly. “Knowing you is enough.” |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 24, 2020 15:32:55 GMT -5
Sol | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath® |Sol didn't move, but kept her hand tightly gripped around her knife. She didn't like any of this. At all. Her instincts were telling her that if she ran, Rue would chase her. Her instincts were good. She knew that. "In my world, vampires aren't real, but they bite people and turn them into monsters, same as in mine," she said slowly, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way to get out of here before her time ran out. She had to keep Rue - that thing - busy just for a few minutes. She needed time to think. "What are they like in your world?"
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 15:40:16 GMT -5
Rue stood very still, trying hard to think of something, anything she could say to make this okay again. She wanted her friend. She wanted her friend to be okay with who...what...she was. And she knew that might not happen. As much as it tore her apart, she knew there were monsters in Sol’s world, and she might not want to be friends with one. It wasn’t fair. She was just trying to survive, just like Sol was. Why was it so wrong to do what she had to do? “They don’t exist in my world.” She said very softly, trying to sound as non threatening as she could. “But they do in the House. One of them turned me. I...asked him to.” |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 24, 2020 15:46:05 GMT -5
Sol | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath® |"You asked?" said Sol incredulously, her voice squeaking a little as she tried and failed to process this. Why would she... She paused, her expression growing a little darker than before, and reached up, grabbing at her arm. "Look, I know some people say being a monster is like, better, because you're just wandering around and not worried about anything, but they're wrong." Her hand tightened around her arm. "Rue, when you're a monster, you're just dead. And you kill people. And it's awful. It's not good."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 15:52:25 GMT -5
Rue watched the other girl, half expecting her to run. She looked like she was thinking about it. “It’s not that kind of monster.” She tried to explain, her voice cracking against her will. “Sol, I’m...I’m already a vampire. I’m not becoming one, I am one. It happened a couple of blinks ago, but only about ten minutes ago for me. I’ve been blinking in a lot lately.” She tried to smile, even though she knew Sol wouldn’t see it, “it’s better this way.” She promised her friend, forcing all the conviction she felt into her tone. “Trust me. This kind of monster isn’t bad.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 16:06:34 GMT -5
Kelsier stared at him, then the chalice. Right...like he was ever not going to worry about that. Did Nico really think that he could stop Kelsier from worrying just by asking him to? “Right.” He said, deciding not to push it for now. “Keep me updated? And don’t do anything I wouldn’t? Actually, bad idea, do the opposite of what I would do.” He wanted Nico to stay safe, after all, not get into even more trouble. He nodded, glancing at the scepter again. “If you want to talk about that, I’m here.” He continued. It was hard not to push it, but he wouldn’t force Nico’s secrets from him. He was not the House. A secret was something that belonged to one person, and only the people that person chose to share it with. Kelsier was going to respect that, whether he particularly wanted to or not. He might ask, eventually. He might wait for Nico to talk on his own. Either way, he did want to know. It was only his attempt to respect Nico’s privacy that was keeping his mouth shut right now. It was probably going to stay that way for a while. Unless something happened that made him decide to throw caution to the wind and just ask. If he’d known what Nico was thinking, he would have told him he was wrong. Kelsier didn’t think he was a better person than he was, Kelsier thought he was a good person and he was right. Nico was a good kid, whether he thought he was or not. That wasn’t going to change. He wouldn’t have minded if he knew what Nico had done to get the butterfly. He had paid for it, after all. Kelsier wasn’t one to advocate for stealing from just anyone. He never stole from anyone who deserved what they had, he stole from those who deserved to be stolen from. And he never felt bad about it in the slightest. He was more focused on the butterfly than he was on the morality of theft, at the moment. This mattered to him. This meant something, because they had been enemies, and then they had been allies, and now...now what were they? What was he to Nico? “Not in return, exactly. I just wish I had a tangible way to thank you for saving my life.” He explained lightly. “Ah, well, I’ll think of something and surprise you with it. Okay?” He blinked, startled by Nico’s next words, but not for the reason the kid probably thought he was. Then he gave a much deeper smile, one that was warm and genuine and tried to get across everything he hadn’t yet said. “I don’t know whether you consider me a friend, but I consider you one.” He said simply. “And I don’t mean that to pressure you. It’s just a fact.” He dipped his head. “But knowing you is enough for me, as well.” |
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Nov 24, 2020 17:36:52 GMT -5
Kelsier | Living Room | Mint
“There’s a great deal I can do.” Kelsier explained, deciding how best to phrase this. He considered for a moment, then continued. “Well, as I said, for every action there is an equal reaction. This forms the basis of Allomancy. I can use iron to Push metal away from me, still to Pull them towards me. I can use pewter to enhance my physical abilities, and tin, my senses. I can also influence emotions, either Soothing them or Rioting them, but I can’t actually change what you’re feeling, or give you a new emotion or thought. That would be beyond my abilities.” He took a breath, and smiled. “Any questions?” Arthur | Living Room | ®Hawkpath®"That ... is a lot," said Arthur, raising an eyebrow. He also couldn't help shivering a bit at the mention of emotions. He wasn't sure what he thought about that. It wasn't something he was completely sure he liked. There was a bit too much he thought that could be done with that.
"What do people in your world tend to do with these powers? Are they employed by anyone? Do any sort of job or task?"
It seemed like he would be more apt to understand the ability if he knew the culture of it.
Then again, his own workings were starting to look very different from Kelsier's abilities. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 19:43:01 GMT -5
Rue blinked in. At first glance, she looked terrible. Her hair was a ragged mess, there were deep shadows under her eyes, and she was splattered with more blood than was at all healthy to lose. Of course, it wasn’t hers. It took her a moment to realize Myrnin was gone. When she noticed, she assumed he had blinked out, rather than her blinking in. She let out a small sigh, leaning back against the couch and staring at the ceiling. At least she wasn’t starving anymore, though she wouldn’t have said no to a bit more blood. Oh well. She hadn’t really thought about where she was going to get a steady supply of blood. That was probably one of those things Myrnin had mentioned them needing to think about. But for now, she was content to try and wrap her head around what had just happened, She had died. Been killed. She had asked for it. But it wasn't that simple, either. She was also alive, and she was going to be okay. She could think about what happened next now. She would have given anything at all for that. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 24, 2020 20:20:58 GMT -5
Noah appeared, his fingers softly stroking the air beside him. It had been a dog, in his world, the only member of the family who could still see him. He’d been sitting on Adele’s window seat, watching as she did her homework, idly chattering about trigonometry or… whatever. She didn’t need that anymore. She was going to graduate in a few months. Go to college… live a life, fall in love… all the things Noah never got to do. He didn’t so much mind the falling in love part, but the rest of it still bothered him. He shook the thought off, glancing around the living room. The expression on his face almost immediately shifted from pensive to panicked as he noticed Rue. He rushed forward, brushing white-blond hair out of his face as he tried to find the source of the blood. His gaze drifted up, desperately searching Rue’s. “Where are you hurt?” The words were breathless, and though he couldn’t do anything, he could still… he could still put pressure on the wound, or… or get help, or… something. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 24, 2020 20:30:50 GMT -5
Rue looked up as Noah blinked in, her expression shifting a little as she realized who it was. Right. She had no idea how he was going to react. It couldn’t be that bad, right? Surely he had to understand why she’d done what she did? She hesitated, but he had already seen her before she could figure out what to say, and her eyes widened a little at the expression in his eyes. “What?” She asked breathlessly, still a bit out of it. She had turned less then ten minutes ago, after all. Then she glanced down at herself and realized what he was seeing, She winced. Oh. So much for figuring out how to tell him. The House wasn’t going to make this easy on her. “It’s okay, Noah, it’s okay.” She said quickly, standing up to show she was okay. “It’s not...it’s not mine.” |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 24, 2020 23:48:24 GMT -5
Noah took a step backwards, eyes narrowing slightly at Rue’s words. “Whose is it?” He asked softly, searching her gaze. “What happened, are you sure you’re alright?” He hadn’t seen her in what felt like a very long time. Whatever had happened here, though… it was bad. He took breath he didn’t need, trying to calm himself. It probably hadn’t been that long. Time was a funny thing. And… and she wasn’t hurt, so that was good. If she’d killed someone… well, Noah tensed at the thought, but he figured it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. In Rue’s world, it wasn’t unreasonable to kill in self-defense. She’d done it before, after all. Noah flickered in and out for a minute, trying to calm the worry building up. Rue could handle herself. She didn’t need Noah to do it for her – not that he’d be able to, anyway. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 0:08:15 GMT -5
Rue watched him, her eyes careful. He didn’t quite smell human to her, and he didn’t have a heartbeat. He didn’t make her any hungrier, thankfully. She needed to focus on this conversation, this moment, nothing else. She needed to do this right so he would understand. “I don’t know,” she said honestly, very quietly. When had they last talked? Had it been the room where she’d admitted to killing someone? That probably didn’t make her look any better. But she hadn’t, she hadn’t killed anyone. And that had been in self defense. He had said it was okay. It had been an accident. She wanted him to understand that even thought this hadn’t been an accident, it was for the best. She watched him flicker, almost stepping forward as he stepped back. The look in her dark eyes was hard to read, even for someone who knew her. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 0:33:42 GMT -5
“You don’t know what happened, or you don’t know whose blood it is?” There seemed to be an important distinction there, and both options were concerning for very different reasons. If Noah could sense heartbeat, if he could tell when a person was alive… he’d be far more frightened now than he was. As it was, he was on edge, he just didn’t know how right he was to be so. Softly, Noah searched Rue’s gaze, trying to figure out what was wrong. She was acting strangely, and her expression was unreadable. What had happened? It was bad, Noah could tell that much. Nothing involving that much blood could possibly be good. “You haven’t told me if you’re alright yet,” he added, his voice deadly quiet. If she was avoiding that question… well, that was an answer in and of itself, wasn’t it? |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 0:42:21 GMT -5
Rue hesitated. She hadn’t thought about what she would tell the people she knew. Truthfully, she didn’t know that many people. Not very well, at least. And she doubted Hook was going to care. He looked nervous. She was doing a bad job of seeming okay, she guessed, which was probably because it had all happened so fast. Myrnin had offered her hope, and she had taken it with both hands and refused to let it go. She hadn’t planned for it, she had just been so afraid it would be snatched away from her before she could grab it. Well...it hadn’t. And now she had to figure what to do next. She was somehow both exhausted and wired with energy. “I don’t know whose blood it is.” She said softly, not looking away from his gentle, worried eyes. She didn’t know what to expect. She had no idea how he was going to react. And suddenly, she didn’t want to tell him. But she couldn’t lie to him. She wouldn’t lie to him. “I’m alright.” She told him. “I’m...I’m better than alright. I’m going to be okay. Noah...I’m going to be okay now.” |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 0:50:41 GMT -5
Noah watched her for another long second, his brow furrowing softly at her words. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her, it was just that… something was wrong. And she wasn’t explaining the blood, which meant that something had happened, and she was avoiding telling him. Why? They were friends, weren’t they? “What happened?” he asked again, voice soft and scared. He almost flickered out again, but he managed to keep his hold on the House’s energy. He might have been a coward, but he wasn’t going to back out of this one. He didn’t have very many friends, and the ones he did… he wanted to cling to them. He needed them to be okay in the way Noah himself hadn’t been for four very, very long years. There were days when he couldn’t remember parts of being human. It helped, having the House. Having the people he knew didn’t mind what he was, the people who saw him as he wanted to be seen and not as… well, what he was. A corpse that still wanted to pretend to be alive. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe something good had happened. But based on everything he could sense about the situation… he doubted that was the case. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 1:04:05 GMT -5
She was scaring him, she could tell. And who wouldn’t be scared by what they were seeing? A twelve-year-old girl covered in blood she wasn’t explaining, talking about things being okay now. He probably thought she’d just won the Games. She shuddered at the thought, the idea that this could be blood from other children...which, rationally, she knew it could be. She trusted Myrnin, though. He would have gotten it without killing anyone. Right? She had to trust him. He had saved her. Just like he said he would. He had done what no one else could. Well, didn’t she have to trust her friend, too? She looked at Noah, trying to read his expression, which wasn’t hard. He was scared and worried and she was making it worse by waiting, and maybe he wouldn’t even care, maybe she was just making it worse for nothing, maybe- “I let Myrnin turn me into a vampire.” She blurted out. Then she stood very still, as though shocked by her own words, though she knew they were true. But saying them out loud...it made the whole thing even more real to her, the blood on her face, the fact that she could smell the House, that even Noah’s soft voice was loud to her…. She waited. For something. Anything. And she kept her eyes on his, though she was terrified of the expression she was about to see. |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 1:13:56 GMT -5
To Noah, Rue winning the games would have been preferable to the truth. Of course that meant that other children would have died, but… He staggered back like he’d been hit, his blue eyes wide with a combination of fear, and no small amount of disappointment. “No,” he murmured, shaking his head firmly. “No.” As though saying it out loud could undo it, as though… as though he could fix this. It didn’t matter if Rue had killed every kid in the arena. It didn’t matter, because what she had done… could she not see how many more lives she would have to take? Innocent lives? Could she not see what she had sacrificed? “How is that okay?” he demanded, searching her gaze insistently. It was hard for Noah to be intense, it didn’t come easily to him, except when he was more ghost than human, but he felt intense now. He swallowed back some of his immediate reaction, flickering in and out of existence for a moment as he tried to recollect his thoughts. “Rue, how could you… how could you just trade your life away like that?” There was a note of desperation in his tone, a touch of the boy who had clung to life with as much strength as possible, even when it leaked out of him. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 1:24:56 GMT -5
She blinked as the expression came over him. It was worse than she’d been afraid of, much worse. That look of disappointment...it was that more than anything that killed her. It was worse than the fear, even. She had to look away, though hurt flooded her expression before she could. He was upset with her, he didn’t understand, she...she’d thought he would understand. “I asked him to.” She said, as though he simply hadn’t understood that this had been her decision. As though that was what was wrong. She knew it wasn’t, not really. So what was it? Which part was making him look at her like that, like she’d done something worse than anything he could have imagined? “Noah…” she breathed, forcing herself to look at him, her dark eyes wide with hurt and desperation. “Don’t you get it? I don’t have to die now. I’m going to be okay, don’t you understand? This is a good thing. This is for the best.” She flinched away from his gaze. It was intense, much more intense than she remembered it being. She forced herself to meet his eyes, though it hurt her to see the way he was looking at her now. “Don’t you want me to be okay?” She whispered. “I had to. I would have died, Noah, you know that.” |
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