Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 1:45:38 GMT -5
Noah shook his head firmly, his brow furrowing and eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of it. “You realize that you choosing this is worse, right?” His voice was soft, even despite the horror in his tone. It was… well, it was a slap in the face, for one thing. Noah knew it didn’t have anything to do with him, but… Rue knew he was dead. She knew how much that had cost him. And yet she had chosen to die, too. And to die in a way that left plenty of room to rot and fester instead of just… moving on to whatever was next. Didn’t she know… didn’t she know what she was setting herself up for? “No,” he said, the word harsher than he meant it, “You don’t have to die now, because you’re already dead.” He didn’t like talking about it. He didn’t like talking about what he was, but he needed her to hear the word in all it’s harshness now. Dead. There was no coming back from that. Not without it costing something. For Noah… for Noah it was the feeling of fading away. For Rue? He didn’t know. But he could imagine. “You traded in the possibility of surviving – however slim – you traded that, you traded the life you could have had, everything that’s beautiful and perfect and imperfect about being human, and you gave it away to be a dead thing. Dead things don’t live, Rue. We rot.” |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 2:08:16 GMT -5
He didn’t understand. He wasn’t going to understand. Rue stared, unable to look away as he spoke. She knew he was dead, she knew that, and she was sorry for it, but it had nothing to do with this. She wasn’t dead, she was...just not human anymore. Her heart no longer beat, she no longer needed to breathe, among other things. More important things. She wasn’t really dead, though not...not gone dead. She stared at him, and bright red tears appeared in her eyes, threatening to add to her already stained cheeks. She brushed them angrily away. She didn’t want to cry, she wanted to make this right, she wanted him to see it the way she did. “You don’t get it, do you?” She said very quietly, her voice trembling in spite of her best efforts to control it. “No, listen to me.” She snapped, the emotions of the last few days. - hours, really - finally catching up to her. The knowledge that Katniss could be dead now and she wouldn’t even know until she saw her face in the sky. Her own impending death, and then the hope, and then...whatever this was. She didn’t back down. “I’m. Not. Dead.” She said very clearly. “I’m a vampire. There’s a difference. I’m not you, Noah. I’m not a ghost, my body is just a little bit different now. What was I supposed to do? Die? Was I just supposed to accept that, and for what? So I would stay human? Oh, wait, according to you that stops after you die, so I was going to lose my humanity either way.” She was shaking. Noah was her friend, why...why couldn’t he understand? “I wasn’t going to survive.” She told him flatly. “Only one winner, and it was never going to be the twelve year old girl from one of the poorest districts. I was never a person to them, I was just blood waiting to be spilled, and any hope I ever had of living through that, of coming home...that was stupid and wrong and it was never going to happen. Don’t you understand, I was never going to go home!” The last words rose until she was throwing them at him like weapons, pouring all the pain she felt into every word. Her eyes were crimson when she stopped talking, and her fangs cut into her lower lip, the pain shocking her. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that she had to choose between her life and her friend. Why was he making this so hard? |
|
Asexual
Lark
Hello, its just, me, and 1567396558397583479 larks
|
Post by Lark on Nov 25, 2020 2:21:30 GMT -5
Steve | Living Room | HᥲꙆƒꙆɩɠᖾt mentions rue and myrnin The young teen still leaned back on the probably ancient bookshelf when he somehow garnered the other blinkers. First it was the man offering donuts like the cheesy handouts they were. His reaction couldn't give him a clear read on what the man had been thinking, well, specifically towards him. To his knowledge he'd been here around Enjolras and Hook for the time unless word got out of what's happened. That and the little reunion they all had after that disaster of a room when a certain vampire decided to sob on his shoulders. A good thing he would be alone for sometime, scrapped and bloodied but no one there to see that he's taken care of. Steve's beaten gaze shifted towards the concerned android who only a moment ago had been speaking to Myrnin. "I was asking for it." A twitch of guilt was shown plainly across his face. 7S was not a familiar face or the way she talked - battles? Hey, maybe it was a good thing she saw through the half truth. Whomever the stranger was, he would pay more attention to how things were phrased even if the attention he received was what he craved. All the while his surface levels cuts made themselves more evident when he adjusted in his self proclaimed spot. "This was just - a disagreement. Rooms haven't been as nice." Congratulations Harrington, this is your life now. Steve crossed his arms across his chest as if he were holding himself. At the corner of his eye he could still see the thin frame of Rue having some coffee - arguably bad for kids, y'know? He couldn't keep raising attention for the troubled youth. Old habits like that kept getting him into hard spots, it was already hard enough on him physically. |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 2:32:23 GMT -5
Noah rubbed at the smudge on his cheek, wishing now more than ever that it would go away, that he could have breath in his lungs and blood moving through his veins. Wishing he didn’t know exactly what Rue had signed herself up for. Maybe it would take years, years longer than it had for Noah, because her spirit was still rooted to a body, but it would do the same thing his had done. She wasn’t human anymore, and that was a distinction that mattered to me. It would have been one thing if she hadn’t given a choice, because he hadn’t been given a choice. You had to adapt. But to throw all of that away? To choose to sacrifice yourself? That was completely different. “Your heart doesn’t beat. You don’t need to breathe. Your skin is cold as ice. I may not know much, but the one thing I do know is what makes someone dead.” His voice was cold and tears were building in his own eyes, though his were easier to hide. “Did you even think about this for more than a moment? Did you think about how you were going to get blood? Did you think about exactly how much you have to lose? Do you realize any part of what it means to be human?” He flickered once, then twice, his solid form disappearing, immediately replaced by something clearly inhuman. Decay and desiccation, a thing more than it was a person. He didn’t mean to, he just… didn’t have as much control as he wanted. He flickered between the two forms for a moment before settling into the one that looked more like a corpse than a human. “Hope is never stupid, or wrong!” he protested, the words not nearly as crisp as they had been. “People die all the time when they aren’t supposed to. And there are plenty of people who live when the entire universe says they won’t. You don’t know that you would have died. You have no proof.” His form was shaking, as much as ghosts could shake. “I don’t know the future here, or in your world. I don’t know how things would have gone. But you cannot convince me that what you chose is better than living.” He flickered again, human, thing, human, thing. “What happens when you have to take a life? Not to defend yourself this time, Rue. It’s going to happen at some point. What happens then? Will you care still? How long before you stop? One day you won’t remember what it feels like to be alive. You might be a vampire, but it’s not that different. I’m not me anymore. And one day you won’t be you either.” He didn’t want to lose his friend. He didn’t. But how could he watch her fade? How could he watched her be replaced by someone he wouldn’t recognize? How could he look at her knowing that he would trade everything for even another day’s worth of fresh air and a beating heart, and know that she had thrown it away? Life was precious, all the more so because it was short, and it forced you to care. He hadn’t appreciated his enough. What he felt now wasn’t jealousy, not quite. He didn’t resent Rue for having the chance to choose. But he couldn’t condone her decision. He couldn’t. Not after everything he’d been through. |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 3:07:04 GMT -5
Rue stared as he rubbed the smudge on his cheek. Only she knew it wasn’t really a smudge. She knew what it was, why he was so upset with her. She was so stupid not to have seen this coming, so stupid not to have known how he would react. She had chosen this. She had chosen to be what she was, and she didn’t regret it. It had been less than an hour, true, but she didn’t regret it and that felt important, because if she had immediately regretted it, that would have meant she had picked the wrong choice, said the wrong thing. She could have said no, and she was completely sure Myrnin would have accepted it, wouldn’t have turned her if she hadn’t asked him to. If she hadn’t said yes. She didn’t look away for a second. She couldn’t, no matter how much it hurt, not matter how much it felt like he was tearing her heart to bloody shreds. She recoiled as though he’d struck her. “There wasn’t time.” She tried to answer him, her voice high and loud to her own sensitive ears. “There wasn’t time to think about it. If I’d waited, it could have been too late, I could have blinked out and I could have died, alone. There wasn’t any time to think about those things!” Then he changed and she stepped back, horror glinting in her red eyes. “Stop it!” Her voice was high-pitched and almost a shriek, and she couldn’t look away even if she wanted to, now. She couldn’t look away from the thing that was Noah and also wasn’t. The thing she never wanted to think of as Noah. “Stop trying to scare me!” She didn’t mention it was working. She didn’t want to be scared of her friend, but she couldn’t help it. She let out a little gasp, as though he were physically hurting her. It felt like he was. “That’s it? That’s your reason?” She demanded, the hurt clear in her voice, the way she was staring at the thing she refused to believe was him. “Don’t be stupid. How exactly would I have survived? I was weak, I was small, and being fast can only get you so far. I’d probably be dead already if Katniss hadn’t found me. Making it this far doesn’t mean anything. I made it this far because I’m good at hiding, what happens when there’s no one else to hunt down? I trust Katniss with my life, but what happens if it gets down to the two of us? Our plan was never going to work anyway. And it doesn’t even matter, because even if somehow it worked, there would still be all the Careers to deal with! So don’t you dare stand there and tell me that you know better, don’t you dare pretend you understand.” She fell silent, trying hard to force her eyes back to brown, but they stayed stubbornly red. At least she managed to sheath her fangs again. The dead tribute watched the ghost change, back and forth, but it always seemed to land on the thing that wasn’t Noah. She flinched back, looking away at last. “What was I supposed to do?” She asked again, her voice small and desperate now. It was hard to stay angry when she just wanted to close her eyes and feel safe, just once. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. I have a future now. I have hope. You don’t know that I’ll have to hurt anyone, you don’t...you don’t know any of that. I’m still me. I wouldn’t be me if I’d died.” She took a breath she no longer needed, filling lungs that no longer worked on their own. Then she looked at him again, forcing herself to meet his dead eyes. “Why is it automatically better to be human?” She forced the words out, searching his expression, what was left of his expression. “I don’t understand why it’s so wrong for me to choose to live. To choose to see tomorrow. How is this worse than what I was before, why is this the wrong choice. Tell me what I should have done, and don’t you dare tell me I should have just died!” |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 3:40:36 GMT -5
Noah could stop himself from changing just about as easily as Rue could get rid of the redness of her eyes. When he was upset, he usually just disappeared. He went… somewhere, or nowhere, or a place in between. But he couldn’t do that here, wouldn’t, not when he was still talking to Rue. What did he hope to get out of this? His warnings fell on deaf ears, and even if they hadn’t… Rue as he knew her was gone. She was never coming back. It felt easier to breathe now, even though he didn’t have to. It felt easier than letting whatever the energy was flowing through him to take over. Would she regret this, eventually? It was possible she wouldn’t, it was possible it was the right decision. So why did Noah feel so stubbornly that it wasn’t? That this was a mistake? Did it matter to him if she ever regretted it, or was he just selfish and upset with the world? He watched her, dead eyes wide and unblinking. It was possible to forget that Noah had been human once, looking at him like that. The only thing that really gave it away was those eyes. Those eyes that had once seen swarms of birds blotting out the sun, flying so close he could touch them, almost, the eyes that had made that a reality. Who was he? Before, he’d been Noah Czerny. Now, he was just a dead thing pretending to be alive. “Don’t pretend I don’t understand what?” He managed, his voice low and hard. “What it’s like to face death? What it’s like to feel hopeless, like there’s no way out? Because believe me, I understand why you don’t want to die. I understand it better than anyone else possibly could.” He was not a harsh person by nature. He wasn’t easily angered or upset, he tended to just… deal with the punches as they came. “I understand plenty. Enough to know that life is unpredictable, and I don’t know how it would have worked, but there’s always a possibility of survival if you let someone else help you look for it! I didn’t have that. I was alone, and you’re not and there are people who could have helped you survive!” He wasn’t counting himself as one of them. He wasn’t in Rue’s world. He couldn’t fight. He was spineless and afraid and so, so tired of being alone. He took a step back, his form flickering again, hesitating for just a moment on a boy who looked lost and hopeless, tears streaming down his face before the dead thing returned. If Noah Czerny had been given a choice between death and what he had now, what would he choose? Could he still save a friend’s life if he were dead, all the way dead? He didn’t know. He was terrified of the idea of what lay beyond, but it had to be better than this. It had to be better than what he had now. “You should have kept on living,” he managed in a choked voice. “It was your life, Rue. Your life that you just… threw away like it was worth nothing! I hope you don’t miss being human. I really do. And I hope you made the right choice, but I won’t just stand here and watch you lose yourself. I won’t watch you congratulate yourself for choosing this over the most valuable thing in the world. And I won’t watch you stop caring, because it will happen eventually. And I hope when it does… I hope you remember that you were scared to die once, too.” He flickered once, then again, then disappeared completely. The slam of the door could be heard faintly further down the hallway. He meant what he’d said. He wouldn’t be part of it. |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 4:11:14 GMT -5
Rue didn’t know. She didn’t know as much as she thought she did, about Noah being dead, about what she was now. She barely knew what a vampire was, she just knew it meant she wouldn’t die, and that was enough. She couldn’t even turn back if she wanted to, they both knew that. There was not undoing this or taking it back. Not even Myrnin could do that. So what did he think he was going to accomplish here? No. She wasn’t dead. She wasn’t gone, not the way he seemed to think she was. It was like he couldn’t even see her standing there, trying to blink the red from her eyes, which could have been the color they actually were or could have just been the tears threatening to escape. How had this gone so wrong? It seemed like a moment since he’d approached her, asking where she was hurt, wanting to help. If she could redo it, she might have lied. She might have told him she’d won the Games, that she was going home. But she couldn’t take this back any more than she could make her heart beat again. She stared at him, crimson eyes meeting dead ones. Neither of them was really human anymore. Both were dead. The only difference was that she was still attached to her body. If she could have chosen to be what Noah was, would she? She wanted to think the answer was no, but how could she tell? Wasn’t it better to be something, instead of nothing at all? She didn’t look away when he spoke. “No.” She said flatly. “Not this time. This time, I was already dead. I would have been soon enough. You think I’m not alone?” She let out a bitter laugh, and there was no humor in it at all. “Who exactly do I have, Noah? Where are all these imaginary friends who are supposed to be helping me, because if you mean my sponsors, I don’t have any? Would you like to know what I have in my world? I have me. That’s it.” She glared at him, and the tears finally fell, red streaking down her cheeks, adding fresh blood to the dried stuff clinging to her. “Stop lying to me.” Her fists clenched, her voice tight with pain and anger and fear and everything else she was not allowed to feel, had never been allowed to feel. “It was over. I was alone, just as alone as you. Your friend killed you, mine would have soon enough. I’m not an idiot, Noah!” Then she saw him. A blonde boy, just as scared as she was, only his tears were clear, the way human tears were. The way hers used to be. It was only for a second, but he broke her. She couldn’t stop the tears. She didn’t try. She wanted to run to him and hug him, dead thing or not, human or ghost, she didn’t care. She wanted her friend back. She wanted to live, so desperately that she couldn’t have breathed even if she’d needed to. “I didn’t…” she choked, the sobs coming in full force now. “I didn’t throw it away. I held on. I decided to live, you just can’t see it. You can’t see me any more than I can see you, can you?” He saw a thing when he looked at her now. A dead thing. She couldn’t convince him it was still her, under the blood, it was still her. She didn’t have any words left to fight with. She didn’t want to fight anymore, anyway. She couldn’t have what she wanted, she couldn’t turn back time, back to a room where she’d fallen flat on her back trying to skateboard for the first time, where they’d laughed together, then cried together. They were crying together now, but their tears were not the same color, and that, it seemed, made all the difference. She didn’t answer him. He was gone before she could, even if she’d decided to. She heard the door slam. And then the tribute fell apart. She stumbled forward a step, then dropped to her knees, the sobs shaking her body, the blood pouring freely down her face. Some, sensible part of her brain screamed that she needed that blood, that she would become hungrier without it inside her, but she didn’t care, because it felt like the entire world had just been torn away from her the moment it had been given back. It was like waking up from a nightmare to find yourself in another one. So Rue sat on the floor and cried. |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 12:50:27 GMT -5
Rue | Living Room | everyone Rue sipped at her coffee quietly, watching the other people talk. She had never been one to really jump into conversations, and Myrnin seemed to be mostly focused on the others. He looked exhausted. Turning her seemed to have taken more out of him than he had really told her. She looked down at what was left of the coffee, and she felt just a little bit guilty for immediately accepting it when he probably needed it too. That wasn’t like her. She must have been more out of it than she’d thought. “Here.” She murmured, pressing the cup back into Myrnin’s hand. “I’m done with it.” It would have been a lie to say she didn’t want the rest, but she was used to not having enough. She was used to being hungry. It wasn’t a big deal. She wouldn’t die from it, right? She glanced at Vincent again. He made her nervous for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. Then she paused, processing the words. What would rooms be like for her now? A while lot safer, she imagined. Different in other ways too, probably. She would have preferred to discover all that on her own, truthfully, but if everyone else decided to do a room, she wouldn’t stay out here all by herself. |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 16:06:35 GMT -5
Nico let out a small huff of amusement, crossing his arms as he looked at Kelsier. “I tend to be rather careful,” he replied, which, although technically true, wasn’t as true as Nico would have liked it. He took risks that others didn’t because it seemed to him like the practical option. If other people’s lives were worth more than his own, then it made sense for him to take the risks, right? Not that he was about to mention that to Kelsier. “I will keep you updated, though,” he added softly, twisting his ring around on his finger. “This should be… well, it should go according to plan.” He hoped. Not that his plans very often worked out exactly like he wanted them to. “Hm?” His gaze flickered back up to the scepter, then he shrugged. “There’s not much to talk about. It’s a stupid thing that I have to use to summon the dead to help us fight a shit ton of monsters. And as soon as that’s done, I don’t have to think about it anymore.” That wasn’t the whole story, and he knew it. Kelsier probably knew it, considering the way Nico was still looking at it. He wasn’t ready to talk about how he got it. Not because it was a secret, or because he didn’t trust Kelsier, but just because… well, it wasn’t something he wanted to think about or relive. It wasn’t fair, and he knew it. And he didn’t know if he wanted to make Kelsier hate his world more than he already did. He let his thoughts hang in the air for a moment, turning his full attention back to both Kelsier and the butterfly. He hadn’t actually expected it to matter to Kelsier. It had mattered to him of course, because he’d gone out of his way on a dangerous mission to get it for Kelsier, but he hadn’t expected Kelsier to realize what it meant. Perhaps they were closer to understanding each other than Nico had previously allowed himself to admit. And, he considered, watching Kelsier carefully, perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. He was silent for a few more moments, letting the moment sink in. “Oh,” he murmured softly. He hadn’t… well, he hadn’t considered the fact that he had also saved Kelsier’s life. It had just been a reflex, but he figured that reflex probably told Kelsier more about him than he had learned in any of the other blinks they’d shared. “Okay,” he murmured, though his eyes were slightly narrowed. More with confusion than suspicion, but the expressions were similar enough. He wasn’t used to people giving him things. He didn’t… well, he had never thought about the possibility that he might be worth gifts. Other than the things he’d been given by his father and Bianca, that was. He fell silent for another long moment, searching Kelsier’s face. Kelsier considered him a friend. That was… important. Very often Nico felt friendly towards someone and knew that they wouldn’t feel the same. “I… consider you a friend as well,” he murmured softly, staring at his feet. He wasn’t sure how he expected Kelsier to react to that. Perhaps he’d laugh. Perhaps it was a joke, of some sort. Somehow, though, Nico doubted that. |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 16:17:37 GMT -5
The room was full of shelves upon shelves of snow globes, some filled with glitter, others with floating bits of Styrofoam, each filled with its own unique scene. Places from Noah’s world, and Rue’s, and places neither of them would have heard of. Some plastic, most glass, but hundreds of them, shelves lining each wall with a small, cozy rug in the center. There was a small glass table to the side, displaying some of the larger globes. When Noah appeared, he wasn’t Noah. Not really. His eyes were wide and he was stumbling backwards, trying to block his face, pleading with an assailant that wasn’t there. His chest was heaving in breaths he couldn’t use, couldn’t feel, and he crumpled as an invisible weapon struck him. He didn’t see the snow globes. Instead he saw a forest, and a skateboard, and a friend. He didn’t see the House, didn’t know where he was. Didn’t know he was dead, not really. It was more of a projection of Noah than it was Noah himself. But he was there, he was tangible. He was just… fading. |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 16:27:04 GMT -5
Rue blinked in, curled on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees. The way she was hunched could have meant she was under something no longer there, but for her it merely meant she was trying to stay unseen as the people chasing her went by. It was much easier to stay hidden now, now that she could see in the dark, now that she no longer felt the bitter cold, now that she could hear and smell the people trying so hard to kill her. They couldn’t anymore. They couldn’t hurt her now. But still, she hid from them. Why? She didn’t want to kill them. She was very aware of the fact that she could, if she chose. She was also aware of the fact that there were other options now. It was no longer kill or be killed. She was finally strong enough to have a say in the matter. She looked up, her eyes widening as she realized where she was. She almost stood up, then froze, her eyes catching on the only other person there. “Noah, what...” her voice was soft, wary. It had been about an hour since their falling out, and she knew he wanted nothing to do with her now. Typical of the House to throw them together anyway. But more than that, something was...something was wrong, and her instincts said it wasn’t just on his world. She froze, her body completely still. “Noah.” She said clearly, staring at him, waiting for him to get up. Turn on her, even. But there was also a part of her that didn’t think that was going to happen. She would have rather he fought with her again. It would have been better than whatever was happening now, was about to happen. |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 16:37:42 GMT -5
Noah didn’t get up. His breath came in ragged gasps and he lay on the ground shaking, his hands thrown up to cover his face. Eventually his hands fell, but the wheezing breaths, the shaking, the terror in his eyes… it all continued for several very, very long seconds. And then he fell still, blue eyes glazed and staring at the sky, flickering briefly between the image of a boy and a body. He stayed there for several very long moments before he finally disappeared entirely, leaving the room empty. He hadn’t seen Rue. He hadn’t heard her or sensed her. This was what it meant for him to decay. It happened in ways even he wasn’t aware of. Things he didn’t remember, a soul that had been forced to stay too long, but that didn’t quite want to let go. After about a minute had passed, Noah reappeared, fingers rubbing at his cheek. Sometimes he thought he could get rid of the smudge, if he tried hard enough. He knew it didn’t work that way, though. His hand fell to his side and his eyes widened as he took in the room. He moved forwards, peering at each of the snow globes with a sort of childlike wonder in his eyes, despite knowing what they were. They reflected the light so nicely… It wasn’t until he saw Rue’s reflection off one of the glass globes did he realize he wasn’t alone. Right. He didn’t say anything, but his features fell and he stared intently at the snow globe nearest him. It was filled with glitter, and when he shook it, the glitter rained down on the tiny plastic children making a large, plastic snowman. He’d left her alone last time. He’d said he didn’t want any part of it. And he didn’t. But the more he thought about their fight, the less it made sense, and he wanted… he wanted to understand. He didn’t want to make assumptions, not when the assumptions that had been made about him had gotten him killed, alone and friendless. He just… didn’t know what to say. |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 16:47:55 GMT -5
Rue watched, horror in her eyes as he fell. Silently she begged him to get up, to fight whatever was happening to him, but she knew it was pointless. She knew whatever this was, it wasn’t anything he could just shake off and walk away from. She just...she just needed for it to not be permanent. She couldn’t watch the end of him, not an hour after he had said those things to her. That was too much to deal with at once. That was too much for her to cope with at the same time, and she couldn’t, she couldn’t, she- And then he was back, rubbing the smudge on his cheek like nothing had happened. She stood still, relief and fear warring inside of her, as she silently watched him take in his surroundings. How long had it been for him? Had any time passed at all, or was this the room he had gone into when he had left her? She didn’t speak. Didn’t know what to say to him. He was acting like nothing had happened at all, like...like he didn’t remember what he had just been doing. Was that another thing she didn’t know? There seemed to be a lot of those lately, things she thought she knew but didn’t. She shook her head slightly, the first movement she’d made since he blinked in for real. This...this was the Noah she had known. This was the boy who had taught her to skateboard, the boy who had been worried when she fell, but let her try again anyway. This was the boy who was mesmerized by snow globes and so much more she didn’t and might never even know about him. All because she had made a choice he didn’t agree with. It was more complicated and she knew it. But the wound was still fresh and she didn’t want to poke it. She doubted he wanted to talk to her, anyway. “Sorry.” She muttered, turning away. It wasn’t bitterness in her tone, but sadness. “I’ll find a door. You don’t have to say anything, I’ll go.” |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 17:05:54 GMT -5
“No.” The word was soft, barely audible, but it wasn’t like Rue was a normal human anymore. She’d hear it. Or at least Noah thought she would. He didn’t know much about vampires. He’d spent a few hours the day before trying to research, but he’d never been good at that. Latin he could do. Math, most of the time. English was alright, he had liked a lot of the books he’d read. But history? Science? Things that required actual research? He wasn’t great at those. Besides, his world was different from hers, which was surely different from Myrnin’s. It was possible anything he found about vampires in his world wasn’t relevant anyway. It had been two weeks. Two weeks where he hadn’t spoken to anyone, hadn’t done anything but watched. And thought. He watched his sister do her trig homework, watched her email her friends. He’d pressed his ear down against his other sister’s headphones, trying to listen with her. He’d left the salt out in the kitchen when his mother had forgotten it in her baking. And he’d thought about Rue’s family. He thought about the siblings she’d mentioned. He thought about whether this was a loss for them, or something else. “I didn’t let you talk, last time.” His voice was quiet as he turned the snow globe upside down again, carefully watching the glitter fall. There were some here, he could tell, that would play music, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be very helpful at the moment. He still didn’t agree. He still thought she was making a very bad decision. He sank to his knees, lightly picking up one of the smaller snow globes from a lower shelf. Confetti-like glitter snowed down on a woman with hair taller and more colorful than anything Noah had ever seen. “Why did you choose this?” He tried to keep any hint of accusation out of his tone, but he knew it was a heavy topic, and he heard the way his voice cracked as he asked it. |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 17:18:53 GMT -5
Rue froze, the single word shocking her. She stared at him, waiting for him to tell her how disappointed in her he was, how selfish this decision had been, and all the other things he had told her. Just two dead things trying to understand each other. Two worlds that were not the same. Not that it mattered when what Rue was now had nothing to do with her own world. Vampires didn’t exist, or hadn’t before she had come to be. It wasn’t like she could exactly look up what he was, either. It wasn’t like she had ever had access to that information. She should have asked more questions, when she’d had the chance. Maybe if she could have just understood where he was coming from, maybe it wouldn’t have gotten as out of hand as it had. She couldn’t stop staring, her dark eyes wide and wary and careful and not a little bit hurt as the things he had said to her replayed in her head. He wasn’t the only one who had thought of her family, though she’d had less time to do it. More fragmented moments of panic than anything else. Because this meant she could live, not that she could go home. This was a deal with death, and it was one she hadn’t had time to consider fully. Noah has been right about that much. None of this had been planned. And she had no idea what she was going to do now. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her words seemed caught in her throat, stuck because she could say so many things and none of them sounded right. She didn’t approach him, just watched him quietly as he held the snow globe, watched as the glitter swallowed the figure inside. She’d never actually seen whatever these were before. In another time, she’d have been curiously tilting one this way and that, trying to figure out how it worked. She had enough puzzles right now without adding another one. She flinched at the question, then searched his expression, looking for...something. What she found was as conflicted as she felt. “I did this to live.” She said very softly, the words sounding strangled and small. “I chose this because I would have died otherwise. I tried to tell you that, before.” |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 25, 2020 17:31:24 GMT -5
The things Noah had said hadn’t come out exactly how he’d wanted them to. He hadn’t… he had implied a lot that he didn’t mean, things he didn’t even realize Rue would take from his words. He wasn’t used to getting worked up about things. He wasn’t used to his opinion mattering. He tried to keep himself solid, tried to keep himself calm in spite of the emotions rioting up inside of him. What should he say now? What could he say now? He didn’t condone her decision, how could he? How could he let his friend willingly choose what was a nightmare for him every day? His existence wasn’t terrible, of course. There were still plenty of good things. But always at the back of his mind was the knowledge that if his former self saw him, he’d scream. He’d scream, and he’d throw things, and he’d see Noah now as an imposter at best, a parasite at worst. Probably. Or maybe he would have held his future self’s hand, maybe he would tell himself that it was going to be alright, that he was proud of him for holding on. Maybe Noah didn’t know himself as well as he thought he did. Looking at Rue now, though, she didn’t need someone to berate her or fear for her future. She needed someone to tell her that what she’d done had been alright, that she’d done the best she could do. Could Noah do that for her? He really didn’t know. “No, I… I know that,” he murmured, shaking his head firmly. “But I think… I think I’m missing something.” His brow creased as he shook the snow globe once more. It was easier to focus on the shifting colors of the falling glitter than it was to focus on Rue. It made it easier to focus. “I don’t know who Katniss is. Or what Careers are. I don’t know what’s happening in your world.” He frowned, rubbing at his cheek for just a moment. “I just know that you’re scared. Or.. were scared, I guess.” He sighed softly, flickering for just a moment. The snow globe fell from his hands and shattered before he could catch it. Eyes wide, he turned to look at Rue for just a moment before he began picking up the sharp pieces. “Sorry,” he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut for just a moment. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just picked up the broken pieces and tried to collect some of the glitter that was now sticking to the rug. “How close were you to dying… for real…?” |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 25, 2020 17:56:42 GMT -5
Rue didn’t know what he had meant, she only knew what she had heard, and what she had heard was that she was nothing now. That she had lost everything that mattered, in her desperation to hold onto it all. She couldn’t believe that, she wouldn’t believe that. She couldn’t believe this has been the wrong decision, not when it meant she would live. She didn’t want to be selfish, but wasn’t she at least entitled to that much? Wasn’t she even allowed to fight to see the sun rise? She didn’t know what she expected of him now, she didn’t even know what she wanted from him. She was so tired of things changing and slipping away and she was tired of people she loved hating her. Because Noah had just been the start. She was so tired of being completely alone. Katniss had eased that, briefly, but she knew this couldn’t last. Whatever it was, it couldn’t last. She blinked, watching him. What did he mean? She had tried to be as clear as she could, but she’d been upset and stressed and she hadn’t had time to decide what to say. It had all happened so fast, the change, then her fight with Noah, then Sol. She tried to focus on the colors instead. She didn’t want to ruin this, not if he was willing to give her another chance to explain. She wouldn’t let her eyes go red this time, she wouldn’t let her new fangs come out, she would stay calm and say what she meant and maybe, somehow, that would be enough. “I’m sorry.” She said, her voice tiny. “It all just happened so fast. It wasn’t even ten minutes after I was turned that you found me. And it wasn’t ten minutes before that than I had chosen. I didn’t have any time to think, and then you didn’t understand and I couldn’t handle that.” “I’m still scared.” She said quietly. “But I’m also relieved. There’s also something I can plan for, now. That’s more than I’ve had in a long time.” She could explain, but she didn’t know where to start. She didn’t know how much was even relevant to this. She jumped as the snow globe shattered, covering her ears against the shockingly loud sound. She still wasn’t used to what she was, or what it meant, and she knew she wouldn’t be for probably a long time. She’d had a lot longer as a human, after all. She swallowed. Then she carefully stepped forward and began to help him clear the broken fragments of glass and glitter from the rug. “Too close.” She said very quietly. “I’m supposed to be setting a fire, to distract the people who are trying to kill me and my friend. Katniss is my friend, and she’s trying to destroy the supplies, so that the Careers - the people trying to kill us - have to try and stay alive the way that we do. But they were about to find me. I was hiding, and I was late to the last fire, and they were going to find me. I had to leave it, and that meant the plan would fail. If this plan fails, we don’t get another shot, Noah. No plan B. The only reason I’m talking to you right now is because I made my choice. It’s already saved my life.” She hesitated, fingers lightly holding a razor sharp piece of glass. “I had a choice. But staying the same wasn’t one of the options. If this isn’t living to you, then I’m sorry, because it’s still a lot better than what I was going to have if I had said no. And I won’t regret doing what I had to do to stay alive.” |
|
|
|
Post by ~∂єѕтιиу on Nov 25, 2020 22:10:13 GMT -5
Vincent tore his eyes away from the hallway as Myrnin spoke to him, studying the vampire expressionlessly. His gaze flicked down to Rue when the girl returned Myrnin’s cup, his gaze returning to the strangely dressed blinker without reaction. “Don’t be impatient with me,” he ordered the vampire quietly.
He glanced to the hallway again, thinking, then cast the vampire a sly smirk. “Bring the ones you want,” he said, gesturing to the group of random blinkers with a subtle lift of his chin. He then backtracked towards the hallway, glancing over his shoulder; expectant that Myrnin would be tailing behind him shortly.
|
|
|
|
Post by ~∂єѕтιиу on Nov 25, 2020 22:24:09 GMT -5
Hook stepped backwards a few heavy strides, scratching at the side of his face as the others wandered off on their own or in pairs. He had no interest in whatever type of food could make such an odor, but aside from eating, there didn’t seem to be a clear objective for the room. He ran his fingers over his chin, absently contemplating shaving as he watched some of the blinkers he was more familiar with. He was at a weird place with some of the older folks, Enjolras and Nico most notably, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
He sighed deeply, glancing away and giving the room a deeper analysis for something he could get himself busy with.
|
|
|
|
Post by ~∂єѕтιиу on Nov 25, 2020 22:37:05 GMT -5
Steve still existed in the room, no matter how much the only other person in the room couldn’t bear witness to his stupidity. The teen’s self preservation was admirably low to the point he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “I said you make this,” He waved a free hand to the ever moving stairs, “Whatever place this is easy to handle.” Like any witless newbie he’d known very little of the buttons he was pressing. Remarks aside one quick misstep and he could kiss his ticket out of the room good bye. Instinctively he backed up when push came to shove, his hands reaching behind his back to get the filthy hand off his new polo. “Jeez, that was close” The edge of the platform did become less appealing as did his grumbling when the old captain spoke up once again. Hook’s reproach to Steve left him food for thought, the kind that spoiled quickly. Either way Hook was left with a confused yet useless teenager. Hook rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t askin’ for what you meant, I was askin’ for you to shut yer trap,” he informed the newbie sharply. He scoffed as the teen squirmed in his grasp, abandoning him with satisfaction the moment Steve shut his mouth. In new found silence, the pirate tracked back to the edge from a new angle, crouching carefully as he stared over the platform. He narrowed his gaze after a moment and leaned over further, dropping onto one knee and grabbing the edge firmly as he craned his neck to peer into the abyss. ”There’s our exit,” he muttered, standing upright and backing away. He didn’t bother pointing out the distant platform he was talking about to the other blinker, as he was now preoccupied finding the closest staircase he could hop onto. |
|
|
|
Post by ~∂єѕтιиу on Nov 25, 2020 22:45:29 GMT -5
Vince - hall - mintedstar/fur “Peeved?” Vincent echoed the word with a slight raise of his eyebrows. He hadn’t thought his words had carried any tone, though he supposed his previous statement could easily be misinterpreted as aggression. Irregardless of what he’d meant, Arthur had grown a spine since they’d last spoke. An amused smile worked its way onto his face as the alchemist began to look around, his pale eyes tracing his movements closely. The maliciously interested look on his face softened as Arthur spoke back to him. “Would you have me?” He asked coyly. The look that Arthur shot Vincent was clearly one made to look like he'd grown two heads. He felt like he had. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Arthur asked, trying to keep his voice even without getting angry. He was a bit confused by the stupidly phrased sentence. He turned away and kept moving. He didn't need Vincent for this. (Whoops, short. X'D ) Vincent leaned back slightly with a raised eyebrow, smiling at the strained response he’d gotten. “Am I...welcome to join you?” He clarified carefully, giving pause as if he were choosing his words gingerly. There was certainly something different about this blinker, or perhaps he had just become incredibly stressed since they’d last spoke. Either way, he was far more entertaining in this state. |
|
|
|
Post by --cato phoenix on Nov 26, 2020 1:39:01 GMT -5
A certain young blonde girl appeared out of the air, sprinting across the living room with a tattered cloth sack in one hand and looking back over her shoulder as if she thought she was being chased. Her expression changed from frightened auto surprise as she realized her surroundings had changed and she stopped running, her grip remaining firm on the bag as she quickly scanned the room. She was a bit taller now and her coat- though still oversized- wasn’t quite as loose as it had been, but the House looked exactly as she remembered. Seeing it brought on a wave of conflicting feelings. She exploring it and talking with the other blinkers, but it also reminded her of the past two years. |
|
|
|
Post by ~∂єѕтιиу on Nov 26, 2020 11:28:39 GMT -5
Hook blinked in, sitting reclined back in a wooden seat with his feet on a table. The house was kind enough to transfer him onto the couch, where he wouldn’t vertically drop two feet onto the ground and he had time to catch his unsupported legs before his heels hit the ground.
Dazed, the captain barely caught glimpse of the young girl while she was still running, though his eyebrows rose in recognition once she’d stopped. “Arlo,” he greeted in surprise, sitting upright. “Yer still blinking’ in a lass,” he scoffed a bit, looking over her as he tried to piece together what scene had been taking place before her blink. He eyed the bag in her hands curiously, but hesitated before commenting on it. He couldn’t quite remember how long it been since he’d last talked to Arlo, but it felt like a while...had she been stuck in this form the whole time?
|
|
|
|
Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 26, 2020 13:22:13 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.” "I don't trust you," said Sol sharply, taking a step further back from where she'd estimated Rue to be. "I barely know you. And now you're saying someone turned you into something that's not a human, so what if that had side effects? The nice girl I met could be saying all this just to get me to come closer, right?" Her hand tightened on her knife, her knuckles white from the pressure. "'It's better this way' is something crazy people say before they try to kill you or turn you into whatever they are. You know that, right?" |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 26, 2020 13:52:25 GMT -5
Rue didn’t move. She didn’t know how to do this. She didn’t have a clue what the right thing to do here was. “I’m not crazy.” She whispered, though it was still loud and clear to her own ears. She didn’t even know whether Sol would be able to hear her. She wanted to walk forward, desperately, but her instincts told her that was a mistake, so she stayed where she was. “I would have died.” She tried again. There was so much to explain and not enough time to say any of it. She just had to say the most important parts first, before Sol left or attacked or whatever it was she was currently thinking of doing next. “I would have died, Sol. What I am now...it means I get to live. Wouldn’t you do whatever you had to do to stay alive?” |
|
|
|
Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 26, 2020 14:27:48 GMT -5
Sol | Split desert room | ®Hawkpath®Sol narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out Rue's intentions. It was hard to say exactly what she wanted since she didn't know the details of how she'd been 'turned' or the goals of whoever had done it. It could be pretty much anything. "I'm not telling you what to do with your life," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "You can do whatever you want, join whatever group you want, I don't really care. But it seems like you're trying to convince me of something."
|
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 26, 2020 14:39:15 GMT -5
Rue blinked. She had no idea how to respond to that. It wasn’t the reaction she had been expecting, honestly, though she really didn’t have a clue what to expect here. She could explain, but that felt like a waste of everyone’s time unless Sol asked. If she asked, then Rue would tell her, but she wasn’t going to start rambling if it didn’t matter. “I’m trying to convince you that it’s still me.” She said quietly, searching the other girl’s expression. “I’m trying to convince you that we can still do rooms together.” |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 26, 2020 22:13:10 GMT -5
Noah let the silence hang in between them, doing his best to process her words. To fit them in with everything that had been said last time, everything he had tried to work out since he had blinked out. There were things he disagreed with, still, but… he understood now more than he did. And he found the anger he’d had about Rue’s choice waning, if not disappearing entirely. “It’s not living,” Noah murmured softly, shaking his head slightly and delicately trying to piece the globe back together. He was silent for a very long moment, not looking at her as he tried to sort his thoughts out. “Living… living means you can die. It means you wake up every morning, and you know that anything could take you down, and you look at the sky and you tell Death no, for just one more day. It’s knowing that you’re small, and the universe is large, and maybe your life won’t be enough to make a difference, because it’s so comparatively short, because you’re just one person among millions, but you can hope it will anyway. That’s… that’s why humans are better. Because of how fragile they are… we were. And how much they’re willing to risk anyway. And they live their lives, and each day is like they’re flipping off the rest of the universe. I… I miss that. I miss feeling invincible, but knowing I wasn’t. You can’t live if you’re already dead. Even if you can technically die again.” He sighed, flickering in and out once more, but somehow managing to keep the pieces of the globe he was holding together. He didn’t say anything else for a long moment, though he was desperately trying to fit the words together right in his head. He’d never been very good at that. He’d never been good at being heard. “You said you chose this,” he continued, his voice tiny. “You said it was your choice, and I thought… I thought you’d meant that you’d given up. That you thought that this was somehow… better than being alive, and maybe… maybe you do, maybe I didn’t misunderstand that, but… from what I understand you didn’t even have a choice.” He didn’t let his voice rise in volume, instead trying to keep it even and soft – it wasn’t often he got passionate enough about things that he grew louder (except when he was excited about things, though that was different). “If the choice was between dying and maybe disappearing forever and dying and still being able to stay around and do some good…” his voice broke and he looked away again, doing his best to say what he meant without starting something he hadn’t meant to. “I can’t blame you for that choice. I… I didn’t really have a choice in that, either, because of where I died, but if I did… I don’t know what I would choose. So how can I hold that against you?” Noah fell silent once more, moving towards gathering the glitter in his hand. He didn’t have a way to reassemble the globe, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least try. It was easier than thinking about what Rue must feel about their last conversation. “I thought you just gave up,” he repeated eventually. Finally, he looked at her. “I still have questions. And I’m still scared for you. But… if it makes any difference, I think you made the most human choice you could.” |
|
|
|
Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 26, 2020 23:12:27 GMT -5
It was easier to concentrate on the shattered globe than it was to look at Noah. To risk seeing something there she didn’t want to see. It was easier to pretend this was okay, that nothing had changed. But she couldn’t do that, and even if she could, she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t run from this. She wouldn’t let herself run from this. She opened her mouth to protest as he spoke, no sound escaped. Instead, she listened, her expression hard to read as she watched him speak. She didn’t know how to answer him. It hurt to understand what she had lost, it hurt to hear him tell her exactly what she had given up, but she knew that she hadn’t had a choice, not really. Not between living and dying, anyway. Her choice had been whether she would be gone or not. “I don’t understand.” She said, her voice small. She didn’t want to fight with him, but she wouldn’t just accept what he said, either. “I’ve seen so many people die. I’ve seen so many people my age and younger die from so many things, and it’s never pretty or poetic or good. You said it’s that humans tell Death no every day, but isn’t that what I did? I picked the choice that meant I would see tomorrow.” She fell silent, not expecting him to understand what she meant. “I do understand what you’re talking about.” She said finally, looking at him, her dark eyes wide and soft and deceptively human. “I get that things are beautiful and they matter. My favorite thing in the world is music. I understand that life is precious. I just wish you could see that this is still living, for me. That I’m still me.” She went quiet, listening to him. She thought she understood what he was trying to say, even if she wasn’t sure she agreed with it. But still, understanding was a huge step in the right direction. “I didn’t mean that this is better.” She answered, her voice so soft it was almost lost in the quiet air. “I meant…I guess I meant that I don’t know what this is. I don’t know what it’s like to be a vampire yet, I’ve only been one for about an hour. And I don’t think it’s fair to say that being human is automatically better because I don’t know enough to tell.” She paused. He was trying to understand, she could tell that much. He was trying to understand what she had done, and truthfully, so was she. “I did have a choice.” She said, because it felt important to her to make that clear. She didn’t want anyone to start blaming Myrnin for what had happened, not when he had done what he did to save her. Not when he had asked first and she knew he would have respected her decision either way. She watched him, almost reaching forward, but stopping herself. She didn’t know where they stood right now. Not enough to know what was okay and what wasn’t. “I’m sorry.” She said quietly. “I can’t be sorry for my choice, but I’m sorry you didn’t get one.” She looked at the broken glass still clutched in her hand, and she tried to think of a way to put the snow globe back together, because it felt a lot more fixable than she did at the moment. When she finally looked back at Noah, her eyes searched his, looking to see if she could find any hatred there. She couldn’t. “I didn’t give up.” She told him, and finally tried to fit the piece of glass in with the others. It didn’t work, but she tried. Then she looked at him again and her eyes widened. “Thank you.” She said in a very small voice. |
|
Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
|
Post by strider on Nov 26, 2020 23:52:48 GMT -5
It wasn’t that Noah was grateful he’d broken the snow globe, because he wasn’t, but he was grateful for the distraction. It was something they could both direct their attention to instead of directing it entirely at each other. Something they could do to avoid looking at each other and physically looking like the dead things they were. “I’m not saying it’s pretty or poetic,” Noah replied, his voice hard. “I had my skull bashed in by something that brought me joy by the only person outside my family who treated me like I could be worth something.” It was easier to lay it out in the open, to taste the fear and the bitterness on his tongue. “I’d be lying if I said that was pretty, or poetic, or good. I was killed because he was angry that he didn’t get to be rich anymore. My death – hell, my life – didn’t matter in the end.” He blinked, delicately trying to piece together two of the shards. Somehow, they fit. “My world is a lot more mundane than yours. A calculus test is less of a challenge than not having enough food to survive. But there’s still random chance. There’s still the knowledge that you could die, and you aren’t strong enough to fight it off. And I think… I think knowing that could be enough to kill you. But humans every day know that, and they get up and they make something of their lives anyway. I don’t think death is beautiful. I think… I think living is.” The air deflated from his shoulders and he slouched forward a little more, letting some of the glitter drift down into the biggest piece of the snow globe he could find. “I’m not asking you to give this up,” he murmured after a moment, looking up at her. “I just… think you need to know that it’s different. And it’s different enough that to me, I can’t count it as living. But whatever you call it, you’re still here. And it doesn’t matter what I call it anyway. I spent my entire life doing things and saying things because I was told I should. I didn’t get to navigate the world on my own terms. And it’s my own fault, but… you shouldn’t navigate the world on my terms, or anyone else’s. Living or not, it doesn’t matter.” He stared at the rug for a long moment, then squeezed his eyes shut tight. “I said… I didn’t mean to say that you right now aren’t you.” He opened his eyes again, searching hers for a moment before he looked back down at the broken snow globe. The rest of it wasn’t going to come together quite as easily. “I think… no, I know you’re going to change in ways that you wouldn’t if you were human. I can’t tell you that you won’t. But it was unfair to assume that all those changes will be bad. I’m sorry.” He wasn’t going to bring up the fact that she’d have to kill people eventually. That didn’t seem like a good way to make peace. But he did mean the apology. He watched her again for a moment, gaze drifting between her and the shards of glass they’d manage to gather. “Sorry. I know you had a choice, technically. I know you weren’t forced by Myrnin and you didn’t give up your free will or anything. But the choice you had isn’t the choice I thought you had.” He sighed softly, trying another piece. It didn’t work. Eventually he’d have to go see if there was super glue or something, but he didn’t want to interrupt the conversation. “You can’t convince me that anything is better than being human,” he added softly, lips twitching into an almost smile. He flopped down onto his belly, chin resting on his hands as he stared at the shattered pieces. “But that’s an opinion. You can’t convince me that there’s any type of sweet better than sour candy, either. Doesn’t mean we have to stop being friends if you disagree.” |
|
