[B][Empath][/B]
As MacReary left, Melanie left out a silent sigh she hadn’t noticed she was holding in her. That old man had always given her a weird feeling - but since their last mission it had been worse than usual: she discovered to her own surprise that she had been worried about any comments about her ‘actions’ in their last mission for some reason. Luckily MacReary seemed to have forgotten it, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of nervousness away - thank god she had only run into him twice since then. It was at this point in time that Melanie remembered where she was again: meeting with her sector - but more importantly than that, Eva was speaking to her, eyes wide as they filled with what appeared to be horror and concern.

“Hey, you alright?” Eva asked her before she continued; “Damn, we look beaten to a pulp? What did you do, get trampled? I never pegged you for the type to get involved in a riot, Mel.”

It took Melanie a second before she realised what Eva was talking about, but then suddenly the light bulb got turned on inside her head: Father had given her quite a few good hits resulting in her face looking a bit like a punching bag she guessed. 

A weak smile formed on her lips, “oh you know…” was all she managed to say before she lost the ability to speak, her hand absentmindedly moved up towards her face, wanting to feel the bruises itself - however she commanded it to stop, resulting in a rather awkward pose where her right arm hang motionless for a second between her face and her shoulder. Finally she rested it on her left arm, just above her elbow - the usual pose she made when she wasn’t certain of something - which only made her appear even more awkward. “... Guess I'm finally getting into that rebellious age...?" She finally said with a voice not quite as normal as she had intended - she just hoped that the crooked smile helped cover it. 

However she had not needed to worry - or at least she thought so because soon after Church, Eva and Klaus took off, talking about doing some R'n'R - and soon after both Marina and Acacia followed, leaving only Henry and herself. This pleased her greatly; fewer people she had to lie to for the moment. 

"So..." She spoke to Henry, her usual grin securely placed on her face, "and then there were two, huh rookie?" She winked at him, before looking around. What was she supposed to do? They weren't going to regroup for some time so she had to figure out what she could do - it was a weird feeling for Melanie: 'free time' wasn’t a concept well known to those in Sector V, to be honest …mostly because Church seemed to find great pleasure in torturing them with gruesome training sessions, dangerous missions or – his favorite, at least that was what Melanie believed – internal fights with different sectors. 

[I]well[/I] Melanie thought after a few moments, [I] the others are going to do some training - and it has been some time since I had a good session...[/I] she argued with herself. Zooming back into the real world once again, she focused on Henry once more.

“Well I will take my leave as well, got to get some training done - I don’t want to be caught up by the likes of Church and Eva!” she grinned before she waved a goodbye, soon followed by a last remark “I’ll see you later!”

With that she quickly took her leave, running through the maze of rooms and corridors that made up the interior of Sundown - she had gotten more comfortable with them now; easily knowing where she was and where she shouldn’t be. Smiling a bit to herself as she turned around a corner, ready to dodge out of the way if something was in her way - luckily there wasn’t, and so she continued her run - she could still remember how confused and lost she had been when she had just gotten into the Runner’s society and Sundown. There had been a lot of scolding from Church and Eva because she kept being late in the first month or so. 

Finally, after following a few more corridors and corners, she arrived at the location she had been gunning for: it was a large room filled with different obstacles and debris that made the room perfect for technical running and manoeuvres. However it was because of the aforementioned that most Runners stayed away from this room: the roof and walls of the rooms that had surrounded the main area had collapsed, allowing the room to become so big - however at the same time the danger of further collapses were seen as extremely high, and therefore the Elders had warned the Runner society to stay away from areas such as this. Which was another reason why Melanie preferred it: she could be alone - and giving the middle finger to the Elders at the same time was definitely an added bonus.

As the sun slowly gained its power as it rose above New London, covering first the highest of the rooftops in its golden light, and soon after the lower levels as it reached new heights. The air that covered New London was starting to heat up because of the gentle touch of the sun, it was going to become a warm day - or at least a warmer day than the citizens of New London had experienced in a long time. Many Runners would seek out the sun-touched areas, craving to drink the warm sap of the sun after so many days of cold. However, at least one Runner didn’t notice this before the small droplets of salty sweat started to run down her skin: Melanie was running and dodging various obstacles in the room, smoothly making her way around her imaginary maze of a training ground. Bouncing off a wall; jumping over the rubble of a wall that once were - while at the same time incorporating kicks and punches into the constant stream of motions.

After a while Melanie came to a standstill in the middle of the room, the beams of light that emanated from the sun through the window had become shorter as the sun rose. However the room had only gotten warmer, and as a result she could feel how drenched in sweat her clothes were. It had been a harsher training session that what she usually had put herself through - and the reason was clear: Father.

She could feel the frustration, embarrassment and rage boil inside of her, not only towards Father, but also towards herself. She was indeed a failure - but it wasn’t too late to correct that.

Closing her eyes she shifted her stance. It wasn’t a stance that most Runners would use - or even know: it was a stance meant for fighting. Most Runners kept to the first code of the Runners; “Never fight when you can run” - a code Melanie had never really understood, running would never solve anything. If you wanted to solve a problem you had to take a stand and fight, fight for what you believed in and fight for your life - at least that was Melanie’s opinion. 

Pushing these thoughts aside she began a set of flowing motions, each blending movements from various fighting styles into one smooth dance. Her mind created various enemies that she fought, a technique that had taken her years to perfect, but it came with great advantages. 

At first Melanie fought smoothly, keeping her movements efficient and clean, however as she advanced she became more fierce and aggressive. With each punch, each kick and each knife-attack she poured her rage, frustrations and embarrassment into her movements, forcing herself further and harder than she normally would - and when she finally stopped she was panting and groaning from the physical and mental workout. 

“Pheeew…” Melanie let out a heavy, long sigh as she stood up straight. Rubbing her neck softly as she looked down at herself: her clothes were drenched in sweat, her skin was shining with the reflections from the light and her hair clung tightly to her skin. “That was a nice workout” she grinned to herself, using her right hand to pull a few strands of brown hair away from her eyes. Stopping her hand suddenly before she rolled the strands of hair between her thumb and her finger she came to realise something.

[I]It’s been a long time since I have had my hair cut...[/I] she thought to herself, thinking back in time to when the last time she had cut it was. [I]It was… two months after joining Sector V? Yea that seems about right.[/I]

 Usually she didn’t really care for her own appearance, it wasn’t like it mattered in the world she lived in. For her the important things was that her appearance didn’t get in the way of her functions as a Runner and a fighter - however it had gotten awfully long, and it was starting to get in her eyes and tickle her back when she moved…
[I]Oh well,[/I] she thought annoyingly to herself, [I]guess I cannot push it any longer...[/I]

With that she started to move towards the entrance to the room, pondering about how she would go about it, last time it had been a nice old lady - however she doubted she could find her again after all this time.

“Maybe I could do it myself…?” she spoke to no one but herself as she walked slowly down the path she had followed getting there.

[B][Vivid][/B]
Pushing the air out of her lungs and between her lips in a thin stream, Eva finally came to a slow stop right outside of the mess hall. She wasn’t hungry, and it definitely wasn’t a good idea to eat right before heading out on a mission, but she liked the sound of the place. After being trapped in the infirmary for so long, she missed the cacophony of dishes clattering against each other and voices rising in an effort to be heard over one another. Placing her hands on her hips, she leaned from side to side, slowly stretching out the muscles as she peeked inside to glance at the clock mounted on the wall. 

“Do I still have that much time?” After leaving Church and Klaus, she had gone ahead and jogged the rest of her route at an easy and leisurely pace… and then she went ahead and started it again, at her usual pace. Though it still felt like everything in her body was aching in one way or another, the pain couldn’t hold a candle to how she felt when she ran. The more she moved and warmed up, the looser her muscles and tendons grew, and she couldn’t resist the urge to keep pushing herself harder. 

Even she knew better than to overdo it right out of the hospital bed, though. When she finally forced herself to stop, she had assumed enough time would have passed to demand her presence at the rendezvous point, but it looked as though she still had at least 45 minutes to kill. “Well, damn,” She muttered, “I’m already bored.” 

Rather than going in and taking a seat, she decided to turn around and walk in the opposite direction, not feeling generous enough to allow a cramp or two to settle in her muscles. She continued to stretch out the rest of her muscles as she walked, rolling her head in slow circles and pulling her arms across and above and behind her. Focusing on keeping her steps slow and light, she clenched her fingers into loose fists and brought them up, holding them in a standard defensive stance. As carefully as she could, she threw a sloppy right jab, wincing as the movement shifted her not-quite-healed clavicle. Letting out a soft grunt, she grit her teeth and tried again, prepared to compensate for the pain now that she knew what to expect. Again and again, she pushed her fist out, focusing on keeping it straight and centered; slowly, she began to add in variation, trying hooks, uppercuts, and jabs as well. By the time she started implementing her good arm to execute actual combos, you could start to call her actions shadow-boxing, but only just barely. 

“Agh, [I]God[/I],” She grunted, clutching at her right shoulder as she over extended her punch, causing a wave of sharp pain to travel up her neck and down her arm. Clenching her jaw in frustration, she growled and delivered a wild roundhouse kick to the wall, stumbling as she fell off balance. “Oh yeah, Eva, great idea, just do something that’ll hurt yourself more,” She grumbled as she leaned over to prod at the area around her ankle. “You can’t even kick something like a normal person, can you? Gotta be all flashy, even when there’s no one around to see you make a fool of yourself!”

[I]”Maybe I could do it myself…?”[/I] It almost felt as if the voice had been summoned at that exact moment, solely to prove Eva wrong. To her surprise, though, she recognized the voice. 

Taking her attention away from her injuries, she walked further down the hall to peek around the corner – sure enough, there was Melanie, walking in the opposite direction. 
“Do what yourself?” The words were out before Eva had even thought about speaking. She was naturally friendly, which wasn’t always a good thing. The moment she saw a familiar face, she had a tendency to jump right into a conversation, as if she had been standing right next to them the entire time. “Er…um, hi.” She added lamely, lifting her hand in greeting. Yes, saying ‘hi’ was probably a more socially acceptable method of greeting. 

[B][Empath][/B]
Following the path of the corridor Melanie wasn’t paying much attention to what happened around her - not that one could blame her: usually these parts of Sundown were mostly left unused. Instead she dealt with the major problem of her hair, it really had grown too long.

[I]“Do what yourself?”[/I] a voice spoke behind her, sending a jolt up her spine causing her muscles to contract, instantly ready for any possible situation, however this wasn’t necessary as the voice soon spoke again. [I]“Er…um, hi”.[/I] 

Turning around Melanie visibly relaxed as she saw that it was Eva who had sneaked up on her. Melanie grinned friendly before opening her mouth to speak.

“Oh jeez, you scared me!” she spoke with her usually cheeky grin on her face, “hasn’t anyone told you not to sneak up on people like that?” With a wink she added, “You never know how the person might react.”

[B][Vivid][/B]
“Well, taking into account the fact that I grew up with Church and was practically raised by Maggie…no, I don’t think anyone ever did. I just had to learn the hard way,” Eva laughed, showing her palms in a placating fashion. “But sorry, didn’t mean to scare you – thanks for not jumping me,” She chuckled, gingerly touching her fingertips to her collarbone again. “Lord knows I don’t need any more bruises…”

[B][Empath][/B]
A sweet laugh erupted from Melanie’s throat, “Good point” she said laughing. “That does explain a lot,” she joked, adding another wink in for good measure. “And no worries, guess I am a bit on edge…”

Her voice trailed off, the last few syllables tenderly floated through the air before she closed her mouth.

“Oh, and… uhm,” Melanie started, coughing a bit to hide her fragile voice, “I was just think that I needed a haircut” she spoke, this time a bit sturdier, “you know, it has been ages since I have gotten my hair cut, just after I joined you guys actually - and I could really do with one”. She smiled, before adding a last sentence. “You know, long hair like this” she said, using her thumb to point at her ponytail, “sure can get in the way when you’re running and fighting!”

[B][Vivid][/B]
Eva’s eyebrows lifted as she spoke, an expression of recognition taking over her face. 

“Oh yeah, definitely,” She grinned, pointing to her own short locks. “I’m always wondering how the other girls can stand it. If it so much as starts to brush my shoulders, I just lose it when I’m trying to run.” Thinking back to what she had overheard before speaking up, Eva tilted her head curiously. “Do you usually cut your own hair? Or have you found a hairstylist around here that [I]doesn’t[/I] just take a steak knife and call it a pair of scissors?”

[B][Empath][/B]
“Well,” Melanie started, “back when I arrived here there was this kind old lady who did my hair, however I doubt I can find her again - this place is a bit too big for that…” She rubbed her neck softly with her right hand before continuing, “and yea, luckily she did have a scissor, although it was still not exactly sharp!” Coughing once again before she continued, “So, yea, uhm… I was thinking of trying it myself, it’s just…” her voice trailed off as her cheeks took on a faint crimson colour, “that I’ve never really cared much for it, you know?”

[I]Why am I blushing?[/I] Melanie wondered to herself, trying to hide her insecurity with another grin, “Just never really had time in this world, you know?”

[B][Vivid][/B]
“Who does?” Eva laughed good-naturedly, making a point not to comment on the other girl’s embarrassment. “I sported the ugliest God-awful bowl cut for nearly three years and never gave a damn until I actually bothered taking the time to look in a mirror. That was a sad, sad day – it was also the day I decided to start learning how to [I]properly[/I] cut hair, so you’re in luck!” 

With a wink, she gestured for Melanie to follow her as turned around and began walking. “It’s hard to find the things that you need around here, especially anything of quality, but it’s possible. You just need to know where to look.” Eva grinned as they approached the infirmary. “Wait out here,” She whispered, recalling Melanie’s aversion to all things medical. The girl had looked ready to crawl out of her skin when Eva had first been admitted. “I’ll be right back out.”

Flashing her a thumbs up, Eva ducked into the room, scanning it for familiar faces as she carefully crept along. After looking it over several more times, she felt confident that a certain Frenchwoman was nowhere to be found, and scampered over to Nadine’s workspace. 

“Come on, come on…” She muttered, pulling out the shelves of the little cart and pawing through its contents. 
“[I]Ahem[/I],” A rough sound came from directly behind her ear, and she closed her eyes. 
“Crap,” She muttered.
“Crap is right, [I]ma crotte[/I],” Sighing, Eva turned around to face the redheaded nurse, who had her arms crossed and her eyebrow cocked high. “[I]Que fais-tu?[/I]”
“Oh, you know,” Eva pushed out a strained laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. “Just…hanging out.”
“Right,” Nadine looked unimpressed. “Tell me, how does ‘hanging out’ include going through my things?”
“I lost something, and I just thought you might have been keeping it here.”
“What is it that you’ve lost?”
“My dignity,” Eva muttered, covering it up with a cough. “I, uh, I mean – I need some new bandages. You know, for hand wraps…we’ve got a mission in just a bit, and I’m out.”
“That is what you call ‘lost’?” 
“I…”
“Yes?”
“…Okay, look, I need to borrow the scissors.” Nadine frowned, glancing over her hair. 
“You don’t look due for another haircut yet.”
“It’s not for me.” 
“Eva…” Again, she frowned. “You know those are for medical-”
“Medical purposes, yeah, I know. Come on, though, please? She’s been with us for half a year now, and I still feel like I barely know her. This is the first time I’m getting much of a chance to talk to her one on one and maybe even do something nice for her and please, please, please, please, please-” Nadine couldn’t stifle a laugh as Eva dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around the nurse’s legs as she begged pitifully. 
“Alright, [I]alright[/I], fine! Take it, [I]allez![/I]”
“Thank you,” Eva grinned, dragging out the ‘oo’ sound as she stood back up. “I’ll get it back to you when we come back.”
“You had better,” Nadine scolded, pulling the sharp tool out and setting it in Eva’s palm. “And you had better not come back covered head to toe in injuries again!”
“Ow, hey!” Eva protested as the Frenchwoman smacked her lightly on the head. “Hitting me won’t make anything better!”
“Coming from the woman who [I]punched[/I] her sector leader when he was wounded in order to make him feel better? How convincing.”
“T-that’s a different matter entirely,” Eva grumbled. “Plus, he’s got a thick skull, and he’s Churchill [I]Goddamn[/I] Gunner. He’ll always be able to take way more than I can.”
“Tell yourself that while you’re away then,” Nadine smirked, pinching her cheek. “Do not get into unnecessary fights, and let your teammates pick up some slack. You are not the only member, you know.”
“…Yeah, okay,” Eva grumbled. “You don’t have to worry, seriously. We’ve got our own personal medic with us!”
“Ah, yes, Acacia – you take care of her, Eva. She’s a sweet girl, and one of the most talented medics I’ve ever seen at her age.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll keep us from getting scrapes and bruises, and we’ll do the same for her. Just watch, we’ll be finished up with this mission by sundown, and everyone will throw us a big party. I’ll even invite you!” 
“Cute,” Nadine sneered. “I’ll be counting on it. For now, get out of here, you’re wasting space.”
“Love you, too,” Eva chuckled as she walked back out of the infirmary. “Okay! Sorry that took a bit longer than I expected – I got caught.” Eva told Melanie with a sheepish grin. “But hey,” Holding up the scissors, she made a snipping motion. “Success! Come on, we’ve got about half an hour, let’s head over to the showers.”

[B][Empath][/B]
Melanie grinned at Eva’s story about her past hair… ‘problems’ - somehow she couldn’t quite get her mind wrapped around that kind of trouble, however she didn’t have time to ponder over what that kind of trauma might feel like - let alone actually reply to it, as just moments later she found herself trying to keep up with Eva, as well as listening to her conversation. Melanie was just about to ask what Eva meant with looking at the ‘right places’, but suddenly she noticed where Eva had guided her: the infirmary. 

Most people would see the infirmary as something nice, calming and secure: a place for healing and nurturing - however, for Melanie it was the complete opposite. To her the smell of the abnormal ‘cleanliness’ scorched her nose and the white tiles with the bare lighting brought back memories of her past. No, for Melanie the place of healing was just the opposite. 

Luckily it seemed as if Eva knew this already, and as she went in to get the items - hopefully just a cutting tool, Melanie hoped - Melanie was left outside. [I]Relax[/I], Melanie thought to herself, letting out a mental sigh as she leaned her back up against the rough wall next to the door leading into the infirmary. [I]It’s not like anything is going to happen - soon Eva will be back and I can leave this Godforsaken place[/I].

Tilting her head back against the wall she settled in for a waiting-game: her eyes were closed and as such she only observed the world around her by the sounds of the different noises fusing together around her. She didn’t take particularly interest in any of them, and as such they were more a form of background noise to keep her interested. Luckily Eva didn’t take long to gather whatever it was she needed - and she appeared from the entrance to the infirmary. In her hand was a pair of scissors that she - quite scarcely, Melanie thought - waved around, cutting the air around her. 

“You sure you can do this…?” Melanie asked, somehow a bit worried about Eva’s somewhat careless handling of the Scissors - somehow Melanie’s confidence in this ‘plan’ (if you could even call it that) was diminishing with each step.

[B][Vivid][/B]
“Hey,” Eva glanced over her shoulder, giving Melanie a mock look of hurt. “Have a little faith, why don’t you? I’m able to handle my own hair, most of the time without a mirror, and it doesn’t look half bad.” Bringing her fingers up to her head, Eva bit her lip nervously. “I don’t think?” 

[B][Empath][/B]
Smiling Melanie nodded, “Indeed,” she said, “that is quite the skill - I am amazed you aren’t more known in Sundown for that”. Her smile turned into a grin, “‘Eva the Amazing Haircutter’ - now that is a title that would sound good.” - somehow she wasn’t so nervous anymore.

Stepping into the showers after Eva, Melanie looked around, “Where should we do this…?” she asked, looking expectantly at Eva.

[B][Vivid][/B]
“If I’m going to be notorious for my skills with scissors, it’s not going to be because I’m a good hairstylist,” Eva laughed, twirling the sharp tool carelessly around her index finger. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

Walking over to the far end of the showers, she pulled out a short plastic stool and set it up next to the trash can. “We get a lot of Runners with foot injuries around here, so we just keep a few of these on hand. Here, have a seat.” Glancing around, Eva hummed thoughtfully. “You…might want to take your shirt off. It’s hard to keep the little bits of hair from falling into your clothes, and those itch like crazy, which I doubt you’ll want to deal with on a mission. Here,” She said, grabbing a clean towel and holding it out to her. “Go ahead and wrap that around your shoulders while I try to find a comb; someone always leaves at least one of them lying around.”

[B][Empath][/B]
Melanie grinned as she took off her shirt, before wrapping her body in a towel as she sat down on the small stool. “Well,” Melanie spoke out loud to be sure Eva heard her on her quest for a comb, “just cut it kind of short, okay? Don’t want it to get in my way on the mission - been having a bit of difficulties lately with ‘this’” she spoke, pointing towards her long ponytail. 

“But,” she followed after a brief pause, “you don’t need to make it look ‘pretty’ or anything like that, not really interested in that kind of thing - plus it wouldn’t really matter either”.

[B][Vivid][/B]
“I will promise not to give you a bowl cut,” Eva said, returning with a triumphant grin as she waved a fine-tooth comb in the air. “How about that?” Chuckling, she gently pulled the elastic band out of Melanie’s hair, allowing it to fall straight down. “So I’m assuming you don’t want it as short as mine, around the ears and whatnot. What are you thinking, chin length, shoulder length?” She placed the side of her palm against Melanie’s neck in various places, trying to gauge exactly where to draw the line. “And what do you want me to do with your bangs?”

[B][Empath][/B]
“Uhm…” Melanie really didn’t know how to respond to any of the questions Eva bombarded her with - wasn’t it easy enough just to say she wanted it ‘short’? [I]Hair sure is troublesome[/I], she grumbled in her head before opening her mouth to respond. “... just like… neck-long?” she finally spoke, her voice, however, didn’t hold her usual calm. Following the paths Eva had followed with her fingers, Melanie ran her fingers through her hair, trying to imagine what length would be good - but finally she came to the obvious conclusion.

“Why don’t you just do what you think is best…?”

[B][Vivid][/B]
“Ah,” Eva grinned broadly. “What every hairstylist loves to hear! Okay, we’re working on a bit of a time limit here, so I’ll have to be quick – don’t make any sudden movement, alright?” Running her fingers through Melanie’s hair, she began pulling pieces back experimentally. “Wouldn’t want to get your ears…” She muttered, half serious. 

After a few moments, she seemed to reach a decision, nodding her head with satisfaction. Moving to stand behind Melanie, Eva pulled all of her hair back into a loose ponytail and simply cut it right down the middle. Letting it go, she watched it settle just above Melanie’s shoulders, combing her fingers through it. 

“That seems like a good length,” She murmured. “It’s still long enough to tie up, and it should be especially easy to manage. Okay, let me just thin it out a little so it’s not so blunt at the bottom.” They sat in silence for a few minutes, only accompanied by the small snipping noises of the scissors as Eva worked quickly and methodically, regularly running the comb through her hair and making sure the edges were even. 

“So,” She finally spoke up, the sound muffled as she held the handle of the comb between her teeth. “I haven’t really had the chance to check up on you recently, especially with all the other newbies.” Her speech grew more comprehensible as she pulled the tool out of her mouth to cut off a few more inches. “I know you’ve been keeping up on your training, you make one hell of a Runner. Life in Sundown is kind of different, though. How have you been settling in? Anybody giving you a hard time?” Eva’s mouth quirked to the side as she thought of all the other sectors’ members that were constantly looking for trouble. “If Y’s little brats ever get on your nerves too much, don’t be afraid to just kick them where it hurts, whether that’s their shins or just a little higher up.”

[B][Empath][/B]
Sitting as still as possible, Melanie tried to relax - something that wasn’t easy while having Eva standing with a pair of sharp objects right behind you. Melanie could feel how her body stiffened as Eva suddenly - and quite fiercely - cut off most of her hair, if it wasn’t for the warning of getting her ears cut off, Melanie would most likely have ran away before the first strand of hair hit the ground. 

It took her a moment to realise that Eva was speaking, the chirping of the scissor, along with the fear of getting her ears cut off, had blocked out any other sound - however the topic of which Eva spoke about surprised Melanie.

[I]She wants to know… how I’ve been?[/I] she wondered, using the mirror in front of her to look at the girl behind her. Eva was obviously concentrating on cutting - and hopefully also focusing on [s]not[/s] cutting off her ears.

“Uhm…” Melanie started, not really sure how to reply to the question, “you know, all is good?” Melanie realised that her last sentence sounded more like a question than an actual answer, and quickly replied to her own question.

“Some Runners still don’t really trust me” she started out slowly, she really wasn’t used to this talking-about-your-feelings-stuff. “I guess my past worries them…?” she tried to keep her voice strong and light, but somehow she still felt it grow weaker as she continued to let the words slip off her tongue. Coughing slightly to regain the strength in her voice before she opened her mouth again, “But you know, considering how fast I got recruited into Sector V, I bet they are all just envious of my awesome skills!” she added with an actual honest grin, and with a laugh she started speaking shortly after.

“But you know, I sort of feel bad for those Y’s” she said lightly, “they get their arses’ kicked so often by you guys - I wouldn’t want to completely destroy them!”

[B][Vivid][/B]
Eva let out a snort of laughter as she moved around to Melanie’s side, shifting her focus to the front of her hair. She waited until the comb was out of her mouth again before speaking. 

“It’s nothing they don’t deserve,” She snickered. “It is a bit unfair, though, considering we’re just…you know, the best there is. It’s hardly ever even a competition! I do have to commend them for trying so hard, though.” She fell silent for a moment as she focused on trimming Melanie’s bangs, holding a hand out to shield the other girl’s eyes from falling pieces. “To be able to keep getting up, even after you’ve been kicked down over and over and over again…that’s a lesson every Runner needs to learn, eventually. I’m surprised they’ve got that figured out at their age. Don’t tell anyone I said this,” Lowering her voice to a whisper, Eva leaned forward as if to deliver extremely delicate news, eyes shifting from side to side. “But I’m actually somewhat impressed with them…proud, even. They’re young and stupid, but they really fight and try hard.” Coughing, she stood back up, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yep, those little monsters sure are a pain in the neck!” 

Using her foot, she began sweeping the hair on the ground into a small pile, before moving around to Melanie’s other side. “As far as the others go, well…I guess it’s to be expected that they’ll still be kind of wary. Everybody’s got trust issues the size of Sundown itself – once they get to know you, though, I’m sure they’ll come around. Give it some time, they’re just paranoid old farts. You know, you’re always welcome to come join us whenever we’ve got some down time, though that’s nearly nonexistent. Just grab a seat with us at meals, and whatnot, I promise we won’t mind.” Prodding Melanie to turn to the side, Eva stepped back to judge her work, pulling the sides of her fringe down to gauge their length. “And if anyone ever does give you trouble, you just give us a holler. Sector V is always ready to show up with our fists swinging at the turn of a dime. We’re equipped to handle everything from throwing out the best insults you’ve ever heard, to just bringing a good old fashioned beatdown.” As she made a few final cuts, her lips curled into a smirk. “Even if we get our collective asses kicked, we’ll go down together. We’ve got your back, you know?” 

[B][Empath][/B]
Laughter burst forth from Melanie’s mouth, tears swelled up in her eyes as she clenched her stomach - completely forgetting that Eva was cutting her hair. “You really are a leader, huh?” she grinned, smiling to Eva through the mirror, “I am not sure who really is the oldest of the two of us, just look at how mature you are, Ms. Sector V!”

Reaching up with her right hand, Melanie touched the remains of her hair that had survived Eva’s slaughter, it really had gotten short, it felt almost too light, like there wasn’t anything left - but of course there were: her dark brown hair fell wildly around her face down to her neck, while a few bangs still encompassed her face. It was much shorter than what she was used to, and as she looked over her new self - almost mistaking it for someone else - it dawned on her; it was really short, much too short.

Her right hand fell from her hair to her neck, the dark etching of her ‘mark’ could faintly be felt against her fingertips, however it seemed luck was with her: Despite her hair having gotten so short, the edges still touched the lower markings, faintly hiding it with a cover of messy brown hair. 

[I]Phew...[/I] Melanie let out a mental sigh for the second time that day, hopefully it wasn’t going to become a habit of hers. However, a thought dawned on her as her hand froze in place, [I]Eva must have seen it, how couldn’t she?[/I] Melanie thought. Shifting her gaze up at her second in command before returning to the mirror. She almost jumped off of the chair, shaking her hair to get the last few loose strands out before pulling up the hood in her thin sweatshirt in one smooth motion - thus covering her neck from the outside world.

“Thanks Eva” Melanie grinned playfully, “that was… less painful that I had imagined it would be, plus I still have both of my ears” Melanie said with a grin. A grin she hoped didn’t seem too forced. [I]Did she see it?[/I] Melanie wondered, gazing at Eva briefly, [I]she doesn’t appear to have… I think[/I].

Once again her hand unconsciously reached up to her neck, running her fingers over the markings that had once been etched into her skin. She wasn’t sure what Eva might think if she had seen them, but most didn’t think much of it, it was, after all, just a strange tattoo - however, Melanie didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks, just the risk of Eva having seen it was too much.

“So,” Melanie started, forcing her hand away from her neck and instead using it to brush a few strands of hair away from her pants, “think we should head back to our Sector? I have no doubt Church is counting each second in hope of punishing us if we are late.” Melanie grinned.

[B][Vivid][/B]
Eva’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as Melanie practically leapt out of the seat. As she pulled her hood up, the corners of Eva’s mouth turned down in a slight frown, wondering if she had done a bad job of cutting the girl’s hair. Letting out a soft hum, she decided not to dwell on it – there wasn’t much more she could do at the moment, and it wasn’t like she had [i]butchered[/i] it. She could just offer to make some more tweaks later, if Melanie showed signs of being bothered by it. 

“That sounds like a plan to me!” She replied with a smile, kneeling down to gather as much of the hair clippings as she could with her bare hands and throwing them into the trash. “He wants us there at…twelve-hundred hours,” Her eyes widened slightly as she spoke, catching sight of the small clock sitting just above the doorway, “which is five minutes away.” Cursing under her breath, she dropped the task of cleaning up the hair and snatched up the scissors. “Okay, we need to run, someone else can take care of that,” She muttered quickly, leading the way out of the showers. “I need to stop by our quarters first, drop off the scissors and grab a few other things. You can go on ahead – you know where we’re meeting, right?”

[B][Empath][/B]
A slight sigh escaped Melanie’s lips, it didn’t appear as if Eva had seen anything. Cracking her fingers, she followed Eva’s gaze, “five minutes, huh?” she spoke, her usual light tone was back in her voice, “well it shouldn’t take that long - we are a pair of awesome Runners after all!” she added with a large grin. Melanie noted with great pleasure that Eva wasn’t heading towards the infirmary, but instead towards their quarters. [I]Thank god[/I], Melanie though, [I]I needed to change as well, glad I can evade that area...[/I]

“I will join you” she spoke, “need to change out of these filthy, sweat soaked and dust covered clothes anyway”. Melanie purposefully smelled her shirt as they passed the door, frowning jokingly as she shook her head, “yep - definitely need a new set!”

As they ran across Sundown Melanie could feel how light her hair had become, it no longer swung around as much as it had just a day before. Running her right hand through it, [I]I wonder if it looks alright…?[/I] she wondered - the notion that she actually cared about her appearance made her cheeks blush slightly, [I]what is wrong with me?[/I] she wondered, [I]I never cared about how I looked before, but why do I suddenly…?[/I] 

Shaking her head before she quickly and smoothly made her way over a table that had been placed in the middle of one of the rooms they passed through, “oh just let it go you idiot,” she mumbled under her breath. Luckily she didn’t have to ponder over such unnecessary things as appearance, as not too long after they arrived at their target. 
“Well, I will just go and grab some new clothes and I will be all set for Church’s punishment,” she grinned with a wave before she headed into her small room. Quickly gathering a few clothing items: a long loose, armless shirt painted in white with an image of a hooded skater in the front, a fresh pair of black baggy pants and last, but at least; a thin black hoodie. She made sure the hood was securely in place in order to hide her neck and that her knives and other items were all located in the correct place. Finally she stepped out of her little room and leaned against the entrance to Sector V’s quarters.

“Are you ready yet, Eva?” she yelled with a grin, absentmindedly playing with her now much shorter hair.

[B][Vivid][/B]
Eva grinned widely as Melanie opted to join her, the two of them falling into a wild run. They settled into a pace that would be suitable out on the rooftops, but it could easily spell disaster indoors. 

“Coming in hot, watch yourselves!” Eva began yelling out as they neared the busier, more populous parts of Sundown, trying desperately to maintain her balance as they dodged around the unsuspecting residents. 

“On your left!” 
“Coming through!”
“Hug the walls!”
“[I]Move it![/I]” 

Every time they turned a corner or made their way through one of the narrower hallways, she snapped out commands that would have brought a tear to a drill sergeant’s eyes. 

They finally slowed down as they reached their quarters, but they weren’t done rushing. As Melanie ducked into her little cubicle with a wave, Eva briskly entered her own, slapping the scissors down on the old filing cabinet that she called a nightstand. Dropping to her knee, she yanked the drawers open and began pulling out various items: her various compression wraps, a roll of bandages, a glove. Her fingers skimmed the dark blue material of a baseball cap, tucked safely away at the back of the drawer. She paused for a moment, biting her lip as her fingertips rested against brim, tapping rapidly as she tried to make a decision. 

“It’ll all be okay…” She murmured after a moment, squeezing her eyes shut. “Promise.” Slamming the drawer shut, she sat heavily on her bed, ignoring its loud creaks and groans as she began frantically pulling the compression wraps on. Securing the ones around her ankle and knee, she pushed the rest of them into her waistband as she stood to face the wall opposite her. Perched precariously on the top edge of the cubicle was the only hanger she owned, the thin curved wire pushed through the arm holes of her sweater. 

[I]”Are you ready yet, Eva?”[/I] 

Closing her eyes once more, Eva quickly pressed her thumb to her lips and then against the bright red V embroidered into the garment. “It’ll all be okay…” She whispered once more, almost like a prayer. “Promise.” With that, she yanked the coat down roughly, ignoring the sound of the hanger clattering to the ground as she pushed her arms through the holes of the garment. Grabbing a simple leather utility belt, which kept her knives sheathed horizontally at the small of her back, she threw it over her shoulder and walked out.

“Yeah,” She told Melanie with a smile as she adjusted the hood of her coat. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

It wasn’t too far of a run to get to the entrance. There was no doubt that they were late now, but Eva was holding out hope that they wouldn’t be the last ones there. She pulled out the roll of bandages as they jogged, pinching the end between her thumb and palm as she began wrapping her right hand, winding the material several times around her wrist, palm, and between her fingers. “Crap,” She cursed as the bandage slipped awkwardly. “I’ve never had to do this in motion before.” Placing the other end of the bandage between her teeth, she ripped the rest of the roll off crudely, tying the loose end in a tight knot before starting on her left hand. 

By the time she finally got both of them squared away, they were outside and quickly approaching the gate. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she could just barely make out three figures waiting at the entrance, making her grin.

 “Not last,” She sang, giving Melanie a wink as they joined the others, panting lightly as she came to a stop. Leaning her arm up against the gate right next to Church, she crossed her ankles and lifted a hand as if to examine the state of her nails. 

“Hey,” She said with a cool voice, trying to play off the fact that they were undeniably late and had just showed up running like the devil was chasing them. Glancing up at their sector leader, she tried to maintain a nonchalant expression, but could feel a guilty smile threatening to break the mask. “How you doin’?” The question ended in a snort as she failed to keep her amusement in check, a hand lifting to her face as she dissolved into laughter. 

[B][Empath][/B]
Melanie grinned widely at Eva’s comment, “yea lucky us!” she said, “now you can’t punish us, Church!” She winked at Church, followed by a wave to the two others. “So where are the others at, anyone know?” she asked after a short while.