Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by GreenGoat
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GreenGoat Harmless Flower Person

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Hazel Baker

Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Chasers115
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Chasers115 The FatCat

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Apologies and Atrocities



Emma | Marcus



𝕄𝕠𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟙, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟙𝟡𝟘𝟘


Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Vox Angelis
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Vox Angelis Dust in the wind

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𝓢𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼









Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by VampireOracle
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VampireOracle 100% Certified Introvert

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Sophia Lemane


𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟚𝟙𝟛𝟘
She had drifted in and out of sleep throughout the whole ride in the APC, the events of the day having taken their toll on her. Even after sleeping a good few hours, she still felt tired. Was it really sleepiness, or just an unwillingness to wake up enough to face and sort through those past hours? Perhaps both.

Now back in her assigned and labeled room after taking a long shower to wash off the fine dust and debris that had clung to part of her body, she sank down onto the bed. Though mostly it was still exhaustion that clouded everything, there was the faint pang of hunger lying underneath. She knew she should go eat something, get some nourishment. Drink some water to alleviate the pounding in her head that came from not drinking for so many hours.

But she didn't want to walk out there again to navigate the hallways. Neither did she want to meet anyone. Or have to change out of the pajamas she had already put on and back into proper clothes. Sleep. More sleep would come first. And she didn't want to dream either.

For there was so much she could dream about. The mounds of crushed and broken buildings. The dead people. The people that had been killed by her classmates. The wounded. The monsters. The appearance of what must have been Cat's Cradle. She didn't want any of it. She wanted to go back and back until she was nothing but a little child in Arizona, too small to fully comprehend the existence of the monsters yet old enough to laugh and play. Or if that wasn't possible, back so that she would still be living with her family in New York.

But none of it was possible.

Sleep should come first. With a long exhale, she lay down, arms stretched above her.

Then she wasn't in bed anymore. She was back, back at that strange ocean that stretched out farther than she could see. Again, she was floating above it.

She still didn't understand what it meant that she was here again. Couldn't pin point why.

Everything in this scene seemed the same as last time, so far as she could tell. Except this time, she didn't feel as much awe. More of it, instead, was confusion as she observed those strong waves, realizing that yet again she wasn't allowed to come closer.

When the droplet came, she grasped it tightly, holding it until every bit had sunk into her. Would it help?
If she wouldn't have had that... vision before, Sophia might have thought that she had fallen asleep and dreamed it all. Curious, she sought for the magic that dwelled inside her, realizing that something had indeed changed. Last time she hadn't been sure if it had been a coincidence or not... but now... it was harder to say that the vision was not doing something to her power.

That something it was doing... was it good? Yes, if it could make her more useful. More helpful? Maybe even... stronger?

Yes. It had to help.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Lasrever
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Lasrever

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Marks and Monsters




Zoe | Kusari



𝕄𝕠𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟙, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟚𝟚𝟘𝟘


Collab with...@Lasrever @Piercing Light


It was getting dark out by the time an exhausted Zoe made her way back to the mansion. The cuts on her knuckles had started to scab over, so after showering, drying, and a trip to the infirmary that had resulted in the bandages now wrapped around her hands, she decided she may as well explore the mansion itself. The luxury wasn't quite as jarring after their hotel in DC, but it still made her uncomfortable to see butlers and maids walking around as she made her way through the place. She didn't plan on asking them to do anything for her, anyway.

Luckily enough, it didn't take too long for her to stumble across the door to the cellar, which seemed far more interesting. And less likely to be haunted by servants, anyway. While she wasn't in the mood for a drink - she'd have gone somewhere else if she was - it wasn't like there'd be much harm in taking a look. Besides, she reasoned as the door closed behind her, she could at least take a bottle up to her room for convenience. Tired as she was, she barely even noticed that there was anyone else there, much less that the person who was there probably wouldn't be pleased to see her.

Oblivious to her classmate's presence, Zoe began to look over the selection of bottles with a yawn.

"Zoe? Yeah, that's you." Kusari grumbled from her place in the corner of the room. She wanted to be somewhere quiet, her nerves had been acting as if they were hooked to a car battery. The annoying part was she didn't know why. She stood up, picking up a juicebox she'd taken from the kitchen. Was she about to say something to Zoe? She supposed she was, they weren't going back to the school any time soon anyway. Kusari didn't feel like thinking before she spoke however.

"There's a lot I wanted to say to you, but I'm guessing you've heard enough from everyone else, haven't you?" She said, calmly drinking from the juicebox. Her eyes drifted towards the stacks of assorted wine. "I've never liked beating a dead horse."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Zoe couldn't help but start slightly in surprise at the sound of Kusari's voice, turning quickly to look at her supposedly immortal classmate. Her memory of the last time they'd spoken was a little blurry, but she was fairly certain that Kusari wasn't about to offer to start her fan-club. Or at the very least, she was still hung up on Wisford. It didn't look like Zoe wanted to have this discussion, but at least she wasn't as outright aggressive as she'd been at the girls' night.

"Talk if you want," Zoe had turned away from Kusari, picking out a bottle with an irritated sigh. "But try and get to your point some time today, raptor girl. I'm tired." Even if she knew that antagonising the arbiter probably wasn't the smartest move right now, Zoe didn't have the energy to be polite about it. The only reason she hadn't ignored Kusari entirely was because she respected the other girl's willingness to stand up to her.

Kusari sipped from her juice box again and looked down at her monstrous limbs. She was clanging her metal fingertips again. She wondered if she should try and cut them off. She'd only been able to restore a limb back to normal by keeping it and reattaching it, she hoped she hadn't lost her right leg and arm forever. She tossed the now empty juice box into a trashcan and let out a sigh.

"Again with that... At this point I'm more annoyed by your lack of proper anatomical knowledge." She was quiet for a short moment as she looked at the bottle in Zoe's hands. At this rate nearly all of them were going to develop a drinking problem.

"My point fire crotch, is that I'm not here to berate you for what you did to Callan, not anymore anyway. None of us have legitimate experience in combat, because of that stupid choices and mistakes are going to happen. Regardless, we can't..." Kusari let out a frustrated groan and ruffled her hair. "We need to get better, work together. Compared to the things we'll be facing holding a grudge for what you did feels like it would be petty. So, I'm going to overlook the fact that you mutilated the girl I've been going after, as long as it doesn't happen again. If we start fighting each other our life spans are going to plummet.

It took Zoe a moment to register everything that Kusari had said. Mostly because she definitely did not appreciate that nickname. "Okay, if you want to get along with me can we leave my crotch out of the discussion? Besides, how do you even--" Zoe paused, realising that Kusari probably didn't know anything about her crotch. With an uncomfortable cough, Zoe continued.

"Anyway." She placed the bottle back in the shelf after a brief glance over the label - she didn't really feel like getting drunk, and had mostly been trying to ignore Kusari. "Much as I'd like to promise nothing like it'll happen again, I don't really trust myself to keep to that one. So if I'm gonna be honest with you, I can say I'll try, but that's all you're getting. Doesn't matter what you feel about Callan or anybody else."

Perhaps this would have been easier with a little white lie. A bandaged hand gestured towards Kusari, Zoe's voice taking on a note that was almost taunting. Challenging, even. "Besides, what're you worried about? Thought you were meant to be immortal or something."

Suddenly Kusari was reminded why she was always so harsh towards people. She tried to be nice and she's mocked, taunted for it? And on top of that it seemed as if Zoe had no intention of promising to never attack her allies again. Kusari looked at Zoe's bandaged arm with a nonchalant expression. She wondered if Zoe could actually kill her. Oddly enough she wasn't frightened by the thought. Perhaps odd was the wrong word, it was disturbing actually.

"What are you doing?" Kusari asked her as if she'd just walked in on someone doing a strange interpretive dance in a clown outfit. "Is this how you treat someone trying to bury the hatchet? You pick it up and lodge it in their back?"

"Oh for fuck's--" Zoe sighed, irritation sparking but trying to keep her emotions under control. No, it was fine, it was fair for Kusari to be annoyed, it-- Wouldn't even matter if this one got hurt, would it? Zoe gritted her teeth. "I'm not trying to stab you in the back, Kusari. I just can't make that promise, like it or not. Would you rather I just lied to your face instead?"

"Oh don't get me wrong." Kusari said, looking Zoe in the eyes. "I much prefer the truth, no matter what." Her tone had turned deathly serious, as opposed to the calm passive one she had been using. "The thing is, just because you're telling the truth, that doesn't make the words coming out of your mouth any better. Honesty isn't much of a virtue when
the things you're saying make you look like an asshole."
Kusari shook her head, as if disappointed.

"We're all a bit of a liability in some way, aren't we?" She let out low chuckle. "I saw us online, saw myself. Conveniently the footage with me in it had no sound. I guess threatening regulars isn't exactly PR friendly." Kusari let out another sigh. The massacre that happened when a crowd attacked the evacuation team was also nowhere to be seen online. Zhang must have a pretty good mop to clean up that mess. She thought.

"You don't need to tell me that," said Zoe, recalling her new nickname once more. Nice little permanent reminder that she was a terrible person, that was fun. No matter how many animi she helped to kill, it wasn't exactly going away. "But you know what? You have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not being an asshole, I'm knowing my limits. If it comes down to it, and the easiest way to finish things is for one of you to get hurt..."

She sighed, "I can't promise I won't give in. Especially after that evac shit, I'm not convinced any of you know what you're doing. It's not even the body count that annoys me, it's the fact that none of you can prioritise, and Wisford was the same." This was unfair. It wasn't Kusari's fault that Zoe kept thinking this way. Thinking about Wisford... How was she supposed to explain the smile that she fought to keep from her face?

"At least I achieved something with what I did. If you can't handle a group of regulars properly, then I'll probably have to cover for you guys for quite a while yet." Zoe looked oddly unnerved by the discussion, by thinking about DC. Because she wasn't sure if she was angry that they'd killed those people, or jealous that she didn't get to take part. "Learn how to finish your fights, and I'll stop having to do it for you."

Kusari just looked at Zoe for a few moments, Her eyes hardly blinking. She suddenly broke eye contact and looked off to the side, ruffling her hair. "Priorities... Learn how to finish a fight..." She repeated, then looking back to Zoe. "You're talking about me, right? Zoe, the only thing that stopped me from tearing apart those assholes in Wisford was a few minutes of time and distance. If I hadn't been picked as Lily's body bag I'd... ugh. Next time they should just bring a damn pig.

As for D.C. I want you to picture something. Imagine you're sitting in the back of a semi's container, Sophia and Lily are behind you. Outside are countless people that want you dead. Not captured, not simply beaten. Dead."
Kusari's voice began to tremble, she let out a cough and forced it to stabilize.

"Five people opened that container, and there was bloodlust in their eyes. I know it, I've seen it enough times by now. Are you telling me you could have handled that easily Zoe? Five people ready to kill you and two other innocent kids? Don't give me some bullshit about scaring them off. I cracked one's head open after grabbing him with something that looks like it came from the bottom of the sea and they still came.

Her voice was trembling again, but instead of being able to calm it, her voice only raised in volume. "I beat the others until they stopped moving, and even after that they still wanted to kill me. I had to throw their fucking bodies at them like some savage monster just for them to finally go away! I... I... Dammit!" She swung her right hand into an empty barrel, shattering it. She fell to her knees trembling, her eyes watering. She thought she was alright with what she'd done. She'd gone over it again and again and she kept telling herself she should just brush it off. But she couldn't. She'd killed people, human beings. Strangers that she didn't know, people they she was supposed to be protecting. None of this was right.

"We were there to help, why, why, why. Why did they make me do that? That's not the type of person I'm supposed to be, that's not what I saw in my dream. Fuck.. fuck..." Her breathing had become unsteady. She didn't know where this was coming from, she thought she had it all figured out, but like always she was just going forward like a blind bull.

Zoe didn't go down to comfort the girl on the ground, but instead stood and looked down at Kusari with a sigh. Yes, she'd been talking about Kusari. Kusari, and every other one of them that didn't do shit to help. It wasn't as though there'd only been one person she needed to cover for.

"It isn't as though there's no way to knock someone down non-lethally, you know." Because really, with a regular she'd have a chance to take her time. What Zoe would have done would have undoubtedly cemented her as a monster where most of the class were concerned. "But yeah, there's every chance I would have..." Would have enjoyed it. A kind of hunger entered Zoe's expression, bloodlust that was never quite sated.

Must be different to deal with it without a stigma. Better, or worse? Zoe didn't remember well enough to compare. "They don't think of subs as people. We're all the same, no matter what you're trying to do. They were scared, and they couldn't do shit against the ones that fucked up the city. You were the nearest ones to blame." Zoe spoke distractedly, expression still hungry as her mind got caught up in images of exactly what she would have done in that scenario.

Kusari took deep breaths, calming her self. She looked up at Zoe ready to retort. She already knew why that crowd wanted her dead, but that didn't mean it made sense. She opened her mouth to speak but she stopped. That look on her face... She felt a chill that went not only through her spine but down to the tips of her toes. If she had been meeting this girl for the first time she would honestly believe she was about to be attacked. Kusari got to her feet and backed away from her.

"I've been wasting my breath." She said with a hushed realization. She took another step back. She didn't feel as if her life was in danger, but she suddenly didn't want to be anywhere near this girl. "That X on your throat is like a vice-grip, isn't it? You're more a slave to that mark than the cuff on your leg." Kusari didn't know everything about aberrations, but the longer she spent around them the darker her view of them became. She turned around and made her way for the stairs.

Kusari's statement was enough to snap Zoe out of her haze. Unfortunately, it was also enough to piss her off. The implication that she was nothing more than a slave to her mark, that she was something so pathetic when she spent so much time trying to fight it-- when she'd shed her own fucking blood to make sure that didn't happen? That was something she wouldn't just let slide, no matter how right it may have seemed to the others. It was wrong, it was so, so far from the truth. It was everything she'd been fighting not to be.

She turned to watch the arbiter's exit with quiet fury, fists clenched by her side. Screw it, if that was how Kusari wanted things then it was fine by her. "If I was a slave to my mark, Callan would be dead. Ernie would be dead. Allison, Gregory? I'd have killed both of them in DC. And you? If anyone here could kill you, it's me."

Zoe knew she should have stopped, should have let it go and moved on, apologised. But she didn't. Instead, she smiled, finally taking a step towards Kusari. "You know the best part? I'd look back on it and laugh." A bitter chuckle. "Trust me, you really don't know what you're talking about." Because no matter how much of a monster Zoe was right now, she knew she could be so much worse.

Kusari stopped in her tracks. For a split second she contemplated leaving now or saying something. It really only took half a second, she was too easily pushed.

"Do you want to be congratulated on holding back from murdering everyone? That you're just so good at killing things, even if your allies get hurt in the process? You know..." Kusari turned to face Zoe. "I've always wondered what type of person would choose the nightmare. I figured they may have made a mistake, or that it just looked different from mine, perhaps deceptive. Maybe that's true for some, but you... I don't know about you." Kusari walked back down the stairs and moved close to Zoe, very close. She grabbed her bandaged hand and placed it over her heart.

"Do you really want to kill me? You could do it you know, it's not like anyone would miss me, not really. I'd give it a week before they got over it." Kusari spoke in a quiet but ridged tone, her eyes glaring into Zoe's. "Come on, show me how you really feel. Do what you want to do."

Zoe's eyes widened, her breath catching. What? No, this was wrong, it was twisted, it was sick-- But the thrill that ran through her at the thought was electric. It would be so easy, so simple to tear her apart and break her down into nothing. Would it be suicide? Maybe, though she wasn't sure her stigma would count it as such. A way out, and the fulfilment of everything monstrous that she wanted, served up on a silver platter.

The sheer want was unbearable - Zoe wanted to hurt her more than anything, bloodlust etched on the redhead's face. Part of her couldn't help but wonder why. Why would Kusari make that offer? It didn't matter, because the chance was too good to ignore.

Almost without realising she was doing it, Zoe began to break down the arbiter's flesh, locking blue eyes with red and relishing the agony that she knew would come with it. She wished she could say what she was doing was horrifying, wished she could hate the experience--

Bullshit. She couldn't do anything but love it, and it showed on her face, in the tension of her muscles, the heaviness of her breathing. It was so much better, more real than hurting any slime or monster. Nothing like the empty shells at Ground Zero. None of the urgency of Wisford keeping her from doing what she wanted to. For those few seconds, it seemed that Zoe had lost herself, ready to give in and destroy her classmate completely.

"Please." She could forget everything, lose herself, see how much this girl could take. "Please, just--"

But just as she was about to reach that threshold, the black lines disappeared, the hand against Kusari's heart clenching into a fist as the rot stopped and Zoe's eyes squeezed shut. After a second, they opened and she looked at the rapidly-healing damage, slowly regaining control of her breath. The expression on her face was desperate, hungry, afraid-- torn between too many emotions to count. As Zoe finally spoke again, her voice was quiet. "Don't."

It was pretty obvious of course, but this was a terrible idea from Kusari. Her body felt as if it was being torn apart from the inside by scalding hot razor blades. It perhaps wouldn't have been quite as bad as is was if not for her magic. Her nerves should have died, nullifying some of the pain, but they kept stubbornly reforming. Kusari's body twitched uncontrollably, instead of screaming, she let out pained gasps and wheezed as she couldn't take a breath. Through her fading vision Kusari saw the look on Zoe's face. She really was taking a sick pleasure in what she was doing. She moved the claws on her right hand, she could barely move it, but if this continued for much longer she didn't know if she'd live through it.

But before she had to make that choice Zoe let her go. Kusari stumbled backwards, then falling to her knees. As her body healed it's self she took in deep breaths, waiting for her body to stop having minor spasms. Once the pain was gone she looked up at Zoe. The girl didn't seem to know what face to put on. Kusari let out a dry chuckle.

"So you really are being controlled by that mark." She said, standing to her feet. "But at least you know how to rebel. I guess that counts for something."

I'm trying not to be. The others were better than her. Stronger than her. If it had been anyone other than Kusari in this cellar, they would be dead. Zoe's words were shaky, her arrogance completely torn away for once. No, Kusari wasn't meant to be right, this wasn't how things were meant to go. Part of her wanted to run, part of her wanted to do it again. To keep going until Kusari was dead on the floor, watch every twitch, every gasp, every attempt to fight back.

It wouldn't be the first time, would it?

"I don't know." Zoe sounded frustrated as she looked at the floor, unable to meet the arbiter's eyes. "I don't know how to explain it, I don't know how to fight it, but that doesn't..." Yeah, it couldn't be faced head-on like every other problem in her life, but that wasn't an excuse for her actions. "It's not my stigma that makes my choices. I always know what I'm doing." Her stigma wasn't what made her a monster.

There it is. Kusari let out a sigh and her shoulder's relaxed. The look on Zoe's face was one she was hoping to see. It was a pitiable, remorseful, human face. "Aberrations really did get a bad deal huh? Everyone has that side in them deep down, at least I think so." She looked at the shattered remains of the barrel she'd smashed. "But it usually stays down..." She narrowed her eyes, thinking about the other aberrations she'd seen. They legitimately enjoyed giving in to their stigma, but why? What the hell was it about their marks that made them that way?

"Those marks, they're changing your minds somehow, trying to change you into creatures of base instinct." Kusari began pacing and rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "The things that make us human, our ability to show remorse, to do things contrary to our base desires because we know it's the right thing to do." She wanted to make sense of this in spite of knowing next to nothing. She couldn't understand why they had these marks, but she at least wanted to understand her allies, to stop them from destroying themselves and others.

"But we only do what's right because it feels good. To be seen as a good person, to feel pleasure from making a loved one happy. That's... human nature, isn't it?" Kusari stopped pacing.

"What if those marks are inverting that? I'd always figured they were just devils over your shoulders pushing you to do wrong. But they're really pushing you to do what feels right. Am I wrong?" She didn't know where she was going with this, she just wanted to know that everything would be alright in the future, that there was a way out for them.

"Yeah, it's a shitty deal. You're not on the mark though. Not exactly."

Kusari didn't really know what she was talking about, as far as Zoe saw it. But then, it was fair for her to see things that way without really understanding them. Zoe wasn't sure that anyone who wasn't an aberration would, when it really came down to it. Still, while normally the subject would make her go silent, she had just about murdered Kusari. Much as the idea made fear twist in her gut, she sighed.

"Do you want me to explain what it's like?" Zoe looked at Kusari, mentally trying and failing to prepare herself for the discussion. An offer she'd only made because-- because for all that she'd done before, this was the first time she'd tried to kill a classmate. "Because the only one I can explain is mine. They're all... personal, I think, in their own little fucked-up ways."

"If you can handle it yeah, I'd like to know." Kusari said.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that, but... okay." Okay. Deep breaths. She'd never had to try and put it into words before.

"It's like... starving. There's a want-- a need that claws at me, and it makes my thoughts go bad. Imagining myself tearing people apart limb from limb while you're still alive and screaming. And I want to do it, more than anything. Especially to the people that I care about. It's always there, clawing and biting and wanting, until I hurt someone." Zoe was forcing herself to sound as detached as she could, but it wasn't quite working. "It's all about pain."

"Hurting someone, it's..." She paused, a light in her eyes as she imagined the sensation. "Think about the most exhilarating, adrenaline-filled, pleasurable thing you've ever felt and then ten times that. That's what it feels like. And it's good. All that want, all those thoughts, my fears, everything gets lost in the rush. Whenever I remember it, it forces me to smile, even when I want to fucking vomit."

There was bitterness as she laughed, gesturing to Kusari's claws. "If you attacked me with that thing, I'd probably enjoy it. Being hurt's good too." While it was happening, at least - it did little to actually sate her stigma unless she did it herself. But it was better to do that than let herself kill any of them. Zoe sighed, eyes firmly fixed on the floor. "Pretty disgusting, really."

Kusari's expression turned grim as she listened to Zoe try to explain her stigma. "Yeah, it is." She shook her head with a groan. "Unbelievable, you shouldn't be here. Forcing you all to fight is like enabling an addict. I doubt they've even tried to find a way to help besides drugging you up like Hazel." This was beyond frustrating, helping Zoe was something she couldn't do. "At this point the only thing I can think of that would help is killing Dreamcatcher. That thing started all of this after all. What kind of sick bastard would toy with people like this?"

"Not fighting doesn't help either. It's not just an addiction. I don't hurt anything for too long, and--" Zoe sighed, looking more exhausted than she'd almost ever been. There wasn't a way out, anyway. Not for her. This discussion wasn't much more than a reminder of things she'd already realised. "I snap. Somebody dies. Probably slowly. If I wasn't here, I'd have killed a lot more people."

"One little choice, and you're fucked in the head. I can't be sure, but I think most of the others have more control, or at least it's less dangerous when they lose it." Most. She could think of a couple who'd be worse to deal with than her, but overall death powers weren't the easiest thing to deal with safely. "That being said, I've come to terms with it. I'm happy to be a monster, it really doesn't bother me. So long as I can make sure you guys come out alive."

Zoe shrugged, seeming oddly calm. It had been the admission of her weakness that had been the problem - discussing it now didn't seem to get to the redhead. There wasn't really any reason for Kusari to feel the need to help her. "If the rest of you don't have to, then I've used this for something worth doing."

Liar. Kusari didn't believe Zoe was perfectly fine with how she was. Who was she trying to fool? She only accepted what she was because she had no other choice. "You aren't a monster Zoe." Kusari grumbled and rubbed her right arm."Monsters are irredeemable, they can't possibly understand the value of a life..." She thought back to the people she killed in D.C. She didn't regret what she'd done, they had decided to take the lives of people for an indefensible reason after all. Even still she understood the impact it could have. "You're still human for better or worse, just try and remember that. You could have killed me, but you didn't. Hold onto that part of yourself, because if you let it go you're damn sure to end up in a bodybag."

"I can think of worse places to be." Zoe muttered under her breath. Dead girl wouldn't be able to hurt the others. Speaking up once more, she looked at Kusari with a frown. "If anyone else had done what you did, they would be dead. You realise that, right?"

It was surprising, really, to have Kusari of all people reassure her. Really, Zoe probably should have known not to judge everyone from first impressions. "It's a nice sentiment, but I doubt most of the world would agree with you. Not even all of our classmates would." Callan sprung to mind. Sighing, she finally met the arbiter's eyes. "I think I'd like to believe you, though. And I'm trying not to be one - at least, not towards you guys." That could be enough. As far as the rest of the world went, well, who really gave a damn?

Kusari shrugged her shoulders. "As long as you try, that's all I'm asking. And of course I know that would have killed anyone else." She wiggled her metallic fingers. "That was kind of the point. At least I didn't have to stab you to get you to stop..." She let out a grumble, remembering when Sander nearly drained her dry.

"As for what regulars think, forget them. Even if we didn't have superpowers they would still hate us. The magic just gives them an excuse to corral us." Kusari let out a yawn and rubbed the back of her neck. She could feel another anti-reg rant coming on. "I'm gonna head to bed, call me if you need something... Anything besides someone to melt anyway."

It was true - they'd already been singled out by the normal humans of the world. Nothing she hadn't already figured out. More interestingly, Zoe wasn't the only classmate Kusari had been attacked by before? Part of her wanted to ask, but there wasn't much reason to keep the girl here longer than she already had. The offer was something that Zoe couldn't help but be surprised by, although she wasn't sure what exactly she'd need Kusari's help with. Nonetheless, she appreciated it for what it was.

"Same goes for you, if you need me. And, uh--" Zoe paused looking at the other girl in silence for a long moment before speaking quietly. "...Thank you. For trying to understand."
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Low Tide, Bare Backside



Hazel | Marcus



𝕎𝕖𝕕: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟛, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟚𝟘𝟘𝟘

Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Snagglepuss89
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Snagglepuss89

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Lawrence, Lizzy, and Rosa


A familiar face?






What am I even still doing here?

It wasn't exactly a question that needed an answer. Lawrence was here because he had to be, it was no more of a mystery than that. He had always expected to become a staff mage, but it was looking more and more like that option had been eliminated from his future. USARILN was determined to keep him with this team, in spite of both his lack of ability and their lack of desire to have him around.

It was the latter though that seemed to gnaw on him the most.

Sprawled out on his bed with Lizzy laying over top of him- the dog had seemed far more attached to him since arriving on the island, and he welcomed the company- Lawrence slowly traced a circle around his chest where the hole that almost killed him once was. Ironically it was one of his only injuries over the past year that hadn't left a scar- with more minor ones having been treated the old fashioned way. Something about that felt like it cheapened the experience somehow, but he wasn't exactly liable to forget about it without a visual reminder.

In truth though, dying only somewhat bothered him (In fact, feeling that ocean of power trickle into him once more during the experience bothered him far more). It was something he was resigned to with every mission, even if he would prevent it as much as he possibly could. However, it had made abundantly clear how much of an outsider he was in this team. How many of them had visited him as he recovered? It seemed that nobody had bothered to approach him for advice or even a chat since his injury had healed. All the while they continued to meet up with each other and tried to forge bonds outside of their missions without him.

Was he really the least desirable person here?

It had been eating at him more and more over the past week or so. If the others were all getting together in their spare time, then it meant the problem rested with him. Sure, when it was his own class the distance between them had been bearable, there had been Elizabeth to wash away any loneliness. After her death, the time alone had become a comfort to deal with his grief. However now...

Now his grieving had mostly passed, and Elizabeth was still gone. All that remained was the loneliness.

Solid stoicism, neutrality, and a distance from others had pushed everyone away too far, and now even if the others didn't need Lawrence, he had need of them. He hadn't died, and now his life needed to be filled with something. Otherwise he might end it himself eventually. So here he was in his room, trying to at least partially break down that mental wall he had set up, and for the most part failing. Each time cracks began to show, an uncomfortable flood of stress threatened to break through, and he closed them up once more. He needed something to replace that coping mechanism, and while others may have thought he'd caught a cold lately the lingering scent of cigarette smoke betrayed a different cause for his coughing fits.

It hadn't been working out so far, and he was almost committed to ending the idea and trying to move on as he always had.

Idly he glanced at his phone, one of his most neglected possessions. After all, who had tried to call him over this past month? Still, he noticed a small icon in the upper corner of the screen that he was unfamiliar with. And upon further inspection saw;

Unread Texts: 45

Missed Calls: 7

Huh.

And as if on cue it began to buzz for an incoming call before he could even check any of his backlog. Quickly he pressed answer and put it to his ear.

Lawrence.

"Finally!" Rosa's exasperated voice on the other end of the line was loud--even louder than the woman's usually chipper, exuberant volume. "I've been trying to reach you privately ever since Wisford! This isn't talk for the cuffs and I know you weren't unconscious the entire time--do you have any idea what's been happening with that group?"

At the mention of Wisford Lawrence grimaced on the other end of the line and paused, looking to Lizzy as if she could somehow help him during this conversation. As if sensing his motives, she turned her face away with a huff and pretended to fall asleep on top of him.

With a sigh, he finally responded;

Vaguely. Is that what you're calling me for? A status update?

"Yeah, a bit! You're supposed to be watching out for them--or at least not letting them kill over sixty civilians in a fit of panic! I realize ever since Elizabeth you've been less than involved with anyone and anything, but at least pretend you have powers, Lawrence!"

I've offered them my help Rosa, none of them have decided that it's needed and I sure as hell can't force them to accept it. If you're asking me to use my power to manipulate their free will-

He was beginning to grow angry at the conversation in very short order, raising his volume to match hers.

- I didn't sign up to be your mind rapist Rosa, you or Zhang! You want to force them to stop then use the goddamn anklets you fastened to everybody!

Lizzy lifted one ear slightly at the outburst but otherwise continued with her charade. More quietly Lawrence continued;

If you think I want to let people die Rosa you're more wrong than you've ever been- but I'm not going to force this team to do anything, they need to...

What exactly? He trailed off, uncertain. It was the same problem he'd been working at since his injury without an answer.

"They are waaay too inexperienced for some of these situations and you know it! Helping someone calm down either with words or with your power would have done wonders, but if you want to call every instance of helping potential rape I guess that's that, huh? Wisford was one thing, but DC was entirely unprecedented and that's where they needed you most, even if they didn't ask for it! These are excuses, Lawrence. You know why you're on this team!"

Don't act like I'm shirking some kind of responsibility. You forced me away from my class and shoved me with these guys expecting me to babysit them- so pardon fucking me if I haven't stepped into the role.

With that he ended the call in irritation and tossed the phone across the room- noting with annoyance that it didn't break. Still, if he was trying to seal up any cracks they were thoroughly leaking now. Grabbing the half empty pack of cigarettes on his nightstand, he soon descended into another fit of coughing as the foreign smoke entered his lungs. Supposedly they helped people with stress, but he was having a hard time seeing how.

In the corner his phone buzzed once more, and Lizzy lifted her head to look at it. Turning her gaze from the device to Lawrence and back again, clearly judging. He was tempted to answer it once more, but was far more tempted to avoid it.

Get off.

He growled at the dog, and stood up as soon as she'd hopped off of him and the bed. No, instead of answering the phone he'd go for a walk. His lungs needed some fresh air in them after his attempts to pick up a new habit, and his stomach needed some coffee in it.

Air and coffee.

Especially coffee.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Chasers115
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Commotion by the Ocean



Chris | Marcus



𝕋𝕦𝕖: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟡, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟙𝟛𝟘𝟘

Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Lasrever
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What's up, Doc?




Zoe | Lawrence | Lizzy



𝕄𝕠𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝟚𝟠, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟙𝟟𝟘𝟘


After leaving the cafe, Zoe had decided to wander the town alone for a while - there was somewhere she wanted to go for herself. The tavern had caught her eye when they'd been wandering around, but for whatever reason she hadn't felt like going in there at the time. Possibly because, all things considered, Zoe didn't want to drag anyone else into a fight. If she was being honest, the prospect of pissing someone off was half the reason she decided to go in, especially knowing this town weren't exactly keen on X's right now. It would be easy to get on somebody's nerves.

So she'd walked in with the arrogant, self-confident smile of someone that knew you didn't like them, and didn't really give a damn. Screw it, it wasn't like she went many places where people didn't give her a second glance, and this was no different. Entering the bar, she seated herself at one of the tables, leaning back in her chair and putting her feet up on it in a gesture that was at best blatantly distrespectful. Probably not the best way to get anyone wanting to serve her, but hey - not like she was here for the drinks.

Whoever hosted the tavern definitely had a taste for the nautical, with salvaged paintings and photos of ships and yachts hanging on the walls while a broken--and very poorly made--replica of an old-fashioned ship's wheel rested on a corner of the bar top. Most of the bar spigots were collecting dust from disuse and the one working tap served the kind of swill better used for washing hands than drinking. A heavyset woman with thick brown curls and dark skin eyed Zoe's neck as the girl approached, the white mark on her cheekbone practically shining against its olive backdrop.

"We don't serve your sort here. You lot either go crazy before or after the alcohol, but it's the same difference."

"And here I thought this was a free country." Perhaps ironic, coming from an imprisoned subnatural, but it wasn't like she was gonna concede the point. In fact, she just closed her eyes as though the woman wasn't worth wasting her time on. "Aren't we subs all in it together? I think it's better to give folks the benefit of the doubt. Even the ones who spend their time in shitty backwater towns running even shittier bars."

The expression on her face was taunting, her eyes opening to watch the woman's expression. Because the way Zoe saw it, what the hell was this lady gonna do about it? "But sure, don't serve me if it makes you feel better. I'm just resting my legs for a while."

"Your sort never have anything new. Bravado sometimes. Anger the next. And some days someone has to die to make you feel better." The woman's voice was bitter and she stepped away from the counter as she spoke. "This creaking shack isn't worth dying over, if you're here to start a fight." She turned towards the back entrance, walking towards the back of the bar swiftly. "You want to break it down? Suit yourself."

Zoe watched, a self-satisfied smile on her face as the woman exited through the back door. Real brave 'til she actually had to do something, huh? Although she was slightly disappointed the barmaid had backed down, Zoe was happy enough to sit back and relax for now.

Room for two?

Zoe had been the first of his teammates that Lawrence had caught sight of since leaving his room, and he had to admit there were worse options that he could have run into. Thankfully, instead of taking a turn where he might lose sight of her, she instead dipped into a... tavern? It seemed oddly appropriate, from what little he knew about her.

After catching the tail end of a short spat and letting Lizzy wander off to do her own thing, he took a seat next to the aberration, barely even acknowledging the retreating woman. He wasn't exactly here to be served anyway. While he hadn't quite caught on to the town's disdain to the easily pissed off x-mark students, he wasn't eactly surprised to see that Zoe had already started picking fights with the locals. It was a problem, but not exactly one he was looking to solve at the moment.

He just wanted to talk to somebody.

Feels like it's been ten years since the last time we got to sit down together.

"Lawrence?" Zoe's eyes widened as he sat down next to her. She'd known he was alive, despite everything, but... she couldn't help being surprised to see the guy around. If nothing else, she was glad to see him looking okay. Lizzy too, she supposed, although it made sense to see the two of them together.

"It has been a while. She smiled, but couldn't quite keep the concern out of her tone. "You been doing okay?"

That concern, admittedly, had caught him off guard. If she'd been so concerned why hadn't she tried to visit him in the week following his brush with death? Almost reflexively he tried to dismiss any worries she might have, but... He was trying to change, wasn't he? He couldn't really expect them to trust and accept him if he kept distancing himself as much as possible.

I admit, I've been better. It's been a pretty stressful month, hasn't it?

Idly, he slipped a hand between the buttons on his shirt, where the hole that almost killed him once was.

Still, alive, which is something. Hard to complain when that's the case. How about you? Been holding up okay since the library?

With a slightly bitter chuckle he closed his eyes and added;

Guess that's a bit of a silly question with all that's happened since.

"Wish I say so. I'm not as bad as I was, though. After Wisford, I--" Zoe glanced towards where his hand was, frowning. It wouldn't be fair to admit she wasn't okay, right? Not if she was already getting better on her own, without anyone's help. When she was trying to be reliable, to seem strong in the face of danger, be the one to help when others were weak. Lawrence was his own person, not just a dumping ground for her problems.

But then, hadn't that annoyed him before? Saying that it wasn't fair to burden him with her issues? He'd told her not to do what she was doing right now - so maybe it was a point of pride rather than selflessness. Maybe she just needed to think things through first, talk about something that wasn't death and destruction.

"I finished that book. The anger management one." A clumsy lie. Zoe laughed, but it was slightly hollow as she looked in the direction the barmaid had fled. "I'm not sure how much it helped, but at least you got me reading."

At the sound of Wisford Lawrence flinched in what seemed to have become a reflex, much to his annoyance- the arbiter didn't like the idea of being able to be read after so much time perfecting his calm. However, Zoe thankfully dodged the subject as quickly as she had brought it up, and he couldn't help but palm his face with his free hand in response to her change of subject.

The book wasn't about anger management Zoe, it was about...

What? Being good? Being content with your life? Finding peace? Eliminating bad experiences?

I guess it doesn't really matter if it didn't help. What's your next target going to be for this newfound hobby I've forced on you?

"Eh, same difference, right? Whatever it was about." Zoe shrugged, raising an eyebrow at the idea of it being classed as a new hobby. "I don't think I'm ever gonna be much of a bookworm, so don't get your hopes up on that front, but if you've got any recommendations, then shoot. Nothing too wordy, though."

I think you should probably stick to your strengths then Zoe, like...

Slowly he removed his hand from his face, drumming his fingers on the table in thought.

Like...

He was drawing a serious blank on this one. Was it because...?

Like...

Then finally he threw back his head and laughed, far more genuinely than a few moments ago.

Wow, come to think of it I don't really know anything about you Zoe. Guess we haven't really had many chances for smalltalk this past month.

"Hobbies? Never really had much spare time for them, other than training. But I'm guessing you mean stuff other than working out and punching people." Zoe frowned, trying to think things through. The two things she'd mentioned were kind of her main hobbies, but...

"I sew sometimes, I guess. It's practical." Did that count as a talent? For whatever reason, it felt strange to talk about. Zoe didn't tend to mention it to other people for whatever reason - maybe just because sewing wasn't exactly something that fit the whole tough-girl image. "And relaxing, once you get into it."

Sewing?

Now Lawrence was interested in the conversation for perhaps the first time. He certainly hadn't been expecting this revelation, although his voice betrayed no doubts about what Zoe had just told him. After all, she seemed much more liable to lie about not being able to sew rather than being able to.

How good are you at it? I can only really do field stuff- you know, the medical kind- but it'd be a hell of a helpful thing to be able to get my clothes patched up. They tend to go to rags pretty quick with... Well, our line of work, and it's a pain in the ass to have to buy new ones so often. I tend to get attached to what I own.

With a quick frown, he added;

I don't mean I want to shove all my maintenance on you- what I mean is could you teach me sometime? I'm sure the concept is similar to what I know so I shouldn't be too terrible of a student.

"Pretty good. Sucked at first, like most things, but I've mended a fair amount of clothes in my time. They hold up pretty well now. Always wanted to try and make my own, but fabric's expensive. I'm not sure I'm the greatest teacher, but if you can deal with me being snappy..." It did make more sense than just having to patch things up for him, anyway.

"Sure, why not? Don't think it should be that hard to teach if you already know something." Zoe looked at him, shrugging. "I'm happy to patch things up for you in the meantime, but try not to get everyone coming my way. There wouldn't be enough hours in the day to get it all done."

She was sure Lawrence would have figured that one out without her say-so, but it still seemed worth mentioning.

He cocked his head in response to that last bit before shrugging.

I don't really spread other peoples' business without their permission, so no worries there.

Before adding with a bit of a smile;

But thanks, I appreciate it. There's not really been anybody to ask before- at least that wasn't worse at it than I am. I mean, I'm sure they're around, but I'm not exactly the most social person on the planet. Kind of a random thing to ask a stranger, you know?

"Yeah, I can imagine. Everyone's probably got a bunch of skills we don't know about around here. If you're gonna deal with my bullshit, least I can do is sew up a few shirts, right?" Zoe laughed lightly, "Seriously, it's not been easy to deal with while you were holed up in your room."

That was an understatement. It almost felt like she was lying by not telling him what had happened since he went, but how was she supposed to begin there? There wasn't really any easy way to drop any of it into a conversation, even the parts she wasn't ashamed of. Her fists clenched briefly, worry crossing her face before she relaxed.

"No point being teammates if we can't at least help each other out, right? Not like the rest of the world's gonna bother." She grinned despite the slightly bitter-sounding remark. That part didn't bother her - she had no intention of helping the rest of the world either. Feeling was mutual.

You could have always knocked you know. I... wouldn't have minded the visitor.

It came out slightly more bitter than he intended, but not more than he felt. Still, it was ultimately his own fault for locking himself away, he couldn't expect anyone to be a mind reader- or at least most people when it came to USARILN East.

But yeah, we're a team. Doesn't feel like we act like it all the time though- and I'm not sure if that's going to be good enough going forward. Since Wisford-” Another wince. “Well, let's say death seems even closer than it did before, and we can't help each other at all if we're not alive. I'm just not sure what to do in order to solidify us.

"You're not wrong; we don't." Zoe felt like she spent half of her time covering for other people's mistakes, and the other half going too far and hurting them herself. "It's gonna come apart one way or another unless something changes. Hell, I'm... trying to be better, but I've still screwed up. When those rogues attacked--"

She paused, unsure whether she should talk about the events, before continuing. "I took off Callan's arm. Because time was running out, and no-one else was doing anything. I had to finish it myself, and it was the only way I could see to do that, because they weren't doing shit." Because she thought he was going to die, and she didn't want to watch that happen.

"And then in D.C. they go and kill who knows how many regulars, when they're just supposed to be evacuating. Every fight, something goes wrong, because they can't prioritise shit." Zoe looked tired, incredibly so. For what it was worth, she knew how to fight, knew she could protect them, but they made it really damn difficult to do it. No matter how strong her resolve, it wouldn't change the fact that they didn't belong on a battlefield like she did. "I don't trust them to keep each other alive. And that scares me."

Lawrence didn't really speak for some time after Zoe finished, instead slipping his hand into his shirt once more and staring at his fingers drumming aimlessly on the surface in front of him. So, how was he supposed to respond to all of that? Again, a week or two ago and he would have just brushed it off or tried to reassure her, but that felt... wrong somehow now. It was really too massive of a problem to just brush aside with some words, and it actually needed to be discussed if a solution was going to be found. Besides, he was just like her if not moreso; A battlefield is a place he was familiar with, these others...

In the end, honesty won out as the best policy.

Well, it scares me too. Partly because my own life depends on it, partly because their lives do- and honestly I don't want any more civilians to be killed, especially not by us. I don't want someone to lose a person they love- I've been there. If we cause that to someone whose innocent it's pretty much unforgivable.

Finally he looked over to her once more before continuing.

But we can't exactly choose to keep them out of the next fight that happens, so we need to come up with something together- seems like we've managed to come up with fuck all of a solution on our own, you know?

Unforgivable? Not in her eyes. "There's only so many civilian deaths they can cover up." It was callous that Zoe didn't really share Lawrence's concern for the regulars - all she cared about was how that action could affect their group. Either way, though, she didn't want them dying unnecessarily. What did the reasons matter, when the end results they wanted were the same? She sighed. "Everyone needs to know where they should be, what the priorities are."

It wasn't the same as having a representative, was it? "I'd say we need a leader, someone to make sure everyone knows all that, but--" She shrugged. "No-one here's leader material, really. And even if someone starts trying to take charge, they still need everyone else to listen. It's a bust." People needed to trust that they knew what they were doing, to respect them enough not to completely screw it up.

She shrugged, frowning. "And that's just thinking about when we're in combat, never mind outside it."

That's the thing, it's easy to give orders, it's a lot more difficult to have someone listen to them. Sometimes this feels like babysitting- and I'm not particularly fond of children.

It essentially was babysitting of course. Hadn't Rosa mentioned something to that effect a couple days ago? He still hadn't looked at his phone since tossing it away. A bit more immature than he was used to being, but then again he was trying to be different, wasn't he?

Life could be a pain in the ass sometimes whether it was outside of battle or not.

I bet you could probably intimidate at least half of them into listening to you. I know I wouldn't want to be the one to tell you no halfway through getting our asses blown off.

The last bit was added with a confident smirk that practically challenged her test it. It'd been awhile since he'd had the chance to actually dig at an aberration without worrying they'd immediately try to bite his head off- some in very literal fashion.

"You're not dumb. Well," she grinned, "not that dumb, anyway. But no," The possibility of her as a leader hadn't even crossed Zoe's mind. "Having me as the leader is a no-go. Might work in the field, but combat's about the only place where I know what I'm doing."

And there was the matter of public image to think about. Anything that could get more aggression directed towards their little group wasn't a good thing, and even though she hadn't taken part in any mass murders - for all the public knew, she was a rabid dog that needed chained up. Considering that the rest of them had been heralded as heroes in comparison... it was a terrible idea.

More selfishly, she couldn't in good conscience destroy herself if there were people actually relying on her.

"Fact is, I'm screwing up more often than not." Zoe sighed. It was worrying, almost, that there were people coming to see her as dependable, because she was so far from it. "Plus, in case you've forgotten, I'm unstable. Bad idea all round."

I'm not exactly disagreeing with you, but I also don't think you're screwing up any more than the rest of us. Give yourself the credit that's due at least.

With that Lawrence propped his elbow onto the table and rested his head on it, fingers parting his unkempt hair.

Though you're right in that you don't exactly scream 'PR Success Story' Marcus would, maybe, but you know...

With that he removed his free hand from his shirt and gave it a wave.

Blood on his hands too. I need to check in with him sometime about that, see how he's holding up. Really I need to lecture just about everybody here on top of that but it's a pain in the ass when they're either feeling like a 10 or a 0 and rarely in between.

Zoe nodded. He did. And he wasn't the only one - at least her victims hadn't been relatively harmless regulars.

"There aren't many of us that don't. I think a lot of them are trying to forget about it." Zoe frowned, unsure how she felt about that. On the one hand, maybe it felt better to let yourself forget, but surely you could use it to fuel you, motivate you, make sure it never happened again. "I don't think they should. That's how you repeat mistakes."

Mistakes were dangerous. Mistakes got people killed. You couldn't just forget, and push everything to the side, you had to face your actions. Accepting them, or rejecting them - either seemed better to her than denial. "We're lucky they were able to cover up what happened this time - it happens again, that might not be possible."

Well if I have to be the one to remind them- sad day for me I guess. Not exactly the kind of job I'm looking forward to- but if they're planning on forgetting it they have another thing coming-

Lawrence was interrupted by a short buzz from Zoe's phone. Glancing at the text, she frowned. Emma? Yeah, a chat, it looked like... something about a beach party--

Fuck no.

Party was fine. Hanging around the others was... uncomfortable in some cases, but she could probably avoid those people easily enough unless they wanted to pick a fight. The beach part on the other hand? No. No way. Not happening. Beaches meant ocean, ocean meant water, water meant drowning and panic and helplessness and--

She'd zoned out a little, a worried expression on her face.

- Zoe! We moving out or something? What the hell is wrong?

At this point Lawrence was standing and trying to get a look at the woman's phone screen, far beyond thinking it was any sort of personal message. Lizzy, for her part, had returned and was sticking her head into the doorway of the tavern, flicking her gaze between both Lawrence and Zoe, hairs raised in aggitation.

"Huh?" Zoe snapped back to reality, looking at Lawrence with a frown. Had she been that caught up in her thoughts? Trying to dismiss the thoughts that had sprung to mind, she spoke a little too hastily and nervously for the seemingly mundane subject matter. "It's nothing, just an invitation to some kinda beach party. Class thing. Don't think I'll bother going."

Forcing a smile, she looked back down at her phone and started to type, deciding it would be easier to just say as much and keep anyone else from bothering her about it.

He frowned in response to that. That's what had gotten her so worked up? It could be possible that he had suddenly become terrible at reading people, but she had looked worried sick. Still did. And her reply wasn't exactly a convincing one.

And... Why not? Parties in general aren't really my thing, but... Didn't we just say that we need to start coming up with ways to bond closer as a team? This seems like a pretty perfect opportunity for that Zoe.

Zoe paused in her typing. Okay, he wasn't wrong, but that really didn't balance things out for her in the slightest. "I can go to the next one, can't I? Won't be the last time we all get together." It was a weak justification, she knew that, but part of her hoped it'd be enough.

"You can also go to this one, can't you Zoe? 'Don't think I'll bother going.' Isn't exactly a concrete reason for you to skip it.

"I just-" Grasping for a better explanation that never came. Damn it, why did she suck so much at lying? Zoe's shoulders slumped slightly, and she looked almost embarrassed as she mumbled, "I'm scared of water."

Oh.

Lawrence left it at that for a few moments- partly out of thought, and partly trying not to snicker. For one, it'd be extremely rude after this revelation, and two he wanted to keep from getting a second hole melted into his chest. It shouldn't have really surprised him that even Zoe was afraid of something, but the reveal was not something he'd expected today.

Is it because you can't swim? How long do we have until this beach thing? I could always try teaching you before it gets here- you're going to teach me to sew after all. Until you get the hang of it I kinda have the ability to take away fear you know.

"No, I can't swim, but that's not why." Zoe frowned. "Bad memories, that's all, makes me feel helpless. You don't need to pay me back for the sewing lessons anyway, so don't worry about it." She wasn't sure how much being able to swim would help matters, either, so she just looked at Lawrence with a grimace.

"It's on Sunday, if you want to go for yourself."

It wasn't as if Lawrence didn't have his fair share of bad memories, so he decided to drop the swimming angle there. Still, he had no desire to go to this thing either, and they had just agreed that they needed to build up the team as best they could. He was not going to be budging.

It's a beach Zoe. Like 80% of what people actually use is sand. Nobody would probably even notice if you didn't get into the water- just distract them by beating their heads in during volleyball or something.

"But it's still... there." Zoe's discomfort was still obvious. Shit, she knew it wasn't rational, but the whole thing unnerved her. Saying that, the prospect of actually relaxing with everyone didn't seem that bad, and with everything they'd discussed... after a long moment's thought, she scowled. "Fine. Only because I want to make this team work one way or another."

There was one other thing which seemed important about this. "But let's be clear, anyone puts me in the water, I'll probably kill them. So just keep an eye out. That happens, or is about to happen, you have my permission to zap me back to calm." Lawrence had told her before he didn't like doing it without permission, so even if Zoe figured he'd have the sense anyway, it seemed better to say so. Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary.

Throwing his hands up like he was the one giving in during this exchange, Lawrence finalized it with a;

Conditions accepted. Just call out my name dramatically if that starts to happen and I'm not paying attention. Although I kinda suspect you could kick anybody's ass who even tried.

More seriously, he added;

So what time is this happening so I can swing by and get you? Not that I don't trust you not to change your mind and skip out- but I totally don't trust you not to change your mind and skip out.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Scowling, partly because she would've at least considered doing exactly that, Zoe glanced back down at the screen. "We've to be at the beach at one o'clock on Sunday, then."

At least he agreed to the condition she'd asked for, even if he was being slightly annoying about the whole thing. Plus, the acknowledgement that she could kick most people's asses was a nice boost for the redhead's ego, intentional or not - an easy way to soothe some of the irritation she felt towards this whole scenario.

Sounds like a plan to me then.

With that he turned away, noticing Lizzy poking her head in for the first time, although the latter had since relaxed the hairs on her back and fixed Zoe with the same sort of glare she had given the aberration at their first meeting.

Oh knock it off, I'll feed you in a bit.

When he finished crossing the room he gave the dog a scratch behind her ears before turning to Zoe a final time.

See you Sunday then, if not before.

Zoe laughed lightly at the dog's approach. Supposed she couldn't keep Lizzy waiting, huh? If Lawrence was gonna be around more, she'd have to start carrying snacks again. Not that she was gonna find any around here, considering the state of the place. Raising a hand in goodbye, she nodded. "Sure thing. See you around, I guess."

And despite her irritation, despite the fact that she'd just agreed to spend a day by the ocean of all places, she smiled at the thought that crossed her mind as she watched the arbiter leave the bar. Not that she'd ever admit it to the asshole's face, but...

I'm glad you're okay, Doc.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by GreenGoat
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GreenGoat Harmless Flower Person

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Hazel & Sander
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Vox Angelis Dust in the wind

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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Chasers115
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Shy Lies and Hazel Eyes



Sophia | Marcus



𝕊𝕦𝕟:: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟙𝟙𝟘𝟘


It had been a whole week, and Marcus still had yet to explore the entirety of the Zhang Estate. He'd managed to explore most of the surrounding area, between hunting with Ernie and Brent, and wandering around the beach at night, but the inside still had areas that he hadn't managed to wander into accidentally. He contemplated between the wine cellar and the library, eventually making his decision based on the fact that anybody sneaking into a wine cellar at 11am could be accused of being an alcoholic.

He was impressed by the size of the library - it almost seemed like Zhang was trying to build a second campus all the way out here. Which, depending on how things were going on campus, or at least from what he'd been hearing over the Death and Taxes forums a while back, might not have been the worst idea.

Now done spending time in front of the computers with a smile plastered on as if it would help as she tried to communicate with her family, Sophia made her way into the library for yet another time. Absentmindedly rubbing at a eye as she walked through the shelves, she tried to decide what to read this time. It was good to read, to immerse herself in a different world where the worries there could be banished simply by closing the book. Unlike in real life.

Deciding to head to a corner of the library she hadn't yet explored properly, Sophia turned a few corners until... oh. There, some feet away, was a person. It took a second for the dread to come rushing in as her tired mind took its time registering the person there. Classmate. Classmate: Marcus. After yesterday's encounter with Angélique, did she want to fail another conversation? He's not that bad, she told herself. Yet.

Fighting the urge to turn around and hide behind one of the shelves surrounding her, she took a few steps forward. Looked at him with her dark brown eyes, slightly puffy from her cry last night. Forced a slight smile to her face. "Oh..." Keep talking. "Hello, Marcus." Her voice was quiet, but in the library that wasn't so out of place.

Marcus nearly jumped in surprise when he heard someone else's voice - he hadn't exactly expected anybody else to be here at this time, but it probably wasn't as out of the ordinary as he thought. He just wasn't expecting it was the problem. He whirled around, immediately identifying the voice's owner. It was Sophia, the poor girl who had the pleasure of being the only person besides him and Lawrence to have attended both Evac missions.

And with the state she appeared to be in, that had been doing her as much good as it had been him.

"Oh hey Sophs!" Marcus said, forcing an equal smile to his own face. There was really no point in beating around the bush if he wanted to talk to her, so he might as well have gotten the hard part out of the way first: "How're you feeling lately? We haven't exactly had the opportunity to talk since-"

He cut himself off there, quickly searching for something to replace the thought. "...in a while."

Oh, she'd startled him. Then... perhaps she could have walked away without him noticing. Too late. She had started it, and she would finish it. Even if everyone was insistent on always asking her how she was. Was it genuine concern? A reflex upon seeing that she was younger than the rest of the team? A need to feel that they were being responsible? A polite question? Probably that. Before all this stuff had happened, she hadn't realized how much humans loved asking that question.

A muscle keeping her smile in place twitched as she noticed Marcus's quick cut off and change of phrasing. Right, they hadn't talked since Wisford. Golden eyes and a snap. Say something. "Yeah... it's been a while."

He just said that, you. Pay attention. Oops. Tensing slightly, Sophia wished that Marcus would have given her something more to respond to. "I'm... I'm fine." Her eyes darted to the nearest shelf of books and began scanning the titles without really reading. "Enjoying the... accommodations. You?"

"Doing fine. We've been getting nothing but upgrades to our living quarters, which is nice. Means I have to map out the air ducts everytime we change locations though, which is starting to become annoying." Marcus joked, giving a slight, and only lightly forced, chuckle at his own quip.

He brought his hand up to the back of his head nervously, becoming immediately aware of how little he actually had to talk to her about. They hadn't known eachother before Wisford (a bad subject to bring up if ever there was one), and this didn't exactly seem like the best of times to sit down and talk about their lives together.

Apparently Marcus was also fine, and making jokes that he could only understand. Sophia only glanced back at him with a hint of confusion. Air ducts? Did he mean escape passages? She wasn't feeling up for this stuff and jokes. So why had she started this again? Again there was that urge to just turn around and walk away. But then she'd never get better, would she? Despite what she had told herself that other night in D.C, she hadn't taken any steps to get to know her classmates.

She didn't really feel like trying now, but... she started to choke something out. "Do you um-- which do you-- you... uh..." No no no. Wrong. Her fists clenched, this time not focused enough to bother hiding them behind her back. Her face began to flush. "I... sorry." Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea. Stupid.

Right. That was a dumb joke to make without any sort of context. Not that there was any context...so that'd mean it was just a dumb joke overall. A real poor attempt at lightening the mood on his part, as he could tell by the slightly confused look he got. He had absolutely no idea how to interact with Sophia.

How's your brain handling all that exestential dread and those horrible atrocities you were forced to attend?

Although, it seemed only fair, because Sophia stumbled through her own sentance as well. He gave a nonchalant wave as she apologized, speaking up to hopefully salvage the attempt at conversation.

"So what kind of books do you like to read, Sophs?" Marcus asked, taking the initiative off Sophia's shoulders.

There, something to latch on to. A question to answer. It wasn’t the easier to answer, but it was something. Sophia’s gaze darted around the area, scanning the titles of the books as she searched for an answer. What did she like to read? "Uh, mostly fiction?" But that was too broad. Theme. Genre. What about those?

She liked… something that she could lose herself in. Good character building. It had to be realistic. No overpowered people going bam and knocking everyone down within a few seconds. Lots of conflict. How did she fit that into words? "I don’t know," she said, making sure to look anywhere but at Marcus. But she had to give more than that, so it slipped out as a whisper, something that would have been lost if the library wouldn't have been so quiet. "Something that I can... lose myself in."

Fiction was certainly a broad topic, and Marcus found himself looking around the shelves at the same time Sophia was. There were a lot of them - all various genres and materials, somewhere that he might have enjoyed himself a few months ago. Back when he used to read for fun instead of it being the only thing to do as the weeks passed on mercilessly.

"Something to get lost in?" Marcus found himself repeating, a moment passing before he snapped himself back to the conversation. He grinned a bit, his eyes scanning some of the lower shelves as he talked.

"Now you're starting to sound like Siena." he said, before realizing something. Did Sophia know Siena? They'd been on DC Evac together, but that didn't necessarily mean anything if Siena had been busying herself rescuing people from that building. "...erm. My roommate. Real big into books. Huuuge bookworm, that one." he explained hastily, trying to give Sophia some context to work from.

Was sounding like Siena a good thing or a bad thing? Sophia decided to go with good. It made things simpler. "Yeah... I kn-- have met her." She'd only talked to Siena briefly once, that wasn't enough to say that she knew the girl. But hey, surprise surprise, she actually knew someone. Impressive, huh? That's four people, plus maybe Marcus. So considering that there are around seventeen, eighteen people in the team... I know less than a quarter of them. Impressive. "Know" meaning having spoken to them at least twice.

Realizing that her flickering smile had dropped while doing her calculations, she hauled it back up. Time to make small talk. Are you here to lose yourself in a book too? Want to stop thinking about last Sunday? Not that. The smile dropped again. Get yourself together. Running a hand over her eyes, she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "You like reading too? Considering that you're..." Keep going. "...that you're here so early."

Oh okay, so she did know Siena! That meant he wasn't just blathering on and leaving Sophia in a state of mass confusion. Excellent.

"Eeeeh." Marcus made an noncommittal noise, giving the wavering 'so-so' hand gesture. "I used to. Right now I'm mostly just seeing what sort of resources are available. Check out all the places that this estate has to offer; know your surroundings and all that jazz." he added.

His eyes flickered across Sophia as she twirled a strand of hair. Another Siena move. He'd only seen her do that when she was answering questions about herself though. Questions she probably didn't want to answer. Whenever she was uncomfortable. He wasn't making Sophia uncomfortable, was he? He tried to make his grin a little more friendly, just to give the sense that they were friends.

Despite whatever their actual, working relationship was. 'Not great', as Marcus assumed.

Mhm, yeah. Sophia nodded in response to what Marcus said, but that was the only sign that she was paying attention. For she still wasn't looking at Marcus, though her thoughts were currently filled with trying to figure out what to say. Better to think of what was in the now than to think about a week ago. Still, no matter how she tried to find something, she came up blank for words. And with nothing to keep her in the present, her mind slipped back to the past. Not too far however, only so she was thinking of her time online just earlier.

Had she done a good enough job reassuring her sisters for the second time? They need so much attention. It was not a nice thought, so unlike her. Especially since she had just spent more time than she realized typing and rephrasing her e-mails to them. But it was her job. Even though she was more shaken up than either of them would ever realize about what had happened in D.C, it was they who needed the attention. And she would give it, just as she had tried to give reassurance to Angélique yesterday. I failed with that, though. On it went, until the world closed around her, shutting her in with her thoughts.

Marcus had plucked one of the books off the shelf, and had flipped it over to read the back synopsis. Some Sci-Fi romance novel involving a woman from the past and a spaceman from the future, and how things went down when she was suddenly forced into his world. 'How would she cope with the amenities of the future? Hilarity ensues!'. Not really his type of thing, and a surprise to find in Zhang's collection. It made him wonder how much of this stuff was actually ordered by her.

The sudden silence caught up to him, however. He'd not heard a single peep in response, and he looked over with a slight hint of confusion to see where the conversational hitch was. He easily recognized the glassy stare of someone lost in their own mind, and he gently placed the book back on the shelf as he half-turned to look at her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Marcus said, raising his voice to hopefully snap Sophia out of her little trance.

Penny... penny. For her thoughts. Marcus's voice cut in, and she dragged her gaze over to him. Made herself look and focus on his face. She didn't share her thoughts. They were private. Not even if someone offered her a penny. Yes, she knew it was an expression, but still... she didn't like sharing. Should I tell him about why I was thinking the other day that Angélique isn't actually an emotional weirdo? Tell him about how my older sister needs me for support, even when I feel I can't give it? Tell him about how I still can't stop thinking about all that death?

Her gaze hardened a bit, banishing the glassy look. "Just... people. Family." She should have told him she was thinking about bunnies.

Family. He got lost in his own mind thinking about that fairly often. Even if he did only have Max. And Sammie, if you counted her - and he was reluctant to cut numbers just because of silly little things like 'not actually being related.'

"That's not a bad one to get lost in." Marcus said, his own voice slightly preoccupied as he started to drift off in his own thoughts, before slamming himself back to the conversation at hand. "All good things, I hope?"

You'd better hope, otherwise this conversation is going to come to an abrupt halt..

Perhaps not, but at this point Sophia wasn't really sure where she stood in her family. Whether she was simply needed, or actually loved. But that was not fair. Not rational. She really did miss them in a way, but... things had always been complicated with her sisters. As the middle but yet older sister, things were bound to be complicated. A few rapid blinks betrayed the liquid emotion that was beginning to build up in her eyes. Sadness? Frustration? She didn't even know.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "They're hanging on to m--" No, she shouldn't be saying that. Giving that away. Wrong phrasing. She tried again. "They're fine."

Marcus gave an agreeable hum, closing his eyes and nodding slightly. There were clearly things that she didn't want to tell him, but that was fine. Everybody had their secrets, and he certainly wasn't close enough to Sophia to ask about hers. She had a family though, that was good.

How big was Savannah's family? How many of them did you leave crushed and without a daughter or a sister?

There was another moment of silence as Marcus leaned slightly on one of the bookshelves, his eyes searching around aimlessly. He knew what he wanted to say; it was the same thing he'd wanted to tell Sophia and Lawrence for weeks now. Perhaps he'd been deliberately avoiding them, because standing here right now, he was having a hard time convincing himself to not just drop it. But in his mind, it was important. Something that needed to be said, even if it was simple.

"Hey Sophs..." Marcus said, his voice suddenly serious, albeit slightly quieter. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

The sudden change of topic caught Sophia by surprise. Just a moment ago it had been books, but now Marcus had gone and changed the subject. To something that perhaps would have been better left alone in her thoughts, not pulled out into the spotlight. Of course he was referring to Wisford. What else was there for him to apologize for? And why was he apologizing to her? Such an apology could have been given to anyone on the team, not just her. Because Savannah had been part of the team.

Those questions flew through her head, but were soon replaced with something heavier. Memories. Not just of the death, but everything that related to Sav. Even the few memories that Sophia held that related to Sav were too much to handle today, and a tear that had been gathering before slipped down her cheek.

The pictures flashed. Golden eyes. Dark wings. Purple scarf. The scene Sophia had dreamed once resurfaced.

It was too much. Too much. She had been pushing those memories away each day, not letting them get too close. Letting other things take the stage. But now it had been dragged up. She took a step back as her surroundings began to narrow once more, the shelves closing in on her. As that lightheaded feeling suddenly came back. Sav. Savannah. Dead. Snapped.

Still, beneath what the sudden memory overload was causing, something so ingrained that it wouldn't disappear even now prodded her. Apologies have to be accepted. So even as she struggled to find something to latch on to that would take her out, a shaky voice spoke. "It's okay, you shouldn't blame yourself. None of us realized."

"I know." Marcus said flatly. No matter how many times people kept telling him that it wasn't his fault, he still kept some of the blame for himself. The 'if only' and 'what if' questions that plagued his mind every time the subject was brought up.

"But I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

Because she's too young?

Because she's a person. And no person deserves this.

Age had nothing to do with it. Trauma certianly didn't have an ge restriction anymore, and for her part, Sophia seemed to be handling things reletively well for her age. The benefits of a forced maturity, Marcus supposed. If they could even be considered benefits.

The point was, he didn't feel bad because someone her age was being put through this hell of theirs; he was just sorry it was happening at all.

Another apology. Another automated response. "It's okay. It's over." Except it wasn't over. Not at all. It never would be, not as long as those memories remained. Which would be forever. Though Sophia had responded to Marcus's words, they weren't doing any good when it came to pulling her out of whatever was going on in her head at the moment. She still couldn't get the images out of her mind, and now it was showing more visibly. Especially in the eyes. In the shivering hands.

She needed to sit down. The thought surfaced through the current haze, and it was something to do. Lightheaded was never good, especially when it came to her. There was no chair nearby, but in her closed in surroundings she knew that shelves surrounded her. She leaned heavily against one, struggling to draw in deep breaths. One, two, thre-- Another image. "One, two..."

A dark gaze darted from shadowed shelf to shadowed shelf to low ceiling, then to the only still colored thing there was: Marcus. Focus. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. Three scars. Hazel eyes. Not gold. She had this under control. Under control. Sophia's breathing began to slow, her appearance becoming a bit calmer. "It's okay."

A moment of confusion caught Marcus by surprise as he struggled to assess the situation. Dealing with people and trauma clearly wasn't one of his strong suits, but he was at least getting a little better at recognizing it. The shaking hands, the labored breathing, the sudden lean to support her weight; she was having some sort of episode, something like what Siena had.

Obviously; he was making her re-live what was probably one of the most traumatizing events of her life. Of course she was starting to panic. His mind raced to try and fix his mistake. How did Siena deal with hers?

that only lasts as long as there's something for me to focus on.

Something to focus on. There really wasn't anything around here to focus on unless Marcus wanted to shove a book in Sophia's face. Ironically, it probably would have been easier if it were Siena right now. There was an abundance of material for her to focus on.

His eyes darted back to Sophia as she muttered something to herself. She was counting. Good. Trying to catch her breath. She scanned around the room, finally ending at him, as her eyes seemed to trace every part of his face. Him. She was trying to focus on him.

He moved a little bit closer to at least try to help, making sure to keep himself at least in her frame of vision. "Right here, Sophs. Focus on me. Marcus. Everything is okay. You're fine. You're at the library." he spoke slowly and calmly as the attack seemed to fade; as Sophia seemed to regain control of her breathing and start to calm down.

Something else for her to focus on. To take her mind off of it. Books. What better topic for a library?

"So. Fantasy?" Marcus said hastily, quite obviously moving to change the subject. "You like the old 'faires and dragons' type book, or are you more into the newer 'vampires and werewolves' type of fantasy?" His tone was slightly stressed as he spoke - similar to that of someone who was being held at gunpoint or something. Forcing himself to make small talk, while also trying to make sure Sophia was okay.

Sophia focused. Marcus's voice reached out to her, something she could focus on that was more than an apology. She breathed. She counted. She would be okay. Okay. The lightheaded feeling and the shakiness in her hands would take a while to fade, but she was beginning to feel better, pushing those memories away. Now though, she was now in a strange rare state where she calm enough to string words together well enough, but still flustered enough to not worry as much as she usually did about how whatever she said would be accepted.

So when Marcus spoke, she responded in a way that was different from usual. She took the question and really answered it, focusing more on each word that was said now than the future. "Fantasy is just one type that I can like." She let out the rest of her breath slowly before continuing. "But... a bit of both those options work. It depends? I like any book that is written very... realistically. Not just action. I need very deep and complicated characters, and everything needs to be there for a reason. I need to be able to trace their actions and decisions all the way back, and I want to be able to understand why." She took another slightly shaky breath before continuing, eyes still locked on Marcus's face. "And I hate perfectly bad or good characters. There needs to be a good reason for why they turned out a certain way, they can't just be bad because 'it's great to conquer the world and enslave all to my will'. And--"

Then Sophia stopped suddenly, because she finally realized what she was doing. Her breath had steadied enough to calm her mind down, meaning that she was now very aware of what had happened in the past few minutes. Too aware. She immediately looked away from Marcus, a flush creeping into her face. "Sorry-sorry-sorry," she whispered. Shit shit shit. What had she done?

"Hey, hey. Woah." Marcus said, slightly taken aback by Sophia's sudden barrage of apologies. He'd been trying to listen very intently as Sophia spoke about characters and the like, trying to make her feel at least comfortable with talking while she recuperated. It was interesting to hear someone talk on about a subject they were deeply interested in, something that Marcus suddenly realized he hadn't heard much of despite his friendly standing with most of the people in their class.

Everyone had to be passionate about something, and it seemed like he hadn't heard anybody really go on like Sophia was.

"Relax, you're fine." he added. She at least didn't seem to be having any more problems, just a general fluster about her. "A character who's just evil with no real goals or motivation is like a cardboard cutout just there to get beaten in the climax." Marcus said, trying to empathize with Sophia and put her a little more at ease. "And a good character with no flaws has nothing to overcome - no arc or anything. They're just a cutout too - but we're supposed to root for them for no other reason than 'they're the hero'. I get where you're coming from."

She had just said twice as much-- no maybe three times as much as she usually did. Blabbering on about characters. Though Marcus told her it was no problem, the gate swung shut and now Sophia couldn't say anything when he tried to continue the conversation. She felt bad, leaving his words hanging there. Really bad. He was trying to be nice. She knew that she should say more, continue what she had started, but she had reached her word limit for the day. Instead, she just nodded. "Yeah..."

The sudden silence was plain to see. There was really no more to add to the conversation, and Marcus felt like he'd done more than enough damage already without risking any more by opening his dumb mouth. He brought himself back to a neutral position, shifting his weight on his leg slightly and rubbing his head.

"But, I've got other places to explore, and I'm sure that I'm not helping you find anything interesting on these shelves..." Marcus said, making an excuse for his impending exit. "Guess I'll see you around?"

And... he was leaving. At least this time, unlike yesterday, she felt a bit better about him wanting to leave. Being left alone to read something sounded like a very good idea right now, and at least there were no unforgivien apologies or misunderstandings between them. Not really. Just a whole lot of words unspoken, and a general awkwardness between them. Which was pretty bad but... perhaps not as bad as it could have been. "Yeah, see you."

Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Kyrisse
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Kyrisse

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Lilianna Brandt



𝕊𝕦𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / 𝔼𝕧𝕒𝕔𝕦𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥 / / ~𝟙𝟛𝟘𝟘

Everything seemed to pass Lily by like a blur. Her mind, fragmented as it is, stood at a standstill. A defense mechanism of sort. The faces of the people she killed as well as the people she had healed loomed in and out of her fractured thoughts. Drowning out the voices of the people who were clammoring for her to heal them, she tried to fight off the dizziness from the amount of blood she had been losing throughout the day. Need to heal... to stop them from being so noisy... Her thoughts lacked conviction and she soon felt herself being lifted up, the movement making her head reel.

A harsh voice ordered her to transfer her injuries and like a clockwork doll, without really wanting to argue or think, she did as she was told. The black thread's appearance on her wrist brought about instant relief to the battered Aberration followed by Emma's tulpa's demise.

Still so many injuries... Even though she closed her eyes tightly, she can still see them... feel them. They called to her just as the people demanded for her power. Would she be enough to take it all? Would Emma keep on calling her shadowy creations? Would she be forgiven for what she had done? Would she be casted out and hated? There were so many questions.

While the teenager knew that her powers could and should be used to help, her stigma sang a different song.

NO. Hurt. Maim. Kill.

No... Lily closed her eyes tightly and tried to fight off that overwhelming need to follow what the voices in her head wanted her to do. She focused on the faces of the people she killed and that need to atone for her sins.

The small teenager managed to take and transfer a little more before she found herself completely spent and unable to. With dizziness threatening to pull her under, she slumped against Kusari and allowed herself to be taken away like a limp rag doll. She didn't even bother transferring the minor injuries to Emma's shadowy companion in her exhaustion.


𝕊𝕦𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟚𝟘𝟜𝟘

Seeming as though she was in a trance, Lily remained silent throughout the trip, her eyes downcast and she avoided looking at any of her classmates. Though the small teenager was dead tired and wanted nothing but to lean back, close her eyes and sleep, she couldn't quite do it. Not because she was curious about where they were being brought to but because her mind was in continuous turmoil, replaying the events that had transpired merely hours ago. The voices in her head, both familiar and unfamiliar argued about the rights and wrongs of what she did and didn't do. Killing, healing... everything seemed to blur together. The line between good and evil melted together, the delineation becoming hazy.

It was right to kill because she wanted to protect. It was wrong to kill because they were innocent people. They were not innocent and they wanted to hurt her friends, therefore her actions were justified. Her friends can easily protect themselves and she just wanted destruction making her evil and in the wrong.

Was she evil? Was she wrong? Or was she a hero and in the right?

Somewhere in the middle, Lily was left confused with no clear answers. What did she do? Why did she do it? Did she want to do it? What would happen now? Would she be casted out? Prosecuted? Isolated? Punished?

Hated...

Definitely hated...

They won't cast you out. You're too valuable to be casted out.

But the people around me would never accept me as one of them.

Monsters will never be accepted in the society.

I'm a monster...

The words were repeating on a loop in her mind as she let herself be herded out of the truck and into a ferry with no complaints. Lackluster eyes surveyed the surroundings as they alighted the ferry. She didn't seem to take notice of how strange the small village was and merely walked in the direction she was led to.

Even when they were led to a large three-story house, the blonde Aberration still didn't seem to show interest. Normally, she would have marveled at the sight but an uninterested look was on her face. As instructed, she followed the maid as she was led to a room with her name on it. She didn't ask questions and she didn't look at the surroundings. She just removed the miraculously intact cellphone with its big crack in the screen out of her pocket, laid it gently onto the table and then unceremoniously crashed onto the bed. She was asleep even before the door behind her closed.


A Long Stay at The Estate: The First Week














A Long Stay at The Estate: Snips of Lily's Second Week






Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by VampireOracle
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Music Chat


Chris | Sophia


𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟠, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟙𝟙𝟘𝟘
Sophia was out of practice. Though she had been trying to practice once in a while, with everything that had happened since becoming a subnatural she hadn't really felt like it. Now, however, she had returned to the piano with hopes that it would help her relax and keep her from thinking too much.

Without notes to look at, Sophia's playing was riddled with mistakes as she stumbled through different pieces, slowly recalling what she had learned. She tried to think just of the music, nothing else. Not of the conversations she had had the past weekend. Not of Wisford, not of D.C. Not of her newly found advances to her power. Not of death, and blood, and death.

Slowly, she did manage to relax, focusing on which note came next, recalling each movement from the back of her mind. After feeling sufficiently warmed up, she at last switched to a piece that she had finished learning just that August. Though she stumbled a few times, Sophia kept playing, swaying slightly on the bench as she kept her gaze fixed on the keys.

The white haired arbiter Chris entered the music room with the intentions of distraction through music. He had expected to play in privacy but to his dismay another fellow mage had already started on the grand instrument. He hadn't talked to her before, but that didn't dismay him.

"A bit sloppy there." Chris commented with his usual scowl as he observed the fingers that had been playing away on the ivory keys with their occassional stumble. "I suppose thats why you're practicing then." He had muttered to himself before standing away to the side, more so to wait his turn then to continue a conversation.

The last thing Sophia had been expecting was for someone to march in unannounced while she was playing and make some comment. The girl jolted on the bench, head snapping towards the door to see... uh, was it Chris? She hadn't talked to him, but names tended to get thrown around enough for a bystander to pick them up. The dragon, right? A flush rose quickly to her cheeks when she processed what he had said, turning a bit to face him. "Obviously." Stupid remark.

It's the first time you've spoken to him, and that's what you say? That's the first word you say to him? Her self consciousness came flooding in now that the shock had worn off, along with the dread. Another person. She had been seeing too many people. And he wasn't leaving. Which wasn't good. What had happened to being alone? But she needed to be polite. Couldn't leave a bad impression. "I'm sorry," she began quietly, cringing internally as the words left her mouth. She hated apologies, even if right now it wasn't a real apology. "You're waiting for the piano?" Impressive. That was how many words?

"Don't worry about it." He shook his head. "I'll take over whenever you feel like your ready to stop." He didn't show much malice but he certainly had to struggle a bit with being polite.

Right... so he was just going to stand there waiting until she was done? That was... uh, she didn't like it. Her jaw clenched slightly, a barely noticable action. There was no way that Sophia was going to be able to practice anything with him standing around there. She could ask him to leave, but that was rude, wasn't it? And this was a public space, after all. "Al--alright."

Sophia turned back to the piano, too aware of his precense to focus properly. Judging every note she was going to play. Still, she began the first few measures of the song again, but stopped just as the faster part was beginning. She couldn't play with him there. Facing Chris again, she frowned, hands gripping the bench. Nervous. "I..." What had she wanted to say? "How long... would you..."

He rolled his eyes. "Well if you are going to be a while I'll just go do something else." Standoffish as usual, the arbiter lowered his crossed arms into his pockets. Though he had really been in the mood to play the piano, with someone else occupying it there wasn't much else he could do. He wasn't going to force her off it.

Wait wait wait. No, she did want to be alone. She did. It was... nice of him to offer to go do something else. She should let him go. But one more sentence, because she couldn't mess up yet another encounter. Even if it was just a small little thing. Couldn't let yet another person walk away without any input from her. "Wait but... you are Chris, right?" The words were drawn out longer than they needed to be, as if she wasn't sure how to form each syllable.

A pause. He really wasn't in the mood for socializing, but the last thing he needed was to make enemies. "Yeah...and you are?" His hands retreated from his pockets to allow his arms to return into a cross. He wasn't sure if she was shy or just wasn't familiar with the language, but regardless he tried to keep his patience.

Of course he didn't know her name, did he? Hah. As if. She should have included her name with her last remark. But at least he had asked. That was a good thing, right? "Sophia." It was so awkward, him standing there with arms crossed and straight face, as if silently evaluating her every move. Swallowing hard, her fingers tightened even more as she forced out the next words with an equally forced grin. "You probably haven't-- haven't seen me around much, huh?" Brilliant remark. Point out how antisocial she was. Calm down.

"I don't exactly get around much, i guess." Chris stated as he slowly loosened up his posture. "I only know a handful of my classmates anyway....But I guess its a pleasure knowing another one." Having decided to make himself comfortable, Chris took a chair to sit on, but made sure to keep some distance.

Same here. Still, she guessed he went out and about more than she did. His next remark caused her eyebrows to shoot upwards, unable to disguise her surprise. Suddenly, she felt like laughing. Don't laugh don't laugh. She didn't laugh, but... her grin grew a bit wider and she turned her face away for a moment before she could drag it down. Perhaps it wasn't really that funny, but seriously? A pleasure? Knowing her? Knowing another person? Time to return the phrase.

"Glad we finally get to aquaint ourselves properly." A slight, flat smile to replace the grin that had been there earlier. Was it just her, or had that sentence sounded strange? Time to say something else. Because he now looked like he was planning to spend some time to talk, meaning that she had to say something. Something, something, what? "Uh..."

He shrugged. "Is this your first time playing or have you had some experience in the past?" He proceeded to make some small talk. While not his biggest hobby talking to a stranger wasn't the worse thing to waste his time with.

If she could more or less play that song correctly, she obviously had been playing for some time. But at least now Chris was helping to add to the conversation, so she didn't let herself be annoyed. How long had she been playing? Mind flew back to think about all those years past, settling on a number. "I've actually been playing for... five-- five years, I think?" A pause. "You?"

He nodded once to acknowledge her experience. "I started when I was little but I never got much chance to play until recently." He said, avoiding as much details as he could. "You're not bad at it, but I noticed there were some mistakes in your playing...." A pause. "A word of advice, when I stumble over what keys to press I found that stressing over perfection made me play worse then letting myself flow with the music." He was terrible at giving advice, much less helping others. Still he tried to give his best support he could.

Chris's answer wasn't very clear, but Sophia nodded as well anyway. Did that mean he was less advanced, or more? Depending on how much effort he had put in... she now wanted to hear him play. Especially since his criticism still had her feeling somewhat defensive. He's trying to be nice. He's trying to give advice. What Chris was saying was sort of true, but it was hard to let yourself 'flow' when you could barely remember all the notes. "Yeah. It's just... a newer piece? So..." So you don't have to defend yourself. "What do you like to play?" Sophia shifted on the bench, looking like she wanted to get up but not quite sure if she should. Show me.

Was that challenge, or did she want to see someone with possibly better talents play? He wasn't sure, but he took her offer after some hesitation. The best song he knew how to play was piano man, the same music he played in the hotel. WIth no better ideas Chris began to play the melody, the somber tone of the notes synced with his growing meloncholy expression. Like spreading butter over bread Chris recited every note in perfect rythmn and sync as he had done times before.

Sophia listened closely to Chris play, standing with a slight frown on her face. His playing wasn't bad, he was pretty good at playing the piece. Less mistakes than I made, huh? But... perhaps the song he played wasn't as complicated. She didn't think it was. When he was done, she stood silent for a moment before speaking. "Nice." So that was the kind of music he liked, she assumed. It was quite different from what she had been trying to play, wasn't it? "Thanks for... agreeing to play."

He nodded once. "Right well I won't hog the seat, you may continue." He excused himself from the piano and returned to his chair, though he didn't bother to sit this time. "Take that practice to heart and you'll be better at it soon enough." He ensured as he made his exit. "Thanks for the chat."

"Mhmm. You too." For once Sophia responded quickly, before Chris could get out of hearing. He left so suddenly she was surprised. Had she said something wrong? But he didn't seem upset, not that she could tell, so he was just being... she didn't know. Giving her space, like she had wanted. Like she had wanted. Drawing in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. At least that hadn't been too bad, though the way he phrased his comments wasn't her favorite.

Shaking her head slightly, she got back on the bench and began to practice some more.
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『𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣』



𝕄𝕠𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟙, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~𝟚𝟛𝟜𝟘




Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by RedDusk
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『𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣』 『ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤』



ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕤 / / @RedDusk@January


𝕋𝕙𝕦: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~ 𝟙𝟘𝟘𝟘








𝕋𝕙𝕦: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~ 𝟙𝟜𝟘𝟘





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『𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣』 『ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤』



ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕤 / / @RedDusk@January


𝔽𝕣𝕚: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟝, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~ 𝟙𝟝𝟜𝟘





𝔽𝕣𝕚: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟝, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝔼𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 / / ~ 𝟙𝟟𝟜𝟘






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