[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy & [color=f26522]Milo Ventri[/color][/h2][/center][/b]

In the back of her mind she could hear Milo’s voice in rolling darkness. In an instant she was back in his shop with the gangster informant, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4691323]Titus[/url]. The dim light bent obscure shadows over the old workshop as it cast over the profile of tools and unfinished metalwork. She watched how he worked over the poor man. From years of labor with his hands, Milo’s arm strength was nearly machine-like in its pure utility. The tension in his forearm smashed like a piston while the other gripped and pulled the deadweight of his target back into place as if setting a railroad spike to be driven. For a split-second she could see herself, watching, her face cold and unmoving in spite of the man’s pathetic pleas. Then she could see him again. The look on his face. Milo gleaned little enjoyment from he was doing. Later, when the adrenaline wore off, he would he reflect on himself harshly and question what he had done. Deep down he was a good person. As she watched his fist crash against Titus’ skull again, she felt nothing but [i]satisfaction[/i]. Deep down, she knew she wasn’t so sure about herself. 

The room was unnaturally quiet save for the sound of the scene in front of her and the increasing pounding of her own heartbeat as if the rhythm blended into her thoughts, growing with the tension in the room.The scene blended with a memory. She could remember how she had drawn her gun and fired before it happened. Simultaneously, she could see herself and she could feel the weight of Milo’s hammer in her hand as the words came, “[i]That’s enough[/i].”

Her hand moved just as swiftly as she remembered. Her [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4742497]pistol draw[/url] was as natural as a snap of lightning over the ocean. The weight of the gun and motion of the barrel rotating in her hand were something she had complete control. It was like magic to watch. The fluidity of the movement of the gun from the holster on her hip she could see herself looking down from behind the aligned sights; her hair moving in a breeze that wasn’t there. Snapping back into her own eyes, Titus was gone along with Milo and all of his shop. Sitting in the chair and staring back at her from infront of her gun was [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4647627]Ana[/url].

[color=0072bc][i]”What are you doing, Paige?”[/i][/color] Her voice was clearly nervous, but carried her familiar note of sincere concern. Her eyes looked up past the pistol and into Paige as if not even seeing the weapon pointed directly into her face.


For a moment it felt like she could feel her heart hit the inside of her chest and the sensation was so overwhelming, it was excruciating, like a wave of emotion that washed over her whole body and pounded down into the farthest reaches of her soul. The gun lowered slightly, but not all the way. She could still feel the weight of something in her other hand and she realized she had never tossed the hammer aside like in her memory. She looked down to see a withered bouquet dissipate out of her grip into dust. Around her, the sky was a solid overcast of gray clouds rolling with the wind of an approaching storm. Strands of loose blonde wisps danced over her eyes. Still her arm did not lower the gun. They were in the middle of nothing, just a large field of swaying grass with a single tree behind Ana. She could hear the wind swaying through the branches and moving the leaves. Time seemed to feel non existent as she looked at it, almost mesmerized by the sight. It was different somehow,  like it didn’t belong, mossy and vibrantly green like something from a rainforest instead of the northwestern plains. 

[color=0072bc]“Paige?!”[/color] Ana’s voice snapped with an audible tinge of anger. Her eyes were narrow, glaring up at her.

Paige looked back at her grimly. The sudden contempt in her friend’s voice igniting a wholly recognizable fire in her heart. The raw anger roared up through her heart and into her extended arm. As she felt herself pull the trigger, she snapped awake.