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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2015 17:41:06 GMT -5
"Yes," he answered truthfully. This for some reason was easier to answer. He could only be so anxious over what he didn't remember happening. "But this . . . I'm . . . I was a special case. And the injuries would not look this way without the cult leaders' magic." He also wouldn't be awake without the magic that had scarred him. He would have been in pain and healing for much, much longer. "The Puppeteers . . . they treated me far worse than your average beast. Many of them were not . . . not this cruel." Then there was a select few who were just as cruel if not crueler. "I . . . these mark my betrayal." The scars were reminders of what he'd done, a silent exchange which had signified the shift in his allegiance.
His punishment. That and a life eternal. He had to live with this, and he sensed more and more she had some guilt she had to live with as well.
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 7, 2015 20:37:09 GMT -5
It was much easier for her to breathe at least. It still wasn’t enough for her to willingly face him, or much of anybody, not with everything running through her mind. She rubbed her arms to feel something other that the only slightly easing guilt and the throbbing from her tongue (she was definitely gonna need some ice for that). His explanation still didn’t bring much of any relief to her though, and the word betrayal kept ringing in her ears. He was sorry, and it… She didn’t know what to call it, he didn’t want to hurt his friends, the cult, he was quite literally beaten to a pulp, and he still thought he deserved more. She would never let herself call it sympathy or similar situations or anything or the sort. She didn’t have the right, for her it would never be the same, not while he clearly had his marks and scars from his treachery while she…
In her eyes, there was one person who still needed to be punished, and she was trying desperately not to break down in front of him.
“O-okay,” Eve replied, taking a deep breath to prevent her voice from shaking. “Y-yeah, I can... well, uh... thanks. We're going down this way, right?”
Without waiting for any affirmation or denial, she headed straight down the hall leaving him to catch up.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 5:16:11 GMT -5
Tea watched her go, following unsteadily but keeping up all the same. She felt . . . guilty. For something. What did she have to feel guilty for?
She'd asked about being a beast. Did she . . . did she know some of the beasts? The cultists . . . were they cultists?
Tea kept up with her, guiding her steps to the exit. They were getting close. "What's wrong?" The question slipped from his mouth before he had the wherewithal to swallow it back down. Yet now that it was out, he hoped for an answer.
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 8, 2015 10:42:17 GMT -5
Eve froze mid-step. She really should’ve known that he was going to to question her; he would have to be a complete moron not to. It was going to come eventually, but she still wasn’t prepared for it at all, hoping that she would leave before he got the chance to ask. She wrung her hands together to relieve some of the stress that had begun to build up again and tried to get her breathing to even out just a little bit.
“What do you mean?” she answered, not turning around and continuing to wring her hands together. She looked back down at her hands and let go, going to clasp them behind her back tightly instead, still not making any move to face him. “Why would something be wrong?”
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 11:02:32 GMT -5
Tea felt her stalling, felt her trying to dodge. Clamping his mouth shut, he should know better than to pry. He shouldn't be so intrusive. Still, his curiosity and concern took over.
"You . . . is there anything else you'd like to know?" The least he could do was answer her questions. She had seemed interested before. Not interested. Desperate? She hadn't been eager, it had pained her to hear what he'd have to say. "You don't have to tell me anything, I'm sorry I asked." He started retracting quickly. He'd made her even more uncomfortable than she'd been before. "You don't have to ans-swer me. Don't have to speak to me at all."
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 8, 2015 20:46:38 GMT -5
Eve didn’t respond at first, keeping her back to him. Asking him more questions probably wasn’t going to end with the results she wanted; not that she knew what that was. She had already talked to him way more then what she ever wanted to talk to a Puppeteer again. She didn’t want to go into silence again either, not with everything running through her mind. Distractions, she needed distractions. Anything to get her mind off of things, even if it was talking to a Puppeteer. He wasn’t as bad as she thought he would be anyways.
She swallowed to get the taste of blood out of her mouth and turned to face him with the most convincing smile she could pull up, which wasn’t very convincing at all really, nor was it big either. Technically, it was more of some combination of a smirk and grin, but it was the best she was going to give him at the moment. "Anything? Well… uh… it's Tea, right? Why Tea? Unhealthy obsession or some significant deeper meaning?”
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 21:12:59 GMT -5
He would humor her. She wasn't feeling any better. The forced smile was exactly that: forced. But he would oblige her and change the subject. That seemed to be what she needed. "Both," he answered. "Sort of." He only ever drank tea now that he didn't need food to live. It was the one thing that hadn't been completely ruined for him consumption wise. "I like tea, hence why I was given the name." She most likely did not want to know that the name was given to him by a Puppeteer, one he'd failed to deal with properly. "I also prefer the name Tea to my real name." For various reasons. "Any significance to the name Eve?"
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 8, 2015 23:19:47 GMT -5
“Oh, uh… I dunno. It’s just a name, really.” She answered, giving him a small shrug and glancing downward at her feet.
It was a name, it had always been just a name to her, because it had never belonged to her. For her, she stole it to make life easier for herself. She called herself that and she had others call her that because to hear her real name over and over again, when she didn’t deserve it, when it just symbolised everything she hated about herself, was something she refused to submit herself to. It was easier for her to not hear it, not add a name along with her entire past. And apparently, she wasn't the only one.
She’d spent too much time not looking back at him, thinking about things she’d probably never have the chance to change. It was probably too late for her to salvage any possibility of convincing him she wasn’t as guilty as him, and yet she still forced herself to meet his eyes again with a smile that sickened her on the inside. “Guess I also liked the mysteriousness behind it, you know? Has a... dark kind of ring to it.”
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2015 9:19:48 GMT -5
"I can see that," he uttered. Again, she was forcing a smile. Did she have any idea he could see through it? No she didn't. She shouldn't. His abilities tended to unnerve so he continued saying nothing. "I'm . . . a bit regretful my name doesn't have the same dark ring." Of course, that probably wasn't true now. He could just imagine people being troubled over whether one was referring to him or the beverage from which he took his name. He felt ill at the thought. "We're . . . we're almost out." He led on, eyes darting away from hers. Before he could stop himself he blurted out, "I'm sorry they got to you too."
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 9, 2015 13:41:16 GMT -5
“Almost. They almost did.”
The correction spilled out before she could even comprehended what she was saying. It took a moment for her to realize what she had said, and she stopped dead in her tracks, her hand immediately flying towards her mouth as if it were going to stop her from saying anything more. She glanced up at Tea wide-eyed until looking back down at her feet. The taste of blood was back as she bit down hard on her tongue again. She brought her hand down from her mouth and rubbed it against her arm and began to walk at a much faster pace.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2015 15:35:34 GMT -5
He winced as he felt a trickle of pain from her, and was soon distracted by the shock at her own words. He judged her reaction, but did not ask. He pitied her. But . . . on some level he envied her. "At least you got out." Many of them had not. He had not. Well . . . he had. Fifty or so years later he had gotten out. Still it did not feel as though he was truly free of them. The stigma was everpresent.
He pointed up ahead, the next hallway leading them to their destination.
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 9, 2015 23:06:42 GMT -5
Eve nearly stopped once again, almost turning around to face Tea, but decided against it. She kept her mouth clamped shut and shook her head in response to his comment. Was he suggesting that she was better off with what she has now than what she nearly got? She almost laughed at the idea, the image of what she could’ve kept being so ironic for her. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself to keep from laughing or crying, just from showing any emotion, as if not showing it would prevent her from feeling it in first place. In retrospect, talking to him in the first place probably wasn’t the greatest idea and should’ve let the silence linger until she left, let only a hazy version of what she’s done play in her head.
Her nails dug deep into her arms, piercing the skin and drawing blood. Pain. She deserved pain, she deserved to be one of their beasts.
But it would never be enough.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2015 19:04:48 GMT -5
Tea saw her distress and, without thinking about the action, slowed and reached out to her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he got a fresh shot of her grief and regret and it nearly knocked him back a pace. Closing his eyes, he told her, "I'm sorry." He had plenty to be sorry for.
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Post by DestinyJoyHope on Oct 12, 2015 22:10:51 GMT -5
Eve jumped at his touch and yanked herself out of his grip, eyes wide in shock. She hadn’t been touched like that in ages, not with someone trying to comfort her. Then again, she hadn’t openly felt this much since she joined the cult. It was better when she bottled up inside, where she didn't have to let others try to help her. Not when they had their own problems, and Tea certainly had his.
“Don’t be,” she responded, drawing away from him reluctantly. The gesture was one she liked, but accepting it was something she'd never let herself do. “I deserve it.”
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2015 19:10:26 GMT -5
Tea's brow furrowed. Deserved it? What did she mean by that? "How can you?" What had she done so terrible?
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