beingdifferent | Sixteenth little lie ♰ Hush now baby, don't you cry; your reward's in the sweet by-and-by

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Sixteenth little lie ♰ Hush now baby, don't you cry; your reward's in the sweet by-and-by

What happened?! [There's a sudden sound of something glass or porcelain shattering against the floor or wall, the sound of books hitting the floor, a music-box flipping open and playing a few notes of "Fur Elise" before the sound of wood cracking and metal gears crushing.]

Tell me!

[Esther loosens an agonized sound somewhere between a growl and a cry. This is followed immediately by the dull pound of her fist against the wall.] Who stopped it?!

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[The small red bird vanishes in a swirl of equally red smoke, and emerges as a much more substancial creature: a hawk. He snatches the last projectile out of the air as it's thrown and drops it. He circles back and re-takes the perch on her canopy.]

Someone likes playing rough.

[He's not going anywhere. Point of fact, he likes this one.]

[This should surprise her, but after so long on the Barge it doesn't. She merely screeches in hostility and grabs another handful of the broken porcelain.]

I'm not playing!

Go ahead. Throw it.

[If birds can smile, this one definitely is.]

I've got time. I can wait until you're all worn out. Then we can chat.

[She does. And as she hurls it toward him she ducks to the door, furious and meaning to trap the insolent thing behind her until it apologizes or, preferably, starves.]

[He takes off before it can even reach him, and flies just barely ahead of her. The red smoke happens again and when it clears, there's a not unattractive young man leaning in her doorway, blocking her path.]

What's your rush?

[That's more than enough to make her stop. She's been through and seen a lot, but she can't remember the last time a young man was in her bedroom. This is, likely, a trick, but it's a welcome trick regardless of her firm grip on the remaining porcelain shard.]

I told you, I don't want your remarks.

[He smiles, though it is probably more like a smirk, and couldn't care less about the broken shard in her hand.]

What about my stories?

What about them?

[This, she is aware, is bait, and she will not take it.]

You wanted to know about things you missed, right? I'd be happy to tell you whatever you want to know.

[It is very much bait. Thing is, he's not even decided what the hook is quite yet.]

How did it end? Who stopped it?

It was fixed, despite efforts to the contrary.

Thank you.

[She pulls open the door and gestures to it, her fingers still tight around the piece.] Now get out.

Aren't we inhospitable today.

[He slides by her smoothly, ignoring the open door. He wanders into her room, completely uncaring of the wreck she's made of it.]

And after we were getting along so well.

[Fine. If he won't get out, she will. Ignoring her own appearance she will. She slips out into the hallway and slams the door behind her.]

[That's fine. She'll come back eventually. In the meantime, he'll make himself right at home.

On her pillow.

As a cat.]

[She does have to, after washing her hair and stealing a snack and kicking over a few saplings in the gardens. It does little to vent her anger, however, and Dark Heart's appearance adds a slow simmering rage to her existing ire. By the time she's back she's ready to destroy something alive, and he makes it easy with that form.

She grabs the cat by the throat and squeezes, carrying him toward the door to throw him into the hall.] What did I tell you?!

[It's almost admirable, her negativity, her easy transition to violence. Shame his abilities were slightly muted. This girl would probably be able to strengthen him tremendously just on her own.

But it wouldn't do for him to let her strangle him. So he transforms again, into a much larger cat. The tiger falls onto her with it's full weight, driving her down to the floor.]

I think you're mistaking me for someone you can boss around.

[She expected something to happen but is still surprised to find herself pinned on the floor with a tiger on top of her. Regardless of the beast - the shapeshifter - she screams, not of fear but of fury, and gnashes her teeth at him, almost tigerish herself.]

[He's utterly unimpressed with the screaming, and he just waits it out.]

So this is how you handle everything? Seems counter productive.

[He may wait that scream out but he barely finishes his statement before she's thrashing against him again, howling like a rabid animal.

She spent several years in a straightjacket doing exactly this, and as long as she's restrained she'll continue to.]

[Okay fine. He'll just lay down. Not completely dead weight, but an adult tiger weighs anywhere from 400 to 600 pounds, she's not going to be moving much, even with only a fraction of it truly being placed on her.]

I can do this longer than you can. I'm not interested in your fit. When you're done, we can talk.

[This is not the way to intimidate Esther and while she eventually does tire herself out with struggling, she doesn't deign to talk to him. Once she's exhausted and resigned herself to being stuck she simply glares at him, studying him and imagining all the different ways she could kill him.]

That's better. In exchange...

[More smoke and it's the young man on top of her now. He still lays on her, but there's no threat of her getting crushed to death underneath him.

He folds his arms across her collar bone and rests his chin on them.]

So are you going to keep being unreasonable, or are we going to be civil?

[She slows her breath, eyes still fiery, very aware of the shape he's in. Under other circumstances she might have been enthusiastic but he's earned too much of her hate for that. When he settles his face near hers she answers the question wordlessly, spitting at him.]

[That just gets a smile.]

I really like your attitude. What's your name?

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