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

Entry tags:

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?!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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?

Get away from me or I'll scream for help.

[Not due to fear - she is obviously unafraid - but because she knows how this looks, and expects he does too.]

You've been screaming all day, and the only person who's shown up is me.

[Point of fact, it takes him a second to put two and two together, because that's just not his M.O. When he does, the smile widens.]

But that is pretty underhanded. I admire that. And just so we're clear, I'm interested in your mind, not your body. I could go back to the tiger, if you'd rather? Wouldn't take a second.

I don't care who you are or what you want. Leave.

So you can do what? Cry some more? Wouldn't you rather do something productive?

And you know what it is I should be doing, is that right?

Pssh, heck no. I just want to help.

With what?

Whatever you're really after.

[Esther laughs harshly, the sound almost spit at him. It's a foolish and stupid offer.] What do you know about what I'm after?

Nothing yet. But I'd love to hear all about it.

If I get off you, you going to do something stupid?

You won't.

If you get off of me, you're going to leave.

Fair enough, guess I'm not moving.

So you just want to keep spinning your heels here? You seem smarter than that.

I'm not going to give you anything.

Give me? I think you're misunderstanding what's going on here. I don't want anything from you. Like I said, I'd like to help, in whatever capacity that might take.

[Spam]

[Spam] [cw: animal cruelty]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]

[Spam]