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 Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:04 pm
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Peyton wasn't sure how long she had sat there. it could have been minutes, hell, it could have been hours for all the attention she paid the passage of time. At some point she had moved enough to rest her forehead against her knees, and her hands were up, fingers tangled in ombre curls. At one point she knew she'd been crying, the sounds had echoed through the long hall, but they'd faded of and now all that remained were the tear tracks on her cheeks as she lifted her head to look up at America as she leaned over her.
She looked utterly heartbroken as she lifted a hand, reaching for the Moon hunter, her best friend. "She wasn't real." The words came out thick, threatening to choke her, and with them came fresh tears. "It was all in my ******** head, some stupid dream!"
<Screechheart.. It's going to be okay.>
Messy curls wiped her cheeks as she shook her head, needlessly. It wasn't going to be okay. Astrid had been here. She'd been here, in Peyton's arms, they had fallen asleep together night after night, and the elder sibling had been conflicted, yes, but still over joyed to have the younger girl back in her life. Now she was gone. Poof. Not really.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:24 pm
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For a moment, America was tempted to drop all the way down and just sad hug Pey for ******** ever, because this s**t was heartbreaking. She'd forgotten about the folks in pods, how upset but also happy the other girl had been. And to have that all come to nothing? Mouth compressing, America bypassed the hand and grabbed Peyton's forearm to hoist her up onto her feet, her other arm going around the the girl's waist for support and also because still wanted to sad hug the s**t out of Pey.
But there was no ******** way it was nothing. No way everything could just be a dream and that's it, go home. "Are you sure?" America remembered seeing McCowboy both in the dream game and the mind ******** week, remembered talking with about seeing shadows and how maybe he wouldn't be a civilian much longer. The hunter thing ran in families, right?
He was probably in a pod right now, and wasn't that ******** creepy as hell? But still. That much could be real. Why couldn't Pey have her sister too?
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:41 pm
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There was a startled squeak as she was pulled to her feet, but she leaned into that hug, thin arms wrapping around the taller girl and face pressing into her shoulder. Least til America's question had her lifting it again, pale eyes narrowing, features hardening into something edging towards unfriendly, an immediate reaction, before she stopped to really think about it. "She's not there," she repeated it, but her voice lacked the conviction it had held seconds ago. Easily swayed to doubt, to hope.
But she had seen her room. She'd seen the lack of all evidence that the dainty blonde had been there. "I got back to my room this morning, and she was just gone, as if she'd never been there." Because she hadn't been.
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:49 pm
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The techs gave America suspicious glances as she neared the pod room, to the point where she had to have a quiet aside with one and explain what they were there for. With assurances that she would not touch anything in the room, the tech gave her a location, likely more to get rid of her quickly rather to be genuinely helpful.
Returning to Peyton's side with a wry smile, she held the girl's hand and led her down to one of the smaller, less frequented pod rooms. "They said if she was here, it'd likely be in this one. It's where one of the tech's flipped out during the waking dream or whatever it was." She left the looking to Peyton, despite everything, she still found those sleeping in the pods to be creepy. The idea that her friend's sister could have been on of those to die on her watch months back didn't bear thinking. She hadn't been, and that was what counted. No sense worrying for the what ifs that never happened in the first place.
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:33 pm
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Peyton watched on quietly as America spoke with one of the techs, and under normal circumstances she'd have asked what was going on, but just that moment it was hard to muster up enough curiosity to voice an inquiry. She waited, back against a wall, until America returned to her and offered out a hand. Automatically Peyton took it, gripping tightly as the Moon lead her further into the pod rooms than she had ever been.
As they got to the room they'd been directed too Pey slowed their pace so she could look over the names on the monitors, the peaceful faces behind the glass.
Every time her gaze jumped to a new monitor her heart seemed to pause, and her stomach did a little uncomfortable flip. It was intense at first, but the further into the room they got the more mild, until she let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
"Maybe she's not here," she offered quietly, voice oddly neutral, even empty. She wasn't sure what she was hoping for more, to see Astrid's name glowing on one of those screens, or to make it through without finding her. Maybe she was still with their dad. Maybe the Astrid in her dreams hadn't been a reflection on reality. She could be happily finishing up high school, thinking of college.
Of course that was when she'd find her, when the anxious knot had begun to ease with the idea of the younger Creedy living out the life she'd always wanted for her. It made her breath catch in her throat, and her grip on America's hand tightened almost painfully as she stepped up to the pod and brushed away the dust that had settled on the blinking screen and glass face.
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 4:11 am
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 1:46 am
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"Well," America reasoned, "she got this far." Because the candidate trials weren't something often spoken of, most people having done and become things they weren't proud of; stripped down to their barest selves and given only one true goal which was survive there was a lot of circumstantial ugly that was, thankfully, left anonymous upon waking.
No matter what happened, Peyton's baby sister will have gone through that, become that. And if she was anything like the Sun, she'd be strong. Stronger than most would give her credit for. "She comes from good stock, better n'most." She quirked a smile at the other girl and swung their hands slightly. "Maybe we should be worried for the rest of the island once she's up."
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 9:32 pm
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Peyton nodded, trying not to think to hard on the sort of hell Astrid had had to suffer through during the trials, and not quite succeeding. A small shudder ran up her spine, hands going cold.
The hand in her's was given a squeeze before America set them swinging, and she smiled then, appreciating the red head for never underestimating her, and by extension, already believing in the younger Creedy. "She's been through a lot," she agreed, but she knew too well that Astrid had never been a fighter. She was strong in her own way, resilient, but...
The smaller blonde had been a bit of a crybaby. Maybe that had changed, maybe she was tougher now. Peyton hoped so.
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