[PRP] Seeker of Justice [Cami x Lawr]

[nessy]

I hope you understand that you're really doing the right thing. Which is important, more important than anything else, you're doing the right thing. Kidana was slung over her wielder's shoulder by the string of her bow, the tip lightly scraping across the ground as Cami picked her way over to the labs. At first she'd resolved not to talk to Lawrence ever again but with the incessant repetition of the revenant in her head, over and over about justice, she had to get to the bottom of this.

"I'm not going to just walk up and shoot him. That's not justice that's being like, I dunno, a vigilante or something. I'm going to talk to him. Ama said that he murdered his own family, that he wants to hurt Peter. We'll see what he says." Her voice was as grim as the look on her young face, set in lines that didn't look at all right.

Lawrence would find the teen leaning against the front-facing wall of the labs, idly plucking at the string of her bow where it was resting next to her thigh, staring like a brooding Heathcliff off into the middle distance of nowhere.

Baneful

so srs~

 

[Baneful]

Lawrence showed up to the labs without any real malicious intent, if anything he spent most of his time curious and the naivety of the young was always fascinating. He'd brought along a book, one he had a spare copy of about different types of music across the world and interesting instruments, it was a little on the young side of the reading scale for him and he'd mostly used it as a reference for sketching, he figured it might be of interest to Cami.

He smiled amicably at her as he headed over with his only hand and spoke up brightly. "Hi!" he said. "Are you doing all right? You look a little serious." he gave her a look of growing concern. "Are you all right?" and he turned to look around their general vicinity for a threat.

 

[nessy]

Cami was getting reaaaaal used to the way that people looked at her and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. It wasn't a bad look, per se, it was just that everyone seemed to know her on sight and she knew no one. Considering that she had asked Mr. Lawrence to meet her here and here was someone acknowledging her, she had to make the assumption.

"I don't know..." Her voice wobbled a bit around the words as she again plucked at the string, hearing the word justice in the twang of it. "You know Caroline hates you. I don't even think hate is too strong a word because she hates you." This was an important bit of groundwork to lay out there. It was why she was there, about to say what she was about to say.

Some of her serious lines twisted as Cami tried not to cry again at the horrible images that had popped into her head. "She said you'd done awful things. That you wanted to kill little Peter. That you'd hurt me..." This last one mattered but not as much as the idea of rape and murder. "But worst of all that you'd killed your own family!" Obviously she didn't want to believe it. The signs were there, easy to exploit, easy to take advantage of should he desire to.

Camille wanted to think the best of everyone. Lawrence was no exception.  

[Baneful]

Lawrence listened with the genuine horror of someone who couldn't imagine the sort of atrocities that were being attributed to him, the reaction of someone who felt like that sort of thing had to be something that had happened to someone else.

"She does dislike me." he said sadly. "But everyone is always stretching rumours on this island. I'm not saying she is bad for saying it or that she deliberately made anything up, there is just a lot of misinformation in the rumour mill."

He sighed and moved to sit down on a raised edge of the building.

"I have been part of awful things, I hurt people on a mission when I lost control, I saw them as monster and not people, I thought I was defending myself. I haven't even met Peter, simply heard of him in spite of being a close neighbour, I don't want to hurt him, I have sons of my own." he looked very sad and upset by the accusations.

"God. Though I'll admit to you most of all that it hurts to hear people say I killed my family. It hits me right here." and he patted his chest. "I had a daughter, a lovely little thing, my relationship broke down with her mother before I ever came to the island, but when I was kidnapped here - I did not volunteer - I wanted so badly to see my family again. They told me a lot of strange stories and I didn't believe them."

He looked away, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion. "They said that strange creatures attacked if you went home, I thought it was a bluff to keep me here. I went back and she got hurt. It was my fault for not believing, but its hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I learned a painful lesson I will never forget and I lost my shining star. If people want to call that murder, then they are free to do so, every day is a penance of its own."

Extending the book to her he gave her a sad little smile. "I'd never hurt you." he said. "But I understand if you want to believe Miss Caroline, she's very wise. You can have this though anyway, if you'd like, I have two copies, it has some interesting things in it, I thought you might be interested."
 

[nessy]

Like the teen was plucking the string of her bow, Lawrence was plucking the strings of her too-soft heart. She couldn't believe that he was completely blameless of everything that he had been accused of; everyone had their own spin, their own idea of a story, and it was entirely possible that her Ama and Mr. Lawrence saw the same thing from different sides.

What snagged at her though was that he did seem genuinely upset at the loss of his daughter. Two things had bothered Cami most: first, that he wanted to hurt little Peter, and second that he had killed his own family. The second was true but it seemed more like death wrought through his pride rather than anything else. Was he culpable? Yes, she could see how, but she also did see the pure tragedy of it.

When the book was offered she took it and hugged it against her chest, leaning her bow against the wall as she did so. It was a loosening of defensiveness in that very obvious gesture. A victory. "Thank you for telling me. I'm trying real hard to figure things out for m'self and I want to make everyone proud." She offered him a tentative smile. "Bein' a kid's sometimes just as hard, you know?"

Baneful

 

[Baneful]

Lawrence nodded. "I bet it is. I've not been a kid for a very long time, and seeing you all around reminds me about what is important, and even more than that it reminds me of the kind of person she could have one day been, and I suppose helping you all out in little ways.. it helps with that. You are a very clever girl and if you have any other questions of me, you ask them whenever you like you hear? I don't want you to doubt me or feel uncomfortable around me, not when I see all of you as as close to family as its possible to be on this dangerous island" He gave her a smile. "You'll all be tough, but I see so much potential in you, you know what you are doing, right in here." And he tapped his chest.

"You'll figure this kid thing out no problem and the pride will come easy."


 

[nessy]

He's admitted to wrongdoing! He was involved in the death of his daughter! You must bring him to justice! Kidana was frustrated and Cami could very clearly tell that from the way that her voice had increased in pitch, almost making the poor girl's ears ring with her unearthly voice. Wincing slightly where she stood the brunette immediately took Lawrence up on his offer and gestured towards the faintly glowing bow.

"Do you have any advice on how to deal with her? She's in my head, telling me I ought to 'bring you to justice' which is not something I'm going to do." Eyes were narrowed and a bit of an ugly glance was shot towards the thing. "She just appears when she wants, disappears when she wants, and I can't seem to shut her voice out. Ever."

Lawrence wanted to do some good? Here was his chance!

Baneful

 

[Baneful]

Lawrence looked thoughtful. "Well we should respect our weapons, they'll take care of us wether they want to or not, if you are in danger she will not be able to desummon herself, remember that. We control them, we are the ones in charge, it doesn't mean we can't have a good partnership but this is our world and we know it, if it was Halloween it would be the other way around. So certainly don't ignore her on everything, but in this instance it seems like perhaps some Halloween morality is bleeding over." He nodded gently.

"Butch, for instance often tells me to bite people and other violent acts, none of which I intend to do, for him it's normal and how he sees the world and he does come from a world where no one dies so the sense of risk and consequence is far lessened. Your bow is likely the same, from a place where justice is an absolute thing, it's a big change for her too, being here. Unfortunately the only way to deal with her voice is to learn to live with it and foster a mutual respect where you have your time to yourself. It took a long time to get Butch to stop talking all day every day. If you do want your head to yourself for a short time, there are weapon golems as an option, they let your weapon out in a physical golem for a time while affording you some silence."

nesshime

 

[nessy]

Thoughtfully twirling a strand of hair around her finger the teenager listened to Lawr's wisdom before looking back over to Kidana. "Danger...does she decide what is danger or is it something else? Danger comes in a lot of forms and Ama would say that I'm in danger right now. But even if I am it's hardly mortal danger or anything that requires a weapon..." She trailed off, shoulders slumping a bit as she was again reminded at the mess that was trying to figure out whether or not Lawrence was un-redeemable.

It was at least comforting to know that perhaps he wasn't a shining paragon of virtue but he understood the problem. "That must have sucked though, having all that violence in your head all the time. Kidana's been popping in and out but there are some quiet moments." It didn't count her nightmares where she woke up with the bow responding to the sense of 'danger' coming from too-strong emotions but it was getting better. "Given a choice I'd probably shove her in one of those golem thingies so I can get some peace and quiet but then I'd have no weapon, huh?"

baneful

 

[Baneful]

"I don't think they get to decide, I think it is automatic, if it would kill you, they will block it, but only in a very direct way, indirect dangers I think are up to you to decide if you can handle. If I tried to stab you or something like that - which I wouldn't - then she would step in."

He nodded "It is however very trying to have Butch in my head, certainly, but it is fine to take a short break at times, you won't have a weapon for the duration but we are not always in danger here either. Sometimes it can give perspective to have a break. "