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 Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:47 pm
Simply put: Devi was tired. She had a long night patrolling the city, and nearly had her a** handed to her by an unexpected youma attack. Of course, she survived the ordeal. The youma? Not so fortunate. Requiem had dusted the damned thing, but the fight alone had exhausted the girl. When she returned home to her suite that evening, the only thing Devi wanted to do was go to sleep. After stripping down and changing into her pajamas, she tucked herself into bed and thought of peaceful things to ease her transition to sleep. Usually she would dream of the good old days, before all these crazy turn of events sprung into her life last year with crazy nightmare worlds, cake monsters, torture camps and heartbreak. It really had been a rough ******** year.
Unfortunately for Devi, even her dreams that night were not safe from the realities of her situation as she awoke to the sensation of being grabbed and yanked out of bed. Was it Tanzanite? Had she managed to track her down, wanting to get rid of any Gellners remaining in the city? She wanted to scream in the darkness, but what good would that do? Who would hear her? Instead she reached out, her hand fumbling for a light-switch or her henshin pen. She flicked on the light and swiftly grabbed the henshin pen, but the person who grabbed her was certainly not who she had expected.
“Fallon?”
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 10:34 pm
Fallon's eyes were red and blood shot. Wet slicks poured from her nose and mouth, and her hair was cast in frizzy patches, pulled free from the updo she had worn for the dance. Her prom dress was still on, but it bore gray and black stains and splotches. Her feet were bare. Both hands were tangled in the collar of Devi's shirt. One knee rested beside her on the bed. Fallon yanked her again, pulling their faces inches apart.
Her breath was ragged, heavy. It was as if a switch had been flipped in her mind and all her careful collectedness was unraveling at the seams. "Did you know?" she hissed, a crack of emotion splitting her voice. "Did you smile at me on that ******** dance floor knowing I was walking into a lion's den that night?" Fallon shook her shorter roommate. "Don't lie to me." There was a threat there, and a lack of control.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:35 pm
Devi was shocked and awed, dazed and confused. In all the time she had known Fallon, she had never seen her so un-put together since…well, ever. Whether it was dressing for prom, cleaning the house, or ripping out esophagi, Fallon had always looked cool and collected. To see her in this condition was a rarity, and a condition that Devi would have preferred to not see her friend be in.
“No,” Devi shook her head, trying to imagine what could have possibly happened – what could have gone so wrong to put someone as strong as Fallon into this state? She had always managed s**t better than a sewage plant. “What do you mean lion’s den? Did you get ambushed? Honestly Fallon, I have no idea what happened. Is everything okay?” Stupid question. Clearly, everything was not fine. “Talk to me. What happened?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 10:26 am
It took what little control Fallon had left to keep her from striking out at Devorah. Rage and anger and pain boiled in her veins, and the only way the girl had learned to combat it was to let those feelings take hold of her and be unleashed. But she needed to know how far this conspiracy went. She had to know if Devi had been at part of it.
"I opened my home to you," she said, voice shaking. "I protected you when Tanzanite pursued you."
The words that Devi said bounced off of her. Fallon did not let go of the other girl's collar. "I did it for all of you -- for Gunn, for Scylla..." And then with particular distaste: "For Birhan." Her eyes squeezed shut as a fresh wave of tears spilled free.
Her lips buzz, words spilling off in broken thoughts. "It was an accident. It was a stupid accident -- a useless, meaningless accident -- and they crippled me, Devi. They ended me." With a heaving sob, Fallon released her grip on the other girl and sunk to the floor, burying her head in her knees.
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 5:41 pm
Things only seemed to have gotten slightly less cryptic. Devi tried to puzzle the pieces together, but there were still far too many gaps. Had the Court turned their backs on her? Had they ambushed her? Would they be coming here next? Her hands trembled with worry. Just what had Fallon done?
"Fallon, look at me," she said firmly, trying her best to be reassuring. She placed a hand on her friend's back to soothe her. "I am indebted to you for so much, and I can never fully express my gratitude for that. You had my back when I needed help the most, and now it is my turn to be here for you. I will protect you, defend you, whatever I have to if needed. I owe that to you, not only as the person who was there for me but also as my friend. But in order for me to help you, I need to know what happened. Who ended you? What accident?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:57 pm
Fallon arched her back when Devi touched her. It was a spasm of fear. If some of her closest allies within the Blood Moon Court were capable of betraying her, then how different could Devorah possibly be? The words sounded like ones of comfort, but Fallon found it impossible to trust them. She couldn't even look at her.
The accident. The pen. It was all too real. Devi seemed to have no idea what Fallon was talking about -- but how could she really be sure? A pair of furious magenta eyes peeked out at the dark-haired girl. "You're all the same," she said, voice low and rumbling. "I made the mistake of trusting the White Moon once." She jerked away from the girl's touch and crawled to her feet. "I won't do it again. I won't be manipulated and destroyed. I won't have the Black Kingdom come to ruin over one meaningless life."
Bare feet moved over the carpet. Fallon drifted toward the door. "If you were with them, Devi," she said, pointing at her, "if you stood by to watch this happen, then I hope it haunts you until the day you die. Without me there to watch over you, that date might be sooner than you think." In a spin of lace and silk, Fallon turned back to the door and left.
If Devi were to go to Fallon's room, it would be empty. A bag was missing, some clothes and toiletries. Wherever the girl had gone, she didn't seem to want her roommate to know.
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