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 Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:06 pm
Pity. No, he wouldn't say it was quite that he was displaying. Guilt, perhaps. Insecurity, yes. But not pity. That would mean he was perhaps just as weak as she had been in that singular moment before. Watching Sara like this... it pleased him that she was becoming 'normal' - but this normality was abnormal for her.
Sara welcome the embrace, wrapping her arms around the girl and holding her tight for just a moment before letting go. But it was all too evident that she wished that she didn't have to let go. "No mother should ever have to lose her daughter." She sniffled, her somber expression not leaving.
Seph watched Sara carefully, and felt just a little more secure. Sara wasn't going to leave him. He paused for a moment, thinking. "So, as you say your mother is on temporary leave, what happens when she comes back for you? You're going to return to your life with her, right?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:22 pm
Calanthe shook her head at Sara, "No daughter should have to lose her mother either, but it happens." She smiled, "And I'm stronger because of it." A wicked glance was shot at Seph at this point. However, his question caused her glance to harden.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me." The sarcasm in Callie's voice was ridiculously obvious, "She's not coming back, you a**."
Elissa was beginning to think that Calanthe's temper was getting out of hand, but she remained silent. Her heart stopped - what was Calanthe's answer going to be?
"Even if she did come back - which, she's not - I'd stay with Elissa. She needs me more. And like you said earlier, Lara probably didn't want me. All she wanted was an oil from a scent shop." Her toothy smirk was playful, but her eyes were fierce.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:47 pm
"Yes... no daughter should have to go through that either." Her sniffling ceased, and she was less distraught, but seemed to be more hollow. "You shouldn't have to be this strong at an age so young... you're... probably much stronger then some adults are..." She murmured.
Seph almost rolled his eyes, but felt that the other girl at least deserved a little respect. "No? Your yourself said that : My mommy just had to leave. He mimicked in a mocking, girly tone. "So either you're a liar, or you don't know what to believe."
He was at least mildly impressed that the girl was regaining her guts - it was no fun to completely crush someone who was already on their knees. "I think you do have the hope that she will come back. That you'll know for sure you weren't just needlessly discarded, that it was something important that took her away from you. It's always an easy decision to make hypothetically. But could you really turn away your mother just like that?" His voice was calm, and soothing, nothing like the snarky tone he had before.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:35 pm
Calanthe once again shook her head at Sara .. but laughed this time, smiling, "I'm strong, but only because I was forced to be." She lifted Sara's chin up gently, "If you had to be, you would be strong."
Definitely not my daughter ... Elissa shook her head. It was amazing for insightful this young girl was sometimes. The second Elissa had found her, she had been a typical child .. but she definitely had her moments and this was one of them.
So, what? Now he was doing some psychoanalysis crap on me?! Calanthe shook her head, "Obviously there'll always be that hope, but I'm not as naïve as you believe, Seph." She hissed his name, "And do you honestly think that for a second I'm going to answer that question?!"
To be honest, Calanthe didn't know what she'd do. She loved Elissa, but Lara was her mother. All she hoped for was that she would never have to face the decision .. ever.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:46 am
Her eyes began to tear up, and she gave a crooked smile - but she was smiling nonetheless. Seph was happy to see her smile, because it was seldom that she did. At least, smiled on her own free will. "If only it were that easy." She laughed nervously.
He wasn't purposely trying to do harm, at least he supposed he wasn't. He had so little interaction with others that this was the only way he knew how to be. It was the other's fault if they simply could take it. Like that bubblegum boy who had left in a huff. Hmph. He listened carefully to her words and already had a response lined up to when she finished her last word.
"So you are a liar and don't know what to do. You said before that she wasn't coming back, meaning that you had no hope in such a thing. Now you say you do. As for my second question... you so proudly stated that would pick... Elissa over your mother, but now you won't answer me. No, you can't answer me. Because even you don't know what your own answer would be."
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:04 am
Calanthe scoffed, giving Seph a disgusted look, "Call me a liar, call me a freak. At least I have both my arms and a positive outlook on my 'tragic flaw'!" She raised both arms and used two fingers to make quotation marks on the last words.
Elissa could feel the tension. You could cut it with a knife ... But, regardless of who Calanthe would choose, Elissa knew she'd have to deal. If she chose her, fantastic! If she chose Lara, then so be it. She was her mother originally, anyways.
"And you know everything?" A fist on her hip, she stared straight into Seph's eyes, "Put yourself in my shoes. It doesn't matter whether or not she comes back, what matters is the situation. What happened? Why did she leave? Will she leave again? Does Lara need me? Or does Elissa need me more?"
Shaking her head, she broke her gaze, "You're absolutely ridiculous, you know that?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:20 am
What an attempt at a cheap blow. But her rage, her spite prevented him from feeling the full impact. "I commend you for regarding that you do in fact both arms while I do not." He replied, rolling his eyes. "My preferred outlook on my 'tragic flaw'..." He forcibly made airquotes just like she did, just to mock her. "...is dealing with it, instead of denying it. Mine may be skin deep and a little harder to hide, but I'm aware it's not going to go away."
He met Calinthe's gaze and gaze and gave a slow exhale, seeing this girl wasn't quite done with letting her rage out. "I have never said I did." But he wish he did now everything, that everything would be predictable. Sara... was unpredictable. And it frightened him a little. "So you'll be taking it case by case. So whoever needs you more, you'll go with them? What if Lara is a wreck and pins for you? Then you'll go with her, leaving Elissa behind?" His voice was ever smooth and silky. It was curiousity that was driving him, not the objective to harm her. But she didn't see that.
Sara seemed to sitting there idly, looking down at her lap, not saying a word. Then again, it didn't even seem like she was listening.
Seph shook his head as well. "Ridiculous, how? Because I'm right? Call me what you will, but that will not wash away the truth in my words."
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:34 am
Calanthe rolled her eyes, "Well, I didn't deny the fact my mother left me, either, but I'm also dealing with it and this is my way of doing so. It's called living my life normally." Her rage was not subsiding with this boy and she had a feeling that if she lost control for even one second, she'd make an attempt at physically hurting the boy because her emotional blows seemed to have little to no effect on him.
Subconsciously, Elissa put a hand to her stomach. But she didn't feel sick .. well, that sick anyways.
Calanthe looked up at Elissa, then back to Seph, "Lara had another child. Elissa doesn't have anyone, so if you're going to pick apart that situation, then I'd pick Elissa." She stopped. A thought had crossed her mind, but she shook it off and proceeded to answer Seph, "Who are you to ask me who I'd choose? You've never been put in that type of situation. Then again, neither have I. I don't know who I'd choose - I'd just know if the situation ever came up." And hopefully it never has to ...
Elissa looked at Sara, cocking her head to the side a little, "You okay?" It was said in more of a hushed voice and was completely directed towards Sara - not intended for the children to hear, but they probably would considering they were right there.
"Oh, what? The truth that you hide behind a mask?" Her voice hit a higher pitch at the end, "You put on a tough exterior, but it's so obvious that you're hiding behind and from your insecurities."
"Get over it."
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:55 am
"And what, I'm not living my life normally? I go out in public - I don't hole myself up at home and sit there wondering what the world outside is like." He didn't like not having one arm, but denying himself a life was not something he was going to do. He'd already had to live a pathetic immaterial state with no control, and he wasn't going to willingly subject himself to that.
What Calanthe didn't realize was that he was helping her. But she was too wound up in anger to see that. But if she didn't notice it then he wasn't going to point it out for her. "And then who are you to try and undermine what I may be going through? As I can see, I see you with two perfectly good arms." A mild rant. He was getting a little annoyed with her. "So there you go. We've figured out what your course of action would be. Aren't you happy you had this conversation with me?" He said with a smile on his face.
Sara looked up as Elissa spoke and gave a meek nod. The movement caught Seph's attention for just a moment, his expression changing to distress before turning his attention back to Callie and his calm demeanor returned.
Inside he felt his stomach wretch and turn, but outside it was as nothing had happened. "Stick and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." He said in a sing song voice, openly mocking Callie and her attempts to demean him. It hurt him, it did. But to show that emotion would mean he was just as weak as her, and he wouldn't allow that. Because he had to be strong for both himself and Sara.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:28 am
"I never said you don't live your life normally." Once again, Calanthe rolled her eyes, "But why don't you live it a little more optimistically? Maybe then it'd be easier to notice you only have one arm." Callie was the type of person to see through things like that if she got to know the person. But because Seph was and does piss her off, it was simply an easy target for insults and come backs.
Gritting her teeth, she exhauled, "Two perfectly good arms with a broken past. But I'm not letting that stop me now, am I?" Leaning closer to him, she touched his shoulder nearest the nub of an arm, "You can't change a broken past or a lost arm, but you can make the best out of it." Calanthe hissed this; she would show no soft emotion for this boy, "To be honest, no." She wasn't glad that they had had this conversation. She knew what she would do and she also knew what had happened in her past. So, not only did this boy just waste her time and breath, but he made her relive her past .. and that's not something she had wanted to do.
Concern crossed Elissa's eyes. It was obvious there was something wrong, but she wouldn't push the subject.
Calanthe stopped and glared at him. Not only was she going to sing that earlier - but stopped herself because the rage had overwhelmed the "sing-song" desire - but she hated being mocked. She felt her hand tense into a fist, but she stopped herself from doing anything she could possibly later regret.
"I'd punch you in the arm, but that's like hitting a kid with glasses in the face. Low and unfair."
Due to her rage, both her come backs and insults were beginning to take on a less thought out and witty, and more violent nature.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:43 am
"I prefer to be a realist then have the idea that everything is going to turn out right in the end. If you want to live in a fairy tale land, than go for it." He refuted, seeing she was completely targetting his lack of an arm. He was proud of that - it meant that the only thing she could try and knock him down with was that.
"And I'm not letting the fact that I have one arm stop me." His body tensed up when she touched his shoulder, his eyes almost narrowing to a glare. But he didn't step back. "I would think that we both are, are we not?" Her catty actions didn't phase him.
It wasn't hard to see she was struggling with the rage - and seeing her hand ball up into a fist she was also trying to simmer her violent actions. But he wasn't afraid of being physically hurt. Really, what more did he have to lose? He was already down to one arm. What, was she going to take one of his eyes out? And anyway, her punching him would be mean that the had definitively won.
"Low and unfair? I'm impressed you even seem to comprehend those concepts, since up until now you didn't seem to." He was going to call her out it, no doubt about it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:56 am
"Who says that everything won't turn out right in the end, eh?" She huffed and was starting to get tired of how damn negative he was being, "I wasn't aware that a fairy tale land included a lost mother and talking to an insecure boy. Pretty sure there are no knights in shining armour in this fairy tale, my friend." Her allowed the sarcasm to drip off her last word. No way in hell would she consider this boy a friend.
"Well, at least agree on one thing then." Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. How did this even start?!
I should tear off his other arm. See how he likes having no arms then!
Elissa looked down at Calanthe and mumbled, "Breath ..." She could see that Callie was beginning to lose her temper with him. Fiesty .. definitely fiesty.
"Oh? I'm sorry! Did I hit below the belt at some point in this conversation? Hah, I didn't even realize." She rolled her eyes, "Low blows and unfairness; I'm simply fighting fire with fire." And then she remembered how this all started.
"I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt, at first. I'd be a bit sour too if I saw someone staring at me because I didn't have an arm. But at least I had the decency to apologize for it! Excuse me if I've never seen a boy my age without a limb! Maybe if you would get over it, then --"
Elissa clenched her teeth loudly and Calanthe stopped.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:16 pm
"Like I said, I'm a realist. It's entirely possible things will, but I'm not betting on it." It was almost amazing how much she had changed from the first few moments he had met her. What words could do the mental psyche. "Well, it sure sounds like the start of a fairy tale. And not every story needs a knight." Friend. That word didn't mean anything to him. He didn't know what a friend was.
"That we do." He said in a calm voice, allowing her to roll her eyes at him. She was annoyed. He got it. And now she had to vent it.
But it didn't stop him from getting annoyed at her, yet again. What an insolent girl. No matter, he had to keep his cool - her losing her temper meant that he had won, or was winning away. "At least my remarks are justified. You call me insecure but there had been nary a sign of anything of the sort. Perhaps you really are living in a fairy land - you can just make facts appear out of thin air." Fire with fire - perhaps. But he had the flamethrower while she was harmed with a lighter. She could light him up all you want but there would be hardly any visible marks.
"Is that what you gave me? I could hardly tell. You were hissing insults to me after my first remark." He laughed, seeing no need in being merciful. And then she halted. He shot a glare at Elissa for interrupting before looking back at Callie. "Say it. Whatever it is you're going to say."
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:36 pm
"Well, if this were my fairy tale, there would be a knight." Not even for her, either. She wanted a knight for Elissa. Someone to protect her, care for her. Calanthe was beginning to worry about Elissa .. she put on a strong face, but Callie could tell she was hurting .. still hurting.
"I call you insecure, because that's what started this whole mess. I came to apologize to you for staring at your lack of arm, but you had to keep your mask on and refuse to accept my apology." Calanthe wasn't as strong as Seph, but she wasn't stupid either. There's no way he wouldn't be insecure about something of that length, and it's not like she blamed him for it either.
It happened pretty fast then. Callie slapped him across the face, fuming. She didn't care if he won or not, "Don't you dare look at Elissa like that!" And she stopped. Calanthe hadn't realized it, but she lost control, "If there's one thing I can't tolerate, it's someone disrespecting my mother like that .."
Elissa looked down at Callie, Mother ... She didn't even think twice that her young girl had just slapped someone else.
Calanthe refused to finish her previous thought, "I apologize for slapping you." It was a forced apology, a meaningless one, but she knew that Elissa would have wanted her to do it.
It was then Elissa clicked back to reality, "Oh my goodness. I am so sorry, Seph! Sara!" She acknowledged both; addressing Sara, because Calanthe was her responsibility .. her mother.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:03 pm
"Sorry princess, but we don't always get what we want, do we?" He grinned. A knight in shining armor. If only he was that. It was painfully obvious that he wasn't... he was... harming Sara, not protecting her. But he wasn't trying to. Why did he have to be given a power if he wasn't supposed to use it? But things were better now... he had seen Sara smile, hadn't he?
He merely shook his head. "I refused your apology because you could hardly even call it that. It was a mini ramble of your past history with another set of freaks. You were giving me a biography not an apology." he hardly even got to finish his sentence before he felt a searing pain on his cheek. Had she...?
He stood silent as she spoke, the pain almost instantly dissapearing. He had only felt it for a moment and then it had gone. Nothing. That's what he felt. He almost wanted to touch the spot where he had been hit just to fortify that he had ever been hit in the first place.
Another apology. That's what brought him back to reality. "You don't mean it." He said simply, almost giving a shrug. "I bet you would probably do it again." But nonetheless, he felt like he had won. She had lost her temper, and given into her emotions. He barely even looked at Elissa as she spoke but instead at Sara. She was looking at him strangely, as if mentally distancing himself from him. He made an attempt to hold her hand but the first moment of physical contact she recoiled her hand.
She turned her attention to Elisssa and shook her head. "It's fine."
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