|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:42 pm
Sasha's gaze cut towards Jordan. She'd been idly pulling lint from her scarf, but his little hesitation had caught her attention. "This last mission?" Her lips tightened. She didn't want to think about her time in the lair more than she absolutely had to - it had only gone to prove that bonds were mere liabilities, and she felt disgusted by herself because of the decisions she'd made.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 12:01 am
Jordan's hand went up to touch the back of his neck, where the messy, ugly scar from the bug's entrance and subsequent removal lay hidden under his hair. He realized what he was doing a moment later and put his hand back down again with a small grimace. "I spent some extra time in the infirmary after they hauled me out," he said. "After that - well, I suppose I didn't feel like talking to too many people."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:53 pm
Sasha stilled, eyes sharp on the way that Jordan lifted his hand to touch the back of his neck. Her own time in the infirmary had been that of a healing sleep, nary a nightmare to be found as long as she didn't have to face wakefulness. It would explain a lot - why she didn't remember seeing Jordan there in the infirmary; perhaps they'd even been kept in separate areas. Suddenly her attitude shifted. "I didn't know you were in the lair, too," Sasha rasped softly, arched brows lowering over blue eyes. "You weren't with us."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 3:23 am
Jordan nodded slightly and looked down into his coffee cup. "I was caught a few days before you guys. I think. I couldn't really measure time in there." He suppressed a shudder. "I was on a simple solo mission to a desert area that had been declared safe. The lair opened up right under me while I was waiting for the portal back. There were five of them and nowhere I could hide." His tone stayed light, but the set of his shoulders and the taut curl of his fingers suggested frustration, anger, lingering traces of fear. "They tossed me into a tiny cell, and a priestess came by to give me something to make me dream. Found out later that they implanted a bug at some point while I was - " he took a breath, " - unaware of my surroundings." Ferros rumbled quietly, not speaking, but present, soothing, protective. Jordan rubbed the fingertips of his left hand across the stone of Ferros's ring in silent response, and forced himself to relax. He lifted the cup and took a sip. "Not exactly something I'm eager to share with people."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:24 pm
"The same thing - the worm, it was a worm - happened to Otto. It probably happened to the rest of them, too. Wash, Rin, Ami." Sasha touched the tip of her tongue to her cupid's bow as she fell silent for a brief moment, deep in thought. There was no way she was going to go all sappy and soppy about what had happened to her - not to Jordan. Didn't matter. Back to the topic she'd initially touched on. "Things have changed between Jerry and myself. I can remember how he was after things ended between he and Candace." She pursed her lips, pale eyes narrowed on Jordan's face. "I'm certain he could use a friend. You know how he can be. I know he's already been drinking." Her chin lifted. "I still care for him." One brow twitched, just slightly, and her jaw tightened. "He's just not ... what I need."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:58 am
Jordan didn't press; he was grateful that Sasha wasn't inquiring after any detail, and she was probably just as willing to have the subject dropped. He nodded to her request. "He's still my friend, and I haven't talked to him in too long," he agreed. "I'll make sure to check on him." He studied her defensive expression briefly. "I understand," he said, quietly, neutrally, and left it at that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:59 am
"Very good." A pause. "I want what I've sacrificed everything - what I've sacrificed my life, whether I knew it or not - to achieve. Power, respect. Maybe even fame, to a lesser, more frivolous extent. I don't want to be another nameless face. I was born for this. It's in my blood. Did you know that, Jordan?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 12:39 pm
Briefly, Jordan looked startled, maybe puzzled. Then his eyes sharpened. "The breeding program," he guessed, recalling the list of names they'd found in the labs months ago. What had Sasha found out about her family that had triggered such a sharp and complete change? Or was it a change at all? The determination and force of personality had been there already, if he thought about it; it was the way it was expressed that had changed. He studied her a moment longer. Then he said, "I can believe you'll do it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 9:28 am
Sasha's lips parted in a humorless smile, even white teeth peeking out from behind the curve of her lips. "Mm, the breeding program. Full of secrecy and deceit - and yet so very successful. At least I know that it didn't come from the drunk that raised me. Then again, maybe I should be thanking him."
She gave a low laugh. Cryptic, but she wouldn't explain what she meant. Not to him, for obvious reasons.
Sasha's smile broadened, turned a little ugly.
"I will." A shrug. "I won't let anything get in my way. I've given up everything so far, I might as well give up everything and a little bit more."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 9:31 am
Jordan's eyebrows lifted a little. "Be careful what you throw away," he said quietly. "Some things can't be retrieved."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:21 pm
The corner of her mouth lifted just the slightest, a lack of humor in her eyes. "You're right, Jordan. Some things can't be retrieved." Sasha glanced at her shoes, an aura of boredom pervading the cool sense of composure she'd carried. She was silent for a long moment before lifting her eyes back to meet his, a strange something flickering in her eyes. "But they can always be replaced." People. Emotions. All of it. She was superior to it, and it was obvious that Sasha no longer cared.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
