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 Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:45 pm
Quinn had ran. He had ran, and ran, and ran. He didn't want to think about the blood. Or Vale. Or the death, or the--
He didn't want to think about it.
Sydni. Sydni was the most important thing. He hadn't seen her that morning. Where would she be?
Killed.
No! No, that wasn't it. No, that was what he was trying to make sure WASN'T the case. Babysitter's. That's where she would be. The babysitter's.
He made a sharp turn on the street toward the babysitter's house, still running.
What if she wasn't there?
She had to be. She had to. There was no other possibility. Vale wouldn't--
Vale wouldn't have slaughtered a whole house full of homeless guys, either, and eaten--
He wasn't Vale. IT wasn't Vale. That was a monster. Not Vale. Not his Vale. It couldn't be. He wouldn't do that. Not sweet, chivalrous Vale. Not the Vale with so much love for Sydni. Or Tepin.
Or Quinn?
His eyes welled up with tears as he ran, but he raised a hand up to violently brush them away.
He had left him. Left Vale--NO!
He had left IT. That wasn't Vale. That wasn't Vale.
He couldn't feel guilty for leaving a monster behind, could he?
It wasn't Vale. Vale would come over to his house later, looking for Quinn, and it would be the right Vale. The Vale Quinn knew. The Vale that didn't kill people. And then Vale would hug him, and tell him he just had an awful dream, or a hallucination, and that none of it was real.
That monster wasn't real.
He banged on the door of the babysitter's house.
"Open--" he was amazed at how hard it was to choke words out. "Open up." His eyes started filling up with tears again, and he shook his head to get them away. "Please. I'm here for Sydni. Please tell me she's here. Please."
A part of him expected there to be no answer. That behind the door was just another repeat of what he had seen the morning before. The babysitter, Sydni, met with the same fate.
NO! That wouldn't happen. Sydni was fine. Vale was fine. Vale was not the monster he had seen that morning, no matter what he said.
He collapsed to his knees in front of the door, holding his head in his hands while he waited for the babysitter.
He had done nothing wrong. That monster was not Vale.
He hadn't abandoned Vale.
He hadn't.
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:39 pm
The night had ended with her holding him in her tiny arms. He was shaken, he had cried.
Valeriu had cried.
She had cried with him, though she did not weep for what had happened. Her tears were something different-- regret that the man could have ever gone through anything like this. Regret that the gods could be so cruel, or humans so heartless. Regret that the world was in such a state, and she was utterly powerless to do anything about it.
She couldn’t do anything to stop it, only vainly try to pick of the pieces.
Her resolve was set. She dressed early that day, ready before breakfast had even finished. Wearing his old clothes from childhood, she smiled at him, and cheered him on-- it was the least she could do. Varu needed to feel human, he needed to feel like that night had never happened. The least she could do was make that transition back to reality as easy as she possibly could.
But even though she had promised herself to help him forget, there were some things that she simply could not ignore. Quinn had ran. He ran from Varu, right when Varu needed someone the most. After claiming he loved him, after playing the romantic, in the end, he couldn’t handle it. He had failed.
Tepin didn’t mind the responsibility-- in fact she welcomed it. But the fact remained that if Quinn had not run, then Varu would have felt better sooner. He wouldn’t have had to suffer for as long as he had.
It was that thought that had carried her to his door, her small, dark fist pounding on his door with a newfound resolve and fury.
Quinn had failed. As far as Tepin was concerned, he was unqualified to call himself Varu’s love.
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:03 pm
Quinn had been so relieved. He had gotten wierd looks from the babysitter, but he had been assured of Sydni's safety, and that she was still breathing. Sydni was fine. He no longer needed to worry about it. Any of it.
Everything could go away, now.
He managed to find his way back at home that night, and took a long shower, running it warm until it ran out of warm water, and he sat in the cold for a while.
Before he went to bed, things were back to normal. His brain had adjusted itself.
He made a grilled cheese sandwich.
He ate it.
He went out to the store and bought ten pounds worth of chocolate.
He ate most of it.
He spent the rest of his night laying in bed, unable to sleep. When the sun rose, he stood up from his bed and made his way to the kitchen, brewing some coffee in their coffee machine (that thing was incredibly hard to learn how to operate). He drank three cups, then ate some more espresso beans.
After all of that, he was wide awake. And was also able to push the thoughts out of his mind. He didn't remember any of it.
Mostly.
Television. That's what he needed. Television. Lots of it. While doing push-ups. And reading a book. Sit ups, maybe. Jogging in place?
It wasn't until he was midway through his third set of lunges that he realized that so much caffeine was probably unhealthy at the moment.
He heard the knock on the door, and jogged to it, opening the door with a huge, fake grin plastered on his face.
"Good morning! Welcome to the Moreau household! Can I help you?"
He looked down at the girl.
"...Tepin?" The huge, fake grin didn't leave his face.
"...Do you need something, sweet child?"
Yes. Definately too much caffeine.
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:13 pm
He looked so… happy. Varu was… Varu had cried himself to sleep… Varu had suffered , and yet Quinn…
Quinn was smiling.
“YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF s**t!” The words tasted bitter and painful in her mouth, spat out as if they were poison. Even so, they were not nearly enough to express her deep hatred for the man in front of her.
Seething, she was seething. Her blood seemed so hot in her face, her head seemed so foggy with rage.
How dare he?
How dare he?!
“You… You…” Her fists clenched into balls, she wanted to tear him limb from limb for running like a coward. “Valeriu… He…”
Her glare was as cold and cutting as her small face could manage, she was going to go insane, she couldn’t tolerate this. “Varu is suffering, and you don’t even care!”
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:24 pm
Quinn's mouth twitched. His smile faltered. He took a step back.
"I..." His face completely broke for a moment, a look of pain on his face. Then it was replaced with a look of incredulity. "What are you talking about, kid?" He rolled his eyes. "You've always got another problem, don't you? Come on in. I'm sure there's something on T.V. You can watch till you calm down. I have another set of push ups. and then some stretches. Maybe some pull-ups of I can find a bar to use. Hmm, that's a good idea. I need some more upper body workouts."
He shivered.
Vale.
Blood. Everywhere.
The smell. The vomit. Oh, god. The blood.
NO! Nothing happened. Nothing.
A dream. That's what it was.
He took another step away from Tepin.
"You know, actually, I've got so much to do, maybe it would be better if you left. If you really want to watch T.V., you can come by tomorrow or something. Now is not a good time."
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Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:13 pm
She scowled at him-- if this was the type of coward that Quinn was… He didn’t deserve to have Valeriu, let alone be in the game. This was pathetic-- yes. Varu had killed men; he had eaten them. Yes, Quinn had seen that…
But… But Varu was struggling all alone, and Quinn… Quinn had abandoned him.
“Fine.” Her hand reached for his doorknob, turning it sharply. “You be this way. But I’m telling you now… Don’t you dare try to go back to him. You are a failure, and he deserves better. Don’t you dare go near Valeriu again, because I am taking him.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:37 pm
Quinn frowned, and whipped around to face her. "Don't threaten me, kid. It's cute and all that you're protective of him, but-- but--" The words stopped in his throat.
You haven't seen what I've seen?
You don't know what it's like?
None of the responses felt adequate. His hand flew up to the glass snake around his neck that Vale had given him. He hadn't taken it off at all, except when he showered.
Like hell she would take HIS Vale. She could have that...that monster all she wanted, but Vale was his.
"I'm not... a failure. I don't know what you're talking about, Little Girl. Tell Vale I'll bring dessert for dinner tonight." He waved his hand dismissively. "What was your favorite flavor of ice cream? I'll pick it up."
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:58 pm
“You don’t get to run when it’s convenient!” Her hand gripped the door, knuckles turning white. “You think he wants to see you? After what you did? After you ran from him?!”
No wonder Valeriu though himself a monster, when the one he loved the most acted like such a coward…!
She twisted the door, glaring at him with pure disdain. He was unfit to be even in the shadow of someone as pure and kind as Valeriu.
“Don’t even try coming over-- He never wants to see you again.”
The door closed behind her with a quiet click. She couldn’t stand it-- it was maddening. How did he-- How could he? After Varu had been so great, so kind…!!
She hated him. She hated him so much. No matter what Varu had said, all those days ago… She would not allow this failure any safety in this Game…!
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