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 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:36 am
He did not know why he was back at the gymnasium, of all places.
This was where it had started, hadn't it? Where everything had taken place. He had stupidly decided to follow the crowds, blinding going along with everyone else.
But why - why. Even now, the day after he had returned to Amityville High, Sparrow could not understand it, did not even know if he wanted to understand it.
His mind would not calm down, despite the exhaustion of his body, despite the fact that he had not even slept the night before, instead pacing across the floor of his dorm for hours, until he had worn down the carpet and the many flying pets in the room had already tucked their heads into their wings to sleep.
And now it was early morning, and he could not stay in his room for another second. So instead he had headed to wherever his feet took him - which happened to be the gymnasium, of all places. It made him feel a little ill just being here, but he couldn't go back to his dorm, for fear of seeing Wren.
He wasn't sure he could handle seeing her right now, as much as he so desperately wanted to.
The scythe was not out, but Sparrow was still throwing his arms around, focusing hits on whatever he could. The sleeves of his dress shirt were pushed up, sweat dampening his forehead, and his normally neatly tucked back hair was free about his pale face, messy and lank.
His hands kept shaking.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:50 am
There was a reaper sitting in the shadows. He didn't have shadow shift, but somehow his gray clothes blended into the darkness, and his stillness made it easy to overlook him. He watched Sparrow for a long moment, watched as he fought shadows. And a little, tiny piece of him understood. "Was it your first time?" Roch asked quietly. "Dying?" He usually seemed so outgoing and noisy, so the sudden speaking from utter silence was probably shocking.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:07 am
He had not expected the voice to come out of the shadows.
The sound jolted him, his eyes flying wide, Sparrow staggering forward. His chest felt abnormally tight as he whirled around, searching for the familiar, the intruder into his private domain.
It was not so private, of course, considering that it was a public space, but Sparrow had been lost in his own world, his own thoughts, his own desperation to return to normalcy, to leave everything behind and pretend that what had happened had not happened.
Except it had - and he could not just pretend that it hadn't.
"Wh - "
He was having trouble forming the words, embarrassment and anger, as well as the side that was half crazed at the moment, making his pale, sweaty face flush red.
"What do you want?" came the hoarse question, barely audible.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:13 am
"I was here first," Roch said. "Seems to me you want something just the same as I do." He got to his feet, holding out his hand and summoning his guitar. "But what I want now is to know if you want me to baby you," he said, his eyes cold.
"Do you want me to hold back my blows so you can get a chance to beat me, clap yourself on the back, tell yourself that the whole hunter episode would go differently if it happened again? Do you want to feel like you still don't need someone to protect you? Ever?"
And wasn't that exactly what the horsemen had done? For all the poor schmucks that had gotten caught in traps, were about to be dragged off and stuck in cages, then turned into weapons?
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
2, 4
Total: 6 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:23 am
The laugh Sparrow let out was a hollow one, and it seemed as though he had been holding it in. He held a hand to his stomach, bending over a little as tears came to his eyes, hot, angry tears that mixed with the desperate ones. He did not cry, but when he lifted his gaze to meet Roch's, it was a glittery, glassy eyed one, the distinct lack of something clearly evident in them.
"Are you telling me you'd actually do that? Sorry, Roch, but you don't seem the type to hold my hand and walk me through life."
He dissipated abruptly, the odd laughter still reverberating through the air as a cloud of black smoke twisted and curled before reforming back into Sparrow, several feet closer to the boil.
His hand shot out, grasping the other's collar and yanking him towards him, the words hissed out through clenched teeth.
"Don't pretend like you know what I'm going through."
[ HP: 30/30
Damage: 0 ]
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
7, 4
Total: 11 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:26 am
"Three times," Roch said coldly, his lips pulled back in a sneer. "Three times I dissipated because of those candlejackers, trying to help free friends from them. How the JACK do you think I'm pretending to 'know what you feel'?"
Then he slammed his guitar up, hitting the other boil in the gut. "Oh wait, now it's FOUR," he said in a snarl.
Roch's HP: 40/40
Damage: 5
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
5, 5
Total: 10 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:30 am
The laughter was still there, even as Roch swung his guitar at him. Sparrow staggered backwards, holding his stomach.
"No," he said. "It doesn't matter how many times you die. All that matters is that you do - and it's different for everyone. You can't see into my mind, can you?"
You can't see the blackness in my thoughts, the terrors that lie there in wait.
The scythe came out of nowhere, billowing smoke behind it as Sparrow swung it towards Roch, catching him across the torso.
"You have no idea what I'm feeling right now."
[ HP: 25/30
Damage: 4 ]
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
3, 6
Total: 9 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:35 am
"Don't lie to yourself and think I give a jack about how you feel," Roch growled right back. "I just feel like beating the living hell out of someone, and you're easy to taunt." He used his guitar again, aiming right for the same spot he'd hit before.
Roch's HP: 36/40
Damage: 3
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
1, 4
Total: 5 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:40 am
"Really?" asked Sparrow mockingly, taking another few stumbling steps backwards, flinching at the impact of the guitar against his midsection. His booted feet skidded, Sparrow lifting the scythe again.
"You're too easy, period. You wear your emotions on your sleeves so everyone can see them."
[ HP: 22/30
Damage: 0 ]
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
1, 5
Total: 6 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:44 am
"Yeah, I'll admit that," Roch agreed, strangely enough. "But you have no jackin' idea about just what I've been through in this life, yet you're whining like a p***y about how I 'have no idea how you're feeling right now.' Big. Jacking. DEAL. Get over it you candlejackin' diva."
Roch's HP: 36/40
Damage:
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
3, 6
Total: 9 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:48 am
The fact that Roch actually agreed with him threw Sparrow off a little, but he shook it off, fingers trembling around the metal handle of the scythe. He could still remember Asia's voice in his head...
"Your scythe is a ghoul. Every gesture, every look, every blink is seductive. She needs to seduce effectively, not like an inexperienced lovestruck gnome."
He wondered if this was what she had meant - his distinct lack of experience, the fact that he was completely and utterly pathetic...and the horsewoman's next words burned into his memory, unable to be forgotten.
"Fools."
"Aren't you the same, though?" asked Sparrow bitterly as he spun the scythe towards Roch again. "Pretending like you know how I feel?"
[ HP: 22/30
Damage: 3 ]
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
4, 2
Total: 6 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:58 am
"You mean asking if I should hold back?" Roch asked, an evil grin on his face. "That was just so I could legitimately tell Xiu that you didn't want me to hold back as she nags at how busted up you are when I'm done with you."
Roch's HP: 33/40
Damage:
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
1, 5
Total: 6 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:05 am
One brow rose, the scythe resting against the ground, one hand wrapped around it.
"I would've thought Xiu was a taboo subject to speak on."
[ HP: 22/30
Damage: 0 ]
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 3
Total: 8 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:07 am
"Eh," Roch said with a shrug, taking a swipe at the reaper with his guitar. "It's jackin' HARD to be in love with a ghoul that treats everyone the same. Even jackwads like you." Even bastards like him.
Roch's HP: 33/40
Damage: 2
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kuropeco rolled 2 6-sided dice:
5, 2
Total: 7 (2-12)
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:24 am
There was that bitter laughter again, but this time it was slightly subdued, the hollowness still clearly evident in Sparrow's voice. He was growing weary, his fingers still shaking around the scythe. He gave a halfhearted sort of swipe towards Roch.
"Xiu is a good person," he said, in a much quieter and hoarser tone of voice, almost as though he were speaking to himself. His thoughts were miles away from the baku, however.
Why can't I let myself go back to the way I was?
[ HP: 20/30
Damage: 1 ]
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