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 Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:43 pm
After some discussion and working together with Gale, Eva ended up with--what she hoped to be--a satisfactory mission report. With a good 20 hours or so left to kill until the reports were reviewed and the final decision was made, there was nothing left for the young woman to do but to wait.
So she sat there in the hallway right in front of her room, too anxious to relax inside as she read her report over once. Twice. Three times...and continued to glance over it for a good fifteen minutes straight. She had written exactly what Caelius had wanted--that they, the ones who had disobeyed, had been inthe wrong--and yet she couldn't help but be paranoid that there was something in her report that could be misinterpreted used against her. When lives were on the line, there was no time to make mistakes.
"A death sentence...we're lucky to get a second chance at all," She murmured quietly, mostly to herself. With a groan, she clutched the paper to her chest, pulled her legs up to her chest, and rest her forehead against her knees.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:52 pm
Otto was depressed, to say the least.
What had happened at that meeting was the most heart wrenching and dismal of all messages Caelius could ever throw at them. His best friends were on Death Row, two people he didn't much like at first were now marooned in the worst place in the universe: a fate he would never wish on them.
His heart hurt. His mind reeled. He would not eat or sleep until this was sorted out. If it was sorted out.
A heavy sigh escaped him at every turn as he paced around Deus. Eventually he found his way to the dorms again, his head lifting enough to spot Eva. A pang in his chest shot like a bullet tearing through him point blank. She could be dead in a day. He may never see her again if this didn't pan out the way Caelius wanted.
"Eva!" Otto called out, panic in his voice. He jogged toward the girl, dropping to his knees beside her. His hands grasped her shoulders, gaze fixed on the dark haired woman. "D-don't try to be a hero, okay?! Just write what he wants." Cowardly? There was nothing cowardly about living. Pride be damned. Pride would mean nothing when you were six feet under.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:06 pm
Would it be enough to ensure that both she and Gale lived? And it wasn't even just them--what about all the other dissenters and their volunteers? They were all good people, and to lose any of them was--
Eva's head shot up in surprise at the familiar voice, and she was hardly able to process anything when the boy reached out to grab her shoulders. She stared at him wide-eyed for a good few seconds before nodding slowly, lifting a hand to reassuringly set it on one of his own.
"I...I did," She murmured quietly, a small smile quirking on her lips, "I mean, I'm not letting Gale take the fall for me--that was part of Caelius' plans clearly, using our friends--and I'm scare--...well, I'm not ready to die either. Who would take care of my puppy if I was gone?" She attempted a little humour, reaching out to give Otto a hug and a half-hearted cheek rub. When she pulled back, she sighed, smiling faintly as she lifted a hand and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Haha, it was a pretty intense meeting though, no? I think my heart stopped when I heard my name. I was expecting punishment, but this was a little..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:26 pm
Otto didn't like that Eva continued to try and be upbeat about this. She was so obviously afraid and upset. On a whim, she and Gale might die. Otto hated Gale, He wished a lot of misfortune on him, but not this. With all the hate in Otto's heart he claimed to have, there was never enough to wish death on his team mates.
"Eva, don't downplay it.. don't laugh.." Otto mumbled, looking at her with a saddened expression despite his furrowed brows. "Damnit.. ya'll are so stupid."
Otto slumped down some, his hands leaving her shoulders to flip listlessly on his lap. A terrible and hopeless feeling kept bubbling up into his throat. The clock ticked away and noting he could do would change what came. He'd have to wait. At the very least she'd filled it the way she expected Caelius wanted her to. He hoped.
"I don't want you to die. Don't do anything stupid like this again."
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:43 pm
A look of surprise crossed Eva's face at his words, and then, slowly, the smile faded from her face, and she dropped her gaze. It was probably strange seeing her so vulnerable--after all, the young woman was rarely seen without her characteristic smile, and seeing fear and sadness were even rarer--but those two emotions were the only things being shown clearly in the expression that she wore. "Stupid...I guess we are, in the way."
But even now, she couldn't fully regret what she had done. "I filled out the mission report as Caelius wanted, but to be honest, I'm not so sure that I wouldn't do it again." Eva looked back up at him, her expression solemn as her eyes met his, "What if something similar happened? What if it was Clerise, Jude, Gale, Reine--you?"
The people here at Deus Ex were the only thing that kept her going. Being told that she was going to be executed would have been less concerning if she had been alone, and if she didn't have people that she cared about, but she did. She didn't want to die, but more than anything else, she didn't want any of her loved ones to die. Friends, family--in the year that she had been here, she went from having nothing to having so much.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:54 pm
As much as seeing Eva scared and sad hurt, it was better than seeing her fake it. He wanted her to be real in front of him. She should trust him enough by now, for all the times she wanted him to open up.
Her words were met with a pained look from the southerner. Hissed almost like it burned. "If it had been me that got turned? I'd want you to goddamn fight me if you had to. Eva.. no ******** way would I ever want you to die for me. Never. It ain't noble, its just plain stupid. It'd hurt ten million times more to see you get killed for defending me than dying alone. If I gotta go, I gotta go. I'd want you to live on, Eva."
His eyes narrowed, pain showing through more and more as the reality of such situations kicked in. "And if you got turned, and people were attackin' you? I'm sorry but.. as much as I... I care and want you alive.. it'd be reckless and dumb to think everything would be okay if I just waited it out, or looked for some miracle cure. Not in a time like that. Its a shitty place to be, but that's what I'd do. I'd hate every goddamn minute of it."
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:10 pm
Pressing her lips into a thin line, she listened to him silently. She made no attempt to interject, but it was clear that even this theoretical talk of "what if Otto turned" was scaring her. She had reached out to grab his sleeve, her grip on him tightening as he went on. Dying alone--just hearing those words made her heart ache. Bix and Ceres had been lucky to have somehow been brought back, but what if it couldn't be done again? How would it feel to die in the field, and would you be conscious enough to realize that you had turned into that monster--that your friends and allies had been forced to beat you down?
She didn't want to think about any of this, but it was hard not to. When Otto continued on by switching the example on its head, Eva realized that, truth to be told, she would want to be brought down as well. But...
"I know, I understand your point, and I admire it, but I...I'm weak compared to you." It came out as a whisper, and she propped her arm up on her knees so that she could bury her face against it, her other hand still grasping onto the boy, "Being able to put a friend out of their misery--to help them--in such a situation is a strength too, Otto. It's just a strength...that I'm not sure I possess."
Would she really, really be able to bring herself to attack a friend if the situation called for it? Eva prayed that she would never be put into such a situation, but considering everything they had ran into here? It was a very real possibility that she had to take into consideration.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:50 am
He wasn't sure what he had was a strength, but it wasn't the issue he was wanting to concentrate on at the moment. Eva was who he needed to concentrate on. She was upset, and talking of repeating an action that would get her killed. There would be no second chance next time, after all. "If that's the case then.. I'll just make sure to keep you on track, aight?" Otto murmured quietly, eyes glancing at the hand still gripping his sleeve. "If I'm there, and yer about to make a decision that'd put you at risk, I'll slap some sense into ya. You won't like it, and you might try and fight me off. But it beats havin' to see you die for it."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:01 am
Eva lifted her head slightly, but only enough so that her eyes could meet with Otto's. He would...he would keep her in line? Make sure that she didn't do anything stupid? In her fear and uncertainty, it was easy to say yes right now, but if she was actually thrust into such a situation, she wouldn't be surprised if she froze up. And of course, Otto was right--she didn't doubt that fact that she would probably end up struggling and trying to fight him off if he were to force her to keep on track. Even then...
"You promise?" She whispered finally, though the look in her eyes still betrayed her continued hesitation. She pressed her lips into a thin line, and then gave the boy's sleeve a light tug, her expression suddenly becoming tight. "...And what if something--it--happens to you? I know...what you said earlier, but I really don't think that I'd be able to force myself to...to attack you."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:07 pm
"I promise. No matter how stubborn you are." He couldn't help the hurt in his tone as he took in the way Eva spoke and looked. A bright ray of sunshine now looking like.. well, death. "If it happens to me, and I can't stop you? If I got any sense left in me I'll try and knock you out cold so you can't do nothin' dumb. Otherwise.." Otto shrugged lightly. "There ain't much I can do then. But if I die, and you do later? I'll haunt your ghost okay? Unless I live and you die, then I'll be ********' pissed off."He couldn't help but notice the tight grip on his sleeve. How would Eva help him in this situation? How did she and Clerise usually heal people? How did he normally help his girlfriend back when he wasn't quite so standoffish? Otto shifted and pulled Eva into a hug. "It's gunna be okay, Eva. You did yer best. Y'always do. You are who you are. No changin' it. Yer sweet, kind.. and ridiculously thoughtful to the point I think ya'll got a screw loose.. and that's what I like about ya."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:09 pm
She seemed a little frightened still despite his reassurances, but Eva seemed to have relaxed some. She gave a weak nod of her head, and a quiet thank you. It would be good to have someone to keep her on track, she supposed...even if it would be hard to go through with the act.
A tiny smile played on her lips when he told her that he'd haunt her ghost, though it faltered slightly at the mention of how angry he'd get if she were to die. The corners of her mouth pulled downwards in a frown, her brows drawing together as she looked him in the eye. "You too...okay? You can't--...well, you have to promise that you'll try not to die on me. I won't let you." Try, because there was always that very real possibility that they'd lose their lives on every mission they went on, but if Eva could help it, she would fight to keep him alive.
The hug had been the last thing that she had been expecting from the ordinarily grumpy boy. At first, she actually froze, her muscles stiff as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. Then, slowly, she began to relax, wrapping her arms around Otto and burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.
Even if she were to say thank you now, it wouldn't be enough to express just how grateful and lucky she felt to have someone like Otto in her life, so she remained silent.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:55 pm
Getting a hug from Otto was like winning the lottery: apparently it happens to some people, but sometimes you wondered if mybe it was a lie. Regardless, it was rare for him to instigate one. But Otto felt Eva needed it. Deserved it. It wasn't even that he felt uncomfortable, which he didn't. It was just something he did sparingly.
"I don't wanna risk my life needlessly. So you can bank on it that I'll stay alive as long as I can help it, okay?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:04 pm
"Good."
Drawing back, she smiled at him, finally looking more at ease and more like her regular self. Shoulders no longer tensed, she leaned forward to press her cheek against his in her usual affectionate greeting, turning briefly to plant a light kiss on the same cheek. When she pulled away, she reached back to grab the mission report that she had set on the ground.
"Just twenty more hours to go until it's time to hand this in. I've written what Caelius wants to hear--and I have, in some ways, learned from this experience--so I hope that it'll be enough."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:13 pm
Otto leaned away from the hug as Eva seemed okay now. She was relaxed again, much less like the weight of the world had been on her shoulders. The usual cheek touching she tended to do put him at ease as well. What startled him was the kiss on the cheek. He turned his head away once she busied herself with the report, rubbing his neck while his cheeks turned red. Something he just couldn't seem to help.
"I hope so too. I won't sleep well until all is clear." Never mind that he hadn't been sleeping well anyway. "What're ya gunna do till then?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:29 pm
If she noticed the blush, she didn't say anything about it, humming softly as she gave her report another quick look over. Glancing up at the question, she smiled wryly and shook her head. "I don't know. Curl up in my room and...fret for twenty hours, I guess. It obviously wasn't the best of plans, but she was sure that she was going to be too jittery to sleep.
"I'll just pull an all-nighter to...read, or train, or something. All that's left to do now is wait and see how this turns out."
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