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 Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:17 pm
Thorns
He bought her roses once.
She spent the entire night picking each and every thorn off the stems until they were clean and her hands were bloody.
She still isn't sure why.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:10 am
Sometimes
Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night, still screaming from it all.
It's been almost two years, but horrors do not fade. Mist settles, but it returns and rolls in from the bay with heavy clouds of vengeance. It seeps in the glass edges of a bottle and wait in pursuit of expulsion.
Horrors do not fade, but they do scab. They blister and peel and they must be picked and prodded, lest they fester and ooze with malice and decay. They stay a rosy red even when she is relaxed. They are always there, watching the way a cat bats at a fishbowl- fully aware they can overtake the prey within the glass, but content to swipe lazily in jest.
Trauma isn't temporary, and the effects still rock her in small, subtle ways. She feels hands creeping along her skin finger by finger as she lies awake at night and she hopes to god they are Lex's. She still loves tea and that will probably never change, but she can't stomach to look at apples anymore. The site of rust- particularly on metals but not exclusively so- makes her immediately leave a room, though she will do so by properly excusing herself to do another, unrelated task. There are times where she grips objects a hair too tightly, the very rim of her knuckles painted white.
Ami keeps a small brown leather booklet in one of her pockets at all times. She writes to remember each of these sanguinary details. She writes to forget every detail she has memorized. Some pages of the book make no sense whatsoever. They're numbers, lists, dots. She remembers details in ways that no one will understand because she wants to be misunderstood. She leaves no tracks in the snow- though 101 Dalmations will always be one of her favorite movies for the scratchy, sketchy lines.
Over time, of course, she fills each of these books with thoughts. But each time she reaches the final page, she returns to the same store to buy the same book. She is nothing if not consistent.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:27 am
Return
Ami heaved herself through the portal. There was less physical evidence of damage this time- everything was in her mind, as per usual.
She is immediately shuffled to the infirmary for inspection, as per regulation.
Tests are passed.
That is incorrect to say, because Ami manipulates the tests in a way that makes her pass them, because she is aware of the procedure and does not feel like dealing with the bureaucracy. They tell her to stay on her guard (whispers of clones that she will look into later), but it is unnecessary because Ami is always on her guard.
She escapes the infirmary and finds him waiting there.carhop cavalier left it ambiguous for u to decide
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:49 pm
Return
He was there to greet her return as soon as she left the infirmary, a tech having notified him of the woman's return. His welcome was warm despite his haggard face, a set of bags under his own eyes and scruff that had become a scratchy beard. Worry lines crossed his face.
He knew she would hate it, but he hugged her tightly in public, no matter the backlash.
Let's go home, he whispered. Let's get you in bed.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:54 pm
Claws
She said nothing that night.
She said nothing the next morning either.
But her actions spoke volumes. The nails she dug into his arms from clinging too tightly. The way she woke up to vomit in the middle of the night despite having eaten nothing.
When she finally speaks, it is a whisper. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:07 pm
Claws
He's worried still, gentle touches responding to her every move.
He holds her close despite the razor nails biting his skin,
He smiles when she speaks and responds softly with a kiss, shaking his head. "Don't apologize for what you can't change."
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:18 pm
Pencil
She does not provide explanations and she doesn't relieve Lex's worries. To do so, in her opinion, would be erroneous. She needs him on his toes. She needs him on his guard. That is how you survive on the godforsaken island of Deus Ex Machina.
To date she still hasn't recounted the first time completely. She's worried that releasing such fears from her head will somehow make them reality for everyone else.
Still, she gestures for a pencil. She needs to write. They are in a library she has already recorded well, but it will do. "If I died, what would you do?" She needed to know that Lex was prepared, that there was a plan.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:42 pm
Stew
He's been on the couch all day, absorbed in a cookbook of all things. He has another stack of books to his left and journals and pens to his right, notes written in code and old germanic runes. He's come far, but not far enough.
She came home, he looked up at her. "Stew in the kitchen. Serve yourself." He says, wary eyes trailing her lest she suddenly be gone again.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:00 pm
Pen
He handed her a pen from his pocket, basic black with no frills or lace. He stares at a wall, finding a clock he can concentrate on. The subject is difficult, hard to process.
"Keep the house, carry on. No other women, just missions and paperwork until I see you again." Because his afterlife visions do not even entertain the thought of her absence.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:29 pm
Pencil
"You could have other women," she says softly, plucking the pen from his hand and beginning her scribbles. She writes Lex's steps like a shopping list. She needs him to be prepared. "I would want you to." She wants him to, even now, but she is also selfish.
Her list comes to an end. It is too short.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:33 pm
Pen
He smiles, placing a hand on her wrist to make her look up. "I couldn't. These girls are... girls. I'm done with girls." He hoped that sounded romantic, or at least not stupid. The gryphon said it sounded incredibly stupid,
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:34 pm
Stew
She raises and eyebrow, but complies. She eats stew in the silence of the kitchen. They remain distant, and it is okay.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:46 pm
Pencil
She did look up, and her face twisted to a frown. "I don't want you to be alone." She steels herself. "But it is something you must consider."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 6:49 am
Respect
He likes to think he's grown, just a little. He still struggles, daily even, but his world view shifts a little more with each new encounter.
He thinks he's a little less afraid of Ami now. She's still terrifying, for sure, but now he respects her a little more. He's realized how hard she's had to work to get where she is, because being a hunter is demanding.
That's why he goes to her first. After a very, very long pep talk in the mirror. And a terrifying hour of waiting for her to come anywhere near the library, so he wasn't creepily showing up at her door. "Ami? Could I bother you for a second? I mean. Not bother, I don't want to be a bother. But could you help me? Maybe?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:36 am
Respect
"No," Ami responded swiftly, "You may not."
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