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 Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:43 pm
Rajni was both glad (she hadn't succumbed in the harbinger's gunfire or the undying's claws or the dangerous vines) and utterly terrified (she was captured in this hellhole just the same as Rajni was, just as scared and had probably gone through the same if not worse things ******** ******** ********-) to see Fantasia crumpled over a blackjack table.
The number 115 colored her neck in bright candy red, the same as Rajni's 130. Some insanely inhumane part of her was a bit ticked off- why was Fantasia worth less than her? Why was it going to take Rajni more work to get out of here-
She sighed, pushing her headband up to her forehead. Fantasia looked in bad condition, but Rajni didn't feel like she looked any better. It did her heart good to see a friend though.
"Hey," she said, approaching the only survivor from her pre-apocalypse days. She hadn't realized how important that menial bond was until now. "You have made it."
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:52 pm
Had she drunk something? She was sure she hadn't. She'd tried so very, very hard not to anyway; the smell of cigars had already made Taysia cough enough upon entry, the noise and lights in tandem dazzling her and making her nauseous. Combined with the new desperation to get herself out and free from this damn collar, as well as the heat from so much activity and so many people doing it in a concentrated area...Well, maybe finding herself hunched over a table wasn't such a confusing situation after all.
Blearily Fantasia raised her head as she heard someone approach. Rubbing at her eyes, she forced herself to sit up and winced; stiffness in her neck told her she had probably been in and out for at least half an hour, partially lying on her new unfashionable accessory. Rubbing at the indentation in her neck irritably, she turned to Rajni--first her collar, and then her face--and mumbled just above the white noise of crowds, "Barely."
She didn't know how to feel about that 130. Good that her friend was worth so much? (Usefulness.) Bad because she felt good? Worse because they were both stuck regardless in a race against time?
"I was...There was a blackjack game here a moment ago," she added, though Fantasia sounded less and less sure of herself.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:57 pm
She tried not to focus on the numbers too much. She really did try to just see her ... friend* underneath all the technology, wear and tear, but it was hard. The thing was like a giant neon LED screen screaming about what a shitty situation they were in.
"Was there?" Rajni asked, willing to go along with Fantasia's musing whether it was fantasy or not. "I have been playing the slots. They are very dull and I believe them to be rigged."
She nodded sagely, readjusting her shovel on her back. "How close are you to freedom then?"
* Rajni still wasn't sure what to label Fantasia as. She didn't really like the girl as a person and she didn't really have anything in common with her, but Fantasia was the only person who remained from her life before the apocalypse. Rajni felt weirdly obligated to carry Fantasia into the future, a strange protectorate without being asked to protect. Maybe it was just Rajni trying to cling to the past. A hope that things could maybe one day be how they were before.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:09 pm
The motion piqued her attention, and Fantasia blinked and got up to take a better look at Rajni's new weapon. It was impossible not to feel a little envious; how long had she been forced to go through all of this with just her bare hands now?
"Not real close," she admitted, hands falling into her pockets to make sure the coins were all there: loose and in the small satchel alike. "I heard there's a table we can throw the s**t we don't want at, though." So, that was something. "Where'd you get the shovel at?" Curiosity, longing; Rajni always seemed to have her s**t together regardless of whether it was on the job or in the middle of an apocalypse, apparently.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:17 pm
"I found it," Rajni replied simply. It wasn't really an answer, but Fantasia had known Rajni long enough to know that she never really gave detailed answers to anything. She just answered what was most adequate to the question at hand.
Fantasia was offered something most individuals (all individuals) were not. "If you are needing assistance with your coins..."
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:29 pm
She knew, sure, but it didn't mean she couldn't try anyway, right? Though even just finding it was a bit of a disappointment of an answer: it meant there was still too much luck and coincidence at play than Fantasia liked.
Worse than either luck or coincidence, though, was pity. Well, first there was surprise at Rajni's offer, since Fantasia had figured she would've been too focused on herself to offer anything at all. And then some relief--maybe someone would care that her life was at stake other than herself. And then finally, the pity hit her, and Fantasia couldn't help but stiffen in self-defense. She knew she would need help, she knew, but...
"You got a higher price," she pointed out. "Wouldn't be right, I think, right?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:32 pm
Rajni stared at Fantasia long and hard for a moment. She knew this was Fantasia's politeness talking, but she also knew that Fantasia needed to learn to fend for herself. It was almost infuriating the amount of kindness in Fantasia's body.
Especially when Rajni so desired some of it for herself.
"Fine. I will earn my own, and you shall earn your own. We will both escape." She chose these words very finitely, looking at Fantasia with wolf's eyes. If Fantasia wouldn't let someone fight for her, she had to begin to fight for herself.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:36 pm
The weight of that choice sat on her shoulders. Courtesy over pride. Daddy would just be so proud.
(Daddy would just be so dead too.)
"Yeah," she replied rather lamely, giving a sharp nod, though her eyes dropped to their feet. "Good luck."
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