hail of arrows
Feb. 18th, 2015 12:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
To graduate from utter silence to the constant roar of Gilead was something else. Though she had been here for over a week now, and would stay for much longer, Kaine was not used to the constant noise. Even at night it felt as if she could hear every shuffle of bodies in sheets and night clothes, every fuck whether positive or not, and all those conversations that were never suited for daylight. It all made sleeping outside difficult, but even lying beside Nariko didn't make it any easier to deal with the walls all around her. They were suffocating. At night and in the day, they threatened to drive Kaine out of her mind.
So she took to wandering around because there wasn't fuck else to do around here, not for her.
Which might have explained catching sight of him towards an edge, around a corner. The specifics weren't relevant, that Kaine saw Bert and spun on her worn down heel and followed him was relevant. It should have also been worrying for her, this unnatural and constant fascination that was tempered by the occasional bout of good sense felt odd. It was a ... Not a problem, but not exactly good. Crushes on men that you hardly knew, that hid the way Cuthbert did, that never let her finish talking the way Cuthbert did couldn't end well.
She followed anyway, and not with any real ounce of subtlety or control. Eventually one of them would have to say something and in her own way she knew he might take that responsibility first. So she followed, and even if Kaine happened to be wrong he was pretty interesting to stare at anyway. Maybe it was the hair.
So she took to wandering around because there wasn't fuck else to do around here, not for her.
Which might have explained catching sight of him towards an edge, around a corner. The specifics weren't relevant, that Kaine saw Bert and spun on her worn down heel and followed him was relevant. It should have also been worrying for her, this unnatural and constant fascination that was tempered by the occasional bout of good sense felt odd. It was a ... Not a problem, but not exactly good. Crushes on men that you hardly knew, that hid the way Cuthbert did, that never let her finish talking the way Cuthbert did couldn't end well.
She followed anyway, and not with any real ounce of subtlety or control. Eventually one of them would have to say something and in her own way she knew he might take that responsibility first. So she followed, and even if Kaine happened to be wrong he was pretty interesting to stare at anyway. Maybe it was the hair.
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Date: 2015-02-20 08:46 pm (UTC)It was clear that she had never really thought about it, but what he said made sense. You had dead people, you had to do something with them, after all. "I guess it's just that …" This was one of the few topics that she had trouble speaking on, and she was never one to speak without thinking ahead of time. As a result a full moment passed before everything clicked the way it should.
"You know, that family - Nariko's - they've got this belief that things that die don't ever really go away. You do certain things, they stay and it's a negative effect, you do other things, they stay and it can be good. But I think the longer you have things like that near the harder it is to move away. Hard to get out from underneath a shadow when it's always underneath you."
But even now she wasn't entirely sure that it made sense, or maybe it was too emotional a though, but it was all she could come up with.
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Date: 2015-02-20 09:02 pm (UTC)For a moment, he looked pensive, as if he was mulling it over, and then he pulled a face. "Well, I don't know. I leave ghosts and beliefs to Roland and Alain. All I know is, there's been plenty of times since my father died that I've been glad to have him near. And sometimes I've found myself down there, when I've been in need of his guidance."
He shrugged one shoulder, looking rather embarrassed. He didn't make a habit of talking about things like that. More people knew about how he took flowers to his mother's grave, and even that was awkward enough. Telling anyone outside his tet about his trips into the crypt... well, if they were swapping personal stories, that definitely qualified.
"I guess when we move away, we like having something to come back to."
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Date: 2015-02-20 09:32 pm (UTC)"That makes sense." But she almost wished that it didn't.
In any case it hadn't dawned on her that he had told her such an intensely personal fact, but even if she did realize it Kaine wouldn't have known what to say in response. She didn't have anything of that caliber but, hey, at least she could make great sandwiches.
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Date: 2015-02-20 09:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-20 10:09 pm (UTC)It was something she lacked. "Even though they're gone you're still shaped by them a little. It's nice." For them. For people who had shadows to walk in and grow from. But what exactly did that mean for anyone without that legacy? "... Apologies." She tried to smile, and it only faltered gently. "Or, as you would say, 'cry pardon', I'm just being emotional."
Which was hardly like her, but she would think over that issue later on.
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Date: 2015-02-20 10:34 pm (UTC)He wrinkled his nose, looking profoundly frustrated with himself. "Told you I couldn't explain it like Ro'. Took me until a couple of years ago even to figure out that forgetting the face of your father wasn't just some bullshit catechism."
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Date: 2015-02-20 10:46 pm (UTC)"... But you're probably right. It's still difficult to imagine. I didn't know anything about my parents, or my grandmother, not really. But maybe it's the sort of thing you figure out with time anyway." She looked off to one side, scraping her heel along the ground, a nervous habit of hers. "Something you learn to figure out when you're given a little help."
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Date: 2015-02-20 10:57 pm (UTC)Because when in doubt, the best thing to do was to distract.
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Date: 2015-02-21 12:32 am (UTC)"'Panini'," She repeated without any real weight, the hint of a grin in her voice as they came that much closer to the kitchen. She still had little idea of where it was so she was more than grateful for Cuthbert leading the way.
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Date: 2015-02-21 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-21 01:13 am (UTC)"Okay ..." She looked around, thought to herself, and then got to work, idly throwing behind her shoulder: "Sit somewhere! This doesn't take long! Or at least it shouldn't."
Her push-bread thing needed electricity which, of course, her home had but not so much here. Well, she could figure it out.
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Date: 2015-02-21 02:32 am (UTC)Anis, a young woman of about his age, blushed openly and obviously, much to Bert's apparent amusement. Smirking, he settled back against the wall, draping his hands over his knees, and watched Kaine with some interest. He wasn't much of a cook himself - he could skin a rabbit and roast a bird if it came to it, but not much beyond that - so he was genuinely interested.
jealous Kaine gives me life and I don't feel bad about it
Date: 2015-02-21 02:45 am (UTC)A kitchen was kitchen, you only needed the pattern. Besides, cooking was ... A relief. It wasn't exactly easy and she wouldn't claim to be particularly amazing, but it was a fun hobby that she could lose herself in without any trouble.
That didn't mean Anis didn't get a look or two. What was so great about her, anyway?
i thought that might be the case. which is why i did that. so glad i was right. :p
Date: 2015-02-21 03:02 am (UTC)At the same time, though, it was funny, and he couldn't quite hide the little twitch of a smile.
Best idea :P!!!
Date: 2015-02-21 03:18 am (UTC)"... This isn't going to be as good as usual." But the chicken was fresh, all the herbs she had wanted were here, and the cheese wasn't made this morning but within acceptable bounds. Kaine handed him the meal on what she assumed was a plate that wouldn't be used anytime soon. Chicken and herb cheese panini on large pieces of folded bread without the marks she preferred to see, but there were gently crisped potato slices. She even made it look somewhat pretty. "But here."
So maybe he could manage to not look at Anis? Just an idea.
:D
Date: 2015-02-21 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-21 03:53 am (UTC)"I can make something else, have at all of it." Which was to say, yes, they were supposed to share but he really was hungry, and she had no reason to deprive him when, really, she was just fine. Though she lingered near for a few minutes her own stomach rumbled, so she got herself up again to go back to cooking, and hoped that Bert didn't catch the proud smirk on her face.
Nariko was always telling her to be kind to other women, but that was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Fuck everyone else's feelings, he liked her makeshift panini!
that is the best closing sentence to a tag i have seen in a long time :p
Date: 2015-02-21 04:19 am (UTC)He wasn't lying, either, although he might have been playing it up a bit. He'd caught that smirk, all right. He might not be Roland, but he was no slouch when it came to observation, either. It would have been lying to say that it didn't make him a little smug in turn, to have that effect. Besides, it was nice to see her happy. He'd got the impression that it didn't happen nearly as often as it should.
Anis, unsurprisingly, didn't seem to agree. With an audible "Hmph!", she went back to kneading the dough for the evening's bread, perhaps rather more violently than was strictly necessary.
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Date: 2015-02-21 04:32 am (UTC)"Besides, they're easy, you just need bread," Which she held up in a like so motion, "Whatever you want inside," The same action here. "And then you stuff it in evenly. The machine I have works better, but …" She could settle for shoving one pan over the sandwich as it sat in a bigger ban and was slowly heated on one side and then flipped so that it would seal correctly.
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Date: 2015-02-21 04:43 am (UTC)And by is, he presumably meant was, since he'd just polished off the last of his sandwich. Licking his fingers, he put his plate to one side and smiled. "Do you want a cup of wine or something, while we're down here?"
yes sure let's give the half-virgin wine around her crush. A+ idea (I approve)
Date: 2015-02-21 05:00 am (UTC)"I guess it can't hurt." Just one. Really and truly nothing more than that. In fact she wanted to tell him to smack her if she accepted more than a cup but then he might not give her any at all. And she was old enough to drink, and make her own decisions about it! Technically.
i am going to continue torturing her with circumstances YOU CAN'T STOP ME
Date: 2015-02-21 05:11 am (UTC)He ducked into a storeroom, clearly knowing his way around every bit as well as the people who actually worked here, and came out with three cups of wine balanced in his hands. One, he put down in front of Anis with a little half-smile. "Tell Molly I'm sorry for taking her wine, and I'll drop her off another bottle tomorrow, alright? Also, if you'd stop glaring at sai Kaine like you'd like to set her on fire, I'd say thankya."
Blowing her a slightly sardonic kiss, he turned back to Kaine, handing her one of the glasses. "Too mean?"
I cannot and it is great
Date: 2015-02-21 05:37 am (UTC)He reappeared and Kaine did her absolute best to refrain looking upset at the appearance of three cups rather than two. Would it have been rude to ignore Anis? Probably. Did Kaine really care about that when she felt her lightest in years? Of course not. That was the problem with emotions, some were so addicted that wanting more felt inevitable, and that was what had always terrified her.
"I think she'll be fine," And then she took her cup, with a lighter dose of satisfaction, but ti was there all the same.
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Date: 2015-02-21 05:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-21 05:57 am (UTC)"It wasn't so bad, one particular area aside. There's a lot of grass where come from, and then sand, and the swamp - that was a pain in the ass. Before I moved back into my house I slept outside all the time, in fact, it's kind of why I prefer sleeping outside here." She took a sip first then what could only be deemed a gulp and then, suddenly, half the cup was gone and she forced herself to stop. "Oh this is - Strong! Alright."
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