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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 18:49:58 GMT -5
Chase was watching Dru, and when she looked away, combined with the words she'd just said, he felt those words left unsaid. She believed in the basic good, and maybe now, maybe because of him, she was doubting that. Why else would she be so unable to look him in the eye? Chase was silent, those thoughts consuming him. "I just feel like I should do something, like if I can, then I should." Why was that wrong? Why couldn't people just understand?
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 19:02:04 GMT -5
"I know, but..." Dru trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what was in her mind. "Sometimes you just have to let those in power deal with it, just have to let it go. It feels like you're not doing anything but sometimes it's best." Because when you fight everything, you end up hurt emotionally and physically. Her hands smoothed out the sheet, smoothed out the wrinkles that she had made.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 19:10:27 GMT -5
"But why? If I have the power..." Chase would not see that he was only eighteen, that he was a student, and therefore in no position to judge. He was a legal adult, and as such, he believed he had the authority to do as he saw fit. The fact that he was even discussing the possibility of letting someone else have that power was a sign, though he couldn't be sure what it was a sign of. Weakness? Strength? Of whatever it was that kept him tied to Dru?
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 19:23:15 GMT -5
Dru looked up at him, "Just because you have the power doesn't mean you should use it!" Her eyes were intense and her voice was slightly exasperated. "You're not above the law, you're not immortal, it's not worth it!" She stared into his eyes for a few more seconds before looking away again, back down at her hands which were already making more wrinkles in the sheet, twisting the fabric between her fingers, albeit a tad more roughly than before.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 19:38:32 GMT -5
Chase stopped the desperate, almost violent motion of Dru's hands with one of his own. He held her hand firmly, knowing there were things that she wasn't saying and wondering if he wanted to press her to say them. They had to be important, but then, there was a reason she wasn't saying them. "I'm not going to get myself killed," he said, ignoring his current physical state. He was alive, wasn't he? Why did it feel like they were talking in circles? Where had their easy conversation gone?
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 19:50:39 GMT -5
"Oh, because you've done such a good job proving that," Dru said, looking from his hand to his face. She bit her lip before going on, "Do you have any idea how close you came to just that today?" An image flashed into her mind of him on the ground, his leg and shoulder blown to bits, a huge gash across his torso.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 19:59:34 GMT -5
Chase's jaw tensed as Dru's point hit home. "But I didn't," he said. The argument was weak, at best. Chase pulled a few long breaths, the effort of emotion combining with loss of blood to wear him down. "I don't want to fight, Dru." Chase forced his muscles to relax a bit, though the act did little to soothe the still-present pain he was studiously ignoring. "I told you, I know it was a bad idea." It was as close to even contemplating an apology as he'd get.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 20:14:57 GMT -5
Dru stared at him, wanting so badly to press the point that he had come so very close to death, but she knew that it wouldn't do anything but make it worse. "Yeah, I know." Her eyes fell to his hand again, she hated the day, it had went from such a good day, she had started out in the best mood she had been in in a long time. And it had ended.....
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 20:27:32 GMT -5
Somehow, her I know felt more like I give up. But Chase didn't know what to say to make things right. Tell her it won't happen again, his mind whispered. Chase gritted his teeth. Could he make that promise? Did he want to? Pain nagged at him along with his conscience, the throbbing of a leg struggling to rebuild muscle and tendon, a nearly nonexistent shoulder, and the piercing pain in his abdomen that stabbed at him with every breath. "I won't go after him again," Chase said, though he couldn't quite look at Dru when he said it. It was true now, with the threat of the Headmistress hanging over Emilian, with his body torn and battered. It was true enough.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 20:39:08 GMT -5
Dru knew how fragile that shadow of a promise was, and it didn't help her at all, it didn't make her feel better. But, all the same, she nodded slightly, feeling so very drained and defeated. She took one hand from under Chase's and put it on top of his. "Does it hurt too bad?" It was the only thing that she could say without going back to their previous conversation.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 21:08:44 GMT -5
"No," Chase lied. To say otherwise would only be to draw further attention to stupidity, to the situation and all he should have done differently. And perhaps, he reasoned, it was the truth. Could it hurt too bad if it was deserved? Chase had known the possible consequences when he'd attacked Emilian, known that demanding immediate justice could cost him his life, and he'd decided that it was worth the risk.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 21:22:57 GMT -5
"You've got to stop lying to me," Dru said, a small smile tugging at her lips. Even though she had known what he would answer, she had almost hoped that he would admit it hurt. Possibly to prove that he wasn't as cocky as she knew he could be. She pulled his hand up, her hands holding his fingers, and pressed her lips lightly to his knuckles, her eyes meeting his. "I don't know what I would have done if...." she trailed off, not speaking it. She knew that he would just tell her that it hadn't happened and to not worry about it. So she put their hands back on the bed, gently tracing the veins on the back of his hand.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 21:35:09 GMT -5
"You'd have moved on," Chase said, his eyes seeking Dru's a moment before skirting away. And it hadn't happened, anyway. Pain he could deal with. Pain was temporary, even if it was excruciating. Chase closed his eyes, letting himself focus on the feel of Dru's fingers against him, putting blinders to the pain. She hadn't left, hadn't ended things. He'd let himself be content with that for now.
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Post by Druscilla Grace on Mar 22, 2008 21:46:18 GMT -5
"Eventually," Dru agreed. Though with how long it had taken for her to just get over Michael, and he had still been alive, she didn't know how long it would have taken. She liked to think that she was strong, but it seemed more and more like the opposite was true. She sighed and stood, "You need to rest," she said, brushing the hair from his forehead and kissing him lightly on the mouth. Even though she didn't exactly want to leave him, she needed to think, and, of course, he needed to rest.
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Post by Chase Firebrand on Mar 22, 2008 21:55:03 GMT -5
Chase tried to extend the kiss, arching his neck toward her, but pain shot upward from his shoulder to his jaw, and he pulled back, grimacing. He pulled a few shallow breaths in rapid succession, each a sharp stab, then forced himself to lie still and accept immobility. His eyes shimmered scarlet with anger at himself, for once, and he closed them, hoping that Dru didn't see. He pulled another breath, letting it out slowly. "You'll visit," he said, though the words held enough question to be audible. He opened his eyes again when he had himself under control and looked at Dru, wondering in the short time after he asked the question if she'd use this opportunity to just slip away and be done with him.
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