"I thought I was weak, Evaline!" Jerica screeched, finally breaking as she stepped backward. "No one likes a weak, pathetic girl like me, remember?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Who cares if you're weak?" Evaline shot back, taking another step forward.
This wasn't her intention. She only wanted Jerica to leave, not threaten herself like this. She didn't actually want her to die.
"Lots of people are weak. I'm weak too. But you know what I'm not?" She paused, eyeing the arrow, tempted to rip it out of her hands, but deciding against it since it may only escalate her actions. "A coward. And neither are you. You're not a coward."
Jerica took several steps backward to get out of her reach. She'd talked down far too many soldiers and then tackled them to keep them from hurting themselves -- the same wasn't going to happen to her. "I'm not fucking weak either! But you're right, I'm a fucking monster. And monsters need to be killed, isn't that right? Maybe I'll save everyone -- one arrow. Put us all out of our misery."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Evaline sighed, her hands still innocently out in front of her, but she didn't come any closer. Clearly Jerica wanted her space.
"No," she said calmly, forcing herself to be patient. She had to be. She couldn't afford not to. "Not all monsters die. If they do, then there wouldn't be any heroes. We only exist for the heroes. It's not an ideal life, but you can be a monster, run from it, or be a coward and end your life to no longer be a monster. Maybe you're here for the second option: to run away from being a monster. It's your chance to make something of your life. Are you really going to let that go to waste?"
Jerica let the tension from the string of the bow, but kept the arrow notched and kept her hand on it. “My life’s been a waste since it started.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"How old are you? Twenty? You just started living. Maybe you feel like this now, but it doesn't mean you'll feel this way in thirty, forty, fifty years from now," Evaline said said gently, taking a another small step forward.
“Maybe I won’t feel like this in a few moments, either,” she snapped, but it was becoming progressively emptier. The negative emotions were ebbing away, leaving her completely empty.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Evaline sighed, using this time to think. Although she was calm and collected in the outside, she knew panic was trying to claw its way out of her throat. She didn't want Jerica to die. She didn't want anyone to die. And even more, she didn't want Jerica to want to die.
But this was her fault, wasn't it? Things never went as planned when it involved someone else.
"Jerica," Evaline said slowly, throwing away all of her pride. "I'm sorry if I've hurt you. You are right that words have consequences, and I will take ownership of them. Ownership of what you are feeling right now. I don't know you -- the real you that is Jerica. But I do want to get to know her. I know that she is stubborn, selfless, and astonishingly brave. I've seen her risk her life to save a stranger, and that is incredibly virtuous. You are not a monster. You are a human being, and you should keep fighting to be you today, tomorrow, and all the years to come."
Jerica hesitated, getting more frustrated with each and every compliment that Evaline paid her. It weakened her resolve. Even though the resolve had been slipping away before this sudden change of heart. “You should get your story straight,” Jerica grumbled, and shoved the arrow back in its quiver with too much force. “You’re sending mixed signals.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Evaline sighed a breath of relief when Jerica put away the arrow. She relaxed her posture, standing up straight.
"I know," she said. "I'm a hypocrite, and I often say things I don't mean. So just... you don't have to listen to me all the time. Or ever, really. Don't listen to me."
“Well, things were fine til you started screaming all the reasons why I should die,” Jerica muttered.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
“Why the fuck do you want me to leave you?” Jerica was too tired to get truly agitated. “Our chances for survival halve if we split up.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
“We know there’s only one bow,” Jerica said, slinging it back over her arm. And it’d be going with her if they DID split up. “One basket of food…”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Gender:
Points: 2806
Reviews: 935