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Post by dylan on Jun 27, 2011 19:33:23 GMT 1
Dylan paced in the medic's tent. The medic was late, as usual. He didn't mind her being late. He minded her being there at all. This was the last place he wanted to be. He was so sick of the treatments and possible-cures. It never did anything but get his hopes up, just to let them fall again. His hands flexed almost against his will at his sides. He wanted to hit something. Break something like he was broken.
It wasn't fair. He'd been the best trainee the camp had seen. He'd hit harder, ran faster, followed every command like his life depended on it. He loved the way people used to look at him. Like he was unstoppable. And he almost was. But he wasn't explosion-proof.
These days it was like a complete reversal. No one wanted to look him in the eye. Didn't even want to scold him when he'd broken something. He knew what they were thinking. Poor guy. Can't really blame him. No, he wasn't to blame. But he wanted someone to blame. Wanted someone he could crush for what happened to him. He shook his head savagely, as if he could shake the ability to hear out of it. Nothing. Couldn't even hear his own footsteps. Or the footsteps of someone just walking into the medic's quarters.
He'd been so busy staring at the floor like it could somehow give him an answer, he never saw the newcomer. Was completely oblivious to the fact until he felt a hand on his shoulder. His head jerked up, hands immediately balling into fists. His mouth was pressed into a thin line. He definitely wasn't going to speak first. Hell, he doubted if he'd speak at all.
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Post by raine on Sept 4, 2011 21:32:40 GMT 1
Immediately Raine took a step back. She knew Dylan had a bit of a temper. And though she doubted he would really hit her, it was a bit intimidating to see him balling his fists at her. 'Relax' she said, trying to make sure Dylan could see her face. 'It's me.' She smiled. She was always a bit nervous trying to communicate with him. On the one hand she didn't wanted to offend him by treating him different, but on the other hand.... well, you know, he was different.
She tried to estimate in what kind of mood Dylan was. By the looks of it, he wasn't too happy with being here.
'Everything okay?' she asked. 'The medic asked me to tell you that's she'll be running late.' she added without waiting for an answer. 'There was an accident at the Farm.' She didn't knew the details, but she was nearby when it happened. The medic ran by her while going to the scene. 'Raine!' she yelled while looking over her shoulder. 'Can you go and tell Dylan in my tent that I'll be running late?!' And then she didn't have a choice but to drop her work and go to the tent. Not that she really minded, everything to get out of the sun for a while.
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Post by dylan on Sept 4, 2011 21:57:02 GMT 1
Raine. Of course he knew her. Everyone had been worried a while back when she'd ended up with a severe fever. While there was nothing obviously wrong with her, sometimes he wished there was. He didn't want to be the only one screwed over by his own anatomy. He watched her lips. She was telling him to relax? He grit his teeth together. He hated that phrase. But he wasn't going to say anything.
"What kind of stupid question is that?" He knew he was speaking. Could feel his lips moving and the air coming out of his lungs. But he couldn't hear a whisper. "I've been stuck in this damn tent for half an hour and now you're telling me I'm going to be stuck here even longer?" It was one of the longest sentences he'd spoken in months, but he was just so pissed. At everything. Fortunately, he had something to be angry at for the moment.
He stomped over and collapsed on a nearby cot, closing his eyes. That was the one perk of all of it. If he closed his eyes, it was like no one else was around. He wouldn't even know where he was had it not been for the feel of the heavy wool blankets underneath him. He'd dreamed about finding something he couldn't feel either, in a place he couldn't smell. To create his own limbo where no one could get to him. One sense was already cut off. He wanted to do the same to the others. Forget what a hell reality was.
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Post by raine on Sept 4, 2011 22:07:32 GMT 1
"I've been stuck in this damn tent for half an hour and now you're telling me I'm going to be stuck here even longer?" His voice sounded a bit distorted because he couldn't hear what he was saying himself. It seemed like he was more pissed off than she thought. She should have brought it a bit more gently maybe? She watched as he sat down on the cot and closed his eyes.
'Ow reaaaaal mature Dylan' she mumbled to herself, knowing that there would be no way that he could hear... see her talk. 'It's not like it's my fault?' Although she doubted Dylan was mad at her specifically. Maybe this was just the drop that spilled the glass?
She almost walked out of the tent, but when she looked back, she felt like she couldn't leave him like that. She should at least wait till the medic would come back? right? And, honestly, it would be a good excuse not to go back to her tasks. She walked back and sat down across of Dylan. She started to study him. If you looked at him like this, there seemed nothing wrong with him. But then again; she also looked normal...
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Post by dylan on Sept 4, 2011 22:17:33 GMT 1
He felt someone sit down beside him. At first he hoped it was the medic. So he could get this stupid appointment over with and go back to whatever it was he was good at. But no, she would've shaken him like she thought he was sleeping, even if he never was. The first time he woke up in the medic's tent was one of the worst moments of his life. He told her that too. Didn't stop her from assuming he was always napping.
He opened his eyes slowly and turned his head. There Raine sat, the epitome of patience. He frowned and propped himself up on his elbows. She wasn't saying anything. A lot of people forgot and kept trying to talk to him when he wasn't looking. And then he'd look at them and they'd suddenly remember and look away, embarrassed. Just once, could someone treat him like he wasn't made of glass?
"What?" He asked. He wondered if his voice sounded as tired and annoyed as he felt. He had nothing against the girl personally. She wasn't in the military, so he didn't have to think about her doing the things he couldn't. She wasn't overly nice to him, like it would somehow make up for what happened. She was just...there. So he didn't dislike her. And not disliking someone over the age of, oh say 13, was a a rare occurrence for him. He'd gotten quite skilled in finding reasons to hate people.
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Post by raine on Sept 4, 2011 22:42:10 GMT 1
She looked to the side, he had opened his eyes again. He almost seemed surprised she was still there. 'What?' he said. 'Don't worry, I'm just waiting here till the medic comes back.' she replied. 'It's a good excuse to not work.' She smiled, hoping he would understand that it was part joke, part truth.
She knew he was some sort of prodigy in the army before his accident. Now he was helping the children. He was good at it, she gave him that. She wasn't so good with children herself. They could be fun alright, but most of the time she would just keep away from them. They seemed way to innocent to be true.
She was doubting, should she start some kind of conversation with Dylan? He wasn't really the talking type, but maybe that's because people didn't tried it? She coughed and wiggled a bit on her seat. Asking something like: 'How you doing?' would give the wrong response, that she could tell.
'... So, you're thinking about going to the city when the next big group leaves?' she blurted out without really thinking about it. Ow shit, she wasn't sure if this was a safe topic either. She was a bit aggravated by the fact that she had to watch her words so carefully around him. She wished the medic would hurry, maybe she made the wrong mistake by waiting.
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Post by dylan on Sept 5, 2011 4:04:39 GMT 1
An excuse not to work? That was something he could understand...to an extent, at least. When he wasn't training, he'd absolutely hated the odd jobs they made the kids do. Especially those that were old enough to be doing something but not something important. More than once he'd over-trained just for an excuse not to do something. He gave her a small grin, wondering if he should say something. Then remembering he had no idea how he sounded when he spoke. He could sound completely stupid. Better keep the talking to a minimum then.
When she spoke about leaving, he frowned. "What's out there for me?" He asked. He didn't have to hear. He could feel the bitterness in his voice. It had been growing for years. He was virtually useless here. But he had no guarantee the city would be any better. For all he knew, the vampires would suck him dry and throw him away. Besides, for what it was worth, he had family here. While part of him wondered if his father wouldn't be too sad to see him go, Dottie would be crushed. And he loved her too much to let that happen.
After a few moments, he thought of something. "Are you thinking about leaving?" He asked. That he didn't understand. Why would she want to? She fit in fine with everyone else. Besides that strange fever a while back, there was really nothing so strange about her, was there? Then again, people left for the city for the strangest reasons. A girl from the Farm just up and took off in the middle of the night. No one had heard from her since. Maybe it was a female thing.
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Post by raine on Sept 5, 2011 13:22:11 GMT 1
Ah a smile! Sort of... more of a grin. This relaxed the atmosphere a bit. Though he didn't really respond to it. But that didn't really bother her. He wasn't the talkety type, she knew that.
'What's out there for me?' This she could not answer. 'I don't know.' she replied. It was the most truthfull answer she could give. 'Aren't you curious about what's out there?' she asked. 'We've been here all our lives, maybe...' She should stop talking now. She wanted to add that it could be better, but she wasn't so sure about that. It could also be ten times worse.
'Are you thinking of leaving?' he asked. She should have known that question was about to come. It was stupid to bring up the subject, but then again it was almost everything she thought off. On the one hand she really wanted to go. Finding other people like her. But then again she was a bit scared to go. She would be without her family and without protection. Raine wasn't very good at protecting herself. And she couldn't trust anyone there. Here she knew who to trust, what people were up to, how they reacted.. over there she had to start over again. She just wished she could talk to people who had came back from the City.
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Post by dylan on Sept 6, 2011 0:20:19 GMT 1
At least her answer was honest. He wanted to lay back and stare at the ceiling, but he was intrigued by what she was saying. He'd never thought about leaving. He'd always been focused on what was happening in Haven to wonder about what he was missing. "Grass is always greener." He mumbled. If he hadn't felt the air coming out of his mouth he would've thought he'd just mouthed the words.
He took a deep breath. This was going to be more talking than what he wanted. But he couldn't bring himself to ask if she would understand sign language. He hated asking people that. Most of the time they started using it first and he could just reply in kind. "At least here, humans are the ones in charge." Why would she want to run to a place ran by vampires? Giving her blood as a tax...he shuddered. "What's so great about the city?" It had to be a female thing. He really did not understand this. Sure, they had to work hard here. But at least it was for a good cause. He'd rather help humans stay alive than keep the vamps well fed.
He stared at her for several moments. There was something about her face...he couldn't put his finger on it. There was a fleeting look on it. Guilt? Regret? He was certain that she hadn't meant to bring the subject up. "Why are you so eager to go?" He asked, frowning.
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Post by raine on Sept 6, 2011 11:16:12 GMT 1
Raine didn't really know any sign language, at least not enough to make her sentences well known. She learned some of the basic phrases. Or else she would have used it to talk with him. It must be difficult to talk without hearing what you're saying.. no she could see that it was difficult for him to talk this way. She should have been more involved when people tried to teach her. Maybe she should ask someone to teach her some more signs?
"At least here, humans are the ones in charge." He was obviously insinuating about the rules (especially the blood tax) the City had. She had never even seen a vampire, let alone talk to them. Maybe they weren't so bad at all? Maybe they were just as humans.. .there were some pretty bad humans around too. She looked at Dylan, not sure if she could really share that thought with him. She didn't trust people that easily. And besides this conversation and a few words, Dylan and she had never really talked. And it was hard to really read him because he kept mostly to himself.
'I'm not eager to go.' she replied. Yes she was, but she didn't wanted to admit it. 'But it's.. just...' she thought carefull of her words. 'I'm curious about how it is.' That was probably the safe answer. 'They keep talking about all these other creatures, but besides Elementals and Angels I haven't seen any.' And she didn't even talked to them a lot. The Elementals where usually busy keeping Haven alive and the Angels were also running around helping everybody in need of help.
She looked at the door of the tent. The accident must have been more serious than I thought. The medic was taking her time.
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Post by dylan on Sept 6, 2011 22:00:19 GMT 1
Back before the accident, Dylan had relied on people's tone of voice to tell if they were lying. Did they sound too excited? Too casual? Too careful with their words? Now he realized just how much the face could give a person away. The eyes tightened slightly, the corners of the mouth tilted downward, it was a whole new science. And it was nice to focus on the sense he did have, rather than the one he was lacking.
When she spoke the word "eager", he could've sworn her eyes tightened just slightly. Then he watched as she stuttered. "You want to go really badly, don't you?" The words came out before he had time to stop them. He'd always loved calling people out when they were lying or sugarcoating information. Nowadays calling them out meant publicly acknowledging his disability. Not happening. This, however, was more like what he remembered.
"Why do you want to see other creatures?" He asked, before remembering he wasn't going to talk much. Part of him wanted to ask her...or anyone...what he sounded like. Did he sound as stupid as he was afraid he did? Or did his voice come out sounding magically suave and smooth? As much as he hoped for the second, he was pretty sure it was the first. As for the other creatures.. he wasn't too interesting in hanging out with those twice as strong and fast as he was. Sounded more like a buzz kill than an interesting experience.
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Post by raine on Sept 6, 2011 22:36:55 GMT 1
How in heavens name... ofcourse! She realised that because he was deaf he was using all his other senses more than she was. He could probably tell by the way she moved her face or body language that she was lying. That sneaky... Not that she was a very good liar to begin with, but how can you 'win' against someone who pays attention to every movement you make. Best option was to speak the truth, but to be carefull about what she would say. Or she could just use her powers to make sure that he wouldn't be able to see that well... but would that be fair? Dylan probably relied on his sight a lot and if she made that worse...
"You want to go really badly, don't you?" No sense denying that then. 'Part of me, yes... but at the moment there is to much keeping me here.' she replied. So it wasn't more than sweet dreaming for the time being. 'Besides, I wouldn't survive through the desert probably.' she sighed. They still didn't knew what happend to the last girl who went to the City.
'Why aren't you curious?' she bounced the question back. 'Are you really that happy here?' If he was asking trick questions, she could do the same. She already felt more comfortable around him, that was true. At least he didn't seem so agrivated anymore.
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Post by dylan on Sept 7, 2011 0:36:11 GMT 1
Too much keeping her here? If that was so, then why would she want to leave? He shook his head, annoyed at not understanding. "You wouldn't." He agreed with a nod. There was no malice in it, just simple fact. Those who left for the city were trained and armed. They knew how to take on zombies. Raine was....she wasn't that type of person. She was more like the reason they had the military in the first place. He doubted she could defend herself well.
Happy? She seriously thought he was happy here? He shook his head, gritting his teeth. "I'm not happy anywhere." What was so hard to understand? He didn't like the way his life was going now. But running away to some magical city across the desert wasn't giving him back his hearing, wasn't making him a war hero...it wasn't going to do anything but force him to work for blood-sucking leeches working out of a superiority complex. "I'm not happy anywhere." He practically growled at her.
He was suddenly angry. He practically threw himself back on the bed and closed his eyes. He'd had enough of silly girls who thought running away was the answer to everything. The city was a viper's nest that just happened to have the supplies they needed. It was something to be raided, not a sanctuary to run to. That's what Haven was. Why else would they have named it that? It was like being a perfectly healthy human wasn't enough for them anymore. They wanted to be stronger, faster, prettier, better. He would've given anything to gone back to being the human he was.
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Post by raine on Sept 7, 2011 18:18:34 GMT 1
She should have known he wouldn't understand. It wasn't just 'hey look at the awsome creatures that can kill me any second' to her. It was some sort of quest to find out what happened to her. But she couldn't explain it to him without giving herself away. She would be stupid to do that; only Angels and Elementalists where allowed in Haven. She wasn't quite sure where she fitted in, but it wasn't with one of these two.
His reaction was more extreme than she anticipated. Was he really that miserable? She wished she could do something, say something. She was horrible with this kind of situations. Funerals, break-ups... she wasn't the best person to go to. Her best respons was usually a pat on the back, but that seemed like a stupid idea at the moment.
She watched as Dylan laid down with his eyes closed once again. This time she stood up and walked around. She wasn't going to leave him here alone, but it was clear that Dylan didn't want to talk at the moment. She examined the many bottles on shelves, wondering which one she got while she had a fever. Could it be because of a medicine? She wondered. Though it seemed unlikely; there would be more people like her then.
Then she looked back at Dylan. Was he here for a check-up? or were they testing medicine to see if they could bring his hearing back? That must be dissapointing, to get your hopes crushed time after time.
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Post by dylan on Sept 7, 2011 22:55:51 GMT 1
Dylan stayed there, wondering if how long it would take for her to leave. The downside of checking out of reality: you didn't know jack. He had no idea if she was still there or not. Without his sense of sight he was clueless. So what? He told himself. He didn't care about her. Didn't care about her stupid wish to get out of here. To run away to the magical city and have all her problems fixed. That was the problem with running away. You took all your emotional baggage with you.
Finally, he opened his eyes. She was still there. He was about to just close his eyes when he noticed her looking around. He tilted his head to the side. studying her. She's pretty. He realized with a small jolt. Not in a normal way. Her beauty was something...other. Off the beaten path. When she turned to look at him, he held her gaze. He stood up. "Are you really just skipping work?" He asked quietly. Or at least, he hoped his voice was quiet. While a lot of kids found excuses to stay out of the sun, the tradition was to keep from being blatant about what you were doing.
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