eighteen [action]

[imatreenow]

[Friday afternoon finds Mithos dragging a granite statue through the streets of Luceti. It will look familiar to those who can claim Aselia as their home world, carved adoringly in the likeness of a young man wielding dual swords. The figure is planted atop a base that bears a plaque engraved with the simple honor, "The Hero Lloyd Irving." All together, it stands at about three and a half feet, scaled down from the original model.

For Mithos, it's a bitter reminder of things that could never have been. Its sudden appearance in his house had been an elbow nudging him sharply in the ribs, an obnoxious stage whisper prompting, "Hey, remember that time all your hopes and dreams were crushed?"

Yes, yes he remembers.

Which is why he had to get rid of it. The first day, he dragged the statue behind the house, let it topple into the river, and watched the determined stony face sink below the surface. The next morning, it found its way back to his living room. Each day, he drags it farther away, and each morning it proudly comes back.

His route today takes him up from the south end of the village through the north end and into the woods. The farther away, the better.]

Comments

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[imatreenow]

[He regards her with open suspicion and hostility branded into his expression.] I have no reason to introduce myself to you.

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[gleamed]

[It's an expression she isn't used to receiving, but she has certainly seen it before. It makes a nervous knot tighten in her chest. Was he really so different?]

Then...that's alright. I'm Rapunzel.

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[imatreenow]

[He chooses to ignore her, waiting for her to realize how unwanted she is, how useless her efforts are. Stooping over, he focuses on yanking the statue's base free. But he remains overly, uncomfortably, aware of her presence. Go away, just go away--]

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[gleamed]

[Well? If he won't acknowledge he needs help, she's just going to go for it, heading over to start tugging on the base as well.]

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[imatreenow]

[He jaggedly glares at her even as he struggles with the heavy statue.] I already told you...I don't need your help. [That totally isn't the sound of his voice straining under the burden of his task, nope.]

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[gleamed]

[Yeah, no, it doesn't sound that way to her, mister.]

Well! I've decided to help you anyway. So you had better just suck it up and take it!

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[imatreenow]

[With her help, he's already managed to tow the statue out of the rut. But don't expect any sort of thanks, because he sees this not as a victory, but as an annoyance.] Why are you doing this?

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[gleamed]

[And she answers matter-of-factly.] Because you needed help, even if you didn't want to ask for it.

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[imatreenow]

Allow him to re-phrase that.] Why do you even care?

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[gleamed]

[And in her same tone as before:] Because I care about everyone.

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[imatreenow]

You know nothing about me. [Says the jerk who refused to give his name.]

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[gleamed]

[You know, she is really not a fan of that attitude.] So? I still care about you.

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[imatreenow]

You have no reason to. [Two years in this place and he still cannot grasp the basic concept that a lot of people are actually pretty nice.]

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[gleamed]

I don't need a reason. I just do! [But, fine, if he wanted some solid reason...] And...we played together. I think we could be friends, you know.

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[imatreenow]

...I'm not a human. [He thinks this should be reason enough to deter her. They can't be friends because they're too different.]

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[gleamed]

[Considering the people she had met in Luceti, finding someone who looked human but wasn't doesn't come as much of a shock. But why did he think it would make such a difference?]

That doesn't matter to me!

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[imatreenow]

[No matter how many times he hears these words, no matter how many variations he hears, he still has a hard time making sense of the meaning behind them. It is an abstraction, something that cannot be grasped. He tries not to allow his expression to change, and he tries again.]

I'm different from you.

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[gleamed]

[Her brow furrows. Was she missing something? Sure, maybe sometimes it was hard to understand people who were different from you, but that didn't mean they couldn't be your friends.]

Everyone here is different. I'm different from everyone I've met. But there's nothing wrong with that.

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[imatreenow]

[Her words wash over him, drawing up echoes from a time when he couldn’t stand on his own, and the vivid memory of a brightly quiet smile. Sayo has said something similar, that day when she reached out and he finally accepted her hand. He freezes for a moment, aching, but then the cool look returns. There's nothing wrong with that.]

That’s not what I’ve learned, and it's not what I've been taught time and time again. [But here...]

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[gleamed]

Then...I'm sorry. [And she really was - she was clearly dealing with something here that went beyond herself, and beyond what he was willing to tell her. Whatever he'd been through that had taught him that...she was sorry that it happened.]

Will you at least give me the chance to be your friend? Please. One chance. That's all.

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[imatreenow]

I don't need any friends. [He's lying. He's lying and he knows it. The truth is that he doesn't need to get his hopes up - and let his guard down. He doesn't need another knife in the back.]

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[gleamed]

[Hm...maybe she should sing a song about it.

Oooor maybe that would scare him off. She keeps the idea in check.]

But everyone needs friends.

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[imatreenow]

[I can't be alone again don't leave me alone I can't do this. Memories like water through cracks in a stone. Dissolving. Breaking down. Whittling away. Relentlessly. I'll always listen I think we need each other for that no matter what happens you know I'll listen. His voice rises, and his words are more forceful.]

I don't need anyone here. [Everyone he needs is far away, somewhere he cannot touch.]

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[gleamed]

[If she were more brazen, she might point out that the way he was acting indicated the exact opposite. But she didn't want to fight with him - just get through to him, if it was at all possible.

Carefully:] I think you do. Even if you don't want to need them.

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[imatreenow]

Are you stupid? How can I make it any clearer that I hate you? I hate everyone in this village! What good are any of you to me?