ˢⁱᵐᵖˡᵉ ˢᵒᵘˡˢ

            this  house  still  feels  strange  and  unfamiliar  to  her.  blake  is  lulled  only  slightly  by  the  comforting  murmur  of  the  warming  tea  kettle  as  she  leans  against  the  kitchen  counter,  a  quick  glance  out  the  window  confirming  that  the  sun  was  just  beginning  to  crest  over  the  horizon.  she  wasn’t  normally  an  early  riser,  if  she  could  help  it,  but  last  night’s  events  and  the  new  environment  turned  out  to  be  a  pretty  lousy  recipe  for  relaxation.

            this  early  in  the  morning,  blake’s  betting  on  being  the  only  one  awake,  so  it’s  just  her  luck  that  the  quiet  creak  of  floorboards  alerts  her  to  someone  else’s  presence.  she  had  barely  gotten  the  chance  to  exchange  more  than  a  handful  of  words  with  her  teammates  after  last  night,  working  under  the  silent  agreement  that  it  could  wait  for  a  time  when  they  weren’t  all  exhausted,  and  for  a  brief,  agonizing  moment,  blake  feels  her  heart  pitch  itself  into  her  throat.  

               ‘     so ,   lemme get this straight .     y’went off to some hot shot huntsman school and got yourself outta the white fang ,    huh ?     ‘          cheshire grin pull at ruddy lips to reveal  sharpened incisors .         he lets out a  BARK !   of laughter  ;   arms stretching skywards before leisurely tucking themselves behind his head .       ‘     well ,   belladonna ,    i gotta hand it to ya    -    that sure is ballsy ,   even for you !     hah !       oh man ,    i sure would’a loved to see the look on adam’s face when y’left .      last time i saw the both of ya , you two you were joined at the hip .     ‘

@inremnants   ♡’d for a starter.

            ‘  yup.  ’    blake  folds  her  arms  and  leans  back  to  appraise  her  friend  with  old  fondness,  smile  warm  ─    albeit  faintly  incredulous.  no  matter  how  much  time  they  spent  together,  that  general  sense  of  being  baffled  by  his  energy  and  mannerisms  never  really  went  away.  ‘  that’s  pretty  much  the  gist  of  it.  ’  

            (    adam’s  mention  sobers  her  ;  like  a  veil,  something  unreadable  and  strange  crosses  over  her  features.    )

       she  reaches  out  and …  boops  ruby  right  on  the  tip  of  the  nose.

      Ruby shoots out a thumbs-up, groaning. She’s sure her face looks red, if not from the fall, then from the embarrassment engulfing her entire body. Regardless, she lifts herself up and sits cross legged, facing Blake with a sheepish grin. 

     "Hi Blake. Wide awake, as you can see.“ Ruby gestures her fingers over her tussled pajamas. Internally, she panics, her mind filled with thoughts blinking in and out as if it’s stolen her speed semblance. She needs to say something, anything. "Just can’t help falling for you, haha! From the bed. Because I sleep. On the upper one." 

     Ruby wants to dive out the window. This was not the anything she was thinking of. She buries her face into her palms. 

     "Sorry. That’s not what I wanted to say. I had something to ask you, if I can remember.”

            ‘  that’s...  funny.  ’

            the  furrow  of  her  brow  is  a  little  incredulous,  but  blake  really  does  smile,  her  voice  pitching  in  a  way  that  suggests  an  echo  of  amusement  ;  she  isn’t  entirely  sure  how  to  handle  ruby  yet,  but  that  isn’t  to  say  she  doesn’t  like  her.  something  about  their  young  leader  reminds  blake  of  herself  when  she  was  younger,  and  that  in  and  of  itself  is  enough  to  coax  her  out  of  her  shell.

            honestly,  she  wouldn’t  ask  ruby  to  change  for  anything.

@inremnants Cont.

“Speak for yourself-…” Ilia huffed, the noise retaining a bitterness to it. Her eyes still stung from crying and form has retained a certain tension despite the ache that clung to her bones-… Despite the tiredness that threatened to consume her. Ilia was still a traitor here, to both sides, she couldn’t ‘just relax’ and accept everything was fine now because she did one right thing in the end. 

Her hand lifts, scratching at the nape of her neck with eyes averted. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be being hauled off to jail now or something. I-… Uhm. I’m really sorry about everything, Blake. It-… I know words aren’t enough and saying this isn’t enough either but I do want to help. Uh–”

Abruptly, Ilia stopped speaking. Her gaze fell onto the remnants of the fire; Ash and smoke all that remained. She had no energy left to cry but Ilia was positive she might shortly though that was nothing some heavy blinking and averted gazes wouldn’t fix. 

“What I mean to say is ‘Thank you’ for the second chance and for forgiving me.” 

            ‘  ilia...  ’  blake’s  tongue  falters  :  her  gut  instinct  is  to  say  its  okay,  but  she  knows  from  experience  that  the  sentiment  tended  to  echo  empty  when  it  wasn’t  necessarily  true.  ilia’s  guilt  is  a  well  known  reflection  of  her  own,  carried  for  far  longer  than  it  should  have  been  welcome;  they  had  both  made  mistakes.  maybe  those  mistakes  weren’t  okay.

            but  maybe  forgiving  themselves  anyway  was.

            ‘  you  know,  it...  it  took  me  a  really  long  time  to  figure  out  how  to  forgive  myself.  ’  blake’s  gaze  follows  ilia’s,  watching  the  ruins  of  her  home  smoulder.  she  had  never  been  a  very  good  shoulder  to  cry  on,  but  the  ache  of  sympathy  in  her  chest  bids  her  to  try  anyway.  ‘  it’s...  not  easy.  it’s  probably  one  of  the  hardest  things  i’ve  ever  done.  but  letting  your  past  define  you  usually  leads  to  you  feeling  sorry  for  yourself,  and  that  doesn’t  make  you  a  very  good  person  either.  mostly,  it  just  makes  you  miserable.  ’  blake  smiles,  brow  touched  softly  with  sadness,  and  turns  to  face  ilia  again  ;  her  hand  lays  gentle  on  her  shoulder.

               ‘     so  …     ’

the goody - goodies won .    a first ,    but an unwelcomed one at that .     they had lost ;    haven was safe .      CINDER WAS GONE .    the relic was with the bimbo   -    and they were in the woods .    hiding in the shadows like vermin ,   during what should have been their EXPLOSIVE    -   KABOOM !   -   FANFARE .   another win in their basket .           but nope ,   life just loved to throw curveballs didn’t it ?               stupid no good brats .

               ‘     finally awake ,   huh ?      you sure took your time .     ’    he scoffs flippantly ,   eyeing his comrade with something akin to worry   (  not that he’d ever admit it  )  .        ‘     the big guy’s out scouting the perimeter .    or at least  he  says  he is .    could be tryin’ t’jump ship any moment .         wouldn’t blame him ,    we’re   sitting ducks  out here .    ‘      the  snap  of  a nearby twig causes him to jump ,     guard springing back up  :   they were still in danger .   had to be careful .     mercury  leans in this time ,    vocals  hush  -  hush .     hazel could be back any minute .           ‘     -     so ,  what’s the plan now ?     ‘  

@inremnants   ✴==≡눈٩(`皿´҂)ง

            her  head  aches  with  a  vengeance.  it’s  the  first  waking  sensation  that  welcomes  her,  the  first  thing  that  feels  real  as  she  finally  comes  to  :  hot  daggers  gouging  into  the  space  behind  her  eyes.  if  she  hadn’t  been  laid  out  to  rest    (  cold,  unforgiving;  familiarity  at  its  finest  )    the  pain  might  have  sent  her  reeling  to  the  ground  again.  the  quiet  of  the  forest  gives  her  time  to  adjust.  it  still  doesn’t  feel  like  enough.  

            she’d  rather  go  back  to  sleep.

            emerald  sits  up  slowly,  wincing  when  the  agony  hammering  away  at  her  temples  only  seems  to  double  down.  mercury’s  words  barely  feel  real,  but  his  presence  is  a  balm  to  her  in  that  moment  regardless.  they  lost,  but  they  were  alive,  and  that  had  to  count  for  something.  their  survival  had  to  mean  something.  emerald  squints  at  her  partner  through  the  darkness  and  feels  apprehension  tighten  in  her  chest.

            ‘  yeah.  i  wouldn’t  blame  him  either,  ’    she  mutters.  for  somebody  so  rarely  on  edge,  mercury’s  nerves  aren’t  lost  on  her.  ‘  it’s  not  like  any  of  them  give  a  shit  about  us,  merc.  cinder’s  the  one  who  wanted  to  keep  us  around.  and  she’s  ─  ’     gone.  emerald  swallows  thickly.  she  had  no  plan.  she  hadn’t  had  to  think  for  herself  in  years. 

            ‘  huh ?  ’  

            her  shoulders  jump  ever  so  slightly,  ears  a  spritely,  curious  quirk  atop  her  head.  it’s  a  far  cry  from  her  old  paranoia,  that  gave  every  shadow  teeth,  every  misplaced  footstep  an  ill  intent.  ilia’s  presence  doesn’t  seem  to  be  an  unwelcome  one;  she  softens  almost  immediately,  the  far  -  away  look  in  her  eyes  melting  into  clarity.  

            the  charred  remains  of  her  childhood  home  smoulders  into  ash  in  front  of  them,  but  what  she  feels  doesn’t  seem  like  mourning.

            ‘  … yeah,  ’  blake  says,  soft  with realization.  she  glances  at  ilia  carefully,  like  her  gaze  could  handle  her  like  spun  glass,  or  like  she  really  would  melt  away  into  nothing  if  she  looked  twice.  both  of  them  were  well  versed  in  disappearing.  the  thought  that  strikes  her  next  is  that  they  both  stand  here  side  by  side  regardless.  ‘  yeah,  ’  she  says  again,  a  bare  smile  touching  low  on  the  corners  of  her  mouth.  across  the  courtyard,  her  parents  direct  in  extinguishing  the  last  of  the  flames.  they  could  rebuild.  they’d  begin  again.  

‘     QUIT BEING SO  …  blakey  ,   would’ja ?     ‘    there’s a huff as he crosses his arms ,    tail swishing absently .   he’s just being playful ,   of course ,    as evident from the poke attack he had just unleashed unto her arm a minute ago .     ‘     c’mon ,   trying to shut down the white fang is way harder than i thought it’d be .  a little break isn’t gonna kill us … and i saw this cool lookin’ noodle shack on the beach !    soooo ,   whaddya say ?     ‘

@inremnants @( o･ω･)@

            only  when  you  quit  being  so  sunny.  the  retort  sits  wordlessly  on  the  tip  of  her  tongue,  backed  by  the  long,  measured  look  she  gives  him,  fingers  cupped  protectively  around  her  upper  arm  to  ward  off  his  attack.  it  stays  that  way :  wordless.  unspoken.  blake  used  to  like  to  think  that  she  wasn’t  without  her  reason,  but  found  through  trial  and  tribulation  that  sometimes  she  just  plain  was,  and  really,  a  bite  to  eat  wasn’t  asking  a  lot.  a  moment  of  peace  didn’t  have  to  be  a  luxury.  

            and  she  can’t  really  bring  herself  to  ask  sun  to  stop  being  sun.

@inremnants

        See, the idea was that Yang was going to be incredibly sneaky and climb up and onto the bed completely unnoticed. It would therefore be a surprise to see her smiling face next time she shifted the book that rested on her knees to turn pages. Even the greatest plans, however, never went off without a hitch and Yang was no tactician. That was Ruby’s job. 

        Getting on the bed hadn’t been a problem. It was doing so without perilously shuddering the miraculous feat of engineering they called the ascension of Blake’s bed. It worked fine for someone as cat-footed as Blake (pun entirely intended), but it protested under Yang’s heavy handed thumps. Nonetheless, she didn’t say a word other than the grunts of exertion as she pulled her weight up and over the end of the bed, flopping gracelessly on her belly in front of Blake. 

        Yang would have waited for the second part of her plan to come into fruition, but impatience won the battle, and she piped up a matter of moments after settling just close enough to Blake’s curled form to be noticed, not so close as to be suffocating. She wasn’t that obnoxious. At least, not intentionally. 

        “The Thief and the Butcher, huh?” She stated, squinting to read the cursive font of the book’s title and lacing her fingers under her chin. “Sounds almost exciting enough that I would like it.” 

            it’s kinda cute that yang thinks she’s being sneaky. 

            blake’s ear gives a curious swivel; beneath her bow, it is more the shadow of movement, a small, imperceptible twitch. she hears the bunk bed give a decisive groan of complaint  (  if she hadn’t personally watched yang wrestle the securings into submission, she might be worried  )  and watches the frame shudder, eyes a golden sliver of suspicion. she can’t see her teammate, but blake’s imagination certainly fills in the gaps well enough, and something like a laugh already grows heavy in her chest. she stifles it for the sake of playing along. 

            she moves slowly, slides forefinger and thumb along the edge of a page. her sidelong gaze rights itself, zeroed in once more in the ink heavy paragraphs in front of her. besides the soft whisper of parchment on parchment, she is perfectly still and perfectly silent, and perfectly content to let yang take her sweet time executing her plan. it feels like ages. she must really be trying.

            she has to bite back her laughter in earnest when yang pipes up, and her lips pinch with the effort.