JUDICIAL FLAW

 she  groans  &  her  hand  moves  to  her  face.   as  she  moves  to  sit  up,  a  burning  pain  strikes  her.   radiating  from  her  eyes;  not  even  the  brisk night  could  cure  it.   she  inhales  sharply,  gasping  &  struggling  for  breaths  between  waves  of  agony.   she  presses  at  the  edges,  welling  with  tears,  with  trembling  hands.   now  swollen  eyes  fly  open,  but  there  is  nothing.   no  light,  no  darkness.   she  was  stripped  of  her  eyes.   &  it  comes  flooding  back:  groggy,  waking  before  the  blinding  by  the  sun.   

 terezi  rolls  to  her  side,  sobbing  with  hands  clawing  at  her  eyes  as  if  it  will  entice  her  sight  to  return.   her  whole  body  shakes.   her  suffering  immobilizes  her,  &  leaves  her  with  nothing  but  her  thoughts.   she’s  never  walked  in  her  sleep.   never  has  she  woken  anywhere  but  her  treehive.    what happened?   brows  furrow  with  the  question  but  it  only  intensifies  the  pain.   

 she  won’t  find  her  way  home.   regardless  of  how  well  she  knows  these  forests,  she  doesn’t  know  how  far  she  wandered,  how  close  she  is  to  her  hive.   though  difficult,  she  slowly  drags  herself  to  the  nearest  tree,  guiding  herself  with  touch  ‘til  fingers  meet  bark;  mindful  of  where  &  how  she  woke,  she  curls  up  away  from  where  she  thinks  the  sun  will  rise.   she’ll  have  to  wait  for  sleep  again,  for  her  lusus  to  help  her,  to  guide  her.

 then  it  dawns  on  her.   her  lusus,  communicating  in  her  sleep.   her  guardian  would  not  have  willingly  put  her  in  harm’s  way.   only  one  troll  would,  beyond  a  doubt  in  her  mind  ---  she’s  gone  farther  than  this,  what  would  stop  her  now?   a  groan  escapes  her,  followed  by  another  sob.   it’s  starting  to  hurt  to  think;  the  headache  setting  in  is  amplified  in  strength.   she’s  in  no  shape  to  make  sense  of  it.

@librais  //  liked

              he’s not invincible.  the ever growing list of dead daves is visible proof of that, it reminds him every second of this game.  still, somehow, he didn’t think he’d be dead this quickly, throat cut and bright red staining clothes and skin, leaving behind a mess and a disgusting metallic smell.  certainly not the best way to go, but  he supposes its the price he pays for doing his best to protect his friends, and somehow still failing.

              a little more pleasant on the other hand, is waking up in a dream bubble, free of pain and any evidence of death, aside from the blank white his eyes have turned to.  not that anyone could see, as they’re still hidden behind his shades.  he’s quick to adjust to the new situation, multiple lands bleeding together in a strange scene, pulled from collective memories.  he makes himself start moving through the dream bubble before he has time to stop and think, to stop and berate himself for everything he did wrong in his timeline.  he’ll avoid that for as long as he can.

              it doesn’t take long for him to find someone, a person  ( can he even call her a person? ) he’s never seen before, definitely not human.  he has to piece it together, the horns, the symbol on her shirt, the strange grey skin.  definitely a troll, probably terezi.  he’s about ninety percent sure that it’s terezi.  he takes his chances with being wrong, it’s not like he’ll die,   “ terezi?  is that you? ”

 failure  haunts  her,  hanging  over  her  head  as  she  aimlessly  walks.   dream  bubbles  spark  memories,  but  even  the  warmest  reminders  are  shadowed  by  her  defeat.   a  hand  touches  her  abdomen,  as  if  feeling  for  the  gaping  wound  she  can  vividly  remember.   the  pain  is  long  gone,  &  though  a  relief,  terezi  presses  fingers  to  where  the  indent  should  be.    she  foresaw  her  death,  many  times  again  &  again  in  varying  timelines,  but  not  this  one.   &  that’s  her  own  fault,  she knows  that  better  than  anyone  else.   the  seer  let  her  sight  become  clouded  by  restored  sight  in  the  strongest  form  of  irony.  

 she’s  lost  in  herself,  consumed  in  thought,  until  the faintest  familiar  smell  passes  her  nose.   the  combination  of  senses  strikes  her  as  odd  ---  being  able  to  see  what  she  smells,  it  isn’t  something  she  let  herself  get  used  to.   in  spite  of  it,  the  sight  that  matches  the  smell  has  her  cracking  a  smile.   

@librais

      ‘ p--please tell me more!  i—i wanna hear all about you. y-you’re so cool! i–i mean admittedly i–i really wanna hear about your power t-too but. b-baby steps.  y-you’re probably a super cool person too s-so i’d rather hear about you first! o-or whatever you want! ‘     he was practically hopping out of his shoes, bouncing from one foot to the other as his excitement increased by the second. her name was Terezi?  an odd name, but odd was everything he was!  to think such an amazing person would decide to strike up conversation with him, just because of the color of his hair.