ā° * šššššššš.
locationĀ āŗāŗ mess hall timeĀ āŗāŗ as the evening tips from its beginning to the mid-point open toĀ āŗāŗ all
karina sits on the edge of a metal dining table, observing for a moment the small accumulation of people gathered a few benches away, recent strangers now knotted to her irreversibly by this shared experience. it was a strange sensation, the knowledge that you were existingĀ ā presentlyĀ ā in a moment that would one day be looked back on with nostalgia, or vitriol, or fondness. a night where everything changed and was severed in half, like a knife through fruit, rending time into two distinct portions: before and after. in all the languages karina knew, she could think of no direct translation for itĀ ā its only tangible transcription the tangled thing it left in her stomach, sharp and intricate like a childās scribble.
at the incoming of another body she decides to put to rest this forward-facing sentimentality and rejoin the moment. one long leg lifts in the air, black boot finding residence on the opposite wall, creating an impromptu flesh drawbridge.Ā
āgotta pay the toll.ā karinaās head remains fixed forward as she speaks, offering only her sharp profile as she raises the dark glass neck of her beer for a sipĀ ā but thereās a comma-like shape to her mouth thatās visible even from the side, and when sheās finished the long draw from her drink, gaze finally turning over, the same amusement is visible in her eyes.
ā š„ā āāā¶āā ā š„ā
an expression of devilish pleasure snakes its way onto delās lips. for all intents and purposes, titanium has courted her to a dance. one, of course, that del has no intention of engaging in before their formal initiation into the program. there was no sense in fraternizing with other potential pilots when over three-quarters of the cadets would be sent home with their tails between their legs. there was no reward for almost becoming a jaeger pilot and she would have sooner be damned than turn to ash before she could feel the blaze. simply put, del yearned to tread the line between life and death.
āand what if i donāt?ā if there is anything that she is certain of, it is that none of the twelve cadets left could be designated as prey. theyād eaten them all in the month prior, relished in tearing into their scarless, untouched flesh to pull themselves to the top. nothing left but carcasses and beasts now, but she is sure that once the provisions for their egos ran out, bloodthirsty, theyād sink their teeth into whatever monsters they could. better the kaiju than each other, but delās years in the military tell her otherwise. ātell me ā would you try to fight me?ā
casualties, she knows, are inevitable when responsibility is left in the hands of carnivores.










