THE HERO .

HOW ALL OF YOU IS                  a prison of sharpness ,  how a rose bush has sprung in place of her lungs  &  she chokes on the thorns . swallow the blood , let the copper violence taint every baited breath . a slender arm is snatched away , red lips peel away in a primitive gesture , dark eyes leering .       ❛     IT IS NOTHING  now leave me be .     ❜      

@regnesis             

MINIMAL EFFORT WAS MADE TO IGNORE HER as the clicking of her heels carried across the campus hall . eli had been standing reading a book , back leaned up against the wall across from his next lecture . the afternoon sun shone behind him , creating a halo of warmth against his back . when he heard footsteps his eyes drew up slowly , letting his brown hair fall softly against his lined features .     

“     SHE’S PINNED THE MARKS NEXT TO THE DOOR . they’re anonymous , of course . student numbers to be exact .     ”     he pauses to close the paperback , tucking it beneath his arm .     “     what did you get ??     ”      perhaps an inappropriate inquiry , considering the young man had barely spoken more than a handful of words to her . but he had little doubt that there didn’t exist a mutual understanding between the two of them ; the simple acknowledgement that , for the moment , she and eli sat at the top of the class . in truth , eli knew very little of the girl . what he gathered was that she was younger , shorter , and a freshman -- but what had caught his attention was none of the aforementioned observable fragments , but rather that she was incredibly clever . she had to be at least second to eli in this very elective . had victor enrolled , eli doubted this to be the same .

he had been reading, actually putting some effort at his own work, when eli made his exclaimation and drew victor’s attention. “are you going to continue that statement, or make me ask what you mean?”

                a dry, JOYLESS huff of laughter. ❛ don’t bother. i know exactly what will quell the hurt, and that’s tearing your fucking head off your shoulders. ❜ some years of fighting have beaten some measure of caution into her, but there’s little to be done for her insolent BRAVADO. ❛ if not today, then someday. i’ll get to you eventually, though, and you’ll be sorry. ❜ the shifting is almost invisible ; a couple more inches, some EXTRA muscle. he’s stronger than she expected, but that must be due to his ability more than her underestimation of his training. no doubt he has that, too, but she’ll be DAMNED if it discourages her.

                ❛ do you even hear yourself talk ? ‘cause it’s creepy as hell. what is it, then ? you’ve somehow got an excuse for MURDER just because you think you’re doing the right thing ? that’s some supervillain bullshit. ❜ she may be voicing true thoughts, but they also have the advantage to serve as a distraction. between a word and the next, she LUNGES at him with the barest flash of knives, still one moment, then a blur of motion.

“     SOUNDS PAINFUL .     ”     his words are bland , tired , and weathered . although eli had met few with the same level of enthusiasm , it was all the same in the end . it didn’t matter what they said , how they fought , or what they pleaded . it all ended the same way .

          WORDS  LIKE  KNIVES  AIMED  AT  SHE  !  Though  not  a  single  bat  of  a  lash  or  a  recoil  of  any  kind  .  ❛  Is  that  quite  right  ?  If  I  did  not  know  any  better  I  would  be  under  the  impression  that  you  enjoy  it  .  Some  say  we  speak  in  divine  tongues  though  I  cannot  confirm  or  deny  such  claims  –––  ❜  There  is  a  smile  in  her  tone  but  away  he  faces  away  from  her  while  her  lips  nearly  graze  the  soft  cartridge  of  his  ear  .  ❛  Do  you  figure  yourself  not  clever  enough  to  keep  up  ?  O’  you  would  not  DISAPPOINT  me  so  ,  would  you  ?  ❜  A  whisper  between  them  before  he  steps  out  of  her  hold  .   A’  ,  the  games  he  played  how  she  adored  the  strife  of  it  all  !

         ❛  Would  a  dance  interest  you  ?  ❜  Posed  as  a  question  the  proposal  was  anything  but  .  ❛  Fun  seems  to  be  the  least  of  your  concern  but  who  am  I  do  deny  you  the  amusement  you  so  DESPERATELY  crave  ?  ❜  Only  a  moment  prior  he  had  escaped  her  touch  but  soon  he  would  be  captured  once  more  .  A  dainty  hand  upon  his  own  ,  pale  fingers  encircling  his  tense  knuckles  .  The  floor  was  crowded  with  bodies  in  motion  but  the  sea  seemingly  parted  with  the  appearance  of  a  new  pair  . 

          Close  she  pulls  him  ,  feet  firmly  placed  on  the  mossy  ground  allowing  him  to  gaze  down  upon  her  if  he  so  chose  .  ❛  I  do  not  believe  in  empty  promises  .  Stay  and  you  may  find  the answers  you  seek .  Leave  and  you  will  be  left  with  only  the  knowledge  you  held  previously  .  ❜

“     YOU GROW TO USED TO WHAT YOU KNOW ,     ”     not really a words addressed for her benefit , but perhaps a simple idea of his own . a realization , as it were.     “     -- you stop noticing things .     ”     a furrow of brows . pursed lips traced in disdain .     “     i killed myself and came back like this ,     ”     he gestures .     “     trust me , it’s not a question of wits .     ”

ELI HADN’T STEPPED FOOT on the dance floor since his arrival . he knew what it meant for a human to take the floor in this world . he’d seen it with his own disbelieving eyes . but eli was no ordinary mortal , and despite his disapproval a curiosity had peaked within him .    

there’s that young rage ,  that blooming insistence ,  that set to pursed lips demanding respect .  recognition .  she is not a pawn .  she is neither a shadow nor a copy .  she is a force ,  a power to fear             yet in the end ,  still a child .   (  her trembling widens the fault lines in her courage ,  leaving numbness seeping through .  there’s something absent in eli’s eyes .  a hollowness ,  a stillness that reminds her too much of death .  )

‘  …  fine .  ’     silence breeds anxiety ,  and she’s brimming with it .  her fingertips seek the bite of cold metal ,  exposing that oily black glint to the stale darkness in the room .  (  pooling sweat dampens her hold  /  her finger snaps to the trigger .  she takes aim .  )     ‘  but only if you move slowly .  ’

SLOW AND WITHDRAWN , his movements are precise and deliberate . he makes sure she holds onto every breath that she had asked for .     “     it’s 3 am ,     ”     he remarks once more , as if the hour defined his willingness to jump into action . but they both knew this part ; could smell the lie laid thick on his lips and muddled within his grisly tone . like everything , it was was a lie . and if anything , the gun under his bed was just the proof of it all .

“     SO , WHERE IS HE THEN ??     ”     lids flutter open and shut , forcing themselves against sleepless suppression . bodily functions ; a reminder that he was still human . pure .