𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙳𝙻𝙸𝙵𝙴  𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙵𝙵𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻  𝙱𝙴  𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃.

LIKE RECOGNIZES LIKE—      isn’t   that   the   saying?      she   is   cracked   clay,      spilling   out   liquefied   insides   with   each   rise   and   fall   of   the   sun.      oh,      the   hands   that   make   you   are   the   ones   that   can   break  you   easiest   of   all,      and   claire,      she   regards   herself   a   self - made   creation   of   destruction.      one   that   has   finally   shattered   beneath   the   weight   of   her   own   ironed   grasp.      it   is   something   she   is   still   learning   the   art   to   being   okay   with.      after   all,      that   mold:      it   doesn’t   fit   who   she   is   anymore.      she   spent   day   after   day   trying   to   contort   her   body,      making   it   smaller,      making   it   larger,      clawing   with   desperation   to   understand   where   it   all   went   wrong  until   knowing   where   it   went   wrong   mattered   less   than   knowing   where   the   path   to   right   started.

❝   that there’s -   ❞      words   are   cut   off   by   a   panted   huff   as   she   propels   herself   from   becoming   a   target,      but   she’s   all   too   used   to   violence’s   razor   edge   these   days.       ❝   - still a chance to do better.      it doesn’t have to be like this.      you don’t have to be like this.   ❞

SOYONA WASTES NO TIME,     dares not to linger on the aftermath of an awful aim,  merely glancing at claire's landing before immediately scrambling to the next shelf and digging for more projectiles.     there's no time to cry over spilled milk;  however,  there is time,  albeit brief,  to cry over the fact that she is coming up short.     blood boils with each passing second,  one shelf after another— EMPTY.     her silent exterior crumbles and an abrupt crunch of a plastic cup sounds,  heel coming down like thunder.     desperation clings onto the thread of hope that this discussion will be enough for her opponent to make one wrong move to give her an easy win,  but even then soyona,  at this very moment,  acts on impulse.     if claire doesn't fight back with projectiles of her own,  she will be fine   ...   UNTIL CLAIRE STOPS TALKING,  SHE WILL BE SATISFIED.