#bittertruth

I daydream about most of my writing before I write it tbh, that's how I write XD But this is one I really looked forward to because Erik using his powers to illustrate his words has always been a love of mine and I loved imagining him incorporating his gestures into his signing because he's Talented.

Blade wanted to ask what the point of this was. Erik seemed to be babbling without any real direction, his hands moving of their own accord and ordinarily that would be infuriating, but… Something in the way he lounged in the dirt, distant and wistful as he stared out over the water made Blade take pause and listen. Erik always had a way of making him listen. “Anyway. I’m completely out of my mind, ready to give up on everything, and this squirrel runs out in front of me. Straight through a gap in the trees I didn’t see before.” As he signed his movements grew a little more stiff – managing to continue speaking while conjuring a squirrel of water to rise and dance on the lake below. Blade watched with the ghost of a smile, unable to hide it when Erik was multitasking like that. He was always so good with his powers. “And squirrels are Tori’s thing, you remember? So I followed it. Some stupid idea that maybe she was trying to talk to me. And it leads me here.” The water squirrel danced around some more before splashing into a crude replica of the clearing they sat in. “And…” He paused again. Blade could see he was reluctant to continue, especially as the water-scene rolled back into the lake. “…All I could think about was how much you’d love it here.” Oh.

Poison: share a snippet that’s all about relationships (good or bad).

Bitter Truth focuses pretty heavily on family and relationships, as Blade figures out what each of those mean to him and how much he's willing to give and take and change for them. This snippet is a little rough as it's from the very first draft, but I'm hoping to work it into the current version. After spending a lifetime not allowed to have a personality beyond the orders he's given, transitioning into freedom is rough on him. In this scene I challenge the rush everyone is in to force a person into healthier situations they need time to adjust to by allowing Erik and Blade to have a dynamic many people would immediately turn their noses up at.