queenofheartsrp | [ 1st ~ Video Post ] ~ here, there be spoilers

[ 1st ~ Video Post ] ~ here, there be spoilers

[A woman stands elsewhere in the Gardens, sporting a formal white dress. Or, at least, it is mostly white. Judging by the splatters on her neck, it should be pretty clear that the red is certainly not part of the dress.

Her gloved, bloody hand briefly comes up to her chest, as realization has flooded across her visage, before covering one of the fresher wounds over her abdomen. She moves away from the Vine, as communicating through such a mean is a very alien concept to her.]

“I think I would like a status report, but somehow I get the feeling that the answer is an obvious one...”

[Funny. For a woman who had been shot full of bullets, she seems to be getting by just fine. The pain is brief. Just a flesh wound. She’ll walk it off.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Parties?

[And Aya isn't even all that much of a party girl.

She then quirks a brow at her friend. On the subject of her clothes, Aya of course never saw anything wrong with her personal wardrobe. ~~Eve's, on the other hand...~~]

Are you implying something, Gabrielle?

All I'm implying is that you've got a good figure for a woman your age! You should at least wear something a bit nicer than just a baggy t-shirt and jeans.

Just... not bikinis or something resembling a Playboy bunny.

[Cue further eyebrow raise.]

Why would I wear a Playboy bu...

Never mind.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with t-shirts and jeans. I just prefer practicality over fashion most of the time, that's all.

[She scoffs.] You of all people should know that someone can be fashionable and still be practical, Aya. [It's clear that she's talking about herself. After all, she thinks she faired pretty well in her dress and heels during the past three years.]

I'm not saying that you have to go around wearing a dress, I'm just saying that you would look a lot better in... less baggier clothes.

Since when are skinny jeans baggy? This dress has got to be the "baggiest" thing I've sworn. Seriously, you could fit a circus in this thing.

[Or that's where she assumes the problem lies. You can take away her wardrobe, but Aya will never give up her big jackets!]

[Gabrielle sighs once more, then steps forward to place her hands on Aya's shoulders. Her fingers hovering over the bloody shoulder, barely touching it. Gabrielle's certainly not afraid of blood, but she keeps a distance—and she's not very sure why. The tips of her other fingers gently press against the skin of Aya's clean shoulder.]

The jeans are fine, but couldn't you at least wear a better top that isn't an ill-fitting t-shirt? You're a woman, not a nun.

[She tilts her chin up.] And for what it's worth, even if you could fit a circus in this dress, you have to admit it still looks beautiful on you.

[Aya stiffens for a moment at the touch. Briefly, she almost forgets that this woman is not just another figment repeated in the loop--another victim to circumstance. She is here. She is real. They both are. But in spite of all that, Aya can't shake this feeling: She is distant. Quiet. Cold. Almost like she had really died, after all. Felt it. Gripping her. Tearing her away. She can't escape it.

Breathe.

Pretend.]

You never know. Maybe full burkas are the next "in" thing.

[As if everything is absolutely normal.]

Thanks. I couldn't have asked for a better pick.

Edited 2011-04-21 02:19 (UTC)

[Gabrielle says nothing at first, only smiles at her friend. Her eyes slowly travel down the bloody garment, but this time, she's not focusing on the dress itself but rather, the person in it. Aya's skin underneath her fingers feels surreal—her physical being had been there for the past three years, she had been facing it every day—as if she hadn't had human contact in years.]

Aya, I h— [Her words (which are seemingly important) are interrupted by a rustle in one of the bushes next to them. When she turns to see what it is, Gabrielle feels on onrush of annoyance to see the white cat, that followed her here, sticking it's head in the shrub—tail waving furiously—as if it has found something important.]

[Aya shifts, distanced by the surreal feeling that she hasn't even felt as though she's been inside of her own body for a very long time. As Gabrielle touches her, the surface of the bride's skin still feels as cold as ice.

Her attention traverses from Gabrielle to the cat emerging from the bushes. Aya turns her head to meet its gaze, finding something rather unsettling about the creature.]

There are too many damn animals in this place.

[And Aya obviously isn't one for pets.]

It followed me here. [She says with a tone of annoyance. She's not sure whether she is relieved or angry that the creature disrupted the conversation. It's not that she dislikes animals; she's actually very fond of them, but she isn't in the mood to deal with the cryptics of the white cat.] I'm not very sure why.

[Her lingering touch ends as she pulls away from Aya—as if the moment that just happened is a dream and nothing more.] I suppose we should start looking for those clothes now.

I wish it didn't.

[Aya hasn't wasted much of her time and energy dealing with the local woodland creatures, let alone talking to them.

With a sigh, she picks up her dress, the torn pieces still in her grip (the handgun tucked away in the fabric and out of sight), and decides to start walking in the opposite direction of the cat.]

I've been told that there are places that provide spare clothes. Think that'll be my first stop.

[For a moment, she says nothing—she keeps her eyes trained on the woman (her friend) in the wedding dress she helped pick out—a sense of emptiness washes over her, but Gabrielle chooses to ignore it. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees the white cat once more, sitting there with it's tail wrapped around itself. The two different colored eyes peer at her from the sunlight.]

Alright. [She turns away from the cat and begins to trail behind Aya.]

[Aya doesn't keep many friends close to her; it's been a long time since she's felt close to anyone, really. But she catches things. No matter how subtle they may be, she catches them. Gabrielle is no different. But just like her friend, Aya chooses to ignore it. Save it for another time, maybe.

For awhile, she doesn't respond, simply because she doesn't know what to say or where to begin. Right now, in this moment, all Aya can think about is moving on, keeping her distance; her pace just moderate enough to keep her going.

Hell, does she even know where she's supposed to go...?]

[Gabrielle keeps her eyes fixated on the woman in front of her. She's aware of her surroundings (as a sniper she needs to be) , but right now it's hard to notice the beautiful surroundings of the Garden—the sun hitting the grass, the flowers surrounding them, the birds singing their songs. Any other time, she would have taken this all in, but the surreality of Aya being alive, in flesh, unaware of what's happened the past few years, she can't help but watch the woman trek her way through the Garden.]

Aya, do you have any idea where this place is? [She strikes up a conversation—it's good to keep up her façade for now.]

[Aya pauses briefly, her arms dropped to her sides. She can feel the cold of the gun in her fingertips, underneath the silken stains of the dress shreds.

As far as where they are, she's already had theories; all of which has run through her mind at once. So far, it's too soon to draw to any conclusions.]

Well, it isn't Kansas, that's for sure.

[Sure Aya, make Wizard of Oz references. Like that isn't cliché.]

[Different timelines, changing the past for the outcome of a better future, missing parts of her memory—turning into a monster—it's all so strange to her. Even stranger than what's happened the past few years. Everything feels like a dream and her mind swirls, trying to catch everything she can to keep herself together. It's the frays of her sanity, the frustrations of the questions never answered—but she accepts her death, only to arrive to a place where they are here.]

Mn. [Her reply is distant. Gabrielle does not understand, but she accepts. We died, she wants to say—but even that's too much for her right now.]

[Aya turns her head up and stares at the void overhead with a half-lidded stare. She's cold. She isn't used to feeling this cold, but she is. And she wishes like hell that she could simply make it all go away. But nothing is ever easy. Not like that. Is there?

She speaks what Gabrielle does not:]

I've considered the possibility that I might be dead...

[It's hard for her to keep back the small surprised sound that she makes. It's something she knows, but hearing Aya say it herself strikes her right in the heart. It digs it's deep claws into her, like a bitter winter—like the creature that took her over.]

[The thought of Aya never returning. It settled so deep down inside her that it consumed her. The only person she ever trusted after Rebecca, the only person she fought for—protected—her death ultimately effected her in a way that she was unaware of until the moment.]

[Even with Aya's eyes not on her, she presses her lips into a smile. The mirrors surround her like a Looking Glass.]

You're still considering it? I've already accepted it for myself.

[Once again, she's silent. She acknowledges the experience; shattered, destroyed. The pieces of her soul scattered in fragments of destruction, programmed on the sheer voracious instinct to kill, kill, kill. Then there are the bullets piercing her. The one blow through her chest. And one small, final thought:

I don't want to disappear.]

I didn't feel death. It was... something else.

[Of course, how can you truly be sure what death feels like, if you aren't already dead?]

Like the whole world came crashing down—but you were okay with it.

[Something in the back of her mind tries to reveal itself; something she can't remember. Facing death had become so familiar to her; in the hostage force, alongside with Rebecca, accepting Aya's death the minute she realized that Eve was inhabiting her body, she had faced death and looked it straight in the eye so many times, but death itself... why did it feel so familiar to her?]

Accepting it because there was nothing else you could do.

[Fading away with no one to remember her—only a passing memory—but it was alright, because she lived in the memory of the ghost. It was not only a farewell to the young girl who could not remember her own being, but the woman who she had built a relationship with. Who she had seen die.]

[Have I died before? she wonders.]

Something like that... sure.

[Was she really okay with it? Aya can't say that for certain. What she does know is that she has no regrets about the decision that she's made. Save for, of course, not being able to finish her vows, be with her family, be there for Eve and watch over her and Kyle...

So, without really lying to herself, technically that meant that she just regreted everything.]

There was nothing else I could do...

[Aya echoes; if only for the sake of just telling herself that. Maybe it'll be true eventually.]

You're selfish, you know that? [Her tone is not patronizing; nor is it cold. In fact, her voice is soft and warm—understanding. Gabrielle's understanding of Aya's feelings for sacrificing herself for those she loves is immense, and yet, she also knows that no matter how the two try to convince themselves that it's selfless, in the end, they are just as selfish as everyone else.]

[Gabrielle accepts it, just as she accepts her death. There is nothing more for her to go back for, when the only person she ever felt herself closest to is here right in front of her. Gabrielle's own selfishness consumed her, turned her into the dark creature inside of her.]

[Even here, in the middle of the Gardens, following her, she knows that it's even more selfish that she doesn't want to go back to that loneliness she had faced for so long. After all we did, she wants to say.] It's pointless to think you can change something like that... no matter how hard you try.

[Aya doesn't take Gabrielle's criticism to heart. She smiles briefly, and shakes her head.]

You're wrong, Gabrielle. Things did change. In more ways than you can even imagine...

[Be it for the better or for the worst, she doesn't know. Glimpses of the world that she created, the reality that holds itself together on paper threads are still fresh in her mind. A world where "she" doesn't exist; where only few know "her" name. A world that's disjointed, foreign--strange. A world that has no place for someone like her.

You have to aim here.

If they don't remember, "she" does; maybe that means that someday they will know, when those thin threads can't just hold themselves together anymore. Selfish? Maybe. But necessary. Or so she'd like to believe.]

I'm wrong? [Her tone starts to become bitter—after all she's done for Aya, she has the nerve to tell her she's wrong. Her death is what caused the spiral, what caused Gabrielle to turn into such a monster, and for Aya to tell her that she's wrong about struggling off death is insulting.] After all I done—

[But she stops there. After all I've done to protect you, she adds in her mind. She knows Aya doesn't know what's happened the past three years, what Gabrielle's done to try and keep Aya alive, how the shell of her best friend killed her because it was the right thing to do. Because her friend's death shot into her like a knife, carving it's way in deeper.]

[Her voice is low, cautious.]

You're not the only one who's died, Aya.

I know I wasn't. And I know a lot of lives were lost because of me. I know that, because of what happened, the lives of the people I loved were changed. Warped.

That's why I changed it.

[Gabrielle had no way of knowing that, would she? She wasn't there in Time Zero. After all, she was the one guarding that point in time. Barring both Hyde and the Twisted from making their way back to Aya.

Scattered pieces brought back together. She's aware. She knows. She realized what she had to do. Even if it costs her own life.]

It's over. Hyde Bohr is dead. I killed him before Time Zero had the chance to exist.

[Not to mention, she killed Eve as well.

While she was inside the girl's body.

Save that story for another day...]

[ 1st ~ Video Post ] ~ here, there be spoilers

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action; damn right you would

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