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Antares After a few minutes, Antares says, "How bad are you hurt?"
Furud wipes some of the... blood from his cheek, and says, "I feel like my guts are in the wrong place, but other than that..."
Antares A flash of anger passes over Antares' face as she looks at the blood, then she tugs one of her sleeves up over her fingers--the cuff is scorched--and wipes gently at his face.
Antares "They shot you up with something. Me too, I guess. Head feels all fucked up."
Furud "Yeah." He says, with a sigh. "I don't... know what to do." He closes his eyes as she wipes some of the blood off.
Antares continues cleaning, switching sleeves when the first one gets too stained, and checking the other cuts on his arms and chest. "Well, I figure I'm gonna sit here until I'm pretty sure I can walk, and then we'll see about busting out of this candy-assed joint."
Antares She grins at him crookedly, wanting to chase some of the hurt look out of him.
Furud smiles a little, "I don't know whether to thank you or kick your ass for coming here" he tries.
Antares "Fft, I'd kick your ass, and no point in thanking me for getting thrown in too." She grimaces. "I was gonna call the cavalry, but I lost my phone."
Furud "We have a cavalry now?"
Antares "Well, uh. More than just ME, anyway." Antares leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. "Sorry 'bout that."
Furud shakes his head, albeit slowly. "I won't thank you for getting thrown in with me, but I'm glad I'm not alone."
Antares flinches a tiny bit. "Yeah," she murmurs, without opening her eyes.
Antares Straightening up and looking at him again, she changes the subject. "Any idea what these assholes want?"
Furud "They just kept asking questions... about me, about you guys... about the past. Wanted to know things." He pauses, and then says, fiercely, "I didn't tell them anything though."
Antares "'Course not." Antares flashes a grin at him, which slips when she looks down at his raw wrists. "Lotta shit happening this week. I wish I was smart enough to figure it all out, but I'll settle for getting some of ours back."
Furud "Heh... I think they got what they wanted anyway."
Antares "What do you mean?"
Furud follows her gaze down to his wrists, and tucks them beneath his arms. "They made me mad. Made me lose control and they found out what I could do."
Antares winces and looks away. "Yeah, uh, you sort of cracked one of the walls. And, uh, I sort of fried some bricks getting in. Fuck." She tucks up her knees and rests her head on them, trying to think through a pounding headache.
Furud "I did?"
Furud "Shit."
Antares "Yeah, the whole building shook. Pretty badass."
Antares looks like she's chewing over something else, but can't quite say it.
Antares "There's some kind of lab in one of the other rooms. And, I mean."
Antares "A big fire, that'd be a problem for these assholes, right?"
Furud reaches tentatively for the power that he'd tamed, and grimaces. "Whatever they did, I can barely move a pebble... a lab?"
Furud "Yeah. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be happy about it."
Furud "But I mean, can you control where it would go?"
Antares "Yeah. I only saw it for a couple seconds, though." Antares shrugs, scowling, and tries to stand up to pace. She only makes it about halfway before thudding back to her knees, breathing shallowly.
Furud moves over to her, concerned, "Are you okay?"
Furud "I realize that's kind of a stupid question."
Antares She looks bad, sweat mixing with the half-dried blood trickle from her temple, but says, "'M fine. Just dizzy."
Antares Clenching her hands and staring at the floor, she says, "I dunno if I can do it. Control it, I mean."
Furud It's Furud's turn to wipe Antares' brow now, and he says softly, "Maybe we need to wait a little."
Antares "What do you do when everyone's asleep, Furud?" Antares asks, apparently out of nowhere. She's still looking away, eyes unfocused.
Furud blinks, and tucks a strand of hair off of Antares' face, "I meditate, outside, usually. I listen for the music, and think about what it's like up there. I practice doing little things, how to hide them." He hesitates, and murmurs softly, "And lately, I've been skipping all that to think of you."
Antares shoots a nervous look sideways at him, then looks away, actually blushing. "I go out walking a lot. Or I run until I'm tired, grab some cheap booze and go think until it starts to get light. I don't think I've spent a whole night indoors for... years, I guess, except in the hospital."
Antares "I hate being stuck places."
Antares "I hate this room, these people."
Furud "Me too."
Antares "I don't want to hurt you."
Furud tilts his head to one side. "There is no joy without pain."
Antares "Stop it." Antares shakes her head, scowling, then looks like she regrets the quick motion. "Do you hear one fuckin' word I say? Look for a girlfriend with a future."
Antares She looks like she wants to take that back for a second, then her jaw sets and she stares at him.
Furud "Yeah. I hear you." He returns her stare, "So that's it huh? You'll be the martyr and save me from a terrible future with you? Because I forgot how great my future was without you. If you hadn't noticed, I'm not perfect either."
Antares looks away, guilt flashing over her face, then glares back at him. "I didn't mean it like that. Not like you make it sound, anyway."
Furud "Then tell me."
Furud "Tell me what would be so terrible."
Antares opens her mouth, angry brush-off dying in her throat.
Antares "You can't, I mean."
Antares "Loving people you can't count on is a bad idea."
Antares "And I'm trying to say you can't count on me."
Furud opens his mouth and then stares at her again. "You can't keep punishing yourself forever."
Antares "What's that supposed to mean?" Antares snaps, shifting back a bit and hunching her shoulders.
Furud levers himself up against the wall, slowly and painfully resting his forehead against the stone, "God I feel like we're underground, why are there no windows?"
Antares struggles up to stand facing him, leaning heavily against the wall. "What were you saying?"
Furud lifts his hand away from the wall to gesture at her and thinks better of it, "I was saying that you're trying to pay for the past by refusing to have a future."
Antares takes a half-step forward, swaying, and lifts a hand to shove him before checking herself. "Fuck you, Furud. I'm not that smart, but I thought about this one until I figured it out."
Antares "There were eight other people on that bus."
Antares "And the only way it makes any sense at all is if one of these days I'm down there with them."
Antares "So fuck you, because I know what I deserve and you can't make it better by wishing."
Furud "And your death will make it all better?"
Antares Every muscle tensed, clinging to the wall as she spits the words at him, Antares says, "Goddamn right it will."
Antares Her knees start to buckle but she braces against the wall and glares at him, determined to finish this on her feet.
Furud "Why don't you make a goddamn difference instead?" he growls through the ringing in his ears. "There was an accident, yeah, a fucking terrible one. But if you just take a swan dive after them, you'll make it meaningless."
Antares "Because..." Antares stops, shakes her head, breathing hard. "Fuck you. I don't owe you an explanation." She slides down the wall and presses the heels of her hands against her eyes, fingers curled up and shaking.
Furud sinks down as well until he is kneeling a little apart from her, with his head and hands pressed against the wall. "Fuck you."
Antares "No, fuck YOU for making me say it instead of just believing me." Antares catches her breath in a half-laugh, half-sob. "So here's the rest, for your 'no joy without pain' scrapbook. When the anger turned into music and light all through me, before I realized the other people in the bus were screaming, it felt like heaven must feel. It was like for that moment, I was perfect."
Antares "And that's the kind of difference I know how to make."
Antares She slams one white-knuckled fist against the floor, sagging as she spits the last of it out.
Furud crawls over to her and puts his arms around her, tears streaking his face. "I'm sorry, so sorry that you had to find out like that."
Antares tenses and lifts her hand to hit him, then the last of the anger runs out of her and she ducks her head, curling up against him. She groans softly, like she's strangling a scream, and tears wet the front of his toga. "Fuck you," she whispers, hiding her face in her hands.
Furud holds her tightly against him, and rocks them both gently, not saying anything.
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