Rosie

He couldn't help but think she looked pathetic like this. It was an automatic reaction, he thought, to see that in the way she was shaking, unable to stand on her own. Maybe he was just being malicious, without really meaning to be- instinctively, he saw the worst in people. Saw it as weakness. He recognised it in himself, too- that was how he knew what he should hide. And maybe that was why he didn't turn and walk away. It couldn't simply be cowardice, that he was afraid of being outnumbered by Strikers if he went off on his own. After all, that fear hadn't stopped him desperately wanting to be alone back near the Temple. For a moment, in that dim light, he was six years younger, back when it started. Almost looking at himself from a distance- it was strange, but he shook his head violently, trying to dispell those thoughts. Reaching down, he grabbed none too gently at her waist, dragging her in one rushed moment up to her feet- practically yanking her into a standing position. "Ignore it and it'll go away," he said, voice rough.

"Luna?" As he turned back, Zeph winced a little- he sounded like a child, a stupid whiny kid. But he still faltered there, torn- not between duty or any crap like that. More of between saving his own ass from even more punishment later on, and stopping for her. He chewed at his lip for a moment, then, hands in fists at his sides, headed back towards her. "That's it. You can't go anywhere like that. If he's going to punish you for nothing, I can't WAIT to see what he has in store for me. But if he doesn't stop, we are going back to base," he demanded, voice bitter.

Swallowing hard at the lump in his throat, Raiden felt the need to actually reach and pinch, hard, at his own side. Because he honestly thought he had to be dreaming. And it hurt, but pain was good in this situation, right? "...I'm not dead," he stated, cringing a little at how not only did it sound incredibly stupid, even as it left his mouth, but how his voice cracked halfway through. He cleared his throat, half expecting when he brought his hand away from his mouth for there to be blood, or bile, or something. It was going to take some getting used to. Everything seemed duller, more blurry, the smells and sounds fainter, softer. To think, he'd almost forgotten what it was like being human. Those little bits of his life, the things he couldn't remember... he was fairly sure they were gone for good, faded with time. But maybe he didn't need them. Why would Raiden have to cling to a human past, when he had a future again? "Thank you, Captain Obvious," Will drawled, sarcasm back with a vengeance. Sitting up, and barely realising what he was doing, he reached up, pads of his fingers brushing at one of the tear stains still tracking a path through the dirt on his cheeks. He pulled his hand away, staring down, bemused, at the tiny droplet of his sister's tear, balancing on his fingertip.

"Ah, could have been that takeout I left out last night. Or just your bad cooking. Wouldn't surprise me." Zeph shrugged, straightening up and taking a few steps back, his gaze calculating. Trying to figure her out. Maybe it was just that he cast aside his own pride so much and so often, but it seemed stupid to him. It was obvious she was lying- the first thought in his head after hearing her reply was simply "Bullshit." But he chose not to voice it. If she wanted to pretend and believe she'd fooled him, let her. "I expect you running after me, you hear?" he practically ordered, trying to sound brisk and yet at the same time his usual teasing self. It sounded fake to him. Crap.

Stirring, Raiden groaned loudly and rolled over. He braced himself, expecting pain from at the very least his shoulder- but there wasn't any. It wasn't broken. Moving gingerly, as though he expected to literally fall apart at any moment, he crawled into a kneeling position, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his fists. Breath rushed in, a little too fast, and Will nearly choked on it as it went down the wrong way. The faint, distant agony was gone, and he subconsciously pressed a hand against his chest, where he knew the wound had been. His head felt clear again, the lightness in his body feeling a little strange after the drugged state he'd been in had left it such dead weight. One corner of his mouth flickered upwards at the thought of that. Dead weight.

"Why? You eat something bad? Or-" Zeph paused for a moment, thinking things through, and bit his lip, turning properly to face her and closing the gap between them. "...Is it him?" he asked, quietly, crouching his knees a little so he was closer to her level. (Short post is really really short... [wail])

He took a few steps, then hesitated, half turning- and swore. "What's wrong? You don't look so good." He stated the obvious, but allowed just a little concern to leak into his tone. His expression softened, inexplicably, and although he didn't exactly rush to her side, he didn't take another step away. That had to be something. But, he told himself, he simply thought it was a stupid idea to split up with Strikers around. There could be more nearby. That had to be why he wasn't simply carrying on.

If Raiden had thought, even for a moment, that things could hurt more, he couldn't have been more wrong. The pain was so intense, it was nearly numbing- and, trying to hold back a cry, he managed to force his eyes to flicker open. The light stung at first, but he didn't have much time to think about that before it reached them. Tessa didn't move, didn't even try and look up, burying her face against Will's shoulder. The stench of blood was everwhere, sweet and cloying- but she did her best not to gag. It was, after all, her fault. But Will didn't look like he blamed her, not from his expression. He might have been only half-conscious when she'd stabbed him, but he'd seemed... accepting. That was a strange concept, especially coming from her brother- he'd never accepted anything. Stubborn as a mule, as ever. That was her Will.

He scowled. "Well, Luna, people can move, you know. And you did tell me that they were "dangerously close", didn't you? Doesn't seem very close to me. And we could go back. I could handle the Temple. I'm not pathetic." The antagonism in his voice, his posture, seemed too strained, too forced. Almost like he was trying to push the anger, overacting. He dropped the fist into his pocket, loose change clinking from the movement, and turned back the way they'd came, trying to appear about to stomp right back. He didn't go to step forwards, though, no matter how sure he tried to look.

"You okay-?!" Raiden tried to shout to Eliza, but only just managed to get the two simple words out before he doubled up, coughing- retching, in fact. He knew the fact he was coughing up blood and various other unidentifiable gunk wasn't a good sign- it probably meant a punctured lung, but, then again, what were a few minutes less when you were already dead? He squeezed his eyes shut, doing his best to will the pain away. A sob, raw and wretched, ripped out of Tessa, as she tore the knife out of her brother, flinging it away as though she could undo the act by throwing it hard enough. He was still slumped against her, but was almost spasming, his eyes rolling back into his head, breathing rattling. "Will, I'm sorry. Will, I'm so, so sorry, Will..." she continued to mumble under her breath, finding herself unable to stop, even as with a jerk he went still. She simply leant forwards, hugging at him, sobbing loudly by that point. Was it really the only way she'd get out? She couldn't help but wonder.

"Man, we're gonna get chewed out," he groaned, tossing the lighter into the air, catching it gently in his palm. In the dim light, he stared moodily down at it. Even in the gloom of the street, the very little light there still reflected against the slight uneven surface of his left hand; catching against the map of scars there, crisscrossing over just that one palm. Like they were some cryptic language, telling a story he could never say himself. It was just a shame he had to be left handed, and he had to have let that hand be the one... He snapped out of his thoughts, closing his fingers into a fist over the little object, the cold metal feeling soothing against the skin. "We didn't even scare them off, and for all we know, they might have realised they got close to the entrance."

When she pulled away, Zeph nearly lost his balance, stumbling forwards- merely because he hadn't really been thinking about it. He cleared his throat, letting go of her- his grip had grown so tight, his fingers were falling asleep, pins and needles prickling at the tips. Shaking it, he ran it through his hair, tugging at tangles and knots he knew he didn't care about. "Uh, well then. The Strikers. The mission." He tried to change the subject, blatantly- and horribly awkwardly.

Behind the shield, Raiden groaned out her name, though it wasn't clear if it was a protest or a warning. With a lot of difficulty, he struggled up halfway into a sitting position, leaning only on his uninjured arm. His eyes widened when he realised why she'd summoned it, when he caught a glimpse of s'Arina. Despite his drugged, sleepy state, Will's breath caught and broke off with an ugly, gargling choke, his face paling. He managed to stare up at Tessie for a few more precious seconds. He could have sworn... wait, was she crying? He could barely see her, not clearly, but he felt them plopping gently against his face. Will tried to speak, gagging on blood, but managed just to force out one last weak tease. "Tears for me, huh...?"

Blinking, for once, Zeph was silent for a long while. He paused in flicking the lighter, leaving it aflame, staring down at her, expression completely unreadable. "Remember," he started, voice cautious. "We're Slashers. Slashers don't..." And, for a briek second, a smile flitted across his face, just as he doused the light, hoping the difference between it and the pitch blackness might affect even her sight. Not that it would make much difference. "...If you mention this to anyone, I swear, your life won't be worth living," he mumbled, no real edge to the warning. Still keeping his grip on her tighter than ever, he leant in and pressed his lips against hers.

He raised his eyebrows, feigning innocence. "Oh, did I? Maybe you're hearing things, Lu. Why, does it bother you?" Zeph wasn't laughing loudly anymore, but there was still humour sparking in his eyes, a wide smirk on his lips. It was a good humour, though, not malice- the laugh behind them was less mocking as it was honestly surprised. He'd expected her to get angry with him like she usually did- surely the effect of the Temple couldn't have forced her to turn around this fast, could it? For a moment, he reminded himself that maybe, just maybe, she found it harder to smother her problems than he did.

( Okay, the internet goes off at 11 on my iPod... Found that out the hard way. [/shot] ) Zeph snorted, the laugh catching in his throat with an entirely unattractive noise, but he didn't try to mask it or muffle it. It tore out of him, after all, even if it wasn't surprising him. "Oh, boy, Lu, you're only digging yourself in deeper here," he replied, taking almost a patronising tone, casually flicking the lighter on and off, clicking it at a steady rhythm, not really caring when the light flaring and disappearing left imprints on his vision. It probably wasn't going to bother Destiny, he knew that- it wasn't like the change would affect her vision too much, where he was going from pitch darkness to bright, thanks to his lack of night vision.

Shaking his head weakly, Raiden found the shrug he wanted to make was impossible- not only was it a completely ridiculous concept, since he wasn't exactly up yet and his arms were supporting him the best they could, but he very much doubted he could manage it- his right shoulder was dislocated, he could feel it. It had happened before, several times, when he was a child, so he knew how it felt. At least those times it had just been general rough and tumble. It was strange for it to have been deliberate, even if the idea of his father hurting him by that point should have been far from an alien concept. "My father happened," he tried to reply, voice strained, dry and cracked. When he so much as opened his mouth to speak, his lip split, more blood flowing into his mouth. He swallowed, with some difficulty, hoping he could keep it down somehow. "But don't blame yourself. Everyone makes stupid mistakes," he added, shaking shaggy black hair out of his eyes, mouth twitching in a half-conscious attempt to return the smile. Blood blossomed where the blade broke skin, staining Will's shirt, ebbing out slowly across the material. He didn't see it, though- he could barely keep his eyes open, let alone lift his head enough to see what was happening. The pain was dull, unfocused, just like everything for him. But he still heard, as though from underwater, the sound of Tessie apologising, over and over, as though it were a prayer, as she gently pushed the knife in, two more inches. How much further, before it was over? Two more inches? Four more? He wasn't sure.

(Mah iPod is woooooorking and I don't know whyyyyy. 8DD If I disappear, the internet's turned itself off.) "Cold my ass. You weren't even noticing it before," he pointed out, stubbornly, the flickering glow from the lighter only making the smirk on his face look etched in even deeper. He dropped it for a moment, lookly deadly serious for once- and then broke after a few mere seconds, spluttering out a laugh. "It's cute, honestly, Lu," he teased, the smug look on his face cockles than ever. "Bet you just loved getting this mission. Since you were flirting horrifically back near the Temple." Hm. Perhaps mentioning the Temple itself wasn't too clever an idea. It wasn't as though Zeph had behaved in a way he didn't regret there.

Dazed, everything slow and sluggish, to Will, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He knew, but almost in a passive way, that his twin was preparing to stab him; but he felt disconnected, as though this was a dream he could easily wake up out of. Tessie's face above him blurred hopelessly in and out of focus, and even when he tried to blink, it felt like torture just to force his eyes to drift open again. She didn't swing back or stab down hard, and that surprised him. The blade pricked almost hesitantly at his chest. His sister's hand was shaking. He tried to force her name out of his throat one more time. Just once more. Raiden didn't move at first, only tensing on the floor, squeezing his eyes shut more tightly. His first instinct was to assume it was his father, ready to kill him all over again. He was so highly strung, it took a very long moment for him to even process that the voice calling his name was far too high to belong to his father. It was a girl's voice, he could tell- one that was strangely familiar. "Eliza...?" he groaned, rolling awkwardly onto his side with a wince, trying to sit up. He wasn't really succeeding, but he tried to bear the pain that lanced across his body as he managed to look up at her, eyes squinting as he tried to focus.

"Ha! So you really are embarrased!" Zeph said triumphantly, then paused, digging his heels in so she physically couldn't drag him any further. He fumbled in his pockets for a few moments, fingers scrabbling at loose change and gum and countless amounts of fluff, until he tugged the slim plastic tube from his jacket, resisting the urge to hum out a fanfare. It took him a few tries, and a hissed curse word or two, but eventually he managed to make the lighter flare into life, holding it up between them, still straining his eyes, and trying to get a good look at her face. "Ah, so you really are blushing. I wasn't imagining it. Not that I would."

Squinting through the gloom at her, Zeph could swear he saw her cheeks darken furiously. He couldn't really rely on his eyesight there, but he assumed she was anyway, for the benefit of teasing her. Even if she wasn't, and she got angry again, having her pissed off was just as fun. He just wasn't so used to the idea of her even seeming embarrased. "I wouldn't blame you," he continued. "I am, of course, stunningly attractive. And talented. And, as always, incredibly humble about it all."

"About what, exactly? You hurting my feelings?" His grin was genuine, no hesitation about it at last. Well, incredibly smug as usual, but at least it felt natural again. "I don't think that would go down well. He might start thinking shoving us on missions together is a good idea for my punishment. Urgh." He shuddered, and shook the arm in her grasp lightly, his smirk spreading further across his face. "You enjoying that?"

"You're... you're apologising to me?" Zeph stared at her, utterly incredulous, for a long moment. And then, finally, a startled laugh burst out of him, sounding more like a choking noise than anything else, but that was just because his throat was still a bit closed up from before. "That stick up your ass fall out or something?" he spluttered, the tense set to his shoulders lessening as he relaxed, as he started to ignore it a little more. It was still there, that feeling. It always had been. He just had to learn to ignore and surpress it, until he'd be able to overcome it.

"I can deal with it," Zeph tried to mutter, but the sound barely left his lips, his voice tiny. He nearly jerked his arm right out of Luna's grip at first, a sudden fierce revulsion to any kind of touch flaring up within him. But, even as she was dragging him, that childish terror inside him was dwindling. The empty hole inside him was still there, hollow and bottomless as ever, but he could pay less attention to it. It was just a matter of dragging his thoughts away from it. That was easy, right? He couldn't help but remind himself how stupid it was. He was a Slasher. He shouldn't have been afraid of anything. So why was he so scared? It was just an echo of his childhood, an immature fright; like monsters under the bed. That was how he'd stopped it terrifying him when he was younger- it was just like the monsters. Because it was all in his head, and if he stopped believing it was real, it would go away. Everything would.

(( *n* It was amazing and a half. But practically MINUTES after I sent that post, my dad wanted to use his iPhone for music, so we ended up having Paramore on incredibly loud for the two and a half hours it took us to get out of the car park. :'D It was awesome but it pretty much doomed any attempt I had at getting on the internet... [/shot] )) Zeph threw her a weak glare, unable to fully mask the flicker of fear in the back of his amber eyes. How irritating it was to be able to change his appearance, and yet not be able to hide anything to do with his emotions. He could wear anyone