Chapter Four: Violence is absolutely, 100%, ALWAYS the answer for everything.A Chapter by RedRozeNinja13And this is where it starts to get strange, because I’m not sure wether I should cover that awkward and abrupt period of time where we went to the first district Capital together (in lapsing stages of arguing and then brooding silence the whole way) and moved in together (an even more awkward and abrupt situation- but it’s a regulation that the trainers and trainees live in the same environment for at least a year) or just jump ahead in our lives, moving ahead to the point where we achieved some odd sense of normalcy. And that in itself was abrupt and awkward. Because we didn’t know what to do with each other once we had gotten “semi-used” to one another, and we each knew that the other wouldn’t be going anywhere for a looooooooooong while. I made it clear that I wouldn’t be leaving because I was called here and could not go home until I had the return mandate form that would allow me to return without shame. And he made it clear that he wasn’t leaving because 1-I had technically moved into his apartment, and 2- He was here first. Both of which struck me as fairly stupid and flimsy reasons for staying. I was kept here by honor and legal reasons- he was here for sentimental things. He could get up and leave and nobody would tell him that he couldn’t. And he could take his floozy girlfriend, MaryLu(or something like that) with him. She really doesn’t like me and I really don’t like her. We have a common silent understanding not to rip each other’s throats out. (As if a girl like her could, she’d probably be afraid she’d chip a nail or something of the like.) And since I would rather not like to recap those first few odd weeks of us “getting a feel for each other”, I think I’ll just fast forward to a random point in time. After the “settling period” but before anything important really happened. Maybe if you’re lucky, later I’ll recap the story of how Kurai tried to lock me out of the house on the second night and I put a nest of scorpions in his bedsheets. But like I said, later, if you’re lucky. And if Kurai doesn’t tell me not to tell you how he screamed at two pm in the “morning” like his girlfriend when the water in the shower runs cold. Those were good times, but once again- later. If he doesn’t tell me that I can’t. Because at the point of time we are currently in, we sort of have to listen to one another….and respect one another….and not kill one another. It’s very hard. He keeps breathing on me. He knows I hate it when people breathe on me. He also knows I hate it when he tells me what I can or can’t do and I usually do it anyway, so even if I do tell you he can’t get upset with me. My logic is flawless. But anyway! A random time before we really did anything. . . . . . “Your roommate is glaring at me again.” MarySue complains loudly, I’ve just walked into the room and am going into the kitchen to find a few knives to lend Megan. Because she’s playing darts and needed more, and I’m such a nice person. Yeah- Megan plays darts with potentially lethal objects….the only times it’s a little strange are those times when there are so many holes in her walls she comes over to use mine. Times like today. Honestly, you think she’d use her Trainee’s walls, Link. I know that’s what I’d do to Kurai if I ran out of proper wall space. I’ve already ‘convinced’ him to hang my portrait of Vlad the Impaler in his room, and by convinced I mean,’if-you-don’t-I’m-going-to-change-the-alarm-system-code-again-and-I-won’t-tell-you-what-it-is-there’s-just-not-enough-space-in-my-room-for-it-so-shut-up’. He’s learned to put up with my ‘negotiations’. Which require him negotiating and me just rephrasing the same thing over and over again. “I’m not glaring at you princess, I just have one eye. I can’t change that, MaryLu. No matter how much it may vex you” I narrow my eye as I trudge into the kitchen, wearing my ‘lazy day’ clothes, some black sweats and a dark blue workout tank. I open the knife drawer and clink through them, trying to find the ones we could probably do without, should they get damaged. Mary-whosiewhatsit is sitting on the couch with Kurai in the dark room, watching some lame movie about lame romantic stuff and what will probably be a lame ending. Aka- a movie I wouldn’t be caught dead watching. “You should get that fixed. You should also try being a little more polite. That bad attitude isn’t hiding anything, one-eyed-bat. And it’s MARIANA, how many times have I told you?” she snaps from the couch, curled under Kurai’s left arm. I suppress a low growl deep in my throat as I slam the knife drawer closed. “Doesn’t matter what I call you, seeing you’ll still be the same little ray of sunshine you always were. The same annoying, bitchy, irritating, can’t-get-out-of-your-” “Aurora, I feel the need to remind you that you are holding sharp objects and your eye is doing that twitchy thing again.” Kurai chimes, not even looking over his shoulder at me, and popping a kernel of popcorn in his mouth as he rubs Mariana’s shoulder. I bare my fangs at MaryFlu and she gasps incredulously as I shuffle back to my room. “You’ll pay for this in the gym tomorrow.” I growl at Kurai. “Oh I’m sure I will.” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had forgotten that I pretty much own him except on weekends. Hey, it’s something Little Miss Sunshine surely doesn’t forget. She hates it. And I relish in that fact. Making enemies is a gift, being able to push all of their buttons- that’s just one of the greatest pleasures in life. “Ok Sparkypants, I’ve got your knives.” I say, closing the door to my room behind me. “And I’ll give them to you, so long as you promise to punch as few holes as possible in my walls.” I emphasize, speaking slowly to make sure she hears me. Megan’s mind tends to go too fast sometimes, as in, she only hears certain things. As in, sometimes only ever the first and last things you say. As in, sometimes it really pisses me off. As in, sometimes I just want to CHUCK A HEARING-AID AT HER HEAD. I guess everyone has that friend that likes to pretend not to hear certain things and rubs you the wrong way sometimes. But in my case- she’s my only friend. Which somehow manages to drive me even further up the wall. Hey, I was born a loner. Not even Miss Firecracker can change that. “OkOkOk! Whatever! Just gimmegimmegimme!” She reaches out her fingers like a little child, which I guess she would be, you know, at heart. She’s sitting on the edge of my bed in her ripped up jeans and her own lazy-day red tank. It’s really weird how we unintentionally match sometimes. Like….really weird. Freaky weird. Her wild red hair is frizzy today, not that it isn’t usually frizzy lately, but it’s just a wild mess today- like she hasn’t taken the time to brush it this “morning”. And chances are, she hasn’t. She takes lazy day to the extreme. Using up every extent of the word ‘lazy’. Except when it comes to breaking into our apartment. She’s always pretty damn creative about that. Too damn creative. We’ve already changed the locks three times...and the windows. Because she kind of got fed up and smashed a few of those too, when she was feeling ‘lazy’ and didn’t feel like being stealthy, or picking locks, or breaking our security system...again. Let’s just say having Megan as your best friend can be pretty expensive….and threaten the sanctity of the privacy of your home pretty severely. It’s a good thing demon slaying pays well….and that I never had much sanity anyway. “Nooo….” I pull the knives away from her, towards my chest. “I will give you the knives when you tell me what I just said to you.” I state in a ‘you-better-do-as-I-say’ sort of manner. Even Megan and her crazy, frizzy, fireball mind grasps the concept that I have a line, and she shouldn’t cross it or try to push it. Megan usually stays a few good inches away from the line, but she loves seeing what happens to others when they do cross it. Yup. We’re sadistic. We admit it. And we like it. Neither of us would change that for the sake of the world, it’s just how we grew up and what we’ve become. We fit each other very nearly like puzzle pieces, she’s everything I’m not, and I vice versa. But we both share a common feeling imbedded deep within our bones, seated deep in our hearts in a way that will always be a thorn, jabbing and pricking you and making you uncomfortable and angry at times. Because it is a thorn we will never be able to remove. The thorn of hatred has burned Megan alive, and frozen me as though I were just a snowflake lying on the blood-drenched ground. Both of us have come to know what true pain is, be it abandonment, or betrayal, or having someone dear to you ripped away. And both of us, we wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. We understand that they make us, That they created who we are today. That is what makes Megan and I so strong, so ruthless. We power ourselves off of what was taken from us, off of how we were wronged, off of the revenge we will never be able to obtain- The Thorn of Hatred is what drives us. “No holes in your walls! I GOT IT!” She bounces up and down like a small child. She loves playing ‘darts’, but she doesn’t like damaging the more expensive and decorous blades in her knife collection...and she sort of already used all of Link’s, and her own, kitchen knives, pocket knives, and spare knives.(Which she made art with and is now refusing to remove from her walls, even though her neighbor is complaining about a knife tip penetrating their bathroom wall….that neighbor being Kurai. I honestly thought it was pretty cool and gave her props for such a feat…. They also can’t make sushi anymore….or anything else that requires the cutting of food-esque items.) “Close enough.” I sigh, rolling my eye and tossing them to her. Tossing knives at any other person would be considered reckless and downright dangerous, but for Megan and I it was child’s play. Knives are basic tools for Slayers, which was why I was a bit surprised when Megan made them her specialty weapon. I can’t say I was ever so shocked though, she always has been edgy and unpredictable. Knife wielding most definitely suits her. “Oh god, THANK YOU!” She proclaims loudly, “You have no idea how badly I’ve been wanting to throw something lately!” I look up to see she’s put a poster on my ceiling and she flops down on her back beside me as I lay on my bed. Any normal person would be alarmed that some psychopath was going to start throwing knives at a target right above their face. But not me. I didn’t mind. Danger is good, it reminds you that you are alive. And I trust Megan, to an extent. She almost never misses. And by almost never I mean, ‘Hey-remember-that-one-time-’, yeah. That sort of thing. But Megan’s been spot on ever since that one time ^ ^. Particularly since after that one time I nearly strangled her to death for driving a knife into my leg during archery lessons. (What was she even doing with a knife during archery lessons? Once again, a story for another time. Megan does a lot of things she shouldn’t….come to think of it we sort of both do. But no matter what anyone says that is not a character flaw.) “How’s living with Mr.Hotface?” Megan asks with a wink. Sometimes I wish I could wink. Honestly it just looks like I’m closing my eye or blinking if I try. And then I remember how stupid winking even is and I get the hell over it. “Mr.Hotface? Is that what you call him? He’s such a priss. He doesn’t want to listen and that girlfriend of his makes me want to sharpen a pencil with my teeth just to stab her with it.” I watch as she pelts one of the boys in the boy band poster right in the nose and I have to suppress a laugh. “If you do that-can I help?” She asks with a serious tone, piercing the same young fellow’s lips with the crunching sound of tearing paper. I scoff and toss her a sideways glance, she nonchalantly shears off another prettyboy’s ear. Man do I respect her knife-throwing skills. “Sure. Why not?” I roll my eye, which always seems overly exaggerated, seeing as I only have one eye. Megan has tried sharpening things with her teeth before, let’s just say that was a very irritating night, seeing as she wouldn’t stop complaining about her bleeding gums and all that was left of what she had tried to sharpen was a gnawed on stump of pencil. I used that as a learning point for her- You cannot attempt to do everything I do. Fire witches and vampires have entirely different skill sets after all. Hey- she can light candles with a sneeze, I can sharpen pencils with my teeth, we’re pretty different as far as freaks go. “How are you and Link doing, again?” I ask, tracing the area around my eyepatch with my fingertips absentmindedly. Link is a controversial topic for us. She goes far too easy on him, is far too nice with him, almost even flirty with him. This raises the questions in the back of my mind, ‘What about us? What happened to the days when we only had each other?’. I miss those days, truthfully, They were much less complicated and much more enjoyable. Link is an annoyance that I would rather not put up with. I mean, yes, I too am a trainer, but I don’t canoodle with my student. That’s disgusting. He’s disgusting. Not to mention immature. One time he tried to throw his socks at me, that he had been wearing on his feet for days. I wanted to strangle him, but my self control must be getting better, because I didn’t. “Link and me? Oh, well, we’re fine. I suppose. Yeah, we’re fine. Aced our last job. Which leads me to the question- When are you and Kurai going on your first job?” She asks, skewing a knife through the third band member’s eye. “When I deem his a*s ready, that’s when. It kills me not being able to kill anything lately, but I’m not letting him think he’s done well enough to get in on action when all he’s done is slack off and ignore me. This would go so much better if he just took my advice.” “Your advice is kind of violent sometimes, Aura.” Megan says with a wavering voice, as though she’s a bit cautious of what my response to her words will be. “No, Megan.” I snap. “My advice is always violent. If you are going to make a statement like that you might as well make it accurate.” “Yeah, I remember the time you recommended hanging Link upside down by his toes the next time he tried to take the TV remote from me.” She replies, flipping the last remaining knife between her fingers. “And that was great advice.” I say truthfully. “Did you take it?” “No, I didn’t hang him upside down by his toes….” “And did he take the remote again? “Well…..yeah….” “Then that settles it. Next time you should decapitate him with a spoon.” There's a slight pause before she replies. “I’m not sure if violence really should be your go-to answer for everything…..”
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RedRozeNinja13Columbia, SCAboutWeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell. It occurred to me that it was time for this little oddball to update her profile, you know? Lots of things have changed....and not all of them are good, in fact- hardly any a.. more..Writing
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