Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:21:21 GMT -6
"Ah.. Nina," it was odd to hear her name coming from them. So rarely did they directly address one another. "I’m glad I found you here.”
Nina wanted to say something about how they were just borrowing the books, and that she would tidy up again before she left, but she wasn’t given the chance to say anything at all.
“I need to speak with you,” they blurted out in a frantic sort of way. Nina was becoming increasingly concerned. Silver was clearly upset about something given their odd demeanor. Normally, if they just wanted her to do something for them, they just left a note or made a quick comment. This was totally different, and it was setting her on edge.
“It’s about… It’s about Lucent.” they said.
Suddenly, every worry Nina had had recently coalesced into a huge weight pressing down on her. Whatever Silver was about to say next would not be good. She thought of many things she wanted to say all at the same time, but none of them came out. Instead, all she did was lower her antennae and continued to stare blankly at Silver.
[6]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:21:47 GMT -6
“I know what happened.. He. He told me everything.”
“Everything…” Nina repeated, thinking about the situation and how guilty she still felt about what happened. She thought about what would have happened had she made different choices… or perhaps she just wished they had different outcomes. Her mind was spinning with the possibilities, all of which she couldn’t possible change now.
“He’s… did you know?” Maybe she didn’t. “He’s really sick. I needed to know… I needed to help.”
Suddenly their frantic, anxious demeanor made sense. They were worried about one of the creatures in their care. Nothing made Silver more upset than seeing someone hurt, and according to them, it was probably all her fault that Lucent had been harmed by… wait, Nina’s antennae popped up in surprise. Did Lucent do something to himself?
“I don’t. I couldn’t. I didn’t know Lucent would…” As soon as the sentence came out, she suddenly realized what must have happened. Lucent used that injection on himself.
[6.2]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:22:51 GMT -6
She bought it for him thinking he would experiment on some helpless creature or another, which was bad enough, but he went and did it to himself. How could he be so foolish? For that matter, how could she? She knew how dangerous they were, but she had no idea he would do something like this. Even if she knew, could she have changed it?
“Silver, I-” Nina wasn’t allowed to finish her sentence.
“How could… what were… why… I just…” It was clear that Silver was struggling with how to respond even though they were the one who interrupted her. Their voice was shaky and it was clear that they were holding something back. Anger? Tears? Perhaps both.
“I never meant any harm. If I had known…”
“You didn’t need to!” Silver finally shouted. It was startling to hear them speak that way. They so rarely shouted, and never at her. This was serious.
[6.4]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:23:09 GMT -6
Nina looked down at the floor like a puppy being scolded. She didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t look at them. It was too much. Even if she had something else to say, she couldn’t find the words. Whatever they said now, she probably deserved it. At least it felt that way.
“I can’t believe… I thought we… one thing, just one thing…” Silver tried to gather their thoughts as they spoke, jumping quickly from one thing to another.
“This isn’t just about Lucent, is it?” Nina asked.
“You broke our agreement,” Silver said, finally calmly forming a single coherent sentence.
“I did.”
“I think it’s time.” The unwavering calmness in their voice was worse than the frantic ranting it replaced.
“Time?” Nina looked back up at them, but her posture still betrayed her fear. In a way, she knew what was coming, but she had to hear it for it to be real.
[6.6]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:38:39 GMT -6
“I need you… to make other arrangements… for you, and your creatures.”
“I… I understand.”
There was nothing else she could do, nothing else she could say. They were right. It was time for her to find a new place to stay. Maybe they could work this out, but there was no way to stop the resentment from building up between them. After all this time, their lives were finally on different trajectories. It simply couldn’t go back to being the way it was. Whatever they had before was gone, and there was no going back.
“I’ll help you,” Silver finally said, breaking a long silence between them.
Nina was surprised by this and immediately blurted out, “Are you sure?”
“Of course… we’ve… it’s been a long time. I couldn’t just… it will take some time to adjust… for both of us.”
Nina was so sure that she was going to have to walk out that door and figure out a whole life for herself and her creatures all at once. To say that she was relieved to hear them offer something, even if she didn’t know what it was yet, would be an understatement.
[6.8]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:48:57 GMT -6
“What will you…” Nina didn’t have to finish, since they both knew what she was asking. What would Silver do about all of the chores she helped them with? No person could possibly do all of them on their own.
“I’m not sure, yet. I’ll have to figure something out,” they said. Clearly they had thought about this at least a little bit by now, as they weren’t surprised by the question in the slightest.
“We both will,” she concluded.
Nina had been staring at the floor in shame again, but when she looked up she noticed tears running down their cheeks. This was going to be a difficult adjustment for the both of them. For as strangely as they showed it, they actually cared about one another a great deal. Maybe with a bit of distance between them, they could rebuild the trust that had been broken and build something better than they had before. Eventually.
[7]
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