Longing for the Hatred

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Apartment

[dash=blue][imga]http://i.imgur.com/SWmRLXu.jpg[/imga]
There was a lot of crime in the city, even with its glorious and richer areas. The tops of the companies all had some side-businesses, and an amount of very well-payed people were the ones who offered to.. take care of people's small problems. One of those people was Evan. She had grown up in the downtown, learned the tough way of life and her aim was the one of a hawk. Her movements were swift, her wielding of almost any kind of weapon done with practiced ease. She did, though, have a few problems with her personality, and taking care of other things than the basic surviving. She usually had a person over to help her take care of things. That... person was there at the moment, and a smell emitted from the kitchen. She sighed lightly. That guy...

"Hey, Dominic. Didn't I tell you ages ago that you don't need to do that?" She said, her voice a slight mumble. She hated interacting with other people, but her house would be a mess if not for Dominic. He was always there, helpful and nice, and even if he had knowledge of her job, he didn't hate or resent her. He came from the same area of town as her, and he had other not-so-legal activities going on, though maybe ones with less action involved than her own.

"Aww, come on, don't be so childish! You can barely even survive on your own, all you can think about is sharpening your knives and testing your gun aim!" His red-haired head popped out from the door of the kitchen, and a knife embedded itself into the wall just beside his head. He gasped and retreated back into the kitchen.

"Shut the hell up." She said just as a knock was heard on the door. She left her gun on the table, walking up to open. She was still in a full outfit from having gone out, and she looked tired. But her eyes were burning, yet cold and focused as usual. The man at the door handed her her letters, bills and other things. A letter at the top caught her eye, and as she pushed the door closed, she unfolded the paper. It wasn't in the envelope, and it wasn't signed with anything but a scribble of a tiger.

"The Western Tiger wants to see me, huh... that little bitch. I suppose I could accept the offer. No weapons... as if she thinks I'm stupid enough." She looked over at the kitchen. Well, that meant she'd have to leave Dominic with the house again. She only had a few hours.

"Well, it seems that the Western Tiger wants to meet me tonight, so I'll have to skip dinner." She said, going to her weapon cabinet. She took out several throwing knives, a dagger, and guns. Stuffing it all into the weapons belt strapped on the inside of her clothes, she put on her boots and went to the door.

"If I don't come back, burn everything and wipe off fingerprints." She said, hearing a monotone "uh-huh" from the kitchen as she left the door, walking down the stairs - she had a lot of time, and she was faster than the elevator, anyways. She'd never been able to stand still in her life, so constantly running from one place to the other was a nice way of living for her. She got to get her restlessness out of her system, at least.

The streets were already dark as she left the apartment, and she was walking leisurely, her clothes successfully concealing her weapons but not really making her look suspicious. She looked like any other person walking down the streets in the evening(well, maybe that part was a slight bit suspicious). She arrived at the place, a worn-out warehouse, seemingly way before the Tiger.

The excitement made the dragon tattoo adorning her back feel like it was burning, and she felt completely ready for this experience. She was called the Eastern Dragon, and the woman who she was meeting with was called the Western Tiger. They were in her territory, the East, and this woman had no right to impose on the places where she worked. It was awfully bold of her to call out to Evan like this. Not like they knew each other's names. Not many knew of her name in the first place. That part was the dangerous one, letting people know your name.

She would not admit at any kind of torture that she was actually excited for this. She hadn't had a good fight in ages. On top of that, this woman was her rival, making things even more exciting. When the time was about up, she got out of her hiding place, standing in the actual middle of the place, where an old, blinking lamp provided the only light in the darkness. Her gaze was frozen and calm, looking around here and there with a focused determination for when the Tiger arrived.

When people talked about them, they were also applied with other names. One of their counter-names was "The Fire Queen" and "The Ice Queen". Apparently, it seemed that the Tiger had a temper, whereas Evan was always calm, as if she didn't give a shit about anything in the world. In the end, maybe she really didn't care. She put her hands on her hips as she stared at the door.

It opened.

"Oh, if it isn't the mighty Tiger." She said, voice piercing as ice, making the room seem colder than it actually was.

"What gives you the idea of calling me out here, well knowing that you're in my territory? Could it be that you're actually picking a fight with me? Are you that excited of getting to fight me again?" At this, a cold smile adorned her lips, her gaze focused coldly on the other female. She was short, as usual. She hadn't grown since last, apparently. Evan stood tall at just over 180 centimeters, her frame lean and slim. Not many would think that she was an absolute veteran in combat.

They had met a few years ago. The first thing that had caught both of their eyes was how they seemed to look alike. They weren't that alike, but the similarity was striking, noticeable. They had stared each other down time and time again before they'd snapped, one night meeting up in an abandoned house just like this to fight each other. Both of them had gotten away without serious injuries, because they had approximately the same skills. But Valshe had gotten stronger, knowing how to use her height to her advantage.

Even if she was shorter and jumped around like she did, Evan knew that if she just caught the girl's leg and got her down, she wouldn't be able to fight. She stepped closer, her gaze never leaving the other female.

"I honestly thought that you weren't here. You know, since I almost got you last time. I hope you're ready for that again." She steadied her feet, giving her an unmoving posture.

"Now say why you have brought me here."
[/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

Era tried to slowly walk in. She had to try to keep herself in check. When around this Eastern Dragon, her temper seemed to flair even more than usual. She was pissed that this other person always seemed to have an advantage; even if that advantage was height. Though Era was short and could have smooth reflexes that earned her her name of Western Tiger, it was the ways that the Eastern Dragon could figure things slightly ahead that made her a slightly better fighter if it was just between the two of them.

But Era would never admit that.

From a quick look, one couldn't tell if she was a boyish girl or a feminine boy, but that tended to work in her favor.

She took off her jacket and tossed it on the ground. She was dressed too nicely for the area, but she liked gathering some attention. Plus, these clothes gave opportunity to hide all of her weapons. Her cache was smooth and unnoticeable. She could not help but smirk as she looked at the other female.

"I am sure you already know why I called you here," she practically growled. She had been anticipating this. The fire was blazing in her eyes as she anticipated the next move. She had been training for this, making sure she would move swiftly, and sprint easily. Her jumping had become easy and practically second nature. "Unless you really are as dense as you appear."

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Warehouse

[dash=blue]Evan smirked. So she had actually been right. In a flash, she drew six small knives, throwing them all at once. They didn't actually hit her, rather piercing into her clothing and nailing her to the wall. She licked her lips, her eyes cold, yet wild with the adrenaline of a fight. Finally!

"Little tiger. I do believe that I knew why you brought me here, and I've been anticipating it. I've never seen someone as similar to a monkey as you, it's amusing." The words came tauntingly as she steadied her gaze and movements, her eyes coldly focused on Era with a determination like that of an animal. With her smooth, almost flying movements she resembled the dragon very well, a divine beast slashing through all matter with its power.

She still had her shirt covering her weapons, not revealing what she had on hand. She had more throwing knives, but she wanted to do combat hand to hand. She just wanted to test out what kind of tricks that the other wanted to play on her. If the Tiger was going with weapons, so would Evan. She let her gaze wander, though never letting it leave Era's. Her blue eyes were cold against those warmer, more intense ones. It was a wonderful, almost intense feeling when they would look at each other.

Evan had always used violence as a substitute for pleasure. It made her happy to fight, excited. She never wanted anything else in her life, not caring about other people, love, or whatever lied in between. The only romance in her life was the love for the weapons that she controlled like a third hand.

"It's been a damn long time since I had a proper opponent. They're always so boring. They're never short and cute like you, they never get as fiery and intense as you. I love it, the way that you make me see red. It's the best way of fighting, if you ask me. It's thrilling to fight you." Her voice sounded frightening, and if she wasn't standing across from this person, of all people, she'd be called crazy. But she knew that the Tiger felt the same way. The only real excitement was when they fought for their own survival to the point where their bodies started to fall apart. That was true excitement. The feeling when their blood would boil over and turn into liquid fire in their veins.

This was pleasure, it was desire.

The desire to fight.

She would probably never admit what this person made her feel like, this burning excitement making its way into her body, making it feel irreplaceable. It was something that she never wanted to give away to anyone. This was her true desire. The fight with this girl was all that she longed for in a life gone grey and black. Now was her time to finally find the ways she wanted to follow.

As the Tiger had escaped from the knives and had charged at her, they'd gotten into a fight. At first, it was skilled, focused combat, but the nature quickly changed, and before long, they were rolling here and there, smashing into things. It involved a lot of pain, that wonderfull, bittersweet pain.

Evan got the upper hand at some point, and in a flash of moments, all dyed red, she was on top of the Tiger, a gun pointing at her head and a hand around her throat.

Her movements stopped, though she remained on top of the female, sealing her movement.

Why wouldn't her finger pull the trigger?[/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

Era was pissed. Beyond belief. How this person always seemed to have some sort of upper hand... "Damn height!" She would mutter, as she fought back. They were good; but she could tell that this icy dragon also had been training, which kept them both at the same disadvantage as before.

To escape the knives, she tore her clothes, but she acted as if it were nothing. All she felt was her anger coursing through her giving her more strength and agility than she normally had. She would throw her knives to no avail. Dragon kept coming at her. "Damn it all!" She would growl.

She could not help but smile when it came to the gritty fighting. Just one on one. All physical and stamina. And this was what she had been seeking the entire time. This was the fighting she couldn't get from anyone else. That made the blood in her veins flow with more passion that she could imagine.

And this was her downfall. She missed a moment and the Dragon had her. A hand at her throat; a gun to her head. Fuck. She looked on as the Dragon froze. It was odd to see, but Era's eyes will still full of fight. And the woman on top of her just stayed there....

"What the fuck are you waiting for?"

 

[MiNaGi]

Eval Orel - Warehouse

[dash=blue]"Shut it." At this, Evan tightened her grip around the female's neck, enough to render her unable to speak, but not enough to actually kill her. Her hand was shaking. It couldn't be.

In a fit of sudden rage, she threw the gun away. The Tiger didn't have any access to any weapons. It was her advantage. She could take this bitch out right here, right now. But she couldn't move. Her body was frozen in place as the fleeting moments passed from her. What was going on? Why was she doing this?

She tried to tighten her grip, to kill the girl that way, but her brain stopped it. Why?!

A memory flashed past her, as fleeting as before, with gentle words and a voice that she thought she recognized. Or maybe she didn't. Maybe it was because of the amount of times she'd seen that memory. It was familiar to her now, the voice, the place, the smell of the air. But why would that appear right now? In this kind of moment?

As if the memory had flipped a switch, her expression changed. The coldness faded and she was fueled by a sudden redness obscuring her sight. This was the desire, it had come back to her. But her body would not move accordingly to what she thought it would.

Instead of strangling her, cutting her with a knife, shooting her or whatever she could manage to do, her hands placed painfully on the Tiger's shoulders to keep her down. She was in no control of her own actions.

"If you would just... shut the hell up..." She said, barely in control of her own actions at this point. Her mind was a mess and even her words didn't seem like her own. She was lost to some force out there, something that made her unable to act accordingly to what she usually would. There was nothing "usual" about this situation.

The moments flashed by again, and she bent over so that her face was lined up with the Tiger's. Holding her down, the Tiger had no means of escaping her iron grip. The smaller female had blood on her lower lip from a punch to the face.

Staring at this, Evan realized what her mind was trying to make her do. When she tried to resist, her body was more insistent about it, and she soon lost to her own mind.

Her body moved on its own accord, and as another moment floated by her at high speed, her lips connected with the Tiger's. There was not a hint of gentleness in this rough, angry kiss, and she licked off the blood on the Tiger's lips. The kiss seemed to last ages, both of them getting strangely into it.

They hated each other... so why?

As the moment passed, Evan regained the control of her body and shot back. Before the other girl even managed to react, Evan was on her feet. She grabbed the knives nailed to the wall, and her gun, and in another moment she was gone, running through the city. She had a bloody wound on her forehead, and her side hurt. A few broken ribs, maybe? At least she knew that the Tiger had gotten at least as much pain as she had.

The thought of the tiger made a blush rise to her cheeks. This really... sounded unrealistic. She would have to lie to Dominic once she got back. He'd laugh at her if not. What the hell was she thinking?! Doing something like that...

Seriously, what was she thinking in that moment?![/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

Era froze. All she could do was watch the female on top of her react. It rendered her speechless. She had thought it would finally be her end but the Dragon surprised her. There almost seemed to be an inner struggle as she watched to figure out what was happening.

The Dragon tightened her grip, then moved her hands to Era's shoulders... then.

What. The. HELL.

Era didn't know how to react, but she did know one thing; she did kiss back. She had no idea why or .... she was utterly confused. Speechless even. And when it ended, the Ice Queen disappeared with her face full of emotion. Era turned over and got onto her knees, trying to catch her breath. It should have been the end of her. Everything should have been over, and Dragon would have won...

But...

"FUCK!" Era couldn't help but yell and grabbed a knife she had and tossed it into a wall where it stuck. She sat down, crossed her legs, and put her head in her hands. She started to rock back and forth, furious with herself. "What the hell was that... What in God's name..."

What emotions where plaguing her?

She stayed there until someone she knew came looking for her. He was going to say some sarcastic remark, but noticed the state Era was in and quickly attended to her; it wasn't everyday to see the boss in such a desperate manner.

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Downtown/Apartment

[dash=blue]

A

llowing herself to take the moments it took to regain her breath, she went through alleyways, places where people would not catch a sight of her disheveled figure. Her hand was shaking as she placed it heavily on a wall, leaning her forehead against the cold bricks. The pain wasn't getting to her. The anger wasn't getting to her. The coldness or the blood wasn't getting to her. She was so confused. Her head spinned around and around with the hell that she was going to get from this.

The problem was not that this had happened. The problem was how the Tiger had reacted. Why did you kiss back?! You should've killed me, you bitch! Don't kiss me back like that... She angrily thought, trying to channel her anger somewhere.

Why did it come to this... why did I have to remember that... why is my heart... still...? Clutching her chest harder than she had ever done in her life, she decided to run back to her apartment, thankful that no one saw her due to the time of night. She got into the elevator, and when she got inside, Dominic was sleeping. He got up when he saw her, worried expression on his face as he saw how her hand had moved to shield over her ribs.

"Get onto the couch. You can't just go to bed like that." He said stubbornly, wide awake in a matter of seconds. His eyes went to her face, and her expression surprised him. A flash of the girl she used to be showed in her usually cold eyes. There was an emotion he hadn't seen in so many years... "Come on, hurry up so you can get some sleep." He simply added, not wanting to press the matter with her.

After she had lied down and seemed like she would stay there, he went to get the first aid kit from the bathroom. He pushed her shirt up to uncover her stomach. He felt around until she winced, counting. One, two, three broken ribs... that must've been a rough fight. She also had a wound on her forehead, but that didn't seem as serious.

He took out bandages, pulling her into a sitting position and getting her to hold her shirt up as he put bandages around her stomach. She didn't as much as shed a tear, the only sign of her pain being her heavy breathing and pale skin laced with sweat. When he was done with her ribs, he went to wipe off the blood on her face, putting a bandaid on this wound as it was fairly small and not serious. She didn't even bother to go to her bedroom, simply slipping down onto the couch immediately and letting sleep envelop her.

He helped her into a comfortable position(so she wouldn't further hurt her ribs) and put a blanket over her body. Even with her tall frame, she could look fragile like this. He had been surprised at her expression.

It had been five years since he had last seen that expression on her well-defined face.

[rainbow]~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~[/rainbow]

N

ext morning


The next morning, Evan woke up with an intense headache, groaning as she got up. Her side hurt like a bitch. She let out a painful groan as she got up from her position.

Ignoring Dominic who was humming to himself in the kitchen, she went to the bathroom. Her face looked horrible. She stripped and got into the shower, wincing a bit as she stood in there. She washed her body off, especially her face, and when she got out, she changed her bandages and the band-aid on her forehead.

She styled her hair so that it would cover the left side of her forehead and the wound that she had gotten herself. She wasn't in the mood for seeing it, as it reminded her of the things that had happened the night before.

The bandages took a little longer to change and included some swearing in pain. She put on simple black pants, a white button shirt and a black vest, along with some accessories. She would try to look somewhat normal today, and more unlike she was in the mood to jump from the window.

Making her slow way to the kitchen, she stood against the doorframe(her good side obviously the one leaning against the wood), and he turned around. His expression was strange, and she stared at him coldly.

"What?" She demanded.

"I didn't want to bother you, but... what on earth happened to you yesterday? You looked..--"

"Shut up. Now." Her voice cut into his sentence, and he was silenced. So something had really happened to her, after all. She had something happen to her, something bad enough so that she ended up like this.

She turned and went to the living room, sitting down on the couch that she had been sleeping in. She would have to lay low for the next long while, considering that she was in no position to fight when she was in this state. She would just be hurt further. She sighed. She would have to stay put in her house. The thought of that made a scowl appear on her face.

She really hated having to stay inside for a longer period of time. She got restless if she didn't have something to. She ended up doing something obsessive for the weeks she had to spend inside. Once, she had sewn an entire five dresses in two weeks simply because she had had nothing to do, and had decided somewhere along the road that she would try out her old hobbies. It had turned into this obsessive trying to get to use her hands as much as she could so she wouldn't have to sit still.

Before she managed to stop herself, her mind flickered to the night before. It had been such a stupid thing to do. That she had even dared to.. what wouldn't the other girl be thinking at this point? Well... Evan had a hard time imagining this. Because, regrettably, she had actually kissed back. How would the Tiger feel about that fact? Was she as messed up about it as Evan was?

She didn't even want to know. [/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

The thing about having such strong emotions is that sometimes it drains you to the point where you don't fight back, like right now. Era was being carried - and quite easily she couldn't help but notice - as the young man from her group brought her back to her hideout. Her apartment. The place where no one could assume that this ferocious little lady actually resided. It was classy and seemed unlike her... but only if you knew the real her. During the day, she dressed up a part and made herself seem like a normal human being. But at night is when her true self comes out and the Tiger prowls. She dresses a much different style that confuses anyone who would see her.

It was then, and only then, was she able to be herself. Full of passion, and easily caught up in everything.

She moaned slowly regaining her normal strength and looked around her, trying to regain focus. Her throat her and she reached up to touch it, causing her to wince. It hurt. She fumbled around and found a mirror that she used to look at her wounds and took a look. "Shit...."

"That is definitely one way to describe it." A voice came from the doorway of her room. He crossed over to her, and lifted her face to look at the huge bruises forming around her throat. "You will have to find different ways to hide it so no one suspects anything," he said in a professional manner, then let her go.

She growled at him, her frustration building. All she wanted to do was hit her brother. "Shut it. I know, okay. Fuck." She punched her pillow as the memories tried to resurface. It was her way to try to punch it out so she didn't have to deal with it. She had no explanation as to what had happened. Why the Dragon decided to kiss her... or why she kissed back. She knew that she gets easily absorbed, and she could try to blame that. But she was worried it might be something different.

"Would you like to try to talk about it before we have to buy you another pillow?"

"I said SHUT IT!"

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Apartment

[dash=blue]After that, Dominic had excused himself saying that he had some business to finish, but anyone would know that he had a desire to let Evan sort out her own thoughts. What he did not know was the origin of her conflicting feelings, how memory tied over with emotion and her lack of so. How her body ached for answers that her brain would not give, and the crushing feeling in her heart whenever she remembered the happenings the evening before, finding herself wanting more... wanting something deeper. Wanting to take exactly what she desired, for her sick brain to be satisfied, the thought of it disgusted her. What she wanted to do... it couldn't be right. It could not be right. If it was true, she would call herself crazy.

Her arms shook as she got onto the couch, stabbing with her knife into a wooden plate on top of the glass table so that she wouldn't break the expensive table.

I'm making this sound like I'm in love with her... what am I even thinking?! If I get too close to her, it will burn me... I will not feel anything good anymore... I will lose my ability to kill coldly... my excitement would be centraled towards her... it cannot happen... I cannot go back there... even if she is that person... I can't....

Unsure of where her frenzied mind would take her, she let out a loud groan of frustration, banging the knife deep into the wooden plate, almost all the way through to the glass table. Laying her hands on the grip, her head fell down and her forehead rested against her hand. For the first time in years, she weeped. She was crying. For the first time in many, many years, there was something else left inside of her.

What was the origin of those tears? Was it the heartbreak that felt so strong as a knife piercing through the ice block in her chest? Was it the frustration piling up in her body, inch for inch until she was consumed? Was it the pain brought back from the childhood memory that had resurfaced in her mind? Her tears silenced after a while, and she sat on the couch with her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes were tired, almost dead, and she looked as if she wanted to punch something, or someone.

When there was nothing to punch, she decided to get up.

She made herself a cup of tea. [/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

Era couldn't take it anymore. This-this place was suffocating her. She could practically feel the expectations being forced upon her and it almost felt like someone was trying to pry into her mind. She knew it wasn't possible, but it didn't stop from bothering her... Screw this.

She quickly got up and got ready to leave. She dressed in similar clothes but attended to her wounds. She knew how to hide them now so they looked like a minor thing or not even there at all. She was forced to be able to use make-up to hide such things, but at times when she didn't want to be noticed, it was handy. She licked her lip, and it stung. The pain felt nice to remind her that she was around and not in some nightmare.

Her brother saw her trying to leave and was going to say something when she flipped him off. Now was NOT the time. She needed her fucking coffee. Or some hot chocolate. Yes, that sounded much better. Chocolate. The one thing that seemed to soothe her crazy moods. It let her think as her brief moment of calmness was due to the most perfect flavor in the world would settle on her tongue.

Plus, she just needed to get out. And away. She needed to sort this shit out.

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - On the Way Out

[dash=blue]After grumbling in her house for at least an hour, she decided to leave the house. Maybe that would help her in gaining back her sanity. Leaving the tall apartment building, she walked down the streets towards a shop that sold the best hot chocolate in town. Maybe that would do something with her messed-up brain. When she reached the place, she got a seat quickly and sat down, ordering the chocolate in question.

Everything was perfectly fine until a very familiar figure entered the shop... and their eyes met. Evan sat in disbelief, her fists clenching by her knees. She remained calm and still, but it was as if the temperature in the room had dropped, a cold sweat breaking on her forehead. What would happen? She was standing eye to eye with the Tiger, in very, very unusual surroundings. They were in public. They were casual, civilians. They could not go directly for each other's throats in this place.

With these events there was no helping it that she couldn't forget...! Images of the night before rushed through her mind. Heat, lips against lips. The Tiger's wide eyes that fell closed as they deepened the contact. Hands brushing one another. Bruising force that drew blood from a cut in the lip... the sensations. The feelings.

She could feel her tears pressing on the corners of her eyes, but she held the burst of emotion back with force. Recognition dawned on her as she stared into the Tiger's eyes. She knew why now.

The memory flashed by once again. The voice was kind as always, a faint memory of flowers offered and a brushing of hand against hand. The feeling of their skin in contact back then. The feeling of her hand touching the Tiger's. It lapped over, tangled into one another. Now the voice triggered her head to start aching.

It was... the Tiger's voice.

In her memory.

If she could just remember the name... of the person that had once offered her those flowers. It had to be the girl in front of her. There was no mistaking it. Her eyes... they were the same bright red color. Her hands, though roughened by the years, were the same hands that had given her those flowers.

They had been friends. Back when their hearts still existed in their chests, before war had taken over their fragile, young minds. Before that time had consumed their fragile souls, they had been friends. They had laughed and smiled together, offered each other gifts, held hands and talked together about the bright future.

It had all crumbled when Evan had been taken away. Everything had fallen apart when she had been brought to that new house with the leather whips and the burning brand mark. It was still on her shoulder. And the tattoo on her back was partly to cover up the large scars that she had there.

She didn't want to think about what would have happened to the little girl that she had been taken away from. Judging from this discovery, the girl in her memories had been hardened by the same measures, tortured with a heart ripped to pieces. A heart gone.

For the first few years, she begged to this girl when the whip slashed through her sensitive, pale skin, drawing red lines across her back. Begging to this girl that wherever she was, she was safe and not experiencing horrible things.

She'd been wrong all this time. She was far from the only one who had felt the pain.

As the moment of silence passed, Evan stood up and walked over to the Tiger, standing directly across from her. The tension between them could almost be felt in the air as their eyes met. Before the smaller female could manage to protest, Evan took her to the table she had been sitting at in the far back. People looked after them for a total of five seconds before they went back to what they were doing. When they were (somewhat) alone, Evan stared into the eyes of her enemy that could no longer be considered so in her mind.

"What the hell... happened to you?" She asked, seeing in the other's eyes that she wasn't the only one remembering things from back then. [/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

"What the he-" Era didn't even finish her sentence as the Dragon took her aside. To think that she would run into her here of all places. This was not what she wanted to deal with right now.

But it was her reality. Here, she had met the one she didn't want to. And somehow, she was now sitting at the same table, but the Dragon had a completely different look in her eyes. There was a completely different feeling here and it caught her off guard. It lowered her wall for a moment and tried to take in what was going on. But what kind of question was that? She couldn't be referring to... no. No way she was referring to...

"What do you mean what happened to me?" She was almost scared to find what Dragon was referring to. How did she know? Era had blocked out most of those memories to keep her sane. She didn't even remember times before that, except for her family.

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Café

[dash=blue]Crap...! I'm sure it's her, there's no way it's not, it's way too much of a coincidence. Her age seems about right, too. What's going on here...? Why did this happen to you? All of these years.. all I ever wanted was your safety. I didn't care about myself or anything else, and then the only person that I'd want safe is the one who ends up hurt and broken like myself. It's so pathethic. I prayed for her to be safe as the whip rained down over my body, and now she's here, hurt by many years of the same roughness I've experienced.

She stood and stared at Era for a long, long time before her eyes turned sad. What could she do about this? After all of those years, Era had to hate her for what had happened...

"Don't you remember? It was in my family garden. I was 10, and you were 8 years old. I was grabbed by a group of hooded people and they took me away. Don't you... remember that?" She said, her blue eyes focusing directly on the girl's face. She was scared. For the first time in her life, she was scared. And it wasn't fear of the pain or anything like that, it was fear to be rejected by this woman. Because she would be the only thing, the only grain of Evan's memory that she could hold onto dearly.

Before her mind could catch up with her, she had taken a small flower(that she had picked up on the way, for some reason), slipping it into Era's hair, just above her ear. Her fingers gently carressed Era's hair before her hand retracted.

"Does that... ring a bell?"

[/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

Era's eyes grew wide. She was talking about.... that. She hadn't even noticed the flower placed in her hair, because of the memories that threatened to flood her. She had blocked the memories for so long that it was painful as they tried to come back to her. She quickly brought both hands to her temples, her hands shaking from the pain. She still tried to focus on the Dragon.

What were the odds that the one person she had liked in her life had become one of her most hated enemies? But to be honest, she wasn't even sure if she hated the Dragon. "No way. There is now way is- was you." She started to shake her head. "I have blocked most of it. I thought it was safer... I - I can't go back. Not to how I was... it's just too.." Her eyes started to tear up just as some of the most painful memories grew stronger. She was fighting so hard to control herself. "My family paid so much money to get me back. They were so disappointed that I had already started to change."

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Café

[dash=blue]"Yes... it's me, it's Evan. I... I'm so sorry that I couldn't save you. They took me away and ruined me... up until now, I didn't even properly remember you... please... please..." For the first time, her voice and eyes were filled with emotion, human, insecure emotions that she had never shown anyone when she had been ruined by those men. It was the first time since then that she was showing any sign of real emotion. Her hand was clenching onto Era's, not letting go for even one second.

"You don't have to go back to then, but... please do remember me." She said sadly as she stared into Era's eyes, stubbornly holding onto her. Fact was that she was the physically strongest of the two, and also the largest, and she ended up being able to restrain the other girl like this. She didn't want to use that kind of method, but she had to get her friend to realize who she was... because they had not been enemies. Evan still remembered the times where they'd run around and play hide and seek, they'd stargaze on clear nights and hide inside on rainy ones. They would always hold each other's hands as if secrets unfolded for them if they did so.

"You can't have forgotten everything, right?" [/dash]

 

[Mehuh]

Era looked at her, sad. She shook her head, because she just couldn't control much. "I can't... that's too far back." And she was telling the truth. To protect herself, her mind had blocked off that part of her life, and things before it. If she remembered... Evan she had said, right? It might lead to the moment she was kidnapped, and that would lead to...

She shook her head again. "I can't. It might lead up to-to..." But she froze. "Rain." A small glimpse of an innocent life. "There was a rainstorm that was so loud we hid... I was scared, and you held me as if to protect me."

 

[MiNaGi]

Evan Orel - Café

[dash=blue]"That's right." The words came as a whisper from Evan, tears in the corners of her eyes. This was the familiar pain that they were both engulfed in to the point of suffocating. "When you looked as if you were about to faint, remember what I did then?" Her voice cracked slightly and a tear escaped her eye. Too many memories. Too much pain. But she couldn't go back to the loneliness anymore. If she couldn't be with Era, she'd rather jump from her apartment window.

"It was simple, strange... and yet it calmed you down. You went still instead of shaking and let me hold you as you slept." She slowly leaned forward, her lips shortly pressing against Era's forehead, and then her lips, pulling back after a second.

"Just like this..." [/dash]