[There's a pause in the creaking shuffle of his footsteps, in the rough drag of the madras against the stairs as soon as her voice rings through the silence.
Alina.
His heart doesn't stutter, there's no hitch in his breathing and no flush to his cheeks at the sound of her in this place. Near the spot he's picked out already, for sleep and to keep the meager treasures of his meat and water safe. It's just another corner to sleep in. Another short pause before he'll inevitably move on.
There's hate in that thought, of finding a place and leaving it behind. Still. Always. He hates, and it slips through him like vines, climbing over the ruins of everything he's ever had to leave behind. Cementing it until there's nothing but darkness, strangling even the tiniest sliver of hope.
Disappointment happens to other people, to those who have yet to learn that hope will always fail in the end.]
Do you always like to watch?
[As he carries it that last few feet, plonking it down in a cloud of dust and ash. It whirls in the air, blending with the dust already there from Alina's ministrations.
The fall of the illusion of life in this place was just the first step before the end and he doesn't know how to feel about that.]
Can I have one of those, or are they for your personal use only.
[It's a weak joke, delivered as he wipes an arm across his face to dry the sweat beading his brow. There are no names to hide behind, no carefully crafted story to follow to it's conclusion. There's just Alina, sitting on a table with her legs dangling and dark circles under her eyes.]
no subject
Alina.
His heart doesn't stutter, there's no hitch in his breathing and no flush to his cheeks at the sound of her in this place. Near the spot he's picked out already, for sleep and to keep the meager treasures of his meat and water safe. It's just another corner to sleep in. Another short pause before he'll inevitably move on.
There's hate in that thought, of finding a place and leaving it behind. Still. Always. He hates, and it slips through him like vines, climbing over the ruins of everything he's ever had to leave behind. Cementing it until there's nothing but darkness, strangling even the tiniest sliver of hope.
Disappointment happens to other people, to those who have yet to learn that hope will always fail in the end.]
Do you always like to watch?
[As he carries it that last few feet, plonking it down in a cloud of dust and ash. It whirls in the air, blending with the dust already there from Alina's ministrations.
The fall of the illusion of life in this place was just the first step before the end and he doesn't know how to feel about that.]
Can I have one of those, or are they for your personal use only.
[It's a weak joke, delivered as he wipes an arm across his face to dry the sweat beading his brow. There are no names to hide behind, no carefully crafted story to follow to it's conclusion. There's just Alina, sitting on a table with her legs dangling and dark circles under her eyes.]