ximilialog | (no subject)

[Clara bites at her lip. Is this what she looks like when she grumbles and complains about how messy the Doctor is? She hopes so.]

Trust me when I say I understand completely. The Doctor is my favorite person in the entire universe. But I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it's easy to share a small space with him and his mess.

[She laughs as she says it, stepping in close to the drum set at long last. Her eyes scan it over before she glances up at Gwen, eyebrows arched.]

Teach me to play something?

Sure. Your options are “play upside-down” or “go to the simulation room.”

[ technically, the third option “put the drum set on the floor” exists. but she’s very fond of it on the ceiling. ]

[Clara sighs, crossing her arms over her chest.]

Can't you just...help me do the upside down bit?

[ yes. yes, she can. gwen lets herself drop. like a cat, she manages to twist and land lightly right side up.

as she wraps an arm around clara, she jokes, ] Please fasten your seatbelts and put your trays in the upright position—

[ —before jumping straight up, the pads of her fingers sticking to the ceiling. it's a simple matter to flip herself around so she can walk across it and safely guide-slash-carry clara to her throne.

the part about seatbelts becomes real as gwen lays a web-line across clara's lap to keep her safely on the stool. gwen offers the sticks. ]

Not regretting it, are you? [ if there is a tiny hint of a challenge, it's because she knows clara can't resist one. ]

[This new position serves her inner daredevil very well. She's wearing a wide grin and is all laughs as Gwen secures her in place, and she takes hold of the offered sticks. She has no idea how to play the drums, but she still tries drumming out a beat anyway.]

Why would I regret it? Just because all the blood is rushing to my head doesn't mean I regret it.

[She hits one of the cymbals, giving a jump at how loud it is up close.]

[ spider-person who spends half her time upside down can’t relate. mccoy must be fascinated with however her veins work.

after fixing clara’s hold on the sticks, gwen shows her the pedal for the bass drum, and identifies the snare drum and hi-hat. ]

You can ignore the others. You won’t need them for this song.

[ the song being michael jackson’s “billie jean”. memorable, instantly iconic, and simple enough for a beginner. gwen taps the 4/4 time signature herself, then indicates what to hit when: the bass at one, the snare at three, and sixteenth notes on the hi-hat. then it’s just a matter of practice. ]

Couple more songs and you can put on a show, [ she teases after. ]

[Clara takes to the lesson with relative ease. Her being able to pick things up quickly is a gift. But her focus isn't entirely on the drums, and it isn't until after they're done and Clara is right side up again and standing on her own two feet back on the floor that she's able to put that focus into motion.]

If I ever put on a show, I have a few people in mind to be in the front row. One of them recently had a giant, inhuman bite taken out of his shoulder, now that I think about it.

[The look she gives Gwen is questioning, wondering if she'd know anything about that.

〈 genuinely baffled: 〉 Who got almost eaten?

〈 the only person she knows of to have had similar injury is itachi and they did not bite him. the intent was there, and they near shredded his shoulder with their claws, but thankfully she does not have attempted cannibalism on her conscience. 〉

I don't know if he was actually almost eaten, but...Itachi looks like he had a run in with something that either has a big bite or gigantic claws.

[The end result is an injury that she's unsure will heal properly because it's so disgusting. But she realizes it's not exactly her place to be questioning around and fishing for information, even out of a desire to protect a friend.]

I just changed his bandages not long ago. I'm sure it could've happened down in Sedorum on the mission, but I'm not sure he was ever actually...there.

〈 gwen sets the sticks down on the bedside table. near them sit two medicine bottles. 〉 No, that happened in Taeum.

〈 there is an itch just under her scalp, spreading through her skin. an ugly thought occurs to her.

gwen tugs at her sweater. 〉Is that what this is? Buttering me up, hoping to get information?

〈 rather than angry, she sounds deeply hurt. 〉

You could have just fucking asked.

No, I brought you over the sweater because I thought you might like it. I played the drums because they're something you enjoy and I wanted to learn because of that. My asking right now is separate from that. This, right here, is me asking.

[She can tell she's hurt Gwen's feelings, and teeters on the line of apologizing or not. In the end, pride isn't as important as a friendship.]

I'm sorry if it came across any differently. It's not exactly an easy question to come right out and hint at. Or easy to answer either, I wager.

No. Especially as it has nothing to do with you.

〈 anger followed late, but fed by the sharp hurt in her chest, it finally rears its head. alert to every fluctuation in its host, venom stirs. it reflects the emotion back to her. her anger burns brighter; it licks at her insides. 〉

If you want to know what happened to Itachi, the person to ask is him. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say you already did and he told you next to nothing. So, what were you hoping for here?

A confession? An explanation? A sincere promise that I will never, ever do something like that again?

〈 clara thought he was bitten. if itachi did not clarify the nature of his injury, gwen finds it hard to believe he would have mentioned her by name.

how clara knows gwen was responsible, she does not know. it doesn't really matter. she isn't trying to hide from what she did. she tried to kill him—she could have killed him—no matter the circumstances, it is yet another black mark in the list of people she has hurt. whatever the consequences, she will accept them.

but it hurts. it hurts that she thought clara her friend yet it feels like clara picked a side when no one asked her to.

gwen walks over to the door. she hits the release. black threads, more and more of them, drape across her fingers. 〉

Thank you for the sweater. I'd like you to leave.

[If her asking was a way to find out if Gwen knew anything, the reaction she gets is answer enough. Clara simply arches her eyebrows and watches the anger unfurl toward her. She doesn't have a visible reaction to it, simply taking it in.

It's hard to tell if there's been a line drawn in the metaphorical sand, or if this is simply an initial reaction out of anger.]

Before I go -

[She pauses at the doorway.]

Itachi's choices on the last mission led to a consequence. And I was hoping to make sure whoever was pushed to the point of acting out, that they're all right.

[She can't confirm that it was Venom that had a part in Itachi's injury, though she suspects now she's hit a nerve. Or possibly severed a nerve, the tether of the friendship they could have had. It isn't the first friendship Clara has burned to the ground unintentionally, and she isn't going to add insult to injury by standing around and talking more than she just has. So she gives Gwen a parting glance and a nod of her head before making her way out.]