[log] pretty pretty princesses [closed]

[theurgy]

Characters: Cassel and Adelina
Location: Building 145
Date: Day 190
Summary: Two teenagers try very hard not to freeze to death.
Warnings: Will edit as necessary!

[Cassel finally makes it to the storage unit minutes before lockdown. It doesn't take long to slip from the grocery store to the little building beside it, but by the time he does, he's already shivering violently. He's wearing a leather jacket and gloves more suited for fall than for winter, and while they cut the wind a bit, it feels like the chill has seeped down into his bones. He isn't used to cold like this, and he'd be lying if he didn't admit that his heart sinks when he sees where they'll be spending the night—a bare concrete floor and an empty, echoing room.

Cassel closes the door behind him and hears the lock engage a moment later, then drops his pack to the ground. He already looks a little ridiculous—there's a pink leopard print cutting cape wrapped around his throat like a scarf, and he's wearing sneakers that certainly weren't made for traipsing around in the snow and the ice. At least he has fresh food.]

Comments

[bloodbiter]

Oh! Similar to leather, then? Yes, they were.

[She nods, then something seems to dawn on her. She reaches for her backpack, unzipping it.]

That reminds me, you inquired about weaponry when we spoke on those strange devices, didn't you?

[theurgy]

Maybe a stethoscope? It's for listening to heartbeats.

[Among other things, but. Details.]

Yeah, I did. Did you find something?

[bloodbiter]

[She nods, digging around before she holding out one half of a pair of medical scissors from the first aid kit that she broke apart.]

It's not much, but it will be better than nothing if anything unfortunate arises.

[She's keeping the other half and the boxcutter, though.]

[theurgy]

[There's a moment where Cassel just considers taking it from her. He could use it, after all, and it's not like it's the only one she has. He's not that much of an asshole, he tells himself, or if he is he doesn't want to be, so after a second he shakes his head. Turning over a new leaf, right?]

I found a straight razor in one of the other houses. You sure you don't want to hold onto it?

[bloodbiter]

Then we'll both have two weapons, won't we?

[Once he takes what she's offering him, at least. Despite what people have told her, she still feels fairly confident that she can handle herself with what she has - she isn't certain about him.]

If I were you, I wouldn't refuse additional means to protect yourself in case it becomes necessary.

[theurgy]

[Huh. That gets a smile out of Cassel, slow and genuine, and he takes the shiv from her. Maybe he really won't need to worry about her.]

Alright, alright, fine. Twist my arm.

[bloodbiter]

I am twisting nothing.

[She says, but there's a smile in return once he's taken the weapon from her.]

It's certainly no replacement for a sword, and I hope neither of us will have cause to use it at any point soon, but all the same.

[theurgy]

[He shakes his head.]

I'd definitely find a way to cut my own head off if you gave me a sword. Knives are perfect.

[bloodbiter]

[She raises an eyebrow for a moment.]

I imagine that would be more difficult than you might assume. You'd have to be swinging it very hard, after all, and in the incorrect direction.

[Because he definitely meant that literally? Totally.]

[theurgy]

[He can't quite tell if she's serious or not, but he laughs anyway. And then, just to mess with her:]

Yeah, maybe it would be easier than I think. You swing it like a club, right?

[bloodbiter]

[It's her who laughs next, though it's incredulous, and she shakes her head.]

Like a club? No - not at all!

[theurgy]

[Cassel shakes his head, expression suddenly serious.]

No, definitely like a club. What else would you do with it?

[bloodbiter]

[She shakes her head again. Swords are serious business.]

It's much different than a club. You have to wield it like it's a natural extension of your arm, as if it's a part of you.

[theurgy]

[Come on, Adelina, you can't be this easy to tease. Cassel raises his eyebrows.]

Are you a knight or something?

[bloodbiter]

[She is absolutely this easy to tease.]

Well... Soldier is a more accurate term. You aren't a knight until you're more accomplished.

[Predictably, all of the teasing has flown over her head.]

What about you? What did you do in your home?

[theurgy]

[Seriously? His eyebrows go up, but she says it so earnestly he finds himself believing her. Plus, what would she get out of lying?]

I'm just a high school student. That's not nearly as cool, but I've got the dorkiest blazer in existence at home.

[bloodbiter]

I don't know what high school is... Or what a dorkiest blazer means.

[But from her tone, it's pretty clear she's curious. If she notices his raised eyebrow, she doesn't bring it up.]

[theurgy]

[Right, right, the whole past thing.]

Where I'm from you have to go to school until you're eighteen, and the last four years are called high school. A blazer is a jacket, and dorkiest means you'd be embarrassed for me if I wore it in front of you.

[bloodbiter]

Until you're eighteen? What could you possibly need to know that would take so long to learn?

[It's said with some skepticism. While things like the communicators and other technology are met with fascination, this is the first real moment of culture shock she's come up against.]

Then... The garment you're speaking of isn't particularly fashionable.

[theurgy]

Calculus.

[He says this with a completely straight face, as though it's the most important thing in the world.]

Do all soldiers wear fancy dresses where you're from?

[bloodbiter]

I don't know what calculus is. Would you explain it to me?

[She shakes her head.]

No, this was for my coronation. It's a shame I wasn't on the battlefield when I was brought here, I might have had more appropriate clothing in that case...

[theurgy]

[He's about to tell her that she really does not want to know anything about calculus when she hits him with that, and he stops with his mouth halfway open.]

Coronation. Coronation for what?

[bloodbiter]

[The reply is on her lips before she pauses with a small smile.]

I will tell you once you explain calculus to me.

[Priorities.]

[theurgy]

[His lips quirk up just slightly, and he can't help the dry response.]

I thought the one upside to freezing to death was not having to think about homework.

[bloodbiter]

Homework?

[The hole grows ever deeper.]