|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 25, 2017 15:30:37 GMT
Anna had been sitting with a huge grin on her face, expecting Axel to praise what she was doing, congratulate her on coming up with such an idea, smile back and offer words of support.
Instead, he merely stared at her for a moment or two in utter silence. And then his features had turned into a look of shock, disbelief.... and anger. And when he spoke, his words were harsh and incredulous. She stared at Axel, his accusatory words ringing in her mind and her whole body frozen as if she were nothing more than a statue. In that instant, she felt like a statue. Cold, immobilized, empty inside.
"I thought you would be happy."
Her voice sounded as if it were coming from deep down in a well. The passionate grin on her face was long gone and she still couldn't seem to move a muscle as she stared at Axel across the bar. Her Irish coffee lay forgotten on the table. Everything and everyone around her seemed to have grown distant and unimportant. All she could see in that moment was the pure rage on Axel's face, the contempt in his eyes.
|
|
|
|
Post by skyeknight on May 26, 2017 23:50:08 GMT
"Anna..."
He sighed before rubbing a hand over his face. He felt like he just killed her pet lizard in front of her with the look she was giving him. Which he would never do since he happened to like the little guy. It didn't shake Anna's likeness to a wounded puppy. He would be the first to admit, he was awful with words. Give him something to do and he'd do it easily. Axel did by actions. But he was a better listener than he was an actual speaker. If she started to cry, then he would be royally screwed.
"You're the most brilliant person I know sometimes, but you get this sort of focus... You're not thinking this through." he said. "There's a reason some people have powers and others don't."
One, it was genetics. He knew she wanted to help people but she could do that by not playing mad scientist. The road to Hell was paved with good intentions. Anna's was a good intention. She wanted to help. He liked that about her, but she had to stop and think.
|
|
|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 27, 2017 7:51:32 GMT
Anna heard what Axel was saying but didn't really listen. His previous words seemed to fill her mind completely and despite telling herself not to get upset, she could feel her eyes starting to tear up. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She had been so certain that the Fire Demon would love her idea and support it just like he had other times. And to hear him speak out so strongly against something so important to her....
"I thought you would understand."
The words were soft, spoken more to the table than to Axel's face. A horrible, nasty hollowness seemed to be filling her chest in that moment and it was all she could do to stop herself from crying. Suddenly she wished she hadn't come into the bar at all that night, that she had just gone straight home and left him to wonder where she was.
"What I'm doing.....it will help people. It will change things for the better. I thought you would understand what I'm trying to do. I thought..."
She gulped back the disappointment and sadness so that she could finish speaking.
"I thought that you understood me!"
|
|
|
|
Post by skyeknight on May 27, 2017 15:19:22 GMT
"I do understand," he said. "But I don't want to see you get hurt. There are people out there who really don't like people with powers as it is. If they found out you could give out artificial powers just because, they'd try to kill you."
Anna dead. Now that filled him with a sense of dread. He suddenly felt very ill. He could already see her laid out in some alley, bloodied up, perhaps past recognition. The thought infuriated him at Anna's would be assailants. But he had to keep his cool. He couldn't start raging at a what if scenario. He only hoped Anna wasn't too far into that research of hers. Oh how he wanted to burn those papers.
"You're trying to fix something that isn't broken. The riots turned out as good as they were going to." he said.
If people had more powers during that incident, the death toll might have been higher. Injuries would have gone up for sure. Her good intentions would have created absolute chaos in the streets as it would have become a free for all of survival. That wouldn't have been good at all. Axel had ushered his workers and their families to the bar for their safety. Then he had stood out front all night, acting as a guard and protector. He had been exhausted the next day.
|
|
|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 27, 2017 23:54:07 GMT
"Trying to fix something that isn't broken?"
Anna's words were soft, barely audible over the sounds of the surrounding bar and its patrons. However, something in its tone had changed as she stared down at the woodwork of the bench in front of her. Her sight, which had started to waver with the threat of tears, suddenly grew intensely focused.
"This whole city is BROKEN!"
With that said, her head jerked up to glower at Axel. Her sadness at Axel's lack of support quickly changed into something hot and reckless. As she hastily wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand, it was clear what the young medical examiner was feeling. She was angry.
"What I'm doing could help so many people who have suffered here in Bellerouge. I could make those who are weak stronger, could help heal those who have been hurt, could prevent crimes before they even happened! And you have the gall to say that this city isn't broken?!"
|
|
|
|
Post by skyeknight on May 28, 2017 3:14:09 GMT
"I'm not talking about the city. I'm talking about the people. What's wrong with them being the way they are?" he replied. "Would you try and change me with Sapien, Anna? Make me normal? Make me human? Changing people who aren't Others is an awful idea."
Those people would have to come to terms with their powers. Then they would have to learn control of something they had no experience with. In the mean time, the people with new powers would have to try not to kill anyone. Which he could see some people using these newfound powers for revenge. It wasn't just an awful idea it was a disastrous one. He could see things escalating even further. Not to mention, Sapien was on the streets still. There was no producer for the product, but there were still stashes of the substance that could be used against Others.
"Anna... power... is something easily abused. You can't stop bad things from happening. You can't make this a cure all to every bad thing that has ever happened." he sighed. "Someone could get a hold of your... experiment and make it bad. People always do that."
|
|
|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 29, 2017 3:45:01 GMT
"I'M NOT TRYING TO CHANGE PEOPLE, I'M TRYING TO SAVE THEM! WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!"
Anna yelled the words directly into Axel's face, her own suddenly going bright red and her hands balled into fists at her sides. She had never had problems with her temper before, had never gotten nasty towards anyone or yelled at them or done anything even slightly unpleasant because of her anger. She had cared too much about people to let herself get that way. Now, however.....
In that instant her gaze seemed to be on fire and her whole body was as tense as a length of piano wire. The smallest hint of moisture still shined at the corners of her eyes but her expression was nothing short of enraged. Other people in the bar had turned around to look at her when she shouted, but they all quickly turned back to their own conversations and drinks when they saw her face.
"I have a real chance to do some good for people and you just think it's some power trip? Well FINE THEN! I don't need your support or help!"
|
|
|
|
Post by skyeknight on May 29, 2017 16:34:23 GMT
"Helping them by changing them." he reminded, gently.
Ironic that he was the one keeping his temper whereas she did not. Perhaps it was a good thing she didn't have fire powers. He sighed. It was sweet of her to care so much, but it was only going to end up getting her hurt or worse, killed. There were other ways to fix the city, ways they hadn't managed to do yet. She had a bleeding heart for the causes that were important to her. Plain to see by the way she was in his face yelling at him. The worst part? She made him want to care too, but he couldn't. He was selfish. He didn't want to see her get hurt for her cause.
"Anna, you'd use it to help. Others would use it to hurt. Same thing happened with Sapien. That's all I'm saying besides, why listen to me? Aren't I just the asshole who serves your drinks?"
She didn't understand the fear that Sapien instilled in Others. A forceful sterilization of powers. For some Others, their power was all they knew, and could rely on as a constant. If that was taken away they felt as if they had nothing. To have powers brought on you when all you knew was not having them, could be frightening, cause mass hysteria.
|
|
|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 29, 2017 19:23:39 GMT
Instead of continuing to yell at Axel, all Anna did was sit silently and glare at him. It was clear she was done listening to him. His lack of support had hurt her deeply and made her rethink just how much of a true friend he was to her. She didn't know why his words, his lack of support and his negative view of what she was trying to achieve would make her feel so badly, but she felt it all the same.
And now all she could feel looking at the spikey-haired, green-eyed fire Demon was a stubbornness and deep resentfulness.
Suddenly she pushed her seat back with a loud screech of legs dragging over the floor. Standing up with the same glare on her face, she reached into her purse and pulled out some cash before dropping it onto the counter next to her unfinished coffee. She didn't feel tired in the slightest anymore but used it as an excuse.
"You know, I shouldn't have come in tonight after all. I'm still pretty tired. Think I'll just go home."
Her words were icy and indifferent, the exact opposite of the kind of person she normally was. And her eyes, normally such a cheery blue, had grown hard.
|
|
|
|
Post by skyeknight on May 29, 2017 20:03:40 GMT
There it was.
Hatred.
He honestly hadn't thought Anna capable of such a menacing look, but there it was. She had finally crossed the line and realized that the demon was not good for her. He might have been happy at one point, because then it would save him the hurt of when she walked away. He just hadn't expected for it to be so soon and make him feel so rotten. Still, he wore his sarcasm like a shield. It had done him quite a bit of good in the past. His mask of feigned indifference slid into place.
"Running away just because you didn't get your way?" he snipped. "Very mature."
This was the equivalence of a temper tantrum. Did she honestly expect him to apologize and suddenly change his tune? No. He knew it was a bad idea what she was doing. She didn't care about his opinion because she was going to turn around and keep doing what he was doing. At least he didn't feel honor bound to keep secret about her little project. He could tell anyone he wanted, including her coworkers.
|
|
|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 29, 2017 20:27:41 GMT
Suddenly and without warning, Anna slapped Axel across the face. It wasn't a girly swing either or something meant only for show. No, there was a fair amount of power behind the swing and the smack it produced seemed to cause all other sound within the bar to disappear.
Now the tears did come, slowly coursing down Anna's face as she stood before Axel with her hand still raised. However, the pain she felt didn't show on her face and all that could be seen was the anger. Good, she wouldn't let him see just how badly his words, his actions had hurt her. Still she spoke, her voice quivering slightly.
"I thought you were my friend, Axel. And for a time there, I thought maybe you might even..... well, clearly it was my mistake."
As she spoke, the tears fell from her face and lightly struck the wooden table between them. It might as well have been a chasm between them now. Looking at Axel, she realized how foolish she had been to think that he even wanted to be her friend, let alone something more. Well, she was done.
"I'll prove to you and to everyone that what I'm doing is right, that it will change the world for the better. I'll prove it even if it kills me!"
And without another word, the young woman grabbed her purse and ran out of the bar before she cracked and showed just how badly Axel had hurt her. Every eye in the bar followed her out the door before turning to stare at the bartender.
|
|
|
|
Post by skyeknight on May 29, 2017 20:52:37 GMT
Perhaps he should have expected the slap. He certainly didn't stop it from happening. She didn't pour her drink on him so that was a plus. He was used to this sort of rage from anyone but her. All because he said no, she viewed him as the enemy, hated and reviled by what he was. He really wondered if she even knew him at all. She certainly didn't act like it.
"I am your friend." he replied. "As your friend, I'm telling you this is a bad idea."
But she didn't listen. She hadn't been listening since the moment he said - no. That was all she focused on. She stormed out in an angry huff. He shook his head before rubbing a hand to the back of his neck. Women were so frustrating sometimes. Except now, everyone at the bar was staring at him, as if expecting him to do something. Forget about it. If Anna was going to act like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum, let her.
"Back to your drinks," he spat.
|
|
|
|
Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 29, 2017 20:54:59 GMT
(End Plot)
|
|
