asgardmeridiem | Open | Getting all parkour in here

Entry tags:

Open | Getting all parkour in here

Who: Riley and ANYONE
What: Riley is getting back into the swing of things and that means roof running.
When: D460
Where: Various districts...feel free to pick one.
Rating: PG for her mouth

Riley had been out of touch for a couple of weeks. Honestly, it had sucked because it had kept her from finding away to save Ellie or going down with her. It was a fucked up situation, especially with what her girlfriend knew about what her future was like. She hated that she couldn't be there for her back home but that was kind of the price of being, well, dead.

That really did come up a lot in her mind. Here she could do things for Ellie and be there for her but in the end they'd have to part ways because Ellie lived and she died. Perhaps she should have hated her for that, hated her for all the love she got from everyone too. It would have been fair really. Though it didn't seem like it, Ellie had it going on. People loved her and cared about her. They'd always put her first. Hell, Riley put her first too.

She was jealous. Who had actually given that much of a shit about her since her parents died? Well, besides Ellie.

Not a damn person.

Today, she just needed to clear her head. Then she could go back and be all smiles and laughter for Ellie again since that was what she needed. She needed her to be awesome as fuck and she had to make sure she had her head in the game for that. Which meant she was now running along rooftops, swinging along ledges. It wasn't anything anyone had taught her to do, she'd figured it out on her own and had the guts to bother to try. Practice had made her pretty damn good at it too.

Landing on another rooftop, she took a breath of air and planted her gloved hands on her hips. It was nice being alive. It really was.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Putting down the cup Maglor looks at her quietly and wonders at her smile.

"Things may, as you say happen 'no matter what', yet I cannot think there is anything wrong with seeking to change them, either, as we are doing here."

He tips his head thoughtfully. "As, perhaps, you were doing at home as well? You do not strike me as the sort to simply let things happen without acting."

What was she doing back home? Rotting.

Shit that was messed up.

"You're right. I don't just sit around without acting. I don't know how to."

"Aye."

A hesitation, then.

"Herunya... will you tell me your story?"

"My story?"

Riley stopped a moment and looked him over. Her story was the worst and not at all heroic like he made her sound. The things he made up about her were far better than anything that was real about her.

So, she laughed. When all else failed, it was what she did. Most people were thrown off by it. Funny how laughter could suddenly be the way of hiding.

"Oh come on. I bet your adventures are way better than mine."

Ah

Maglor shakes his head a little. "All tales have their worth - that I have lived long enough to acquire more does not make them any better, or worse" He might argue for worse, but now is not the time.

"Is it so bad then?" He says instead.

So he saw right through that, huh? Riley hesitated, not actually used to that. Then she slumped against her chair and decided she wasn't drunk enough for this. Of course, she doubted this would get her piss faced but at least she could pretend it would do something. Drinking the rest, she set it down and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"So my story, huh? You want to hear how I was born into that world, how I ended up being trained to kill other humans? How I decided I wanted to join a rebel group that was more brutal? How I got Ellie into all kinds of messes and fucked over a friendship to join that group? How I went back to try and fix things and the ending is terrible?"

She looked right at him and this time there was no laughter on her face. Those were the eyes of someone who had lived through the worst life had to offer and had been hardened by it. There was no mask this time. Right then, this was the side of Riley she usually tried to keep away from everyone.

Maglor listens and his eyes hold no judgement. What right have the Feanorionnath to cast stones?

"I do." He says quietly. "Because I think you need to tell it. If not to me, than to another that you trust. I cannot begin to imagine what you went through Riley, nor why you made the decisions you did. But you would not be the first to decide too late that you had chosen wrong, nor the first to try to fix things. Not all things are fixable, of course - you and I both know that. But that does not negate the fact that you tried."

"I cannot imagine, but I can listen and begin to understand, if you wish it."

For the longest time she said nothing at all. Who wanted to hear her side of the story? Understand her? Not a fucking soul outside of Ellie that she was aware of. Looking down, she looked at her hands and knew that on the left one there was a scar on it that she kept hidden from sight with fingerless gloves. People probably just thought it was a fashion statement but it was just her way of trying to hide the fact that she was Infected. True it wouldn't do anything to anyone here but she had the fungus in her and it had claimed her.

Maglor wanted to actually listen to her, understand what kind of person she was. Why would anyone give a shit about her? She was that random kid that no one was ever going to remember save for Ellie apparently. Even that was hard for her to believe because it was hard to grasp that she'd made that much of an impact on her life. But the picture, the dogtag, the shirt she was wearing right now...

She swallowed and took a deep breath. Did she need to tell this story? She'd screamed it at Joel when he'd pissed her off but she didn't believe for a second that she mattered to him. He only cared about Ellie.

"If I tell you and you sing about it to anyone, I'll be pissed," she said quietly without looking up.

"Some tales are not those for song." He nods in agreement, patient and calm.

"Whatever you wish to tell me Riley, I will tell no other."

She believed him. Hell if she knew why but she did. Besides, it was better if someone heard it and it looked like someone actually wanted to listen to her. Not just mess around or anything but to really find out what her story was. It was kind of a new experience and she had to wonder where she even began.

Might as well start at the beginning.

"Around twenty years ago, the Infection spread all over. Everything went to hell and no one could stop it. No cure, no way to put an end to it since being near it meant a risk of being infected too. About four years after it hit, two adults had a little baby Riley. Things were bad but it could have been worse. Skip ahead several years and the dad gets infected. With no way to stop it, he went fucking batshit and ripped into the mom, tearing her apart into little pieces while little Riley watched. When she stopped moving, he turned on Riley instead. Not knowing what else to do, she killed him to live. Not long after that, the military picked her up. Hooray she wasn't infected so they tossed her in the school."

Why the fuck was she talking like this was some other person named Riley? She had no idea but somehow being detached helped right now since she didn't have anger or fear into motivating her to yell it out.

She didn't even know that her eyes had a haunted look to them, like she could see the deaths of her parents happening in her lap.

"At the school, they teach you to kill a rebel group called the Fireflies. When you're sixteen? Bam. New member of the military."

Maglor carefully hides the coiling rage that builds, locking it down deep and deep - it does no good to Riley, and the ones who would do this to children, even in a world so terrible that a child must watch one parent kill the other, and then kill the parent to save herself, are not here where he can reach them.

He sits quiet, a solid, stable presence, but he does not reach out to her (he has not earned that right) - she needs to talk, and he will not disturb her focus now. There is no condemnation in his eyes as he nods slowly to show her he hears.

"Riley met Ellie when she was around fifteen. Ellie came to the school and Riley beat up some guys who were after her. Stole her music player too. Ellie left then confronted her and got it back. That night, she heard Riley sneaking out and demanded to have her teach her to do it too. Not wanting to get caught, she did. They had a huge adventure where they were almost killed by Infected and they came across the Fireflies and their leader, Marlene. At this point, Riley wanted to join them more than anything and she'd been out that night to find them."

She pushed around the glass that had once held wine back and forth between her hands. It was just something to do really. Something else to focus on.

"Turns out, Marlene knew Ellie's mom and she paid special attention to her. Riley wasn't given a fuck and when the girls left, Riley was upset. After that, the girls were the best friends possible. Months passed and it was nearing time for Riley to turn sixteen. There was a huge fight where they said the worst possible things to each other and then Riley ran away without a word. She went to find the Fireflies and it turned out everything was a test. Marlene had been waiting for her and she had another test."

Riley hesitated then. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she realized she still couldn't talk about it. "She made her do something Riley would never be able to talk about, something really fucked up, to prove she should be a Firefly. It worked. Hooray she was a member. Bad news was that she had to leave the city and never come back because she was needed elsewhere. It would mean having no hope of ever seeing Ellie again. What about Ellie though? Couldn't she join? Nope. She was special as fuck according to Marlene and she didn't want her anywhere near the Fireflies."

To this day, she was still so jealous that Ellie could be so special. There were times when she seriously hated herself for that.

Quietly Maglor reaches across and replaces the glass with mug of tea. That any would use Riley so, would say such things to a soul so bright...

Not now, Makalaure

"What then?" a murmur, soft and barely there.

"She went back. She figured Ellie would tell her to fuck off but if she said she wanted her back then she'd run away from the Fireflies, even if it meant being hunted from then on. It meant she was nearly killed getting to her but she did it. Then, they snuck out and went to the mall, the place they'd gone to that first time. Riley showed her all kinds of things and even showed there was still electricity there. They took pictures together, ran around... Finally Ellie and her talked. They argued and it finally came out that Ellie was the only one who could stop her from going away. It seemed like she would but after they danced..."

A heavy sigh and Riley watched the tea in the cup. Did she want to drink this? She didn't know if she did or not really. It was there but could she stomach it yet when she was telling this story?

"Ellie...Ellie kissed her. Told her not to go. Riley ripped off her Firefly tags and they agreed that it didn't matter what happened because they'd run away together. They'd figure it out was what Riley said. And then...the Infected came."

"It sounds like you." He says softly, and now for the first time he moves to come around the table to sit nearer. He does not touch her, but his hand is there, if she needs the support. He thinks he might be able to guess, how this story ends.

"You fought them" because it is Riley and Ellie, how could they not? "What happened?

"They didn't fight them. They ran. They ran as fast as they could and they were almost out when Ellie fell. Riley could have been free but that was Ellie. So she ran down and saved her only to be tackled by another. Ellie killed it but Riley knew it was too late. For both of them."

For the first time, Riley pulled off the glove of her left hand to show a scar on it. Teeth.

"They didn't know what to do so Riley decided they'd take advantage of every second they had left. In the end, Ellie lived."

She didn't say that she'd died. It was obvious. Why bother saying it? Letting out a breath, she shrugged and looked up.

"That's the story."

Maglor reaches out once, resting a hand on her shoulder before removing it.

"Riley was very brave." He says softly. "And I am very grateful that you would trust me with this. And... despite all the pains that Asgard brings, I am glad that it has brought you here, to have your second chance, and so that I could meet you."

This story, he knows, he will not forget - a gem to be kept hidden in his heart long after she is gone, and perhaps one day when the time is right, he will tell the story, in a different world to this one, but perhaps not.

Grateful he only touched her briefly and didn't try to hug her or anything, she tried for a little smile. It helped that he didn't show pity, didn't try to correct anything for how she should feel or what she'd done. He'd just listened.

"Yeah. This place is cool."

A smile touches his lips briefly as he returns to his seat.

"I will never understand why your modern language has chosen temperature as it's choice for declaiming how good or bad a thing is."

More soberly. "Asgard has brought many second chances that they might not have had. I am glad that it has, for I would never have known you, else, and my life is the richer for it."

Riley got a laugh out that time. She had no idea why the language was the way it was honestly but it was funny that he pointed it out.

"No idea. But yeah, this place is nice. No idea what'll happen after but hey, I'll take it one day at a time."

"If you are in it, I cannot help but think it will be a brighter place."

Maglor tips his head in inquiry at the cooling tray of tarts. Want one?

Nodding, she took one then gave him a LOOK.

"Wow. That was cheesy," she said around a mouthful of tart.

"I only speak the truth as I see it."

His face is carefully blank, but his eyes twinkle as he tips his head deliberately at her and says.

"Chew."

Riley's face took on a look of absolute mischief as she pointedly widened her eyes.

"Like this?"

Opening her mouth, she chewed the tart loudly and rudely with her mouth open for him to see. Just to be a brat.

He laughs then, bright and clear, and shakes his head at her.

"Exactly so, herunya. But perhaps you would like to close your mouth else you might lose that whole tart to crumbs on the table, and that would be a shame."

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