Not While I'm Around

Boop · Jul 27, 2017

The first day at her new school had been a surprisingly pleasant one for Theodora, she had only gotten into one fight and it was almost time for her last class. Most of the people here seemed to either have a lot of willpower, not be affected by her, not get close enough to her to want to see her cry, or just as sad as she was. It might have helped that she was having more trouble not breaking into tears than she usually did. With the memory of her step-mom's death still fresh in her mind, all the questions people asked about why she was here and what her powers were usually enough to get her cry. People usually seemed nicer when she was already sad.

Besides even though she hadn't thrown the first punch, she felt that the fight had been her own fault. At least the teacher that had broken them apart seemed to think so - they had ripped into her quite savagely for picking on someone going through a tough situation. And she already felt guilty for the amount of punches thrown in retaliation, as well as the fact that she was excited by the pain she caused. Theodora had only wanted to help the other kid, talk to someone she felt was hurting - but she should have known better.

That fight was also the reason the girl was out wandering the halls looking for her next class and completely lost. She caught a glimpse of an older student also out and head looking like they knew where they were going. The student was much taller than her and probably an adult. They didn't feel upset to her, but they looked a little angry. Dora actually debated whether or not to ask for help, but if people were gonna hurt her anyway, she wouldn't get by if she was afraid.

Her approach was still timid and she hid most of her face in her scarf as she approached the stranger. "E-excuse me, sir. I'm lost."

The older student looked down at the pathetic little Greek girl and sneered, "Why should I care? You're just a stupid little kid. I can't even hear your fucking voice with that thing on your face." Saying that they reached out for Dora's scarf and ripped it down out of her hands.

@Kadakism

Kada · Jul 27, 2017

Life in this world was strange and difficult to adjust to. Gask had already come to terms with the fact that he would not be returning home to his people. Well, as much to terms with it as one could. He still longed for the wasteland, wanting to see his people thrive. But in the best case scenario, they were frozen in time. Locked in something called a server until the people who created them decided to use them again.

Life was also difficult because Gask had gone from being arguably the smartest person in the Fire Eaters to a relative idiot in this world. After a number of tests, it was determined that his baseline of knowledge was, at best, on par with a ninth grade student. Not that he knew what any of that meant.
But he knew it meant that he was below average at least. And that made him angry. He had brooded all the way through his first classes of the day, and gotten called an edgelord by some teenager. Whatever that meant.

A voice broke Gask out of his introspection. Loud and angry. He turned, his eyes fixating intensely on the person responsible. It was an older student, a young man, and he was yelling at s little girl.
Anger flared up, and Gask reached for the holstered gun that wasn't there. Another thing that annoyed him.

With no weapon, he marched over to the pair, intent on giving the man a piece of his mind. But when he saw the man's leg cock back for a kick, he broke into a run. Gask hit the man full sprint, knocking both of them into a wall with his forearm braced against the man's throat.

"That is a child, you brainless fuck! You. Do not. Hit. A child. For any reason."

The man struggled, but Gask held firm. This body was sturdy even if it could feel pain, which was a hindrance to him. "You will walk away, or you will wear your teeth as a necklace."
It took several more seconds, but the man finally relented. Gask released him and watched with a glare perfected over years of life as a raider as he limped away to lick his wounds.

Turning to the little girl, Gask felt a strange sensation. It was a gnawing urge to make this small child cry, to see her hurt, whether that be physically or emotionally. His face twisted in disgust at the feeling, and Gask bit the inside of his cheek to give himself something else to focus on. Pain was at least useful for that.

Kneeling in front of her, Gask let his expression soften. "Are you alright, little one? He didn't hit you, did he?"

Boop · Jul 28, 2017

The sudden ripping down of her scarf did hurt Dora's fingers a little, but it was only a little pain, barely even registering. She wasn't at all surprised by the reaction of the older student, and she found it honestly pathetic; she had been hit harder by children her own age and the insult was barely an insult. Needless to say, Dora was even close to crying, although she was annoyed at herself for approaching the student and probably making herself even later for class.

She did not notice that the man had drawn his leg back to kick her, so she was very surprised when someone came almost out of nowhere and pushed the student against the wall. People coming to her defense was a new experience for her, and she watched cautiously and quietly wondering if this apparent defender would turn around and hurt her to when he was finished strangling the student.

The pain of the man struggling against the wall was so slight it didn't really bother her. The girl was calm as she checked that her scarf hadn't torn and then rewrapped her face so that her eyes were just peeking over, covering up a bruise from her earlier fight. She did look up in surprise at the older man's threat, having thought he was a teacher at first glance, only just noticing that he was also wearing a student's uniform.

Tensing up a bit, she watched them both, her eyes wide. The girl couldn't have said if she was more eager for her rescuer to carry out on his threat, even though she'd somehow get blamed, or for the student that had been bullying her to just leave, so she wouldn't have to deal with the excitement of other people's pain. Not that she had any control over the outcome.

Theodora turned and watched the man leave as well. Jumping slightly, she peered over her shoulder at the one who had helped her when she felt him bite himself. Timidly, but with a neutral tone, she said, "T-thank you, mister. But don't hurt yourself please. If you want to make me cry now, that's okay."

In spite of what she said, she did pull back a little when the man knelt in front of her. She didn't actually enjoy being hit and still wasn't sure what he was going to do. She still answered him - he was an adult, and she had never felt there was much point in lying about things anyway. "I'm okay. I'm used to this. People just - want to see my tears. Why did you help me?"

Kada · Jul 29, 2017

Gask was confused, to say the least. Why would a girl so young be so calm about someone trying to do her harm? The answer came to him quickly enough, but knowing it didn't help him feel any better about the situation.

She was used to it.

Shaking his head, Gask tried to smile. It was an odd gesture, one he wasn't entirely used to still. He had spent hours in front of a mirror, testing out different smiles and attempting to soften his hard, intense features. He didn't want to look like a hardened killer, even if they is what he was.

"I am not going to make you cry. At least, I hope I won't. My name is Gask, what is yours?"

He still wanted to hurt her. Maybe break her nose or tell her how worthless she was. But Gask hadn't risen to become the Fire Eaters leader by not being able to control his impulses.

Boop · Jul 29, 2017

Dora tilted her head a little, casually examining the older man. Her expression was hidden by her scarf but her eyes were unafraid. She could feel his nostalgia, although she couldn't put words to that emotion yet, and she felt his scars suited him somehow. Even though she'd never had scars of her own, at least not that people could see, she knew that they told stories.

The girl may have been 12, but her empathy, both power-related and natural, and her own hardships and made her more perceptive. She shook her head at the man's poor attempt at a smile, sympathetic and slightly bemused at his effort. "It's all right to cry too, mister. It helps sometimes. And you don't need to pretend with me. I'm not afraid. What made you all hurt?" She pointed to the scars on his face with a small, quick gesture before curling her hand in her scarf.

"M-my name's Theodora. Thank you again, Mr. Gask. I never thought an adult would help me... But I'm glad you did. I'm not allowed to fight back when it's an adult." Her voice was soft, gentle, and calm. This was just the way life was.

Kada · Jul 29, 2017

Gask frowned at the girl's matter of fact observations. She was too worldly for her age. Too used to the hurts that it had to offer. Even here, where it wasn't a struggle for food or shelter, children were still hurting.

She pointed out his scars, and Gask merely offered a shrug. "Different things, over a lifetime of surviving in a world that was too harsh and unforgiving. I don't cry anymore though."

Standing up, Gask looked around. The halls were mostly empty. Classes had begun. They were both late.
Reaching a hand out for the girl to take if she wanted, he tried smiling again.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Theodora. Is that Greek? It's a very pretty name."
How he knew the origin of her name, Gask couldn't really explain. But he did.
"I can walk you to class if you want. Or if you aren't feeling up to it, I can take you to the nurse's office or anywhere you'd like."

Boop · Aug 26, 2017

She wasn't surprised by the frown, but she did brace herself, expecting that she'd somehow annoyed the man or he'd just changed his mind about not making her cry. But nothing happened, and she realized the expression was probably not directed at her personally. Actually, from how awkward his attempts at smiling were, maybe she should just assume that a little upset was just how Gask's face looked naturally.

Nodding at his response, Dora gave the man a knowing look. "After awhile it's hard to keep crying. Things still hurt, but..." She shrugged as well, not sure how to say what she meant. It didn't really matter anyway. He didn't need a kid telling him stuff he probably already knew. "You miss home, don't you? Where are you from?"

If she didn't heal, the little girl would have plenty of scars, and most of them would've been from family. She didn't quite realize this, though, convinced that everyone else was going through worse than she was. So she didn't comment, although she could somewhat empathize with him.

Theodora took Gask's hand and shook it. That seemed like such a grown-up thing to do, shaking hands. His niceness was almost puzzling to her, but she wasn't going to reject it. She'd take what kindness she could get out of life.

Pulling her scarf down so he could see her small smile, and incidentally revealing the bruise on her face, Dora answered, "Thank you - that's where I'm from, Greece. It's a little far... I miss home too."

The girl bit her lip a little when she also realized they were late. Her first day had been going pretty well, and now another teacher was probably going to yell at her. She had hoped she'd be able to do better at this school - prove she wasn't really a bad student. And now... But she refused to run, and she didn't really want to get seen by a nurse - they were worse than teachers.

"Yeah - I should go to class. But oh! That's why I'm late - I got lost and... that boy didn't want to help me. You won't get in trouble too, will you? I'm sorry."

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