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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 9:55:21 GMT -8
Shiloh was overwhelmed. She had always wanted friends, always wanted to be around people and talk to them, but it was exhausting. Christmas was a huge success, but it too was exhausting. She was so often surrounded by people, and she was hiding things from them. All of them. It was beginning to wear on her.
She had escaped to the Arc, the last remnant of her home world. She found a place where she could stare at the ruins without having to see the Christmas tree. There, she curled up in a little ball, and thought.
She thought about her parents. She thought about her abilities. She thought about Zekunft and all of the world she had left behind. She wondered what would have happened to her, if she had stayed. What would have happened to her parents. She tucked her face into her knees, and breathed in a shaky breath.
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 10:41:22 GMT -8
"You have a peculiar way of staying under the radar."
Drake would say. He would be sitting in what used to be the first seating area of the Ark in front of it's main stage where the Statues of Strike and Rai were.
"Especially after a specific someone went out of their way to offer you some solid advice."
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 11:47:21 GMT -8
Shiloh jumped slightly, and then turned her attention to Drake. A sad sort of smile played across her lips, and she gave a little shrug.
"I've been trying... for the most part. I haven't told anyone about everything, and I haven't even... tried to use my ability... in a while."
It was actually pretty strange. For years, it was as easy for her as breathing, and she had utilized it until it became a part of her. She couldn't help but wonder if her not using her Qi as often was the reason most people were having an easier time seeing her.
"I've been doing a pretty crappy job at hiding, though, haven't I? Seems like I'm no good at THAT, either." She chuckled, even though her words were far from funny.
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 13:42:45 GMT -8
"Tsk, your not going to be good at some thing that you never do."
He sighed as he stood up and made his way to her.
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 13:56:23 GMT -8
She remained where she was, thinking about what Drake said. He wasn't wrong, and holding the Christmas Tree event was probably foolish on her end... but it was Christmas. She sighed softly, knowing that he was probably right, in the end.
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 14:49:20 GMT -8
"Oi!"
He called out trying to snap her out of her own head.
"I see them wheels spinnin but I don't think you're catching up with what I'm saying. So how about you try asking a question instead of assuming shit. I'm already an asshole, don't need you pushing me to be a bigger one."
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 15:24:09 GMT -8
Shiloh couldn't help but chuckled a little at Drake's comment. She began to fiddle, almost idly, with her fingers. He had given her permission to ask a question... and suddenly, she realized she had no idea what to ask him.
"I don't actually think you're an asshole, Drake. I really appreciate your advice... and I don't mean to just... throw it away. But I..." She paused, and took a deep breath to steady herself, looking up at the Ark.
"I don't know why I do the things I do. I usually do them without thinking."
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 15:33:12 GMT -8
Drake chuckled.
"You and me both chick. Gotten me into a hella lot of trouble over the years."
He would walk over to Rai's statue and stare at it for a moment before turning to Shiloh.
"Case in point. Notice how this statue is missing an arm? Want to know what happened to it?"
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 17:04:30 GMT -8
She tilted her head to one side, staring at the statue of Rai. It looked familiar, so close, and yet... so different. She wasn't entirely sure who it was just from looking at it. Turning her attention back to Drake, she nodded.
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 17:18:02 GMT -8
He would take off his shirt and reveal the entirety of his left arm, and right there, between the shoulder and the elbow would be a scar that looked like it made a perfect circle around the arm.
"When I was back in my world I was power crazed. I felt that I NEEDED to get stronger, to become the strongest, no matter the means nor methods. Well, on of the ways I did this was by entering a sacred place and getting into a fight with the guardian of the place, I ended up losing my arm. More accurately, in order to survive I cut off my own arm."
He let that revelation sink in. Before continuing.
"When we came to this world I happened to make a friend whose ability was to remove and attach limbs, so as my father stood here, saying his final goodbye, after saving all of our lives he gave my friend permission to take his arm and seal it to me..."
He stared at the arm as he opened and closed the hand.
"I've made so many mistakes by rushing into the things without a thought. Things that cost me dearly, and then cost those around me. My father will now be immortalized with the indignity of being complete because I couldn't be bothered to use my head."
He would put his shirt back on, and look to Shiloh. If you want to pave yourself a path through life. Then you need to understand that the consequences don't belong to just you."
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 17:33:56 GMT -8
Shiloh listened to his story in silence, her arms wrapping around her knees. She couldn't imagine that kind of pain. She disagreed with only one thing he said: to her, his father was immortalized as a symbol of the true love that existed between a parent and their child. She raised one hand to wipe the tears away, fighting to not let them fall.
So that was his father. No wonder he had come to see him for Christmas, and brought that necklace with him. She tucked her face behind her knees as she contemplated what he said, remaining silent for a few moments longer. She thought about her own parents, about how they must have felt when she disappeared. She thought about the small family she was somehow managing to build around herself, here.
She wasn't quite able to find her voice and say anything.
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 18:04:14 GMT -8
Drake would remain silent for now. Letting her work though her own thoughts without interruption.
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 18:20:55 GMT -8
When Shiloh spoke again, it was a mere whisper leaving her lips, as if her throat were dry.
"War, violence... It's all... terrifying. And the thought of... getting myself involved... I thought I would do anything to stay as far away from what is coming as I possibly could. I always thought that I could... live a normal life, if only people didn't know my secret. I saw all of those orphans being taken away because of their abilities, and I told myself... I wouldn't be like them. I would be normal. But..."
She swallowed, the tears coming back to her eyes again. This time, she tried to wipe them away, tried to free herself from them, but they still began to fall.
"But I can't do that, Drake... I won't fight. I can't fight, and I don't want to... but I just want..." She stopped, giving a shake of her head. "I will find a way to... to save my family. To save the world, and people like me. There has to be a way..." A sob choked off the rest of her words for a moment as she gathered herself. "My parents f-fought. And I won't, not like they did. But I will find a way to m-make this a GOOD world, a g-good place. For my family. My friends. For everyone."
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Post by Drake on Dec 30, 2020 18:49:09 GMT -8
"Well, how do you want to make that happen?"
He would ask looking at her.
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Post by Shiloh on Dec 30, 2020 19:15:53 GMT -8
She sighed softly. That was the hard part... that was the part that she simply did not know. She shrugged her shoulders and stared at the Ark, as if it would somehow have the answers for her.
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