If he was being totally honest with himself, Tox wasn't quite sure what kind of man he was at this point. If his grandfather were still alive, he would say that its not about knowing who you are, but knowing what you don't wish to be. He never wanted to be the type of person who would crush a person's feelings out of his own sheer stubbornness and stupidity ever again. He was a hot-head, and he always would be, but when he was around Brain he felt grounded, and he knew he could be a better man with her in his life.
They both had baggage, and truly more than their share of it, but Tox believed that thats what made them who they are. He would never want Brain to be any different than she was now. He loved everything about her, including her stutter, and her glasses, and just...everything. She was everything to him, and the depth of that feeling, especially now that it was out in the open, did frighten him a little bit. He had clung to the idea that he was destined to be alone for the rest of his life, to protect everyone else, that it was hard to let go of that habit.
But, for Brain, Tox would do anything, as he had demonstrated with how he had dealt with Holo. He did regret his actions, he regretted going back on his vow to never use his ability to intentionally harm another person ever again. However, in the middle of all of this, he had reasoned with himself that it had not been like back ing the gang. He hadn't been doing it just to see the other guy suffer, he had been protecting someone from his brutal behavior. There was no doubt in his mind that he would do it again in a heartbeat, to defend those that he cared about, and that revelation made him feel more powerful and self-confident than he'd felt in a long time.
"Look, I...," he started to say, because Brain still hadn't said anything, and he was starting to worry about what was going through her head. He started to think that maybe it would be better if he just walked away, left her alone...and then he stopped thinking altogether.
There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in Tox's body. When Brain suddenly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, his arms went around her waist in and instant. It was all of the answer he could have ever hoped for from her and this time he wasn't going to throw his chance in the garbage. He held her gently but firmly to him as he kissed her back, and he just savored everything in this moment. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but he did pull away first, though barely an inch, and pressed his forehead against her.
"I'm going to take that as a good sign," he said, giving her a little bit of a smirking smile, "Before we do anymore of that though, I have to tell you how totally sorry I am about what I said to you in that shipping container. In the moment, I thought I was going it to protect you from me, because for the last ten years of my life I've thought that I would just hurt anyone I ever let myself care about, but now I know just how stupid that was." All he wanted was to kiss her again, but Brain needed to know why it had happened. He wanted her to know everything.
Edited By Britters on 11/4/2018 at 8:11 PM.
Creativity
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Posted: 11/7/2018 at 1:30 PM
Post #232
It was almost shocking to Brain, at first, when Tox first kissed her back. She wasn't certain why, though. His actions had proven that he was actually attracted to her, and then he had admitted it to her face. Why would she have hesitation in kissing him when she knew how much in love she was with him? Maybe she feared that it wasn't real, that he was just going to pull back in disgust and stomp all over her heart like he had done in that shipping container.
But then, he actually kissed back. He accepted her and all of her flaws. He accepted that she wasn't very pretty, or funny, or willingly helpful. It was almost too much for her to take at first; she felt the tears beginning to prick at her eyes again even as she pressed against Tox, trying to meld into him.
When he pulled back, she was disappointed, albeit grateful for air. The look on his face after pulling back, though, was enough to elate her again. She smiled up at him, feeling for the first time in weeks like the situation was right. She was right. This place was right. Tox was right.
She sniffled a little, trying to recover from her emotions, and then laughed at Tox's assumption. She calmed down some when he changed the topic to something more serious, to that awful night.
"I don't want to t-talk about that," she murmured softly, looking down for a minute. When he started explaining his reasons for saying what he did, she awarded him her gaze again, but let her hands come down from his neck. One was set on his chest, and the other played with a string on his shirt.
With a deep sigh, she tried to process what he said, closing her eyes now. "I'm not going to p-pretend it was alright. But... I th-think we can start over... Somewhat, at least."
-
Symphony Jones.
The name rang in her head as Spirit entered the small internet cafe in New York City, New York, United States. Admittedly, this past week had been the first time Spirit was in America, though she had spent plenty of time in the U.K. and Canada, and she had taken enough English in high school to know the language well enough. There was no hiding her accent; she didn't even want to bother.
The girl was sat in a booth in the corner of the cafe. Spirit recognized her immediately, and had to hold a finger up to keep Kraftaverk from getting excited. Thanks to a friend of hers with the Ability to make temporary, minor appearance changes to animals, the thylacine was plenty passable for some exotic breed of dog. He pressed up against her leg happily, though, having landed sights on the girl just a split second sooner than Spirit had.
Symphony Jones.
They took a booth, Kraftaverk jumping happily up onto the seats. Spirit almost dared someone to question her pet, but no one did, and that was probably better off. She ordered a black coffee, and then discreetly - she was an expert - watched the girl for at least ten or fifteen minutes. She needed to scope this girl's personality so she could know the best way to approach her.
It was when she noticed another man watching the girl - this one definitely creepy - and her one eye hardened considerably. Well, most people enjoyed being rescued, and this girl definitely knew she was in trouble if those suspicious glances his way were any indication.
Symphony Jones.
Already ready for her entrance, Spirit stood and smoothly strode over to where the man was. She sat down next to him, Kraftaverk weaving around her legs. With a hand placed on his shoulder, she leaned over and told him sweetly, "I get it, love. The wife's not treating you right. The kids are brats. But what you're thinking is more than a little illegal, and it's not going to solve any problems. You want to leave here before anything bad happens to you, alright?"
He looked at her, stunned into silence. His mouth formed a few vowels, but no sound came out. "Y-you're right..." he admitted after a minute, and quickly stood up and walked off with his hands in his pockets.
"Men, right?" Spirit laughed as she stood, walked, and slid into Symphony's booth, right across from her. "What a shame we require them for the survival of our species," she gave a small shrug, then grinned knowingly at the girl. "Symphony Jones, am I wrong?"
Edited By Creativity on 11/7/2018 at 1:50 PM.
Britters
Level 72
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Posted: 11/7/2018 at 2:58 PM
Post #233
The absolute last thing Tox wanted to do was ruin this beautiful moment he and Brain were having. However, he still felt very strongly about letting Brain know a little of what happened that night in the shipping container. He knew she probably didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't blame her in the slightest for feeling that way. Eventually they would have to talk about it in greater detail, but he understood that for now they both deserved to just enjoy feeling so good after so many weeks of feeling so miserable.
When Tox saw Brian's reaction to what he told her, he could feel his heart tearing again. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, pulling her head to his chest. He wanted to just make everything he had said to her go away if it meant not having to see that subtle hint of hurt in her eyes anymore. All he wanted to do was protect her from anything that would make her feel negatively, but it was hard to do when he knew that he had done that. He had wounded her, and it made him want to smack himself in the head.
"Its alright, babe," he said softly, his fingers finding a loose lock of red hair and twirling it around as he spoke, "We don't have to keep talking about it. I just wanted you to know that." He pulled away from her again, ever so slightly since he didn't think he could stand to have much space between them right now.
Just standing there looking at Brain, Tox wasn't sure how he could have possibly gotten so lucky. She was perfect to him, and he only wished he could have realized it sooner and not been such an idiot when he did finally notice his feelings. She was beautiful, and smart even if she didn't believe that, and he just couldn't believe that after such a horrific blunder he was being given a second chance at being happy with her. There was just one thing that he realized wasn't quite right...
"Now," he said, looking at her with a sly, lopsided grin, "I need you to do something really important for me...will you go put your glasses back on?" His brown eyes shined with mirth, and he hoped she appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood.
-----
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow
Headphones, motown beats flowing through her ears and embracing her like an old friend, Symphony couldn't think of anywhere that was better than this cafe right at this moment. Of course, she had a specific reason for being here. It was always packed with people, which meant it was easier for her to hide her tracks when she was doing a little bit of illegal hacking. Not that she really needed to be that cautious, not the way she worked anyway, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. That was something he granny had always told her.
It wasn't that Symphony couldn't get a job, or do a job, or keep a job that made it necessary for her to supplement her income by selling her hacking services. She could have easily ridden the coattails of her rich family on her mother's side. Her grandparents had set up her trust fund when she was an infant and she could be living in the lap of luxury, getting an ivy league education, but she had refused all of that. She had told her family that she didn't want their money, that she wanted to be an artist like her father was, and she had thus been disowned by her mother's relatives.
Pity was the one thing Symphony hated, and so she never acted like she was living any other way than what she wanted, which was mostly the truth. She loved her life, she loved her dad's family, who had embraced her as a teenager after being forcibly estranged from them for so long. She made enough money to get by and to help out those she loved, and that was all she could ask for. Something about her life still felt empty though. She needed a purpose, a cause...something to make her feel like she was really making a difference in the world.
There was no doubt Symphony had noticed both the creepy guy eyeing her from his booth, as well as the striking woman who had walked in with her unusual pet. She didn't spare the woman more than a passing glance, but she gave the guy several suspicious looks. She knew what plain clothes feds looked like, and this guy wasn't that, so she kept on with her hacking job and decided to worry about it only if he became a problem. She had finished hacking into the immigration database to put someone on the list to be allowed within the US by the time she noticed the guy and the other woman exchanging words.
About to dismiss it as nothing, Symphony felt her body tense when the woman came to sit down across from her. The woman knew he name, and her accent was foreign, not that that was uncommon in the city, but she felt instantly on the defense, and thats not where she liked to be.
"You have me at a disadvantage," she said, her ton casual enough, as she placed her hand out on the table with a switchblade clearly visibly on her palm, "Now who are you, and how do you know my name?" Her thumb was hovering near the knife's release, waiting for the woman to give her any reason she might need to press it.
Edited By Britters on 11/7/2018 at 3:49 PM.
Britters
Level 72
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Posted: 11/7/2018 at 2:59 PM
Post #234
(Double posted - Deleted)
Edited By Britters on 11/7/2018 at 3:01 PM.
Creativity
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Threads: 255
Posts: 5,902
Posted: 11/7/2018 at 11:33 PM
Post #235
It wasn't that Spirit had been expecting the girl - Symphony Jones - to really be calm about her approaching. From those ten or so minutes Spirit had spent watching the girl, it was obvious that she was the closed-off type, that suspicious type who saw the world and all the fears it held and raised her chin with a scoff. In Spirit's experience, those people were the ones who became the most vulnerable in situations they didn't know.
Throughout her life, and especially with her role in the resistance, Spirit had become somewhat of an expert on human body language - and she'd dabbled in animal body language, for the heck of it. Body language was one thing that everyone knew how to speak with, but not everyone knew how to understand. She could sure tell a lot from a person by their body language, sometimes as vague as if the person was a virgin or as specific as what type of food that person likes. When she was in the war and would have to deal with people claiming to be friends, Spirit had learned to read people, and to read them fast, because a misinterpretation could mean life or death.
So, no, she was most definitely not surprised when Symphony held out the switchblade, a silent threat in her eyes and the slight pressure her thumb had on it that she was more than willing to open it. Not that Spirit was worried at all; worst case scenario, the girl tried to stab her, and she'd simply phase through it. A moment of pain is better than a month of it.
"You don't need to worry," Spirit said with a reassuring smile. "I'm a friend. My name is Spirit, or Elsa. Whatever you prefer, I suppose," her smile widened. "You're a very special person, Symphony, or - what is it that your family and friends call you? Cyber?" Yes, she had definitely done her research. "Whichever you prefer," she laughed now.
Slowly, she extended a hand out towards the other girl, making no sudden movements. "I'm different, too. Like you. There's a whole world of us out there. Different people with different, special Abilities. But... Everything's not always alright. There's people out there who want to hurt us, to take us and use us because we're different. Because I'm different. Because you're different."
Britters
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Posted: 11/8/2018 at 6:50 PM
Post #236
There really was no part of Symphony that approved of violence. After all, it was mindless gang violence which had killed her father. However, she had lived her whole life in the city, and that came with the necessary skill of taking care of and defending herself. She never left home without her pepper spray and her switchblade. The latter she had only ever had to use seriously once, but she knew it was just as useful as a deterrent as it was an active weapon. In this current situation, she truly hoped she wasn't forced to use it.
The woman, Spirit or Elsa she had called herself, didn't give Symphony the impression of being a threat to her, but she kept the knife half-concealed in her hand on the table anyway. She sat there, listening to Spirit talk, and with a good amount of interest certainly. She did tense up slightly at the mention of her nickname, a joke that only the people closest to her used. This woman had clearly been researching her, and that made her very uncomfortable. However, she kept listening because she still felt not vibes of danger.
What Spirit said next about people who were special, people with abilities, certainly caused Symphony to perk up ever so slightly. Her own ability had manifested when she was around twelve, and only her family on her father's side knew anything about it. She was a technopath, a term she had found on the internet while she was trying to understand what was happening to her, which meant that she could manipulate and even communicate with electronic machines. It was complicated to explain to most people, but she never really bothered to try, and all she really cared about was how useful it was with her hacking.
There's people out there who want to hurt us... Spirit's words rang in her ears as Symphony recalled a close call she had with a guy who had been trying to mug her, and how she had always thought there was something odd about the things he had said.
"So what can you do then?" she asked, eyebrow arched and still making no move to take the knife off the table, "I'm sure you understand that I can't sit here and continue letting you spout at me without some kinda proof what you sayin' is true." Her yellow-green eyes watched the other woman's face intently, not letting herself acknowledge the hope which was beginning to bloom in her chest.
Edited By Britters on 11/8/2018 at 6:52 PM.
Creativity
Level 72
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Threads: 255
Posts: 5,902
Posted: 11/8/2018 at 11:35 PM
Post #237
Spirit didn't miss a beat in the conversation, even with the colloquialisms and dialect that Symphony had slipped into. Although growing up in Iceland, Spirit hadn't been exposed to many other cultures except for what she read and saw, since the war, she'd learned quite a bit about other countries and regions, and how much they differed from what she had grown up knowing.
Then again, she was a foolish child back then. And, as a foolish child, she and her foolish brother had taken the offered grants - only at a small price, they said. You get to travel. You get to learn. You get paid for it. You'll have so many opportunities after. That was the one time Spirit had listened to her brother's opinion over her own. And it led to the one time she couldn't phase fast enough to avoid a hit. She was the only girl in the family with five brothers and her mother always traveling, and so she had learned to avoid the fights her brothers would pick, even if that included phasing through their anger.
The one hit she ended up taking because she was blind to everything but her emotions in the span of a split second was the one hit that left her half-blind. There was something ironic about that, wasn't there?
Of course, having not missed a beat, Spirit was expecting the girl to ask proof. A nice, cautious girl like her wouldn't believe the Icelander right off the bat. Hell, if Spirit were just as cautious, she wouldn't believe herself without some proof.
Slowly, she reached out and grabbed a card off of the table, advertising desserts. "I'll show you," she promised, and then, holding the card out so Symphony could see, flipped it high into the air.
As the card left her hand and reached its peak point in the air, Spirit focused on losing control of her hand. She concentrated, briefly, on taking it apart, on that card not touching her hand again. Her hand began to quiver, almost, but it was blurry and slow, as if her hand was some vibrating substance warped through a strange lens in slow-motion. She paid no attention to the excruciating pain that radiated through her hand.
When the card came back down, it fell right through where her appendage was and hit the table lightly.
Britters
Level 72
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Joined: 8/25/2014
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Posted: 11/9/2018 at 6:42 PM
Post #238
Throughout her life, Symphony had learned to not be overly trusting of people, especially here in the city. However, she had also learned that people all had their own stories and those stories effected them in ways that others would never know about. She was cautious when dealing with strangers, but she tried not to judge anyone upon meeting them. She could tell that the other woman was thinking about something very important, but there was still a lot of focus in her one good eye (there had to be an interesting story there...).
The more time that Spirit spent seated at the booth, the more that Symphony was becoming more comfortable with her presence. This was a problem, because now all she seemed to be able to focus on was just how strikingly gorgeous the other woman was. She couldn't even be disturbed by the missing eye, somehow it made her even more distinguished and beautiful. It was hard trying to remember that this conversation needed her attention, but when Spirit grabbed the card she was able to pull her eyes away from the woman's flawless skin.
It was a simple enough ability, though certainly handy Symphony was sure, but she twitched one corner of her mouth upwards and nodded appreciatively when the dessert menu passed right through Spirit's hand and landed on the table. She had met a couple of other people with abilities before, but it was always in passing. She knew they existed, but had never felt the need to seek them out. What Spirit was saying about some sort of enemy that wanted to capture and use all of them was alarming and she could feel the stirring in her chest that she was still trying to ignore for now.
"Not bad," she said, trying not to sound too impressed, shrugging one shoulder, "Guess I can believe you, but you better keep up the talking 'cause I'm not taking this blade off the table till I know for fact you aren't playin' me." In her heart, she knew she believed everything that Spirit had told her, but she knew better than to jump into something feet first without looking at all the angles. It was the hacker in her she supposed...always looking for that loophole.
Creativity
Level 72
Cutely Creative
Joined: 3/4/2013
Threads: 255
Posts: 5,902
Posted: 11/9/2018 at 11:57 PM
Post #239
It was almost funny, how Cyber/Symphony seemed determined to have the upper hand in the situation even after Spirit had just shown her that the knife really wouldn't do anything to her because she had full capability to avoid it, just like she had avoided that little desserts card. Spirit loved analyzing people, and their body language and facial expressions. Cyber had something in her, some kind of fight that Spirit didn't see often. It was clear in the way Cyber's eyes lighted just a little after hearing about a bigger purpose, and the way that her chin had almost imperceptibly risen; perhaps the girl hadn't even noticed it.
But Spirit had. She knew what it meant, what Cyber was trying to tell her without actually knowing she was trying to tell her anything: Yes. Yes, I'll fight.
Spirit glanced down at the knife, and let one corner of her mouth slowly spread into a quirky half-smile as one eyebrow raised almost skeptically at the same speed. "I dare you to stab me," she suddenly said, eyes flicking back to meet her target's.
"I dare you to stab me," she repeated, smile widening and spreading to both sides. "If you don't trust me, stab me. But there's a big world out there that you don't know about. Life is not confined to the limits of an internet cafe. I am one of the heads of a resistance organization where we try to counter the bad people - they're called Mantis, and as we speak, they are torturing and trapping and confining and taking apart hundreds upon thousands of our brothers and sisters."
Her gaze didn't waver - if anything, it grew more intense as her subject did. "If you don't trust me, then I dare you. Stab me. But when I say that children are taken away from their families and controlled and raised to be little unaware special-soldiers, it's maybe just crazy enough to be believable."
Britters
Level 72
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Joined: 8/25/2014
Threads: 167
Posts: 2,041
Posted: 11/10/2018 at 1:22 AM
Post #240
It didn't take a rocket scientist to be able to interpret basic body language, and Symphony had always been hyper observant since she was a young child. Living in the city made "reading" people an almost necessary skill, and it had proved crucial to her own survival on more than one occasion. What she saw in Spirit was a long, and probably dark history but a fighter's spirit. It was something she knew she had within herself, and this woman was giving her the exact thing she had been longing for. The trouble still was letting down her defenses long enough to give Spirit her trust.
"I ain't gonna to stab ya," she said with a heavy sigh, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms over her chest, switchblade deftly closed and concealed back into her special vest pocket, "I wanna believe what you're sayin', and...I think I do, but what exactly are you expectin' me to do about any of it?" She didn't sound exactly skeptical, she was certain Spirit would give her an answer, her tone was more simply quizzical.
Thats what it all really came down to in Symphony's mind. She could daydream all day about having a cause and fighting for it, but what did that all really mean? What did it entail? Was she going to be standing on a corner handing out pamphlets to people like she saw other organizations doing? No, whatever Spirit was talking about sounded much more intense, much more covert, but that just led to more questions. She had a family to think about, people she care for and she wasn't about to throw her lot in with this other woman just because she might be offering her the chance she'd been waiting for...even if Spirit was totally gorgeous.
Children are taken away from their families... That bit had registered with Symphony in a deep way. After all, her father had been taken away from her, and in turn her mother had kept her from one entire half of her family.
"I like what you're talkin' about," she told Spirit, fiddling absently with one of her thick dreadlocks, "It sounds like a big decision, a big commitment, and I ain't one to go off half-baked and get myself in a jam, hear me?Just tell me what you're needin' me to do and I'll think on it." She wanted to grab what Spirit was trying to give her and run with it, but she knew she had to user her head in this situation.
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