(Untitled)

[dreamtaker_noah]

[Well, the Dressing Room hasn't seen this in a while. A room full of dead bodies - mostly Finders and other unfortunate NPCs that usually get the short end of the stick when Noahs go on a rampage. Though strangely enough, the room is lacking the usual blood and gore that usually accompanies a Noah having too much fun. Just quiet lifeless bodies

Comments

[fallforthesky]

[Given that half the room is comprised of people checking for signs of life, Lenalee has forgone that option and is just... standing over near said wall with both fists tightly clenched, having read and reread the message at least a dozen times already. There's a handful of denizens she can see at a mere glance who have Rhode's symbol emblazoned across their face, and still others that she hasn't been able to get a glimpse at... Slowly tearing her gaze away from them to look, almost blankly, at Allen while he checks the corpses over.]

Allen, look at me.

[meansprout]

[Staring right back at her. He hesitates;] ...Who?

[fallforthesky]

[You ready for this? She spits the name out as if it physically hurts her to.] Allen. [Walker, her tone very obviously implies.] In the end, you're just like him.

[meansprout]

--No I'm not! [He sounds kind of childishly defensive about it, really. He hates all the comparisons, all the assumptions; and he hasn't bothered to consider the similarities himself. The fact that her tones seems to imply it's a bad thing isn't helping.] I'm not the same!

1/2

[fallforthesky]

[And now Lenalee raises her voice, though it's not so much in anger as to be heard over any interruptions he might try and make.]

Do you know what Allen did during our first mission together? He-- he yelled at me because I stopped him from trying to save a self-destructing Akuma. [Remember, the one she brought up when she was the Akuma?] He yelled at me honestly. And later, on the Ark... haha... I also didn't have my Boots. Allen didn't like that I kept trying to fight alongside him anyway. "Believe me, I'll definitely take Tyki down," he told me. That's the sort of thing he's always told me-- 'Believe that I will be the one who can win'-- because he's never liked letting me fight by his side. But he couldn't win against Rhode on his own, or even with Lavi's help, and neither can you!

[fallforthesky]

[For a second, she looks and sounds like she might stop there, but no such luck after all. Talking about the Ark reminds her of some terrible things. A thought in a completely different vein occurs to her-- it's one that she unfortunately can't push away, because while it may not have much to do with Rhode, it has a lot to do with this Allen-not-Allen argument. She goes out on a very shaky limb, and:] Doesn't your heart have a hole in it now? Didn't you try and save Suman?

[meansprout]

[From the look of him, it seems he might as well have gotten a slap in the face. Even without the comparison to Walker, he's no stranger to the message of this particular brand of chewing-out-- and it wasn't as though it was unexpected, but that doesn't make it any easier to hear from her. He opens his mouth for what would be a half-hearted retort, although he's not entirely sure what he would say, until she finishes with that last question and his jaw snaps shut. That, he had not been expecting at all.

After a moment;] ...Yeah.

[fallforthesky]

[And there it is. Lenalee drops her gaze, teeth all but grinding together.]

...there may be fewer differences than you thought.

[meansprout]

...What was I supposed to do? [About Suman. Give up and let him die? He couldn't--

But that's completely beside the point. He steps back himself, shaking his head. Almost pleading;] She's not going to win. But-- if I-- [end up like Lavi] ...I don't want to hurt you. Don't let me do that.

That's what I'm asking.

[fallforthesky]

No, I-- [She looks a bit startled at that. Under no circumstances did she mean to imply he should have done anything less than what he thought was right or than what he did. The idea that he thinks she might coupled with that tone of voice effectively silences her until he's done talking, and she flinches, avoiding his gaze. What she wants to say then is that he can't proclaim something so self-assured as 'Rhode won't win', but then tell her to stay away from everyone in case she does. She curls her hands into loose fists at her sides. They probably look silly, standing on opposite ends of the room and moving further apart while still trying to carry a conversation on. She doesn't much care.]

Please believe me this time, Allen. I won't let that happen again. But I neither will I stand by and watch people I love get hurt just so I don't.

[meansprout]

[He knows arguing this further isn't going to get them anywhere, only serve to upset them further. And he does have to trust that she won't allow him to hurt her, if it comes to it. He also can't afford to doubt that Rhode really will be defeated, one way or another. He doesn't want her involved, has no plans to let her get involved, but he can't stop her from insisting. So he just bites his tongue and nods.]

[fallforthesky]

[That quiet little non-confrontational nod doesn't help. Not in the least. It's when things get bad that he sets aside the aggression and picks up some of that decorum typical of those Walkers he's so not like. A second or two passes wherein she simply stares at him, blinking hard and fast. Then she abruptly (and in complete silence) turns on a heel, ducks around some of the other poor souls who have found themselves marked, and disappears into the hallway.]

[meansprout]

[He watches her go without a word. It's for the best, isn't it? Maybe she's mad enough at him that she'll want nothing to do with him and really will stay away. So he doesn't have to worry. It's better that way, right?

...Yeah, right. He leaves himself once he's sure she's long gone. Gonna go find something to punch.]