hadriel | fourth; video (trouble seldom sees what she leaves behind, there's a typhoon blowin')

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fourth; video (trouble seldom sees what she leaves behind, there's a typhoon blowin')

[Oddly enough, this broadcast doesn't seem to have anything wrong with it - just a video feed of Nick sitting slouched at Delight's bar with a half-empty glass in front of her, and it's clear from the slur of her words that it wasn't her first.]

Hey! Hadriel. All'a you. Listen, I got somethin' to say, if y'all can take five seconds to quit your shitposting and listen to someone else for a change.

[She pauses to take a sip of her drink and grins sharply into the camera.]

Shitposting - that's what you kids these days are callin' it, right? [She laughs.] See, Chris? Even Grandma here can pick up on the new hip lingo sometimes!

[There's something dark and unfriendly in her words, despite the too-tight smile stretched across her face. Nick waves her hand, a silent whatever. That isn't what she really wants to say.]

The point, dear Hadriel, is this: I hate you. All'a you. Yeah, Emily, that's right - you ain't anythin' special! 'Cause I hate everyone here. Y'all are the single worst thing that's ever happened to me, and believe me, that a fuckin' accomplishment and a half.

[Nick pauses again to take another drink, expression sharpening as the grin fades from her face.]

See, I thought the worst thing that ever happened to me was my dad dyin' when I was a kid. Shit, did that ever suck beyond the tellin' of it. And then, y'know, I thought havin' to live with my shitball mother for the next ten years, that was at least as bad, if not worse. But hey, I survived that. I had one friend in that shithole town I grew up in, an' we both survived it, together, an' we left that shithole town, together, and then after a buncha years of stickin' together in the city, you know what that fucker did?

[She laughs, a high-pitched, hysterical sound that's anything but funny.]

He fuckin' friend-broke up with me! Can you believe that shit? Man. Surely that was the worst thing to ever happen to me, right? But no - wait, it gets better.

[She leans in to the camera and drops her voice, conspiratorial, like she's divulging a secret - which she is.]

So I went on one of those great American roadtrips, right? And I ended up in fucking Canada. And hey, fuck Canada - right Chris? Because in fuckin' Canada, that's where I Became a Nightbane.

[Nick pulls both hands up for the camera in a silent, sarcastic ta-da gesture.]

That's right! Uh, what's your name - Dean, wasn't it? Yeah. Y'ain't gotta go crawlin' through the caves to find a monster, 'cause guess what? [She points at herself.] I'm sittin' right the fuck here.

[The grin reappears on her face, looking more like an angry baring of her teeth than a proper smile.]

So congratu-fuckin'-lations, Hadriel - that is what all you beat out for the honor of bein' the absolute fuckin' worst thing that's ever happened to me. Give yourselves a big fuckin' pat on the back. Cheers.

[Nick raises her glass in a mock-toast and throws back the rest of her drink, then reaches over to kill the feed. She'll definitely regret this in the morning, if not sooner.]

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[She does none of what Chris says, only pausing to give him a sideways glare before she continues the search for another glass.]

A, you're not my mother, and two, I don't want any fuckin' coffee.

[Okay. Patience and understanding, Chris.]

So, what, you're just going to keep drinking all day? I'm pretty sure you're going to be regretting a lot already, so adding to it is probably like, not a brilliant idea.

So what if I am? Not like it really fuckin' matters anyway.

[Glass acquired, Nick sets it on the bar and boosts herself up to slide over to the other side in search of a bottle of her liquor of choice.]

I already regret pretty much fuckin' everything, what's one more hangover?

Look, I get it, everything sucks.

[Everything has sucked even worse than usual lately, and Chris had come really close to being in exactly the same spot at the bar Nick is, but every time he sees someone like this is remembers why he's been determined not to end up there himself.]

But it doesn't actually suck less because you're drunk. All that's accomplished is that you told the entire network like, everything about yourself, and I'm pretty sure you'll consider that a really bad decision when you're sober.

Who cares? They're all gonna find out eventually. Shit, they probably all do know already.

[She takes a second to study the array of bottles, now that she's on the back side of the bar.]

Don't tell me you forgot about all those fucked up dreams we all had. Or hey, how 'bout that time Rage thought it'd be cute to make us all murder each other - remember that, Chris?

[She turns her head, grinning tightly at him. Of course he'd remember. He was there when she turned Morphus and nearly killed Maketh. Point made, she turns back to the selection of liquor bottles.]

Tell you what, the sooner they run me outta town with pitchforks and torches, the better off everyone'll be.

You really think that with the kind of shit that goes on here anyone is actually that worried about that you sometimes turn into a creepy doll?

[Chris looks over at her, incredulous; it's probably not the best answer, but it's better than the ones he wants to give initially. And fine, if she's not going to drink this coffee then he will.

As he's pouring the espresso shots into a mug and mentally going over her post and this whole conversation, he glances toward Nick again.]

Did something like, specific happen that I don't know about, or...?

[Yeah, that's her, all right - a creepy fucking doll. Of all the monsters she could have Become, that's the one the hand of fate picked for her, something that should be breakable but isn't. Something that should be beautiful, but isn't. Nick laughs, low and angry.]

Boy, I bet there's tons of shit you don't know about, huh.

[Which isn't fair - she's been avoiding him since the dreams. It's not Chris' fault she hasn't seen him - it's hers.]

Why would I need somethin' specific to happen, Chris? Today is just another day that ends in Y here in good ol' Monstercave City - well, assuming the days here end in Y, o'course.

[He stops in the middle of stirring his coffee, thankfully with his back still toward her; it takes several seconds to control the flash of temper rises at her words. She's really drunk, and he's oversensitive to things she's not even necessarily meaning in her words. Getting angry won't help.

But he's also regretting coming here to begin with, and then immediately feeling guilty for thinking it. As pissed off as he is at her--both right now and in general--she's still his friend.

He takes a few deep breaths, then resumes making his coffee.]

I'd be more inclined to believe that if like, you were this drunk on the network all the time. Obviously today's a special occasion or whatever.

[Nick slams her hand down on the bar, laughing another one of those dark, unfunny laughs.]

Y'know what, Chris? You are absolutely right. It is a special occasion. I woke up today and I said to myself - "Self," I said, "today is the first day of the rest of your fuckin' life."

[Nick paces toward him, slowly, like a wild cat stalking up to its prey.]

And d'y'know what I said back to myself, Chris? I said, "Self, you are exactly right. And I am sick to fuckin' death of this stupid fuckin' life. I'm sick of me."

[At this point, she's all but right up in his personal space, a silent dare for him to make a move against her.]

So fuck this place. Fuck you, Chris, and fuck me, and fuck everything. I'm quitting the rest of my fuckin' life.

[Chris jumps when she slams her hand down on the counter but then just glances back to glare at her for it, expecting to be overreacting to an unexpected loud noise and not actually having any reason to worry, but the combination of her words and the way she's moving closer set his nerves on edge.

So instead of glaring he goes totally still a moment, frozen in place and trying to figure out if she's just drunk and pissed off or might actually be a threat; it's something he, unfortunately, can't just write off as ridiculous with anyone anymore. Maybe he'd been too casual and familiar in dealing with this situation, assuming that since they're friends--are they, still?--everything would be fine, but really shouldn't he know better at this point?

He'd barely heard what she actually said, too busy with his rapid thoughts and figuring out options if things get worse, and he tries to remind himself firmly that everything is still fine. This is still well within the bounds of normal behavior from someone who is drunk and upset. For now there's no reason to panic, just... Be ready.

So finally he moves, just a little, raising his hands slightly in a placating gesture.]

O-Okay. I get it.

[There's more he could say--things he wants to say, or would in another situation--but he neither wants to risk it or thinks he can get many more words out at the moment anyway. He should've just stayed home.]

Edited 2016-07-21 22:43 (UTC)

You get it? You fucking get it?

[Unfortunately, Nick is just determined not to be placated. Her expression sharpens into an ugly scowl as she shakes her head.]

You don't fucking get it, Chris, you just want me to shut the fuck up. Well guess what, Chris, I didn't ask you to be my fucking mother! I didn't ask you to come over here and make me coffee and tell me how brilliant my ideas aren't!

[He could argue, could tell her that he just wants to help and he's trying to be a good friend and part of that is not ignoring when something is obviously wrong. But it's not like he's really been that great of a friend lately, especially to her, so he shouldn't even try to justify it that way.

And of course there's also the factor of that he doesn't want to argue at all. Well, some part of him does, but most of him just really wants her to calm down and stop being terrifying; he's not especially used to being so off-guard in a conversation, but he really has no idea what to do now to diffuse things. Maybe just let her be angry.

Probably the best idea, at least usually, but if it's really obvious what he's doing it'll probably just upset her further, and the normal logical calm that usually settles over him when he feels a situation might be dangerous isn't happening. Everything is just a mix of conflicting emotions and hazy ideas of what to do or what might happen and it's all utterly useless; what the hell is wrong with him? She hasn't really even done anything, so there's no reason for him to be suddenly so terrified.

But, somewhere, he knows there doesn't need to be a reason, and that whether or not there is what he needs to do is take a deep breath and stay calm no matter how hard that is.]

I-I know you didn't.

[The fact that he's working so hard at not reacting only really makes things worse, in Nick's estimation - she wants a fight, wants to raze the friendship she's built with Chris to the ground and set fire to the ruins. She wants to push him into abandoning her just like everyone she's ever cared about. She wants to break herself so that she finally has the justification she's been looking for, proof that she truly is a monster, because then, won't her transformation finally be complete? She's been a monster her entire life - maybe her mother sensed it all along, and that's why she could never truly love Nick the way a mother should. Maybe Kennedy could tell, and that's why she left Nick. Maybe Andy came to that realization as well, and that's why he told her they were moving in different circles and should keep going in their disparate trajectories. Maybe everybody has always been able to see Nick for what she truly is, and it's only in Becoming that she's been able to see it, too.

Something dark and awful has been growing and building inside her for the past year, a destructive force that rises up now, high in her chest, threatening to shatter her from the inside until all of her resembles the cracked face she wears in Morphus. It's evident in the strained note her voice now takes - she has pushed herself to the point of breaking, and all it will take to force her complete undoing is one swift blow.]

Then why the fuck are you here, Chris? Go back to your real friends.

[Chris wants to ask why she's so angry at him specifically, but doesn't she have reason to be? Just like Josh did, like who knows who else does, and he should probably just be expecting this by now. Everything feels like it's going okay for a week or two at a time and then suddenly he's reminded that it's not, that everything has just been getting worse, that it's going to keep getting worse and--

Stop. Breathe, try to think; his hands are shaking now and there's a selfish part of him that just wants out of this conversation, but the rest of him is putting pieces together and knows, for the first time in this conversation, what he should do.]

It would've been... I-It would've been really easy to just ignore your entire post. I-I could've just done that.

[It's almost hard to talk and his words feel distant, but not because they aren't the ones he means to say.]

I-I'm here because you are my friend and I thought you needed help.

[And he still does think that, even though--and especially because--she's really scaring him.]

Edited 2016-07-22 19:02 (UTC)

[She's not angry with him, not really - she's angry with herself, mostly, for being wrong, for not being strong enough to push through pain without letting it affect her, for wanting, desperately, things like love and friendship and acceptance that she fears are impossible to grasp and will only cause her more pain in the end. And the volume of her anger and hate and despair is so great, it leaches outside of her and infects anyone who gets close enough for her to strike.

Nick doesn't expect the answer Chris gives her. She expects him to realize that he shouldn't be here with her and leave, and that's not what he does. There's a moment of shock that makes Nick feel like she's suspended underwater as her inebriated brain works to make sense of what Chris has said. The force inside of her that's been building pressure and threatening to explode abruptly defuses, draining away the last bit of the anger-fueled strength that's been keeping Nick going.

She laughs, weakly, looking like someone who's just been sucker-punched in the gut, and turns away from him to bury her face in her hands, the hiccuping laughs giving way to quiet sobs instead. She stumbles a few steps forward before her knees give out and she collapses to a seat on the floor behind the bar.]

[Chris can tell the moment the fire leaves her and there's a great sense of relief that she's calming down, but he isn't expecting at all for her to start crying.

What is he supposed to do?

He knows, distantly, what has supposed to do--he's not an idiot and she's not the first crying woman he's ever seen--but he can't seem to transform that knowledge into action. The adrenaline rush is dying down now that he's pretty certain he's out of danger, leaving him shaking and exhausted, and it's so hard to will himself to move.

But he does, finally, stepping past her to kneel on the ground as well and duck his head to try to catch her eyes.]

H-Hey. It's okay. Whatever's going on, just...

[She can talk to him.]

Edited 2016-07-28 04:34 (UTC)

It's not, Chris.

[Nick pulls her face out of her hands, pulling her hair back from her tear-stained face with both hands. She shakes her head, and instead of anger in her voice, there's only desperation.]

It's not OK. Nothing is OK, and I can't - I can't keep doing this.

Doing what?

[His voice is quiet, partially from sympathy and partially from shakiness, and he moves a little to sit on the floor instead of kneeling.]

Any of it. All of it.

[She throws up her hands, a wordless expression of helplessness.]

Living this fucked-up life. Being me, being Nick.

[She wipes at underneath her eyes with the heels of one palm, then the other.]

Being a monster. 'Snot like it's something I can just turn off, y'know? I can look like I'm human, but I'm not.

L-Look, I can't... I-I mean, I don't know what I'm talking about here, so I can't really...

[He can't really give her real advice, and he knows it, but he can still say what he does know and maybe it'll help.]

B-But that... What you um, turn into, i-it's just... It's just you. You look different and whatever, but it's still... You still get to choose what you do.

[And outside the Rage event, which hadn't been her fault, he'd only seen her become the doll to fight a wendigo and protect him. That's not particularly monstrous.]

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Chris.

[She laughs weakly, shaking her head.]

I've always been a monster. Becoming wasn't the start of that.

You're only a monster if you decide to act like one.

[That part is clear to him at this point. Being inhuman doesn't make you a monster, and being human doesn't keep you from being one either.]

[She stares up at him, eyes wide, lashes damp, expression strained from trying to cover up the pain of what she's feeling.]

I don't know how to be anything else.

[She does need help - more than even she knows - and she doesn't have the words to ask for it.]

I-I dunno, you seem to be doing fine so far. Seem pretty human to me.

[He tries to offer a weak smile to go with it, but it doesn't come across very well. Still, his words are genuine.]

[She laughs once, quietly, even as tears spring up in her eyes again.]

Yeah, I got the "being a huge fuckup" part down, don't I.

[And she drops her face into her hands again, sighing audibly.]

I don't know what to do anymore, Chris. I just don't.

[She takes a few uneven breaths and then pulls her face out of her hands again.]

Y'know, whenever things went to shit back in Chicago, I still had my jobs to work. In Vancouver, I had to learn shit about bein' a Nightbane. Here ...

[It's too much like being a child in Winchester again - aimless and stuck, without the ability to do anything about it. That changed when she became a teenager and had a goal - moving away - on the horizon, but here? There's no hope of leaving. She shrugs.]

All we do is sit around and wait for the next fucked-up thing to happen. I can't take it anymore.

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