the rustle of leaves catch your attention, unnatural the way it settles back untouched. it could mean many things, perhaps a speedster amidst the contestants but you hope otherwise. instincts urge you to follow, so you do.
a small clearing, a blur of colors, the sway of branches, and then a familiar figure unsteady on her feet. she falls and you rush to meet her, collecting her in your arms and moving her to somewhere red targets aren’t painted on your backs. fingers comb through hair and a soft rei escapes from your lips.
once upon a time, arcade (or rather his underling) had told you to collect her before she injured herself and others — before she was neutralized. you caught her then, without hesitance. an injury to the cranium is not desirable (headaches would follow for days if you healed it for her) and you did not wish to harm one of your own. you anticipated a lot: the lack of trust, the doubtful glances, wariness with every word you said. you could be just another one of arcade's pawns and perhaps you were (he knew how to make you move; he still does).
language failed you. you expected as much, words still foreign and heavy on your tongue, words strung together awkwardly to form a semblance of a sentence, praying she would be able to understand some of it. in the end, you chose to take her hand and draw a character in it: 人. human you said, hoping she would understand. freedom from bars and glances that deemed her to be a creature, a promise of a friend — as long as she didn't lose control again.
you don't tell her how the same word underneath the character and a almost closed box turns it into the letter for meat (肉). you don't tell her many things. you don't need to.
when she comes to, there's still that smile of yours fastened to your face. fingers tracing the same letter in her palm again and again, plaint as you hope your lap wasn't a terrible pillow for your friend.
