a continuation.
shouldn't have come here. don't know why you did; unlike you, orphan with nothing and so few left to lose, @zaunsparked still has a family to disturb, a home to bleed over. you're out of place here. don't belong here, same as always. feels most days like you crawled out of stillwater and back into the real world not as a prisoner freed but as an invasive species. out of your element in your own home these days, much less in zeri's. but she scuttles around the place like a girl on fire, doesn't even notice when all that hurrying pulls a laugh out of you.
not much other choice, anyway. another opponent who got a lucky shot in because you never really learned how to block and punch at the same time; you'd have died if you stayed on your own, and you've got too much left to make up for to accept any eternal peace right now. ekko's too complicated to reach. jinx is gone. caitlyn's recovering, rebuilding, rediscovering life without you. torturing zeri is your only real option. so you press your back against her wall, tell yourself you're holding it up and not the other way around, and fit your fingers against her ribcage until the racing of her pulse distracts you from the slightly more sluggish fight of yours.
❛ hypocrite. ❜ accusation finds the top of zeri's head, lips nudging the word into her hair. that's the dangerous thing about zeri: she'd let someone bleed all of the generosity out of her until she had nothing left to give, if only she thought you'd be better off for it. ❛ didn't need anyone's protection. just need some rest. ❜ press your fingertips a little harder into her side, soak up the warmth of her with some greed; she's keeping you present. keeping you focused. ❛ maybe some better bandages, if you've got 'em. i can do everything, just supply me. ❜ in, out. you can be in, out.