#verse miscellaneous

[theturkleader]

🔪 (:

I’m so unoriginal, I’m sorry.

Theroom was damp, lit by nothing more than a single naked bulb. Theconcrete of the walls and floor, was rough and slick with moisture. Inthe centre of the room, sat a man, bound to the only piece offurniture in the room – a metal chair. Strong metal cuffs encircled his wrists and ankles. He looked immobilized, to Tseng, who was surveying the scene through the small view-port in the door, but this was not a man with whichone could take any chances.

Thedoor swung open with a metallic groan which sounded nearly deafeningin the near silence of the room, though the man made no acknowledgement of the noise. The Turk strode into the room, hisface impassive, as though he were here on some trivial, but notoverly taxing errand, not something that he felt to the core of hisbeing was wrong. Four men followed him in, carrying with them several large jugs of water/ They stayed around the edges of the room, guarding the door, making no moveto follow Tseng towards the bound man.

“Your refusal to cooperate withmy agents has not been well received, General. We have decided that we mustlook to...other methods of extracting the information we require.” He graspedthe man's hair, and yanked his head back forcefully. No resistance.The mako deprivation and sedatives seemed to be working. Good. Thelast thing they needed was for the Silver General's increasedstrength and speed to make an appearance. They wouldn't stand achance. “You will tell us what we need to know.” He leaned intoclose to his ear and whispered, “I am sorry,Sephiroth,” before releasing the man, letting his head fallforward again.

Hestepped back and motioned to the other Turks. They came forward, and cut the ropes which had bound the general to the chair. They forced him to his knee, an placed a cloth over his face,restricting his breathing. Here the Turks paused, waiting for thesignal to begin the session. Tseng's eyes flicked over the scenecritically. “No more than two hours.” With that, the Turks begantheir work, uncapping one of the many jugs of water they had broughtinto the room. 

“Trynot to drown him, I would rather not deal with his father if Ican avoid it.”

Tseng turned his back as the sounds of pouring water and choking began to fill he room. 

[theturkleader]

“What have they done to you?”

Theterrible creaking of the cell door startled the Wutaiian man from his troubled slumber. He pushed himself into a sitting position an stayed very still, leaning against the wall as if it was he only thing keeping him upright, which it essentially was. He cocked his head to the side listening closely forany further sound. He was surprised to hear a voice he recognized.

“Yazoo?” He tilted hishead a little further. “Is that you?”

At first he made no movementto turn and face the silver haired man. “They…” He trailed off,raking a hand through his hair, as if in distress. He was once again still and silent for a moment, before finally turning to face Yazoo. 

His face was bruised and scratched in several places, and his eyeswere covered by a thick, white bandage. In several places blood had begun to soak through the bandage, revealing, at least in part the severity of the wounds it covered.

“They’ve blinded me.”

[theturkleader]

“There are worse things than death.”

“I am certain there are.” 

The tips of Tseng’s fingers brushed the top of the gravestone. His expression betrayed nothing, no grief, no anger. To a stranger, he seemed completely emotionally detached, but one who knew him well would see the slight tension in his jaw, and the stiffness of his shoulders and know that he was grieving. 

“For a Turk, death comes as a relief, and for my people, it is merely a new beginning. And yet…”

And yet that knowledge never helps to make the pain of losing one easier.

[theturkleader]

ϟ

12. “Do you wanna stay the night?”

[theturkleader]

ϟ

9. “Are you alright?”

[theturkleader]

“Holy shit–did you do that?!”

Tseng cast a glance over his shoulder, his eyes flicking critically over the mess he had left behind him. The mangled shreds of what had once been a man were still bound to the chair he had sat upon.

His hands and clothes were sticky with drying blood. There was hardly a point in lying.

“He tested my patience.”

[theturkleader]

Elena didn't like being called an acrobat. She much preferred "flippy person who's literally only here to mess us Tseng's life". Yup. That had a ring to it. She approached the newest incarnation of the boy wonder. "Dearest Tseng," she smiled, "Or do I call you Robin now that big boss man Rufus... oh sorry... Batman, has taken you in?"

“I would prefer youdidn’t call me anything at all, actually.” The young boy stop as hepassed her in the hallway. “This mansion is large enough that Ibelieve we can easily keep our distance. I would greatly appreciateit if you made an effort to keep out of my way.” He had come to hisroom, and promptly entered, shutting and locking the door behind him.

[theturkleader]

“Future” which is utterly and totally improbable but hey. what're we here for, if not the improbable?

I’ll just want you to know, I’m so sorry.

She looked too small inthe hospital bed, almost like a doll in a bed built for a human. Thesickness had taken the roundness from her face, and the colour fromher skin, as it slowly drained the life from her body. The blackpatches of rot that marred her skin look almost like ink against hertoo pale flesh. Her lips were cracked and dry, the shadows beneathher eyes stood out like livid bruises. Two men hovered worriedly ather bedside.

“The doctors sayyou’ll be able to come home soon, Lizzie!” Harry’s voice wascheerful as ever, though there was little cause for cheer. She hadlittle time left, and both men were fully aware of this. The doctorshad told them there was little more they could do for her, aside frommaking her as comfortable as possible in the time she had left. Shewas fading faster and faster each day and Geostigma had no cure.

She smiled weakly,“Really? Oh, Daddy, I’m so glad. I don’t like it here very much.”Her sentence was followed by a series of rattling coughs that wrackedher tiny frame, as her lungs tried to expel the rot from her lungs.When the coughing subsided, she sagged back against the pillows,clearly exhausted. Tseng took her hand and squeezed it gently.”Takea deep breath, Lizzie. You’re alright.” She was far from alright,but he had learned this was the type of lie one told to a child.Especially a sick one.

“Papa? How is uncleRufus doing? Is he still sick too?” His heart contracted a little.She loved Rufus quite dearly and he in turn had become quite takenwith her. She had always referred to him as her uncle, despite thelack of relation, but he had never seemed to mind. The news of hisillness had sat poorly with her and everyday she would ask to go seehim, despite being told no every time. He and Harry had doneeverything in their power to stop their little girl from gettingsick, and still, there she was, dying. “He’s alright, qiānjīn.You don’t need to worry.”She nodded weakly. “Rest now. You mustbe tired.” She nodded again and closed her eyes.

Suddenly she jerkedupright in the bed, her eyes wide open, but unseeing. Her usuallybrown eyes were a startling shade of green, and her pupils wereslit like a cat’s. “Papa? Daddy? Where are you?” She soundedpanicked. Her fathers were on their feet the instant she had sat up.She clutched at her head, and whimpered as black fluid leaked fromher eyes and mouth. “S-Stop it!” She screamed. Harry bolted fromthe room to get a doctor, while Tseng gently lay the writhing girlback down. “S-Stay away from me!” Her skin was feverish as it always was when the illnesstook hold of her. First came a spike in fever, then hallucinations, then finally the seizures. He rolled her on her side. Lizzie began screaming,horrible inhuman screams as her suffering grew in intensity.

She began to convulse.Seizures weren’t uncommon upon the onset of Geostigma, but it wasconcerning that they had not only remained through the course of herillness, but had only gotten worse as time had progressed. Harryreturned with a doctor and a nurse, and the three of them rushed overto help hold the shaking girl down. Her voice grew hoarse from thescreaming and eventually gave out altogether, which certainly madethe process easier. She whimpered and sobbed softly as the seizurepassed, her convulsion turned into light tremors, then shivering,which in turn, at long last, turned to stillness. At last it wasover. Lizzie appeared to have fallen a sleep, the seizure havingdrained the lat of her energy.

The doctor, havingfinished checking over the child’s vitals, drew the two men aside.“She’s fading fast. I don’t think she’ll last until tomorrow.”Though they had both known this news was coming, it still hurt.“Iam so sorry.” She and the nurse left the room, to leave the fathersalone with their daughter.

Exhausted, the two menslumped back into the chairs beside Lizzie’s bed. Tseng just wantedthis to be over. He didn’t want to see his little girl suffer anylonger, and he was sure that Harry felt the same. The end would comeas a blessing. Of that much he was sure.