Come As You Are // Open Post

[therealbrianna]

P.Y.T. [ Pretty Young Thing ]

(Taken during THAT mission that we do not speak of.)

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[therealbrianna]

[ Brianna thinks on that for a moment with a thoughtful look on her face. ]

I think... if someone isn't brave enough to face the truth, then he or she would choose the lie. It's just really more comfortable. Some people can just choose to ignore it.

[ She doesn't answer Aria directly. As of the moment, she's not really sure what to tell her. If anything though, what she said is a good enough base to start on. ]

[redemancy]

Yet you can't ignore it forever.

[She knows about that sort of thing. Ignoring problems, living in denial.]

I'm glad that you've taken the first step, at least. What sort of things give you trouble at the moment, though?

[therealbrianna]

Well. [ She fixes the way she's sitting, straightening her back. ]

I don't really like losing. So... It's the possibility that things might go wrong that's kind of holding me back. But this time, it's not just me who might go down, yknow, if ever.

[redemancy]

That is a difficult thing to wrestle with. To be honest, though, I'm more concerned about the fact that you don't like losing in general... that might actually make things more difficult.

[Swirling her wine in her glass about.]

May I ask why you don't like it?

[therealbrianna]

It's... not nice.

[ Brianna isn't going to immediately admit that she's a proud one. o_o ]

[redemancy]

[Ahaha, she can see the signs...

Eyeing you, with a small smile.]

Just that?

[Come on, Bri. Fess up. She won't judge you at all.]

[therealbrianna]

Becaaause. [ She sighs. ]

I don't want to let anybody down. And... [ She murmurs this part. ] Maybe it's my pride.

[redemancy]

That first part is perfectly understandable. As for your pride...

[Trailing off, looking thoughtful. When she turns her gaze towards you, it's sad, and topped with an equally sad smile.]

Just don't end up like me. Okay?

[therealbrianna]

[ That stirs something inside of Brianna. Odd how Aria's downfall is now serving as a lesson to Brianna. Still, she is lightyears ahead of those days. Both of them have gone through a lot, but it's a good reminder for Brianna that even the strongest people can fall because of what they choose to withhold.

Nevertheless she smiles, squeezing Aria's hand. ]

Everybody makes mistakes.

[redemancy]

[She's visibly grateful for that. Still:]

While that's true, there are some mistakes that take much longer to pick yourself up from, and do more damage than you ever thought they would. I don't want you to go through that.

[She wouldn't wish that on anyone.]

[therealbrianna]

[ Brianna smiles reassuringly at Aria. ]

I'll try my best not to.

[redemancy]

That's good enough for me.

[Her own smile returns now that she's a little bit more at ease.]

Okay, this might be a little sensitive, but... how do you think your durance has affected you?

[therealbrianna]

[ A bitter smile. ]

I realized that I'm not untouchable. So far they've managed to track me twice already.

[ That one time in the Hedge, and that other time when... yeah Aria was there. ]

[redemancy]

Ah.

[Looking down now, at the wine glass in one of her hands and the lighter in the other.]

Yes, that must be pretty scary. It is, unfortunately, something that the Lost have to deal with constantly.

[therealbrianna]

[ Hesitantly, because it's not something she's asked either Tala or Selene. ]

Do Tala and Selene still experience that? I know they took care of their business in Arcadia long ago but... After that, is it possible that the Gentry still come after them?

[ At this rate, Brianna is trying to assess how her life could be like after handling her Arcadia issue. ]

[redemancy]

They do, but to a much lesser degree than before. We kind of had to kill Winter to set them free.

[No big deal, right?]

[therealbrianna]

Hm.

[ So they do never stop. Ever. ]

I would think they think twice now though, especially since both of them can easily kick their asses.

[redemancy]

They do, but that doesn't stop everyone. There's a reason why they don't go to Arcadia unless they have to.

[Looking up at you seriously.]

Being a Hunter makes you safer than most of the other Lost, but that doesn't mean,, in any fashion, that you're untouchable.

[therealbrianna]

[ Thinking about that, absorbing the fact that this is something she's going to have to live with forever. ]

What happens to the other Lost?

[redemancy]

Civilian Changelings usually protect themselves by coming together in communities. The largest communities are the Changeling Courts that aren't aligned with the Vigil. We hunters, in turn, try to help those communities out as much as we can.

[therealbrianna]

[ She actually smiles at that. ]

It's nice to know that we're doing good things for other Changelings. I wonder what could have happened to me had I turned down ma'am Lia's offer.

[redemancy]

[Hmm!]

Well, you're in the Philippines... if you had not become a hunter, I am pretty confident that you would have been able to continue living a normal life, and feel about as safe as you could possibly feel. We would have never met, though, if you had done that.

[And it goes without saying that Brianna might not have ever met the people she knows now.]

[therealbrianna]

[ True, true. ]

Seems like I made the right decision then, as fate would have it?

[redemancy]

I guess it was. Of course, "right" and "wrong" are a matter of personal taste more than it is anything else. Still, if you're happy with where you are now...

[Then everything should be good, right?]

[therealbrianna]

Oh, I am. I really, really am. [ Flashing a genuine smile her way. ]