Heel

[animusmods]

Characters: open to characters who signed up for the Heel event
Setting: a familiar labyrinth
Format: any; party style
Summary: A game of hunters and prey.
Warnings: potential for violence, gore, angst, etc.

Event details are here. Please make sure to include the IC date and if your thread is open or closed in your subject lines. Please mark threads for any specific warnings.

Comments

[averytinyparticle]

[Recovering from his fear, Quark takes a few steps closer, leaving his spot against the wall. He wants to argue, because even if he doesn't really want to be good at the game, he definitely doesn't want to lose and then get in trouble for it! Ruana's scary, and not very nice to losers, or people who don't play her game like she wants.

In the end, he decides not to argue. Arguing isn't polite, and Quark's supposed to respect his elders. Well, elders who aren't giant jerks like Dio. Okay, well it's still a bit of an argument that he counters with, but it's not delivered argumentatively. More curious, childlike.]

You're playing like you want to win, though. You must be really strong, Mr. Asch. I bet you now how to use that sword really well. [Quark looks at the way he holds his weapon. His face looked a touch wary again, but his nervousness snaps away just as quickly.]

[bloodyashes]

[Funnily enough, Asch is someone who would let him argue away. For now, though, he brushes some hair out of his face, dearly missing his hairpins.]

I've been training with a sword since I was younger than you. The first time I had to kill someone, I was about your age.

[It's only softened a little. He doesn't believe in sheltering kids, not in that way, in a situation like this.]

That's why you shouldn't have to.

[averytinyparticle]

[Quark can't even hide his surprise. Not that he's known for hiding how he's feeling.]

Y-Younger than me? That's really, really young!

[Eyeballing that sword, Quark wasn't so sure he'd really even be able to properly lift it. That must have taken a lot of practice. It hits him then that maybe he shouldn't be staring so openly. This was kind of a serious topic, wasn't it? Gosh. Asch must've been really messed up. No wonder he looked so grumpy.]

Well...um...you shouldn't have to, either, right? Not if you don't want to.

"no wonder he looked so grumpy" god bless you quark

[bloodyashes]

[Don't worry, Quark, he won't hold the staring against you.]

If someone has to do it, then it should be someone who won't suffer for it.

[And someone will have to do it, of that he has little doubt. That's the kind of game Ruana plays.

He's killed enough that he won't object to killing, so it might as well be him. That's how he's thinking right now.]

god bless us everyone o u o

[averytinyparticle]

Does that mean none of your friends are here with you?

[The questions are never ending with this child. He can't seem to help himself, always asking whatever pops into his head before contemplating the consequences of what he has to say. There's just so much to learn! Especially considering he has no idea what he's doing in this game of cat and mouse. Any words of wisdom are better than none.]

I guess that would make it easier not to feel bad...

[Quark thinks about Urotsuki being one of the other hunters; he doesn't want to be her enemy, trying to do better than her to avoid punishment. He thinks about Sealand and Zelda being prey. Zelda was so nice to him that one time he helped her ferry supplies up and down the stairs for the nice retrieval unit lady. And Sealand...Sealand was his friend. None of them deserved to get hurt.]

quark bb you need a hug

[bloodyashes]

[This is not the best person to catch your wisdom from, Quark. On the other hand, at least he's not Jade.]

...No. One of the people we're supposed to hunt is important to me. I intend to protect her as much as I can.

[Finding a middle ground there is difficult, but that's what he's decided on. Protect the ones that matter and let everyone else rot. It's not what he wants to do, but it's what he has to do.

Not so different from back home, really. He can hate Ruana for that, at least.]

[averytinyparticle]

[In a way, that was kind of cool. Quark would even deign to say romantic, if girls didn't have cooties and if romance wasn't weird and gross and silly.]

That's good motivation.

[Well, it still involved killing people. But...at least he was killing to protect someone instead of killing for himself. Thinking about it that way, Quark can't help but feel ashamed. He looks down at the dagger in his hands. It feels suddenly so much heavier. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He wanted to be friends.

But if it meant he could see his Grandpa again...Quark always believed he'd do anything, no matter what. Even if it was selfish, or made him a bad person.]

...is it really murder if they're just going to come back when the game's over?

[Quark wasn't terribly sure if this was a good question to be asking...but, well, who else was going to put up with him down here? Asch was doing a fine enough job so far, and he seemed smart about this kind of thing.]

[bloodyashes]

[Ah, Quark, you'll understand someday. Probably. If you manage to live to reach puberty. There's a lot of ifs in life. Just accept them for what they are, or something.

If he's looking for an answer that will let him justify fighting, though, he's not likely to find one here.]

Probably. Although the blame falls on Ruana, ultimately. Thinking that it doesn't matter as long as they come back will lead you into the same place she is.

[After all, that's the way she justifies these games in the first place.]

[averytinyparticle]

Oh.

[Scary and mean and surrounded by people who didn't like you very much. That didn't sound like something Quark was really anxious to be. He pouts guiltily for even asking. At least for today, he didn't think he was going to hurt anyone anyway. Not even for his Grandpa.

The mind of a ten-year-old could be fickle.

His stomach growls, effectively cutting off his serious, or somewhat serious, train of thought.]

I think I need to start looking for more nutrition bars again, Mr. Asch. [Quark sighed, because sighing was a better alternative to complaining.] So I'm gonna get going, I think.

[The boy turns in a circle, trying to remember where he came from and what turns he hadn't yet taken. Ugh, this was so confusing.]

Or--do you want some company?

[bloodyashes]

[Well, even if it's only for a day or two, he gets Good Person points for trying, right?

Yeah, totally.]

Keep moving, then.

[There's a slight shake of his head at the offer of company. He handles better alone - certainly, he can't hunt and handle a kid at the same time. He's bad with children on a normal day.

Besides, it wouldn't be good for Quark, either, especially if he had to kill someone.]