The dorms, Monday night

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

It had been a while since Cassandra had climbed a building. She didn't feel as if she needed to keep in practice, that life was behind her after all. But tonight she realized that she was actually missing it. There was something relaxing about scaling buildings.

So she waited until most of the lights had gone out in the windows, no need to startle people after all, and began at the bottom working her way toward the roof.

[open. Feel free to mod Cassandra coming by your window or something...]

Comments

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"One of my duplicates hung out there for a bit," Jamie said, continuing to climb. "Not exactly the most safe place in the universe but it was... interesting."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," she agreed vaguely, shifting her concentration back to climbing, picking up speed.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Upon getting to the fifth floor Jamie had to stop and catch his breath. He turned to admire Cassandra's wall scaling yet again. "So where did you pick this skill up? And don't shrug and say 'around'."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Cassandra didn't need to stop, but she did anyway; her breathing was slightly accelerated. "My dad taught me," she said after a long pause.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Was he a rock climber?" Jamie asked wiping his brow taking note of the pause. "Or is it none of my business?"

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Cassandra frowned, thinking. "It's... Nothing personal? Just... he isn't very nice. I don't like talking about him."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Jamie nodded finally catching his breath. "Fair enough. I don't like talking about my Dad as well."

And there was enough additional tension in Jamie's body at that moment to make it very clear.

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"What about your mom," she asked, shifting her weight to keep from cramping as she hung from the wall. "Mine's as bad as my dad."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"She's dead," Jamie said simply as he began to climb again. "Killed by a magically created tornado."

Nope not lying.

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Mine too." She moves to follow him, then corrects herself, "Well, not the tornado part."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Well that would be a strange coincidence if it had," Jamie said with the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "What happened to her, if you don't mind me asking?"

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Killed her," she mumbled softly.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Jamie stopped for a second and cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry... What was that?"

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Cassandra didn't stop, she wasn't really willing to discuss her mother while climbing the wall. Her chin jerked forward, "At the top." She'd tell him more there.

Maybe.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

All righty then.

Jamie nodded and continued to climb until he was at the roof ledge and pulled himself over.

"Good climb," he tried to say good naturedly.

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"You too," she admitted. Cassandra spent a minute or two stretching to make sure her muscles wouldn't cramp before saying anything.

Eventually she spoke again, "My mother. I killed her."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Okay."

HOLY SHIT!

"Um. Why?"

HOLY SHIT!

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

She lifted an eyebrow, "You sound remarkably calm." Especially considering his body language suggested that he was anything but.

"It's... complicated," she offered more as a warning that she couldn't explain it well than as a refusal to explain.

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"People don't usually kill one of their parents without good reason," Jamie said trying to keep his tone light.

Either that or she was crazy and he wasn't going to bring up that point.

"So I'm going to keep an open mind. And you're talking to a guy who has led multiple lives outside of school and this planet so I'm familiar with the complicated concept. Now not to sound like a Freudian but.... tell me about your mother."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"Okay." Then there was silence. A lot of silence. Cassandra needed to figure out the best way to put this, and words were never her forte.

She killed and killed and killed, and it was the only way to stop her.

It was the only thing she ever asked me to do for her.

I loved her.

"My mother's name was Shiva. Her real name, not the one she was born with. She... killed people. That was her life. The first time we fought, really fought, I beat her and let her go. She killed 48 people with her own hands before I fought her again. She wouldn't stop. Couldn't stop."

Cassandra stopped and swallowed once, twice. Her voice was barely a whisper. "She wanted me to stop her. She... begged me at the end. Not to walk away this time."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

Jamie's tension relaxed a bit but he was a tad overwhelmed by the entire confession.

"That's a tough position to be put into," Jamie reasoned. "For anyone. I'm guessing she didn't give you a lot of choice in the matter."

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

Cassandra shrugged, "Could have walked away. Maybe should have."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Why didn't you?" Jamie asked.

[iseewhatyoumean.livejournal.com]

"She was my mother. It was... it was the only thing she ever asked me to do for her."

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Wow. And I thought I had it bad when my Mom asked me to clean my room," Jamie said in a lame attempt to lighten the conversation. "I mean... still. No one should have ever have to be put in that position. Especially by one's parent."

Jamie paused for a second.

"But if I were in that situation? I think I'd have to do the same thing."