fandomhighdorms | Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

"Today, our strategies will be focused on subterfuge," Arthur called, as soon as everyone had gathered. "There may be times when we are best served by creating an ambush. Today, we'll be taking our first steps to put one of those together. For the sake of ease, we will be focusing on the preserve."

He nodded at the treeline none too far away from them. "I want half of you to go into the woods and find good locations to hide. The treetops, for those of you thusly inclined, and holes, bushes and the like for those of you who aren't. The rest of you will go in after them to find their hiding places before they can ambush you. Both of these skills will be necessary. With any luck, we can graduate to the town next time."

"Those of you who wish to discuss last week's escape routes can come to Leto, Zack or myself, and we'll share your findings next week. Likewise for those of you in need of combat training. You know where we are."

He crossed his arms. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

[[ open to all! ]]

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Her face scrunched up before she laughed.

"It was gross."

Dinah grinned, stretching out her arms. "I'm glad the worst I have to deal with at the flower shop is dirt. Babysitting always meant way more gross stuff. So did working at Burger King. Bleah."

"The only nice thing about cleaning was that sometimes I found things. Like wrapped candies. I'd split them in half and slip it to Eliot on the way home."

Dinah paused, arrested by the mention of Fiona actually eating something. So, okay, that did happen on occasion. "Perqs of the job. We always at the french fries that were leftover at the restaurant too. What's your favorite food?"

Her face went a little pale at that, but she swallowed and answered a moment later.

"I don't have one anymore. No point. It used to be, um," and she looked a little ill, "chocolate."

"No point?" Dinah gave Fiona a really concerned look now. "Um. Fiona? Can I ask... why?"

"I don't eat?" she asked. She thought she'd gone over this with just about everyone, but looking back... no. She hadn't told Dinah about that.

"I can," she admitted quietly, "but it all tastes like sawdust and it's not actually necessary anymore. So I don't."

From anyone else this would sound like a preliminary to bulimia or anorexia denial, but Dinah had to frown, knowing what she already did. "Not necessary, how? And why doesn't it taste good any more?"

She turned her head to glance up at Dinah.

"I ate from the Golden Apple of Immortality," she said quietly, not really wanting this to be public knowledge, "so I don't have to eat. There were these chocolates and--"

She swallowed, shrugged, and stood up a little straighter.

"I got these chocolates," she started, from the beginning this time, "right when everything started happening. From a 'secret admirer', it said. We aren't allowed chocolates so... I kept it quiet. But they were, oh man, they were so good.

"I ate them and they made me feel wonderful, strong, brave, like I could do anything. So many kinds, so many flavors I'd never had, from someone who thought I was special. Someone who admired me, right?"

She kicked at a rock.

"One of my dad's cousins sent it. It was a temptation. Got me addicted. And then there was one of our trials and I had to choose whether I'd go save Eliot or eat the chocolate and--"

She looked at Dinah again.

"You know how I told you I can only cut what I want to?"

Dinah's face had creased with more worry, and she nodded at this point. "Yes..." She really hated some of Fiona's cousins; demons or whatever they were, cruel and dangerous seemed to be the rule.

"I couldn't want to cut it, my addiction, my connection with the chocolates," and she was still angry with herself for that, still enraged as she thought back to that moment in the funhouse when she'd pressed and pressed and the spider silk-thin strand wouldn't cut.

"So," and she wasn't looking at Dinah, "I reached into myself and pulled out the part of me, of my... weave, I guess? The threads inside people. And I found what it was connected to. It was this big, bloated, black thing. Totally polluted.

"And I sliced that out."

She laughed, a sad, nervous laugh as one finger tucked away a curl.

"Turns out it was my hunger. My body wouldn't take nutrients after that. I went to the hospital, almost died. Then my mother and my aunt Lucia came in and started messing with the weave, the threads in there. It hurt but it gave me enough strength.

"Hence the third trial. Hence the apple. It's the only reason I'm alive."

Edited 2009-06-23 16:52 (UTC)

Disturbing didn't begin to cover that. To almost starve to death, because Fiona had had to-- what? Change herself? Cut herself off from something as normal as food? Poison or starvation, addiction or death, what kind of choice was that? An eating disorder would be easy compared to this.

"I'm glad your mom and your aunt could fix it. At least enough," Dinah said, deeply unsettled. "Apple. Apple?" She paused. "I don't think you told me this bit. Or if you did I forgot it. Immortality?" she guessed. That seemed to be the way Fiona's story was going. "That apple?"

She nodded.

"We had to break into a military base in Nevada to get to it. That was our third trial."

Her expression turned a bit wry.

"Our family had been keeping it in orbit when some space station knocked it and it landed there. We're pretty sure they gave us the mission as much to get it back as to test us."

...yes, she is talking about Area 51.

Dinah paused. Yeeeeeah. Not getting into aliens as well as everything else.

"So you're not going to die from not eating," Dinah said slowly. "Are you ever going to die? At all?"

This was getting into new limits of Fandom weird again. Fiona seemed to do that.

"I don't know."

She was pretty sure she wouldn't have anyway. Something about there being myths about her father for centuries and her mother's family being called Immortals.

"Haven't thought about it."

Dinah watched her solemnly, thinking. She wanted to blow this off as one more weird thing about Fiona that didn't matter because she was her friend. Not relevant, because they were both students, both had powers, details, details. And yet.

"Do you get hurt any more? Or bleed at all?"

She glanced over at Dinah for a moment before shaking her head.

"I haven't bled since it happened. Things hurt, I feel them, but nothing breaks the skin. I feel... like my Dad. Or uncle Henry. Unyielding.

"I try not to think about it."

One tiny selfish thought for Dinah: good. Because like Claire, it meant there was one way in which Dinah didn't have to worry so much about Fiona. She might have other problems that she'd think about, but neither of them were going to get seriously hurt. Yay. One more friend who was at less risk.

Dinah nodded. "Okay. No food. No bleeding." Her lips quirked sideways. "I won't offer you popcorn any more, if you don't want." She cocked her head. "I'm glad you survived all that."

She smirked, trying to make sure Dinah wouldn't worry about her.

"Me too."

Though she would never stop feeling guilty for what Eliot had had to do to save her life.

"That's the past, though, right? I'll just pass my ice cream off to someone who wants it."

Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

Re: Arrive/Mingle

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NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.

Re: NFB, plz.