the salle - sunday morning - 01/17

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

There was no electricity, but there were plenty of practice dummies and that was all she needed.

A particularly nasty blend of anger, pain, and frustration boiled inside of her at the moment; it was uncomfortable both because of its intensity and because it seemed to stoke the more Infernal elements within her. When she was angry, there were temptations. Urges. They felt good, and that strange edge of strength and pleasure within all the pain, the feeling that one was feeding the other, bothered her even beyond what was really Bothering her. The last thing she needed right now was to feel like a monster, in any sense.

She left her yo-yo and her tessen away for the moment. Instead, she was just wailing on the dummies with hands and feet. Slicing would have had her needing a new set of dummies far too quickly; knocking the limbs and head off piece by piece, on the other hand, was both cathartic and took much longer.

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[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"Black. Pure black," she said as she thought of the Maybache.

"My friend Robert drives it."

[momslilassassin]

"I thought it was your uncle's?" Ben said.

In his family, everyone flew their own ship.

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"It is," she continued, well distracted.

"But he employs Drivers to drive the car, and the main one is my friend Robert. Robert Farmington."

She blushed just a little.

"He looks almost exactly like Professor Kirk, if you've met him."

[momslilassassin]

"He taught me tactics," Ben said, nodding and not understanding the blushing. Ben was very oblivious to some things.

"Why would you need a driver? Can your uncle not drive?"

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"He prefers it that way. And Robert's more than just a Driver. He... acts for my uncle. His agent, I guess."

[momslilassassin]

Ben frowned thoughtfully. "Errands or more specialized?"

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"Both, from what Robert said. My uncle doesn't answer questions like that with anything other than a smile."

[momslilassassin]

"Which is generally supposed to stop anyone else from asking questions, right?" Ben guessed. "My dad does that too."

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"My dad... is a whole nother thing," she said with something of a laugh. She was going to call him after she left. He might understand. In fact, it almost felt like he was the only person who'd understand.

"But he does it too."

[momslilassassin]

"Is he a good thing or a bad thing?" Ben asked.

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"He's a good thing, I think. Me and my brother love him. But... he kind of makes things complicated."

She was in one of those moods where nothing really seemed to matter, so yes, she was telling a bit more than usual. It might bother her later, but only if someone reacted to it badly. After all, she'd had quite a few months to adjust to the information.

"My mother's family and my dad's family kind of aren't supposed to deal with each other. And they really don't like each other."

[momslilassassin]

"The families don't, or your parents don't like each other?" Ben replied, trying to make sure he got an accurate picture.

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"Uh, at this point, it's tough to say between them. But I meant the families."

Which was why her mother was going to have her killed (or possibly do it herself, who could say?) if she started resembling her father too much.

[momslilassassin]

Ben was going to say that he knew what that was like but it was mostly his grandfather being unreasonable, so he refrained.

"Any particular reason or just a clash of personalities?"

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

Most of the time, she'd have tried to deflect things, gotten even more vague. Today, she was tired of stepping around reality, not quite lying, and keeping secrets.

"Are you familiar with mythology at all? Earth mythology?"

Meanwhile, she started to pick up some of the parts she'd knocked around.

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "I've taken several of Lady Ghanima's classes."

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"Well, my mother is an Immortal, one of the gods. Atropos, according to Greek mythology.

"And my father is Infernal, a fallen angel."

Which might, if he remembered it, put that discussion about darkness and the dark side of things into a whole new context.

[momslilassassin]

Ben snorted. "So not liking each other is rather understating things a bit."

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. By plenty. Which makes the question of my brother and I kind of complicated."

[momslilassassin]

"Like, which side you'll fall on or something?" Ben replied.

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"And if we don't, what does that make us," she said with a nod.

[momslilassassin]

"Liabilities for both sides," Ben said with a tiny, bitter smile.

Hanging out with Ender rubbed off on him sometimes.

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

"Exactly," and her own smile was just as small.

"That's why my brother isn't here. They wanted us separate. We're stronger together."

[momslilassassin]

"Twins?" Ben guessed. "My dad and his sister were hidden for the same reason."

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

She blinked.

"Really?"

Someone else was in this position?