Blogathon - Entry 4
Jul. 26th, 2008 10:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mllelaurelSponsor me!
Excerpts: Transients
Renee was the sort of person you desperately wanted to like you. Not even necessarily because you liked her – though you probably did – or because of her social status. She just had a presence about her; a weight to her opinions and a way of drawing you in. Sure, Rue couldn’t read energies anymore in her current predicament (and she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to read humans, either way), but she didn’t need magic to tell her this much.
Unfortunately, much as she second-guessed herself about it, she also had a vague suspicion that Renee didn’t hold her in the same regard. Her first thought was that it had something to do with her and Ash hanging out, what with Renee being his ex and all, but that would have been terrible logic even for a human. Ash and Renee seemed to get on rather well for exes, and neither of them struck Rue as a jealous type. Hell, it was no secret that both of them had dated other people while they were together (though with less overlap than some rumors had it). So scratch that bit of stupidity.
She finally thought it best to simply confront Renee about the issue. Simply. Hah. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a hard time starting an honest conversation.
“You don’t like me,” she said, skipping all the preambles she’d practiced beforehand.
To her credit, Renee didn’t deny it. She could have, but now that the situation had been blown wide open, Rue would have had enough people sense to know she was lying.
She could hear music and laughter coming from another room. “Mind if I ask why?”
Renee shrugged. “I don’t hate you or anything. I just think you’re kind of, well, boring. You go out and you do stuff. Your lights are on, but nobody’s home. Oh, I don’t mean you’re dumb-“ It would have sounded apologetic coming from anyone else. “-It’s more like you’re not there at all. Ask you your opinion on anything, and I’ll bet you a hundred bucks you don’t have one. Or you look like you might almost form one, then think better of it. You’re nice, sure, but that’s the only thing I can think to say about you. And really, ‘nice’ ain’t much of a compliment. All it means is that you’re harmless.”
For a moment Rue wasn’t sure whether she wanted to argue, or walk out, slamming the door, or… All those things Renee said had been honest and fair – and made her want to punch the bitch in the face.
No. If she wanted to be honest, the one she was the angriest with was herself and her shoddy, hole-filled cover story. Sure, she knew the facts of life human-style. She knew the names of the candidates in the upcoming human election. She knew what television series had run in the last two years. She even knew most of the sequence of the Human Genome Project. What she didn’t know was the emotional weight behind the issues the candidates bandied about. She didn’t have a favorite character or an episode she particularly detested. She didn’t share any sort of past with these people – or with anybody on Earth.
This wasn’t her world. That’s what it all came down to, and considering that she wouldn’t be staying here very long, maybe she should bloody well stop caring this much about fitting in. Who cared if she was lonely now – not that she was lonely. All she had to do was find the Duke’s grandson and she’d be going back home, where magic worked, things made sense and pieces of her brain weren’t missing.
Thinking of home had been a bad move. Her chest tightened and – damn it, she wasn’t going to cry. Whatever else Renee thought of her, she wanted to retain at least a small measure of respect, thank you very much. But considering she even found herself missing the ever-present court intrigues, trying to keep her composure was easier said than done.
If Renee had noticed her state, she didn’t comment on it, though she did look a little uncomfortable, herself.
Rue looked her in the eye. “Thanks for telling me,” she said.
Renee gave her an incredulous look.
It was Rue’s turn to shrug. “I mean, you could have been all polite to me, then gone and said all these things about me behind my back.” A pause. “You didn’t do that, did you?”
“Do I look like I do that sort of shit.”
“No.” And oddly enough, all of that felt like the truth. If Rue wasn’t thankful per se, some part of her did appreciate the blunt honesty. “Though… if you have a problem with me, could you just tell me next time, without my having to ask? Because this? Is seriously awkward.” She laughed, surprising herself with it.
Even more surprising, Renee’s lips quirked up in return. “You think it was awkward for you? Hah.” But something had changed about the way she looked at Rue. It wasn’t liking, exactly, but a sliver of growing respect was just as good, if not better. “Will do,” she said.
Excerpts: Transients
Renee was the sort of person you desperately wanted to like you. Not even necessarily because you liked her – though you probably did – or because of her social status. She just had a presence about her; a weight to her opinions and a way of drawing you in. Sure, Rue couldn’t read energies anymore in her current predicament (and she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to read humans, either way), but she didn’t need magic to tell her this much.
Unfortunately, much as she second-guessed herself about it, she also had a vague suspicion that Renee didn’t hold her in the same regard. Her first thought was that it had something to do with her and Ash hanging out, what with Renee being his ex and all, but that would have been terrible logic even for a human. Ash and Renee seemed to get on rather well for exes, and neither of them struck Rue as a jealous type. Hell, it was no secret that both of them had dated other people while they were together (though with less overlap than some rumors had it). So scratch that bit of stupidity.
She finally thought it best to simply confront Renee about the issue. Simply. Hah. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a hard time starting an honest conversation.
“You don’t like me,” she said, skipping all the preambles she’d practiced beforehand.
To her credit, Renee didn’t deny it. She could have, but now that the situation had been blown wide open, Rue would have had enough people sense to know she was lying.
She could hear music and laughter coming from another room. “Mind if I ask why?”
Renee shrugged. “I don’t hate you or anything. I just think you’re kind of, well, boring. You go out and you do stuff. Your lights are on, but nobody’s home. Oh, I don’t mean you’re dumb-“ It would have sounded apologetic coming from anyone else. “-It’s more like you’re not there at all. Ask you your opinion on anything, and I’ll bet you a hundred bucks you don’t have one. Or you look like you might almost form one, then think better of it. You’re nice, sure, but that’s the only thing I can think to say about you. And really, ‘nice’ ain’t much of a compliment. All it means is that you’re harmless.”
For a moment Rue wasn’t sure whether she wanted to argue, or walk out, slamming the door, or… All those things Renee said had been honest and fair – and made her want to punch the bitch in the face.
No. If she wanted to be honest, the one she was the angriest with was herself and her shoddy, hole-filled cover story. Sure, she knew the facts of life human-style. She knew the names of the candidates in the upcoming human election. She knew what television series had run in the last two years. She even knew most of the sequence of the Human Genome Project. What she didn’t know was the emotional weight behind the issues the candidates bandied about. She didn’t have a favorite character or an episode she particularly detested. She didn’t share any sort of past with these people – or with anybody on Earth.
This wasn’t her world. That’s what it all came down to, and considering that she wouldn’t be staying here very long, maybe she should bloody well stop caring this much about fitting in. Who cared if she was lonely now – not that she was lonely. All she had to do was find the Duke’s grandson and she’d be going back home, where magic worked, things made sense and pieces of her brain weren’t missing.
Thinking of home had been a bad move. Her chest tightened and – damn it, she wasn’t going to cry. Whatever else Renee thought of her, she wanted to retain at least a small measure of respect, thank you very much. But considering she even found herself missing the ever-present court intrigues, trying to keep her composure was easier said than done.
If Renee had noticed her state, she didn’t comment on it, though she did look a little uncomfortable, herself.
Rue looked her in the eye. “Thanks for telling me,” she said.
Renee gave her an incredulous look.
It was Rue’s turn to shrug. “I mean, you could have been all polite to me, then gone and said all these things about me behind my back.” A pause. “You didn’t do that, did you?”
“Do I look like I do that sort of shit.”
“No.” And oddly enough, all of that felt like the truth. If Rue wasn’t thankful per se, some part of her did appreciate the blunt honesty. “Though… if you have a problem with me, could you just tell me next time, without my having to ask? Because this? Is seriously awkward.” She laughed, surprising herself with it.
Even more surprising, Renee’s lips quirked up in return. “You think it was awkward for you? Hah.” But something had changed about the way she looked at Rue. It wasn’t liking, exactly, but a sliver of growing respect was just as good, if not better. “Will do,” she said.
