cape_kore | [FUN GHOUL ➜ VIDEO 004]

[ She debates not answering, honesty, but she can't quite make resell outright ignore him. Avoidance is one thing, that's another. Plus, maybe she does want to see what he wants, a little bit. So it's a delayed reaction, but eventually she does respond. ]

I...have a second. A few actually.

You, uh-- ... Wanna meet up somewhere? Or keep using these? Your call.

[ Say no. Say no. ]

Yeah, we can- meeting somewhere is good. Where's good for you?

[ Idiot. ]

[He scratches at the back of his head, thinking about it.]

Behind the pharmacy?

Behind the pharmacy it is. [ She pauses, slightly awkwardly, then smiles as she adds: ] Ten minutes?

[ Which obviously means she's going to spend aroun none and a half minutes stressing about her plan of attack, and after ten minutes flies into the pharmacy, quickly walking out and around the corner. ]

[Ghoul's there waiting, leaning up against a wall. He smiles when he sees her, but it's strained. Not like before.]

... You make a habit of disappearing like that? [He's still not sure just what he saw exactly. Hell, it might have been the hallucinations! But something was off about that night. And she was covered in blood. And then she was outside... and then she just wasn't there.]

[ It's hard not to show the brief moment of surprise when he asks that, and she pauses for a moment. He probably hadn't seen anything, right? Probably just means the fact that she left without any explanation. He couldn't have actually seen, right? ]

It's uh, there's an explanation for that.

[ She's just going to stay vague, trying to work out exactly how much he knows. She hovers around, a few feet across from him, careful to keep the space there. It's a pretty massive contrast to the last time she'd seen him. ] That night was- complicated.

[He has to laugh at that. Complicated. That's one way to put it.]

I'd love to hear it, dollface. I'm sure it'll make this all a bit clearer, huh? How about you start by telling me where all the blood came from?

[It's very different now. Before, there were no questions. Now... his family could be at stake. And he just got that shit sorted again.]

[ She should have known this was a bad idea. She should have known it was a bad idea when she went around in the first place. It's too late for should have knowns though, and not for the first time it occurs to her that she could get this sorted out quite easily. Ghoul didn't have to remember a thing - Gabriel had already offered once. He'd do it again, she's sure of it.

But Anna needs to face up to this, and so she just shrugs, drops her gaze to the floor. It's about time she started being honest with someone. ]

The escape attempt. Jesse, he got hurt worse than we let on.

... How much worse? [That was a lot of blood. But he'd seen Jesse not long after and he was fine!] There an explanation for that, too?

A lot worse. [ She smiles, and it's far too tight and forced to come even close to being genuine. She's clearly uncomfortable, but Anna has made up her mind now. No more lies. ]

He was dying. They all could have died. I did what I had to do.

[Shit. That little bastard.] ... So you saved them. You're good. You do good? Shit ain't normal, but it's good?

Yeah, I saved them. He would've died. [ She lets out a soft, hollow laugh and drags her heel lightly against the floor. She should just say it, just blurt it out. Worst case scenario, he thinks she's lying, right? ]

Didn't realise that was the point up for debate. I'm- listen, I'm not some awful evil creature from the deep. I'm not bad. I just didn't want people knowing. I'm sorry.

[ And she is, she really is. She hadn't exactly lied to anyone at first. People didn't ask, so she didn't tell, but it had drawn closer to deception the more people questioned. She's just tired, she's really tired of keeping up appearances, so she just shrugs. Holds her arms out to either side, and looks at him with a smile. It's definitely sad. ] What do you want, a heartfelt confession?

[He holds up his hands, complete surrender. No need to get frantic or panicked or defensive. Eaaaasy does it.] Not necessary, chiquita. I don't want anything. Got enough to go on already. Keep your secrets.

[She's not a risk. Not like some of the other people around here. Not bad, that's all he needed to know. Well. That, and-- He steps forward, looks her in the eye and shoves his hands in his pockets.]

D'you need help?

[ Her conviction towards confessing drops somewhat at that, and she looks a little relieved. It's a damn sight more honest than she's been with anyone else here without it all but being forced out of her - sure a few people know, but if they hadn't witnessed what they had then Anna never would have told them. Still, she can keep a few cards close to her chest. That's not wrong, right? ]

Help? [ Now that takes her by surprise, and it shows. Her hand drops back to her side, the other pushing through her hair loosely, and she looks at him for a moment, clearly confused. ] Why would you think I needed help?

[ Which isn't quite the question she wants to ask. She kept secrets. She lied. Why would he want to help her? ]

[Ghoul smiles, taking another step closer.] Because you wouldn't have disappeared on me if everything was A-OK. Is there anything you need me to do? If I can do it, I will.

[Because she's a good person. She doesn't deserve bad shit.]

[ Well...that's a pretty fair point. She gives a little half smile, and as she shrugs her shoulders she just stares away at the floor. ]

It's, I'm fine. I've just. I've been trying to stay under the radar, just in case anyone from home... Well. Just in case. Guess I kind of screwed that up.

[ Not that she would ever take that decision back. That she has no regrets about at least, and it's not like there could have been anyone better for her to accidentally expose her secrets to. Anna's gotten far longer than she ever expected she would be allowed to. ]

It's okay. I've got this. Thank you, really, but I think I've got to handle this.

[ She appreciates it though, Ghoul, she really does. She just doesn't want to risk anyone becoming collateral damage. ]

You tryin'a tell me you're on the run?

[Because you failed to mention that the first time, Anna, and he's a stubborn motherfucker. He finally closes the distance between them and sets his hands on her shoulders.]

I'm real good at runnin', angel eyes. You got it handled now, fine, but the second you don't? You call me.

[Fuck the risk. He'll take the damage.]

Sort of. They'd kind of caught up to me back home.

[ The hands on her shoulders take her by surprise, and she looks at Ghoul for a moment before attempting a smile. It's half-assed but it's still there, and she gives a little shrug before nodding. ]

Guess I'll keep that in mind.

[ And she won't. Anna knows she won't, because the last thing she ever wants to do is put more people in danger for her sake. Shaky truces are hanging by single threads, but the more people that turn up from her world, the more she thinks that the next might not be so sympathetic. Her luck's got to run out eventually. ]

You don't have to do this, you know. You'd be better off staying away from me.

[Smile's still a smile. And even though he's smiling back, you can bet he's taking all this in.]

Better off? Maybe I got a thing for the girls with a past. You don't know. Not fun if it ain't gonna get you killed, huh?

[But come here, Anna. He missed you. He was worried. Come here. He wraps his arms around her to hold her close.] We still friends, chiquita?

[ Oh man, you're killing her here. She's trying so hard to take the moral high ground, keep everyone at arms length and give them ample opportunity to get away, and he's not listening. Anna could make him, she could push him away and run like she did last time, but she doesn't have it in her. She's so tired of running. ]

You promise me you're not going to get yourself killed or anything stupid like that, and yeah - we're still friends.

[ She's serious, Ghoul. Her arms wind around his waist and she's more than content to lean into the hug, take the moment of comfort, but seriously. ]

Works both ways though. If you ever get caught in a spot, just call and I'll be there, okay? I might not look like much, but you'd be surprised.

[FUN GHOUL ➜ VIDEO 004]

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