ultraviolins | and i saw the heavens and the earth

and i saw the heavens and the earth

[ I won't be the one left behind this time!

Brady's scowling as usual, but with real anger this time. Anger, and a mounting sense of dread. Giving the frosted glass of their new prison a resentful punch only makes his knuckles throb with pain, but that's fine. Maybe it will clear his head a bit, make it possible to think again.

He can hardly stand to look at the knife and the bottle with the ominous markings.]

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[ It wasn't good enough. Their offered mementos of parents long gone mattered little to this woman and if she couldn't find the value in rings herself, then that meant her life was just as meaningless. ]

So that's it, is it?

[His hands curl into white-knuckled fists, but the roiling ocean of shame and dread in the pit of his stomach is leeching all his strength away.

Brady hangs his head. He feels sick.]

Severa....

You heard her. [ Even if he didn't, Severa was going to remind him of what was said anyway. ] Ten minutes. How long will it take for me to die by the method you told me earlier?

Well?

I don't have all day so spit it out!

[Teeth find his lower lip and bite down almost hard enough to break skin.]

Gods, I don't— [But she was right. They only had ten minutes.] Five, maybe six minutes at most.

[A pained, supremely bitter afterthought:]

You'd pass out in three.

[ That's all she needs to hear. Already she's come to the painful decision that she should hit him really hard until he passes out. Forcing him to have to watch her bleed out is cruel, but what if she fails at her task of doing it on her own? ]

All right, you need to tell me what to do and make it quick. I only have four minutes.

[ Somehow she manages to keep her composure in saying that despite what she's asking him. ]

[Unaware of her plan, he rubs at his eyes. They've filled with tears again and for this, it's crucial that his vision remains clear.]

I gotta....I gotta touch yer neck, to show ya where...where to— [He can't say it.

He reaches out slowly, trying to give Severa a moment to prepare herself without wasting too much of what little time remains.]

[ Her body stiffens before his fingers ever reach her. ]

Yeah, are you going to show me or are you going to stand there frozen in place? [ The usual agitation in her voice has simmered down a bit as if the fire of her life has already started to leave her. ] Please.

[ Now that's a huge warning sign that something is off. ]

[A flinch. Severa never said please. She was too fiery and bold for that.]

All right, all right! [An undignified sniff, then Brady carefully presses two fingers against the spot where Severa's pulse beats in her neck.] Here, feel that? That's where you need to cut. Do it...do it properly and you'll be out like a light in no time.

[He takes his hand back as if scalded and stares at the floor, disgusted with himself beyond words.]

[ It was too brief. He's quick to draw his hand back away from her and instead of thinking the usual self-deprecation thoughts that came with her wrecked self-esteem, Severa falls back on the thought that this is the last time anyone will ever touch her.

The last time she'll ever feel another human being.

(Provided she didn't return with the Risen and become an enemy of humankind next.)

Swallowing hard as she holds her own fingers there in hopes of replaying the moment in her mind, she's tempted to romanticize it in her mind. It'll be all right, wouldn't it? ]

Argh. [ The distressed noise is directed towards herself instead of him. If she did that to him right now, she'd be no better than her mother who always fought for a dream she never could have. Why would she inflict the same to someone brave enough to tell her what she asks? ] Is this really how fast my heart is beating?

Guess I need to speed it up a bit.

[Has he ever felt this useless before? It's certainly possible — Brady and failure, perceived or otherwise, tended to go hand-in-hand ever since he was a small child too clumsy and inexperienced to properly draw the bow across the strings of his violin.

He opens his mouth, then closes it and shrugs instead. Nothing he said could make this easier. He didn't have the words, almost never did. Just feelings, babbled out in an idiotic rush, or tears.]

Just say it already!

[ If he has feelings, she'll get them out of him one way or the other. Yelling usually works for her, but if he resists for too long, she just might end up getting physical with him instead.

The thought of leaving him a scar to remember her by is entertained for a few seconds before she shoves away the selfish desire. Hurting Brady causes her chest to ache more and it's painful enough being like this. ]

Y-Your words are all I'm going to have with me when I go so the least you can do is get them out of the way!

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and i saw the heavens and the earth

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latetags this like a jerk don't look at me

STARES AT YOU

pokes out your eyes

eats them from the inside

i'd call you gross but i am the gross one for being a literal slowpoke

tries to out slow u.....

impossible

I could... I've got that one tag from over a month ago in my inbox still as proof!!