Going to tushanshu eventually.

[breakablegirl]

Which version of the myth says that people are abducted and forced to live there? Isn't the world turtle supposed to be.. this world? Not.. Whatever that place is?

Bright side, at least you have over a month to change your mind.

Comments

[godcomplexing]

On the brighter side, these mundanes are a fickle sort. They change their minds at the drop of a hat.

[breakablegirl]

That's what I'm counting on. For, actually, the first time ever.

[But it seems pretty legit this time.]

Here's hoping.

[godcomplexing]

A giant turtle wouldn't be my first choice of locations, either.

[breakablegirl]

Not to mention the serial killer who, in his first introduction to the community, masqueraded as my dad.

[godcomplexing]

That's one way to make an impression.

[breakablegirl]

Yeah. [Scoff.] He's real fun.

In the I want to claw my eyes out way.

[godcomplexing]

Why is that, if I may ask? [because killing people is nbd to him]

[breakablegirl]

[....]

Serial killer?

[godcomplexing]

Yes, I got that part. But fearing him gives him power. Take away that power and he's not a threat to you.

[breakablegirl]

I don't fear him.

[She still always will, a little. But these days.. Not so much fear. Hate. Hate is about right.]

But I'm not exactly itching to make him my best friend either. He's killed people I knew. ..Loved.

[godcomplexing]

[Adam knows what it's like to have people he loves die on him. Maybe that's why his attitude toward this is so cold. Except, since he's done something like this himself...]

So you know him. There's a history here.

[breakablegirl]

[Uncomfortable shift.]

Yeah.

Lots.

[godcomplexing]

[okay he can work with this]

That does put a different spin on the situation. If it were me, I would just kill him.

[breakablegirl]

[Scofffffff. Yeah, been there, done that Adam. Been there done that.

But she likes how you think. Because she's wanted to kill him since she was 15.]

Yeah. It's a little more complicated than that.

[She doesn't want to blow some poor stranger's mind with stuff about abilities and healing and everything after all.

l o l]

[godcomplexing]

Do you have access to a gun? That would make it much less complicated. Of course, you could use a knife or a blunt instrument, but that usually gets messy.

[let him teach you the ways of murder, Claire. He's an expert]

[breakablegirl]

[Yes pls Adam. Although she's already killed Sylar once but it didn't stick. .... She pauses. Considering. Debating.]

This is going to sound.. I don't know what.

[Um. Well.] I've killed him before.

[godcomplexing]

[eyebrow goes up, but then...] I've been told these other worlds can revive the dead. It sounds like a pain in the ass to me.

[breakablegirl]

No, it's- [:|||

Said like she's revealing something huge:]

He can't die.

[godcomplexing]

[sudden interest]

Is that so? Hm, I didn't realize there was anyone else out there like that.

[breakablegirl]

[Eyebrow raise.]

... You know someone else that heals?

Someone who isn't Sylar?

[godcomplexing]

There's me.

[breakablegirl]

[Well.

This is interesting.

Claire is experiencing excitement, intense curiosity, and something like deep longing. A need to explore, a need for answers. Congrats, Adam, you've got a young woman afraid of her immortality extremely interested in everything you have to say.

Even though Adam may be the example of what she doesn't want to turn into, she doesn't know that yet. And maybe if/when she does understand that, it could be just as helpful as if he were a picture of a perfect future.

She wants to know everything.]

Wh-

Who are you?

[godcomplexing]

[how cute. That eagerness is so refreshing. And she's young, much younger than he was]

You can call me Adam. And you are...?

[breakablegirl]

Claire.

Claire Bennet.

[Does the plot thicken for you yet Adam.]

How- God, I'm about to go all twenty-questions on you. [She huffs out a noise like self-deprecation and runs a hand through her hair.]

[godcomplexing]

Bennet... You wouldn't be Noah Bennet's daughter, would you?

[breakablegirl]

[........ Wut.

Her face falls into confusion, then there might be something a little like anger in her eyes, as quick and as long lasting as a spark.

He knows about her dad. Did her dad know about him?]

Adopted. But, yeah.

[Concern, now. She understands how terrible her dad made life for so many people with special abilities. She saw it in his memories, in how he still treats her like an investment that must be protected.]

How do you know him?

[godcomplexing]

He works for my company. Well, I founded it, but it's not in my hands anymore. In any case, I've heard about him from a few people. Never met him in person, sorry to say.

[breakablegirl]

Your company? You made the company.

[That means..]

How old are you?

[godcomplexing]

I've been alive for almost four hundred years, if that's what you mean. I stopped aging when I was in my thirties.

[breakablegirl]

[Four.. hundred......

Claire stares, wide eyed and amazed. Then there's a moment, a small moment where she seems unsure.]

Sylar. He collects abilities. The reason he can't die is because.. He took that from me.

[How much will she age? What is it like, watching everyone die? How can you keep going?]

[godcomplexing]

[he lets that process. This girl is like him. He was an adult when his power manifested. She's only a child. Is that... pity? Yes, he pities this girl for what she's going to live through. The world's gotten so corrupt in his time; he can only imagine what another century or two will bring]

How long have you known you had this power?

[breakablegirl]

[Claire, on the other hand, feels relieved for some reason. He knows what it's like. There's so much he can tell her. Even if it's things she doesn't want to hear, she wants to know them.]

I was fifteen. Four years. I uh, I think I was born with it. But I don't think it was as strong until then.

[What does that mean, Adam. TELL HER. D:]

[godcomplexing]

You think you were born with it? [did they seriously use the formula on her? GDI what is wrong with all of these people. Okay, Adam, calm down]

I know I was born with my ability, but as I said, it didn't kick in until I was an adult. It triggered as a survival mechanism: someone shot me with an arrow and I healed from it. The more I used it, the stronger it became.

I'm guessing it's the same for you?

[breakablegirl]

Well, I've never been sick. Not even a cold. I survived a house fire when I was an infant. It.. Makes sense that it's been there.

[An arrow. Wow, she really wants to know about what life was like back then. Claire shrugs a little.]

I sliced my hand open on some broken glass, it should have needed stitches. It took like an hour, and now it's.. Seconds.

[Suddenly:] Do you still feel pain? Do you still feel..?

[godcomplexing]

[and again, he has to digest this. Before that arrow, he was able to get drunk-- which shouldn't have happened with a healing ability. But once the arrow struck him, he could heal quickly. He would cut himself and it healed in an instant.

This is exactly why he formed the Company: to understand their abilities and help others come to term with theirs. If he was still in charge, he would've taken this girl and helped her. Not left her with questions and feeling lost]

You're too young for your ability to advance that far. It was different for me: I was a soldier.

[breakablegirl]

When I found out, I had to see what I could do.

[...She didn't make suicide and self-harm tapes. Totally didn't. Nope.]

And my life hasn't exactly been peaceful.

[The attacks on her, loved ones, saving people..]

You didn't answer my question. [This is obviously something extremely important to her.]

[godcomplexing]

[no, he gets it. He freaked out and then tried to kill himself a few times, too. If he had lived in the time of video tapes, he might've filmed it too]

I stopped feeling physical pain a long time ago, Claire.

[breakablegirl]

[A nod of understanding. Relief and fear at the same time.]

Did anything else.. Go away, too?

[godcomplexing]

[People he loved, maybe. His sanity, his faith in humanity... These are things that went away, but probably best to not mention that. Except he gets the feeling she wants to hear it. So, he'll start with the least crazy-sounding thing.

Carefully he pulls out his necklace with the ten rings]

These are women I fell in love with and married. Some were killed, some died of disease or age. The last... I didn't even get to say goodbye to, and I'm still upset about that.

[breakablegirl]

[That isn't what she meant but.. Yeah, no, it's something that's hard to hear but she wants to hear it. She needs to.

What he's showing her right now is.. Well, her worst fear. It shows in the way she looks both incredibly sad and nervous at the same time. Her jaw clenches and her shoulders tense.]

I'm sorry.

I know you've probably heard that a million times and it doesn't change anything, but. I am.

[Maybe it means something different from someone facing the same thing. Claire thinks that he's lucky he found so many people to love, to love him too, but to lose them like that. It would harden someone. Make them not want to feel anything anymore.

She doesn't want to be that.]

..I'm surprised you kept trying. [Her voice is quiet, indicating much more than the words do.]

[godcomplexing]

["I'm sorry" has always felt like such a meaningless phrase to him. Maybe because Hiro screwed him over so early on and used those words to make amends. They felt empty then and they feel empty now. But he understands what she means when she says it, and accepts it with a nod]

I think I was looking to fill up the empty spaces, and I did... for a time. Spending so much time alone would drive you mad. I needed that companionship.

[yeah, companionship was all he was looking for. Right. Not that he got pissed when he discovered one wife never loved him, or how his heart broke when another wife died after being with him for so many years. That is not what happened at all]

cause let's tie it in to the new thread :3

[breakablegirl]

...Yeah.

[She replies weakly, looking down, away. Pausing. Letting the silence wash over her.]

Would you maybe ever want to.. Meet? [Afraid of rejection, she adds:] No rush or anything.

I guess we've got plenty of time. [She scoffs darkly.]

fistbump for seamless transitions

[godcomplexing]

I would like that.

[no lie, he's curious about her. What she looks like, what she's been through, just how far down the road she's gone]

Soon, I think.

awwwwwwyeeeah

[breakablegirl]

Soon as in I've-lived-forever soon or.. Normal soon.

[She replies with a growing smile.]

[godcomplexing]

Normal soon. I know a place we can meet. [general directions etc]

[escarabajo]

Hey, it could be worse. At least they give you a home for free, y'know?

Sorry for delay, was on vacation :]

[breakablegirl]

I guess that depends on what your definition of "free" is..

no problem! <:

[escarabajo]

Point taken. Okay, okay. How about this: we're not in one of those games with zombies and monsters running around.

...Regularly.