Stand And Deliver

[MurderWeasel]

((Sofia Chiles continued from And There'll Howl No Demon Louder))

The walk from the houses to here had taken a long, long time. Sofia had used Ashley's pilfered spear as an impromptu walking stick. It took her back to Bellington, the days she'd spent wandering the woods with a sturdy branch she pretended was a weapon. Funny how it was all the same turned on its head.

The announcements had played in there. Ashley's name hadn't been on them, which Sofia chose to be optimistic about. On the other hand, dying took a while, sometimes, from certain types of wounds.

It wasn't really something she wanted to think about.

She was sitting on the edge of a pier, her legs dangling free over the air and water. Stuff didn't hurt so much anymore. She'd taken quite a lot of painkillers and maybe that was doing the trick. Maybe she was just acclimating. She'd been stabbed. It felt so strange to think about it that directly. Maybe they should've stopped and more carefully dealt with it, but Sofia had wanted to go somewhere safe first, and then nowhere had fit the bill and now here they were. She'd shucked her makeshift cloak and wound it around her middle as a makeshift bandage instead, and it wasn't totally soaked through with blood at least. That was something.

Getting run through, it was certainly a thing that felt more romantic in theory than in practice. Maybe it was the weapon involved. A rapier was thin and clean, a nice little hole from one side to the other, and it would hurt but it wouldn't leave you torn up inside. This spear was another story. Sofia thought that something was very wrong but didn't have the words to explain it. Maybe she should've paid more attention in whatever class had tried to teach her this stuff.

Then again? Right here, right now, the memories that made her feel better were of those quiet moments out on her own in the countryside. Sometimes she'd laughed as she took shelter in a ditch when the air raid sirens wailed. She'd loved those moments, looking at the plants and rocks and scaring away anyone who dared intrude on her time. Shirking class for that had been worth it. Who cared what precisely was wrong with her? It wasn't like she could fix it anyways.

Sebbo was still there, she was pretty sure. She hadn't been saying much, and her focus had come and gone. She didn't know if he'd recovered the fallen flare gun. She didn't really care. If they had to fight again, he could hold the spear, and Sofia would just sit on the sidelines, for real this time. She thought he might be mad at her for saving his body at the cost of his honor. She wasn't sure. If he was, she wasn't too sympathetic. He should've been better and spared her the need.

The world smelled salty, and when she ran her tongue across her lips, she found that some salt had accumulated even there. It was a strange, maritime flavor, like something from deep down in the depths. That was fun to imagine for a moment.

"We really cocked that up, huh?" she muttered, not sure if to Sebbo or herself.

[Sh4dE]

((Sebbo continued))

Dude. She just killed someone. That was exactly the reason he wanted a fair duel! No weapons, just the fists, just the body, no bloody scythes. Sebbo followed the wounded girl, who walked to rest by sitting at a pier. Sebbo mostly ignored the announcement, just caught that Kian was dead, but that really did not matter much to him because Sofia looked horrible. Her face wasn't as facey as it had been.

She started conversation. Yeah, they really did cock that one up. That was not what was the plan. Ashley cheated. She used her weapon. Plus, Sofia intervened, even though Sebbo could've dealt with Ashley on his own.

"Thanks for saving my life, by the way. Even though that wasn't really necessary, you know? I could've dealt with her on my own. I could've totally wrecked her, you know. It's just, it's just that I was taught to not beat women, you know? I just can't help it."

Damn him for being such a gentleman.

[MurderWeasel]

"It's whatever." Sofia waved her hand, back and forth, and found that her whole body swayed with it. She stopped, because she was on the edge of the pier, and she didn't really want to pitch over the side. "You're welcome."

Was Sebbo telling the truth about hitting girls? She really hoped he was. It would explain a lot. Sofia wore the boy's uniform. She hid her face. She did not sound like a boy, at all, even a bit, but some of the boys around class could've sung choir, she thought, and it had been dark. If Sebbo was lying, it was a good lie, a lie that let them both keep their honor intact.

Her side was really hurting quite a lot. Still? Again? She couldn't say.

"Just, next time... if you have to, next time?"

She was going to give him some good advice. Cheat harder. Do unto others first. Don't go straight for someone. Don't telegraph. Hey, even, how about don't pick a fight you're not willing to see all the way through?

But Sofia's focus on her words had faded some and she couldn't string them together quite right and she was distracted by the sight of something out over the sea. It was a plane? A helicopter? No, she saw, just a bird. At first she thought it might be a seagull, but it was too dark in color, too large to be a fledgling. A cormorant, she thought. It was out over the water, circling, but her gaze was sluggish and she couldn't follow it very well.

[Sh4dE]

Sebbo waited for her to finish the train of thought, but she stared at the distance instead.

"Next time what?"

Sebbo was asked too much of. He was no damn medic.

"Are you okay?"

They were given bandages or something or pills.

[MurderWeasel]

"I'm fine." Sofia shook her head, and as she did she wobbled back and forth more strongly. Was it as obvious to Sebbo as it was to her that she was not fine at all? She'd lost track of the bird entirely now, but couldn't muster the energy to search it out again. Really, she just wanted to get some rest. It might help her get better, or it might make things a whole lot worse, but she didn't feel like she could keep her eyes open like this.

Slowly, Sofia leaned back, laying flat against the wooden planks, except for her lower legs, which still dangled over the edge. She knew, right away, that this had not been the right choice. It was uncomfortable, brought another tearing sensation with it, and yet at the same time felt a lot more comfortable than sitting up had. She couldn't really feel her feet anymore. She tried to wiggle her toes, and chose to believe she had succeeded.

"I think," she said, "you should carry the spear. And next time, next time don't be... if it's a girl? That's okay."

The train of thought was pretty clear in her mind. Why was it hard to transmute into words?

"Even if it's a girl, you can... you have to... cheat? Win. Just, take care of yourself."

She was staring straight up into the sky, and it was pretty dark out but the stars still burned at her eyes. She closed them, just for a moment.

[Sh4dE]

"Yeah, I should've, I should've punched Ashley as hard as I punched Molly!"

Sofia did not look fine. Oh shit she was closing her eyes. Don't die on me, don't die on me. Sebbo quickly reacted by searching for the nearest water source, filling his hands with it to return to splash it in her face.

[MurderWeasel]

"Molly probably deserved it."

The thought sort of seemed to follow what Sebbo was saying. It seemed right, too. Sofia couldn't remember too much about Molly, but she'd been... judgmental, right? So she must have deserved... whatever Sebbo had done.

It was more comfortable lying back, for real now. Sofia just lay there, letting the pain and her thoughts ebb away at about the same speed. She heard the sounds of movement, scrambling on the wooden planks, and that probably should've been more worrying than it was. If someone was coming to cause trouble, to hurt her or attack Sebbo, she had to be ready. She had to do something, and she would. Really soon. Just had to gather her strength, which was difficult at the moment.

Something lukewarm splashed over her face. Water. It tasted salty, briny, or maybe that was just the sweat and blood around her mouth. Was there blood? When had that happened? Had she bit her lip in the fight? That sounded logical. That happened a lot.

"'m okay," she mumbled. "Just need a few."

The water felt nice. Cool as it started to evaporate. It was really what Sofia could feel most strongly right now. It was a very different sort of wetness from that soaking her side and staining her blazer. She liked it better, though it was fading too.

She tried to open her eyes and couldn't, and there was a little fear at that, but mostly just confusion. It wasn't that bad, was it? It was bad, but she'd be fine if she rested? She hoped she'd be fine if she rested.

But if not?

A duel gone wrong, that was a pretty good ending, wasn't it? That was dramatic. Romantic. It was something.

She started humming to herself, a little, an old song but right now she couldn't quite remember the name. She thought she was on-tune, at least at any moment, but the pieces weren't hanging together, and really all she could feel was the pain and the wetness, and it made her just want to let everything go for a little.

At some point, she trailed off and fell silent. She'd lost focus on the world outside, on anyone or anything else. She never regained it.

It took a little while, but inevitably her heart stopped beating.

F07, SOFIA CHILES: DECEASED
13 STUDENTS REMAINING

[Sh4dE]

Shit, Sofia either died or fell asleep. Well, it had been an exhausting fight hasn't it?

Sebbo waited for her to wake up.

[Sh4dE]

She didn't wake up, she was fucking dead. No shaking up could make her eyes open again. Damn, she was his ally. She was like a brother to him. And he couldn't do anything about it. It was the fucking scythe man, the same one Sofia was holding. People fucking die on the streets when you don't follow the rules of bringing no weapons to a fist fight.

Sebbo wasn't sure how to deal with death. Sebbo wasn't sure about how to deal with a lot of stuff going on in his life but luckily he could always turn to music.

"She was a fighter, a biter, she kicked asses/
and the size of her balls she had while kicking Ashley were massive/
but Ashley was a huge bitch/
and and aw fuck I can't."

Back home Sebbo used autotune, but right now he was singing out of tune.

"Every step I take, every move I make/
Every single day, every time I pray/
I'll be missin' youuu
Thinkin' of the day when you went away
What a life to take, what a bond to break
I'll be missin' youuu"

Sometimes other lyricists were better at describing things than you yourself was. Sebbo sang this hook about three times before changing to hum it. But wait, she wouldn't want an American song.

"I look at you all see the love there that's..."

No. He couldn't sing that high.

"Goodbye England's rose,
may you ever grow in our hearts.
you were grace that placed itself
where lives were torn apaaaht"

Oh crap these lyrics felt real. Lives were really torn apart here. Sebbo could feel a shiver. He needed to continue to sing to cry!

"You called out to our country! And you blablabla heaveeeen. And the stars spell out your name."

He didn't know the lyrics that well, but now the banger hook was going to set in.

"AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU LIVED YOUR LIFE LIKE A CANDLE IN THE WIND"

He fully screamed - like there was no one else to watch him sing so why not go all in. He felt strange singing this sad song while being sad while seeing a dead friend.

"NEVER FADING WITH THE SUNSET WHEN THE RAIIIIIIIIIIHUHUHN SET IN"

Finally some tears coming through. Tears of anger? Tears of sadness? Who knew? It was a ball of emotions coming out.

And so he sang the rest of the hook and repeated it once.

After finishing this strange act of coping with the tragedy of losing this girl he got to know for like two days like this was a fuking movie he picked up the spear and left the corpse.

((Sebbo Boston continued in Reason It Out))