CLOSED | prompt eight | RUIN

[dondarrion]

prompt eight | R U I N dressing-room style. closed to rog.

 

Comments

[folded]

[ In it to win it isn't a concept she's familiar with. But, like a child, she plays at pantomime, matching him step for step. ] Reality is harsh.

[mocked]

Subjective! [ Not that his previous answer wasn't, but still. ]

[folded]

[ Wallace quirks her head. ] This entire conversation is subjective, Trammell.

[mocked]

[ He pulls a face, waving a hand in dismissal. ] Eh. Doesn't make it any less worth having, does it?

[folded]

[ The wave of Trammell's hand confuses her, unsure what sentiment it's meant to convey precisely. ]

It makes the debate moot, yes. Though— [ A beat. ] —no less enjoyable.

[ Again, she tilts her head, this time in the opposite direction. ] Thank you, Trammell.

[mocked]

[ Though he smiles again, Trammell's expression seems somehow quieter than it had been. (He has to take a step back, from time to time. Remind himself that they're not meant for anything close to normal, remind himself that he can't get too attached. Sometimes it's a bit of a shitty feeling.) ]

Never have to thank me for anything, Wolls.

[folded]

[ (The first time he calls her Wolls, she corrects him — twice — and tells him that her name is Wallace. Despite all of her traveling and all of her companions, no one has ever thought to call her that before and so what follows is a drawn-out explanation as to what a nickname is and the subsequent debate as to whether it's indicative of intimacy or laziness.

Needless to say it isn't the last of such debates but it certainly is a first. And that back and forth, the way Wallace's mouth ultimately crooks in bemusement by the end, colors the whole of their time together. All the long, yet-too-short years.) ]

But I like thanking you. It's— [ She pauses, searching for the word. ] —gratifying.

[mocked]

[ He likes the chances he gets, here and there, to explain that kind of thing to her. Most of the time, it feels like there's very little she doesn't know, but it's in the smallest details, the unnecessary parts of the human existence, that haven't quite been filled in. That he gets to be the one to enlighten her is gratifying, too. ]

Fair enough.

[ A pause. ]

You're welcome, I guess.