[PRP] Just One Thing (Kursha + Elidae)

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Kursha's frown twisted. He tongued the inside of his cheek, as though pushing out the sour taste in his mouth. When that did little good he regarded Elidae once more (his gaze had drifted), searching. For once, she remained quiet, and he felt a tinge of regret.

“Why?” he asked in an attempt to smooth out the ripple between them.  

[blackbird cake]

Why, he asked. At first avoiding his eyes, Elidae remained transfixed on the blank screen of the television on the wall across from the sofa, debated telling him a lie. She could tell him that Nucleo had told her something about Odette Cygnet and it had nothing to do with him and was but was a bit of gossip she wanted to share with him. She could keep quiet, pretending to be unaware to preserve the lightheartedness of their friendship.

Or… or she could tell him the truth.

She turned her head back. As she met his gaze and held it, Elidae immediately made her decision. Wanting what was best for him, she would have to be honest and straightforward with him. Though, she clearly struggled. The yellowblood had a habit of hiding negativity, and this proved to be much more difficult than she anticipated. Between the uncertainty of how he would react and her anxiety, Elidae grew upset, cheeks flushing as she fumbled to explain herself.

"W-Well. A friend had told me about an incident involving Odette." She was being repetitive. Swallowing, Elidae fell on a tangent, perhaps procrastinating on what she really wanted to say. Instead, her voice shook with frustration. "I don't know why he came to me about it. Seemed like he didn't really care about me much, anyway. At Bloodfest, he started to act a little unusual. He told me he would be there at his booth when I got my usual and when I went to meet him, and he wasn’t. So I got concerned and went to seek him out, asked Amonee where he was. When I found him- he just completely cold shouldered me! I didn’t do anything to him! And then- and then a week later, he shows up out of the blue at my work asking to talk to me, and suddenly he just- he just- suddenly wants to talk about YOU, and- and- bad things that happened with Odette! And- URGH!” Concluding her uncharacteristic rant, Elidae made a loud blare of ire and curled her rigid fingers into fists in front of her.

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

An incident.

Kursha remained stone-faced throughout her ramble, its usual mix of boredom and disdain. Underneath the mask though, his skin was crawling. His thoughts flashed back to Regina, and their interaction behind Elidae's booth. He could not handle a repeat of that. Internally he cursed Elidae's friend, whoever they were, and made a note to teach them a lesson if he ever learnt their name. No one crossed Kursha Vidari and got away with it.

“Do you feel any better getting that off your pump biscuit?” he asked, returning to the present. He had swung his feet off the couch and planted them to face her. Elbows on his knees he leaned towards her. Standing in the middle of the rumpus block, fists clenched, and back stiff, the yellowblood looked as distraught as could be.  

[blackbird cake]

Releasing the strain from her hands, Elidae realized she had jumped off the couch sometime during her outburst. In her chest, her bloodpusher raced and adrenaline had kicked in. Looking at Kursha, she realized he was now alert, but rigid in expression; the complete opposite of her. She could not read him.

"Y-..." Elidae wanted to say yes, but the girl's face dropped from anger to mortification. "Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" She squeaked, putting her face in her hands. "D-Do you need anything from the n-nutrition block?" She asked with a cheerfully strained voice, moving around the sofa towards the nutrition block in panic. The open floorplan of her hive certainly made it difficult to really escape.

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

He only had a second to make a decision. His mind raced through the potential scenarios, searching for an escape route. They came at him all at once, the past, present, and future all overlapping on top of one another. Words he had said, words he should have, and words he had taken for himself echoed in his thinkpan. None of it stood out. None of it made sense. Another opportunity was disappearing.

“How much do you know about me?”

He had not moved from his position on the couch. His right fist clenched. Behind his eyes, a vision from the caves played.  

[blackbird cake]

With her back turned from him, Elidae slowed to a stop. Her face scrunched in confusion and as she tried to decipher the true meaning behind his sudden inquiry. What did this have to do with their previous topic? His tone seemed awfully... serious.

After a moment, Elidae forced a smile and continued to the nutrition block, opening a cupboard in search for a cup, rather than the darker thoughts deeper within. "I know lots about you!" She started in her usual bubbly tone, however pitched more than usual. After grabbing a glass with a nervous hand, she closed it behind her and headed to the thermal hull. "I knowww... you really like Klinte Estwud! An awful lot, actually. And all I ever see you eat is sweets. You have great music taste, too. But that actually reminds me- not to like, bug you about it, but can I have my Justin Beiber CD back? You've had it for, like, ages." She giggled as she rounded the corner of the couch with a glass of juice. Kursha's profile came into view, the hardness of his expression and tenseness in his body made her pause. In her chest, a deep seeded pang began. However, despite this concerned response, her smile only widened.

"You're also very involved in the military! I mean- that's kind of how I met you, right? Commaaander~" Plopping down right beside Kursha, the yellowblood leaned on him, shoulder to shoulder, beaming up to him. She wanted to get some kind of positive response, to reassure her- desperately. After a short moment, she cleared her throat, then gave him a curious head tilt. "Why do you ask?"

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

It was surreal, the idle chatter playing over the scenes from his memories. His body was in one world and his mind another, while sensations from both assaulted his senses. As much as he strived for some semblance of normality in his relationship with Elidae, their beginning had been anything but. She had found him in a dark place, with his soul stripped bare. At the time he had thought their meeting inconsequential; perhaps because he foresaw his own death. When he survived he buried the memories deep. Though they may have only been memories, they had once been the present.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

As Elidae plopped down beside him, Kursha placed a hand over his face to smooth out his features, then pushed it up to his hairline. His mouth twitched towards a smile. It was a bitter expression. “Commander... yeah. Right,” he breathed. He dropped his hand. “How does someone with no military record, and unremarkable blood achieve that kind of position at seven sweeps old?” Everyone else knew. He had no reason to hide it from one person.

“I cheated. Before I lead the assault on the Phoenix Initiative, Odette and I were on the same team. You probably wouldn't have noticed, but there was a good number of rebels who weren't super psyched to see me.” Kursha stretched his arms back behind his head, and leaned back. He closed his eyes--the easiest method of avoiding eye contact.  

[blackbird cake]

Despite her lighthearted demeanor, Elidae continuously grew anxious and concerned. Instead of reassurance, she received an unsettling amount of silence. Shifting in her seat, Elidae tightened her smile as she stared up at him expectantly. A forced smile triggered a faint sense of relief, but something lurked behind it.

"Cheated...? Huh.” She echoed, slowly turning her head away with a slight frown. The carpet occupied her vision as she processed his words, lips pursing in bewilderment. The same team as Odette? What team? The rebels? The rebel team? Team with the rebels? With Odette? But that was silly! Kursha had to have always been loyal, not a scary terrorist. .. or at least… that is what she believed. Perhaps Kursha was trying to hint at something here. However, even if the gears were turning, Elidae truthfully couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge it even if he spelled it out for her. Finally, something that made much more sense clicked and her face brightened right back up.

“So you were a secret agent?!” Elidae exclaimed, grabbing a hold of his stretched out arm and shaking him moderately with excitement. She immediately climbed up on the couch to be on her knees and leaned over to be in his line of sight. “But that’s so coooool!”

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Kursha opened his eyes. Elidae peered down at him, her expression alight with excitement. His frustration mounted. “No, I wasn't,” he interjected, voice firm. He could have lied and gone along with her suggestion, but he wanted to communicate something.

“I joined up with them of my own accord, with no intention of ever going back to the military.” Kursha spoke slowly, as though to make sure that Elidae did not miss a single word. “It was a dumb decision, made for dumb reasons. Obviously I eventually came to my senses. After about a sweep, I decided to switch teams and requested to meet with Regina. She followed through, and gave me a pardon in exchange for information on the initiative. Then I lead the attack on the rebel base, and blah, blah, blah. You know the rest.”  

[blackbird cake]

Elidae's expressioned wilted. She blinked slowly, then closed her eyes in a tight squeeze. Even as Kursha spoke to her clearly and slowly, Elidae had a difficult time processing the "new" information about her friend. As her only response, she squeaked a meek, "Oh." to confirm to him that she did know. At least, now she did. Carefully, Elidae moved away to untuck her legs from beneath her and settled into a rigid upright position, leaning partially away from him. "I... I see now..."

She bite the side of her mouth and brought her arms around herself, unsure what else to say. It wasn't like he was a rebel now, but that kind of history could leave a mark on someone forever- perhaps much like Odette. It took her a moment, but Elidae dropped her arms and leaned back on the couch with a soft sigh. Turning to him, she mustered up a compassionate smile. "Well- at least you came back on the right track! You made the right decison!"

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

“I guess.” Kursha did not seem as enthused as Elidae. He shrugged. “I figured a couple of the others might make the switch too, but they've all got their thinkpans shoved up their asses. Which brings us back to Odette.” His voice had dropped back into its usual bored drawl.

“She is the worst kind of self justifying, weak-minded, garbage excuse for a troll. Even compared to the rest of the rebels, she's pathetic.” His nose wrinkled. “But there is no ******** way she would have abandoned the Phoenix Initiative. She is rebel trash through and through. So, I don't know what you heard about Bloodfest, but she deserved worse than what she got.”  

[blackbird cake]

Elidae nodded along in agreement, until he referred back to Odette. She could see where he was coming from now, but the flip in her bilesack immediately reminded her exactly why she brought the whole thing up in the first place. The idea of disagreeing with someone felt foreign to her. She certainly didn’t like conflict and did her best to avoid it, but this kind of situation felt like it needed an exception. For his safety. And other’s.

“I... I still think you shouldn't have pulled a gun on her, Kursha! Especially in a public place.” Her voice was shaky and she abandoned eye contact, yet she continued. "I think you have your reasons, but- it wasn’t right!”

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Kursha's jaw tightened at Elidae's words. Below the surface, agitation mounted. His whole life was one big mess of should haves and shouldn't haves. He knew them all, better than anyone else. But no. Everyone had to point out each and every mistake, drag him through the mud. Just once he wanted to be the judge of his own actions.

Getting up off the couch, Kursha whisked past Elidae into her nutrition block. “I'll take you up on that offer now,” he said. He kept his back to the yellowblood. As he reached into a cupboard, face obstructed from view, he responded to her. “And you believe that,” he called. It was less of a question, and more of a statement.  

[blackbird cake]

Feeling Kursha's weight lift beside her, Elidae watched him turn his back on her and leave. She couldn't see his face; she couldn't read him. Was he upset? Following Kursha's lead, Elidae stood from the couch as well, but remained where her fronds were planted, "Yes?" She responded after a moment. Unintentinally, her voice shook with both confusion and uncertainty. Finally, she turned to face him standing in her nutrition block, though his back remained facing her."Why wouldn't I? I don't know what you mean." Her jaw clenched in frustration. What was he getting at here?

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

She was playing dumb. She was good at doing that.

Fingers secured around a glass, Kursha brought it down to the counter with more force than he intended. It connected with a sharp slam. He whirled to face the yellowblace, stance defiant. “Sure you don't,” he snapped. He had not raised his voice, but his words were clipped. “A better question might be: why should you? You came into this with your thinkpan already made up and so you set a trap and lay in wait. If anything it sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself.”