versusnurture | nineteen ♢ video

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nineteen ♢ video

[When the feed comes on, the first thing there is is a wall and half of a desk. Those people on board who've been inside will know it as Abigail's room. There's a small blood smear on the edge of the desk, another dark spot on the corner of the lens.]

[She doesn't turn it towards herself, but the camera does move towards the desk, is set down at the edge of it. Two hands appear in the frame, blood-caked, palm-up. There's blood under her nails, too, drier blood that's oxidized to a deep, almost black color.]

[She doesn't say anything. But after a moment, there's a strangled noise, and she knocks the camera off the desk. The briefest flash of dark hair and a pale face; then it hits the floor and shuts off.]

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[ Expecting company as she is, Steph isn't more than four feet from the door when Abigail knocks. She opens the door, and true to her word is not armed. Although there are at least two knives within arm's reach at any given moment.

She waves the girl in and towards the bathroom. The place is set up like a studio apartment, so it isn't difficult to find. ]

Hey, come on in. Can I get you coffee, or water, or something?

[ There is always coffee in Steph's kitchen. ]

[Entering quickly and obediently when Steph instructs her to, Abigail makes a beeline to the bathroom. She turns on the cold water and begins to scrub the blood, mostly dry now, from her hands. It's halfway down the drain before she realizes Steph's spoken and she's just been standing here, paralyzed, letting the water run.]

Um. [She's about to say water, but then realizes she's exhausted.] Coffee, please.

Sure. Milk or sugar?

[ Abby seems a little traumatized at the moment, so Steph tries to give her some space. She seems to be doing okay in the bathroom... She should probably grab a nail file for the poor girl to clean under her nails too.

She pours the just-warmer-than-lukewarm coffee into two mugs, one for each of them, and sets Abby's on the coffee table. She'll put the milk and sugar nearby if Abby wants either. ]

Milk. Please.

[Always be polite. She pours her own milk when it's set in front of her, doesn't meet Steph's eyes.]

. . . Thank you. For letting me in.

[ Steph watches, curious, but she knows better than to pry. Especially with a girl who just finished cleaning blood off of her hands. Speaking of which, she grabs that nail file before sitting down with her own coffee and offers it to Abigail. ]

No problem. I've had days like that. Want to clean under your nails?

[She looks at the file like it's an alien device for a second before remembering: oh. Yes. That. She takes it carefully from Steph's hand like it or she might break and begins to carefully pick at the caked-in blood.]

[Then she looks up suspiciously.]

Days like what?

[ Steph smiles wryly, not so much at Abigail as at the world as a whole. ]

Days when you wake up some place other than where you passed out, covered in blood, desperate for some privacy and maybe a shower.

[Despite herself, Abigail smiles at that, just a little, and mostly focused at the nail file.]

I know where I am. I know what happened. [She's less disoriented than she acted, though not by much.] But I still want--the other things. Privacy and a shower.

I don't think people get very much privacy around here.

I knew what had happened too. Didn't make it any less gross to walk around in.

[ She sips at her coffee idly, more comfortable now that Abigail seems more... stable. ]

You're welcome to the shower. Call it a special occasion. Caked Blood Discount.

Really?

[She gives Steph a curious look.]

You're very generous. [Generally, generous people are totally full of shit. She isn't sure what to make of this. She should've brought the knife.]

Like I said, I've had that day. I know what it's like to be an inmate when all you really want is to be left alone for a while. I don't know if you've got anyone else you can borrow a bathroom off of, so.

[ She shrugs. If Abigail decides to turn dangerous she's prepared, so why not be generous? She might end up breaking the girl's nose later. ]

[After another pause, during which she can't detect anything but honest goodwill and is slightly annoyed about it, Abigail nods shortly and takes another sip of her coffee.]

A shower. And then I should go. My warden will be back.

I'll leave you to it, then. Just, uh... don't poke around in anything if you aren't sure what it is. It might explode.

[ She's serious about that, too. A girl's gotta have her explosives, you know? ]

[Her eyebrows raise. Then she quirks a grin, just a tiny one. But she means it, and is a little surprised, because she hasn't really smiled in a while.]

I'll try not to blow any limbs off. [After all, she's already missing an ear. She can't afford to lose much else.]

[ Steph grins and shrugs. What can you do? ]

Atta girl. Lock the door behind you when you leave, okay?

[ And she gets up to leave. She was serious about that, too. She's serious about a lot of things, believe it or not. ]

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nineteen ♢ video

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