nineteen ♢ video

[versusnurture]

[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.]

Comments

spam

[versusnurture]

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.

Re: spam

[ichoosefight]

[ 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?

spam

[versusnurture]

[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?

spam

[ichoosefight]

[ 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.

spam

[versusnurture]

[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.

spam

[ichoosefight]

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.

spam

[versusnurture]

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.]

spam

[ichoosefight]

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. ]

spam

[versusnurture]

[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.

spam

[ichoosefight]

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? ]

spam

[versusnurture]

[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.]

spam

[ichoosefight]

[ 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. ]