thecapitol | And the only thing we know

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And the only thing we know

Who| Meulin Leijon & Terezi Pyrope
What| Terezi catches Meulin doing something she shouldn't be doing. Alliances are revealed.
Where| One of the blind spots in the Capitol
When| Backdated to July 22nd
Warnings/Notes| None so far

Terezi has a particular after-school routine worked out. Once mandatory classes are over, she takes a longer route back to the Tower, if only to stop by her favorite smoothie shop--where she's now recognized as a Regular. As far as Terezi is concerned, she deserves a personal reward for stomaching all that bullshit, day after day. Today's special happens to be a raspberry-cherry mixture, sweet with just a hint of tart. It's all she can do to not inhale the thing before she's even out of the shop.

Another reason to favor this shop is that it's close to one of the blind spots used by the Rebellion. This particular spot is a neglected alleyway--more like a shortcut between two of the busier streets, if you don't mind walking past garbage bins and whatnot. The Capitol has yet to put a camera back here, if only because very few people use it. They can't possibly monitor everything and everywhere, after all.

She turns the corner to enter the alley, weaving past unwanted debris as she sips on her smoothie.

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If there had been one thing Terezi had taught her, it was the extreme usefulness of the little whiteboard and markers. She'd gone out the very next day and bought one in a cute black binding with pink and purple flowers, the girliest and unimposing thing she could find. It had been her faithful companion for every meetup, if only for the ability to wipe it clean. It beat holding onto scraps of paper she had be to burn later.

Meulin has it held crooked against her body, reading off what is written and scribbling back a message to the other person in the alley. She mumbles aloud, something about a particular spot not being safe anymore, but it was cut off by their hand on her wrist. A subtle nod indicates Terezi and Meulin's eyes widen. She writes something in big wide letters, no finesse to them. She's running on instinct and panic right now.

'Go.'

Her friend vanishes down the alley and to cover their escape, and their identity most importantly, she turns to block the view. Not that Terezi can see. She can feel her heartbeat pulsing in her ears as she turns to face the troll. She has to give them time to escape before she runs for it. If it's even worth running for it when Terezi knows her face, her job, her everything. Her hands start to tremble and she just grips them tighter around her whiteboard. She should smile, try to laugh it off as a secret meeting with a lover or something silly, but she can only think about making sure her friend gets away.

Meulin was definitely not a person that Terezi expected to find in this alley. She stops just past the entrance, letting go of the straw that she'd been holding between her lips. At most, Terezi catches the retreating form of someone she doesn't recognize. She leans to the side, trying to catch a better whiff of them before they disappear, but they're gone before she gets the chance. That only leaves Meulin standing alone in the alleyway with her.

Terezi glances over her should to make sure no one seems to be paying attention to her before she makes her way over to Meulin. There's a number of conclusions that could be drawn from this exchange, but the most damning one comes on account of where they are. There's a small mark on the bricks nearby, something inconspicuous but recognizable for the ones who needed to look for it. Her attention flickers to that for a moment before she holds her hand out for the whiteboard in her hands, her brows are furrowed and her expression caught somewhere between suspicion and concern.

She's going to become an avox. It's strange how calmly that thought comes to her. She hopes, rather hopelessly really, that she doesn't go to the tower. Kurloz doesn't need to see her like that. Her breath catches in her throat, comes out in a stutter at the thought. Oh. He'd...

The hand goes out for her whiteboard and she knows she should just do it. Subtly, she holds it closer, like she can't bear to let it go, and relaxes her arms downward. It won't wipe off everything but it'll help. Maybe.

She hands it over wordlessly. What can be read is talk of what happened to the Peacekeepers and Tributes. It's more gossip than openly rebellious, but she asks if we were responsible and it's more than obvious who we referred to.

Edited 2015-08-10 04:46 (UTC)

Terezi notices the way that Meulin holds the whiteboard closer to her--the way she does so in order to try and wipe away the words. It's a poor attempt, and a guilty one at that. She takes the board when Meulin finally hands it over, sniffing at the smudged words still left on it. It wasn't the sort of conversation that she expected the girl to be having. The gossip bit maybe, but the question of who was responsible... 'We', she wrote. A month ago, and Terezi would have been quick to think that it meant the Rebels from D13. But if nothing else, the mass murder attempt on the Tributes had thought her that this war obviously has more sides to it than just two.

Still, she wanted to hope that Meulin wouldn't be the kind of person to condone those methods. After several long seconds of studying the words, Terezi places a hand against the board and wipes the rest of the words away. The smoothie is tucked against her side with her arm as she fishes around in her schoolbag for her own marker. The tip squeaks a little as she scribbles a new message on the surface before handing it back:

WHO W4S TH4T WHO R4N OFF?
4ND WHO 1S TH3 W3 YOU W3R3 T4LK1NG 4BOUT?
WH4T W3R3 YOU DO1NG B4CK H3R3?

Meulin glances back over her shoulder, thinking for a moment about running, about the possibility that there was some way out of it. But she turns back to Terezi. She'd see it through. If she ran home, her sister might get involved. She can't stand the thought.

The questions held out to her are about what she expected and she gives Terezi a glance. She doesn't know how much truth to tell. Her marker hovers above the board uncertainly.

Tiberius
I don't know his full name. Or if that is his real one. So please don't go after him. I can deal with whatever punishment you deem fit, Peacekeeper.

She strives to look brave but it's a little loss under her ashen pallor and the way she keeps clutching her fingers to stop the trembling. She knows she didn't answer the most important ones but first things first.

Peacekeeper. Terezi blinks out of surprise, reading that title in Meulin's handwriting. It's like a dash of cold water in her face. Is that how Meulin has been seeing her? Granted, that was the image that she was trying to present to the Capitol, so she can't say that she's surprised... But somehow, it feels like this girl should know her better than that.

Maybe that's giving her too much credit. Too much reliance on a person that she resembles and not the person she actually is. Still, Terezi tries to soften her expression as she writes back in response. If nothing else, she can tell how terrified Meulin is.

TH1S 1S NOT 4N 1NT3RROG4T1ON
YOU DONT H4V3 TO C4LL M3 TH4T

JUST T3LL M3 WHO YOU M34NT BY 'W3'
1 N33D TO KNOW

Edited 2015-08-10 05:37 (UTC)

It's not all of it, not even half of it. She knows Terezi better now and can see the parts of her that aren't based in that. But now, like this, with the questions and attitude, it's all she can see. Even the change in her expression doesn't really help with Meulin's fear.

The words are confusing, she doesn't know where she stands. Not an interrogation? Of course it is.

Forgive me for not believing you. I know how things work too well for that.

The we is people from home.

She can't name it yet, not like this, not with the fear running in her veins and the knowledge that she might be damning others. She doesn't even know how much of her talk was left on the board.

So far, Terezi had been carefully treading on the side of plausible deniability. She had worked hard for this position, relatively free of any suspicious accusations. It had been a painful uphill climb, but it was worth it for the help that she was able to provide the rebels. But in this moment, it was clear to her that for all their friendliness, Meulin didn't trust her one whit. And if she was being honest with herself, she didn't know if she could trust Meulin, either.

They were at a stalemate.

Her lips press together, an expression of agitation. Terezi sorely wants to shake the girl and demand everything that she knows, but that isn't going to help matters. Her thoughts carefully turn the words over and over in her mind. Home. The Districts--or District Four at least, if that was where Meulin was really from. If they were taking sides in this war, then that was ultimately where Terezi wanted to lay her allegiance.

For what it's worth, Meulin seems scared. Either she's telling the truth, or she's a really good actor. Could someone really act that well? There's a million and one doubts crowding out her thoughts, and only so far that she can take this while still being able to claim that she was trying to sniff out rebels, should things go south for her.

She tries once more.

1F TH1S W4S 4N 1NT3RROG4T1ON
TH3R3 WOULD B3 4 LOT MOR3 P34C3K33P3RS
4ND 4 LOT MOR3 W34PONS
1T 1S NOT L1K3 1T WOULD B3 V3RY H4RD FOR M3 TO GO G3T TH3M

4R3 YOU WORK1NG W1TH D1STR1CT TH1RT33N?
OR 1S 1T ONLY D1STR1CT FOUR?

She's unsure if that's a threat or a reassurance. It wouldn't be very hard so she's not sure why Terezi isn't. Because they're friends? Would she overlook this if Meulin tells the truth. Her lips press thin. She wants to say something ill advised, about how one Peacekeeper is plenty for an interrogation because interrogations are rarely about words. She doesn't.

Instead, she writes, slowly with several pauses. She is mostly likely going to end up with her tongue cut out but there must be something there if Terezi already suspects her and hasn't run for backup.

Maybe.

Four above Thirteen but both.

Four above Thirteen. It would make sense for Thirteen to work with the other districts, but it wasn't something that she'd heard about before. Maybe it wasn't something that Thirteen wanted them to know about? She's never gotten a good feeling about Thirteen before, but their goals aligned with the Tributes better than the Capitol did. That was the main reason why any of them worked with the secret district. But she always got a sense that they were being kept at a distance, never given the full picture. Or maybe it was just that much harder to connect the pieces in the Capitol, when a loose word could get your tongue cut out.

Terezi wipes away the old message and presses her marker against the whiteboard. It stays there as she thinks about what she wants to write. It might not show, but she's scared. If Meulin isn't the person that Terezi thinks she is... She might end up like Kurloz--or worse. The punishment for rebellious activities as a Tribute was death. And how was she supposed to help anyone then?

Slowly, her hand starts to move, her brows creasing in concentration. She hands the whiteboard back with a single sentence on it:

C4N 1 TRUST YOU?

Meulin stares at the four words. What? Trusting Terezi was the thing to worry about, wasn't it? But she turns it back to Meulin, implies there's something she needs to be able to trust Meulin with. She gives Terezi a curious look. Just how much of her was a role she played?

I want to say you can but ultimately that's not something I can tell you? Trust is difficult. I can only say I'm trusting you at this point.

She pauses and takes another leap, another guess and a gesture of faith.

I would never betray someone. Least of all a friend.

Trust is difficult. Terezi is not sure that Meulin could have written anything more hilariously truthful, even if she tried. Knowing where to place that trust could be the difference between life and death in this place.

Her attention lingers on the last line, a painful gnawing growing in her chest. It sounds so very much like something her moirail would have written. Terezi would have trusted her Meulin with her life. Was this one really so similar? Could she place her trust on these shoulders and know that it won't falter? For a brief moment, she wants to laugh at the irony of wishing that Meulin was here to give her advice on how to deal with Meulin. In the same span of time, she also wants to cry.

Terezi wipes the words away, keeping them safe in her mind. A friend. That was what Meulin had called her. There was no way that she couldn't say the same.

1 WOULD N3V3R B3TR4Y 4 FR13ND 31TH3R

1 DO NOT WORK FOR TH3 C4P1TOL
1F TH3R3 1S 4NYON3 TH4T 1 WOULD CL41M TO WORK FOR
1T 1S FOR TH3 D1STR1CTS
BUT TH1RT33N 1S TH3 ONLY ON3 TH4T TH3 TR1BUT3S H4V3 H4D CONT4CT W1TH

1M SORRY TH4T 1 D1DNT T3LL YOU SOON3R

Meulin's shoulders sag. The tension does not entirely leave her face but it fades a little. Her lips pull up in a half smile. The same team, the same side, she could cry. She almost does. And she was so worried, so ready to face the consequences. All for nothing.

I didn't tell you either.

I'm sorry. I've had bad experiences with Peacekeepers.
Really it was the worst job you could have chose for us to trust each other with this infurmation.

Terezi still feels a little on edge, but the way that Meulin seems relieved by this response has Terezi relaxing a little bit as well. The feline is out of the bag. For better or for worse, there's no taking it back now.

1 D1D NOT CHOOS3 1T 3X4CTLY
TH3R3 W4S 4N 1NC1D3NT 4 Y34R 4GO
4 BUNCH OF R4NDOM TR1BUT3S W3R3 4RR3ST3D
4ND CH4RG3D W1TH TH3 MURD3R OF TH3 H34D P34C3K33P3R
MYS3LF 1NCLUD3D

MY FR13NDS BROK3 M3 OUT OF J41L
TH3 B4CKL4SH W4S T3RR1BL3
TH3 1N1T14T3 W4S AVOXED
TH3 D1SC1PL3 D1D NOT COM3 B4CK FROM TH3 N3XT 4R3N4

1 W4S BR4ND3D 4S 4 TR41TOR
1 N33D3D TO DO SOM3TH1NG TO CL34R MY N4M3
TO K33P MY FR13NDS S4F3
TH1S W4S TH3 P4TH TH4T W4S H4ND3D TO M3

4LL TH4T B31NG S41D
4R3 YOU OK4Y?
1 D1D NOT M34N TO SC4R3 YOU

She vaguely recalls the incident. She didn't realize her other self was involved. Did she break her out or was it just part of the backlash. It was the incident that sparked so much of her rebellious tendencies but she really knew so little about it. Terezi's choices make more sense now though. What better way to ingratiate herself to the Capitol, prove she's all better, than to go to the Peacekeepers. Like wiping the slate clean.

I understand. Horribly ironic but I understand.

She breathes out, running a hand through her hair and honestly thinking about the question. Relief, just profound relief, but adrenaline still pumping in her veins. She feels like crying, laughing, just collapsing to the ground. Instead, she leans against the dirty wall and wipes at her eyes. The reply comes slow and the whiteboard even slower.

I'm okay.

She had thought her life was over.

She smells relieved more than anything, which is always a good thing; but the way that she wipes her eyes is a little worrisome. Terezi wonders if maybe she's not being upfront with how much that scared her. Not that she could blame her. But that doesn't mean that she can help the protective feelings stirring up in her chest.

For a brief moment, Terezi reaches out to take Meulin's hand as she rests against the wall. She squeezes it tight and throws an sympathetic half-smile her way, before letting go again and taking up the whiteboard.

1 ST1LL H4V3 SOM3 OF MY SMOOTH13 L3FT
1F YOU W4NT 1T

She holds out the raspberry-strawberry smoothie for emphasis.

Meulin smiles back, more because Terezi seems to need it than any real urge. Her pulse is still racing. It's a bit of a slow process, calming down, even if it occurs mostly in her head.

Thank you.

She writes, holding it up and then carefully taking the drink with her other hand. She takes a little sip then another, not too much. The bright sharpness of it centers her a little. It's easy to focus on.

We should leave. I've been in here too long as it is.

4GR33D

1F YOU 3V3R N33D 4NYTH1NG
JUST L3T M3 KNOW

Terezi considers adding more to that, but she's not sure if there's really any more to say. Meulin needs to head off before someone starts to wonder where she's at, or why she's been hanging around in this alley for so long. She'll probably need to check in with her friend, since they probably think that she's all but dead.

She hands the whiteboard back to Meulin and stows the marker back into her purse.

The board is taken back, read, and carefully wiped clean. Stowed away in her purse, all evidence of what transpired is gone except for them. Meulin smiles once more then leans in and hugs Terezi quickly.

"Really, thank you. For helping us. And for not being what I worried you were. And all of that. Thank you."

She lets go quick, pulls on a wobbly smile that seems more for the effect of those outside the alley than those in, and walks out calmly.

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And the only thing we know

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