Haikus

[polyturtle]

Who| Donatello and Eva
What| Because everyone has to go see Eva post-Crowning. Its becoming a rite of passage.
Where| Eva's apartment
When| After Eva's session with Daniel/the execution, and before Arena 07
Warnings/Notes| Totally innocent haiku~? Also a shell-shocked character. Ha. Haha. Haaaa.

He was still in shock. It was hard not to be. After what happened...he failed. He'd failed one of the people he'd cared for most. One of the people he'd befriended. And she was dead. And he'd experienced something horrible at that moment of her death, something he couldn't bring himself to think about without feeling ill.

He needed to talk to Eva. He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say - though he had something to help him. In a half-daze, he'd asked an Avox for a notebook. And then he began to write. Each and every page had a different set of three lines. He worked from dawn until about noon, before finally finishing, his wrist aching. Then, he made some rice with sauce, salmon and eggs, packing it and a thermos of tea up in a box and wrapping it - and the notebook - in a tablecloth. It was the best he could do.

Within the hour, he was in front of Eva's door, his hand slowly reaching for the doorbell. He could only hope she was home, and not...well...in custody. Still. Or worse.

Comments

[vissernone]

Eva's managing to catch a few moments of sleep when the doorbell rings. The last two days have taken it out of her, for obvious reasons. Whole parts of her scalp have been snatched bald. Her fingernails are bitten down to stubs. Her lips are covered in sores and her breath reeks of alcohol.

She gets up and wraps a bathrobe around herself. On the way down the staircase to her door, she pulls her hair into a loose bun. She stops by a mirror to try an fix herself into something presentable before she opens the door - a dash of lipstick, a crinkle of eye powder.

"Donatello." Her voice is wary. "I admit, I didn't expect you to come with room service."

[polyturtle]

"I'm not surprised. You probably weren't expecting me at all."

Though he managed a smile, it was hard. Hard to know one of his best friends in this place was betrayed by this woman. Hard to know this woman had also gone through her own hell, with long-standing friends turning on her due to her actions. Hard to know that he failed, she failed, Ariadne failed, on some level everyone just failed...

There was a sadness, a weariness, still a twinge of shock from that night, in his eyes despite his smile.

"...Do you mind if I step in for a little bit?"

[vissernone]

"Yes, please, come in." She gestures that Don should come in and closes the door behind him, tugging at her hair some more. "I thought you might come over, I just...presumed you might greet me with a fist, at least."

She wrings her hands and walks to the sitting area before slumping on the couch. "You're close to her, aren't you?"

[polyturtle]

"...Yes," Don quietly replied. "I am. Was."

At this, Don walked over and sat down in a chair opposite to Eva, his hands deftly undoing the knots of the blanket.

"Eva, I..." He paused as he held the box with the food while spreading it out on the coffee table. "I guess its probably obvious that I'm upset by what happened, and I know that a lot of people are...really angry with you. I know this is going to sound odd, but...now that I'm not..."

He sighed.

"Now that I've gotten the time to actually process it, I'm not one of them."

[vissernone]

Eva looks at him with a curious expression. "That's not a response I anticipated from anyone, much less you, Donatello."

She reaches over to a mug of cooled coffee sitting on the table, staring down into it.

"I would do it again, to protect you all. It's cold, but...the needs of the many."

[polyturtle]

"I know," Don replied quietly. "I mean, I'm not going to lie. I'm upset about it. Ariadne was my friend and...I wanted to stop her, once I found out. But I couldn't. I know I couldn't, but...I value my friends too much not to at least...try."

At this, he clasped his hands together.

"And I know you would do it again. Because there's no good alternative."

[vissernone]

"No. That's what this nation does, isn't it? It strips away alternatives." She gestures to a television, turned off. "Kill your comrades or die yourself. Stay complacent or lose the people you care about."

She shakes her head. "You know I care about the Tributes, don't you? They're all I have left, them and Timaeus."

[polyturtle]

"I know." After a moment, Don quietly looked back up. "Looking back on your broadcast, I could tell. Just...the way you talked about it. When you tried to tell me not to go to stop Ariadne."

A pause.

"Um...do you want me to get you a bowl of rice?"

[vissernone]

Eva limps a bit when she walks. She's left the lights off in her house too, and moves through the dark like a ghost. "If you want. I'm not especially hungry."

[polyturtle]

"...Wait." Instantly, Don put down the food and walked over to Eva, his hand going to her shoulder. "What happened with your leg? Do you need me to...I mean, if you want me to..."

[vissernone]

"Don't touch," she says, pulling away quickly, then, firmly, "I'm fine."

[polyturtle]

"...All right..." Quietly, Don drew away. "I'm sorry."

[vissernone]

"Don't be. It's not you who detained me. I don't know if you'd have it in you even if you wanted to." She takes a seat on her couch. "I'll recover. I've survived worse."

[polyturtle]

"I...all right."

Did he have it in him? He saw how Leonardo broke after their last battle Ch'rell. He knew how he'd reacted when his brothers died, when Ariadne was originally injured in the Arena. How hard it was now to just not lash out indiscriminately even now.

He wanted to think he didn't. But...

"...Ah...I also brought a book of puzzles."

[vissernone]

Eva tilts her head up, eyes brightening slightly. "You did? Anticipating that I'll be having a long jail stay, are we?"

She grins. She's kidding, really.

[polyturtle]

"Well...certainly, just in case you get bored." That might be a smile again. Ah, there we are. "Its mostly just poetry, nothing too special. Haikus from back home about birds, nature, things like that."

[vissernone]

She takes a look. "I suppose you've noticed I wear a lot of birds. Thank you..."

She reaches forward to embrace him.

[polyturtle]

"Yeah. I did."

He gave her a good, tight hug. Of course, it might seem surprising, all things considered. But the truth was, Don needed to trust Eva. And she needed to know.

She'd figure out why he doesn't hate her, soon enough. And also, his own true colors, if she'd had a mind to turn him in as well.

But it was a risk he had to take.

"I'll see you after the Arena. And...I hope you enjoy everything I brought."