{15th glance} coping mechanism

[defiant_eye]

[ Somewhere on the second floor branches of trees are growing out of a window. Somewhere a room has its own private forest, gloomy and dark and filled with voices that mock and threaten anyone who passes by

Comments

[inimicous]

[ Justin happens to be close enough to witness everything from the explosion to the woman's reaction. He continues to watch with a deadpan expression. Although he can't read her lips and the music has rendered him deaf to even her level of volume, he can easily tell how full of rage she is.

He glances up at the window Elle "exited" from. ]

Do you think that that'll be enough?

[defiant_eye]

[ She jerkily turns towards Justin, only slowly abandoning her combat stance when she recognises him as the owner of that voice. ]

I brought seconds.

[ Elle nods towards a little something on the ground that exited the window with her: Grenade launcher.

Then she follows his gaze, staring up at the smoking window again. ]

Doesn't look like she's up for a refill though.

[ She looks around. ]

...What about your custom freak clone?

[inimicous]

[ He looks back at her in time to catch most of her words. Good for her if she got rid of her shadow.

Justin doesn't give his own a second thought. ]

What about him?

[defiant_eye]

What kind of music does he like?

[ There's a lip reading class that covers glaring sarcasm, right? Well, better throw in an eyeroll, just to be sure. ]

Did you kill him yet?

[inimicous]

[ Just for that -- ]

Gospel.

And no, unfortunately.

[ The slight cut on his cheek and minor tears in his outfit are telling of an earlier scuffle, however. His shadow's running around. Somewhere. ]

[defiant_eye]

Too bad.

...Take it he's got your tricks too?

[inimicous]

Yes. He wouldn't be me, otherwise . . . with a difference, of course.

[defiant_eye]

And what difference would that be?

[inimicous]

Our faiths, naturally.

[ And that difference is what bothers him the most. Not that he'll admit to it openly. ]