Do you know, do you know...[OPEN]

[cassie_of_troy]

Characters: Cassandra, possibly Anathema, and anyone who comes by
Setting/Location: Ana and Cassie's Room
Date & Time: Day Fifty, Afternoon
Warnings: Possible Moodiness
Summary: Things are just not going Cassie's way these days. Doesn't help that she got very bitey. Oh well. Hopefully, something or someone will cheer her up.

Comments

[weedyshyguy]

Bret hadn't been joking when he said he wanted to give Cassandra a hug. He didn't know her too well, but he was pretty sure she wasn't doing too well.

After everything that happened, he doesn't really blame her.

As soon as he gets a chance, he makes his way to her room and knocks on the door.

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra glanced absently at the door when she heard the knock. Frankly, she wasn't in the mood for much company, but one thing she had learned about living with a room mate was that often, the company was not really for her. It would have been rude to turn away a guest looking for Anathema, or dropping something off for her. Cassandra had never been overly polite, but she did happen to like Anathema, so she had at least attempted to be cordial when it came to her guests.

Of course, that didn't mean she felt like getting up.

She closed her eyes. "Enter," she called vaguely, making a gesture with her fingertips, as if she expected the door to spring open of its own accord. Come in and leave whatever you brought, she thought silently.

[weedyshyguy]

Oh. That was kind of...worrisome. At least she was letting him in?

Bret pushed the door open, peeking in. "Uh, hey. It's me. Bret."

He took solace in the fact that she seemed to know him better than he knew her. For once, he was going to take advantage of that rather than questioning it.

[cassie_of_troy]

She slowly opened her eyes. Oh. She had almost forgotten that little conversation the two of them had had over the network. At the time, her emotions had been so raw and naked (relief that Bret was all right, bitter resentment about what had happened, terror over the Apollo incident) that she hadn't really given it a lot of consideration. But she should have known better. Now Bret was here, in the last place she really wanted him, the most vulnerable place.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

Slowly, Cassandra sat up, her curls falling across her shoulder like the fronds of a windswept willow. Of course, she could simply be unpleasant. That would scare him off. But right now, Cassandra didn't feel like she had the strength to snipe and sneer and spit like a cat. And, she had to admit, there was an enormous part of her that longed for his companionship. Well, for her Bret. Not this one. But they were the same person. It was so hard.

"Come in, Bret," she said in a reserved, low voice.

[weedyshyguy]

Bret shuffled in, clearing his throat. "I came to give you that hug. Um. If you still want one."

He glanced away for a moment, then back, expression sheepish and embarrassed. "I kind of want one, man."

[cassie_of_troy]

Bret, any version of Bret, still had that quality. It was an unabashed honesty. Cassandra felt the corners of her mouth twitch slightly at it. Or the memory of it. Echo of it? She wasn't sure how to describe the way it felt to see this Bret and remember her own and confuse the two, despite her best efforts.

"You know, I don't often allow people to touch me. Aphephobia." Bret probably didn't know what that meant. Just as well. Cassandra didn't care to delve into the murky depths of her psyche right now.

Attempting a civil smile, Cassandra stood up, walking over to the spartan table and chairs in the corner of the room. She sat at one, with her back to the window, and gestured Bret toward the other one.

[weedyshyguy]

Bret did his best not to slump. "Oh." It was hard not to be disappointed, after admitting he was the one really wanting a hug.

But at least she wasn't kicking him out. He was going to take that as a win compared to some other experiences he's had.

He goes over and sits next to her, smiling twitchily. Was it impolite to ask what was upsetting her?

Probably.

So, instead: "You look lovely today."

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra smiled slightly, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Alive, at any rate," she replied. "Which is quite the accomplishment, I think. I've died twice." She looked down at her hand, willing herself to be aware of her own heart beating, her pulse racing underneath her skin. It was a bit comforting.

"So what was it like?" she asked. "Being a...what was the word? A werewolf?"

[weedyshyguy]

Man, he hadn't even thought of that. All these people who were vampires...their shot made their heart start again. Somehow, that was disturbing.

It kind of reminded him of zombies.

Bret looked away, trying to focus on finding the words to describe his experience. "I was really angry when I turned. And I was bigger and stronger, so it was almost scary. I mean, what if I hurt somebody?" Bret shook his head vaguely. If he hurt anyone during the fight, he couldn't really remember it. He didn't like that.

"But it was kind of cool, I guess. I could smell stuff for miles around, and I could see really well in the dark. And-- and it was kind of neat feeling like we were all a family. Sort of." He wasn't about to admit to missing home as much as he did, at least not now. But he did, and what he missed most were his friends. He might not have called them family back home, but now that he was away...Yeah. They were his family too.

[cassie_of_troy]

"There are worse abilities to have," Cassandra told him with just the faintest whisper of a smile. "It could have been much worse. Imagine if you had been cursed with constant bad luck. Any impulse you had might result in the most absurd of circumstances." Like clothing falling down from the sky like rain. But this Bret wouldn't remember that. Still, it was a memory no less fond.

She leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm. "It's difficult for me to imagine you harming anyone," she said in utter sincerity. "Even if you weren't entirely in control of yourself. You were still...you." That was probably going too far, revealing too much. Cassandra decided to leave it there.

[weedyshyguy]

That was an odd example. He quirked his mouth up at one side. "I dunno, man. My luck is pretty bad as it is."

Still, it was nice of her to vouch for him. Even if he wasn't sure how she knew him so well. Unless... "Are you saying I'm too weak to hurt anyone? Or just too good a person?"

Because, really. There's a difference.

[cassie_of_troy]

The little flare of male ego was familiar. A bit strange coming out of Bret, but familiar nonetheless.

Cassandra shook her head. "Just too good a person," she replied and she said nothing more. She was still too afraid to reveal their relationship. It would put Bret at risk and that was the last thing she wanted to do to him. Especially now, in light of certain unpleasant circumstances which would, no doubt, come back to haunt her.

Still, she couldn't resist. "Being swept up into another world has a way of changing people. Resist it, if you can."

[weedyshyguy]

Bret nodded, looking down. He could see how this place could make him...different. It already had, technically. He was a little kid once, and then the whole werewolf thing...

He'd just have to do his best to remember who he was.

"I don't think any of us wanted to hurt anybody," Bret said, scratching his neck. "Maybe if we remember that, we'll all stay good people." He glanced at her, shrugging a little. "I think you're a good person too."

[cassie_of_troy]

"Thank you, Bret." Coming from most people, that would just be an idle flattery, but Bret was a genuine person. At least, Cassandra believed Bret was a genuine person. Or...well...the Bret she knew was a genuine person. It as getting far too complicated to remove one from the other.

Of course, she could always stop trying. But really, Cassandra was too stubborn for that.

[weedyshyguy]

Okay, and there was that overly-familiar, fond look again. Bret wasn't going to let this go forever.

In fact, whatever. He was going to ask right now. The element of surprise might actually help him. "Cassandra, can I ask you something?"

[cassie_of_troy]

A loud klaxon went off in the back of Cassandra's mind. This couldn't be good. In fact, that determined look on Bret's face was downright frightening. She steeled herself, carefully considering and rejecting various ways to say no. There were simply no grounds. No grounds that didn't look suspicious and, on the off chance that this question wasn't what she suspected, she had to play innocent.

"Of course," she replied. "I'm rather fond of questions myself."