December of 1994

Mild spoiler warning of my books, but not really all that strong, since it's near the beginning of my first book. Dialogue between the two main characters, when they meet up after years of travel.

             Aiya returned from the bathroom to find him still staring at her as if he couldn’t believe she existed, which was oddly not surprising. 

            “This thing’s a dress on me,” she mumbled loudly enough for him to hear.  He had lent her a simple red tee-shirt to replace her circus costume and indeed, it easily reached her knees.  She shifted a bit from one foot to the other, not leaving the doorframe.

            “Are you alright?”

            Her eyes, which had been staring down at her white boots, snapped up to look at him.  “Yes.  Thank you.”

            He took a deep breath, but said nothing.  He sat back down on the bed (he had stood when she emerged from the bathroom) and didn’t seem to be looking at her anymore, since the eye that wasn’t hidden by a curtain of black hair was unseen to her by the angle.  She forced herself to sit on the bed across from him.  His eye met hers.

            “What happened to your eye?”

            “Don’t you mean my hair?” he said, as if he’d gotten that a lot about his hair.

            “No.”

            He smiled a little, wistfully.  “You’re still stubborn.”

            “And you’re still meek as a mouse.  What happened to your eye?”

            “Not my eye.”

            “I don’t care what happened to your hair.  You let it grow; that’s what happened.”

            He smiled a little more at her sarcastic increasing frustration.  “Not just my eye.”

            “What happened to your face, then?”  She was sporting a cute, pouty frown.

            “Not my entire face.”

            “…How about I put it this way:  TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE HIDING OR I’LL FIND OUT FOR MYSELF!” she said, not really yelling, but not exactly being quiet either.

            “Find out for yourself, then.”  He turned his head a bit so that his visible eye was turned away again.

            She took a moment, presumably to recover from that unexpected reaction, and moved from one bed to kneel by him on the next.

            “Ouch,” she said dispassionately, but interestedly when she saw the large burn scar.  “What did he do?”

            Zeth turned his head a little to try to look at her.  “Who?”

            “Who else?”

            “How could you possibly…?”

            “I’ve seen parents like that before.”

            “Oh, right.  No.”

            “No what?”

            “It wasn’t his fault; it was mine.”

            “Okay, what exactly happened?”

            “I left my candle burning.”

            “…Yeah, definitely not your fault.  Who’d notice a little thing like a candle?”

            “I’m done with worrying about that.”

            “Good.”  She casually sat back down all the way, since she didn’t need to reach his face anymore; she’d seen what she had needed to see.

            “Why were you in a circus?”

            “Oh, that.  What other place lets you wear full-skin makeup all the time?”

            “What about when you went out as…that man…”

            “Ash.”

            “Yeah.”

            “Do you have any idea how hard traveling solely on foot is?  The circus gave me a fairly comfortable ride with meals and other stuff included.  All I had to do was make swinging look pretty and there you go.”

            “Clever.  Why a man?”

            “Men are bothered less.  And when I was bothered, it was pretty safe.  Once I established my need for privacy and showed them that I don’t hold drink well, it was fine.  I almost wish my harnesses hadn’t snapped…It’s amazing how those other freaks reacted when they found out I was female…Is that how the freak world really is?  A bunch of lusty animals?”

            “I think they were having a cow because you matched the description of a serial killer.”

            “…Oh…Right…Thanks for reminding me.”

            “Sorry.”

            “I’m sure you’re probably wondering about…that.”

            “I am curious, yes, but don’t put yourself at a discomfort just for my sake.  It doesn’t matter if I know or not.”

            “…You’re an idiot.  How do you know I’m not some deranged psychopath who’s out for more blood?”

            “Because you’re not.  I know you had good reason.”

            She looked touched.  “You’re still too kind for your own good.  I want to tell you.  I don’t know why, but I do.  Maybe I just want to get it off my chest, since I’m the only one in the world who knows.”

            Zeth remained silent, letting her speak her fill.

            “I guess I sort of always knew I was just some lab animal to them, but I never really…you know, saw it that way.  I thought they were just trying to help.  And then you came along and things changed.  I hated it, but it happened.  You talked about your mom like that, and…Yeah.  After a while, I tried to get it out of my head and just go back to everything being the way it was, but obviously that didn’t work.  Eventually, I kinda…snapped, I guess is a word for it.  I think it was half-daze, half-defense, since obviously all twelve of them tried to restrain me, but I wouldn’t have it anymore.  So, that’s what happened.  It probably doesn’t make sense…”

            He held out one boa-constrictor arm and curled it around her, pulling her close to his tree-trunk-like body.

            “…You’re right.  It doesn’t really matter if it makes sense, does it?”

            “The past is passed.”

            “Was that supposed to be a pun joke?”

            “Doesn’t matter.  The past is passed.”

Author's Note

Not much to say here. Please enjoy the awesomeness of my best characters :p