text // aq. // 01

[helenite]

so is every1 here dead ?



[[ WARDEN FILTER ]]

hi im alice. any1 want my gun ?

Comments

[helenite]

ok so humour me. thot experiment:

- guy trains his whole life. super scary. catches flies in midair. but he gets hit by a bus 1 day walking 2 his dojo or gym or w/e

- other guy doesnt put any work in. but he gets lucky. lives thru a few fights, then som1 at his same lvl kills him

which 1s the warrior ?

[rank1]

The first one. Being at the top of your potential and having ambition doesn't mean you're immune to freak accidents. Hell, it's a fucking tragedy. I'd mourn the last fight he never got to have. Carry him with me when I went into a battle of my own. Who knows? Maybe people like us don't rest unless we die in the heat of battle.

But the second guy... luck isn't shit. He's just a loser who got murked by another loser.

[helenite]

so what matters isnt the fight at all then

its the between parts

[rank1]

Fuck no! The guy who didn't get his warrior's death lives like a warrior

every

fucking

day.

There's a bit of that fight in everything he does.

[helenite]

yeah. & he never had 2 kill ne1

[rank1]

You're making up different shit about this guy than I am. Nobody gets to the top without bloodshed.

[helenite]

look

what r u doin 4 training here

[rank1]

Why, you a personal trainer?

[helenite]

basically the opposite

but if ur going 2 live like a warrior u should b doing smthg & i want 2 help

[rank1]

Cool. Let me know when and where.

[omniavincit]

You never answered his question.

[ #wardenpetpeeves ]

[helenite]

which ?

[omniavincit]

"Was it bad?"

[helenite]

well it wasnt an accident.

[omniavincit]

Was there bloodshed?

[helenite]

[ she starts typing, stops. once, then a few times: i think i killed a kid, ]

Yes.

[ this time she doesn't go back, undo the autocorrect. freezes on that small ritual of insistence (lowercase, casual, a quick chat on AIM) ]

[rank1]

But you fought, right? You didn't just let them take your life from you?

[helenite]

[ a pause, again. that singing high (the moment) retreated before it really began. pride: feels crass to feel for it now, empty as her hands are. feels like reaching for the wrong branch, ]

I took them with me.

[ waiting for the limb to crack. ]

[rank1]

[He rarely thinks before he types, and here is no exception. The reply comes back immediately.]

Fucking coward.

[helenite]

[ this one's longer. ten minutes maybe, fifteen. when she finally replies: ]

may b thats y im here

[rank1]

[He hates the silence. Drives him crazy. Almost makes him want to stalk the ship until he finds whoever this person is. Tap people on shoulders: AQ? Hey, are you AQ?

When she finally replies, he's almost relieved. Even faster:]

For killing someone because you're too much of a coward to lose? Yeah maybe the navarch has a thing about that

[helenite]

yeah

so y r u ?

[rank1]

Who knows! Maybe I jaywalked too many times. Maybe I didn’t pay the IRS. Maybe because I’m an assassin. Anyone’s guess.

[helenite]

so death & taxes

[rank1]

For fucking sure.

You regret it yet?