asthehawkflies | [#000] Appointments

I'm not really a huge fan of tea, no. Shooting is fine. I could stand to let off some steam.

-Clint

I'll meet you in the battle dome, then. Sooner rather than later.

-A

Sounds good. I'll head up soon as I've changed.

-Clint

I'll be waiting.

-A

[She took the time to change into something that allowed movement and headed to the Battle Dome early to set up for a range simulator. Something open to the air with a bit of wind for the sake of variables. Until Clint arrives she's working with an odd choice of projectiles. Playing cards.]

[He's quick to arrive, dressed in nondescript training gear, his bow and quiver slung over his back. He enters the room and just watches for a moment as she throws the cards.]

As with a lot of things in life, that's all about the wrist action.

[She finishes the last throw with a shrug, shaking out her hand before turning to face him.]

Most things in life, I should think.

[He manages a smile and nods.]

Probably.

Hey, Adele. How did your vacation treat you?

Well. It was quiet, restful, and fairly cold. I do not think I am quite cut out for camping.

[She offers a light smile and extends her arm to him.]

You yet live. Already it's better than I feared.

It's not for everyone. At least you missed the crazy.

[He takes her arm when it's offered and here at least is someone he can count on to be the same right now.]

I do live. I managed not to get stabbed, shot or otherwise injured too.

All but the last of it. Ben and I returned home on the seventeenth, just in time for the spa.

[And that had turned out so well for them.]

For that I'm glad. And somewhat proud.

Right. The spa.

[He's glad that he doesn't blush easily.]

It's a sad day when you have to be proud of me not getting physically injured.

I was gone for a week. Anything might have happened.

Considering everything that's happened since I got here, that's actually a fair point.

Of course it is. I am, on occasion, right about something.

[She walks to the console to plug in and program a new set of targets. Bodies, dishes, a string of bottles and light bulbs that will explode with a satisfying crackle of glass and gas when shot.]

Arrows or bullets, Aigle?

[That at least makes him laugh a little.]

Arrows. I need to feel in control of something today.

...A shift is a shift. You can't hold yourself accountable for it.

[And for now that's all she says on the matter, focusing instead on plugging in the commands to offer a multitude of arrows for their use. She programs in a bow for herself as she doesn't have one proper before returning to the table and offering Clint the first shot. Volley. Whichever.]

That's what people said about what Loki did to me. Didn't believe it then. Don't believe it now.

[Not when he's still confused over the effects, over what he even feels. But for now, shooting might help him keep his calm. He goes over to choose an arrow, just a standard one for now, razor sharp. He takes aim at a long mirror, his own reflection showing back, and fires. The mirror splinters, spidery cracks forming across the surface.]

[Well there certainly isn't any symbolism in that whatsoever. Adele selects a lighter, slimmer arrow and takes aim at a target, leaving the more cathartic objects for Clint's use.]

There's something I heard a great deal when I first arrived here- to the point of being sick of hearing the phrase. For you I'll say it just the once to spare you the same. "Accept what you cannot change, and let it go."

[There's something sickeningly satisfying about seeing his reflection fracture and split like that. He's sure that a psychologist would have a field day with that. He goes to grab another arrow, and she's chosen well. Modified thermite arrow.

The mirror melts into puddles of glass and foil.

He lets out a soft huff of breath when she says that and shakes his head.]

But things have changed. And I don't know what to do with that.

If you can change the situation, do so. If you cannot? Accept that. To do otherwise is somewhat maddening.

[Another plain arrow, another target, voice as low and gentle as she can manage. She's no Obi-wan, she's certainly no Luke, but this much she can say.]

It's not something that can be done easily, especially if you've spent most of your life doing the opposite. I still have trouble on occasion. But...it's something to keep in mind.

I don't even know if I want them to change. I just...

[He stops, grabs another arrow and takes out a string of lights. The glass smashes in a pleasing way, shattering around them in glittering shards.]

I have a rock. One person I can rely on. One person who I would do anything for, who would do anything for me. Who knows me better than anyone else, even SHIELD.

My home.

And now something's shifted and the foundation is uneven and I forgot what it was like to be so unstable. And I don't know if I even want to go back to how things were. But going forward is... it's terrifying.

Clint...

[She looks over to him, lips pressed in a thin line. It'd been the best choice at the time, leaving the village for the shift. But to be gone was to be unaware, uninformed, and miss on whatever upheaval that has Clint so very unsettled. And not only him, the rest of those she knew and cared for in the village. Loki had yet to reply to her message, she has yet to sort things out with Derek though he's more of a patient, she has no idea what it was that happened to Sabriel or Saori or Helios-

and she doesn't know what to say to help. It'd taken months for her to get over her first Valentines. For something so innocuous it changes so much. Subtle and sly and nothing seems right anymore. That much she can relate to somewhat, but the rest? She can't begin to imagine.]

...the time away will probably help.

[He winces at the tone of her voice because this wasn't what he'd wanted. He's sick of hurt feelings and confusion. Part of him wishes that he'd just gone away before the whole thing happened, stuck it out in the woods or the mountains for the duration.]

I hope so. I'm terrible with feelings. They've always been something bad, a weakness. An inconvenience to the people around me, and to myself, mostly.

I don't date. I don't get involved because it's dangerous. I don't get attached.

And now I'm here. And nothing works right anymore.

Join the club. We have badges and jackets.

[It feels flat and she wonders for a moment if she's said this before. At the moment she can't quite recall.]

This place has a way of turning everything sideways or inside out. But...you can still shoot, yes? You can stand, you can speak, and while the way is uncertain you may yet still walk. Sometimes that has to be enough.

[Even if it has been said before, it gets a laugh out of him, strained and bitter though it might be. At least she understands that confusion.]

Yes, I can shoot. It's who I am. Who I've always been.

[The day he can't shoot is the day that he's done. He knows that.]

I can't lose her, Adele, I can't lose Tasha. We've been through hell together and it's this that makes us unable to face each other.

Edited 2013-03-09 23:02 (UTC)

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