The days passed, each one feeling incredibly long. Being killed five days out of the week for two weeks in a row was unpleasant for sure, but Elijah didn't mind it as long as Whinney was improving, and she was improving, although he would have wished her progress were faster. What he felt was worse than his own situation was Whinney struggling with her feelings of guilt. His dying seemed to affect her far more than it affected him. He was painfully aware of how bad he was at reading people, but it was clear, even to him, that she was having a hard time. He felt that he couldn't do much, but Mot didn't care, and god knows Aeshma was of no help to her. She might dry Whinney's tears and even hug her when it got to be too much, but she always did so with a wolfish smile. Mot had told him how Aeshma had a thing for vulnerable people. Even though it was clear to him that Whinney was far better at controlling herself in a fight now, she seemed to feel worse each day that passed. During the work week, he didn't have enough energy to care or do anything about it. When the weekend rolled around, however, he finally had the time to recuperate, and while sitting smoking in bed, he got to thinking. The two of them had barely spoken since that first day. She always apologized for killing him, but that was just about all she ever said. She usually walked around, eyes glued to the floor. Even so, since she'd been getting better at managing whatever she had going on, he only got shot once every few matches now.
He stood up, put on a pair of pants and a ruffled shirt, then grabbed a cup of coffee before leaving his apartment. He saw Dolion and Hope walking together with Lumi, another freelancer. Dolion gave him s wide smile and a small wave, but hope jumped and skipped over to him. "Elijah! You're out of your cave". She made a face and pitched her voice down, "The cave of darkness and despair where Elijah dwells". "Mhmm". "What's up? We were gonna go grab a bite. Wanna join us?". "No, thanks, I was gonna go talk to Whinney for a sec". "Ooh", she squeaked, "You two... spendin' a lot of time togeteher?" She winked. She was young, only 20, so he decided to ignore what she was implying, chalking it up to her being childish. He himself wasn't that much older, but he sure felt old compared to her the way she sprawled and hopped around. "Guess so, but she's been seeming a little off, so I thought I should talk to her". "You are such a sweetheart! She homesick?". That was an option he'd never even considered. "Dunno, maybe. She's been quiet, and seen as how she's a hand and all". "Ooh, poor thing. Want me to come with? Don't take this the wrong way, but om sot sure you're the best at handling these things", she wore a sympathetic smile. He had no doubts she was being genuine, but he honestly couldn't imagine that Hope had ever felt sad in her life. She continued, "Sometimes all you need is somebody with positive vibes to talk to, then you'll vibrate with them, then BOOM... you're happy". Elijah looked at the two others. Dolion looked like a politician in his pressed suit, smiling like cameras were on him. Lumi was looking off into the distance, seeming anything but attentive to what was going on. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm the reason she's feeling down, so I should handle it". Hope made a pouting face and dragged the toe of her shoe against the floor, "okayyy", then she was beaming again, "Tell her hi from us, and if, when you're done, you wanna join us, you're welcome to!". "Super...", Elijah replied unenthusiastically before passing them, "might see ya later then". After a beat, Dolion called out to him as he walked away, "Take good care of that girl. She has an honest heart, I can tell". Elijah knew that Dolion was usually right about these things, but didn't really know what to do with that information.
The trio strutted off, Hope jumping around like a child, and Elijah remarked to himself how glad he was not to have to work with her. He trudged over to Whinney's door and knocked. Whinney's footsteps pattered inside, and she opened her door to let him in. She looked tired. "These walls are paper-thin, I could hear pretty much all you said out there". "ok, what? Did I say something bad?". She padded back to her bed and sat down. Beside her on the bed, there lay a notepad turned upside down and a pencil. "No, but you aren't the reason I'm down". Elija had a hard time believing that. "I thought I might be, you seem kinda bummed whenever I get...", he made a finger gun and then a recoil motion. "Well, that's not your fault! That's me! I'm the one who can't fucking stop beating the shit out of people". He couldn't really deny that. "So what, I'm not crying about it, why are you?". That sounded better in his head, but it came out far more dismissive than he intended it to. "Because it fucking sucks! Maybe to you, dying is just nothing, but that's a you thing! To normal people, seeing someone die is scary, and sad, and nobody here seems to think so, which is fucked up". He sat down in the chair facing the bed and placed his coffee mug on the floor beside him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so blunt". She glared at him, knees to her chest, arms crossed. "I remember the first time I died, I crashed my car, woke up...". He stopped. He had a strange feeling that he'd seen something while waking up, but couldn't for the life of him remember what... who it had been. Whinney tilted her head slightly, "and...?". "and... and, I was horrified, true, honest to god dread. I wanted it all to be a dream, but it wasn't. My car was totaled, so I had to walk for hours in the dark and rain. I felt like I was a ghost or something, I doubted that I was actually alive". "Is that supposed to make me feel better about me killing you?". "Maybe? What I'm trying to say is that I get what you mean. I've been in a bad mood, but that's not directed towards you, that's just how I get after dying, like Dolion said that time". "Yeah, I remember... he's kinda weird... He used to be your partner?". "Yup, He's a good guy, good with people, really understands them". "He gave me a chocolate, then we shook hands". "Probably thought you could use one, maybe I should keep some for emergencies... mind if I smoke?". Whinney took out her own pack and lit one herself in response, so Elijah followed suit. She still seemed sour. He looked at the cigarettes she had gotten. They smelled incredible, enough for him to notice while sitting halfway across the room. They were brown and looked more like cigarillos than cigarettes, tho he didn't actually know what the difference was. "Man, I wish Mot gave me those kinds, I'm stuck with the real cheap garbage kind". Whinney choked and coughed on the smoke, "khugh! khuh... you can have one if you want". "Thanks, but I gotta stick to what I'm given. Them's the rules". "So what's Dolion's deal? his influence?". "Lies, not that he lies a lot... I think. That's what they call it, don't really know why". "But like his superpower?". "He doesn't have one the same as you or I do; he's just really good at figuring out what people want. Most people aren't as... potent, I guess, as you are. I think that's the reason why you're worth the effort to train. I've never seen anyone so close to being a monster while remaining human". The moment he said that, he felt incredibly stupid. Calling her a monster was probably the farthest thing from a smart move right now. His worries, however, were quickly dispelled when she seemed to brighten up. Curiosity maybe? "Monster? I'm close to a monster?". "dunno really, you should ask Emet, he knows stuff. As far as I've understood it, people with influence usually have so little of it that it's hardly noticeable; one step above that are people who are more than just eccentrics, that's your average freelancer. Dolion, for example. If anyone goes further than that, they're not really human anymore... usually". "But you have a power. Are you and I similar then?". That same nawing feeling of half memory returned to Elijah. "I'm not sure. Mot and Emet were the ones who brought me in after I caught their attention. Mot told me I didn't really fit the mold, and Emet, who handles most of the recruitments, agreed. What that means? your guess is as good as mine". He dragged on his cigarette. "Hm, in that case, you could say I broke the mold". "Somtn'like that..."
They sat for a while in silence. Elijah couldn't think of anything to say, and Whinney seemed lost in thought. Elijah looked around the room, and his eyes landed on the notepad. "Watcha writin' there?". Whinney zoned back in and followed his gaze to the notepad. "Oh, nothing really. Aeshma told me that someone was handling my phone, pretending to be me to my parents and friends. I asked if I could have it back, but she just laughed in my face". "Yeah, they do that. They had someone be me for two and a half months before having them think I died". "Don't remind me, but I asked if I could write some stuff for them to tell my mom, and Aeshma said she could try to have them do that for me". "What kinda stuff have you written?". "It's hard to know what to write. I can't tell her much, can I? To just tell her I'm ok would be weird. I've drafted a few notes, but nothing felt good". "You could write about your new coworkers?". "Yeah, right. Hi Mom, I got some new friends, one Middle Eastern woman who has no clue what boundaries are, one old depressed man who hates me, and one guy I've killed like a hundred times by now". "I wouldn't phrase it like that". "No shit?", she sighed loudly and fell backwards onto her balled up blanket, "I don't knowwwwww". She bolted back up, actually looking excited. "Aeshma said she thinks we'll be done with training soon. Apparently, I've started to use the chain the right way now". "Chain?". Whinney looked surprised, then wiggled around enough to make the chain rustle, "My chain". Elijah heard the chain, but that did very little to enlighten him. Whinney pulled her shirt up a bit and let the chain show, "I thought you knew. Aeshma had it made for me when I got here. It's like a restraint, some magical chackle. I begged Aeshma to let me take it off, but she said that if I ever did, she would have to put me down. She's joking, but I get that it's important". Elija really doubted that Aeshma was joking. "Anyways, apparently I've gotten better at using it, don't know how tho. I really don't think about it at all, but I guess it's something you do subconsciously?". "That thing looks like something an exotic dancer would wear. "Mhm, I didn't like it at first, mostly because Aeshma was being weird about it. Now I think it's kinda cute. Don't tell her I said that, tho, might give her ideas". "I never spoke a lot to Aeshma before you came here, but from what I've understood, she's already had just about every lewd idea you could imagine. Nothing you or I say could put a fresh, dirty thought in that woman's mind". Whinney half scoffed, half laughed. "I'd believe that, but she's nice enough". "Mot calls her a vixen, feels rude, but I think he enjoys working with her". "How could you tell? I'm pretty good at reading people, and I'd say that man hated everyone and everything in this world except for maybe you". "Not at all. He likes you, otherwise he wouldn't be lecturing you". Whinney tightened her lips and raised her brows at this. Elijah studied her face, attempting to decipher what she was trying to convey, alas to no avail. "If you say so, I'm not convinced".
One thing that Elijah was able to see for sure was that Whinney was feeling better after their conversation. He had no clue what he had done to achieve this effect, but he felt a rare sense of pride at having done so. Whinney noticed. "Whipe that weird look off your face, what are you smiling about? Not once have I seen you smile. It doesn't suit you", she said, laughing. Ouch! She said it with a humorous tone, but Elija still felt it was uncalled for. Nevertheless, he stopped smiling. "You... wanna go grab lunch?". "Lunch? When did you wake up? It's seven PM". "Really, damn, dinner then? Dolion and some others I don't think you've met yet invited us". "Yeah, I heard you guys... Sure, why not?". Talking to Whinney had actually made him a bit happier, too. He stood up, and Whinney did the same. They walked together towards the cantina. Elijah, once again, left a practacaly untouched cup of coffee, forgoten.