Real life’s nasty. It’s cruel. It doesn’t care about heroes and happy endings and the way things should be. In real life, bad things happen. People die. Fights are lost. Evil often wins.
—Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare, Darren Shan (via ironarmored)
to say the two have overcome many obstacles would be an understatement, but the fact that they’ve come out on top together says more than any negative gesture could. relieved when liz takes her hand, the countess gives it a gentle squeeze. ❛ you are as radiant as ever, if that helps any. ❜ a soft chuckle follows, the smile on elizabeth’s face one of few genuine ones in her long lifetime. admittedly, she’s only ever saved her authentic feelings for the woman before her. ❛ do you still feel things? — i haven’t been able to… not since i died. ❜ it’s something she’s only ever told james, but that had been because she’d just passed at that point. to tell liz means a lot to her, her expression even faltering to one of immense sadness.
concern, while it does lace a pristinely - made brow, attempts to conceal itself for the other’s sake. an occurrence where the countess seeks comfort from liz is one rarer than its opposite, with liz seeking out the countess for comfort, & she drives to do just that, without scaring the other away. so, she becomes the pillar of wisdom she’s now known to be, heart full with the intent to aid in anyway possible. the palm held in her grip is lightly squeezed, other hand coming to rest atop their embrace. ❛ –– you know, it might do you some good to throw yourself back out there. have you met anyone since… ? ❜ ( donovan’s name lingers on her tongue, but is not voiced )
❝ I gotta tell ya, I didn’t read much, ❞ Confession was announced in QUIET TONE, Columbia’s abashment to admit so apparent. ❝ Always thought I had BETTER THINGS to do, y’know ??? ❞ she added in a HALFHEARTED ATTEMPT to defend her past choices.
❛ it’s nothing to beat yourself up about. ❜ composed is her stature at columbia’s admission, & to soothe is her tone’s directive. to further such a point, shoulders (draped in black ) lift in a shrug, cigarette coming away from her mouth in a cloud of smoke. ❛ this may shock you, but i hardly ever picked up a book before i moved out here. ❜
❛ –– do you now ? ❜ curiosity piqued ; lips pursed, stilettoed heels inching forward. palms come to spread on the bar’s glass surface, with hints of a smile teasing the corners of a nude mouth. ❛ who is he ? ❜
Columbia’s head shook BACK AND FORTH, dismissing Liz’s attempts to blame herself before she could even finish VOCALIZING THEM. ❝ You know this isn’t your fault, ❞ she said in a FIRM TONE. ❝ I know this isn’t your fault, ❞ she added, HOPING that her feeble attempts to assure Liz where the blaming TRULY LAID was not upon her shoulders. Though she was no naive thing whom BELIEVED that merely repeating what SHE KNEW to be true time and time again would have no affect. Grief made people IRRATIONAL, and she doubted that anything would ever be able to convince her otherwise. And that revelation PAINED HER so.At the sound of the other’s soft tone speaking once again, a STRING of denials poured from pink lips. ❝ You could NEVER burden me, ❞ Columbia said in the same comforting, FIRM voice. ❝ Liz, believe me, you could never, ❞ she murmured, standing up to easier embrace the broken womanbefore her. ❝ You’re the best person in my life, you could never burden me, ❞
DESPITEHERSELF –– despite the streaks of tears drying upon cheeks, & the heavy weight of grief on shoulders –– the faintest of smiles is cracked at columbia’s heartfelt remark. to know that someone still loved her was something she didn’t realize she’d needed to hear until those simple words of reassurance tumbled from the younger’s lips. with the countess’s heart seemingly turned away from her (& the glinting cool metal of a reaper’s glove now facing her instead ), the ice - cold understanding that columbia may be the only one she has leftcements within her. though expression remainshidden, shrouded in the crook of the embrace, it exists –– & what a feat that was alone. composure, in slight & as much as she could muster at that precise moment, is regained, however her mind may whirl. concealed briefly in columbia’s arms is where the semblance of comfort is found, allowing for the prevailing of calmer heads. a soft pat on the arm signals that she’s okay –– or at least okay enough to recover from that bumbling, crying mess she once was. ❛ ––– thank you. ❜