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[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[the sound of Billy's front door closing, and a short sigh]

...Well.
I guess it lasted longer than I thought it would, at least.

[fridge door sound, hiss and pop of a can opening]

--Speaking of things that last longer than I thought it would...are we ever going back to the Castle?
Not that I'm eager to or anything, of course.

It's just that... well.

[staring forlornly at where a certain mad-scientist laboratory should be]

...Anyone else end up somewhere that is juuuust different enough from home to be really unsettling?

Comments

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[mostly to himself] Hmm. I wonder what he could do.

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[arching an eyebrow, confused] What he could do?

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[glances over] Oh. You know, how everyone had their powers taken away from them.

Somebody obviously jumped at the opportunity.

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

Oh... [troubled look] I suppose that makes sense.

[brow furrowing]... But if that's the case, it's only going to cause more trouble. Assuming that, eventually, we'll be back at the castle... the people they're attacking are going to end up retaliating.

[thinking of Legato] If they keep this up, a lot of innocent people will end up hurt

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they are.

[eats an icecube out of his empty glass]

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

Maybe they mean well [though she sounds doubtful] but this isn't the right way to go about it. Eye for an eye never works.

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[glances over again]

What else is there?

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[....blink? He gets a surprised half smile at that] Letting things go? Moving on with your life?

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

Oh, right. Because everyone is pleasant and understanding like that.

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[arching an eyebrow] It doesn't take being pleasant... and I don't think there is a way to understand half of what the hell people do.

[shaking her head, looking back at the stage] It's more... not letting someone else control your life any more.

Eye for an eye... eventually, everyone is blind.

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

Letting the world push you around, that's how you let someone else control your life.

You have to fight back.

[Billy is such upbeat company. eating more ice cubes.]

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

You're right. I'm not disagreeing. Not really. But there are other ways to fight back besides violence. Certainly besides killing.

[pause... her jaw tightening a bit, eyes distant with some memory] I'm not saying let it continue. Turning the other cheek just tells them they can hit you again.

...but this retaliation. It only escalates.

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[at least most of those things reassured him a little and took some of the argument out of him]

Eventually there's a winner.

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

...there's never a winner. [said softly enough that, if he hadn't been right beside her, he never would have heard it.]

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

Sure there is. [perhaps somewhat darkly]

Sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes it's not pretty, but there's gotta be a winner eventually.

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

Sometimes the cost is too much.

[but this wasn't why she'd brought him out here and, before the mood can settle too thickly over them, the band begins yet another round of reels. The music is catchy and much too upbeat to stay down.

Feeling the need for a break, Jilly sets her empty glass on the counter before hopping to her feet. Reaching over, she'll give Billy's sleeve a tug, tilting her head in the direction of the stage] C'mon.

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[kind of making an 'ugh I don't wanna' face, but...tentatively lets himself be dragged]

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[Just laughs and leads the way. Thankfully, once they're closer, she doesn't attempt to make him do anything. She's joins a group of girls who are dancing and cheering by the stage, leaving him to enjoy the show from a much closer point. And, if he lets himself admit it, there is something cool about being closer to the music.]

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[yeah...there kind of is. He sticks around nearby, with other guys who aren't doing much but standing and watching the band, and is sort of forced to forget whatever he was thinking about before]

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[it's the beautiful thing about music. It was so easy to just slip away in a good beat. Whatever Billy chooses to do, Jilly has no intention of leaving the stage until the band finishes the last of their set.]

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[it's also too loud to hear yourself think, which--in this case--is a big plus. He's content to stay there until the end of the set, doing nothing but playing normal for a little while]

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[when it was all over, it was still a little while before Jilly would be ready to go. There were dancing partners to chat with and musicians to praise, as well as one persistent fellow who seemed to tag along after wherever Jilly went (there always did seem to be at least one creeper in a bar).]

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[...sees creeper. Hey, Jilly! Guess who's coming over to intercept!]

You have fun?

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[grateful smile, maybe inching just a bit more in Billy's direction than she would normally] Very much. They were fantastic.

[arching an eyebrow] You?

[meanwhile, said creeper is glaring at Billy and looking disgruntled at Jilly's attention being diverted]

[need-to-rule-it.livejournal.com]

[he's fine with her getting a little closer because, hey, he's actually pretty good at playing at something that he's not. He also manages to glance over Jilly's head shoulder and catch the guy's eye with a surprisingly cool 'fuck off' look as he replies]

Yeah, not bad. Can't say I've ever seen another band like them.