Who really knows best?

[bondedgryphon]

Who: Zhaneel and Rumlow
What: Zhaneel is going to make poor life choices
Where: Rumlow's Room
When: Early morning June 6th
Warnings: Let's say violence, because it might get there and quickly, lmao. ;__;



Zhaneel had been laying low in her room for several days, having discovered the disappearance of both Sam and Alec shortly after one another. She'd found them nowhere, checking any of the familiar locations that either frequented. She had been closer to Alec, but both men had understood aspects of her own world that she didn't feel the other residents did; mostly because she's not had prolonged conversation with any of them.

In that time, she's had plenty of time to mull over what Rumlow had said to her about finding someone to teach her how to 'straighten her spine.' She also knew perfectly well about both Coulson and Coraline, and while Coulson's death had been blamed on Rumlow, Cashmere had planted enough doubt as to Rumlow's guilt in Coraline's and the possibility that it had been the staff instead. While this didn't remove his guilt over Coulson's murder, she'd also seen quite a bit in the recent dream broadcasts to call some question over who was really guilty.

All in all, it was enough to confuse her and bring to question what she herself had been raised to believe.

It had been early when she'd gone down for breakfast; early enough that no one else was yet awake to see her come or go. No one that would see the extra portions she brought with her back from breakfast.

She navigates the halls, finding them all as empty as the buffet and lobby had been. She knew where Rumlow's room was, and for some reason she had chosen to keep this bit of information quiet. He terrified her, but there was more to it than that... she'd seen what he'd survived and come out on top of. He'd told her to find someone to train and toughen her up.

She shifts the plate and cup to one hand, lifting her now free one to knock on room 119. It's a tentative knock and when she quickly draws back her hand, it's shaking visibly.

"He-hello?" Her voice is low and as tentative as her knock had been, and it's possible he won't even answer the door. She glances up and down the hallway quickly, unsettled and a bundle of nerves.

Comments

[bondedgryphon]

She remains standing as directed, and while it doesn't exactly come naturally for her to hold such a baring she is doing well enough under Rumlow's direction. She frowns slightly as he admits that he hadn't been eating well and that his own stores have run out, but before she can comment on the matter he speaks again and she falls still.

Her expression has always betrayed her and it's among several (many) things that Rumlow will have to work on with her. Her heart races, pulse beating heavily in her throat as she swallows tightly. Her stomach twists, because things could go poorly depending on his answer; and when he gives it, she can't hide her surprise. She opens her mouth to protest, but as he continues, the words catch in her throat; that he owes her for bringing him food. In truth, she'd already planned on bringing him food every morning, even if her own explanation for it would have been weak at best.

When he asks if she really wants to change and if she feels she deserves it, she falls quiet. Her brows knit and she licks her lips before raisi g her golden gaze to meet his own once more. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm not scared," she says, still managing to meet his eyes. "But I'm tired of being trapped by it and ruled by it. I want to be stronger and to be able to fight back, so... So the day we're sent back to our homes I can do something. So while we're here I don't jump at every shadow or hide in my room. I want to feel confident in myself and in defending my beliefs, whether others like them or not."

A beat, and then for the first time in her life, "I deserve it."

[ukase]

She was like an open book to him who had spent almost his entire life hiding who he was and presenting to the world what he wanted them to see. Acting had come early, learning the traits to survive, learning what it would take to get him to the top of the pile quickly and without shying away from the dirty work necessary to get there. She had a very open baring and face, which would serve her well if she could learn to control it. People liked open people, thought they could be stepped on with less resistance.

"Good, you're a step ahead of more than a few in admitting what you just did," he said, but mastering fear took a long time. Some people didn't have the strength of character in order to endure, but she had more or less stood her ground a bit with him. Enough that he didn't think she was a complete lost cause. "Why do you jump at every shadow in your room?"

While he waited for her answer, he began to eat the meal that she had brought.