𝒸𝕆Ň𝓽Δ𝔠ᵗ 👌😈

[oorah]

𝓜𝓻. 𝓜𝓪𝔂𝓸𝓻

𝖙𝖊𝖝𝖙, 𝖛𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖔 (𝔲𝔫;𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖉𝖔𝖌)

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 (𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖆𝖋𝖊 𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊)

𝖋𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖈𝖑𝖚𝖇 𝖛𝖕 (𝔰𝔞𝔣𝔢 𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔢)

𝖈𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖑𝖊𝕮𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖑𝖔𝖔𝕶𝖔𝖚𝖙 (𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯)

𝖔𝖈𝖈𝖚𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 (𝖘𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖍 : ₁₀₋₃ | 𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖑 : ₁₁₋₇ | 𝖋𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖕)

𝖛𝖔𝖑𝖚𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖗 (𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔫, 𝔠𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔠, 𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔩)

Comments

[waffler]

[he pushes her hand away and she looks momentarily hurt. Is he rejecting her? But no, he crouches down and speaks to her and she keeps her eyes on his. ]

Kilgrave.

[That's his name. She has no idea where he is, except a general "here".]

I said I would help.

[oorah]

[ oh god all his worst fears are coming true. must be a tuesday. frank shakes his head vehemently, putting a large hand on her shoulder. ]

You can't, sweetheart. [ he bites into the inside of his lip. he knows he has to be blunt with her, treat her like an adult. all he wants to do is shelter her instead. frank motions for her to stay so he can get his device. they're close to having a real conversation and that's a bad idea too. he comes back quickly, kneeling in front of her and showing her his words. ]

you're too strong - he can use you to hurt a lot of people. do you understand?

[waffler]

[She smiles and relaxes when he calls her sweetheart. Something about him has just clicked with her, and she feels a sense of closeness with him like she does with Hopper. He can't replace Hopper, but he's special in his own different, fatherly way. It makes her heed his words a little more strongly than she might someone else. She hesitantly nods at what she reads but pushes his device away.

Strong, she signs using the native visual language. His device should be able to translate it for him, but she also mouths each word silently so he'll be able to read her lips. While people think she's not watching, she's been keeping a close eye on the natives and learning from the other children. She's a fast learner when she wants to be.

I fight, her hands work quickly but clumsily. Not afraid. Protect you.]

[oorah]

[ he's been paying attention to the natives too, picking up words here and there. he understands strong, he looks to his device to make sure he understands the rest. now is not the time for misinterpretations. frank is disappointed by their meaning, reading them several times before attempting to craft a response she might understand. ]

i'm strong too. not like you. i can't be a weapon again. not for him.
but if we work together we can stop him. you have to trust me. can you do that?

[ he holds the device back up, his expression pleading. if kilgrave gets a hold of eleven he isn't sure what he'll have to do, but he knows it will be terrible. he hopes she listens so they can avoid that. ]

[waffler]

[Her hands form into little fists that hang angrily at her side. She feels a momentary burst of anger that comes out of her in a wave of telekinetic energy that shoves against him and the things around them. Of course it creates rustling noises, but she doesn't scream at him. That's progress. Her nose bleeding because of what she's just done isn't new, however. She just lets it trickle and tries to figure out if he really wants to work with her or if this is what Hopper does when he just wants her to stay put and does what he tells her to do.

She stares him down for a while before eventually nodding, stumbling forward as she dips her head in shame. Only stopping when she bumps against him, she rests her forehead on his shoulder. She can be dangerous for him too, even if she'd never want to hurt him. ]

Yes.

[She barely whispers her answer, and her voice cracks with emotion. Work together. She can do that.]

[oorah]

[ he stumbles back on his knees, toppling over onto his backside on the mat. okay, he pissed off the most powerful person here. that's about par for his course. frank doesn't get scared, and he isn't upset by her outburst. he doesn't pick up his device when it falls to the mat with him because she's approaching him again. oh. this seems like progress, somehow. a tentative hand wraps around her back in a half-hug. ]

Yes. [ he agrees, he's not hopper. he cares just as much, but he knows he can't shut her out. they all have to share intel to nail this guy and that's exactly what he intends to do. frank holds her a little closer against his chest without realizing it. ]

[waffler]

[She can feel his heart beating. Her own is racing, faster now that she's crying. He holds her closer and she awkwardly curls her arms to wrap around him in return. Safe. She'll keep him safe, even if she has to keep things from him in order to do it.

When she eventually pulls away, her fingertips touch at his face once again. There's so many bruises. Who did that to him?]

[oorah]

[ frank doesn't brush her off this time, but his hands come up to sign: I'm okay. just like he always is. a little fucked up, but fine. not for lack of trying, mind. ]

[waffler]

[If he calls this okay, she isn't sure she wants to know what bad looks like. Her hand curls around his that's signed and she gives a shake of her head. She's worried and he can't make her stop being that way. But in some way, it's comforting to know someone else out there goes around bruised and pathetic looking like she does.

Stay, she signs, then points toward him and gestures to his weird living space. She wants to stay here and keep an eye on him. She even tries giving a pleading little smile.]

[oorah]

[ he relents easily, especially when she tosses her smile in. frank nods, using her shoulder to get himself back on his feet. he picks up his device and gestures for her to follow him to the postage stamp of a bedroom since he's used most of his living space on a place to get beat the fuck up.

once they're there he draws the curtain so she doesn't have to look at his giant skull or his blood on the floor. there are precautions so it makes no sound as it pulls across the track. frank tosses his pillows to the floor so they can sit against the bedframe and starts poking around for a book they could both enjoy. he hopes she likes reading. he found one in the library about a young girl hero, that should do. he lifts his eyebrows as if asking if she wants to read with him, even if he wishes he could read it to her instead. ]

[waffler]

[ Funny story, Eleven's reading skills are more based on practical use only. She doesn't understand reading for enjoyment and probably hasn't actually ever had a book read to her. So when she sits she just copies his expression before looking confused. Her eyes look to the page and she tries to read it, but he'll find that she reads very slow, which is why she doesn't really like using the device a lot of the time. It's hard for her. But she'll try to read with him, because she likes getting to share something with him.
It makes her feel important.]

[oorah]

[ he can tell she's struggling a bit, so he urges her closer to the page and then holds his hand so she can only read one line at a time. it might be easier to process that way. only after she seems to get that sentence does he repeat the process and on and on until he thinks she's managed the whole page. he lifts his other hand in his favored OK symbol. she's doing great. ]

[waffler]

[She doesn't know that symbol all that well but she copies it anyway because he's the one doing it. She really idolizes him now, which means she'll copy a lot of what he does. Like using her finger to trail along the words so she can read one line at a time. When she finishes a page, she gives the OK symbol each time. It's a thing she does now thanks to him. It's easy to lose track of time like this, reading and enjoying herself. She's happy and content. Poor Mike will probably wonder where she is, since she didn't contact him to let him know she's staying with Frank. ]

[oorah]

[ she isn't the only one who finds it easy to lose time this way. he had always read to lisa when he came home, except the last time. even if he can't ever get his daughter back, this feels a lot like making up for something, here. something he can tell eleven's never had. when she starts to really get into the book he feels proud, and every time she flashes his OK back at him his smile gets a little easier.

eventually, after they've worked through a few chapters, he displaces the muslin cover to hold their place and sets it down. his eyes need a break. but it had felt good, to read with her instead of by himself in his misery. he picks up his device after a minute, offering her an explanation she asked for when she walked in. ]

mike asked me to teach him to fight
i set up this room for him
i've been testing it [ with my face ]

[waffler]

[She glances over at his explanation and frowns a little. Why would Mike want to learn how to fight? Does she not do a good enough job keeping him safe? What if he gets hurt? Since her mind is a jumble of words she grabs his device from him to share.]

Mike won't get hurt?

[oorah]

[ frank is quick to shake his head. then he points to her before pointing to his own chest. they won't let mike get hurt. they're a team. ]

[waffler]

[Yeah, they're a team. A team that won't let Mike get hurt. She quickly thinks to add on,]

I want to learn too.

[oorah]

[ his face twists up in a smile that looks more like a grimace with all his bruises. but he is amused, taking the device back to respond. ]

you don't need it. you have your thing

[waffler]

[Her jaw drops and she looks completely shocked he'd say no. She wants to learn how to punch people too! (Only because Frank's teaching it and she doesn't want to miss out on something with him)]

[oorah]

[ he laughs soundlessly, a jump of his shoulders. ]

ok if you insist but your fighting is way cooler than mine

[waffler]

[That makes her grin and she gives him the OK sign. Shy, silent laughter follows, ending with her ducking her head. Just because she can make people explode or snap their necks without ever touching them doesn't mean she's cool. Just efficient.

But then all that happiness is sucked away the second she responds.]

I don't fight. I kill.

[oorah]

[ the bemusement drains from his face. they really are a lot more alike than he ever could have bargained for. frank really hopes they don't need her to stop kilgrave in the end. this is getting too real for prime time in here. ]

me too [ he swallows, cautiously meeting her eyes. she's the only one who knows about him now. maybe it isn't the smartest thing, but he doesn't care. she should know if they're going to work together like he said. ]

[waffler]

[Her eyes stay focused on his and she nods in understanding. Her hand rests over his, and she hopes it's reassuring or comforting somehow. In her mind, it's an act of solidarity. Whatever his past is, they're alike in that very dark and awful way. Who knows, maybe he's like her even though she doesn't see a number tattoo on his arm. In any case,
he's unlocked tragic backstory.]

Papa kept me in a lab. He did tests and made me do things. Bad things.

[oorah]

[ he squeezes her fingers without really thinking about it, weighing on his heart and mind is his lisa. everything he would have done to protect her, if he'd only been given the chance.

frank reads the words, a righteous anger bubbling up inside of him. how any parent could do that to their kid is beyond him -- his parents were old and didn't understand his penchant for trouble (and violence) but they treated him fine. they were good parents. he was just a shitty kid.

eleven's deal is... something else entirely. if her 'papa' ever finds his way to reims, he better be ready to face a world of pain. frank leans over to type into the shared device, biting his lip as he sees the wall of text they've left behind. ]

that wasn't your fault.

[ he has to let go of her hand to take hold of the stupid device -- a contraption he knows they both resent without having to ask. he feels like he owes her a little bit of his story, even if he's not ready to disclose most of it. she should know the parts they share. ]

a bad man made me do bad things too. that's why we both stay away from kilgrave until we have a plan. [ so neither of them get used again. ]