genessia | Accidental Video/Action

Accidental Video;

[The communicator's video function seems to have turned on as the device fell to the floor, as the angle is a bit skewed and the camera is slightly obscured by what appears to be a mixture of sand and straw. A growled breath is heard as Clay, in jeans but no shirt, his hands wrapped but un-gloved, grunts with the effort of hanging a large punching bag from the ceiling in what looks like one of the sparring rooms in Sand Gym.

And then he starts at the new bag. One punch, another, another, the strength of his blows rising has his face twists in a snarl of something like rage. He cries out, or maybe it's more of a roar, as his thundering punches reach a crescendo, and the air around his pounding fists seems to waver like hot asphalt after a rain. The new punching bag is torn open, ripped from its ceiling mount, and flies across the room to explode into it's packing against the wall.

He exhales through clenched teeth and moves to the side wall to get a new bag. He doesn't seem to have noticed the communicator.]

Action;

[Clay is destroying punching bags in a sparring room at Sand Gym anywhere from 6:30pm until closing time. Anyone is free to join him, but he's not the best of company right now...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He'd been in the midst of hanging a new punching bag when he heard her voice and he looks around for a moment before finding the source of it.]

Are you fucking kidding me?

[The question was posed to himself, or maybe the room at large, before he tromps over to retrieve his device.]

What do you think?

I'm going to go with no...

[She bites her lower lip and wonders if she should just leave it at that.]

What's wrong?

[He flexes his jaw rather than responding immediately. There is no way in hell he's going to explain to Airy of all people what's wrong.]

Nothing, Airy. [It would be more believable if it wasn't spoken through clenched teeth.] Don't worry about it.

Okay, we'll not talk about it...

[She's trying to think how to calm him down.]

Want me to bring you french fries? [That always cheers her up.]

[He narrows his eyes at the video feed, this time more in confusion than anger.]

French fries? Seriously?

[Airy looks a little bit nervous.]

Yeah, crispy potatoy goodness. They always cheer me up but since I don't know what's wrong... I might be really off.

[She's going to keep trying though she has a feeling she's going to get Clay annoyed at her in the process.]

[He shakes his head, gritting his teeth again.]

That'd be great if I needed to be cheered up.

[He takes a slow breath before saying anything else.]

Look. Nobody was supposed to see this, okay?

I know but... I did and I care about you Clay.

[She pauses.]

And not just because you work with me but we're friends.

[You have no say in this Clay]

Yeah, well. You shouldn't.

[Nobody should. All I do is hurt people.]

I do anyway.

[She smiles at the screen.]

Like I said, you don't have to talk about it but I'm your friend and I think you're amazing... and not just at Volley Ball.

[He scoffs.]

You don't even know me. [And he swallows.] If you did, you wouldn't feel that way.

You don't know that.

[She can't say she knows him but she knows she'll still consider him her friend.]

Clay... I've been told that I'm a horrible judge of character but no matter who you were in the past, you're my friend now and its the now Clay that's pretty awesome. I think a lot of people like you.

Even if you can't see it.

[He takes a breath to speak, but if she's accomplished anything, it's getting his brain to turn back on. He clicks a few buttons on the phone, switching the feed to private.]

Video;Private

[And he looks away from the camera before he says anything else.]

Your family was murdered.

W-what?

[Her throat feels dry and her voice comes out in a whisper.]

How do you.. know about that?

[He still doesn't look at the screen, and when he responds, his voice is even and cool, like he's giving a report.]

Because it was my operation.

You... killed my family?

[Her tone remains soft, touched with shock as she tries desperately to process what he's telling her.]

That's not possible.

[They weren't from the same place... except his tone suggests that they are.]

Your name is Arianna Ja'nel Miller. Your father's name was Jarry James Miller. Your mother's name was Cornelia Louise Miller. Your brother's name is Jacob Cory Miller.

When your brother was younger, he couldn't say 'Arianna' so he called you Airy. It stuck.

[Then everything clicks and Airy feels her heart plummet in her chest. She steels herself before trying to speak again. It's been over a year since she's heard her family's names spoken out loud. She refuses to give into the crushing feeling that surrounds her heart and yet she can't hide the pain from her eyes.]

You played Volley Ball with me... Helped me when I didn't know what to do I- [She pauses before continuing.] You knew what I was going to remember but you let me make that choice.

Clay... I can't believe you're a bad person but please tell me why. Why did you do it?

[Her voice is stronger but soft as if it's taking all of her control to keep herself from falling apart.]

[He shakes his head.]

I'm not a good person, Airy. I don't deserve your friendship, or your concern, or even one fuck you might give.

[He takes a breath.]

Because I was ordered to, and I couldn't say no.

[There are four words that stay with her 'I couldn't say no']

To bad because I do care about you and even if you don't want it, you have my friendship.

[Airy is determined not to cry.]

I'm sorry.

Don't do that. You should want to kill me, or scream at me. Something.

....just. Don't. Not that.

[Please.]

Edited 2016-08-15 04:11 (UTC)

You've already had to live with it this long enough Clay... there is nothing I can say that'll make it worse.

[Her voice begins to tremble but she pauses to regain her composure.]

That's why I'm sorry and why I'll still be your friend.

[He puts down the communicator for a moment before he does or says anything. He doesn't look at it when he finally does pick it up, either. When he speaks, his voice is quiet, even, and tightly controlled.]

Goodbye, Airy. Don't call me again. Forget my number. I won't bug you anymore, either.

I won't forget.

[Before he can say anything else she flicks off the phone. There is something nice about being able to get the last word and yet the moment the phone slips from her fingers the crushing reality sets in.]