Retribution: Meri Yanamari

Rycotta's Righteous Reasoning

Meri storms back into camp, drenched in blood and glaring. Her hair is also soaked in Beckett's blood. He coughed it up and tried to spit it out, resulting in a mess all over her hair and face. Next time, she's going to remember to tie her hair back. Next time? There's going to be a next time? Some part of her wants to feel bad like she used to. Some small voice inside whimpers that she shouldn't have killed Beckett for what he did. Nope. I like this new me. I'm never going to listen to that voice again.

That voice is responsible for her previous timidity. It's responsible for the years of beatings she endured without a peep. It's responsible for the mentality she's held until now. A mentality that always gives others the benefit of the doubt even when they don't deserve it. Seeing as she's tired of always being walked over and hurt, she's decided that voice should be ignored.

Alex looks up as she enters the camp, and his brows knit together as he eyes her harried appearance. "What the... Meri, what happened to you?"

Meri smiles at him, revealing blood on her teeth too. It's the one injury she's sustained. Beckett punched her in the mouth during their tussle. She knows that in other circumstances, she would've been the one bleeding to death, not him. But there is only the now. Only the rage that has lent her the strength to kill the other boy. "I'm not injured."

"That's exactly why I'm asking. Meri, what did you do? " His confusion is readily apparent to her.

She breaks out laughing at him.

This only irritates him. "Alright, don't explain, just be covered in blood for the rest of the day."

Meri stops laughing and rolls her eyes. Giddiness rolls through her. She's finally managed to shatter the bars around her soul. I'm free. Finally, I'm free. Now I can be me. No restrictions. No beatings for being too spunky or spirited. No slap across the face for speaking my mind. Prancing over to Alex, she lays a hand on his arm. "Most of this is Beckett's blood."

"Right, and it got on you because...?" He asks, still unable to accept that Meri...

"Because I killed him!"

Alexander just stares at her oddly, like he's seeing flying pigs around her head.

She feels pure elation at finally being herself. At finally letting go of the anger and rage she's been holding pent up in her soul. "Seriously... I killed him."

Alex crosses his arms across his chest. With an exaggerated sigh that sends plumes of white into the air, he says, "Yeah? How? "

She steps closer. "I'm quicker. And smarter."

Raising his eyebrow, Alex takes in her disheveled appearance and pulls her to sit down. "Go on," So she does. She tells him exactly what she did and why.

"If this is what Azrael's death did to you, I should've killed him when I had the chance," Alex finally says with a smirk.

Meri's eyes widen, and she does something she never imagined she would do. She slaps

Alexander Le Monte across the face.

He reels back in shock, clutching his stinging cheek. "What the –"

"Let me ask you something, Le Monte." Her steely, ice-coated voice stops him mid-sentence.

He watches her warily with narrowed eyes, his hand still to his reddening cheek.

"Do you think," She pauses; lets him ponder what she's going to say. "Do you think that if you had killed him, I would've let it go? Just smiled, waltzed around, and thanked you profusely for getting rid of the one person in this arena I was trying to save? Do you think that killing the one reason I had to not make it out of this arena would be a wise move?"