The Girls of Virtue

[03-1] Such Fragile Things as Hope

Time passes, somehow. Beginning tries to sleep for a while, but finds her body unable to do more than briefly doze off. It's less actual sleep and more spacing out, a frustrating comparison to something Beginning knows she should be doing. It's impossible to tell how much time is going by with the fog covering the sky, but Beginning knows that she spends a good while curled up by the building, trying to force herself to sleep.

Once she's convinced that she's not going to get any rest, Beginning sighs, hauling herself to her feet. She feels cried out and tired, limbs heavy, and streaks of dried wetness making her cheeks feel sticky.

It's hard to decide what to do now. Beginning doesn't know if she could find her way back to Obsession's home if she tried... and she's not sure that she wants to. Interacting with any of the Girls of Virtue sounds rather unpleasant at the moment, especially after the words from her recent argument with Secrecy are still burned into her mind.

It occurs to Beginning after a while longer that she's truly bored. She's only managed to spend a few minutes pacing the little section of the street, and she's quickly running out of ideas for things to do next.

She remembers, suddenly, the trick that Hysteria taught her, the way it felt to clear a building like it was no more than a small ledge.

Well, Beginning thinks, it can't hurt to do something fun. There doesn't appear to be anyone around to bother her, and playing around for a bit will surely be better than sitting bored, waiting for something to happen.

So Beginning looks up and around. She scans the buildings near her, trying to decide which one would be best to get up on first. These are taller than the one-story house Hysteria had her jump up on, but Beginning has faith that she can do it. It was easy, last time, to make the jump, and she won't be afraid to try it again now that she's by herself.

There's no one around to push her off a roof this time either.

Choosing one of the shorter buildings, Beginning tries to remember what she did last time. Following Hysteria's directions, she thinks about where she wants to land, focusing on the rooftop she's aiming for. She can do this, she thinks. It's taller than last time, but she can do it.

Beginning jumps, still visualizing where she'll land. Just like last time, air rushes past her ears as she soars, and just as quickly, she's falling. She's prepared, this time, for the world to spin past her, and keeps her eyes open, leaning into her landing.

With something a little less than a crash, she hits the rooftop. Instead of crumpling, she merely wobbles for a moment, arms snapping out to keep her balance. She doesn't fall. Nothing hurts, nothing went wrong, and Beginning finds herself smiling for one of the first times since she woke up in this awful world. She finally managed to do something right on her own.

She stands up, brushing herself off and looking around. On top of the building, the fog is even thicker, but she can make out the dark silhouettes of rooftops nearby. The air is colder, almost burning at her lungs. All around her is white, and for just a moment, it feels almost like Beginning is alone in the world, somewhere where no one can bother her ever again. Somewhere where she could keep moving and never look back.

But then, Beginning shakes her head, clearing those thoughts away. She's still in the town. The Girls of Virtue are close by, perhaps even watching her as she stands. Now is no time for fantasies.

However... that doesn't mean that she can't have a little bit of fun, now does it? The worst thing that will happen if she plays around a bit is that someone will get mad at her. It would be a good idea to practice this kind of thing more anyway, so that she can keep up with the rest of them.