The Girls of Virtue

[08-2] Continuation of the Eternal Present

Beginning is alone again before long. Obsession winds up being drug off with Inconsistency, shooing Beginning away as she struggles to deal with another mood swing. Left by herself, Beginning once again has no choice but to wander. Once again, she's left alone in the midst of the fog.

There really isn't much else she can do. Aside from the ever-looming threat of the 'human world' and killing what's within, Beginning doesn't know if anything ever will change here. There's fog and rot and debris, cold stone and dead plants and not much more. The town exists, and presumably nothing outside of it. No one but the same faces Beginning knows.

As always, the thought is chilling.

Beginning feels a shiver run down her spine as she turns a particular corner. She's looking for somewhere good to sit, mostly, not much else. A good place to drift off and try to sleep all over again. See if maybe she can.

But the world is not known for being kind to Beginning, and just as she turns that corner, she comes face to face with one of the people she least wants to see; Manipulation. The other girl is startled enough by the sudden collision that her hair fluffs out all on its own... unless she's faking. Beginning wouldn't put much of anything past Manipulation at this point. Even faking something so benign seems entirely possible with her.

"Oh! Beginning," Manipulation chirps, putting on a sickly sweet smile with both of her mouths. "You startled me! What are you doing, hm? Just exploring? Or did you have something in mind...?"

Beginning resists the urge to make a sour face. This person. Of anyone she could have run into, Manipulation might be her last choice at the moment. After everything Manipulation has tried, all in the name of bullying her, Beginning definitely doesn't feel too fondly towards the other girl.

"I'm just wandering," Beginning says simply, forcing herself to smile. "Nothing special at all. So, if you'll excuse me..." She moves to turn around, to back out of this quickly before things can get bad.

"Wait, wait!" Manipulation seems to have other ideas. She scurries forward, grabbing Beginning's hand and-- gently-- tugging her back. "Don't go! I needed to talk to you, okay? It's nothing bad, I promise, so please hear me out? I won't do anything at all to hurt you." Her voice sounds unsteady and dangerously genuine. Beginning has her doubts.

With a sigh that she can't hold back, Beginning stops. She doesn't want to do this. Manipulation has done nothing but bully her so far, even trying to sic Cruelty onto her. Having a conversation with Manipulation, even one that's been promised to be polite, isn't something Beginning wants to involve herself in. And that's if Manipulation is telling the truth in the first place, which is pretty unlikely. Beginning isn't stupid.

But... she kind of has to give Manipulation a chance. She wants to be nice to people. She wants to be kind. She wants to be better than the ones who surround her, and-- and Beginning thinks she can do it. She's strong enough to hold up even if Manipulation does decide to get mean.

"Okay, what do you want?"

As soon as she says it, Manipulation's eyes light up. Both of her mouths smile wide, and for just a moment, Beginning can almost believe that she's actually trying to be nice.

"I... I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Manipulation starts. "You know, apologize and all. I was so, so mean to you, and you really didn't deserve it. You're such a nice girl, Beginning. So sweet, so kind. I guess I was just jealous of you... Well, right now, I just want you to know that I feel bad for what I did." Making a very pathetic expression again, Manipulation steps forward a bit. "Why, I'd completely understand if you wanted to beat me up! It would make total sense, considering how awful I was..."