Water off a Duck's Back? (Shane)
Aug 25, 2016 22:43:39 GMT -7
Post by Canary Claw on Aug 25, 2016 22:43:39 GMT -7
Canary tensed as Shane moved, watching him carefully as he moved off the edge. At least his movements didn't have such a strong wobble to them this time. She looked down at him, listening without moving, the tension in her shoulders easing somewhat when he flopped down to sit on a safer perch. Wrinkling her nose at the comment about supers, she let him speak without interrupting at first. Not a different race? In a way, they were. People were people, as she'd said in the past, but that didn't mean they were dangerous. The shift in conversation gave her a chance to breathe, to listen to him since they weren't blowing up at each other. It seemed she was able or willing to talk more, rather than shut down.
She bit the inside of her cheek as he began to rant, tongue pressing against the tender tissue inside as she listened to what he said while they looked at each other. The distance felt farther than a few feet.
She could imagine, but she knew it would never match up to what he was talking about. She worked to get where she was at; she didn't get it by a gift or hormones or whatever it was that made supers what they were. She knew what it was like to be judged, and the mindset gave her confidence as well as the start of something else.
"Apparently it's hard to help those who are on your side sometimes, too. Supers doesn't have to be a separate race. There's always a line that divides people, things you or aren't. You don't call yourself a hero, so what? You're a villain? It's the same thing. And then you have some who don't care."
"But why? I think you have to find that answer for yourself, Shane." She sighed softly, running a hand through her hair while using the other hand to stay propped up. "That answer's different for everyone, right? So what you decide motivates you is what should matter. Even if it's hard. I don't know the answer to the problem, or I'd share it. But you can't expect people to stop having negative reactions just because you want them to. We don't have the same defenses you guys do. Not on our own."
"And you can't tell me there's not hate on both sides. Maybe it's deserved, but even that's not just one sided. And what about the people who don't hate you? How many of them do you think last? We never even hear of them. They'd probably just get locked up or something." She didn't want to think about that any more than she wanted to think about the possibility of what would happen if she were discovered. A mundie passing as a super? They'd hav ea field day with that, noevermind whatever they'd do just to make sure that she really wasn't a super who had a more subtle power, or was good at keeping it in check. Her fingers curled, the pads pressing against the concrete rather than fists, but she stopped and stared at him whe he asked why she helped regular people.
Last time, he asked why she helped supers, had helped him. Now he wanted to know the other side of the puzzle, but the way he asked started her out of her thoughts.
"But I am normal. Ish," she amended as she looked down. Just a civie in a suit. And used stolen goods to make things. And fight dragons.
"People like me? 'Normal' people? We have to find our own way of defending ourselves. Dragons, supers, thugs, it doesn't matter. We do what we have to. Like I said at the station, humanity can and will rise. We've done it time and again throughout history. Sometimes they need to be reminded that they can be more than they already are."
She bit the inside of her cheek as he began to rant, tongue pressing against the tender tissue inside as she listened to what he said while they looked at each other. The distance felt farther than a few feet.
She could imagine, but she knew it would never match up to what he was talking about. She worked to get where she was at; she didn't get it by a gift or hormones or whatever it was that made supers what they were. She knew what it was like to be judged, and the mindset gave her confidence as well as the start of something else.
"Apparently it's hard to help those who are on your side sometimes, too. Supers doesn't have to be a separate race. There's always a line that divides people, things you or aren't. You don't call yourself a hero, so what? You're a villain? It's the same thing. And then you have some who don't care."
"But why? I think you have to find that answer for yourself, Shane." She sighed softly, running a hand through her hair while using the other hand to stay propped up. "That answer's different for everyone, right? So what you decide motivates you is what should matter. Even if it's hard. I don't know the answer to the problem, or I'd share it. But you can't expect people to stop having negative reactions just because you want them to. We don't have the same defenses you guys do. Not on our own."
"And you can't tell me there's not hate on both sides. Maybe it's deserved, but even that's not just one sided. And what about the people who don't hate you? How many of them do you think last? We never even hear of them. They'd probably just get locked up or something." She didn't want to think about that any more than she wanted to think about the possibility of what would happen if she were discovered. A mundie passing as a super? They'd hav ea field day with that, noevermind whatever they'd do just to make sure that she really wasn't a super who had a more subtle power, or was good at keeping it in check. Her fingers curled, the pads pressing against the concrete rather than fists, but she stopped and stared at him whe he asked why she helped regular people.
Last time, he asked why she helped supers, had helped him. Now he wanted to know the other side of the puzzle, but the way he asked started her out of her thoughts.
"But I am normal. Ish," she amended as she looked down. Just a civie in a suit. And used stolen goods to make things. And fight dragons.
"People like me? 'Normal' people? We have to find our own way of defending ourselves. Dragons, supers, thugs, it doesn't matter. We do what we have to. Like I said at the station, humanity can and will rise. We've done it time and again throughout history. Sometimes they need to be reminded that they can be more than they already are."
