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tampered2007-07-15 01:01 am
gun-gnir.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-07-15 01:01 am
Log: Complete
When; July 14th, Early morning
Rating; PG-13 for mild talk and kissy, kissy
Characters; Jade![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gun_gnir & Gretel alwayseternal
Summary; Gretel doesn't handle rejection well, and Jade's an emotionless bastard.
Log;
It was such a wondrous feeling; being in love. She had never loved anyone other than her brother. That Japanese man, Rock, had been kind and gentle...and she had felt feelings of warmth towards him, but that wasn't her version of love. Oh no.
The world was evil and dark, and it was the world that had shaped her.
So it was with a bright smile that the preteen girl walked down the hall to Jade's apartment, a shopping bag in one hand, and in the other...a body. A male teenager who was bleeding a bit thanks to the blow she'd delivered to his head in order to knock him unconscious. It was hard to drag him, especially with her rifle strapped to her back...but this was for the one she loved after all! She could have woken up her brother to make him drag the body, but that would have made this less special.
When she reached the man's apartment, Gretel released her grip on the boy's collar, letting him thump to the ground so that she could open the door Jade had left unlocked. Stepping in, she set the shopping bag and her rifle, which was wrapped in a colorful blanket to hide its identity, against the wall. Then, turning, she grabbed the unconscious teen's collar to drag, backing into the room.
"Jaaade~! I brought you a present! You can choose how I kill him!"
It wasn’t to say that Jade didn’t truly find Gretel an interesting study as a child, what with her quirks, which seemed to included with the evidence over the City’s Network, a bloodthirsty nature. And it wasn’t that he pitied her, as rather he took her to be the end result of follies that were beyond her control. Jade knew what children could be capable of, having both the knowledge of his own deeds and the deeds of others done unto him, to give him the experience in dealing with it.
However, as he stepped out to the entrance of the apartment, Jade was admittedly a touch surprised to see Gretel bringing in a body, presumably alive as she had stated she’d be the one to kill him in his name. Of course, more practiced in hiding his expressions and what he thought than in showing it, Jade merely smiled the same small half-little smile he always did when dealing with people in general. It was comfortable and friendly enough that no one, aside from Peony, knew what he was truly thinking behind that smile and his glasses.
“My, a small lady like yourself was able to bring such a large body all the way here,” Jade remarked, walking over with his hands tucked behind his back. “I must admit; I’m impressed that you were able to do such a feat.”
Eyeing the ‘present’ in question, Jade decided he didn’t really feel up to cleaning up the mess a blood spill would cause, so a different course of action had to be taken. But death caused in his name… Now that really was quite a gift. Normally he was the one who caused death in another’s name, not the other way around.
“I wasn’t expecting such a pleasant gift so suddenly.”
His reaction was pleasing, but then all of him was pleasing. While she loved her brother, and nothing could change that, the man standing right there in front of him had his own charms. His smile made her think of her brother in a way, but he was so much taller, and she thought the glasses were really...cute.
Plus, he had long hair. She wanted to tug on it, but resisted the urge for the moment.
Letting go of the boy so that he could thump to the ground once more, the girl walked over, Mary Jane’s clipping against the foyer as she moved to shut the door and lock it. Then she spun around, skirt fanning out from the movement before settling, and she clutched her hands behind her to mimic him.
"Mm~! That's what makes it a surprise~! Do you like him? I made sure to get a pretty one for you. He was asking me to pull candy out of his pocket, but I didn't want candy! This is more fun, don't you think?"
Unclasping her hands, Gretel skipped up to Jade's side to wrap her arms around his middle in a hug, the innocent seeming smile turning into something darker from the sinister glint in her eye, and the show of fangs glinting in the night. "Do you want him to scream? Do you want me to tie him up? How do you want it?"
If there was one thing no one could complain about, it was that Jade was above and beyond capable of being able to think quickly on his feet. Jade himself would actually state that his brain wouldn’t shut up rather than lack the ability to come up with a plan of action, regardless of the situation. And while death didn’t bother Jade in the least, he knew that one of the rules of being a decent person generally meant that you didn’t ask, in any shape or form, a young girl to kill another person, be they innocent or not. Even if the little girl in question was offering rather than being ordered to.
Bringing a hand around to pet Gretel on the head lightly, like any adult would to a child who had done a good deed, Jade smiled down at her, the light reflecting a bit off his glasses, but his red eyes were still clearly visible despite it. “Oh yes. One could have a great deal of fun with a subject such as this.”
Making a little noise like he was pretending to think about his choices that Gretel was giving him over, Jade didn’t fail to notice the darker glint to her smile, but he simply filed it away as something else to plan and prepare for. “Tell me Gretel, do you enjoy chemistry?”
The touch to the top of her head made her eyes slip shut, and she made a pleased sound like a kitten enjoying a scratch behind it's ears, her smile transforming her back into what appeared to be a normal child.
Then, both lavender eyes opened up so that she could tilt her head back and beam up at him. "Chemistry makes things explode? I like that! I've used grenades before. But they make a BOOM and then pieces of people are everywhere. It's not as much fun. Why?"
Curiosity was apparent in her gaze as she rocked back onto her heels. "Do you like chemistry?"
“With the proper application, correct. Chemistry will indeed cause things to explode,” Jade agreed, voice pleasant and light and just a touch wicked. It wasn’t like Jade needed chemistry to cause things to combust, but that was a fact to be left for another time. Maybe never, if the situation didn’t ever come up. “However, basic chemicals also possess numerous other proprieties aside from a simple explosion when applied in the proper order and quantities.”
While Jade wasn’t one to normally preach or take on the role of teacher, the situation wasn’t so distasteful that he couldn’t indulge in a few facts to a young mind. One that must have been admittedly more intelligent than most would give it credit for being. “An example perhaps, would be hydrochloric acid. Principally found in the human stomach, when not diluted by hydrogen and oxygen covalently bonded together and in large enough quantities, it forms a mist that is corrosive to the human flesh.”
And here was where Jade stopped and then smiled down at Gretel, as if he was telling her a story rather than talking about dissolving human flesh. “So you could say that, indeed, I do have an interest in chemistry.”
His explanation should have either been boring or disturbing to most, but it left Gretel wide-eyed. She loved to learn new things like that! But then, she just loved new things in general. That was why reading books and watching television was so much fun... She always learned so much.
Maybe the next time she watched television, she would find a show on chemistry!
Letting go of his waist, Gretel crossed one arm across her stomach while lifting her other hand to touch beneath her chin thoughtfully, and the girl cast a curious look at the boy lying on the floor. Listening closely, she could hear him starting to groan a bit. He was waking up.
"Hmmm..." Again, a bright smile, and she clapped her hands together. "You want to melt him?"
“Oh that’s been done, dearest child,” Jade remarked off-handedly, also noting that the unexpected added guest was slowly approaching the waking world. That would indeed put a damper in Jade’s plans. He wouldn’t easily understand that Jade actually had his life, and him keeping it, in mind, rather than taking it away as the conversation between him and Gretel was making it seem. Especially with all the rather creative deaths that Jade could come up with on his own.
Making a slight tsk noise in the back of his throat, Jade turned his head, and seemingly his attention, towards the prone body and, while he didn’t frown, there wasn’t the same half-smile pleasant expression on his face as there had been only seconds before. “However, we won’t be able to decide upon any means of entertainment should the source choose to prove difficult to handle. I best handle it before we’re so rudely interrupted.”
Taking the few steps he needed to place himself in the proper position to easily take care of this little problem, Jade merely held out his arm. Where there had only been an empty hand a second ago, now Jade was holding a long, three-bladed spear that had appeared in a flash as he extended his arm. With, mostly, the flat of his spear, Jade whacked the teen on the back of his head, a bit harder than absolutely necessary, but still effectively knocking him back out once more.
Another flick of his arm, and the spear disappeared as quickly as it had mysteriously come. “There. That should take care of him for the time being.”
It had already been done? Well, she knew that much, but did he mean that he wanted to kill the boy in a way that had never been done? That made her curiosity run wild! What new and inventive way did he want to kill the boy?
Then, she saw a miracle of miracles. A weapon had appeared out of thin air. Utterly delighted at the magic trick, Gretel let out a giggle and clapped her hands together in applause after he had knocked the poor victim out once more. A perverted victim, certainly, but probably not deserving of the grissly death she wanted to deliver.
"That was fun! People here can do magic! I want to learn... Magic and chemistry! You can teach me, right Jade? Ah, but..." Tucking her hair behind her ear, the girl leaned over to pick up her shopping back to hold up.
"First you promised to help me dress up! It's velvet. Really soft."
Spinning around, the girl set the bag down and pulled her long hair to drape over one shoulder. "Help me unzip my dress?"
Jade had been propositioned many times in his lifetime, by women who wanted to either curry favor with the Emperor through Jade, or who wanted to try and stay that they had gained the infamous Colonel Jade Curtiss’s favor. But he couldn’t say that someone so young had ever propositioned him in such a way. It was…amusing to say the least. Or amusing by Jade’s standards of amusement.
His face gaining back the small half-smile that was generally found on his lips, Jade didn’t bother with a verbal response. Instead he simply walked over and knelt down on one knee so that he could do as had been requested of him. He knew what the act could have been taken as, and that was probably what Gretel had in mind, but Jade didn’t think of it of anything more than him helping her to change her clothes.
“That was actually a form of science and not magic, though I do suppose it would be regarded as such to one who has never witness it,” Jade remarked, resting an arm over one knee once he was done pulling down the zipper of Gretel’s dress.
"Science?" That made Gretel tip her head again thoughtfully as she shrugged out of the dress to reveal a silk slip beneath. Keeping her mary-janes on, the girl pushed the dress down and stepped out of it, then crouched down to begin folding it with care. It was one of her favorites, after all. And really, she didn't seem the least self-conscious being half-naked in front of this man.
He was lovely, after all, but it was rather disappointing in a way. He had said he was interested in her and her brother, but she could tell that he wasn't interested in a way she wanted him to be. He touched her, but there was no spark there. He looked at her, but there was no attraction.
What was wrong with her? Rock had run out on her too... Was she not pretty enough? Her brother told her she was beautiful...and she knew she was, because she thought he was beautiful and they looked exactly alike.
Was she too young? That seemed like an absurd thought to her. After all, those men had forced her to do things when she had been much younger. Have sex. Kill other children. And she was older now... Still young to most people, but old enough to begin growing curves, and she certainly knew about sex. She did it all the time with her brother!
As she folded his dress, her eyes were almost sad, and there was a quiet sort of solitude around her for a moment. But then, she was immediately smiling again as she pulled her new dress out of the bag and held it out for him to take.
"This one has to be buttoned and tied, so it goes over instead of under!" Incredibly excited to try on her new outfit, the girl shut her eyes and held her arms up, waiting for him to tug it over her arms and head.
“The control and manipulation of a particle known as fonons,” Jade clarified, vaguely reminiscing back to when he had said much the same to Luke after encountering him for the first time. It was interesting to see how much of an innocent child Luke really and truly was when compared to a child like Gretel. Luke was hesitant, and greatly so, to take a life, for any purpose, though he understood the need. While Gretel… Either way and at either age, Jade was having to explain things to them in much the same manner for one as he would the other. Though Gretel did lack the arrogant and haughty attitude that Luke had possessed when Jade had first met him.
Regardless of who he was dealing with though, Jade was not one to take action upon the subtle changes in human emotions. He could certainly detect them, as he did when Gretel became silent and her movement weren’t as quick and airy as before, and understood what the emotion might have been, but he still lacked the understanding of the emotion in itself for him to possibly be capable of offering comfort or consolation. Jade might have been able to create life from nothing but a gathering of particles and science, but he would never be able to relate to life.
Which was why Jade didn’t comment, and didn’t have any kind of change in his expression, the same serene smile as always, until Gretel spoke once more, explaining the nature of her dress that she wanted help with. Of course it was a pretense, but without the follow through, that’s all it would be.
“Such a complicated affair,” Jade teased lightly. Taking the offered dress, Jade stood up and unfolded the soft velvet dress, giving it a small shake to let any remaining wrinkles fall out naturally. Gathering the material, Jade did his best, as he was grossly under-experienced with such acts, to get the dress over Gretel’s head correctly. Though, as with anything Jade attempted to do, he succeeded as if he had been doing it all his life, tugging at certain parts to help it fit better and adjusting a bit of cloth here or there to make it fall just right.
The explanation confused her, but she just nodded a lot, doing her best to understand. And she really did try...but without the basic knowledge of chemistry, most of it went over her head. Perhaps tomorrow she would go get some books and read. She liked to read.
She also liked the feel of velvet against her skin, but was still grateful to have the slip on, otherwise the fabric would have bunched up and gotten wrinkled whenever she moved. She was very keen on sensation as Jade pulled it over her head, paying attention to the feel of his hands.
But they didn't wander. Not even the slightest. She was so confused...
"Beauty is complicated!" she teased as she reached behind her to tie the large ribbon into a bow with practiced ease, then fastened the few buttons at the collar. Deciding her ribbon didn't really match the ensemble, the Romanian girl reached up to pull her hair ribbon free, dropping it into the bag.
Then, she spread her arms out and did a little spin, enjoying the wooshing sound of her skirt flaring out. Pretty, pretty, she felt so pretty! And it fit just right. Perhaps too warm to wear during the daytime, but it was just right for nighttime.
Coming to a sudden stop, Gretel reached out and grabbed his hand to tug him towards a chair. "Do you want me to sing for you? I'll sing you a song I learned on the television!"
She was obviously eager to please him, but it wasn't the sort of manner that a servant tried to please their master. She would never degrade herself, or at least not in a way she considered degrading. She would never grovel and beg. She would never do anything that she didn't already think was fun.
But doing something fun and pleasing him...it was just an added bonus.
“Indeed,” Jade agreed, content to stand perfectly still as Gretel finished up the last little details that would complete her outfit. The ribbons, bows, and lace that came with such a frilly and delicate dress needing to be done just so, though Jade would admit that watching the child before him quickly speed through each thing made it seem like it wasn’t all that complicated at all. He knew better, but that didn’t change how it looked to the unassuming eye. Especially when she gave a little twirl, it certain made the dress seem much more, and yet a lot less, than a collection of velvet and lace all sewn together in an overly complicated manner. “Which is why one as old as myself leaves the beauty and fashion to the youth.”
Letting her pull him as she so desired, Jade was compliant to go along with Gretel’s enthusiasm and took a seat, as she hopped up onto a coffee table directly in front of Jade. He settled himself comfortably in the chair and listened as the child who had brought him a present of a human that she’d kill for him, sang a song that was quite at odds with that fact. Or perhaps, not so much so, if one listened to the words that were sung and not so much as the voice that sang it.
Her voice was sweet and one that would have certainly been something to be acclaimed for. The pitch and breath control was remarkable as well, and even without any kind of backup, it was something to hear on its own. It made Jade wonder if, perhaps, it might have been possible, with the correct teacher, for Gretel to become a melodist. Her mindset was vastly different from what one would expect of a melodist, but that didn’t mean that the possibility wasn’t present.
That was something Jade would keep to himself, however. When she was finished with her song, Jade smiled and clapped appreciatively, while Gretel bowed. Not in the fanatical, over-energized fashion, but in a more sedate and dignified manner, though the praise was equal either way it would have been done.
“You have quite a voice,” Jade remarked. “Extremely exceptional by any accounts, least of all my own humble opinion.”
The praise was accepted warmly as she lifted her skirt to curtsy yet again, one toe tapping behind her in the proper lady-like fashion. Just because she carried around a rifle almost bigger than her didn't mean that she wasn't an elegant young lady. "Thank you! You're the third person I've sung that song for."
Lifting up her arms, Gretel hopped down from the coffee table, then eyed him sitting in his chair. He appeared quite the gentleman, what with his eloquent words, sharp dress, and dignified posture. But his eyes were something special...
They reminded her of the Devil.
What would God think, she wondered, if he knew she was associating with the Devil? That she was in love? That she wanted to do things with him that she normally only cared to do with her brother? Would God be unhappy? She hoped not... But in this case, she would merrily commit a great sin.
She didn't say another word as she stepped forward. There was nothing to say, after all, as she stopped in front of his chair to lean over, one knee propping against the edge while both arms wrapped gracefully around his neck. Her back curved as she leaned in, and the glint in her eyes was predatory. She was going to kiss him, and she wasn't going to ask.
Because Hansel and Gretel did not ask. They took. They claimed. They conquered.
“I’m honored to be amongst the few then.” Much like how Tear’s song was a rare pleasure to hear, Jade did consider himself privileged to hear such songs, though for each singer, there was a different kind of appreciation. Both were held in high esteem, regardless of how or what the thought of the singer.
Jade didn’t move and his expression didn’t change, but he merely raised one thin eyebrow upwards in mild curiosity as Gretel all be climbed into his lap. He didn’t react positively, but neither did he react negatively to her not-so-subtle advances. Instead, though he knew what was coming, what with her position and her eyes the way they were, Jade let Gretel kiss him as she liked. He simply sat unmoving and unresponsive to the gesture, barely breathing through his nose and eyes unblinking, gazing at Gretel passively.
Perhaps he could have pushed her off, as any decent sort of person would do, but there was that part of Jade that didn’t always do the most decent or human of things. He wasn’t gentle and he wasn’t one to play with false information or hopes. Jade was the kind to simply sit and display the truth, as harsh as it was, regardless of what it was.
Jade found Gretel interesting yes, but he was not interested in her in the way that she was interested in him. Pushing her away would suggest disgust, but how could there be disgust if Jade barely thought of Gretel beyond that of a sum of the events that had created her. He’d let her have a futile kiss, but if she were to try anything beyond that, he’d just stop her. Not harshly or cruelly. Just stop her, without any real emotions behind his actions for doing so.
She didn't try anything further. For certain, if he had even responded just the slightest bit...shut his eyes, leaned in, touched her, opened his mouth...anything...
But there was nothing. She might as well have been kissing a corpse, sans the breathing and warmth. And she was actually able to compare with full knowledge, too. Corpses weren't fun to kiss.
The rejection was as clear to her as a slap in the face might have been--only a slap would have made her cry. She didn't like being struck or yelled at.
As soon as she realized this, which didn't take long, the girl unwound her arms to rest her hands against his shoulders, and she pushed herself back to stare at him. There was no smile there, and there was no glint in her eyes. There was no anger or pain, but even if the look might have been considered 'blank', it held plenty of meaning. Not to mention, her nails were starting to dig in.
"...Why?" was all she asked. Why wasn't she good enough? Why didn't he want her? Love her? Touch her? Did he prefer boys? Did he think her ugly? Was he a eunich? She was pretty sure he wasn't.
“Which answer would you prefer to hear?” Jade asked passively, un-phased and unmoved by her lack of expression, as he would have been by any other kind of expression she might have had. By his tone, they could have been talking about the weather, or how to kill someone all in the same breath.
“The one given to children in an attempt to make them feel better about themselves? Or perhaps you would choose to hear the answer that hurts the most and paints me as an absolutely wicked person? Or, the answers that even adults would shy away from when confronted?”
If Jade noticed any pain or felt any at the feeling of the nails that were digging into his shoulders, he made no comment of it, nor showed any action of it either. He simply spoke to her as he would speak to anyone else, young or old, important or not.
The words themselves were cruel, and Gretel felt insulted by them. She had never felt insulted by Jade before... Had she upset him? Why did she care? She normally wouldn't have... She normally wouldn't have tried so hard to understand.
Biting her lip, the girl quickly pulled her hands away as if she had been burned, crossing her arms over his chest as if protecting herself. With a step back, she stared at him wide eyed. Did the answer even matter? Rejection was rejection.
"The answer to 'why' is...'because'," she whispered softly, hurt evident in her voice. Then, she turned away from him to stare at the ground while her shoulders hunched, and she did her best to suppress her anger. She didn't want to hurt the one she loved, after all.
Ah, the ever famous, ‘because’ answer. Jade was loath to use such an answer to things. He may have responded to queries with a nothing answer or an infuriating question or tease upon itself, but he never simply answered with ‘because.’ However, if that was the answer that she choose herself, then who was Jade to refute her choices?
Standing up, the soft rustle of fabric the only sign or sound to signal that he’d done as much, Jade stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he was wont to do, and merely stood still. Making no move either towards Gretel to comfort her, or away in dismissal. He wasn’t going to belittle her pain, though he wouldn’t quite ever understand it.
“Then you’ve chosen your own answer to your own question.”
There was a sniffle, then, and Gretel reached up to rub at her eyes. She didn't like this emotion... It was pain. Pain in her heart. It might have felt better if he had cut into her chest and torn it out.
This... She wasn't used to feeling like this. Not since she was a toddler.
Finally, the girl lifted up her chin and ran over to where her shopping bag lay, snatching it up along with her rifle. She wasn't going to let him see her crying... She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. Was this what it was like to have love rejected? She had never experienced it before.
Gritting her teeth, Gretel gave an angry kick to the boy's ribs before moving over to the door to unlock it and open it, making haste to flee. She didn't care if she left the boy alive or dead! He was Jade's to deal with now, but she knew as she ran off down the hall to mourn the loss of something she never even had, that he wouldn't care.
Letting out a sigh, Jade simply shook his head. He really was quite the heartless, emotionless bastard his sister sometimes claimed that he was. To let someone get their hopes up and then to not even respond to them in any way really was worse than an outright rejection. However, beyond a mild sense of regret, Jade didn’t really feel any kind of hurt over what he’d done.
Walking over to where the, now with the probability of a broken rib, unconscious teen, Jade let out another sigh. At least he had avoided the need to clean up any unnecessary blood spilt. Since the door was still opened, Jade merely dragged the body back out and left him in the hallway for someone else to take care of, or for the teen to take care of himself when he came too. It wasn’t someone he knew, so the effort couldn’t be dredged up to care.
Closing the door behind him when he was back inside the apartment, Jade idly wondered what would be a good choice to make when he got hungry later on in the evening as he also planned to see, via the Network, how Gretel would take things.
Rating; PG-13 for mild talk and kissy, kissy
Characters; Jade
gun_gnir & Gretel alwayseternalSummary; Gretel doesn't handle rejection well, and Jade's an emotionless bastard.
Log;
It was such a wondrous feeling; being in love. She had never loved anyone other than her brother. That Japanese man, Rock, had been kind and gentle...and she had felt feelings of warmth towards him, but that wasn't her version of love. Oh no.
The world was evil and dark, and it was the world that had shaped her.
So it was with a bright smile that the preteen girl walked down the hall to Jade's apartment, a shopping bag in one hand, and in the other...a body. A male teenager who was bleeding a bit thanks to the blow she'd delivered to his head in order to knock him unconscious. It was hard to drag him, especially with her rifle strapped to her back...but this was for the one she loved after all! She could have woken up her brother to make him drag the body, but that would have made this less special.
When she reached the man's apartment, Gretel released her grip on the boy's collar, letting him thump to the ground so that she could open the door Jade had left unlocked. Stepping in, she set the shopping bag and her rifle, which was wrapped in a colorful blanket to hide its identity, against the wall. Then, turning, she grabbed the unconscious teen's collar to drag, backing into the room.
"Jaaade~! I brought you a present! You can choose how I kill him!"
It wasn’t to say that Jade didn’t truly find Gretel an interesting study as a child, what with her quirks, which seemed to included with the evidence over the City’s Network, a bloodthirsty nature. And it wasn’t that he pitied her, as rather he took her to be the end result of follies that were beyond her control. Jade knew what children could be capable of, having both the knowledge of his own deeds and the deeds of others done unto him, to give him the experience in dealing with it.
However, as he stepped out to the entrance of the apartment, Jade was admittedly a touch surprised to see Gretel bringing in a body, presumably alive as she had stated she’d be the one to kill him in his name. Of course, more practiced in hiding his expressions and what he thought than in showing it, Jade merely smiled the same small half-little smile he always did when dealing with people in general. It was comfortable and friendly enough that no one, aside from Peony, knew what he was truly thinking behind that smile and his glasses.
“My, a small lady like yourself was able to bring such a large body all the way here,” Jade remarked, walking over with his hands tucked behind his back. “I must admit; I’m impressed that you were able to do such a feat.”
Eyeing the ‘present’ in question, Jade decided he didn’t really feel up to cleaning up the mess a blood spill would cause, so a different course of action had to be taken. But death caused in his name… Now that really was quite a gift. Normally he was the one who caused death in another’s name, not the other way around.
“I wasn’t expecting such a pleasant gift so suddenly.”
His reaction was pleasing, but then all of him was pleasing. While she loved her brother, and nothing could change that, the man standing right there in front of him had his own charms. His smile made her think of her brother in a way, but he was so much taller, and she thought the glasses were really...cute.
Plus, he had long hair. She wanted to tug on it, but resisted the urge for the moment.
Letting go of the boy so that he could thump to the ground once more, the girl walked over, Mary Jane’s clipping against the foyer as she moved to shut the door and lock it. Then she spun around, skirt fanning out from the movement before settling, and she clutched her hands behind her to mimic him.
"Mm~! That's what makes it a surprise~! Do you like him? I made sure to get a pretty one for you. He was asking me to pull candy out of his pocket, but I didn't want candy! This is more fun, don't you think?"
Unclasping her hands, Gretel skipped up to Jade's side to wrap her arms around his middle in a hug, the innocent seeming smile turning into something darker from the sinister glint in her eye, and the show of fangs glinting in the night. "Do you want him to scream? Do you want me to tie him up? How do you want it?"
If there was one thing no one could complain about, it was that Jade was above and beyond capable of being able to think quickly on his feet. Jade himself would actually state that his brain wouldn’t shut up rather than lack the ability to come up with a plan of action, regardless of the situation. And while death didn’t bother Jade in the least, he knew that one of the rules of being a decent person generally meant that you didn’t ask, in any shape or form, a young girl to kill another person, be they innocent or not. Even if the little girl in question was offering rather than being ordered to.
Bringing a hand around to pet Gretel on the head lightly, like any adult would to a child who had done a good deed, Jade smiled down at her, the light reflecting a bit off his glasses, but his red eyes were still clearly visible despite it. “Oh yes. One could have a great deal of fun with a subject such as this.”
Making a little noise like he was pretending to think about his choices that Gretel was giving him over, Jade didn’t fail to notice the darker glint to her smile, but he simply filed it away as something else to plan and prepare for. “Tell me Gretel, do you enjoy chemistry?”
The touch to the top of her head made her eyes slip shut, and she made a pleased sound like a kitten enjoying a scratch behind it's ears, her smile transforming her back into what appeared to be a normal child.
Then, both lavender eyes opened up so that she could tilt her head back and beam up at him. "Chemistry makes things explode? I like that! I've used grenades before. But they make a BOOM and then pieces of people are everywhere. It's not as much fun. Why?"
Curiosity was apparent in her gaze as she rocked back onto her heels. "Do you like chemistry?"
“With the proper application, correct. Chemistry will indeed cause things to explode,” Jade agreed, voice pleasant and light and just a touch wicked. It wasn’t like Jade needed chemistry to cause things to combust, but that was a fact to be left for another time. Maybe never, if the situation didn’t ever come up. “However, basic chemicals also possess numerous other proprieties aside from a simple explosion when applied in the proper order and quantities.”
While Jade wasn’t one to normally preach or take on the role of teacher, the situation wasn’t so distasteful that he couldn’t indulge in a few facts to a young mind. One that must have been admittedly more intelligent than most would give it credit for being. “An example perhaps, would be hydrochloric acid. Principally found in the human stomach, when not diluted by hydrogen and oxygen covalently bonded together and in large enough quantities, it forms a mist that is corrosive to the human flesh.”
And here was where Jade stopped and then smiled down at Gretel, as if he was telling her a story rather than talking about dissolving human flesh. “So you could say that, indeed, I do have an interest in chemistry.”
His explanation should have either been boring or disturbing to most, but it left Gretel wide-eyed. She loved to learn new things like that! But then, she just loved new things in general. That was why reading books and watching television was so much fun... She always learned so much.
Maybe the next time she watched television, she would find a show on chemistry!
Letting go of his waist, Gretel crossed one arm across her stomach while lifting her other hand to touch beneath her chin thoughtfully, and the girl cast a curious look at the boy lying on the floor. Listening closely, she could hear him starting to groan a bit. He was waking up.
"Hmmm..." Again, a bright smile, and she clapped her hands together. "You want to melt him?"
“Oh that’s been done, dearest child,” Jade remarked off-handedly, also noting that the unexpected added guest was slowly approaching the waking world. That would indeed put a damper in Jade’s plans. He wouldn’t easily understand that Jade actually had his life, and him keeping it, in mind, rather than taking it away as the conversation between him and Gretel was making it seem. Especially with all the rather creative deaths that Jade could come up with on his own.
Making a slight tsk noise in the back of his throat, Jade turned his head, and seemingly his attention, towards the prone body and, while he didn’t frown, there wasn’t the same half-smile pleasant expression on his face as there had been only seconds before. “However, we won’t be able to decide upon any means of entertainment should the source choose to prove difficult to handle. I best handle it before we’re so rudely interrupted.”
Taking the few steps he needed to place himself in the proper position to easily take care of this little problem, Jade merely held out his arm. Where there had only been an empty hand a second ago, now Jade was holding a long, three-bladed spear that had appeared in a flash as he extended his arm. With, mostly, the flat of his spear, Jade whacked the teen on the back of his head, a bit harder than absolutely necessary, but still effectively knocking him back out once more.
Another flick of his arm, and the spear disappeared as quickly as it had mysteriously come. “There. That should take care of him for the time being.”
It had already been done? Well, she knew that much, but did he mean that he wanted to kill the boy in a way that had never been done? That made her curiosity run wild! What new and inventive way did he want to kill the boy?
Then, she saw a miracle of miracles. A weapon had appeared out of thin air. Utterly delighted at the magic trick, Gretel let out a giggle and clapped her hands together in applause after he had knocked the poor victim out once more. A perverted victim, certainly, but probably not deserving of the grissly death she wanted to deliver.
"That was fun! People here can do magic! I want to learn... Magic and chemistry! You can teach me, right Jade? Ah, but..." Tucking her hair behind her ear, the girl leaned over to pick up her shopping back to hold up.
"First you promised to help me dress up! It's velvet. Really soft."
Spinning around, the girl set the bag down and pulled her long hair to drape over one shoulder. "Help me unzip my dress?"
Jade had been propositioned many times in his lifetime, by women who wanted to either curry favor with the Emperor through Jade, or who wanted to try and stay that they had gained the infamous Colonel Jade Curtiss’s favor. But he couldn’t say that someone so young had ever propositioned him in such a way. It was…amusing to say the least. Or amusing by Jade’s standards of amusement.
His face gaining back the small half-smile that was generally found on his lips, Jade didn’t bother with a verbal response. Instead he simply walked over and knelt down on one knee so that he could do as had been requested of him. He knew what the act could have been taken as, and that was probably what Gretel had in mind, but Jade didn’t think of it of anything more than him helping her to change her clothes.
“That was actually a form of science and not magic, though I do suppose it would be regarded as such to one who has never witness it,” Jade remarked, resting an arm over one knee once he was done pulling down the zipper of Gretel’s dress.
"Science?" That made Gretel tip her head again thoughtfully as she shrugged out of the dress to reveal a silk slip beneath. Keeping her mary-janes on, the girl pushed the dress down and stepped out of it, then crouched down to begin folding it with care. It was one of her favorites, after all. And really, she didn't seem the least self-conscious being half-naked in front of this man.
He was lovely, after all, but it was rather disappointing in a way. He had said he was interested in her and her brother, but she could tell that he wasn't interested in a way she wanted him to be. He touched her, but there was no spark there. He looked at her, but there was no attraction.
What was wrong with her? Rock had run out on her too... Was she not pretty enough? Her brother told her she was beautiful...and she knew she was, because she thought he was beautiful and they looked exactly alike.
Was she too young? That seemed like an absurd thought to her. After all, those men had forced her to do things when she had been much younger. Have sex. Kill other children. And she was older now... Still young to most people, but old enough to begin growing curves, and she certainly knew about sex. She did it all the time with her brother!
As she folded his dress, her eyes were almost sad, and there was a quiet sort of solitude around her for a moment. But then, she was immediately smiling again as she pulled her new dress out of the bag and held it out for him to take.
"This one has to be buttoned and tied, so it goes over instead of under!" Incredibly excited to try on her new outfit, the girl shut her eyes and held her arms up, waiting for him to tug it over her arms and head.
“The control and manipulation of a particle known as fonons,” Jade clarified, vaguely reminiscing back to when he had said much the same to Luke after encountering him for the first time. It was interesting to see how much of an innocent child Luke really and truly was when compared to a child like Gretel. Luke was hesitant, and greatly so, to take a life, for any purpose, though he understood the need. While Gretel… Either way and at either age, Jade was having to explain things to them in much the same manner for one as he would the other. Though Gretel did lack the arrogant and haughty attitude that Luke had possessed when Jade had first met him.
Regardless of who he was dealing with though, Jade was not one to take action upon the subtle changes in human emotions. He could certainly detect them, as he did when Gretel became silent and her movement weren’t as quick and airy as before, and understood what the emotion might have been, but he still lacked the understanding of the emotion in itself for him to possibly be capable of offering comfort or consolation. Jade might have been able to create life from nothing but a gathering of particles and science, but he would never be able to relate to life.
Which was why Jade didn’t comment, and didn’t have any kind of change in his expression, the same serene smile as always, until Gretel spoke once more, explaining the nature of her dress that she wanted help with. Of course it was a pretense, but without the follow through, that’s all it would be.
“Such a complicated affair,” Jade teased lightly. Taking the offered dress, Jade stood up and unfolded the soft velvet dress, giving it a small shake to let any remaining wrinkles fall out naturally. Gathering the material, Jade did his best, as he was grossly under-experienced with such acts, to get the dress over Gretel’s head correctly. Though, as with anything Jade attempted to do, he succeeded as if he had been doing it all his life, tugging at certain parts to help it fit better and adjusting a bit of cloth here or there to make it fall just right.
The explanation confused her, but she just nodded a lot, doing her best to understand. And she really did try...but without the basic knowledge of chemistry, most of it went over her head. Perhaps tomorrow she would go get some books and read. She liked to read.
She also liked the feel of velvet against her skin, but was still grateful to have the slip on, otherwise the fabric would have bunched up and gotten wrinkled whenever she moved. She was very keen on sensation as Jade pulled it over her head, paying attention to the feel of his hands.
But they didn't wander. Not even the slightest. She was so confused...
"Beauty is complicated!" she teased as she reached behind her to tie the large ribbon into a bow with practiced ease, then fastened the few buttons at the collar. Deciding her ribbon didn't really match the ensemble, the Romanian girl reached up to pull her hair ribbon free, dropping it into the bag.
Then, she spread her arms out and did a little spin, enjoying the wooshing sound of her skirt flaring out. Pretty, pretty, she felt so pretty! And it fit just right. Perhaps too warm to wear during the daytime, but it was just right for nighttime.
Coming to a sudden stop, Gretel reached out and grabbed his hand to tug him towards a chair. "Do you want me to sing for you? I'll sing you a song I learned on the television!"
She was obviously eager to please him, but it wasn't the sort of manner that a servant tried to please their master. She would never degrade herself, or at least not in a way she considered degrading. She would never grovel and beg. She would never do anything that she didn't already think was fun.
But doing something fun and pleasing him...it was just an added bonus.
“Indeed,” Jade agreed, content to stand perfectly still as Gretel finished up the last little details that would complete her outfit. The ribbons, bows, and lace that came with such a frilly and delicate dress needing to be done just so, though Jade would admit that watching the child before him quickly speed through each thing made it seem like it wasn’t all that complicated at all. He knew better, but that didn’t change how it looked to the unassuming eye. Especially when she gave a little twirl, it certain made the dress seem much more, and yet a lot less, than a collection of velvet and lace all sewn together in an overly complicated manner. “Which is why one as old as myself leaves the beauty and fashion to the youth.”
Letting her pull him as she so desired, Jade was compliant to go along with Gretel’s enthusiasm and took a seat, as she hopped up onto a coffee table directly in front of Jade. He settled himself comfortably in the chair and listened as the child who had brought him a present of a human that she’d kill for him, sang a song that was quite at odds with that fact. Or perhaps, not so much so, if one listened to the words that were sung and not so much as the voice that sang it.
Her voice was sweet and one that would have certainly been something to be acclaimed for. The pitch and breath control was remarkable as well, and even without any kind of backup, it was something to hear on its own. It made Jade wonder if, perhaps, it might have been possible, with the correct teacher, for Gretel to become a melodist. Her mindset was vastly different from what one would expect of a melodist, but that didn’t mean that the possibility wasn’t present.
That was something Jade would keep to himself, however. When she was finished with her song, Jade smiled and clapped appreciatively, while Gretel bowed. Not in the fanatical, over-energized fashion, but in a more sedate and dignified manner, though the praise was equal either way it would have been done.
“You have quite a voice,” Jade remarked. “Extremely exceptional by any accounts, least of all my own humble opinion.”
The praise was accepted warmly as she lifted her skirt to curtsy yet again, one toe tapping behind her in the proper lady-like fashion. Just because she carried around a rifle almost bigger than her didn't mean that she wasn't an elegant young lady. "Thank you! You're the third person I've sung that song for."
Lifting up her arms, Gretel hopped down from the coffee table, then eyed him sitting in his chair. He appeared quite the gentleman, what with his eloquent words, sharp dress, and dignified posture. But his eyes were something special...
They reminded her of the Devil.
What would God think, she wondered, if he knew she was associating with the Devil? That she was in love? That she wanted to do things with him that she normally only cared to do with her brother? Would God be unhappy? She hoped not... But in this case, she would merrily commit a great sin.
She didn't say another word as she stepped forward. There was nothing to say, after all, as she stopped in front of his chair to lean over, one knee propping against the edge while both arms wrapped gracefully around his neck. Her back curved as she leaned in, and the glint in her eyes was predatory. She was going to kiss him, and she wasn't going to ask.
Because Hansel and Gretel did not ask. They took. They claimed. They conquered.
“I’m honored to be amongst the few then.” Much like how Tear’s song was a rare pleasure to hear, Jade did consider himself privileged to hear such songs, though for each singer, there was a different kind of appreciation. Both were held in high esteem, regardless of how or what the thought of the singer.
Jade didn’t move and his expression didn’t change, but he merely raised one thin eyebrow upwards in mild curiosity as Gretel all be climbed into his lap. He didn’t react positively, but neither did he react negatively to her not-so-subtle advances. Instead, though he knew what was coming, what with her position and her eyes the way they were, Jade let Gretel kiss him as she liked. He simply sat unmoving and unresponsive to the gesture, barely breathing through his nose and eyes unblinking, gazing at Gretel passively.
Perhaps he could have pushed her off, as any decent sort of person would do, but there was that part of Jade that didn’t always do the most decent or human of things. He wasn’t gentle and he wasn’t one to play with false information or hopes. Jade was the kind to simply sit and display the truth, as harsh as it was, regardless of what it was.
Jade found Gretel interesting yes, but he was not interested in her in the way that she was interested in him. Pushing her away would suggest disgust, but how could there be disgust if Jade barely thought of Gretel beyond that of a sum of the events that had created her. He’d let her have a futile kiss, but if she were to try anything beyond that, he’d just stop her. Not harshly or cruelly. Just stop her, without any real emotions behind his actions for doing so.
She didn't try anything further. For certain, if he had even responded just the slightest bit...shut his eyes, leaned in, touched her, opened his mouth...anything...
But there was nothing. She might as well have been kissing a corpse, sans the breathing and warmth. And she was actually able to compare with full knowledge, too. Corpses weren't fun to kiss.
The rejection was as clear to her as a slap in the face might have been--only a slap would have made her cry. She didn't like being struck or yelled at.
As soon as she realized this, which didn't take long, the girl unwound her arms to rest her hands against his shoulders, and she pushed herself back to stare at him. There was no smile there, and there was no glint in her eyes. There was no anger or pain, but even if the look might have been considered 'blank', it held plenty of meaning. Not to mention, her nails were starting to dig in.
"...Why?" was all she asked. Why wasn't she good enough? Why didn't he want her? Love her? Touch her? Did he prefer boys? Did he think her ugly? Was he a eunich? She was pretty sure he wasn't.
“Which answer would you prefer to hear?” Jade asked passively, un-phased and unmoved by her lack of expression, as he would have been by any other kind of expression she might have had. By his tone, they could have been talking about the weather, or how to kill someone all in the same breath.
“The one given to children in an attempt to make them feel better about themselves? Or perhaps you would choose to hear the answer that hurts the most and paints me as an absolutely wicked person? Or, the answers that even adults would shy away from when confronted?”
If Jade noticed any pain or felt any at the feeling of the nails that were digging into his shoulders, he made no comment of it, nor showed any action of it either. He simply spoke to her as he would speak to anyone else, young or old, important or not.
The words themselves were cruel, and Gretel felt insulted by them. She had never felt insulted by Jade before... Had she upset him? Why did she care? She normally wouldn't have... She normally wouldn't have tried so hard to understand.
Biting her lip, the girl quickly pulled her hands away as if she had been burned, crossing her arms over his chest as if protecting herself. With a step back, she stared at him wide eyed. Did the answer even matter? Rejection was rejection.
"The answer to 'why' is...'because'," she whispered softly, hurt evident in her voice. Then, she turned away from him to stare at the ground while her shoulders hunched, and she did her best to suppress her anger. She didn't want to hurt the one she loved, after all.
Ah, the ever famous, ‘because’ answer. Jade was loath to use such an answer to things. He may have responded to queries with a nothing answer or an infuriating question or tease upon itself, but he never simply answered with ‘because.’ However, if that was the answer that she choose herself, then who was Jade to refute her choices?
Standing up, the soft rustle of fabric the only sign or sound to signal that he’d done as much, Jade stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he was wont to do, and merely stood still. Making no move either towards Gretel to comfort her, or away in dismissal. He wasn’t going to belittle her pain, though he wouldn’t quite ever understand it.
“Then you’ve chosen your own answer to your own question.”
There was a sniffle, then, and Gretel reached up to rub at her eyes. She didn't like this emotion... It was pain. Pain in her heart. It might have felt better if he had cut into her chest and torn it out.
This... She wasn't used to feeling like this. Not since she was a toddler.
Finally, the girl lifted up her chin and ran over to where her shopping bag lay, snatching it up along with her rifle. She wasn't going to let him see her crying... She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. Was this what it was like to have love rejected? She had never experienced it before.
Gritting her teeth, Gretel gave an angry kick to the boy's ribs before moving over to the door to unlock it and open it, making haste to flee. She didn't care if she left the boy alive or dead! He was Jade's to deal with now, but she knew as she ran off down the hall to mourn the loss of something she never even had, that he wouldn't care.
Letting out a sigh, Jade simply shook his head. He really was quite the heartless, emotionless bastard his sister sometimes claimed that he was. To let someone get their hopes up and then to not even respond to them in any way really was worse than an outright rejection. However, beyond a mild sense of regret, Jade didn’t really feel any kind of hurt over what he’d done.
Walking over to where the, now with the probability of a broken rib, unconscious teen, Jade let out another sigh. At least he had avoided the need to clean up any unnecessary blood spilt. Since the door was still opened, Jade merely dragged the body back out and left him in the hallway for someone else to take care of, or for the teen to take care of himself when he came too. It wasn’t someone he knew, so the effort couldn’t be dredged up to care.
Closing the door behind him when he was back inside the apartment, Jade idly wondered what would be a good choice to make when he got hungry later on in the evening as he also planned to see, via the Network, how Gretel would take things.