Do You Walk in the Shadow of Men...

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Valdis and open
Date: The Month of May
Location: Throughout Keeliai
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In Headers


Moving out of the hotel didn’t take long. Valdis hired a few kedan to help her move her things to the small house near the former palace gardens. It was a comfortable enough space, moreso because Wan had built it. She wasn’t entirely certain why she had waited so long to move here, but perhaps she had just needed time to let go of Anton. The house needed a bit of work after having sat empty for so long, but not much and nothing she wasn’t willing to do. Valdis was capable of creating things, not just destroying them.

The KPD hasn’t let up on patrols and she’s renewed the watches on the water sources. She now had thirty-seven officers and the support of the Justice Guild, a far cry from where she had started almost a year ago. The addition of four Kirin to the KPD resources had been a bright spot, but now Valdis had to find a caretaker for them. She hoped that the four mounts could help reduce response times to crisis as well as aid in crowd control should something arise. Allying with the Guild of Justice and Arbitration had been a wise move as it seemed to calm things down a bit and give both parties a more stabilizing structure. Now she could hunt...

Comments

[lasergrenades]

Pepper almost misses the entire second half of what Valdis is saying because of that very first sentence, her eyes going a little wide and expression almost slack. No one on the turtle knows that, except Vee. Bakura doesn't even know, and it makes Pepper's stomach settle somewhere around her ankles.

If her silence is anything to go by, the shock struck deeply. Pepper is rarely without words. Valdis knowing that is actually frightening, and she's not sure why, but it makes her heart pound against her ribs in a way that the dressing down has thus far failed to do so.

"That's how I made you feel," Pepper manages softly when she's gathered herself some, although there's a buzzing in her ears like a swarm of gnats. "That's not what I meant, and I'm sorry. I trust you with my life and I trust your judgement, but I'm also human and not perfect and I do stupid things sometimes. I've never had to try to separate those things before, and I wasn't asked to, either - is it really that surprising that I fell on my face? Isn't that part of why you didn't make me be involved in arresting him?"

Her voice is wavering now, despite her best efforts. Pegging her on the same level as that horrible network post-- if this is how she made Valdis feel, then Pepper is all the more regretful - it hurts and it makes it hard to breathe - but that is low. That's a pointed insult, and Valdis knows it.

"But I would never, ever claim that you protect cultists, or that you're like them or say you should bare all your secrets to the world like some ignorant jerk and comparing me to that ungrateful, disgusting smear of a person is not fair. I screwed up and I knew it and I came here to try to fix that because you are family and that's why I'm apologizing and now-- now you're calling me-- you're calling me that?" God, she's going to cry and Pepper hates it, she hates this whole situation, she hates that she hurt someone she cares about trying to protect someone she loves and that it's pushed Valdis to this somehow and this is all wrong and there are tears leaking out anyway. "I made a mistake, I did something dumb, but I didn't do it on purpose! I-- I already fell on my face. I don't-- I don't deserve you grinding it into the mud, too. I'm just trying to fix this so I can help you because you are important to me and you-- you don't have to be mean about it," Pepper says, her voice small. "I'm just-- just trying to fix this and it doesn't seem like you want to let me. If there's no point in even trying, just-- just tell me to go and I will."

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The girl's long silence only confirmed what Valdis had already suspected, but even that information, originally garnered from her empathetic abilities, did little to curb her anger. Pepper's apology hits harder than the original insult, far harder and it takes every ounce of restraint she possesses for Valdis to not give into tears herself. She hates this far more than almost anything she had ever done and keeping the cold facade up as the redhead begins to cry is no small feat.

Valdis has always been skilled at finding ways to hurt, she always knew just where to press to cause pain. Pepper was right, she didn't deserve this, to be hurt by someone she cared about and no amount of real anger could justify what she had just done. But not all the anger was real, just enough that she had been able to find the right weak points. Valdis hated herself so much in this moment, but it was a bit late to turn back now.

"I'm sorry, Pepper," She says, turning her eyes back to sketch so that Pepper can't seen the pain that is surely visible in them, "You should go."

[lasergrenades]

This isn't right. This isn't right. Valdis may have a quick temper sometimes, might hold grudges but this is going way beyond what makes any kind of sense, not the least of which because she's just apologized and sent Pepper away in the same sentence. The math isn't adding up here, but the pain overrides most of the logic. Pain and not a little bit of anger.

Pepper takes a moment to rally herself, to clear her face of tears and try to look less upset until she can find privacy. No one needs to see her like this, no one needs to be asking more questions.

"Fine. Fine," she says, sniffing and turning away. "I'll just go back to doing my job." Apparently, that's all she matters for anymore. "You know where to find me."

And with that, Pepper opens the door and leaves.