forum Operation Tilt // one on one // closed

Started June 10, 2019 by @croccin-champagne

tune

“Absolutely,” Draven said sarcastically. “Down to my very breathing. I’m only supposed to take four million breaths a day, unless it’s Tuesday. Then I have to take three million six thousand and four, because that’s when I swim.”

"You're fuckin' with me, an' I know it, but I could see it." Canary mused, looking off out the window as though deep in thought.

Draven smirked slightly, the only expression beyond disgust that he had done that night and stared out the window.

"I don' think I've followed a plan in…three years?" Canary muttered to herself, nose scrunched up in thought. She shook her head, returning to reading.

“Only three? I’d have thought much longer,” Draven said dryly. He tucked his knife away and stared at the floor.

"Off an' on things happened." Canary said, a flicker of something dark crossing her face as she read. "Whatever it takes."

The lines of the song by Imagine Dragons popped into his head, and Draven stifled a growl. He fiddled with the edge of his knife angain, eBaying and not wanting to take it out again. Finally, sighing, he did, and tried throwing it the way she suggested. To his surprise, it worked. Almost too well.

Canary dug around her bag a bit more, pulling out an old looking iPod and a pair of earbuds. She figured she'd bugged Draven enough, and was curious to see what Lyle had added to her playlists lately. She plugged her earbuds in and curled up once more, nodding her head along to a beat as she resumed reading.

Draven glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye as she moved, then away. He pulled his knife out and ran his finger along the blade and frowned when it didn’t break the skin. It was too dull. Pulling a small rock from his pocket, he began to sharpen it, not seeming to notice how bad the noise was.

The sound of the blade being sharpened made Canary pull an earbud out, only to hurriedly put it back in as her jaw clenched. Her foot bounced quickly, much in the same way of a nervous tick, as she tried to shove down the memories threatening to darken her mind. He's just sharpening a knife. Probably to make sure it's ready in an emergency.

Draven didn’t seem to notice her troubled expression. He just went on sharpening, losing himself in the melodious noise of the sound of metal of stone.

Somehow, despite her volume being all the way up, the sound still reached Canary's ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out. Of course he'd managed to find one of her triggers within the first fifteen minutes of the car ride. Of course.

Draven stopped, pulling the blade down his thumb. It sliced cleanly through his skin, like a hot knife through butter, and he smirked with satisfaction before putting the stone away and turning to her. “Something wrong, Vasquez?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-no." Canary grit out, not opening her eyes. The stutter was something that she hated, which was why she made sure to keep it under wraps at all times. Though the way her fingernails were digging into her palm hard enough to draw blood made it hard to focus on that. No. Panic. Attacks. Not with him around.

“Ya sure, sweetheart?” He drawled, leaning back, watching her with sharp eyes. “Cause it doesn’t look like nothing.”

She shook her head, slipping into rapid paced Spanish, blended with at least three other languages. Her nails moved from her palms to her arms, pushing up the sleeves of her jacket and revealing half moon scars, that she was apparently adding to.

Draven simply smirked. He pulled his knife from his pocket and the stone as well, sharpening it once.

"Do that one more time, and I'll shoot you." Canary managed to grit out, flinching visibly at the sound.

“I’m just sharpening my knife,” he said with a shark-like smile. “Nothing more. Just innocent sharpening.

In a split second, Canary had a handgun that she definitely wasn't supposed to have pressed to his temple, her eyes finally opened. She had never shown fear at the academy, was known for not caring about anything, but the pure panic and haunted look in her eyes was undeniable. "I'm not fucking kidding."

Draven was hocked at the expression on her face. It was so… vulnerable. But he hid it well. “Or you’ll shoot me? Honestly, Vasquez, do you really think that the headmaster would like that you killed one of his Star students?”

The distraction had worked, and with a simple but efficient sleight of hand, Canary had taken the wetstone right from his hand and tucked it away. He didn't need to know that though. "Stop calling me that."

Draven raised an eyebrow. “Or what? Would you prefer Bird Brain?”

"As long as it's not fuckin' that." Canary spat, pain and fear flashing through her eyes.

“Nah, I think I like Vasquez better.” Smirking, Draven leaned back in his seat, calmly pushing the gun away. He didn’t seem to notice that his whetstone was gone.