Room 322, Thursday Midday

[living_endless]

Didi had spent some time this morning talking to her fish as she cleaned and rearranged their tank. Either she was a little bored, or they had seen fascinating things during the gremlin invasion. It might have been both.

Once she'd gotten all of the conversation out of Slim and Wandsworth that a girl could expect (and a bit more), she flopped down on her bed and started watching a DVD of the movie from class yesterday. She hadn't seen it all the way through, and Scottish Accent Guy was hot.

The door to her room was open a crack so she could see people in the hall.

Comments

[living_endless]

Didi wrinkled her nose in sympathy mingled with frustration. It was hard to explain; it just was.

"Death is always there when something dies," Didi said. "I just am. My job is to take your hand and lead you to your afterlife. Death can't not be there."

"The three ladies cut the thread, but everything was in Destiny's book to start with. And Destiny's book has always been."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"So it's already decided when I'm going to die and these three ladies will make it so because it's written?" he asked, not sure if that made sense at all.

[living_endless]

"... essentially, yeah," Didi said. "There are ways to bargain, but for most life forms, yes."

It made sense to her!

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Which was a good thing, it meant he didn't have to break his head about doing things right at the end.

"Do you know it about people here?" he wondered. "Or does that get limited too?"

[living_endless]

"Depends on the person, how close their universe is to mine, what the other player tells me" she gestured, indicating she could go on for a while. "I'm no Layla Williams. Promise."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Jacob laughed. "I'm not worried," he assured her. He wouldn't be growing old for a very long time so it was easy not to be.

He hesitated. "What happens to leeches? Vampires?" he corrected quickly.

[living_endless]

"When they die for real, or when the human dies the first time?" Didi asked. "I mean, I can't tell you either way, but which one are you thinking of?"

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

She'd already answered. "The human. S-They die," he repeated, only just catching himself.

[living_endless]

"They die," she confirmed. There was more she could say, but that was the basic truth of it. "You're interested in them, aren't you?"

She remembered the fight he'd gotten into with the bartender at the welcome picnic.

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

He nodded and he was blaming yesterday and class for having Bella on his mind so much today. He plucked at the sheets, giving himself something to look at at. "I know a girl, she's... in love with one of them," he said. "She wants to be turned, but she won't be herself anymore then. Will she?"

[living_endless]

"It depends on what she's like now," Didi said. "Some people come through the same, pretty much. Some ... don't."

She kicked at the bed a little, wishing she had a better answer. "How'd she end up in love with one of them?"

It wasn't that she thought vampires couldn't love; it was that, well, they ate people.

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Jacob snorted. "You're asking me? I've got no clue what she sees in him. I can't stand him. Or any of them. As far as I know, they should all have died a long time ago."

[living_endless]

Didi snorted right back. "Well, yeah, I know you have vampire issues. Does she know you're in love with her, too?"

... yes, Jacob, it's that obvious.

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"Sure, sure," he was staring at the fish tank now. Huh, he'd managed to block that out. "I always been upfront with her. It doesn't change anything. She still picked him."

[living_endless]

Didi wrinkled her nose. "I believe in love being stronger than death and all, but for what it's worth? Even I think that's kind of messed up. I guess you can't fight what you want."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"Maybe somebody needs to fight what she wants," Jacob blurted out. That'd been going through his head a lot. He just couldn't do it from here.

[living_endless]

"But then he's the victim and you're the bad guy," Didi pointed out. "I don't think that would do you any good."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"Maybe I'd rather be the bad guy than have her be a leech?" he threw back.

[living_endless]

"Maybe she has a right to her choices."

Even if they were insanely stupid ones, yes.

"It sucks to be you, I get that, but ... is he forcing her into it in any way?"

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"You're sounding like my dad now," Jacob grumbled. Which'd be a no.

He still wasn't going to like it. Sullen boy is sullen.

[living_endless]

"Oh, probably," Didi agreed cheerily. She was going to use the trick she always used on Jono when he got deep into sullen and talk about something totally unrelated. "We can't change her mind from here, right? So, did you have classes today?"

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"People suck," he said and there was a bit of a laugh there. "It's kind of funny, having a teacher who swears more than his students."

[living_endless]

Well, that went well.

... kind of. Because now Didi had to think about a whole different problem, and she just hoped she was connecting the dots wrong.

"Oh, Jono has that," she said casually and a bit slowly. "I don't think he likes it much, though. He got into an argument with somebody last week."

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Well, that'd do to make his mind get off the Bella topic too.

He could dodge, but he wasn't the dodging type. "Yeah, I know," he said. The fish were very interesting now. "That... got kind of out of hand."

[living_endless]

"What happened?" she asked, in a quiet voice that needed him to tell the truth, one with a steel edge of anger underlying it.