Kings and Queens of Promise

[Kleopatra Selene]

"Sometimes it's just darkness," Aria said, staring at the dirt floor, her hands still upturned but no longer claiming her attention. "Sometimes I can remember bits and pieces; but when it's of Daniel...everything's crystal clear." She swiped away dirt in her eye. "Everything is past promises, isn't it, Rowan? Everything's past promises. We can only hope that things will end up okay; that we can hurt the Government, blow up their stupid things, make them think we're a threat. And even that's hopeless. They have resources we can't wish for, things we can never replenish--but they can. They can rebuild, they can bomb more rebellious cities, they can design more weapons to use against KQP members. We're past promises, but they've got more than promises, they've got flesh-and-blood things that are true and cannot be broken. And even if they are broken, they can be fixed or replaced. They've got more than we can dream of." She clenched her hands together.
"I only wish..." she trailed off. "I only wish that I could make them pay for all the little kids who have died for this. For Daniel...for everybody. Don't you have somebody you want to help? The memory of someone that you want to destroy the Government for?"  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

(post in a bit but I still need this link! DON"T LOOK AT IT YET!!! http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?safesearch=1&search_type=similar&similar_photo_id=64079737&sort_method=popular#id=68253943 )  

[Lykaios of the Shadows]

[[I'm looking! ....*gasp* o-o I like that pic...]]  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

(Grrr!) (...wait....wait...NOW Look at the picture!!!)

"Stephen..." Rowan murmured almost inaudibly, her eyes unfocussed as if she were hypnotized for a moment by the mere thought of him, " Stephen." She repeated, shaking her head and with it shaking the dazed look off her face. "If for anyone it would be him...I don't even know if he's dead or not. One day he just disappeared, promising to return, although I haven't seen or heard from him since." Rowan sighed, wiping an imaginary dirt speck from a tearful eye. Forget him! Forget him NOW!!! He's dead, and if hes not then he has forgotten about you. Move on, just as he has. Crying is only for the weak, especially crying over a guy who doesn't even care. Her mind scolded her, told her to do otherwise. "I'm sorry." Rowan said, realizing shed been thinking to herself for a few moments, " I guess I still wish he were here at my side. He'd be a really great help here at the KQP."  

[Kleopatra Selene]

"I've heard people say that revenge is the deciding factor," Aria said. "That whether your intentions are good or bad, you never really put so much of yourself into it as you would if revenge was your goal. I guess that's why I'm such a damn big part of this group."
She stood up, sighing. "Sorry. Come on, I haven't heard any screams or bombs for the past ten minutes, we should check the tunnel out." She walked over to the door, opening it cautiously, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, I don't hear anything or see anything, but considering it's pitch black--" she walked into it hesitantly, then a small smile lit her face. "Nope, nothing. We might be able to move back in at dawn, after the kiddies get a little sleep."  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

Rowan walked into the tunnel right behind Aria, " Yea, nothing sends people into a tizzy quite like the though of having their power threatened...." She said leaving the door slightly ajar behind her, " You'll want help moving everybody again, right?"  

[Kleopatra Selene]

Aria put on a smile. "Yeah, sure. Nothing quite like a bit of help, especially from you, Rowan. Not to insult you or anything, but you're very...um, forceful. You make things happen." She walked out of the tunnel and rubbed at her eye, yawning. "When do you think you'll leave again?"  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

"I can honestly say I have no clue.I might stay but that's unlikely...I might never come back but that's entirely unthinkable." Rowan sighed, "I've always known how to take care of myself so I guess it's just a little odd to me when I'm acting as a part of a group instead of being the whole." (does that make sence???) she continued, following Aria out of the tunnel, " Anyway what did you do before KQP?" Rowan asked, subtlety trying to change the subject.  

[Kleopatra Selene]

Aria slowed her walk. She reached a bench and sat, crossing her ankles almost impatiently. "I ran away when I was little," she said in superspeed talk--the kind that signaled that she hated the subject, "and I met Daniel two weeks later. We teamed up. We were each other's family--we took care of each other. We found other kids, malnourished, dying. One little girl made us decide it all--she was about six, covered in lice and dirt and mud. She was clinging to her brother, telling him to wake up. He'd been dead for about three days. Maggots were in her hair.
"I guess that just did it. Daniel and I raised those kids, took them in, trained them to take vengeance against the people who'd taken so much from them. And I hated that, but those children wanted to help so much...
"Then Daniel died. And I started raising them myself. The girl with maggots in her hair--Maggie, we all called her," she laughed, "--died in a bomb raid against us. She didn't get in the safehouse in time. I took some time off of KQP, left John in charge. I came back a few months later, ready to be in charge again. It's a burden some have to bear." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders, and looked up. "Majorly depressing, huh?"

((Sorry this post is so short--I had a longer one, but it decided to delete itself just as I posted it!!!! crying ))  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

"Oh...yea." Rowan muttered realizing there wasn't much she knew to say at this point, "Even though I don't stick around too much I really am thankful that you guys are always ready to catch kids as they fall,... even if they arn't quite kids anymore." she said, shyly referring to herself, as she continued to slowly walzts around the room.  

[Kleopatra Selene]

Aria watched Rowan waltz happily. "Very nice," she commented. "The waltzing. We all know how to waltz, don't we? Our personal kings and queens ******** taught us all." She smiled bittersweetly. "But today is different from then," she said suddenly. "Our parents hate us now, our friends are dead, bombs are dropping on us, but we're all safe and sound. Good. It's a responsibility we all take, and if Daniel and John anad I hadn't done it, someone else would have."  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

"But who knows, if someone else had done it it could be entirely different. You guys run everything soo smoothy even when you're being bombed. I just glad to be a part, even if a small one, a part of it all." Rowan said taking a seat beside Aria and resting the back of her head against the wall.  

[Kleopatra Selene]

Aria shrugged. "Maybe." Even so, a small smile showed on her face. She leaned her head back up against the wall, staring at the gray building.
That was when the ceiling exploded. Shards of wood and fragments of splintered beams burst towards them, and Aria covered her eyes. She dug her way out of the rubble, searching through the debris. "Rowan?"

((I really wanted a good horrific moment there, because things were going too slow...))  

[x_-Mockingjay-_x]

(You just scared the pee outta me!)

Rowan coughed once, twice, as the realization of what had just happend hit her," Yea, I'm fine..." She managed to say,wearily before she was struck over the head and blacked out. Rowan's unconsious body was quickly removed from the tunnel and thrown into the back of van waiting on the surface.

(....Scared ya right back!)  

[Lykaios of the Shadows]

Jess jumped as an explosion rocked the bunker and the jumped to her feet, searching for Rowan and Aria. She growled in frustration and sprinted down the hall, looking for them.

After a moment, she came across a large pile of rubble just in time to see Rowan picked up by an unidentified figure. "Sh*t!" she growled, scrambling up the rubble and grabbing a percussion grenade from her pack. She pulled the pin and chucked it as hard as she could towards the van, sliding back down the pile of rubble to avoid getting tossed by the force of the blow.

Hopefully, the grenade would be enough to render the captors useless. But then again, things rarely went as planned when explosives were involved.