A prison for Shifters

[emorangerblack.livejournal.com]

[Surprisingly for very few people actually familiar with Devon, her attitude regarding food rationing and obeying rules in general left her in a holding cell. She'll be there for a while - so if you're concerned about her feeling sad or lonely, by all means come visit!

Extra consideration: Devon's amplifier is gone so no Shifter shanenigans or summoning armor this time. At a first glance, she doesn't look too concerned about this, or pretty much anything at all. Too busy leaning against a wall opposite to the entry door.]

Comments

[emorangerblack.livejournal.com]

If you believe I do not understand strength, then by all means.
Enlighten me.

[That last sentence? Spoken in a very cold tone.]

[fearless-coward.livejournal.com]

Strength is the application of power towards a given goal. I would not feel weaker because a god decided to destroy me where I stand. But I would feel stronger than any god whom I convinced with words that I was worth keeping alive. Sometimes a bullet is not the best way to win a fight, sometimes the best way to win a fight is to ensure there isn't a fight to lose. Choosing not to pull the trigger, is often more difficult than choosing to fire.

[emorangerblack.livejournal.com]

Strength is not just raw physical power. One can have a strong moral backbone, or be skilled in other area. That is true - and all of these kinds of strength are welcome and necessary.

Words, however, are ephemereal. You say them out loud and then they are gone. A persuaded individual can always change their mind.

[fearless-coward.livejournal.com]

Miss with a bullet, you might as well not have fired it. Words are the same way. They have as much strength as their user properly wields them. If they change their mind, it means you missed your target.

[emorangerblack.livejournal.com]

... Possibly.

[Why so untalkative all out of sudden?]

1/2

[fearless-coward.livejournal.com]

[Aidan smiles at her. He doesn't know her well, but he does know that getting her to even consider changing her position is a feat.]

2/2

[fearless-coward.livejournal.com]

But there is another kind of strength.

I recently failed entirely at my job, protecting all the people I care about. I only survived because of sheer luck. Over a hundred people are dead, and it was my job to protect them. I wasn't strong enough then.

But what's done is done. I can spend my time obsessing over my failure, or I can move on. It's not easy, it hurts a lot. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep, other times I stand on the deck staring at the stars wondering what I should be doing, sometimes wondering what they would think of me or be doing if they were still alive. But I don't spend time worrying about what I could have done differently. Or at least, when I start to, I decide to stop.

Which is what I am suggesting to you, if you start to feel the unbearable feeling you described, decide to stop. It's not always easy, but that's why it requires strength.

[emorangerblack.livejournal.com]

...

[There is no response except for long silence. Devon has to mentally digest everything that was said now. Or maybe she just believes there's nothing else to say.

Who knows?]