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![]() | I CREATED THE SOUND OF MADNESS WROTE THE BOOK ON PAIN SOMEHOW I'M STILL HERE TO EXPLAIN --- THAT THE DARKEST HOUR NEVER COMES IN THE NIGHT --- |
Aeron could not think of a worse place to be than this.
For a woman who had spent nearly her entire life as a shut-in, with her only constant companion being one of the most unhinged sociopaths to ever exist in the modern age, she had come along remarkably well when it came to being social. She was making better strides at putting herself out there and at least attempting to make friends, which is something that she couldn’t even fathom doing not much more than a year or so prior. There was no doubt that the former dark mage was still unlearning a lot of defensive habits, but anyone who had taken the time to get to know her even a little could recognize the effort she was putting in at being a better person.
Unfortunately, not everyone was willing to take that kind of time. There were plenty of people in the Knights that had chosen to accept her, despite her history with the infamous and recently deceased warlord Thana, known by most of the public as her alias of “Trinity”. But there was no avoiding prejudice, even within the ranks of the Rune Knights, and plenty of her fellow soldiers that were aware of her lawless past would turn their noses up at her, or even treat her with out-right hostility. Many of them openly questioned why Director Mythal, second in command of the Knights, had allowed her to join their ranks, and often went out of their way to alienate her and try to make her feel unwanted.
Thankfully, Aeron had never been too concerned with whether or not people liked her, so she didn’t exactly lose any sleep over it at night… but it did make her work environment uncomfortable, at times. Mythal did his best to discourage the negative attitudes, and foster her toward personal growth, but there was only so much he could do to protect her, and Aeron knew it wasn’t his job to do so. She couldn’t expect him to watch over her shoulder day in and day out. She had to learn how to navigate the world, and her coworkers, on her own.
This was what had prompted her to attend this ridiculous summer bash event, despite the fact that she would rather be anywhere else. Yeah, she was doing a lot better with her social skills, but the sheer number of people crowding the beach of Hargeon was making her a little jumpy. This was crowd was far, far too big for her tastes, and she was having to fight back a lifetime of paranoia to prevent herself from reaching the point of “fuck this shit, I’m out.” Adding to her discomfort was the dress code. Aeron couldn’t recall if she’d ever worn a bathing suit before. Even though her outfit was relatively modest and conservative for a bikini, she felt extremely exposed. Not to mention all the second hand anxiety and embarrassment she was feeling for most of the women around her that were in far more revealing get ups that barely covered anything at all.
There were many familiar faces around her, given that this was the official location that the Rune Knights had picked out to enjoy together, making the majority of the crowd off-duty coworkers. However, she couldn’t see anyone that she had any kind of rapport with at all. So she stood there, a visible beacon of awkwardness and social panic, her fruity drink clutched tensely against her chest with both hands as she sipped nervously from the straw and glanced around with apprehension. She was here…
…but what the fuck was she supposed to do, now?
For a woman who had spent nearly her entire life as a shut-in, with her only constant companion being one of the most unhinged sociopaths to ever exist in the modern age, she had come along remarkably well when it came to being social. She was making better strides at putting herself out there and at least attempting to make friends, which is something that she couldn’t even fathom doing not much more than a year or so prior. There was no doubt that the former dark mage was still unlearning a lot of defensive habits, but anyone who had taken the time to get to know her even a little could recognize the effort she was putting in at being a better person.
Unfortunately, not everyone was willing to take that kind of time. There were plenty of people in the Knights that had chosen to accept her, despite her history with the infamous and recently deceased warlord Thana, known by most of the public as her alias of “Trinity”. But there was no avoiding prejudice, even within the ranks of the Rune Knights, and plenty of her fellow soldiers that were aware of her lawless past would turn their noses up at her, or even treat her with out-right hostility. Many of them openly questioned why Director Mythal, second in command of the Knights, had allowed her to join their ranks, and often went out of their way to alienate her and try to make her feel unwanted.
Thankfully, Aeron had never been too concerned with whether or not people liked her, so she didn’t exactly lose any sleep over it at night… but it did make her work environment uncomfortable, at times. Mythal did his best to discourage the negative attitudes, and foster her toward personal growth, but there was only so much he could do to protect her, and Aeron knew it wasn’t his job to do so. She couldn’t expect him to watch over her shoulder day in and day out. She had to learn how to navigate the world, and her coworkers, on her own.
This was what had prompted her to attend this ridiculous summer bash event, despite the fact that she would rather be anywhere else. Yeah, she was doing a lot better with her social skills, but the sheer number of people crowding the beach of Hargeon was making her a little jumpy. This was crowd was far, far too big for her tastes, and she was having to fight back a lifetime of paranoia to prevent herself from reaching the point of “fuck this shit, I’m out.” Adding to her discomfort was the dress code. Aeron couldn’t recall if she’d ever worn a bathing suit before. Even though her outfit was relatively modest and conservative for a bikini, she felt extremely exposed. Not to mention all the second hand anxiety and embarrassment she was feeling for most of the women around her that were in far more revealing get ups that barely covered anything at all.
There were many familiar faces around her, given that this was the official location that the Rune Knights had picked out to enjoy together, making the majority of the crowd off-duty coworkers. However, she couldn’t see anyone that she had any kind of rapport with at all. So she stood there, a visible beacon of awkwardness and social panic, her fruity drink clutched tensely against her chest with both hands as she sipped nervously from the straw and glanced around with apprehension. She was here…
…but what the fuck was she supposed to do, now?
deltra of gangnam style
WORDS: 613 | TAGS: @Francois Prideheart @Kaito Shiratori