Act 4

[untrueheart]

[The sun is on its way down, clouds moving to fill in the spaces left by fading light, when a tired, staggering Rue makes her way back home again. At first she can't tell which part of the village she landed in; after a while she recognizes the road leading south and trudges along. She isn't sure whether to be sour or grateful that she has shoes on.

Eventually, after a nice long walk and a thorough freezing, Rue wanders into Seventh Heaven hoping for warmth and relative peace and quiet. Of which there is never any guarantee, an astounding feat for a town so small.]

Comments

[clumsyduck]

[And there's Duck just randomly there already. She does a lot of wandering here. Recognizing Rue, she approached the girl.]

Hi Rue.

[untrueheart]

[Rue jumps, touchier than usual thanks to her experience and awful misadventure in the cold.]

What are you doing here?

[clumsyduck]

Uhm well... How are you?

[Well, she's worried about Rue since she disappeared for a while.]

[untrueheart]

Cold. [She did ask.] You didn't answer my question.

[clumsyduck]

I was worried about you.

[untrueheart]

You don't need to worry about me.

[In a way, the perils of this enclosed town are less awful than those from home. There are other ravens, of course, maybe even other monstrous ones. As long as they don't affect Rue as directly, she doesn't care.

All this time and she still hasn't grasped that Duck can tell when she's being snooty to protect herself.]

[clumsyduck]

I know I don't have to. I want to. You're my best friend, after all.

[untrueheart]

[What?

That can't be true. For one thing, Duck has those two beginner-class girls who follow her around as hangers-on. They're her friends. Rue is left blinking, trying to understand what would compel Duck to say something like that.]

No, I'm not. [I can't be, doesn't she understand?]

[clumsyduck]

[That was true but... Nothing could change her mind about that. You should know that by now, Rue.]

Yes you are.

[untrueheart]

It's not possible. No matter how much you wish for it.

[clumsyduck]

Why not?

[untrueheart]

This story doesn't have a happy ending, Duck.

[clumsyduck]

Why wouldn't it?

[untrueheart]

I know you told me it did, some time ago. Maybe that's true, but we're somewhere else now.

[clumsyduck]

You're always be my friend. That will never change.

[untrueheart]

[She's been through a very long week and she just doesn't have the energy to argue with Duck in the way Duck probably expects. Instead she sighs, finding the nearest chair and accepting that her far-too-enthusiastic classmate will never really understand.

Even if she said there's a happy ending. Even if there really is one, though it seems farther and farther away all the time.]