ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴡᴀʀ [ᴀɴ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ ʀᴏʟᴇ-ᴘʟᴀʏ] discussion

In the woods, there's a sort of rock ledge that shifts into a complete drop off into water. It's about twenty feet. Be careful.

Megara made her way to the rock ledge that overlooked the lake, as she did whenever she was on break. She sat far enough from the ledge that she wouldn't fall but close enough that she could see the lake and camp. She had come across the drop off on one of her first shifts and started coming every time it wasn't her shift. Megara felt too much of an outsider to go back to camp and she no longer had any sort of appetite. She had to practically force herself to eat breakfast and dinner, but she had started skipping lunch. Besides, she preferred the isolation over people and food. She enjoyed being left alone to her thoughts.

But it seemed that her thoughts were simply too much for her today. Megara sat with her legs crossed, her hands cradling Miles's pocket watch with the United States Navy crest on it. She and Miles's liked to think that it was their father's and he had died serving or something. When they were kids, they would make up a different story every week about how their father died a hero and all sorts of details about him. The color of his hair and eyes. Which one of the twins looked more like him. What his personality was like. Who his friends were. How he met their mother. But that was all imaginary. The only solid memories Megara had of the pocket watch was her brother wearing it. And the day he traded it for her necklace so they both would have something to remember each other by.

Megara's eyes filled with tears, which soon started to fall down her cheeks as she looked at the watch. She hadn't seen Miles for almost a month when the invasion happened. And she hadn't spoken to him for a few days. She had been avoiding his messages and emails. Afraid that she would spill about the incident with Dorian. If there was one person Megara wanted with her the most, it was her brother. She wondered where he was. If he was safe, how he was doing. Was he trying to look for her? Was there another camp where he could be hiding out? Megara hoped he was safe and wouldn't do anything rash. She didn't know what she would do if she lost the only family she had. "Miles, come back soon." She whispered.

((Umm, maybe Dorian notices that she hasn't been coming for lunch and decides to bring her something?))

Perhaps it was wrong of Dorian to have followed Megara out here, she obviously wanted to be alone. After all he'd noticed that she had been skipping lunch meals. It was for that reason alone that he had followed her out here. He knew well enough that she didn't need him following her around 'protecting' her like some sort of strange love-sick fool. No. She could handle herself. Obviously. Thinking about her handling herself is what brought it on, granted it was never far from the surface of his thoughts, but that was what mainly brought on the memory.

"...I told you it wasn't as easy as it looked," Megara's laugh echoed in the silence of the darkened night-time air.

Turning to look at her, Dorian couldn't help himself. He had already felt heat blaze up his neck and face at the embarrassment of falling flat on his butt when he had attempted to pole vault. She was right, of course. It wasn't as easy as he had initially though; it wasn't as easy as she made it look. But that didn't matter that the moment. All that he could think about was that she was laughing at him. Making fun of him for his failures.

Her laugh seemed to echo in his ears.

His vision seemed to fade with black spots and before he knew it?

Megara was on the ground. His hand stung with the sharp pin-pricks of having hit something and looking down he quickly realized what had happened. He'd slapped her.

Dorian's throat immediately started to get tight, words suddenly seemed unable to leave his clouded brain and so what did he do?

He turned and walked off. Leaving her there.

Shaking his head and forcing the memory away Dorian couldn't help but frown. It wasn't anything he was proud of. Then again he'd never really apologized for it either. Not in so many words. He'd asked her if she was okay the next day....but other than that? He'd never said anything. Why? Perhaps it was shame. Perhaps it was something else. Dorian wasn't sure. He just knew that she needed to eat something.

Walking up he stopped a few feet behind her, hearing her whisper something, but unable to make out her words. He did take notice of the watch in her hands. The one from Miles. Clearing his throat, he held out his hands towards her, his face a stoic mask. "I brought you some lunch. You should eat....." He trailed off, leaving his sentence to hang in the air between them. Ever since he had brought her here, he'd felt responsible somehow. As if he needed to protect her.

Megara flinched when she heard a voice, Dorian's voice. She hadn't been expected anyone to be out here. She hadn't expected him to have even followed her. To say in the least, things between Megara and Dorian were tense. They had been tiptoeing around each other ever since the incident. It's not like it should have been a huge deal to Megara though, right? She's been hit, slapped, even whipped before. So on the scale of things to have happened to her, it really shouldn't have been too high up. So why did she feel conflicted about it? It didn't matter though. She should have just forgotten about it. She did say she was alright when he is asked how she was doing the next day. And in complete honesty, she really did want to forget the whole thing. She liked Dorian, she really did. Without him she would be completely alone, with Miles missing. So why did she feel so strange about the incident? Maybe if she knew why he did it? Why was he so angry all the time? The questions Megara had ignored for most of their relationship had finally surfaced. But she didn't have the courage to ask them. She didn't want to. It wasn't her business was her excuse. Though for their relationship to move past this those answers were needed. But just not at this moment.

After a few minutes of silence, both Megara and Dorian seemingly lost in thought, Megara spoke. "I'm not hungry. You can have it." She said, not turning to look at him, as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Or give it to your sister." She added. If Megara wasn't going to eat then the food could go to someone else who needed it. The portions weren't that great anyway. With so many kids to feed, almost everyone was hungry. So why not just give it to one of them? Besides, most of the food was some alright soup because that was the only thing they could make plenty of. Megara let go of the watch and hugged her knees as she looked down at the lake.

Dorian didn't have to have Megara facing him to see her reach up and wipe away tears. He was familiar with the motion as he'd once seen Rosalyn do it many times as well. Back when they were still talking to eachother. Now? He'd rarely seen her before. Now it was nearly impossible. She probably went out of her way to avoid him. Good thing too. He wasn't quite sure how he would react. If he would be able to tolerate her and her insufferable annoying tendencies or if he would end up flipping the switch. He sincerely hoped not, because for all his fights with his sister. He'd never once physically harmed her. Although apparently that wasn't entirely in his control as he had hurt Megara...and he'd never dreamed he would hurt her. She was just right for him....she was quiet. She didn't press into his background. She didn't care that he was moody and insufferable at times. She could handle him. It was why he liked her so much. She was able to tolerate him at his worst. So didn't that mean she deserved to be around him when he was at his best?

"You need to eat, Meg. With the way you're always on the move you need the calories." Moving closer to her he hesitated a fraction of a second before sitting down near her. Not beside her. There was still a foot of space between them, just near her. He didn't want to make her feel like she had to be near him. Didn't want her to feel stuck around him. Didn't want to hurt her......Instead he just held out the plate. It wasn't a bowl of soup like most people got. Why? because soup was hard to carry. Rather it was a simple sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly. Nothing special. And no doubt the bread was probably slightly stale. But it had to be better than watery soup, right? "And I'm not hungry. I don't do much on guard duty. It's not like the Koreans are sending people through the lines and trying to attack." Not yet, anyway.

Megara turned her head slightly to see what food he had brought. a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The corners of her mouth lifted into the smallest of smiles. With the food that they had been getting around here, this was a luxury. A peanut butter and jelly filled luxury. Everything was being strictly watched and manage. Everyone was getting the same food and same portions, so the idea of her getting this was simple a nice one. And now she had it. She still wasn't hungry and would rather that Dorian or his sister ate the food, but he probably went through a lot of effort convincing the chef for something other than soup. With the quietest of "alrights," she picked up the sandwich taking a small bite. The bread was stale and the peanut butter was one of those chunky kinds, but she had done worse. Much worse. She was one of the people who wasn't complaining about the quality of the food and how much they missed home. Rather the food here was much better than some meals she had been forced to eat among her foster homes. Actually this whole camp just felt like another foster home, one with less abuse. So far at least.

Foster homes made her think of Miles again. Was he alright? Did he have food? Or was he starving? Was he even...? No, she wouldn't even allow that last question to enter her mind. It was forbidden. No, Miles is probably fine. No he's okay. She forced herself to think. But she couldn't help it. She was so worried and scared. "Dorian, what... What do you think they did to hi-- everyone else?" Megara asked, her voice wavering slightly with fear of what his answer would be and the possibility of it all being true.

At least she was eating. She might have taken a small bite, she might have hesitated slightly, but she was eating. That was the important thing in Dorian's mind. The thing was, that there were many sides to Dorian and while he wasn't exactly nurturing in any sort of way at all....he did do some things to ensure that those he actually cared about were okay. Looking away from her while she ate though he focused on a tree in the distance. He had never been a fan of the indoors, for him being inside meant more of a prison than anything else. It was the outdoor world that had always comforted him. It was where he had spent most of his time before the invasion anyway. So now? Spending his time at camp? It wasn't that bad. Besides. He didn't have anyone yelling at him here. Granted he hadn't spoken to Roslyn in quite some time.....but he was giving her the space she wanted. Girls always seemed to want space. Right? Not to mention she didn't need a screw-up like him as an older brother. From the way people talked about her? She was obviously just fine without him.

It was Megara's words that pulled him out of his thoughts and turned his bright blue eyes back to look at the profile of her face. Listening to her words he knew what she was really asking. If he thought Miles was alright. He'd only met Miles once, but he knew that the guy was very important to Megara. That they had a very close sibling relationship. After a moment of thought he responded, his voice simple and stating the facts. No need to give her false hope over anything. "I think your brother is fine. If they wanted to kill us they would've. They want to take over. So they won't just kill everyone. I believe that Miles is out there." At least, that was the way he saw things.

((I think I'm going to have Miles be already dead. C:< ))

Megara listened carefully to Dorian's words. She trusted him. He was honest. No he wasn't the Abraham Lincoln never tell a lie honest. But he was honest where it counted. And so she allowed herself to believe him. And the words did bring a sort of calmness over her. Hearing it from someone else that her brother was fine. Or could be. It just strengthened the small bit of hope she had that he was. And why wouldn't he be? Miles was smart. He would know to back off and lay low. So he would be fine. He was probably hiding out or he was with the Koreans. But he was fine. He had to be. He wouldn't put himself in danger for no reason. If he knew that he could find her then he would stay down until everything was over or until he got the chance to come to her.

This new idea in her mind continued to flourish. Her appetite even came back just a bit. She took another bite of her sandwich a light in her eyes. What Dorian said made sense. The Koreans seemed to want control. Oppress the States the way the States had oppressed them. So why would they go about and kill random people? And that also meant that everyone else's families should have been fine as well. And North Korea wasn't that powerful, right? Europe could help the States fight. What power did the Koreans really have against them? This all could be over soon. It had to be. Megara turned towards Dorian and gave him a hug. "Thank you." She whispered. Oh, how she had missed his hugs.

[It's going to break her heart xD ]

Honest to her. He was honest with her. Or at least about this he was. After all, it would be pretty much impossible for her to tell if he was lying. There was only one person that he knew that could always seem to tell when he was lying. His little brat of a sister. Gods she was annoying. Personally? He was just waiting for the day when she would run off with that kid of hers.....Lewis? Linius? L-whatever. It didn't even matter. Just some guy that she'd been in to. How did Dorian know this? He may not have spoken to her in quite some time, but he did keep tabs on her. Made sure she wasn't getting pregnant or anything. The last thing the world needed was another Barker. That was what his mind was thinking about when suddenly Megara turned towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

Of course, he responded. Megara was one of the few people he showed affection towards. In fact she was the only person he showed affection towards. And even that was a rare occasion. Why? Because he always felt flustered and clumsy when it came to affection. On their first date? She'd gone to hug him and what did he do? Side-stepped and patted the top of her head before practically running off. It was amazing that there had been a second date. But hugging her? He liked that. It was warm and she smelled like pine needles and peanut butter and it was nice. He wasn't exactly sure why they were whispering. Why he responded to her whisper with his own hushed tone. "It's nothing...." One could practically hear the blush in his voice. Granted he didn't actually blush. He felt heat rise, but he didn't turn pink or anything.

((She might just die as well. (:< ))

Megara made no move to pull back. She missed him holding her like this. She missed this in general. Them talking. But most of all she missed Dorian. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Megara's head against Dorian's neck. Dorian's arms around her. For the first time since the incident things finally seemed normal. Megara only pulled back when her watch beeped. She set a timer, so she would know when her break was over. And now it was. As she pulled back, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and a small smile. "I have to go now, but I'll see you later. Alright?" She said, as she stood up. "I'll just eat this on my way back." She added, holding up her sandwich.