Story 3.

[nathalia]

Title: For Her.
Universe: Cruel To Be Kind / Wraiths.
Characters: Tylor, Kenneth, (Jane).
Summary: Tylor tries to help Kenneth after Jane’s death.
Genre: ?
Category: conflict, dialogue, scene.
Date: 14.10.2006.
Word Count: 500.

 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Kenneth muttered. “She wasn’t supposed to die.”

“You can’t control things around you, you know?” Tylor looked at her friend, not sure what to say, she knew words aren’t enough, she wouldn’t be able to console him and she knew she wouldn’t be able to convince him of the fact that Jane’s death wasn’t his fault, that she knew what she was doing when she ran into her certain death.

“She was my wingmate, Ty, I was supposed to look after her, ensure she wouldn’t get hurt -- guess what, I did a real good job, I got her killed.”

There were tears in Kenneth’s light blue eyes, his brown hair was unkempt, his clothes crumpled; he didn’t look like the handsome, self-assured man Tylor had gotten to know a few months before, he looked helpless, something Ty had never seen any of her team mates look like; helplessness was strongly discouraged.

“I’ll have to resign my commission, you know that, don’t you?” Kenneth didn’t pity himself, it was the only right thing to do. No matter how much he had worked to stay on the team, now things were different and he had to resign, he was a murderer and he didn’t want the others to have to live with him.

“You can’t do that,” Tylor argued. “You’re being overly dramatic. Jane made a decision, she knew that the whole teams’ lives were at stake and so she died so we could live and complete our mission, so we could go on and work for the greater good, you can’t just stop now, if you do so, then you’ll have a reason to feel sorry, you’ll have dishonoured Jane’s death.” Tylor’s brown eyes were locked on his, a few bangs of her blond hair that she usually wore in a ponytail fell into her face, but she didn’t brush them back, she was too busy staring at Kenneth, talking to him, trying to make him realise that his behaviour wasn’t what Jane would have expected of him.

“We went into this knowing that some of us might not make it back and we were lucky, only one of us died, unfortunately, it was Jane, your partner, but she was prepared. You may cry for her, but you can’t tell me it was your fault, not if you can’t prove that you were the one who talked her into sacrificing herself so we could live; and I know you would never be able to do such a thing.

“Look at Tom, her boyfriend, he loved her, and he is grieving, but unlike you he is doing so in a healthy way. If you don’t stop blaming yourself, if you resign, then you can hold yourself responsible for the next death that occurs, because if you had been there, it might not have happened. You did what you could to save Jane, but it wasn’t possible, so stop crying over this and start crying over her.”