a rage room couldn't survive parker jones right now. she knows that. and that's why she's still as a statue, staring unblinking at the ground between her spread legs. her elbows are digging so hard into her thighs that it's starting to hurt, but if she moves right now, she might absolutely fucking lose it. 

she might kill fox for all she knows. 

'cause she can't trust herself. not after mossdeep. this is the big leagues now and she's not cut out for it. what's gonna happen when she flips the switch and she really, really goes no holds barred? how many people is she gonna kill? 

how much blood can stain her hands until nomi won't fucking look at her anymore? 

he butts her shoulder and she doesn't lash out. nothing happens, really. she keeps staring doggedly and her brain is slow to react to that, but when it does, she blinks a few times and finally looks up. YOSH!!!

must be the chao music. 

"y'know, every time you go to the garden with an evil character, the chaos get closer to evil. unless, you like, beat the shit out of them with evil characters or something. then they turn good."

she rubs her face. "maybe this really is the fuckin' sonic universe after all, but you and i, we're in the godsdamned chao garden."

she thunks her forehead on fox's shoulder and then wraps her arms around him like an oversized toddler. oh, she could snap him like a twig, for sure. 

"wait, your couch can fly?"

howard slayte

☉

she's not so far gone that she starts sniveling on his shoulder, or burying her face in his neck. she holds him and her mouth screws up a little, but mostly she's just blank. tired. running on empty. 

been like that a while. feeling kinda soulless, killing nomi with every quiet assurance that she's fine, they're fine. all her passion wrapped up in the wettest, rattiest, never-dries-all-the-way towel there is. 

howard has the bottle. parker used to have the gym. or fucking. now she's got sonic 2 and an empty house and a head that's never, ever empty enough. a head that's so full of one stupid, panicked second that stretches into eternity. 

he rubs his head and he talks to her like she's a fucking moron, which isn't fair, because can't golurk fly? 

she slumps back regardless, knifes her fingers through her hair, makes all the red pointy bits stick up every which way. it's a bit of a shocker, but not really, when he goes all christian bale on her. she shrugs. 

"that you're the league's dark knight? whatever keeps you sane, man."

she sits in the quiet. well, the mostly quiet. the chaos make their weird, little guy sounds. the garden music is pleasant. the sound is a bit distorted, more echo to it than there should be, on account of the only piece of furniture being a legendary golem that most certainly cannot fly. 

after a while, she exhales a, "thanks."

and then she picks up the controllers, hands him first player, and says, "this time, i'll be shadow for a bit."

howard slayte

☉