InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The system is down . . ."

claire redfield (letherlive) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2009-09-11 22:34:00

WHO: Claire & Wesker.
WHAT: The meeting that was bound to happen eventually.
WHEN: This afternoon.
WHERE: Streets.
RATING: PG.
STATUS: Complete.

To say that Claire was on edge was an understatement. It wasn't just the fact that she was stuck here in a city that wasn't even on Earth with no way out. No, she had to be stuck here with Wesker. Not just Wesker, of course, but if there was anybody from back home that could have been here with here, she wouldn't have picked him at all, let alone last. She didn't know if he was going to try to start another outbreak here -- which he definitely could, and quite easily, at that -- and just waiting around to find out was killing her. She couldn't exactly do anything about him, though. Not in this place. She had to let him wander about like any other normal person, all the while he taunted her even without seeing her face-to-face. He just got under her skin, in more ways than one, though every single one was bad.

And then, of course, there were other issues she was dealing with, such as the fact that she was separated from Chris and the others. It had been had enough when she couldn't find him in Raccoon City, or when they'd been split up on Rockfort Island and in Antarctica. This was completely different. She and her brother and friends weren't even on the same planet. Steve was also someone that was on Claire's mind almost constantly, and she wasn't even picturing him as a monster or dying in her arms anymore. She was picturing his lifeless form on a table in some secret lab somewhere, being experimented on and tortured even after his death. Maybe he'd been brought back as another type of bio-weapon, she couldn't really know. She didn't want to think about it.

She was walking, something she did quite often anymore, since there was little else to do. She needed to get active, to find a job or a hobby or even some friends to hang out with. She didn't feel up to it, but she knew it had to be the next step. One of them did, anyway.

All of a sudden, she stopped dead in her tracks. The sun was just starting to set, as it was getting late in the afternoon, and there weren't many people around. So it was easy for Claire to pick out a ste of footsteps that seemed to match her own almost too perfectly. Her jaw sqaured, she balled her hands up into fists without even turning around.

"Wesker."

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weskerish
2009-09-12 06:15 am UTC (link)

"Hello, Claire."

No matter where or when he was, Wesker tended to sound the same. If nothing else, it often gave the illusion that he was in control of all matters even when there was no possibility of him having such. His black suit was clean and pressed somehow, the BOW either spending precious money on it or having found a job. It was a change from what he had been wearing last, but that had been rather... destroyed thanks to the volcano and rockets.

Pity Chris wasn't here to make up for it.

"I had wondered how long it would take you. Disappointly long, might I add."

The afternoon sun slid across his perfect black sunglasses, a flicker of red there that could have been his eyes or the same sunlight was there and gone. His gloved hands folded before him as he watched her. His face was perfectly blank of expression, giving nothing away of what he might be intending.

"One might think you would be more on your guard than what you were. Thoughts going back to that certain young man? That could be rather dangerous here. Imagine how he would feel if he arrived here only to discover that you had died?"

The sound of his footsteps on the ground was loud in the silence. Each was a sharp snap-click with military precision.

"Or your dear brother. That's an almost pleasant thought, especially if I get to tell him."

There was finally a hint of expression, a small sharp smile that showed a hint of teeth.

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letherlive
2009-09-12 06:26 am UTC (link)

Wesker had been right about one thing, and one thing only, in Claire's opinion. The acknowledgement of such was something she would never dare reveal out loud, but deep down, she knew it was there. He was familiar in this unfamiliar place. He didn't exactly comfort her -- not at all, in fact -- but he was still a part of her life back home that was here with her. Even if she didn't know how to deal with anything else in Colligo, she knew how to deal with Wesker. Maybe it didn't always seem that way, but it was true.

When Claire turned to face the man, her expression darkened with a considerable amount of anger. She watched every move he made, no matter how slight, and never once took a step back or made any motion of fear. She wasn't necessarily afraid of what Wesker could do to her personally, for whatever reason, but it was what he was capable of doing on a larger scale to so many others.

"That's getting old, Wesker," she replied with a slight shake of her head. "How many times have I heard you say that, or something along those lines? And yet...still here, still ticking."

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weskerish
2009-09-13 12:09 am UTC (link)

His steps came to a halt roughly ten feet from her. To the human eye, Albert Wesker would have seemed like anyone else on the street. He didn't seem any bigger or small, ugly or handsome than the next person. It was the 'normalness' that allowed him to walk about and not be the freakshow that most would have thought someone infected with the deadly virus would be. That and he didn't try to chew the heads off people as most did.

Kindness did not touch on his face. Wesker's expression was almost always that of cool detachment. Even with the suggestion of a smile there, it was more like something done out of habit than a real emotional response.

The anger that overtook her face didn't surprise him. Redfields were made for rage if nothing else. It was one reason they made such excellent weapons. Chris was a prime example. It was that same rage that made them stupid. It was an annoying trait, but one he had learned to live with.

"You live because someone has chosen to let you do so, Claire. I can assure you that's not due to any skill on your behalf."

His head turned, glancing down another street before settling back on her.

"What have you done here so far, my dear? Found a job? Made friends? What have you been up to? Or, have you been wallowing and fumbling in the darkness in hopes someone else will turn on the light and show you the way?"

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letherlive
2009-09-13 01:13 am UTC (link)

"Right, another thing that's getting really old," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not alive because of you, Wesker. I'm not still breathing because you chose to let me. God, you have such a complex, don't you?" No amount of chatter from him would make her believe that the only reason she was still alive was because he had allowed her to remain so. She was alive because of her own skills and intelligence, as well as help from Chris and the others. But Wesker? No, he had nothing to do with it.

Another roll of her eyes when he attempted small talk, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to eye him both suspiciously and angrily. "As if any of that is even your concern." She was just starting to do a little better, even if she still had a lot on her mind. She didn't feel like curling up into a little ball in the corner of her room anymore, and she was starting to socialize a bit more. None of it was anything she was about to go into detail with when it came to Wesker. "But unfortunately for you, I'm doing just fine here."

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weskerish
2009-09-15 02:18 am UTC (link)

"I didn't say because of me, Claire, but it is amusing that you would point that out while I did not."

That silver of a smile came and went again. It was much like an overgrown cat batting around a fuzzy grey mouse in his eyes. Oh, he would let her get a bit of a running start before he slammed a clawed paw back down on her tail to reel her in once more. One took their amusements where they could in his opinion.

His gaze raked down and up her, nodding slowly to her words.

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe you. Were that true, I doubt you would be as aggressive as you are right now. Redfields are often at their worst when they find themselves at a loss."

Lifting his shoulders in a bit of a shrug, Wesker turned away from her and started down the street back towards where he lived. What he wanted to see was how bad that lonliness was, how much pull he could exert on her and where the limit was.

"As you said, Claire, it isn't my concern. Do have a good day."

The question was now if she took the bait or not.

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letherlive
2009-09-15 02:31 am UTC (link)

Claire found her blood almost literally beginning to boil as Wesker continued. He had a way of annoying her and getting under her skin without really trying too hard. She didn't want to let onto that, though. That was exactly what he wanted, and she needed to control herself around him. If she lost her temper, went a little nuts over something he said or did, it would ruin everything.

She watched him walk away, making sure to school her expression into one of cool disattachment before he turned away from her completely. He thought she was going to run after him, keep talking and arguing, but she wasn't. She refused.

"You too, Wesker."

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weskerish
2009-09-15 02:35 am UTC (link)

"You are at your most interesting when you try to control yourself, Claire," he said more to himself than the woman herself. Part of him wanted to turn around and see her expression, observe that oh-so-entertaining fury that he was sure would be there. To do that would spoil the illusion though. Control was his and must remain so. To turn back would make him the weakest of them.

He would wait her out if he had to.

If there was one thing Wesker had in spades, it was patience. The hospital was his next stop, needing to see about getting some sort of employment. It had been awhile since someone had called him Doctor Albert Wesker.

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