[006] Truthiness

[brynkitten]

~Part One~

[It had been a few days since Bryn had gone on her late night stroll around the Keep grounds, and a bit longer still since she had confessed to Alex her secret. Surprisingly, nothing had gone wrong. Alex had greeted her news with joy, and most of the other guests she had run into in her other form had been rather pleasant, if not completely intrigued and fascinated. Their reactions had all gone a long way toward making Bryn feel more comfortable with who she was.

With her intention to enjoy her other form more, Bryn knew it would be wise to get this informate out into the open sooner rather than later. That she hadn't been attacked on the basis of some perceived need for self-defense had been very lucky.

Before all of that, however, Bryn made her way down to the kitchens to find Joe. He had been the only one to suspect her secret, and scared, she'd denied it. How convincing she'd been was up for debate, but she owed it to him to at least tell the truth before making a Keep-wide announcement.]


~Part Two~

[After speaking with Joe, Bryn cracked open her record and took a deep breath. She set her entry up for video, and offered a hesitant, nervous smile.]

Hi everyone. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Bryn. I've uhm, been here for a while and...well okay. [Deep breath!] I just...thought I should let you all know that I'm a shapeshifter. I can turn into a cougar. I know some of you are familiar with, ah, other shifters at the Keep but I don't lose myself at the full moon so, well. The point I'm trying to get to is that I'm safe to be around and I won't attack anyone so please don't be alarmed if you see me around.

And well, I know some of you have questions so, I'll be be in the Keep up in that little gallery above the hall if...well, anyone wants to find me. There's a little harpsichord up here...

[She pressed a couple keys, which make little plinking noises, and then the entry stopped.]

Comments

commentlog

[notpredictable]

[There is more he wants to know, but Bryn has already answered all that she can about her ability - if there's anything else to be discovered about that it's unfortunately not going to be done at the Keep. He needs his lab, his bottles and vials and giant microscope and DNA samples.

There are, however, other questions left unanswered that puzzle him.

He hesitated - her question seemed open ended, but he knew how private he was, and he's afraid if he presses, he will be expected to return the favor.

Taking a deep breath, he decides to simply throw caution to the wind.]

You mentioned preciously that you ran before your...parents could deliver you to the government.

...Why on earth...?

[Would her parents do that? Would she be afraid they would do that? It didn't make sense.]

commentlog

[brynkitten]

[Bryn went still for a moment, debating how to answer...what to answer. There were so many peculiarities, so many particular quirks about how their family worked that she wasn't sure how to make another person understand.]

There was no such thing as real shapeshifters or weres or anything like that where I lived. My parents have always been more concerned with their public image and careers, and how they were viewed by their peers, than the well-being of their children. My younger brother was to be groomed to follow in my father's footsteps and...as a daughter I was worth nothing to them until they could find a politically and financially advantageous marriage to push me into.

My turning into...my becoming a "freak of nature" to them and potentially beyond their control was unacceptable. Better that I should disappear quietly and they pretend I died than complicate their lives in such a way. They didn't want a daughter to begin with and that was the excuse they took to get rid of me permanently.

[She gave him a shrug, as if to say that this was simply the lot in life she'd been given, and that she had accepted it, but there was an emptiness in her eyes that suggested a great deal more hurt than she was letting on.]

My brother always loved me though. He helped me escape when I woke up and I ran until I lost myself deep in the mountains. Three years later I...I was still living there until Lord Deior brought me here.

commentlog

[notpredictable]

[He is absolutely silent during her story, her tale that reminds him so sharply of himself. He also has to fight to quell the anger that threatens to rise up; how dare someone do that to her, how dare they treat her like that –

But then he remembers his own story, his own childhood and he takes a good, long look at the tips of his leather boots and the cape and the polyurethane suit – and he remembers. He remembers that people don’t like different, that they looked down on ‘freaks’, on ‘outcasts’.

He wants to go back to Bryn’s world and bring hellfire and brimstone down around these people – these fools that had dared treat her like this, that had the audacity to hand over their own daughter to the government in an attempt to rid themselves of her.

The only thing that brought him back to reality was the creak of leather – his hands had curled into fists at his sides. When he speaks, his voice is smooth and controlled, but filled with a thickness that is impossible for him to identify, because he is overwhelmed with emotions that he has not ever dealt with before.]

That-

[He clears his throat.]

That is...unacceptable. And...you are not a freak of nature - by any means. You...are magnificent. An incredible beautiful creature, and damn the fool that thinks otherwise.