(She did, though Abby doesn't look nearly as pleased with herself as she usually would be when she notices River approaches from across the hall. Few things on her mind. Even so, she gets a slow clap.) You solved my riddle.
It was a good riddle. [ Took her a second to figure out. Either way, River loops her arm through one of Abby's and smiles up at her friend. ] Do we want to walk?
(Makes the whole thing feel a little more casual, some how? She notes, as they get going,) You... seem fine. About this. (With the sudden knowledge that Abby is, in fact, a murderer. Of loved ones, no less.)
Told Ellie the same: everyone has a past. [ She holds her head high, and swallows. ] Her hands aren't bloodless. Someone's child grew up to die. Someone's parent, maybe.
It doesn't... change? For her. It doesn't change anything.
(Abby nods, absorbing this. In case River was thinking it, worrying, she's quick to assure her.) It doesn't change anything for me either. (She'd be a fucking hypocrite if she dared judge anybody for their past actions, huh.
She sighs. It comes out a little easier than it did with Loki.) I killed somebody that she loved, because he killed somebody that I loved.
(It's not an excuse, just the truth.) ... And because I did that, she retaliated. I think we could have kept going on like that until we destroyed everything around us. But we didn't.
(Abby doesn't think she's owed anything at all, but she won't stop River as she starts to speak. There's something about a careful exchange of words and backstories that makes the whole thing a little more bearable.)
Parents disowned him. For trying to help her. He bought mercenaries to do it. But they died, too. So now she doesn't know where he is. If he's anywhere.
(Shrug.) I don't know Simon, so you're the best to me. (She wants her stance on the matter known, thanks! As well as,) I hope he's okay. Wherever he is.
[ There is more she could say. More specifics. There are words for the thing that happened, atrocities, shaping children into murderers, but she... she can't. Instead River takes a shaky breath and shudders. ]
How old were you the first time your hands were red with blood?
She was... sixteen? Probably old. Considering everything.
(Abby doesn't bother to ask whether she wants to know about Abby's first infected, or the first human kill.) Thirteen, (she completes, looking steadily at River. It doesn't shock her to hear any of it. Maybe she's not really the right person to tell something like that to.) That's not old, River. We were kids.
(At the time she didn't get that. She didn't understand why her dad cried in the wake of the unmoving body, but she does now.)
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(Hold on.) Loudly, anyway. (Get it?) I'll meet you outside of it.
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[ Hopefully Abby meant the library because that's where River is headed. ]
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It was a good riddle. [ Took her a second to figure out. Either way, River loops her arm through one of Abby's and smiles up at her friend. ] Do we want to walk?
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(Makes the whole thing feel a little more casual, some how? She notes, as they get going,) You... seem fine. About this. (With the sudden knowledge that Abby is, in fact, a murderer. Of loved ones, no less.)
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It doesn't... change? For her. It doesn't change anything.
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She sighs. It comes out a little easier than it did with Loki.) I killed somebody that she loved, because he killed somebody that I loved.
(It's not an excuse, just the truth.) ... And because I did that, she retaliated. I think we could have kept going on like that until we destroyed everything around us. But we didn't.
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Pain wound round and round, too tight, cuts off the blood, the whole thing needing to be amputated.
What stopped you? [ Whichever of them it was that stopped things. ]
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She sighs again. She's noticed that talking about this makes her sigh a lot.)
... Lev stopped me. (He gave her a moment to breathe and make a different choice, and she's glad that she did.) Friend of mine, from back home.
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[ A breath. She owes Abby a story in return, the problem is that she doesn't know where to start. ]
Have a brother. It's a possibility that it is all past tense now.
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(Abby doesn't think she's owed anything at all, but she won't stop River as she starts to speak. There's something about a careful exchange of words and backstories that makes the whole thing a little more bearable.)
What's your brother's name? What's he like?
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[ River pinches her lips together and sighs. How does she explain her brother? ]
Very smart. Interested in helping people. Always kind, soft, blushes when a girl looks at him for too long. Older.
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... Blushing at girls? Abby hasn't noticed either way, but she'll keep an eye out.) Where is he?
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[ She sighs, a little. ]
Parents disowned him. For trying to help her. He bought mercenaries to do it. But they died, too. So now she doesn't know where he is. If he's anywhere.
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Why- wasn't he allowed to help you?
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Pain? Suffering. Beyond the rigors of a finishing education.
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(She might not. It sounds like it might be hurtful.) I don't mind if you don't. You don't owe me anything.
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[ There is more she could say. More specifics. There are words for the thing that happened, atrocities, shaping children into murderers, but she... she can't. Instead River takes a shaky breath and shudders. ]
How old were you the first time your hands were red with blood?
She was... sixteen? Probably old. Considering everything.
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(At the time she didn't get that. She didn't understand why her dad cried in the wake of the unmoving body, but she does now.)
What happened?