A Chance Meeting [Closed|Sofia]

The world had changed again.

Sofia let loose a soft, slow breath, a hand running through her chestnut hair as she looked out at the eroded courtyard before her, eyes lidded and blank. The First Division had, at least in the short time she had been a part of it, always been a calm, if busy, collection of individuals who looked after the administration and management of the Seireitei with a meticulous, careful hand.It was a place of quiet diligence, and their barracks had been a reflection of that; simple without being austere, commanding but not tyrannical, the architecture that housed the leadership of the afterlife was at once a symbol of its power and a literal, shining example for all Shinigami to strive towards.

Seeing it now, half-crumbled and overtaken by nature, was enough to make her eyes burn.

She moved slowly at first, legs sluggish as she turned away from the scene, grip tight against the handle of her Zanpakuto. But with each step the woman took, her pace increased; with every broken down hallway she passed through, her grip tightened; with every empty bunk, her chest grew ever tighter. This is wrong. There had to be a way to fix this, to make it better, to make the world right again. There had to be someone who could fix this, who could act amidst the despair and hardship and wrongness of it all. There had to-

Sofia froze, eyes going wide as she caught a glimpse of the woman who was about to hit her before both their bodies fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs that left the smaller Shinigami gasping for breath. That… hurt. A moment passed, then another, the other woman extracting herself from atop her with a hiss of pain even as she scrambled to her feet, gaze hard and narrow. Her mouth opened, the words slipping free before she could reign in her tongue, voice hot with anger and pain and a thousand other feelings she had no desire to deal with right now.

“You. Explain. Now.”

WC: 347

The apology that Reyla was preparing to give died on her lips when the other woman spoke, and her previously open expression turned neutral, her eyes becoming half lidded as she looked the woman in front of her up and down. She was shorter than Reyla was and fairly thin with chestnut hair bound up in a slightly disheveled pony tail, her eyes, though currently showing anger, seemed guarded, and the way she held herself was muted, as if she wasn't used to conflict. A shame she opened their discussion so rudely then. 

Even though Reyla wasn't particularly skilled with detecting others Reiatsu, at this distance even she could expand her senses to get a read on the woman. Her reiatsu was, in a word, bleak. It reeked of melancholy and loneliness, but most importantly it paled in comparison to Reyla's own strength. Pathetic, who does she think she is? The voice of Majo no Tsuki was a surprise, she rarely spoke with Reyla unless she had released her shikai, but apparently she picked up on Reyla's own feelings, and neither of them was happy with this woman acting as if she was somehow superior to them, and their pride demanded that they respond by putting the girl in her place. A pity she had decided to open this can of worms, perhaps they could have at the very least been cordial acquaintances, if not friends, if this had happened differently.

Briefly Reyla entertained the idea of exerting her spiritual presence, and the thought of the woman backing down almost brought a grin to her grip, but she decided against it. There was a primal beauty to be experienced through the act of intimidation through power, but this was not the place for it, at least not yet.

When Reyla spoke her voice was absolutely frigid, "Excuse me? I suggest that you rethink your tone. I do not recognize you, and you are clearly not an officer, not unless the first has fallen even farther than the rest of the divisions, so you have absolutely no right to address me as if I were your subordinate, so why don't you try that again, and this time think before you speak."

WC:370

Sofia knew from the moment her words hit the air that they were a mistake.

A breath, short and sharp, entered the woman, anger fading to little more than a dull ache in her chest as she looked the other Shinigami over, gaze wide but guarded. She was tall and lithe, with long black hair and dark-brown eyes that reflected nothing but a cold, empty contempt for what was before them. Her posture was, in a word, perfect; shoulders straight, gaze up front, feet planted firmly on the ground, yet ready to move without thought. Like looking in a strange, reverse mirror.

“I...” Sofia froze when the black haired woman spoke, words catching in her throat as she listened to what the taller Shinigami had to say. Her gaze began to droop with every word, shoulders slumping forwards as she slowly but surely began to shuffle back, hands coming up in a placating gesture. She had messed up. Again. It was obvious this woman was her superior- she had to be, to speak with the kind of detached authority present in her frigid voice, to hold such an overwhelming Spiritual advantage. There was no recourse but to apologize, to fall to her knees and be-

...No. The woman let loose the breath she had been holding, her gaze lifting up as a hand, soft but firm, took hold of her shoulder, it’s comforting, strengthening presence stirring her to act, even in the midst of fear. “I will apologize for my rudeness when you apologize for yours.” Her voice was soft and calm, a muted, empty response that revealed nothing, not even the thunderous rhythm within her chest. If there was to be an issue between them, then so be it. She would not cow to this woman, not now, not with so much wrong with the world.

WC: 307/654

Reyla watched as the woman seemed to collapse into herself in response to Reyla's words, and her annoyance grew even more. Perhaps if she'd been in a better mood she would have been more generous and tried to be nicer to the girl, but as it was all she could think of was how utterly contemptible this woman was, to act as if she had the right to make demands, do not give others the right to speak before accusing them, and then to not have the spine to stand up when someone bit back? What was worse was the fact that she was even in the first division at all, a woman so lacking in confidence had no place being a leader, especially after the toll that the last five years had taken on the morale of the Soul Society. A woman like this trying to lead would only cause the Soul Society to become even weaker than it had become.

Reyla was almost surprised when the woman straightened back up, showing that she could use her spine after all, but any improvement in opinion towards the woman disappeared when she heard her speak. The woman's words showed none of the fear or meekness that she had shown before, but neither did it have any conviction to it. Her words were hollow, as if they were spoken less out of the belief of the one speaking them and more like they simply thought they should say them.

"I'm going to assume that you want me to apologize for running into you, which I was about to do before you failed to reign your tongue. If you refer to my words, why should I? You showed me disrespect, so why should I respect you, especially after seeing you crumble under my words. I saw your fear, and while you tried to stand back up there was no conviction. How can you expect respect, how can you expect to lead, when you can't even stand up for you own pride?"

WC:339

Her response went over about as well as she’d expected, given the circumstance.

Sofia blinked, gaze shifting away from the other woman by instinct, hands falling to her sides as she listened to the taller Shinigami speak. It was true, of course. She had been, and still was, afraid of this woman. She wasn’t a fighter, nor was she particularly interested in conflict in general- it held no appeal to the chestnut-haired woman, no merit beyond a base measuring of one’s strength, no point save to prove you were more powerful than those who opposed you. It wasn’t worth it, this squabble. It never had been, never would be, and yet…

Another breath left the Shinigami, head tilting towards the ground as she condeeded, hands straightening out her (now rather disheveled) uniform. “I… You’re right. I should have held my tongue before.” The apology came easily to her lips, a soft, practiced phrase that flowed from her mouth with all the sincerity of a forced confession. She had done her part, had played the role she was meant to in this little play, and that was it; whether the woman chose to accept it or not, Sofia was done here.

Moving without pause, the woman kept her gaze low, steps quick and purposed as she brushed a long strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.  Within seconds she was down the hallway, her slender frame twisting through the maze of halls and corridors that made up the First without thought or direction. Where she ended up, if the other Shinigami followed her, what she had seen in the courtyard, none of it mattered, not now.

Her limbs felt heavy, the hallway confining and smothering- but it was a familiar feeling, one whose waters she had learned to navigate long ago, back in her time in the Rukongai. Maybe later, when she could summon the will to care, she would reflect on what she had done and wonder what, if anything, could have been done to salvage that conversation. But, for now? Sofia wanted nothing more to be left alone with her grief, her sadness, and her dreams.

It was what she was good for, after all.

WC: 366/1020

Reyla watched the woman slink farther into herself, but instead of feeling the satisfaction she expected she felt...hollow. Much like the girls words had been. As the girl stammered out an apology Reyla took a moment to actually think about her actions, and as she did she couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself. She knew that she was a bit more fond of watching others get their comeuppance than was really normal, but that required the person in question to have actually done something wrong. Unfortunately Reyla was beginning to realize that while the woman had been disrespectful, she was still here and working when so many of her comrades had been lost or had gone rogue. The woman may not have been strong enough to directly face Reyla in a confrontational situation, but she clearly had some strength in her to keep doing her duty.

As the woman began to walk away Reyla decided to bite the bullet and let her pride take a small hit, "Wait." Reyla walked up to the woman, slipping her hand into her robe and pulling out a small slip of paper. "I'm...sorry. I was the one who ran into you, and you were within your rights to be annoyed and ask for an explanation." Even if you could have worded it better. "I shouldn't have gone after you like that, no matter what mood I've been in. Here." Reyla handed the woman the slip of paper, "This is a coupon to a tea shop just outside of the walls, the people there at least still tolerate us, and the shop itself still welcomes us. It's not much, but it should at least give you a chance to relax a bit, lord knows we could all stand to unwind and stop jumping at shadows."

With that Reyla turned and began to walk away, determined to find her own way out. Yes it might have been somewhat humiliating to admit that she was wrong, at least in part, but she felt that the shame of deliberately attacking one of her peers out of pent up frustration would be worse, so even if she was still in a somewhat bitter mood she at least walked away better than she would have if she had allowed her attitude to continue needlessly.

WC:385
EXIT