Alt Prompt Shivering - Tumblr Posts

Shivering

She hated showing weakness.

Sitting in that opera box next to the man whose throat was slit, hearing the rise and fall of the singer on the stage far below, trembling with fear...

Sitting on the sticky bar stool all alone at the bar, absentmindedly listening to the music drifting over from the small band in the corner, shivering from the cold...

She was supposed to be strong. This act itself - ditching the eclectic crew on that stinky ship - was supposed to showcase how brave and bold she was. Fleeing a space of moderate safety for the unknown dangers of an ice cold world... going back out on her own to prove that she could handle this universe as a woman all alone.

It would have been smart to steal more clothes before leaving, though.

She had learned a lot over the years, in retrospect. Nothing that ever helped much since it was all gleaned after the fact. Next time, she'd know better. Next time, she'd be prepared.

Subtle tremors had wracked her body since she stepped foot out of her zipcraft but here, finally, in the smoky closed confines of the Rester House bar... she began to thaw. After the second drink she didn't even need the jacket anymore and slipped it off to drape over the unoccupied stool on her right.

The combination of cheap booze, jacked up heat, and no doubt the fact that her immune system was about to bail on her much like she'd bailed on her comrades... it was all adding up to an almost-feverish level of intoxication. She barely noticed when the lights came on in the bar as the band started to disperse. Surprisingly, none of the other booze hounds in the bar seemed inclined to depart even though it was the start of a brand new day. Or was it?

Time here was strange. The sky was perpetually overcast, snow falling almost constantly. She supposed it didn't matter much what time it was.

She had nothing to do. Nowhere to be. And, if her note was properly interpreted, nobody to care.

The sax player came up behind her as she sneezed once, twice, three times.

He tried a line on her and Faye felt amusement stir. Her skin pebbled with goosebumps and perhaps he noticed because he tossed his jacket lightly across her shoulders.

Faye was unsure what to make of this man who flirted yet denied his interest... who alerted her to the scrutiny of the other drinkers, none of whom had left the bar yet.

But ultimately she wasn't concerned. In fact, it might be nice to get her blood pumping with a little ass kicking and from the look of them, most of these fellows could use a whooping.

So she rose carefully to her feet with a projected air of nonchalance and added a bit more sway to her exit than was strictly necessary. It helped to hide the convulsion that threatened as her sweat-slicked skin registered the changing air temperature caused by the wind of her movement towards the door that let in the chill of the outside world.

Her nose felt drippy. Her body felt too warm but simultaneously cold to the bone. If she wasn't sick now then she was well on her way. But there wasn't a lot she could do about it.

About anything, really.

Let the predators come after her. Let the battle leave her bloodied and insensate in a heap of bitter cold snow. Let the perpetual struggle to survive in this world be over and done.

Nobody cared about little Faye Valentine anyway. Not even Faye herself.