With reluctance, Elisa unbuckled her holster. It wasn't something that she wanted to do; it was her weapon after all, and she was responsible for it. And she had already learned that lesson the hard way when she had made the mistake of leaving her gun out where Broadway found it, and--
Elisa froze as the horrid memory came back in full force. The way that Broadway innocently had treated her gun as a toy, and accidentally shot her. It wasn't a mistake that she'd soon forget, and from that point on, she had been much more careful with her gun.
Such a foolish mistake. Elisa chastised herself. Perhaps it would be better if I were rid of this dreadful thing after all. She quickly finished unbuckling the holster and looked away as she handed it to Chun-Li. I shall not miss it.
Ms. Aran seemed to notice her shift in attitude. "Your reluctance to part with your firearm seems to have vanished, Miss Elisa. Would you care to explain why?"
Elisa's answer came surprisingly easy to her, even in her strangely more formal tongue. "Weapons are troublesome things, Ms. Aran. I once had the misfortune of leaving my gun in a place where a childish oaf found it and ended up hospitalized for my troubles." Wait. Oaf? Why would I say that about Broadway? He's...
"An imbecile took your weapon when you weren't looking?" Ms. Aran nodded, understanding. "Was this fool one of your gargoyle friends?"
"Yes, but--"
"But what sort of simpleton would be so careless? Miss Elisa, noble your friends may be, you must learn to keep better company."
Elisa wanted to argue the point. Broadway wasn't a terrible friend, but...but even so, Ms. Aran wasn't wrong, either. Broadway could be slow and thoughtless. And the other gargoyles had their own faults, as well. Sure, none of them were terrible, but each of them had made her life significantly more complicated. She sighed. "You aren't wrong, Ms. Aran. My friends have caused me a great deal of grief."
"That need not be the case." Ms. Aran met eyes with her pupil and extended and empty hand. "Your badge, present it to me so that I might dispose of it. Free yourself of these barbaric weights and learn what it means to live as a true lady."
"You mean, give it all up?" Elisa was stunned. "My career, my friends, all of it?"
"A clean break is what you need, Miss Elisa." Ms. Aran said sternly. "You will not find what you seek so long as you cling to the vermin in your life. Now give up your badge. It is nothing more than another symbol of the dreadful life you've led."
Elisa took in Ms. Aran's words. She wanted to disagree, and yet, there was something about them that just seemed right. The idea of being a cop, of investigating the oddities that Xanatos pursued, even the gargoyles themselves all seemed less important. She began to wonder if, perhaps, Ms. Aran was right about it all.
Elisa pulled out her badge and handed it to Ms. Aran, who graciously took it, and then summarily disposed of it in a nearby trash can before turning back to her pupil. "You have made a wise decision, Miss Elisa." Ms. Aran sounded pleased, despite her stoicism. "Now come. There is much for you to learn."
Sun Sep 09 02:54:20 2012
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