tushanshu | 002; video;

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002; video;

[There are a lot of things Tess could talk about, if she was inclined. Bad things, mostly. The kinds of things that keep her awake at night, and plague her with nightmares when she does manage to sleep. Things from back home, things from the bottle, things that are really Ellie's to tell and not hers at all.

Death and loss and violence, and more death.

But fuck that. She's got something way more important to talk about. Like her hair.]

I found a gray hair today. [She twists her face into an approximation of disgust.] Can you believe that? So now I'm wondering if I should just dye it. [She tugs on a lock of her mousy brown hair - shinier and healthier than it was when she first showed up, that's for damn sure, but otherwise not particularly notable.]

But I don't remember the first thing about it. Anybody got tips for me? Or is it a shitty idea and I should forget it?

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Does anyone?

[Have a chance? Have a choice? Who even knows what he means by that? All that's certain is that Bertolt's voice is soft and thoughtful.]

[She's assuming he's talking about choices.]

Kid, you don't know the kinds of choices you have until they're all taken away from you.

Don't ever take this shit for granted.

I don't. I haven't.

[He sighs quietly.]

You're pretty exactly how you are.

That's the most half-assed compliment I've gotten in at least a week.

I wasn't...

[Dammit, he's terrible at this.]

I'm sorry.

[She chuckles faintly.]

Don't get your underpants in a twist, kid. I don't bite. Much.

[A few moments of silence from the other end.]

I'm sorry your choices got taken away from you.

It's not your fault. It happened a long, long time ago.

Point is, now that I'm here I can do all the things I haven't been able to in twenty years. I plan to take advantage.

Is hiding the grey in your hair one of those things?

Being able to do anything with my hair is definitely on that, list, yeah.

Oh. Then you should dye it. If that makes you happy.

Why, thank you, kind sir, for giving your permission.

[She says it without any animosity, however. It's mostly amusement in her voice.]

[He is so bad at this.]

I wasn't... never mind.

[Sigh.]

I'm sorry for bothering you.

[Hahahaha woops. Tess is good at making awkward guys even more awkward.]

Aw, kid, you didn't bother me. I'm just giving you shit. What's your name?

[Bertolt is pretty exception, even among awkward guys.]

Bertolt Hoover. What about you?

[The secondhand embarrassment is strong with this one. But it's also somehow oddly endearing.]

Tess.

[That's good, because it's the only play in his playbook.]

It's nice to meet you, Tess.

So what do you do, Bertolt? That's kind of a mouthful, can I call you Bert?

[There's another pause before Bertolt answers.]

I'm a soldier. And... my friends call me Bertl. Sometimes.

You are a soldier? [Hahaha he is so not at all like soldiers from home. Like, at all. She never would've pegged him for that.]

Yes ma'am. I just finished my training not that long ago.

[He's been a warrior for a lot longer, but there's no need to tell her that.]

[Hearing anyone but Joel calling her 'ma'am' is a jolt - nobody does it but the big Texan, and it takes a moment for her to recover.]

You're probably better off here, then.

It's... quieter here.

[He can't agree, not without feeling like he's betraying his principles, but... yes. He's much better off here.]

It's actually noisier here. But in a good way.

[He sounds like one of those kids conscripted by the military - the schools they run aren't just schools, of course, they're essentially boot camps. Every kid who passes through them ends up a soldier in body armor with an assault rifle. That's how she sees Bertolt, and she's glad he's here.]

[That's not too far off from the truth, except Bertolt's military training actually started when he was very, very young. The military behind the walls has a minimum enlistment age of twelve; it's significantly lower outside them.]

Yes, ma'am. I meant quieter in the mental sense, but yes, it's noisier physically.

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