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the rage is is blinding. it crawls up her throat, claws behind her eyes, rushing in her ears.
no, it’s not rage. it’s something more. something stronger.
it’s what makes her do it, she thinks. this…not-rage, filling her chest with fire. the astronomer cowers under it. she’s glad. she’s glad that his stupid eyes are clouded with terror.
the bear doesnt react, doesn’t react to the inferno spilling out of her. he inclines his head, eyes steady. it makes rose want to rip his throat out.
“will you get me the things i ask?” he blinks, serenely. it’s infuriating. rose swallows down the urge to kick something.
“yes,” she whispers, and she’s suddenly thrust from her body, her consciousness suspended.
the fire fizzles down to embers when she sees scheherazade. there’s too much sadness in her eyes to be angry. rose feels pity start to stir in her chest as she watches the loneliness in her dance.
her heart speeds up again when she sees the soldier. not as a person, but as an opportunity. it’s nice to dance again, nice to have a warm body pressed against her. but the cold metal of the gun on her fingers is exhilarating. flames crackle as she aims between the soldier’s eyes.
seeing roxie’s mother is like being thrown into a furnace. she can’t control the heat, roaring through her. she vaguely registers that the body she’s in is not her own, soaked in blood and skin as thin as paper. but she’s still rose, still herself, and the woman in front of her is pearl. she has the same eyes. the fire propels her forward.
the subway platform is ice. she watches numbly as the man screams, watches as the figure of the helpless woman stumbles, falls onto the track. that’s a familiar silhouette. she raises the camera with shaking hands, the rattle of the train falling upon her like an icy rain that douses the feeble coals that still burn within her.
she’s filled with ash. ash and regret.
the camera falls from her fingers as she steps back in horror. she barely has time to react as the train rips through the victim before she’s once again ripped from her body, once again standing before the bear. he studies her carefully.
“do you have the things i asked for?” it’s low, rumbling, and rose is terrified. she nods. he bares his teeth, a low rumble echoing around her. she’s close to bolting when she realizes he’s laughing. “i’m not doing your dirty work. i just wanted the honey. go. do it yourself.” it’s back, the not-rage, erupting in a split second.
“i hate you.” she’s steely calm as she drops the honey to the ground. it shatters as she pulls her cloak close around her, running deftly from the cave as the bear reaches for her.
the fire burns comfortably as she walks next to pearl, low enough that her head is clear. she remembers why she came to the bear in the first place, remembers what pearl had done to her. she knows what she wants. she stares into her sister’s eyes as she pushes her. they’re full of fear.