[ evan stops when they get to the ironworks, the huge, looming monstrosity that used to always be lit, always be active. the iron is long since cold, coating the inside of the massive vat so permanently it's become part of the metal. the windows are broken and the pipes would shatter if they got hot again. it's all a reminder of what he used to have, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing at this point.
he wants to get rid of david somehow, but he can't be stealthy when he's being followed. trying to kill him would restart the fight he just ended. he doesn't sigh, and he doesn't snarl, and he doesn't look back when he speaks. ]
If there was somethin', why would you care?
[ there's an edge of curiosity there. why would he care? is he just asking to carry it back to the campfire, and then to get overheard by certain ghosts? ]
[ david stops maybe a foot behind him, frozen by the question. ]
I dunno.
[ why does he care. why would it matter if there was something up with evan? it tugs at something in him, familiar with the way he feels toward the other survivors sometimes, but that's... that's wrong. evan's not a survivor, he's not his friend. why does this matter at all? ]
[ it's an excuse, half-assed, and evan can tell. he'd think about the fact that every word he's spoken so far has also been an excuse, but that would be coming dangerously close to self-awareness when he's in this kind of mood. ]
Does anything around here?
[ he's not sure he wants to know why david thinks him backing off 'doesn't feel right' in a way that isn't gloating. would he chase david down in this kind of situation? no. probably not -
the probably sinks in, and he only doesn't storm further into the ironworks out of sheer frustrated disbelief at himself. ]
[ david will concede that point, nothing in this place feels right. but that doesn't mean he has to just accept it and leave when something is so obviously off either. ]
[ talking to evan's back is stupid though. david steps around to be able to face him, to look up at his mask with a frown. ]
Look, I've got no right answer to give you here. All I know is what I said.
[ it's true and it's not. it doesn't feel right and david doesn't really know why beyond the fact that it's not like evan, but he also knows it's not like himself to be bothered by it either. anyone else, hell just a few months ago, he'd take the win and shove it in his face next time they saw eachother. ]
[ fact is, talking to evan makes david feel like he's going crazy sometimes. this is just evidence that maybe that's true. ]
[ evan realizes with more than a little irritation that david's not going to give up until he has an answer he likes. or at least an answer he can stomach, since apparently you win isn't good enough anymore. he looks david in the eye, or as much as that can be done with the mask on, and sees ... what?
concern? confusion? pity? it makes him furious, almost sick to deal with. he might be seeing things that aren't there, but it's not the first time that's happened in his life - even without the entity's help.
it would be simplest to punch him out, but that wouldn't end this, either. evan grits his teeth and tells himself that next time they get into a fight, he's just going to finish it without a word. ]
I don't like you bein' this close to right.
[ this is as far as he can say it. as far as he can even accept it, even. not just get the words out, but conceptualize it in his own head. it isn't even that he's wrong - it's that david's right in a way he doesn't like.
anywhere else, any other time, it wouldn't even be something th consider. ]
[ he could push — right about what — try and force him to admit that he's not close to right, he is right. admit that he's full of it, that this place isn't worth shit, that he's not special and important just because. david opens his mouth to do as much, but he stops himself, frowns. what's that going to accomplish? ]
And that's why you just... [ david gestures vaguely in the direction they came from ] Pissed off instead of tryin' to finish it?
[ still doesn't make sense to him. it's not the first time david's poked at uncomfortable truths for evan and they both know it, whether he'd rather acknowledge it or not. was this just the final straw or what? maybe he is stupid, because he just can't wrap his head around it. ]
[ what gets evan is the this time. as if david's always been right before. in truth he probably has been, hitting on the unfortunate frustrations evan has to deal with (or ignore entirely). at the same time, evan hasn't walked away from those confrontations. he ended them. except the one that david ended, but it was done either way.
he isn't sure why everything had to stop this time, but he'll be damned before he admits he doesn't know to david's face. he lashes out, grabs him by the throat and drags him in close. ]
That ain't your business.
[ it's a growl. almost a threat, almost a promise of violence. there's no way to see his eyes through the mask even that close thanks to the shadows just inside the ironworks, and after a few seconds of letting that sink in he shoves david aside and heads deeper into the ironworks, aiming to leave and be alone for at least a little while before he's snatched up to be in another trial - or someone finds him. again. ]
[ instinctively, like always, david reaches to grab evan's wrist when he snaps out for his throat. grunts in pain as the pull makes various aches flare up with new pain. ]
[ his eyes search over evan's mask, like he'd find a flicker of an expression in the carved bone, but all he gets is a growl and a shove. he stumbles back a couple of steps, out of evan's way, and just... stands there for a second. watching him go. ]
Run the fuck away then-- [ he throws his hands up in frustrations ] Who gives a fuck.
[ that stops him for a second. run away. Like a coward, like he's not a man.
but when david doesn't continue and just gives up, evan manages to overcome his own insulted fury and keep going. he makes his way out of the ironworks and follows a winding path back to the mine, trying to not think about anything, or everything, that wants his attention.
he's got no one to blame for this but himself, and he knows that. it's part of the reason why he's so angry about it. ]
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no subject
he wants to get rid of david somehow, but he can't be stealthy when he's being followed. trying to kill him would restart the fight he just ended. he doesn't sigh, and he doesn't snarl, and he doesn't look back when he speaks. ]
If there was somethin', why would you care?
[ there's an edge of curiosity there. why would he care? is he just asking to carry it back to the campfire, and then to get overheard by certain ghosts? ]
no subject
[ david stops maybe a foot behind him, frozen by the question. ]
I dunno.
[ why does he care. why would it matter if there was something up with evan? it tugs at something in him, familiar with the way he feels toward the other survivors sometimes, but that's... that's wrong. evan's not a survivor, he's not his friend. why does this matter at all? ]
[ he sighs. ]
Just doesn't feel right.
no subject
Does anything around here?
[ he's not sure he wants to know why david thinks him backing off 'doesn't feel right' in a way that isn't gloating. would he chase david down in this kind of situation? no. probably not -
the probably sinks in, and he only doesn't storm further into the ironworks out of sheer frustrated disbelief at himself. ]
no subject
[ david will concede that point, nothing in this place feels right. but that doesn't mean he has to just accept it and leave when something is so obviously off either. ]
[ talking to evan's back is stupid though. david steps around to be able to face him, to look up at his mask with a frown. ]
Look, I've got no right answer to give you here. All I know is what I said.
[ it's true and it's not. it doesn't feel right and david doesn't really know why beyond the fact that it's not like evan, but he also knows it's not like himself to be bothered by it either. anyone else, hell just a few months ago, he'd take the win and shove it in his face next time they saw eachother. ]
[ fact is, talking to evan makes david feel like he's going crazy sometimes. this is just evidence that maybe that's true. ]
no subject
concern? confusion? pity? it makes him furious, almost sick to deal with. he might be seeing things that aren't there, but it's not the first time that's happened in his life - even without the entity's help.
it would be simplest to punch him out, but that wouldn't end this, either. evan grits his teeth and tells himself that next time they get into a fight, he's just going to finish it without a word. ]
I don't like you bein' this close to right.
[ this is as far as he can say it. as far as he can even accept it, even. not just get the words out, but conceptualize it in his own head. it isn't even that he's wrong - it's that david's right in a way he doesn't like.
anywhere else, any other time, it wouldn't even be something th consider. ]
no subject
And that's why you just... [ david gestures vaguely in the direction they came from ] Pissed off instead of tryin' to finish it?
[ still doesn't make sense to him. it's not the first time david's poked at uncomfortable truths for evan and they both know it, whether he'd rather acknowledge it or not. was this just the final straw or what? maybe he is stupid, because he just can't wrap his head around it. ]
Why's this time any different?
no subject
he isn't sure why everything had to stop this time, but he'll be damned before he admits he doesn't know to david's face. he lashes out, grabs him by the throat and drags him in close. ]
That ain't your business.
[ it's a growl. almost a threat, almost a promise of violence. there's no way to see his eyes through the mask even that close thanks to the shadows just inside the ironworks, and after a few seconds of letting that sink in he shoves david aside and heads deeper into the ironworks, aiming to leave and be alone for at least a little while before he's snatched up to be in another trial - or someone finds him. again. ]
no subject
[ his eyes search over evan's mask, like he'd find a flicker of an expression in the carved bone, but all he gets is a growl and a shove. he stumbles back a couple of steps, out of evan's way, and just... stands there for a second. watching him go. ]
Run the fuck away then-- [ he throws his hands up in frustrations ] Who gives a fuck.
[ definitely not him. ]
no subject
but when david doesn't continue and just gives up, evan manages to overcome his own insulted fury and keep going. he makes his way out of the ironworks and follows a winding path back to the mine, trying to not think about anything, or everything, that wants his attention.
he's got no one to blame for this but himself, and he knows that. it's part of the reason why he's so angry about it. ]