"I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not all right"
-Linkin Park, "Breaking the Habit" (I am not obsessed ^_^)
I passed Nightcrawler in the hall. I pressed closer to Kacela, and she put a protective hand on my shoulder. Nightcrawler had proved he was the most dangerous of them all. Religious freaks often were.
"Hey, Nightcrawler."
"Hello, Artemis Katina."
"Um, would you mind if I practiced my Russian with you? My parents will be a bit miffed if I come home really out-of-practice."
"Neit, ya nei vozrazhayo voobschei." No, not at all. "Naskoltviordiko xoroshiyi - vash Russkiyi?" How good is your Russian?
"Ya znayo eto, takzhei kak ya znayo Angliyiskiyi yazik. Moyi rodiyteiliy biliy iy Russkiyi, iy peireidviygaliystviordi syoda neiskoltviordikiymiy meisyatsamiy preizhdei, cheim ya bil rozhdein. Ya virastiyl peireiklyocheiniyye postoyanno meizhdu Angliyiskiym yazikom iy Russkiym dlya moyix rodiyteileii." I know it as well as I know English. My parents were both Russian, and moved here a few months before I was born. I grew up switching constantly between English and Russian for my parents.
"Ya mogu soobschiyttviordi. Eto ocheintviordi xorosho." I can tell. It's very good.
"Vi vozrazhayetei, eisliy ya sprashiyvayo Vas koye-chto?" Do you mind if I ask you something?
"Neit, Niyskoltviordiko." Not at all.
"Vi - Katoliyk, da?" You're Catholic, yes?
"Da." Yes.
"Chto Vi viydiytei v katoliytsiyzmei? Eto iymeiyet tak mnogo shiyrokiyx miyleii otveirstiyi, v chto eto upravlyayet soboi. Ya podrazumeivayo, beiru teioriyyo razviytiyya. Eto bilo proveireino tak mnogo raz, deiistviyteiltviordino, eto sluchayetsya peireid namiy! No, o! Vot - katoliytsiyzm, zakoncheinnii zdeistviordi, govorya, chto vsei tei ucheiniye tam yavlyayotsya toltviordiko neipraviyltviordinimiy. Yazicheistvo, viykka, iymeiyet tak meintviordisheiye koliycheistvo otveirstiyi. Eto nei zaviysiyt ot nadeizhdi, chto neikotoroye neiviydiymoye neibo fayeriy obraschayet vniymaniyye na Vas v etom ocheintviordi momeint. Vi mozheitei vipolnyattviordi veischiy neiposreidstveinno, iyspoltviordizuya vashu sobstveinnuyo vlasttviordi. Ya dumayo, chto deiistviyteiltviordino proxladno, chto Vi veiriytei iy iymeiyetei veiru koye v chto. Ya toltviordiko dmayo, v chto Vi veiriytei, deiistviyteiltviordino poddeiltviordinii." Roughly, what do you see in Catholicism? And explaining why I thought Catholicism was wrong. And telling him how bogus I thought it was. And telling him why Paganism and Wicca, the polar opposites and archnemeses of Catholicism, were much better religions.
A stupid move on my part, it would prove.
For the third time that day, I put on my sunglasses. I refused to let my mind complete the flashback. Nightcrawler sent me a venomous look and went back to carving a crucifix into his arm. It was a complex thing, something he had been working on since the...incident. It gave me some extremely tiny measure of satisfaction that he considered what he had done to be such a big sin to be deserving of such a big heavenly symbol. He put another line into the crucifix, not even flinching. I flinched for him. Kacela tightened her hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her and moved quicker. I could feel those now-repulsive yellow eyes on my back as I walked away. I considered reading him, to see what he was thinking. But I didn't. He didn't need another reason to hate me. And there was a reason I didn't know what was going on in his mind.
I didn't want to.
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not all right"
-Linkin Park, "Breaking the Habit" (I am not obsessed ^_^)
I passed Nightcrawler in the hall. I pressed closer to Kacela, and she put a protective hand on my shoulder. Nightcrawler had proved he was the most dangerous of them all. Religious freaks often were.
"Hey, Nightcrawler."
"Hello, Artemis Katina."
"Um, would you mind if I practiced my Russian with you? My parents will be a bit miffed if I come home really out-of-practice."
"Neit, ya nei vozrazhayo voobschei." No, not at all. "Naskoltviordiko xoroshiyi - vash Russkiyi?" How good is your Russian?
"Ya znayo eto, takzhei kak ya znayo Angliyiskiyi yazik. Moyi rodiyteiliy biliy iy Russkiyi, iy peireidviygaliystviordi syoda neiskoltviordikiymiy meisyatsamiy preizhdei, cheim ya bil rozhdein. Ya virastiyl peireiklyocheiniyye postoyanno meizhdu Angliyiskiym yazikom iy Russkiym dlya moyix rodiyteileii." I know it as well as I know English. My parents were both Russian, and moved here a few months before I was born. I grew up switching constantly between English and Russian for my parents.
"Ya mogu soobschiyttviordi. Eto ocheintviordi xorosho." I can tell. It's very good.
"Vi vozrazhayetei, eisliy ya sprashiyvayo Vas koye-chto?" Do you mind if I ask you something?
"Neit, Niyskoltviordiko." Not at all.
"Vi - Katoliyk, da?" You're Catholic, yes?
"Da." Yes.
"Chto Vi viydiytei v katoliytsiyzmei? Eto iymeiyet tak mnogo shiyrokiyx miyleii otveirstiyi, v chto eto upravlyayet soboi. Ya podrazumeivayo, beiru teioriyyo razviytiyya. Eto bilo proveireino tak mnogo raz, deiistviyteiltviordino, eto sluchayetsya peireid namiy! No, o! Vot - katoliytsiyzm, zakoncheinnii zdeistviordi, govorya, chto vsei tei ucheiniye tam yavlyayotsya toltviordiko neipraviyltviordinimiy. Yazicheistvo, viykka, iymeiyet tak meintviordisheiye koliycheistvo otveirstiyi. Eto nei zaviysiyt ot nadeizhdi, chto neikotoroye neiviydiymoye neibo fayeriy obraschayet vniymaniyye na Vas v etom ocheintviordi momeint. Vi mozheitei vipolnyattviordi veischiy neiposreidstveinno, iyspoltviordizuya vashu sobstveinnuyo vlasttviordi. Ya dumayo, chto deiistviyteiltviordino proxladno, chto Vi veiriytei iy iymeiyetei veiru koye v chto. Ya toltviordiko dmayo, v chto Vi veiriytei, deiistviyteiltviordino poddeiltviordinii." Roughly, what do you see in Catholicism? And explaining why I thought Catholicism was wrong. And telling him how bogus I thought it was. And telling him why Paganism and Wicca, the polar opposites and archnemeses of Catholicism, were much better religions.
A stupid move on my part, it would prove.
For the third time that day, I put on my sunglasses. I refused to let my mind complete the flashback. Nightcrawler sent me a venomous look and went back to carving a crucifix into his arm. It was a complex thing, something he had been working on since the...incident. It gave me some extremely tiny measure of satisfaction that he considered what he had done to be such a big sin to be deserving of such a big heavenly symbol. He put another line into the crucifix, not even flinching. I flinched for him. Kacela tightened her hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her and moved quicker. I could feel those now-repulsive yellow eyes on my back as I walked away. I considered reading him, to see what he was thinking. But I didn't. He didn't need another reason to hate me. And there was a reason I didn't know what was going on in his mind.
I didn't want to.