Strange Faces, Strange Places.. (Python) {DONE !}

Dante Draques

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Speech
Thoughts

There is one notable advantage when living in District Seven, and that is the freedom to explore the vast extent of forestland that covered the area. During the daytime, clusters of laborers, primarily lumberjacks, were scattered about, chopping and harvesting trees. There are many areas, however, deeper into the forest, where tranquil silence lingers about. Only the occasional rustle from a forest creature could be heard in such areas. If anybody wanted to distance themselves from society to savor the peace and quiet, the thicker areas of the forest would be the ideal locations to venture to.

With an axe clenched tightly within his right hand, Dante Draques maneuvered through the forest, the soles of his shoes crunching the leaves below him. There was no way to predict how long he had been following this same path into the woods. He had lost track of time long ago, but this was not his concern. Anybody in District Seven could find their way back to civilization without dilemma. It was a natural instinct. A gift, one should call it. Dante, however, was not focused on time or location. Isolation was his goal. He was distressed and enraged by a recent event, and the best method of venting emotions involved him traveling through these forests. He knew if he wandered deep enough there would be no witnesses. He would be completely alone in a natural, soothing atmosphere.

Several more minutes passed before Dante finally halted. He cocked his head and turned in a full circle, scanning his surroundings. An endless sea of trees was all his ocean blue eyes could see. His grip upon the wooden handle grew painful as his gaze narrowed in on one of the smaller trees of the area. Small, like that insolent boy.

”How dare he.”

Dante imagined the boy standing in front of him with that stupid, pouting expression upon his freckled face. He closed his eyes, and suddenly the tree’s stiff structure morphed into a flexible, human body. Unable to bottle the anger any longer, his eyes snapped open and he hurled the axe with as much force as his rage could create. The blade lodged itself into the bark, shattering the silence of the forest with an echoing crack. In his mind, the axe had buried itself into the kid’s skull, resulting in a waterfall of blood flow that would stain that freckled complexion forever. The image was pleasing - but it was not enough.

Dante retrieved his weapon from the wood and brought his arm back for a swing. ”I will make you wish that you had never threatened me,” he growled. His arm brought the blade down and created a diagonal wound gash in the wood. He twisted the axe in his hand and sliced it again from the opposite side. The blade made contact with the wood several more times before he paused, allowing his imagination to wander. If only the mangled image of the little freckled boy would become his reality. If only he could accomplish such a task without consequence. ”I almost killed you before,” he began, ”I can surely try it a second time.”

The gentle rustle of a tree branch startled him to his senses. The image disappeared in a misty flash, banished into the depths of his filthy mind, and he whirled around, his eyes darting frantically for the source. A forest creature was most likely the cause of the noise, he realized, but then again, what creature would remain after witnessing his violent outbursts? He lifted his gaze to the skies, allowing a the metallic grey patches to gleam within his blue irises, and searched through the trees. That’s when he spotted the suspicious, human-shaped figure resting in one of the oak trees. Dante slowly approached the base of this tree, keeping his gaze locked upon the figure, and hoped that it was not a fellow human being.

Dante Draques

Narration
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Thoughts

Dante held his silence. A breeze rolled by, shifting the dry leaves by his feet, and slithered over his skin in a cool embrace. His eyes remained glued onto the figure resting above, twinkling with curiosity, and his eyebrows knitted together in concern. His facial expression could be analyzed like a novel - he was anxious. Details absorbed themselves into his brain, and soon enough, the ambiguous figure transformed into a girl. From this distance he spotted a small body frame, sun kissed skin, and a brown mane of hair. A pair of green eyes seemed to return his stare. As much as he enjoyed ogling females, this was no situation in which he wanted to meet one at all. Her presence both irritated and worried him. There was no doubt that she had witnessed his abnormal conduct. There would be no polite first impressions here.

Why she had ventured into the deep areas of the forest to climb a tree baffled him. Surely a better reasoning could be provided, but that could only happen if Dante actually acknowledged her. He could simply walk away and leave her there to bask in the lonesome forest by herself, pretending that this scene had never occurred. There was a minimal chance that he would ever encounter this girl again. Yet, here he remained, staring up at her as if overwhelmed by curiosity. Dante had very few reasons to wander off into the forest so compulsively - one of them was anger. The temptation of harming others was so great, it was in everybody’s best interest for him to abandon the situation as quickly as possible. Home had been his previous location, but keeping himself isolated in his room could only stay effective for so long. Nature was the best getaway.

Dante contemplated an introduction. What was he supposed to say to this girl? He knew at this point that he was not going to leave just yet, so his only morally correct alternative was to speak to her. However, saying something like “Hey, sorry I was hacking away at that tree,” or “How is the weather up there” sounded moronic. Making a fool of himself was not on his set list of goals.

”Erm…what are you doing up there?”

Great question, Dante. Not.

(Really? I always thought Brad Kavanagh was adorable xD)

Dante Draques

Narration
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Thoughts

Unbearable silence lingered in the air for several moments. Within the time span between Dante’s question and the girl’s response, he wondered if she would even bother to respond. Naturally, any normal human being would summon some type of simple response, though there was the possibility of her maintaining silence as a direct result of his actions earlier. He tried to picture himself hacking viciously at tree through an objective mindset. How insane he must have appeared! While the two stared at one another, would she secretly question his mental competence? Was she analyzing him at this very moment, trying to determine whether he was a fiend or a friend, a monster or a human? There were many adjectives that could be used to describe Dante Draques, but psycho was not the most suitable. At least that’s how he viewed himself.

The temporary awkwardness shattered when his question was answered. The girl was merely hanging out, as she so casually described it. Dante occasionally visited the depths of the forest to clear his mind and soothe the raging fire within, but to return each day seemed unnecessary. Strange, even. He was tempted to ask her why she was so fond of the forest, but at the last moment decided against it. Her interests were none of his business. He did not want to appear nosy. He had already displayed a horrid first impression.

Dante took several steps back as the girl prepared to leap. She elegantly sprang from her perch and landed in front of him with a gentle thud upon the earth. Her careful and exact movements informed him of her tree climbing experience. He did not wish to admit it, but he was one of the clumsy climbers. One wrong move would drop him to the floor like a boulder.

After that brief display, Dante was prepared for anything. An accusation, a rude remark, an insult. Anything she spat out he knew he could handle. What he did not expect was for her to practically walk into him, leaving their faces only inches apart. The girl’s bravery, or should he say boldness, was impressive. She did not seem fazed by the axe he still grasped within his hand. He held his stance. ”Just chopping some wood. It helps me take my mind off of things,” he said. A stretch of the truth, but it would suffice for now.

Dante Draques

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Thoughts

Dante was unable to analyze the girl. His eye scanned over her entire body, lingering especially upon her facial features. For some odd reason he could not fathom, she smiled at him. However, he did not receive any pleasant vibes from this smile. There was tension hanging in the little space between them, and Dante could absorb it like a sponge. Why this girl had suddenly mustered up the will to confront him was puzzling. He was forced to admit that his actions were indeed odd in the view of others, but to interrupt him and invade his personal space so suddenly? The idea seemed outrageous. Dante had no intentions of complaining, though. He was not afraid of the girl, nor was she painful to look at, especially from this distance.

The girl’s words struck him like a fierce wind. A bit of a problem? Dante was not fond of that word. Problem. As if he possessed some sort of mental illness. What did this girl wish to accomplish, taunting him in such a fashion? Was she asking for an axe to the neck? Was she one of those suicidal girls? Or was she just an impulsive child searching for a challenge? If a death was what she desired, then Dante would be more than delighted to oblige.

He felt himself stirring as he parted his lips to respond. The “danger” she mentioned was nonexistent in his mind. What danger had ever lied within the forests of District 7? Nothing but a sadist boy with an axe. ”Dangerous?” He quirked a brow and stifled a light chuckle. The girl’s statement was preposterous. ”What danger could possibly be here? I hope you are not referring to yourself.” He realized that he found the girl’s question to be moronic. It was obvious why he had chosen to enter the deep area of the woods, and that reason was isolation. Dante did not wish to make a public display of his outbursts of anger, so a quiet, lonesome location was the natural place to seek. Was the girl merely trying to toy with him? To provoke him?

If that was the case, then it was working. Her blood would make a fine addition to this sad little forest.

The urges were rising already.

Dante Draques

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Thoughts

A soft laughed knocked him out of his trance-likestate. He had been contemplating, imagining. The girl in front of him was sprawled against the forest floor, resting in a pool of her own blood. His axe was bloodied and beautiful, still clenched within his right hand. He could hear the droplets of blood thudding gingerly against the fall leaves. Drip, drip..

And then she laughed. Laughed? The sound was irksome. A disruption to his thoughts. Of all the reactions, why would she laugh? Dante’s statement had been serious, his tone firm. He truly wanted to know if she considered herself an actual danger to him, because part of him desperately wanted to prove her wrong. Her follow up statement provided him with an answer to his previous question, however, and that was satisfactory enough. It was not the answer he expected, but who was he to judge a complete stranger? He was not psychic; he could not predict how she would react and what words would come spilling out of her mouth. She was a person, not a puppet. Unfortunately.

The stranger continued to speak. Females were always so talkative. She mentioned something about finding his way around. She had assumed he was a ‘newbie’. A newbie to what? The forests of District seven, where he worked each and every day, swinging an axe at any tree worth harvesting? Was there such a creature that could not find his way in the forests? Dante could not imagine it. If one lives in district seven, one must be exposed to the forest. He must be able to wander within and explore its territory. He must be allowed to seek isolation and peace inside of it. Too bad that was no longer the case for him. He sought out tranquility and release, and instead he had discovered this irksome girl who continued to talk to him. It felt as if she were taunting him, despite her words being relatively harmless at the moment. He briefly wondered what would happen if he suddenly decided to swing his axe at her face. Would she scream?

Dante resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The girl had repeated her question, the same question he had answered less than a minute ago. Why was he here? To kill trees, of course. ”I just came here to be alone,” he stated clearly. Hopefully this response would silence her questions. He had ventured into the forest to isolate himself and slice open trees to relieve his stress. If that wasn’t obvious enough, then the girl was either stupid or purposely trying to annoy him.

”My turn to ask the questions,” he suddenly added, keeping his gaze firmly narrowed upon the girl, who was thankfully shorter than him. ”You keep asking me why I’m here, but what about you? Why did you come all the way out here just to climb a tree?”

If the question was insolent or obnoxious, he didn’t care. She was nosing her way into his business, and now it was his turn to do the same.

Dante Draques

Narration
Speech
Thoughts

Humans emotions are like tornadoes; they are sudden, unpredictable, strong, difficult to track, a struggle avoid, and in some cases, extremely violent. Rage, for instance, is a powerful vortex that, when given fuel, can strengthen to a devastation extent. Combine that with other emotions such as anxiety, fear, and despair, and one could find themselves stranded within the path of a malicious storm. Destruction is sometimes inevitable. Dante could not say much about tornadoes in reality, because they rarely struck areas like District seven, but he understood emotions. He was a living, breathing, human being, after all, and despite his issues, he could relate to other people when dealing with emotions. One of the steps to understanding emotions, he recalled, was recognizing the signs.

Dante felt as if he was watching a silent movie in slow motion. His statement created such a reaction, he could see every line upon her face in motion. Her expression dramatically transformed from neutrality to pure anger. He watched her lips part into the shape of a small “o”, as if prepared to say something to him. To shout would be a more appropriate term. Her fury was so apparent, he could almost feel it. It was like a raging heat radiating from the inside of an oven. But why? Why had his simple, casual response triggered such a strong reaction? What was he missing? Key words. Unless the girl was a complete psychopath, there was no reason to be so distressed. Something within his words had upset her. But what?

“Why did you come all the way out here just to climb a tree?”

To climb a tree.

Just to climb a tree?

Dante Draques

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Thoughts

His voice was drowned by her screams. The sound of his own voice was ringing inside of his head, reminding him that it still functioning, but once the words slid past his lips they faded into mere mutters that stood as nothing in comparison to the girl’s high pitch. He felt helpless, standing motionlessly as he watched the girl suffer from what appeared to be a psychotic episode. His questions were meaningless and his demands pointless. He was suddenly losing control of the situation. This girl was unstoppable. The screaming seemed endless. He could only wince as his dark gaze swept over her once more, searching for something. He did not know what. A symptom of pain. A different reaction. It no longer mattered. Dante wanted to silence her, and fast.

Dante became faintly aware of the lethal weapon that remained grasped within his right hand. His fingers were tightly wrapped around the wooden handle, creating a red patch on his palm and various white spots on his knuckles. Upon realization of his forceful grip he loosened it and brought the weapon up to his chest to examine it. His gaze flickered back and forth between his brush and its canvas. The axe. The girl. The artistic wonders he could perform with this weapon were endless. He nearly shuddered at the thought of it.

The opportunity is perfect.

The girl’s screams gradually began to weaken into pathetic whimpers. Dante could once again gather his rational thoughts and listen to the irksome ringing that had developed in his ears. Still, the girl’s voice continued to piss him off. He wanted nothing more than to slice her open like a piece of raw meat, and the image continued to lure him into temptations. He pressed his lips together indecisively. His logic and desires were in a raging war. Kill or not to kill? Risk the ruining of his entire life, or steal the moment for pleasure? Decisions, decisions.

After a lingering moment of silence on his part, Dante finally took a single, bold step towards the girl. She seemed so frangible and vulnerable, sitting upon the forest floor only a foot away from his deadly blade. His form towered over her as he spoke, raising the axe back as if prepared to strike. ”If you don’t shut up I’ll give you a real reason to scream.”
He did not shout nor yell. His volume remained low and he maintained absolute composure. His tone, however, was as cold and solid as stone. Threatening. Serious. Dante had no intentions of fooling around. Whether she listened to him or not, the outcome would be in his favor.