Pity Conversation [Briknope]

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

It was a cold night, Destry didn't even have to go outside without a jacket to get that through his thick skull. He could tell by the way the trees seemed to shiver in the cold winds that whistled and weaved around District 8. Thin white frost, even, developed on windows around his house. Even a little bit of snow decorated the ground in a lovely, yet cold sheet of ice. As Destry departed his house, intending to run to the fabric store to get some special materials for a custom order, he pulled his jacket tighter and tighter, almost like a straight jacket around his skinny body. Why couldn't we just have rain? Rain is way better than snow.

As his boots crunched in the snow that lightly sprayed the sidewalk and slightly sulked, he observed all of the people around him that walked down the opposite way or next to him. Some people rushed, as if they had something urgent that made a sudden appearance in their night and needed to be taken care of right away. Others seemed to just be on a leisurely night stroll in the middle of winter, which was hard for Destry to believe. What kind of person takes a leisurely walk when its probably in the negative degree? I have never heard of such a thing! Rolling his eyes slightly, partially at the level of cold, partially at the leisurely people, he realized that he was just about to totally walk past the fabric store. Snickering slightly at himself, he was just about to walk inside, until something stole his focus of mind.

Right next to the fabric shop was an old, run-down store, with boards in the windows and dust and other junk crowding around it like a magnet was a girl. She was probably his age, maybe 16 or 17, and she wore dirty clothes and her hair was in a partial mess. His heart slightly sunk to the floor as he realized that she was homeless, alone, and even worse out in the cold. At that moment, he didn't even remember that he was in front of a fabric store, trying to buy materials for something he was getting paid for. His only focus was the girl at the old closed store, and the way she held her knees to her body as if she was fighting the cold that had seeped into the textiles District. As he looked at her, he felt bad that he was silently complaining about the cold while he had a thick jacket, while all she had was a little jacket that didn't seem to do anything for her.

Stepping away from the store with no more intention of getting fabrics and needles, he slowly made his way to the girl, who had her head resting on her knees, as if she was trying to go to sleep without her entire body touching the snow. Destry felt so bad for her, just sleeping on the snowy streets of District 8. He wanted to ask her if she wanted to spend a night over at his place so she wouldn't have to be alone, but he didn't know exactly how to do so without sounding like a rapist. Instead, he crouched down, his knees touching his chest, and he put a hand on her shoulder ever so gently.

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

The girl that sat in the snow before him seemed partially surprised, partially shocked. Probably at the fact that someone like him, one of those people that had money, actually took time out of their fabulous life to take notice of the less fortunate. He supposed that if he was in her position he would feel the same way, because of the way Panem way today, there was no other way to think. Everybody was either looking to better themselves or just trying to scrape by and live. The way she spoke actually surprised him though. Even though it wasn't any skin off his back to go and talk to her, it would have been at least polite to be nice to the one person that looked at you when others turned away. But just like with her expression, he probably would have said the same thing too.

As for her question, he didn't know whether to say "oh, I'm Destry Hudes" or "just a guy" but both seemed to be pretty vague. Then again, there was a likeliness that she would never see him again, so what what the harm in saying his name? He didn't like playing guessing games with people, so he just wanted to tell her who he was so that she would understand that someone wanted to help her. Mentally shrugging, he cleared his voice and told her the answer to her question.

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

Destry didn't know exactly what the hell he was doing. He just offered to help a girl that was living on the streets, but he didn't know exactly how he could help her without sounding creepy or anything. He didn't know how he would keep up his offer of help. That was Destry for you, saying whatever was on his mind without thinking it through. But he knew that he would do his best to help her in any way that she needed it. But how could he possibly say 'hey, why don't you come over to my house and spend the night' without sounding like a rapist that prowled the streets looking for prey? That's something I'll work on later, I guess.

He was actually quite surprised that she seemed amazed that he would help her. Destry was talking to her wasn't he? He did just tell her that he would do his best to help her, right? But then again, he had to make himself understand that most people of his level in society ignored the desperate and needy. Trying to lighten the situation, he smiled and softly spoke.

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

Destry already knew from the moment he saw her sitting on the corner of the rundown shop that she broke his heart. When she said that the streets were her home, the only place she ever called home for what seemed like most of her life, he knew that she split his heart directly in two. His chest welled up with pain, and he ached for her. Nobody should have to deal with everything she goes through.

At that moment, he also felt about himself. Here he was, a boy with a jacket that preserved his body heat, and there she was, a girl with only a thin little coat to keep her warm. Here he was, a boy with a family that backed him up for everything he ever did except for his dad, he couldn't accept his sexuality, yet there she was, a girl with only a brother to call family. Here he was, a boy with somewhere he could rest during the day and the night, yet there she was, a girl whose only home was wherever the streets were empty. I take advantage of everything I have; a house, warmth, family, and yet here she is without all of these things... If it meant that she would be better, he knew that he would trade places with her in a second.

Grabbing his knees with one arm, he placed a finger in the snow and drew random lines, mumbling "oh". When his finger froze, he switched to his pinky, wondering what to say next. I've never actually dealt with a situation like this... he thought, as he crossed another line out of the white sheet that covered the ground, pondering about what he could possibly churn up next. Without giving his brain or voicebox permission to speak, his lips suddenly moved.

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

He knew from the beginning that he couldn't exactly get on a sure-fire empathetic level with her. He knew from the beginning that he couldn't say that he knew what she felt, living on the streets the way she did. Destry didn't even know what he was getting into when he saw her while he was walking into the fabric shop right next door. What he did know though, was that just by simply talking to her, he could somehow help her. He didn't guarantee success, he didn't guarantee that she would just drop her probable bad past and suddenly believe that he was someone who could at least make a small difference in her evidently painful present. All he knew that he would help her, or at the very least try and make an effort.

She seemed like she didn't believe his words. Then again, he barely met her ten minutes ago. How could he just suddenly expect her to jump up and come spend the night at his house? And what if she were to have a bad past that involved a guy like him? How could he expect her to just suddenly expect her to trust a person of the same gender that could have possibly hurt her long ago? Then again, she didn't know that he had a boyfriend, so he wouldn't even try anything anyway, but again, she didn't know that. Oh well, what do I have to lose? The worst she could do is assume I'm a rapist and yells at me to leave.

Running his frozen finger over the lines he already traced absentmindedly in the snow beneath their feet, he pondered how he could finally ask her to spend the night at his house. Of course, he thought he should mention that he had a boyfriend so she would understand he wouldn't do anything weird to her, but he didn't feel like he should spill his guts over whoever was in range. Shrugging his shoulders both mentally and physically, he still kept in mind that he had nothing to lose. If she didn't want the help, he wasn't going to badger her into doing something she didn't want to do.

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

Almost as soon as he finished the last syllable in his sentence, Eponine jumped up, slightly surprising Destry. His left eyebrow raised as she accepted. Wow. I was positive that she was gonna call me a rapist. I guess I'll just go with the flow...

"A limit on what you will do, puts a limit on what you can do."
Destry Hudes

At first he believed his ears had been tricked into believing that Eponine's footsteps had stopped. But he realized it was no trick when he looked back to see her, stopped in her tracks. As she looked down at her boots, she refused to keep moving, mumbling words of rejection. Destry's eyebrows knit together, wondering what she was doing. Only a few minutes age, she said she would come with me. And now... What is she doing...?

Turning around and going over to Eponine where she still stood, glancing down at her boots as if they would give her advice on if she should go or not, he put a hand on her shoulder. The words 'I can't' flew past his ears just as the snow falling from the sky did. Can't... what? Can't... come to my house? His eyebrows knit tighter together as he tried to mentally connect what she was trying to say. Can't... what?

Destry hypothesized that she was guilty. Or that she didn't belong. Or that she was taking advantage of him. This was a time he wished his boyfriend Amor was around; he always knew what to say to people who were upset. I am so horrible around girls... I don't even know what to say... He felt guilty that he didn't know how to respond to the situation he was in at the moment. But instead of just sulking on that one thought, he got closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, and softly spoke to her.