PROJECT: Incarnation

Bellmoor | 10

Rarely did Riven get upset but whenever she did it lasted for a couple of hours before she calmed down completely. That confrontation with Caitlyn was different though because it brought back memories she struggled to erase. She realized Caitlyn's point, she admitted to herself Bellmoor's failure, she could still hear the screams and she the endless rivers of blood in her dreams and sometimes she could even choke on her regret but that didn't give the other Pulsefire agent the right to act the way she did. It wasn't fair. She was just as charged guilty as herself for the Bellmoor massacre. The result of that was that Riven couldn't concentrate properly on the task at hand, so her visits at the museums had turned out to be completely fruitless, thus she returned back to the headquarters more frustrated than ever before. 

"You're back already?" Shen raised his head off the diary to look at her while she stormes inside. 

"What do you think?" she spat as she dropped herself on a chair, crossing her arms. 

Shen raised a brow. "You seem upset. Did something happen?" 

Riven blew some of her hair strings off her face. "Nothing happened."

"Both you and I know you're a terrible liar." Shen abandoned his task and went over to seat opposite her. Riven sighed. 

"It's Caitlyn." she admitted. "I just can't stand the way she's treating the whole of us! Like we're some pieces of garbage! Everyone makes mistakes, bigger or smaller, why can't see realize that?"

It was a desperate cry for justice. Riven could understand Caitlyn's anger up to a point. From that point and after thought, she found her behavior completely unfair. Riven had paid the price for her mistakes. She didn't need Caitlyn to confront her more. 

"I see now." Shen nodded in understanding. "It's about Bellmoor, isn't it?"

Riven huffed. "It's always been about Bellmoor. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I have. Now do tell me what happened between you two." Shen insisted and so Riven narrated their confrontation outside their headquarters.

"I see..." Shen said sceptically. "And you told her that her pride..."

"...will be her downfall." Riven completed his sentence, slightly annoyed. "I literally just said that."

Shen smiled. "Well, you're not absolutely wrong. Though, I must point out that there are things you don't know about Caitlyn."

Riven was caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover if you want to be adjective."

"I don't care about having an adjective view on her. It's pretty clear that she's a bitch-"

"Look." Shen interrupted her rant somewhat impatiently. "The thing with Caitlyn is that she doesn't easily open up, thus there are aspects of her life you've never even heard of. Don't be quick to judge. I know it's not fair that she treats you and the rest of us the way she does and I totally get it, but I'm not so mad at her as I probably should be. "

"What are you talking about?" Riven narrowed her eyes at him. "Is there something more you know that me an Tobias don't?"

"Actually, yes. But only because I put my nose in places I shouldn't be." Shen admitted. "Anyways, point is that after the whole Bellmoor disaster Caitlyn's behavior really surprised me because I always thought of her as a composed and logical person. I did some research on my own. And well, to be honest I don't exactly blame her at this point."

"I still don't understand. What's so special about Caitlyn that excuses her behavior?"

"I didn't mention anything about excuses. Nothing can excuse her. I'm just trying to help you understand her." Shen pointed out.