Weight of the World-p.r.s

20-let's end this

Opening a small drawer in his desk- where he usually kept the things he cared about, Jayden gently placed the polaroid in the drawer and turned his attention to the promise rings. Brooke's was bloody, due to the silver coming in contact with her skin, but it was easy to tell that these rings were a pair. There was a small moon engraved on the inner portion of the band of both of the rings, and Jayden wondered if he bought these- well if dream-him bought the rings, or Brooke did. The whole thing was surreal, as he was looking at rings that shouldn't even exist, but he was glad they did. And was that thought somewhat worrying? Yes, of course. Did he care? Somewhat. It was bittersweet, and Jayden put the two rings in the small drawer and shut it.

If those got found, along with the polaroid, questions would arise, so Jayden planned to find a better hiding spot for them later. For now, it was good enough, and he shook all thoughts pertaining to the dream world out of his head. If Brooke was awake, which, knowing her, she probably was, he knew he would have to start a meeting that he was not looking forward to. Still, it must be done, and he steeled himself for whatever the meeting was going to throw at him. He knew it wasn't going to end well, but Jayden could only hope.

--

Brooke wished for the meeting to be over as soon as it began. It was all very overwhelming, but she had to just sit through it. It seems like that's all she did now, push aside negative emotions, and pretend like everything was fine. Which, it wasn't, as the want to kill someone was a very concerning thought and Brooke didn't know if she was mentally stable anymore. It didn't seem like it, as she found herself spiraling deeper into a depressive episode as each second passed and she was left alone with her thoughts. She wished she could do what Jayden did, shut his thoughts off, and just go blank, but that wasn't a possibility. Well, at least she had Amaris.

The white wolf's presence in her mind was comforting. Brooke was too exhausted to summon her, but they still used mental communication, as it was just thinking. Their conversations were about Deker- of course they were, but more importantly how Brooke reacted to Deker. Amaris told her not to worry, as she wasn't in the right mental state to have full control over her emotions like she usually did. It was reassuring, but it didn't seem to quell some of the fear in Brooke's heart. Jayden and Antonio had to tackle her to the ground, and that already was saying enough.

Turning her attention back to the meeting, Brooke mentally steeled herself for what was going to happen. She just hoped people weren't going to raise their voices because her head felt like it was getting hit with a hammer repeatedly. She was on the brink of sensory overload, and that wasn't good. Brooke resisted the urge to just walk out, her expression hardening and eyes settling on grey-gold.

"Jayden, Brooke, it's crazy to do this. Take on Deker, and by yourselves?" Kevin questioned Jayden and Brooke, who just stayed quiet for the most part. There was no use starting unnecessary arguments. Well, this whole thing was going to turn into an unnecessary argument, but still. No use rushing that part along.

"Deker insists that's how it had to be." Antonio defended, and both Brooke and Jayden were immensely grateful for him. He seemed to be more levelheaded than both of them at the moment.

"You can't do this. A samurai only fights necessary battles." Kevin argued, and Brooke wanted to roll her eyes.

She knew that part was coming. "It is necessary, Kevin. If we don't show, Deker claimed he wouldn't "have control of his nighlok side anymore"," Brooke stated, using air quotes. Her claws were fully bared, fingernails jagged and sharp. "That puts civilians in danger, and it might just be me, but I feel like that's what we're trying to avoid. That's why we're even fighting this war in the first place." She retorted, leaving out the part that Maxx was threatened. That would make her too emotional, and Brooke didn't want to deal with those emotions right now. Or ever.