Beginning is alone again before long. Obsession winds up being drug off with Inconsistency, shooing Beginning away as she struggles to deal with another mood swing. Left by herself, Beginning once again has no choice but to wander. Once again, she's left alone in the midst of the fog.
There really isn't much else she can do. Aside from the ever-looming threat of the 'human world' and killing what's within, Beginning doesn't know if anything ever will change here. There's fog and rot and debris, cold stone and dead plants and not much more. The town exists, and presumably nothing outside of it. No one but the same faces Beginning knows.
As always, the thought is chilling.
Beginning feels a shiver run down her spine as she turns a particular corner. She's looking for somewhere good to sit, mostly, not much else. A good place to drift off and try to sleep all over again. See if maybe she can.
But the world is not known for being kind to Beginning, and just as she turns that corner, she comes face to face with one of the people she least wants to see; Manipulation. The other girl is startled enough by the sudden collision that her hair fluffs out all on its own... unless she's faking. Beginning wouldn't put much of anything past Manipulation at this point. Even faking something so benign seems entirely possible with her.
"Oh! Beginning," Manipulation chirps, putting on a sickly sweet smile with both of her mouths. "You startled me! What are you doing, hm? Just exploring? Or did you have something in mind...?"
Beginning resists the urge to make a sour face. This person. Of anyone she could have run into, Manipulation might be her last choice at the moment. After everything Manipulation has tried, all in the name of bullying her, Beginning definitely doesn't feel too fondly towards the other girl.
"I'm just wandering," Beginning says simply, forcing herself to smile. "Nothing special at all. So, if you'll excuse me..." She moves to turn around, to back out of this quickly before things can get bad.
"Wait, wait!" Manipulation seems to have other ideas. She scurries forward, grabbing Beginning's hand and-- gently-- tugging her back. "Don't go! I needed to talk to you, okay? It's nothing bad, I promise, so please hear me out? I won't do anything at all to hurt you." Her voice sounds unsteady and dangerously genuine. Beginning has her doubts.
With a sigh that she can't hold back, Beginning stops. She doesn't want to do this. Manipulation has done nothing but bully her so far, even trying to sic Cruelty onto her. Having a conversation with Manipulation, even one that's been promised to be polite, isn't something Beginning wants to involve herself in. And that's if Manipulation is telling the truth in the first place, which is pretty unlikely. Beginning isn't stupid.
But... she kind of has to give Manipulation a chance. She wants to be nice to people. She wants to be kind. She wants to be better than the ones who surround her, and-- and Beginning thinks she can do it. She's strong enough to hold up even if Manipulation does decide to get mean.
"Okay, what do you want?"
As soon as she says it, Manipulation's eyes light up. Both of her mouths smile wide, and for just a moment, Beginning can almost believe that she's actually trying to be nice.
"I... I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Manipulation starts. "You know, apologize and all. I was so, so mean to you, and you really didn't deserve it. You're such a nice girl, Beginning. So sweet, so kind. I guess I was just jealous of you... Well, right now, I just want you to know that I feel bad for what I did." Making a very pathetic expression again, Manipulation steps forward a bit. "Why, I'd completely understand if you wanted to beat me up! It would make total sense, considering how awful I was..."
Well, that's unexpected. Beginning blinks for a moment, trying to process what's happening. She's not sure if she believes Manipulation or not, but she's certainly not going to beat anyone up. The apology is... nice... even if she has her doubts that she's not just being messed with.
"Um, that's alright. I definitely don't want to beat you up, though. Not at all. I... I do forgive you, though." Beginning takes a deep breath and lets herself smile. She's actually going through with it. "I'd rather we just not have to fight anymore, no hurting anyone required."
Manipulation somehow doesn't look happy about that answer. Beginning gets a bad feeling almost instantly. Whatever the other girl is planning, she doesn't think she wants to find out.
And yes, she's definitely planning something at this point. There are absolutely no doubts there.
"Bu-But... don't you want revenge?" Manipulation asks, brows furrowing deliberately. "I've been horrid to you. How could you not want to do something to return it?" There's something very wrong here. It's clearly not getting through that Beginning isn't the kind of person to want to hurt people. And it's definitely becoming obvious that Manipulation wants her to.
"No, I really don't. Just making up is fine by me." Beginning makes herself smile. The idea of not being able to comprehend a lack of interest in revenge is kind of pitiful. Beginning can sort of feel sorry for her. It must be a very sad way to live. "I don't like hurting people, so I'd be happy if we can just get along, okay? It's okay. I don't want to do anything bad to you, even if you have been... um, horrid? I'm okay with just an apology."
Beginning kind of tries to spell it out. It seems futile, but at least sets a precedent of what kind of person she hopes to be. Maybe Manipulation will actually get the point. ...Or maybe this'll all just get worse.
Manipulation blinks a couple of times, looking at Beginning with suspicion. Her apologetic expression starts to shift, the almost fragile look abruptly dropping from her face. Beginning has to resist the urge to sigh. What she guessed to be the truth was dead on. There's definitely something going on here, and she's about to find out just what it is.
"Seriously? What, are you trying to be the good guy?" Manipulation's voice drops hard, disdain thick in her tone. "'Cause I'm not buying it. This is pathetic. You're trying to act like a good person just so you can hold one over me! I had everything all planned out, and now you're ruining it! Ugh, I hate you! I really, really hate you! You were supposed to hurt me! Hurt me so I could go tell everyone that you're just as bad as us! Not make up this stupid crap about just wanting an apology." Manipulation's voice slowly rises to a furious shout. Beginning winces. This is exactly what she was expecting.
"Well, I don't do that!" Beginning snaps back. "I told you, I don't like hurting people. If you wanted to trick me, maybe you should have considered that." She's not mad, really. Just... for all Manipulation is skilled at toying with people, Beginning would have thought she could think this kind of thing out a little better. It's really kind of a shock.
"Oh, you think you're so pure!? You're just a goody-two-shoes idiot! There's no way you can survive here like that!" Manipulation screeches.
"I'm going to."
There's no doubt in Beginning's tone, nor is there any in her mind. She's just proven that she can see a trick coming, and responding with a dedication to kindness? That just proves that she can do it. No matter what, she's going to stick to this. There won't be any more getting pushed around.
"You--" Manipulation hollers, her voice rising to a downright ear-grating pitch. Her hair fans out and her fists ball at her sides.
"Wow, you really did underestimate her," a low voice says from somewhere to the side. It's Negativity, her hand wrapped around the perpetual string of thorns hanging from her lips.
"What are you doing here!?" Manipulation shouts.
"Just watching this little show. You know, you're really failing here. I can kind of understand messing up your games with one of us, but Beginning? You're losing your edge. Like, seriously."
Manipulation visibly fumes.
"Just shut up! This has nothing to do with you. This is my fight, and you can get your stupid nose right out of it."
"Pfft, like I would. I wanna see you fail, y'know?" Negativity deadpans. "Just keep going, go on. I'm sure you can do it if you keep trying." The sarcasm dripping from Negativity's voice is as apparent as her thorns. The way Manipulation glares is almost pathetic to watch. Beginning feels sort of weird just watching this, but she doesn't know if she can exactly leave.
"This is all your fault!" Manipulation screams, whirling around to face Beginning. "If you'd just done what you were supposed to and played along with me, everything would have been fine. I would have won and you would have suffered, and that's the way it should be. But no, you have to be the good girl. How stupid can you get!? I hate you! I fucking hate you! I'm going to make you pay for making me look bad, you hear me!?"
Abruptly, Manipulation lunges forward. She gets her hands around Beginning's throat in a second, glaring daggers and gritting her teeth viciously in both mouths. She looks like she wants to kill.
But Beginning isn't afraid. She can stand up for herself. Setting her jaw, she grabs Manipulation's wrists with one hand on each. She tugs the other girl's hands away from her with only a slight struggle, forcing them down with only a few forming bruises around her neck.
Manipulation makes a face like she can't believe what's happening.
"Y-You-- You're not supposed to-- Wh-What--?
"I told you. I don't want to fight anymore," Beginning says simply. "I'm done being prey. I'd rather make up with you, but if you try to hurt me, I won't just stand there. Do you want to keep going?"
She levels her gaze at Manipulation, trying to project as much confidence as she can. This will be the moment of truth.
Just as Beginning hopes, something in Manipulation's eyes shifts. For just a moment, she looks at Beginning with pure, undiluted shock. For just an instant, she looks like she can't believe what she's hearing.
"Fine!" she hollers all too quickly. "Just fuck off! I don't want anything to do with this crap anymore. You're an idiot and a bitch and I'm not going to play around with you, either! I'm leaving." Manipulation then spins on her heel, the tendrils of her hair all but forming an angry halo around her head as she goes, her hooves stomping on the stone with every step.
There's a moment of silence, then, both Beginning and Negativity watching her leave; Negativity with amusement and Beginning with something like relief.
"You sure chased her off," Negativity says after a minute, sounding extremely smug. "Like, I haven't seen anyone do that in a while. Maybe you're actually growing a spine. Or maybe you just wanna get yourself hurt."
"I think it's the first one..." Beginning replies a bit nervously. "I just don't want to hurt anyone. I'm sure you heard me say that."
"Well, good freaking luck sticking to that. You're a dumbass for trying, but, well, you do you. If you want to tick everyone off, go for it." She yanks another string of thorns from her mouth, dropping them to the ground and staring at Beginning with red, red eyes.
"I'm going to do my best," Beginning says, smiling the best she can muster. "You're not going to get to me so easily, either."