*Léon* Fighting To Keep My Sanity..

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Rachel took a gasp of air, her breath coming in burning gasps. She pushed her way out of the bar, her heart hammering in her head. There was a weird buzzing that she could hear, and it hadn't gone away even out in the silent, cold night.

She couldn't feel the cold, even when her jacket was tied round her waist. Rachel was just focused on keeping what sanity she had tied to her as well.

Rachel stumbled away from the bar, and she barely heard the couple that walked past her, complaining about 'drunk 21 year old women' which was silly, because Rachel was 18 years old. They were close enough, though.

Her hands flew to her forehead. The buzzing seemed to have grown louder. This was an indication of her insanity, she reminded herself, but it only went away when she slept. Or, at least, she stopped hearing it.

Rachel ran until she got to a park. Her childhood memories came flooding back, and she wondered what had gone wrong. Ever since that night, when...

Rachel's eyes widened. She was forgetting. so she started thinking of things...memories. Forcing them back into her brain. She sighed in relief when she realized the buzzing had just slightly fried her memories.

She stumbled forward, falling to her knees. "Oi, girlie, careful there!" jeered some men from the pub over the road. Rachel's eyes suddenly darkened, turning to a deep red, the light blue fading instantly. The buzzing had faded away, and all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart.

She got to her feet and faced the bar. They were still jeering, the last few men and the barman, laughing at her. Don't let them get the better of you, Rachel. Do it. a voice in her head was urging her.

Rachel's hand raised in the bar's direction. Flames leaped up, engulfing the place. She curled her hand into a fist, and the building began to fall apart, the men outside trapped beneath it, but Rachel just watched, a smile playing across her face as her hand dropped, and the place burnt.

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It had been a year since his... episode. As much as he didn't want to, he couldn't stand to let his mother see him like this. It was one thing for his Papa. His Papa understood, he'd been there, he knew what the anguish felt like, was sympathetic to what it was like when you just couldn't take anymore. But is mother?

She was a strong woman, but he knew that she had horrors in her past that he was not about to remind her of. And his closest friend, his loyal companion who had been by his side through thick and thin. His sweet Brianna. She knew him better than he knew himself, sometimes, but he wasn't sure if even she would understand.

So here he was, alone with his inner demons.

The chill in the air was sharp, but it didnt really bother him. He was half time lord and he had a natural resistance to extreme temperatures, plus with all the crazy things he'd been through, exposure was the least of his worried, still he zipped up his leather jacket and continued through the streets, when a sudden explosion caught his attention. He quickened his step as the curiosity jabbed at him.

When he came upon the scene, his eyes wandered. It seemed familiar to him. Like when his older sister, Clementine lost her temper. His parents had adopted Clementine when she was 10. And she was a witch. So the similarities in the way the building randomly was engulfed and began to crumble made him worry that his sister was here. But instead, found a woman, possibly around his age, basking in the warm glow of the destruction. It wasn't Clem. He'd never met another witch besides his sister.

So, with curiosity, and a good deal of caution, he approached.

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Rachel's eyes suddenly widened when she realized what she had done. The red glow stayed in her eyes, but as soon as her eyes met with an approaching man, around her age maybe, the red faded back to it's ordinary bright blue.

Her eyes widened once more as she looked back at the damage. She winced slightly. She took a step back, then let herself fall to the grass, and she sat there, staring at it for a couple of moments, before she looked up.

He seemed to still be there, so Rachel licked her lips, and slowly found her voice to speak. Her tone was sad and slightly angry, but more at herself. "I...I didn't want to...I didn't mean..." she sighed, and composed herself, brushing her brownish-blonde hair from her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, she started again. "I'm not going to hurt you. I..I didn't mean to get so angry so that the bar would..." she gestured at it hopelessly. "You could just leave, if you're that scared. I...I think I'll be fine." but this was a lie.

Rachel knew she wouldn't be fine, for God's sake, she was going insane, and she was evil! She didn't honestly expect the man to stay, so she put her face in her hands, and let a few tears fall into them, but she made sure they were silent tears.

She couldn't say she hadn't wanted to do it, because they had made her so angry that she had, she'd wanted to make them suffer, make them bleed, make them see that she wasn't ever, ever going to let them see the sun again...

They deserved it. Rachel realized she was thinking that and she shook her head a tiny bit. They didn't, they DIDN'T, they..... but no matter what, she knew (thought) that they deserved what she'd done to them. In her eyes, anyway.

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He watched her conflicted reaction. Remorseful and yet.. satisfied. It pained him slightly for he knew that expression well. He'd seen it on rare occasion from his papa, and more times than he cared to admit from himself.

He shook his head calmly and offered his gloved hand down to her to pull her to her feet. His voice was smooth and calm, only the faintest hint of worry in his tone. "I dont frighten easy. And.. You have nothing to apologize for.. Not to me, anyway."

Well, it was true, what she did might have been out of anger or passion or what ever it was that fueled her gifts... But she had not wronged him personally, so she didn't have to apologize.

He would've offered that dashing and innocent smile, but this was hardly the time, and lately these days, he didn't feel so innocent. Not after the things he had done. He still couldn't bring himself to tell his father the things he'd seen that had sparked his rage so violently. He knew his father too well and the last thing the world needed was two Keâts men going on a killing spree.

He shuddered as he felt his stomach tighten. The hand he offered remained openly awaiting her hand, quite still and placid.. but his other hand clenched tightly, and he could feel his fingernails dig into his palm, even through the leather glove. He shut his eyes tightly as he fought to push the images from his mind because he could feel his whole arm tremble. He shuddered a sigh and unclenched his fist, shaking the hand slightly, realizing he'd clenched it so tightly that he'd cut off circulation to his fingers. They tingled slightly as the blood returned to the fingertips.

"In any case, I cant just leave a lady in distress until I know she is alright." At that, he somehow managed a smile, the scar that ran through his lips causing the right side of his smile to upturn slightly more than the other side.

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Rachel let him help her to her feet, surprised he wasn't scared, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw his other hand clench into a fist. She was going to ask if he was okay, when he spoke again, and she couldn't help but return the smile.

"I suppose you're right. But..I'm not just a 'lady' as you put it, I'm..." she looked at the building, and felt a flash of pain and guilt. "I'm a monster aren't I?" she said, but she wasn't really asking.

The buzzing in her head was back. When she wasn't angry, sad, or using her powers, the buzzing was always there, indicating that she needed to go through the process but she wouldn't do it. The process was what made half witches become full ones.

But then Rachel knew there was a huge risk that her sanity would fade, and she would remain evil and...well, insane.

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He closed his eyes with a soft smile and gently passed his thumb to one of her eyes to wipe away what looked to be oncoming tears. He shook his head before opening those bright green eyes again. "Non. I have met monsters. You're not a monster.". But then, was he really fit to say who was a monster and who wasn't? He certainly felt he was a monster. Granted, someone brought that out of him.. But no.. He'd always had a violent temper, even as a child.

He shook his head, removing his gloves and placing them in his pockets before passing his fingers through his hair. He had some rather grotesque scars on his hands, burns, nicks and cuts.. and what looked like puncture wounds. He glances at the scars slightly amused and yet.. he still shuddered. The hands went into his pockets as he canted his head to the side looking down at her. "I can walk you home if you like.. or.. just walk with you until you feel better? It's the least I can do, ouais?"

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Rachel nodded slowly. "If you're sure, we'll just walk it off. I don't want to go home...not yet." she was kind of scared of going back to her empty apartment alone.

Making sure he was following, she began to walk. "I suppose you think I'm horrible for burning that place down, don't you?" she said after a while.

Rachel waited a few moments before speaking again. "But if you do think that, you're right. I shouldn't have done it.'' she said, putting on her jacket, zipping it up and crossing her arms.

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He listened to her as she seemed to ramble on to him and he shook his head. She was hardly a monster. She was remorseful. At least, her words displayed as much. He never shed a tear for the lives he took, never looked back on who it would effect. But this woman, she was torn between satisfied and sorry. "Non.. You're not a monster. You have inner demons like anyone else."

The moment he heard the sirens begin to wail, his first instinct was to take the woman's arm and flee. But they were only there to put out a fire. If they ran now, it would be as though waving a huge red flag to say "It was us!! we did it! Fancy a chase?" He'd never really been in trouble with the authorities, he'd developed his blatant mistrust in cops from his father.

"Just keep walking, Ouais?"