#anywhere

Eden is in the woods, and she does something reptiles can't do. She cries.

It starts in flowing tears, and then comes the sobs and the hiccups.

Curling her legs under her.

The boy I like doesn't notice me. I try to apologize and I get told to fuck off. No one at school talks to me for long. My parents would think I'm evil. I don't... Hic Hic

The sobs finally dim. And she rises... looking for the spot. The woods have mixed terrain. She doesn't know it as well as some, but she knows a few spots.

Clambering up to one tree, a special tree, it's not the tallest, but it has a thick long branch that overlooks a natural ledge... so what would be a 20 feet up thing ... becomes 40... And that she thinks looking down Would be enough to kill anyone

Reallly more like 45, with rocks there enough to really break you.

A glimmer of glamour not far away below...the footbridge....

She is startled by this, I mean, she was ready to jump... but now someone is here and she slips

and catches herself

A few moments later, Sylvi appears. She's humming or murmuring something to herself. Memorizing something? Maybe a cheer....

Smaller twigs scatter as the girl hangs

Sylvi hears the noise of scrambling adolescent, and looks up, peering through the branches. "Hello? Somebody there?" She's got her spear in her hands.

"Would you care for an apple?"

Said in a slightly distressed voice

"Huh? Eden?" Sylvi comes closer to try and see her better. "You...you need help?"

"Oooo noo... I'm sure Superman will be by any time now"

"Got it...hang on...." Sylvi taps her spear on the ground three times and calls out, "Up, up, and AWAY!" to Hopscotch up to a branch near the one Eden is hanging from.

"Hello, Super troll"

"Hey. Okay, here, let me...." Hanging on to the tree, she drops her spear to the ground, then reaches to grab Eden. "Grab on, and hold tight!"

Don't have to tell her twice

As soon as she's got a good hold on Eden, Sylvi recites, "Feather fall, feather drift, feather twist, feather lift, feather light, feather land, both of us, hand in hand."

And land they do, smoothly.

Now that they are close, Sylvi can see.. signs of crying

"Okay, you're safe, and...hey...you okay? I mean...you look upset."

"Me? I'm a rock an an Island."

A worried look. "Can I help?"

"Make up poisoned him" A sigh "And apologies make them angry"

"Whoa. Okay." Sylvi exhales. "This is going to be tricky. Okay...make up poisoned...um...helped somebody?"

"Apple muncher guy was kind of mean to his sister so I did an 8 legged spalding.... so he'd share the Rock.... and when I met him I thought I'd do my confessional but no hailmary he got really outraged and exploded... bits and pieces of him all over the place"

"And..well, of course, Symon wants me to die in fire"

A hurt look

A blink. "Okay...I'm going to have to work on the first part of that. But the second part...Eden, I'm sorry. I know you've got a thing for him, but...I don't think Symon's really into anybody that way yet. Dagmar's about his closest friend, and I don't think they're, like flirty or anything. Why are you into him, anyway? Not that you shouldn't be, but...I'm just wondering why you got attracted to him in the first place if he's not giving you the time of day, or whatever."

"i'm drawn to the evil in his dark dark soul" She sighs "And it stirs the evil in mine. Espeically since he wears the evil on the outside"

She frowns, thinking. "He's just a nice guy who hides his niceness by being creepy, and he makes you feel nice, too?"

She makes a 'close' gesture, then says "My parents want me to be an angel, but I'm the serpent in the garden... everyone expects him to be the serpent... and he ..he hids the other thing... and i don't know....he's that loner and I think maybe he knows ... what it's like to be... lowly"

She hangs her head "But I can't make him see me like his princess. And there are no other boys in the world. And all the other girls are like..sports stars like you or social butterflies like Dagmar"

"You...think he'd understand you, because your folks don't understand you, and you don't think you really fit in anywhere at school." Sylvi's still trying to translate.

She bends down, and doodles several rectangles in the ground with a stick... small circles. Then one squiggle. the circles are all gathered at the table. The squiggle isn't anywhere... one circle is on the edge of a table, closest to her.. sort of faded circle.

"Outsiders. Gotta stick together, maybe. But he doesn't want to." A sigh. "Well, okay...And I'm sorry that's not working out the way you want."

She eyes the tree, "Did you know that if Eve "Using her mortal name "Suicides, that ravine opens to hell? Big flames. But Eden..hey, very budhist"

A big blink. "Whoa...Wait. Really? That's...that's why you were up there? Oh...I...Wow. Eden, that's...please don't."

She is ashamed and looks down

"I'm just so crowded"

"Oh...I'm sorry. I guess...because you do stay on the edges, I guess I don't really look out to include you as much as I could. That's on me. I guess...it's tricky to understand you, and I don't want to make you mad if I misunderstand you....maybe that's why I haven't tried more. Not an excuse, just an explanation, or a guess at one." She frowns. "You said apple-muncher before...."

"yes, everything is your fault and you should feel bad for basketcases in your orbit because you made them" A shake of her head "You are your sister's keeper AND full time Therapist? Hope you get paid. Stop the blonde, or I shall thrash you" A firm nod.

"Oh, my counter partner... donator of the rib. " A sigh

A bit of a grin. "Okay, not all my fault, sure, but a part." Then, "...rib...oh! Adam!" A smile as she figures it out, but it vanishes again. "Adam's mad at you? Exploded?"

"Well, I DID turn his bouncy ball into an eight legged Blood slurper" She sighs "that was YEARS ago, but I thought I'd apologize and ... BOOM... tiny chunks of adam everywhere"

She frowns. "Was he enchanted when you apologized?"