The Defiant

Carpe Diem

Roan

I wasn't sure I was ready to face The General. Just the thought of him made me want to gag and cry. Yet here we were marching back into the place he once held us in. The only thing that helped soothe my mind was thinking that we were saving people. We were saving so many people from whatever terrible things we were about to encounter.

I tried not to let my mind spiral into those thoughts now because we were on a date. It was good to relax before stressful events like this. Moreso, this would be the last day we had together before... before whatever hell we would walk into tomorrow.

After an eventful day of so many things, we had finally driven out to a field in the middle of nowhere and laid down to watch the stars. Today we went to a strip mall, had breakfast, lunch, and dinner all at fancy places, watched a movie, and went roller skating. The number of activities we tried to pack into less than 24 hours was a bit comical on the surface, but there was a desperation today when we looked deeper. A desperation to do things we hadn't had the chance to do yet, or might not have the chance to do.

The war we were about to start could span across the entire world. We were fighting some type of being that was much more powerful than we were. This being could destroy our planet. The thought brought a shiver to my spine.

"Well my lovelies," Sparrow said, his intoned voice interrupting the silent atmosphere. "The day had been good, and its ending is beautiful."

"How poetic," Saya added.

"I did theater for a while," he said casually. "Anyway, wanna play Ask Questions?"

"Ask Questions?" Atlas inquired.

"I mean, usually people call it twenty-one questions, but who the hell actually counts in that game? So it's really just asking questions."

Fair point.

"Okay, you go first then," Ezra said.

Sparrow thought for a moment. Then asked, "Ezra, What did you do in your free time before Shit went to shit?"

Ezra let out a long breath. "I would just skate a lot and hang out at the library."

"You skate?! I've been dating a skater boy, and I didn't know?!" Sparrow screeched. "Wait, this opens a whole other can of worms. What did all of you do before this? What cliques were you in? What were your hobbies? Stuff like that."

No one spoke for a moment until Dakota talked. "I worked in a cafe, and I used to draw. I haven't done any art since... well, I've been busy lately, as you all know."

Sparrow sat up and looked down at him. "What kind of things did you draw?"

"A lot of things. But I liked to draw fish and other aquatic creatures."

Sparrow nodded, "Speaking of aquatic creatures, you next Levi."

"I just swam, and that's pretty much all."

I stifled a chuckle. Aquatic creature indeed.

"C'mon, there had to be more."

"I guess I hung out with Tom a lot... at the pool. Every day."

"Every day? Hmm... Levi, have you been diagnosed with anything in your life?"

"A cat allergy. Why?"

"Ah, no reason."

"Oh. Okay. And what about you? What did you do?"

"I liked to raise plants, and I did some dance," Sparrow said.

"Dance?" Saya spoke up. "What kind of dance?"

"My dad's let me dabble in whatever I wanted, so I know a lot, but I'm mostly skilled in ballet, modern, and line dancing."