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Finnegan Larson -
Finn's brows furrowed. "I don't think you're a heartless monster, I'm just not used to people liking me, like that, back." he clarified. Her words confused him, quite a bit actually. So he liked her, as more than a friend, and she liked him, as more than a friend, but he couldn't get too close? What did she mean too close? Like they couldn't be romantically involved, or something else? He guessed it made sense in some twisted way, but logically? Ehhh... Finn was going to ask if he could kiss her before she went off on her little tangent, but he pretty much got his answer right there. A definite no. The awkward silence filled in as he stared at the ground. "Um, I'm gonna get back to the party..." he said standing up. "See ya around, I guess..." he said before walking back over to the crowd of people around the bonfire. - (lol, yeah ik) |
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Sera watched as Finn stood up, the weight of his words settling heavily in her chest. His confusion was palpable, and it twisted something inside of her. She’d seen the flicker of hope in his eyes when he'd first confessed—he liked her, and she liked him too. It should’ve been simple, right? But she knew better than to let it be. The way he turned away, back to the crowd, avoiding her gaze, made her heart drop. It was clear he didn’t understand, and she hated that. Hated that she couldn't make him see it was for his own good. Her own good, too. She opened her mouth to say something—anything—to stop him, but the words felt stuck in her throat. What could she even say? That it wasn’t him, it was her? That there were things she wasn’t ready to share, things she could never explain? That wasn’t fair. Not to him. Not to them. But the truth was, it was easier this way. Easier to keep him at arm’s length, to not let herself get tangled up in feelings that would only make her more vulnerable. More broken. So she just stood there, watching him retreat into the night, blending into the throng of partygoers around the bonfire. Part of her wanted to call out, to pull him back, but she knew better. Sometimes, love wasn't enough. |
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Finnegan Larson -
Finn went around again chatting with everyone, but it was obvious that something was wrong. He wasn't as enthusiastic or happy now that he had the interaction with Sera stuck in his mind. Eventually, he grew bored of the crowd, which didn't normally happen, but that thought kept weighing on him. So Finn slipped away from the party and went back to his tent, getting ready for bed. Finn didn't sleep that night. He just tossed and turned constantly. It probably would've been easier if Sera had just said she didn't like him like that, but thats not what happened, and now Finn is all confused and just out of it. He didn't understand why he couldn't get close. He didn't understand why they couldn't be together. He didn't understand what he did wrong. |
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Sera watched Finn leave the crowd, his shoulders hunched in a way that made her chest ache. His movements were slow, the weight of his confusion clear in the way he walked. It made her feel small, helpless in the face of his hurt. She wanted to reach out, to explain herself, but the words wouldn’t come. What could she say? She had felt that same flicker of hope, too, when he’d confessed. She had wanted to believe that maybe this time it could be different. That maybe she could let herself have something real with him, something that wasn’t tainted by the past. But she knew better than to entertain that fantasy. As he walked away, her heart twisted. His eyes, those eyes full of uncertainty, made her feel like she was drowning in a sea of unspoken things. He didn’t understand, couldn’t understand. Not the way she did. How could she explain that it wasn’t him? That she cared about him more than he could ever know, but it didn’t matter because they couldn’t be together—not like that. Not ever. She had made up her mind before she even spoke to him. She couldn’t let herself fall into the trap of wanting him, of letting herself be vulnerable. She had been there before, and it had destroyed her. Sera’s throat felt tight as she stood frozen, watching him fade into the distance, blending into the sea of laughter and music. The party still raged on, people oblivious to the storm inside her. But Finn wasn’t part of the crowd anymore. Maybe if she had been braver, she could’ve told him the truth, but the truth was too heavy. So she kept it buried inside, just like she always did. She wanted to call after him, to apologize for the pain she knew he was feeling, but she couldn’t. She had already made her choice, and now she had to live with it. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever understand why it had to be this way. Maybe someday. But for now, she could only watch as he retreated into the night, unable to follow. The quiet that followed his departure pressed down on her like a weight. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up.
Sera eventually retired back to her own tent, closing her eyes. She struggled to fall asleep though, wishing she could say the words she couldn't say, never ever say. |
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Finnegan Larson -
Finn woke the next morning, completely exhausted, hungover, and feeling like absolute shit. But he rolled out of bed anyway. He pulled on his clothes for the day and went with Micheal to breakfast. The three of them ate silently, all of them tired and hungover from last nights bonfire. Finn's mind was still clouded by his conversation with Sera last night. It made no sense. At the end of announcements, Finn finally managed to listen in. "... and the Lueteniant would like to see Nurse Larson outside." Crap. What trouble did he get into now? Finn sighed and put down his fork, he hadn't touched his food anyway. He got up and walked out of the mess tent. His Lueteniant handed him a letter and Finn opened it. It was reassignment to another camp. He would be leaving in two weeks. Shit. Finn stuffed the letter into his pocket and went back into the mess tent, sitting down at the table again. "What was that about?" Zoya asked. "Nothing." Finn grumbled. . (Just added a little drama, I can change it if you like. I was thinking having him get reassigned, but then just before he leaves, another Nurse gets sent to that camp, so a last-minute change happens and he ends up staying. I was just thinking this could cause even more drama between Sera and Finn.) |
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Sera couldn’t shake the image of Finn walking away from the bonfire. She had stood there, frozen in place, watching him disappear into the night, like a shadow retreating into the dark. Her chest had felt hollow in a way that was familiar, a kind of emptiness she didn’t want to feel again, but there it was, gnawing at her. His back, hunched in that way, had made her want to run after him, to fix whatever it was she had broken. But she couldn’t. Not when the walls she had built were already too high to climb over. She should have said something, right? She should have explained herself. But what could she have said? "I care about you, Finn, but I can’t let myself get too close because I know what happens when I do." That was the truth, wasn’t it? But the words would’ve never come out right. They’d never sound anything like what she actually felt. She'd felt that flicker of hope too when he’d opened up to her—when he had dared to believe that maybe this time could be different, that maybe she could let herself be vulnerable. She had wanted to believe it, too. The thought of him, of the two of them, of something real and uncomplicated—just for a moment—it had been so tempting. But that was just it, wasn’t it? It was only a moment, and moments like that were always fleeting. Sera had been down that road before. She'd let herself be consumed by hope once, by the idea of a future that could never be. And it had destroyed her. No. She couldn’t make the same mistake again. She had already made her choice before she even spoke to him. She would never allow herself to feel too much, not for him, not for anyone. She had too much to protect. Too much she couldn’t risk losing again. So, when he’d looked at her, confusion and hurt in his eyes, her heart had twisted. She had wanted to tell him everything—that it wasn’t him, that she cared for him more than he could ever know—but the words were caught in her throat, heavy and impossible. She couldn’t say them. She wouldn’t. She watched as he walked away, disappearing into the crowd, and a part of her wanted to reach out. To run after him, to stop him, to say all the things she couldn’t say. But she couldn’t. She had already made her choice. She had to live with it, even if it meant watching him fade out of her life. The quiet that followed was suffocating, and Sera had eventually retreated to her tent, the weight of her decisions pressing on her chest like a stone. She tried to sleep, but it wouldn’t come. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way he looked, the things left unsaid between them. And now, here they were, the morning after. She didn’t know what had happened after he left. She didn’t know if he had drunk himself numb to forget the sting of their conversation or if he had just… sat there, alone with his thoughts. But when she entered the mess tent, she found him sitting there, looking just as wrecked as he had the night before. His face was pale, his eyes distant, like he hadn’t really woken up from the night’s haze. And for a moment, she felt that familiar pang again—this ache in her chest that she didn’t know how to ease. Zoya asked the question Sera had been too afraid to voice herself, but Finn didn’t answer. He just grumbled something that didn’t make sense, dismissing the whole thing like it didn’t matter. But Sera knew it did. She sat down at the table, her stomach tight, watching him from the corner of her eye. She wanted to say something, anything, but she didn’t know what would make it better. She couldn’t fix what had already been broken. What if he never understood? What if he thought it was all him? That thought gnawed at her. Finn wasn’t a fool. He’d figure it out eventually. But for now… all she could do was sit there, with the space between them growing wider and wider, wishing that there was something she could do to bridge the gap. But she couldn’t. She had made her choice. |
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Finnegan Larson -
Finn, Micheal, and Zoya went off to work when the bell rang. At lunch, Finn pulled the two of them away and told them about his reassignment. Micheal was sad, but Zoya was crushed. Finn was Zoya's mentor for a year and a half, so the absence of him would take a toll on her. The three of them had their little group hug and then went into the mess tent for lunch. All was quiet at lunch, and the same silent sadness rested on the three of them during their work after lunch. At dinner, Micheal stood up on his bench and announced that Finn would be leaving in two weeks and that he was going to host a bonfire in his honor the night before his departure. Finn closed his eyes and covered his face with a hand as the secondhand embarrassment set in. Finn knew that he couldn't fix things with Sera. Not now, probably not ever. Definitely not before he left. Finn didn't even know where to start to fix them. |
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Sera sat at the edge of the mess hall, pushing her food around her plate without really seeing it. The quiet that hung between the three of them after lunch had settled deeper into her chest, pressing down on her lungs. Finn’s reassignment wasn’t just an abrupt shift in schedules—it was an end, a separation, and it had become something heavier than she expected it to be. She had watched him pull Micheal and Zoya aside earlier, heard the pain in their voices when they talked about it. Micheal tried to smile, tried to hide the sadness with jokes, but Zoya... Zoya had looked like someone had ripped a hole in the center of her chest. Sera could feel her heart breaking for her friend, even as she tried to ignore the sharp twist in her own. And Sera? Well, she didn’t know what she felt. She had spent so much of the last few weeks trying to convince herself it was fine, that everything would be fine, that she wasn’t as affected as everyone else. But Finn leaving wasn’t just another goodbye. Not after everything that had happened between them. When Micheal stood up at dinner, making that big announcement, Sera couldn't help but glance over at Finn. She saw him wince as Micheal rallied the group into a sort of preemptive mourning. Sera’s stomach tightened in sympathy, or maybe it was just that familiar ache of frustration that came with him looking so helpless. Finn wasn’t just leaving *them*. He was leaving her too. And it hurt more than she wanted to admit. Sera’s eyes slid down to her plate, the food in front of her losing any appeal. The quiet that settled after Micheal’s words was heavy, and it felt like everything was unresolved. Like there were words left unsaid, and no real chance to say them. She couldn't help it. Her gaze flickered back to him—just for a second. She the looked away again. She wouldn't, couldn't, it was better this way. They'd diverge paths, and she'd never see him again. It was for the best. |
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Finnegan Larson -
The days passed by quickly. Finn never formally told Sera that he was leaving. He hadn't spoken with her since that night at the bonfire when they confessed to each other. Finn was still confused. The day finally came. Finn was quiet during dinner, his last meal here. Zoya and Micheal were quiet too. Zoya's eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying and Micheal wasn't as cheery then he used to be. Finn just avoided Sera. Everything was a blur, dinner, getting ready, packing, and then going to the bonfire. He plastered on a fake smile and pretended to have fun, talking with everyone and drinking himself numb. |
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Sera watched Finn from across the fire, her gaze steady but distant. The crackling flames painted his features in fleeting shadows, making his discomfort even more palpable. She knew he was pretending, just as he always did when things were too much to face. She didn’t need to speak to him. There were no words left that could untangle what neither of them had the courage to confront. She couldn’t make him stay, and he wasn’t ready to leave. Her fingers found the small package in her pocket, wrapped simply with a piece of string. It was something she had spent hours on, though she hadn’t said a word to anyone about it. Carefully, she stood and walked toward him, silent as always. Without meeting his eyes, she placed the small parcel in his hands, her fingers brushing his just long enough for him to feel the warmth there. Then, without waiting for him to say anything, she turned and walked away, her back straight, her heart heavy with the quiet certainty that this was the way it had to be. |
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Light Rain then Clearing Overnight
