Malta

[peace_inthe_violence]

This is a fairy tale of blood and bullets
It is the story of three men and three women and a small island between Italy and Africa.
This is a story about tragedy and pain, about healing and hope, but mostly it is about
love.

Comments

[transfuge]

"Not in a way that keeps us from being noticed." Booker liked the attitude. Nile gave as good as she got. And she was funny though he also thought she was seriously against capitalism.

They could get along.

"But if you have any suggestions how we can do that I'll listen." There were few things Booker enjoyed more than tearing down the rich who exploited the poor. He had been a teenager in the revolution. It gave him a few ideas.

[notariver]

She definitely gave as good as she got, and the fact that she was was probably the first indication that she was finally starting to settle and that she was finding her equilibrium again.

"Right, the not being noticed thing kind of puts a damper on it, but anybody who says to start small is part of the problem. Even if they don't know it" A little shrug, "Start with home owners associations, they used to be for the people who actually lived in the neighborhood, but now you've got one landlord who owns four or five houses, sometimes more, sometimes in the same neighborhood, sometimes in a few, but because they're the homeowner, they're the one who's in the associations."

A crooked little smile, "But you get it voted into the bylaws that members of the HOA also have to be residents and suddenly the people in charge are people who actually know what's going on in the neighborhood. That's how my mom did it. It's how we went from hiding a garden in the back of the house to having an actual community garden."

[transfuge]

Booker was amused that Nile thought they owned property anywhere with an HOA. That sort of attention was bad for them. This was probably the nicest property they owned. Hell, Andy had a few caves that were mostly storage though perfect for emergencies.

"So that's where you learned all of this." He gestured at the various plants. Booker had no idea how to tend to any of them but she had done a good job. "Your mom and the community around you?"

It'd be nice if they could effect change at that sort of level but the nature of what they did was very often the big picture and even then it didn't always do anything useful. They saved lives, but it didn't always feel like enough.

[notariver]

It had been less about the HOA in and of itself and more about the best place to start was making sure people understood that there was another way to do things, if they really wanted it.

Her brow creased a little at the question, but she nodded, "Yeah, plants and standing my ground and where to aim my fight when it came to that." Another small smile, "My ma' raised warriors, and even though my brother wouldn't hurt a fly, he's got plenty of fight in him in other ways."

[transfuge]

Booker agreed that her mother had raised a warrior. Nile had much the same countenance as Andy, a backbone of steel and a sharp gaze. She was not a woman to be trifled with.

"You say that and I wonder if your brother is a lawyer." Booker was more the type to fight with his mind. It was very rare he thought of himself as a warrior. He wasn't like the others that way.

And each little question or comment pulled a little bit more history out of Nile. It gave him a better understanding of their new member. He wasn't interrogating her, per say, just satisfying his own curiosity.

[notariver]

She snorted at that, shaking her head, "No. At least I don't think law school was ever in the plans, that might have changed." Another head-shake, "He got involved with trying to get the dress code at his school changed, since it hadn't been updated since probably the 70s, took all damn semester, but they got it done."

There was a small smile then, "He got the same level of 'take no shit' that I did, but he uses it to talk, and that boy can talk. He'll put in the work, do the research and he'll stand by it, and he's personable as hell, which people don't expect from someone who looks like him, catches people off-guard."

[transfuge]

Booker was impressed by how easily she talked about her family. There was none of the stumbling over words and choking on emotions like he did. Then again, she was new. It probably hadn't fully sunk in just how hard it would be to lose them even from a distance.

"That's always the best way to do things, isn't it? Plant your heels and charm them into doing it for you." He raised an eyebrow at her while he sipped at his whiskey. "And sometimes, if you're really good they thank you while you fuck them over."

Which was his personal favorite.

[notariver]

That definitely wasn't a realization that had sunk in yet, and might not for a good long while.

She couldn't help the smile that emerged at that conclusion, just nodding, "Yeah, the phone poll he did of neighboring districts and parents in our district was..." She shook her head then, "It was the kind of leading questions that people didn't realize were leading. He got the results he needed though, which was the idea. Some of the faculty fell for it too, which was just icing on the whole thing."

Her voice dipped a little, not exactly an impersonation of her brother, but definitely quoting: "Ma'am, are you aware the dress code at this school hasn't been updated since 1972, and that the update was only to include a stipulation on hair length on male students?" The smile that emerged was warm, "Faculty learned real fast not to tell a Freeman 'that's just the way things are'. It's never true, it's just the way things have been."

[transfuge]

And when it did sink in they would be there for her. Booker would do everything he could to keep her from making his mistake. He wouldn't wish that pain on anyone even his worst enemy.

The point, though, was to let her talk. He didn't quite understand the important of updating a dress code but that didn't matter. It was matter to her brother and he had kept going until he won. Nile was proud, as well. The story mattered to her.

"What we do doesn't always feel like changing the world but we help. If you see something you want to get involved in you can bring it to the group. It's rare we've said no to each other." Booker couldn't remember a time when they had.

[notariver]

It had been so that the girls were allowed to wear pants instead of just skirts, because the school had once had a uniform policy, but had changed parts of that, but not all of it, apparently.

She nodded at the offer, "I'll keep it in mind." There was a narrow smile that followed, and an arched brow, "But that was also a warning, you all should know better than to try and tell me anything's just the way it is. You'd better be prepared with a damn good explanation, or be prepared for a fight."

Which was undoubtedly something they'd already figured out before she'd had things thrown forcibly into perspective, but she felt it needed to be made clear anyway.

[transfuge]

"Gravity." Booker paused a moment to let the word sink in. "That's just the way it is."

His sense of humor was rather warped but at least it wasn't one of his more morbid jokes. The other way it tended to shift was towards dark and grim. It was much better she got a dad joke instead.

"If you don't want to do something we choose you can sit that out as well. It's been rare over the years but we've done it. I spent most of World War 2 in Paris while the others were all over Europe."

He had started with them and helped liberate a few of the early concentration camps but when Paris fell... he was gone.

[notariver]

That first statement did get a little flicker of a smile, already more at ease than she had been when he'd first emerged from the house, and the explanation that followed had her lifting both brows a little, "Yeah? That's... that's good to know." She'd thought it might be the case, but hadn't yet asked, and considering what she was used to, it would be a pleasant change.

She scratched the back of her neck with one hand then, squinting skyward briefly, "You know, I read a book on anti-gravity once." The barest pause before she shook her head, expression still thoughtful, not giving the joke away even if he knew what was coming, "Literally couldn't put it down."

[transfuge]

Booker barked out a surprised laugh. He hadn't expected she would come back with her own bad joke. Nile hadn't struck him as the type but he had only seen her alley cat mad and calculating really. This side of her was entirely new and it was good to see it coming out. She must be getting more comfortable.

"You know, you're a good kid," he said with a small genuine smile. "You're gonna be great for the team."

And he really felt that.

[notariver]

She was definitely finding her equilibrium again, and trading a bad joke for a bad joke was a good start there. It wasn't something she really made a habit of, but it wasn't like she'd just been going to let that opportunity sail by, either.

She also decided that she liked the fact that she'd actually gotten a smile, one she'd seen the edges and angles of when he was interacting with the others, but it was different when it was more or less at her instead.

"I was going to argue about being called 'kid', because usually I'm a fine young lady, but I guess in comparison, I'm definitely a kid. So I'll take it."

[transfuge]

"I won't use the term often." Booker didn't want her to feel insulted by the term. He meant it more as a teasing nickname not an actual comment on her age. She didn't like it so he would save it for when he absolutely needed to tease her.

He got up and slid his flask into his back pocket. "I guess I'll leave you to your gardening since you've figured out a lot of this."

Like not going back to her family and that they weren't out to hurt her. Booker felt she'd get through those first rocky weeks a lot better than he did.