@@@@@I wasn't even sure how she meant to insult
@@@@@I wasn't even sure how she meant to insult me, but it
was clear that she didMelanie stirred resentfully?I'm not sure what you mean
?Tell me something, WandererDo you pity them??
?Who?? I asked blankly?The Walking Flowers??
?No, the humans
I stopped walking, and she skidded to a halt beside meWe were only a few blocks from my
apartment, and I'd been hurrying in hopes of getting away from her, though likely as not, she'd
invite herself inBut her question caught me off guardDo you pity them??
?Don't you??
?NoThey were quite the brutal raceThey were lucky to survive each other as long as they
did
?Not every one of them was bad
?It was a predilection of their geneticsBrutality was part of their speciesButyou pity them, it
seems
?It's a lot to lose, don't you think?? I gestured around usWe stood in a parklike space between
two ivy-covered dormitoriesThe deep green of the ivy was pleasing to the eye, especially in
contrast to the faded red of the old bricksThe air was golden and soft, and the smell of the
ocean gave a briny edge to the honey sweet fragrance of the flowers in the bushesThe breeze
caressed the bare skin of my arms?In your other lives, you can't have felt anything so vividWouldn't you pity anyone who had this taken from them?? Her expression stayed flat, unmovedI made an attempt to draw her in, to make her consider another viewpoint?Which other worlds
have you lived on??
She hesitated, then squared her shoulders
