Cultivating

[Sulley]

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Sulley was bent, both with his body, his brows, and his mood. He thought of nothing as he tended his personal garden and everything. It wasn't often that the man had the spare time to consider things. Despite how scarcely he spoke, which would make you think he was a deep thinker, there was actually very little that processed itself within his mind. Most everything the man produced was a result of instinct. A fact that would prove itself shortly.

Indeed, from behind he was approached. A woman slipped her way through the field of farms and gardens. She moved stealthily and swayed her hips like a slinky.

Sulley's hands froze where they hovered over the head of a carrot. His eyes darted at the sound of the woman's feet. He didn't know it was her yet. As far as he knew it could be anyone. They could have any intention. He sharpened his arms.

"You're always so cautious." Her voice was a purr. It was a mother whispering to her child. A kitten being stroked.

He straightened and turned, confronting the woman head on. It was the one from the market place that day so long ago. He'd seen her face and hadn't resisted the urge to follow her. He couldn't imagine what such an attractive woman would do in her free time. Her hair was dark chocolate and her eyes were ice. The contrast of the two with her deadly pale skin and baby pink lips had charmed him from the moment he'd set eyes on her.

She had taken advantage of this.

Though the two hadn't met until days later, there was an immediate spark. One of those indescribable feelings that couldn't be ignored. It wasn't long before he began avoiding making meetings with the Rebellion. Of course he had to keep her a secret; she was a weakness. At least, she thought she was.

"What are you doing here?" Was Sulley's sharp reply. He looked her over, and without meaning to his lips parted in expectancy. His dark eyes smoldered. She was quick to take the bait.

They pulled apart shortly after, his hand tangled in her messy waves and her arms yoking his neck. She looked at him and smiled as if she were suddenly satisfied with life. Sulley looked down at her with a distant expression.

"I asked you what you were doing here." His voice had grown harsher. He enjoyed his time with her but didn't like being with her. There was something about her that emanated deceit. She was like the Devil's wife. Her aura was lustful and wicked.

"Seeing you." She told him, tracing his lips with her finger. "I wanted to talk to you about something." She was too touchy. She wanted him too badly and when she got him she didn't act on it. Sulley didn't like that. He didn't like holding this woman. Affection with her was like lighting paper. It burned fiercely and then simmer and died, becoming merely ashes.

"Speak." He snapped, stepping away from her and her warmth to turn back to his carrot. His hand wrapped around the green neck. Before he pulled her hand enveloped his--to the best of its ability considering the size differences.

"It's important." She slid her touch up his arm, ending at his shoulder. Her other hand tugged on his shirt.

Hot air escaped between his teeth as Sulley seethed. He slowly stood erect once more, blood rushing to his face as he did so. He looked angry. She looked down submissively.

"I'm. . .not okay. I thought it would be okay but it isn't. This is weird. What we have isn't normal. You aren't normal." Sulley blinked at the woman. She sighed, exasperated. "Well of course you aren't normal. God, we're mutants. What I mean is that even then you're messed up. And I can't resist it." She stood on her toes to kiss him again but he leaned away, looking at her as if she were diseased. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Her hands fell to her sides. She spoke to the ground.

"Sulley. . .I'm pregnant. And I can't keep hiding it from you and I can't keep pretending that everything will work out. I need you to be here for me." She looked up with glossy and hopeful eyes. "You are one hell of a guy, but I can work with you. I can see past that. You're intense and protective and loyal and that's what I need right now. For my sake. And our baby's."

Sulley stared at her.

Not in surprise, but like a wolf watching its prey, waiting for it to move. She blinked but it didn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks.

"Can you say something?" She was whining. "I need you to speak to me. You're always so quiet. Why don't you talk to me?" She put her hand on his cheek but it didn't feel warm. She was cold and he suddenly noticed the sweat on her forehead, though it was a chilly day. She was sick.

"Sulley, please. Please? I need you. We need you." Her hand moved to her stomach. "Say you'll stay with us. Say you'll care for me. Sulley, say something." Her tears fell faster now. "SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT." She screamed, throwing her hands at him. She railed on him, slapping his face and punching his stomach. He stood and endured.

"Sulley I love you. And I hate it but I want to be with you. I want you to want me." She was lying. He knew it just as much as she did. "Say you'll take me. Marry me, Sulley, you bastard, MARRY ME." She fell to the ground, sobbing, holding herself, stroking her slightly bulging stomach.

Sulley stood there and stared.

"I hate you." She whispered. "For doing this to me. I hate you for making me this way. I hate you for not loving me."

And, finally, he spoke.

"Then you'll love me for ending your misery." Without warning Sulley's arm lashed out and slit the woman's throat. He hated to take the life of such beauty but he knew that it was the best option. The best of the only option.

He couldn't have this. He couldn't have a child. He wouldn't.

She choked on her blood before she died. Her eyes pinned him down in her last moments, and as they slowly turned black, Sulley felt a shadow cross over him. Then they rolled into the back of her head and with a final gurgle she flopped to the ground with a watery thud. Her blood stained his garden.

Sulley removed the edge from his hand and wiped the remnants on his pant leg. He didn't look down at the thing which still bled into the ground. He didn't look disturbed or thoughtful or nervous.

His face was as blank as it always was when he had nothing on his mind.

[Rosenna]

Rosenna walked aimlessly. She had no plans or even desires to go anywhere. She just walked and picked at the scars on the palms of her hands, which she did only when in deep thought.

Somehow she found her way into a farm. She was not suprised to see this. She was suprised, however, to see one Sulley Trace in a garden. He seemed to be deep in thought although she couldn't tell at the distance she was standing. As she sqinted towards the man, she a strange thing crosed her vision. A woman. She seemed to glide over to Sulley, who had his back turned. It was almost like watching a silent movie.

She said something. Sulley stood up and turned around. Defensive pose. One that Rosenna was now realizing was a normal thing for him. He replied. There was a strange electricity in the air as all three of them waited for something to happen. The woman approached Sulley and kissed him. Rosenna was confused. Although her encounter with him was short, Rosenna was sure that he was a fairly introverted man.

The couple spoke again and Rosenna lost interest. She picked at the grass and looked up at the sky. She closed her eyes but she could feel that something was going to happen. Like the intensity on the playground when you knew there was going to be a fight.

She opened her eyes in time to see the woman trying to hit Sulley. Rosenna laughed at this. This girl obviously didn't understand what she was doing. She screamed at him, but he stood still. Rosenna couldn't see his face but she was sure it was blank. The woman finally gave up and fell to the ground. Rosenna stood up to leave but stopped short when she saw what was going to happen next.

His body was in the same position it was in when he attacked Rosenna. On the defense. He wasn't going to let this girl get away with whatever she was doing. Rosenna wanted to do something but she was to far away. Rosenna began the walk to where Sulley was.

Sulley made his way to the woman and slit her throat. Anyone else would've been horrified but not Rosenna. She knew what was going to happen. The dead body hit the ground just as Rosenna approached. It was a death wish, walking up to him, but Rosenna was feeding off of that electricity and adrenaline that both tha woman and Sulley had.

She didn't say anything. She simply paced a circle around the body. Noticing that she was a pretty girl.

"What did she do? Sleep with your best friend? Or maybe she tried to be nice to you, tried to help you." Rosenna demanded, remembering the way Sulley had cut her hands with no warning. Like an animal. Ever since then, Rosenna had wanted revenge from him. She hadn't won and that fact haunted her. But now there was a dead body and a witness. What can I do with all this? Rosenna contemplated with a sick smile. Because, unlike Sulley, she wore her emotions as plainly as humanly possible.

[Sulley]

Rosenna's presence had not gone unnoticed. Sulley had seen the woman at a distance when the dead one had approached him. He hadn't recognized her though.

He did now.

"You." Sulley grumbled, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes before shifting away, to the end of his garden which was furthest from her. Their last exchange hadn't been a friendly one. Sulley considered her one of his many enemies. Thankfully, he had a talent for getting along with the people he didn't like or trust. So long as there was no fighting, she wouldn't be harmed.

Her words sounded as if they were meant to cut him. Perhaps she wanted a reaction. Sulley confronted her with his eyes for a silent moment, saying nothing verbally or even with his expression. His face was flat and as far anyone watching would be able to tell, he was emotionless.

He distantly wondered what she wanted but didn't bother asking. If she spoke then she spoke.

Sulley resumed tending to is garden, ignoring his hands which were stained--not from the dirt.

[Rosenna]

He recognized her. Rosenna was glad of that. If he hadn't, that would make things completely different. She would have to act shocked, and Rosennna was a bad actress.
But after everything had transpired, Sulley was the same. No emotion. This intrigued Rosenna. and excited her.

"What the hell are you?" she whispered. "Is there anything going on in that head?"

She had a distant desire to fight but shot it down as she remembered the scars on her palms. She looked at the dead body beside them as her intrigue grew.

[Sulley]

Sulley's lip peeled away from his teeth in a sneer. The thick irony scent of blood wafted in his nostrils. For as much as he seemed to enjoy the kill he always had a bad reaction to the effects. His skin crawled where her blood marred his hands, and right then he decided to burn the garden. He'd find other means for food.

"I'm alive, aren't I." He asked rhetorically, flicking the stains from his hands. There was a fine chance some of the droplets of blood might hit Rosenna. He was unconcerned of the matter.

"What the hell do you want?" His voice sounded like less of a threat than before and instead flat, like his expression. The man had been rather bland of late.

[Rosenna]

His attitude changed. He got defensive, just as Rosenna knew he would.

"I'm alive, aren't I." He asked. Rosenna was almost shocked at his attitude. Almost. He flicked his hand and blood splattered across Rosenna's shirt. She kept her mouth shut. She just raised her eyebrow and wondered if this guy was crazy, retarded, or both.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked. And although Rosenna knew that he didn't really care, Rosenna wanted to talk.

"I want to know what you plan on doing with the body. Have you done this before or do you need some help." She asked, knowing full well that he wouldn't be shocked by her question like a normal person.

[Sulley]

Suley's fingertips brushed each other as he leaned most of his weight on one leg, the other slightly bent. There were always prolonged moments of silence between someone's question or statement and his reply. Again, it wasn't because he was thinking of an answer. He merely spoke when one came, letting it take it's time in coming.

"Why?" As simple as if he had a cigarette in his mouth and had just blown smoke on the wind.

[Rosenna]

"Why?"

"Why? Wow. Becuase if someone finds out that you killed someone and I wittnessed it, we're both dead. Plus, you look really confused."

She was shocked at how easy it was to talk around dead people. It got her every time. In her mind, she should be quiet and respectful. But this was real. Not like some strange daydream where she was the hero and did the right thing.

"Do you at least have a shovel or something?"

[Mara Ackart]

Mara had never really taken a decent tour of the farmlands. Oh she'd run through them from time to time but never stopped to look. In the interest of knowing the area, and just pure curiosity, she'd headed out that way. She was moving at a light jog unaided by her powers. The place seemed just as dull as she'd imagined it. Nothing but fields of plants or dirt. The woman heaved a sigh.

"Boooring."

In fact she was just about to turn around and leave when she spotted a very familiar male countenance up ahead. Just judging by the attitude of the other two figures something had happened.

"Jeez, that man can't go anywhere without starting or finishing something can he?"

Mara approached swiftly, in case Sulley needed her back up. As she arrived on the scene her opinion of the situation changed. First of all she noticed Rosenna, the woman she'd talked to in the graveyard. Second of all she noticed the corpse. There was something vaguely familiar about the dead woman but Mara didn't need to look too hard to know who had killed her. Without knowing the why of the situation Mara couldn't form an opinion on the woman's death.

Her gaze shifted to Sulley. He was dirty and obviously bloody from the woman's death. A smirk pulled Mara's lips taut. It was ridiculous but he looked good like that. Of course her mind corrected her almost immediately by pointing out that she generally thought he looked good no matter whether he was clean, dirty, or what he was doing.

"Must you always make a mess Sulley? Try not to play so hard with your toys next time."

The mothering tone gave way to a small bout of laughter. After a minute or two she composed herself and nodded to Rosenna.

"Hello Rosenna, I haven't seen you since the graveyard. Freakopolis treating you well?"

[Sulley]

Sulley, just like Rosenna, saw Mara before she arrived. He wasn't concerned with fighting Rosenna; she had a strange mutation but he was confident that he could take her. Regardless, seeing his second in command coming to stand at his shoulder boosted his confidence and his ego. Mara was the fisher's prize catch, and Sulley was the fisher.

He didn't respond to Rosenna until Mara had arrived and said her piece. He glanced at her, greeting with his eyes, and then pinned his gaze back onto Rosenna. In a bored voice that hinted could easily be taken as patronizing, Sulley said,

"Are we dead yet?"

[Rosenna]

Rosenna stared at Sulley, hoping he would say something. But of course he didn't. Rosenna was just about to lash out at him when she saw someone approach. The figure soon turned into a person, Mara. Rosenna remembered her first week in Freakopolis and how the two had meet. As Mara surveyed the situation, Rosenna looked at the body. Somehow, she considered herself better than Sulley becase her kills were less violent. She looked up as Mara made a joke about toys and messes. It was disgusting, their lack of respect for the dead. But of course, Rosenna would play along.

"Hello Rosenna, I haven't seen you since the graveyard. Freakopolis treating you well?"

Rosenna nodded in Mara's direction.

"Much better than you would think, Thank you. I hope everything has been well for you?" Rosenna replied. She didn't know the woman very well, but was connected to her through their first meeting. And then, out of nowhere it seemed, "Are we dead yet?"

Rosenna just stared at Sulley and then comprehension set in. He was mocking her. She closed her eyes, clenched her fists and turned around. She was shaking so hard, she had never had this much anger towards one person and it had to go somewhere. She focused her attention on the ground in front of her. All the grass turned black. Not enough. So she turned towards all of Sulley's plants. They died instantly. It still wasn't any better. It was the closest Rosenna had felt to her power. She had never held it in like that, and she feared it would kill her if she didn't do anything. She needed something big. Something that would take her pain.

She fell to the ground dropping her hands to the earth. She focused all of her energy on the dirt, all the way down, killing anything burried there. By the time she was finished, everything was decayed rotting under her feet. Possibly making the soil even richer.

"I should've let you have it." She said from her position on the ground, looking up at Sulley.

[Mara Ackart]

Mara smiled inwardly at Sulley's acknowledgment of her. True she was his second in command but that didn't mean much sometimes. That he'd bother to acknowledge her, even with his eyes, counted to Mara. She glanced back to Rosenna to answer her question.

"I've had my ups and downs. But for the moment everything is good."

Mara didn't know what Sulley's meaning behind his statement was since she hadn't heard the conversation prior to it but she assumed it was a taunt to Rosenna. It seemed to work too. Rosenna grew angry. The grass turned black, followed quickly by the plants nearby. Mara couldn't help but sigh within her own mind at such a temper tantrum. Rosenna ended the tantrum by dropping to her hands and knees and, Mara could only assume, focusing her power into the ground.

Mara would have left this display for what it was, a childish display of anger, if Rosenna hadn't then proceeded to threaten Sulley. In a flash she was standing in front of Sulley in a protective stance. No one threatened him while she was around. Her face was a mask of anger as she looked down at Rosenna.

"You do and I swear I'll gut you."

[Sulley]

It would be a lie to say that Sulley didn't flinch when the grass in front of Rosenna began to turn black. His eyes widened as well. Neither were done in fear, though. It was a natural reaction to flinch away from threats that were unfamiliar to you. Only a fool would plunge head long into something they didn't understand. And the widening of the eyes--it helped him see all the damage she was making better.

It was beautiful. The life crumbling into ashes. Whoever said that humans were drawn to destruction hit the nail on the head, at least for Sulley. And then he noticed this woman's hair. And her eyes. They were familiar, in that haunting way. Even her mutation struck a familiar cord. Out of the blue, Sulley had a thought.

This was meant to be.

And the world was complete. Well not really, but him having a thought was quite a feat. Whoever said he couldn't should hide their faces in shame.

Sulley stepped around Mara and crouched in front of the girl who was now on her knees. She was powerful. She was uncertain. She would be his.

"I hope you do." Sulley whispered. He didn't worry about Mara. She knew his ploys without having to be told. That's why she was his second. Once she could speak his thoughts she would be perfect. That would come with time.

[Rosenna]

Rosenna breathed heavily. She had never felt this way before. It was the closest she'd ever felt to her power and she wasn't sure she liked it. On the one hand, it showed that she wasn't completely evil. She was capable of sparing life, something she had never practiced before. But then again, she almost killed herself in the process. All of her veins were visible through her skin. Her eyes were blood shot and swollen. A small trail of blood was leaking out of her nose.

Through all of this, she smiled. Why? Well, for one thing, she made Mara angry. Rosenna loved a good fight. But the next thing that happened stopped her notions of that.

Sulley crouched down in front of her. Rosenna was still shaking slightly, from her experience with her powers and anticipation.

"I hope you do." he wispered. She was confused. He wanted something, but she wasn't sure what. So she wispered back, just loud enough for him to hear, "Name your price."

[Mara Ackart]

As Sulley stepped around her Mara's brain worked double time to figure out his game. None of this showed on her face though. She'd become quite adept at hiding such things. When he knelt before Rosenna and she heard the whispered words Mara figured it out. He was finishing what she started in the graveyard all that time ago. He meant for Rosenna to be in the Rebellion. It stuck an ill chord with her to recruit someone that had threatened him. However it made sense. She had a powerful mutation. If he could bend her to his will she'd be an excellent weapon.

Mara was rather proud of Sulley for thinking of it on his own. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box at times. Still, efforts like this occasionally showed that he wasn't a complete dunce. With luck and experience perhaps he could become quite a crafty leader. A smile drifted onto Mara's face for a handful of seconds, genuine and pleased, before vanishing into the mists of the woman's vengeance addled mind.

Still, a niggling part of her bespoke jealously somewhere in the depths of her mind. Such was always the case when Sulley bestowed attention on another female. Whether the jealously was warranted or not was irrelevant. It was there and Mara recognized it for what it was. For better or for worse she'd gone and developed a crush on the warped man before her. That she'd been so dense about it for so long was a testament to her nearly complete lack of experience in that area. Now that she recognized it she could deal with it. No school girl crush would stop her wrath.