[ The tension in Eleven's narrow shoulders bleeds out a little, when the person stepping into her line of sight is a girl, roughly her age. Eleven does not step back, as a result. She just stares right back.
There's an undercurrent of something here she has no way of putting into words. Her instincts are not like Laura's, not sharp and animalistic. Still, there's something in the ways their eyes meet that gives Eleven pause.
It reminds her of...
Eleven swallows around her food, gulping down too much. For a moment she holds herself like she's bracing for judgment, but it does not come. So she relaxes out of that defensiveness as well. It leaves her at a loss, for a moment.
So much that she ends up breaking eye contact to look around, to look over her shoulder, and then back at the other girl. Just to check that the attention is meant for her. Just to check that she's being seen, rather than overlooked.
She thought, for just a moment, that the girl reminded her of Mike. Being regarded by someone who also feels at least half a step removed from everyone. But no. That's not it.
Kali perhaps. The comparison lands closer, but it does not fit. Kali was eager for Eleven, but she was looking for a knife to wield, not a sister.
No. It's not Mike, it's not Kali.
It's like looking in a mirror.
Eleven looks at the girl, and she feels herself staring right back. ]
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There's an undercurrent of something here she has no way of putting into words. Her instincts are not like Laura's, not sharp and animalistic. Still, there's something in the ways their eyes meet that gives Eleven pause.
It reminds her of...
Eleven swallows around her food, gulping down too much. For a moment she holds herself like she's bracing for judgment, but it does not come. So she relaxes out of that defensiveness as well. It leaves her at a loss, for a moment.
So much that she ends up breaking eye contact to look around, to look over her shoulder, and then back at the other girl. Just to check that the attention is meant for her. Just to check that she's being seen, rather than overlooked.
She thought, for just a moment, that the girl reminded her of Mike. Being regarded by someone who also feels at least half a step removed from everyone. But no. That's not it.
Kali perhaps. The comparison lands closer, but it does not fit. Kali was eager for Eleven, but she was looking for a knife to wield, not a sister.
No. It's not Mike, it's not Kali.
It's like looking in a mirror.
Eleven looks at the girl, and she feels herself staring right back. ]
... Hi.
[ Quiet, hesitant, slow.
Are you looking into a mirror, too? ]