Startlement overset her into the ground. She stared upward, eyes fixed on the knife. “You don’t want to do that, Tony. Put the knife down.” Purposely, she stayed down, letting him tower over her. “You’ve been possessed by a demon. It’s gone now. You’re free.”Tony laughed, sharp and bitter and harsh. “No, you don’t say!” he barked out. “That whole genius thing? Yeah, it’s still a thing.” He fell quiet then, as he turned his eyes towards the ground, blinking rapidly a few times and muttering a quiet, indistinct, “it’s so fucking bright out here,” to himself.
“Don’t be any more of a dick than you have to be,” Summer snapped. “Put the knife away.” A singing tension pervaded her body, winding muscles tight. This wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. She had helped him, hadn’t she? Nobody /wanted/ to be at the utter mercy of that kind of darkness.
Seeming distracted more than anything, he flipped the knife shut and closed it in his fist, which he brought up to massage one temple. All the while, his left arm was kept close to his chest, the hand fixed in a near immobile claw. His tension bled away slowly, until he was simply hunched and tired and almost small, in a way. He slid her a weary glance from under his brows. “What do you want?”
“Your happiness. I want you to be free from that thing.” She frowned, easing up off the ground. “What’s wrong with your hand? Let me see it.” Again she reached out, slowly. “Come on.” Like coaxing a wild animal.