Topic: On Complications, and Scrapbooking

KhaoticBliss

Date: 2016-03-24 06:49 EST
03.24.2016
The Back Alley

It was a good night, chilly, but good. Keirra sported her normal skinny jeans, hooded jacket outfit, with her beloved boots. They didn't make a single sound when she walked, and though they smelled like death, and were worn to hell, she loved them. The bottom of the bottle had been reached, and Keirra was...strangely glowy. She'd spent the day with Mark, who'd gotten her to smile, and eat, and had branded her with a tattoo on the nape of her neck. The tattoo in question was covered by a bandage beneath the high ponytail that her hair was yanked up in. She might have gone home and gone to bed, but there were some things even Mark couldn't fix. So she walked, and she drank, and she stumbled.

Saila was prone to late night wandering. The girl almost never slept, and for a creature who seemed so social, she spent an inordinate amount of time alone, generally between two a.m. and dawn. Tonight was no different, though her wandering seemed a little more frenetic than normal. She was three bottles in and had only just cracked her fourth, not that it did anything. There was also a sucker that was a deep, brilliant, cerulean blue planted firmly between her teeth and her cheek -- that accomplished a little more. In black jeans slung low on her hips, a black t-shirt with some metal band logo on it that probably wasn't hers and a black leather jacket, Saila walked. The bottle in one hand and a cigarette, of all things, in the other, she'd turned into the alley mostly because she was apparently a glutton for punishment. Not so surprising to find someone she knew within its depths, only surprising that it was Kierra, and not some far more hazardous ghost. A humorless smile touched her lips. "Y'can't sleep either?"

The alley had always made Kierra jumpy, it was the place where she'd first been attacked--the place where she'd lost the ability to die in the first place. So when Saila's voice trailed out to her, those eyes snapped upwards and the grip on the bottle had tightened. Soon, she relaxed, finished it off completely and nodded, "Yeah, sleep doesn't usually like me," said Keirra as she moved closer. The company of a power sucking superhero wasn't something she'd likely turn down, especially since the two of them were friends. "What's going on? What're you doing out and alone so late? I'm not witnessing a walk of shame, am I?" asked Kierra.

For Saila's part, the alley was where she'd first learned even the vaguest hint of desire. Being here conjured images of Kierra, of course, but far stronger were the memories of the way Coilin had lifted her, pushed her against a wall, leaned into her to exchange secrets in a semblance of privacy. The way the things she'd felt had made her panic, say stupid things that had led to nearly a month of miscommunication. What she remembered most, though, was the very thing she wanted least on her mind. Ugh. Her smile was tight, a brittle thing as she lifted the stolen cigarette to her lips, dragging fiercely. Ten minutes a smoker and already she was a pro. "Nope. Not tonight. I almost never sleep, and.. precious little scares me." Except, y'know. Penguins and feelings. "I walk these streets a lot when everyone else is sleeping or.. otherwise occupied." Brows furrowed suddenly, exhale. "What are you doing here?"

What was the point in hiding secrets? Saila took them, chewed them, and swallowed them. "I uh..." There was a nervous laugh, "...back when I'd first arrived here, I came here one night. I'd just slept with Mark, and the whole family found out about it.. I tried to cut through to get home quicker, but I ended up running into trouble," she eyed the cigarette and tested her fate once more. "You got an extra?" Focus was not her forte. "Right uh.. Some jackhole attacked me, and I thought I was going to die that night, but I didn't... After that night, I couldn't die at all anymore," she said, propping herself up against a dumpster. "I come here when I'm feeling reckless, when I wanna test my fate."

Saila gave her a grim smile, shaking her head. No, she didn't have an extra. But she did have this one? It was offered out to her anyway. "I.... yeah. I knew... all of that, actually." Her expression is almost sheepish, at least? "I just. Felt like it was important to ask. Y'reversed that recently, though. Didn't you?" Once the cigarette was handed off, she was prying the cork out of the new bottle. The sucker wasn't working fast enough, so more booze to the rescue!

Taking a long drag from the cigarette, Keirra paled a bit. She coughed, not because she wasn't used to smoke. She'd smoked enough pot in her life to know how to abuse her lungs properly. No. She was surprised that Saila had pulled that from her. "You.. Haven't told anyone about that, have you?" she asked, merely because she didn't want to freak Quinn out if Voodoo's vision would come to light. Another drag was taken and then she handed it back.

Saila shook her head, tapping her chest with her free hand, that same colorless smile just barely curving pale lips. "Nope. I'm a lockbox, I am." By way of explanation, her expression softens a little. "...To be fair? You were super drunk. I wasn't trying to read you, it just... sorta happened anyway. I'm sorry." Her hand falling back to her side lifelessly, she took a deep breath and let it out again slowly. Irritation crossing her brow, she kicked at an empty bottle laying on its side, sending it skittering -- the sound amplified by the echoing silence of the alley-- into the corner of a metal dumpster, where it broke. Oops. She flinched a little at the unexpected sound of shattering glass. "Whoops. Sorry."

"No, no.. I know, it's cool.. Just, don't want people freaking out or anything.. I didn't do it because I'm suicidal, just did it because.. I don't wanna live forever, y'know?" Then the bottle went sailing and shattering and she smiled. "No, don't apologize. That's like... The best way to get out your frustrations. You just.. Throw them away." Her own empty was sent after it, she hurled it and shattered the glass against the wall.

Saila grinned, and it was a genuine smile. Maybe her first of the night. "...You're right," she conceded. "That's actually pretty cathartic." There was at least one other empty bottle in her bag, she dug through it until she could put her hands on it. Pulling it free, she followed suit, throwing it after the little Rogue's, as hard as she dared. The subsequent crash was strangely satisfying, and she laughed. "That's.... that's great," she says, her laughter threatening to spill over.

Keirra grinned right on back and opened up the dumpster to fish out empties. She collected a few, balancing in a weird way on the lip of the bin. It almost seemed inhuman, the way her hands were so fast, the balance she had. Eyes shifted back to Saila, and she passed over some empties before walking to another part of the can and fishing out a few more. "So, what's got you in a bottle hurling mood?" she asked, hopping down and landing on the tips of her toes.


Saila was used to unusual feats in the people she knew, though she watched in silence, anyway. She was just wondering whether she'd have to fish the pint sized thief out of the dumpster when the girl landed, slick as a cat, eliciting a grin. She might be overwhelmed with Stupid *** Feelings but by god she could still be impressed. "Nicely done." Pondering an answer to that question as she juggled an arm full of empty bottles, Saila took a final drag off the cigarette, offering it out to Kierra one more time. "...Y'ever... made a really stupid decision, because you knew it'd prevent you from making a substantially worse one?"

Taking the cigarette, she killed it and tossed it aside. "Uh...no," answered the rogue honestly, as she brushed herself off and lined up the bottles so that they could be thrown. Then she was fishing out the empties from her own bag, and there were like..****, ten of them in there. "That really has more to do with me being an idiot.. I don't really think about my decisions. I just sorta... Do...things, and deal with **** later. Why, what did you do?" she asked with a wide-eyed glance in her friend's direction and pulled out a full bottle, uncapping it and taking a long pull.

Oh cool, there was more booze. That would come in handy when Saila ran out. She picked up one bottle, turning it over in her hands, nose wrinkling a little at whatever it was that it told her. With a sigh, the teenager shook her head. Educational, anyway. "Mm. I...might.. have gone home with someone I shouldn't have." Rubbing absently at her jaw with her free hand, her gaze focuses suddenly, and she hurls the bottle she's holding into the wall with more force than before. It ricochets, glass shards everywhere. "But I was lonely and feeling reckless, and it kept me from calling... someone else."

"Ahhh.. You **** someone you shouldn't have to keep yourself from knocking boots with Coilin?" she asked, taking a bottle of her own, lifting and hurtling it to try to match Saila's force. "...What's the problem? You were safe, right? ****balls, did.. Did Quinn find out?" she asked with wide eyes.

Saila's laugh was short, and harsh. She shook her head. "Yeah, that's it exactly. And **** no, he doesn't know." A pause, and her brows furrowed more deeply. "****. He didn't know. Now he probably does. Gods I hope he's asleep..." Trailing off, the girl rubbed her forehead, tucking tendrils of purple behind her ear. Her ponytail, perky before, had started to droop with the passing of the hours. Before she picks up another bottle, she rubs at her left wrist, like maybe covering the seal there in an extra layer of skin and bone will somehow prevent the transfer of information. Be asleep, Quinn. Please oh please be asleep. "Nah. He just." Frustration evident in mismatched eyes, Saila shook her head, snagging another bottle from the line and throwing it with yet another satisfying crash. "It was just supposed to be stupid, meaningless fun. Instead it got all... complicated." Saila was reeeeeally beginning to hate that word.

KhaoticBliss

Date: 2016-03-24 07:18 EST
03.24.2016
Part Two
Back Alley


"Complicated blows elephant balls," she said with a frown, and then tilted her head upwards towards the crash. She looked at her worried, and sent a bottle crashing towards the wall, a satisfied sigh leaving her. "So you got the feelings, huh?" she asked, the full bottle brought to her lips, as the alcohol began to touch her brain in ways that poor Saila probably would never experience.

Nope, likely not. On the upside, no hangovers! Switching the sucker from one side of her mouth to the other with a too-practiced roll of her tongue, Saila is probably painting her whole mouth blue in the process as she shakes her head. "I don't know what the **** I have, honestly. This ****ing thing I do," she says, with a flare of her fingers to indicate what she meant, "...sometimes it really sucks. I am coming to really hate ..." brows furrowing, she searches for the word she wants. "...empathy." A pause. "Haaaa. It sucks." Bitter laughter burst from her lips at her own joke. "Sometimes I'm hilarious." Another bottle is sent hurtling to its death.

Watching her carefully, Keirra quirks a brow and lets out a faint sigh. "Yeah, it sucks, but.." She lowered the bottle and took a step closer to get in front of Saila. She looked up at her with intensity in those crystal blue eyes, and she tried to find words, cradling the bottle like a child. "You know there's people like Quinn.. Like me, that want you just as you are, right? Like, we wouldn't change one tattoo on your body given the chance. Right?"

There's something in those oddly ill-paired eyes as they focus on the smaller girl, a ripple of unchecked emotion; a shimmer of something like tears, and for a moment it seems like she actually might cry. Crying is something she's done exactly once, okay, one and a half times, and it's not an experience she's looking to repeat. Instead her brows furrow, expression clouding. "...even if some of them can be used against me... against you? The more I learn, Kierra, the more I feel ... used. Cane asked me the other day what it was that had me feeling like I needed to keep myself hidden, and I couldn't put my finger on it at the time." Doing a quick scan of the alley to check for other life presences before she goes on, the girl shakes her head. "I keep 'em hidden because I'm worried that one day the right person's going to come along and read 'em, and I won't be able to stop whatever happens when they do." And that's the first time she's ever verbalized that.

"If and when that happens," Keirra said, taking Saila's hands in hers and giving them a squeeze as she moves a bit closer and keeps those eyes locked onto Sai's. "I'm gonna be here, and Quinn's going to be here, and Levi, and everyone else. You're family, we're," squeeze, "Family." Maybe she was having a moment of empathy, because there were tears in those blue fire eyes, "..You think for one second I'm gonna stand idly by and let someone use you? No way, I'll kick balls and punch boobs. We all will, Sugar ****."

Almost Family. So she pretty much couldn't help it. Her spine slumping, she pulled her hands free of Kierra's and just hugged the shorter girl, hard as she could. To be fair, Saila doesn't get to hug a whole lot of people. Quinn, mostly. Recently--very, very recently --Cane. That was basically it, since she'd separated herself from the Irish wolf. Taking a long moment to stave off the sudden wave of tears, she takes a few shallow breaths, wordless.

When Saila had pulled her hands free, Keirra let out a sigh, because she felt hopeless, rejected. Then Saila was yanking her into a hug, and her eyes widened. Shocked a second, she slowly brought her arms around the hero's back, and relaxed against her. She sniffled inwardly and nodded,"I mean it. None of us are ever going to let anyone use you, babe... If someone tries, you just point me in their direction."

Maybe it was the hug, or the words, or just the sharing of the burden-- Saila was a sponge; she absorbed and kept absorbing, but even with as much time as she'd spent answering questions for Cane and Coilin both, she'd never really shared the weight of all her borrowed knowledge with anyone but Quinn, and rarely even then. It just wasn't something she was all that good at unlocking. Unfair of her, then, to unload even a little bit of it on Kierra -- the girl had more than enough pain of her own to carry -- but still, there was a measure of relief in it, and she was grateful. "I know, Rogue. I know." With a faint smile, the muse took another deep breath, shaky at first, but increasingly steady as she exhaled. Gods, why did it have to be her. "We weren't anything." Oh, look, she's back on the original subject. "There was no discussion, no agreement. I'm not even mad. But tonight, I.... I made a choice. And the consequence of that choice? He left with the one person I can't.. " Trailing off, Saila shook her head, pressing the rest of her breath out in a sigh. "Well. Lesson learned, anyway."

There was a hard swallow there, and she got it. Saila didn't have to finish the sentence, because she already understood. She'd eventually get over Gerry's sudden departure, perhaps never totally over it, but it would become easy to bear. If he'd run away with Gwen? She'd have spent the rest of her short life empty... The idea of Gwen raising her baby.. "...he left with the one person that you can't stand.. and now you feel small, and part of you hates him for that? ...and part of you hates yourself for letting it make you feel that way?" It was her own take on the situation, she could've been wrong, but at least Saila would walk away knowing she was listening. As for the unloading, Keirra didn't mind. It was actually nice knowing she wasn't the only mess--and it was a welcomed distraction.

Saila nodded, glancing sidelong at Kierra. "...You picking up my talents, Rogue?" she said faux-suspiciously, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "...Yes. All of that. Feelings are ****ing stupid."

"Nah, I just.. Of all people, know what it's like to feel small," she said with a grin. "Sometimes it feels like people wouldn't really notice if I just nexused the **** out of here," then she grabbed a bottle and launched it as hard as she could at the top of the wall. Shards rained down on them, and she closed an eye. "..but yeah, they suck pretty hardcore.. Sorry you're going through that shit."

Oh yeah, the bottles. Saila grabbed one, too, throwing it only a second or maybe two after Kierra did. Tandem crashes, a sudden cascade of glittery shards. It was the most dangerous glitter ever, and somehow that seemed perfect. "...The best part? The best part. His ex actually warned me. She told me he would hurt me in unexpected ways. I knew she meant it -- she's touched me, too -- but I, foolishly, assumed she meant physically. Ha ha. Ha. Joke's on me."

"Jokes are usually funny," Keirra said with a shake of her head, "This isn't funny.. I kinda wanna tell him off. Who is he?" she asked, half wishing she did have those abilities, so that she could just poke Saila and get the answer. Something told her it wasn't going to be quite that easy.

Not a chance. Even with everything she knew? Which was a whole lot more than any of them realized... she still couldn't, or wouldn't sell him out. Saila shook her head, a faint smile on her face. She moved the dwindling sucker again, mismatched eyes taking on a subtly glassy look. Finally. "Just a boy."

Can't blame her for trying! Keirra frowned lightly, "...Fine," she said and stuck out her tongue. "Better if I don't find out.. He wouldn't be able to piss straight ever again," she muttered, lobbing another bottle towards a rooftop with a sour look on her face.

Saila laughed then, a genuine giggle that may or may not have been chemically enhanced. At least some of the tension was finally sagging out of her shoulders. "...Trust me. He's got enough of that going on already." Besides. If the White Wolf woke up before she'd wrestled all this mess under control, he would know, and as hellaciously dangerous as the little rogue could be? An angry wolf this close to the moon would be disastrous on a whole new scale. Saila was up near the top in terms of totally irrational territory for her newly-adopted dad. A quick headshake, as though to physically force the images from her mind. "C'mon. We should head back to camp. Look for more bottles to break." She draped one arm around Kierra's shoulders, though. Thank you.

Why was it that Quinn in irrational wolf mode didn't scare her one bit? Kierra couldn't imagine Quinn ever hurting either one of them. When Saila slung an arm around her, she smiled lightly and leaned against her, grabbing her bag on the way towards camp. "Yeah, I guess. Just... If you are ever interested in someone, please provide me with a name and a photo, that way I can not make out with them? I'm having the weirdest urge to just go on a binge of one night stands lately," she said, checking her hip against Saila's and letting out a weak laugh as she brought the bottle to her lips. "Last thing we need is to form a Sisterhood of the Clam or whatever," she said against the rim and then drank.

The so-called superhero laughed again; it came easier now, even as she swayed on her feet at the hip check. Sure, that was partially because of the drugs, but it was also due in no small part to the girl beside her. "...Good call. Though ...really? Had it been you? I'd have just been like 'hell yeah, girl. That one's a handful but he's fun.'..." Trailing off, Saila shook her head. "...****. Maybe we should form a sisterhood. We can compare notes!"

Keirra smiled, "You know what? I'm in.. I mean, I need a little bit of time," she said with a solemn nod. "...but we'll have a Clam scrapbook and everything," she said with a happy grin. "Oh, Mark and I got matching tattoos, because I needed to go a little crazy," she said with a smirk. She peeled the bandage from her neck away to show that tarot death card. "Seemed appropriate,"

"...Radical change through total destruction," intoned Electragirl, checking out the new ink. She'd been doing a lot of reading. "I like it." A snicker. "...hell, I'd probably get that tattoo, too, if I thought it wouldn't get covered over. Seems to be what I'm after these days, too." Grinning brightly around the paper stick on her enhanced candy, she hip checked Kierra back belatedly, which was probably more of a rib cage check. Good thing there wasn't much force in it. "By the way? ...I would notice." See, she'd totally been paying attention. "And I'm totally on board for a scrapbook. Think they'll mind? '...hold on, I need to get a picture...'."

The rogue stumbled only slightly when she was rib-checked, and she laughed lightly. When Saila made that passing comment, it took her a moment to realize what she was talking about, and then her eyes shut warmly and she took a harder lean. Perhaps it was catlike, the way she nuzzled the woman affectionately, because she needed to hear that. "...****?em if they do," she said with a shrug. "I'll buy us polaroids!"

Fingers tangled almost lazily in Kierra's hair, her laughter light, her bizarre eyes cheerfully glazed and not quite so storm-filled. "What the... oh." She'd been about to ask what the heck a polaroid was, when the answer came to her. Possibly through all those dark waves. And then there was more giggling. "... I love it. We should get everything ready and like... I don't know. Maybe have a launch party."

"Yeah but as co-captain and founders, we have to agree on any new members, and since I hate pretty much everyone, it's probably just gonna be us.." she said with a widespread grin, and then she took another swallow of booze.

"Sold." Agreeing readily, the purple girl started the long walk back to camp with a Kierra in tow, adjusting her stride to accommodate smaller legs. At least getting back to Camp was easy -- she had only to locate Quinn and then let her body carry her there. "I prefer to think of it as 'highly exclusive.' ." A quick nod followed an irreverent smirk.

(( shout outs to the writers of Kierra, Quinn, Cane, Coilin, Charlie and Aaron!))