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 Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:42 am
It was as if she'd never left.
There were a few changes. There were the occasional patches of police tape where property had been damaged, and every now and again a shop may have closed with another having popped up in it's place. But all in all, everything was pretty much identical to the last time she'd been here. And that had been two years ago.
Since returning to Destiny City a week or so ago, Selena hadn't ventured into the central area of the metropolis yet. She'd been settling in, unpacking boxes of belongings and securing herself an income. Luckily, that hadn't been too difficult - deciding not to continue with her education had meant she could begin searching for a full-time job, and decent grades and a knack for organisation had allowed her to acquire a secretarial position. Her brother had provided references and all had been sorted fairly quickly. She started next Monday on a month's trial, with the promise of a permanent position should she impress. Whilst her role was as an assistant, it was well known that the head secretary had just announced a pregnancy - Selena hoped to impress enough to graduate to the maternity leave cover position.
Turning the corner, steel-y blue eyes picked out the banner of the coffee shop she'd selected. She made her way to the door, pulling it open whilst at the same time scouring for a spare table. One was free in the far corner, just a small table designed for two, and so she selected that one. As far as she was aware it was only Tallulah she was meeting (well, that was all she'd invited). Selena was easing back into life in Destiny City slowly - she didn't want a fuss. Eyes rested on the doorway, waiting for her friend to appear so she could give a wave. She wasn't entirely sure that the dark-haired girl would recognise her, not with her newly blonde hairstyle. She hadn't mentioned it in the brief phonecall, figuring it could wait until today.
She glanced briefly to the counter, contemplating ordering now. No, that was rude. With a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head, Selena sighed and looked back to the door again. She hoped Tallulah wasn't too late.
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:34 pm
Tallulah was fully aware she was looking around the coffee shop with the dazed look of someone who wasn't entirely sure who they were looking for. People could change drastically in two years. That much she was clear on, even if she herself hadn't done much with her appearance. Her hair was longer, true, a glossy curtain of dark teal that she'd pulled into a ponytail mostly for convenience, and her fashion sense had lately veered in the direction of 'goddamn hipster,' but beyond the denim skirt and ironic superhero tee in lieu of her old Meadowview uniform, Tallulah didn't think she'd changed much since high school.
Certainly not to the degree that someone who'd known her junior year of high school wouldn't recognize her as a freshman in college. Tallulah didn't immediately see Selena upon entering the coffee shop, chalked it up to being disgustingly punctual, and got her coffee. Now properly caffeinated, she looked once more to the seating area, regarding essentially every caucasian girl of roughly the appropriate age with suspicion. She'd assumed she'd recognize Selena, but now she wasn't so sure.
After a survey of all the dark-haired girls in the room turned up inconclusive, Tallulah studied everyone else. Maybe Selena had changed her hair? After all, you couldn't just expect someone to keep the same style they'd worn in high school (even if she had). With that thought in mind, she searched the shop awkwardly for a few more moments before zeroing in on the blonde at the corner table.
"Selena?" she asked hesitantly, approaching. She certainly hoped so - otherwise, how awkward.
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:35 pm
Reaching up, the teen tugged softly on a blonde curl, twirling it around her finger. Eyes turned to the window beside her, watching the people walking past outside. Did any of them know about the s**t that went down in their city? Surely they must do - some of them might even be senshi or negaverse agents in disguise. She felt a shudder running up her spine just thinking about it. She was never going back there. It wasn't her war. She hadn't asked for it.
Hearing her name called, Selena swiftly turned her attention back to the coffee shop, twisting to look straight at the friend she hadn't seen for two years. Although both were well aware of her disdain for Destiny City, Selena couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips at the sight of a familiar face. A friendly familiar face - Tallulah hadn't changed much, with the same gorgeous teal-tinged hair (Selena had always been jealous of the way it shined in the sunlight) and bright chestnut brown eyes. It was...nice. Nice to pretend that it was like she'd never left.
"Hey!" Selena pushed herself up from her chair, going for a hug. She wasn't sure if it was an appropriate greeting - after all, she'd disappeared off the face of the earth with little explanation - but it felt right, and she was genuinely glad to see her friend. "You look...you look really well."
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:44 pm
Tallulah returned the hug enthusiastically, thrilled first that she'd guessed correctly, and secondly - and more strongly - thrilled to see her friend once again. If time spent fighting the forces of chaos had left Tallulah two years older but otherwise looking much the same, then two years away from the conflict had changed the girl across from her in ways she could not contemplate. Tallulah set her coffee down and took a set, still beaming at her now-blonde friend.
"Thanks," she said, glancing at the places where her cardigan hid healing wounds. Selena didn't need to know about those just yet, however. Doubtless it would be best to ease Sailor Eos back onto the scene - it would do her no favors to tell her immediately how bad things had gotten in her absence, how far behind on training she'd fallen.
"You," she said, looking her friend over. "I like-" She gestured to the blonde curls Selena now wore. "It works with your complexion. It looks good."
"What brings you back east, anyway?" she continued, not that she objected to Selena's return to Destiny City. "I thought you were in... Arizona? What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Selena's return was just as sudden and mysterious as her departure - could anyone really blame Tallulah for wanting to know more?
She dumped a packet into her coffee. "Have you had anything to drink yet?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:26 am
Tallulah returned the hug, and Selena eased herself into it with a warm smile. She almost felt tears rising in her eyes, but hastily blinked them away. There was no need to get so emotional, there was no sadness here - just happiness at seeing an old friend again. The hug parted, and Selena took her seat again, eyeing Tallulah's coffee.
An approving gesture made towards her blonde curls brought pink patches to the teen's cheeks, Selena twirling a section around her finger in a shy manner. "Thank you." She'd been blonde almost a year now, so for her brother it wasn't news. It was nice though, it meant people didn't recognise her straight off the bat. It was like she was wearing a disguise, and only people she trusted would get the whispered 'pssst, it's me!' to bring their attention to the fact that it was infact Selena hidden behind the curly blonde hair.
She glanced over to the counter, pondering whether she should go get herself a drink. But now that Tallulah was here, it seemed rude, and they had so much to catch up on. Still, there was a noticably tensing of fingers when her return was mentioned. Selena had come to terms with everything - her mother's death, her father's imprisonment - but it didn't mean she particularly wanted to broadcast it. "I was with my parents, in Arizona," she explained, still friendly but purposefully vague, "There was some trouble, and they're...well, they're gone now." She covered the slight wobble in her voice well, continuing quickly, "I'm staying with my older brother at the moment, in an apartment over on the east side? He's off travelling soon though, so I'm searching for my own place in the meantime."
Selena pushed a loose strand of hair back in place behind her ear, blinking in a somewhat confused manner when drinks were brought up. "Oh, not yet. I was waiting for you actually, but you're one step ahead of me!"
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:58 pm
"Trouble?" asked Tallulah, brow crinkling slightly. She'd missed the wobble but caught the vagueness, and of course word of trouble in Arizona with Selena involved made her wonder if it had been Senshi-related. Problems did seem to follow superheroes wherever they went, after all. Batman got no vacations. "Normal trouble?" she asked. "Or our kind of trouble? You don't need to tell me details, if you don't want to-"
She was still handling Selena with the proverbial kid gloves, as it were. Even more, not that the other girl had mentioned her parents being gone. Word of a former resident being arrested for fraud hadn't made it back to Destiny City, and neither had later news of his wife's suicide. "You should go get your drink," she told the other girl. "I feel awkward drinking mine if you haven't got anything yet."
Smiling, she waved Selena away to the coffee bar and began to mess around on her phone, waiting for the other girl's return.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:40 am
"Normal trouble."
Her response was swift and somewhat curt, although the blonde hadn't meant to come across as rude. The corners of her mouth twitched and she wished for a moment that she did have a drink, so she could wrap her hands around it and busy herself with looking into the murky brown depths of the mediocre coffee. Unfortunately, she didn't, and so she couldn't. "My dad's in prison. And my mum..." She trailed off for a moment, inhaling deeply through her nostrils before continuing again, "She died."
Tallulah didn't need to know the circumstances, and Selena didn't want pity. Comfort, a hug, maybe. But not pity. Encouragement to get a drink was all the teen needed, and she flashed a quick smile as she quickly ejected herself from the somewhat awkward conversation. The queue wasn't long - five minutes later she was back with a steaming hot latte.
Both hands wrapped around the cup, savouring the warmth. "I'm...sorry I didn't write to you more." It was a somewhat haphazard apology. Selena wished she'd done things differently, but somehow she had a feeling that whatever she'd done, she'd still be in this same situation right now. She took a sip of her drink, and smiled shyly.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:04 am
"Oh," said Tallulah, feeling her heart twinge as the other girl ran off to get her drink. Normal trouble, but normal trouble of the worst sort. She sort of regretted asking, but at least now she had some kind of context for Selena and everything that entailed. Now at least she'd know not to ask again. And to keep the kid gloves firmly on.
"It's okay, really," Tallulah assured her upon her return. Even if she'd gotten letters, she doubted she'd have been much good at correspondence. In the few that she'd gotten, no mention had been made of their extra-curricular activities, and so she hadn't said anything about them in her return posts. (And besides, what if they'd been intercepted? She doubted the government had much use for reading teenaged girls' mail, but then you never knew.)
"I've been busy," she shrugged, taking a sip from her coffee. "I started college last semester, I'm part-timing as a lifeguard- What are you doing now that you're back in town? School? Or a job?" Sovereign Heights and DCU were both popular options, although Tallulah had chosen to skip the prep school. And then there were also some people who chose to skip higher education entirely. She lived with one of those.
All this had to be was a normal conversation about normal things. A crowded coffee shop was hardly the place to start briefing Selena on knights and princes and the dark moon court.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:10 am
Selena was grateful as Tallulah launched into talk of college and careers and normal conversation. Her eyes lit up a little and she leaned forwards in her seat, resting her elbows on the table. A part-time lifeguard? That made sense, Tallulah had always seemed to enjoy water.
"No more school - I graduated high school in Arizona and said good riddance." She'd been planning on persuing dance as a professional career, but an unfortunate trip and a shattered ankle had axed such dreams. Whilst further education had seemed sensible, for the time being Selena was glad to be free from the system. "I've managed to get a job at the boy's school? Azure whatsit academy." Learningthe name would probably be something she should do before starting, "I'm the new assistant secretary, starting Monday."
She took another sip of her latte, savouring the milky taste.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:20 am
"Valley," interjected Tallulah. "Azure Valley Academy." There'd been a time when she was competing for a Crystal scholarship and knew a thing or two about the finishing school's sister academy, although Tallulah had mostly forgotten everything save for its name and knowledge that it had a science focus. "That sounds great. Be careful that the boys don't give you too much trouble."
She had no doubts that Selena could handle teenaged boys, though - she'd seen the girl pack a wallop. "Though I know you can take care of yourself," Tallulah added with a smile, although she acknowledged she was skirting too close to senshi business. Better back away and ask about something else - although sooner or later she knew there'd be nothing left to talk about. At least from where Tallulah was seated, she had a perfect view of the elephant in the room.
"So the blonde," she said, gesturing again to Selena's hair. "When did you do it? And why? Just needed a change?" Not that she didn't think it suited her friend. Tallulah was actually a bit jealous - she couldn't imagine herself ever looking good with that shade of hair.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:37 pm
That was it, Azure Valley. A pretty enough name, and the school had seemed lovely when she was looking around it. It was the male equivalent of Crystal Academy - a Meadowview girl herself, Selena had been somewhat in awe of some of the facilities provided to the students. The smile on her face stretched to a grin as Tallulah mentioned the boys, "I'm sure I can handle myself. I'm not sure whether I'll actually be coming into contact with any of them to be honest."
She'd noted Tallulah's close call, but decided to brush it off. She'd never expected her friend to avoid the subject completely, but she was grateful that Tallulah was making an effort to tread carefully. The dark-haired girl had always seemed to have a certain passion for the supernatural, and she'd been a natural born leader of the Basterds. She wondered briefly what had become of her previous team.
The subject turned to her hair, and Selena felt her cheeks tinge pink again as she tugged lightly on a strand. "Oh, it's been this colour nearly a year now." She could remember the day like it was yesterday. There'd been no planning - she'd quite literally just been walking past the hairdressers and decided y'know what, ******** it. "Decided on a bit of a whim if I'm honest - I love it so much though." The same strand she'd tugged began to whirl itself around a finger, "What're you up to at college then?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:30 pm
Eventually, Tallulah would find a way to gently break it to Selena that a lot of things had gone to hell in the year and a half she'd been gone. The team had dissolved, as had her relationship with her high school boyfriend. The breakups were somewhat related, but not to any kind of significant degree that Tallulah was willing to waste time trying to figure out if one had caused the other. She had more important things to worry about, and besides, that was ancient history!
"I'm pre-veterinary at DCU," she explained breezily. It hadn't been her first choice, or even her second - Tallulah had been accepted to a few decent state schools, a liberal arts college a few cities over, and even her dream school, Dartmouth, but had ultimately had to stay in Destiny City. She could get a perfectly decent education in Destiny City while fulfilling her duties as a senshi-
But it still wasn't Hanover.
"I don't know if I told you," she continued, hoping this wasn't bragging, "I got accepted to Dartmouth, but I couldn't leave town." The city university wasn't where she'd pictured herself winding up. Officially, the reason why Tallulah had chosen to go local was all about saving money for Veterinary school, but she knew that between scholarships and loans she'd have made the Ivy dream happen somehow.
She gave Selena a noncommittal shrug. "I mean, DCU's an okay school, don't get me wrong."
Still. Not. Hanover.
"Please give me something else to talk about," Tallulah added, dropping the facade. "This is depressing."
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 3:16 am
"Pre-veterinary?"
Wow, Selena respected Tallulah for choosing such a difficult course. There'd been a time when she was five or six, and had dreamt of nothing but animals and working with them. She'd even turned her room into an animal hospital at one point, sticking band aids on her cuddly toys so as to mimic an illness.
"Dartmouth?" Selena was beginning to feel like a parrot as she repeated everything the dark-haired girl said, but this time it was with a certain sense of awe. Wasn't that where Tallulah had always dreamt of going? Dartmouth was an amazing offer to receive, and Selena found herself in disbelief that Tallulah had declined it. Surely she wouldn't risk her future for...for that. That was just plain foolish.
And then the facade dropped, and Selena sighed quietly. So she had risked it - she'd wanted to go to Dartmouth, Selena could see it. "Did you really turn it down for...y'know." She was certain Tallulah knew what she was talking about, if not from her vague description then from the way she suddenly began to shuffle in her seat uncomfortably.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:04 pm
Tallulah caught on immediately, and despite Selena's obvious discomfort she was glad to have gotten the other girl to bring up their Senshi activities on her own. Even in the vaguest of terms, she considered the acknowledgement to be some kind of step in the right direction. She decided to reward Selena with an answer she thought might take the edge off a little bit. "Well, I certainly didn't turn it down because of my boyfriend," she laughed, although that was another can of worms entirely. The only reason the two things ran together in her mind was because it was what her father had assumed, before Tallulah set the record straight...
"We broke up, by the way," she added, for Selena's benefit and not because she particularly enjoyed talking about it. Not her finest hour and all that. "Ages ago. The less that's said about it the better." And she would leave her dignity intact. Editing events was okay when you recounted them to your friends, right?
But she'd have to come back to the real reason she'd stayed in town eventually, though. Tallulah delayed with a long sip from her coffee. "It was the extra-curricular, though," she confirmed, falling back on the series of codewords she'd worked out with her various senshi acquaintances over time. "I had too many responsibilities. And even if I'd gone... I would've missed it."
The ironic superhero t-shirt see it all. Tallulah actually enjoyed being the Goddamn Batman.
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:22 pm
Boyfriend? Oh yeah, Tallulah had been going out with that blonde guy...she couldn't remember his name (no surprises there). The girl's eyebrows furrowing downwards in a confused frown and she leaned forwards in her seat - romance was something Selena was always interesting in, both the ups and downs. During her time away from Destiny City she'd had her first matchmaking success. She'd introduced her brother to a lovely young lady, and now a year and a half later they were engaged to be married. It was just like a fairytale.
"Oh." Broken up? That was...that was really sad, and a genuine droop to the blonde's face showed such. Tallulah quickly brushed over the topic with a somewhat vague excuse, and Selena picked up on the fact that the subject was closed. Tallulah didn't want to talk about it, and as much as she wanted to analyse the break-up in order to learn for her future matches, she respected that fact and merely added an after-though. "I'm sorry, that really sucks."
Selena become more uncomfortable again as soon as familiar codewords were batted about. Extra-curricular responsibilities. No confusing that with anything other than patrols and battling the Negaverse. "Right." She wasn't sure what Tallulah wanted her to say, and regretted bringing it up. So instead she sat there in an awkward, uncomfortable silence, taking another sip of her latte to give her hands something to do.
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