|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 8:29 pm
Poppy, now that she thought about it, hadn't been properly home to her apartment that she shared with Desdemona (well, shared was a strong word, really; she was capable of taking care of herself but not to the extent of an adult or anyone with sixteen years of memories (she wasn't still bitter (she was definitely still bitter)) was capable of) since -- winter break, maybe? And then, even then, she'd spent most of that time asleep; the cold was bitter on her skin, and she was soft, and she was ill-suited for the frost. Maybe someone else would have been better. But unfortunately, she was as she was, and Chrysocolla had henshined up and gathered her quotas week after week in the cold - and one day, mid-December, she'd gone to Negaspace with the slightest bit of a cold and fallen and hit her head (like an idiot, what sort of self-respecting eternal fell unconscious from minor head trauma, it was god-given good luck Umber had been there but she still couldn't - trust -- her head hurts? it hurts all the time? why would she not trust umber, he's a general, metallia trusts him, he saw something in her and brought her over and she can never repay -) and she'd come home with a nosebleed and ugly bruises under her hair and a persistent headache that frequently lessened (but never quite went away), with painkillers and gathered energy between her teeth, and she'd gone back to work. It just meant that sometimes, days like this when she'd powered down and gone properly home last night instead of back to Romano's because she didn't need to do that today, sometimes, she sat and almost-read a book (but mostly stared into space, her head blank, a persistent buzzing in her ears like they were out of tone -) and if her nose dripped blood on the pages it didn't mean anything. It wasn't a library book. She didn't have to return it or clean it. She had coffee at her side that'd gone lukewarm. It was early-morning, after all. Poppy didn't hear Desdemona wake up; she didn't hear the door, she didn't hear the footsteps. It took all of her focus to not snap at her classmates, nowadays, and when that pressure was removed she was malleable and quiet - as she'd been at the earliest. But worse, maybe. More brittle. frayedflower here is the promised poppy/desde start!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:46 pm
Nowadays, with Poppy gone, there was hardly any reason at all to go home. Not that she didn't. Desdemona could not be Amphitrite all the time, and she still had basic needs like showers and food and sleep. Most of those things could honestly be tended to outside of the home, but when it came to sleep, she preferred to do it here away from prying eyes and invasive questions. You had a bad dream? What was it about? No, really, why don't you talk to me about it? You'll feel ******** them. ******** every last one of them. Like they knew the first thing about what would make her 'feel better'. Patronizing idiots that just wanted an excuse to try and get from her what she'd already provide without their pity and would-be mind games. If she had a bad night (and many of them were), at least here she didn't have to answer for it, and in the end that was all she really wanted.
She missed Poppy, though, in her own way. Not that she was not pleased with the chance her sister had been offered, but it didn't keep her from missing the younger girl. She missed having someone else to worry about, to tend to, to occupy her space and keep her mind from running too many circles around itself. No, Poppy was not a confidante, Poppy wasn't someone Desdemona could let it all hang out around, but she was still a companion.
Moreover, Poppy was family. She was a connection. She was grounding in a way other people just couldn't or wouldn't be. Desdemona didn't want to admit to needing such a thing, she needed nothing from anyone, but she hadn't really felt 'grounded' in a very long time. Poppy was one of the very few things in the world that made Desdemona feel like any more than a hollow mask.
Which was why when she emerged one morning, her eyes still heavy with sleep that had been long overdue, stretching and running her fingers through her mussed hair - too long since she'd last cut it, really did need to cut it, she'd been saying that to herself for entirely too long and still done not a damn thing about it - and spotted Poppy sitting there, a jolt of surprised delight she imagined children must have on Christmas morning when they set eyes on their piles of gifts (not that she knew what that was like; as it was, she might as well have always been an adult) rushed through her.
Quickly, she strode across the room, making a pleased sound in the back of her throat. "Well, look what the cat dragged in. Hey, honey! How are you - " Then, Desdemona stopped short, her brow furrowing as she realized, "Oh, honey, you're bleeding!" and she was quick to set herself into action, grabbing tissues and making attempts to set at cleaning the younger girl up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 11:36 am
It took a solid few seconds for anything to even register in Poppy's head -- she winced and closed the book with a quiet "Sorry," letting Desdemona clean her up obediently, brow furrowed - "Sorry, sorry...didn't want to wake you up, it just -" an irritated intake of breath. It was a little out of character, for Poppy. "It happens a lot, lately. I'm getting really tired of it. Maybe I'm sick or something."
She certainly looked like she'd been sick. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she'd lost weight; not a lot, but enough to be a little worrying, enough to tell she probably hadn't been eating well. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go get breakfast, but...I guess I ruined the mood a little."
Her fingers tapped on the book's cover, in rhythm, like a heartbeat: one-two, one-two, one-two.
"...your hair looks nice."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:35 pm
Desdemona threw her sister one of her best pouty looks, although quietly, she made a calculated note that Poppy was acting unusual almost right off the bat. "Why are you sorry? I would've wanted you to wake me up, silly. Imagine how sad I'd have been to miss you."
At least she didn't seem to be hiding it from her, though - a reason was offered readily, and Desdemona had to assume it was the truth. It would be even more out of the ordinary for Poppy to lie to her, wouldn't it? She had to hope it wasn't the case; the girl had never been anything but loyal and sweet and open to her, and the way she was looking, it lent credence to her story immediately.
A frown tugged at her lips as she pressed her wrist to the younger girl's forehead, as if maybe somehow she'd be able to tell. "How long has this been going on? - have you seen a doctor, Poppy?"
She finished cleaning her up and tossed the tissue into a close by waste bin with a click of her tongue, shaking her head. "You ruined nothing. I'm delighted to see you - though honestly, if I'm going to let you have your space, honey, you've got to start taking better care of yourself. Or I'll come by every weekend and embarrass you in front of all your friends." There was a playful, wicked little glint in her eyes as she asked, "Speaking of, any cute ones?"
The compliment took her a little by surprise, though only a little, and odds were Poppy was deflecting. That was fine. She was allowed to deflect a little, but this topic wasn't dropped by a long shot. "Oh, honey, you think so? Thank you - I'm really overdue to cut it..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:50 pm
Poppy flushed and ducked her head, huffing quietly, embarrassed at the attention - "It started in December...I tripped and hit my head, and Umber took me to the infirmary, and since then I've just felt -" she seemed frustrated, looking for a word that wouldn't come, her knuckles white for a split second with tension - "gross. I guess that's the best way to put it." She was a little sweaty to Desdemona's touch, but there was no temperature flaring under her skin, nothing that would indicate an illness. "...it's better when I'm --" she motioned to her backpack, sitting on the floor next to the chair, her henshin pen laid on top - "not like this, but I can't spend all my time like that, so. I just take a lot of painkillers and sleep most of the time."
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. She looked bitter - like she wanted something and didn't know what it was, and not knowing that was killing her; and everything she did would be flavored with that want. It wasn't a look Desdemona had ever really seen on Poppy before. (It wasn't a good look for her.)
"I, um --" Poppy stumbled over her own tongue at the mention of friends -- "Alexa didn't transfer with me, so we've kind of fallen out of touch, but Lovina got partnered up with me in Secret Santa and she made me a scarf - and there's some really pretty girls in some of my classes but I haven't talked to them 'cause they're too pretty," she finished in a rush.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:00 pm
"You hit your head?" None of this was okay. Not a single thing sounded okay, and Desdemona felt concern well up in her - although it was oddly kind of a relief to feel such a sensation at all. A little sick, wasn't it? She was well aware it was selfish, but at least it meant she was still capable of caring. "That long and you haven't seen a doctor yet? Poppy, " she gave a long, slow sigh and gently ruffled the girl's hair. "Honey, you're killing me. That's not okay. How can we be any good to Metallia if we don't take care of ourselves, hm?"
The ruffle of hair turned into something more of a caress as she sighed again. "You know you can always come and tell me these things. If something is bothering you, please, Poppy, come tell me - I'm here, and I wouldn't be if I didn't want to." That look didn't suit her at all, no, and she suspected that while Poppy wasn't lying, there was more to be said; Desdemona hoped she would in time, though. "We're going to see a doctor later. A Negaverse doctor. I'll find one and we'll go see them and see what's going on, and then afterwards you and I can have a nice sleep over with movies and junk food and whatever else you're into now, okay?" Don't fight me on this.
Another frown. "Too bad about Alexa, but I suppose that kind of thing's inevitable, hm? - glad that you've found someone new, though, " and then the frown turned to a smile and a chuckle. "You would say that, but I bet you're more beautiful than the lot of them."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:11 pm
"I don't really remember," Poppy murmured, distress audible in her voice -- she wanted to change the subject. "I went to the clinic, okay? And they said I was fine, I just had signs of exhaustion, nothing contagious or dangerous - told me to get some rest. I'm not sick." She was oddly insistent about it, but nothing about her betrayed any lying, any misdirection: she really didn't think she was sick at all. "If it makes you happy, I guess, but I went to the clinic and I told them I was worried and they said there wasn't anything wrong with me." Frustration -- Poppy white-knuckled it down, swallowed her anger, and smiled meekly again. This was her sister, she loved her sister, she couldn't be mad at her sister.
"Desdemona," came the protest, "these girls are so pretty they could be at Crystal, what kind of hope do I have in that situation, okay?" Poppy was no liar, or she wasn't a very good one; but she could leave out or misrepresent information just fine. And she was, very definitely, leaving something out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:23 pm
The distress made her react, easing down onto the couch next to her and gently curling an arm around her shoulders in what she hoped was a suitable act of reassurance. Body language and contact generally came easily to her... the only problem was, she was the best at the sensual kind. Outside of Poppy, honestly, it was the only kind of body language she needed.
"Did you go to a Negaverse run clinic before?" she asked as sweetly as she could, not scolding her, just asking so she knew what they were working with. "It would make me happy. Even with regular doctors, if you're still feeling this bad, they might have missed something - and it's good to have someone with you for this kind of thing, honey."
Desdemona arched a brow, feeling the information gap. Idly, she opted to toe at it to see how far it went. "What do you mean, honey? - in a friend situation? - and you could absolutely kill it at Crystal, don't even try and convince me you couldn't."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:39 pm
"Romano's is Negaverse-run, it counts" Poppy grumbled; she seemed tentative, unsure if she was allowed to lean into Desdemona's arm, but eventually doing it anyways. (There were bits and spots of textured scarring on the back of her neck, half-covered by her hair; barely scarring at all, old enough to be mostly faded. She'd been flung across gravel, maybe, or into something sharp. Her hair was uneven in areas - she'd been picking at it, pulling on it.)
"I don't really click with a lot of the people there," she numbly confessed, quiet, leaning further into Desdemona's embrace. "I don't fit. I got in 'cause I'm Negaverse, and they'll make excuses for me because my quotas are wonderful and I fill out reports, but I'm not smart like a lot of the other people there are. I didn't want to bother you about it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 8:26 pm
"Ah, but see, " Desdemona reached in with her free hand and poked Poppy gently on the tip of her nose, appreciating that she was relaxing and settling into her like a good little sister should. The contact was nice, honestly. "A school nurse or clinic or whatever you want to call it, that's where you go when you've got a fever or lice or a skinned skin or you threw up on the school janitor or something. That is definitely not where you go when you're having a series of nose bleeds after a head wound. We are getting you to a real doctor who knows how to deal with people like us and who knows something about - "
She kind of gestured vaguely to her own temple. " - all this kind of stuff, okay? A specialist or something. There's a lot of sensitive stuff going on in there that regular doctors wouldn't know the first thing about." Right? That was true, right? Not that she knew a ton about medicine and head wounds herself, but it seemed about right.
Then, there it was, the confession and the soft bid for comfort and acceptance that Desdemona was only too willing to give, curling both arms around her now and tugging her into a proper hug. "Honey, darling, believe me - you never, ever, ever bother me. Ever. I can add a lot more 'ever's if you need me to, because there are a lot. I cannot say that enough." She eased back and caught Poppy's chin, fixing her with a smile. "First off, you know you can always come here if school's feeling... a little much, you know? It's completely okay to feel that way. But second off, darling - "
Desdemona gave a soft little laugh, not at Poppy, of course. Just, "It's fine if you don't click with them, but I need you to remember something. This is going to sound terrible and all, but honestly Poppy - book smarts and grades account for jack s**t in the long run." She pushed a bit of her sister's hair out of her face as she went on, "I know you, and I know you're smarter than you think, but Poppy - I didn't even graduate from high school you know. I went and took a test and got a little piece of paper that says 'hey this is kind of like high school it'll do'. That sort of thing honestly doesn't matter. What matters is how good you are at your role in the Negaverse, and you just said yourself you're good at that."
The smile was back. "You are a beautiful, proud, strong senshi, and if these girls are really selling you short? They'll regret it one day, and where it matters, there will be people who love you and support you as you are. We are changing the world for the better and serving a greater good. Own that fact, take pride in it, and the pretty, smart girls might be more willing to be friends than you'd think. You don't need them - they need you. They just don't know it yet."
Then, though, Desdemona laughed, shaking her head with an almost sheepish smile. "That was a lot of talking. Sorry. I'm used to having to do a lot of that - basically I love you and I think you're wonderful even if you haven't realized it yet? Is that a better way to put it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:06 pm
The more Desdemona pushed going to an actual doctor, even one connected to the Negaverse, the more Poppy bristled -- her eyes flickered to her henshin pen and back, and she swallowed, her throat dry. This wasn't what she'd wanted when she'd come home to see her sister. This wasn't what she'd wanted at all. "Fine," she muttered, and nestled deeper into Desdemona's arms. "I can check the records to see if there's any doctors in the city. It's not as bad as it was, though, it's really just once a week...I feel fine."
She obviously didn't feel all that great. The dark circles under her eyes were heavy; but then again, she ran no temperature, and her skin wasn't flushed unnaturally - there were no blooming bruises to betray any hidden trauma under the skin, no discolored splotches to show anything was just damaged.
"I love you too, it's just...there's been a lot going on lately," Poppy huffed. "I mean, if you're really worried I picked something up in the Rift, you could check my starseed if you really wanted, I guess..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:24 am
There was something in Poppy's gaze that unsettled her a little, although she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Her response then was to just hug her sister that much more tightly, as though that would do much of anything to dispel what it was. "Thank you, " she said with a kind of sigh of relief, reaching up to brush fingers through her hair. "I just... I'd prefer to be safe than sorry when it comes to your health. You are all the family I have, you know." Even if not by blood. But one way or another, Poppy was her responsibility, and she felt more than just obligated to her.
"I understand honey, " she said soothingly, although then something in her demeanor shifted, if only for a minute. Her eyes widened just a fraction, her arms tensing, and her breath hitched, just barely audible. "No, " and she said it much more strongly than she meant to.
Less than an instant later, she said it again, "No, no, " much more softly, shaking her head and giving a sound that was almost like a laugh, trying to shrug off the tension she herself her dragged into the apartment. "It's your head that's giving you a problem, right? That's nothing to do with your starseed, honey. We don't want to go prodding in there for no reason."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:44 am
"If you say so," Poppy mumbled, and she'd gone almost inaudible because she really didn't see the problem with it but she didn't want to upset her sister. For all the starseed was important -- it was still a physical craft, and it could crack or be altered or be changed in ways they didn't quite understand, yet. What was the problem with a little removal, given corrupts like the two of them could take out their own starseeds like so much graft? It clearly unsettled Desdemona, though, so she left it at that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:29 am
"I do say so, " Desdemona murmured reassuringly, unaware that it was probably more reassuring to herself than it was to her sister. She ran her fingers soothingly through the younger girl's hair, idly rubbing her scalp and worrying over the unseen injury. "Waste of energy. We'll take you to a Negaverse doctor and they'll find out if anything's wrong, and you'll be just fine before you know it. In the meantime, " she cracked a smile and kissed Poppy's forehead. "What do you say I make breakfast, hm? I think I've got everything we'd need for pancakes?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 6:58 pm
"Pancakes," Poppy murmured, perking up already despite her tired eyes. "Blueberry, right? Those're my favorite. Always taste better." And when Desdemona kissed her forehead, she giggled and pulled her head down, embarrassed. "I'm basically an adult, you don't have to do that....it's embarrassing, Desdemona, jeez." But despite her look of slight indignation, there was no real anger there, nothing but a return to calm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
