|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:09 pm
Gabbie leaned into Khalla's hand. Intellectually she knew her friend was right. But emotionally? It still didn't feel right. After her talk with Corvus, she felt certain that their Princess would have tried to save everyone. Not just a chosen few. Still. And when she saw the frightened look shadow Khalla's face she knew why and grabbed the other girl's girl, squeezing it gently.
"Khalla, if you see that b***h, you ******** run as fast as you can and get away. I am not letting you get eaten by some freak monster arm. You have to promise me you'll run if you see her."
She'd watched 5 beings die who hadn't needed to. Who hadn't deserved it and that had damn near broken her. She didn't want to think about what would happen to Khalla if Tanzanite found her. She was silent for a moment, then she released her partner's wrist.
"That's not where I broke my leg though. That happened a few days later."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:28 pm
Khalla came back to her senses somewhat as she felt Gabbie's hand grab her own. That simple physical contact broke through the haze of fear that was clouding her mind, erased all the horrific possibilities that were springing up one after the other. There was just here and now, just Gabbie, and Tanzanite couldn't find her.
"I.." Khalla opened her mouth, but as she did so, she realized she didn't know what to say. If she promised Gabbie, that meant risking the life of someone else that might need her. Tanzanite was her worst nightmare, but what hurt her more was the idea that Tanzanite might hurt someone else because she was too weak to stand up to her. On the other hand, though, what would happen to Gabbie if Tanzanite hurt her? She'd already been through so much. "I promise," she whispered finally, if somewhat unsure of the promise she was making. She was doing it for Gabbie, not for herself or anyone else.
Khalla brought her hand back to her lap as Gabbie finally let it go, lacing her fingers with her other hand and trying to wind down the nerves that made her hairs stand on end. "It wasn't?" She looked momentarily confused, but simply shook her head and waved Gabbie to continue. At least this might get her mind off of Tanzanite.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:40 am
Reassured that Khalla would be smart and not try to engage Tanzanite now, Gabbie looked rueful and stared at her leg for a moment.
"I was stupid. I was really bloody stupid. And if the orange haired b***h who'd caught me hadn't decided that I made a more useful and amusing messenger than a corpse, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Slowly she unwound the story, making sure that she didn't spare herself by leaving out details. Not even the details of how she'd helped kill that boy and he'd died from massive brain injuries. Or the woman mocking her for being a coward. For being weak. Then...
"SHe threatened to hunt down everyone I cared about and kill them if I didn't fire another tail thrash at her and fight. I didn't want to, but I started thinking about you and my aunt and just lost it. And somehow, her mirror thing turned it all back on me. Let's just now I now have a profound and deep respect for what others feel like in the middle of my attack."
The shame she felt for getting caught so easily, the niggling little doubts and fears that the woman had been right, Saiph was a coward, useless, worthless were all evident as she explained how she'd seen her own starseed, explained Nealite's orders to find Kunzite and Sailor Nerissa and give them the Captain's Or Else ultimatums and finally the week spent in the hospital for the broken leg, punctured lung, broken ribs and bruised liver and kidneys.
"I'm sort of worried that b***h was right. I can't seem to keep promises or defeat anyone properly. But.. I dunno. I met a girl while I was in the hospital. She's one of us, Khalla. And I think you'd like her. I even ran into her at that ridiculous ball the other night. And she had another of us with her. You'll like him too. Oh honey, be happy you were with your parents, that thing was a nightmare of starched shirts and proper manners."
Gabbie was laughing a little now at that memory. Sure it had been fun after all, but only because she'd found like minded souls and made her own fun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:01 am
This was starting to get ridiculous. Was Gabbie just going to run into all of Khalla's worst nightmares while she was away? She knew she could have helped against that orange-haired woman, even if that mirror.. oh, that mirror.
"I've met the Negaverser with the mirror before," she said quietly, a small shiver tracing it's way up her back as she recalled the taunting jeers and that stupid mirror. At the time she had no idea why anyone would want to fight with a mirror (thinking about it breaking still sent her into a mild panic) but the way Saiph described it made it seem very likely that it was more than just a mirror. If tail-thrash didn't break it, if the woman could actually use it as a reflector instead.. Khalla was unsuccessfully trying to convince herself that there was no danger in attacking that woman and her odd choice of weapon anymore if it was that strong. Unsuccessfully.
"I got off a bit better than you though," she murmured, glancing down at Saiph's leg. "It was all just luck though. I think she's a bit vain." The way she had moaned over the bloody nose and completely ignored her to find her mirror instead - well, it certainly suggested why she fought with a mirror.
"Don't say that though. You saved me from Tanzanite, you've saved me from so much," she shook her head and turned a disapproving frown on Gabbie. "Don't let her get into your head, okay? You're always there when I need you."
She reached down into the floor to scoop up the throw pillow she had abandoned, tucking it against her chest for comfort now even as she still sat perched on the edge of the couch. "I'll be happy to meet them," she smiled then and pointed at Gabbie's leg, "once you're better. I don't want you wobbling out of the house for any meet and greets on my behalf."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:18 am
"A bit vain?", Gabbie began to laugh. "My god, Khalla, she makes the Hilton girls look like paragons of modesty!"
She wiped her eyes, this time from tears of laughter and solemnly watched her friend. Yes, she's saved Khalla and kept her safe. But Khalla was one person. She hadn't been able to keep that boy from dying. She hadn't been able to help the Tree or it's children. But, a little voice in her mind whispered with gentle insistence, you've helped get rid of youma that would have hurt people. You kept Idiot Lad from having his face eaten off by Mazke. Successes are not always as spectacular as the failures sometimes.
Shaking her head, she turned to eye her partner and mock-sulked as Khalla turned the tables and mothered her a bit. Then, a grin flashed out across Gabbie's face as the perfect opportunity for cheering up presented itself.
"I won't have to wobble, I can bring them to you, darlin'. There're some delivery menus in the kitchen in the drawer right by the fridge. You did," she reminded the other girl with a playful, patently false innocence, "say that you'd stay as long as I needed you. Let's figure out what sounds good for dinner and you can help me plan a slumber party. It'll be fun, keep me peacefully occupied and we can be total brats for one night. What do you say?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:33 am
Khalla smiled slightly at Gabbie's correction over the orange-haired woman, still fighting off the lingering effects thinking about her own fight had caused her. That hadn't been one of her best nights, not in the slightest. Still, Gabbie had a way of making everything better and she felt her sadness slowly ebbing away.
The sudden flash of a grin, always a cause for suspicion, made Khalla raise a brow. Once Gabbie explained her ultimate plan, Khalla could only smile. She had only said that Gabbie wasn't going out of the house - she supposed them coming here wouldn't be that big of a deal after all.
"You're right, I promised," she said with a small laugh under her breath, pushing herself up to her feet and depositing the throw pillow back into the chair she'd gotten it from. "I say that sounds like a plan," especially if her being here meant that she could keep Saiph from dwelling to much on everything that had happened. She knew first hand that too much idle time meant too much time to think about everything that went wrong.
She wasn't so sure what being 'total brats' entailed, but there was a pleased smile on her face as she exited the room and went to go dig those menus out of the kitchen drawer that Gabbie was talking about.
She'd never actually been to a real slumber party that she could remember.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:26 am
Upon delivery of the menus, Gabbie split them into two small piles and handed one over to Khalla. Plain old pizza or chinese delivery didn't inspire her that much. She was in the mood for something different.
"I don't know what sounds good to you, but I'm craving something new and exciting. The neighbor brought these over for me this morning and said they were all good and reasonably priced. We can order whatever we want and however much we want. I have enough money saved up."
She was already scanning the Japanese place's menu and had seen that they had ginger cake available. Oh yes, that would be ordered...
"And as far as a slumber party goes, it's gonna be co-ed, I think. Any ideas on how to keep from getting it crashed?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:45 am
As soon as Gabbie slid half of the menus in Khalla's direction, a small look of surprise lit her face, followed by a tiny look of helplessness. She wasn't a fan of fast food herself, having been raised on her grandmother's home-cooked meals her whole life, and actually spent a fairly decent amount of time in the kitchen when she went home on the weekends. Her ignorance was shining through now as she sat down in the chair across from Gabbie's couch and began to slowly pick through menus like they were all written in Greek.
"Uhm, I don't know?" She said, then with a little grimace reprimanded herself inwardly. She knew first-hand how annoying that phrase could be when trying to discuss ideas. "I mean, I don't order this kind of stuff very often." Very often meant never. "I don't think I've eaten at any of these places." Apart from the basic American foods that every child tried at some point in her life, she probably had no idea what most of it was anyway. Her grandmother was a fan of old-fashioned good eatin'. She turned over the last menu to look at the back, as if hoping some answer would spring out of it, then looked helplessly back up at Gabbie.
"Crashed?" Khalla questioned, drawing her brows down and setting the menus aside for the moment. "That kind of thing actually happens?" If her ignorance over fast-food was any sign over her seclusion from the modern teenage culture, then this was a bright flashing sign over her head. She smiled, a little sadly, and brought a nervous hand up to tug at the end of her scarf again. "I guess I don't go to these much." Ever.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:53 am
"Well, to be honest, I don't know if it really happens or not. But better to be safe than sorry, right?"
Particularly when it involved her aunt's house and the tiniest possibility that someone could break or steal one of her aunt's various artifacts that decorated the nooks and crannies of the place. Gabbie had caught the tiny grimace on Khalla's face and was trying to figure out what, exactly, it meant.
"You've never eaten at any of them? Really? Well, what types of food do you like? Spicy? Sweet? Savoury? There's a lot to choose from and we can always order from more than one place if you want."
If Khalla had never had some of these places, it was clearly Gabbie's duty to introduce her friend's palate to the wonderful world of flavor out there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 8:16 am
"Well, that's true. I'm just not sure how to keep people out if they're going to sneak in." She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment, then with a small laugh she turned her gaze back on Gabbie. "Unless you want to threaten them with terrorists showing up?"
She busied herself with stacking the menus together again, laying them back in a neat little pile so she could return them to the kitchen drawer later. At Gabbie's question, she could only smile shyly and shake her head in answer. "No, I'm not really big on fast food, so I guess I've never bothered? I don't like greasy things and that's been.. mostly my experience." She finally turned her attention back up once she was done straightening the menus. "Gran is an old-fashioned lady too and hasn't ever approved of all this delivery 'nonsense'." She brought up her hands to make little quotation marks as she said nonsense, just to show she was quoting her grandmother. It was said with a smile though and a fairly light-hearted tone, suggesting that Khalla didn't mind her grandmother's fuss too much.
She tapped her fingers against the chair's arm as she thought about what she might like to try, considering it. "I like fruit, but that's not really a good dinner. I don't like spicy things too much, at least not really spicy ones. Uhmm." She trailed off as she thought about it, wrinkling her nose and brow up slightly as if it were really a big decision. It was hard to think about something she'd never considered before, though. "Maybe you could just pick something out?" She suggested at last with a small, nervous laugh. "As long as it isn't spicy or greasy I'm willing to try it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:35 am
"Hrmmmm," Gabbie vocalized as she considered the menus. Not spicy or greasy was easy enough. And if Khalla's grandma was old-fashioned and didn't approve of delivery places, it should to reason that poor little Khalla hadn't really tried much of anything. Amber eyes lit on the small collection of asian food menus she had and she smiled.
"I think I know what we can have you try. I promise it won't be greasy and I won't order any of the spicy stuff. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
Grabbing the phone, she made her calls and ordered what was easily enough food to feed a regiment. That done, she set the phone back down and settled in.
"THey'll be here in about an hour or so. I got plenty of stuff for you to try and I know you'll like the cream cheese rolls and the cream cheese wontons. And I got lemon and orange chicken both, umm... vegetable fried rice, beef fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, teriyaki chicken and beef, some california rolls and some inarizushi. I think you'll like it. It's a fried tofu pouch filled with sushi rice and greens. It's really good. And I got enough ginger cake for us both."
Laughing a little, she shrugged. Okay, it had mostly been her favorites that she'd ordered, but it still all fit the criteria Khalla had given her. She found herself wondering what Khalla was used to eating if her grandmother was really that old-fashioned. Huh, probably mushy vegetables, pot roast, baked chicken and mashed potatoes. It was more than time for her to try somethign new.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:59 pm
A small smile spread over Khalla's face, lighting her demeanor up considerably as she listened to Gabbie babble on and on about all the things she had ordered. She had to admit that it all sounded very intriguing, even if she wasn't one to eat much outside of home-cooked meals.
"It sounds interesting," she said with a small laugh, pulling her feet up to tuck under her, coiling herself comfortably into the chair. "I'm willing to give any of it a try, at least. I don't eat much except for Gran's home cooking." Well, she did help herself, and when she cooked she liked to experiment a little more than dear old gran. There was definitely nothing Asian on her home-menu though.
"So what do we do in the mean time?" she asked, glancing around for a moment and then back to Gabbie and her injured leg. She didn't really have the faintest clue what one did at a sleep over - at least not one for a teenager.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 7:40 am
"First, we figure out who we want to invite," Gabbie said firmly before laughing and stretching out on the couch. "I don't think too many people in here would be good, but I think we can fit around 15 or so. Any ideas for who?"
Mentally, she was already considering some names. Elzo for certain and Audrey. She'd lock them up in a closet if she had to. Cordy and Oddy of course. Beyond that, she was open to suggestions.
Grabbing a nearby notebook and pencil, she started jotting down different ideas ans thoughts on people and possible entertainment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 6:38 pm
"Oh," Khalla said rather slowly in response to Gabbie's laughter, looking a bit dumbstruck before she simply smiled and shook her head. She simply was not used to this kind of thing at all, apparently.
"Well, I have a few friends," she said, then amended herself, "other than you of course." She rubbed her palms against her knees as she thought it over. "Zac and, well, his friend Demy, perhaps? Also, Serah," she hadn't thought to mention last names as she spoke them, because it was clear she was thinking out loud even as she suggested them. "I don't know if Amara or Ariana would want to come, but I could probably ask them." As she spoke, she had a bit of a far-away look to her eyes and was staring up at the ceiling. Her brows were knitted a little bit as she tossed names around in her head, then after a moment she seemed to realize what she was doing and came back to earth.
"Sorry," she apologized quickly with a little laugh, tucking a dread over her shoulder from habit, "I get carried away with this thinking out loud thing sometimes."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 6:51 am
"Not to worry, honey. I've been writing your thinking down." Gabbie chuckled. "Well, between my four, your five plus us, that's 11. Not a bad number. Very manageable. Let's go with those and see what happens."
Gabbie was already planning out food and drink in her mind. Also, she was thinking that this might be the perfect opportunity to get some scrapbooking done.
"Tell your friends to bring pictures with them if they come, would you? But make sure that they know the pictures should be of a trip or something they had."
Gabbie was grinnign now. The sort of grin that spoke of delight and excitement. THis was gonna be good.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
