Welcome to Gaia! ::

Candace grinned, sniffling a bit as she licked her thumb and began rubbing it along the underside of her eyes. Time to fix what she could. "That's why usually the only faces I try to make are awesome faces." Like her cocky little grins and smirks. Those were okay to have permanently stuck on her face. Candace paused a moment, blinking and shaking her head as she leaned more heavily against the wall. The room had spun for a second there. She was quiet another moment before she resumed work on fixing her face.

"That's fine," she began, giving Jordan a smile before turning back to her mirror. "I'll just use my coa--" Wait. Where was her coat? Candace looked down at herself and then all around. Her coat. Her scarf. Her notebook. ********. Candace groaned. "Fuuuuuuck it better still be on the field later. I don't feel like going out there for it. Where I plan on hiding away until I feel like I can be in public again is not anywhere near that field..." But it was safe, warm, and comfortable. And if she slept through Sasha bringing the doctor his afternoon tea she wouldn't have to see the girl. "..Can I borrow a corner of your coat, maybe?" Candace paused, furrowing her brow and looking intently at it. Or she could use it to cover her hair. Her hair was awful. Only a shower would fix this.

"...Thank you again, by the way. I'm..I'm glad it was you who found me, if anyone had to." The corner of Candace's mouth twitched up in an embarrassed smile, looking away again to clean her face some more. "You're someone I know isn't just some heartless gossip, or someone who'll take a disturbing level of interest in seeing me cry." She tilted her head in a way that let her see her neck, wincing and shaking her head. She messed with her hair a little, trying to flatten it down anywhere she could see it was fluffy and out of place.

Candace paused. "..Okay now I just look like I had rough sex." She pouted. "I can't win." She sighed, snapping the mirror closed and moving to sit on her knees.

Oh! That would do! Candace accepted the scarf with a quiet thanks and wrapped it around her neck before doing anything else, then using an end of it to rub away what was left of her makeup. Good. Much better. She looked less of a mess. Her hair could be blamed on...the weather. Or the fact that she destroyed three dummies.

Oops.

"Huh?" Candace blinked, looking surprised yet again by Jordan's kindness. She smiled gratefully, nodding. "Yes, please. Just uh..hang on to it for now. The notebook has some personal stuff in it so...I don't want to just leave it in my bag where it can be snooped through. Clothes are clothes, I can get more." She shrugged a little, looking down at the scarf. She'd wash it before she returned it.

At his promise she nodded again. "I definitely owe you one for this...so..if you trust me enough you can come to me, okay?" Candace's voice was gentle for once, the waver of having cried so hard almost gone. "I'll let you do whatever you want. Like...I sparred Clarice once. She was having a bad day. I pretty literally set myself up for a beatdown. She felt better after. So I mean, like, I'm not saying just come up and hit me but...if you want, you can come to me if you're feelin' like this too, 'kay?" She wouldn't tell a soul. She wanted companionship. She wanted to be close to people. Candace was done holding people at arm's distance.

At his comment on privacy she snorted, making a soft tsking sound and shaking her head. "There's plenty of privacy when your lover has his own office." Candace cleared her throat, taking a deep breath as he asked if she would be alright. Would she be okay?

She nodded slowly, rubbing her lips together and gazing up at the ceiling. "Yeah I...yeah. I'll be okay. I'll just..avoid the barracks for a little while. The lack of privacy is really getting to me, I think. H will let me sleep in his office when he doesn't have...ah..company." It wasn't a question. He had said it himself, she was always welcome to stay with him. She could touch his stuff, she could look through things she was able to get into, and she could stay with him. It was a nice deal...for the most part. "I'll be okay. I just have to let go." Her smile was warmer now, looking from the ceiling to Jordan again. "I can't forgo my own happiness, I deserve a bit of it too, yeah?"

"I'll do that. Thank you, Jordan." Candace was trying to fix her hair again when he thanked her, offering him a warm smile and nodding in agreement. "It is nice to have someone to talk to. Or at, in this case."

Candace raised a brow at the subtle change in Jordan's expression but said nothing on it. She was okay now, if he really wanted to say something he would. She wouldn't even get mad. "Mm. I know. It was bothering Harrison when I talked to him recently." She grinned Jordan's way. "Sometimes the walls echo too, I think, so you can't even do anything quietly. Sucks, doesn't it?" She looked away again, suddenly wishing she'd kept that hair tie Sasha had given her to braid her hair. Sigh.

This was probably as good as it was going to get. She'd managed to calm it down considerably, but it was still clear she had ******** with it at some point. Oh well. "I will~." She promised, leaning back against the wall a moment with her eyes closed. It wasn't long before Candace turned her head to face Jordan, a small smile on her lips. "I think I'm ready to go now. I really want to get some sleep before I just pass out here."

He started blushing and she chuckled. "I'm happy for you guys. I'm being honest." Candace felt it might have been necessary to point that out considering she'd just had that freak out over being forced to be happy for someone. Heh.

She took the offered hand and pulled herself up to stand, swaying from the sudden height change and putting a hand against the wall. "Thanks.." She paused to check one of her pockets. Phone? Oh, good. "I will. I'll send you a text when I'm coming back for my stuff, yeah? In case you're not there or something." Candace took a moment to straighten out her clothes before she unlocked the door, taking the mirror out of her pocket and holding it near the door as she gave it a small opening to see through. She checked both ends of the hall. It was empty.

Good, the mirror idea worked. Candace smiled and opened the door, snapping the mirror closed and tucking it away. "Aria said it was a good idea to have one for seeing around corners. Wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea, hm? What with betting pools and gossip being entertainment around here." She stepped out into the hall, adjusting the scarf around her neck. "Can I hold onto this until I have my own scarf back? It's kinda weird not having one.."

Candace smiled, nodding at Jordan's promise that no one would poke at her stuff. "Don't let Rep ******** up my notebook or something because he thinks it's funny or something, either." Not that she didn't trust Jordan, because she did, but she didn't trust Rep. He didn't like her, she wouldn't put it past him to mess with her stuff. Plus, it seemed like a gentle enough hint that she did in fact know their situation. She's not blind, Jordan.

"Mm.." She looked up and around, her smile falling into a frown when she caught a glimpse of a security camera. That meant someone may really have witnessed that entire scene. ********. She needed that footage. Later, later. Sleep was calling to her. "I'll see you later then? Get back safely~." Candace moved to leave by stopped, looking like she was considering something by the look on her face. She turned back to Jordan one more time to give him a tight hug, her face hidden against his shoulder until she drew away and let him go. She smiled. "Figured a less tearful one was in order. See ya~." She really did turn to leave then, taking a brief moment to make sure she was presentable, taking a deep, calming breath and finally heading down the hall with that air of confidence she was making damn sure she was known for having.

She went straight to H's office, giving the man a kiss upon her arrival and getting permission to sleep on his couch with the warning that he would not be joining her since he had actual work to do. It was fine, all she needed was a safe place to sleep. His office was as safe as she could get at moment.