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 Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:02 pm
As the rain beat down and the sun faded until there was nothing left of light or warmth, Kaia was still wandering the streets with no idea where she could go. Without the few people she had tied her life to, without Khal and Chase and home, she was distinctly aware that there was nothing in her civilian life. She was that girl that Mr. Black said she was. She was nothing, at least nothing with a worth that most of the world could see.
She had opened her phone briefly to call Ashley but before she could press the send button, Chase's name flashed with an incoming call. Irritated and hurt by the simple sight of his name, she pressed the end button and held it down until her phone simply powered off. She didn't want anything to remind her why she was sad and alone, and walking through a biting rain with no where to go.
She just sighed and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, leaning her head against the tall tree she had found for half a shelter. Rain still dripped through the leaves and dropped like cold acid on her soaked through hoodie, though the skin beneath was quickly approaching the point of not feeling. She was cold and tired, but the rain was unrelenting and she would not find anywhere outside to sleep. She could always go to the Negaverse and find shelter, but they could find her there, they had access as easily as she did. No, she wanted to stay hidden a while longer.
Another sigh fell from her lips as she brought up her cold, frigid hands to rub across an equally cold and frigid face. The stress of having nothing and no one was beginning to weigh on her - she hadn't felt so lost since the night she had reawakened into the world, in a cold, lonely chamber of the Negaverse.
She dropped her hands from her face and let her eyes open again to wander over her surroundings. She had walked so far with no place in her head that she didn't even know where she'd ended up. She leaned away from the tree a little and glanced at the nearest street sign, squinting through the rain to see what it was. When she knew she'd read it clearly, a wave of relief swept through her, a temporary relief from the pain curled in her chest.
Heather lived nearby.
With renewed purpose and the hope of a warm home to take shelter in, she pushed herself away from the tree and turned down the street towards the house she had only seen once, and briefly. Still, she always took careful account of everything these days and her feet found the path right up to Heather's front door. She hesitated a moment before she knocked, listening for an angry voice that wouldn't be there this time. There was no judgment here, at least not the kind she had just dealt with before.
She finally brought her chilled, half-numb hand up and knocked with her knuckles. She just hoped Heather was home and that she had room for a half-frozen Senshi.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:33 pm
Heather had been standing in her kitchen, waiting on her kettle to boil. For a few moments she danced with the idea of purchasing one of those single cup coffee makers, but she wasn't certain how tea would come out from them. She was particular, and if it was not just so it would be a wasted purchase. Something she rarely tolerated. Wasting money. That was more Demy's area of expertise (at least in her mind). The rain was pounding hard on the roof, a sound she loved to sit and listen to. Her thoughts were interrupted by the blaring of the kettle and she poured the water into a mug. Placing the kettle back on the stove she grabbed a teabag from the counter and moved towards the living room, dipping the bag in as she went.
The living room was still a mess, but she wasn't letting that bother her tonight. Demy was out, possibly still throwing himself against that door, and she had a few, fleeting moments to herself. She took the mug and placed it on a stone coaster before snatching up the t.v remote. Generally this time of day there was little on other than corny sitcoms or rehashes of her childhood (really what was wrong with people that Toddler's and Tiaras was a popular show), so to the music stations they went. Without her roommate there to bother her, she could easily listen to classical music without electronic techo funk (or whatever he called it) blaring from the back bedrooms.
Sinking back into her couch, the young woman closed her eyes. Peace and quiet...
Knock.... knock.
An eye popped open and peered towards the door. It wasn't commonplace for Heather to land visitors. She didn't hesitate too long though. It could be Hel or one of the other Nightravers looking for Demy. She sighed and opened her other eye, pulling herself out from the cozy embrace of the leather sofa. Making her way to the door she pulled it open.
"Hell-," she cut off seeing Kaia standing there, her somewhat sleepy blinking to life. The poor thing was drenched to the bone. While Kaia's features were not often painted into the portrait of a happy young woman, Heather had never seen her quite like this. Stern sometimes, but not so...
Lost maybe? She wasn't sure.
"Oh my g- what... get in here!" she ushered the senshi in and motioned for her to go sit in the living room.
"I'm going to get you some towels and clean clothes... you look about my size anyways so hopefully it should do." she spoke quickly, eying the bag that Kaia had with her.
"Then we'll talk."
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:54 pm
Kaia was relieved when Heather answered the door so quickly, even more so when she drew her inside without any questions. She tried to open her mouth to speak, to thank her or apologize for coming unannounced, but all at once the gravity of the situation overwhelmed her and all she could do was smile very sadly in gratitude.
She was somewhere safe now.
She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat and pulled the bag she'd been carrying for hours over her shoulder, only just noticing how sore and tense the muscle beneath was once the pressure was removed. She made sure to set the bag close to the door where the water wouldn't leak all over something important, and kicked her shoes off so that at least no mud would track through the house.
She walked slowly into the living room but, even if Heather had said it was okay, she didn't feel comfortable sitting down on anything. It was already enough that she was dripping water across the carpet.
Her arms slowly came up to wrap around herself, suddenly all the more cold as the warm apartment air began to seep into her clothes and skin and chase away the numbness. Before she knew it she was shivering with chills, but it was a welcome feeling, especially with the calming music tinkling from the TV. She was too tired and cold to even notice much else, otherwise she probably would have seen the signs of Heather's roommate.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:35 pm
Heather rushed into her bedroom, haphazardly dragging open dresser drawers, trying to find comfortable, warm clothes for her sudden house guest. She managed to find a heavy blue nightshirt and some fuzzy blue pajama bottoms to go with them. She'd deal with finding sensible clothing in the morning. There was a housecoat hanging in the closet that she snatched up as well, making a mental note to find some blankets a bit later.
"Be out in a minute!" she called towards the living room, having found a couple of towels to give the girl. Apparently she should have done laundry after all. It was karmatic recourse for putting it off, clearly. Well she knew what she'd be doing after everyone went to bed.
About ten minutes or so passed in total and Heather was making her way into the living room behind a pile of pjs, house robes and towels. She handed the towel right over and folded up the other items, setting them to the side for whenever the girl was ready.
"Do you want a cup of tea? Or coffee? I think Demy has hot chocolate here somewhere too... probably marshmallows. Though they may be neon in colour."
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:48 pm
Kaia nodded when Heather called out to her, not even realizing that the girl wouldn't see the gesture. Her usually perceptive mind was clouded between everything she was still trying not to feel and her body attempting to adjust to the shock in climate around her. It wasn't until she heard her coming back down the hallway that she tore her dazed stare from the TV and let herself resurface from whatever she had been thinking about.
"Thank you," she actually managed to speak after all, taking the towel and wrapping it around herself instinctively. Then her eyes fell to the pile of folded, warm clothes and she managed to smile - comfort and warmth was something she dearly missed after hours in the rain.
"Oh, Tea? That would be really nice." She was all manners and politeness, even as she stood in the middle of the floor making a mini-puddle under her feet. She couldn't take her pain out on anyone undeserving, even in the midst of the worst of it. She reached for the clothes and held them as precariously as she could, trying not to tuck them into her own wet ones.
"Can I use your bathroom?" Even cold and freezing, she was still shy enough to want privacy. She had never been of that 'we're just girls' mindset, it seemed.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:05 pm
Heather nodded her head, dismissing the overindulgence of manners as anything more than simple, general politeness. "Yeah the bathroom is down the hall there and to the right. Can't miss it. Sorry if anything in their glows, I usually leave that one to Demy. I'll go get your tea ready."
The older girl made her way back into the kitchen, suddenly grateful that she had a kettle of water already done instead of the instant tea. Somehow this just seemed like it would be more comforting. The reasoning wasn't really clear, maybe it was just the thought of a warm kettle pot on a cold and rainy night, either way it was something.
Mug filled, tea bag in, she walked into the living room and moved her mug off the coaster that had been sitting in front of the couch and placed Kaia's there. She set her own over on the end table next to her chair. She then made her way back into the kitchen and brought out a sugar dish and a small milk saucer, taking them back with her and setting them next to the tea.
Heather sat back in her chair and reached for her own tea, taking a small sip while she waited for Kaia to come back. Her fingers drummed lightly along the ceramic holder, and she let herself relax to the music.
Hopefully there would be an explanation forthcoming.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:20 pm
Kaia just nodded at her and slipped off down the hallway. Even with the lights off it was really hard to miss with starry nightlights and glowsticks hung from random places. If it had been any other time and any other circumstance, she might have laughed. It seemed like the style of choice for the recently turned General.
She shut the door behind her and began the long process of stripping off the clothes that were all but suctioned to her skin, letting them hit the tiled floor with a soft smack. She hung them up over the rail of the shower and then just busied herself with wiping down most of her body until she was comfortable enough to pull the borrowed clothes on. They weren't something she would have picked, but in that moment they were comforting and she appreciated Heather's helpfulness.
She flipped her hair over and tied the slightly damp towel around her dreads and as she stood up, caught sight of herself in the mirror. She was paler than usual and, now that the rain wasn't battering her face, she could see the red puffiness starting around her eyes from the tears she'd run out of hours before.
She just sighed and walked back out of the bathroom, following the hallway back to the livingroom. She sat down after she poured a little cream and sugar into her tea mug, curling her legs underneath of her and just holding the hot cup in her still cold hands for a while. The black hole in her chest hurt a little less now that she was safe and warm and recovering, but it was still there.
It also reminded her that she owed Heather a good explanation for her sudden intrusion. She took a long sip of her tea and tried to think how she could start this, even begin to make sense of it. She decided, in the end, that she would just be blunt.
"Khal brought a girl home tonight," it was quiet and her voice sounded almost detached, like she was purposefully trying not to feel what she was saying.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:29 pm
Heather sat in silence as Kaia went through the motions of settling and drinking her tea. She'd decided somewhere along the line that, for as much as she wanted to, she wasn't going to pry. Not right now. Maybe in the morning after some time had been given...
But it seemed that he other girl was willing to speak, so she was not going to offer otherwise to her. As the words came out of Kaia's mouth, Heather was unsure of what to think. Were Kaia and Khal even dating? The tone in the corrupt senshi's voice and the look on her face seemed to indicate that they were in, at least, some sort of relationship. Given what had happened at the door, she shouldn't have seemed so surprised.
That's when her lips moved to form a thin lined frown. She idly tapped at her cup with one finger, her left eyebrow raised slightly. Taking another sip of her tea she spoke again.
"Would you like me to have someone take out his knees? I know a guy who knows a guy..." she considered Khaldun a fairly good friend at this point, but she wasn't above beating the stupid out of people either.
Not even a little.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:49 pm
Kaia's face twisted a little then as her mind struggled with being amused at the thought of causing him pain and the fact that she knew she really shouldn't blame him. This was the reason explaining any of this made no sense to anyone outside of the two of them. How did she even start trying to tell her what was wrong? She had no idea how those teenagers on the awful television dramas handled this kind of thing.
"No, it wasn't his fault. Entirely." She added the last part as an afterthought and took another long sip of her tea. "I chose.. Chase, which means I shouldn't be upset when he's with other girls, right?" She swallowed against the lump in her throat that was slowly forming. Try as she might, she couldn't tell this like it was something she wasn't a part of. It was painful. "He just shouldn't have brought her home."
She glanced down at the swirling colors in her tea and for a moment seemed like she wouldn't go on, or maybe that she couldn't, but she knew this story couldn't stay half finished. Someone needed to know, someone with a normal civilian life that could maybe help her make sense of these things. She had no experience with what she had just been thrust head first into.
"So I left to see Chase, and his dad was there." Her hands were tightening around her mug even as she was staring down into it. She couldn't cry, but the pain was surfacing in other ways, it refused to stay down. "His dad and a girl, and it was not.. it was the opposite of what I wanted to find. His dad could use his knees taken out." It was a poor attempt at a joke, it just fell deadpan from her lips with no humor. She tried, though.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:11 pm
"Oh..." her voice trailed off as she placed her cup back onto the end table. Well, that was more than what she had expected. It was definitely a tough situation to be in, and she was more than relieved she had never found herself in anything quite like it. The downside to that was that it made it rather difficult to try to give advice on the subject. The last relationship advice she had doled out had amounted pretty much to 'Get over it'. Something she was certain wouldn't cut it in this situation.
"Well, regardless of anything else. You guys do share a living quarters so no. He shouldn't have brought her to your home. It was inconsiderate of him, and you have every right to be upset about it." the older girl leaned into her chair a bit, chewing on the bottom of her lip as she mulled Kaia's situation over.
"As far as Chase's father goes, I'm sure we can get someone to break his legs. Or maybe go back sometime for a therapy session over it.
" Clearly I don't have all the details. It's not hard, though, to realize that you've had a pretty rough night, Kaia." she looked at the other girl from across the room.
"As far as this... thing as a whole. I'm not sure what to tell you. I guess it all depends on what you really want to take out of it. But..." she paused, thinking for a bit.
"I have another spare room here, so you're welcome to stay as long as you like." the smile she provided was more genuine now.
"This will all get worked out. How? I'm not sure. But we'll call it a hunch and go with that."
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:21 pm
Kaia just listened as Heather gave her the best words she could find to try and console her. It helped very little, but what would right now? She just appreciated the fact that Heather hadn't judged her, or the guys overly much. She really just needed someone to listen and that was what Heather had done.
She was pretty sure this was the first time in her life that she had depended on someone else so heavily to help her, at least to this degree. Later she'd have to find a way to thank her.
"Thank you," she said quietly, "I hope very much that you're right." If it didn't, she wasn't sure she could take it. She already felt like she was going to implode, crunch into a blot of non existence, and if anything else happened she wasn't sure she wouldn't. She just took another long sip of her tea and set it down on the coaster in front of her. It was calming, but her appetite was dying quickly.
"I just want to try and sleep," she brought her hands up and rubbed them against her irritated eyes. She stood up slowly and removed the towel from around her dreads, then looked over at Heather, wishing she had the will to stay with company or that her conversation wouldn't have been so dreadfully depressing. She knew she couldn't do either, not right now, maybe in the morning.
"So I'll just take that room now, if that's okay?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:27 pm
"Yeah, no worries, you look exhausted anyways." Heather stood up and motioned for the other girl to follow. She walked down the hall and nodded to the room on the left.
"The bed is already made, everything's clean. Should be glowstick free. There's a television if you want to throw on some background noise to help sleep. Sometimes I have to do that." she ran her hand awkwardly through her hair.
"If you need any food or anything, feel free to raid the kitchen. Anything Demy wants to keep for himself is labeled with glitter and stars in his name. If you need me I'll be in there." she pointed across the hall to her own bedroom. "And if all else fails, Demy will likely be down there later on." she nodded to a door at the end of the hall.
"Though I can't think of a good reason for that." she shook her head.
"Anyways, I hope you can get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:30 pm
Kaia tried to force a smile in thanks as she was shown to the room and given a list of how-tos. In the end she just nodded though and gave Heather a small wave as she turned and left her alone. She shut the door behind her and crossed to the spare bed, falling into it like she hadn't slept in days.
Exhaustion settled over her, but even that could stave off her thoughts enough to sleep. Alone in the dark with nothing to keep her company but the TV, everything that was wrong was swelling up like a great shadow over her head. It was hard to be civil, but it seemed it would be even harder to be alone.
In the end she flipped on the TV with the remote she found and turned it mindlessly to something with a laughter reel. Her eyes fell away from it and she grabbed one of the spare pillows, pulling it and tucking it against her chest - holding onto it like it was a lifeline.
Morning wouldn't be coming soon.
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