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 Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:00 am
Clerise was in pretty s**t shape after the mission-- she'd slept long and fitfully the moment she'd been able... and really, really wanted a drink. Instead, she'd gone to the gym the first night, and had spent a nice long time in the minipet labs the next morning.
She was making the trek down to her own room when she passed by Sasha's-- 145. The door was decorated with a little sign, her name scrawled on it, little hearts and a flower or two drawn on next to it.
She remembered how the girl looked at the portal-- out of sorts and paler than usual, her normally guarded but well meaning nature...off.
Without thinking, she leaned against the door frame with one hand braced against it, her other rapping lazily against it.
"Hey whirligirl, you in there?"
Clerise realized that she had, in that moment, let her notably unreasonable grudge take a back burner. Sasha could barely stand the idea of people getting down to their skivvies-- how badly would death shake her? Best to check in on her.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:23 am
Ever since returning to Deus after the last mission Sasha had been on, it was obvious that the young woman hadn't been herself. Now even more closely-guarded than before, even more reluctant to socialize, Sasha had started to doubt the decision she'd made to come here. To be a hunter. Surely there had to be something meaningful about it all. Something worth dying for. Sandy had thought so, and so had Barney. Had those two hunters had family? Things they cared about? Something that kept them going to the very end?
Sasha had nothing. Nothing outside of Deus. She knew a few people - good people - and she'd enjoyed their company. The whole purpose of Deus was to keep people safe, but at what cost? Death? Did Sasha really care enough about the world, a place she'd never really experienced, to die for it?
Right now? No. She didn't. There was nothing worth saving, not anymore - not without her papa - and the sudden realization that she truly was utterly alone in the world was a little hard to handle.
When the knock came at her door along with a very familiar voice, Sasha honestly debated calling out. Sitting here in her pristine little room in her pristine little nightgown, she could actually pretend that the world outside these walls didn't really exist. Just for a little while longer. Just until she could cope. Then again... Sasha knew enough about Clerise to know that the other trainee wouldn't give up. With a small sigh, Sasha shuffled to the door and opened it.
"Hello, Clerise."
emotion_8c
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:34 am
Clerise was in a similar boat. She had her father, sure...except the last time she'd seen him was more than five years ago. Danica was...also gone, and...well.
She certainly could understand being next to alone in the big, wide space that was the world. Of not having anything to care about outside it-- and, really, growing up in an insulated bubble, in her own way.
Clerise let out a low whistle at the sight of Sasha. Her normally luxurious locks were ragged, dark circles under her eyes, and just.
If she had ever seen melancholy in a person, this was it right here.
"Oh, whirligirl."
In went the redhead, barging past Sasha and into her room, inspecting it. She was in her coat (cleaned, after the quartermaster gave her the stinkeye) with a tanktop and running shorts underneath, combat boots clopping against the floor.
"Brush. Where is it."
Now was not the time for talking. Just doing. Just go along with it, Sasha.
{[ I wonder, sometimes, if you are aware of how utterly creepy you are. ]}
The acrobat did not dignify this with a response.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:47 pm
<Finally! Someone who can talk some sense into you, my dove. I have not been able to.>
Sasha stumbled out of the way when Clerise came into her room. She did shut the door. The schick of the door locking felt rebellious in a sinful sort of way. The best part?
Sasha didn't even care what anyone might think.
Much.
"Oh, um. Next to the bed. I haven't..." she gestured lamely at herself. Yes, she hadn't brushed her hair in a day or so.
"I'm in my nightgown," Sasha continued dazedly as she moved forward, watching Clerise move about her room. "I wasn't.. expecting company."
<This much is obvious, my sweet little pet. You look absolutely horrid.>
Sasha offered Clerise a shaky smile.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:17 pm
{[ Whatever it is you're planning, let it be known that I don't approve of it. ]} Balthazar warned with icy tones. He had a soft spot for Sasha, it seemed (probably because they were both PRUDES, YEAH SHE SAID IT, BALTHAZAR, YOU'RE A PRUDE-- and did not like it in the slightest that Clerise could be a bad influence on her.
Which, if they were being honest, probably didn't help his cause.
With a hop and a skip, Clerise bounded to the nightstand, snatching up the brush and twirling it like she was a cowboy and it was a revolver. "Sit." She gestured to the bed, seeing as there weren't many other places to git 'er done. "Unless you want to sit on the floor." She grinned a little, crooked per the usual.
It was a wonder no one found her creepy.
"That you are. I'd apologize for barging in, but I'm not that sorry, am I?" She hopped onto the bed, curling her feet up under herself, patting the bed. "Let me fix that. I'll do it nicer this time."
{[ You are. The worst. ]}
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:02 pm
Sasha rubbed the side of her nose idly for a moment, weighing her options. Nona, while being as gentle as she could be with Sasha, was still Nona. In all fairness, though, the weapon was doing her very best to seem like she was not using any horrible persuasion tactics.
She was.
<On the bed, then, my dove. Let the nice ghoul brush your hair. She is Nona's favorite, after all. Such a sweet ghoul, this one.>
Nona, they are all your favorites.
<Yes, but thissss one. Look how she only wishes to take the very best care of you. Sasha, my sweet, you have been neglecting yourself. It is so sad, hmm?>
Nona did have a point. Sasha clambered onto the bed. She drew her knees up to her chest (while holding the hem of her nightgown carefully in place), crossed her ankles and wrapped her arms around her shins.
<Now lean back, juuuust a bit, my love. So she can get all of your pretty hair.>
Thanks, Nona. I'm.. sorry I've been so hard on you lately.
Nona purred. <Nona only has your best interests in mind, my sweet. You mustn't forget this.>
"Thanks for coming by, Clerise," Sasha sighed heavily. "I just.. haven't felt like. I don't know. Doing anything. You know, since the mission. And you don't have to apologize. We're ...friends, right? That's what friends do? They help each other."
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:17 pm
Clerise nearly purred with contentment as Sasha acquiesced, reaching up to card her fingers through Sasha's hair, slowly working out the tangles as gently as she could with her fingers.
It was an Ordeal, given how thick Sasha's lovely hair was.
{[ Do not even THINK about it. ]} I wasn't! Really! Don't be an a**, Captain! Look, I'm replying in my head, I'm LEARNING.
Clerise nearly purred as she worked through the hair with her fingers, going inch by inch. "It feels a little like doing a fat lot of diddly squat," Clerise agrees. "Feels like I do okay till we go on a mission, an important one, and then i can't do anything right." She was confiding, too, and kept her tone carefully light.
She blocked out the sound of Sandy's screams knocking around in her head.
"We're friends," she murmured in response to Sasha's half statement, half inquiry. Clerise finally started using the brush, starting at the ends, using small, sweeping motions to restore the luster she knew Sasha's hair had.
If she was being completely honest with herself, this was half therapy for Clerise as well. "I don't honestly know why I'm here, except for the fact that I don't have much to go back to, so might as well stay, you know?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:59 pm
"Yes. A ... a fat lot of diddly squat." Sasha emphasized the last word harshly. Gosh, but it felt good to be able to talk to someone who really understood where she was coming from. A friend.
Someone who was on the bottom of the ladder. Just like Sasha.
Someone who had to work their way to the top. Just like Sasha.
<Someone with a gentle touch.>
Well. Metaphorically speaking, Nona.
<Someone with soft hands.>
Sasha coughed roughly and peered down at her toes. "I can't do anything right either. And then.. and.. poor Sandy." Sasha's shoulders hunched down. "I keep hearing her scream, you know? Like...that's the first time I ever saw someone die." Was she about to cry? Probably.
"I mean, I saw my papa's dead body. But. You know, I didn't see him die."
<Nona would give you such a hug, if only Nona could. Perhaps you should give Clerise a hug.> A long, long pause.
<A gentle, friendly hug.>
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:47 pm
"That's bout as angry as you get, isn't it, whirligirl?" Clerise said with a grin, tugging out a particular harsh knot in her hair.
"Well, we're still learning. If we weren't strong enough, we wouldn't have woken up," the acrobat said with absolute certainty.
There. Knot free. She sighed and dragged her fingers through the long expanse that was Sasha's hair, and settled on massaging her scalp.
"Oh, Sasha," she murmured, tugging the other girl close with some soft shhhing. Sure, Sasha was cute. If she got some confidence, Clerise was pretty sure she could be...well, maybe not sultry, not at first, but foxy!
But... for once, she didn't have anything pervy in mind. Clerise tucked Sasha's head under her chin, strong, lean arms embracing her in a tight hug.
{[ If you do ANYTHING untoward to her... ]} Balthazar warned, bristling, leaving his threat unsaid. ...Er, unthought.
"I'm s**t at motivational speeches. I'm also pretty s**t at this whole emotions schtick." Clerise cleared her throat, fingers still massaging the other girls scalp, in an effort to calm her. "But I don't have jack s**t back for me in the real world, let alone someone who thinks...thought...I was worthy dying for."
Aw man, being a girl sucked sometimes. Clerise wiped a tear from each eye as they watered and threatened to spill over. Crying before timidgirl, way to go, girl. "People have our ******** backs here. Inter-rank, inter division, whatever. We are Hunters, and I still don't ********' know what that REALLY means, but..." A shrug. "Dunno where I'm really going with this. Sorry for talkin' your ear off, whirligirl."
The ~*~*moment*~*~ may or may not have been ruined by the fact that Sasha's face was very much pressed against Clerise's bosom.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:24 pm
The raucous sounds of one very pleased Nona immediately began clattering through Sasha's mind. It took the trainee a long moment to understand exactly what was going on. She wasn't alarmed, she wasn't upset. Sasha was just kind of... amazed at how comforting Clerise's hug was.
Haltingly Sasha wrapped her arms around Clerise, gently patting the other woman's back.
"Shh, shh. You're... not um."
<Don't stop, Sasha. Can you not see how badly this one needs you?>
"You're not uh..."
<Go on, dove. You can do it, my sweet ghoul.>
"You're not s**t at anything, Clerise."
< O: >
emotion_jawdrop
Oh, dang, girl. Oh dang.
She hoped that her words would make Clerise feel better. It kind of made her feel better to say such a horrible thing. Her father was probably turning in his grave.
Sasha hugged Clerise tighter, pulling back just enough to peer into her eyes. "You're right. We're still... we're still learning. And it's okay to mess up, you know? Not like.. in a way that we endanger anyone else, but you know what?"
<Please, do go on, my little bird. Perhaps you should hug this one a bit closer, hmm?>
"We do have people here that think we're worth dying for, right?"
Right?
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 10:06 pm
Clerise laughed, nuzzling her face into Sasha's hair, sighing a bit. "I am absolutely s**t at everything--but that's okay. Got to start somewhere. Better messing up now as a trainee instead of down the line, yeah?"
She definitely hadn't expected Sasha to be in the comforted position, instead of doing the comforting, but life was full of little surprises.
"I'm sure Clarice does," Clerise says with absolute certainty. "She pretends to be a tough thing, but she secretly has a soft spot for most of us." She thought. Maybe. Maybe not Jerry, after he'd been drunk all over her room, but she wasn't...sure. "She's like a momma duck, you talk to her much?" Clerise flopped backwards, curled up on her side, tugging Sasha down with her.
Oh yes.
There would be spooning on this day.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:12 am
Sasha allowed her self to be tugged down, far too deep in thought to think that this whole cozy situation might be considered improper. Funny thing, that - all Sasha wanted to do was to comfort Clerise and be comforted in return. Thus far there hadn't been any sort of contact that made Sasha feel alarmed. Maybe this was what sisters did? Sasha had always dreamed of having a sister.
"You're right, I guess. You have to start somewhere." Her brows flinched in a slight frown. Failure had never been an option where her papa was concerned, but then again he hadn't been asking her to wield weapons or kill monsters. This was different. This wasn't so simple anymore.
Resting her head on her folded arm, Sasha gave a thoughtful hum.
"No, I've never met Clarice. Do you think I should meet her? I mean. I met her when the Doctor exploded her in the classroom. At least, I think that was her." Sasha fell silent for a long moment.
"I think Candace might care. Maybe Robert, too." Yes, apparently all of the nice people would care, according to Sasha.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:37 pm
Clerise curled around the other girl, using her like an overly large teddy bear, contemplative. "If you want, we can spar sometime. I'm no ********' pro, but hell, practice is practice, yeah?" The older woman hummed a little, running her hair through Sasha's hair. She'd braid it in a little while. "No ********' thinking about it, whirligirl. You're GOING to meet her, if I have to drag you down to her office myself." She pat Sasha's shoulder, reassuring. "That was her golem-thing-- looks like, not really her. ********' weird, though, but yeah. It was...wearing her face, I guess. But! Whatever." Clerise had a feeling the Life assistant would want to mother the ******** out of Sasha. "That's a good solid start." The redhead brushed some hair back from Sasha's forehead, lost in thought. It was a little depressing, actually, at how grim the subject was-- who will give a s**t when I kick the bucket?
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 3:35 pm
"I think maybe Jerry would care, too," Sasha added on softly, almost as an afterthought. "He gave me a kazoo. To help me focus. Before I could use my music... but I left that all behind me."
She fell silent for a brief moment.
"I could.. I mean, we should spar. Just." Sasha wiggled onto her back, turning her head so that she could peer at Clerise.
"You have to promise not to like.. you know, be gentle. Or.. take it easy." She rolled her head back and peered wordlessly at the ceiling, though a smile tilted the corners of her lips.
"Pretend I'm Robert." Sasha twittered softly, finding that silly thought wildly entertaining.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 9:56 pm
Clerise growled just a little as Jerry was mentioned. If it wasn't for that little alcoholic dweeb the good Doctor wouldn't have given her the staring down she had, nor would have Candace ******** slapped her and started the trouble to begin wi--
Rational, Clerise. Let's be rational. "Mmm. When he was stupid drunk, he kept rambling about music. Sang a bit, too. Music's not my thing." The redhead shrugged as best as she could laying down, lips slightly pursed.
"Spar?" She laughed, trying to imagine Sasha-in-Robert's-body and vice versa, poking her square between the eyes. "Promise you won't cry and it's a deal, whirligirl. And I won't even have to pretend you're Robert."
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