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 Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 3:17 pm
Leona had never been happier to be back on Earth. Back in Destiny City, and she gave Ekstrom an apologetic smile and held out the bag with the food. “I’m…So sorry for freaking out. But my brain was just screaming at me that it was all a trap and you were going to cut me open and experiment on me, and I just…the morgue was not a good look for me…”
Her words were coming fast, and she was clearly…distressed. And worried that she had messed everything up.
“...I hope this doesn’t…ruin things for you, and I hope we can still…you know. Be friends or…civil or whatever…do you want some cheesecake? I…we can eat it here? At least there’s a bench we can sit on…and it’s really good, I’ve had it from this store before…it’s honestly one of my favorites…”
Her legs were trembling, Leona realized and she sat on the bench, gesturing to seem as though she were only doing it because she knew the bench was there and wanted to illustrate her point. But.
“Apple juice too! Super good…cider would have been better but they were all sold out…”
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 6:15 pm
It was a little disappointing to have to leave her Wonder so soon after arriving there, but given the situation, Ekstrom more than understood. She waved off Leona’s apology and smiled softly at the senshi. “Don’t even worry about it,” she said, “hopefully, if you’re still willing to visit, we’ll wind up somewhere a little more…uh…guest-friendly, so to speak.”
Because no, the morgue was most certainly not guest-friendly.
Not to mention the effect it seemed to have on Leona caused her smile to falter. The girl looked shaken, and when she sat on the bench Ekstrom followed suit and looked her over quickly.
“Cheesecake and juice sounds like a good snack after that.” Thinking back on one of her favorite scenes from the Harry Potter series, she added, “Shame we don’t have chocolate. That’d probably be lots of help, too.” That brightened her expression just a bit, and she scooted to make some space between them to act as the “table” for the food.
“I have some water in my subspace, too, if you want some after.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 6:35 pm
“I just…have a really overactive imagination. It’s something that I’m learning about myself. Have been learning about myself lately…Freaked out when I met my friends horse too, so like. It’s not just you. Horses are ******** huge.” It was a statement, but the way that Leona said it…it was clear that the horses had freaked her out just as much as the morgue.
Death was…certainly on her mind and she didn’t like it.
Pulling the cheesecake out, she winced as she pulled off the noisy plastic cover and began to cut slices out, one for each of them. “Here you go. And water might be nice after. Push down some of the sugar.”
…Not that sugar really bothered her that much…she worked in a candy store for goodness sakes.
“...Besides the morgue…what have you found? And you…really didn’t make the morgue to trap me? I mean…obviously I’m not trapped so…but…yeah…”
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 7:39 pm
”I think overactive is better than the opposite,” the Squire said thoughtfully, though with the way Leona’s reaction to a horse seemed to match her reaction to a morgue she wondered exactly how overactive her imagination was. So she reached over with a comforting pat on the shoulder, because it felt like the right thing to do in that moment.
“Thank you,” she said as she took the offered slice, small stars in her eyes as she looked over the delectable treat before happily taking a bite.
Ekstrom swallowed that first bite before giving the other an energetic smile. “So far, the ‘lobby’ so to speak, my quarters, a power grid, a maze, a lab-type room and research-type room, and a bunch of corridors and locked doors.” The ending was a bit lame, but she was still smiling, clearly proud of every little find on her Wonder. “And no, I didn’t make it. All Wonders are age-old. Far as I understand it, Ekstrom’s been standing for over a thousand years. I’m just taking over as its chosen guardian.”
She took another bite then, and did a little happy bounce where she sat.
She loved cheesecake.
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 7:43 pm
“...You don’t…you didn’t…then how do you make it yours?” Leona looked at the Squire with a look that was almost pitying. If…her Wonder wasn’t really hers...what was the point? At least Leona’s Realm was what Leona wanted it to be…and it was hers, from beginning to end…not something she had just…
“I…that kind of sucks, honestly…I like my system better. So far as I’m aware, my Realm is just…mine. I don’t have to guard anything, nothing started out broken…or locked or…whatever.”
Taking a bite of her cheesecake, she chuckled slightly at Ekstrom’s reaction and then shook her head. “Honestly, it really just makes me glad I’m not a Knight. No offense.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 7:49 pm
”None taken,” came her reply alongside a shake of her head. To each their own, after all, and while she had to admit that being able to create a Realm of her own might have been an awesome prospect, she also fully, truly loved her Wonder for what it was. It was odd to think that she had such a sentimental attachment to a place she’d only known about for just a little over a year, but here she was.
“It is pretty cool that you can create your own space, so I don’t really blame you for that. Still, I love that place. I have these memories sometimes, when I walk through there, and I get to see it from back when it was busy and actually being used as the research facility it was meant to be. It makes me dream of bringing back as much of that as I can, y’know? See it come to life again.”
She wore a fond smile as she settled on that thought for a moment, and then proceeded to gobble up the rest of her cheesecake.
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 8:11 pm
Memories? So not only was the space not hers, but she had to deal with memories that weren’t hers too? No thank you.
Leona was right where she needed to be in all of this. A place where all she had to do was get a little energy every once in a while, and she could relax and just build the little island of her dreams. No pesky memories or…well. Anything she didn’t want, really.
“I guess I can see where you’re coming from…I don’t know…I don’t think it’s for me! I’m glad that you like it…and I hope…when you get the doors fixed…so we don’t get stuck in the morgue. Write me then, won’t you? I do want to see the place, I just…maybe not the morgue? But…I want to go back up, someday. If you’ll have me.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 8:24 pm
”Yeah! I’m hoping it’s soon, but we’ll see.”
She sighed a bit wistfully at that. There really was no way to tell, but she was still trying to stay optimistic about it. She had her up and down moments with it, of course, but if she focused on the negatives more than the positives she had a feeling she’d get dragged into one of her episodes, so she did her best not to.
“Once I figure it out, though, I’ll definitely let you know!”
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2024 8:29 pm
That sounds good to me....hey, you keep the cheesecake in apology for freaking out so bad, okay? I'm literally...I have more candy in my life than I know what to do with, and you seem to really like it so...enjoy it!"
The apple juice hadn't left the bag, and Leona picked up her half eaten plate and smiled, it was a little dimmer than she wanted, but she was feeling rather guilty. Even so. "I hope we meet again, either by chance or luck or you writing me! Good luck, Ekstrom!"
And without another word, Leona almost fled into the nearest mirror, protecting her cheesecake and her juice.
What a wasted opportunity...why did she have to be like this?
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