Scene #9042: The Worst Thing to Say to Petra

Owner	Pose
Casey Muir	Petra gets a rat-mail! It is: A handwritten card, calligraphed with decent (if not professional) skill, inviting her to a seaside cafe to chat with the Keeper of the Grove on matters of importance. The card is delivered by a rat. The rat is very polite, but it doesn't stick around. The spot isn't hard to find, not least because the Keeper of the Grove stands out at 10 feet tall, dressed formally and bearing a vine coronet and bracelets, and glowing faintly even in the seaside daylight. Next to to them at the table is a well-built man, standing at attention, and openly carrying a rifle on his back. There's enough privacy here to talk without being overheard, but not enough privacy to make a scene without it being noticed. This is probably intentional? "Miss Soroka. Blessings and warm wishes upon you. Thank you for making time to meet with me," says the Keeper. "I was hoping to speak with you briefly about Miss Rook and yourself."
Petra Soroka	Leaning up against the brick exterior wall of her apartment, Petra squints at the card after the deliveryrat politely hands it to her with its adorable little teeth. She reads it a second time, tries to remember the name, and hastily searches back through her logged radio conversations to see if she can place it. Once the rat has scurries away, she looks up at Twopence, floating beside her. "Was that, like, a friend of yours?" A seaside cafe isn't, actually, somewhere that Petra often gets a reason to go to. Not having particularly high hopes for the meeting itself-- and optimistically, if it does go well, then she won't be exhausted by it!-- Petra dresses up for 'a day on the boardwalk', rather than a serious Elite discussion. Loose flared capris and a pale denim jacket with its sleeves rolled up to the elbow balance her outfit between the end-of-summer air and the coastal breeze, and the gold nosepiece of the sunglasses pushed up onto her forehead matches the lily hanging from her neck. She snaps a quick picture of herself, two fingers up in a peace sign with the sand and ocean behind her, and stands still for a moment to send it to someone with the caption 'see? i do normal healthy things'. After hitting send, she lifts her face up to be jumpscared by the normal and healthy sight of a ten foot tall glowing person waiting by a table for her. "Yo," Petra walks up, sliding her phone back into her pocket. Her open carrying is much less impressive than a rifle, with just the plasticky transteam gun hanging on her hip. "Well, I had today off." "I was hoping to speak with you briefly about Miss Rook and yourself." Petra sighs, and gets ahead of the two questions she can predict. Without sitting down, she leans a hand on the table, collar jingling lightly when she tilts her head. "No, we're not dating; and no, we're not trying to kill each other."
Casey Muir	The man glances at Petra's piece, making it known that he sees it, but otherwise doesn't shift stance or react. He has a weapon, she has a weapon. It may be plasticy and look like a toy, but he doesn't seem to discount it. "I... did not think you were," says the Keeper, with the tone of voice of someone who's wondering if they just stepped into the deep end of the pool. "But I did want to suggest, perhaps you should spend some time apart from her." This is already a downgrade from 'Maybe you shouldn't hang out with her at all', which was their original opening move here. Baby steps are needed for the allegedly un-homicidal codependence situation here. "From what I understand, there might be a certain amount of... unhealthy enabling? Going both ways? Like... two trees, growing too close together, and stunting each others' growth. From what I have seen and heard, you could stand to, shall we say say, take a break of a month or two from each other. Or three." "Give each of yourselves some breathing room and space to grow, and perhaps when you reunite, perhaps you will no longer need to lead with a disclaimer that you are not trying to kill each other."
Petra Soroka	"--Huh? What the fuck? Why?" Petra doesn't even let Casey explain before jolting in defensive suprise, instantly shifted from exasperation to wary mistrust. In an aggressive posture almost completely undercut by the fact that the Keeper is literally twice her height, Petra crosses her arms and puffs up to glare at their eyes, waist-high attempting to slightly edge into their personal space. "You've got the wrong fucking idea, and maybe you should try sticking around and listening for longer than five fucking minutes before deciding you know what's best for me and Lilian. I'm not taking a break from her, fucking Christ." It's actually sooooo cool to be codependent. The fact that the suggestion, even imagining it, spikes Petra's heart rate to the point that the flash of alarm is plainly visible in the widening of her eyes and the twitch of her microexpressions is actually completely normal. "You literally don't even know why we're like that-- or, like, you see us like that. It's not even like being two trees. I'm more like-- like, one of those vines, that's got a mutualistic relationship with a tree, or whatever, to help it grow better." Petra is pretty sure that there's vines that do that, and not just parasitic vines. "I start with that fucking disclaimer because I know none of you fucking people are ever able to actually look at what's going on and listen to the things we say without coming to your own fucking insane conclusions. And look at that. I was completely fucking right, as always."
Casey Muir	Oh no, Casey was wrong. This isn't the deep end of the pool. This feels like Hollywood Quicksand. She has to force back the first couple reactions that occur to her, and fight to keep the Keeper persona from slipping. The Keeper brings one hand up to their mouth. "I see..." "It sounds as if you believe you are right about this matter and everyone else is wrong. Perhaps you know yourself best. If you say it is like that, then perhaps it is so." That's as much of a noncommittal answer as the Keeper can manage. "Do your other friends think the same? That this is a mutualistic relationship?"
Petra Soroka	"It sounds as if you believe you are right about this matter and everyone else is wrong." Petra clears her throat. "That's right." She might not be the best subject for a measured and reasonable diplomatic discussion. If anything, Casey being uncomfortable seems to embolden her further, and she tilts her chin up aggressively. Given that her chin is already nearly horizontal in order to look ten feet up, it doesn't change much, but it's about the message. "My friends--" Petra cuts off, running through the checklist in her head. She goes silent for a long, awkward stretch, face slowly lowering to look out to the ocean instead of upwards at the Keeper. Angela, of course, does. She doesn't have any proof otherwise; same with Cinder, but Cinder mostly just trusts Petra to be right in general. Rita is openly uncomfortable with it. She and Lilian have argued about Meika plenty. Xion is a lot gentler than Petra, but she definitely understands where Petra is coming from. There's also... ... Tamamo isn't Petra's friend at all, but she hates it. Phony also isn't Petra's friend, and she's nearly got the opposite of Petra's opinions. Woz... respects Petra for it, at least. Who else...? "... Um. Most of them. That's why they're my friends." The qualified, tautological declaration that Petra eventually comes up with is about as unconvincing as possible. "And besides. It only matters what Lilian thinks. And it was worse before we were close, and I will make things better for her. So who the fuck are you to say otherwise?"
Casey Muir	This is... progress? Sort of? Kind of? Forcing someone into cognitive dissonance is a form of making them acknowledge the problem, right? That's what Casey's figuring is happening inside Petra's head, anyway. Casey can't be the only one who sees this, especially based on what she's heard on the radio from others. There have to be at least a few people in Petra's camp that don't see things the same way Petra does. ... And the unconvincing response just proves her right, she figures. Okay, mask back on. Back to being the font of wisdom and patience that is the Keeper. "Perhaps I should not say otherwise." The direct approach did some progress (of a sort), but not enough to justify the difficulty and friction. So: "If your friends are seeing parts of your relationship that I cannot, and have insights and wisdoms that I do not have, then perhaps the way forward for me to understand is for us to be friends." "Would you like that, Petra?" The Keeper leans forward and folds her hands together on the table. "Would you like to be friends?"
Petra Soroka	Petra is loomed over and exposed to the hopeful power of friendship, and she accordingly leans backwards at the hip awkwardly. Her train of thought, and the ensuing realization of the dearth of friends that she has, has her off-guard enough to be weirded-out and uncomfortable with the Keeper's proposition, but not immediately spitting on her and mocking her. "Uh-- no? No. Um. I wouldn't. I don't know anything about you, and you immediately insulted me when we met, and you're way too tall." The idea that these three things are all equally valid reasons to not be friends with someone only makes sense in Petra's head, but she would feel weird with a friend that's ten feet tall. Peer height bounds are important for relatable dynamics! "And anyways, I just said. I've been saying. I'm the enemy of the entire fucking world, and the only people I can be friends with are the people who I don't have to fucking beat or eviscerate in order to make them decent for Lilian. It's not easy or a given to just 'be my friend'. Ask--" Petra snickers, caught by surprise by a thought that pops up in her head. "Ask Hibiki if it's easy."
Casey Muir	"No? Well, that is a shame, I suppose." The Keeper takes in stride the declaration that their height is a fault, as if they had control over it (which they do). "I am sorry but I do doubt you are the enemy of the entire world. I doubt you would be alive to speak with me if that were truly the case." "I will go speak with Hibiki next, then, and see what insights they may have. Thank you for coming to meet with me, Miss Soroka. You may go." As if the Keeper really were holding court here, and Petra's approach and dismissal are not under her own control but instead at the Keeper's pleasure.
Petra Soroka	"Yeah, well, fucking everyone's surprised I'm still alive, so join the club. Welcome to Sector Zero, enjoy your fucking stay." Petra clicks her tongue when Casey acts like she can dismiss her, attuned to the posturing and snotty enough to do it right back. She straightens up and flips back her hair, shrugging and looking over to the main cafe building in a single gesture. "I may, but I haven't even gotten any food yet. So I'll do that, and then I'll enjoy my time at the beach. I'll see you around, I bet." While in line for some fish and chips, Petra idly wonders if she should send Hibiki a heads up. This quickly morphs into wondering if she should send Hibiki a heads up via mechanical ratmail, with Twopence holding a little mailman's bag slung over his little body. The thought of Hibiki opening up her door to not one, but two rats holding mail for her, entertains her enough to keep her mind off of being petulantly annoyed at the interaction with Casey.