Scene #9267: Disaster Night 2

Owner	Pose
Audrey Basque	It's friday night! Audrey has just returned from a shopping trip with Sylvie and Maria; she didn't end up buying much, because it was really more an obligation to stop them from harping on her too much, and make up for not having had time for them of late. Someone smarter would notice what an awful friendship that is. Mercifully, a day of classes and then a brief outing had been enough to restore her morale, or at least get it back somewhere in the realm of what it was before Lilian took her greatsword and smashed it right into-- "Ah. Nothing," she says, looking at her phone. No missed texts or messages. Guess the night is hers then. She puts the bags next to the bed and unbuttons her blazer, sitting on the couch to catch her breath a bit. She'd kept her radio off, mostly because it'd be rude to her friends to have her earpiece on while they were out shopping. "... did I eat?" She mentally maps the course of her day. Breakfast, shower, class, class, class, several hours at the mall... oh. Shame the food is all the way across the room. She can just have a big breakfast in the morning, that'll be fine. Sleeping in a ball against her door wasn't exactly restful to begin with, so now she's just totally under the weather without something to stimulate her.
Petra Soroka	Today was a frustrating and emotionally... draining day, to phrase it one way. Her lunch with Sougo was-- not actually a lunch at all, since she walked out before getting any food-- the kind of thing that demands that she ruminate over it for the entire day afterwards, and at some point after multiple hours, that stops being productive. So, with every single one of her bars down in the red, Petra decides to rely on social support structures to feel better, and hopefully be able to provide in turn. Even with an open invitation, she figures she has to text and ask first, but she's already walking into the nearby town to access its small warpgate when she sends Audrey the messages. During her transit, she starts to feel weird about showing up wearing the same hoodie every time-- it feels almost more suspicious, and not particularly good at concealing her identity, and she doesn't have a selection of other hoodies to choose from. Also, it feels bad to look like a slob. So in one of the warpgate hub restrooms, she fishes through her mirror to figure out some other outfit, gives up, and goes to grab an oversized souvenir t-shirt from one of the shops in the hubs to toss on over a pair of shorts. Vaguely adorable, but also comfy and sad-looking! Then it's on the familiar path to the dorms, during which Petra has to think about how strange it is for it to be familiar. It's the same warpgate network she's taken several times now, but even more than that, she remembers which dorm building, and which room, and how to navigate there, so she doesn't even need to be led around this time. She tries to be surreptitious: this does not result in nobody seeing her, but it does result in the people who do seeing her as acting surreptitious. Petra has the mortifying obstacle of needing to knock to announce her presence, which forces her to stand out in the hallway for several more seconds. She's also not freely comfortable quite enough to just knock and then enter, so that's however many more seconds it takes for Audrey to stand up and let her in. When she does, Petra slips inside like she's in a hurry-- she is, but just to get out of sightlines that make her nervous. Once she's inside, she's back to being droopily tired looking, and maybe a little flushed from the walk. "Hey, sorry for... you know, short notice. I just got the impulse and decided to follow through on it. Also, have you eaten anything? I haven't eaten, like, all day, so I bought some food on the way over."
Audrey Basque	See, Audrey made one mistake. She'd put her phone on the table. Whatever text or mail she gets this late can't possibly be urgent, right? On a friday night, especially. The knock at the door elicits a sigh, and so Audrey rises, slowly, and opens the door, looking like she really could use a nap. "P-Petra!" Audrey wakes the hell up. She grabs Petra by the shirt and yanks her inside. Then she looks outside to see if anyone saw that, and closes the door behind her. And locks it. She might be a bit spooked, thanks to Lilian. "N-No, it's alright, I wasn't doing anything, and... I hadn't... eaten, no, so..." Audrey pauses, and looks down. She hastily rebuttons her blazer. "How are you? Not having eaten aside." She shuffles over towards couch, where they can put the food on the small table in front of it and rest. "What did you bring?" She's not a picky eater, but it's always nice to know.
Petra Soroka	Getting grabbed by her collar and pulled inside the room with the door slamming shut behind her wasn't the greeting Petra was expecting, but it's also not a first for her. Her shirt being as loose as it is means that Audrey gets less leverage than she'd expect by yanking on it, so there's enough time for Petra to make an undignified 'wah--!' before the door closes. Petra stumbles an extra half-step forwards, and awkwardly fluffs out her shirt to mostly un-wrinkle it, embarrassedly looking off to the corner of the room while Audrey reclothes herself. "Not, uh-- not busy studying or anything? Sorry, I didn't check for, um, a response. I got distracted by one of the other new Concord Partners threatening to murder me on sight, yet again." "Anyways," Petra pulls out her compact mirror and flips it open, withdrawing a slightly greasy paper bag from Qetra's hand and setting it on the table, with the smell of still-warm burgers and fries. "I just got some fast food. Burgers? You're not lactose intolerant or anything, right?" She sits down on the floor beside the table and stretches out, one leg underneath the coffee table and the other pulled up to her chest, healing a bit in a Safe Zone. "I'm doing... well, I had a bit of a rough afternoon, but I'm alright. Sougo wanted to talk about some stuff, and he... pissed me off, a bit. But I'm holding up without the therapeutic power of ice cream, at least. How about-- wait, wasn't the meeting with Lilian...?"
Audrey Basque	"I wouldn't bother studying on a friday night, if I had something urgent to study for the next monday I'd open the books sunday. I'm ahead on my work, so..." Audrey shakes her head in a it doesn't matter way, because it really doesn't. "I'm sorry, again, though? Who was it the fir--" Oh. Probably the princess. That would check out. "I think I can guess." Onward to better topics. "I accept your offering of burgers." That should answer the question too. She sits on the floor, rather than the couch, since Petra's already set the example. "Sorry about your afternoon. I don't think I've gotten to meet this Sougo yet?" Why did the name sound familiar? Something someone said on her first day or two. The meeting with-- oh. Right. "Yesterday. It went alright. She attracted quite the crowd, and her teasing is... lethal. But she gave me some advice I have to think about." She considers whether to tell Petra or not about what Lilian said about her, specifically, and opts not to cross that line tonight. Petra seems like she needs a less awful evening than her afternoon was. "It could've gone a lot worse. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking most of the time. I think she was either trying to intimidate me away from this life style, or maybe she was pitying me. Or both." Audrey shrugs. "Don't worry about it. Good terms." Kind of. "Well, in the absence of ice cream, shall we dig into the burgers?"
Petra Soroka	Cutting off Audrey's terribly hopeful assumption that Petra's again meant 'twice', she shakes her head. "Nah, it happens all the time. If I took them all seriously I wouldn't feel safe walking outside without Sting Silver on-- not that they don't mean it, I just don't believe they have the guts. Not anymore; not to me." This time, Petra isn't collapsed on the floor out of the sheer thunderstrike of misery like last time, but there's still something more familiar and intimate about sitting in the gap between the coffee table and the couch. If she thought about it, she could spin up some insane-sounding theory about people's relationship with furniture and the hierarchies of treating household objects in certain ways, but really, it's just comfortable to not be so far away from the table. There's activities for the couch, and activities for the floor, and they're different categories. "Really? You haven't met Sougo?" Petra looks surprised, unpacking the cardboard cartons to lay out the food neatly in front of herself and Audrey. "Damn. I guess I'm hoarding all your time, huh? He's the Demon King of Time, aspirationally. He tried to offer me a plan to make the... recent stuff with Lobcorp suck less, but I'm pretty sure he was mostly just blaming himself and coping." Talking about it, as opposed to lying on the cold ground in the wilderness and thinking about it alone, makes it less of an emotional burden all on its own. Already more energized than she was when she entered, she hums a few notes to herself while pulling out two cups of soda to add them to the collection. "Sprite, coke, neither? I'm fine with whichever you don't want." Then, Lilian, which Petra was compelled to ask about but not thrilled to actually hear about. At least Audrey's recounting of it doesn't worsen her mood at all, and even lets her tentatively nod in approval. "Oh, yeah. She's got a thing about... people's purpose in being here. Elites. She has a really strong stance on 'people who choose to be here', compared to 'people who have nowhere else they could be', and doesn't think it's a line of work to be entered casually." "Like, do you know just how many Elites are, like, fresh out of high school, here instead of going to college or whatever? Or even in high school? All insisting that it's their absolute duty to be here because of their stupid power or whatever, and not thinking about literally anything else." Petra lets out a short laugh. "I mean, I was just eighteen when I joined the Watch, so..." Petra silently mouths 'shall we dig into the burgers' to herself with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, then pops open her carton to start nibbling away at hers. "We could totally hit the Playbricks, though, if you want. Or watch a movie-- I brought a laptop this time."
Audrey Basque	"More than twice isn't an improvement!" Audrey protests, but abandons the argument she knows she can't win. Petra can clearly handle herself. "Oh! The Demon King of Time! Someone mentioned him my first time on the radio. ... is he actually that?" It's got to be just a title, right? When offered a drink, Audrey selects the coke, because she's completely normal like that. She cracks it open, sipping while Petra states her thoughts on Lilian. With a nod afterwards, she says: "That's the impression I got. She seemed... adamant someone like me, with a choice, really shouldn't be here." She laughs, because it's the only response she can think of. "Well, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I had a decision to make and I'm not going to just get scared now." But also, the way it almost felt she was being looked down on, made her want to try even harder. To prove her wrong. "Oh! We didn't get to play last time, that's right." She reaches into her blazer, pulling out the assortment of games, playbricks, link cables and -- is she just always carrying that in her pocketspace? Then, and only then, she takes a bite out of the provided burger. It's nice to eat slop every once in a while. Especially like this. "I just hope Angela doesn't think I'm her burden or anything like that. Or you. If something happened to me, it'd be my own fault, really. It's what I'm signing up for." That's a bit out of left field.
Petra Soroka	"He is in the future, at least. I've met Ohma Zi-O a few times-- that's Sougo from the future. Cool guy. He helped me out with some stuff, but he also tried to kill Woz before, so it's a bit of a mixed bag." Audrey's next statement-- particularly, 'don't worry, I'm not going anywhere'-- makes her face twist a bit. She puts down her burger and very thoroughly swipes off her hands with a napkin before working her way through her fries in between sentences. "I mean... I think the worst reason it can possibly be is out of 'pride'. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we met," Petra says it without even blinking, "But I wouldn't, uh... think badly of you if you heard her advice, felt like it applied to you, and stepped down. I just don't think it does-- apply to you, I mean." Petra leans back against the couch, knees propped up between her chest and the table. She rolls her head to the side to look over at Audrey. "Like, I'm sure it's not really just education opportunities. You don't need to say what it is, that drove you out here. Just, uh, feel certain that it's something you couldn't do anywhere else." "Even if it's not a... big reason, or a healthy reason. I mean, mine definitely wasn't healthy, and it was just personal. But I definitely couldn't do it anywhere else." Petra, the girl who at this moment has all of her belongings, including a Nintendo DS, carried on her person inside a mirror, looks impressed when Audrey just whips the Playbricks out. "Oh, damn, you're prepared. The whole kit and everything." "You mean if you died?" Petra just says it straightly blunt, skipping past the euphemism. "I mean... yeah, it is what you signed up for. I'd be pretty upset, and, like..." Petra trails off, thinking about how the words 'I would try to find a way to bring you back to life' were just about to come out of her mouth, contrasted with Sougo earlier in the day. She looks like she's fighting a weight off of her chest for a minute, then pushes through and continues. "I'll do my best to help you avoid that. But I mean... the Library's not even dangerous anymore. Lilian might not know that yet. If it's anyone's fault besides yours, it'd be mine, and..." Petra struggles to find a way to finish that sentence, and eventually settles on the dull, "... and a lot of things are my fault."
Audrey Basque	"... oh. Oh. I see. Demon King of Time. Got it," Audrey says, in a tone and with a stare that imply she does not, in fact, totally get it, but she's ready to just roll with it and take Petra exactly at her word. Guess she'll see what this is about once she gets to meet Sougo. When the topic circles back to the advice, and the consequences of the choice, Audrey simply stares at her burger, not even turning when Petra looks her way. "I don't think it applies to me, no. I'm not going to be a Demon Queen of Time, and I don't have lofty goals to become something different like Angela, but what I want to do, I can only do here, and I'm determined to do it. I appreciate Miss Rook's advice, and if it ever becomes too much, I'll make my decision then. But in the meantime... I don't hate this. I don't hate the Concord, or the Library, or you. It's overwhelming. It's a lot to take in. It's new, it's... scary, a bit. But it's also..." What she wanted, the first time she saw her? "W-Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's okay. I'm okay. And I'll keep being okay. A-And, I'll try not to become your problem. Or Angela's. So, don't start blaming yourself already for something that hasn't even happened yet... and won't happen." Right, instead, let's discuss the video games she dumped all around while eating burgers and fries. That's much better. "Spatial magic~," she smiles. "I don't need a bag, just pockets. I've always got my essentials on me." Are the Playbricks essentials? "... and the Playbricks." She wouldn't want to just admit it. ... but they are.
Petra Soroka	"Good, then. I mean, you don't have to argue with me about you sticking around, hah." Petra swallows her last bite of fries, and then relaxes with her legs spread out under the table, arms thrown back onto the cushion behind her head. She can think of reasons that Audrey might have to be an Elite, even without her saying them. The evasiveness is familiar, and a little endearing. The only reason anyone talks like that, assuming they're not just lying, is if their goal is one of internal self-creation and defining themselves better within and without the world they typically exist in. It might seem small to other people, but Petra respects it. It's not like she's going to be the Demon Queen of Time either, but the crucible of Elite violence and the social untethering of traveling between worlds is what Petra came out here to pursue too. Monk-like, she closes her eyes and considers how enforcing your ideals on your self through combat is one of the things she respects the most. "If you ever need help with it, I'm always here to. I know there's probably parts you can only do yourself, but feel free to rely on me whenever you want." With her meal done, Petra pushes herself up and flops on Audrey's couch, belly-down. She fishes around her pocket for a second, remembers that the pockets on her shorts were too small to fit it, and squirms around to pull the Silver bottle off of its holster on her ankle. She pops the cap, and a droplet of morphmetal floats out to wrap in a ring around her soda cup, lifting it up through the air and holding it under Petra's lips as she dangles her face off the side of the couch so she can sip through the straw. "You know, I used to get really jealous that I never developed telekinesis like a lot of the kids. No idea why-- I mean, I can do it to the Beauty of Ash and myself, but none of that real spoon-bender shit. Kinda nice that I've got a way to bootstrap fake it, now." "Anyways!" Petra folds her arms underneath her chin, lying down at just about face-to-face height. "What're you thinking of playing? I'm sure you've got opinions. I'm pretty alright at fighting games and stuff, or shooters, but I don't know if the Playbrick's got any good ones."
Audrey Basque	"I'll be sure to ask if there's anything I need help with," Audrey nods, noting Petra's growing comfort. She's certainly not going to complain, though... She has a way of coming across a terribly sympathetic character, once you've gotten past the initial shock of her behaviour. But please believe me when I say that the typhoon that follows her is entirely of her own making, and fully her own preference. Audrey frowns. Not because she believes it, but because it's lingering despite the disbelief. Lilian's station meant what she said automatically weighed more. "Oh, telekinesis? I can fake it too. I think your way is cooler than mine. I just change objects' gravity to make them move the way I want them to. It's not especially precise, because that's not what gravity is for, but it's a nice, if demanding, workaround." She demonstrates by flicking a finger towards one of the Playbricks, tugging at some kind of invisible string and causing it to rise in the air, and then gently float towards Petra. What games, though? "I've got all sorts, but... do you like party games? You know, those ones with the big boards and the thousand different minigames?" Legally Distinct Mario Party. While Petra occupies the whole couch, Audrey relaxes a bit, back slumping against the couch and angling her head back so she can look at her. "Unless you have a strong preference for something else?"
Petra Soroka	Once Petra has decided a location is safe, she starts treating it as a little section of territory to comfortably clamber over and roll around on. This could've been seen all across Lobotomy Corporation before the facility was destroyed, the ways in which Petra rearranged it and left her mark to create designated areas for sprawling leisurely among her chosen few, to relax, or share each others' presences, or play. Now that she's revisited it without crying, and eaten in safe company, Audrey's dorm is one of those places. Realizing that she's positioned herself on the couch as to prevent Audrey from joining her on it, Petra makes a little noise and scootches backwards so her knees hang off over the armrest, leaving just enough space by her head for Audrey to sit. She quietly 'heheee's through her smile and catches the Playbrick as it floats over, flipping onto her back and holding it up above her face. "Yeah! Like the ratbots, just more efficient." "The Silver is pretty cool, though," she admits, possibly for the first time unconditionally. "It's not 'smooth' like psionics, but it's still got that sort of self-aspect feeling that scratches the itch. You know? And I mean..." The morphmetal sets her cup down on the table, and then the ringlet of metal slides off like a living thing, coiling gently around Audrey's wrist and between her fingers. It's smooth and warm like a blanket out of the dryer, as opposed to cold metal, and it feels dense as if it's all made of mercury. It slips around with seemily unlimited dexerity as either a fluid or a solid as needed, floating up to the Playbrick and molding itself into an exact copy of a pure metal link cable. "It's pretty cool." The Silver link cable loses surface tension, and becomes a blob again. "Party games? Mario Party style?" That makes Petra rethink what traits she attributed to Audrey being a 'gamer' a bit. Though, honestly, considering the school, she might just not have many other people to play with. Actually... why does she have an entire second console? "I'm down for it; let's go. We've got all the time we want."
Audrey Basque	"Yeah!" she intones. The ratbots were really cute, so she doesn't mind comparing the great works of a Tradition to floating robot rats. Noticing that Petra makes room for her, Audrey gets up and plops down on the couch, making sure to pick up the second Playbrick while doing so. It's nice, to have someone to play with for a change. Or rather, someone who won't judge her for wasting time on this. As Petra directs her metal to play around Audrey's wrist and hand, she observes it, pleasantly surprised at the sensation but also the fact it leaves no residue behind. Usually when metals go liquid it's not a great idea to play with them bareskinned, regardless of their temperature. This seems completely safe, and it's unique. "It IS pretty cool. But then I'm a sheltered little mage from a tiny corner of the world. Maybe that's the perspective you've lost, and an inevitability of the Multiverse. You see so much, you forget the little things are cool too. I hope I can avoid that." Since Petra accepts the challenge, Audrey smiles wide, booting hers up. "Alright! We've got time, that's right. We can try out a bunch of games."