Wake Up Call

[22:55] <Tangent> It's the morning after Amelia and Alexa's return to their and Kreim's apartment, and it's still dark and quiet. Amelia stirs comfortably, the morning chill not bothering her much as she snuggles into the sofa. Something brushes against her face, tickling her nose and she stirs slightly, still mostly asleep.
[22:57] <Jran-Kri> Alexa breaths softly, languishing on the couch. She is only distantly aware of the world around her, until she feels a faint draft stir her hair. She grumbles slightly, shying away from it -- though the impression of being colder than normal pierces through the veil of sleep. She shudders.
[23:08] <Tangent> Amelia yawns, blinking blearily as she slowly slips into wakefulness. She stretches her arms and legs, still blinking away her sleepiness. Clunk.
[23:10] <Jran-Kri> The first subtle intrusion into her rest is followed shortly thereafter by another, about as subtle as a brick to the face. She catches an errant hand to the head and jolts, her arms and legs flailing as she half-tumbles off the couch. "Eep--!"
[23:12] <Tangent> "E-eh?" Amelia shooks upright too. She blinks. "A-Alexa?" She scrambles forward, remembering the previous night. They'd watched first one movie then another...and she dimly remembers drifting off. She leans over Alexa anxiously. "You...Um...Are you okay? Sorry..." She says sheepishly.
[23:14] <Jran-Kri> "Owwww," Alexa rubs her head, giving up the fight and slumping lazily to the floor. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she insists, shaking her head. She looks up, adjusting her glasses. "What're are you doing in my... Oh."
[23:25] <Tangent> Amelia glances to the TV- now showing white static- then back to Alexa, at least her outline in the reflected light. "Yeah...I kind of passed out after the...second movie..." The dark haired girl rubs the back of her head awkwardly, still bleary-eyed as she looks down at her friend. Her foot nudges the empty popcorn bowl. "Too..early..." She mumbles.
[23:34] <Tangent> She opens her jaw wide and yawns widely again, wincing and clutching her jaw afterwards.
[23:37] <Jran-Kri> "... Apparently I didn't care to move, either," Alexa grumbles, making to rise. She perches herself on the edge of the couch, yawning in reaction to Amelia. "Yeah. Very. Wanna go back to bed."
[23:42] <Tangent> Amelia mumbles vaguely in agreement, waving sleepily at her friend. "See you...morrow..." She mumbles, eyes closing again.
[23:46] <Jran-Kri> Alexa yawns. She considers going all the way back over to her bed -- but it's so faaaar awaaaay. Instead she just curls up on the couch cusions again, closing her eyes.
[23:48] <Tangent> Amelia absently shuffles a bit to the right as Alexa sits down again then slumps, her head falling onto one armrest and black hair spilling over the side as she starts to fall asleep again...
[23:48] <Tangent> "Good morning, Amelia!" Something chirps, right in her ear.
[23:48] <Tangent> Amelia didn't shriek. She didn't yell in surprise, and she definitely didn't roll right off the sofa in shock.
[23:48] <Tangent> "Aaaaaah!" *CLUNK*
[23:50] <Tangent> "You seem to have fallen over." The voice comments in the same cheery tone. Is it just Amelia or is it suddenly a lot brighter in here? Something flutters around her, red and orange glowing wings lighting the room and making it very slightly warmer. The creature the voice is coming from looks like a butterfly...if it's wings were made of shimmering flame and three handwidths across.
[23:50] <Tangent> "Who...Wha..." Amelia stammers, slightly dazed. "What..."
[23:51] <Tangent> "You don't remember?" It says, sounding unconcerned. "Oh. Unfortunate but not unexpected. I am Catalyst. I am the one who showed you the way."
[23:52] <Tangent> "...H-huh? I don't..." Amelia seems confused, brow furrowing. A quick glance to Alexa.
[23:52] <Jran-Kri> Alexa's heart nearly leaps out of her chest as she snaps awake at the sound of screaming. She quite literally does leap off of the couch, rising awkwardly to her feet and staring at the moth with a combination of wonder and horror. "Wh-wh-wh-who -- wh-what are you?"
[23:54] <Tangent> The butterfly...doesn't reply, instead fluttering in small circles around Amelia. How rude. "I suppose you would call my kind 'Puuchus'. I am the one who gave you your powers and your role. You agreed to fight evil, and I made you someone who could do so." Is that a note of impatience or something else in it's melodious voice?
[23:55] <Tangent> "I am simply here to see how far you have progressed towards that goal."
[23:56] <Tangent> "Wait, but...I...I don't remember meeting you..." Amelia shakes her head, frowning. She looks up at it. "You..You're /my/ Puuchu?" There's a note of distaste on the word Puuchu.
[23:56] <Jran-Kri> Alexa is still quite taken aback by all this, and it takes her some time to register offense at being ignored. She grimaces through her fear, but doesn't speak up.
[23:57] <Tangent> "Yes." It says simply. "As I said, unfortunate but not unexpected. What matters is that you know who I am now." It's fluttering around Amelia's head, coming close to the walls...but not Alexa's side of the couch.
[23:57] <Tangent> "Hey. Stop...What...Why are you..." So many questions, but the words just aren't coming to mind.
[23:58] <Tangent> "You have fought evil. You will need to fight more. There is no shortage of impurity in the Overcity...and elsewhere." Did its crystal eyes twitch in Alexa's direction or is that a trick of the light?
[23:59] <Tangent> It's a red-orange blur in the gloom, casting long shadows over the chairs and walls.
[00:00] <Tangent> "I...I have been. You didn't...didn't tell me anything, not even about..." Amelia shakes her head. "I've helped people." She insists.
[00:01] <Tangent> "That isn't enough. Your efforts so far are...acceptable, but you'll need to do more to truly become a beacon in the darkness."
[00:01] <Tangent> The patterns on its wings shift.
[00:03] <Tangent> "Then tell me what I'm doing wrong!" Amelia snaps, half rising from the chair and glaring at the butterfly. "I'm fighting monsters! I'm going in the overcity practically every day, looking for people that need help! I'm keeping this city safe? Isn't that enough? Doesn't that matter?"
[00:04] <Tangent> "No." The butterfly flutters near Amelia. She scowls...but lets it land on her shoulder as she cranes her head to look at it. The warmth...doesn't bother her. She feels her own magic surging up in response through her veins, even untransformed...albeit dimly.
[00:05] <Jran-Kri> Alexa now reddens, her scowl splitting her face as anger overpowers nervousness. "D-don't listen to this- this thing!" She blurts out, waving a jerky, spastic arm at the butterfly. "Kreimhild says th-they lie as easily asd we breathe!"
[00:05] <Tangent> "As long as you allow darkness and doubt in your heart, it will never be enough. You will not be strong enough to be the warrior you should truly be." There's no malice in the thing's elegant voice. It's simply listing facts. "You are holding yourself back still. There are things that should not exist, and yet you do nothing."
[00:06] <Tangent> Amelia glances over to Alexa. "But...Kreimhild's a...I mean, I don't..." She looks between the two for a moment, then abruptly stands up.
[00:07] <Tangent> The butterfly flutters away at the sudden movement.
[00:07] <Tangent> "Wait a minute, what'd you mean I'm doing nothing?"
[00:08] <Tangent> "This one...darkness touchs her more than most. The other is lost, beyond the reach of the light in body and mind. Surely, you can see what harm could come of them, left unchecked?"
[00:09] <Tangent> "...What? You...you're talking about Alexa and Kreimhild?" Amelia snarls. "Alexa'd never hurt anyone! And...Kreim isn't all...isn't all bad either!"
[00:10] <Tangent> If looks could kill, the butterfly would be pinned and in a display case. As it is, the room temperature seems to rise very slightly...but that's impossible, right?
[00:10] <Jran-Kri> Alexa turns as red as her uniform, her face scrunching up in rage. Her shoulders bunch together, trembling with hate. "Darkness, they call it! D-darkness! Kreimhild says -- see, this is what she's talking about! No wonder she says we can't trust them!"
[00:12] <Tangent> "Alexa's not a monster." Amelia takes a step closer to her friend, hand on her shoulder. Her grip tightens as she glares at the Puuchu. "And...Kreim...isn't evil. Just...misguided. I...You gave me my powers, but...Get out. You should get out." Amelia's strangely calm sound, but there's a tension in her frame and her free hand's reaching for a sword that isn't there.
[00:13] <Tangent> "Don't you have questions?" Catalyst asks, innocently.
[00:13] <Tangent> Amelia chews her lip, then shakes her head. "Get out. Now." She snaps.
[00:14] <Tangent> "You can't trust them, you know. Their darkness will always show itself in time...and we will talk of this again." And with that, the light fades...and the butterfly is gone.
[00:16] <Tangent> Amelia stares at the blank patch of wall for a moment, her expression conflicted, then looks to Alexa. "That...Yeah...Puuchus are...they're jerks..." She shakes her head. "I...I don't think you're bad, okay?" She says quietly, stepping closer to Alexa. The Puuchu's other words though...
[00:17] <Jran-Kri> Alexa doesn't appear to be very pleased by this outcome, despite it ostensibly being in her favour. She grinds her teeth. "D-disgusting. Just barging in here like that, filthy damned..." Alexa shakes her head, smiling thinly at Amelia. "Of course not. Thank you."
[00:18] <Tangent> Amelia chews her lip then lunges forward and tackles Alexa in a hug. "You're...you're probably the best person I know." She says quietly, head on Alexa's shoulder. "Just as you are."
[00:19] <Tangent> "Next time it shows up here, I'll tell it to get lost or I'll set it on fire..." She says, trying to comfort her friend. "Okay?"
[00:21] <Jran-Kri> Alexa sags into the hug, wrapping her arms around Amelia. She closes her eyes fondly. "I, um...It looked a bit firey itself," Alexa snickers nervously, shaking her head. "B-but, um... Uh... Y-you too. Thanks."
[00:28] <Tangent> "Hey, it's worth a shot, right?" Amelia smiles back at her. "And no problem...Hey...Sorry I, um, woke you up too..."
[00:29] <Jran-Kri> Alexa shakes her head, neglecting to withdraw from the hug. "Don't worry -- that firework would have done it anyway," she says dryly. "I-I shudder to think what's Kreimhild will say when she hears about this>"
[00:32] <Tangent> Amelia frowns. "I...I'll tell her if you want." She offers. Kreimhild...She doesn't think she's /evil/, not after all this time, but...She knows the black coin does things to people...and she hasn't forgotten things early on. "Don't worry about what Kreim'll think, alright? You should get some more sleep..." She squeezes slightly, comfortingly.
[00:34] <Jran-Kri> "No. No, I'll tell her," Alexa insists, shaking her head again. "I-I think the two of us need to have a good talk about this," she says darkly, frowning.
[00:35] <Tangent> Amelia sighs, slumping back a bit. "Sorry for it showing up...I know you...don't like them..."
[00:37] <Jran-Kri> "Nothing you could have done about it," Alexa's frown deepens. "Kreimhild says that's what they all do. Just waltz in when they please. She says it's to keep you off-balance, make you more... um... amenable."
[00:38] <Tangent> Amelia frowns. "It's like nothing I'm doing is good enough for it..." She says quietly. "It said...it didn't matter..."
[00:38] <Tangent> Her voice is very low and soft suddenly.
[00:39] <Jran-Kri> "I-I don't know what it wants," Alexa begins, suddenly hesitating. "B-but it was wrong. Lying. It's what they do. Y-yes, it was lying. Y-you've been doing just fine -- better than fine. Great."
[00:41] <Tangent> "I...But...I feel like I keep screwing up...and like I keep missing something..." She shakes her head. "Like I'm just...not good enough." She looks away, but her hug tightens a bit.
[00:41] <Tangent> "I...Sometimes I'm not sure I'll ever be good enough to do things right..."
[00:42] <Jran-Kri> "Y-you're fine j-just the way you are!" Alexa holds her tighter, pressing her head against her shoulder. "Don't listen to them. You're doing a great job!"
[00:46] <Tangent> "Thanks..." Amelia's eyes close, her black hair brushing against Alexa's. "...thanks for saying that, Alexa. I...I wouldn't be worth much without you there to help me, and I still can't...can't stop them from hurting you..."
[00:48] <Jran-Kri> Alexa pats Amelia on the back, shaking her head again. "You do fine by yourself, I'm sure. You don't..." Alexa trails off, stopping. "I'm safer than I'd be without you, that's for sure."
[00:55] <Tangent> "Sorry. I'm being selfish..." She shakes her head too, smiling slightly. "I...You'd do fine. You're better than you think you are, you know...Your magic's a lifesafer. Literally...It really is amazing."
[00:56] <Jran-Kri> "... I'm no good on my own," she shakes her head, sighing. "What would I do without anyone to hide behind?"
[01:02] <Tangent> "Hey, you've killed your share of monsters...you're probably the best healer in the overcity...and your barriers aren't shabby either." Amelia nudges her friend. "Don't sell yourself short, okay? You're pretty scary when you want to be."
[01:04] <Jran-Kri> Alexa grumbles derisively at this, but doesn't appear willing to work up a reply. She shakes her head again. "If you say so," she says simply, before making to pull away. "Well. Um. I'm not getting to sleep after that. Care for breakfast?"
[01:04] <Tangent> Amelia sighs, but lets go. "Yeah...Guess so. I'll help..." She offers.