motorcitylogs

<Pink|GM> The day inches by. Food is delivered, then laundry, then paperwork. More messages from her parents pile up. Around seven, Nikki texts her that the game has started. It's another tenminutes after that when the knock comes on the door.||
<-> Antioch is now known as Antioch|GM
<-> Thaliaway is now known as Thalia
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict has done her best to stay busy after Petra left. She's finished her basket, checked her homework yet again, cleaned her room, folded her laundry, gone over the paperwork, made a /second/ basket...she even seriously debated calling her parents back, just to have something to do with herself. She knows she has to do it soon, no matter how worried she
<Teller|Verdict> is that she'll say the wrong thing, or use the wrong tone, or do /something/ to remind them why it was better to keep two hundred miles or so between them and their daughter...
<Teller|Verdict> Soon. She'd call them soon.
<Teller|Verdict> For now she sends a text to Nikki telling her to have fun. Deletes the PHO alert for Malfire from her phone - that's the last thing she wants to think about. Then, at the sound of the knock, goes to answer the door. ||
<Pink|GM> Verdict can feel them before she even reaches the door. Lies? Insubordination. Violence. Perversion and lewdness- though less than she's felt before. Overall, nothing unmanageable. Petra's changed into a bit of a preppier outfit, a long wool skirt and a striped sweater, while the boys are casual but seem to have cleaned up a bit- even Jay looks like he put in some effort, and not just in carrying the duffle bag of supplies. All of them
<Pink|GM> look surprisingly... well, maybe not so surprisingly tired. It's been a crazy week, and Verdict's personal issues have admittedly put more work on her teammates.
<Pink|GM> "Hey, Avery, how're you doing?" the blonde asks in greeting, with a tired but genuine smile.||
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<Teller|Verdict> What a question. Verdict considers her response before settling on, "I'm fine."
<Teller|Verdict> She steps to the side, moving to take the duffel bag from Jay as he passes. She can't quite manage a  smile in return, but she stalwartly tries to ignore their sins. The insubordination in particular is hard to put aside. If her power worked on herself...she has to admit that she wouldn't be surprised to see that particular sin.
<Teller|Verdict> Well, maybe sin was a strong word. Her power showed her Amy's self harm too, after all...
<Teller|Verdict> "How are you?" ||
<Pink|GM> Jay blinks as she takes the bag- and so does Verdict, since it's a lot heavier than it looked. "Ready to turn my fucking phone off," Petra replies, and the guys nod in agreement. "Anyone needs us tonight, they know where to find us." Rob wraps an arm around the girl, squeezes supportively.||
<Teller|Verdict> Ward stuff. Verdict nods, shuts the door, and leads the group over to the couch. She ends up supporting the duffel bag with her other hand as well. "What's in here?"
<Teller|Verdict> Bricks? ||
<Pink|GM> "Bricks," he says, with a grin that barely pricks her power with a lie. "Just some exercise gear. Petra said you didn't have any up here, so we thought... What?" Did he see something in her face there?
<Pink|GM> Rob laughs, and... pulls a bag of popcorn out of his chest with a schlorp sound. Avery had never actually seen his power in use before. Before she can comment upon it, Petra takes the bag and whacks him in the head with it.||
<Teller|Verdict> "Thank you," Verdict says, in what she hopes is a reassuring tone. She's not sure if she'll actually up to using it, but it's a nice gesture. What was he worried about? Does it matter? She places the bag on the side of the couch.
<Teller|Verdict> "It's nice to meet you, Rob," she adds politely, returning to the front of the couch. She'd technically met him outside of Aileen's room, but she doesn't really want to count that (and doubts he does either). ||
<Pink|GM> Jay smiles in a weirdly relieved way, letting out his held breath. Is she that scary? He takes the dvds out, marker labeled discs rubber banded together, and heads to the DVD player.
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<Pink|GM> Rob chuckles awkwardly, running a hand through his crewcut hair. Sure, they'd met a couple times since ehr arrival, but always in passing- this is her first time to even see him out of costume, much less talk to him. He's tall, with a nice smile and a t shirt with a fire department logo on it. He's tall, but not in the kind of shape that Jay is in.
<Pink|GM> "Haha, it kinda feels that way, doesn't it?" he agrees, pulling more snacks out of himself, his shirt rippling, and handing them to Petra.
<Pink|GM> ||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict watches Rob extracting food from himself. Her first thought is about whether that's sanitary. Her second thought is that it's a lot of snacks, before she remembers who it is he's handing them to.
<Teller|Verdict> She feels like there's something she should be doing to help setup, but there's pretty much nothing for her to do. This isn't her room, isn't her space. She feels more like a guest than a host.
<Teller|Verdict> She sits down on one end of the couch and waits. ||
<Pink|GM> Petra drags the coffee table closer to set out the junk food- and also a whole pineapple. Hopefully the blonde isn't planning any more truth or dares with food today. "So we might have a new ward," she says. "If she stays around."
<Pink|GM> Avery's phone beeps, another text from Nikki. A touchdown or something. Jay moves to hit the lights, tossing Avery the dvd remote. "All set?" Rob sets down on the far end of the couch, Petra flopping down on top of him and leaving a broad space between them.||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict frowns internally at...well, every aspect of the seating arrangements. She struggles not to let it show. "I suppose that we are."
<Teller|Verdict> "Do you think that she'll stay?" she asks Petra. ||
<Pink|GM> Well, that's what happens when she doesn't take control of the seating arrangements herself, apparently- those two getting comfortable together and Jay getting to walk into the lion's den. He apparently tries not to let it show as he slides in past the others and takes a seat, more towards them than towards Avery.
<Pink|GM> Petra shrugs. "Hard to say. Guess she just triggered, was still freaking out when Cueball rescued her. A bit uncontrolled. She seemed... I dunno. We'll see how she feels when she doesn't think her skin's falling off or that someone's gonna arrest her." Jay shudders slightly. "Not funny," he mutters, with surprising feeling.||
<-> Bel|Dags is now known as Bel
<-> Antioch|GM is now known as Antioh
<Teller|Verdict> Skin falling off? Poor girl. Powers were the worst. "I hope she's okay."
<Teller|Verdict> She presses the play button on the remote, uncomfortably aware of how near Jay is. She slides a little farther into the arm of the couch. At least he's not as close to her as Rob and Petra are to one another. ||
<-> Antioh is now known as Antioch
<Pink|GM> Well, that would take some doing, though at least they aren't sucking face- yet. Jay glances her way, then reaches for a drink. "Starting at the beginning?" he asks, not replying to her comment- not verbally, anyhow.
<Pink|GM> The video starts abruptly, with none of the ads a more legitimate copy would have, jumping into the rather trippy opening- she'd never seen that part before. Who is that singer? Creepy voice, it suits the animated maps wiping cities off the world well. And then it cuts to... a washed out shot of a ferry somewhere called Port Jefferson.||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict opens her mouth, then closes it again. After a few seconds she asks, hopefully, "Did you record these, Jay?" ||
<Pink|GM> "Hm?" he asks, as a shaky camera follows an increasingly agitated man as the sky above him cracks like china. He grabs some Asian girl and Avery still hasn't seen anything familiar.||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict hits the stop button on the remote. She then just stares at him, incredulous. ||
<Pink|GM> It takes a moment for him to return her stare. From the other side of the couch, Petra leans over with a twizzler hanging out of her mouth, trailing back to Rob's. "What's up?" she asks. "Gotta pee already?"||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict is momentarily distracted by whatever it is that Petra and Rob are doing. Oh, like Lady and the Tramp? That's a little cute. Maybe.
<Teller|Verdict> She fights down her urge to lecture Jay about piracy - about making HER watch something pirated. "No. Would anyone mind if we watched something else?" ||
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<Pink|GM> Jay glances at the screen, then back at her. "He's not gonna hurt her," he says, apparently misinterpreting the source of her distress. "They totally kiss later." ...That is an odd time to get a 'half truth' warning from her power. Petra kicks him softly. "Spoilers yo."||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict blinks. "It's not that. I'd just...rather not watch something that's been pirated."
<Teller|Verdict> "I have a lot of other DVDs," she offers. "Or we could stream something." ||
<Pink|GM> Jay groans, flopping his head back. "Not even gonna fight it." Petra kicks him again.||
<Teller|Verdict> She'd only invited him to be polite, anyway, and now he was acting like she was the difficult one. She swallows a sarcastic response.
<Teller|Verdict> "I'm sorry," she says quietly, but isn't sure how much she means it. "I know you like this show."
<Teller|Verdict> She's even sorrier that they can't just...not bring pirated movies into her room, and that she can't just let it go, and that both of those things mean she can't have a nice night with her teammates. She squeezes the arm of the couch. ||
<Pink|GM> "So, um," he flounders, sitting back up. "Did you like the necklace?" Petra winces.||
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<Teller|Verdict> Necklace? Right, the gift. That she hadn't opened.
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict isn't sure how to respond, so she doesn't say anything at first. She looks at Petra. ||
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<Pink|GM> Avery has no fucking clue how to interpret the looks from the other wards, in the light of the frozen screen. Jay's brows slowly draw together in confusion.||
<Teller|Verdict> "I appreciate the gesture," Verdict says. She tries not to sound harsh, but she knows Jay is going to take whatever she says personally. "But I can't accept it." ||
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<Pink|GM> His face kinda crumples. "Oh," he murmurs. After a while, he awkwardly looks away.||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict swallows. Her eyes go over the assorted snacks, then at the unmoving TV scene. "Do you want to watch something else?" ||
<Pink|GM> "Sure," he mumbles. Still doesn't look at her. Rob opens his mouth, closes it with a wince as Petra probably elbows him.||
<Teller|Verdict> "You can pick," Verdict offers, hesitantly. "The movies are over there."
<Teller|Verdict> "I have Blockbuster Now, too. If you want to watch something on there." ||
<Pink|GM> "Maybe you should, um, go ahead," he suggests, his shoulders tensing. "...I trust you."||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict refrains from sighing. She's already seen all of her movies at least twice, so she moves over to her computer and opens up Blockbuster Now.
<Teller|Verdict> She realizes, as scrolls through the recent releases list, that she has no idea what tastes in movies the three people on her couch have. It's a strange problem to have. She would ask what they were in the mood for, but the answer to that question was probably "Zee".
<Teller|Verdict> She finally settles on a high rated action-comedy, then connects the computer to the TV. One good thing about the PRT is their internet connection - no waiting for the video to buffer. ||
<Pink|GM> And up come the ads. The Prom Dogs 6 trailer, but this is an uncensored one- Verdict can't tell the difference and isn't sure she wants to. A season preview clip of Zee, showing some guy punching a giant cat. Some kind of documentary series on people who see Scion in their raisin bran. The other wards are... quiet. And not 'face sucking' quiet, either. They're all watching her.||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict looks back at each of them. This is what happens when people tried to be nice to her - they did something to upset her, then she did something to upset them, and nobody ended up happy.
<Teller|Verdict> She feels like she should say something, but there's nothing /to/ say. She just takes her seat on the couch next to Jay, clenching her jaw tightly. ||
<Pink|GM> For some time, the movie plays to a silent audience. It takes several minutes before Jay reaches over to take a bag of chips- the noise of him opening it is surprisingly loud. Not speaking, he offers the open end of the bag to Avery.||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict wordlessly takes a chip between two fingers and eats it, chewing it as quietly as possible. ||
<Pink|GM> CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. Apparently they're kettle cooked. It is an interesting compliment to watching Jackie Chan get repeatedly slapped in the balls by a milk bottling machine.||
<Teller|Verdict> She decides, upon reflection, to not eat another one. ||
<Pink|GM> CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. Apparently Jay didn't get the memo. And now he's using milk bottles as weapons. How unexpected, and yet perfectly set up.||
<Teller|Verdict> It's funny, all things considered, but she's not in the mood to laugh yet. She does end up relaxing some as the movie progresses, at least. ||
<Pink|GM> Petra starts laughing, suddenly, as the fight abruptly ends with the bad guy laying on his back with a full milk bottle upended and planted in his mouth, draining out his mouth and nostrils. "That'd totally kill him," she notes as she just as quickly quiets down, as if a librarian had shushed her.||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict gives her a look, but for the opposite reason a librarian might. In a quiet, slightly cross voice, she says, "You're allowed to laugh, you know."
<Teller|Verdict> After a second, she adds, "And you're worried about him? Those men who fell off the conveyor belt should have been paralyzed from the waist down." ||
<Pink|GM> "Pfft, I've fallen off bigger conyeyor belts than that!" she scoffs. "...actually, I've drank milk faster'n that, too."||
<Teller|Verdict> "You can fly," Verdict counters. She doesn't comment on the milk drinking part, lest Petra offer to prove it. She doesn't need a repeat of earlier. ||
<Teller|Verdict> ((*REDACT*))
- {Day changed to Wednesday, March 15, 2017}
<Teller|Verdict> "I'm sure you didn't land on your spine like they did," Verdict says. She doesn't comment on the milk drinking part, lest Petra offer to prove it. She doesn't need a repeat of earlier. ||
<Pink|GM> Jay winces. "Or like the flying girl," he comments without elaboration- and suddenly the others are quiet again.
<Pink|GM> ||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict looks at Jay, worried by the sudden silence. "What about her?" ||
<Pink|GM> "Uh." He mumbles a curse under his breath. Petra reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder, and speaks up herself. "Well, she decided to be a hero. And... tried to take on Malfire. Alone." Jackie Chan makes a comical 'oh shit' face while balanced on a rickety stack of folding chairs in the middle of a crowd of thugs. Nobody seems to notice.||
<Teller|Verdict> Verdict's heart sinks. Here she was trying to distract herself from thinking about how Malfire wanted to... "What happened to her?" ||
<Pink|GM> She shrugs miserably. "Bled a lot, maybe killed herself. You know the training for breaking windows...? She... fuck, she smashed a window on this building and just stuck her leg in and cut herself all up. And that's the last anyone saw. Nobody's even sure if she was alive when she got carried off." Rob adds, "Cue and Omen were there, but not in time.... And Adonis got his arm broken," he adds as an afterthought.||
<Teller|Verdict> Adonis is probably the best person in the Protectorate to get his arm broken, given he could fix himself in hours or days instead of weeks. It didn't sound like the flying girl was going to be bouncing back so easily.
<Teller|Verdict> Carried off? By Malfire? Verdict refrains from squeezing the arm of the couch, and consciously prevents herself from making a face or tensing up. There's nothing to be done about it, at least not by her. No point in getting worked up. "That's terrible." ||
<Pink|GM> "We don't know what happened to her," Petra says, sounding like Verdict feels. "But it's too soon to say anything- this just happened, only a couple hours ago. We don't really know-"||
<Pink|GM> -||
<Pink|GM> "We don't even know her NAME." Jay interrupts. "It's fucked up."||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict just nods. Malfire's killed or kidnapped this new cape, and...well, she doesn't need her power to tell her how wrong that is.
<Teller|Verdict> But Malfire's out there, and she's in here. And even if she wasn't, all of her desire to go after the woman had evaporated with the knowledge of what she and Booty Shorts wanted with her. Because if she went after her and lost, maybe Malfire would just decide to carry her off like the flying girl, instead of...
<Teller|Verdict> She tries to turn away from that train of thought, because she CAN'T follow that to where it leads. She tries to look back at Jackie Chan instead, but the screen's out of focus and she can't make out what's going on. ||
<Pink|GM> "I'm... sorry for bringing it up, Avery," Jay says, holding a hand out to her... then pulling it back. "...I'll shut up." He shoves chips into his mouth.||
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<Teller|Verdict> "You don't need to apologize," she says, swallowing quietly and trying to mask how upset she is. And why is upset, anyway? It's not like this changed anything for her, just reminded her of it. And at least Petra and Jay told her what was happening in the city instead of leaving her in the dark like the rest of the PRT. ||
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<Pink|GM> "I... probably shouldn't have come," he replies, staring down into the bag.||
<Teller|Verdict> "I invited you," Verdict replies, only half-paying attention. ||
<Pink|GM> "Yeah," he replies. Petra slides off of Rob's lap and works an arm over Jay's shoulders. "C'mon," she whispers.||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict stands. "Excuse me."
<Teller|Verdict> She leaves Petra to comfort Jay - heavens knows she'll do a better job than Verdict could ever do - and makes her way to the bathroom. Maybe one day she and Jay will get through a conversation without one or both of them feeling terrible about themselves, but today is clearly not that day. ||
<Pink|GM> Petra doesn't stop her, and Jay certainly doesn't. She can hear the movie, which is practically just ambient noise to her at this point, stop behind her as she heads to the bathroom. A refugee inside her own quarters.||
<Teller|Verdict> At least here she can collect herself without the PRT watching or listening to her (and even that's not a sure thing, if she's honest with herself). She leans over the sink, takes a few deep breaths and...the last thing she wants to do is at the moment is start thinking about Malfire or cape things in general, so she pulls out her phone and taps out a reply
<Teller|Verdict> to Nikki's text. ||
<Teller|Verdict> -||
<Teller|Verdict> ':D What's the score now?' ||
<Pink|GM> '30 7' comes the prompt reply. 'us'
<Pink|GM> A moment later, a picture arrives- a selfie of Nikki with the field behind her... and on the stands right behind Nikki, oblivious to the camera, Aileen in profile.||
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<Teller|Verdict> Verdict looks at the picture for a little bit. Nikki looks a little prettier when her few sins aren't clinging to her, and Aileen...Aileen looks like she always does. She's not sure how to feel about them spending time together while she's locked away in here. Angry? Jealous?
<Teller|Verdict> Right now, she mostly just wants Aileen hug her and never let her go. Which is a problem, because she hates the girl and never wants her to touch her again. ||
<Teller|Verdict> ((*Aileen to hug her))
<Pink|GM> What a time to be alive.||||
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<Pink|GM> Avery's mom has gained a bit of weight. Maybe a bit uncharitable to think so, but that's the first thing that comes to mind as her face comes up on the screen. She talks, but she seems to have her mic turned off so it is just silent lip flapping. Daffy sits up on Avery's lap, tail wagging furiously as she pokes her nose at the screen.||
<Teller|Verdict> Avery pushes Daffy away from the screen gently. She's glad to have the dog with her, for moral support as well as to nudge her if she gets too worked up. Her heart is beating rapidly, and it feels like she might throw up.
<Teller|Verdict> No. Can't throw up; that would be bad.
<Teller|Verdict> What does she even call her? It was Mommy, up until...well, all the way up to her trigger event. Should she use that? Would it be too much? It would be too much.
<Teller|Verdict> She'd coldly referred to her as Mother directly afterwards, as well as a litany of less polite names in her head. No, that wouldn't do.
<Teller|Verdict> "Mom," she settles on. "You have to turn on your microphone." ||
<-> Bel|Oskar is now known as Bel
<Pink|GM> Her mother replies by saying something. Verdict can't understand it. The camera's view shakes wildly as a hand fills the screen, then the video shuts off. Then comes back on. Still no sound. Daffy bounces up and down with the picture on screen.||
<Teller|Verdict> "There's an icon on the bottom of the window," she explains patiently, hoping her mother can at least hear her. "It will look like a microphone with little waves coming off of it. Double click on that." ||
<Pink|GM> Silence, moving mouth. "-oing anythi-" and then back to silence. Her mom sits back, is probably asking if Avery can hear her now. It is almost refereshing to be painfully frustrated without her power being involved.||
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<Teller|Verdict> "I only heard you for a second," Avery says. It's a little annoying, sure, but in a weird way it's an easy start to the conversation. She'd take remote tech support over fumbling around for the right words and safe topics every day of the week. "I think you clicked too many times." ||
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<Pink|GM> Brows furrow, and then the sound comes on. "-ese things so unintuitive," she finishes. "Maybe if I..."||
<Teller|Verdict> "I can hear you now," Avery says quickly. "You don't have to do anything." ||
<Pink|GM> "Oh. Oh, good. I don't know why they make it so complicated! Oh, so come on, let me get a look at... is that a puppy?!"||
<Teller|Verdict> "Her name's Daffy," Avery says, letting Daffy get closer to the screen. She in a normal skirt and blouse rather than her costume, so she doesn't mind if Daffy rests her paws on her. She scratches her behind the ear. ||
<Teller|Verdict> ((*She's))
<Pink|GM> "Aw, she is adorable! I didn't know they let you have dogs. That is a really good idea..." She trails off, and it is pretty clear that she's hesitant to broach the real topic- Avery avoiding her for so long. "So..."||
<Teller|Verdict> "I'm just allowed to borrow her sometimes," Avery says, deliberately not calling her a therapy dog. She's in no hurry to broach serious topics herself, though she's internally bracing herself for them. ||
<-> Bel is now known as Bel|slep
<Pink|GM> Her mom smiles. "You look good," she says. "We've been watching the news, you know, we were worried!" A slight forced laugh.||
<Teller|Verdict> "Thank you," Avery says. She doesn't say anything about her mom's weight gain, but idly wonders what her dad thinks of it. She pets Daffy. "Things have been..."
<Teller|Verdict> She hesitates as she tries to think of a word that isn't 'crazy'. "A lot has been going on. I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't mean to." ||
<Pink|GM> "Maybe you'll be able to take some time off, soon... visit?" she suggests awkwardly- even she knows the inevitable anser, probably.||
<Teller|Verdict> "Maybe," Avery echoes. There's doubt in her voice. Maybe she's coming across okay on the video call, but in person...she's not ready yet.
<Teller|Verdict> Would she ever be "ready"? Maybe this is just how she'd be, forever.
<Teller|Verdict> "I'll call more," she offers. ||
<-> Thalia is now known as Thaliaway
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- {Day changed to Thursday, March 16, 2017}
<Pink|GM> She smiles slightly more naturally. "It would be good to hear your voice," she says. And... Well." She takes a deep breath. "I want to keep you involved. Have you... talked to your father?"||
<Teller|Verdict> "...No, I haven't," Avery says, with a slight shake of her head. Shouldn't she know if they'd talked? And...keep her involved? ||
<Pink|GM> "Well. Sometimes, you know, sometimes things... I mean, you don't always expect what's going to happen, you know?" She shrugs, smile wavering.||
<Teller|Verdict> "Mom, what's wrong?" Avery asks, praying that she doesn't say what she thinks she's about to say. Daffy whines insistently at her, but only earns a distracted pat. ||
<Pink|GM> She shakes her head. "Oh, no, honey, it's just. Well," she chuckles ruefully. "You're going to have a little sister... or maybe brother."||
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<Teller|Verdict> Well, that's one way to answer a prayer. Avery is stunned into silence, then fumbles for words.
<Teller|Verdict> "I...a...you're pregnant?" ||
<Teller|Verdict> ((*but it only earns her a distracted pat))
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<-> soulpelt| is now known as soulpelt|sleep
<Pink|GM> "Yes. Yes I am." She sags back slightly, letting out a slow exhale. "I wanted to tell you, you know, face to face. You know."||
<Teller|Verdict> "This is...good," Avery says slowly, searching her mom's face. "This is great news. Right?" ||
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<Pink|GM> "Oh, yes, yes it is," her mother nods. "I've been... well, since you left, and... I really wasn't sure how you'd take it, you know? And then you wouldn't answer my calls, and that awful meeting with that Wilson woman..." Doreen Wilson of the Youth Guard, presumably- a pain in Avery's ass from the second day she joined the Protectorate. One of the people Avery hadn't missed from back home.||
<Teller|Verdict> She'd been taking it fine up until a second ago. What has her mother been since she left? Sad? Lonely? No, it's silly to think that this was some sort of...replacement child. She pushes the thought out of her mind.
<Teller|Verdict> "I'm taking it fine," she says, trying to sound reassuring. She gives her mom a smile that's only a little forced. "I'm happy that I'm going to be a big sister. Really."
<Teller|Verdict> "Why was Ms. Wilson-" she stops herself from saying 'bothering' "-meeting with you?" ||
<Pink|GM> She sighs. "The same as every other time, dear. Look, I know how much being a hero means to you, and even if I worry about you I'm not going to let some liberal idiot tell me my girl can't be a hero for her own good. Every hero is somebody's child, that's what I told her."||
<Teller|Verdict> Avery can't help but look down at the floor upon hearing that. It really has been forever since she'd talked to her mother, hasn't it? It sounds like she's talking about a different girl entirely.
<Teller|Verdict> She'd been deadset on being a hero when she first got here, being good, being /liked/. Making this time around different. Those things meant just as much to her, still, but now they all seemed impossibly out of reach.
<Teller|Verdict> She rubs Daffy's head and quietly says, "Thank you."
<Teller|Verdict> It's nothing she wants her mom worrying about. She looks back up, making sure to keep the smile on her face. "How far along are you?" ||
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<Pink|GM> "Just a bit over four months," she says, seemingly glad to be moving on. "It was a bit of a surprise," she laughs weakly.||
<Teller|Verdict> Avery nods. Considering that she hadn't left for Detroit that long ago and she's only hearing about the pregnancy now, it's a lot farther along than she was expecting. An uncharitable thought occurs to Avery, but she quickly dismisses it. The baby was /surely/ her father's, not...
<Teller|Verdict> And even if it wasn't, there's no combination of words in the English language that would make it okay to ask her mother about it. She realizes that she has the slightest frown on her face, and smiles again.
<Teller|Verdict> Unsure of what else to say, she suddenly exclaims, "I love you." ||
<Pink|GM> Her mother's face brightens. "You have no idea how much I've missed you," she replies. "I love you... so much." A pause. "I... know it hurts you to... I mean. I just want you to know, I think about you every day."||
<Teller|Verdict> Avery feels a pang in her chest at that. It hurts, but in a good way. She almost doesn't dare to hope that her mother is saying what she very badly would like her to be saying. It's all she ever really wanted from her, from /someone/: to love her enough to just be /good/.
<Teller|Verdict> She tries to temper her expectations. She hadn't even seen her mother in person yet, and she couldn't keep getting her hopes up and then having them dashed on the floor. It was better to resign herself to the idea that nobody was truly good (especially not for her sake), that nobody would ever really get better...
<Teller|Verdict> She doesn't fully manage it. The smile she gives her mom is a genuine, slightly hopeful one. "I miss you too. I'll...try to come visit soon." ||
<Pink|GM> "I am so proud of you, my little baby bear! I, I know you have your... I know it isn't easy. I just wish it didn't have to be... so apart." She sighs.||
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<Teller|Verdict> "I know," Avery says, but her sigh is a little sadder. Maybe her mom had already forgotten how much her old teammates and the new Director hadn't wanted her around. How easily her father had agreed to the transfer. How even her mother's resistance seemed token.
<Teller|Verdict> She scratches Daffy under her chin. She sure wasn't going to do anything to remind her, but neither can she think of anything reassuring to say that wouldn't be an outright lie. She's not getting more tolerant here, and she's not thriving either. As far as she can tell, she's only barely still employed.
<Teller|Verdict> "Maybe it's better this way, for now," she says uncertainly. ||
<Pink|GM> Daffy tilts her head back, pressing into Avery's hand. Her little tongue flicks out to lick the bottom of her chin. "Well, we talked this into the ground, and I know I can't understand what it's... like. To have a power like that. And off in a city like that, I..." She takes a breath. "You're a smart girl, Avery, and I know you'll make the best choice in the end."||
<Teller|Verdict> "Thank you," Avery says, and she means it. It's...well, it's the nicest thing that anyone's said to her in a long time. All of it is. She lets Daffy lick her chin a few more times before pushing the dog's head away. ||
<Pink|GM> Well, the nicest thing she's acknowledged, at least.
<Pink|GM> "So, anyway, about your father..." She trails off, seeming uncomfortable again. Daffy twists around, nuzzling at Avery's neck.||
<Teller|Verdict> "What about him?" Avery asks, then adds, "I can video chat with him too. Or call him."
<Teller|Verdict> Her mother's discomfort is making her nervous, and Daffy can tell. He was probably at work or away on business, if he hadn't already come to the computer to see her. ||
<Pink|GM> "We're taking some time apart," she says. Which is funny, since time apart is pretty much how Avery would have defined their relationship before.||
<Teller|Verdict> Avery's smile drops. It was the news she'd been praying not to hear before she learned that her mother was pregnant, and it hits her all the harder now that she's not expecting it.
<Teller|Verdict> "You are? But...why?" she demands. "And why /now/? You're...you're having another child together!" ||
<Pink|GM> "Avery," she sighs, "You know that things have been... strained... between your father and I for a long time. We both love you, but..." But it isn't like Avery is there, is she?||
<Teller|Verdict> And now Daffy's licking at the tears that Avery can't stop from running down her face. She hadn't been there - and when she had been there she'd been a...hateful, judgmental bitch of a daughter. Whatever strain there'd been, she'd only made it worse.
<Teller|Verdict> "I'm sorry," she says. And she KNOWS her mom's going to say it isn't her fault, that everyone's going to say that it isn't her fault, but it she knows the truth. Mea culpa. ||
<Teller|Verdict> ((*but she knows the truth))
<Pink|GM> "A-Avery, no, no don't... I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, I..." She leans in closer to the camera. "Don't cry, no." Daffy starts to pick up on Avery's distress, whining very slightly and continuing to lick at her tears, but still remaining fairly calm.
<Pink|GM> "It doesn't change anything, you know that." Perhaps to her credit, her mom avoids issues of blame entirely. She's probably had enough back and forth over that already.||
<Teller|Verdict> It changes everything. Avery just silently nods, the closest she can come to agreeing without lying.
<Teller|Verdict> She does her best to stop crying - she told herself earlier that she wasn't going to get angry or cry, and yet here she is. She uses her sleeve to wipe away the tears and dog slobber. ||
<Pink|GM> "I... I wish I could be there with you, I hate... I hate doing it like this, I... God, Avery, I'm sorry..." She's crying too, now.||
<Teller|Verdict> "Mom, don't- please don't cry," Avery says, doing her best to hold her own back. "It's-"
<Teller|Verdict> No word comes to mind. It's not okay, or fine, or anything except for maybe things one doesn't say, especially to one's mother.
<Teller|Verdict> She swallows and sits up a little straighter. "I understand."
<Teller|Verdict> She does and she doesn't. Of course two people who cheat on each other all the time and had a daughter who couldn't stand to be in the same city as them would get divorced - well, "take some time apart". That makes perfect sense. Her parents, however? Separating? She can't process that at all.
<Teller|Verdict> "I understand, and- and I love you, and I really think I have to go now." ||
<Teller|Verdict> ((*have a daughter who can't))
<Pink|GM> "Wait, it's- oh. Oh, I... see. Um... can we talk again soon?" For a strange moment there is the sensation of Avery being the adult here. The puppy curls against her chest warmly. "I love you." A pause. "And your father does, too."||
<Teller|Verdict> "Soon," she promises, and forces herself to smile at the camera before switching off the chat program.
<Teller|Verdict> Avery doesn't cry more, though the lump in her throat and the pressure in her face makes it feel like she needs to.
<Teller|Verdict> She strokes Daffy's fur quietly, adrift and utterly lost. The dog feels solid and warm in her arms; she holds on tight. ||
<Pink|GM> Daffy is well trained, and unconditionally loving- she doesn't seem to mind the handling, either, as she cuddles back into the girl.||||