Pep Talk

First Hunt- http://pastebin.com/mEVp6rSA
Sleepover- http://pastebin.com/P2rHT0G8
Pep Talk- http://pastebin.com/tU1TBmDx
Early Bird- http://pastebin.com/2knsggFc
Walking Tour- http://pastebin.com/25S4Bm3g
The Keep in the Park- http://pastebin.com/MNTd8tNJ

[22:42] <Tangent> Amelia was walking down an empty street. There were cobblestones alongside concrete pavement. Where had she seen cobblestones like that before? A breeze tugged at her hair, and for a moment she felt dissonance. Like her hair was supposed to be shorter. The buildings around her were..too large, somehow. Or was she the one that was too small?
[22:42] <Tangent> A offer was made.
[22:42] <Tangent>   She shook it off and kept walking. All she could hear was her own breathing. Her own heartbeat. Her own footsteps. The world around her was dull and gray. She felt warm, almost feverish.
[22:42] <Tangent> An offer was accepted.
[22:42] <Tangent>   There was a stain on the pavement. Copper, flaking, almost red-brown in hue. Amelia paused, then stepped around it and kept walking. There were more specks. Almost a trail. Like something had been leaking, or been dragged along. She frowned, that feeling of wrongness nagging at her all the while.
[22:42] <Tangent>  She followed the trail down the road. The specks became more and more frequent. A gentle breeze tugged at her hair, and she jerked her hair irritably.
[22:43] <Tangent>  She saw something lying in the street ahead. A bundle, or bag, half-shrouded in the gloom. She walked closer, and that was when she saw it.
[22:43] <Tangent>   A small hand, fingers half-curled and limp. It was attached to a wrist and nothing else, lying there in the gutter. Bile rose in her throat as she ran closer.
[22:43] <Tangent> This was your fault.
[22:43] <Tangent>  That wasn't a bundle at all. One look was all she needed.
[22:43] <Tangent>  "Oh god. Nonononono..." She shook her head in frantic denial.
[22:43] <Tangent>   Something rumbled behind her. There was a low-pitched rumble that echoed into her bones, and a sudden chill in the air. She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to turn around...but more afraid to get closer to the body in the street. Her inner warmth intensified, becoming painful.
[22:43] <Tangent>  Abruptly, her hands and body caught fire. Blue, intense flames. Amelia screamed, blindly clawing at herself as the flames ate away at her and she burnt away. It didn't hurt. It didn't hurt at all, even when her fingers started to blacken and char and everything else started to follow. Panicking, she stumbled around...and the world vanished with a bright roar and flash of a gun going off.
[22:43] <Tangent>   Amelia gasped for breath, heart racing. It was dark. She was lying, facedown, on something cold and hard and her forehead was throbbing. Her arms and legs were tangled in something.
[22:43] <Tangent>  But they were there. She was still there.
[22:49] <@Jran-Kri> There is silence in the apartment for some time after Amelia wakes up; it's possible no one was woken up. Then there's the faint 'click' of a light switch being flicked, and down the hall a burst of light. Then the sound of steps -- in both directions, though one is much louder than the other. The louder one proves to be Alexa, pensively poking her head into the living room, bleary-eyed.
[22:49] <@Jran-Kri> "... A-Amelia?" She calls out. Eyes adjusting to the dark, she doesn't seem to have seen her yet. "Are you alright? I-I heard a noise."
[22:55] <Tangent> Amelia's on the floor. For one moment of disorientation, she isn't sure where- who- she is. She looks up, blinking away dust...and looking at Alexa with first confusion- and then a flicker of relief. She doesn't reply for a moment. "I...It's okay, Alexa. I just...fell off." A pause, her breathing slowing down as she scrambles up in a mess of blankets. She's wearing an oversized T-shirt for someone much larger, and a pair of battered pants rolled up several times.
[22:56] <Tangent> Still out of it, she looks to Alexa. "Sorry I woke you up..." She mutters.
[22:57] <Tangent> She's blinking in the dark...and in the light from the hallway. The nightmare's still vivid in her mind, even if some of the details are slipping away, as they tend to do.
[22:59] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa frowns. At least, probably -- it's hard to tell. She makes a 'hmph' noise that sounds mildly displeased. And she's almost certainly folding her arms -- this much is clear from her silhouette.
[23:00] <@Jran-Kri> "I-it's fine," she shakes her head dismissively. "I knew we should've... nevermind. You're sure you're alright? Sounded like, um... quite a tumble."
[23:06] <Tangent> Amelia's heart finally pounding as she slips back onto the couch in a messy cocoon of blankets. She was pretty sure she hadn't had blankets when she'd gone to sleep. She nods, wincing. "Yeah. I'm...I'm fine." She says, without much conviction behind it. They'd won. She tells herself. It didn't happen like that. She's right there. "Just hit my head, nothing too important..." She tries to joke. "But yeah...um...I'm okay...you should go back to sleep. Sorry..."
[23:07] <Tangent> Out of costume, it's clear how small she is. Not much taller than Alexa herself. A slight shake, that she tries to quash, as she looks to the younger girl.
[23:07] <Tangent> *you should go back to sleep. Sorry..."
[23:08] <Tangent> *should...probably
[23:10] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa makes a vaguely sympathetic hum. She closes some of the distance, leaning against an arm of the couch and peering at Amelia through the darkness.
[23:11] <@Jran-Kri> "... I've been having a bit of trouble," she admits sheepishly. "Sleeping, I mean. So, ah -- while I'm up, do you, um... need an icepack? I don't know if we have one but I could check."
[23:23] <Tangent> "Oh..." Amelia blinks, still sluggish as she shakes off mental cobwebs and looks back to Alexa. The throb's fading, even as she hears the question. "That's okay...It doesn't hurt anymore, really..." She finally glances away, the room dark and unfamiliar.
[23:23] <Tangent>  Out of costume, she's feeling the chill too. Alexa's first words finally sink in and she looks back to her. "It's okay." She says, more firmly. "Thanks though..." She blinks again, finally shaking off the mental cobwebs. If she can't sleep... "Wait, you couldn't sleep?" She asks, concerned.
[23:25] <Tangent> She pushes the hair out of her eyes, irritably, looking to Alexa.
[23:27] <@Jran-Kri> "Not for lack of trying," Alexa jokes. This close, she's more properly visible; she seems to wearing nothing more ostentatious than a raggedy grey tank top and sweatpants. Rolling her shoulders, she shakes her head. "I-I guess I'm still a little... rattled, is all. Nothing important -- certainly haven't been rolling out of bed over it."
[23:30] <Tangent> Amelia listens, feeling a familiar twinge of guilt. "Hey. Of course it's important." She says gently. "It's okay. I...Sorry for...you know." She shakes her head. "Do you...do you want to talk about it?" She scoots over on the couch, tugging one side of the blanket up.
[23:33] <@Jran-Kri> "It-it's really... I'm just..." She tilts her head this way and that, as if physically rolling the thought around. Slowly, she sits down on the edge of the couch. Her crossed arms tighten. "I don't know... I guess... Tonight was the first time I... you know. M-must just be nerves, is all."
[23:39] <Tangent> Amelia tugs the blanket up and pushes it over towards Alexa. That knot in her stomach twists with her words. Your fault. "Yeah...nerves..." In the gloom, it's easier to let her feelings out. Her fingers are white-knuckled around her arms. "Alexa...Today was...It's okay to be scared. I-I...m-messed up...I s-shouldn't have taken us there...Y-you could have been..." She can't finish that thought. "It was my fault." She says instead, quietly.
[23:44] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa stares at her in silence, her expression inscrutable. Then, with an audible sigh, she scoots down the couch towards her. She reaches for her, groping in the darkness.
[23:47] <@Jran-Kri> "We're alive, aren't we?" She says softly. "Please. Don't... blame yourself. You-- If it hadn't been for you, maybe I would be..."
[23:47] <@Jran-Kri> She shakes her head.
[23:48] <@Jran-Kri> "It-- You couldn't have known... that was there."
[23:55] <Tangent> Now Alexa's trying to help HER. When it was her fault. She winces. "I...should've been more careful. I didn't think about what could go wrong, even though I k-knew monsters were...I just wanted to to go hunting with you. I put you in danger." Amelia's a huddled bundle of misery. "You...you deserve a better partner..."
[23:58] <@Jran-Kri> After accidentally grabbing her shin and the couch cushion, Alexa gets hold of Amelia's knee. Kneeling on the couch, she stares over them into where she's pretty sure the other girl's eyes are.
[23:59] <@Jran-Kri> "I couldn't ask for one," she says, a sad smile flitting across her face. Her shoulders tremble with a silent giggle. "We made it out, didn't we? I... think that's the best way that can go."
[00:04] <Tangent> "Thanks..." Amelia looks back at Alexa, barely visible in the dark. She swallows a lump in her throat. "I...Maybe you're right...But...Are you sure this is what you want to do?" She knows she won't stop. It's scary, and she might get killed, but...somehow, she still feels a need to. An almost desperate urgency for reasons she can't quite voice.
[00:04] <Tangent> She puts her hand on Alexa's.
[00:07] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa laughs again, but it sounds slightly more forced this time; more weary. She nods.
[00:08] <@Jran-Kri> "I don't think I have a choice," she says, her voice cracking. "Why else were we given powers?"
[00:11] <Tangent> It's still dark in the room. Amelia isn't sure if Alexa'd replied or not. "I...even so..." She shakes her head firmly. "It...It'd be wrong. If...If you don't want to fight, I...I don't think you should. Especially with...what it's like. And if the Puuchu doesn't like that, he can take it up with me." There's a bite of real venom in her voice at the end. The more she learns about these things, the more she's starting to wish she hadn't just nodded along.
[00:12] <Tangent> This isn't just leaving stuff out about a chance to do good- what he'd done with Alexa- and to both their memories- was just plain messed up. She won't-can't regret- saying yes, but...
[00:12] <Tangent> *starting to wish she hadn't just nodded along right after she'd been...empowered.
[00:17] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa falls silent, leaning more heavily against Amelia. Her head bobs slowly, and she looks over Amelia's shoulder, staring off into space. At last, she shakes her head.
[00:18] <@Jran-Kri> "Thank you," she says, patting her knee in the absence of a more meaningful body part. "But... It's not like I have anything else anymore."
[00:19] <@Jran-Kri> She snickers, a more bitter sound than it's ever been.
[00:19] <@Jran-Kri> "Th-that must be why he... k-killed me. S-so I wouldn't have anything to go back to."
[00:24] <Tangent> Amelia listens in silence. Then, abruptly, she comes to a decision at Alexa's last words. She leans forward into a gentle if slightly awkward hug, then lets go a moment later. "You're alive. You're here." She says firmly. "You have...you have me, and your friend...If you want to do something else, I..I'll help. And if you don't know what you want to do...I'll help you find that too, if you want and if I can."
[00:25] <Tangent> "But you should have a choice. And if you feel you don't...that's wrong." There's certainty in her words now, a far cry from before. "You shouldn't have to fight."
[00:25] <Tangent> *then that's
[00:30] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa withdraws her hand from Amelia, clasping hers together and setting them down in her lap. She inches a bit closer as if to make up for it. Staring straight ahead, she nods slowly, clearly contemplating it -- but eventually she sighs and definitively shakes her head.
[00:31] <@Jran-Kri> "I... Thank you, I-I appreciate that," she casts another glance at Amelia, smiling. Her eyes glisten in what little light there is. "But I... I chose this. And I think I remember why. I... wanted to- to help people. And I c-can't do that b-by running and hiding and- and abandoning you, and... everyone else."
[00:39] <Tangent> Amelia listens. She's not quite sure why her smile back suddenly feels a bit hollow...or why she feels a traitorous twinge of relief. She shakes her head. "I guess...I can't really argue with that, huh?" She says quietly, leaning forward. "If that's what you want, I'll just have to try to be the kind of partner you deserve." She shakes her head. "No more screw-ups."
[00:44] <Tangent> "I promise. Something like...like today. It won't happen ever again."
[00:47] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa's eyes are still wet, and she tries and fails to blink the tears away. She nods again, brushing up against Amelia. She flicks an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
[00:48] <@Jran-Kri> "You... you're already more than I deserve," she says. Even now, it's almost possible to see the faint red glow in her cheeks.
[00:49] <@Jran-Kri> "... Thank you. I-I'm sure if anyone can... can handle things like that, i-it's Ace Paladin Amelia, eh?" She grins and winks, a faint laugh racking her shoulders.
[01:01] <Tangent> Amelia reaches out to her. Something drips onto her hand. That, and the thickness in Alexa's voice...give her pause. "Hey, hey, don't say things like that, okay?" She starts to say at Alexa's self-deprecation. "I'm glad to be your friend. If anything, I'm the lucky one here."
[01:01] <Tangent> She gives an embarassed laugh. "Yeah. I'll do my best. Hehe...I'm not sure what I was thinking with that name. It's kinda goofy, actually..."
[01:01] <Tangent>  She's still not sure why she'd thought "Flaming" was a good idea. Other than having summoned a sword on fire three seconds earlier.
[01:04] <@Jran-Kri> "Oh, n- no, I love it," Alexa insists. The impact is dulled by her suddenly realizing she's crying, and hurriedly wiping away the tears. "I-it's a fine name. Makes you sound... heroic. Dashing. All that."
[01:13] <Tangent> "Ah..." Amelia's suddenly blushing. "I-I guess so..." Another water drop. She looks over, concerned. "Hey, are you okay?"
[01:15] <@Jran-Kri> "I'm fine, I'm fine," Alexa screws her eyes shut and rubs them furiously. "I-I'm sorry, I-I just... I-I'm flattered, I really am. You're too kind."
[01:27] <Tangent> "Hey..." She shakes her head after a moment of awkward silence. "Wouldn't say it if it wasn't true." She leans forward instead, her hand warm. "You're...you're brave, and a good person. You care about people, a lot, and want to do the right thing. So don't sell yourself short, okay?" Her voice is soft, gentle, with none of its usual fire.
[01:32] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa looks at her oddly for a moment, her crooked smile winding its way up her face.
[01:33] <@Jran-Kri> "... W-we've only just met," she chastises her, but she can't keep the note of appreciation out of her voice. She shifts in her seat. "I-it's hard to be brave wh-when you're s-scared all the time."
[01:48] <Tangent> "Y-yeah, but just from that..." Amelia replies. "You still want to fight- to help people-even after...what Puuchu did. You...You probably saved us both today when we...found it, and you killed it. If stopping a monster like you did isn't brave, I don't know what is." She says with absolute certainty. "You shouldn't feel bad because you were scared. You'd have to be...crazy not to be. ."
[01:50] <Tangent> "And if it's hard...I'll help you, okay?" She adds impulsively. "Partners, remember?" She looks to Amelia, ignoring the chill of the early morning room.
[01:53] <Tangent> *Alexa
[01:55] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa bunches up her shoulders, trembling slightly. Yet the smile on her face grows, and a pink hue spreads across her cheeks.
[01:56] <Tangent> Amelia nudges her, one shoulder brushing against hers. "...Feeling better?" she asks, a touch uncertainly as she looks to Alexa.
[01:57] <@Jran-Kri> "... Y-yes. Thank you," she says at last. In a sudden whirl of motion, she reaches over to hug Amelia. "Th-thank you, I-- I'll h-hold you to that, alright? I-I'll need you, I think."
[02:04] <Tangent> Amelia eeps in surprise, but reaches back as she's hugged. "Of course it's alright. Don't worry." She says quietly. A promise to keep. She tightens the hug for a moment then lets go. A long moment, stretching out. "Do you want to try and get some sleep, or..."
[02:06] <@Jran-Kri> "A-ha -- right," Alexa snickers to herself, glancing at a clock mounted on the wall. Without her glasses, she can't actually see the time, but she suspects it's not time to be up yet. "Y-yes, I suppose, ah... Sorry. Went and kept you up."
[02:06] <@Jran-Kri> She rises slowly from the couch, patting herself down.
[02:06] <@Jran-Kri> "Um. I'll just, er... get back to my room. My, uh... offer from earlier is still open."
[02:17] <Tangent> "No sorry, okay? I...ah...woke myself up pretty well anyway..." She pauses, taking in Alexa's last words. A moment of hesitation and she furrows her brow in thought. Oh...But if she can't sleep... "Um, I'm actually kinda up, but do you want me to...be there, or...?" She asks awkwardly.
[02:19] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa ducks her head, scratching the back of her neck and scuffing her foot and the floor. She flicks her head uncomfortably.
[02:20] <@Jran-Kri> "W-well, I-I mean, I d-don't need you there if that's what you're thinking I was just, you know, offering because of the couch thing and the falling off thereof and-and, you know, j-just, i-if you w-wanted. Is all." She rambles, nearly nonsensical.
[02:24] <Tangent> "O-Oh." Amelia's very red-faced. Stupid. She's shrunk back, looking if anything more awkward than Alexa. "Y-yeah, sorry...I...I'm okay...thanks..." She mumbles, suddenly seeming very interested in her hands as she wrings them awkwardly. "I..um...yeah, my bad...Sorry..."
[02:26] <@Jran-Kri> Alexa would be impressed with Amelia's efforts to look more awkward than herself on any other occasion, considering she is a rolling ball of awkward, especially right now. She repeatedly sticks her hands into her pockets and withdraws them.
[02:28] <@Jran-Kri> "I-it's fine, I mean, i-it's not th-that I-I don't a-appreciate it but, um, you know, it's just..." She trails off, then picks back up again with a jolt. "W-well, um, i-if you're r-really okay, uh, I'll just, go now. Goodnight. Er. What's left of it. Sleep well?"
[02:28] <Tangent> You could hear a pin drop. Amelia shuffles on the couch. "Um...Yeah! Right!" She stammers. "Good night...and stuff!"
[02:29] <@Jran-Kri> "... Right," Alexa nods again. She creeps backwards slowly. "I'll, um, s-see you in the morning."
[02:30] <@Jran-Kri> She then retreats in full, cursing herself and her lead tongue all the while.
[02:32] <Tangent> "Y-yeah..." Amelia waits until the moment Alexa's gone to slam her head against the sofa with enough force to make it creak. She groans, slumping and feeling a headache that has nothing to do with her earlier floor collision.
[02:34] <Tangent> She...she's not getting back to sleep.