Video

[crackedreflection]

[MT, for quite possibly the first time most people have seen her, looks downright apologetic as she flickers onto the mirror screen. She... also looks a bit banged up. More than a bit, really.

Where has she been these past few weeks, exactly?]

Uh. Hey, everyone. I... probably owe you all an explanation for just vanishing like that.

After the whole fiasco with my fist mission—sorry Lyds, BJ, that one's still my fault—and how my "brilliant idea" completely failed to work out, I got.

Frustrated.

And decided that because obviously it was everyone else's fault that things went wrong, I had to fix things by myself.

Soooo I went into the bayou.

By myself.

Yeah.

But hey! I'm a toy and practically indestructible so... at least I'm not dead? Ha.

Hahahaha...

Anyways, I obviously got back, and I'm. In my room right now. Have been for a few days, really, I just conked out for like... forty-eight hours straight.

Er. Sorry for locking the door, Beej.

ANYWAYS! How have you been doing while I was, er, gone?

[MT is obviously exhausted and looks like she needs a shower, but... at least she's learned a lesson? Maybe?]

Comments

[creepyoldguy]

[Because his god-only-knows-what-addled-brain focuses on the important parts.]

HEY. What's wrong with being dead?

[Mock offense. He cares.]

Eh, don't waste time worrying about it. I was going to blow it up with C4 if I didn't hear anything by this evening, so you slipped just under the wire. Dammit.

[And the proof that he cares:]

You're sure you're alright?

[crackedreflection]

Don't hit me with the live-ism card! One of my best friends is a dead person, geez.

[Oh, whoops. In making a joke MT made herself even more emotionally vulnerable. Fantastic. Whatever, she can recover.]

I'm actually doing terribly, but eh, not much I can do about that other than rest and regret all of the choices I have ever made.

[creepyoldguy]

Hm.

[Oh, regretting every choice one made was definitely a feeling Beej knew all too well. It was still a relatively new emotion, but, ugh. Yeah. No, he'd have to do something.]

You want anything from the Emporium? Or do you want to fill water balloons with yogurt and lob them at pedestrians from your window?

[crackedreflection]

Chocolate. All the chocolate you can carry.

[creepyoldguy]

Alright. Give me a few.

[He’d be back—in person with a bag full of chocolate candybars and chocolate shaped bugs.]

Ta-da!

[He handed it over with flourish.]

[crackedreflection]

[When MT finally opens her door, it's obvious that there's something different about her. Her hair, for one—it's less of a full shave and more like... a bristly mess, really. A perk of having a shaved head is no need for hair maintenance, and despite having grown it out a few inches, she hasn't picked up the habit of actually brushing it. She's also a half inch taller, maybe more.

MT jabs her hand into the bag, takes out some chocolate-covered bugs, shoves them into her mouth, chews, painstakingly swallows, then grunts and gestures for BJ to come inside. Flopping down onto her bed, she lets out a long groan (lasting fourteen seconds exactly) before falling silent for a few moments. MT opens her mouth and closes it several times, struggling to find something to say, before finally settling on,]

So.

[creepyoldguy]

[He sat on the floor, head cocked to the side.]

So! Where’ve ya been? Looks like we’ve been running on Netherworld time here, by the looks of ya.

Action

[strangeandunusual]

[Lydia doesn't even bother responding over the mirror, she just heads right downstairs and lets herself in. this isn't the first time someone she cares about did a dumb thing, and it won't be the last, so she's used to it]

I was getting worried about you. I'm not upset, or anything, I'm glad you made it back. But you look like you could use some help, and ...

[as she's rolling up her sleeves]

That's what I do. You can tell me about it while I heal you, okay?

[crackedreflection]

Thanks, but... I'm good.

[Beat.]

On that front, at least.

[She's telling the truth—while MT looks like she's been locked inside her room for three straight days and hasn't had any sleep for the duration, there aren't any visible wounds or marks of Corrosion.

But...

It might just be the light...

Is her hair longer?]

[strangeandunusual]

There are other fronts? ... I'm still coming over.

[forcible friendship is forcible. Lydia brings over some sandwiches - because MT is probably starving after being gone so long - and a big bottle of lemonade. also, a box with a pair of earrings that she's been hanging on to since their failed mission. she lets herself in and sets everything down on the nearest available counter so she can go straight for the hug]

I missed you!

[crackedreflection]

GHK-

[MT freezes when Lydia hugs her, some unreadable emotion flashing across her face, before she leans into it and hugs back. She's... a much better hugger than she was before, surprisingly enough.

Up close, it's even more obvious. MT's hair has upgraded from "peach fuzz" to three inches of "bristles," and she's a solid half inch taller too. What happened to her back there?]

So did I. It's...

[MT doesn't know what to do with that second sentence, so she just trails off.]

[strangeandunusual]

[Lydia's eyes widen as she gets a good look at her, and she steps back]

Whatever happened really changed you, didn't it? I mean - literally! I love your hair. It's so punk rock. But c'mon, sit down. Take a minute?

[she pointed to the counter with an awkward smile. she didn't know what had happened, so she wasn't sure what to say. she just knew she wanted to be there for her friend, in whatever way she might need]

I brought food ...?

[crackedreflection]

Getting whammied with Corrosion time distortion will do that to you, I guess.

And. Um. Thanks.

[MT blushes as she tucks some of her hair (wow, it's been over a year since she's been able to do that) behind her ear.]

For the food, I mean.

Compliment's nice too.

[MT descends on the food with reckless abandon, finishing it off in a matter of moments.]

[connie_maheswaran]

[Ok, so first Webigail and now this girl? She was starting to get very worried about the people close to her age here].

Hi, you messaged me earlier, Connie. It sounds like you're dealing with a lot of stuff, and that this place is a lot. But there's more of us here, and some of us don't mine trying to pick up some of the slack, once we get familiarized with all of this.

I, for one, am pretty curious about some of the backstory on your end. If you don't mind, I'd like to know what made you all frustrated and do stuff on your own. I'm not trying to judge, I sincerely want to know what's going on.

They have me in Warrior class. I fight better when I know what I'm fighting for.

[crackedreflection]

I screwed up, blamed other people, got pissy, and left.

Then I almost died.

Simple as that.

[MT isn't giving any more details to a girl she barely knows... at least not without a little more prying. Sorry, Connie.]

[connie_maheswaran]

That's a short version. I know it's prying, but I'd really like to know the details.

I know I'm new, and its a lot to ask, but I don't think anyone should have something like that happen and brush it aside. I'm not looking to lecture, I mean, I can't be that much older than you. So please, fill me in. I do want to know about what its like on your end, when it comes to all of this.

sorry for all the edits

[crackedreflection]

Back off. Last warning. I really don't need somebody I don't even know prying like this.

Re: sorry for all the edits

[connie_maheswaran]

[She messed up. She really, really messed up, and that was something she tried not to do. Dang].

I'm sorry, I...well, look. Awhile back, someone I cared about was going through stuff and I thought he was OK. It turned out to be way worse than I thought and he...he hurt himself in multiple ways because no one was really reaching him.

I didn't mean to pry. You don't know me and probably have your own secrets. I just don't like the idea of someone going through stuff and people just shrugging it off. It can be pretty frustrating ti feel like no one cares about yoyr stuff.

But thats my own thinking. Im sorry. I'll back off.

[crackedreflection]

Good.

[voidalviera]

[Rice sighs quietly, not at MT but at the circumstances that lead to it.]

Just because you are unable to die conventionally does not mean you should be so eager to put yourself in danger.

Trust me, I would know.

Is there anything I can do for you?

[She knows they don't know each other super well but. She wants to make the effort.]

[crackedreflection]

Not much, unless you want to spar with the metal girl. I'm feeling a bit punchy today.

[Working through all her issues through violence has always worked for MT, why would it stop now? Ha. Ha ha ha.]

[voidalviera]

...

Sure. Where would you like to meet?

[Rice knows that working out her emotions physically helps a lot. She’s certainly not going to prevent someone else from doing so.]

[crackedreflection]

Kingdom training grounds. The garden. See you there.

Network >> Action

[voidalviera]

[Rice nods in affirmation before putting her 3M away. There's a clink of a sword and the sound of her shuffling before the feed cuts out completely.]

The Voidsent takes as little time as she can to make it to the training grounds as she can while still walking. She doesn't want to keep MT waiting or to make her feel like she wasn't coming. Her sword is mounted on her back, but she doesn't plan on using it unless MT really wants her too. She arrives at the gardens and shrugs off her weapon, leaning it up against a bench.

[crackedreflection]

[MT arrives a few minutes later, hunched over with her hands in her pockets as she ducks into the garden. She looks... different. And not just in the "trauma makes you a different person" way. MT actually has hair now, a full three inches of bristly metal atop her head. She's a solid half-inch taller now, too.

Wordlessly, she takes her place across from Rice and puts up her dukes, waiting for her to make the first move.]