5/26 Instance: Dawn of the Dust

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.


Raya: Raya sat with her back against one of the stacks, still unsure of if she wanted to come out. It had been a few weeks...and she still didn't know what to do. She'd been pronounced dead, legally! What was supposed to happen now?

Raya: She cradled her head in her hands, pressing her forehead against her knees tightly. What was she supposed to say to anyone? 'Nobody outside the school even knows I'm alive! How cool is that!' This just...there were too many choices to make, for now.

Selene: Selene prowled the rows of books, stopping here and there to have a look at those she didn't know yet. The rest of the school had already been cleaned up more or less completely, yet she was still glad that whoever vandalized the mansion had at least spared their rooms and the library. The loss of so many books would have hit her hard, without a doubt.

Selene: Cradling an armful of promising books in arm, she took a turn, absently reading the description on the back of one of the picked books. She caught the sitting figure ahead in the corner of her eye, glanced up, blinked a couple of times as she came closer, then stopped when she recognized who it was. What followed was a panicked screech and the tossing of books in all directions. #

Raya: Raya had heard about the school being vandalized, and was very thankful the medlab had been left out of it, as she'd been living down there for all intents and purposes. The screech still took her by surprise and she scrambled back, narrowly avoiding one of the books that went flying as she ducked behind the bookcase.

Raya: "Selene...?"

Selene: Selene had dove for cover behind the stack of books. She scrambled to her feet, and when she was sure that her heart wouldn't leap from her chest, she cautiously poked her head around the corner. "Raya...?" She stared at the other girl from behind a protective curtain of hair.

Raya: Raya's normally loose hair was tied back in a braid, bundled up so it wouldn't get caught in anything. "It's me..." she bit her lip. "I...I don't really know how to explain this. But, I'm...not dead."

Selene: Selene came out from hiding and took a few careful steps towards Raya. "No, you're not." She said, a small smile appearing on her face. This was none of Teagan's apparitions; she could clearly sense Raya's life signs. Selene took another quick step towards the other girl and spontaneously wrapped her arms around her.

Raya: Raya froze at that, shaking more than a little at being hugged tightly by Selene before the dam broke. She shuddered once, hard before dropping her head onto Selene's shoulder in a babble. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, it wasn't supposed to happen that way..."

Raya: "God, you and Mayhem and all the rest must be so angry at me, and I didn't mean for any of it to happen like that, and...and--" Her voice broke a little and she gave up trying to explain.

Selene: "Hey, everyone fakes their death at some point." Selene replied, grinning awkwardly at Raya. "I'm not angry. Even though I thought for a moment you'd go after my juicy brain there." She pulled back a little to have a better look at the other girl's face. "To be honest, I always had some doubts about your death."

Selene: "The teachers were unusually tight-lipped about the whole affair." She said, then shrugged casually. "Besides, I picked up someones thought patterns downstairs when I came to visit Amara. So, I came to the logical conclusion: McCoy was experimenting on your body to create a super-powered zombie mutant."

Raya: Raya only paused for a moment before going back to holding onto Selene tightly. "No, no. I...it's really complex. The heart attack...it didn't--I mean it wasn't--" she sighed.

Raya: "I wasn't really dead--well I was, but I'm not now--and...what am I going to do now? Now that the world thinks I'm dead?"

Selene: Selene kept her arms wrapped around Rays when she felt the girl cling to her. "Sounds like you went on a fantastic journey there." She said. "However, what matters is that you came back from the dead. So, if you ask me, you're in a very interesting position if the world really believes you to be dead."

Raya: "I know, and I don't want to be! How am I supposed to go register again, if my ID says I'm dead? Or get another green card? Or anything?"

Selene: "Don't." Selene simply stated and shrugged casually. "I'm not registered, either. I don't know if I even got a birth certificate. As you can see, I'm leading a perfectly normal life." She paused, frowning for a moment. "Scratch the normal. I'm leading the life I want to live. That fits better."

Raya: Raya sighed, looking dismayed. "But....I have to register one way or the other. If I don't and they find me, the least of my worries will be getting deported." That was obviously a thought she really didn't want to entertain.

Selene: "Not necessarily." Selene told Raya. "Believe me, there are ways around the registration. I eventually decided against registering with the government, and it hasn't affected me negatively so far. And I have no doubt I'd be deported, as well, or worse. I'm sure you could be helped, as well." She showed Raya a small smile.

Raya: "I....I guess. I don't know anymore...I'm worried about what any decision will end with. And I just want to stop worrying, for a little while."

Selene: "Then don't worry about it for a while." Selene stated casually. "You look normal enough to go without a valid registration for a while. And if the recent cases of vandalism here at school disturb you, feel free to hang out at the Hellfire Club with me. Strangely enough, it appears as the saner place right now."

Raya: She gave a slightly hollow laugh. "They're not going to care I'm supposed to be legally dead?"

Selene: Selene pondered this argument for a moment. "Well, I guess that's something to be decided on a case by case basis." She said, nodding slowly. "For example, government officials or police officers shouldn't find out you're supposed to be dead, for now. I doubt Sebastian would care, on the other hand. And the other club members don't need to know your legal status."

Raya: "I hope Sebastian doesn't care. I need to get out of the mansion for a night." she wasn't exactly planning on getting drunk and stripping to her underwear either, though she was fairly sure Selene would enjoy that, but....anywhere not here, where there wouldn't be cops who cared would be really nice.

Selene: "That should be no problem, at all." Selene replied, smirking slightly. "If you don't mind having me tag along, you won't have to worry about anyone causing trouble, either. If there should be some misunderstandings about your status, I could always give them a subtle mental suggestion to go and get interested in something else."

Raya: Raya just smiled at that, slowly breaking into laughs over the idea. "I....god, no. I don't mind if you come with me at all. I was thinking you would...I don't think I want to go anywhere alone for a few weeks."

Selene: "Excellent." Selene commented and flashed Raya a slightly mischievous grin. She paused. "I'm glad you decided to come out again." She added. "I missed you." Selene cleared her throat and glanced sideways, before focusing on Raya again. "Please don't tell anyone about my sentimentality."

Raya: She smiled. "I won't. I'm glad to come out...just, this is a little different for me. New."

Selene: "New is good." Selene commented. "I like new. It's very good at keeping familiar things from getting boring." She held her hand out for Raya. "So, now that you have decided to come out and see the world again, why not accompany me to the kitchen for a cup of tea?"

Raya: She bit her lip. The kitchen was almost always busy, and she didn't know if she was up to seeing that many people so quick. But she sighed at the look on Selene's face, and nodded a little. "Alright. Though I might need soda, instead. Tea is all I've been drinking, besides water lately."

Selene: "Works for me." Selene replied. "I promise to shield you with my life from all curious and annoying people who threaten to tackle you into the ground." She paused. "However, if you don't want to meet that many familiar people yet, we could also head out and find a cafe. Large groups of anonymous people can be easier to beat than small ones of familiar people."

Raya: People she knew, or people she didn't. Of the two, she was going to stick with the devil she knew. "I'll...I can stay here. Head for the kitchen. I guess I can hide if it comes to that." The lemon-goddess would protect her.

Selene: "I can just shove you into the pantry when things get out of hand." Selene promised, smiling wryly as she nodded. "Oh, one more thing before we expose you to the student body again..." Without a sign of warning, Selene leaned in close and kissed Raya on the lips.

Selene: "Please excuse my forwardness." Selene said, stepping back again. "A mere hug didn't seem appropriate to welcome a friend back from the dead. Besides, if you decide to suddenly keel over and die yet again, I could at least say that I kissed you before your demise."

Raya: Raya started at the unexpected kiss, but didn't fight it, and instead took a step forward to hug Selene again. She wanted to remind herself that she wasn't dead, and it wasn't a dream. And hope it would never happen again. "It's okay. I...we've got to find Mayhem, next. And let him know."

Selene: "We can stop by his room before we head to the kitchen." Selene replied, returning Raya's hug. "That way, you can have a private talk with him before the others dogpile you."

Raya: "That'd be really, really nice. And...I don't know how I'm going to make this up to people."

Selene: "Knowing people, I'd say that buying them ice cream would be a good first step." Selene mused. "Or cake. Everyone likes cake."

Raya: "Cake, then. Lots...and lots of cake."


Summary: Raya comes out of hiding and encounters Selene in the library. She reveals that she momentarily died and was declared officially dead.

[Edited on 26-5-09 by Starfish]

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Somehow it always ends with cake. Cake is good.