4/22 Instance: Stuff and Things

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.


Melati: Before the elevator doors opened, Melati turned towards the wall, checking her reflection in the mirrored surface. Her clawed finger traced the outline of the scar, marring her face in an x-shaped pattern. There was little she could do to hide it. The same was true for the black patch covering her left eye.

Melati: The cabin came to a gentle stop and freed the way into the bright hallway. Sauntering towards the door at the end of it, Melati cast a disdaining look at the lavish decoration. The guy might have just as well lived in a literal ivory tower.

Melati: She didn't even look around for some kind of bell, simply knocking on the heavy door a couple of times. "Anybody home?"

Jessica: Jess looked up from the file on her parents, recognising the voice. She smiled a little, setting the file to one side before she got up to answer the door. "Hey, Mel," she gave the girl a smile, until she saw her face. "... What happened?" she moved out of the way to let her in.

Melati: "Eddie happened," Melati replied, slipping past her into the room. She took a casual look around, hands in the pockets of her pants. "We got between him and Kraven. Didn't turn out too well, as you can probably guess."

Jessica: "Jesus..." She closed the door behind her. "So... he got to Kraven then? Or did you manage to stop him?"

Melati: "No, Eddie got away." Melati turned around to face Jessica again. "For better or worse, however, Kraven did not. In fact, I doubt we'll ever have to worry about him again. We also got Rott and most of the crazy cultists he was working for." She ran a hand over her head. "So, I guess that's that."

Jessica: "Oh... well that's great news," she smile, "I'm sure Sebastian will be pleased to hear that too when he gets home." she gestured Mel to follow her to the kitchen. "So... did you manage to find Jamie and Johnny?"

Melati: She bit her lip before giving a reply. "Yes and no," she began. "Jamie is alright; given the circumstances, anyway. Even though the same can't be said about a lot of dupes..."

Jessica: Jess faltered a little as she moved to the stove to put the kettle on, "And Johnny...?"

Melati: "It's... hard to tell," Melati slowly stepped closer behind Jessica. She took a deep breath, pushing herself onward. "We... found a body..." She quickly raised her hands, before adding: "The police is still trying to identify it, so there's nothing certain yet."

Jessica: It was a good thing she'd already set the kettle down or she'd probably have dropped it. Her hands went up to cover her mouth and she shook her head. "Why didn't anyone call me...?"

Melati: "Jess, I'm sorry." She stepped closer to the other girl, doing her best to give her a sympathetic look - not an easy task when sporting a fresh burn scar and an eyepatch. "This is not the kind of news you bring by phone."

Jessica: She shook her head again, leaning against the counter. "I didn't even know you were going out on a mission or anything... noone told me... I mean, I'm not surprised... but still..." She looked away, trying to maintain control of her emotions.

Melati: "It was a matter of minutes," Melati explained, standing by Jessica's side. "Basically grabbed anyone who happened to be around and moved out. It was all over so quickly, and in the end, we still we're too late."

Jessica: "I should have been there..." even though it probably wouldn't have made a difference. "What about Hope? Did you find her?"

Melati: Melati nodded. "Yeah, apparently she got there right after Eddie. She actually took out Rott. Didn't kill him, though." She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Must have heard a change of heart."

Jessica: Jess moved to the kettle when it as just shy of boiling to make tea, holding it up in offer to Mel, "How is she?"

Melati: "Alright, I believe. Physically, anyway." Melati rubbed her forehead. "Aside from that... I don't know. Give it a couple days. Everyone's a wreck at the moment."

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Yeah... I can imagine..." she ran a hand through her hair as she poured the water into a mug. "So what happens now?"

Melati: "Waiting for the cops to do their job, I guess." Melati leaned against the kitchen counter. "They arrested everyone at the scene. Hopefully, that's all of these sickos, but interrogations will tell. Other than that, all we can do right now is lick our wounds." Her instinctively went to the scar on her face. "And remember those we lost..."

Jessica: "I'm really sorry I wasn't there..." She shook the kettle in offer again, "Want some tea?"

Melati: "You know, I'm really not a tea person, but that sounds wonderful at the moment." She managed to show Jessica a small smile. "Be glad you weren't. It was one big mess." She sighed. "Even though... I know what you mean. I would have felt the same in your place."

Jessica: Jess poured some for Mel too, "I feel like I failed... through all of this... but I did all I could... if I'd have kept going through all of the missions I'd be crazier than Eddie right now... I could feel myself falling apart and every time I went back in the building it got worse... and still people made me feel guilty for not helping out..."

Melati: "Yeah, that surely isn't very pleasant, but also expected." Melati watched the hot water mingle with the tea. "Thanks." She held up her hand. "When people are tense, they look for anyone and anything to blame. Especially when they're trying to cope with setbacks and failure."

Jessica: "So... don't take it personally?" She went to get the milk and sugar. "It's kind of hard..."

Melati: "It's the best advice I can give." Melati managed a pained smirk. "The last couple of weeks have been hell for us, and I can't see it getting much better soon. The last thing we need is to make it even worse for each other." Her grip around the cup tightened. "Already got enough former friends who're doing that."

Jessica: Jess put the milk away once she'd stirred her tea and leaned against the counter again. "I feel like everyone is a former friend..."

Melati: "It's rough, I know, but we got to stick together now, yes?" She raised her gaze, looking at Jessica with her right eye. "Those of us who are still left."

Jessica: Jess nodded, "I would like nothing more... I'll just... I guess give it a few days... I have some stuff I need to arrange..."

Melati: Melati nodded. "Yeah, take your time. We all need to do that, really." She carefully took a sip from her tea. "It just would be nice to have you back at the school."

Jessica: "Yeah... I'll come back when I feel like there won't be a lynch mob waiting for me...." she ran a hand through her hair. "And... when I've dealt with some stuff..."

Melati: "That's okay," she affirmed, giving Jessica a nod. "As I've said, take your time. Summer is coming up, anyway." She looked to the side. "Maybe things will calm down by then."

Jessica: "Yeah... I hope so... although I probably won't be around much through summer..." she finally picked up her tea, gesturing for Mel to follow her to the living room.

Melati: Melati was a few steps behind Jessica as they entered the spacious, extravagantly furnished room. "You're going on a vacation?" she asked. "Maybe I should do that. Just chill for a couple weeks."

Jessica: "Well... kind of a vacation..." She sat down on the sofa and pulled her file back to her, "But more kind of a fact findy family thing..."

Melati: "Oh?" Melati invited herself to Shaw's sofa, flopping down on the couch next to Jessica. "Sounds like some kind of adventure. You wanna find some more of your relatives or something?"

Jessica: Jess shook her head, "I don't have any.... But... Sebastian was kind enough to do some digging for information about my parents... turned out not to be so hard..."

Melati: "And you're secretly the lost princess of a forgotten kingdom?" Melati put on a wry smirk. "Sorry, couldn't resist. But yeah, I assume he found something interesting?"

Jessica: She nodded, "Kind of surprising actually... My mother was a hereditory hellfire club member... and my dad became a member later after they were married..."

Melati: "No shit?" Melati raised an eyebrow. "Guess that explains how Shaw could dig up the info on her, no? Now you probably wonder what your great-grandparents were up to, eh? Hell, I would, too."

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Yeah... so I thought I'd go to London over the summer... see what they remember at the club there... maybe they can tell me some things that aren't in the file..."

Melati: "Sounds worth a shot." Melati nodded, before taking another sip from her tea. "Who knows, maybe you'll find out you're actually rich."

Jessica: Jess smiled a little, shaking her head. If only she knew. "Maybe..." She set her mug down on a coaster and looked through the file, pulling out a picture. "This is them..."

Melati: Melati leaned closer to take a good look at the picture, pausing a moment to glance up at Jessica's face. "Yeah, you can see the relation," she said, before showing a grin. "Then again, you westerners look all the same to me, anyway."

Jessica: Jess managed another smile back at her, "Dad always said I looked like her..." She looked at the picture for a little longer before putting it back in the file and closing it over. "I just want to go and see what I can find out... I need to do something anyway..."

Melati: "Well, at the very least, you get to see London," Melati commented with a slight shrug. "That alone should be worth a trip, no? Plus, it'll take your mind of everything else. So, win-win?"

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Yeah... I've been to London before... and I lived there til my mum died... Johnny and Danny took me there right after they picked me up from Amsterdam..."

Melati: "Cool, two places I want to go to," she said, holding up two fingers. "You should give me a tour sometime."

Jessica: "If I ever want to go back there I'll bring you with me... but I can't see me wanting to do that any time soon..." she shook her head, "Kind of want to forget why I was there."

Melati: "Sure thing." Melati leaned forward to put down her cup. "I don't want to tear open old wounds. Anyway, I hope you find out something on your little self-finding trip."

Jessica: "Yeah... me too... I'd like for Kevin to get back before I go but that's looking increasingly unlikely... so I'll just have to keep trying his phone..."

Melati: "I can't blame him for wanting to stay as far away from the school as he can, with all that's been going on." She rested her elbows on her knees. "Give things time to calm down."

Jessica: She shook her head, "He's been off doing something since the begining of February... I've spoken to him all of once and he said he was coming home but that was like a month ago... and everything's kind of gone to hell while he's been away and I really just want him to be here... then a whole lot of things wouldn't have happened."

Melati: "Eh, you can't know that. Other things would have happened instead." She kept watching the contents of her cup. "Sure, of course you miss him, but at least he wasn't here to go through... all that mess."

Jessica: "Well if he was here... I probably wouldn't be here... and I don't know how I feel about that..." she frowned, "I'm very confused right now. Because a lot of stuff has happened... good stuff... which wouldn't have happened if I wasn't here... except I know he's going to be really upset with me..."

Melati: "Either he'll come around, or he won't." Melati shrugged, her response terse. "You'll figure it out sooner or later. Don't dwell on it."

Jessica: "Yeah... I guess it comes down to whether or not he can follow my reasoning..."

Melati: Melati looked up from her cup, a confused look on her face as she eyed Jessica. "Actually, I have no clue what you're going on about right now..." she admitted.

Jessica: She sighed, "I'm talking about the whole thing where I ended up here... with Sebastian..."

Melati: "Ah, I see." She picked up her cup again and downed its contents in one swallow. "Yeah, guess he might have some issues with that. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have run off if he didn't want something like this to happen, no?"

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Yeah... I didn't even know if he was going to come back.... wasn't sure he was still alive til he called... and all this other stuff has been happening and it's not the kind of thing you want to go through without someone to lean on, you know?"

Jessica: She sighed, "But it's been kind of hard already to deal with all the comments from everyone else so I don't know what to do... and I don't feel like it's a conversation we should have over the phone."

Melati: Raising her eyebrows, Melati gave Jessica a look. "That sure sounds... I don't know." She leaned back and shook her head. "Listen, I'm not sure I'm the right person to talk to about such thing. Especially right now."

Jessica: "No, I know... the timing sucks... everything's just so messed up..." she picked up her tea, wrapping her hands around the mug and taking a sip. "Life needs an instruction manual..."

Melati: "Life needs less assholes messing it up for everyone else, if you ask me," Melati commented, offering Jessica a strained little smirk.

Jessica: Jess laughed a little, setting her cup down and leaning to wrap her arms around Mel for a hug.

Melati: Melati blinked, taken by surprise and unsure how she should feel. Slowly, she brought up one arm to put it around the other girl. "You know I normally don't do hugs, right?" she reminded Jessica, nevertheless a faint smile on her lips. "Though, you also don't get a hot knife jammed into your eye every day, so I'll make an exception."

Jessica: Jess wrinkled her nose, "Ow... that sounds like it hurt... you're going to heal, right? Not that I don't think you pull off the eyepatch thing really well..."

Melati: "Yeah, I've had more pleasant encounters already." Melati chuckled. "Apparently the heat left some nasty scarring, so it won't heal by itself. McCoy is scheduling some reconstructive surgery to take care of that, though." She smirked at Jessica. "I might keep the eyepatch, anyway."

Jessica: Jess shuddered at the thought of surgery. "Rather you than me..."

Melati: "Hey, that's what I'm here for, no?" She laughing, before giving Jessica a friendly slap on the shoulder. "After all, getting hurt is what I do best."

[Ult_Sm86]

Love the title, just sayin'.