4/26 Instance: Tenacious Plants

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.


Cecilia: Cecilia had heard the rumours about what happened to Mel when she got back from her uncle's house but wasn't so sure how to bring up what she wanted to say in a way that most would find appropriate or tactful. She mulled over this for almost a day when she eventually realized she was talking to Mel and not some pussy of a girl that'd cry the second she said something wrong and that she'd probably never know the right thing to say ever.

Cecilia: Just in case though, she'd brought along a small bottle of rum that evening as she knocked on Mel's door through their shared bathroom, to act as an olive branch and a buffer.

Melati: "Yo, it's open," Melati called out without looking up. She sat on her bed, back against the headboard, cradling her guitar in her lap. The eyepatch had begun to irritate her after a while, its straps grinding against the scars and making them itch, so she had placed it on the bedside table while tuning the instrument.

Cecilia: Cecilia poked her head through the door, fighting hard not to wince at Mel's damaged eye. "...So...I thought since you got beat up by the same asshole Rachel, Cessily and I did I'd offically welcome you into the sisterhood with this," she said, raising the rum. "Up for it?"

Melati: Clawed finger struck a chord, before Melati looked up at the girl and the gift she brought. "Hey, I'm game for any club that includes free rum with its membership," she replied, revealing an uneven smirk. Reaching for the eyepatch, she put it back on to conceal the disfiguring wound. She wasn't squeamish, but there was no need to gross out her guest.

Melati: "If you still need suggestions for a club emblem..." She raised a hand to tap the x-shaped scar on her face.

Cecilia: Cecilia handed Mel the rum and sat down at the end of the bed, kicking off her shoes and sitting crossed legged. "Actually that sounds like an excellent idea," she said, turning her head to Mel and parting her afro at the back of her skull, revealing the ugly crisscross of scars she'd gotten from Ed last semester. "Two of us have the same type of scar."

Melati: Melati arched her eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "Damn, I had no idea he got you that hard," she commented, placing the bottle on her nightstand for a moment, before she leaned over to rummage through the drawers. "Where are you... ah, here we go." She produced two shot-glasses from somewhere. They even looked moderately clean.

Melati: Proceeding to pour each of them a shot, she then held out one glass for Cecilia. "Guess we just have to carve Rachel and Kincaid now, then we're all good." She cracked an edgy grin.

Cecilia: Cecilia snorted a little at the joke. "I'll hold them down and you carve," she said wryly, taking the shot. "Circles Pines, there. I'm sure you remember how spazzed I was after that. That's partially why. Lacerated scalp, concussion, cracked ribs and a bruised kidney from a blow he directed at me while I was trying to help him."

Cecilia: She studied the amber liquid in the glass. "He threatened to kill me, told Fabian if he didn't stop burning him out he'd snap my neck. What he didn't know is I would've been dead already if it hadn't been for my shields. He would've shattered my rib cage." She tossed back the shot with a wince. "Just luck saved me."

Melati: "That appears to be a pattern with him," Melati said, before doing the same and tossing back the shot. "Him trying to kill the people who want to help him, that is." She leaned forward to take the empty glass from Cecilia. "Actually, that's not true. He wasn't trying to kill me."

Melati: Putting down the glasses on the nightstand, she poured both of them another shot. "In fact, he made damn sure I'd live."

Cecilia: Cecilia studied Mel. "I know. If he wanted you dead, you'd be dead. I saw what he did during the mission, he could do the same thing again...did do the same thing again," she said sighing. "Feels like shit doesn't it? Having every illusion of safety and independence you had shattered by one person, despite all the training we've gone through and more superhuman abilities than you can count. It's terrifying to know it doesn't matter in the end. That you're fallible. That your body can betray you..."

Melati: Melati's grip on the bottle tightened, and she accidentally spilled a swig of the bronze liquid. Her jaw was clenched as she put it back down. "Did you come here to cheer me up, or to rub in what he did to me?" she asked, her voice tense. Looking up, she handed Cecilia her refilled glass, her hand trembling a little.

Melati: "Because I really can't tell at the moment." She didn't like hearing those words from her. Each felt like another stab from the hot knife he had used on her. "Are you saying I'm weak?"

Cecilia: "Neither and none of the above," Cecilia said, her eyes narrowing and her tone sharper than she intended. "What do think I am - a heartless bitch? No, I -..." she choked down the refilled shot, her own hand shaking with a mixture of fury and fear. "I'm not saying that 'cause I want to hurt you. I saying that so that you'd feel less alone."

Melati: Her lips turned a paler shade of green whens he pressed them together into a thin line. Before saying anything else, she raised the glass and downed its contents. "I know," she eventually replied, her voice strained. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

Melati: She rolled the empty glass back and forth between the palms of her hands. "You're right... and that's exactly what makes me so angry."

Cecilia: "No, you had a right to be angry," Cecilia said. "I wasn't exactly clear why I said that...suffice to say what happened to me with Ed wasn't the first time something like that has happened. My brushes with death go way back."

Cecilia: Cecilia studied Mel. "I've told only one other person this...you probably know my father was murdered, everybody does. Most everyone knows I witnessed it too...what they don't know though is the guy who did it also tried to kill me."

Cecilia: She made a gun with one hand and jammed it against her forehead. "Held it like this to my head and started to pull the trigger. I had no powers at the time. I'm only alive 'cause he let me go - I don't know why. They never caught him so I never got to ask."

Melati: Melati studied Cecilia for a while, silence-filled seconds stretching between them. "Fuck, that's some messed up shit." She took a breath, then let the air flow from her lungs. "At least I have a pretty good idea why Eddie spared my life." Turning around, she picked up the bottle and poured herself another shot of rum.

Melati: "Not that it's any consolation," she added with a dry chuckle. "That had to keep you up at night more than once, no? I mean, hell, that's the kind of stuff that can mess you up for life."

Cecilia: "What's your theory on that? Why he did spare you, I mean. Please don't tell me it's 'cause there's still good in him. I might just barf," she said, making a face. She smirked a second later though, "You didn't think my problems were 'cause daddy didn't love me now did you?" She laughed.

Melati: "Nah, I always thought you were just born a mean, foul-mouthed bad-ass, just like me." Melati managed a small grin. "Kindred souls, eh?" Her expression turned serious, as she eyed the dark liquid in her glass. "Ah don't worry, if anything is gonna make you hurl today, I'll make sure it's the rum."

Melati: She shook her head. "Believe me, there was not a trace of goodness left in him that night. Which is exactly why I'm still alive." Her gaze returned to Cecilia. "So I would remember what he did... so he can continue to torment me. No mercy, just maliciousness."

Cecilia: Cecilia thought a moment. "Then's he's as much of an idiot as the guy who left me alive," she said. "'Cause it won't torment you, Mel. It might hurt you awhile, but it won't destroy you. You'll rebuild, you'll get better and one day this whole thing? It will be just a footnote in your life story."

Cecilia: "You don't forget," she admitted. "It doesn't work like that...but you don't become the tragedy, you don't remain a victim, not if you're strong and you are, boss. I know you're better than that."

Melati: After a long look at the other girl, a short laugh come across Melati's lips. "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," she said, raising her glass at Cecilia. "For once, I'm hoping that you will be be right."

Cecilia: "Same here," she admitted. "Usually I hate it when I'm right, but this time? I really hope I am." She studied her glass again. "I think you're up to the challenge though...but y'know, everyone needs help sometimes, there's good days and then there's shit days..."

Cecilia: "If you ever need an ear, boss, I'm willing to listen. I promise no heart-to-heart's and confessions of love," Cecilia smirked. "If not though, I get it. All I wanted to do was forget my trauma (though didn't exactly work out that way). Just remember though, for what it's worth, I'm taking your side in this. Ed's gonna pay for all the shit he brought on us."

Melati: "Thanks for the offer; I really appreciate it." Melati offered a faint smirk. "Forgetting... now there's a tempting solution. Maybe I should keep drinking until I've killed all my brain cells, so they can regrow with a clean slate." She chuckled dryly. "Though, to be honest, I don't think I want to forget any of it."

Melati: "Ugly as they may be, those memories can either break me, or they can give me purpose." She tossed back the shot and grimaced. "Guess it's up to me what it'll be."

Cecilia: "It gives you a different perspective," Cecilia admitted. "Some people here wonder why I bother to live with all my shit when I could just go see that professor and have it removed." She chuckled. "I think they're just hoping when I got out I'd be less difficult and sweeter and easier to agree with."

Cecilia: "I lived with it so long it's an integral part of who I am," she admitted. "I didn't come outta my experience the same person - that event shaped a great deal of me. Hopefully, where you'll succeed where I didn't is the shelving the event." She shrugged slightly. "Can't help you there I'm afraid. I didn't quite manage it."

Melati: "Maybe we can fail at it together," Melati half-joked , reaching for the bottle to give both of them another refill. "Trying to push the memories away seems like giving up to me, you know? I like to tell me that as long as I don't let it change or break me, he hasn't defeated me yet." She bit her lip. "It's the only way I have to fight back."

Cecilia: "...I understand that way of thinking," Cecilia admitted. "Personally, though? I don't think it's an attainable goal. Everything that happens to us shapes us, changes us. Who we are seems fluid to me, I think we can be many different people in just one lifetime."

Cecilia: She nodded her head in thanks as her glasses was refilled. "I don't think changing or even breaking defeats you," she said thoughtfully. "I don't think remaining intact implies strength either. I think it means a great deal to let yourself be shattered when it's warranted and then reform, rebuild, resurrect." She shrugged. "Maybe I'm biased though, it's what I had to do. Be reborn, but I'm sure there are others that don't have to."))

Melati: "Now you sound as if you're trying to recruit me for your sect." Melati laughed, trying not to spill any of the precious rum. "I think I get what you mean, though. Well, here's hoping that if I end up a changed woman through all this, it'll be for the better, eh?" She revealed her sharp teeth as she grinned at Cecilia.

Cecilia: "I have been told I get philosophical when I'm inebri...enbri...fuck me, when I'm drunk," Cecilia said, squinting in concentration. She grinned back at Mel. "Alcohol only gets better with age. I don't see why it should be any different for you."

Melati: "As long as I never fully grow up, I can live with that." She revealed an honest grin, leaning forward to clink her glass against Cecilia's. "You know, perhaps I needed that. A reminder that I'm not invincible, I mean." She inhaled and pressed her lips together. "Make no mistake, I got my asses handed to me, before, and quite badly at times."

Melati: "But no matter how bad things looked, I knew there was nothing that could keep me down for good. That in the end, I'd always come up on top." Her smile looked strained. "And as the result of all that, I guess I just stopped giving a fuck about what might happen to me."

Cecilia: Cecilia put an hand on Mel's shoulder. "You were scared," she said simply.

Melati: After a moment of hesitation, her answer come in the form of a tense nod. "I think it may have been the first time I truly believed I might not make it out alive," she said. "The first time I worried about myself, instead of those around me."

Cecilia: Cecilia nodded. "Nothing wrong with being scared. Hell, I'm scared the majority of the time. Fear helps us survive, it only when it begins to control your life is when you got a problem." She sighed. "There isn't anyone in the this world with half a brain that wouldn't have been scared in your position. If you weren't I'd question your sanity."

Melati: "Maybe you wouldn't be too far off if you did that, anyway," Melati remarked. a frown on her face as she put on an awkward smile and ran a hand over her head. "I try to focus my mind on anything I can get my hands on. Whatever there is to distract me. Doesn't work too well."

Cecilia: "No, it doesn't," Cecilia laughed, the strain evident. "I mean, I have flashbacks so there's not much I can do to stop thinking of it, but I know what you mean. Sometimes it can feel like it's the only thing you can think of."

Melati: "I take it that means it doesn't really get much better, no?" Melati smirked, even though her expression looked pained.

Cecilia: "It does overtime, or at least it did for me, keep in mind though I have 'chronic' PTSD. I'll never really get better, the best I can hope for is excellent coping skills. You're getting help now that I never had. You might walk away from this with no lingering effect." Cecilia shrugged. "Even with the problems I have though I found it easier to bear overtime...it's only recently it's come back and hit me like a mack truck."

Melati: "Easy to see why, with that whole damned mess." She rubber a hand over her face and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm surprised that the entire school doesn't need therapy."

Cecilia: Cecilia laughed. "I can agree with the therapy but I think some need it more than others," she admitted. "The whiners get more attention, it's the people who are stoic that concern me more." She thought of Hope, now that was a troubling prospect. She'd actually thought the other girl was dead the other day when she came across her in John's car.

Melati: "It's always the quiet ones, eh?" Melati put on a lopsided grin, then tossed back another shot. "Well, you don't have to worry about me, anyway. I can assure you I neither intend to whine your ears off, nor do I plan to go axe crazy on all of you anytime soon."

Melati: "I do what I've always done best - persevere." She chuckled, her grinning turning honest. "Like some nasty, thorny shrub you just can't get rid of."

Cecilia: "Even if you did, I know how to put whiners in their place," Cecilia said, her grin almost feral. She grinned and raised her glass. "Guess they'll have to find a better weed killer to get rid of us, yeah?"

Melati: Not even bothering to pour herself another shot, Melati simply raised the bottle of rum in response. "To the meanest of weeds," she replied. "You just can't keep us down."

[steyn]

Cecilia is just so damn mean. Even when she's being nice.