11/19 Instance: Not as Bad as it Could've Been

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: Risky Business


Rachel: Rachel had found a chair in the rec room to curl up in, legs pulled up with a sketchpad in her lap. With her headphones in her ears, she was fairly content as she doodled on a blank page, not drawing anything in particular.

Cecilia: Cecilia stalked down the stairs and into the rec room. Ah, Rachel. Good. "Hey, Rachel!" She stood in front of the older woman and waved her hands to get her attention. "We need to talk."

Rachel: She blinked at the flailing and glanced up to Cecilia, dropping the pen to pull the headphones out of her ears. "So... We're talking..."

Cecilia: "Not like that," she said quickly. "<LIKE THIS>" she directed mentally at Rachel, projecting slightly too loudly, as those inexperienced with telepath were known to do. "<WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ISN'T SOMETHING YOU WANT SOMEONE TO OVERHEAR.>"

Rachel: Rachel pulled a face at the thoughts being directed at her, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and reached for the other girl's mind. "Not so loud."

Cecilia: Cecilia felt like her perception had been thrown into a blender for a split second and then...she was standing back in the Bronx, in the neighbourhood she'd grown up in. "What the fuck?!" She exclaimed. "What the fuck just happened?! Rachel what did you do to me?!"

Rachel: She cringed at the volume as she glanced around the neighborhood. It was vaguely familiar. Giving a bit of a shrug, she waved off the concern, "It's a telepath thing. So... What are talking about?"

Cecilia: Cecilia blinked. "Wait, so you pulled this landscape out of my head?" Huh, well that wasn't comforting, knowing the first place that came to her mind was this shithole.

Cecilia: Cecilia frowned and crossed her arms. "We're talking about Egypt. I know about your little secret. How you managed to defeat Nur, how you used my friend to accomplish your vendetta."

Cecilia: "I'm not impressed. At all."

Rachel: "Well, it's not my hood, so yeah..." Rachel answered, raising an eyebrow at the rest of it. She remained silent for a few moments as she debated exactly how to respond, eventually setting on, "I promised Fabian I wouldn't tell anyone."

Cecilia: "Good," remarked Cecilia. "Because the last thing he needs is for people to lose faith him now, when he's finally achieved some modicum of trust. That kind of loss of faith this late in the game would be devastating. Hell, it might put his safety at risk. And I'm not willing to let that happen."

Cecilia: "He told me last night after I pressed him. So only you, me and Fabian know about this. I came here, among other reasons, to make sure you were going to keep your mouth shut."

Cecilia: "Not that I believe Fabian can't look after himself," she clarified. "He can. He survived this far it's just...he's not...bulletproof, like I am..."

Rachel: "I don't take promises lightly, and if I was going to talk I think I would've during the entire week of interrogations I went through because I'm sure as hell not stupid enough to mention it now. Not only would it fuck him over, I'm sure Darren would haul my ass back to prison," Rachel replied, trying to keep her tone even despite the slight irritation and shaking her head, "Nobody's bulletproof."

Cecilia: Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember what my power set is? Or did you not notice that I blocked your TK waves in the desert? If I can do that a few bullets aren't going to drop me."

Cecilia: "Good," she replied. "I'm glad to hear it. Mostly for Fabian's sake but also for yours. You won't do us any good rotting in prison. You can fix far more things when you're free."

Cecilia: "But there's something I wanna know," she said, eyes narrowing. "What would you have done if Fabian had refused you? Or if you didn't have your 'moment of clarity' when you exploded Bobby?"

Cecilia: "Would you have turned and attacked us? Would you have melted Fabian's brains?"

Rachel: "Ah... Bulletproof in that sense, though I can't say I was paying much attention to what you were up to." Rachel sucked in a breath, not particularly seeing the point in the line of questioning. It was done with, so why did it matter what she would've done? "I don't know? I mean, I would've carried on and finished the job, I guess... I hadn't really thought about it..."

Rachel: She managed a small smirk, "I'm not particularly known for thinking ahead..."

Cecilia: "And that there, is why you make me very nervous," said Cecilia, scowling. "We'll never know how things would've gone," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "So there's no point in speculating or worrying. Worrying's for before something happens, not after."

Cecilia: "Thank you," she said, staring at the fake horizon. "For enduring me, again. And I promise, in the future I won't be so antagonistic...well, not abnormally so."

Cecilia: "So long as you make good on your promise to fix things, of course," she smirked.

Rachel: "I think I make everybody nervous. It's a gift," Rachel gave another shrug, "But, I would've finished Nur, with or without Fabian's help. The process was just faster with it. That's all I can say for sure."

Rachel: "And not as antagonistic would be fantastic... Although, it's a nice test of my patience," she returned the smirk with a nod, "I intend to make good on it. Like I said, I don't take promises lightly."

Cecilia: Cecilia nodded. "I don't either. Something we have in common...And I appreciate your keeping this quiet. I don't want either of you to be denied of a chance to redeem yourselves."

Rachel: "Well, besides the general mistrust it would spread and other risks, no one else needs to take a fall for something I did," Rachel shook her head, looking around again, "By the way, are we done here?"

Cecilia: Cecilia snorted. "Yeah, we're done. I've said my peace. You can take us back home."

Rachel: She released the other girl's mind as well as a sigh, sitting back in her seat in the rec room. Home. While the school was home in a sense, it sat strangely with her. Making a slight face, Rachel shifted in her seat, careful not to dump the sketchbook off her lap, "Here we are..."

Cecilia: Cecilia smiled at the sight of the rec room. "Thanks," she said. "So...er, I'm just...gonna go..." She said, edging to the door. "Later."

Rachel: Giving a small wave, Rachel watched Cecilia go and let out another sigh when she was gone, shoulders slumping. It seemed like a trend with Cecilia, but her general consensus after conversations with the girl were that it could have gone worse... This incident was no different.