Timeline: Shortly after the assassination of Pryor and Zazel.
Mayday: Smiling to herself, Mayday stretched, glad to be out of her costume and finally on her way to get some food. She still felt terrible about all that had happened, but she'd done her part; it was 3am. Realistically, she knew she couldn't function for seventeen hours straight carrying bodies away, assisting cordoning off areas of the city, etcetera.
Mayday: She'd managed to do her part, however. People had been saved, panic had subsided, and the investigations were underway. The police had sent her home with thanks, and until tomorrow - until later - she could rest easy.
Melati: Melati was in desperate need of rest herself, though in her case, there was no chance it would come easy. At least it could be said she had done her part, as well - if taking her enhanced metabolism as close to the breaking point as alcohol would allow. She had done well enough, though, if the world spinning in front of her hazy eyes was any indication.
Melati: The lock on the mansion's front door stepped up as her final challenger of the night, refusing to let her in. Once she had determined her keys must have been left in the pieces of clothing she had lost along the way, the reptilian mutant resolved the issue with a badly aimed swipe of her claws.
Melati: Metal was sliced apart with an angry screech and wood splintered, but the door finally gave in when the young woman fell against it. A muttered curse come across her lips as she stumbled over the last step of the stairs. Something stopped her swaying motions, but not without falling to the hallway floor. It sounded fragile.
Mayday: The noises at the front door had Mayday pin herself to the wall to hide, peeking around the corner to spot what kind of intruder had entered. When she caught the sight of Melati, she quit hiding and darted to her side.
Mayday: "Mel!", the redhead called out as she slid down, taking Melati into her arms, "A-are you alright?", she looked up to the door, half expecting the Acolytes to burst in and attack her there and then.
Melati: Melati tried to find the source of the voice, her unfocused eyes darting from side to side. The red tresses swaying in front of her face seemed vaguely familiar, even though the face they framed refused to keep steady. "Mayday?" she asked, her speech slurring. Her clawed hand grabbed at the girl, threatening to topple them both as she lost her balance once more.
Melati: "Hey, Mayday!" A wide grin appeared on her scarred face. "I'm... great! Fucking... great." Claws cut through the wooden panels lining the walls when she tried to steady herself. "How are you?"
Mayday: Mayday frowned, features in a knot of concern as she watched the mess that was Melati Kusuma attempting to keep herself steady, ".....I'm.....a-are you sure? You....you reek of alcohol and...", she recalled where Melati may have been, "....oh, Jesus. Eddie did this?"
Mayday: She tried to move to see Mel's face, cringing at the scars upon her, "....what happened?"
Melati: "Not Eddie," Melati replied, closing her eyes for a moment in the hope of making the room stop spinning. She took a deep breath, before letting the air flow from her lungs, carrying with it the odor of everything she drank that night. "Venom."
Melati: "But hey, who cares about him, right?" An odd laugh came across her lips as she opened her eyes again, trying to focus her vision on the redheaded girl. "They shot Pryor, after all. Our great and best chance of changing things. Shot right in the head!" She shook her head, still laughing to herself.
Melati: "Now our best chance has her brains splattered all across that stage." From somewhere she produced an empty bottle and raised it to toast the air. "Here's to change!"
Mayday: "H-he...it did this?", Mayday exhaled slowly, shaking her head, "Y-you....you couldn't save him?"
Melati: The lizard mutant slightly shook her head. "I tried," she told the other girl. "It's just... too strong." With some effort, she managed to push herself off the wall, holding on to her friend for balance instead. "But he's still fighting it. That means he's not given up. There's... still hope, right?"
Mayday: Looking at the state of Melati answered the question for Mayday, reluctant as she was to confess that. She sighed, nodding slowly, "Yeah...m-maybe...", she decided on, "...come on, lemme get you a coffee, you need to rest. A lot."
Melati: "Yeah, coffee! It's the best!" Melati leaned heavily on Mayday, her tail swaying aimlessly and making it hard for both girls to walk without tripping over the long appendage. "Hey, you know what's even better than coffee? Coffee with rum in it!" She looked at her friend's face. "You got rum, yes?"
Mayday: "I'm not giving you alcohol...", Mayday sighed, completely downcast and depressed watching her friend in the state she was in. On top of everything else, her body felt as heavy as it had on her way home pre-shower.
Mayday: Leading them into the kitchen, she left Melati at the breakfast bar, going about brewwing more coffee in silence.
Melati: "And here I thought you were my friend." Melati slouched on her chair with a pout on her face. It turned out that not falling over was a challenge even when sitting down, so much that she felt safer holding on to the edge of the table. Her claws left deep marks in the wood.
Mayday: The tearing into the table made Mayday cringe visibly as she waited on the coffee, turning around to watch Melati with concern, "...do you wanna...talk about it?", she dared ask.
Melati: "Talk about what?" Mealti returned the question, her head rolling from side to side in an attempt to counter the swaying of the kitchen before her eyes. "How I wasn't there to protect my friends and all those people who got shot? How I decided it would be better to feel sorry for myself and get drunk off my ass instead of doing, you know, my fucking job?"
Melati: "Or how I maybe could have done something to keep Hope from catching a bullet meant for her head, or prevented two of our freshmen from ending up in the medlab with several gunshot wounds?" She huffed. "Yeah, let's talk about what a great leader I am."
Mayday: Mayday felt her heart break, the crack in it she swore grew larger and larger with every word. Unable to find anything to say, she turned away and went about preparing coffee cups.
Melati: "Hey, at least I keep on fighting, no?" Melati looked down at the splintered cracks in the table, adding some more to it as if she was creating some kind of art. "No matte what happens, I get up and soldier on. That's what I do, right?" She let her head fall to one side. "What does it matter that I just can't fucking win."
Mayday: "We win plenty.", Mayday said back, pouring the now-prepped coffee into the cups before lifting and carrying both to where Melati was sat, "Like....like when we liberated Circle Pines."
Melati: Melati chuckled, no trace of humour in her voice. "No, what we do is clean up the damage after it's already been done." She pushed herself up and leaned on the table. "And even that is something others are better at than me."
Melati: "Let's face it, that Cassie, Shaw, Johnny, and Jamie are still alive is only because they saved themselves, or others did what was necessary. They surely owe me no gratitude." She huffed again, looking down at her hands. "I could even stop Venom from gutting that bastard Kraven."
Mayday: "So you're gonna just sit here and count the losses?", Mayday shook her head, pushing the coffee into the other girl's hand, "Drink that and rest. What you're doing isn't helping..."
Melati: "Nothing I do is," Melati muttered, carefully handling the cup. She had to laugh while watching the steaming hot, black beverage inside. "Hell, will you listen to me? I sound like one of those self-righteous whining teenagers. And I can't even stand those suckers."
Melati: Raising the cup, she looked up at the redhead standing above her. For the first time since stumbling back to the school, a genuine smile appeared on her lips. "Thanks."
Mayday: For some reason, the thanks did nothing to alleviate the feeling of utter heartbreak and disappointment in everything her world had become in the last twenty-four hours. She smiled weakly, sipping from her cup in silence.
Melati: The sting of the hot coffee on her lips and tongue helped to bring some clarity to Melati's foggy mind. Taking another sip with an audible slurp, she watched the redhead sitting across from her. "By the way, did anyone tell you that you kinda look like crap tonight?"
Mayday: "I-I....what?", Mayday stammered, blushing a little out of feeling somewhat offended at first before sighing as she realized what was intended; "Oh...yeah, I was out helping with evacuation and cordoning off streets. Helping police, carrying wounded victims...."
Melati: A lopsided smile on her lips, Melati gave a slight nod of approval. "You've always been better at this hero thing than me," she told Mayday, closing her eyes as she took another sip of coffee. "You're made for this. Me? I'm just a kid playing soldier." She carefully put the cup back down and watched the other girl through half-open eyes.
Melati: "Maybe you should lead the team." Smiling to herself, she blew the air from her lungs in a huff. "And I wasn't serious, you know? You look awesome, actually."
Mayday: Mayday smiled a little at the compliment, "What, sat in a badly fitting hoodie and pyjama pants?", she looked down at them, giggling at herself, "TMNT is cool, I don't care what anyone says..."
Mayday: She looked back up at Melati, "But you're wrong. You're one of the best. You don't flinch or freeze up in tense situations. You're strategically minded, you're tough to boot and....and you're confident. That's important."
Mayday: Letting out a dry laugh, she shrugged, "I mean, I'm okay, but as a leader? You seriously think anyone'd listen to me? I'll save that for Mass Effect..."
Melati: "Come on know, don't make me blush," Melati replied, looking down as she ran a hand over her head. "I like stupid when I do with my green skin." She looked up at Mayday again, giving her a crooked smile. "Maybe you don't see yourself not as a leader, but I see you as a just as important part of our team - its heart and soul."
Melati: "I don't keep going for me, you know? If it weren't for everyone of you..." She let her head flop to the other side, the smile on her face growing a little bigger. "You need a reason to get up again and again to fight on."
Mayday: Giggling again at the compliment, Mayday scratched her nose, hiding her blush behind a hand as she cleared her throat, "Well, that's...really sweet. But you know, you don't owe me anything personally.", she sipped more coffee, "Ok? Just remember that..."
Mayday: Casual as the conversation was, Mayday couldn't help but feel a little sick and hurt; it was hard to keep her mind off of the fact that Ed-....that Venom had put Melati through hell. It was written all over her.
Melati: "Hey, you didn't have to drag me back in here, no?" Melati smiled at Mayday, even though it was still tricky to keep the redhead in focus. "You've already done more for me than you had to, so don't say I don't owe you." The tip of her tail found its way between the other girl's ankles. "You know, I can make it up to you."
Mayday: Mayday's initial reaction was to jump a little, letting out a nervous laugh despite herself when she noticed it was just the other girl beneath the table, "Thanks, but you're alright. I'ma just crash in Jan's room, I don't care if she's asleep.",
Melati: "Why risk waking her?" Melati's smile turned more and more into a predatory smirk. "I probably need someone to help me get up to my room, anyway." Her tail was now curling around the other girl's legs. "I can find a spot for you to stay..."
Mayday: "O....kay, this is getting weird.", Mayday smiled wryly, getting up and pulling her legs away with a little effort, "You're....kinda makin' me uncomfortable, h-how much did you say you had to drink?"
Melati: "Not so much that I wouldn't be able to still have some fun," Melati replied, having to steady herself as she pushed herself up from her chair. Her hand slipped and she almost fell to the floor. "See? I told you you gotta help me here."
Mayday: Smiling still, Mayday shook her head, "Dude, I'm taken. You know I'd never get with someone else unless, you know, Jan was there.", she sighed a little, "Come on, you're talkin' crazy because booze and stress, let's get you to bed, 'k?", she approached Melati and offered her an arm.
Melati: Melati took a deep breath and held it for a moment, trying to clear her head. She nodded and accepted the offered arm. "You're right," she said, leaning on Mayday for support. "I'm sorry, it's... I don't know what I'm thinking anymore. You're just..." Resting her head on Mayday's shoulder, she could resist nuzzling the girl's neck.
Melati: "Shit, do you have any idea how damn hot you are?" She snickered, her long tongue running over the other girl's skin. "Maybe Jan wouldn't mind..."
Mayday: "I'm pretty damn sure I would!", Mayday pushed her away a little, smile disappearing, "Mel, you're seriously freakin' me out, what the hell?",
Melati: "I... " Melati swallowed her own words, trying to work through the stutter. "I don't want to be alone tonight." She almost sounded pleading. "I just need someone." Once more she tried to push herself into Mayday's arms, the proximity of her warm body and her scent driving her single-minded brain.
Mayday: Mayday pushed her back again, "Mel! Stop it! Y'need to sleep! And not sleep with anyone!"
Melati: Stumbling back, Melati caught herself by holding on to the large fridge. She blinked, looking at Mayday with genuine surprise on her face. It was as if only know she realized what she had been trying to do. "May... I'm so sorry..." There seemed to be nothing left of her tough or lewd demeanor, the reptilian mutant actually looking to be on the verge of tears.
Melati: She leaned back against the fridge, before letting herself slide down to sit on the floor. "I'm... scared," she admitted, her voice trembling. "I don't want to be alone."
Mayday: "W-wh...?", Mayday felt her heart break, the emotional rollercoaster actually giving her a little headache, "....oh, God, Mel...", she nodded, "I-if that's what....if you need that then yeah, it's ok. Y-you....come stay with me and Laura, maybe?"
Melati: Melati raised her head again, looking up at Mayday's face. "Yeah? I mean, would that be okay for you?" She was too drunk and emotional to even try not sounding hopeful. "That would be... yeah, I'd love that. My roommate, I'm a little scared of her, you know?"
Mayday: Mayday nodded, "Yeah. Sure it is.", she forced another smile, supposing Janet could wait. She'd understand. With a little breath, Mayday offered her hand.
Melati: Melati bit her lip and took the offered hand after hesitating for only a moment. "Thank you again," she told Mayday, pushing herself up to her feet. "I won't be a burden. Just... just give me a spot next to your bed and I'll curl up on the floor. And I promise I won't try to molest you and Laura anymore."
Mayday: "Laura?", Mayday sighed again, "Really You think she'd bite?", she bit her lip, a little laugh escaping her, "You can sleep on my bed, it's cool. I'll use my airbed. You need a comfortable rest."
Melati: "You're an awesome friend, do you know that?" Melati's voice was only a murmur, as she struggled to keep awake even while standing up. "A totally hot, awesome friend." She still managed to chuckle. "Just kidding."
Melati: "But seriously, you're hot."
Mayday: With a little nod, Mayday reached arond Melati, lifting her into her arms with all the strength her body would allow her to use, "So are you, lizard lady. But...now isn't the time for talk. Let's get you to bed."
Melati: Melati muttered something incomprehensible, unaware that she drooled a little on Mayday's shoulder. For another brief moment, she drifted back into consciousness. "Hey, I'm home," she exclaimed. "How did I get here?"
Mayday: Mayday exhaled softly, hey eyes watering a little as she placed a little kiss on Melati's forehead, "Doesn't matter. But you are home.", she agreed, approaching her room, "And you don't have to worry about anything."
etc.