estoria | [CLOSED] Fashion Monster

Entry tags:

[CLOSED] Fashion Monster

Who: Ryuko

psycholawgy
When: IC Nov 17, late afternoon
Where: Ryuko & Athena's apartment
What: Ryuko awakes after her fight with Archer
Rating/Warning: none for now

[ After a reckless battle with Archer, Ryuko awakes in her room after spending nearly 24 hours unconscious. The large amount of blood she lost seems to be regenerating at a steady pace, and her deep cuts are starting to look more like small superficial scratches, soon to completely disappear in another day or so.

She looks over to her side to find Senketsu quiet and dormant, all folded up neatly. Good... she knows he will give her a lecture the moment he awakens, too, so it's best to leave him alone for now. It was Athena she was worried about anyway.

Slowly pushing herself to her feet, she stands up while still wrapped in a blanket. She notices her abdomen is still bandaged, supposing that will take another day to heal, too. Man, she could seriously use some food, though... but first she had to find Athena, and finally teeters her way out of her little room. ]

...Athena...?

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[ The best way to cope with horrible things was to keep herself busy. That's what Athena has always been doing. It was better for her to take her mind off things rather than continuously think about them, especially when it came to seeing blood. She wasn't afraid of blood or anything, but seeing people whom she cared about get seriously hurt—that was not cool at all. That's what she's afraid of.

Since she arrived at their apartment yesterday, she buried herself in a bunch of psychology-related readings. She had a database on Widget, so she read up on some things that she didn't focus on when she was in school. Thankfully, books are a thing of the past and it's just two holographic screens in front of her now—Widget's, and her CereVice's.

She's not completely into her readings to not notice someone in her room, though. And if Ryuko hasn't gone in Athena's room yet, then she'll see that Athena's completely designed her room as if she's in outer space. ]

Oh, Ryuko! [ She's relieved to see Ryuko awake, but she's more concerned about her condition than being happy. ] Should you be up? Maybe you should lie back down.

Edited 2015-02-17 12:07 (UTC)

[ That's a small relief... Athena doesn't look too freaked out so far, but Ryuko isn't perceptive enough to realize that her roommate has been coping in her own way. This room, however... ]

--err, I-I think I've spent enough time in bed. [ She clutches on to her blanket a little tighter. ] I'm... not sure what day it is.

Um, well. It's the 17th. You were asleep all day.

[ She gets up from her bed and leads Ryuko out of her room. Ryuko was probably hungry after being asleep all day, so Athena decides to cook some soup. She can't ruin that, at least. ]

I'll make some food. [ It's not a threat! ] You still have to stay in bed, though, so I'll bring it to your room.

I can't go back to my room. ...Senketsu's gonna give me an earful.

[ On that note, she was expecting Athena to be angry at her, too. Is she really okay? ] I wanted to see how you're doing, actually.

[ She still doesn't know what Senketsu is like, but anyone would scold her for what happened. Not because they were legitimately angry... that's what Athena would like to think, anyway. She'd honestly try to scold her for being reckless and putting herself in danger when there was no need to, but doing that would only bring the memory back, and it wasn't going to be good for her mental health. ]

Fine, I guess you can eat on the table.

[ And with that, she heads off to the kitchen. Only to stop and turn to face Ryuko again to say something. She's clearly not okay and is just trying to brush off her worries away. Better this than actually talking about her problems. ]

Oh, and I'm fine. Why do you seem worried?

[ See? She's smiling! Totally okay. ]

Why wouldn't I be? [ Fine, she will open this can of worms since Athena won't. ] It must be nice knowin' how others feel when you talk with 'em... if they're angry, sad, tellin' the truth. I wish I could do it, so I'd know how to be there for my friend, and I wouldn't wonder if I caused her distress...

[ She's laying it on kind of thick, but damn it, it kills her that Athena's the one taking care of her again. ]

[ It's a good thing she's working in the kitchen and has her back turned on Ryuko, because her smile falters. ]

It's only nice sometimes.

[ She's glad that she's got her abilities in check now. If her hearing had been out of control like how it was when she was younger, then she'd probably be insane by now. Being able to hear and feel other people's emotions seems so ideal in theory, but it's like carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. There's some cons to it, too. ]

I still don't know why you're worried, though. I'm Athena Cykes, and I'm fine. [ Because saying it out loud also makes her feel better about everything. It's not just telling Ryuko that she's all right. ]

[ She steps a little closer towards the kitchen, dragging the blanket she's draped in. ]

I'm worried 'cause you're not worried, and I worry 'cause there's nobody to worry for you. Just... stop takin' care of everyone for once.

I... You saw something... [ It's hard for Ryuko to say it, too. The first time she had seen her own heart ripped out of her chest was traumatizing for her, too. She felt like a monster that didn't belong anywhere, rejected everyone and ran away. She has since slowly come to terms with herself, but certainly, she would understand if Athena would run for the hills, too. It's a natural reaction, isn't it? More natural than... this. ]

[ It was unintentional on Ryuko's part, but saying that Athena saw something just made her remember what she saw. If there was something that made Athena black out, it was seeing her friends hurt. It was an irrational fear that she had, and being reminded of the blood she saw yesterday made her start shaking. She ended up dropping the bowl she was holding. At least it's made of plastic. ]

Deep breaths... [ She reminds herself this as she attempts to control her breathing. She started to feel dizzy just by thinking about Ryuko's wounds and the mess that was Archer. This was to calm herself down.

This was not the time to feel helpless. This wasn't it. But this was currently out of her control. ]

[ Ryuko uselessly reaches out her hand as the bowl hits the ground. Okay... perhaps pushing Athena to talk about it was not the right way to do it. There is a brief moment of silence in the room that feels almost like an eternity. It's so quiet that the sound of their ticking clock can be heard in the background.

She takes another step closer, wanting to reach out to her, but... she feels like she's the problem at the same time. ]

...Can I stay here at least until tomorrow?

What? What are you talking about?

[ Her sight's slowly turning to be a problem as things started going dark, but she at least wanted to look at the person she was talking to. There's a sinking feeling in her chest, but at this point, she can't tell if it's just hers or if it's also Ryuko's. ]

Are... you telling me you're leaving?

[ She isn't mad, but her delivery may sound angry since she can't control her voice anymore. She definitely wouldn't want to be alone again, though. They've only known each other for a couple of weeks, but they were friends. That was more important than anything - even her own problems. ]

Ain't that what you want?

Who would wanna live with some thing like me, right? I mean, you're practically shaking. [ People normally do that when they're scared of monsters, don't they? Ryuko is so positive that this is the issue here. ]

Don't you dare leave!

[ Now, it's just her fear talking. ]

Not without a good reason. And not because of me.

[ There's a lot of reasons why she's started to cry. She pulls Ryuko in for a hug to console her. Something was definitely wrong, and Athena didn't want to be part of the reason behind it. ]

[ She's almost frozen at first, allowing herself to be hugged while she tries to process what is going on. She doesn't want to leave either, she only thought Athena was too nice to ask her to, but why is she reacting like this, then? ]

...Wait... I don't understand...

I'm sorry if my issues are making you think that way. [ She lets out a deep sigh. She definitely has to be even stronger now. There's no room to be weak, even in this place. ] But you're not... whatever you think you are. I sure don't see you that way.

Your issues...? [ She looks up at the taller girl, feeling like Athena's finally here mentally, and not pretending like this is just another day in their lives. Ryuko is relieved to hear that she's not the problem, and yet... she still is what she is, and it wasn't the last time she would ever be hurt in battle. Still, now that she knows it's Athena's own internal issues, she's determined to be there for her. ]

Athena. If you don't wanna tell me what's up, I won't try to force ya... but I'll be here to listen if you ever feel like it. And... I'll try not to get hurt again, okay?

[ Even though Athena often preached about helping others, or often tried to help people fix their problems, she kept to herself. There wasn't really anything hindering her from opening up to anyone but her shyness. Despite how outgoing she was, she hardly talked about her life. That's just how she had been doing things.

But Ryuko seemed nice enough to care about her well-being. Maybe she could open up to her? ]

I guess it's only fair if you know. [ She lets go of Ryuko and shows her a smile. If her friends are okay, then she's okay. They really do come before anything else. And it seemed like she didn't need to say anything about getting hurt anymore. Ryuko already knew what to do. ]

You should really eat first, though.

[ If only Ryuko wasn't so weird with physical affection, she would have hugged Athena, too. ...Well, that, and she doesn't want to drop her blanket as she's pretty much just in her undergarments!! But she didn't mind that particular hug... because it told her that Athena really does want Ryuko in her life, and Ryuko feels the same without a doubt. ]

That's the Athena Cykes I know.

...
Hey, can I ask you a serious question, though?

[ She was feeling fine now, but she was still shaking a bit. A glass of cold water usually helped her get rid of that anxious feeling, so she goes to the fridge to help herself with one. ]

Yeah? [ As much as she wants to face Ryuko and look her in in the eye, she can't yet. So she just looks elsewhere. That pot behind Ryuko looks especially clean today. ] What is it?

[ Man, this girl seriously needed a break, she appeared more shaken than Ryuko about the entire ordeal, but it's only natural. Truthfully, they could both use a good laugh, so Ryuko glances back at Athena's room where they came out of, then looks back at her again. Her question: ]

[ Dramatic pause. ]

Why does your room look like a cheap sci-fi movie set?

[ Cheap sci-fi movie set?! ... Okay, maybe the holo she chose was cheap, but still.

She ends up spit-taking. ]

Does it really look that way?!

Athena, I had no idea you were such a geek. Did you have space themed birthday parties as well?

[ You're talking to someone who graduated law school at 18 (maybe even 17), Ryuko. She's definitely a geek. ]

I grew up at a space center. These things remind me of home.

That's a... strange place to grow up in.

It's where my mom worked, and she had a lot of experiments, so we lived there.

[ Time to make some soup. ]

[ "Worked"... hmm. ]

Well... nothin' weird about wanting to feel close to home. [ Pause. ] Maybe later you could show me some... constellations... and stuff.

[ She really doesn't know or care much about space, all she knows is that bad things come from there. Her main concern is just making sure Athena is okay. Talk about therapy! ]

I actually don't know much about them.

[ It's only recently that she grew interest in astronomy. When she was a kid, all she wanted to do was draw and paint. Growing up, she was so focused on her psychology-related studies. And then there was law school. ]

I never got a chance to study space stuff.

Really? Hmm... I wonder if they got one of those space aquariums here. [ She means planetariums. ]

I've never heard of a space aquarium before.

[ Nope, she can't make the connection, either. ]

[ don't embarrass her... ]

Well, I don't know, I'm just thinkin' out loud of stuff to do together!

Oh... was that it?

[ That's a nice gesture, but Athena can't seem to think of a way to reciprocate. HAVING FRIENDS IS TOUGH. ]

Well, what else do girls do together?

[ BECAUSE CLEARLY, RYUKO KNOWS THE ANSWER. ]

Movies and sleepovers, I guess? Who knows.

[ Doing things solo that girls would normally do is hard enough!! ]

Oh, movies sound great! Have you ever seen the one with the kid fish who ends up missing, so the dad fish swims across the Pacific to look for him?

Of course not, I'm 17.

What does that have to do with anything?

[ It doesn't have mechas and samurai swords. ]

...Alright, we'll watch the freakin' fish movie, but you better not cry or something!

You're gonna cry too, don't worry.

[ the soup seems to be cooked enough, so she starts serving. one bowl for each of them! delicious and creamy spinach soup.]

The soup's definitely still hot, so be careful.

[ Maybe, if she's not laughing at Athena's crying face. She finally takes a seat and looks down at the hot soup, waiting for the moment it cools off a little so she can eat it. She's definitely hungrier than she's letting on, and can't wait to get some nutrients in her to complete the recovery process.

She stirs her bowl of soup with her spoon. ]

I'm glad I met you, Athena.

[ Oh jeez, no need to get all sappy. Athena definitely wasn't ready for it. She protests with her fists up and face beet red. ]

Wh- What! Shut up!

[ She just came out of an emotional roller coaster, hell yeah she's gonna be sappy. DEAL WITH IT. ]

Itadakimasu.

[ And with that, she digs into her soup, perfectly happy to shut up while she enjoys this. She might eat yours, too, if you're not finished, Athena... ]

[ Athena isn't not sure what it was that Ryuko just said, but she'll imitate her... with a hilariously bad American English accent. ]

I-ta-da-kee-moss!

[ Time to eat. ]

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[CLOSED] Fashion Monster

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