milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Post breakfast shifts are decidedly more fun than the graveyard pre-breakfast shift. For a start, there's a little less tiredness, but as there's more people around, it's also a lot less boring.

Not that Mel tolarates boring for long. Take now, for instance. Your Security officer for the morning is in a section of open floor by the observaton window, attempting to build a house of cards. It's a training exercise, see? Steady hands, all that toy.

She's not as good as it as she'd like.

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Well, they're just swimming in stubborn warrior types around here, aren't they? But still, he's got most of even them beat.

Mel picks up another card and holds it up on the edge. Unless she lets go of Rachel's hand, which she doesn't want to do, she's going to need someone else to provide its twin.

"Forgot to come find one of your family when you needed them," she points out, hinting at chastisement.

Practically drowning in them, truth told.

Rachel may not have a twin, in fact, it's a red seven as opposed to her black king...but the card gods will forgive them no doubt.

Ah, but Mel's words? Make her wince and look away "All of you..." what is she to do? Steal time away from people they need and love so she can crawl into bed with someone she trusts to hold nightmares away? She knows where that leads. The niggling, half-thought resentments...

Jealousy...

"Too many nightmares Mel."

They surely will. Of course, if there are any card gods wandering around in Milliways, they're welcome to come and join the girls and shoe them how it's down.

"I have them too, Rach," Mel says blandly. Or she did. She hasn't dreamt at all recently.

"Mikey showed me some techniques for keeping them back."

Which she used at first to stop her waking him, just so she could stay a night with him. Which she used with every ounce of herself to stop him knowing about the nightmares she brought back from Hell with her. Which she shared with Steph and with Arithon and she would have with Rachel if she'd only let her know.

Stupid girl.

Card gods probably have three arms, just so they can hold one and still build card houses. Jerks.

Yes, she knows others have them...and they manage don't they? They don't have to crawl into other people's bed's like a toddler seeking parents. They don't wake other people screaming every night. Or the nights she manages to sleep...

Yes, Rachel's stupid.

Always has been.

"I'm afraid to use the flower Archie gave me"

More than three. Probably enough to steady three cards at once, hold hands and have a drink while they build upwards. Bastards probably have no real skill.

Sometimes they do. Oh yes, they do. Sometimes they're too proud to do that, of course, and it eats them up and they never tell anyone. And then someone else is stupid enough to love them and be there for them.

Stupidity is as common around here as stubborn warrior-ness. Comes with the territory.

"What does it do?"

Ah, so a card god would have a myriad of arms, all wearing deep, puffy sleeves to hide things in, and probably still be a pimp despite the nest o' arms...real jerks.

Rachel just can't justify bothering people over her nightmares. She can't. Not to herself.

A vast sea of stupidity.

"Gives good dreams apparently"

Oh yeah, definitely a pimp. And the legs would have hands instead of feet as well. Like some sort of monkey. Prehensile tail, too.

Rachel should realise it's no bother. Wouldn't she rather, should the situation be reversed, that her sister would come to her, rather than hear about it by someone chewing her out about it in the morning?

"What's so scary about it?"

Adorned in all the ill gotten gambling gains...there'd be bling. So much bling. Blinding bling bling of doom.

They'd definately see it coming.

No bother the first night...or the next maybe. Or the week after?

The next?

...point. Rach'll knock on Mel's door next time. If she doesn't automatically head to the lake.

"It's temporary" it's a drug.

They'd hear it coming first. From across the room, without super Slayer hearing. And yet it wouldn't even be shiny enough to reflect the cards in its hand. It'd be painful to look at.

Mel's grateful. Unless, of course, Rachel likes spending the night with lithe young men, even ones as riddled with Issues as that one?

"Right. Well, ever tried meditation? What Mikey taught me helps."

Like the advent of jingly doom, a geat, unstoppable noise of overdone blandishments...painful? It would cause eye bleeding.

And still be a pimp.

Rachel? Probably did alot of damage last night. To a kid that didn't desreve it in the least. Gods help him.

"Yeah. It used to work." before, well, yeah. Before.

They'd just better hope that they're doing this right then. Angering a god like that? Probably not a good idea.

And yet he's infatuated with her. Mel can see that and she didn't even touch him. Isn't that what we all do anyway, take damage for, and issued by, people we care about? Now if only he'd let either - or both - of them help undo that damage.

"Tried it with anyone?" Splinter's technique can be used on other people, even by psychically 'normal' people like the brothers and Mel as she was.

Between them now? It might be worth a shot.

Yeah, angering the card gods results in bleeding eyes. Rachel likes her eyes. In fact, look, they managed a whole 'nother floor.

Rachel doesn't understand the infatuation. At all. But she knows how deeply she can hurt him...

Yeah, the damage needs to be undone.

"Not in a very long time" she admitted. Meditating with others was never...something she managed often.

Clearly they are favoured by the card gods. This is a good thing. Or as much as being favoured by a bling-adorned multi-armed monkey pimp god be be a good thing. Maybe they should fear? Or hope card gods aren't telepathic.

Mel understands it. Completely. She can't see how Rachel can't.

She will help, if she can. Of course she will. He's probably is less likely, though, to accept help from her as he is from Rachel herself, as he doesn't like Mel. Probably got something to do with the whole locked up for three days and snarked at thing.

"It helps," she says. And that's an offer, of course. Mel even looks up from the card house at her.

They are favored by the card god pimpthing.

Does that make them Ho's?

Rachel doesn't understand anyone infatuated with her. A unique blind spot perhaps, but she can't. The term "No self-confidence" doesn't even scratch the surface.

Her confidence is in her ability.

She'll do what she can.

"Can't hurt" she knows it is. She's lookig back, and as with so very few...there's trust in that look.

Card ho's. Which means this isn't a car house they're building. It's a card brothel.

Well, then, Rachel's stupid. They've established this. Maybe it doesn't help that her flame has attracted a flamethrower - Mel loves Rachel, but that doesn't mean she trusts a guy like that to see beyond the fire - but that's beside the point. Rachel's beautiful, as sick as she must be of hearing it.

They'll both do what they can, everywhere they're needed. They can't do anything less.

Rutting heroes.

Mel smiles and squeezes Rachel's hand lightly.

Well, judging by the number of stories now, it's less a brothel and more a whoretopia...wonder if there's a bargain basement?

Yep, Rachel is. She'll get a shirt.

Some challenges are beyond heroes...like social interaction....but they'll try! Maybe there's a guide book.

"So....we going to do the zen floating thing? I can get some nifty light effects going...." she noted, just a little nervous perhaps, mainly because she doesn't want yet another thing to fail...but...hey. Sister...

There's almost certainly a bargain basement somewhere under the floor of the Bar. And there's probably departments where you can get anything. All staffed by monkey pimps. Ho's We Iz, it's called.

Mel can do social interaction! She's gotten very good at this not hitting people thing. She hasn't tried to kill anyone since Arithon.

Nazis totally don't count.

"We can do the floating thing if you want," she says, abandoning the house and offering her other hand. "I'll help with the lights."

It doesn't matter to her if it fails, only that they try. And she'll never forgive herself if she doesn't try.

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