fandomtownies | 'Dite's Decadent Delights, Tuesday afternoon

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'Dite's Decadent Delights, Tuesday afternoon

After classes, Raven came into town to open up 'Dite's store, but her mind was completely elsewhere. She was exhausted from lack of sleep, and even in meditation she felt her father's presence seeking her out. She wouldn't be able to hide herself from him for much longer.

And she was afraid to admit to herself (let alone anyone else) how much the part of her that was her father's was actually enjoying the visions, deriving cruel delight from betraying her friends and making them suffer. The child of Azarath was sickened by the thought, but the demon blood that was slowly consuming her reveled in it. Trigon had corrupted her soul.

To stay in Fandom invited disaster, but it broke her heart to think of leaving the place that had been her home for almost two years now, more of a home than Azarath had ever been. She just had no idea of where she could go, and the thought of telling her friends -- Jono especially, and Karla, too -- made her choke up with tears. And they'd try to stop her from leaving, even at the cost of their own safety. She loved them too much to allow them take that risk for her. Hurting them in dreams was bad enough. Hurting them for real would be unbearable. She'd rather be dead.

So it was a very morose Raven behind the counter today, knowing she was rapidly running out of time and would have to make her decision. Soon.

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Let's face it, after hearing that Raven might be having sad times from Ariel, Elphaba could have picked any number of better places to go visit with her.

This, though, was a place that Elphaba knew she could see Raven, thanks to past radio broadcasts.

You'll just have to ignore the general surprise and horror that crossed her face as she made her way to the counter.

"R-raven?" she said, now wondering why she'd not just waited to see the girl elsewhere. "Hello?"

Elphaba was green, Raven was pink. "Hello, Elphaba," she said with a tired smile. "Can I help you find something?" She assumed she was there to shop, of course!

Elphaba's eyes went wide, her eyebrows jumping nearly off her forehead.

"I don't think so," she said, before coughing a little in embarrassment. "I actually came to see if you were well. Your new roommate had made it seem as if you were not... that there you were having a troublesome time."

Raven tensed, looking away and pretending to busy herself brushing imaginary dust off the countertop. "I have not meant to disturb her," she said quietly. "I have not had a roommate for some time since Diana left."

"I don't think you've disturbed her any worse than I have," Elphaba said, a half frown on her face. Elphaba was definitely not proud of that conversation. "If you'd rather me not ask, then that's fair enough. I know that it's often better to keep things to yourself."

It really wasn't, but Elphaba thought so.

"It is sometimes," Raven murmured in agreement. "I appreciate the concern of my friends a great deal, but sometimes when there is nothing they can do...what is there to tell them?"

Hello, I'm turning evil, ask me how?

The future 'wicked' witch of the west would be able to relate quite a bit. But those events were not quite in motion for Elphaba.

"I would assume whatever placates them, assuming it's not a lie," Elphaba said. "Or perhaps just tell them there's nothing they can do, and the details will only distress them unduly."

Elphie was probably not the best person to be giving advice.

"I do not wish Ariel or any of my other friends to worry about me," Raven said. Though there seemed to be no helping that now, what with her strange behavior and reluctance to confide in them. "But I fear if I tell them there is nothing they can do, they will not believe me."

Elphaba thought about that one for a moment. "Students here are quite insistent when they think they know better," she agreed. "Myself included. It won't be easy, either way. But I'm... not exactly an expert on dealing with friends."

"I am new at it as well, though not so much as you," Raven said with a tiny smile. "I had no friends before I came to Fandom, and I have learned to treasure them here."

She hid the pang in her heart at the thought of leaving those friends.

Elphaba nodded. "Well, if there's nothing I can do to comfort you, I probably should be going," she said. "I wish you the best, and hope that it's not too unfortunate, how your other friends react, whatever you do."

"I with there was," Raven said, shaking her head slightly with a sigh. "But I think you for your visit. It is always nice to have someone to talk to at work."

Even if she was usually blushing because hello sex shop.

Yes, well, Elphaba was trying to ignore the setting. She'd pass out of latent embarrassment later.

"Then... I'll have to stop in more often," Elphaba said, though her face betrayed the fact she herself couldn't believe she said that. "And I wish you well for the rest of your day."

She turned to leave.

"Thank you, I wish the same for you," Raven said softly. "And...goodbye."

After her web and the conversations of the past few days, Karla knew she needed to check up on Raven. Soon. It was like there was a countdown in her head--she had no idea how much time was left, but she had a feeling that the answer was both 'not enough' and 'running out.'

"Kiss kiss," she said, ducking her head into the shop. "Raven?" She held up bags of food. "I stopped by with lunch."

"Thank you, that is very kind of you," Raven said. She was always happy to see Karla, but she couldn't shake the fear that someday she would hurt her, just like she had in her dreams. Maybe it had been foolish of her to risk causing her harm on her Virgin Night, but that had been so important and she'd been certain she could play her part without her father interfering.

"I thought you could use a pick-me-up," Karla admitted candidly. "And I wanted to make sure you ate something today. Darling, I hate to say it, but you look like Hell."

She paused a moment and looked into Raven's eyes. Would she tell the truth? "Are you all right?"

She wanted to. She wanted to tell Karla and cry and beg her to save her, but she knew there was no way to stop what she was becoming. And if Karla tried, she'd only draw Trigon's attention to herself, and Raven already knew what that meant.

"Just tired," she said, ducking her head. "I have not been sleeping well."

Karla busied herself with pulling the potato and leek soup she'd gotten from Luke's. She didn't want Raven to see her expression before she'd had a chance to school it in neutral pleasantry.

"So I heard," she said, speaking towards. "You know I'm a Black Widow. Dreams are my specialty. I could help. If you'd like."

"No!" Raven said quickly -- too quickly. Trigon had sensed Anakin when he'd strengthened her shields; if Karla were were to probe her dreams, he would know she was there.

"I mean," she said, fumbling for an excuse for her outburst, "I do not think that is necessary. I will be fine."

Lies, Raven, lies.

Karla gave her a look for that one, but didn't press. "Did you want to maybe crash over my room tonight? We can stay up and maybe watch a movie, eat snacks, drink wine, stuff like that?"

"I would not want to disturb your sleep," Raven said, still fumbling away. "You do not have plans with Warren?"

You know, more sex now that it was okay?

Karla shook her head. "Nothing that can't be put off," she said. "Besides we're friends. I like spending time with you, too. And no Healer worth her salt can't go without a night's sleep every so often."

"I enjoy the time I spend with you, too," Raven said, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "I just do not wish to be a burden."

"Raven, how could spending time with you be a burden?" Karla asked, leaning in. "Even if I didn't owe you everything and more for last week, you make it sound like having a little girl time together is some kind of...onerous chore."

"Of course it is not," Raven said, then seized on a possible subject change. "And you owe me nothing, I have told you that. I was just so glad I was able to help and protect you."

"So how is it that I don't owe you anything for you seeing me through my Virgin Night, whereas you coming over to my room for an evening is somehow a burden?" Karla asked, eyebrow raised.

Karla, you were supposed to let the subject change. Azar!

"Because...because...." She sighed and shrugged slightly. "You are right; I am being foolish."

Yeah, she'd get right on that. Really.

"Finally," Karla sighed, sliding a bowl of soup over the counter for Raven. "She speaks sense. Raven, you're not just one of my closest friends, you're my Court. You know I'm going to do everything I can to help you, right?"

Raven picked up a spoon and busied herself by stirring the soup. "I know," she said. That's what she was afraid of. "And I mean no disrespect to you or your gifts, but I truly think there is nothing you can do in this case. I will be all right."

No, no she wouldn't.

"That's not going to stop me from trying," Karla told her. "If I have to kidnap you and drag you to my room and forcefeed you chocolates and honey-pears until you're having a good time, that's what I'll do."

See, Raven? Karla still thinks it's stress. Really. No reason to ~~run away~~ fret.

"Perhaps a good time with friends is something I could use," Raven admitted with a small smile. Being around friends did help, but it also made her worry about what would happen when she fell to her father's power.

It was like Karla had seen in her vision, so many months ago. Raven's friends made her stronger, buoyed her up on positive emotions rather than letting her gnaw on her guilt and fear alone.

"We can gossip about the boyos and you can show me the first season of Rumor Gal..." Karla wheedled.

Rumor Gal was coming back with new episodes soon. If she had to leave Fandom, Raven hoped there would be a TV wherever she went.

"Do you have gossip?" Raven had to ask. "How have things been between you and Warren?"

"We had a lovely indoor picnic a few nights ago," Karla said happily. "Very lovely. But that's all you're going to get until we're in a room, braiding one another's hair and eating pizza. Or whatever."

Speaking of, she nudged Raven. "Stop stirring your soup and eat. It's vegetarian, I checked."

"I would not expect anything else from you," Raven said, giving Karla a look. But she did finally take a spoonful, blow on it gently to cool it, and took a sip. "It is very good, thank you."

"You look like you're not eating well," Karla said bluntly. "As someone who is usually on the other side of that spoon, I'm absolutely entitled to fuss."

"I have not had much of an appetite recently," Raven said. Plus she'd been spending so much time with Jono, and she tried not to eat around him at all.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't eat," Karla reminded gently. It was probably for the best the bit about Jono stayed in narrative only. "Your...stress...might be suppressing your appetite, but your body still needs to eat."

The narrative proceeded to stick its tongue out and say "Nyah nyah you can't see me."

"I have not starved myself," Raven protested, taking another spoonful of the soup. "I have made certain to ingest enough nutrients to keep myself well." Just barely, but enough.

Yeah, well, this narrative boxed that narrative's ears and told it to stand in the corner, brat.

"And when you put it like that, it sounds so healthy and appetizing," Karla said dryly. "Remind me to recite that back at you the next time I run myself into the ground again."

"That is not fair," Raven said. "Your gifts are tied to your physical well-being. It is more important that you keep your strength up."

It made sense. Sorta.

"It doesn't matter that yours aren't," Karla said, folding her arms over her chest. "You don't think I won't bench you from Healing if you don't take care of yourself? And then I'll go off and do something deliberately stupid, too."

That's right. Karla was holding herself hostage for Raven's continued good behavior.

She had the best ideas sometimes.

"You cannot stop me from healing, Karla," Raven chided her. She could forbid her, but if someone was injured, Raven wouldn't hesitate to use her gifts. "And I will not allow you to do harm to yourself. I will...I will tell Warren."

So there.

"And then I'll tell Jono why I had to start this whole rigmarole in the first place," Karla said easily. "And then he'll be sad. So we'll both stand there, being sad at you, and I bet I can convince Warren to be sad at you too, if I promise to Heal myself up afterwards."

Karla had no shame.

"I do not wish you to be sad," Raven said. But that was exactly what she was going to cause them to be if she left, wasn't she? "There is no need to be. I am eating now, am I not? See?" She showed Karla the soup; it was almost half gone now.

"It's less this meal I'm worried about than others," Karla said. After all, she was nagging Raven over this one. "Consider it an incentive to find something filling to eat tomorrow, too."

She looked up at Raven. "I just worry, darling. I care about you. You know that."

"I will be sure to eat a good breakfast tomorrow, I promise," Raven said.

She looked back at Karla. "I know," she said simply. "I have never doubted that." She just feared the cost.

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'Dite's Decadent Delights, Tuesday afternoon

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