11317/So, This is Weird.

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So, This is Weird.
Date of Scene: 24 May 2022
Location: Madison's Apartment -- Palm Tree Apartments
Synopsis: Maddie and Irie talk about the sudden change in Irie's age and mental maturity - and what it means for their friendship. Then they paint minis.
Cast of Characters: Madison Evans, Irie West




Madison Evans has posed:
    "I think mom went out with her friends tonight," Madison's saying as she unlocks the door to her apartment to let herself and her... best friend into the apartment. With eveything that happened, they hadn't really had a chance to talk - and the normally exciteable and confident teen seems uncertain - perhaps even worried.
    "You're welcome to anything you want in the kitchen - as usual. Mom started a new batch of kombucha - strawberry ginger this time, I think," she explains, letting Irie in before locking the door again - and shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her jeans.

Irie West has posed:
    "Okay. Phew," Iris says, sounding a bit relieved. "I don't know how I'd explain what happened to me to your mom." As for her, she too sounds less excitable or confident, and uncertain. And mature. It's weird.

    She nods, and makes her way to the kitchen to pour herself some of that kombucha. "I..." she begins, and seems to swallow her words before attempting again. "Did I ever warn you that this might happen to me?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Yeah, you did," Maddie answers. She follows Irie - pouring some of the drink herself. It's more a prop than anything else. It gives her something to do - something to hold. Something to sip at when she doesn't want to speak.
    "And I told you we'd always be friends, no matter what, as long you wanted to be friends." She shifts on her feet before adding, "I guess I just- I didn't expect it to be //so much// at once. Are you, umm... okay? Are you... scared, or sad, or mad, or... whatever?"

Irie West has posed:
    Iris looks rather relieved when Maddie states that they'll always be friends. She was worried that aging up like this might make things awkward between them. I mean... it is, but more awkward than they are right now.

    "I still want to be friends," she says. "it's just... I don't know how to explain it." She looks to the sky, biting her lower lip as she thinks about it. "When I age up, it's more than just physically. It's... emotionally and mentally too. Otherwise I'd be just a six year old in a 26 year old body."

    "So I /feel/ like an adult now, so it makes hanging out with a sixteen year old girl feel... I dunno. Inappropriate." She looks over at Maddie, her eyebrows furrowed into a pained expression. "I don't want that to get in between us, though."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh," Maddie replies. She shifts uncertainly, taking a drink of her kombucha. That's what it's for - to fill those awkward silences when she's trying to figure out what else to say. "Well, uh... We could still hang out at the Tower?" she suggests. "With the Titans. Do some game days, or paint minis with the Titans, or whatever. Does that make it... less weird?" she asks - her tone a little hopeful. "I mean - I hang out with Terry sometimes, and Victor, and they're not //kids.//" She pauses a moment then asks, "Does this mean you're leaving Happy Harbor, I guess?"

Irie West has posed:
    Iris lets out a rueful sigh. "I don't.... I haven't really had time to process or think about it," she says. "I still want to hang out with you. You're my best friend. I don't /want/ it to be weird between us. Well," she says giving Maddie a goofy grin, "any more weirder than we already are."

    She takes a drink of the kombucha as she thinks. "I don't know what I'm going to do about school. I'm going to have to talk to Director MacIntyre about it, see what she thinks. I was going to mostly learn how to slow down, how to socialize with people and kind of be /normal/, considering my background. I don't really know where to go from here."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "We're pretty weird," Madison agrees - her characteristic grin appearing on her face for a moment, then growing more serious again. "Look, Irie, I just- I mostly want to know that //you're// okay. I mean - I'll be fine. I have my mom, and Dyani, and all my other friends - even Emma and Aiden and everyone back in California. So I'm okay. I just- I don't want you to be stressed, or depressed, or scared, or angry, or whatever. Especially not if I can help with that, so- I don't know. But I don't think this means we need to stop playing board games, or painting minis, or whatever. I mean, I go to board game shops and play with grown ups all the time and it's not weird and I don't even //know// them."

Irie West has posed:
    Iris frowns in concern. "I... I'd worry about you going alone to game shots to play with grown ups. I hear there can be creepers there. But... I mean... you /are/ a Jedi. Just be careful about it, okay?" She stops herself and closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Oh God, I'm mothering you," she groans.

    She looks up, a bit of helplessness in her eyes, a bit of fear. "This is what I mean when I say that things have changed. It was okay when I went from four to eight, or ten to sixteen. Exciting even. But now...." She sets her glass down on the counter so she can hug herself. "I'm afraid that this is just going to keep happening, sooner and sooner. Maybe by winter break I'll be in my forties. Maybe this time next year I'll be in my eighties. Maybe that's why I never knew about myself in the future. I had died of old age long before I could ever make it."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "They're at the game store near the school!" Maddie counters, giving her friend a slightly puzzled look. "And the staff there is pretty cool. If you tell them someone's being a creeper, they tell the dude to cut it out or get out of the store. It's not like I do random MeetUps at people's houses. Can you just //imagine// the fit my mom would throw?" She starts to put her hands on her hips, then remembers her kombucha, and awkardly folds her arms instead. "And - yeah. Don't mother me. I get enough of that!" She grins at Irie in amusement, hoping to keep her words light.
    As Irie's words grow more serious, though, the teen hastily sets down her drink - and wraps her arm around her friend, hugging her tightly. "Well. Whatever happens, I'm still here. And the Titans are your friends and- they'll figure something out. They will. They won't just let you... fizzle out like some mayfly. They'll figure out what to do."

Irie West has posed:
    Iris winces when Maddie chides her on mothering her. Even though it was in jest it still kind of stings. And then she's being hugged. She sets her drink down, too, and hugs back. "I'm scared," she says, her voice muffled in Maddie's hair. "I wish I had mom and dad and even Jai here. I miss them so much."

    She's silent for a while, just kind of clinging to her friend, occasionally sniffling. Eventually she lets go and takes a step back. "I... I think I'm going to go to GIRL first," she says. "Between Nadia, Viv, and Kaida we've got enough brainpower to figure this out."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "I wish you did to. I wish there was something - //anything// - I could do to give them back to you, but... I'm here," Madison promises fiercely. "I told you I'd always be here no matter what. And I'm here."
    She lets Irie pull back, and smiles up at her encouragingly. "Alright. At least we know where we're starting. What do I do?" she asks bluntly, a determined look in her expression. She has to be able to help - somehow.

Irie West has posed:
    "I don't know," Iris admits, as she leans against the island and picks up her drink. She thoughtfully sips as it and shakes her head. "I want to talk to the girls first. From there we can form some kind of game plan. You can be there if you like. I don't think anybody will mind." She gives Mads a goofy grin that makes her look more like her old self, "You can be my emotional support Jedi."

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison lets out a snort at Irie's suggestion. "That is not a thing! Geeze. Show me where that's a thing in the cannon!" She grins at Irie though, and adds, "But if you want me there - sure. I'll be there. If just... being there is all I can do, then I'm there. It's that easy." She picks up her own drink again before adding, "We will figure this out, Irie. I'm sure of it. I mean- gosh, I can turn //invisible.// Maybe I can just... Jedi it somehow into getting better for you?"

Irie West has posed:
    Iris laughs and shakes her head. "If only it were that easy. But, no, you're right. I'm going to get the worlds most brilliant minds on this and we'll figure it out." She lets out a sigh, "It would /help/ if we knew how the Speed Force really worked. There's a few working models out there, but they're far from complete. There just aren't that many Flashes out there, and most of us won't sit still long enough to run experiments on."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well... I'm sure when you explain the situation, the others will sit still and try to help, yeah?" Madison suggests - giving her friend a small smile. "I know your dad is around. I mean, much younger but... still your dad. He'll help, won't he?" She leans in to bump against Irie. "If you ask them... They'll help. They're good guys, and you're one of them! And they'd want you to help if they were in trouble."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie nods with a grin, "I mean, of course the other Flashes will help. I know Bart and dad will at the drop of the hat." She looks thoughtful for a moment, "I'm sure Barry would if we could find him, and maybe Uncle Jay will come out of retirement."

    "We /will/ figure this out.... and maybe figure out how to reverse it." She shakes her head. "I kinda /liked/ being a teenager. Being old means that I have to eat my broccoli and do my taxes."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "You'd go back to being a teenager? If you could?" Madison asks - she sounds both surprised, and relieved, "I mean - if you wanted to go back further, and be a kid again - I mean, especially so you'd be younger when you get back to your brother finally... That'd be okay too, you know. I still wouldn't just abandon you. We'd just have to play Zombie Dice instead of Zombicide," she suggests with an amused smile.

Irie West has posed:
    "Being a kid was... I dunno. Okay." Iris says. "You remember how you were when you were 10. You remember how your parents were." She shakes her head, "It wasn't that much different, except I got to go on adventures from time to time." She stretches her arms out behind her. "Being a teen was... fun, you know? Not really an adult, but kind of coming into your own. School sucked, though at times."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well. Some of the kids are awful, and a few of the classes suck - but some of the classes are really cool, and I like my friends." Madison, naturally, grins at Irie as she says this. "And... well. Sometimes I get to go to Wonderland or whatever." It's at this point she pulls her collapsable telescope out of her pocket and asks, "Do you think Caitlyn saw me take it?" she muses - peering through the device.

Irie West has posed:
    "Naw," Iris says with a shake of her head. "If she had she would have had you hand it over." She leans forward curiously, "Does it work like a regular telescope, or do you see something funky on the other side?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    Looking through the telescope Madison turns full circle. "Looks pretty normal," she remarks. "Just like a normal telescope." She sounds pretty disappointed by this. "I mean. Though it really does look like it's right there. Like I could just reach out and-" She reaches out - and while her arm doesn't grow beyond it's normal length, a little statue of a young child gazing up at a mother figue which had been across the room is abruptly in her hand. In surprise, Madison yelps, and tosses the little ceramic image in the air. "How in the-?!"

Irie West has posed:
    Iris is stunned at first, but then moves quick as lightning to catch the ceramic figurine. She stares at the figurine and then back up at Madison and starts laughing, "It's all a matter of perspective." She sets the figurine down on the island next to her drink. "That could come in handy one day."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh geeze - good catch!" Madison says gratefully. "That was a Mother's Day present like - two years back, I think. I'd hate to have to replace it!"
    She then looks at the telescope in her hand, an awed expression on her features. "This thing is... SO. COOL!" she gushes enthusiastically, beaming at her friend. "I'm SO glad I took it - don't tell Caitlyn!" she remarks in a bright voice.

Irie West has posed:
    Iris grins at Mad and does a couple of rapid fire karate chops, "Lightning reflexes!" /There's/ the Irie of old coming through.

    She chuckles and shakes her head. "There's no way I'm going to tell Caitlyn about this. Your secret is safe for me."

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison grins at Irie, some small tension somehow easing out of her. "Okay, good. We'll. ...how 'bout I get out my paints, and we finish off those minis we started? And then you can run out of here before my mother comes home and- I can try to explain everything to her. Yeah?" She doesn't bother to wait for her friend's response - as she moves off towards her bedroom to get their painting supplies.

Irie West has posed:
    Iris grins, and follows Mads into the living room. "Yeah. Let's do it!"