12585/Sticks and Stones and Lanterns Thrown

Sticks and Stones and Lanterns Thrown
Date of Scene:	26 August 2022
Location:	The Velvet Room - Gardens
Synopsis:	Cael's past trauma gets the best of her. Chas doesn't help. It's all downhill from there.
Cast of Characters:	Cael Becker, Chas Chandler

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Cael Becker has posed:
    It's well past evening in New York - and the Garden in the Velvet Room's castle is dark, and filled with moths flitting about. Cael has taken refuge in a small group of topiaries - a roaring manticore, beside a kelpie, with a- ...okay, it's unclear what the third one is, not that Cael is paying them anymind, because at the moment, Cael is hunched in on herself, elbows resting on her knees, and the heels of her palms pressed to her eyes, breathing heavily.
    She's regreting her decision to leave Bear at home, on this particular occassion.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas has been busy doing what he usually does when most others are asleep: working. There is just so much to learn and so much to research concerning their enemy. Concerning their new tasks with the prison. Concerning how to properly conjure the crystals and what it takes to trap the essence of an Old God inside one.

    He's been practicing in the Training Room today, setting up some rather formidable demons to fight against and beating them into submission before attempting to utilize the method from the tome on them. It's only been successful once... and after the crystal shattered killing the demon within. He decided to call for a break after that and had Elizabeth rest for a time while he went to get some air.

    He's got a pristine white towel around his neck as he enters the Garden and takes a deep breath of the fragrant slightly chilled air. He's finding that magical exertion of that level does actually draw some energy on him. Creating is so much more taxing than destroying and requires effort.

    He lets his steps wander, taking in the atmosphere more than the sights but he stops when he notices the hunched figure amongst the mythic beasts, manticore, kelpie, and the final creature is in fact supposed to be a large malk. "Cael?" he asks, questioningly. "Is... is everything alright?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    At the sound of Chas's voice, Cael flinches, her jaw clenching and her whole body going stiff as her breath catches in her throat. She does manage to grit out a response after a moment, however. "Fan-fucking-tastic," she practically growls, trying to concentrate on her breathing.
    She's safe. She's fine. She and Chas got over this //months// ago.
    And Jon is fine. Lydia won't hurt them again - she won't let her.
    "I'm fine," she insists, despite the blatant nature of the lie.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    "Bullshite" Chas replies as he approaches a bit more. At a glance and a wave one of the laterns hovering about the garden draws nearer, giving some illumination and casting long shadows for the both of them. "You don't have to lie to me, Cael. We're teammates and... if there's one thing I've learned in the past few days, we need to stick together and support each other. Now more than ever."

    He doesn't draw any nearer though, allowing the woman plenty of space to deal withher plight. "So how about you just come out and tell me the truth. What's got you so on edge? Did... did something happen to Jon?" he asks, suddenly sounding worried.

Cael Becker has posed:
    For a moment Cael's stays hunched on the ground, her face hidden in her hands, her breathing uneven. Has something happened to Jon? Has something happened to Jon?!
    She's on her feet in a single fluid motion, advancing on Chas with a mix of hurt, anger, and even confusion on her features. "Why do you want her back?" she spits out. Her hands are balled tightly together, and crescent-moon marks on her arms show where her fingers had been digging into them a short time earlier. "Why the fuck do you want her back? Is it because you- Because-" She stumbles over the words, struggling with how to express her thoughts in the heat of her passion.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas pulls back a touch but allows the woman to advance on him. Could she tear him apart now with control over her more werewolf visage? Aboslutely. But he's come to the realization that pain is transient for him and not all that threatening when it comes from anything short of an Elder Being.

    He's more confused with who the woman is referring to with "her" being tossed about. But then it hits on him. "Oh... you spoke with Lydia, I take it?" he asks calmly, refusing to answer instead to find clarity in the mystery of Cael's outburst.

    "I do hope you didn't tear her apart in your meeting?" he states, just as calmly and deliberately as before. "It would be rather problematic for me to bring her back into the fold only to have you tear her to pieces in retaliation for her actions against Jon."

Cael Becker has posed:
    The werewolf side of Cael would, undoubtedly do a great deal of damage - but Cael's visage remains perfectly human as she lets fly with one fist - aiming the blow for Chas' jaw, seemingly incensed by his unflappable calm.
    Or maybe it was the lack of answer.
    Or maybe she hadn't needed a reason at all.
    "She's //fine,//" Cael spits out. "Though I told her if she ever hurts Jon again, I will fucking stake her myself.
    "Why? Why are we welcoming her back, after what she did? Why do we keep- It's the same fucking thing all over again!"

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas is a big man. With over a foot of height on Cael and more than a hundred pounds on her. But she can swing her fist with intent and he is staggered for a moment by the shock of impact. He straightens and puts a hand to his lip. A single drop of bright blood comes away but the hole from it has already sealed itself shut by the time he checked it.

    He nods, his tone stil impassive and calm blue ocean. "That's a fair threat" he says. "I welcomed her back so that she can make ammends for what she did. Unless you want her and Jon to be a wreck around each other every time we face the Old Gods?" he asks, a touch of acid coming into his words.

    "Or maybe, you'd like to let them have this win? Tear the JLD apart from the inside instead of us forging on and becoming stronger for it to spite them?" he asks the calm ocean growing more and more turbulent.

    "You think I'm doing this for her?" he asks. "No. I'm doing this so my best mate can have some bloody peace and resolve in his life. And I'd expect you to want much of the same." He knows the final line was pretty harsh, but she struck a nerve implying he was doing what he was doing for Lydia's sake and not Jon's own.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "For her? I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe it's for //you,//" Cael spits back. "How is it any different? //How//? Letting in powers you can't understand or control. Letting that- letting it-" Tears start to stream down her face, and she goes from glaring at Chas, to abruptly turn away from him, to stalk back towards the topiaries. "Fuck you," she mutters. "Fuck the both of you."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    "You'd rather keep Jon in limbo and hurting?" Chas asks plainly. "You'd rather keep him wondering if he'll ever be himself again? Is that what you want?" he asks ascerbically. "I'm looking out for him and for the team at the same time. Allowing him closure and growth, and allowing her the ability to show some fucking spine for once."

    He shakes his head. "You talked a big game Monday night" he strikes back. "But you're just as consumed by your own bullshite as Rien and I are, aren't you? So focused on your own revenge for what she did to him that you can't see the fact that he needs this as much as she does. That he -asked- for this."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael whirls abruptly, grabbing one of the metal-framed lanterns from the air, and hurling it abruptly at Chas. "Don't you fucking- She does not need to be //here,// //now,//" yes, Cael manages to stress each of those words individually, "for Jon to move on! Do not fucking question my- What- How the fuck do you know what they need?" she shouts.
    "I had //four fucking months// to recover from what happened to me before I had to be around you. //Four months,// and it was still hard. Jon's had two weeks! TWO. WEEKS! Don't you ever-"
    She cuts off again, glaring at Chas with almost inarticulate rage - middle finger firmly extended. "Fuck you, Chas Chandler. Fuck you and whatever fucking horse you rode in on."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas manages to avoid taking the full force of the latern, but it does graze the side of his cheek, cutting a furrow in his skin that mends itself closed almost as quickly as it opens. He shakes his head as she trades barbs with him. "I know because he said so" Chas replies. "That evening, in the prison."

    He pauses and when he speaks his voice is almost perfectly resembling Jon's. "'"I need to talk to Lydia, I think. I don't know what really happened, from her perspective. I don't know whether I should be furious or commisserating.'"

    He clears his throat and it's his voice once more. "But instead of maybe supporting them before they have to confront her and get through their own trauma... you're here..." he says, gesturing to the Garden, "...pouting. Over something that wasn't done to you."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Talking to her - and being //confronted// by her day in, day out, as part of this //fucking// team - are two different fucking things!" Cael spits back. "Are you really that fucking dense?"
    The hand that goes to Cael's chest is shaking, as she taps at heart. "You don't- you don't understand- you haven't- Talking to her, and confronting her //once// is- it's completely different than- day in and day out having- to go into a fight with someone at your back who- You don't fucking get it, do you?"
    Tears continue streaming down Cael's cheeks as she repeats herself. "You don't fucking get it."

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Chas shakes his head, his expression going stony. "No. You don't fucking get it" he says flatly. "We're in a war and whether you like it or not, she's a casualty and now a weapon. Just like you are. And whether you like it or not, I have to think about that as much as I do about the security and safety of the -team-."

    He clenches a fist. "So you can sit there and stew with whatever vendetta you have with Lydia and deal or you can fucking walk and spend what little time is left with Jon as you wait for reality to be overwritten and everything we know to turn to dust." He narrows his eyes. "-I- know which option Jon would pick. Do you?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...you're an idiot, Chas Chandler," is all Cael has to say to that. "You know that? A fucking idiot." She turns on her heels abruptly, striding away from Chas - her posture and movements still stiff and angry.
    If only pounding his face in would do any good - but even as angry as she is - she knows that's not true.