16745/Crashing at Dad's Place

Crashing at Dad's Place
Date of Scene:	02 January 2024
Location:	Grant's Apartment - Grant's Gym
Synopsis:	After crashing at Ted's place to recover from a spiked drink courtesy of Inez, Clara suffers one of her night terrors, revealing her powers to Ted.
Cast of Characters:	Ted Grant, Clara Jennings

---

Ted Grant has posed:
It was a loooong night. Ted did put away a bit of the firewater, then broke up a fight, then matched the dance antics of a truly manic 19 year old. There was also the patrol he ran before heading to Opal's, the ten mile run and sparring so when he finally got his new friend, Clara, to go to sleep, he was truly tired. In fact his eyes almost were shut before his head hit the pillow.

And then...

Clara Jennings has posed:
    A scream explodes through the air.

    A scream that is long, wordless, and punctuated with a gasp. It is only stopped long enough to gather air for another. Teddy's t-shirt is plasted to Clara, who has broken out in an icy sweat.

    She is sitting up in bed. But she is not alone in the room. Not exactly. The bag she brough has spilled out its papers and they shape in the air itself into two figures. The first of a girl, small, curled up in a ball, covering her head and face with her arms and hands as best she can. The second is huge, bearlike, rearing silently over the other in a threatening way. These figures have no fine details, being made only of paper, and they make little sound, save the rustling of paper. Harsh rustling from the large figure, soft and weak from the lesser one.

    Another scream follows, then crying, shaking. Her eyes are wide open, but there is no sign of reaction or sight.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant wakes up quickly. Superhero training and a number of jealous lovers showing up. Saints be praised he remembered to wear shorts for Clara's sake. He bursts into the room takes in the scene and immediately swings the baseball bat he brought at the whozie-whompus, a growl escaping his lips. It's a pretty good swing too. You fight the Sportsmaster and coach little league and you learn a few things!

Clara Jennings has posed:
    The paper is not all that hard to knock away. It tumbles to the floor and flutters there, not quite still, but making no effort to form itself again into the shape it held. This leaves only that smaller figure, which Ted will recognize is obviously shaped a lot like Clara herself.

    The screaming has stopped, but the pain has not. Clara leans forward, her shoulders slouching and back curved as she hugs herself.

    The young woman gives no sign of what is happening, though anyone who has seen a night terror might recognize it. She trembles and starts to sob. It is unlikely she can even see her surroundings.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant looks at the facsimiles, whole and ruined then drops the bat and goes over to sit on the bed beside Clara, rubbing her back. "This is one hell of a sleep over. Yer just full of surprises." He grabs some tissues from the nightstand, wondering is she a clingy crier or a gtfo crier. He keeps an eye on the paper figures.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    While Clara herself shows no reaction to Ted's presence, the touch on her back causes a sudden tension in the paper. All of it pulses, briefly, into sharp, harsh shapes. Some look rather like blades.

    A heart beat later and something like a wave travels through them. It happens again and again, making those more alarming forms break apart, until all of it is still on the floor and even Clara's form there is gone.

    This leaves the young girl, who rocks back and forth, crying, not seeing. It takes a while. A few minutes, actually, and then some part of her seems to finally realize she's not alone. Ted finds out that she is a cling crier, when she turns and hugs him. Her eyes shut tightly, but the tears still get out. She's shaking like a little leaf in a windstorm.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant scoops Clara up, bedding and all, and moves out of the room. He shuts the door behind them. He wants her away from the ammunition so to speak. Paper cuts are killer. But he'll just bookmark her magic trick for later. He walks over to his recliner chair and sits with her cuddled and crying like a kettle boiling over. "Yeah, stay down, take the long count." You let stuff like this play out. He wonders would the Titans return his calls?

Clara Jennings has posed:
    She does take the long count at that, clinging to the man with a kind of desperation that any parent is familiar with. At the end, Clara is breathing as if she ran for miles, but is otherwise still. She is tiny in Ted's arms.

    There is a time of silence that follows. Just her breathing. She has to get her bearings. Eventually, she looks up at Ted and uses one of those tissues to wipe her eyes. The other to blow her nose. She is a mess from all the crying.

    "Good morning, Daddy Teddy."

    Her voice is quieter than normal, which is to say fragile as can be. "Sorry, I had rather hoped I would wake up early and try to make you breakfast." He can add that to her dossier of skills. A laugh then, "It did not work out, it seems."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant gives Clara a kiss on the forehead. He then gives her a stern look, points at her and his shoulder, hoping the message is clear. "You're going to rest a minute longer, then change. If you fall back asleep it's okay." He holds her tight. Well he bought into the whole 'Dad' thing didn't he? Congrats, it's not a girl, not yet a woman, in a wringing wet shirt.

Oddly, he is reminded of getting his son back to sleep... while he had him.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara's response is a nod of understanding. The gesture says, 'Yes, father' in a way that words cannot. She doesn't hesitate, exactly. It is more like she does not know how this works. She rests her cheek on his shoulder and closes her eyes.

    Only her governess has cared for her after nightmares. She has no experience with a father figure. Clara just knows that Ted feels solid. Real. Warm.

    "I am not sleepy," she says after a couple minutes. The way she says it is uncertain, like she is unsure if that is something she might be scolded for.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant thinks if he scolded her she'd probably start crying again. Instead he says, "We'll see about that." He does get her up, takes a good look and gets another t-shirt from an armoir. He tosses it to her and with exaggerated moves turns to face away from her. "Go ahead, I'll wait." He covers his eyes for additional effect. "If yer a villain and think you got me cold, I'd think again, little girl."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    She shies away from his response, but then her lips tug tremulously into an uncertain smile. Clara nods at him, then gets back on her feet. While she is not exactly clumsy, she does have this way about her, like a deer taking its first steps.

    The shirt is caught and she nods quickly. "Yes sir."

    She turns her back to him, so he cannot see her shock when he suggests she might be a villain. It is such a surprise she does not even think to deny it. She changes shirts, carefully folding up the one she had been wearing and holding it.

    She wants to ask what the villain thing was about. It surprised her. "I would never try to hurt you, Daddy Teddy." From a practical standpoint, she is not convinced she could even if her life was on the line.

    All that was of course in that same little voice she had before.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant spares a glance and turns to see a stricken Clara almost lost in a very large shirt. He goes over to give her a hug. "It was a joke. Take it easy. We'll talk about the magic powered origami later. Right now, you should go back to sleep." He tries steering her back to the guest room. "You know mental exhaustion is a thing. I think that's where you are." He pats the back of her head.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    The girl is almost lost in the shirt! She laughs when he hugs her, though. In relief, honestly. "The magic.. oh. I see." Clara laughs nervously at herself. It has a way of making her apparent age dip to about 12 somehow.

    "Oh, and.. I suppose I could." A moment of thought. "I will sleep some more."

    Ted's orders and all that! She is not sure if she can sleep, but once she does get back into the bed and lays down, she feels suddenly comfortable. And then she is asleep again. No nightmares in sight. No scary paper monsters, either! She may talk a bit in her sleep, but nothing incriminating will come of it. Mostly she mumbles snatches of previous scripts she has made.