1828/After-Party blues

After-Party blues
Date of Scene:	25 May 2020
Location:	Rave's appartment
Synopsis:	Cecily and Rave discuss the aftermath of the attack on Rave's concert. Plans to track down villains and comforting cuddles are exchanged.
Cast of Characters:	Naria Shepard, Cecily Winters

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Naria Shepard has posed:
Technically the post had come first, a warning to the social media savy that Rave was out in the city once more. Eventually, she'd recovered enough to recover and the 'Selfie' sent reassuring fans she was alright appeared online a few moments before the neon-blue street zipped across the city and up to the balcony door she tended to favor.

Her skirt, her hairties, all of it was thrown aside as the speedster changed into her pyjamas in less time than it too most people to take off their glasses...then she just sort of slumped in the middle of her loungeroom.

Cecily Winters has posed:
    The response time, after the post, is a bit longer for the speed of someone who doesn't own their own car. Winters tends to walk the streets on her own, or take a cab or get from A to B with the help of someone else's black sedan. Whatever the case, it might seem like a lifetime, or an hour, before there's a knock at Rave's door. It's a gentle, polite knock, followed by a familiar voice calling out. "Miss Shepard?" it would inquire, to test if the speedster was even home, or even responsive. Whether or not Cecily had a key isn't the point, rather that she's giving the bluenette her space if she desires to send her away.

Naria Shepard has posed:
Of course Cecily had a key, likely she used it more than Rave herself. But it mattered little really, a groan from the girl announced her stiring from where she'd simply pulled a couch cushion to the floor. A murmer of 'come in' heard likely only for those sensitive points of ears announcing her invitation to the fox-meta as she props herself up on her elbows.

Cecily Winters has posed:
    It's still polite to knock, after all. Rave could be showering. Or napping. Or napping in the shower. She's a night owl sort, right? Regardless, there's a click, the door opens, and then it's closed behind her. The vulpine woman slips her shoes off carefully, and is, as usually, carrying her bookbag with her. She's also still got her arm in a sling, two days not quite being enough for her healing factor to deal with the rather dramatic snapping of her arm. Then in simply stockinged feet, Cecily makes her way into the lounge, steps almost silent as she takes stock of her blue-haired charge. "...how are you holding up?"

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I've had better days..." Rave murmers, closing her eyes again and slumping just a little for a moment before she rolls over onto her back, groaning a little and bringing a hand to her forehead. "I've got to find them, the people that did this, the people that got grabbed. It was -my- show Cecily," she speaks, not even pausing to notice her slip to the first name. "They were all in the one place because of me and I didn't...I couldn't save the day for them."

Cecily Winters has posed:
    "Be thankful you didn't get taken, too," the fox says quietly, looking down at her arm. "...I didn't exactly manage to do my absolute best as your..." she considers her next word, giving a sardonic smile, "...assistant." Cecily moves to take a seat nearby, gingerly letting her arm hang where it needs to hang. "I think both of us have had better days, dear," she says gently. The fox that's here today is off the clock, her cold, collected, professional side left at the door when she had called Rave by her last name.

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I don't think I'd ever seen you hurt that bad before," Rave speaks again, sitting herself up even as her eyes move towards the sling. There was no missing the note of guilt in the neon gaze before she shakes her head. "You saved me. I am thankful...to you. I could be who-knows-where by now otherwise."

An exhaled breath, she lifts herself into a cross-legged position on the floor. "Can I get you something? I at least owe you that much."

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Cecily shakes her head, "I was merely doing my job. I care about you, Maria," she says quietly. "Those whom I protect, I try to do everything within my power to see them safe, regardless of my own risks. I was a police officer for almost a decade, I took that job very seriously as well." She glances down at her arm, flexing her fingers a little and wincing, then sighing.

    "You don't... always win. You can't always win. Accepting the fact that failure is a possibility and still going through with what's right and moving forward is a part of life. This. Life..." she looks at Rave, her words coming from experience, reflected on her face.

    "Act with integrity, and have no regrets," she states. "...I would like some tea, please, should you have any."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I..." Rave begins, but her own words fail and thoughts of experience drop away. A little slump and she nods, reaching out to pull herself upwards into a standing position.

"I'll get your tea..."

The speedster in the strawberry-printed pyjamas makes to move, her path headed for the kitchen with a glance back over her shoulder at the fox. "Do you think that we'll be able to find them before they find us again?"

Cecily Winters has posed:
    It's not the answer Rave wants to hear, and Cecily knows this. None of the things she says are likely what the idealistic heroine wants to hear. But the fox is saying things she thinks she -needs- to hear. Things that she's learned herself. Cold truths with hopeful edges. At the question, she gives a sincere...half smile, and shakes her head. Her free hand adjusts her blouse, tugging the cloth near her shoulder down, revealing the fading scar of what must've been a deep stab wound.

    "No. No I don't. But maybe we'll know what they want, and be ready for them instead."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I'm going to look anyway," the girl speaks as she holds the mug, letting a neon glow sweep through her body and send the water bubbling in a few moments before she continues making the tea.

"I have to."

A look back, her eyes fall on Cecily's wound and she tilts her head. "I...I didn't see you get that one. Did it happen when I was shot?"

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Cecily nods, "You're your own woman, Maria. I cannot, and will not try to stop you. Just know that if you want me with you, my services are yours to command." She covers up again, adjusting her clothes and this time, shaking her head. "Several days prior. More discreet situation..." she explains quietly. "I don't know if they were after me or my... new friend.." she considers, struggling to really define what Mori is to her, at the moment. Bear cub? Something. "In either case, these... things... aren't human. Not anymore. If they ever were. Meat, metal, and single-minded," she shakes her head.

    "We eliminated two, and a... chameleon. Same reliance on stun weaponry."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"You were hired by my parents to keep me safe," Rave speaks, pausing to fold her arms under her chest after she hands the tea offer, frowning and sitting herself down on the couch proper now. "I can't go worrying them by turning you away when there's actual danger..."

Her attention shifts, a nod of her head offered before she closes her eyes. "They were...something alright."

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Cecily takes the cup, cradling it in her good hand carefully. She nods, taking a slow sip as she listens. "We'll do what we can, when we can," she says quietly. "I am glad... that you still wish to move forward, and carry on with this. You are a good person, and no matter how bleak it gets, do keep shining for me, won't you dear?"

Naria Shepard has posed:
"You don't need to worry about that," Rave speaks, moving to sit herself down nearby and punctuating her words with a flare of her glowing locks. "I'm a Neon rainbow of awesome Cecily," she adds with a wink, a little taste of her 'normal' after she'd been so...faded. "It'll take more than this to stop me dancing."

Cecily Winters has posed:
    "Good. Never stop dancing," Cecily urges, though gently. "You have a light, dear, and I don't just mean your neon. Nurture it and let it shine bright, even if things seem like they'll be dark and stay that way..." she takes another drink, eyes closing, letting the flavor sink in and the eventual swallow settle and warm her from within. "That's why you're a hero after all, isn't it? You are a shining beacon of hope, in more ways than one."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"That and...it is kinda awesome," Rave grins, moving over to nudge Cecily, albeit gently, against her good arm and lazily settle against her side. "'Beacon of hope' though, I kinda like that...I hope that's where I'll get to. Do a little good and everything..." she trails off, a sidelong glance to Cecily and there's a tilt of her head. "Do I give -you- hope Cecily, or just a pain in the butt?"

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Cecily smirks a little when she's nudged, eyes opening again. "My honest answer...?" she considers, a moment of thought. "You are less a pain than you might think you are, in truth. You can be brash and overconfident, but you have a good heart," she says, then sighs. "...I had hoped to spare you from a moment like last night, but also it would be a moment that would decide if, and how, you were going to move forward."

    She looks Rave in the eye, "You took the time you needed and you're bouncing back. You're not giving in to despair, or worse, turning to a darker path. You're young, dear, and seeing you still clinging to your desire to do good things. These are things I had to learn when I was starting out, too. Some lessons are harder than others, more painful and more difficult."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I'm okay Cecily.." Rave speaks softly, meeting that gaze and leaning closer. Less high-energy, but no less genuine. "I'll deal, I'll keep moving forwards. You can't protect me from everything, but you can help me...and help me protect myself I guess..." trailing off, she leans in again, a lasy 'snuggle' that's fond against her protector and companion. No more words, just a moment of calm and comfort from the neon comet of a girl.

Cecily Winters has posed:
    The fox nods, "I know I can't protect you from everything. And it isn't my job to. You are young, but you are an adult as well. You do, you succeed, you fail, you learn, you grow. Attempting to shelter you forever would only weaken you." Cecily leans to the side, setting her now-empty cup that held tea so she can free her good arm. The arm which then, without hesitation, slides around Rave's shoulders and returns the gentle snuggle. There's a gentle smile on the woman's lips, her tails curling around Rave's midsection in a warm, fluffy embrace.

    "But at the very least, I can try my best to catch you when you fall."