6062/Family Matters

Family Matters
Date of Scene:	28 April 2021
Location:	St. Luke's Hospital
Synopsis:	At last, the lingering question of where Nessa had gone for the past two months is finally answered. And it begins with a surprise phonecall...
Cast of Characters:	Nessa Donovan, Katsumi Oshiro

---

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Unexpectedly vanishing wasn't usually something people intended. Emphasis on the unexpected part. Equally unexpectedly, though, is the surprise phone call that comes through to Katsumi's phone mid-afternoon. Despite no messages or calls from Nessa over the last two months or so and no real indication where she went, there's suddenly a call from Nessa's number.

No warning, no messages, no fanfare. Just a call.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"It is foolish to assume all encounters would be at night."

"No one's /assuming/ anything. I'm... protesting."

Katsumi sits at the foot of her hotel room's bed, hands busy securing her hair back in ponytail. Full jewel-like magenta eyes are set to glare at an excessively woolly calico cat perched on an extravagant armchair's cushion a short distance ahead of her.

"This is petulant behavior," admonishes the cat, voice resonant and deep, clearly trimmed in a British accent. "And when are you going to get dressed? You are still in your... unmentionables."

"What? I'm dressed!," counters Katsumi. Her arms uncross to look down at her attire - short-cropped leather jacket over a tubetop, belted skirt, fingerless gloves, boots, and ever-present choker. With an indignant huff, she finishes setting up the ponytail and folds her arms against her chest. "I'm not dressing like a none for a /cat/."

There's a sudden ring! It's absolutely from the Frozen soundtrack. Katsumi stares at her phone, startled. In a rush, she snaps it up and quickly swipes to answer it. "H-, um, hello?," she asks, voice strained in uncertainty.

The feline's head simply tilts.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Oh, thank god you picked up."

Nessa's voice on the other end of the line sounds tired, but there's so noise in the background. Beeps, loud conversations, chatter. It's somewhere public, it sounds like. "I can explain, Kat, I promise. I didn't have my phone so I couldn't figure out how to talk to you and I wasn't really somewhere there was, uh, any sort of reception."

The pause is long, and when Nessa breaks it she's talking quickly. "Anyway, uh, I'm almost done at the hospital and I'd like to see you if you aren't in the middle of something. I mean, if you're busy or don't want to, that's okay..."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
At the sound of Nessa's voice, Katsumi is immediately talking over her rapid-fire.

"Nessa, what happened, whatever I did, I didn't mean to, I just need to know, I can't fix anything if I don't know, just tell me what I-" She finally pauses at the mention of not having reception. And then at the mention of a hospital, her eyes substantially widen. "What happened are you okay don't move don't go anywhere I'm coming right now!"

She drops the phone onto the bed and quickly gets to her feet, bolting out the door in nearly the same action.

The feline stares at the door. A few seconds tick by.

The door swings open and Katsumi rushes to the bed to grab her phone. "Which hospital!?," she asks the still-active phonecall.

Now holding it up to her ear, she hurries out the door with a woolly feline close at heel.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
As soon as Katsumi starts panicking, Nessa is doing her best to try and soothe her, even when she's abandoned her phone. When the phone is picked up again and she actually gets the chance to speak, she speaks quickly to make sure she can get it in before any further freakout. "It's okay, calm down, I'm at St. Luke's."

By the time Katsumi makes it to the hospital, Nessa is somewhere easily spottable. Leaning against the reception desk and having a conversation with both the nurse and the receptionist there, she doesn't seem /too/ worse for wear at first glance. Up close, though, it's easier to tell she's either been in a fight or some kind of accident. Instead of her usual gloves she's got bandages wrapped around her palms, a few scratches and cuts on her face, only one of which seems to have required any stitches, a gash on her forehead. She's leaning heavily on the counter so it's hard to tell if she's doing it because she's tired or if she was injured somewhere else as well.

The conversation seems to be at a close, with the nurse handing over some paperwork as Nessa carefully signs it with a bandaged hand before handing it back.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro can't tell all of that from behind. She can just recognize Nessa, leaned on a counter. And she rushes towards her, eyes widened and concern growing all over again.

Along the way, an orderly spots the feline and steps in the way, arms out to either side like a linebacker. "Whoa, who's cat is this!? No pets allowed in the hospital, are you kidding me!?," he calls. The feline in question somehow looks offended, then turns to flee back out the door. He'll find a nice, reclusive spot to stew and wait.

Katsumi didn't even hear that. She's too focused on what's ahead. And when Nessa turns around, she's practically making tire-skid noises with her heels as she stops. Mouth hangs agape, eyes wide and sparkling with worry, slender hands raise to cover her mouth. And in an instant, she's standing before her, looking her over like an archaeologist examining a sarcophagus in fastforward. "You don't look okay," she says, quietly breathless. "What happened? Where were you? What-..."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Silly cat, hospitals are for people!

Nessa hasn't noticed the cat, mostly because her attention is drawn to the Kat. She offers a rather tired looking smile at seeing her, but she shakes her head. "No, I'm alright, it looks worse than it is. Just a little banged up." She doesn't explain immediately, mostly because she's well-aware that there are people she probably shouldn't explain in front of.

"Thank you," Nessa offers to the hospital staff before she reaches to try and seize Katsumi's arm to tug her off and out of the way of people. "Uh, you remember when I said I had family in Ireland? The ones who have, um, /skills/ like mine? The easiest and most simple explanation is 'family emergency'."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is taken by a bandaged hand, and is immediately all the more aware of the bandaging. And it hurts to be aware of them. She hates everything about what she's seeing. But she goes along with it, worrying her front teeth over her bottom lip. "Nnhh," is the disconcerted noise she makes in response at first.

It's only with an additional glance at their surroundings that she takes stock of the crowded lobby. So she takes a turn to carefully touch Nessa's wrist to try and direct her out of the building.

"You disappeared suddenly and- and I'm used to people doing that, but not- people like you, and I thought- you /are/ okay, right? What's this? You look like you've been beaten up, are you sure you're ready to be let out? Are you in pain?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Once Nessa's outside and she's certain they aren't in the middle of a bunch of people, she takes the opportunity to try and put her bandaged hands on Katsumi's arms in an attempt to try and calm her. "I'm okay, I promise, it just looks bad and it hurts but I'll be fine."

The mention of 'disappearing suddenly' leaves her a bit crestfallen for a moment. "I'm sorry about that. This wasn't exactly a trip I got to pack for... or bring a phone on. Even if I somehow found service, I didn't have your number memorized. So... I'm really sorry about that. But I'm here, I'm fine..."

She clears her throat a bit. "My family really needs to understand personal boundaries a bit better, regardless of /magical emergencies/."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro lowers her head a little, her bangs falling further over her eyes. "I thought you left me again," she admits. "I wasn't gonna let it get to me. I didn't wanna let it effect me the way it did earlier. But I kept hoping you'd call." She gave up that hope not too long ago and started letting herself look at others. But Nessa doesn't need to know that detail. Because it doesn't matter, right? Nothing happened. And she's terrified she'll vanish again. Assuming she's not trying to be gentle with her feelings and lie to her now.

Her gaze drops to her toes, troubled by the thought. That's not even something she could come right out and ask.

"..you're okay?," she repeats, looking up her lids to Nessa.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Yeah, you should see the other guy," Nessa says. It's legitimately hard to tell if that's a joke or serious in this case.

The bandaged hands rest on Kat's arms. "No, it wasn't my choice, I didn't just..." She shuts her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, that's what it looked like, didn't it?" She might not have been wincing from pain, but the thought of putting Katsumi through the same situation as before is clearly unsettling her.

"I'm so sorry, I'm fine, I'll heal okay." She drops the bandaged hands back to her side. "I didn't exactly plan a family reunion in Ireland, much less one involving people trying to kill other people. I've /really/ decided family is overrated."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro lets her gaze drop again, processing. There's just been so much to try to take in lately, so much to wrap her head around. So many hits; physically, mentally. She doesn't trust herself to be able to read the situation, or see the line between her hopes and what's really in front of her.

"Nessa..." She's quiet for a few timid seconds. "...are we... okay? Us?" Her head lifts again to look at her. "Are we... umm..." Her eyes plead with her to understand what she's asking without having to force it out of her bluntly.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Didn't really understand the definition of 'family feud' until I--" But Nessa stops, noting the response, the questions. "I didn't intend to leave, Kat. I didn't plan on going anywhere. That hasn't changed, I..." She trails off, her brow furrowing. "My feelings haven't changed. Please don't think that they have. It was so long... so if yours have, I can understand. You just have to say so and we never have to talk about it again, okay? I'm not going to just make this awkward for you."

She clears her throat. "Just, uh, say something so I know if I've lost everything. Kind of an important thing to know." The injuries are the last thing on her mind.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
The answer is in typical Katsumi manner - show, don't tell.

The spritely Japanese wrestler throws herself forward against Nessa in a tight hug, encapsulating her upper arms in the squeeze. Her head tilts to bury against her shoulder in relieved affection, her eyes falling shut. And thankfully, with the sun still lingering in the sky above, none of this is at a superhuman level. It's just tight. All the feelings she'd been penting up for two months, expressed in that tight hug, a very physical, personal claim on Nessa. Hers.

"Learn my god**** number," Katsumi whispers against her shoulder, face still yet buried.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Really glad I didn't crack any ribs," Nessa notes in the hug, returning the squeeze before she shuts her eyes to rest her head against Katsumi's. "You don't have any idea how hard I tried to remember it. And then I couldn't even find a damn phone anywhere. You'd think people would have realized how useful cellphones are, but apparently my relatives are the kind of backwards people who think messenger pidgeons and magical means are the best way to do things. I really should see if I can learn something to send messages." She lets out a slow breath.

"I'm really sorry. I don't even know how to tell you how sorry I am. And I'm really pissed off because it's not even my screw up this time. I could deal with it if I was a jackass to you and I'd get what I deserved but it wasn't my choice and in the end you got hurt over this. I kind of want to go back and sock someone in the jaw now."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro shakes her head, pauses, then nods. "Yes. Punch someone. But after a bit. I want you right here for now." As the hug is returned, Katsumi squirms to attempt to somehow get closer. "I'm gonna make you feel better. Whatever works. Chocolate? Massages?" She hesitates, then adds, "Maybe not massages. You're already injured. But whatever I can do. Cuz the only thing that matters right now is.. this. And how much I missed you." She terminates in a gentle grumble against her shoulder.

At this point, the excessively woolly calico has left his hiding place and stepped out to join the two. He's staring specifically at Nessa, jade green eyes affixed with a steady level of judgmental shrewdness. And her ability to sense magic might be going off the charts.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The mage hugs Kat tightly, regardless of whatever injuries she's sustained. "I though I was supposed to be the one making /you/ feel better--" She cuts herself off. While Nessa wasn't trying to focus on magic, it's impossible for her not to sense the presence of the cat. A very /magical/ cat. She abruptly turns away from Kat to put herself between the two, her stance changing to one a little more defensive. Especially given the fact that she's used to tricksters pretending to be animals.

With her arm in front of Katsumi in a protective manner, she stares down the feline. "What do you want?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"To go home," replies the earnest, yet remarkably sour feline. No hesitation. He can read body language. She knew he was more than he appeared. But did she know precisely what?

Katsumi, meanwhile, is left blinking in a mild daze at the rotation. Soon, the voice sounds off and she immediately realizes what's happening. With a heavy sigh, she leans over Nessa's shoulder. "This is the newest development in how-f***ed-up-can-my-life-get. A talking cat."

"You may introduce me to your little friend later," replies said feline in an offhandedly and likely unintentionally patronizing tone. "We should away to cover. We have much work to do, and you cannot afford these trivial distractions."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa, regardless of the cat's words or that Katsumi is familiar with the cat, continues the defensive position. She raises an eyebrow at the feline's words, then narrows her gaze. "I'd rather like to think I'm more than a /trivial/ distraction, thank you, but you're right. I wasn't specific enough."

The blonde remains squarely in front of Katsumi. "So let me rephrase so you understand. I don't really care what /you/ want. What I care about is what you want with Katsumi."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro lowers her head to rest her chin on Nessa's shoulder. Far be it from her to defend the dour cat. She's enjoyed absolutely nothing he's had to say since he appeared.

The feline, however, has already picked himself up again and turned aside from the pair. "If what you care about is Oshiro's well-being, you will learn to care for what I want," he notes. "We are leaving." Following the proclamation, he begins to padstep down the sidewalk.

Katsumi sighs again and leans off of Nessa's shoulder. She circles to her front with a weary smile. "He's kind of like my relationship with McDonald's. No, not that I'm lovin' it. That I'm pretty sure much more of it's gonna kill me." She shoots a look over her shoulder to the cat, still padding along, then back to Nessa. "There's a lot to unpack. Do you wanna maybe come back to my place? Or.. yours? Do you still have a place?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Shit, you have a point. I honestly hadn't thought about that, I didn't exactly get the chance to pay my rent," Nessa notes with a grimace. "Great, cool, I have no idea if my stuff's still there." She pauses. "Technically it's leased so as long as I get the money to my landlady I should be fine." She rubs at her face, then winces as the bandages on her hands make her remember that she's injured on both hands /and/ face.

"If you don't mind having me for a while, I'd appreciate it. I don't know that I really want to go try and figure out my rent situation right now."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro shakes her head quickly, feathering her hair. "I'm taking care of /you/ this time." Her hands lift to touch her shoulders, a determined smile brightening her features. "My Nessa. I couldn't help ya when you were a bunny, but I can do this now!" She won't mention Jennifer's the one footing the bill on it. It's fine. Fine!

"Okay, let's catch up with the cat."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa wrinkles her nose, but begrudgingly seems to accept Kat's offer of taking care of her. "Well, to be fair I couldn't help myself when I was a bunny, so we're both equal there," she smiles wryly before she nods and moves to head after the cat.

"Just let me know if we need to make a feline disappear," Nessa says, her voice low. "Pretty sure I know a guy who knows a guy."