amara and amanda

[x-volcanic.livejournal.com]

Amara and Amanda meet up to discuss what Amanda's found out about Nova Roma. It's not news she really wants to hear.

Knowing Amara wasn’t much of a pub person and not wanting to do this at the mansion where anyone could wander by, Amanda had suggested meeting at the CoffeeQuake in Salem Center. She could see Amara’s head through the window as she pulled up in the Broomstick, and her glance fell to the binder on the seat next to her. Maybe Manuel had been right about secrets being better off kept. Still, they’d come this far – all she could do now was give Amara the information she’d gleaned so far and see what the other girl wanted to do. With that decision, she pushed open the car door and collected her belongings before locking up and heading for the coffee shop.

Amara had been here a little while - not because Amanda was running late, but because she'd run early. She was sitting at one of the booths with a book in front of her and most of a coffee finished in front of her. It had taken Amara a long time to warm up to American coffee, but sometimes you just needed that hit of caffiene. She looked up when Amanda walked into the coffee shop, promptly flicking her book closed and smiling over to the other blonde. Even if she was a little nervous about the news Amanda had, it didn't mean she wasn't glad to see her.

"Hey, Firebug," Amanda said with her usual tendency towards nicknaming those she liked. She dumped her bag into the booth and the file folder onto the table. "Just let me grab a cuppa and I'll be right back, yeah? 'S colder than a nun's charity out there and the Broomstick's heater's on the blink."

"No worries," Amara said with a smile, not letting on that she was a little perplexed by Amanda's reference to a nun and charity, and what did that have to do with the cold? "It is quite cold out there, I always seem to forget how cold it gets in New York at this time of year." She didn't feel it so much herself, but she didn't particularly enjoy it when it got particularly windy or snowy. That she noticed.

"You'd think after a while I would be used to it, but no luck. Be back in a tick." And with that Amanda took herself to the counter, ordering a large tea and a couple of danishes. Once her order had been filled, she returned and added them to the table before stripping off her coat and sliding into the other side of the booth. "That's better," she continued, reaching for the giant-sized mug of steaming liquid. "Thanks for coming down - I figured it was a bit more private here than at the school."

"It's not a problem at all," Amara said with a smile. "As it is I spend more of my time away from the mansion than I do at it. But it's been quite awhile since I've been here." While Amanda had been up at the counter Amara had packed away her homework, so now it was just her cup of coffee left on the table. It was getting cold, and Amara had wrapped her hands around it so she could slowly reheat it. "Thank you for keeping me up to date," she finished awkwardly. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to know what Amanda had found, but she knew needed to.

"All part of the service," Amanda replied with a smile, curious about Amara's tendency to not be at the mansion as much but leaving it for after business. "So... I've dug up a little more. You sure you still want to know all this? I can just chase it up for myself if you'd rather."
Amara pressed her lips together at the question. "No," she said honestly. "I don't want to know. But I need to. If there is something there that my father should know, or that could threaten Nova Roma - I need to know it." She attempted a smile, but it didn't really come quickly to her lips. "My home has been through enough."

Amanda winced internally. She had a feeling the more she investigated this, the higher the chances Amara’s “home” would turn out to be anything but. Still, she’d made the choice and Amanda was mindful of that. Trying to protect people from the world never worked to anyone’s favour. “Well, we already knew Selene had a hand in Nova Roma’s leadership and religious practices,” she began, flipping open the file folder. “But from what I’ve been able to dig up from various places, it looks like she created the place as well. About twenty-odd years ago. Before that, there was nothing but jungle and some old ruins.”

Amara nodded at the statement about Selene, doing her best not to bite down on her lip. She was nervous about hearing what Amanda had found, but she wasn't going to let that hold her back. She'd spent a lot of time being scared, and she wouldn't do that anymore. "... twenty years ago?" Amara frowned at that, setting the mug down on the table before it got too hot. "But that's impossible." She knew the history of Nova Roma. It was certainly much older than that. Certainly much older than her.

“I know.” Amanda kept her tone calm. “Your memories are telling you the place has been there for generations. But… it’s not the case. Local villagers, satellite pictures, even Selene’s own flunkies in jail right now all agree – Nova Roma wasn’t there before the 1980s.”

It was quite awhile before Amara replied, as she just sat there with a frown on her face. She - this didn't make sense. How could Nova Roma have just... sprung up? This made no sense. "But how?" Amara said eventually, finally speaking up. There were other important questions - 'why?' was a good one, but that wasn't quite as important as the how.

"Selene... experimented. In wiping memories and reshaping them to a new reality." Amanda couldn't help the small wince. "I saw it first hand, back in school. Manuel's father had Selene wipe his mind, working with an empath, so that Manny could be 'reprogrammed' into a more obediant son, someone more usefuul to them. The process got interrupted, but she was very good at it and knew what she was doing. If I had to hazard a guess, she'd been honing her skills in Nova Roma, using kidnapped tourists and locals to populate a city devoted to worshipping her."

"No." Amara didn't know what she was denying, but suddenly, she didn't want to hear anymore. She'd heard enough. She took a shaky deep breath, getting herself under control again. "Thank you, Amanda, for the work you have done in researching this. But I think I've heard enough." Perhaps she was burying her head in the sand by not wanting to, but she just couldn't hear anymore.

"Hey, it's all right. I understand." Amanda hadn't wanted to hear the truth about her birth family when Wanda had dug it up for her and that had been good news. "Let's leave it for now, yeah? You've gone this long and you can take some to process things and sort yourself out."

"Yes please." Amara didn't know what she was going to do with the information - it was possibly something her father should know, but at the same time, what purpose would it serve? Selene was gone now, and her fantasy world still held. "Thank you for this, by the way. I don't want you to think I am ungrateful for the effort you have put into this."

"Not at all." Amanda reached over and patted the back of Amara's hand in a clumsy attempt to be comforting. "I get it, Firebug, I do." It wouldn't mean she wouldn't keep poking around on her own behalf, however. Anything to do with Selene, she wanted to keep tabs on it. "How about we finish up and I give you a lift back to the mansion? You can keep the Broomstick warm for the both of us, yeah?"

Amara smiled tightly, her hand turning around so she could briefly squeeze Amanda's in return. "I appreciate it. And yes, thank you, a lift would be great." She laughed a little at the last comment. "I do think I will be able to keep the car warm, no problem there." She picked up her coffee, taking a sip before wrinkling her nose. "... I think I may have been a little enthusiastic about reheating my coffee."

The witch grinned. "Everyone knows reheated coffee sucks any way."