xp_logs | Topaz and Rogue || Saturday Afternoon (Reply)

Rogue goes to talk to Topaz after the library disaster.

The world was starting to spin a bit, which was never a good sign. Topaz leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees and trying to take a deep breath. She wasn't sure how long she had been down here - the time had passed in a blur of fury that wasn't her own - and she was pretty sure by now she should have expended all the extra energy she'd gotten off Matt and Clint.

And yet she could still feel it, in the back of her head, trying to burrow past her shields, into her mind...

Topaz groaned, digging the heels of her palms deep into her eyes before suddenly whipping her hand out, aiming at a nearby boulder and blasting off a large shot of energy. The boulder, having finally been put through too much abuse, shattered.

Rogue watched the scene in front of her passively, arms crossed across her chest. She pushed off lightly from the rock she was leaning on and cleared her throat loudly. "Was wondering where you'd gone off to. Not too surprised to find you here. Mind if I break a few things with ya?"

Topaz jumped a bit at the intrusion - it was a sign of how distracted she was that she hadn't immediately noticed someone coming - and looked back at Rogue. "Yeah, sure. I can clear off if you want. I don't think this is working."

"You don't have to leave," Rogue answered. "And I don't have to start. I was worried about you so I thought I'd see where you were at."

"Nothing to worry about." Topaz scrubbed her eyes again. "Feel a bit like I got dosed with something but I guess that's what happens when I absorb magically intensified emotions." Not something she'd ever had to deal with before. Not something she ever wanted to deal with again.

Rogue quirked an eyebrow. The quarry had been thoroughly beat‎, something that she doubted Topaz did often. "Okay, maybe worry is too broad of a word. How about 'concerned' or 'interested' or something like that? I only know there was an explosion and you were there. That's something that isn't the best thing to go through."

"It wasn't really an explosion," Topaz mumbled. "Just....a very bad string of unfortunate events that ended with me having to absorb way too much emotion. Besides, not like I'm not used to things going to hell around here."

"just because it's normalized doesn't mean it's okay," Rogue pointed out. "And that also doesn't mean you have to be okay even if you're not. Anyways, I didn't come to preach or anythin', I just want you to know I'm here for debriefing or whatever."‎

Topaz ran a hand through her hair before finally turning to really focus on Rogue. "Have I ever really explained my magic to you?" She didn't usually take the time - it worked and that was all that mattered.

Rogue shook her head. "Nope, but I'd love to learn."

Topaz carefully lowered herself to the ground - her head was really starting to spin - crossing her legs under herself. "Basically, my magic is fueled by emotions. I can go into people's heads and drain their emotions, leaves them a bit flat for a while after, and I convert that into energy to cast spell."

"So kinda like what I do but emotion-wise?"

"A bit, yeah. Thing is, if I don't use the emotions I absorb, they just stay in my head. And I'm usually good at separating what's mine from what's someone else's, but what I took from Clint and Matt today was just...." She shuddered. "It wasn't normal."

That piqued Rogue's curiosity. " what do mean by that? I mean, they were angry or something, so isn't that what you got? Anger?"‎

"I mean, yeah, it was, but it wasn't like...." Topaz frowned deeply, waving her hands uselessly, like that would somehow explain what she couldn't say. "It wasn't their anger. It wasn't a natural emotional at all, it was created by the staff. It's more invasive, like a...a parasite or something."

A staff. Of course it had to do with a magical item. "Goodness.......are you going to be okay? Have y‎ou talked to Amanda yet? And really, I'm worried how you yourself are. "

"I'm fine, that's why I'm out here." Topaz gestured at the broken rocks. "I was blowing off the energy. Could've waited, it would've worn off on its own eventually, but it seemed safer to just get it all out."

Rogue took a good look at the quarry and gave a low whistle. "Looks like you did a good job with that, sugar. So how's bout you and me head back to the mansion, and have a little relaxing time? Cuz you're gonna crash soon, and I think a comfy bed is a better place than a quarry. Netflix at mine?"‎

Topaz sighed, looking around. She really had done a number on the place. Better than going mad in her room though. "Yeah, alright," she said after a moment, pushing herself up slowly. She was definitely already feeling that crash coming. "For a bit, I should probably talk to Amanda at some point. Have you seen Stranger Things yet? I've heard good things."

"You go see Amanda, and I'll get the food ready. And by ready, I mean I'll go get random junk.". Rogue smiled. This was probably the first conversation with Topaz that wasn't like pulling teeth. Progress. "Meet you in an hour? I'll have Stranger Things loaded and ready to go."‎

"Sounds brilliant." And she could grab her industrial-sized bottle of aspirin while she was at it. "Thanks."