Marie-Ange and Topaz (Backdated)
Mar. 6th, 2017 09:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_topaz posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsMarie-Ange finds a sleepy witch on her couch. And it's not even the one who actually lives there. Backdated to March 6, following the Avengers plot.
Topaz had never actually asked if she could sleep on Marie-Ange's and Amanda's couch, but no one had told her to leave, either. Which was basically permission as far as she was concerned.
She was currently curled up in the corner of the couch, a book she'd stolen off Amanda's shelf resting in her lap. She was tired, possibly even tired enough to sleep, but her brain wouldn't turn off long enough to let her sleep. Trying to read, oddly, was helping though; she was nodding off where she sat, her head resting on the arm of the couch.
Marie-Ange -had- tried to creep into the suite quietly. It was just that she had moved an entire messy stack of art supplies from Laurie and Doug's suite back to her own, and despite using one of her images to open the door, she still managed to drop two sketch pads, a few canvasses, a tin of pencils and pens and an entire container of oil pastels all over the floor. The clatter was unnecessarily loud.
That half the sketches were nudes was just icing on the cake, now they were strewn all over the floor.
"I'm awake!" Was the clearly only half-conscious thing Topaz uttered as she jolted up, blinking heavily, her head snapping around for a moment. Her gaze finally landed on Marie-Ange and the mess on the floor (probably the source of the noise, she figured in all her brilliance). She only let her eyes settle on one of the sketches for a brief moment before realizing that was more of Mr. Ramsey than she ever wanted to see, and quickly looked back at Marie-Ange. "I'm aware I don't live here." She wasn't at her quickest, clearly.
"Are you sure? I am certain that this suite is full of witches who read until all hours and then pass out on the sofa." Marie-Ange bent and started re-stacking the papers. "Hrm. Though, the regular one is blonde, and she leaves rather much more of a mess." Hypocrisy at it's finest from the person who left papers and art books everywhere, in at least three different suites.
"Yeah, that one has her own room and bed here." Topaz looked back at the closed door. "And is apparently a much heavier sleeper than I would have thought." She slid off the couch, carefully avoiding papers and helping Marie-Ange pick up the pencils and pens and other supplies that had fallen.
Marie-Ange snorted a laugh. "Amanda can sleep through a New Orleans funeral if she needs the rest, and knows she is safe." She looked closely at Topaz, and then scooped up the last of the oil pastels. "Someone she trusts is watching out for her, I am glad she is getting good sleep."
Topaz was quiet for a long moment, focusing a little harder than what was necessary on picking up pens and pencils. Someone she trusts. "Yeah. Just glad I can help." She retrieved a pencil that had gone under the coffee table, and with the last of them collected stood. "I'm gonna make tea. You want a cuppa?"
"Always, especially if you are raiding Amanda's tea containers. She has the best tea." Routinely replaced by Marie-Ange because tea was life, and it was really sort of a shared roommate resource, but left outside Amanda's kitchen it did not taste as good. She was convinced it was magic. "I realize this is hypocrisy from me, but have you slept, since? And if so, was it in a bed?"
"Of course it's Amanda's." Topaz went to put on the water then search the cabinets, taking a moment too long to answer Marie-Ange's question. "I suppose the five minutes I slept upright on your couch before you came in don't count," she said finally. "Been a bit..." She waved a hand, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't talking to someone who necessarily understood her weird silent hand waving.
Marie-Ange frowned - not the disapproving Jubilee shut up frown, or the why do I date you again frown that ... any of the people she was dating got. "No, it does not count. " This was definitely the "teammate not taking care of themselves" frown. "I think herbal tea, yes? Or at least green. I will not be sleeping for some time, I napped on my cousin's sofa while we watched television, if you would like to borrow a real bed, I can take Amanda watching duty for a few hours."
"No, I'm alright," Topaz said quickly. "I mean, I'm tired, but I'm mostly..." Another hand wave. "Buzzed, I suppose." She did find some herbal tea, however. Maybe that would help. "A lot to think about."
"You took everything Amanda had." It was not a question. "I would be concerned if you were not up thinking about it." Half of the reason Marie-Ange had retreated to Jean-Phillipe's room was to think about it where Amanda would not have to see her thinking about it. "Do you keep any of the lingering emotions for the long term?"
"If I don't use it all up it sticks around for a bit," Topaz admitted. "No more than a day or so. I burned most of what I took from Amanda during the fight. Still got a few vague things kicking around up there but it's pretty faint at this point."
"I am terrible at talking about it, but if you want to talk about it, I will..." Marie-Ange shuffled papers far more awkwardly than Topaz had ever seen her do anything. "I will probably be awful but I can then recommend you to people with people skills?" She sat all the papers and boxes of art supplies down on the kitchen table. "Or I can call for take-in curry and make an ugly racist pay for it, I have his credit card numbers and a Grubhub driver who will deliver here even if I give an address in the Bronx. I am much better at that than talking. But I can talk if you need to talk."
Topaz nearly laughed. If the paper-shuffling didn't betray Marie-Ange, the waves of awkward rolling off of her certainly did. "I never say no to making ugly racists pay for food. I think I'm good on the talking front. Although..." She looked back at Amanda's door, trying to make sure she was actually asleep before lowering her voice. "Can I talk to you about something not deep or emotional?"
"Curry it is, and yes, please, if we are going to talk let it be something neither deep nor emotional." Marie-Ange's voice was all relief and fatigue as she pulled out her phone to place an order and send a text to her favourite Grubhub driver. "Green, red or that lovely thai peanut curry?"
"Thai peanut sounds brilliant." Topaz checked one more time to make sure Amanda was really asleep before focusing her full attention on Marie-Ange. "I um... I think I messed up. I hit everyone for emotions during the fight, I was running pretty low and I... think I might have hit Brand. And I think she knows it was me." She remembered the look Brand had given her after the fight and bit down a shudder.
Marie-Ange put in the take-out order first, before responding, mostly to curb her instincts to say "My life would be so much easier if someone would let me kill that bitch." It was easier to not remind the people who probably could stop that sort of thing. "Well, she has not called us yet, but I imagine it is something to be concerned about. She has to know what you are capable of. Or at least have a guess, it is not as though you are not associated with us."
"Yeah... maybe I'm thinking too much about it." She was putting a lot of thought into one unreadable look that she hadn't even bothered to probe at the intent behind. Maybe Brand had been thinking nothing. Maybe she just didn't like psis. The idea of psis made a lot of people nervous for some reason. "It might be nothing. I just don't want it to be something that comes back and bites anyone either."
"It is not paranoia if Agent Brand is a bitch who is out to get us, and she is. I would blame Garrison but I like him, and also Agent Brand is a bitch." It may have been that those were the first two times Topaz had heard Marie-Ange swear, unless Topaz had suddenly learned French or Norse in the last month or so. "I can inquire, I know some people who know people who may have insight, plus I can always cheat." Marie-Ange screwed up her face, trying to inventory all of her tarot cards in a half a second. "I may need you to sit for a drawing though. Clothed. It is not that kind of reading I will need."
It wasn't exactly the answer Topaz had expected, but at some point she had just learned to roll with the punches. "Alright. Any reading about my non-existent personal life would be boring anyways." A poor attempt at a joke. Topaz tugged at a lock of hair for a moment. "Thanks," she said quietly after a moment.
"Boring is sometimes useful to know." Marie-Ange retorted lightly. "But eh, if I really need that card for you, I can get a body double. I believe Mister Barton may have some useful insights, he used to work for those people, yes?"
"Yeah, I'll see if I can find him. If he hasn't died in his lab yet." The tea kettle whistled, and Topaz turned to quickly take it off the stove. A small frown pulled at her lips, and she kept her eyes down as she worked. "One more thing? And I get if this is too much since I'm already asking a lot, but... can you not mention this to Amanda? She has enough going on." And Topaz was tired of making her worry.
"I will not mention it unless it becomes strictly necessary to do so, that is the best I can promise. If Agent pain in our arses comes calling for you, I will have to let her know." If Agent Brand came calling Marie-Ange was going to get out the big guns and if it was for one of Amanda's students, she would not even have to ask Amanda nicely. Amanda would start with fire, or molten asphalt or something else equally horrible, Marie-Ange was certain of it.
Topaz had never actually asked if she could sleep on Marie-Ange's and Amanda's couch, but no one had told her to leave, either. Which was basically permission as far as she was concerned.
She was currently curled up in the corner of the couch, a book she'd stolen off Amanda's shelf resting in her lap. She was tired, possibly even tired enough to sleep, but her brain wouldn't turn off long enough to let her sleep. Trying to read, oddly, was helping though; she was nodding off where she sat, her head resting on the arm of the couch.
Marie-Ange -had- tried to creep into the suite quietly. It was just that she had moved an entire messy stack of art supplies from Laurie and Doug's suite back to her own, and despite using one of her images to open the door, she still managed to drop two sketch pads, a few canvasses, a tin of pencils and pens and an entire container of oil pastels all over the floor. The clatter was unnecessarily loud.
That half the sketches were nudes was just icing on the cake, now they were strewn all over the floor.
"I'm awake!" Was the clearly only half-conscious thing Topaz uttered as she jolted up, blinking heavily, her head snapping around for a moment. Her gaze finally landed on Marie-Ange and the mess on the floor (probably the source of the noise, she figured in all her brilliance). She only let her eyes settle on one of the sketches for a brief moment before realizing that was more of Mr. Ramsey than she ever wanted to see, and quickly looked back at Marie-Ange. "I'm aware I don't live here." She wasn't at her quickest, clearly.
"Are you sure? I am certain that this suite is full of witches who read until all hours and then pass out on the sofa." Marie-Ange bent and started re-stacking the papers. "Hrm. Though, the regular one is blonde, and she leaves rather much more of a mess." Hypocrisy at it's finest from the person who left papers and art books everywhere, in at least three different suites.
"Yeah, that one has her own room and bed here." Topaz looked back at the closed door. "And is apparently a much heavier sleeper than I would have thought." She slid off the couch, carefully avoiding papers and helping Marie-Ange pick up the pencils and pens and other supplies that had fallen.
Marie-Ange snorted a laugh. "Amanda can sleep through a New Orleans funeral if she needs the rest, and knows she is safe." She looked closely at Topaz, and then scooped up the last of the oil pastels. "Someone she trusts is watching out for her, I am glad she is getting good sleep."
Topaz was quiet for a long moment, focusing a little harder than what was necessary on picking up pens and pencils. Someone she trusts. "Yeah. Just glad I can help." She retrieved a pencil that had gone under the coffee table, and with the last of them collected stood. "I'm gonna make tea. You want a cuppa?"
"Always, especially if you are raiding Amanda's tea containers. She has the best tea." Routinely replaced by Marie-Ange because tea was life, and it was really sort of a shared roommate resource, but left outside Amanda's kitchen it did not taste as good. She was convinced it was magic. "I realize this is hypocrisy from me, but have you slept, since? And if so, was it in a bed?"
"Of course it's Amanda's." Topaz went to put on the water then search the cabinets, taking a moment too long to answer Marie-Ange's question. "I suppose the five minutes I slept upright on your couch before you came in don't count," she said finally. "Been a bit..." She waved a hand, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't talking to someone who necessarily understood her weird silent hand waving.
Marie-Ange frowned - not the disapproving Jubilee shut up frown, or the why do I date you again frown that ... any of the people she was dating got. "No, it does not count. " This was definitely the "teammate not taking care of themselves" frown. "I think herbal tea, yes? Or at least green. I will not be sleeping for some time, I napped on my cousin's sofa while we watched television, if you would like to borrow a real bed, I can take Amanda watching duty for a few hours."
"No, I'm alright," Topaz said quickly. "I mean, I'm tired, but I'm mostly..." Another hand wave. "Buzzed, I suppose." She did find some herbal tea, however. Maybe that would help. "A lot to think about."
"You took everything Amanda had." It was not a question. "I would be concerned if you were not up thinking about it." Half of the reason Marie-Ange had retreated to Jean-Phillipe's room was to think about it where Amanda would not have to see her thinking about it. "Do you keep any of the lingering emotions for the long term?"
"If I don't use it all up it sticks around for a bit," Topaz admitted. "No more than a day or so. I burned most of what I took from Amanda during the fight. Still got a few vague things kicking around up there but it's pretty faint at this point."
"I am terrible at talking about it, but if you want to talk about it, I will..." Marie-Ange shuffled papers far more awkwardly than Topaz had ever seen her do anything. "I will probably be awful but I can then recommend you to people with people skills?" She sat all the papers and boxes of art supplies down on the kitchen table. "Or I can call for take-in curry and make an ugly racist pay for it, I have his credit card numbers and a Grubhub driver who will deliver here even if I give an address in the Bronx. I am much better at that than talking. But I can talk if you need to talk."
Topaz nearly laughed. If the paper-shuffling didn't betray Marie-Ange, the waves of awkward rolling off of her certainly did. "I never say no to making ugly racists pay for food. I think I'm good on the talking front. Although..." She looked back at Amanda's door, trying to make sure she was actually asleep before lowering her voice. "Can I talk to you about something not deep or emotional?"
"Curry it is, and yes, please, if we are going to talk let it be something neither deep nor emotional." Marie-Ange's voice was all relief and fatigue as she pulled out her phone to place an order and send a text to her favourite Grubhub driver. "Green, red or that lovely thai peanut curry?"
"Thai peanut sounds brilliant." Topaz checked one more time to make sure Amanda was really asleep before focusing her full attention on Marie-Ange. "I um... I think I messed up. I hit everyone for emotions during the fight, I was running pretty low and I... think I might have hit Brand. And I think she knows it was me." She remembered the look Brand had given her after the fight and bit down a shudder.
Marie-Ange put in the take-out order first, before responding, mostly to curb her instincts to say "My life would be so much easier if someone would let me kill that bitch." It was easier to not remind the people who probably could stop that sort of thing. "Well, she has not called us yet, but I imagine it is something to be concerned about. She has to know what you are capable of. Or at least have a guess, it is not as though you are not associated with us."
"Yeah... maybe I'm thinking too much about it." She was putting a lot of thought into one unreadable look that she hadn't even bothered to probe at the intent behind. Maybe Brand had been thinking nothing. Maybe she just didn't like psis. The idea of psis made a lot of people nervous for some reason. "It might be nothing. I just don't want it to be something that comes back and bites anyone either."
"It is not paranoia if Agent Brand is a bitch who is out to get us, and she is. I would blame Garrison but I like him, and also Agent Brand is a bitch." It may have been that those were the first two times Topaz had heard Marie-Ange swear, unless Topaz had suddenly learned French or Norse in the last month or so. "I can inquire, I know some people who know people who may have insight, plus I can always cheat." Marie-Ange screwed up her face, trying to inventory all of her tarot cards in a half a second. "I may need you to sit for a drawing though. Clothed. It is not that kind of reading I will need."
It wasn't exactly the answer Topaz had expected, but at some point she had just learned to roll with the punches. "Alright. Any reading about my non-existent personal life would be boring anyways." A poor attempt at a joke. Topaz tugged at a lock of hair for a moment. "Thanks," she said quietly after a moment.
"Boring is sometimes useful to know." Marie-Ange retorted lightly. "But eh, if I really need that card for you, I can get a body double. I believe Mister Barton may have some useful insights, he used to work for those people, yes?"
"Yeah, I'll see if I can find him. If he hasn't died in his lab yet." The tea kettle whistled, and Topaz turned to quickly take it off the stove. A small frown pulled at her lips, and she kept her eyes down as she worked. "One more thing? And I get if this is too much since I'm already asking a lot, but... can you not mention this to Amanda? She has enough going on." And Topaz was tired of making her worry.
"I will not mention it unless it becomes strictly necessary to do so, that is the best I can promise. If Agent pain in our arses comes calling for you, I will have to let her know." If Agent Brand came calling Marie-Ange was going to get out the big guns and if it was for one of Amanda's students, she would not even have to ask Amanda nicely. Amanda would start with fire, or molten asphalt or something else equally horrible, Marie-Ange was certain of it.
