xp_logs | Marie-Ange and Amanda, worst possible news

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After the X-Men come home from the mission in Los Angeles, Amanda tells Marie-Ange the bad news.

Content warning for grief and discussions of death

Amanda had driven straight back to the mansion after - well, during, really - the call with Gabriel. She wasn't sure if the churning in her stomach was residual hell lord power signature or grief or guilt, or a mix of all three. But the reason for the tears she occasionally had to wipe away as they blurred her view of the road was unmistakable. And now she had to pass that grief on.

The text from Amanda had been so typical that Marie-Ange had busied herself with making tea - demonic magic usually meant some kind of upset stomach, so one of the green and ginger blends in Amanda's little tins. She'd meant to just check ahead a little, to see if the tea should be sweet and hot and soothing or if she should've made the mint to cut the sour mouth Amanda usually got, and

and then the tea was all down her shirt, just as the door to their suite opened.

Amanda took the situation in at a glance as soon as she entered and crossed over to the kitchenette in an instant, taking Marie-Ange gently by the forearms and looking her over anxiously. "Are you all right? You didn't burn yourself, did you?" Everything else was forgotten in her worry for her.

"No, no, I cheated and.." Marie-Ange shook her head. "I was worried you were going to be sick, not that..." She set the now empty mug down, and pulled a towel off the hook to dry off the water and leaves. "I had a notion you were having problems driving, I tried to see if you sicked up in the car, and then it was all visions of you crying. What happened?"

The cloud reappeared over Amanda's face. "It's... the mission." She paused, struggling for the words. "Angie... I was too late with the warning and there was a Hell Lord and... Gar, he..." Her throat closed up and she had to force the last words out. "He didn't make it out."

"No." Marie-Ange went still. "No, I would have seen it. I would have known." She shook her head, and carefully set the cloth down. "No. I know better, do not say it. I know I may not have seen it." She brushed past Amanda and out of the kitchen and then took a step back, holding out her hand. "You need to sit. We need to sit. I do not want to talk about this standing in the kitchen."

Amanda immediately took the offered hand, giving it a squeeze before walking back to the couch with Marie-Ange. "I'm sorry," she said, perhaps a little inanely. "I didn't mean to spring it on you like this, only it just kind of burst out. Gabe texted me."

It was very easy to lean into Amanda on the sofa, even despite the horrible news, or maybe because of it. "It is... not fine, but I am not upset with you. I would rather know and not have it made soft with waiting." She shook her head and twisted so that she could face Amanda. "We need to... I should tell his father. We need to do follow-up, Garrison is too.. good to be left to that. Even if he is dead. Especially if he died, I think." She shut her eye, thinking, and then slumped into the sofa cushions, and scrubbed at her face. "Who else has been told?"

"Just you, for now - as soon as Gabe told me I dropped everything and came to you." Amanda had slipped her arms around Marie-Ange as she'd slumped, the questions holding back her own emotions. Neither of them did well with anything like this. "I've got my prelim report on Olivier - I"ll get that out as soon as, and add the details of what happened at the club. The follow up will happen - there's no bloody way I'm leaving things as is. As for his dad..." Amanda choked slightly as the tears she'd been holding back resurfaced. "We'll have to get someone onto finding him first..." Her embrace tightened on Marie-Ange as the tears broke through again.

Marie-Ange rested her head on Amanda's, her face buried in the witch's hair, and ground her teeth at the itching pain from the scarred eye that came with the tears from the good one. It was a long time of both of them crying before she picked her head up. "I know how to find Christian. I have an emergency number for him."

Amanda sniffled and nodded, reaching over to wipe the wetness from Marie-Ange's face. "We'll get it sorted," she said, words hitching a little as she slowly steadied herself again. "Stupid bloody boy scout," she continued with fond regret. "This is what happens when you do the hero thing."

"What a mess. Demons and SWORD and having to involve Christian and leaving us to clean up the mess." Marie-Ange said, voice as shaky Amanda's. "I hate that we cannot even rid ourselves of Brand. She had better not have known. I will put Kevin on her if she did."

"I don't think she did. From what Gabe said, she nearly died in there herself. And you know I'm not such a fan of hers I'd give her the benefit of the doubt." Amanda sighed and leaned into Marie-Ange, burying her face into the rich, red hair and breathing in the familiar and calming scent of her shampoo. "This sucks," she said after a moment, sounding muffled.

The sigh that Marie-Ange let out was unusually broken for her, before she shut her eye and let her head fall back. "It very sucks, I hate it, and I hate that I want to spend a day grieving and I cannot. I have to tell Christian. We have to see if that demon lord is going to come after our people."

The witch lifted her head from Marie-Ange's hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. "No rest for the wicked, unfortunately," she said with a small, wry grin. "But once we're done with the work, we're going to have that day. I promise."