Violence, even well intentioned

[bibliofilo]

Who: Kavi Verma (verbalization) & Magdalene de Leon (bibliofilo).
What: After several encounters with the Blood Key and the return of a certain echo, Maggie is feeling a little uncertain.
Where: Beginning at the LSR Clinic
When: After the earthquake, Dec 11

[Maggie wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in the clinic. It had only seemed like a couple minutes but judging from how late it looked, it must have been much longer than that. With all that had happened out in the streets with Alexa and here in this very building.

Her own hands were stiff and bloodied but they had been tended to and wrapped up. She was shaken and in a haze and wanting to be home. With clumsy fingers she pulled out her phone, attempting to first text but it was much too painful and difficult to manage that. Instead she just punched in the numbers for Kavi's phone and waited, hunched in her seat.]

Comments

[bibliofilo]

Thank you.

[She closes her phone and holds onto it as tightly as her hands will allow. After a moment she realizes she can't stand being in here so she leaves the building to stand out in the cold, hoping it'll wake her up]

[verbalization]

[ it takes him far longer than what he'd like to get to the clinic. traffic is a pain. taking detours...

but there's no need to call or text. Maggie is still outside when he eventually arrives. and the first thing Kavi does?

he pulls off his coat to cover her shoulders and then gives her the bottle. ]

You'll get sick if you stay out here, Maggie.

[bibliofilo]

[She is still kinda in a trance when he gets there but she is grateful for the warmth of the coat. She pulls it tighter around herself]

Yea. Sorry. I'm not really thinking straight. [She tries to give him a smile but it comes out awkward and obviously forced] Could you take me home?

[verbalization]

That's what you called for, right?

[ Kavi motions towards his car. c'mon, Mags. let him take you there. ]

Don't force yourself, Mags. If you need an ear, I'll give it. You know that.

[ just don't pretend everything is sunshine and rainbows when it isn't. ]

[bibliofilo]

[She nods and accepts his help. Even though they had only known each other a couple of months, she knew he would. She knew he'd come. When she's in the car she's glad for the chance to just lean back against the seat and close her eyes for a moment. The bottle of water is uncapped and she downs nearly half of it in one go as she waits for him to take his own seat.

When Maggie hears the sound of the door opening and closing she finally opens her eyes.]

Had a run in with the Blood Keys. Two, actually. Lucky day, I guess.

[verbalization]

Blood Keys?

[ that explains... that doesn't explain much really. and now they are going to have a splendid ride home. filled with more detours. and oh how hard it is to keep his eyes on the road. ]

How?

[bibliofilo]

I was with an old college roomie. I guess we looked like we were well off because we got approached by some. We got off okay but. [She looked down at her hands] Went to the clinic afterwards. Not too long after being there the place got attacked by the same gang.

[It was helping to talk about it a bit. At the very least she felt a little more clear headed, if still shocked.]

[verbalization]

Did you get involved in that as well?

[bibliofilo]

[She nodded.]

They didn't really give the people there an opportunity not to be involved.

[Both incidents had been frightening and had shaken her to the core, but that wasn't even the thing that was bothering Maggie the most. She just wasn't sure how to explain what the biggest problem was, so she instead went on to say:]

They weren't human.

[verbalization]

Someone mentioned that they weren't...

You are lucky you weren't seriously injured.

[bibliofilo]

[She's quiet at that and then downs the rest of her water, finishing it already before quietly saying]

....a part of me is kind of glad they aren't.

[verbalization]

Maggie?

[ um. he doesn't like the sound of that. ]

[bibliofilo]

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad my friend and I are safe. I'm glad that the clinic is safe. [No so glad about that one woman dying...]

It's just. When I was with my friend and we first got attacked I was scared. So scared and then. I don't know what came over me but instead of just giving them my money I got so angry and I fought back. They're machines, Kavi, and somehow I managed to break one apart.

[She falters and her face screws up a bit. She takes a deep breath in to steady herself before continuing]

It was a machine [Or so she kept telling herself] but if it was a human I could have killed a person.

[verbalization]

[ now just hold on a moment. Kavi pulls over for a second. carefully he puts a hand on Maggie's shoulder. perhaps it's in a tone that is a little harder than he intends, but... ]

But it wasn't. And you didn't. There is little point in dwelling on the "what ifs" if they didn't happen.

[ sure it's a little disconcerting to hear that she can break machines with her bare hands, but... ]

I don't think you're actually capable of hurting someone, even in the short time I have known you.

[bibliofilo]

[She listened to him, she really did. He was right, of course but it was a different thing to know it than to feel it.]

I know. But it's just so hard to get that out of my head.

[She wanted to take his hand, but even now she was afraid of somehow accidentally hurting him]

But...but what about the future? I don't know where this came from. I mean..no I do. The echoes, duh, but just how far does it go? How much more is going to change?

[verbalization]

Maggie...

[ bah forget it. no more hand on shoulder. as uncomfortable as it is, Kavi slips his arm around her shoulders. ]

Does it matter? You are perfectly capable of controlling it. Yes, this time it took you by surprise. However, now you know better and can work with it. Work through it. Many others have gone through drastic changes and cope well enough. No doubt you can too.

[ now Kavi gives a smile and a wink. ]

And I will be around. Don't think that you'll scare me off that easily.

[bibliofilo]

[The gesture surprised her at first, but once he had spoken she relaxed and leaned against him, closing her eyes for a moment. She still felt both physically and emotionally drained but Kavi had helped set her head straight. As long as she was careful maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe she could test out to see what she could do next time she went to the gym.]

Well, it's good to know you don't scare easily. Thank you, Kavi.

[verbalization]

Don't thank me. This is what friends do, right? I also figure since we decided to depend on each other from the beginning, we should see it through to the end.

[ just seems natural. now... after giving Maggie a bit of a hair ruffle, Kavi shifts his gear and gets back on the road. ]

[bibliofilo]

[She nodded, leaning back against her seat. She was glad she had called him. She'd probably still be freaking out at the clinic if not. There was still a lot more to get through, namely being in a fight, seeing people get injured and the knowledge that someone had died. She hadn't seem herself but it was still jarring to know it had happened so close to where she was.

For now though? She knew she'd be okay.]

[verbalization]

[ Kavi is okay with the silence. though he may or may not grumble under his breath about some of the driving.

it takes even longer to get to their residences. even after Kavi parks, he makes sure to open Maggie's door. ]

[bibliofilo]

[She steps out, grabbing the empty bottle to make sure she doesn't leave it behind. She pulls the coat and just as he so carefully laid it on her shoulders, she puts it back on him. She smiles again, and while it's a little tired, this time it's genuine.]

I'm very glad you moved in.

[verbalization]

I wouldn't be glad yet. Where is your key?

[bibliofilo]

[She gave a small roll of her eyes before pulling out her keys from her purse]

Got it here.

[verbalization]

Good.

[ Kavi snatches up that key.

and the girl too. that's right. Kavi is quite literally carrying Maggie to her door. someone has had a hard day and she deserves to be treated well. and carrying her to the door? opening it? depositing said girl on a couch?

these are things that are going to happen. ]

1/3

[bibliofilo]

[????!]