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Who: Sam and Tamara
What: Tamara wants to confess to Sam something about her past, but is interrupted by the appearance of a Vermedi.
Where: A secluded area of the LCU campus.
When: Backdated to May 23rd.

Normally, when Sam was asked somewhere for a private conversation by a girl he was undeniably attracted to, he would be pretty excited and hopeful that it was some sort of love confession. Half the time the girl just wanted advice, but still, that was a sign that she trusted him and that wouldn't be a bad thing either.

But the girl that asked was Tamara, and they'd already had a meeting like this before, so he had a pretty good idea of what to actually expect, or so he thought. She probably had recovered another memory concerning his look-alike, he imagined, another piece to their shared puzzle. That's what it was the first time, after all, and he had no reason to get his hopes up and think otherwise. Which was fine, since he was interested in that, too! And at least she didn't feel the need to remind him that this wasn't a date this time.

He fiddled with his new beaded choker as he turned the corner toward the area on campus that Tamara had mentioned and glanced around for any sign of her.

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[This time it definitely wasn't a piece of the shared puzzle, though she did have one piece she hadn't mentioned quite yet, but that was something she was saving for when she got a better idea of what to do with all of this and if she should just take the advice she was given and date Sam. Until then, the fact that her other self wasn't exactly faking that acted out kiss was something she'd keep to herself.

Of course, like the typical female, Tamara is running a bit late. She just was all thumbs today on pinning up her hair to hide it so it wasn't obvious that it grows quite suddenly. She definitely looks cute in the flowered sundress she's wearing and a hat that matches the flowers perfectly. She'd also made sure to get some energy from a tree on campus on the way. She didn't want Sam to see that if she could avoid it since that ability and need still creeps her out. But it leaves her feeling quite energetic instead of tired and she didn't need him to get all worried about her again.

She'll arrive a couple of minutes after him with a smile to try and conceal just how nervous she really was. After all, she knew very well that after what she had to say here that they may no longer be friends, but it has to be said. And better now than later when it is less likely to be forgiven.]

[While he's been waiting, he's settled down on a picnic table and is listening to a song on his phone with only one ear bud in. He's humming part of the chorus to himself when he sees Tamara walking over. As soon as he does, he interrupts his humming, pulls the other ear bud out of his ear and jumps up from the bench with a grin.]

Ah, the Princess makes her appearance! That's a lovely dress you have on today.

[She's still smiling, but it may be evident as she gets closer to him that it seems somehow forced.]

Well, you know how us princesses are. Have to make sure we're perfect before showing ourselves and not even a hair out of place. [Which definitely isn't the case for Tamara, there's a few bits that didn't stay put, but nothing that would detract from how she looks.] But then an actual princess would have a maid to do her hair as well.

Well, I don't think you need a maid. Your hair looks nice. [Sure, he noticed the few strands that were out of place, but he sort of likes that look on her. He is a bit tempted to tuck one of the strands behind her ear, but he'll refrain.]

You look like you're ready to have a picnic with such a sweet outfit. I should've made sandwiches.

I could use a hair stylist. I definitely haven't mastered the fine art of cutting the ends straight yet. [Definitely a reference to the fact that a certain weird ability of hers is still not quite controllable.]

Well, at least you refrained from saying I look good enough to eat. I've never quite understood what the point of that one is.

[That gives him a really, really mischievous look on his face.]

...I've used that line before. But I'm not going to explain it because I think it's cute that you don't get it. And also because I don't want to get slapped.

Then tell me sometime over text so you don't have to risk it.

[Though one has to admit, it's a bit odd that a girl who admitted to designing porn sites is so innocent, but then it is possible she knows what he's talking about, just not the name.]

[chuckle] Okay. Sounds like a plan.

[He glances over his shoulder and points to the table.]

Would you like to sit down?

[She'll nod in response.] That may be best.

[And she's going to go ahead and sit down. She still looks rather nervous though and probably just best to get this over with.]

[He sits down across from her and rests his chin in his palm. He was planning on asking her if she'd had another vision...until he noticed her mood.]

...You seem nervous.

[And she's now looking down at the table instead of at him. Definitely nervous about this and wouldn't be surprised if he's wondering what she could have to say that is making her reacting this way.]

No, nothing like that. I'm just trying to think of how to say it.

Ah. [Yeah...he's not very convinced she isn't nervous. Now he's getting worried.] Did you have a bad vision?

No, nothing like that. [And honestly, if she got something bad involving him, she'd probably be getting all adorably clingy.]

I just haven't ever told anyone else this, but I shouldn't keep it from you. It has nothing to do with the network or the numbers or anything... mostly.

[confused frown] So it doesn't have anything to do with the "club"...but it has something to do with me?

[And then his heart starts to pound. This isn't actually a love confession, is it?! No, can't be. Right?]

[At this point it would be easier to confess that she's attracted to him than to confess to this. She's definitely regretting now having accepted that particular request, especially when she now realizes that he'd not do something like that and she'd been horribly biased against him.]

Yeah, both of us being part of the "club" has no real bearing on all this. Oh, I'm probably just being confusing and should just blurt it out already.

Ah, well...yeah, it's confusing but it's okay. If it's hard for you to say, I don't want to push--

[He glances over her shoulder while he's speaking--and then his eyes go wide and his face goes pale. Poking out around the corner of the building, some hairy...THING is watching them!

His instincts take over and he jumps out of his seat and launches over the table so he can stand in front of Tamara.]

Get down!

[He scans around the area for some sort of weapon, ANYTHING that would work--he catches sight of a sword-sized stick a few feet away and jumps toward it, grabbing it and holding it up in front of him.]

[And she's about to answer that no, it's fine she'll just say it and get it over with when he tells her to get down.

Well, Tamara definitely wants to know what he saw because she could easily help out. If anything she's got the more useful defensive ability even if she can't fully control it yet. Trying to do something is better after all, well unless she were to really screw up and hurt herself.

She looks and sees the tiny hairy... thing. Nope, definitely not going to get down and let Sam get hurt keeping her safe. She'll turn around and stand up, but keep a distance.]

I'm not just going to stand by and let you get hurt.

I'm not going to get hurt! [And he's slightly offended that she would imply that he WOULD get himself hurt! Buuut on the other hand he does know that she has useful powers and he has...kendama powers. Well, and apparently some sort of sword fighting knowledge he didn't know he had until now.]

Fine, but stay close, okay?

[Meanwhile, the hairy creature is making weird chirping noises and has taken a few steps forward. He's still far away, but MUCH too close for Sam's taste. He takes a step forward, holding his "sword" in a defensive stance.]

BACK OFF!

[Well, she's just concerned and has seen before the knights getting hurt protecting her. She's a bit shocked at the fact that he does seem to have more abilities than she had thought.

Doesn't mean she's not going to do anything, she's very quickly removing the hat and all the pins to see if she can use something on it. If she can tie the hairy little thing up, Sam can easily deal with it, or so she hopes. Or she can drain it of energy like she saw her other self do.]

I will, but not too close.

[She keeps to his side and a bit behind him. Less risk that way of accidentally getting him wrapped up in it... literally.]

[The weird creature doesn't seem too intimidated by Sam, and seems prepared to fight him--but when Tamara pulls of her had and lets her hair down it seems to have second thoughts. Perhaps it senses something from her--or maybe it didn't realize she was going to fight, too, and doesn't like the idea of being outnumbered. Either way, it makes a low chirp, takes a step back--and then starts to run.

That SHOULD be the end of it, but Sam's high on adrenaline and still in "Knight mode" so he grits his teeth and starts to chase after it and even tries a swing--but he's too far away and the Vermedi is FAST, sliding away with its hair propelling it along like tentacles.]

[Once it runs away, Tamara is about to also try and chase it when she starts feeling lightheaded again. She's seeing that same scene she saw when she touched the statue, but now instead has a better sense of Fenrir's intentions there and the fact that she held back.

And just like at the art gallery, she's feeling all shaky and lightheaded and having trouble even remaining standing. She's going to try and sit back down before she ends up passing out, but isn't quite successful with that. Unless Sam sees her and catches her again, he's going to end up on the ground. Dang her abilities and what they require from her.]

[As soon as he realizes that he's not going to catch up to the creature, Sam ends up coming to a stop. He bends over, resting his hands on his knees. What was he thinking? He's never been an athletic sort of person. What made him think he could chase after a monster?

After he catches his breath, he turns to look at Tamara. That's when he sees her on the ground. His stomach lurches and he drops the stick he'd been holding onto before he runs to her side.]

Tamara!

[It definitely helps that she knows the cause from the last time this happened and it appears that this may end up being a pattern each time she gets some new weird ability. But what did she pick up this time? It seems like it was a repeat, or maybe since she got the rest of the memory something completed.

She can hear Sam just fine, but getting up is a bit more difficult since she's feeling downright horrible. At least one good thing about ending up on the ground like that is that there's a lot of nice grass under her, living grass. It takes her no time to get what she needs from it and she's feeling much better and pushes herself up to her knees and then into a sitting position.]

Sorry, I blacked out for a second there.

[If Sam is looking, he'll probably notice that where she was lying the grass there looks quite unhealthy now. Not dead, but definitely not looking so good. Tamara, definitely looks a lot better now, though not quite as good as she looked earlier.]

[He puts a hand on her back and leans in close, his eyebrows lowering in a worried expression.]

What happened? It didn't attack you, did it?

[He glances down at the grass and winces when he notices how it looks, although he does his best to cover up his reaction. He looks away from the grass and keeps his focus on Tamara--partially because he's trying to avoid an overt reaction to the effects of her power.]

[When he touches her, she's going to shrink away and suddenly stand up to get away from him. Right now after what little addition she saw in there about how that ability of hers can actually kill someone, she doesn't want to risk accidentally using it on him. He'll be able to see that she's much more steady on her feet now than she was at the gallery.]

Nothing like that. Another one of those weird visions. I guess they just have a bad effect on me.

[And also now he can see why she was concealing her hair so much, it definitely looks like quite the hack job was done to keep it at a short length. Tamara is definitely no hairdresser and it looked much better all pinned up as it was.]

[The way she pulls back surprises him--he knows they're not always close but she hasn't seemed to have that big of a reaction to him touching her before. Maybe she thought he was trying to flirt with her...? For a moment he frowns and glances away at the thought, but he shoves the thought aside before he can let it distract himself, and instead rises to his feet.]

Does this happen every time? [That could be a problem. We can't really predict when we're going to get a vision...]

[Well, she doesn't realize yet that her ability to drain energy as she's calling it, doesn't work on humans right now and that she's not powerful enough to kill someone either. She cares enough to not want to risk it.]

Only when I get some new ability with it from what it seems so far. At least this time I knew how to deal with it. [She looks at him.] Are you all right? I didn't take anything from you by accident, right?

Oh! No, no, no, not at all. [He shakes his head.] I'm a little winded but that's just from trying to chase that thing.

[She definitely sighs in relief, likely making it obvious that she had been afraid of that and that's why she moved away so fast.]

Good. I don't want to hurt you and I know now that ability can be used to kill even if my other self seemed to have enough scruples to not do that to your other self.

[Ah, that does explain her reaction.]

Is that the vision you just saw? Her attacking me--I mean, him?

Again. I had seen it before, this time it was more complete and I got a better sense of her intentions.

[Hmm, more complete, she didn't seem to think she gained a new ability, but it did seem one was more capable of what it was before. Maybe that's what it was.]

I see. [He pauses and folds his arms across his chest--partially just to keep himself from touching her without thinking and putting her in a position where she'd be worried about him.] Is it okay if I ask what her intentions were?

Are you sure you want to hear it? She's a very lonely and depressed girl, after all. All her emotions are so horrible, negative, and hateful, but the one she hates the most is herself.

[I guess that's something her and my 'other' had in common. He doesn't seem to like himself, either...

He smiles sadly and shrugs a little.]

If you want to talk about it, then I want to hear it. I'm a psychology major. Lonely and depressed people is going to be something I'm going to deal with in my job. But I don't want to push you to talk about it if you don't want to.

Consider this then. If she wins, the world and all life on it will die. If they win, she dies. She didn't care which one happened.

...Oh. [He pauses, his expression a little sad, and glances down at the weakened grass on the ground.]

I guess if someone with that much despair has those sorts of powers...

What she could do is far more than what I can and even what little I can I wish would just go away. I don't want to hurt anyone or anything and no longer can live without doing so.

Don't think of it like that. [Very firmly.] You're not going out of your way to attack anyone. You're not trying to destroy anything. You're just...living. It's not any different from eating.

Doesn't mean I have to like it. Would you like having to live this way?

[sigh] It's still no different--I'm not saying you have to like it, I just...

No. Fine, I wouldn't. I don't like any of this. But it's not your fault, and you're handling it the best you can. I don't want you to beat yourself up over it.

See? You would feel the same as I do. I know it's not my fault, but I don't have to like it. It's like being short, nothing I can do, but I can still be annoyed at not being able to reach things on a top shelf, right?

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...posting from my phone is clearly not the best way to tag.

You know, I didn't even notice...

Haha, I got a little lucky on that front. I accidentally posted it as a reply to the main entry.

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