[Sunday, June 22nd. Sometime between 4:00 PM and 11:00 PM, but after the last session!] [The intrepid crew of adventurers... er, rather, the somewhat ex-Blitzkreig team, has decided to stop for food before the final leg of the run to the Black Forest. They have chosen the International House of Strudel, an institution with a long and storied history. Of Strudel.] [They're all there, although some of them may not be immediately there! Probably split up between a few tables. Anyway. Let's start placing people!] [Mini start.] * Keiko has found her way to a booth, having already cleaned up at previous rest stops, so she's no longer rocking the 'escaped from a lab through 50 dead bodies' look. * Luana sits down across from Keiko and stares at the menu as if it holds her salvation. Which it might! Stranger things have happened. * Keiko smiles a bit and murmurs, "Dinner strudel. Isn't that weird?" Well. It's not spaghetti, but beggers can't be choosers. * Keiko leans on her elbow as she looks across at Luana. "At least it's food Jamie will like. Greasy stuff gets kinda... clingy." * Luana laughs briefly, then leans her head down so that her forehead is flat on the table. "When do we get to be done?" * Rowyn has joined #mc4 * Keiko reaches across to put her hand on the back of Lu's head. She says quietly, "I... when we have dealt with... everything and we're free. That's what free is supposed to mean, right?" * Luana sighs. "That whole 'magic us better' thing still doesn't beat out proper rest. If the world needs savings again after this, it'll have to wait a week. I don't need freedom so much as I'd like recovery time. ...And right now, some apple strudel." * Keiko frowns a moment, but it's fleeting. "Good." A moment, then, quietly, "I could... use some time too. A lot of time." As ridiculous as it feels right now, I think if I get too much time, I'll get bored. A week or two sounds good. Then I'll go happily saving people again. * Keiko smiles a little, then rubs the back of her head again. "You're resilient." A moment, then, "I don't know I can wait. I want to. But... not for Eileen." * Luana reaches on top of her own head and grips Keiko's hand. "You're resilient too." She looks up and smiles wearily. "You've made it this far, haven't you?" * Keiko smiles a bit back on her, and then her eyes shimmer a moment before she looks away. "Dammit, Lu. I--" she cuts herself off as the ordering person comes around. She draws her hand back, not even looking at the waiter as she says, "Strudel Special and coffee." Two of the biggest apple strudels you're willing to make me and water. ...So, what's your opinion on this whole 'Luana is actually a granny' thing Cyra was trying to shove on me? * Keiko stays looking away until the person's gone, then looks back at Lu, wiping her eyes a little. "Sorry. I'm..." she takes a deep breath. "Sounds... pretty silly, right?" * Luana deadpans, "It would mean I'm old enough to marry Togo." * Keiko looks startled, then laughs a little. "If I weren't a telepath..." A moment, then she adds, "It wouldn't... I mean, I wouldn't care, you know." * Luana giggles, then abruptly stops, looking sort of horrified. "Keiko. Please care if I suddenly decide to fall in love with Togo. He's -really old-." Oh! * Keiko waves her hand. "No, I mean I wouldn't care for us. Of course I'd care with him." She leans in and says quietly, "I'd never let you." ( First thing we've ever agreed on. ) You are such a good friend. If you see me looking longingly at Togo and diamond rings at the same time, I give you full permission to knock me out with a hammer. ( This will end poorly when Togo takes Luana shopping for a birthday gift after baking all day and smelling like cookies. ) * JesseLman[AFK] is now known as JesseLman * Keiko smiles a little and nods. "Do I need to get a hammer?" Not yet! * Luana smiles over at her best friend. "There's your smile!" I was missing that. * Keiko fingers her cloak. "Well, I suppose I can always find..." she trails off and actually blushes, looking down. "I--thanks." She looks down for a few seconds, then murmurs. "Sorry, Eileen and Cyra didn't... leave me with many smiles left." I know. But I was thinking in the car... I can smile if it'll make you smile, and your smiles make me smile for real. So we'll get each other through this. * Keiko looks back at Luana a moment, then leans forward and murmurs, still managing to smile, "And your being happy all but makes me so. Now just imagine if we were girlfriends." * Luana sighs, still smiling. "I'm sorry." * Keiko visibly flinches a little, even before Luana says anything, and slides her hand across the table, palm up. She murmurs, "It's not something you can help, l...Lu. Maybe I just miss my mother too much." (Towards Lu or away from?) (Towards Lu.) * Luana holds onto her hand. "We can spend our free week doing whatever you want." * Keiko nods a little and squeezes back, smiling back. "And you... say I'm a good friend." Well, after the week and our next saving people thing, I want to track down the twins. I'm... I think I'm just putting off... finding out. * Keiko 's smile fades and she says quietly, "I... I can understand that." If she wasn't lying, it brings up a lot of- * Luana suddenly pales and her very, very thin layer of shielding comes up over her mind. * Luana squeezes Keiko's hand tightly. "I... I just had a thought. That I don't want to share yet." * Keiko grips her hand hard, bringing up her other one. She bites her lip a moment and says quietly, "I'm... when it goes away." * Luana takes Keiko's other hand as well and stares at the table, obviously thinking. * Keiko lets her think a moment, before drawing her hands back as coffee arrives, and she dumps a metric ton of sugar and cream into it. Well, not a whole metric ton. (That would just be silly.) * Luana gives a relieved sigh and smiles shakily up at Keiko. Her shielding comes back down. "Sorry. I just... I had a really scary thought, and I wanted to, to think it through." I should run this by you. * Keiko nods slightly, blowing on her coffee a moment before leaning forward on the table. ~Out loud?~ * Luana drinks down half of her glass of water before starting. ~This is better. Right. I had this stray thought that, if I could, I'd go back to the labs and make a perfect girlfriend for you. Then I suddenly- I was scared, that...~ * Luana thinks the next words slowly, carefully. ~If I were them, and I didn't trust you to stay, I would take a person whose memories I was already modifying and make them into the sort of person that could convince you to stay.~ * Keiko looks back at her like she's said something crazy, and thinks back, ~I... um. I'm a little confused. Does that make you the new perfect girlfriend, or is there someone out there using you to, um... keep me around?~ * Luana starts blushing. ~I mean! I'm not trying to say I'm perfect or anything! But I was just suddenly worried... that if they already messed with my head, then maybe they made me so we'd get along really well so as long as I was loyal you'd be- but there's no proof, and it was a really random thought, and...~ * Keiko gets a look of realization and then, after a moment, thinks back at her, ~Good plan, but there's a problem.~ ~Please tell me the problem before I die from embarassment.~ * Keiko smiles a little. ~Blitzkreig... didn't really know me.~ ~How could they have made you someone I'd... really like, when they didn't know me?~ * Luana covers her face with her hands. ~Oh good. My realization was that they would have made me a lesbian if they were going that far already.~ ~But it was a really scary thought at first!~ * Keiko smiles a little and thinks back, ~It does... seem a little bit of an oversight.~ * Luana insists, ~Really! Scary! Take some pity on me!~ * Keiko continues, ~I--I mean, you'd have to like girls for it to work. But you are a shapeshifter, so that would... help.~ * Keiko smiles slightly. ~Because they wouldn't have to figure out what I liked.~ ~Keiko youarenothelping.~ * Keiko lets out a little laugh and snakes her hand over again to grab one of Luana's. ~I don't think they made you for me, even if they did that. I... we know Pavla.~ * Luana sighs again and holds Keiko's hand tightly. ~What about her?~ ~She was the Hotaru that we defeated earlier. They... made her as the next ward.~ ~So... she would have been the theoretical perfect one?~ * Keiko smiles a little and says, ~They did room her with me.~ A moment, then she adds, ~I was more thinking we know they were capable, they just... didn't with you.~ ~...I really hope my entire life before Blitzkrieg wasn't a lie. But... if it was, I just... I didn't want our friendship to be a lie too. That was the scary part.~ * Keiko nods a little and thinks back, ~It... wasn't from my end. I didn't... I don't even know how it happened.~ A nervous smile. ~But it did.~ * Luana smiles back. ~A garden amidst flame. I... guess I couldn't let a flower burn.~ * Luana grins. ~You're so randomly poetic. That's an artist for you.~ * Keiko chuckles and murmurs, ~I put all my art stuff in my cloak. Just in case. It was much safer.~ * Keiko takes a drink of her coffee. ~There. That's almost okay. Rose keeps giving it to me, so now I've figured it out.~ ~I sort of want one of those coats, but I have no idea what I would keep in it.~ ~Everything?~ * Keiko smiles a little. ~I didn't keep anything in any of my drawers anymore. Makeup, art... only the plants, because there's no good light in there. Because... you never know when you'll get pulled away.~ * Keiko pulls out the end of a blue ribbon, monogrammed 'K', showing it to Luana with a warm smile. ~See?~ * Luana grins. ~Yeah. Of course, it would be more useful if I actually owned more stuff.~ * Keiko chuckles a little, then murmurs, ~I own... basically only what people have given me at Blitzkreig.~ A moment, then she adds, ~Who'd have thought Heinrick would give me the most... useful gift.~ ~Hm?~ ~The art set.~ * Keiko takes another sip of coffee. [Scene suspended! Until the next person picks it up!]