A NEW BEGINNING
- Location
- England
You let out a long sigh and closed your eyes, you feel your sister dig further into your side and put an arm around her without thinking about it. When you open your eyes an minute later, you've made your decision.
"I accept your offer." At your words, you see a brilliant smile appear on Morgan's face and a smaller one appear on Karen's.
"Good, good." Karen speaks in a much chirpier tone now, like she had when she'd answered the door. The sudden shift is enough to completely throw you off of your game. "Now all of the 'official' business is out of the way, would you like another cup of Tea? Mine is empty and yours must be cold by now." You were so thrown that you just responded on auto-pilot, a neutral polite response automatically coming to mind as you nod. Karen makes her way to her feet and bustles into the Kitchen, where you hear the click of a kettle being flicked on.
You sit there in silence, Una looking up at you hopelessly confused to the backdrop of a spoon mixing sugar into a cup. You shift your eyes to Morgan, almost a little accusingly, staring at her bewildered. "Uh, yeah, should have mentioned. She always gets super serious when she does business stuff-- but most of the time she's really chill! You'll see, she's great." Morgan is interrupted by Karen walking back into the room, fresh Tea and biscuits this time, in hand.
"Ooooh? What was that I heard? Little Morgan complimenting me? You know just the right things to say to get me going dear!" Karen's cheery voice is almost deafening compared to the previous silence, her sudden shift in personality only really serving to make you more weary of her. Does she have some sort of split personality disorder? That... did not paint a good picture, as someone who was going to be handling your livelihood. Regardless of her sudden mood shift, Morgan takes it completely in stride, well mostly. The massive blush that springs up on her face at Karen's words certainly paints an interesting picture.
You sit there to the side, still slightly leaning over to cover your sister and watch them interact. Karen is just... normal now, there is no trace of the person she'd shown during their earlier conversation and Morgan was just happily chatting away with her, as if there wasn't something wrong with her. They eventually cotton on to your wary silence, Morgan sending you a confused look from where she sat as Karen sighs slightly. She gently places her Tea onto the table, on a mat that was slightly different that the others, and looks at you.
"I'm sorry if I caused you any distress earlier, it wasn't my intention. I believed that the best method of talking with you was to be direct and honest, disperse with any pleasantries or lies." She frowns a little, still doing her cheery act. "Despite what it might look like, I don't have any sort of multiple personality disorder or mental health issues. My ability to radically change my personality and outlook on something is a by-product of my long life, I've seen pretty much every different type of person and who they can communicate best with socially." She shifts in her seat slightly. "While you might have been uncomfortable, ever answer you gave was one that you had thought through thoroughly and without lying to yourself at all."
You blink, silently considering her statement, just offering a slight tilt of the head, after which she continues.
"You made this decision whilst considering your options completely, nothing held back because of morals, only what you truly believed was best for you and your sister." She coughs, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, that is my opinion of what you were thinking during our conversation. I apologise if I misinterpreted something and made you truly uncomfortable or compromised your decision making abilities in some way." She settles back into her seat and picks up her tea, taking a sip and releasing a relaxed sigh.
You consider her words for a moment, before realising that for the most of it, she was right. You had thought through every possibility that had come to mind, dozens of different ideas coming to mind, questions asked and unasked. You had asked every single one of them, regardless of how crass or uncaring it made you seem and the two of you had moved through the entire conversation at a blistering pace, it had barely taken five minutes at the most. You look at her, not at her face or her body, but at her. You stretch out a tiny tendril of magic, asking for something you don't have words for and suddenly you can feel her guide you to the tiniest part of her magic. That was all you had needed to feel, you ignored everything but what was her and you understood.
You closed your eyes, a tiny smile coming to your face as you raised the cup to your lips. You'd been keeping it warm with your powers without even noticing. It was good, the taste was excellent and she'd guessed how many sugars you had perfectly. When Una sees your smile, she lets up on the Iron grip she'd held onto you with the whole time. Reaching out to the table and lifting her own tea, her pleased smile letting you know it was just as good as yours. You finally let yourself sink back into the sofa behind you, a soft look on your face as you look at your sister.
You flick your eyes up to Karen, seeing an understanding look on her face as she quietly watches the two of you. She knew, the struggling against the world, the sacrifice. She just sat there, quietly watching before Morgan takes her attention away, a smile sliding onto her lips. It was not fake in the slightest, every part of her was the real her, she was just... Karen.
She had offered you this, yes, because she needed a weapon she could throw at threats beyond normal people. But she also was there as a pillar, something you could lean on if you needed, until you were ready to stand on your own again. She wanted to help you, take you in and give you a home that was more than your next break in. There was no lying about it or double-talk. She was completely honest with her intentions, she wanted you as a weapon and to help you.
You hadn't know that you could learn so much about someone from such a small thing and you don't know how to react to this.
Morgan calls out to you, drawing you from your reverie and back to the world, where she drags you into her conversation. Karen was poking her weakspots, gently teasing her, going only far enough to embarrass but make her remember fond memories. Una gleefully joins in, bringing up the incident where she fell out of the tree, on the first night you'd met her. Karen latches onto the story like a bloodhound, sharing stories of Morgan's younger days. Apparently the habit had formed as a way of her trying to avoid the homework her parents had set her. Seeing her face light up in a flush as the knowledge was shared fulfilled that quiet satisfaction of seeing other people suffering.
Eventually, you see Karen glance at a clock and sigh. You've mostly stayed out of the conversation, so you were aware that time was passing, but Una was having so much fun just talking with someone else that you'd been reluctant to stop her. Still, all things needed to end eventually and while Karen went around collecting your cups you stood and stretched off your stiffness. Karen makes her way back out of the kitchen and sees you all standing in the living room. "Oh well, I suppose you should probably be getting to sleep for now, it's getting late." It was nearly ten.
Morgan makes her way towards the door, picking up her jacket from where she had taken it off earlier at some point. "I'll show you guys to your room for the night, we set one aside just in case." You leave the room, sending a parting look to Karen, the stupidly honest woman that she was. She sends you back a gentle smile and a wave, then closes the door.
Morgan leads you through the still strangely empty corridors, you hadn't come across anyone but the guards at the entrance and it was strange, but you ignored it. She eventually leads you through an unmarked door, which opens into a room that was obviously lived in. There were clothes out on the side, various little things scattered across the tops of the counters. A bed in the room off to the left and a small kitchen off to the right. Do all of the rooms here act as houses? How the hell do they fit this all down here? You see another door leading through the kitchen, bathroom maybe?
After your inspection is finished, Morgan spins on the spot and hold her arms out. "Aaaaand, here is my room! Your room is connected to this one, you get enter through there." She points to a door in the wall that you had apparently somehow managed to overlook. "I would show you where your outer door is, but at the moment it doesn't exist, since this just got assigned yesterday. They'll install the door tomorrow, for now you can use mine and this connecting door."
You open the door and peer around, basically identical to Morgan's, minus all of the stuff lying around. "Are all of the rooms connected like this?"
"Nah, they just linked this one up in case you wanted to get a hold of me real quick for whatever reason. Pluuus, my room is in a pretty central spot, restaurant, gym and rec room's are all nearby. I had to pull a lot of strings to get a hold of this and it's my baby now." She sounds very pleased with her choice of room, though you suppose you'll figure out why sooner or later. Regardless, you make your way into your new home as it were and set your things down.
You... really don't have all that much. The clothes on your back, some spares, three books, a gun on your leg and some money you stole. You share a look with Una, neither of you had really... owned anything or had a space that was theirs. You were a little overwhelmed with the thought to be honest, so you decided to just put it to the back of your mind and get ready for bed. You unpack what clothing you have and put your three books on a bookshelf you see against the wall. Next, you check the fridge and are unsurprised to find it completely empty.
You wander back into Morgan's room and are greeted by her completely bare back, you blink in surprise for a second as she turns around in to greet you, letting you see her bare front. You avert your eyes and quietly say "Shirt." Your voice comes out a little strangled and she looks down at herself, she audibly starts saying "But..." before her words trail off, the memory of what she had told you days earlier on the walk towards Canada. She visibly blushes out of the corner of your eye and quickly throws a shirt on.
"Sorry about that, I didn't think-- I'm used to rooming with Karen and she's like... old y'know." She looks terribly embarrassed by her slip-up, but not as much as you had expected. Was nudity normal for her?
Regardless, you get to the reason you had come here and ask if you can borrow some food, something you've never done before. You insist that you'll pay, but she just says that you don't need to pay for food between friends. You don't know how to react to that, the idea that she's your friend. So you just silently note to replace the food and quickly make your way back to your own room, and share your bounty with Una. Several tomato's later and a packet of crisps each and you are feeling better. A quick drink and the two of you have slipped into your usual sleeping position.
Sleep comes quickly, as used to sleeping in strange places as you are. You are woken violently in the nigh by your sense passively expanding to it's fifty metres and blinding you with the enormous amount of hot things moving around. How on earth did you never notice how many things there were in cities. Still, you manage to get a good five hours, only woken three times more by your sense. Eventually, you look to the clock at your bedside. 06:57. Good enough.
You make your way to your feet, gently waking Una on the way and make your way into the kitchen. Oh wait, empty. You sent a silent look at Morgan's door, but look at the hour and remember what happened last time. So you just migrate to a sofa in the main room, where you curl up with Una in silence, until Morgan quietly pokes her head into the door between your rooms. You greet her with a smile and poke Una awake, from where she fell asleep again.
Morgan makes her way through fully, thankfully mostly dressed, wearing the same short top and shorts she was yesterday. She greets you with a smile and a stretch. "Welp, I'm free for... yeah I'm free till Karen tells me to do something. You should be free for a week or so, to settle in. So, what do you want to do?"
You think about her question for a minute, before you find you answer. At the same time, you think softly to yourself. So this, is the feeling of a new Beginning
Morning Activity...
[] Explore the base
[] Hang out with Morgan
[] Go find Samantha
[] Talk to Karen
-[] Write In...
"I accept your offer." At your words, you see a brilliant smile appear on Morgan's face and a smaller one appear on Karen's.
"Good, good." Karen speaks in a much chirpier tone now, like she had when she'd answered the door. The sudden shift is enough to completely throw you off of your game. "Now all of the 'official' business is out of the way, would you like another cup of Tea? Mine is empty and yours must be cold by now." You were so thrown that you just responded on auto-pilot, a neutral polite response automatically coming to mind as you nod. Karen makes her way to her feet and bustles into the Kitchen, where you hear the click of a kettle being flicked on.
You sit there in silence, Una looking up at you hopelessly confused to the backdrop of a spoon mixing sugar into a cup. You shift your eyes to Morgan, almost a little accusingly, staring at her bewildered. "Uh, yeah, should have mentioned. She always gets super serious when she does business stuff-- but most of the time she's really chill! You'll see, she's great." Morgan is interrupted by Karen walking back into the room, fresh Tea and biscuits this time, in hand.
"Ooooh? What was that I heard? Little Morgan complimenting me? You know just the right things to say to get me going dear!" Karen's cheery voice is almost deafening compared to the previous silence, her sudden shift in personality only really serving to make you more weary of her. Does she have some sort of split personality disorder? That... did not paint a good picture, as someone who was going to be handling your livelihood. Regardless of her sudden mood shift, Morgan takes it completely in stride, well mostly. The massive blush that springs up on her face at Karen's words certainly paints an interesting picture.
You sit there to the side, still slightly leaning over to cover your sister and watch them interact. Karen is just... normal now, there is no trace of the person she'd shown during their earlier conversation and Morgan was just happily chatting away with her, as if there wasn't something wrong with her. They eventually cotton on to your wary silence, Morgan sending you a confused look from where she sat as Karen sighs slightly. She gently places her Tea onto the table, on a mat that was slightly different that the others, and looks at you.
"I'm sorry if I caused you any distress earlier, it wasn't my intention. I believed that the best method of talking with you was to be direct and honest, disperse with any pleasantries or lies." She frowns a little, still doing her cheery act. "Despite what it might look like, I don't have any sort of multiple personality disorder or mental health issues. My ability to radically change my personality and outlook on something is a by-product of my long life, I've seen pretty much every different type of person and who they can communicate best with socially." She shifts in her seat slightly. "While you might have been uncomfortable, ever answer you gave was one that you had thought through thoroughly and without lying to yourself at all."
You blink, silently considering her statement, just offering a slight tilt of the head, after which she continues.
"You made this decision whilst considering your options completely, nothing held back because of morals, only what you truly believed was best for you and your sister." She coughs, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, that is my opinion of what you were thinking during our conversation. I apologise if I misinterpreted something and made you truly uncomfortable or compromised your decision making abilities in some way." She settles back into her seat and picks up her tea, taking a sip and releasing a relaxed sigh.
You consider her words for a moment, before realising that for the most of it, she was right. You had thought through every possibility that had come to mind, dozens of different ideas coming to mind, questions asked and unasked. You had asked every single one of them, regardless of how crass or uncaring it made you seem and the two of you had moved through the entire conversation at a blistering pace, it had barely taken five minutes at the most. You look at her, not at her face or her body, but at her. You stretch out a tiny tendril of magic, asking for something you don't have words for and suddenly you can feel her guide you to the tiniest part of her magic. That was all you had needed to feel, you ignored everything but what was her and you understood.
You closed your eyes, a tiny smile coming to your face as you raised the cup to your lips. You'd been keeping it warm with your powers without even noticing. It was good, the taste was excellent and she'd guessed how many sugars you had perfectly. When Una sees your smile, she lets up on the Iron grip she'd held onto you with the whole time. Reaching out to the table and lifting her own tea, her pleased smile letting you know it was just as good as yours. You finally let yourself sink back into the sofa behind you, a soft look on your face as you look at your sister.
You flick your eyes up to Karen, seeing an understanding look on her face as she quietly watches the two of you. She knew, the struggling against the world, the sacrifice. She just sat there, quietly watching before Morgan takes her attention away, a smile sliding onto her lips. It was not fake in the slightest, every part of her was the real her, she was just... Karen.
She had offered you this, yes, because she needed a weapon she could throw at threats beyond normal people. But she also was there as a pillar, something you could lean on if you needed, until you were ready to stand on your own again. She wanted to help you, take you in and give you a home that was more than your next break in. There was no lying about it or double-talk. She was completely honest with her intentions, she wanted you as a weapon and to help you.
You hadn't know that you could learn so much about someone from such a small thing and you don't know how to react to this.
Morgan calls out to you, drawing you from your reverie and back to the world, where she drags you into her conversation. Karen was poking her weakspots, gently teasing her, going only far enough to embarrass but make her remember fond memories. Una gleefully joins in, bringing up the incident where she fell out of the tree, on the first night you'd met her. Karen latches onto the story like a bloodhound, sharing stories of Morgan's younger days. Apparently the habit had formed as a way of her trying to avoid the homework her parents had set her. Seeing her face light up in a flush as the knowledge was shared fulfilled that quiet satisfaction of seeing other people suffering.
Eventually, you see Karen glance at a clock and sigh. You've mostly stayed out of the conversation, so you were aware that time was passing, but Una was having so much fun just talking with someone else that you'd been reluctant to stop her. Still, all things needed to end eventually and while Karen went around collecting your cups you stood and stretched off your stiffness. Karen makes her way back out of the kitchen and sees you all standing in the living room. "Oh well, I suppose you should probably be getting to sleep for now, it's getting late." It was nearly ten.
Morgan makes her way towards the door, picking up her jacket from where she had taken it off earlier at some point. "I'll show you guys to your room for the night, we set one aside just in case." You leave the room, sending a parting look to Karen, the stupidly honest woman that she was. She sends you back a gentle smile and a wave, then closes the door.
Morgan leads you through the still strangely empty corridors, you hadn't come across anyone but the guards at the entrance and it was strange, but you ignored it. She eventually leads you through an unmarked door, which opens into a room that was obviously lived in. There were clothes out on the side, various little things scattered across the tops of the counters. A bed in the room off to the left and a small kitchen off to the right. Do all of the rooms here act as houses? How the hell do they fit this all down here? You see another door leading through the kitchen, bathroom maybe?
After your inspection is finished, Morgan spins on the spot and hold her arms out. "Aaaaand, here is my room! Your room is connected to this one, you get enter through there." She points to a door in the wall that you had apparently somehow managed to overlook. "I would show you where your outer door is, but at the moment it doesn't exist, since this just got assigned yesterday. They'll install the door tomorrow, for now you can use mine and this connecting door."
You open the door and peer around, basically identical to Morgan's, minus all of the stuff lying around. "Are all of the rooms connected like this?"
"Nah, they just linked this one up in case you wanted to get a hold of me real quick for whatever reason. Pluuus, my room is in a pretty central spot, restaurant, gym and rec room's are all nearby. I had to pull a lot of strings to get a hold of this and it's my baby now." She sounds very pleased with her choice of room, though you suppose you'll figure out why sooner or later. Regardless, you make your way into your new home as it were and set your things down.
You... really don't have all that much. The clothes on your back, some spares, three books, a gun on your leg and some money you stole. You share a look with Una, neither of you had really... owned anything or had a space that was theirs. You were a little overwhelmed with the thought to be honest, so you decided to just put it to the back of your mind and get ready for bed. You unpack what clothing you have and put your three books on a bookshelf you see against the wall. Next, you check the fridge and are unsurprised to find it completely empty.
You wander back into Morgan's room and are greeted by her completely bare back, you blink in surprise for a second as she turns around in to greet you, letting you see her bare front. You avert your eyes and quietly say "Shirt." Your voice comes out a little strangled and she looks down at herself, she audibly starts saying "But..." before her words trail off, the memory of what she had told you days earlier on the walk towards Canada. She visibly blushes out of the corner of your eye and quickly throws a shirt on.
"Sorry about that, I didn't think-- I'm used to rooming with Karen and she's like... old y'know." She looks terribly embarrassed by her slip-up, but not as much as you had expected. Was nudity normal for her?
Regardless, you get to the reason you had come here and ask if you can borrow some food, something you've never done before. You insist that you'll pay, but she just says that you don't need to pay for food between friends. You don't know how to react to that, the idea that she's your friend. So you just silently note to replace the food and quickly make your way back to your own room, and share your bounty with Una. Several tomato's later and a packet of crisps each and you are feeling better. A quick drink and the two of you have slipped into your usual sleeping position.
Sleep comes quickly, as used to sleeping in strange places as you are. You are woken violently in the nigh by your sense passively expanding to it's fifty metres and blinding you with the enormous amount of hot things moving around. How on earth did you never notice how many things there were in cities. Still, you manage to get a good five hours, only woken three times more by your sense. Eventually, you look to the clock at your bedside. 06:57. Good enough.
You make your way to your feet, gently waking Una on the way and make your way into the kitchen. Oh wait, empty. You sent a silent look at Morgan's door, but look at the hour and remember what happened last time. So you just migrate to a sofa in the main room, where you curl up with Una in silence, until Morgan quietly pokes her head into the door between your rooms. You greet her with a smile and poke Una awake, from where she fell asleep again.
Morgan makes her way through fully, thankfully mostly dressed, wearing the same short top and shorts she was yesterday. She greets you with a smile and a stretch. "Welp, I'm free for... yeah I'm free till Karen tells me to do something. You should be free for a week or so, to settle in. So, what do you want to do?"
You think about her question for a minute, before you find you answer. At the same time, you think softly to yourself. So this, is the feeling of a new Beginning
Morning Activity...
[] Explore the base
[] Hang out with Morgan
[] Go find Samantha
[] Talk to Karen
-[] Write In...
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