[Day: Monday, October 27.] [Time: 1:03 p.m.] [The day after the attack of Sewer King, LA GIGANTE!!!, and a crumbling building, working schlubs still gotta work. Shani's doing just that, as she's in World Harmony. She's been rather droopy tired today; must not have been getting enough sleep, which might help explain why she's zoning out, staring at the store phone with a slip of paper in hand.] [Eventually, though, she reaches over, picks up the receiver, and slowly dials Cheryl's number.] [Minisession Start.] (Oh, didn't mention. Edmund's out for his three hour lunch.) * Cheryl , perhaps miraculously, picks up the phone, answering with a hesitant, "Hello?" Well, it's not like she recognizes the number! * Shani lets out a breath, then adopts the white girl voice. "Hey, this is Shani from World Harmony." * Cheryl blinks, then says, "Ah, yes--ah--hi. That was fast." "Yeah, I'm calling about the necklace. Are you free this afternoon?" Um... * Cheryl audibly sucks on her lip for a moment as she ponders, then, "Not much of it, I... well, I was going--" she cuts herself off, then, "I can maybe be there in a half an hour?" * Shani blinks and she doesn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "Sure, that'd be great." She glances at the clock. "Really great. Edmund won't be back for another two." "See you then, all right?" * Cheryl replies, "Okay, that's--" she exclaims a 'hey!' at someone who's not Shani, then just says, "Sorry, I'll be there!" and then the phone cuts off. * Shani hangs up the phone and sighs, sinking into Edmund's chair. "Fuuuuck," she says, placing her head in her hands. One elbow bumps against an ashtray, and she shoves it away before going back to what she was doing. * Cheryl manages to keep her promise, arriving on time! As she pushes through the beads. She's looking down slightly and rubbing her side as she walks through, still breathing a little heavily from the rush. She's in a red-brown v-neck sweater that goes with her hair, a buttoned up white blouse peeking out from the V, and a long blue skirt. She adjusts her glasses as she looks up/over to find Shani. * Shani is sleeping in Edmund's chair. Or she was, until Cheryl's fighting through blinds started her awake. "Oh... Cheryl, hey." She fixes her hair as she gets to her feet; she's wearing a deep green wrap top today which shows quite a bit of cleavage, along with pants and some heels. * Cheryl looks over at her with a slight smile and then glances down to the floor a moment before back to Shani, shifting her bookbag on her shoulder. "Hi. I--uh--thought it was gonna be a couple more days...?" Yeah, well... honestly, this is a different necklace. * Cheryl looks at her strangely a moment, adjusting her glasses again with her left hand. "I--um..." she trails off, then her eyes widen, "Did I break one when I was sorting them?" * Shani reaches under the counter to pull out a purse. She starts rooting around in it as she talks. "This girl gave it to me last night. I think you might know her." And she pulls it out: a leather band, followed by an asymmetrical stone slab with a wedjat carved on one side. * Shani puts it on the counter, watching Cheryl. * Cheryl looks back at it, and as master of not being able to hide anything... totally looks shocked. Uh... uhm... * Cheryl looks to Shani slowly, managing to say, "I--I... don't know I'd... call her a girl, really..." So, yeah. It's kinda a big fuckin' deal, you think? * Shani smiles briefly at Cheryl's look. * Cheryl licks her lips a moment, then says quietly, "Yeah, I do." * Cheryl then smirks slightly and her voice shifts obviously as she says, "You were soft-selling on Friday on the wedjat thing, girl." Well, it's that or be Horus' biggest fan. What the fuck am I s'posed to fuckin' do? * Shani continues to drop the white girl voice, because there's pretty much no point now. "Anyway, been givin' this some thought. Way I see it, we can do one of two things." * Cheryl gestures idly with her left hand, before walking over to the table to set the bookbag down on it with a slight wince. "Yeah?" * Shani pulls a crumpled piece of yellowed paper over and smooths it out. It has Cheryl's phone number. "Yeah." I can burn this an' you never come here again. Don't worry, I called you on the work phone and got a shitty memory. Or I put this in my phone under 'Cheryl'. * Cheryl rubs her shoulder and half-smiles as she turns to Shani. "Pretty cut and dried. You think fast." A beat, then, "Not many options, though." * Shani stretches. "Y'got a better idea?" * Cheryl mms as she stretches slightly, then, "Not really." She pauses a moment, then, "So why--" she interrupts herself, answering herself with, "--you weren't just bein' nice last night, were ya?" * Shani raises an eyebrow. "The fuck are you talkin' about?" * Cheryl chuckles to herself and puts her hands back on the table, pushing her chest out a bit. "Fun hangin' out." * Shani shrugs. No. I had fun. I mean, I was fuckin' tired, and the conversation was kinda morbid sometimes, and that necklace freaked me WAY the fuck out - no lie. But it was pretty cool. * Cheryl mms quietly, then suddenly she stands right back up, arms crossing under her chest as she blushes slightly and looks down. After a moment she says, back in Cheryl's voice, "I... last time someone knew who I was it didn't... end well for him." She's silent a moment, then looks to Shani and adds, a little defensively, "It wasn't... like that, it just didn't go well." I--I mean, this... it's not all new. * Cheryl smiles weakly, eyes flicking down a moment. "Am I making sense?" * Shani shakes her head. "Not really." * Abby is now known as Cheryl * Cheryl stays looking down a few moments, then says, "I'm just worried, I guess? I--I mean, I enjoyed it too." A slight smile as she raises her eyes to look at Shani again. "Really." * Shani leans on the counter, studying Cheryl's face. "This ain't about the identity thing for you, is it?" * Cheryl looks slightly confused. "W-what do you mean?" I mean, I am worried about my identity... if a real supervillain found out there could be... consequences, right? Yeah. Very, very serious consequences. * Shani tilts her head. "But I'm gettin' the feelin' that ain't the ticking point for you." * Cheryl gets another flush on her cheeks, then says, after a moment, "To be truthful, Shani, I'm just... I'm not a good friend for anyone, really. Especially not someone like you. I--I mean, I'm sure you have lots of friends, and..." she trails off, not finishing her thought line. * Cheryl does suck in her bottom lip, though, eyes flicking away again. The fuck is that s'posed to mean? 'Like you', 'like me'? * Cheryl looks back to Shani, frowns a touch, then the frown slips away and she just says, "P-pretty people. Geeky people." Well, first, you ain't ugly. You could look pretty good if you just believed you did. Second, I don't see what that's gotta do with much. Just sayin'. You're more like me than anyone I've ever met in these clothes. * Cheryl looks startled at what Shani says, then she adjusts her glasses nervously before murmuring, "I--um... it's had everything to do with things before." Her cheeks stay flushed as she adds, "And... um, thank you." Any time. * Shani grins. "I mean, assumin' I'm puttin' your number in my phone and all." * Cheryl manages a weak smile. "I--I don't think Abby'd forgive me if we didn't. As... long as we get yours?" Sure, it's only fair. * Shani grabs a pen and jots her first name down on the bottom of the paper, followed by a number, then tears it in half and hands it to Cheryl. * Cheryl steps over and reaches out to grab the paper, looks at it, then nods a little and rubs her side. "Still... feeling hurt from yesterday." A moment, then Abby's voice comes through, "You know, Shani, you missed a hell of a line." * Shani flips her phone open - which looks an awful lot like Cheryl's - and starts programming the number into it. "Oh yeah?" * Cheryl gestures outwards with her left hand, a slight grin on her face. "Of all the head shops in all the boroughs in all the city, she walks into mine..." * Shani laughs a little, then says, "I'm tired. Give me a fuckin' break." * Cheryl then twists the ring on her finger a moment before saying, "I... guess I can do that." * Shani looks at Cheryl, then laughs again. "Man, yeah. Two of you... this is gonna be a weird friendship." * Cheryl laughs weakly and murmurs, "It's a weird, ah, aloneship." Aloneship? * Cheryl smiles weakly. "There's not really a word for it. Not... really being alone with yourself." ... Yeah, that's gotta be fuckin' tough. For both of you. * Cheryl smirks slightly and replies with, "Just remember, we're always talkin' about you behind your back." Cheryl's eyes widen a touch and she replies, a bit defiantly, "We are not!" * Shani grins at that exchange. "Well, you *could* be. Be surprised if you didn't do it at least a little." * Cheryl crosses her arms and murmurs, "That'd be wrong. You're right here." Yeah, but it'd be so easy. Not many people can do somethin' like that. Short of usin' another language, and that's sorta obvious. * Cheryl mms quietly, then says, "I guess it's a little weird." She puts the paper away in her bookbag and then looks back at Shani. "There's always sign language." She smiles weakly, then scuffs her shoe on the floor before adding, "I... um... were you gonna wear the necklace any?" Yeah, actually... hadn't really considered when yet. Wanted to get this cleared up first... I mean, I can only do it when in costume or when not. * Cheryl blinks, then nods a little and says, "I guess... it wouldn't always be hidden under your clothes." Yeah, not always. A lotta the time, though. * Cheryl smiles a little and says, "I have a lot of clothes on. Then." She mms quietly, then says, "I've been having the tea when I come back in the mornings. It's... not quite the intent, I'm told, but still..." Hey, long as you enjoy it, that's what's important. But I ain't exactly a tea snob. * Cheryl smirks and replies, "Yeah, but I am. Twice by blood. Grey and green." An' you're letting her drink afternoon tea in the morning? Shame on you. Yeah, well, usually she ain't got an afternoon. * Shani laughs. "Guess that's a reason." * Cheryl chuckles and adds, "Yeah, any moment she'll realize she's probably only got thirty minutes to get back where she came from or else she'll be late." * Shani shakes her head, then pauses. "I'm not keepin' you guys from anythin', am I?" * Cheryl then suddenly frowns and says, "No, don't worry about it, I have a few more minutes..." * Cheryl brushes her hair back and then folds her hands in front of her. "Why'd... you ask me, anyway? I mean... I didn't really get to decide for all of us, did I?" * Shani starts looking for something behind the counters. "Whaddaya mean?" I mean... * Cheryl bites her lip, then says, "If I'd found out first, what would you've decided?" You mean, if you gave me the same question? * Shani finds the teapot! She looks in it, makes a face, and goes about cleaning it out. * Cheryl nods a little. "Right. I mean, it's... kinda a big question to only give the other person." * Shani is silent while she washes out the teapot. It's only when she's drying it that she finally responds: "... I dunno." Part 'a why I asked you is I didn't wanna make that decision. * Cheryl smiles a little, then says, "I guess you trusted me enough for it." Well, you obviously care about your identity. Don't you? Fuck yes. That's why I wouldna asked anyone else, really. * Shani snerks. "Not even Christian. Much as I like 'im." She puts the pot down and starts rooting about the blends. * Cheryl nods a little, before saying, "'Cause he..." she trails off. * Shani glances up at Cheryl. * Cheryl looks back to her, then Abby speaks up to say, "Nothing. But he doesn't really care about his identity, yeah?" And then there's Jackie and Redcoat, so it pretty much makes sense. Not so much. I mean, he's tryin' harder 'cause of some shit that happened to him recently, but. * Cheryl mms, then nods a little. "Yeah, this all seems kinda... ill fittin' on him, I guess." * Cheryl looks down a moment, then walks over to Shani at the counter. In the mood for tea, since we were talkin' about it. Something with caffeine... * Cheryl smiles a touch. "Of course." Anyway, I don't know how this is all going to work out for him. I mean, he's pretty gung ho about some stuff, but... obviously not so prepared for it, y'know? He's got the power, but. * Shani blinks, realizes she didn't put water on, and goes to do that really quickly before trying to pick tea again. * Cheryl puts her fingers on the counter and looks off, humming a moment as Shani runs off. When she comes back she looks back to her and says, "I... well, I think trying counts for... something, right?" A weak smile. Yeah. I mean, don't go gettin' me wrong. I *like* him. Quite a lot. I wanna help him out and alla that shit. * Shani starts looking through tea again, eventually pulling a mate down from the shelves. * Cheryl nods a little, but then says, "But ya got your doubts." Yeah. Yeah... * Shani unscrews the lid on the jar she brought down and zones out for a bit, then snaps out of it with, "He just... seems... kinda young, you know? Not *young* as in little kid, but..." * Cheryl chuckles a little and says, "Young like young. Like they ain't figured out what it all really means and takes." Trust me, back in Japan, I knew the type. * Shani snerks. "Yeah?" * Shani measures out some tea into the pot, then screws the lid back on and puts it where it belongs. * Cheryl laughs a little. "Yeah. I worked with a team there too. Stakes weren't... quite as high, but they were enough that one of Redcoat's heists wanted to stay away from us. It's a small, small world." * Shani nods. "So Red was a thief back then?" Somethin' like. Honestly a little fuzzy. Maybe it was the fumes from that drinking contest. Yeah. Kinda figured, with the way she's been actin'. * Shani gets the water and pours it into the pot. Go, tea! Become tea! * Cheryl shrugs, then grins. "I'm a little more worried 'bout her aim than her past. Cost us a sweater."  Yeeeah, I bet. If you weren't you, there woulda been a huge fuckin' problem. * Cheryl licks her lips and murmurs, "I think so." * Shani frowns a little, then sighs. "But... I ain't Solaris or nothin', and I'm not so good at getting stuff like that across. Temper gets the better of me and nobody wants to listen to me bitch about shit." I mean, you see how I handle Hyde. I *don't*. * Shani mutters, "Plus I'm tired as fuck half the time." She eyes the tea. Brew faster, damn you. * Cheryl is silent a moment, then, "I can understand why, Shani... but I..." she trails off, then finishes with, "She's not... she's... I don't get her, but I want to understand." * Cheryl then smiles more weakly and says, "Sorry." For what, wanting to understand her? No. * Cheryl smiles sympathetically. "That you're tired." Eh. For a good cause, right? Savin' lives... 's worth some exhaustion. * Shani grins. "Anyway, you're a better woman than I, for sure. Lookin' into the abyss like that would just drive me mad." * Cheryl chuckles. "Better reason than a dissertation." She shakes her head and says, "There's a lot there. You figure it's gotta take some guts to step into the ring when you know everyone's gonna hate you." Yeah, but she *keeps* everyone hating her. That's what I don't fuckin' get. She says things that... I... * Shani makes a frustrated sound, then checks the tea again. * Cheryl chuckles a little and says, "When nobody likes you, it's a hell of a lot easier to keep it stable and not try than care and get smacked on the nose." If that makes any sense. Uh... not really? Might just be tired. * Cheryl chuckles faintly and says, "Maybe she's just stuck in a cycle. Life's like that. Odin knows I am." Old dogs, new tricks? Somethin' like that? * Shani checks tea again, and that must be enough because she starts looking for cups. "I dunno. I ain't Hyde's psych; not my job. Shouldn't be my problem 'cept I have to fuckin' work with her. And I'd never claim to have a fuckin' clue about criminal mentality." But I'm *pretty* sure she at least kinda believes what she's sayin'. Which only makes me want to punch her more. * Cheryl mms, then replies, "You ever met someone who believes everything they say... right at that moment?" * Shani thinks about that for a moment while looking for tea, then laughs. "Possibly?" * Cheryl smiles a little, then, "I don't think she's a... real criminal, either." I mean, she is, because of the law. That's important. * Cheryl sighs and finishes, "I don't know, Shani." I... believe in redemption, I guess. * Cheryl looks down slightly, then back to her. "Is that dumb?" * Shani snorts. "Nah." I believe in it, too. Guess that's why I ain't killin' people, usually. * Shani finds some clean, mismatched tea cups and brings them to the counter. She pours tea for her and for Cheryl. "And Hyde's plenty reformed for this." But that don't mean I gotta like her, does it? * Cheryl nods a little, then replies, "I... I say yes, and Abigail says no." A weak smile. * Shani tilts her head, just fixing Cheryl with a curious look. * Cheryl looks back at Shani, not answering a moment, but then says, "Ah, well... it's nothing, really. She is a little mad, but..." she trails off and smiles weakly again. "If you can love your enemy, you should at least manage to like an ally, I think." * Shani slides one cup to Cheryl. "Forcin' myself to like someone's a little tough. 'specially when she ain't givin' me much reason, yeah? I think Hyde goes out of her way to antagonize people." She has a sip of her own cup of tea. * Cheryl takes the cup and says quietly, "It's not about what's tough. Everything that's right is tough." A small moment, then she clears her throat and says, "Sorry. I know... nobody wants to hear it." She blows on the tea, and takes a careful sip. * Shani refrains from rolling her eyes, but she's really close. "I do a lot of 'what's right', Cheryl," she says, annoyed. * Cheryl looks back at her, eyes widening, and then she says, "I'm not saying you're not! I--uh... just... I am bothered by how she acts too, I just...aspire to treat her better." * Cheryl swallows and then manages a weak laugh. "Abigail agrees with you disliking her if you want. It's funny... we're in a... disagreement of disagreements." * Shani snerks. "I think it's funny that you call her Abigail, since she told us to call her Abby." Anyway, if you can treat her better, more power to you. Means that in some ways, at least, you're a better person than me. I just ain't so good at controllin' my temper... easier to ignore her, if anything. * Cheryl smiles a bit too at the first part, then she reacts to the statement by leaning in and saying, "No, I... didn't mean that." She sighs and tosses her hair back, leaning on the counter. After a moment she says, low and quick, "She doesn't like her either." She looks up to Horus with a slight grin. "She just knows she should. Don't worry 'bout it." * Cheryl then taps a finger on the counter and says, "And I figure she's being as respectful as you can to someone who's always in your head. I give her a little leeway." She then points. "With you people, it's Abby." * Shani laughs a little and also leans on the counter, sipping more tea. "Ain't worried, Abby." * Cheryl grins a moment longer, takes a sip of tea, and then shakes her head and blushes slightly as the tea comes away. "Ah, well... it's good that you are not. We've only, uh, known eachother for a few hours." Sorta, yeah. So you've got somethin' to do this afternoon? * Cheryl nods a little as she takes a sip, then replies, "It's, uh, studio. Singing." Oh, cool. Guess that's like your homework, huh? * Shani smiles. * Cheryl smiles a little and says, "It's more like... ah, Abigail says it's more like a lab for science students." Right, gotcha, more or less. * Cheryl looks slightly down, then back to Shani with a nervous smile and says, "I'm sorry, I didn't, uh, plan for a meeting this afternoon. But we'll figure something out over the phone, right?" Yeah. Just let me know... work hours are surprisingly flexible. * Shani gestures at the otherwise empty store. * Cheryl lets out a small giggle and says, "Right, uh, of course." She pauses a moment, then, "And there's always, uh, swinging by at night." Yup, there's always that, too. Gotta admit, it'll be nice callin' ya somethin' other than 'host'. * Cheryl shakes her head and says, quickly, "Sorry, I learned a while back that when you're in costume, you still don't use the secret words. Never know who'll be spyin' on you from a block away." Good chance of endin' bad. Well, yeah. I'm not going to do it. * Cheryl grins slightly and adds, "You two wanna make up a name, though, might work out better." Oh man, I dunno. 'cept maybe Cherie, but that's kinda obvious. * Cheryl smiles a bit before she takes another drink of her tea. Then she glances to her wrist before she says, "Ah, I don't know either, but, um... I really do have to go now, I think." Sure. See ya around, yeah? * Cheryl nods, pushing the cup back slightly and saying, "Yeah." She walks over to get her bookbag and, with a slight groan, gets it over one shoulder. "Still waiting on the necklace... right?" Yup. I'll call you when it's in - for real, this time. * Cheryl turns and smiles a bit. "Right." A moment, then, "It's actually more for Abigail, uh, but she can explain that another time." She waves a little as she heads for the beads, getting up to speed. * Shani waves back and picks up her tea again. [Mini end for reals!]