Tales of the Ice Harpy from Glacia

Shira had spent most of the day thinking about a certain someone back home, but eventually she'd forced herself to stop with the thinking and make with the checking on her friends.

She'd gotten as far as going to check on Cassidy before ~~handwavily but with mun permission~~ catching her Queen very enthusiastically kissing their favorite unstable blonde. It was that, oddly enough, that made Shira decide something had to be done. Not because of Cassidy kissing a girl -- Cassie could kiss whoever she damn well pleased -- but because said kissing (with some bonus funtime groping) had been in the middle of a hallway.

Shira was pretty sure Cassie would be mortified about that part of it when she realized what exactly she'd done, which was why it was also her duty to make sure it stayed contained to this.

And that would be what brought her to knock at Karla's door.

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"Come in," Karla called, keeping her eyes on the bunches of feverfew currently scattered over her desk. "It's open?"

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There was a knock at Karla's door. Who could it be? Why, it was her good friend Triela! Who might have been thinking of her more than usual throughout the week.

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Shira let herself in and quietly shut the door behind her. "I... need your help."

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eyesofahero.livejournal.com

Cloud was next to the door...doing something that could almost be considered guard duty. He wasn't really guarding anything, if not his own mind, though. While he was sure to be able to endure the week without losing his head -as much as it sounded like a great idea, he just couldn't- he preferred to allow Karla to have the advantage of closing her door if he...well, whatever. It wasn't happening.

"I suppose", said as he folded his hand behind his head. "I'm a little late to the party of people worried about you?"

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And like that, the feverfew was forgotten. "You do?" Karla asked, coming around her desk. "Shira, what's wrong? What can I do to help?"

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"Kiss kiss," Karla called, back behind her desk, hands deep in dried blossoms. "Come in."

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Karla poked her head out the door and smiled at him. "It's okay," she said with a small chuckle. "I spent the entire first week back as an Arcerian cat."

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"Karla," Triela smiled. "I wanted to stop by and thank you again."

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"It's not for me, it's for Cassidy," Shira explained. "And, well, sort of for me, too. See, I just caught her kissing our friend Elle in the hallway. Very enthusiastically. And while I don't think Cassidy's going to care about the kissing Elle part, necessarily, I'm pretty sure she's going to feel awful about the doing it so publicly part."

She quirked a smile. "And with everyone being so... tense, there's no way of knowing what else might happen. I don't want Cassidy to end up doing something she might regret. So I was thinking of locking the both of us in her room behind shields and locks, because I don't want her to be alone, but then I realized that she'd be able to get through them if I put them up."

And this would be where she finally took a breath in the mess of explanation and said, "Which is why I'm here. You wear a darker Jewel than we do. You lock us in, we can't get out until you let us out -- and I know you'll let us out when it's safe."

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Karla frowned, thinking it over. "I could do that..." she said slowly. "But not without checking with Cassidy first. It's possible you guys could be stuck there for another day or two."

She had the grace to look chagrined. "Have you given the thought to the possibility that being locked in together might lead to a similar situation between you and Cassidy?"

It'd be private, at least.

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"Triela!" Karla looked up and beamed. "Since we no longer seemed to be cursed with truthfulness to an upsetting degree, I can ask. Did they help? Do you prefer one over the other?"

Karla had been kind of intrigued by the little finger one, truth be told. "You can tell me to shut up if you want, but I'm curious."

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"The butterfly was very simple, but the finger vibrator was... flexible." Triela smiled. "You should try one sometime." Yes. She totally had a preference.

And she didn't mind sharing with Karla.

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eyesofahero.livejournal.com

"Oh yes, because everyone would yell and be concerned at a...kitten." He wouldn't, anyway. "But I suppose there isn't much I can add so...how are you doing?"

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"If it does lead to that, well... at least it's better than some of the alternatives," Shira said optimistically. "At least with me, it's someone else she knows. And far more private than a hallway. So two points in our favor right there."

She shrugged. "Never mind that. She's my Queen. It's my job to worry about her well-being, and that doesn't mean just her physical health. I'd be a shoddy Healer and a shoddy friend to boot if I didn't at least try and do something."

How well that something was going to work was another matter entirely.

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ancientbschamp.livejournal.com

Gabrielle had been making herself scarce lately; she hadn't lived with Karla this long to be unaware of what her roommate could pick up from the walls of the dorm room, and she wasn't about to dump more on Karla than she already had to deal with.

She couldn't stay out forever, though, and slipped into the room late in the evening as quietly as she could.

"Oh," she said, feeling a little bit guilty that she was disappointed the room wasn't empty. "Hi."

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"You aren't the danger to her that other might be, just because they don't know certain things," Karla agreed. "Virgin Nights...and what could happen...isn't something I typically broadcast about the Fandom population at large. That's information too easily turned into a weapon."

And didn't that just sound like almost Terreillian thinking?

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"Flexible, huh?" Karla had to mull that one over for awhile. "How but was it? I mean--" she couldn't help but flush "--was it snug on your finger, or could it fit over someone with, uhh, slightly bigger hands?"

Like, say, a male's hand. For example.

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"That's what I mean," Karla said. "No one really yelled at me. Except to stop pouncing, or sharpening my claws on the furniture, or chasing my tail in their lap."

She leaned against the doorway, still easily tired by most physical exertion. "I'm getting better," she said quietly. "But it will be awhile before I really get back to where I was. I ran myself pretty thoroughly into the ground."

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"Hey," Karla said, glancing up. She didn't entirely miss that flash of guilt or disappointment either, though she figured they came from lingering unease from Kaeleer. "I...did you want to be alone?"

She blushed, realizing there were other reasons Gabrielle might want to be alone this week. "I could go bug Warren or the boyos if you needed a little 'you' time or something."

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"It was snug, but the material seemed like it would stretch easily." Triela eyed Karla thoughtfully. "Why, though? Your fingers are about the same size as mine..."

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"I, yeah, umm...Warren's aren't," she explained, totally not blushing, really. Though she did cough. "I was thinking it might be interesting to...yeah. There's no rule that says they must be used solo..."

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ancientbschamp.livejournal.com

None of those other reasons were appealing enough for her to take advantage of them, sadly.

"I was about to ask you that, actually." Gabrielle was lingering near the doorway, not really sure she ought to stay. "If you're busy, I can always find somewhere else to be."

She wouldn't be Gabrielle if she didn't ask, though. "Do you need to be alone? After . . . after everything, you've probably had everyone coming to check on you, and if you're sick of it by now . . ."

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"It's not something just anybody should know," Shira said with a nod. "I think the only people who know are... well, you and Cassidy, and that doesn't quite count. The quieter it stays, the better for all three of us. Because it isn't that I necessarily distrust the males here, it's that... oh, how to put it... this is our safe place. We shouldn't have to worry about that."

And if she wanted to do nothing but worry, she'd just go home to the reserves. Worry was a way of life there sometimes.

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