Room 218, Friday Afternoon

[glacial_queen]

Now that she and Jason had embarrassed themselves thoroughly for Monday's class, Karla had a little time to spare to before her portal was ready to take her to Camelot for the weekend. It was good to get away from Fandom for awhile. Really good. The whole island just felt...stifling right now and Karla wanted to get away. Away from everything and everyone and the constant reminder that she'd messed up and...yeah. Just leave and forget everything for a few days.

So, in far better spirits that she would have ever assumed from a trip to go visit Arthur of all people, Karla was packing her things and even humming a little to herself. Hello, first good mood in something like three weeks.

Let's see how long it would last.

[Open!]

Comments

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba herself had been meaning to stop by, and given the odd mood at this week's reserve meeting, she'd resolved to actually visit Karla.

Which would be why she appeared at the door to room 218 and knocked that afternoon, hoping to catch her friend.

[glacial_queen]

"Come in," Karla called, offering her frogs a bit of jello. She worried about them when she was away. "It's open."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Do you want me to shut the door behind me?" she asked. "I don't know how much privacy you want right now."

[glacial_queen]

Karla shrugged a little, giving Elphaba a wan smile. "Depends on what you wanted to talk about, I guess. Squirrels hear everything anyway."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I wished to discuss you, actually," Elphaba said. "We'd not talked in a while, and I... I'll fully admit I'm not exactly an expert on this, but it seemed like the leaders were not at their best this week, at the meeting."

She gave a sympathetic smile.

[glacial_queen]

Karla laughed weakly for a bit. "That obvious huh?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair. "The whole thing with Raven is just...intense."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba nodded. "The whole business about communication hit rather closely for me, too," she said. "I remember very clearly telling Raven she need not share everything with people before she... well, before things."

She sighed a little. "This place certainly does not make things uncomplicated."

[glacial_queen]

Karla sat down on her bed with a sigh, waving to Elphaba to make herself comfortable wherever she liked. "I guess it depends on what you're communicating," she said. "You had no way to know that she was hiding the presence of something evil." Saying 'her demonic father' was a little more information than Karla was comfortable sharing, since she didn't know what Elphaba had been told. "It's one thing to choose to keep personal things hidden...but it's another entirely if its something that can or will endanger others."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Well, she said it was something dire, but that it would only needlessly worry people that couldn't help," Elphaba said, sitting down. "It seems she was right about that, or... I can't really say, I don't know what all happened. But I didn't come to fret about what I said. I think it was still the right thing to say, at the time."

[glacial_queen]

Karla...disagreed with that entirely, but Elphaba had just said she wasn't here to discuss it, so there was no reason to keep arguing it. "What's up?" she asked instead. "Did you have a specific question?"

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Not really," Elphaba said. "I know that I am far from your close circle of friends, but I just wanted to see if there was anything I could offer in ways of help. If you wished to share anything, or... I'm honestly not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here, really."

[glacial_queen]

Karla had to smile at that. "You can start by having a honey-pear, if you like?" she offered, tugging a small fruit off the tree in corner next to her bed. "They're quite good."

She plucked another for herself and nibbled it to buy herself some time while she decided what to answer. "There's...nothing that can really be done to help," she said a moment later. "It was a stupid and ugly situation made stupid and uglier in some ways by...stuff." There that was nice and vague. "For me, anyway. Raven, Tara, and Dolf all have their own ideas about what happened and what's going on and may differ from mine."

She took another bite and then asked, "But...if you wouldn't mind maybe talking about something else? I could use a bit of a distraction and that would be nice. Just talking about something unrelated to everything."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba took the fruit happily and took a small bite while she listened to what Karla said.

"I recently discovered that not all television is horrible," she said. "And Kate showed me a videogame that used the television for something that actually challenged the mind. I'm starting to almost think this world isn't entirely backwards about everything."

[glacial_queen]

Karla had to chuckle a little at that. "What show changed your mind?" she asked. "And what videogame? Tony has promised to teach me about them sometime."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"It was a show, with a bald old man whom they called Mister Wizard," Elphaba said. "He was quite kind and intelligent, and he showed such interesting and intriguing things."

She pulled a tiny face of embarassment. "I do not know the name, I admit."

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh," Karla said, intrigued. "What kind of things? Like Craft?"

What? She'd said he was a wizard.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba shook her head. "It was more aimed towards sciences, he didn't actually do any magic. Which made me a little frustrated, I think people named Wizard should at least do a little magic, don't you think?"

[glacial_queen]

"I agree," Karla assured her. "Magic and science may be related--" and it had only taken a year and a half for that grudging admonition "--but not enough where science can go around appropriating our titles!"

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba chuckled. "You obviously are a bit more impassioned about it than I am. I... I still haven't made myself visit with Tara to try and explore my own possible abilities."

[glacial_queen]

Karla huffed out a small laugh of her own. "I was raised my entire life thinking Craft is the most important thing in the world. It made me everything I was. It's how I define myself. Pretty big part of what shapes my view of everything I guess."

Tilting her head, she regarded Elphaba. "Why haven't you?" she asked. "Still afraid of it?"

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"It seemed as if I should wait until Tara is in a better mood," Elphaba said. "She probably would not say anything, but I would not want to impose upon her until things were... better for everyone."

[glacial_queen]

"She might have appreciated the distraction, actually," Karla said thoughtfully. "I would have. But then, that's her not me, and a moot point anyhow. Still...sometimes I do worry that you always see yourself as an imposition, Elphaba. After all, we talked back when...October?"

HEY NU JUST SO YOU KNOW THIS THREAD IS NFB OKAY?

[longislandiceme]

Bobby was in need of having a few Words-with-a-capital-w with Karla, as a matter of fact. The only thing that had prevented him from doing so earlier, really, was the issue of how... responsive... his powers were to his emotions as of late. The last thing he needed was to accidentally encase the dorms in ice or something because he got into an argument.

So, he waited until he felt confident enough in his ability to keep his emotions in check.

"Karla," he said cooly, arms crossed over his chest as he stood in her doorway.

I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

Karla froze in the act of folding a shirt for a heartbeat. "Hello, Bobby," she said, going back to folding as if nothing was wrong. She didn't turn to greet him, though. "Would you like to come in?"

Rather than having this conversation in the hall, say.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

"Yeah," Bobby nodded. Well, like maybe wasn't the right word, but Karla's narrative was right. This wasn't a hallway sort of conversation. "That'd be good."

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

Karla finished folding her shirt and set it aside before slowly straightening and turning to face Bobby. She didn't invite him to sit or make himself comfortable. "Yes?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Though, really, she could guess.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

That was okay, he was fine with shutting the door behind him and then leaning against it before leveling his gaze her way and beginning to speak.

"So here's the thing. Back in the church, I understand why you did what you did."

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

That was...considerably not what she was expecting. The few seconds of blinking at Bobby in puzzlement probably got that across.

Though the anger still radiating from him suggested that 'understanding' and 'forgiving' weren't exactly the same thing. Or even close to one another.

"I see," Karla said, her voice carefully neutral. She took another half-step back, hunching her shoulders slightly. "But?"

If Bobby was looking for a fight...well, he wouldn't find much of one here.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

You made me watch my best friend die- again- after he promised me I'd never have to see that.

"You used Warren. He's not a soldier, Karla. He's not the kind of person who wakes up knowing that that sort of thing is even a possibility." Not like himself, or Kennedy, or even... what was her name, Tahiri? And Professor Skywalker, from what he'd seen in class and the last few times Raven had been in trouble.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

"I know that," Karla said quietly. "I acted on instinct, not thought. I measured his abilities against what I thought the demons would do and went from there. I was wrong. All the way around. You think I don't get that? Even if Warren were a soldier he isn't one of mine. None of you are. I...forgot that, for a few moments there. And Warren paid the price."

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

That... took the wind out of his righteous-anger-fueled sails for a moment, but he pressed on.

"You forgot," he repeated flatly. "I hope for his sake- and yours- that you don't forget again."

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

That sparked Karla's temper some. "You think I need a warning from Bobby Drake to know that?" she snapped. "I came within inches of losing the male I love twice. Once when he was bleeding out on the ground and again when I told him what I'd done."

Her voice trembled at bit on that last sentence and she whirled around to stare out the window while she got control over herself again. She wasn't going to let Bobby see her cry, either.

"I'm sorry, Bobby," she said, her temper abating. Her forehead bumped the glass and she closed her eyes for a moment, just breathing. "You have every right to come in here and yell. You had to watch your best friend--" She couldn't finish. "What happened was no more fair to you than it was to him.I'm sorry for what I did and I'm sorry for snapping and you're free to accept one or both or neither."

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

"I'd like to," he admitted. "You've been nothing but a good friend, and when you and Warren started dating, I was like, great, someone else who cares about him as much as I do." Though, obviously, in a completely different sort of way. "But that's not something I ever wanted to see-" he broke off abruptly, before he could add an 'again'. "Ever," he finished, kind of lamely.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

"There were a lot of reasons why I...did what I did," Karla said, finally turning around to look at him. "I don't pretend that they make up for what happened. I'm not that stupid."

Just stupid enough to have done it, was all.

"I do love him," she added in a whisper. "And I'm not trying to make excuses for what happened, I swear I'm not. It's all my fault, I know that."

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

"It's a start," Bobby acknowledged. "It's... good to know where you stand." And with that, he turned and opened the door to leave.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

On that issue, at least. But she was horribly lost when it came to figuring out where she stood on anything else. With Warren, with Bobby, with any of their friends who'd seen what she'd done.

"Now you do," she agreed dully. "Does it change anything?"

Her tone suggested she didn't think it did.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[longislandiceme]

"At the moment? No," he admitted.

Re: I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THIS THREAD IS NFB AT ALL!

[glacial_queen]

She shrugged at him. "Hadn't thought it would."

Still. He'd deserved to know.