Room 218, Saturday Afternoon

[glacial_queen]

Karla was going to get up and pack for Hawaii any minute now. Really. If for no other reason than to prove she could. Getting home last night, she'd eaten a truly ridiculous amount of food then gone straight to bed. This morning, she'd gotten up long enough to shower, get dressed, eat another ridiculous meal, and by the time she was done eating, she'd been so tired that it was straight back to bed for an extended nap.

She really needed to stop doing this. Mostly because the recovery period was so boring.

But she was awake again and getting impatient with sleeping so much. It was the last day before the trip and she had stuff to do! Pack, call people to let them know she was back and not to fuss, eat more...There were probably other things to add to that list like 'contact teachers about missed assignments' and stuff, but she was supposed to be taking it easy.

So, yeah. Time to get up. Really. Any minute now.

[Open!]

Comments

[life_inshadow]

After she'd talked to Jono, Tara wandered down to Karla's room and tapped on her cracked door, too. "Naptime?" she called lightly. "I so wouldn't blame you if it is. I'm going to crash again soon myself."

[glacial_queen]

"Ugh no," Karla said, waving Tara in with a smile. "Just woke up from a nap, actually. One of several, really. I'm trying to psych myself into getting out of bed. My things won't pack themselves."

Okay, well, they could if she really wanted them to. But that was just silly, especially with her Craft still building back up.

[life_inshadow]

"God, they should," Tara said with feeling. "We've saved about four worlds so far this year. People should totally wait on us by now."

She didn't mean it. Entirely.

"I might spend next week sleeping on the beach."

[glacial_queen]

"I like your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter," Karla muttered, trying to fingercomb her hair so she didn't look like such a fright. "I intend to claim a server and pay him or her to spend the entire time bringing me fruity drinks and tasty foods. Though I'll share with you, if we end up crashing on the same spot of the beach," she offered. "And if Kennedy hasn't already done the same thing."

[life_inshadow]

"Oh, well, Kennedy and I haven't really talked about it," Tara said. "But I don't mind sharing servants with a couple of people. Even if saying that makes me feel bad for them."

[glacial_queen]

"Why?" Karla asked, puzzled. "Being a servant is a perfectly respectable occupation in this world, too, isn't it?"

Ah, cultural differences.

[life_inshadow]

"Well, yeah, it's respectable," Tara said, a little confused by the question. "But, I mean, I still feel a little bad when I make people run around for me. Even if they're getting paid. It's okay, Kennedy kind of thinks I'm silly about it too."

[trigons_child]

Raven had a need to hover. It was just her way. And since she didn't want to hover over Jono too much, Karla got to be her lucky victim that afternoon.

She gently tapped on the door. "Karla, are you awake?"

[glacial_queen]

"If it helps, most of the servants I know are convinced that we'd all fall apart without their interference," Karla offered. "I don't think Mrs. Beale is convinced that I'm not secretly starving to death while I'm here."

Though that could be more because Mrs. Beale knew about Karla's culinary skills or lack thereof.

"I don't think you're silly? I just thought you meant that someone being a servant made you feel bad for them, or something."

[glacial_queen]

"If I say yes, will you make me go back to sleep?" Karla asked. "Because I'm tired of napping."

Karla was helpful!

[trigons_child]

"If you are properly rested, I will not insist," Raven promised, slipping into the room and sitting down on the edge of Karla's bed. She gave her a quick once over with her powers, seeing how her recovery was proceeding.

"You look much better," she said, pleased.

[glacial_queen]

"Less like something the cat dragged in?" Karla teased. "I feel better. And I've got a whole week coming up to devote to lounging around and gaining the weight back."

Thanks to Rinoa's seemingly boundless amounts of energy, Karla hadn't lost anywhere near as much as she had in times before. Enough to be noticeable, yes, though she wasn't even close to being gaunt. That was comforting.

"Thank you for making me eat," she added. "Even if I was a little stubborn about it."

The girl had a gift for understatement.

[trigons_child]

"You would do the same for me if our situations were reversed," Raven said. Of course, Raven would be more annoying about asking if the food were properly vegetarian, of course.

"It will be good to have a week to relax on vacation," she said. She was feeling more comfortable about being back in Fandom now, but she still hadn't been able to properly relax after everything that had happened.

[glacial_queen]

"I would cook all the food you needed to make sure it was right," Karla promised loyally.

Don't ever get sick, Raven. Ever.

"I don't care if something horrible climbs up out of the ocean and begins to eat the islands," Karla decided. "I am going to lay out in the sun and read trashy romance novels until whatever-it-is finally gets around to eating my section of the beach. I'm tired."

[trigons_child]

"As am I," Raven agreed.

She flopped down on the bed beside Karla. "I will enjoy the warmth of the sun, though I must buy sunscreen before we leave, or once we arrive. I do not wish to burn."

Or turn any sort of color, really.

[glacial_queen]

"Fortunately, I made up a ton of sunburn unguent before we left, so I'm set for anyone who needs it."

Except Rilla, of course.

"Though I also need to buy some lotion. Maybe I'll buy SPF 4 or something ridiculous. Then I'll have an excuse to keep making Warren rub it on my back and shoulders."

Not that she was certain how much she'd even see him next week. It was hard to decipher where they stood now. Their talk on Friday had been interrupted by children Saturday and she hadn't seen him since.

[trigons_child]

Which meant of course Raven was going to ask her exactly what was going on there.

"How are things between the two of you?" she asked tentatively. She still felt responsible for the troubles between them, no matter what Karla said. The only recent information she had was that he had been with Karla when Rook had arrived.

Poor Rook. She hoped what she and Karla had done would help the Karla in that world to stop her Raven.

[glacial_queen]

"Better?" Karla said. "I think? We had a long talk on Friday, rather than going to the dance. I think we're on a little firmer footing, but we haven't really spoken in the last week. Too busy chasing after kidlets. You and Jono?"

[life_inshadow]

Tara shook her head, still befuddled. Maybe it was just the long days making it hard for her to explain.

"I guess I just figure most people would rather not run around and do stuff for people they don't even know," she said. "Family's different, but a servant ... I dunno. It's just a really tough job."

[glacial_queen]

"Depends on how well they're treated and paid, I'd guess," Karla pointed out. "Just like any other job. But...yeah. I see your point. Though bringing drinks and food to cute females hardly counts."

Then she thought about how much she and Kennedy could eat.

"Hmmm...Maybe not."

[life_inshadow]

Tara laughed. "Did you just think about how much you're going to make some poor waiter run back and forth?" she teased. "Maybe instead of camping out on the beach, you should set up in the hotel kitchen."

[glacial_queen]

"Maybe they'll have an outdoor kitchen?" Karla said hopefully, with a laugh of her own. "Or they'll let me camp outside so I can still enjoy the sunlight? Though, to be fair, I was thinking of how much that waiter would run back and forth if it were me and Kennedy combined."

[life_inshadow]

Tara smirked. "See, that's where it's a little sad that none of your 300 kids stuck around to be unpaid help," she said. "Though they might be more trouble than they're worth."

[glacial_queen]

Karla groaned and hid her head under a pillow. "Whyyyyyy?" she asked in tragic tones. "Just...why? What did I do to deserve all of them?"

She peeked out from under her pillow at Tara. "Don't even answer that question, you. Humph."

[life_inshadow]

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Tara protested. Not that innocently. "Maybe ... maybe it was all the kids you would have gotten next year and the year after, plus this year? Just kind of getting it all out of the way at once."

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh, do you think maybe I'll be childless for the next two years, then?" Karla asked, perking up. "I shall lie abed for hours and hours in the morning, listening to the dulcet tones of children who all exist outside my room. That would be gloooorious."

[life_inshadow]

Tara gave her a sad look. "You wouldn't watch my kids next year, if I have any? I bet they'd miss their Aunt Karla...."

[glacial_queen]

"Of course I would," Karla promised, giving Tara a teasing grin. "I'd be happy to keep an eye on your munchkins for a few hours. We could do a tour of Fandom! Wonka's, Chilly Boulder's, maybe a trip to 'Dite's for good measure..."

[trigons_child]

"Better," Raven said, nodding. "He is not as worried about being close. I still worry about saying or doing the wrong thing, for I do not wish to be too needy, but it is better."

[glacial_queen]

Karla gave her a humorless smile. "I'm with you there. I feel like I'm on the edge of a mountain loch and if I misstep, I might fall. And it's hard to say how far I'll go before I stop."

It wasn't a comfortable feeling, being so wary, so careful, but she'd nearly lost him already. She wasn't going to chance it again.

[trigons_child]

"If he did not want things to work out between you, he would not have given you the opportunity to do so," Raven said, reaching out a hand to rub Karla's arm.

"And you have learned. I saw that myself."

[glacial_queen]

"Giving me another chance just gives me another opportunity to screw it up," Karla pointed out, settling back against her pillow.

Though Raven's words piqued her curiosity. Did she mean...? "You did?"

[trigons_child]

"I felt your anger when Seifer seized Rinoa," Raven said. "For a moment, you wanted to attack him, even with the certain risk to Rinoa's life, did you not? But you recognized that that would be wrong."

The hand on Karla's arm gave her a comforting squeeze. "And I was very proud of you."

[glacial_queen]

Karla gave Raven a small smile. "I was betting that you'd be able to save her, even if he did get the cut in." Which, considering the distance and Seifer's skill, was so close to a one hundred percent chance, it wasn't even funny. "But then I realized that I didn't have the right to make that gamble."

It still would have worked though. Just to be clear.

"The anger you felt was actually more directed towards Squall than Seifer, though," she admitted. "For not seeing the 'obvious' response. It wasn't anger, exactly, that made me want to attack him; it was knowing that I could get Rinoa back if we did things my way. But, yeah. Then I recognized that while my calculations might be right, my actions would be wrong. So I stopped."

And had had a moment of pure and complete selfishness, where she'd wished Warren had been there to see it.

[trigons_child]

"I can sense emotion, but not their cause," Raven said, nodding as Karla explained. "But that does not change that you were tempted but did not act upon that temptation. You have learned."

And she was totally going to tell Warren that.

[glacial_queen]

At least someone was. Karla would be raked over hot coals first, for reasons that made perfect sense to her but would probably baffle anyone else.

"This time anyway," Karla said. "The trick is making sure that I won't be tempted sometime in the future. But...I'm glad I didn't. It gives me hope, you know?"

[trigons_child]

Raven bent one arm and propped her head up on her elbow, studying Karla. "I did not need hope; I knew you were fully capable of adjusting your behavior," she said. "But I am pleased that you have seen this as well now."

[glacial_queen]

"Adjusting it isn't the hard part," Karla said thoughtfully. "Not right now, when everything's fresh in my mind. It's making sure that the adjustment stays, even when I'm terrified or panicking or acting on instinct. This just proves I'm educable, which--don't get me wrong--I like proving. But I can't just take this as proof that I'm all better, either."

Not that Raven was suggesting she do that, of course. Karla knew she wasn't. But she just didn't want to give herself leave to celebrate just yet. Not when everything was still so up in the air.