Let's just be friends!

[dagny]

W h o: Dagny, Riley
W h e n: Evening, 4.13.2012 (Immediately following previous log)
W h e r e: Edgewood, Upstairs.
W h a t: After Riley entered downstairs, Dagny found an excuse to leave the 'chatty' group and headed upstairs for some quiet. As she predicted, Riley came to talk to her before grabbing a shower. The two.. have awkward times.


Trotting up the uncarpeted stairs, Riley gives a further little shake of her damp hair as she stalks through the hallway toward the Master Bathroom, clearly on the very mission she'd stated while downstairs. She's clearly been off running or some other manner of physical stress relief, which is commendable, but the net result is that she's grubby and sort of stinks. Her feet make slightly sticky-sounding noises on the hardwood floors, further cementing the idea that she really is in need of the shower she'd been gathering information as to the likely temperature thereof.

The Master bath seems to be completely vacated. One of the many rooms upstairs designed for 'guests' is illuminated, the door open a crack. A cursory glance between the door and jam will reveal the Get sitting in a chair by the window. IT's clear that she's waiting for something. The creaking floorboards have her glancing from the window toward the sound.

Curiosity isn't a uniquely ragabash trait, but it is one that's predictably found in nearly all of them. Riley slows her stalk toward the bathroom at the sliver of light that's cast out into the hallway, pausing mid-step to glance through the space. When that brief look catches Dagny staring right back at her, she hesitates, and the pattern of her walking is broken. She nudges the door open a little further with a toe, quietly peering back at the Get within. The quiet awkwardness really hasn't abated after that initial talk. "...Hey." She manages, lamely, "You lookin' for me, or just lookin'?"

"You're asking? I think you must be slipping." She lifts a hand and waves the Ragabash into the room. "Still no luck finding Melodie, then?" The Get rises and leans her back against the wall beside the window. There's no move to close the distance, or to invade the other's personal space. Just a room between them, and matter-of-fact conversation.

"She's been out," Riley shrugs, "There's nothing I can do about that. Besides, the time off of thinking about that entire thing has been a relief." She hesitates at the room's threshold, staying near to the door when she steps in and nudges it closed. The distance between them doesn't close any on her end, either. "...Anyway, I've had plenty of things to occupy my mind in the meantime." She quietly holds her arms behind her, "...I'm sorry you came back at such a weird time. Must be... a lot for you."

There's a long moment while the Get takes in the information about Melodie. A soft grunt of acknowledgement follows the statement, and then her head turns slightly to listen to the rest of what Riley has to say. With a sigh, Dagny runs her hands through her hair, forcing the long sides behind her ears. "Look." She begins, moving from the wall and crossing half of the room. Her hands hang loosely from her hips, her weight shifting to one foot. "We've both had difficult.. changes.. thrust upon us." At the word changes, the Galliard can't help the brief glance at Riley's torso. Afterward, as if embarrassed, she looks away. "I'm not going to even pretend that my issues are anywhere near as tough as yours. They just.. don't compare. It's not me I'm worried about. I can handle pretty much anything. S'just been that way. But you.. You're strong. But I know that sometimes strong isn't enough. I.." She pauses and rubs the back of her neck with a hand. "Your needs are the only thing I'm worried about right now. I just.. Tell me what you need from me, and you'll have it. I don't really know what to do."

The instant that the conversation starts to turn in a direction that's focused on her, Riley starts to look more and more like a caged animal. She leans against the wall to stop herself from fidgeting overmuch, but in the end she has to clear her throat to signal that she wasnts to get a word in - that coincides with Dagny starting to ask what the ragabash needs. As sweaty, and filthy as the girl is, it's still not possible to overlook the embarrassed fluster that's spread over her features the further the conversation has gone. When Dagny has said her fill, Riley is quiet for a very long time, and then she manages a smile - perceptibly forced. "It's not like that. Yours is way worse - it hurts you, and you're missing memories. That's way worse than being, y'know. A girl." She takes a long breath and keeps that bad pokerface on even as she's moving her hand back to the doorknob, "I'm fine. Truly. Thanks for your concern, but... I'm fine. Mostly just need a shower."

And just like that, the timbre of the conversation changes. The Get's stare is pointed at Riley's face with an unwavering focus. The Ragabash has to know that Dagny can see right through the feigned security. The blaze` response. It's so obvious. A silence stretches on between them to the point of being incredibly uncomfortable. The lack of sound makes it even worse. Finally, the Get's ear twitches and she simply nods a few times, looking at the rest of the room. "Don't let me keep you, then. Enjoy." Dagny turns away from the Walker and moves to look out the window again.

Her fingers curl slightly inward, shying just barely away from the doorknob at the Get's response. Her shoulders hunch slightly, but she doesn't turn about. "...Haven't gotten any better at it. Lying, I mean." Her hands ease into her baggy winter coat's pockets. It's fairly toasty in here, but she still hasn't removed the damn thing. That in itself speaks volumes for her body issues, really. "It's weird for me," She finally murmurs, "No point in denying that. I can't get used to seeing myself in the mirror, but I'm getting better with the pissing, with the bleeding, and one of these days, I'll even figure out how to put a bra on in less than a minute." She folds her arms in front of her, hands gripping on to their opposing elbows, "But what I'm having trouble dealing with is everyone looking at me. It's the same every time. Either surprised, or... like it's a fucking joke, and then pity." She turns her head then, casting a glance to the Get. "...What I'd ask of you is to try to get comfortable with it. It's not going away. The spirits have made that crystal clear. And... whatever that means, that's what we're dealing with. I'll accept your surprise, and even accept your jokes. There's a lot to laugh at. But I won't accept your pity. That's what I'd ask of you."

Whatever the Get had been expecting, it certainly wasn't for Riley to stay. Despite being at the window, she turns her head to the side. Her eyes are on the floor, but her ear is pointed at the Walker. She's listening. There's a lot. A lot a lot. The Get doesn't move for the duration of what Riley has to say. It's only when the Walker is done that she moves. Turning around slowly, arms crossed over her chest, Dagny takes slow steps toward her. It isn't until the last three feet that her eyes leave the floor and traverse the distance to the Walker's face. There seems to be a lot going on inside the Galliard's head, judging by the tension in her jaw and the faint tick of a pulse at her temple. And then she moves again, and it's quick, and it's inescapable. Both of her hands fly to Riley's cheeks and she holds her face still. There's a weird hesitation in the Get then, but it's clear that she bulls through. The kiss is brief, as if testing the waters. The look on her face now is the most vulnerable that the Walker will ever see. There are no tears, no sobs, just.. an unchecked, honest insecurity. "You have never had my pity. Not now, not ever. My love... yes." After a moment, her hands drop and she looks away. "I don't know how I should treat you. How you want to be treated. By me."

The kiss is brief. Very, very brief. Riley doesn't exactly turn it away, but she uncomfortably backs out of it early. "Dagny..." She trails off, looking back into the other girl's eyes with a truly conflicted look, her voice dropping. "...Don't force yourself. You're taking all of this too fast." She quietly scrubs at one of the elbows she'd been clutching, suddenly looking more uncomfortable than before by a factor of ten. "I'm... not saying... no to the idea of an 'Us'. I'm..." She grunts, and squeezes her eyes closed. "Gods, but this is worse than being a cub again. It's too awkward, Dag. For you, for me, for both of us. You don't play for my team, and right now, I don't know if I like the idea of playing for /anybody's/ team. This body... isn't mine." She leans suddenly forward and encloses the galliard in the tightest hug she can manage. "...It's been a long time, and all this shit? Just made it way weirder than it even would have been. So right now, just... what we were. We were good friends, once. Until things make sense, we can be again."

There's an almost wounded look that flashes across the Get's face. It's so very, very fleeting that even the slightest blink would have missed it, but there it was, and the very instant it leaves, the Get's face is hard and expressionless. That is, of course, until the Walker is latched onto her. Her eyes widen briefly and she goes completely rigid. Her arms are up and sort of quivering on the air in confusion before they almost robotically fall around her shoulders. There's a thud to her pulse at the last few sentences spoken by the Ragabash. Like a shockwave, some small thing seems to cause her to twitch suddenly. A brow lifts and she blinks a few times, looking away, but not letting go. "There has been worse than this. Whatever you wish.. You will have. I'm not going to abandon you for something so trivial as.." She doesn't really have a way to describe the situation and shakes her head. She doesn't need to. "I should let you get to your shower."

Riley's eyes wince closed at the Get's words, and she reluctantly steps back, a ghost of a smile on her face. "See, shouldn't have hugged you. Now you're totally on to the fact that I reek." Her eyes seek the ground for a moment, and then snap back up to Dagny as though they have something more to express. But... ultimately, Riley does end up turning. She clenches her hand on the door, tugs it open, and steps out into the hall. Then she turns, as though finally figuring out what she meant to say. "For now, it's enough for me that you're home. That you're safe. That's more than I thought I would ever have." She gives a weak little nod of her head and murmurs, "I'll... be cleaning up." She turns and heads toward the bathroom, with its opaque shower stall, and steps inside, her feet the only thing visible as the water almost immediately starts to run.

The hiss of hot water running through the tap slowly muffled as the door to the master bathroom in Edgewood's upstairs closed. Riley had left the room and gone to shower, leaving Dagny standing in the now empty space staring at the door.

There had been an impact of the Ragabash's words. One that was still working its way through her mind. Echoes of past things, reflections and ripples of what was happening now. It was as though something terrible had happened, and the shock of it was still working its way into her system. For the moment, it felt as though the gears in her head had simply stalled.

To get them moving again, she took a step forward. It was hollow, mechanical. Another step. Eventually, the movement became natural. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway quietly. Despite her weight and stature, when she wanted to, Dagny could move quite silently. The fact that the shower running would help disguise her sounds was a boon. She used the rails on the stairwell to further mask her departure. The people that she had sat with in the living room had gone. Grabbing her shoes, the Galliard stepped out of Edgewood and fast-walked toward the Bawn.

Encased in a nice fluffy towel, Riley cautiously steps into the hallway and eases her way quickly to the door to the room Dagny had been speaking to her in. She hovers her fingertips over the doorknob for a long while, standing there and silently dripping. She straightens, pushes her shoulders back, and eases the door open, immediately starting to talk "H-hey, a lot of what I was saying didn't come out the---" Of course, speaking is decidedly less stimulating when the other party is nowhere to be found. With a swallow and a slow drift of her eyes, the ragabash leans up against the wall of the room, letting the water pool at her feet as she stands there in silence, clutching the towel close to her breast.


OOC NOTE: Please remember not to take information from logs and have your character magically know them ICly. I've seen hints of this so far. OOC Knowledge does not translate to IC knowledge just because you read something. ;>