Post-Issue 2: Hanging out in the Bar

by **Will Stanton** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 5:19 am

((Moderator's note: This comes after the end of issue two, as well as the post-issue fallout involving Will's recovery and whatnot. That will still happen at some point))

Will was in the bar, sitting on one of the stools.

In front of her was a large row of fruity drinks, each a different color, each with a different umbrella in them.

Will was very pleased with the situation.

((open))

by **Miriam Bell** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 6:15 pm

Miriam walks in and after spotting Will changes her mind about heading for a quiet table in the back, walking over towards Will instead.

"That looks like an ambitious evening." she says with an amused smile on her face, eyebrows raised slightly as she looks over the row of drinks.

by **Will Stanton** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 8:49 pm

"Is it? I don't think it's too bad.

Unless, that is, you'd like to help?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 9:01 pm

"I suppose a drink or two wouldn't hurt." she says as she sits down next to Will, telling herself she should probably stick around in case Will ends up too drunk for her own good.

by **Will Stanton** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 9:31 pm

"Well, not if you do it right, at any extent," Will grinned.

by **Miriam Bell** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:20 pm

"No, if you do it right then it only hurts the next morning." she says, flashing a smile. "You got all of these reserved or can I have one?"

by **Will Stanton** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:40 pm

"No no no. Take your pick.

I happen to think the green one is probably good."

by **Miriam Bell** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:44 pm

"Naturally." she says, sounding amused. "Why green anyway?" she asks, twirling on finger in the general direction of Will's hair.

by **Will Stanton** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:50 pm

"I..." Will trailed off

"..I don't know. It just..."

Will shrugged. "It's just right."

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:04 am

"What do you mean? That sounds like it's more than just liking a color."

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:52 am

Will just sort of grinned and gave a half-hearted shrug.

"I can't explain it better. It fits me."

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:35 am

"I can't argue with that. You wear it well." she smirks and takes a sip of her Mojito.

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:27 am

"Thanks! I don't know why it works, but it does."

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:03 am

"Unlike the chrome accents?"

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:14 am

"...Yeah," Will said, frowning at the memory.

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:26 am

"Hey, don't be sour. It worked itself out of your system, didn't it?"

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:43 am

"Yeah, I suppose it did," she admitted.

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:53 am

"There you go. Just... look at it like having a cold. Sometimes your body pulls a fast one on you for a couple days."

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:03 am

"That's easy for you to say--your power isn't your body. How would you like it if your mind played a fast one on you?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:23 am

"If I was in control of my own mind I probably wouldn't have had to stay in the mutant looney bin. Which I suppose proves your point." she says, raising her glass to Will for a second.

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:29 am

"How long were you in for?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:45 am

"Couple of years, but it was only really rough for the first, a lot of which is kind of a blur."

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 8:01 pm

"A blur?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 8:28 pm

"Yeah, like viewing things through a distorted lens. I looked back at some of my records and none of it really lines up with what I remember. For a while I was convinced my name was Norma and that I was dead, surrounded by other dead people. I could see it in their eyes and how empty they were. I could hear them but they didn't make any sense. Turns out they were just suppressing my telepathy. They felt wrong because I couldn't feel their minds, couldn't interpret their expressions. There's so much that goes on when you just look at someone's face, you don't see the individual pieces, but I couldn't see the whole, couldn't put it together, couldn't even explain it to them. There was no more filter through which to put everything. The rest of the world was right there but I couldn't parse it anymore."

She finally stops to take a long sip from her drink. She hadn't intended to talk this much, but somehow it felt safe to talk to Will about this. Kind of like writing in a diary, entrusting something to an inanimate object so you wouldn't have to tell it to a person and make yourself vulnerable. The fact that she could reach out and tear out the page again if she wanted to helped, even if she'd never actually do that.

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:12 pm

"What convinced you you were alive again?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:28 pm

"Just slowly rebuilding myself, I suppose. It was a gradual thing, I started understanding things better the more I got used to not just using my telepathy as a crutch. And some... other things that I had to come to terms with. Norma was my little sister. She'd died in a traffic accident."

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:06 pm

"Oh, geez. I'm sorry to hear that, Mel."

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:15 pm

"Thanks but... Mel?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow.

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:21 pm

"Hrm?" Will said, puzzled.

by **Miriam Bell** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:32 pm

"You just called me Mel. It's just... kind of a weird way to shorten Miriam Bell."

by **Will Stanton** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:59 pm

"Oh, I don't think I did. I'm pretty sure I called you Miriam."

by **Miriam Bell** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 12:14 am

"I know what I heard, Will." she says with some uncertainty in her voice. Opening up her mind to Will's mind she tries to find the thought that made him say that before it sinks back beneath the surface of his mind.

by **Will Stanton** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 12:42 am

It would come like a slap in the face--not any specific, concrete images, but just a sense of...horror.

If Will noticed, she didn't say anything.

by **Miriam Bell** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:55 am

Miriam recoils from the sense of dread and her avatar shudders. The feeling of horror was bad enough as it was, but what was almost worse was how familiar it felt. Like a feeling of deja vu that, for just a moment, shakes the foundation of her sense of self. For the first time in a long while her carefully constructed anchor fails and her mental discipline slips, feelings and impressions mingle freely in her mind. Her avatar reels, robes fluttering in non-existant winds as she feels the familiar and comforting weight on her shoulders turn into something else entirely. A dead weight, whispering in her ear with breath that smells of sweet, sickly death.

Her drink clatters to the floor along with her barstool as she backs away from the counter, trying to catch her breath, the feeling fading quickly as her mind settles back into trained patterns. She mimics her avatar's movements as she reaches above her shoulder to run her hand through a non-existant head of hair for reassurance.

"Wh-what in the name of... What was that!?"

by **Will Stanton** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:10 am

"What was what, Miriam?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:13 am

"Something in your mind... There was a flash of... I don't know. It was like that sealed chest but much worse." she says, still trying to catch her breath, her fingers trembling.

by **Will Stanton** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:22 am

"Sealed chest?"

by **Miriam Bell** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:25 am

"Didn't I tell you?" she asks, running a hand through her own hair now. She seems honestly confused about whether or not she'd mentioned it to Will. She's a little uncertain about a lot of things, really. "Something sealed away in your mind, it's like all your mental defenses are focused on that one thing."

by **Will Stanton** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 3:21 am

"I wouldn't know anything about that.

Are you...alright? You look shaken up."

by **Miriam Bell** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 3:25 am

"Yes, no... I'm okay..." she mumbles. "I just need another drink." she says and grabs a drink at random from the phalanx of cocktails. "I just... lost control of myself for a moment there."

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