Waking

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa sighed as she looked across the disheveled guest room. Stuff was everywhere, which was to be expected, considering the condition of the person slumped in the bed, especially considering the condition Vera had been in last night. Elsa did wonder, if only slightly, what had made her old friend get into such a condition. Last Elsa checked, she'd been accompanied by Riley to prom, and Elsa had figured they were a good fit for one another and she certainly wasn't jealous in the slightest because that, that would be utterly ludicrous.

She held a plate in her hand, having made omelets for just about everyone who stayed over. Okay, not quite everyone, since, as a general rule, Elsa could care less about most other people. Still, this was what a good host did, even an exhausted one. Elsa tried not to think about the fact that she had her hair down literally right now, with enough curls in it to make comparison with her sister woefully apparent. Sometimes in the early mornings, before Elsa had prepared herself, she'd catch a look in the mirror and seriously think she'd seen her sister. Then she'd realize otherwise and feel stupid. Right now, she simply wore house clothes, which in Elsa's case meant a designer t-shirt and exercise pants. She'd opted to leave her hair down, since she'd had it up all night and had no desire to repeat the experience.

Not that she should care at all about her appearance, given how Vera looked right now. People who drunkenly collapse into whatever available bed had a tendency to not look great the next morning. Elsa rolled her eyes as she moved to the bedside table, sweeping debris aside to set down the omelet plate. She looked over at Vera, remembering, for some reason, when they'd met, when Elsa had guided the other girl through the school. That was a while ago now.

"Vera," said Elsa, leaning over and gently nudging her old friend. "Vera, you should get up now," because she'd need to get up sooner or later, and breakfast was ready now. As was a glass already fizzing with pills that would work wonders for the hungover condition Elsa was fairly certain Vera would be experiencing right now.

[Vera M. Solway]

"Vera,"

Vera unconsciously shifted in her bed a bit, not knowing exactly who was calling out to her. Her dream had just recently been cut short and now wasn't too sure of what her last dream was or the fact that she wasn't dreaming anymore. Honestly, she wasn't too sure of anything because she was asleep but she could feel someone or something nudging her and it brought her back to reality even faster.

"Vera, you should get up now,

She mumbled something along the lines of a few curse words jumbled together. Her side shaven midnight locks had been all over her face. Waking up to a feeling of nausea and dizziness wasn't something she wanted to have to deal with but then again, she kind of did it to herself. Vera hadn't really remembered anything until she somewhat opened her eyes to Elsa leaning right next to her. She cocked her head back and squinted her eyes at the Bellefonte before dropping her head back on the pillow. "Fuck..." She mumbled.

"I usually don't do this... anymore." Last time she used to drink to the point where she forgot where she was, had been when she was back in New York. Vera guessed she was still at the Bellefonte Estate long after the party ended. Shit. Opening her eyes again, she shifted a bit and tried her best to sit up as she hide her face in her hands, rubbing her face and running her fingers through her hair. Her hazel eyes then focused on Elsa and the breakfast right beside her. God, it smelt soooo good.

Breakfast?

Vera looked towards the window as she tried to keep her nausea down. She was going to puke. 

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"You haven't for a while anyway," agreed Elsa, almost sounding bored. Advantage of being a mind-reader, and, since she'd had a very limited amount of alcohol last night, she didn't have her headaches any more. She even thought that she'd gotten a little better, though this was hardly the time or the place to be thinking about or testing that notion.

Instead, Elsa kept her attention on Vera, watching the other girl carefully. They were... friendly; had been since Elsa had been the one to introduce Vera to the school, though, as expected, Vera had gotten on better with Erika. Elsa didn't blame her for it: their personalities hadn't exactly synched, and they'd still remained.. friendly.

"Stop thinking about puking, that will help," said Elsa. She sat down the fizzing drink before walking over to pull a waste-bin seemingly out of no where. She'd had several stashed in the various guest  rooms for just this: all lined with plastic. Elsa pushed that plastic down now, moving her hand around to smooth everything out, before nodding and thrusting it toward Vera.

"Get it out of your system, drink what I offered, possibly swish and spit, and then try to get some of the omelet in you," she said, her tone flat. Clearly this was someone who'd had to deal with hungover people frequently. Just one of the little talents she'd picked up as a Bellefonte.

[Vera M. Solway]

"You haven't for a while anyway,"

Vera gave Elsa a nauseated look that screamed 'Really?'. For a second there she had forgotten that she was in front of a telepath. She wasn't too sure how advanced Elsa had gotten since they first met a few years ago but it had to have been somewhat advanced. She was able to find out where Erika was from miles away. Either way Elsa could at least pretend like she didn't know it all. Maybe Vera didn't have to blame her powers for that.

Closing her eyes, Vera took a few deep breaths. Either she was going to fight what her body wanted to do or she was going to become well acquainted with the waste-bin that Elsa pulled up. She opened her eyes and went for the drink but instead doubled over the edge of the bed and blew chunks in the bin. It took her at least five to six minutes before she was able to stop and recollect herself. She took the glass and got some in her mouth before swishing it around and spitting in the bin before drinking the rest from the glass. She scrunched her face once more, it was hard to down but she did it anyway. "Fucking gross... but thanks."

Vera hardly used her telekinesis when she was hung over but she had to move the waste bin away from her and to the door or she would end up being sick all over again. She squinted her eyes at Elsa as she took the plate of omelet. "Do you usually do this for people? Because this was awfully nice of you, I really appreciate it."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa waited patiently while Vera fought her internal battle, not even wavering. She simply handed over the necessary materials. Elsa didn't even flinch as Vera used the bin for its prepared use, not to mention swishing and dealing with the prepared drink. Elsa watched the other girl carefully, nodding as Vera finished.

"No, I don't usually do this for people," she admitted, moving to nudge the bin a little further away from Vera. She knew full well that tele-abilities could be a pain to use when your head throbbed and you regretted the decisions you'd made the night before. "I only do it for people who are worth bothering about," she looked away for a moment, sighing. She crossed to a window, drawing shades tighter closed, even tying them off. Vera would have enough difficulties adjusting without adding the piercing light of the morning sun into the mix.

Elsa glanced over her shoulder at Vera for a moment. "Why did you feel it necessary to put yourself into this condition anyway?" she asked, sounding half-curious, half-admonishing. She figured that she'd been sympathetic enough that she didn't have to mince too many words, not that Elsa was ever one to really pull her verbal punches. "Didn't you have a date? I'd be surprised if you didn't," considering that Vera moved in the same circles as Erika and the rest of the "popular" crowd. If Frank Cox could manage a date, then surely Vera could've.

[Vera M. Solway]

Vera did a quick and short raise of her brows as she started eating the omelet. "I see." Which was actually pretty damn good considering the fact that she had no taste for food right at this moment. Vera had said what she said only because Elsa confused the hell out of her, ever since the day they met. The young woman had facial expressions and words that would confuse you into thinking that she had no desire of being around you. But when it came down to it, Elsa had always been nice towards Vera even though she was sure her attitude, rebellion and carefree actions annoyed her at times. "Well thanks..."

She continued to cut, snatch and eat any piece that would come off first."Why did you feel it necessary to put yourself into this condition anyway?" She shrugged as she looked up at Elsa nonchalantly. "Why'd you feel it was necessary to hide that Erika was kidnapped... I don't know, maybe because it felt like a good idea at the time?" She then stopped eating as she realized what she said. Vera told herself that at the end of the day she couldn't get mad at Elsa for making a leadership type of decision but it still came out. "...My bad."

Her thoughts then took a few steps back as she tried to remember prom or at least the valid parts. "Yeap. Went with Riley, he asked me last minute... or planned it, whatever. He had more important things to deal with afterwards I guess, not too sure." Vera had every right to brag about the fact that she was asked to prom by one of the hottest guys at school. The question was: Was that a good idea in front of Elsa? Vera didn't really get too into the whole gossip and the blogs fueled by gossip but last she heard, Riley and Elsa were seen having some kind of Love & Art type of thing going on. Whether it was true or not, Vera didn't know and didn't really care. Riley wasn't her boyfriend and Elsa was grown enough to do whatever she wanted to do.

Defending her drunk idiot ways once more, "Not too sure about you but I think everyone deserved a drink or eight after everything that went down." Vera went back to the rest of the omelet as she spoke. "But even alcohol can't erase the pictures of dead bodies from your mind."

Her hazel eyes looked up at Elsa without any real change in emotion. By this time, she was numb to it all but wasn't sure how Elsa felt. "Or telepathy for that matter."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa raised a brow as Vera brought up Elsa's covering for her sister. She hadn't just done that, had she? Vera had considerably more leeway than most people, but Elsa hadn't intended that to be giving the girl enough rope to hang herself. Accusation laced those words, accusation and barely hidden anger. Elsa supposed she shouldn't blame Vera, though she was tempted to remind the other girl that she hadn't ordered Vera into the breach. Vera apologized though, or at least did partially so.

"Riley,' repeated Elsa, keeping her voice neutral despite a slight pang she felt at the name. "He's a good fit for you," she said, her voice still neutral and flat. She meant every word too, even knowing Riley as she did. They'd work well together, assuming that things continued which, well, Vera didn't make it sound like they would. They were all adults here, or at least close enough to pretty well count.

"Agreed," said Elsa, speaking flatly. She met Vera's eyes after that, hearing the next bit. Telepathy? "Is that your way of asking if I'm okay? I am, obviously," she said, extending a hand and letting it fall to her side. Why did Vera care? No, that was a stupid question to ask. Vera was a friend, or at least friendly; of course she cared what happened to Elsa. Either that or she was worried that she'd followed the wrong person... why had Vera volunteered? Elsa frowned, realizing she hadn't looked away from her friend.

"Why did you volunteer?" she asked, curiosity forcing the question. "To help rescue people, obviously. Most had someone there they were saving or felt they owed the school..." but Vera didn't? That was what Elsa was certainly implying.

[Vera M. Solway]

As if the raised eyebrow hadn't been noticeable, which was probably why Vera had apologized and she rarely apologized for saying how she felt. Especially since she had no idea with what Elsa had gone through mentally, emotionally or physically. They were all fighting their own battles on top of SPECTRE, so there was just way more to it than that. And with Elsa you just couldn't tell especially with not being a telepath and all. That chick was a hard shell to crack if you didn't really know her.

Whenever Vera heard Riley's name it was like... it felt like that feeling you got right before you got a piercing or a tattoo. Or even the feeling you get when you walk into a romantic and decorated courtyard done for you by someone special. It felt like that to Vera and it was starting to make her nauseous all over again. "He's a good fit for you," Vera chuckled as she looked up at Elsa once more. "Thanks. Can't tell you how many times I've heard that..." ... and wondered if it's really true.

She smiled as Elsa caught on to what Vera had really meant. "Are you?" Vera hadn't doubted Elsa at all, she just wanted to make sure. One could only imagine what someone could go through what everyone had to go through and then some. That was a lot of stress that could chisel at a person's psyche if they weren't careful. Besides, Vera considered Elsa as a friend now more than before. Even if their responses towards one another didn't really scream B F F L 4 E V A.

"Why did you volunteer?" Vera squinted her eyes at Elsa as her smile slowly faded while she thought about the question that had been haunting her since the day she volunteered. Sure, she was apart of the Security Squad and felt obligated but that wasn't the real reason, now was it? "You know, I'm not too sure myself. I mean I care about Erika's safety and Frank's and Trevs, those are my people. I care about Xander's safety and most importantly, Riley's." Then a light bulb had just turned on.

"I've come to realize that, I just care and that I am protective of my own kind and I refuse to let anyone step on us just because they feel threatened when we tie our shoes." Vera hadn't remove her gaze from Elsa.

"I was actually hoping that you'd put me in the distraction team because I wanted to stand there and pretend I was distracting them when I really wanted to kill and murder every. Single. One of them and the sad part is, they hadn't even killed one of us but I wanted to slaughter them for even laying a hand on our own." And by "they" and "them"  Vera meant the government in which she knew more of than what she really wanted to. She used to be an army brat after all so she knew it wasn't only SPECTRE pulling the strings here.

"Understand that you or anyone else at that school will never understand how my mind works." Her eyes stared at Elsa in hopes that she got that last tidbit. Vera came off as a playgirl, a joker, a vixen even but no one knew that she was born to fight and survive even if it meant taking others down in the process to make sure everyone around her did also.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa was tempted to address some thoughts there. Yes, yes she did really believe that Vera and Riley were a good match, though she doubted his commitment. She'd met him whilst he'd been nude modeling after all, and nobody had askd him to remove his clothing. That had been long before all of this though, and who was to say how it would affect any of them? It certainly hit Elsa, though she raised a dismissive hand as Vera wondered precisely that.

The thoughts that trickled in after did make Elsa smile, and she didn't bother to hide it. Most of her friends, few though they were, realized that Elsa's default was to scan their minds, and they had, for the most part, gotten used to realizing that nearly every surface thought that fluttered into their brain was up for grabs. Still it always amused Elsa when they thought about their relation with her. Yes, she did have an odd relationship with her friends, but they all knew full well where they stood with her, or, at the least, they knew that they were at least... friendly.

All smiles slid as Vera explained though. She had deeper reasons, wanting to defend, to protect, to put a hurt on those that hurt her. Elsa recognized the thoughts that so closely echoed her own. Hurt them, punish them for touching them. She chuckled wryly at the mention of them not hurting, and the last, the last had Elsa wryly smiling.

"You say that to someone who's known you for years and is a mind-reader," she said, arching a brow. "But even I'm not foolish enough to think I'll ever fully understand some people. If it makes any difference," she gestured, "I felt much the same. Dr. Campbell and my sister talked me out of going on the warpath, though I probably would've done it without their sage advice." She sighed and licked her lips. "People also... died," she felt she had to add, 'but you know that," she looked over, nodding to the omelet. "I've been told I'm actually good at those. You'll have to tell me the truth."

[Vera M. Solway]

Vera noticed Elsa's smile and to be truthful, she has no idea why but she had some sort of idea. The issue with being friends with a telepath was that you always had to be two steps ahead... which was impossible, so one step behind was close enough.

She hadn't really thought twice about what came out of her mouth. Vera would just let whatever she felt out without any restraints and for a second it made her sound like a monster. Not really caring about how Elsa saw her based on how she really felt about the SPECTRE situation. If anything, she held back just like everyone else did except the ones in the distraction team. And if Vera had ever, ever seen a SPECTRE agent again or anyone else who felt the need to regulate a mutant or two... she wouldn't hold back.

"Huh, I don't know but I think you'd look pretty hot going on some sort of warpath. Just imagine yourself, in all black everything running up on some agents with advanced moves and mind scrambling abilities." If people couldn't tell, Vera was an action movie watcher and being a growing martial artist didn't even help her crazy imagination. When she mentioned the others who died it caused Vera's heart to sink for a second but she smiled, "All the more reason."

"Actually, it was really good and not because I'm hung over to the point where eating anything would make me feel somewhat better... but because it was actually good." She chuckled. "Maybe I should crash here more often." With the way Elsa treated her as a "house guest" how could Vera complain?

"I meant to ask..." She trailed off before allowing herself to reword everything before she came off sounding jealous or bitter or something along those lines. "That whole rumor thing with you and Riley. Is it true?" She just wanted to know with no hard feelings. It was rare that Vera followed gossip blogs, those tend to bring out the ugliest in people and she refused for anyone to bring that out of her (Even though Ellen had already achieved that). It was just that, this was the first time she had been "mentioned" in one and especially in the same subject with Elsa and Riley. Yeah, the stupid nicknames that Dirty Laundry gave them were fucking ridiculous but it was pretty difficult to not know who they were talking about when everyone yapped their ugly mouths about it around the Academy. 

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa couldn't help but chortle at the thought of her looking "pretty hot" while on the warpath. She shook her head as Vera continued the little fantasy. "I don't actually scramble people's brains, and you know it," she said, though she still smiled. Smiled and perhaps flushed a little, a little more than she cared to let on that she flushed.

The omelet would distract from the more awkward conversation before it got... more awkward. "You won't get omelets all the time," Elsa warned her. "Those are only for special guests, and they're something of a hangover cure. I've... dealt with a few hungover people in the past," mostly involving people at parties like this, and, well, more than a few of Erika's friends. Strangely not Erika so much, despite what most people, including DL thought about it. Though Elsa had nursed her twin from time to time.

Elsa's thoughts got distracted by Vera's thoughts, even before the other girl spoke. Elsa turned a moment before the words came out, hopefully not unnerving Vera too much. Most people who knew Elsa got used to that. The question actually had Elsa smirking though, shaking her head. "Like most of what that blog says, it's only loosely based on a very poor version of the truth. I have seen him naked: because he posed nude, unasked, for an art class, and I happened to be the one who reported on it. The blog latched onto that and went from there," Elsa gestured with a hand, adding a slight shrug. "We get on well enough, but we're not really... anything," she looked to Vera, smiling. "Which is why I had no ulterior motive when I suggested that you and he would work quite well together." Which was also true. Elsa moved to sit on the bed, feeling like relaxing for a moment. She frowned, mostly because she was trying to remember if she had anyone else she should be tending too. Vera had been the worst of it, well, the worst of it that Elsa actually cared about...

[Vera M. Solway]

She huffed as she rolled her eyes, "Yeah I know but that doesn't mean it's impossible. I mean I used to think superheros and super powered humans were impossible until I found out I was a mutant. So anything is possible." She lifted a finger as she tried to assure Elsa. Besides, she alwayss aw it in the comics and movies. Why couldn't her fantasy come to life?

Elsa assured her that she didn't make omeletes for everyone, all the time or that Vera shouldn't be looking forward to it. Vera pouted jokingly, "Well dude that sucks, and here I thought about crashing at your place every night." Not really but it was a tempting idea considering what was involved.

Listening to Elsa, Vera eyed Elsa as she smiled softly and not because of the rumours that went around about Elsa and Riley but because Riley posed nuded without being asked. Sounded like something he would've done and she wasn't upset about the fact either. "Lucky you, I've only seen him with a shirt off and that was only when they had football practice." Had there been some jealousy seeping out of Vera's pores? Just a bit but only for the wrong reasons. She had only dealt with Riley in a friendly nature, protective nature and in somewhat of a "romantic prom" nature if you wanted to call it that... but never in a sexual nature. She wasn't too sure if that was a sign of respect from him to her or if he just wasn't into her like that.

Vera moved her legs more towards herself to give Elsa more room to sit. She really thought her and Riley were a good match? Cute. "It is what it is." She smiled.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"Well, you're welcome to try, though we're rather stringent about sleeping requirements. You either need to be family, intoxicated as a result of a family activity, or sleeping with a member of the family," Elsa ticked off the various reasons on her fingers before wiggling them all and closing her hand. There were a few exceptions here and there, but that did pretty well summarize the people who stayed here. "Plus, I'm actually not here that often. Neither Erika nor I much like it here: hence why we have a room at the school."

Which often confused people. Why live at the school when you had a giant mansion just in town? The answer pretty much was exactly what Elsa said to Vera: neither of the Bellefontes liked it here. Too many bad memories, not to mention proximity to their parents, neither of whom they much liked or appreciated. Their mother was worse, but, well, Vera didn't need to hear quite that.

Especially not when there were more interesting subjects to talk about. "I am serious about you two matching. I know your personalities too, so it's not simply a desire to see beautiful mocha babies at some point in the future," she drawled the last few words, slathering them with her usual sarcasm. Elsa reached up to shake a little hair, wincing at the curls that fell. She looked more like her sister with her hair like this, not to mention the smile. Elsa was never sure what to think when moments like that came. "And in case you're wondering, he is moderately well equipped. I'd put him on the larger side of medium, though I haven't exactly seen many to do a wholly accurate comparison." she raised her brows at that, smirking knowingly.

[Vera M. Solway]

"Oh I'm sure that can be arranged. Wanna have sex?" Laughing at her own funnies, Vera swatted the air. "I'm just kidding." Vera wasn't as easy as she let off anyway. Yeah, she liked to flirt and there were times where she used her looks to get her way... so she was kind of a seductress but that didn't mean that she slept with just anyone. Nor did she figure that Elsa was the type to do the same, or was she? She didn't really know and it wasn't like Elsa's sex life was out in the air everyday unlike most people at BA.

Looking around the room, Vera shook her head slightly. "I don't understand why, this place is amazing. I had somewhat of a big home back in the NYC but nothing compared to this. I would be here every night if I had something like this." She didn't have any real ideas of why they didn't like it here but Vera didn't really want to get too deep into that, just in case there was more to it than just simple distastes for their home. Family was always a touchy subject for Vera regardless if it was about hers or anyone else's.

On the subject of Riley, Vera found herself blushing when Elsa mentioned beautiful mixed babies. Never in a thousand years did Vera see herself as a mother. It was werid to her, the thought of it all but they were both attractive people so beautiful could even be an understatement. "Babies... yikes." She said wincing a bit as she smiled, "Sounds like utter chaos. A telekinetic and a Hulk having children, that's like five destroyed homes right there." She probably didn't have to say much to Elsa but Vera really did have a thing for Riley, a serious thing but it wasn't something she'd shout out to the mountain tops. Vera was something of a prideful chick when it came to showing her emotions.

"Oh shit. I can't believe I'm hearing about Riley's package size from Elsa Bellefonte. It's kind of surreal." She'd have to admit.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa almost blanched at Vera's comment about sex. It didn't help that she had a slightly vivid picture and some insane part of her wondered if there was even the slightest hint of truth in that. She quickly locked those feelings away and threw them into the back of her mind, where they belonged. Instead, she looked around the room, which put her into a good position to address the next comments.

"You haven't tried living with our parents," she said, looking over at Vera. "The best thing about them is how easy they are to avoid," she smiled wryly at that. Her parents weren't horrible, though they certainly came close. They just happened to disagree with their daughters on just about everything that really mattered in life, especially on things like relationships, which Mrs. Bellefonte simply adored talking about.

Unlike her daughter. Though Elsa did have to smile at the thought of the whole mutant breeding thing. The smile was slightly dimmed as she recalled McLisk's notes on the subject, how they could effectively breed mutants. Had that been something she'd been trying to do? Breed her friends off? Would she do that?

Elsa couldn't help but think that the answer might be yes, and that scared her.

Instead she came right around to the more joyful discussion at hand. "Yes, I've heard that having semi-normal conversations with me can completely rewrite people's view of the world and the universe and their place in it. If you'd like, I could actually tell you about my sex life,' she raised her brows and smirked at the other girl before sighing and ending up flopping back on the bed.