I Had Nothing to Do With--- You Know What? Screw It

[Tamara Sulik]

It might not sound nearly as important as the security but Tamara knew that it was. After all, if people like her were not here to deal with the minor stuff, that was more common than the rest, the security would be undermanned. Maybe she was not supposed to deal with the bigger stuff but she bet she helped calm down more students than they did. She had to endure most of the existential crisis going through those teenagers, whether it was in the form of parties, fights or yelling over one stealing their lipstick. Good thing there were some who actually did as they were told.

She heard the change of tone from Demi and it actually calmed her down, allowing her to take the compliment better. “I can. I have to,” she agreed, her tone also softer as she talked. It was something Tamara always hated, this feeling that for some she was just a lower staff with little power over them. She knew it mostly came out from the fact teenagers may very well be little sociopaths at times, but that was really annoying.

Speaking of that attitude you could get from the students, Demi brought it back as she insisted she could not trust Tamara because she was part of those who called her awful. Great. She was one of those who thought the school was out to get them. Not that Tamara could say anything about it though as she noticed Demi was pretty close to falling again. She firmly grabbed her and helped her regain balance. A frown appeared on her face. She didn't like that at all. “Are you alright. I can make you sit down here and get a nurse if you’re too dizzy to walk,” she told her. It was important she saw someone and despite the girl’s small stature, Tamara was not sure she could actually carry someone around all the way to the infirmary.

[Demi Smith]

Just a have to. That definitely sounded like something an Honer or a Guide or something would say. This woman wouldn't have any problems being one of Demi's clan. She even seemed to handle Demi's outbursts pretty well. It kind of reminded her of Rox, only with more patience and stuff. So sort of between Rox and Ceres, really.

Demi still wobbled though. Wobbled and winced. Of course the woman noticed, had to comment on it. That made Demi snort: "I can walk," she insisted, taking a few more steps to prove it. She felt the world lurch, but this time she sort of bobbed to match it. Which did mean that she didn't wobble or slip so much as... seem to duck and bob, as if she were dodging someone or doing some sort of tricky dance move.

"See?" She said, turning back to Tamara. "I can definitely walk," she extended her arms wide, smiling now. Yeah, head wounds were nothing. Despite the fact that Demi's head was ringing right now. She could even walk backwards. Sure, she ran into a wall but: "I meant to do that."

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara was no mind reader, she had no idea what was going on in that head of hers, but she did make sure said head was not causing her any problem right now. Demi didn't seem all too steady on her feet and she saw her expression as she winced. Tamara had no intention of leaving her out of her sight now and wanted even more to get her to see a nurse. It was important. You don’t take head injuries lightly. She had been told that a lot in her life, although her ‘head injuries’ were not exactly in the same line as the one Demi was living right now. She hit her head a few times though, enough to get it.

Demi didn’t like that she was getting a hold of her though and argued that she could walk. Demi almost looked like those people you ask to walk on a straight line to see if they were drunk. The comparison was not quite right but also accurate enough to give Tamara pause. For she knew the girl was not drunk. Tamara got closer as she had the feeling the girl was falling over while walking backwards. Luckily, she hit the wall with the back, stopping her but that didn't make Tamara any less worried for her.

“Right,” she said. She would hold her. For now. But she would stay close so the girl could hold onto her if she ever found it hard to walk. Or she could grab her if she was too proud to do that. “Don’t overdo it, you hear? Just hold onto me if you feel like falling over. And tell me if you need to stop. Doing it all on your own doesn’t mean you’re strong, it means you’re too prideful to admit help.” And she resumed the walk to the nurse’s office. Tamara couldn’t help thinking they should have one a little closer though. If not one for each wing. With the kind of students they had, they could use having them close at hand.

[Demi Smith]

Demi could see the woman coming closer and she actually had to fight the urge to reach out and hold her to steady herself. That wouldn't help her situation at all, nope, definitely---

And Demi actually stopped moving or talking to stare at Tamara as she kept going. For a few seconds there, she could've sworn she saw Ceres' face imposing itself over the other woman's. The words were just precisely what her Honer would've said back home, precisely the same cadence and choices and everything, right down to the bit about being prideful and how pride didn't equate strength and how "Real strength is knowing how to use others and let them add their strength to yours," Demi said, as if finishing the lesson. They'd continued walking at some point, and it kind of scared Demi a little that she didn't remember getting started again.

"Did Ceres, like, send you a letter or something? Because you sound a lot like her," she said, reaching up to rub at her head. She sighed, realizing that Tamara, that Ceres, was right: "I don't remember moving again and my head feels swollen. that's bad, right?" It probably meant concussion, but Demi of course didn't know those details. She did know enough to reach for Tamra to steady herself as she walked forward. Strength was knowing when to use others and let their strength add to yours.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara stood there, surprised by Demi’s comment in reply to what she told her. It seemed pretty mature for someone her age and Tamara could not help but feel like she was reciting a lesson learned. She was not exactly expecting that kind of answer and as such found herself speechless for a moment. “Right. Well said,” she replied. What else could she say? Suddenly, it felt as though Demi was the smart and mature one between them. Luckily, it didn’t last forever.

She frowned at the mention of this Ceres. “I’ve never received any letter from her. Is she your mother?” Ceres. Wasn’t it, like, some Greek divinity or something? She could swear it was a goddess of earth or something like that. Had to, with a name that sounds so much like cereal. Probably meant to sound alike. Tamara would rather not start studying etymology here.

Whoever this Ceres was, she seemed to have a calming effect on Demi who was not resisting anymore. She kept frowning as she admitted how her head felt. No, it was not all that good but she didn’t want to alarm the girl. “It’s alright. We’re almost there and they’ll help you out.” The girl even held onto her to walk. It was good. She would have to look this Ceres person and send her a thank you note. For now though, the nurses’ office was all that mattered.

[Demi Smith]

Well said? Since when did the people around here praise Demi for anything? She had to let out a slight snort of surprise just hearing it. But, well, at least she'd managed to get that right. So she at least had that going for her. But the frown that followed with the mention of Ceres wasn't much better.

"Uh, no," Demi said, looking away, "no, she... she wasn't," it was kind of hard to explain to people outside the Clan how that whole thing worked. The moment Demi mentioned being raised by the Clan instead of an individual mother people started freaking out and saying that she'd been denied something or something along those lines. Didn't make any sense to Demi: everyone had loved her and helped her become who she was today. Ceres had just been the one at the tail end, the one who'd Demi had always looked up to and wanted to become some day.

She'd have to make it there first, and that meant making it through this, today. Demi sighed as Tamara insisted it was going to be alright. "I know," she said almost snappishly. "It's not the first time I've hit my head," which was definitely something of an understatement. Thankfully they were at the nurse's office, soon stepping inside. Demi squinted at the lights, but could hear one of the student volunteers coming forward to talk to Tamara. Of course, they'd take one look at Demi and probably groan. The girl'd only been there a year and she already had a file as big as most lifers, after all.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara looked at her, a little surprised to hear the snort coming out of her and wondering what it was intended for. She didn’t ask however and put it on the account that she often lacked good manners, like so many other teenagers here.

Wasn’t? The woman’s dead? Tamara was puzzled here. Not her mother, that much seemed clear, even if Demi acted as though she was hiding something. What was going on with this one? She must have hit her head harder than they both imagined. Maybe she was an adoptive mother or an aunt or a neighbour or something like that. Tamara only knew a little about Demi’s clan and that mostly was that she had been in a clan that viewed mutants above the rest of humanity or something like that. This was too complicated to learn for one little girl anyway. She was not her trainer or a councillor or anything like that.

She stared at Demi when she admitted, or more like lashed at her the fact she hit her head a few times in the past. “That’s not something you should take so lightly. You can end up with permanent damage after time,” she scolded her. Normally, she would not act like that but Demi was taking this too lightly. Luckily for her, they arrived at the nurse’s office. Tamara took it in charge, forcing the girl to sit down while she explained that she fell and hit her head pretty hard. Whatever that student might think of Demi, it did not matter. It was a head injury. You don’t ignore that. Not to add that she was brought by a staff who might very well decide to write something about this student for not helping out properly.

[Demi Smith]

Demi fought the urge to roll her eyes again as Tamara lectured her about head injuries. She'd heard all this before, a few times, actually. In actuality, she didn't take it quite as lightly as she was acting now but, well, she almost didn't want to let that show for Tamara right now. She just settled in as well as she could.

Which sucked, because Tamara was totally taking charge, getting people to look at them. Demi sat, had to listen to an explanation, and then got a light shined in her eyes. She never got that part, since it seemed like the sort of thing that would just make matters worse. Whatever she saw apparently got her running off to get someone a little more official to come and look at Demi. She just leaned back and sighed with frustration.

"They're just gonna, like, run their hands over my head or something and heal me," Demi pointed out, closing her eyes for a moment. "This better not throw off my training or anything. Gah, this sucks. I'm so gonna beat those guys up when I see them again."

[Tamara Sulik]

Sadly for Demi, Tamara was probably as stubborn as this girl might be. You’d think it would allow her to understand the girl but it mostly turned into a battle. Demi didn’t want to show how much it might hurt and Tamara was not about to just let it go and pretend it was nothing. It seemed neither of them was ready to let the other one win either. Tamara was like that. She had to fight to get some authority. If she could do it to other staff member, no doubt a student, let alone one that caused her share of trouble, would not be spared.

Demi wanted to fight, she could just feel it. Not necessarily with fists, although she was pretty sure the girl could do it on occasion. It was more a battle of the mind to see which one would yield first. This was why Tamara’s stubbornness had to be mentioned. She might yield to some of the students’ demands, compromise when it worked best for both of them, but in this case, she was not letting go. Not even when Demi expressed this opinion that it better not keep her from training.

“If the nurse says so, you can be sure you’ll rest and stay off the training ground for a while,” Tamara said. Her tone made it sound like there was no discussing it but she was well aware it was pretty impossible for her to have it happen. Still, this was said only to show Demi had to listen to the staff here, whether she liked it or not. “And these guys will be punished as they deserve and this will not be at your hand.” Did she want to find these guys? Sure thing. Might even lash out at them harder than she should out of frustration. By pissing a girl with a short fuse, they managed to also annoy a staffer with a short fuse.