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[la_belle_rogue]

[And Rogue's day is very suddenly ruined. She's so mad she could explode. But she doesn't. She squashes it down hard so that when she talks, it has to be through gritted teeth.]


Anyone who's been talkin' ta "me" today up until now, unless it was a private chat or face ta face, it wasn't me. Someone decided ta stick her nose in all over the place, and didn't even bother ta show her sorry hide ta me herself.

Ignore anythin' she told any of ya.

[She's soooo angry.]

Comments

[codename_duchess]

I was wondering why you were being such a bitch.

[la_belle_rogue]

[Guess what, Archer. Something you said is actually the absolute right thing. Rogue's temper deflates noticeably. ]

She get on yer bad side, darlin'?

[codename_duchess]

She tried to. I just figured you had PMS.

[And we're back to saying the absolute wrong thing.]

[la_belle_rogue]

[Nah, she's laughing a little. ]

Such a sweet talker, Sterling. How could she resist ya?

[codename_duchess]

I know, right? What is wrong with her?

[la_belle_rogue]

That's a long story. Got a few months?

[codename_duchess]

Yeah, probably. You'd know better than I would. Don't you have some Emotional-Growth-o-Meter or graduation checklist or something?

[la_belle_rogue]

Actually, no. You'll just graduate when you're ready.

[codename_duchess]

And what happens when I do?

[magnetic_magpie]

[ You know who is also having a very bad day?

This guy. In fact his eyes might be a little red rimmed, and the room is only lit by candles, which have burned low and kept the condo in Genosha in even darker shadow. ]

I haven't seen her.

[ It only dawns on him that it could be one person. ]

But you are a sight for sore eyes.

[la_belle_rogue]

[Talk about the unexpected visitor. Not that she's not glad to see this particular familiar face. She is. Though the red rimmed eyes aren't something she's happy to see.]

And you're not bein' metaphorical. What's wrong?

[Leave it to Rogue to skip right past the how-do-you-dos and go straight for the parts that really matter.]

[magnetic_magpie]

For once, no, leaving all poetry aside. Old ghosts are haunting me tonight, and it seems they have some help, which isn't quite how I wanted to spend the night. Though I don't believe your message was meant for me either, but I am glad to have found it.

[ ...He hopes she didn't expect an entirely straight answer, but it is the truth, and her concern is a balm he actually needs right now. Even without the sudden appearance of his long dead daughter, he probably would need it. ]

[la_belle_rogue]

Ah'm sorry, sugah. This boat does have a bad habit of bein' a bit callous.

[She'd have left a while back if she hadn't been paired. That's how callous the Barge could be. But Rogue was not a quitter. Not when someone was depending on her. ]

Is there anythin' Ah can do?

[magnetic_magpie]

I'm sure it's not more cruel than nature herself.

[ Maybe. ]

Could you explain what is going on?

[la_belle_rogue]

[She'll let that one go, because, no, Magnus, you have no idea what's happened in this place. None whatsoever. And she won't be telling you any of it either.]

Well, the short version is that this is a pocket dimension where folks are brought ta earn a second chance at their lives. Sometimes the ride gets a little bumpy and things go haywire. Which is why you're gettin' phone calls from a lot of...unexpected folk.

[And that is a super condensed version, that leaves out a lot of details.]

[magnetic_magpie]

[ He doesn't, but he can still taste Cassandra Nova's bombs in the air, so he's being a bit more...difficult than he normally would be. ]

I'm ignoring most of them, actually. I had been trying to sleep.

[ Anya had shaken him out of it. ]

A second chance, what do you mean?

[Private]

[la_belle_rogue]

[She hesitates, thinking of what to say, how much of it to say. And then decides maybe it'd be easier if she didn't feel like everyone was watching. So she switches it to a private filter.]

Alright so, there's two kinds of folks that are on this ship, we're classified as Wardens and Inmates. [Not really her favorite terms, but she didn't make the system. She was just working in it.] The Wardens are volunteers, and the Inmates not so much. Those folk get picked up at some point after they die. They get brought here t'try and get their shit together. Once that happens, the get t'go back. Try again.

[darknessb4me]

What?

[la_belle_rogue]

Mah mother decided to make an appearance. As me. Just tryin' ta do some damage control.

[darknessb4me]

As you.

[la_belle_rogue]

She's a shapeshifter.

[darknessb4me]

Oh.

[Fucking shapeshifters.]

Coward.

[la_belle_rogue]

[She blinks at that, surprised, but not in a bad way. ]

Ah don't think Ah've ever heard anyone call her a coward before.

[darknessb4me]

She took someone's face and ran away when caught.

[la_belle_rogue]

I doubt she'd see it that way.