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[believing_heart]

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action; 5/2

[phoenix_temple]

[Anais is the queen of runaround when it comes to spending time with anyone after her run-in with an armed gang member last time she went to a party. She hasn't spent the night at someone's house aside from her father since she was too young to remember. So she's a little uneasy today about going home with Lucy. (She tries to convince herself that it's got nothing to do with the fact that the girl was clearly connected to her last life.)

She promised to meet Lucy in front of the gym after track practice, and she's a minute or two late already from her own nerves. She's just shouldered her bag and made for the doors when she's shoved to the side, underneath the extended bleachers. She trips over the metal and lands on her ass, her bag flying off to the side.

Needless to say, Lucy, Anais is going to be a little late.]

Re: action; 5/2

[believing_heart]

[Lucy pulls her cell phone out of her pocket and presses the power button. The screen momentarily lights up. It's been ten minutes since Anais was supposed to meet her at the front of the gym. Where is she?

Lucy slips her cell phone back into her pocket. If Anais isn't here, well, she'll just have to find her, that's all! Track probably just ran late. It's nothing to worry about!

Lucy's lips curl into a smile. She should go see her, shouldn't she? And root her on until the very end!

She pushes open the doors of the gym only to hear the sound of voices. Maybe Anais wasn't practicing after all.]

Anais? You there?

[Lucy approaches the second set of double doors, then pushes them open.]

[phoenix_temple]

[The voices are accusing, of course, and come from a group of girls around the bleachers. They're angry and crowding and some of them are kicking out at someone.

Someone being Anais. She looks up when she hears Lucy.]

Lucy, it's fine, go home. [And then a quiet muffled whimper because it hurts to talk at the moment.]

[believing_heart]

[It takes Lucy a moment to process what's going on. And once she does, her eyes widen.

The narrow just as quickly.]

Hey! What do you think you're doing?!

[Lucy moves to grab one of the girls by the arm and pull them away. Instead, she's shoved back, and lands on her rear.

That doesn't stop her, though. Lucy pulls herself to her feet and tries again.]

Stop it! I won't let you hurt Anais!

[phoenix_temple]

[Anais wipes her mouth on the back of her hand and blood comes away on her jacket's sleeve. She thinks it's nothing bad, just that she bit her tongue earlier.

The girls round on Lucy, though.]

I said it's fine--! [Anais tries to get up but she thinks she might have twisted her ankle when she tripped. It's not working so well.] Lucy, go home, you'll just get hurt.

[believing_heart]

No.

[There's a forcefulness behind Lucy's words, a determination that might seem all-too-familiar to the blonde with all her memories of Cephiro.]

I won't.

[She snatches one of the girl's arms. Her grip is firm, meant to steady the girl in place rather than hurt her.]

Why are you doing this? What did Anais ever do to you?

[Lucy doesn't get an answer, as one of other girls yanks her by her braid. Lucy lets out a yelp, half out of surprise, half out of pain.]

[phoenix_temple]

[Anais pushes herself the rest of the way up, now, leaning on the bleacher support to keep herself from tumbling down.]

I let their friend die. It's fine, Lucy. Go home.

[After all, it's true isn't it? She let a lot of people die that day. And it sucked and she didn't mean for it to happen that way, but she chose protecting someone she knew over healing people she didn't.

She won't regret that. She refuses to regret keeping Ravi alive. It may have traumatized her and haunted her every day since, but she won't let herself regret it.

Of course they push her back over immediately. It doesn't shut her up, though.] You don't have to get involved. It's dangerous.

[believing_heart]

I don't care!

[She doesn't want to hurt anyone, but if hurting someone is the only way that she can stop someone from hurting Anais, then...!

Lucy's hand balls into a fist at her side. She can feel it trembling slightly.

Then, without warning, she throws a punch at one of the girls, knocking her right in the face. The girl very nearly falls over.

It's her first time ever hitting anyone back. And though she doesn't like the feeling of her knuckles hitting someone else's skin, she knows that it's something she has to do if she's going to protect Anais.

But now, the redhead has drawn the attention of all three girls.

For most people, it would have been the last thing they wanted -- but not for Lucy.

Because as long as they focused their attacks on her, they weren't hurting Anais.]

[phoenix_temple]

Lucy, I said don't! [She scrambles back to her feet now that they're not focused on her.

She could use her magic, but she doesn't want to give them ammunition for later but if Lucy gets hurt-- She takes a deep breath and lifts up her hands]

Binding Winds!

[She's going to regret it later. Forever. She's just done something horrible, using magic on her classmates. And then they're freaking out and yelling and Anais wants to just disappear.]

Lucy, I said go home.

i apologize for lucy being lucy

[believing_heart]

I'm not going. I'm not going unless you come with me.

[The redhead stands stubborn and still, her feet planted firmly on the ground. Her lip is split, but it doesn't seem to bother her in the least.]

You haven't done anything to deserve this. There's no way I'm going to stand by while other people hurt you.

[The winds of binding aren't going to hold the girls for much longer.]

Because we're friends, aren't we?

Re: i apologize for lucy being lucy

[phoenix_temple]

[Anais gathers her bag from where it fell, and even though she's limping, she moves past the girls, and Lucy.]

I'm calling Ravi. I'll heal you.

[This is what she does to her friends. She hurts them.]

Action

[believing_heart]

[Lucy bites her lower lip as Anais passes. She can distantly taste iron, but that's not what's on her mind right now.

It's Anais.

The redhead scrambles to catch up with the blonde.]

I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about!

[Her voice is cheery enough, anyway.]

You're hurt worse. Before you worry about healing anyone else, you should heal yourself first.

Re: Action

[phoenix_temple]

I'll be fine. Right now we have to get out of here before we get in trouble.

[She's pretty sure she's facing suspension at least.]

I'm calling Ravi to make sure I didn't hurt myself badly.

Re: Action

[believing_heart]

[Anais has a point, though Lucy's sure they're still going to get in trouble regardless. She's not going to argue, though. She wants to get Anais as far from those girls as possible.]

To make sure you didn't hurt yourself badly? But can't you... Can't you just heal yourself?

Re: Action

[phoenix_temple]

I can. But I won't. They were right, after all.

Re: Action

[believing_heart]

What are you talking about?

Re: Action

[phoenix_temple]

I let a lot of people die that day. I used the last of my magic to take care of one of my friends from the clinic.

I don't regret it. And I won't. But they weren't wrong.

[believing_heart]

But..

[Lucy looks conflicted, as if she's not sure what to say.]

There's no way that you could save everyone even if you really wanted to!

[phoenix_temple]

I watched a lot of people die that day, Lucy. I can't ask you to understand... But there were only so many of us, and I--

My powers are intense. I chose to save Ravi instead of keeping fighting to save other people. I made a choice, and it's okay for them to be mad at me.

[She shakes her head.] If it was my sister or my parents, I would've been just as upset.

[believing_heart]

[As if by reflex, Lucy finds her own head shaking in disagreement.]

It's not okay! It's not okay at all!

Losing someone... it's really painful. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be upset or angry at the situation. I'm saying that it's not fair that they're upset or angry at you.

When my grandfather died, I was really upset. The two of us were really close. When the doctors weren't able to save him in surgery, I wasn't angry at them because I knew they would have saved them if they could!

So don't think... don't think that you deserve this!

[phoenix_temple]

There's a difference between surgery and magic healing powers that can bring someone back from the brink of death.

I'm alive, and their friends aren't. I'm still alive, aren't I?

[believing_heart]

[What can she say? What can she say to make it all better? Lucy doesn't know. No matter what she says, nothing can seem to comfort Anais. And the one thing Lucy wants is to make everything okay again, so Anais doesn't have to feel bad about what she did.

But this isn't something she can just put a bandaid on. She can't just kiss it and make it better.

And somehow, she knows this isn't something she can fix. But it won't stop her from trying, anyway.]

You are, but there's nothing wrong with that.

[Lucy looks at Anais with worried eyes.]

Anais...

[phoenix_temple]

It's okay. Really. [She tries for another smile even if there's blood at the corner of her mouth and a bruise forming under her eye.]

I'm not upset.

[believing_heart]

[The frustration inside of Lucy is growing. Her hopelessness at helping Anais. Anais' apparent ambivalence to being beaten up. Just knowing that her friend thought she deserved this was enough to make that frustration burble to the surface.]

You should be! You shouldn't... you shouldn't let them treat you like that! You don't deserve it, no matter what you think! I...

[Lucy lowers her head, her red bangs falling into her eyes.]

Just want you to care about yourself.

[phoenix_temple]

So I can fight back and let them have a real reason to hurt me? [Anais is shaking just a little bit.]

When you fight back you make it worse. They have a reason to hate you and when you screw up and hurt someone else...

[Anais is very quiet. She is never going to forget the echo from that day.]

You hate yourself, too.

[believing_heart]

[Anais has a point. A point that Lucy is determined not to concede.]

But if you just sit there and take it, they'll just keep hurting you! You need to --

[But before she can continue, Anais says her final few words. Lucy abruptly stops mid-sentence.]

What are you talking about? I don't hate myself.

[phoenix_temple]

That isn't what I mean. [She lets out a frustrated noise.]

We hurt people, Lucy. When we were magic knights. And when people hurt people... it's just a reason to hate yourself.

[believing_heart]

[We hurt people. The words are enough to make Lucy stop dead in her tracks. She never once considered that she wasn't one of the good guys. It always seemed natural to her, since she wanted so desperately to be a hero. But hearing Anais say it, she was starting to doubt herself.]

I thought... I thought that whatever Hikaru did, I thought it didn't matter now. Because I'm not Hikaru.

[Yes, Anais, she's throwing your words back in your face.]

[phoenix_temple]

[The blood is rushing in Anais' ears now. The bruise under her eye is darkening, and there's still blood at the corner of her mouth. She looks at Lucy a little desperately.

And then she locks up. This is what happens when you try to get close to people, and she knew that. She said something awful, too.]

Please. Just go home, Lucy.

[believing_heart]

Okay.

[Lucy looks down at her shoes. Anais keeps saying this. Does it mean that Anais really doesn't want her around? Was she really that much of a nuisance? She knew she could be annoying sometimes, but...]

I'll go home. But...

[Lucy looks over at Anais.]

I want you to promise that you'll try... that you'll try not to blame yourself for what happened!

[phoenix_temple]

I--[Anais just looks defeated.]

I won't, not for the fight. But I have to take responsibility for my choices.

[believing_heart]

[Lucy's smile is a wan one.]

Okay.

[She only says it because she's not sure what else to say.]

I'll see you Monday, then.

Text: Forwarded Dated 6/7

[onecream_fivesugar]

Hey! You'll never guess what I might have just found out!

Re: Text: Forwarded Dated 6/7

[believing_heart]

What???

[onecream_fivesugar]

Just had one of those echoey/pulse thingamajigs! I'm pretty sure the other me, was an actual superhero!

[believing_heart]

Oh wow! What happened?

[onecream_fivesugar]

Well I remembered being at the docks and there was this bad guy in a fancy suit doing something, I had come to stop him... but then he shot some explosive stuff out of a cane at me.

...I'm pretty sure I survived the explosive stuff though.

It was really dramatic though!

[believing_heart]

Wow, that's so cool!

I've gotten a lot of things since I first became one of the Numbered, but I don't have a lot of memories. I really hope that changes soon!

[onecream_fivesugar]

I just started getting actual things in the last few days. I mostly had memories before that.

I hope you remember all kinds of things too!

[believing_heart]

What triggered them?

[onecream_fivesugar]

Was talking to a guy dressed up like a super villain on the network. I think it's because he called me the same thing as the villain guy in the memory.

[believing_heart]

What did he call you?

[onecream_fivesugar]

Red. Pretty simple but it's the one thing both of those things had in common.

[believing_heart]

Then we should definitely incorporate that into your superhero name!

[onecream_fivesugar]

I was already thinking of one. With the whole Red thing and the whole making rose petals things, I was thinking Red Rose would be good.

[believing_heart]

Yeah, I think so, too! I like how we're both going to be red superheroes together!

[onecream_fivesugar]

Red team for the win!