Beauty in the Breakdown [log]

[roseatedawn]

Who: Dizzy (just_for_light ) and Xianghua Chai (roseatedawn )
When: Tonight (Friday, January 26th)
Where: Their apartment
Summary: Dizzy has a meltdown, and Xianghua finds out some interesting things about her roommate. This leads to subtext bonding.


Hmm…where’s our coat? Dizzy was unsure as to where she put the garment, and Necro wouldn’t let her take the trash out without it. “Xianghua, have you seen my coat?” It was really cold outside, and she didn’t want to go out without her coat. That would be bad, right? Yes, it would. It’s about five degrees, and you don’t have any long-sleeve shirts clean, so would you like to go out in that t-shirt?

“No…” She said it with a pout as she stared the garbage down. “Hmm….”

“…Huh? You can’t find it?” Poking her head into the room, Xianghua tilted her head slightly and frowned. “It’s not in the closet or anything?” Of course… there were only so many places in the apartment that Dizzy could have left it, as she was pretty sure one of them would have realized if she had walked out into the freezing cold without it on the way back from work. “What about the couch? Did you throw it on there or something when we got home? Or… uhm…” Wait. It might have been easier if, instead of throwing out suggestions, she figured out where it wasn’t first. “…Where didn’t you look yet?”

Dizzy paused, before going “Oh, I think I know.” Moving to the couch, she pulled one of the pillows off of it, she snatched her coat out of the crevice between the cushions. Pulling it on as she returned to the trash, she called “I’ll be right back in, Xianghua.” Yanking the bag out of the can, she progressed out of the apartment and down the stairs towards the dumpster.

Hmm…Undine’s been gone a long time…

“What’s going on, Necro?”

Ah…nothing.

“Alright, Dizzy!” Grinning at the other girl, she added, “You’d better be! Even without your coat on, you’ll still freeze half to death if you stand out there too long. Actually… I’ll make you some hot chocolate or something for when you come back in!” That said, she moved to scrounge about in the kitchen, searching for a clean mug or two with which to make the aforementioned hot chocolate in. Dizzy would be right back in-and the way things were looking, it would be before she had even located mugs to use.

She smiled as Xianghua told her her plans. She was really thoughtful sometimes! It was…odd, however, for Dizzy going down the staircase, as she felt she’d…gone down it before. Somewhere else. What? She didn’t feel all that out of place, though. She’d lived there for the past five years-wait, five years? Shit. Shit shit shit. This was…this wasn’t. What.

REPENT THE SINS OF YOUR FATHER, FOR THE FIRES OF HELL FALL UPON YOU

SHIT! Dizzy’s world was confused, broken as she finally reached the dumpster. All she could hear was Necro screaming profanities, Undine’s sudden voice painful, stabbing, panicked, even so far as angry. What she saw were memories, painful, haunting memories suddenly bursting forth in her vision.

“Dizzy, we’re going to try something new today, okay? Now turn your head that way…” A needle in her arm, something horrible pulsing new in her veins

Son of-UNDINE, STOP IT!

“No…no…I don’t want to…no…NO. NO!” Her hands had suddenly become very, very cold, her breath fogging as soon as it left her mouth, slowly forming into drops of water in mid-air.

THY SOUL SHALL FIND ITSELF ALONE ‘MID DARK THOUGHTS OF THE GREY TOMG-STONE Dizzy didn’t know it, but the dumpster had frozen to the point that a slight tap would shatter it.

FUCK! Dizzy, hang on, don’t- A scream in her head, the woman who called her Dizzy suddenly dead, a lance of ice through her chest, the viewing glass around her shattered, her wings cut by the storm of broken ice and glass.

Dizzy collapsed in the middle of the alley outside the apartment building, her power raging out of control, Undine so consumed by madness that it felt as if her insides were starting to freeze. But that was impossible...she was immune to her own powers.

Right?

Eventually, however, Xianghua did find the cups. Dizzy hadn’t come back in yet, though, so it must have been faster than she thought! However, she started to worry when she had the time to boil the water, make the cocoa, and set the cups on the table without being interrupted by the blue-haired girl’s return. When a few minutes passed, she finally decided to grab her own coat and check on her. Hopefully she wasn’t adopting more animals or anything. After all, she could take care of herself-Xianghua was sure she was fine. Or, at least, that’s what she told herself in order stay calm.

As she made her way down the stairs, nothing looked wrong or out of place-and, for some reason, this just made the sense of unease she was desperately trying to suppress that much stronger. She should have been hearing some movement from Dizzy, right? However, the only noise that reached her ears was the sound of her own footsteps echoing off the pavement.

When she finally rounded the corner into the alley here the dumpster was located, she screamed before she had any chance to stop herself from doing so. Rushing to Dizzy’s side, she crouched and reached out to lift her and shake her slightly, gasping out a panicked, “Dizzy? Dizzy?!” as she did so. Hot tears prickling in her eyes when she received no reply, she bit her lip as she considered her options. Somehow, she managed to come to a somewhat rational conclusion-the first thing she needed to do was get her back inside, where it wouldn’t be possible for her to freeze. There was only so much a jacket could do for a seemingly lifeless body.

It was difficult, what with Dizzy being larger than her in both height and weight, but Xianghua eventually managed to drag her back inside. Once inside, the laid the other girl down on the nearest comfortable surface-the couch-and checked for a pulse. Discovering one did nothing to help assuage the panic still racing through her mind, as she immediately noticed how cold her skin felt, even to someone who had just been outside in the freezing weather with no gloves. Xianghua did the only thing she could think to do; raced off to find every blanket in the house, along with the old mini heater she kept stashed somewhere, despite the fact that it was half-broken and essentially useless.

When she returned just a few minutes later, she found out that the heaters cord didn’t really reach from the nearest outlet, but she plugged it in and turned it on anyway in the hopes that it would do some kind of good. Maybe if she left it on long enough, the room as a whole would heat up-Yeah, right, she’ll be dead before it runs long enough to do that. Blinking back tears that were threatening to return, she carefully wrapped the blue-haired girl in the blankets she had rounded up. It wasn’t until that was done that she let herself fall to the floor without any of her usual grace, pull her knees up to her chest, and choke out a panicked little sob.

Dizzy’s mind was filled with visions of both her stay in that hellish room, and of her two other thirds, locked in something resembling combat. She couldn’t hear their roars, the sound of ethereal ice raging against blasts of destructive heat and energy as her own mind, broken and shattered, tried desperately to regain stability long enough to reverse the self-inflicted hypothermia that was destroying her body. The blood in her feet had thickened as the plasma nearly solidified, while the water vapor in her lungs condensed almost instantly into water, her chances of drowning increasing with every breath.

She didn’t know this, however. All she saw were scenes out of her childhood. She was about eleven, and the new doctor in charge of her case was cruel, merciless, and fully aware of her capabilities. He gave her no warning of every injection, hooked her up to machines that would send pulses into her brain that made her scream in terrible, writing agony. He wore a pair of glasses, she remembered, and he. He grinned as he pushed her, smirked until a blast of light seared his head off, engraining his smirk eternally in ash against the far wall.

That was when they put her in what was essentially a lead box, drugging her long before they performed any experiments.

Meanwhile, her body was warming up, slightly. Her body was naturally resistant to the cold thanks to her ability, but where she may not die of hypothermia, she stood little chance against the water building in her lungs.

Dizzy? Dizzy, can you hear me?

‘Now, focus on this glass of water. Can you do that?’ This new scientist was cautious, lanky, uncertain, but eager to test her abilities. She nodded and did as she was asked, simply blinking at it. ‘Freeze it.’ With that, she squinted, and a pillar of ice erupted from the glass, shooting towards the ceiling as the air that touched it condensed and solidified. ‘Very…good. A little…excessive…try to only freeze the water, and nothing else next time.’

Dizzy, you have to hear me!

Her eyelids were heavy now, Xianghua having tired herself out from crying. She wasn’t sure how long she had been doing so, but when she stopped, she was exhausted. Uncurling from the ball she had folded herself into, she flopped backward onto the floor, her head hitting the thin carpet with a satisfying thud. She raised her hands to her face, their presence muffling an already quiet plea of, “Dizzy, come on. Wake up. This… this isn’t funny, just… please, wake up…” Her voice came out raw and cracked as she spoke-she wasn’t sure if she would have spoken more loudly if it weren’t for that fact.

Dizzy…hang on, I have an idea.

My. Agh, my head.

Lay down, ice-bitch, I’ve got this…Dizzy, pay attention.

It was suddenly years later. She was seventeen, roughly, and the worst one of them all was probing her. ‘Come on, now. Do that little trick you did earlier. You don’t want me to start making you bleed, do you?’ He came in the night, when the rest were asleep. He slashed her wrists, he bent every possible limit her shape-shifting abilities could achieve. She merely sat in the corner and tried to make him go away by wearing away his patience while he growled at her, bent on his petty research. ‘Hmph. Stubborn as always.’ He smirked.

‘Perhaps I should clip those pretty little wings of yours? Hmm?’ Her eyes widened, but she refused to look at him. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. ‘I’ve got just the tool…’ He was holding a knife. A long knife. She. He was coming closer, no, not her wings. NO-that’s when the light went off. That painful, searing light.

The pulse of energy coursed through her body like a tidal wave of heat, fighting off the cold and jump-starting her cells and jarring her brain out of its nightmare. She was cold, extremely so, she knew this, and her chest felt heavy. She couldn’t really move, either, like someone had buried her

She tried breathing, only to have her lungs heave and cough brutally, water and some blood flying from her mouth in a constant stream of droplets. It felt like someone was squeezing her lungs with a vice-grip every second, as for every hurried gasp of air she got, she had to endure what seemed like eternities of heaving and barking as her lungs tried to evict the unwelcome liquid.

Easy, now, Dizzy. Easy…your head’s going to hurt really bad real soon, so take this as the least of your worries.

Xianghua had fallen half way out of consciousness when the coughing began, and leapt back into it in double time as soon as her brain processed what the noise was. “Dizzy?! Are you wake? What’s the ma…” That’s when she saw the liquid dribbling out of the other girl’s mouth. Momentarily freezing, she wondered what could have happened to fill her lungs with a red-ish liquid-probably a mixture of a bit of blood and water, the part of her mind that was still rational told her.

However, she quickly rose to her feet again and darted off, realizing that how it had gotten there was not the mystery she should have been dwelling on at the time. Instead, it would be best to focus on figuring out how to deal with it now that it was already an issue. A few moments later, she returned and knelt down beside the couch, washcloth in hand. Gently, she reached out to wipe away the liquid as it was expelled from her lungs, asking in the softest, calmest voice she could manage, “Dizzy, are you awake? It’s me, Xianghua.”

Dizzy, can you hear me? Necro’s voice seemed tired, exhausted. And oddly compassionate. She didn’t hear Xianghua yet, but she let out a raspy, guttural “Yes…” in reply to her inner voice. Her head started to feel like somebody had set a bomb off inside of it, or drilled a hole in the side of her skull and poured in Instant Migraine: Just Add Water!

It’s a side-effect, we think. Just don’t open your eyes- She peeled them open slightly, only to slam them shut again and let out a whimper as the light assaulted her retinas. The apartment wasn’t that brightly lit, but it felt like staring straight into the sun for that brief moment.

See what happens when you don’t… listen to me? She grumbled back at him, before coughing some straggling liquid up. After a moment’s pause she realized that someone else had been talking to her…Xianghua? Oh, no, she must’ve been worried sick about her, and…wait. What the heck happened? She wasn’t in the mood to hear it from Necro, because it’d be long, complicated, and irritated, and she barely had the capacity to take noise from OUTSIDE her head. Turning slightly, she mumbled a pained “Xianghua…? I…what happened?”

“Dizzy? You’re okay?!” Well, relatively anyway. At the least, she wasn’t dead! Xianghua, sadly, didn’t realize the other girl had a migraine, and so didn’t bother to keep her voice down. It would have been difficult anyway, considering how excited she was to see that Dizzy was awake again, and apparently well enough to talk. However, her voice returned to its normal volume when the question was asked, and she frowned. “I… huh? You don’t know? Because I don’t have any idea what happened to you… I just found you out there when you didn’t come in after a while. You were lying out there on the ground, out cold.”

The sound of Xianghua’s cheers of relief were slightly appreciated. It was nice that she was concerned, but the volume made her head ring and her ears ache. She whimpered in pain a little, before asking “Not so loud…?” She…fell. She knew that. She…why couldn’t she remember anything between the trash and the apartment? She knew she saw something…some time. You’ll remember in a day or two when Undine wakes back up. Okay. That…made a little sense. What were they doing anyway?

Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out in time… “…I. Something happened with Undine…that’s all I know. They won’t tell me.”

Xianghua tilted her head as she received the reply, giving the other girl a curious look. Minding the volume of her voice as she spoke again, she asked a mostly rhetorical question. After all, if the voices were holding out on her, she probably wouldn’t be very sure about why either! “Huh? Why not? Shouldn’t you know everything they know?” That seemed like the logical thing, considering Undine and Necro were inside her head and all.

“I…why would I? How?” Undine and Necro were their own separate beings. They were two totally different people and completely different from her, yet at the same time seemed very familiar. “They know things I don’t. You know things other people don’t, right?” In her head or not, she couldn’t just read their minds or something. That’d be silly! They only knew what she was thinking because they were there in her mind when she thought it. Maybe?

…It’s close enough.

“Well, yeah, but…” Xianghua sighed, not quite in the mood to argue about whether or not it would make sense for Dizzy to know what the people inside her own head were thinking. “Even so! Shouldn’t they tell you these things if they know them? I mean, this seems kind of important. You were coughing up water and blood a minute ago, and neither of us knows why, so…” Considering that there was blood involved, there could be serious injuries! Not to mention that they had no idea how she received them in the first place, which was… upsetting, to say the least.

? Dizzy? She had lost control and her power had turned on her, and somehow froze the water in the air into her lung, and oh God how was she going to tell Xianghua that? Water didn’t just randomly appear in people’s lungs, it had to get there somehow, there weren’t any puddles outside so she couldn’t have fallen in them and maybe almost drowned, oh God-

Dizzy, calm down! She couldn’t, Xianghua was going to put two and two and find out and then she wouldn’t like Dizzy anymore and she might call someone and oh nonononononononono!

DIZZY!

While she retreated into her own mind in panic, she coughed a little bit, a dribble of water and spittle leaking out of the corner of her mouth, only to slowly freeze on contact with her skin. She took in a deep breath, and on letting it out, the air escaping from her lungs seemed…visible. In fact, it was.

DIZZY! Calm down, you’re. I don’t know how but you’re using Undine’s power, and Jesus Christwagons DIZZY!

As Dizzy coughed again, she automatically reached out to wipe the water from her face, discovering there was something oddly… hard and cold where she had begun to wipe with the cloth. Frowning slightly, she withdrew her hand and was about to examine the area, when Dizzy let out a visible breath. Xianghua knew for sure that it wasn’t that cold in the apartment, especially with that pathetic little heater running as best it could in the corner, but she settled back on her heels and let out a short puff of air as well. Satisfied that, no, her breath wasn’t clouding as Dizzy’s was, she frowned slightly in thought. “Dizzy, your breath is…”

Her breath was what? What? Opening her eyes just enough to see what was going on, she stared as her next breath fogged as she exhaled. Her only thoughts were that of panic, panic, and more panic, as it clicked in her brain that it couldn’t possibly be cold enough for that to happen naturally. “I. Um. I. Mm. Ah.” Xianghua was going to find out, she was going to know, she probably already knew, and oh no, what if she kicked her back out onto the streets, what if she lost her job, what if they sent her back to one of those labs and-

She felt her heart pounding with anxiety as her thoughts ran wild with panic, her breathing became more ragged, quicker as adrenaline already started pumping into her veins in fright. This only served to let more and more visible exhalations escape from her, even from her nose as the air got colder and colder around her. “I. Ah. I. N. E.” She. What was she going to do, she’d never done this before, and oh god. Dizzy, for fucks sake calm down, listen to me! Please!

“…Dizzy?” Xianghua’s frowned deepened. She thought she felt the air chill around her, but she wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t imagining things. “Hey… Hey, what’s the matter?” Rather cautiously, she reached out to place a hand on the other girl’s shoulder, offering her a concerned glance as her breathing sped up and she began to spit meaningless syllables at her. “Are you okay? Do you need me to get you anything..?” Xianghua had little to know idea what was going on, but calming Dizzy down seemed like it should have been her top priority. “I could… uhm… get you your cocoa or something? It might be a little cold by now, but…”

Ah! Ah! Cocoa! That! “I. Yes, please. Thirsty…um. Okay.” Maybe? Maybe that’d work? Hopefully? She couldn’t hear Necro now, was that bad? Was that good? She couldn’t tell. All she knew was that if Xianghua didn’t know, she’d be okay. As long as Xianghua didn’t find out! She’d be okay! Right? Right!

Right?

Right.

“Alright, then.” Giving her one last concerned look, she stood and strode back to the kitchen, returning after as few seconds with two mugs in hand, one of which she handed off to Dizzy. Settling back onto the floor beside the couch, she stared down at the drink in her own hands, before looking back up and finding herself unable to keep herself from asking, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Dizzy pulled herself into a sitting position, before nodding, almost vehemently. Taking the drink from her, she raised it to her lips, awaiting the probably lukewarm cocoa to trickle into her mouth. When it didn’t, she paused, before fearing the worst. Moving the cup away from her, she could only stare as the cocoa that was quite certainly liquid only a moment before sat in the mug, solid as a brick.

“Um. Mmm! Th-thank you.” She tried to sound appreciative, but only succeeded in sounding completely panicked again, as her breath continued to fog up the area. Totally not suspicious!

Xianghua, meanwhile, had managed to take a sip of her own hot chocolate, before discovering that it wasn’t so much ‘hot’ as ‘room temperature and kind of icky.’ And, well, she didn’t want to give her roommate icky cocoa! Especially not after she had almost frozen to death a few minutes ago. “You probably need me to heat that up for you again, don’t you? Here, give it to me--I’m going to go take cake of mine, so I might as well get yours too.”

Waitwhatnowaitumgah. “Um, no, that’s okay, I don’t mind…” She was perfectly fine with solid cocoa, honest! No need to take it and find anything out, nope, no, no! OH god where was Necro? Why was everything freezing? Oh god. “I kind of like it like this…?” She sounded completely unsure of herself, of course, but she was trying! Still not suspiscious!

“Really? You’re not just saying that because you don’t want to be a bother or something like that?” Because, frankly, she didn’t sound very convincing when she spoke up in protest. “Well, either way, it’s probably no good for you after you’ve been out in the cold like you just have! Come on, give it here. It’ll only take a couple of seconds, promise!” With that, she set her own mug down and out of the way, before raising up and moving to take the cup from Dizzy’s hands, whether she liked it or not.

Dizzy, honestly, felt crushed. She could have tried to keep the cup away from Xianghua, but that’d only result in a fight and maybe someone getting hurt, and she didn’t want that to happen, but if she handed the cup over Xianghua’d see it was frozen and then she’d know what Dizzy could do, and oooooh…ah. Well, she’d get the cup either way, wouldn’t she…? Ah

Pausing while holding the cup, she bit her lip as she slowly handed it over, careful with it almost as if it was some sort of toxic waste. “Mmmm…I…” She couldn’t look the other girl in the eye, not now. She felt like a little kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar that just happened to be in the middle of a maximum security prison, and her face was looking the part now, as well.

Xianghua took the cup, and instantly realized that it didn’t feel quite right for some reason. Glancing down at it, she quickly discovered that the reason for this was that its contents were frozen solid. For a moment, she just stared at it, not really sure what to say or what to make of this particular piece of information. She was doing her best to connect the dots, but for some reason, nothing was connecting in her head in a way that made sense. “I… Dizzy… what did you…?” Her face was perfectly blank as she spoke, and her voice revealed no signs of anything but confusion.

She…huh? Did she…maybe she was in shock? She…what? Dizzy didn’t do much other than to pull her knees up to her chest and bury her face in them, trying desperately not to cry her eyes out. She wanted to let her wings out and wrap herself in them, give her some idea of a comfort zone, but that’d probably only make the entire situation that much worse, and Xianghua probably wouldn’t handle having a roommate with wings very well. It was bad enough she was going to figure out that Dizzy froze the cocoa on her own, and pretty soon she’d be hating her forever as some sort of freak or something different and oh, where was Undine, Necro, she couldn’t do this on her own!

She couldn’t help herself as the tears just poured out of her eyes and her breaths became sobs. It was only worse that the tears rolled down her face and froze around her cheeks, leaving frosty trails in their wake as she preemptively mourned her friendship with the other girl.

When Dizzy started crying, Xianghua set the mug aside and bit her lip, utterly lost and confused. “Hey… hey, stop that. What’re you crying for?” She couldn’t do anything to calm her down until she knew that, after all. Snatching up the rag from where she had discarded it earlier, she propped herself up on her knees and tried to pulled Dizzy’s face out from where she had buried it. The moment she caught sight of her tear-streaked features, however, Xianghua almost abandoned the rag and leant in to clean the water from her face by way of kisses.

…Not that she actually wanted to kiss her, of course. That would be silly. She liked guys, after all. Stupid hopeless romantic side rearing its head at completely inappropriate times!

So, instead, she just lifted the cloth to wipe away the liquid again, only to realize that the tears too had frozen on her face. Frowning, she suggested in her gentlest, most coaxing tone, “Come on… Let’s get you cleaned up, okay? We’ll need some warm water to get the ice off… If we just leave it alone, it might hurt your skin.” She gave Dizzy’s arm a little tug, intent on pulling her into the bathroom and soaking the washcloth into some warm water before she tried anything more with it. She could ask questions after she got the other girl calmed down-she doubted she’d be able to get any answers that were intelligible at that precise moment, anyway.

“I…you’re…you won’t…like…” She was trying to convey her conviction that upon learning Dizzy’s true nature, that Xianghua wouldn’t like her anymore, and that she’d kick Dizzy out of the apartment, the only real ‘home’ Dizzy knew of. Ever. Her train of thought, however, was interrupted by Xianghua’s odd compulsion to help her. The tone she used and the way her eyes sort of…invited Dizzy along managed to let her speak in something resembling coherent sentences. “It…won’t work. It’ll just freeze more…” She was still extremely anxious, but at least she’d let up on the crying bit a little…maybe. She still wished she could hear Necro and Undine, heard their guiding words, have someone tell her what to do. Even as Xianghua managed to get her off the couch towards the bathroom, she felt completely lost.

“Well, we’re going to try anyway. You can’t just leave it frozen to your face like that, can you?” She still tried to keep her tone coaxing as they reached the sink, where Xianghua promptly turned the knobs to release water of a comfortably warm temperature. She didn’t speak as she held her hand under the faucet, waiting until the water was at an appropriate temperature before throwing the washcloth under as well. However, when she lifted the rag to dab at the other girl’s face, the water on the cloth froze as well rendering the whole process useless.

Sighing in irritation, she threw the item back into the sink, distractedly watching the warm water melt more and more of the ice crystals with each passing second. “So… are you one of those… weird people the president told everyone about?” It took her a moment to realize that her wording hadn’t been particularly sensitive, and she squeaked before hastening to add, “I mean, um! I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, just… not natura-” No, that didn’t sound right either! “…Normal. Are you not normal?”

“Um…I guess not…” She honestly had no idea. This had never happened before, so how did she know what she could and couldn’t do? When the water froze again, she winced, knowing that this was irritating and frustrating for the other girl. She paused for a moment, before putting her hand near the sink, wondering if maybe she had warmed up--no, she hadn’t. She pulled it away quickly as the surface of the water pooling already began to solidify, despite the running water and heat around it.

When Xianghua asked her of her true nature, she didn’t know what to say. This would be one of those questions that Undine or Necro would tell her the answer too that wouldn’t get her in trouble…but she didn’t have them right now. They’d have chimed in by now, right? “I…um…” She…didn’t know. All she knew was what her other thirds had told her. What they felt she could accept. “I…Undine told me that I was…um…different. She said people’d be afraid of me if they knew…so…” She bit her lip as she spoke, one hand nervously near her face, her eyes darting around the room as she asked her own question. “I…um…you’re…you don’t hate me now, do you…?”

Sighing and making a face that was almost a pout, she leaned back against the sink as she absorbed the information. It was… confusing. How was she supposed to take the information being thrown at her? If nothing else, it destroyed her illusion that demons and monsters and all that other stuff was entirely someone else’s problem. After all, if she had someone ‘different’ living with her… Sighing again, she asked, “And that’s all you know? Nothing else?” It was starting to annoy her that the voices in Dizzy’s head never seemed to tell her anything useful-not only was it unfair to Dizzy, but it was starting to be an inconvenience for her as well!

However, when the blue-haired girl asked her a question as well, Xianghua was taken rather off guard. Looking away from the part of the sink her gaze had been burning a hole into, she blinked bewilderedly up at her, before shaking her head fiercely. “What? No! Of course not. Why would that make me hate you? I mean, you’re just… just… you’re the same as you’ve always been, right? I care about you, I can’t just start hating you now.”

“I…they haven’t told me much else…but I’ve been, um…remembering things? If that helps?” She looked in the sink for guidance as she summoned the will to repeat the horrors that she saw. “I…think I was in some kind of lab. There were people in white coats talking to me a lot, and they did things…they…tried to see what I could do I. I can’t tell what happened. I…think I was there for a long time, though…?” The images were fuzzy and she was having an extremely hard time bringing them up, even if Necro said she shouldn’t be able to tell most of it for a couple of days. Her head still hurt pretty badly, but the light didn’t seem to bother her that much, at least…where was Necro, anyway?

When Xianghua denied Dizzy’s largest fear of the night, she smiled, tears welling back up in her eyes. “I. Thank you...that…thank you, Xianghua.” She didn’t know how to say how much that meant to her, but she hoped the extra thanks would convey the message. She noticed that the water was still going, and mindlessly reached to turn it off, not realizing that if she touched the sink it might freeze the water in the pipes and break them until her hand was already on the handle. She paused in a moment of panic, before noticing that nothing had, in fact, frozen. “Oh…I…hmm.” Smiling up at Xianghua, she added “I…I think I’m good, now…” before splashing her face with some of the water, hoping to thaw off some of the iced tears.

Biting her lip slightly, Xianghua automatically reached out to wrap an arm around the other girl in a loose hug. “…I bet they weren’t good things, were they? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you never have to go through anything like that ever again, okay?” That was just something she did for her friends, wasn’t it? Kept an eye on them and tried to keep them out of harm’s way. After all, she couldn’t really see the government wanting to give up anyone like Dizzy voluntarily, so who knew if they would come after her again one day?

Tightening her grip around Dizzy slightly, “Hey! There’s no reason to thank me. I mean, yeah, this whole thing is kind of… weird, but it’s not like I’m just going to abandon you over this, right? I’m the one that took you in off the streets and all, I can’t just kick you out again now.” Smiling as the other girl noted that she seemed to have her powers under control, she reached up with her free hand and teasingly ruffled her hair. “Wanna try getting you cleaned up again, then?”

She smiled as the other girl embraced her, as light as it was. “Thank you…that…that means a lot to me.” Knowing that Xianghua wasn’t bothered by the concept, and even was so far as willing to help her further gave Dizzy a…kind of fuzzy feeling. As the other girl continued assuring her that she was welcome, and even safe with her, that feeling only grew larger, and she timidly wrapped one of her own arms in reply.

It wasn’t until the other girl’s hand ran through her hair did she suddenly wince as something horribly solid tugged at her scalp. Pausing to feel it, she found, in fact, that it was something heinously solid. And cold. “Mmm. I. Is there…something in my hair? I…I feel something, but…”

“Hey, I said not to thank me, alright?” She smiled softly, placing a finger to her lips as a signal for her to be quiet. “It’s not like I’ve done anything I need to be thanked for. I’m just looking out for a friend, right?” The smile she wore broadened as Dizzy wrapped an arm around her as well. She felt oddly comfortable in their current position, rather than experiencing the awkwardness she felt she normally should have.

Frowning slightly at Dizzy’s question, Xianghua stood on her toes to examine the indicated area. “Oh, yeah, looks like it. I think it’s more ice? Hm.” Frowning slightly, she considered this for a moment, before deciding, “…In that case, I should probably just leave you alone to let you take a shower or a bath or whatever.”

She nodded as the other girl insisted she not be thanked, although she deserved it. If she said so, she supposed. However, when Xianghua suggested leaving her alone…well, normally Dizzy was never ‘alone,’ what with Necro and Undine to talk to. Neither of them were talking, and her cries to them were unanswered, and she didn’t want to…no, she couldn’t. She didn’t think she could handle even that little bit of time, not after an attack like that. It’d be so strange and awkward, and she…well. “I…mmm…I could let it thaw…I don’t want to be alone right now…” She didn’t want to sound clingy, but she really didn’t want to be totally alone. It was…the concept was honestly frightening to her, and the thought of it made her tighten her arm's hold on Xianghua slightly, pulling her a little closer to the other girl.

Biting her lip again, Xianghua responded to this by pulling the other girl even closer and holding her with both arms. “I don’t know if you want to let it thaw, either… that probably won’t be good for your hair, you know? I… guess… I can help you wash it out?” Something about the idea made her feel oddly… nervous, but she didn’t want leave Dizzy alone if the other girl wanted her company. She just said she’d try to protect her, right? Leaving her alone when she needed someone the most just didn’t seem like the right thing to do after saying such.

“It’s just water, isn’t it?” Wasn’t it? Water didn’t do that much to hair, did it? Unless it was from out in the alley, in which case maybe it was best to get it out before it melted and got all sorts of dirt into her hair… As the other girl pulled her tight, Dizzy’s hands did something akin to clinging at the girl’s shirt, seeking whatever comfort she could in the embrace. As Xianghua suggested, she tentatively nodded, adding “That…that might work…right?” The sink was high enough that she could just lay back, right? It’d only take a minute to rinse it out, and washing all of her hair’d be a real challenge in the sink. She had so much of it, and she didn’t know if Xianghua wanted to wash it all, or…?

“Well, even so, I don’t imagine hair is meant to be frozen and then thawed out again. And… well… who knows where that water has been? Let’s just get it out so we don’t have to worry about it either way.” Breaking the embrace and taking a step back, she gave Dizzy an uncertain smile. “So… how do you want to do this? Head in the sink or what? And would you want a chair or a towel around your neck or something to make it more comfortable?” Xianghua was determined to make this as comfortable for the other girl as possible-she had just survived almost dying, she deserved a little bit of pampering at the least.

“Um…the sink’s a good height…um…” All that sounded good…? “That…that sounds good…? The chair and towel, I mean…um.” She didn’t want to be inconvenient, but it had to get done, right? “Um. I’ll set the water and get a towel…? Um, which chair should I use?” She’d go grab it once she knew, but until then she’d run the water and fluff up towels. She really didn’t want to be too much of a problem…Xianghua didn’t have to do this for her, so she should do as little as possible, right?

She giggled slightly at the reaction she received, smile becoming more solid and stronger. “Alright, you do that! Don’t worry, I’ll grab a chair out of the kitchen while you get that done, okay?” It was just the logical thing to do, right? They should probably take care of it before it started melting, and they could get everything set up more quickly that way.

She gave Xianghua a confident nod, before turning the faucet to a warm setting, not too hot, but warm enough to be comfortable. While she waited for Xianghua to find the chair, she pulled a towel down and folded it across the edge, just enough cushioning that her neck wouldn’t give out, but not too much that it’d get in the way. “Okay. Um…ready.”

Xianghua returned quickly with the chair she had retrieved from the kitchen table, setting it down in front of the sink and nodding to Dizzy. “Well, then… take a seat,” she chirped, grinning broadly at her friend. “And… oh, you want me to give you a full shampoo? I mean, I’ve never really done this before, but you probably need something to help you relax after tonight, right? Of course, if you just want me to rinse it, that’s fine too, but…”

“Alright…” At Xianghua’s request she sat down, still somewhat unsure as to the whole process. As she was given options--a bad case in any scenario--she paused, biting her lip while truly, utterly not wanting to be more trouble than she was worth. “Um. Whatever you want…? You’re the one washing my hair…” Nevermind the fact that Dizzy was the one whose hair was being washed! Her opinion didn’t matter, because it caused inconveniences!

Sighing, Xianghua shook her head… though she was smiling nonetheless. “I was asking because I want to do whatever you’re most comfortable with, silly!” She stuck her tongue out, before motioning for the other girl to put her head under the water. Even as she began rinsing her hair, she continued, “I don’t care either way. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it! Unless it really is too much trouble, and then I won’t because I know you don’t want me going through that, right? So… that sound like a deal? You tell me what you want, and I’ll do however much work I think I need to do?” She was going to do everything Dizzy asked anyway, but maybe she could get an actual answer out of her that way.

“Um…I’ve got a lot of hair, so…it takes a bit to wash it and dry it…” Although, she remembered something. If there was dirt or something in that ice, she didn’t want that hanging around, right? “Um…we should probably just wash it…if you don’t mind…um…” Well, that, and oddly enough, having Xianghua’s hands through her hair did feel pretty nice... “Mmm. Okay…that…sounds alright?” The other girl’s suggestion did sound like a nice compromise…maybe?

“Of course I don’t mind! I’m the one who offered, right?” Sticking her tongue out again and giggling slightly, she made sure the ice had all melted before stepping back and grabbing the shampoo. Setting to work quickly again, she made sure that her movements were gentle while still being thorough at the same time. As she worked, she couldn’t help but to comment, “I love your hair so much! I can’t even see the roots on it. It looks really nice, Dizzy.”

“Um…that’s true…” She smiled back at the girl, before shutting her eyes as the water and soap splashed around. She couldn’t help but to feel more and more relaxed as Xianghua’s hands worked through her hair and scalp, until she mentioned her roots. They…she couldn’t see them? “…Wha? What do you mean…um…you can’t see them? They’re still there, aren’t they?” If her hair was floating above her scalp, that’d be silly! Why was Xianghua treating the complete absence of Dizzy’s roots as a good thing!? Oh, what? “Um…right?” She had a hard time suppressing the slight anxiety that had claimed her tone of voice, her worry for her roots in full view.

Xianghua tilted her head slightly as she looked down at the other girl, clearly perplexed by her anxiety. “Huh, Dizzy? What’s the matter? Were they showing before or something? Because your hair looks all blue to me…” Even if that had been the case, though, she couldn’t see why the other girl would get so upset about the inability to see them-that would just mean that it wouldn’t be a little while longer until she had to dye her hair again, right?

“I hope they were? It’d…be weird if my hair didn’t have roots, right…?” However, when the fact that her hair was all blue came up, she relaxed. “Oh. Okay…that’s good…” That meant that there were roots, instead of some strange, floating hair contraption! Relaxing a little, she piped a quiet “Don’t forget the conditioner…”

Giggling slightly as the other girl added another request to her commands, she nodded while rinsing the last of the shampoo from her hair. “Alright! I guess you’d really need it, wouldn’t you? Your hair’s so long and thick… I couldn’t stand having to take care of it myself. It looks really nice on you, though!”

“Thanks...?” Compliments always confused Dizzy, mostly because she wasn’t sure if she’d make other people upset by having something worth complementing, or maybe Xianghua was jealous? No, she said she didn’t want to take care of it! Aaagh, she was puzzled. “It’s…not that hard, I guess…?” Just…washing it and making sure it wasn’t all knotted up? Her hair wasn’t all that high maintenance.

“There’s no reason to thank me when it’s true,” Xianghua responded, voice carrying a hint of teasing as she stuck her tongue out. “Still, though. Doesn’t it take a lot more time to wash and brush?” She paused and seemed to think on her own point, before shrugging and flashing Dizzy an almost rueful smile. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just so used to having my hair short that I can’t imagine growing it out like yours.” Spinning around, she grabbed the conditioner and set to work finishing up her shampoo job.

“Um…okay.” She smiled a little, before replying to Xianghua’s question. “Um…once I dry it off and brush it, it just falls into place…” She never had to do much with it, other than make sure it was good and clean and well preened…brushed. Preening was for the wings, right? Right. “I…I guess it’s always been this long…? I don’t remember…” She didn’t think they ever tried to cut it…maybe? Hmm.

“Well, lucky you, then,” Xianghua replied, sounding somewhat envious but not particularly perturbed by how easily the other girl’s hair fell into place. “Maybe I just don’t have the patience to deal with hair, then. Anything other than these-” she pulled one hand back to flip one of the longer pieces framing her face, “-and I’d go nuts, you know? But yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve changed my style much myself. I think the last time I wore it long was when I was just a kid.”

“Mmm…” If her tone had been anything more…sincere, Dizzy would have probably felt really bad about her hair, because it made somebody upset, and that was Bad. Right? Maybe? Mmm. Why couldn’t she hear her typical moral compasses? The ones that knew what they were doing? “Oh. I…hmmm. I think you’d look nice with long hair? Either way…?” She gave an attempted shrug given the fact it was bounded by the bathroom sink she was bent over. She…wasn’t a good judge? However, something came back to bug her. “Um…Xianghua? Every time you get a good look at my hair, you…um, talk about the roots? Mmm…Why?”

Shrugging, she merely offered the other girl another smile. “Really, I do like it this way. It’s more… practical, you know?” The attempt at a shrug was met with another giggle. “Hm? Oh, it’s just that I’m surprised by how nice it looks! I mean, I never see you dye it, but I’ve never seen the roots either.” Which, really, probably should have tipped her off to the fact that something was odd; however, it didn’t.

“I guess…” When Xianghua mentioned dye, however… “…Dye? What makes you think I dye it…?” She did tell Xianghua she did her hair by herself, right? That was clear enough, right? She paused a little, before adding “Is that why you keep mentioning roots…? Because you think I dye it…?” Oh…that…would explain a little…? "Because...um...it's not."

“…Huh?! You mean you don’t?! I mean, blue isn’t exactly a normal hair color for most people to have naturally!” Xianghua was simply shocked at this revelation, perhaps even more so than the earlier one indicating that Dizzy was more than human. That may have had something to do with the lack of tears, however; she could express her surprise without risking making a bad situation worse. “So you’re saying it just grows like that?”

“Oh. So…that’s why people look at me funny sometimes…?” At this startling explanation, she bit her lip a little, unsure as to how to proceed. Should she be concerned, or afraid, or…? Was this a bad thing? “Um…yeah. It’s…always been blue? Is…um….that’s not good, is it…?” She didn’t want people to think she was a freak of nature or something, that’d be terrible! “Mmm....”

“Hm? I guess so. I mean, it is a little unusual to see people with your hair color, even if it is dyed. Don’t worry, though! I think everyone else just assumes it’s because you dye it, like I did.” After all, if anyone jumped to the conclusion that Dizzy was unusual first because of that, they were probably so paranoid that no one would listen to them, anyway. Making sure the conditioner was properly rinsed out of Dizzy’s hair, Xianghua shut the water off and chirped, “Okay, all done now!”

“Um...alright. If you say so..” Well, as long as people thought it was something else, she supposed. As long as it didn’t get too much attention brought to her…that’d be bad, at least that’s what Necro said…where was he, anyway?

Dizzy? It was faint, but it was there. Maybe? She couldn’t really tell.

She supposed it wasn’t that important.

What’re you saying? I can’t hear you. Funnily enough, Dizzy couldn’t hear her other third, either.

“Okay!” Pulling the towel she used as a cushion off the sink, she wrapped her head up and started wringing some of the water out, gently. “I don’t have work tonight. Do you?”

“I do say so, so don’t worry! You’ve kept out of trouble so far, right? Unless there’s something you haven’t told me…” As she trailed off, she tried to give the other girl a stern looking, but only succeeded in looking faintly comical. Xianghua beamed back at her as she sat up, happy to see that she seemed to have recovered nicely from her earlier episode. “Nope! I’m free too. Any particular reason you’re asking?”

“Mhm. There’s only been these weird old men who tell me to…repent? I’m…not sure what they mean.” She gave Xianghua a puzzled look, hoping to find the answer somewhere with the other girl. “Um…no reason. I just…mmmm.” Her eyes found sudden interest with the doorway, while her motions with the towel became a little unsure, herself becoming nervous. She didn’t want to bother Xianghua, but she was kind of tired, but…oh, Janus!

The kitten had wandered out of whatever cubby he’d cuddled into to take a nap to appear in the bathroom door, looking tired, cranky, and adorable at the same time. “Hey there, kitty.” Without much hesitation, the little bundle of orange and white waltzed up and leapt up into Dizzy’s arms, purring obnoxiously loudly as he did so. “He hasn’t bothered you today, has he?”

“Hm? Dizzy, what’s..?” And that’s when the cat decided it would be a good time to come wandering into to the bathroom. As discreetly as possible, she shot the cat an irritated look as his purring began. Part of her was distinctly annoyed that the cat had wandered in and ruined whatever bonding moment they had been having, but she would let it pass. Dizzy would be upset if she commented about the cat again. “…No, I guess not.”

Janus thought that that look was probably a good idea to clear out.. But, since he was a cat, he’d do it like an ass. Crawling his way out of Dizzy’s arms and to the floor, he pranced out, giving Xianghua a tail flick that seemed to say ‘Pfft, fine, bitch,’ on his way. Dizzy frowned, now having no excuse to avoid questions. “Mmmm…I…think I’m going to go sit down…” It’d…give her time to think stuff over. There was one thing bugging her, and it showed on her features.

If she had been less mature, Xianghua would have stuck her tongue out at the cat as it left. But, then again, that was silly. It was just a stupid animal-it wasn’t like it was doing thing purposefully defiantly, right? Glancing back to Dizzy, she immediately noticed the expression the other girl was wearing. Before Dizzy could move, Xianghua reached out to grab her hand and hold it so she couldn’t squirm out of the interrogation. “Hey, what’s with that face? Something on your mind?”

“Umm….” She bit her lip a little, unsure if to cave or to cry or to just try and run into a corner. She was afraid, almost deathly so, and it was all a big ‘what if’. “Um…” Mmm…she tugged a little, finding Xianghua’s grip firm yet gentle, she let out a slight whimper, before looking the other girl in the eye, her own slightly panicked. “Xianghua…What…what if this happens again? Like…what if this happens to me at work, and I actually hurt someone…? I…I can do something else, Necro can do it, and if he…mmmm. I…” Her eyes were slightly teary, but she tried to keep them rolling down her face wildly as anxiety just consumed her, herself having no experience handling it on her own. “I’m scared, Xianghua....”

She bit her lip, giving Dizzy’s hand a comforting little squeeze as she voiced her concerns. She had a point, but at the moment comforting her was more important than dwelling on such in Xianghua’s mind. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on you when we’re at work, okay?” Giving the other girl a weak smile, she added, “Anyway, it’s not like this is going to happen very often, right? So… the chances of it happening while you’re working have to be pretty small. You’re not going to hurt anyone, okay..?” Without stopping to think about the action, Xianghua leaned up to give the other girl a soft kiss on the lips. It was tender, and almost lingering, but she seemed to realize what she was doing and abruptly pulled away before the action was drawn out long enough to actually qualify as such. Blushing faintly, her next words were spoken very quickly, as though trying to draw attention away from the gesture with their sharpness. “I promise I’ll take care of you if it does happen there, though.”

Dizzy gave the other girl s words some consideration, before nodding weakly. “O…okay…I…” If Xianghua said she wouldn’t…she supposed, maybe…? Maybe she was right? “I…okay….” She was about to ask something else, but she happened to forget what it was entirely when their lips made contact, Dizzy’s brain halting in order to pause and go “…Zah?” The sensation was very, very new, but it was…calming. Very much so, even, as if the gesture told her that everything was going to be alright, if just for a little while. She didn’t quite understand it, but she…well, she liked it.

Xianghua’s plan having failed to divert her attention, Dizzy found herself blushing slightly, although she couldn’t quite process why. Maybe if Undine started talking again she could ask her? Anyway… “Mmm…alright, Xianghua.” She gave the girl a shy, uncertain nod of agreement, before adding “I…I trust you.”

Xianghua offered her the most encouraging smile she could manage, replying, “Thank you, Dizzy. I’m… happy that you do. I’ll do my best not to let you down, okay?” She paused awkwardly, not really sure what to say next, and in that moment of silence she realized that her hand was still wrapped firmly around the blue-haired girl’s. Blush darkening, she abruptly yanked her hand away and let it fall back to her side, flashing Dizzy an apologetic smile and sputtering an embarrassed, “Sorry! Sorry.”

Clasping both hands behind her back, she quickly attempted draw attention away from her physical expressions of affection again. “So! You got any idea what you want to do for the rest of the night, then?”

“Mhm…” She didn’t want to be a bother, though… “If…you don’t have to…though…” Her argument, however, was without any feeling. As much as she didn’t want to be a burden, she’d realized through the course of the night that…she really, really couldn’t handle herself on her own. Without Necro or Undine she was lost, wandering scared and confused, and…if Xianghua was there just in case…she supposed that was alright. When the girl pulled her hand away suddenly, Dizzy blinked, pulling the hand that was once grasped up towards her face, balled up in nervous anxiety. “Um…why…? Was…? Um….what?” Why was she sorry? She’d just been keeping her from going away and keeping her in the dark, right…?

When asked for her ideas for the night, she paused a little, before mumbling a quiet “Um…not…really. I was maybe going to read, or see if there was a movie…maybe just go to bed…? I…don’t really know…”

Xianghua completely ignored the question of why she was apologizing. Instead, she simply offered her a not-entirely-genuine smile. She felt oddly like a teenager again, trying to work up the nerve to ask someone she liked out on a date. It was a silly way to be feeling, of course, but she couldn’t really do anything about it. “You’re probably really worn out after everything that happened tonight, huh? Maybe just going to bed is best… though if you decide you wanted to do anything with me, I’d be happy to keep you company!”

"...What? You're...why were you apologizing...?" The smile she was being given simply baffled her more. After a while and realizing she wasn't going to get an answer, she tilted her head a little before moving on. Whatever...? Maybe it wasn't important. She wouldn't pry, because that was rude, and generally annoying to people. At least that's what Undine said... "I'm not all that tired, um...I kind of want to lay down, though...?" If that made any sense. Her head still kind of hurt, yeah, but it was starting to dim down every moment, so... "Um...what were you going to do?"

Xianghua continued to ignore the question, instead nodding her head when Dizzy mentioned wanting to lie down. She felt almost disappointed at the decision, though she didn’t show it. She wasn’t quite sure why she felt that way, of course-maybe it was just that she was worried about the other girl and didn’t want to leave her alone. Yeah, that sounded about right. “Who, me? Um…” Xianghua paused to think about it, before simply shrugging and replying, “I don’t really know. Maybe check out what was on TV or something? Nothing really exciting or important. Why?”

"Um...you kind...I don't know...were...I thought it was a question that I...um...should ask? Since...you asked me...? Or...?" Maybe she was doing this wrong? Is that why Xianghua was wondering her motive, or...? Oh, she really wished she wasn't alone at the moment. Dealing with this without Undine or Necro to point out her mistakes was taking its toll...hmmm... "I...um...that is...um...can I...join you?" She really didn't want to go to bed and lay there awake without someone to talk to until she slipped into peaceful sleep, like she usually got with Necro and Undine...it'd be...so strange without them...

Xianghua bit her lip slightly, still feeling oddly nervous about the conversation, before shrugging. “Well… I guess, if you’d like to. You really should probably be lying down, though… You need to take it easy after a near-death experience, you know!” she stated matter-of-factly. Of course, she could see why the other girl might not want to be alone at the moment, too… “Um… do you want me to sit in bed with you for a little bit?”

"I...could lay down on the couch...? I don't know...?" Was...wait, what was going on? Was Xianghua trying to send her off to bed? She...she was confusing, and Dizzy couldn't handle confusion at the moment. Maybe it'd be best to just go with what the other girl said...she was probably right, too...her head still hurt, it probably wasn't a good idea to be running around or something. "I...if you want?"

Sighing slightly, Xianghua gave the blue-haired girl a tired smile before reaching out and gently taking her hand. “Come on. You’ve had a rough night. It’s probably best if we get you to bed now.” She spoke coaxingly, and her words were accompanied by a little bit of tugging as she moved to leave the bathroom and head to the bedroom. “I’ll try heating your cocoa up again or something if you want it. That sound good?”

"Mmm...You're right..." She did have a point, and she seemed to be looking out for her, so Dizzy didn't see the harm in listening to her. She trusted the other girl anyway, so whatever she said, right...? Well...maybe...? She needed to look into a few things, she guessed. Letting Xianghua tug her along, she replied with an uncertain, although appreciative "I...yes. That sounds nice..."

“Alright, then!” She chirped as she halted just outside of the bedroom’s doorway, giving Dizzy’s hand another brief squeeze before dropping it. “You lay down while I go do that, then!” Pausing, she suddenly stood on her toes again to give Dizzy a peck on the cheek, then dashed back off in the direction of the living room before the other girl had any opportunity to question her.

Dizzy? Can you hear me? Hm? What was that? It was faint, but...oh, well. She'd figure it out later. "Alright." She was about to go crawl under the covers, when Xianghua leaned up and pecked her cheek, leaving her dazed, confused, and confused some more. "I...huh...?" Watching the other girl bounce off, she blinked, before shrugging. She'd ask Undine later...if Undine came back...

Dizzy! Hello? There that was again...maybe she should sleep it off. So, listening to the other girl's advice, she opened the door and slunk into the bed, pulling the covers partly on her while shifting to get comfortable on the pillows.

It was a few minutes before Xianghua returned, mugs in hand. She offered one to Dizzy, before climbing onto the other side of the bed and sitting cross-legged on top of the covers with her own cup. “Try not to freeze it this time, okay?” she teased good-naturedly, sticking her tongue out as she did so. “There’s a limit to how many times I’m going to offer to heat it back up.”

Sitting up a little when Xianghua came back, she took the offered cup and sipped it a little, this time not turning it into a brick. Smiling at the taste, she stuck her tongue back at Xianghua half-heartedly. "Nyah. Be nice..." It's not like she wanted to freeze the cocoa or something. "This is good, Xianghua...thank you."

“It’s no problem! I’m glad I can at least make hot chocolate competently.” She giggled and gave her a joking smile. Her smile softened somewhat before she turned away, though, and she looked down into her own cup before taking a sip. “…You’re welcome, though. I wanted to at least make sure you went to bed feeling okay, so…”

She smiled back, before tilting her head a little at the girl. When she finished, Dizzy's smile softened equally, before she replied with a soft "Thank you..." It felt...nice to know that Xianghua wanted to make sure she was okay. It kind of helped her get over the lack of Undine or Necro to guide her along...

Dizzy!

"Hm?"

Oh, finally. There you are. Are you okay?
I'm...fine? I'm about to go to bed...so...
...Oh. Um. What happened?
I don’t know.
....Oh. Okay, then. Taking another sip of the cocoa, finding that there really wasn't that much, she decided to set it aside and lay down a little bit, in the hopes of at least getting a nap in for the night, or possibly to sleep her headache off.

Biting her lip slightly, Xianghua found herself fighting the urge to set her drink aside as well and curl up next to Dizzy, perhaps even snuggling against her. Part of her was wondering why that impulse was crossing her mind, while another part wondered why the first was making such a big deal about it. It wasn’t like they’d never done that before, right? Drinking the rest of her cocoa rather quickly, after setting her mug aside she compromised by sliding under the covers as well and making herself comfortable. “Well, then… goodnight?”

There's a lot we need to talk about, Dizz-
Not now, Necro, okay? My head hurts...just let me sleep...
Hey, since when did you start talking like Undine?

She lay there for a little, mumbling a quiet "Goodnight..." back at the girl. She wasn't immediately out like she had hoped, but lay there for a minute drifting, before she felt...a little lonely, and confused. Undine still hadn't started talking, and Necro seemed to have sulked off after her little snapping fit at him, and...mmm... Almost without thinking, she rolled over quietly and pushed herself gently against Xianghua. Having found a source of heat and noise, she let out a content sigh, before letting sleep slowly claim her.

Xianghua just froze for a moment as Dizzy rolled over, before letting out a breath of air in a resigned sigh. Well, if she wanted to be close, there wasn’t really much Xianghua could do about it, was there? She didn’t want to just leave her alone, after all… Almost shyly, she wrapped one arm around the other girl’s back and held her there, snuggling a little closer automatically and letting herself begin to drift off as well.