(log) Moment of Truth (Active/Closed)

[ladyghostwidow]

Name(s): Ashelia, Belladonna, Rangiku, Shalice, Byakuya
Location: Ashelia's office (it's the new place to be, apparently.)
Day: 28
Time: Noon-ish ... through to a while later. Evening?
Rating: ... Whatever is good for Ghost Widow tormenting someone, followed by drinking.
Notes: For some of this to make sense, you might need to check out THIS log with

Comments

[sisterpsyche]

Shalice had read Ashe's journal, and while the other professor had said she was okay, the psychic knew that was definitely not the case. She could feel Ashe's emotional outpouring even through all her shields.

So she'd done what she knew how to do best. She grabbed a few bottles of wine, some good cheese, and limped her way to Ashelia's office. It had taken her some time. The spell she'd used against the ghost had weakened her considerably, and she was sore all over. But Ashe was a friend, and she seemed in need of liquid help.

"I come bearing wine!" she called out, opening the door without bothering to knock. "We could both use it!" She stopped, noticing Rangiku had beat her there. Of course she had. Ran wasn't moving like an ancient old woman. "Okay, all three of us could use it, I bet!" she said, managing a smile.

*fails* dkjhkfdjfd

[nethiciteashe]

Ashe took the cup with a murmured 'thank you' to Rangiku before putting it to her lips and taking a small sip. She wasn't going to get completely trashed she hoped, but she needed something to take the edge off the absolute horror she'd just faced.

She had just gone to take a second sip when the door burst open for Shalice, who was carting around wine. The Gryffindor managed a smile at the fact that two of her closest friends were willing to help her out when she needed it most. Hopefully, this would turn out okay.

Shalice was moving awkwardly and Ashe had to assume that was from the stupid ghost. Lady Belladonna had happened across two women today who were not about to take whatever she dished out anymore. "Welcome to the party, Shalice," she murmured with a slight smile, eyes still red from where she'd been crying earlier.

XD NEVAR!

[bring_me_sake]

Glancing over her shoulder, Rangiku's mouth tilted up into a slight smile at the sight of Psyche, before slipping into a look of concern as she noticed the limp. "Ehh, not you too?" She asked, brow creased. The blonde looked between her two friends, standing up to steer Psyche towards the location on the couch that had just been hers.

"What the hell happened?" Rangiku took the wine from Shalice, she set it on the table next to the sake, and grabbed another glass. Her expression was markedly more serious as she handed it to the redhead and sat herself on the floor in front of the other two. "If it was Godot I'll beat the crap out of him," she swore. "See how much he likes the toasterface with a black eye."

Hufflepuff through and through. You could do whatever you liked to Rangiku and she'd brush it off, but you did not mess with her friends.

[sisterpsyche]

"Thanks, Ashe," Shalice said softly, noting the aftereffects of what must of been Ashelia crying. The psychic's blood boiled. It was one thing to hurt her, but it was entirely another to hurt her friends. All the Gryffindor chivalry in her demanded that ghost would have to pay, and soon

[nethiciteashe]

Apparently, Ashe hadn't been the only one who had run into something nasty today. She hoped Shalice would either go see someone about her limping or be able to make it better herself.

Listening to Shalice's words about Professor Godot, Ashe took a swallow of her drink and let the warming alcohol numb her brain and soothe the damage. Normally, she didn't turn to this extreme method, but this situation could hardly be called normal. A chuckle came from her as Shalice mentioned getting along with Godot and shook her head. She didn't mind. She figured other people would like him. He just didn't seem to like her.

She would have asked about Shalice's injuries, but, well... she wasn't given much of a chance, nor was she in the frame of mind for a serious discussion. "Terrible," she admitted with a short, barky sort of laugh. "I'll live, though. Rangiku's drink is helping." She raised the mug with a cheeky grin, as if toasting someone.

Yeeep, she was hiding something.

[bring_me_sake]

Rangiku was not convinced by either of them. She looked between the two, brow furrowed, and while a spark of annoyance still glowed at Godot, she accepted Shalice's words. Maybe Mia's manfriend was... okay to live. After the way he'd spoken to Ashe, though, she wasn't in any rush to be his friend. "Hmmph." The blonde gave Psyche a significant look that very clearly told her she wasn't going to let this go. "Knowing you, you probably don't really want all the kinks worked out," she commented dryly, usual silliness somewhat abandoned

[sisterpsyche]

So Ashe was turning to the alcohol to help her out. That was a sure sign something was wrong. She had a hunch she knew what it might be, and her hunches were rarely wrong. This had that bitch's fingerprints all over it. But Shalice knew it wasn't her place to say. So she sat back and sipped at her wine, hoping Ashelia would find herself able to confide in her friends.

The redhead barked a short laugh at Rangiku's comment. "And you would know," she said. "You've heard enough about my sex life to last for years, I'm sure." She knew Rangiku didn't believe a thing she'd said, but she hoped the Hufflepuff took the hint that she didn't want to talk about it just yet.

Shalice leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand, holding her wineglass tightly in the other. "We are," she agreed. "I know Ran and I extol the virtues of drowning our sorrows in alcohol, but, it doesn't do much to help." She looked over at Ran, smiling somewhat bitterly. "It just makes you forget, for awhile."

[OOC: Lol win glass.]

[nethiciteashe]

It appeared they weren't going to let this one go. Ashe sighed a little. She should have figured as much and to some degree, she was glad for it. At least she was sure they cared. She was worried about Shalice, too, but at the moment she couldn't think of much other than her run-in with Ghost Widow.

The implication about Shalice's sex life had Ashe startled a little more than normal and after another swallow, Ashe started to feel a little dizzy. This was probably the point where she should stop. Her glass was almost empty after all. With a sigh, she placed the glass on the table to her side and ran a hand across Shemhazai's back again, smiling a little as the kitten purred happily.

"It numbs you a little," Ashe muttered in response to Shalice. "At least I don't feel like I'm going to collapse anymore." Well, not as much anyway. One hand made its way to her face as she shook her head. "Rough day. Had one too many confrontations."

[bring_me_sake]

"Confrontations?"

If it wasn't Godot, then there weren't many people that she could imagine getting to Ashe this way. There probably weren't even that many people with the guts or stupidity to take Ashe head on, let alone get her in this state... Although there was one that fit the bill nicely. Rangiku looked down at her own sake, running an agitatedly finger around the rim before throwing the drink back with well-practiced ease and pouring herself another.

What the Hell would she want to do to Ashe? "Ghost Widow?" She glanced at Shalice. Was that what had happened to her too? Her expression was more worried than anything as she looked at her two friends. The ghost would pay, but that would come later. For now Rangiku drew her wand and waved it quickly, murmuring a spell to keep Lady Belladonna out before picking up the bottle of wine and handing it to Shalice. She had a feeling this was about to get far more intense, and she hadn't bought Unare for the extra kitten-shaped relaxation. Wine and sake would have to cut it, for the

[sisterpsyche]

Shalice nodded, agreeing with Ashelia's assessment of alcohol. "Numbing can be good for that," she conceded. "Ran and I can both attest to that."

She was worried. She knew just how vicious the ghost could be. She had never known Ashelia to be in such a state as she was now, and it almost frightened her. She would be certain never to underestimate Belladonna again. If, in fact, she was right about the ghost having done this.

Shalice noticed Rangiku's quick spell, and smiled appreciatively. She'd never been particularly good at Warding Charms. "Thanks," she said. "Wouldn't want the beastie to get in and hear us saying such unflattering things about her."

The redhead turned back to Ashelia. "It was her, wasn't it? She can spread such poison in a mind..."

[nethiciteashe]

Ashe's lack of response to the assessments by Shalice and Rangiku should have been answer enough for them. She turned the empty glass over in her hands but didn't make another move to refill it before placing it on a table to the side. Picking up Shemhazai, she held the kitten against her chest, squeezing her eyes shut to block the fear.

She was being weak. She couldn't be weak in front of anyone, especially not Rangiku. She had to be strong for them.

So... where was her strength?

Eventually, she nodded, one hand supporting the kitten-almost-cat's shape and the other stroking the soft fur for comfort. "I don't understand how anyone can be so cruel..."

[bring_me_sake]

At Shalice's thanks, Ran tipped her glass in a silent "you're welcome" before promptly ridding it of its contents again. "Anytime. I think looking into some permanent wards might be the new plan," the blonde replied.

That was it. Rangiku placed her once-again-empty glass on the table and, with the smoothness of one with lots of experience in the area of sake consumption, pushed herself up off the floor. Taking a place on the couch beside Ashe, Rangiku protectively wrapped her arm around Ashe's shoulders. "The old hag is twisted," she said gently as she drew Ashe closer. "Normal rules don't apply to her."

Knowing her best friend as well as she did, Rangiku had a couple of ideas about what might be going through. "You don't need to be strong all the time," Rangiku murmured. "Sometimes you just need to let other people be strong for you so you have a shot at recovering."

She looked past Ashe, to Shalice, and smiled just a little. "That's what we do, right?"

*is the slowest slow that ever slowed*

[sisterpsyche]

"Good idea," Shalice said, managing a tight smile. "We should get everyone together and try to figure something out." Shalice grimaced slightly as her body throbbed. That spell really had done a number on her. The redhead raised her glass and gulped the wine down. Wine was meant to be sipped, of course, but sometimes one needed a bigger hit than that to get through the pain.

"I don't get it either," Shalice said, sighing. "I saw a lot of freaky stuff as an Auror, but... I never saw anyone who delighted in hurting people as much as she does."

Shalice looked away as Rangiku drew Ashelia into a hug, staring off into some distance only she could see. They were getting closer to their destiny, she knew, and it made her glad. She hadn't wanted to lock them naked in a room together to get the point across, but she would have. But they were making slow progress on their own, and this was good.

"Yes," she replied absently, pouring herself some more wine. "It's what friends are for."

skipping ahead if that's okay

[nethiciteashe]

It took awhile for Ashe to get drunk enough to open up, but that was mainly because she was too tired and wound up to want to reply, but eventually, after a little laughter, she managed to get herself tipsy enough to lose her inhibitions regarding speech.

"Hagface... she delights in bringing people to their lowest points, lower than anything they've ever experienced."

By this point, Ashe had sprawled out across the couch and Shemhazai was curled up on the back of the couch, watching her owner carefully. Ashe swirled the glass in her hand a little before taking another sip and setting it down, nearly missing the table completely.

"It's almost funny how fast she got to me."

pfffft we only discussed and mututally agreed on it, PFFFFFT >l

[bring_me_sake]

This was probably the first time that Rangiku had been the most sober one out of a gathering of this particularly trio, although truth be told that probably had more to do with her own high tolerance and Ashe's practically nonexistent one than who had actually consumed the most alcohol.

She chuckled a little at Ashe's use of her nickname for the ghost. All inhibitions away, hmm? Stroking Ashe's hair absently, Rangiku still couldn't help her brow furrowing as her best friend mentioned what had happened. “I think she spends all her time watching us so she knows just what to say. Even if its just playing on some fear,” she noted. Wondering just how to proceed, and if she should, Rangiku stilled the hand that was playing with Ashe's hair for the moment. “What did she say?” She took another hit of sake. Whatever the ghost had said, Rangiku was sure it had to be pretty bad. "If you need to get it out there," she clarified, running her fingers back through Ashe's hair

[sisterpsyche]

At this point, Shalice was well on her way to being completely incoherent, having finished two bottles of wine all by herself, and being halfway through her third.

"Hagface's a bitch!" she blurted, nodding vehemently in agreement with Ashelia's summation of the ghost's character. "'Snothing funny 'bout it!"

She really hated the ghost, and with every passing day she only hated her more. Someone should do something about her. What, she had no idea, and the alcohol fuzzing up her brain wasn't helping her come up with anything, but something should be done. Sometime. Soon.

"Iss nothing," she said, waving off Rangiku's concern. "Nothing I couldn't take care of m'self."

Shalice went quiet then, cocking her head to the side and watching her two friends. The hair stroking was sweet, she decided, but they needed to hurry up and get to stroking other things. Preferably not when she was in the room, though