Log:Opening Eyes

Opening Eyes
Participants Paige and Alex	21 April, 2017 Paige reveals a few things to Alex.
Location Cyclone
When Alex finished her shift, Paige asked her to come up to her apartment. They're friends, so it's not a seriously out of the ordinary thing to do, even though Paige was seeming a bit more serious than usual. And before leading her upstairs she peeked in the pack room to make sure it was empty. (It was.) Once upstairs she heads over to the couch, flopping onto it. "Make yourself at home. Mi casa es su casa," she says, grinning. Alex grins back. She doesn't come up to Paige's apartment all that often but it's obvious she has no problems following the blonde up the stairs. She moves over to the couch as well, exaggeratedly dropping onto it in a way that has her rather slender frame bouncing against it. Afterward Alex lets out a soft laugh, nodding. "What's up? You seem pretty tense. Everything okay?" Blue eyes shift over to meet Paige's. Slowly. It's been a long day for Alex, who usually has a full day of classes before starting work. "Mmm. Just had a conversation earlier that pissed me off, but also made me think," Paige says, propping her feet up on the coffee table, still wearing her shoes. "You think everyone needs to have someone they can confide in? Not necessarily someone they expect to help 'em, just someone they can unload on? Well, maybe not unload, but you get my point, right?" "Yeah, I get you," Alex agrees,, nodding her head firmly as she does. She took her cue from Paige and kept her shoes on. The girl shifts slightly in her 'Cyclone' t-shirt and usual blue jeans. "I think having a friend like that is really good. Someone you know wont' rat you out and is going to have your back..." She nods a couple times then. A small hand lifts to run through those thick, unruly blonde tresses. It doesn't accomplish much. Paige studies Alex for a long moment. "Realized, too, that I don't have anyone like that. Or not anyone I've shared with like that. You'n me, though, we're pretty close, right? Can tell you stuff, can't I?" Beat. "And by the way, gonna have someone in coming and cooking on Fridays here soon. An actual chef. Gonna class the place up a bit." "Yeah. You can tell em stuff," Alex agrees quietly. " I already told you about the stuff my mom had me getting up to when I was younger. The shoplifting and things. But it's always felt like you, um, didn't really want to open up that far. Which is cool... Unless you mean you need someone to talk to now?" Alex is watching Paige's features intently for any sign of what she is thinking, balancing her hands on her knees. "Oh, A chef sounds cool! Honestly, I can't wait. As if I don't eat too much already." Alex does eat a lot but she is also a twig. So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. "It's...kinda complicated," Paige says after a moment. "Can you make me a promise? I know it seems kinda silly, but..." She turns toward Alex and holds a hand up, curled into a loose fist but for her her pinky. Does she...want a pinky promise? "This is gonna sound kinda weird, but promise I'll explain." She draws in a deep breath. "You promise that for a year, you won't say /anything/ about the topic I'm about to mention to anyone but the people it's directly relevant to without permission, and I'll keep your powers secret, too. We can watch each other's backs and I'll show you some really freaking cool and weird things. And don't promise if you don't mean it, because broken promises come back on you big time, while kept promises help you out. Karma's a bitch or a lovely lady, depending on how you treat her." Karma, the Wyrd, whichever. She pauses a beat then adds, "And never talk about my feet. To anyone. You promise?" "And never talk about your feet?" Alex asks, blinking. She wrinkles her nose and looks like she might laugh. It would be very much in character to do so but something in how Paige is talking has her calming herself instead and taking a deep breath. "I promise. I won't betray you. We can watch each other's back and-" Alex reaches out and takes the offered pinky, repeating the oath back in a way which ensures she has it down in her head. Her earnest blue eyes stare into Paige's as she does and she shifts her weight a little closer, drawing her left leg all the way up onto the couch except for her foot. "So what is all this about, Paige? Sounds like it's pretty important to you. Did something happen...?" As Alex agrees to the pledge, she sees more. No longer does Paige just have blonde hair, she's got feathers. Her eyes are still blue, but now they swirl like gusts of wind. Her nails are more like talons, and there are even small feathers on her arms instead of hair. She doesn't say anything, just watches Alex, waiting for it to sink in. Alex blinks once. hen twice... She opens her eyes wide and then closes them slowly. There's a slow breath, a bit of a squeak and then Alex responds to all of this rather sheepishly with, "S-so that's what all those colours meant..." She doesn't elaborate immediately, instead twisting slightly on the couch. Blue eyes roam Paige's form a couple times before returning to her face. "I knew you were different. This... Is this what you really look like?" Paige's head tilts. "Colors?" she asks curiously before she nods. "But yeah, this is the real me. It wasn't always, but I was...Taken, changed. You've heard of changelings? People taken to the land of the fae and twisted into something else? Same thing, just...more horrific, really. So when I said breaking that promise would be bad, I meant it literally," she says seriously, wanting to make sure Alex understands the threat. "It doesn't matter what the consequence is. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," Alex responds simply, shrugging her shoulders as she does. She is still staring openly at Paige but it seems that freaking out is not on the menu for tonight. The girl does hug her knee against herself for a moment before breaking into a soft laugh. "Yeah. Colors. Like... If I concentrate on people I can see colors around them. They tell me how they're feeling, if they're telling the truth... If they have some kind of weird powers or whatever. Yours were always, um, different. I guess now I can see why." There's a slight shrug from Alexandra then, as if this admission explains everything. "Oh, auras?" Paige smiles a touch. "And if I thought you'd do something to hurt me, I wouldn't have shown you this. But I'm not the only one like me. We're a very...secretive bunch. You can talk to others like me about us, about the Lost, or people like you if someone like me lets you know they're okay, but everyone else?" She shakes her head. "It'd break the promise, the pledge, and my people would come after you. But you're going to see some amazing things, too, Alex, I can promise you that. But the...group people like me belong to, called a freehold? They're gonna want you to make a promise to them, too. Just to ease their minds." She smiles. "I made the same promise, if it helps. And I know this is a lot all at once." "Yeah, auras." A sheepish smile follows that statement form Paige and then Alex is taking a deep breath once more. "I mean, it could be worse," she continues slowly. "Things around here always weird anyway and they never made any sense. Maybe now I'll see something that will help. And besides, this might all be a weird dream anyway and I'll wake up in my bed and wonder why you were a half bird, um... Thing..." It's hard to tell if Alex ever knew a word to describe Paige's form, really. "A Freehold," Alex then repeats back. "Okay. I can do that. Sure. I trust you. I mean, you'd have to break the promise to hurt me too, right? So I guess we're good there." A beat. "I trust you regardless so it doesn't really matter. I am just waiting to see when the Cheshire Cat shows up." "It could be worse," Paige agrees. "And with this promise I can talk more openly. Won't have to hide things from you. I'm not a good liar anyway," she says with a sheepish smile. "And not a bird thing I'm a..." Harpy. "angel sort of person." Keep telling yourself that, harpy that. "And yeah, a freehold is sort of like a group of us under a ruling body. Keeps us safe from the bad guys. The ones who steal humans and turn them into...well...things like me. But you're not dreaming. You may see someone who is like the Cheshire Cat, though," she admits. "Well, Cheshire Cat'd just make this all official is all," Alex returns with a lopsided grin working its way over her lips. She nods firmly, her honey-brown curls bouncing as he is moving her head. "Okay. That all makes sense so far. And you're some kind of an angel... Okay..." She pauses her ,blinking a few times. "And they just turn you into this? The Fae or whomever took you? Like, they just make you something else? On the outside at least...." She swallows, hard. "That's the only really scary part, to be honest. The rest is all cool. Hey, listen. We should go do a thing." "Basically, yes. Or we turn into something else because of where we're at," Paige explains, nodding. "Sometimes we're Taken as kids, sometimes adults. Generally against our will. And we're...well, let's say that we don't have fun over There. It's another world, basically. think of it like another dimension, sort of. And magic exists. A special brand of it. Most of us...don't escape though." She smiles. "But the magic is pretty cool, yes." Alex nods very slowly. She whispers, "I mean. Can you guys help them at all? Or is it just too much?" She fidgets slightly before taking a deep breath. "That's a lot to take in, you're right. But like I said, let's do a thing. What do you do over there?" She laughs softly as she adds, "I want to learn. What there is for fun, if you have a job or something. Whatever." Alex straightens herself to her full, admittedly diminutive, height. "Help the people still over there?" Paige slowly shakes her head. "Essentially no one ever returns from there twice. So we do what we can to prevent people from getting Taken. We fight the people like us who work for Them, and we protect humans." She grins. "And I've got a job for this side of things. I'm a soldier, basically. And a scout." "You're a soldier?" That draws a blank stare from Alex. Slowly, however, the girl nods. Then she takes a deep breath, shrugging slowly "I can fight, I guess, if you guys aren't immune to being electrocuted. And I would make a great scout I think, so..." A beat follows. "Can I sign up?" the girl asks seriously. No fear this one. "We're supposed to watch each other's backs right? I can't do that if you're out fighting and I'm at home watching tv again? Also, damn it, I should've added mandatory movie night to the oath. Oh well. You still need to watch a movie with me once a week." "Alright. Perfect." When Alex is excited she gets like this sometimes, speaking a mile a minute and gesturing to emphasize her words. She looks around the room for a second before turning her gaze back to Paige and nodding. "Well, okay. If they're immune to electricity they're your responsibility," she responds, shrugging faintly as she does. The grin she is wearing hints of teasing even if the woman's manner is largely serious. "Alright. Perfect. I'm... Glad you told me about this. You're one of my best friends , and I wan to be here for you. So this- is perfect." As Alex finishes that statement she slowly drops her gaze. Paige grins. "I don't know about perfect, but it's nice to share with someone. And I won't dump anything else on you tonight. I'm sure you need time to adjust. But anything you want to ask me, you can. And sometime in the next few days we'll get you started on the freehold thing." She pauses a beat. "Ahh...just to be safe, I'd not say anything if you see other people like me. Just until you're pledged to the freehold."