ArchivedLogs:Rebirth

Rebirth
Dramatis Personae Anette and Pedro
In Absentia	2016-02-25 "Maybe I am stronger if I let others in"
Location <BOM> The Spatters - Ascension Island
A comfortable three-bedroom cabin, sturdily built if inelegant. The front door opens up into a cozy sitting room with small bathroom; it is adjoined by a kitchenette with room for small table. The three bedrooms here -- two off the sitting room, one on the other side of the kitchen -- are not uniform in size nor layout, with the considerably smaller kitchen-adjacent room having its own screened-in porch. It's a chilly day in late February, and so the fire is burning brightly, with all the curtains and blinds drawn. Sprawled out on the couch is Pedro, dressed in a hoodie and blue jeans. He stares intently at a laptop screen, tapping away on the keyboard and wiggling a small mouse. Sounds of cannon fire and explosions can be heard over the sounds of ACDC coming from the large headset he wears. The smell of coffee is everywhere, and a large mug of it sits precariously on the arm of the couch. The front door swings open and Anette quickly comes in, escaping the cold. She's bundled up pretty tightly and so it takes few a few minutes to remove everything. Scarf, gloves, hat, coat. Once it's removed, the bandages covering her left shoulder and the bite marks, are easily visible. Noticing Pedro on the couch, she waves, making her way over and dropping down into a nearby chair. "What're you up to?" The bat's ears perk up, and he slides the head set back, and lowers the volume. "Hey! How're things? Your shoulder holding up?" He pops up and steps into the kitchen. "I'm just playing my tank game. Didn't feel like braving the cold today. Did you want some coffee?" "It's good. A little sore. I, uh...well, I got a tattoo." With that, Anette begins picking at the bandage, carefully peeling it away. "Yeah, coffee sounds great," she says. "Maybe a pack of ice while you're up?" The bandage peels away, revealing the tattoo underneath. Two phoenixes, circling each other. One of them is burned out to embers but it feeds off the flames of its brighter twin, promising reignition. The tattoo, though raw and fresh looking, is still well-designed and drawn. Pedro's ears perk up once more. "A tattoo? Cool!" A mug of coffee is poured, and then he's rummaging around in the freezer. A few moments later, he's by her side, offering her a dishcloth-covered icepack. He peers curiously at the tattoo for several long moments. "That's pretty cool, the art is fantastic. What... what's it mean?" Anette allows Pedro a few moments of admiring the tattoo before she presses the icepack to it, leaning back against the chair with a sigh. "They're phoenixes. Rebirth, what else?" she says, glancing sideways towards Pedro with a grin. "Alright, there's a little more to it than that. It's a reminder. All the crazy lately, between the zombie plague and the drugs and...and everything. I've always been...on my own. Always thought I could fight my own battles, take care of myself. I'm starting to realize that, well, maybe I don't need to do that." She lifts the ice pack a moment, looking down at the tattoo, the phoenix feeding from the strength of the other. "Maybe I am stronger if I let others in. And...maybe trying to do everything myself only hurts everyone I care about." Pedro grins brightly as she speaks, nodding when she's done, and he moves to wiggle in beside her, despite the chair's limitations. "I am glad for you, that you've come to that realization. It's one thing to be independent, and quite another to never asking for help. It's is a show of strength and courage when you ask for help. It means you understand the situation you're in, and you're taking the best option for getting through it." He wraps both wings about her, and squeezes gently. "I will always be a shoulder you can lean on, okay? No matter where and when. We're friends, right?" Anette chuckles a bit as Pedro squeezes in next to her, moving a little bit she can as she takes a sip of her coffee. "It's a hard lesson to let sink in. But after nearly killing you and Killian because I thought I could handle the flu and then whole mess with the drugs, I...I'm sorry, for everything." She pauses a moment and takes another slow sip of coffee. "I'm not saying I'm going to get any better about it. But I'll work on it." Pedro giggles and squeezes her once more. "You have said sorry more than enough, and you have been forgiven already. And that you will work on it is good enough for me." He lets out a long breath. "Besides. I would never have pushed my powers had I not followed you into that house. And I found how just how much you mean to me. It felt good to be able to punish the people responsible for furthering your drug habits. I mean, I completely trashed a house!" Anette lays her head on Pedro's shoulder as he squeezes her. "Still, wouldn't have gotten that bad if I hadn't tried to handle the dream thing myself. Everything just got so out of control..." She looks to Pedro as he speaks about his own feelings, pressing her lips together but saying nothing. "If you think trashing a house is fun, you should have been there when we murdered all of them." Pedro chuckles. "I did kill one or two on my own, with all the flying glass in the living room. And I should have aimed higher with the box of cocaine at the dude. I dunno if I could stomach just plain killing them, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, yeah?" He leans back against her, letting out another breath. "Hopefully we can solve future problems without having to kill everyone. Maybe just kill a few and the others learn?" The bat giggles. Anette nods along, smiling faintly at the memory. "Yeah, you did," she agrees, shifting her position to put the ice pack back on her shoulder. "I dunno, I think I kinda like the killing. Very...therapeutic."