Magic Hangover

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

Who: Molly
Where: Medical Facility Kitchen
When: Day 24
Invited: Open
Status: Incomplete

Molly felt twitchy under her skin, and her headache was pretty much up there with her worst ever hangover, complete with accompanying nausea. Daana, her bones ached. Her hair hurt. She sipped at her orange juice and pushed her eggs around the plate. As often as she nagged Tara to eat after a big magic expenditure, she was finding it hard to follow the same advice. In fact she was paler than usual under her freckles. She hadn't even attempted to put her mop of curls to any kind of rights, making it truly look like a brillo pad gone horribly wrong.

She was here, in a corner, managing to stay mostly out of sight without expending magic. She had heard the meeting, so she had attended. It exacerbated her headache. She was smart enough to know she was in no condition to hunt. She was in no condition to be upright.

She saw Jon earlier, in the group plotting and planning. But she had hidden from him. She was curious and hopeful that the age reversal had righted itself, and terrified that it hadn't. Talk about the kiss of death. Never again. Relationships only ever ended in disaster for her.

She managed to down a little more orange juice and wondered if vitamins would be easier to take than real food right now, if they had any.

Oh goddess bright... Sawyer was here. She pushed her plate aside and just sank her head into her arms, her forehead against the cool table.

Comments

[Chloe]

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Chloe had lurked just outside the big kitchen, shamelessly eavesdropping as Dr. Jackson explained the situation and everyone argued about how best to deal with the current situation. Not that the explanation had explained everything--not by a long shot. (Who's Captain Jack Sparrow?) Chloe had wondered.

Chloe had a vague notion that Captain Jack was some friend of Rose and the Doctor. (I was really out of the loop back on the beach,) she thought as she walked away. It sounded like the meeting would be going on for a while, so she'd gone looking for the pantry. She found it on the other side of the building.

"Oh my god!" Chloe said, walking into the room and staring at the shelves and shelves of foodstuffs. Her eyes fell on one shelf in particular. "Cookies!" she creid, snatching up a bag of Oreo knock-off cookies. She fumbled with it, tore it open and popped one in her mouth. Crunchy and creamy and full of sugar, it was incredibly delicious.

She gobbled several more, only stopping when she suddenly reeled. "Whoa! Sugar rush!" Chloe set the bag of cookies aside and cruised the aisles. Her mouth watered. Chloe opened the large purse she was carrying and grabbed a jar of peanut butter, crackers, a small jar of applesauce, and a can of soup into it. And the bag of cookies.

Then it was back to the kitchen. Chloe peeped inside and saw that the meeting had broken up. She walked over to the counter and searched until she found the tableware. Then she paused in mid-motion.

A refrigerator. Chloe yanked the door open. Milk, butter, eggs, bacon and some luncheon meats in a meat drawer. A pitcher of what looked--and smelled--like orange juice. This called for a glass. Chloe grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with juice.

She drank half of it in one go. It was cold and sweet and delicious and nothing she'd ever drunk had tasted half so good. Chloe lowered the glass and drew a deep breath, then refilled it from the pitcher. Put the pitcher in the fridge and moved back over to the counter.

That's when she noticed Molly in the corner. Molly had her head cradled in her arms. Chloe collected an armload of her treasures, carefully picked up the glass of juice, and walked over to place it all on Molly's table.

"Hey, Molly," Chloe said. "What's new?"

[Molly]

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

Molly turned her head so that just one blue eye peeked over the crook of her elbow. Huh. Rumor mill was right. Chloe was definately looking a thousand percent better than she had when Molly last saw her on the beach.

"Apparently you." It didn't feel like magic though. Not that Molly was in any condition to try sensing her out. Now when every nerve in her body felt sore from yesterday's magic overindulgence.

"I'd offer you my breakfast but..." Molly managed to twitch some fingers at the bag of cookies Chloe was holding. "Good thing Ripley's not here. I understand she's got a thing for cookies."

Molly rolled her forhead against the table again, making her eye dissapear she she let her hair blot out some of the harsh light. "I also am considering beating myhead against the wall until I'm unconscious. However, I thing crawling back into bed would be a bit less dramatic."

Except River had hidden Ash's pants in Molly and Tara's room. Evidently crazy psychic girl was convinced they were evil and that Tara's room was the only safe place to keep them. Every pair. Silly girl, didn't she know it was heis SHIRTS that were evil? Ash was sure to be looking for them, and either running about in his skivvies or PJs. Please let it be PJs.

"I'm also thinking of painting a mural on the wall, to cover up the Bad Wolf thing. Maybe a nice portrait of Rod Serling, as Island Mascot. If I can only find some paint. It's either that or 'Welcome To Hell'."

[Chloe]

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Chloe listened with half her attention to Molly's diatribe as she opened a package of crackers and began smearing peanut butter on them, turning out a plateful of them. Only then did she eat one. It was at least as good as the cookies, maybe better. She thought she might have moaned and glanced at Molly guiltily.

Molly showed no sign of having heard. "I am so out of the loop," Chloe said. She ate another peanut butter cracker. "So I guess you've had a bad day? Wanna talk about it? And who or what is the 'Bad Wolf' anyhow?"

[Molly] Brain Hurts, does hair have nerves?

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

"Ummm... I think it's Rose. Tyler. She did some wierd psychic thing. Not clear on what. Especially since she isn't supposed to be psychic. Might be something these bastards did to her while she was here getting experimented on. Don't really know." Molly smelled peanut butter and heard Chloe crunching. Her stomach rebelled a bit, but not enough to be embarassing.

"Bad day yesterday. Went to help Tara get her magic back. Got fried. Now I know what a mesquito feels like when it hits the bug zapper." Molly pulled herself semi-upright and used both forearms to briefly pulle her hair back off her face. She squinted into the light of the room and looked at Chloe again, noticing her eyes for the first time. She swallowed hard.

"Um... Chloe... why do you have the eyes of a Sidhe?"

[Chloe] Sidhe eyes?

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Chloe paused in the act of open the jar of applesauce. "Is that what I have? Sidhe eyes? Huh." She smiled. "Sidhe eyes. Cool."

"How, though?"

Chloe ate a spoonful of applesauce. She rolled her eyes and sighed. It was just so good. Everything tasted so damn good anymore. (If I'm not careful, I'll get to be as big as Hurley,) Chloe thought.

Molly was still waiting for an answer. Chole opened her mouth to say, "I don't know" but she didn't. Molly wasn't likely to freak out like some of the people back at the beach camp. "They're a result of the cure for the wraith's attack. I don't know why, exactly. But if they're the worst side effect I have to deal with, I'll take it."

"And, uh--getting Tara's magic back?" Chloe asked.

[Molly] Not quite there yet

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

"Well, the color is Sidhe... but you don't have the slitted pupil. So they're not quite there yet." Molly propped her too heavy head up with one hand, her elbow braced on the table.

"Yeah. Tara used a massive amount of magic keeping the rescue team from being locked in here on some sort of automated lockdown. The, while she was recovering, she used more. She burnt herself out. Found someplace on the island that could let her recharge. Bunch of us went with. Not a nice trip in the country."

"You notice how nothing is ever peaceful around here? There's always some sort of crisis going on. Like the universe is out to get us."

[Chloe]

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Chloe laughed. She tried to stifle it, but it came out just the same. Molly looked surprised at first, then a little hurt. That sobered Chloe.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said. "I really am. I shouldn't laugh and I apologize. Maybe your life was more sedate before you got here, but mine...wasn't."

"I grew up in Smallville. It's in Kansas. You may have heard of the place. 'Meteor rock capital of the world'? A friend of mine was on the cover of Time magazine when she was five years old--she was orphaned by the meteor shower that made Smallville famous."

"My whole life Smallville has been the center of all kinds of weird shi--stuff. I kept a file of strange events, my Wall of Weird. Since I started high school I've been up to my ass in one crisis or another."

Molly was listening with an indecipherble expression. Chloe wasn't sure if she was offended or curious or angry or disbelieving. "Anyway, my point is that maybe most of the people here led mundane lives, or at least knew only one kind of weirdness," Chloe continued, thinking of George. "I witnessed a parade of superpowered creeps and weirdos all through high school.

"All different and all making trouble. Things here aren't so different."

[McKay] Reasons?

[lost-mckay.livejournal.com]

'..."Anyway, my point is that maybe most of the people here led mundane lives, or at least knew only one kind of weirdness," Chloe continued, thinking of George. "I witnessed a parade of superpowered creeps and weirdos all through high school.

"All different and all making trouble. Things here aren't so different..."'

Wandering in from the Geek Lab, McKay entered just as the final words were spoken. He paused just inside the door, glanced at the women talking, and turned towards the coffee supply at the cabinet. He wouldn't take a mundane, boring life for the world, but on the other hand, he really, really wished that his non-boring life was back home, where he was needed.

"I think everyone's got a reason to be here. Just haven't figured it out yet." He couldn't help himself. "I figure that it's because 'they' want to test whatever it is against people with every ability imaginable. Telepathy, telekenetics, brilliant scientists..."

He shrugged and opened the cabinet, making quick work of the coffee pot. Turning around, he offered the women a rapid, tight-lipped, almost awkward smile and twisted an arm around to gesture at the now burbling pot. "I'll be back when it's done."

[Chloe]

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

"They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and just set up shop in Smallville," Chloe said, mostly to herself. Not that either Molly or McKay seemed to be listening. She shrugged and went back to eating as McKay vanished through the doorway.

Chloe had seen the sign on the door of the "Geek Lab" though she hadn't gone inside. Maybe later. See what the geeks were up to in there.

[Molly]

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

Molly gave McKay a half harted wave as he left. She didn't dislike the man, she just found him hard to understand. He could be grating as hell, but his intent was never ill.

"Okay, so all of us are used to our own brand of wierd shit. Do you think we'd be coping so well with half this mindtrip if we didn't have some practice?" Molly was sick and tired of evrything. But one thing her adventure had really pushed at her was that she was sick and tired of denying who she was. Both halves of her.

The Dharma people might know already, or not. But she wasn't gonna hide anymore. Those who couldn't handle it could be tracked down and have their memories edited once they were rescued if they proved a danger. And when her magic hangover was more tolarable, she was going to get her mop off her face and keep it back and maangeable, braided even, and damn the ears.

"I've lived with at least as much wierd shit as anyone. But the crisis on crisis can wear down anyone. Didn't you ever have a day to just destress in your hometown?"

[Chloe]

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

"Yeah..." Chloe admitted. "Not as many as I'd have liked," she said.

Molly really seemed to be down in the dumps. Not just hungover, like she'd thought at first. Emotionally exhausted. She sounded like she could use some serious rest and recreation. Having just recovered from what had seemed like a cruel and unusual sentence herself, Chloe knew how she must feel.

"So what would you like to do to de-stress?" Chloe asked. "If it's at all possible, I'll help. I'm up for just about anything these days."

[Chris]

[estirose.livejournal.com]

CHRIS ENTERS.

"All of us need to destress," Chris said, entering. "Personally, I could do with some food and companionship. Maybe a group celebration."

Not that he really wanted any of it, but it was a reasonable suggestion, and he expected that Chloe and Molly would follow it.

[Molly]

[purplerhino.livejournal.com]

Molly dragged herself fully upright. “It’s mostly the magic hangover talking. When everything hurts, nothing looks positive.”

And facing up to your own stupidity and selfish whiny nature didn’t do much for the psyche either. She had needed that slap upside the head.

How did she unwind? “Dancing, swimming, watching the races, shopping, just sitting in a meadow with the sun and nature all around me…”

Chris came in and mentioned a celebration. She scooted over a bit to give him room, as she was still working up the effort to go back to bed.

Molly looked at him. “That reminds me, spread word to everyone but Claire… two days, baby shower/welcome Aaron party. How’s that for a celebration?”

[Chloe]

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

"Sounds perfect!" Then she frowned. "Of course, I'm not sure what I'll give Claire or the little bugger. As far as I know, the island is severely lacking in gift shops."

The she grinned and shrugged. "But I'll think of something."