Little Black Dress

[Zodiac]

It was mid-morning on a Saturday that Zodiac made her way to her Councillor's door, knocking with a free hand as the other held a bag that contained a pair of boxes. Her Councillor... there were many things that Avis still had to learn, but this was a little something special for the woman - something she'd picked up while she was still in Boston. She didn't want to call it a 'Christmas gift' because it would require she find something for her other cabalmates, but she hadn't located anything that really... seemed to belong to them the way this seemed to belong to Avis.

A small part of her was nervous - anxious in a way - as she knocked again lightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Either Avis would like it, or this would simply go poorly. She was certain she could sell it to the woman in a verbal manner, but whether she'd ever wear it or not... That was the big thing, wasn't it?

Regardless, it was time to talk. She needed to speak with Avis.

[Avis]

It wasn't hard to imagine the sun creeping just that much closer to the horizon in the time it took for the door to Warlock's lair to creap open; just a crack. Within that sliver of space, Avis' head appeared, half obscured by snarls of tangled black hair. Jagged red lines danced across the whites of her visible eye and the flesh around her skull seemed to cling just that much tighter, her lips just that much thinner.

"Zo," Avis mumbled through chapped lips, barely abandoned sleep dragging at her vocal chords. "You need somethin'?"

The door crept open wider and revealed the Councilor to be dressed in a stale tank top and sweats. The nails peeking out from the bottom of her slate grey cotton pants seemed long and ragged. Behind her only darkness loomed.

[Zodiac]

"... the wicked witch of the west has woken," Zoey chuckled a little bit, and though her tone seemed gentle, there was certainly something hidden beneath it. The chuckle didn't seem to reach her eyes - though, whether or not Avis would notice in her state was certainly in question. Maybe it would just be better to...

She sighed a little before simply holding out the bag to the other. "Here... didn't mean to wake you. You don't look so good... if you're feeling unwell, perhaps you should chat with Asp."

[Avis]

A brutal snort of laughter crashed against the suggestion. A sneer curled her lips.

"Yeah, she said she could try to fix it. Thing is, it's not a body problem. It's a mental one. Asp has no business trying to fix those...With magic, I mean," Avis corrected a moment later, the sneer falling from her face. "'M sorry, Zo. I just...am not coping well. You can come in if you want."

With that, the younger warlock turned and disappeared into the gloom of her abode, leaving the bag in the older woman's hands. Slowly the door began to close.

[Zodiac]

The response left her to simply look at the door quietly, before she finally simply shook her head. The bag was placed on the floor outside the door before the brunette simply closed her eyes a moment and let the door close.

She came here with some degree of confrontation in her, with words on her tongue and thoughts in her head... But they didn't matter, in the end. Was this truly what she'd returned to?

She recalled considering all of this 'home' only a few weeks before... she recalled feeling at peace as she saw that those who she had left were precisely the same as when she'd left them... she'd returned feeling assured that the Consilium was somehow still on its feet...

...

She'd returned to something empty, in the end. All that was stated was a quiet 'goodbye,' as she turned away from the door, brushing her hair over a shoulder and making her way back to her room, even shooing away Felix. The whole place was... empty. Devoid of sense. Devoid of reason. Devoid of sanity.

'Home' didn't exist. 'Family' didn't exist. What was the point in trusting in others when they'd do something like this behind your back...? What was the point in making sacrifices and baring the scars she'd borne for a Consilium as thankless as this one...?

Why had she thought that settling down anywhere was the right choice for her...?

[Avis]

Minutes passed. The doors stayed closed, admitting no blade of light through the dark enclosure of her dwelling. No footsteps passed closer, no voice broke the smothering silence. It was just her, alone, enveloped in murk and the memory of tears. Sleep still tugged at her mind, but something else ate at her, something burrowed inside her chest, and there was no comfort found in the cocoon of her sheets. Slowly, her own stench became apparent, and with a grunt of disgust she heaved herself back onto her feet. Half blind, she stumbled over to the rack where some of her clothes hung and she tore an outfit down. A towel was found, and then the Warlock, supposed Councilor, supposed First Talon, supposed Worker of Will, and truthful stealer of lives strode towards that still doorway. A hand pushed the portal open and eyes watered in pain as light stabbed through them, but she didn't moving. Feet carried her, once again, to the bathroom where the body of her child had once lain. She hated the room, hated herself, but it was time to wash all that away. Time to take a cue from one she loved.

Clothes fell away and she stepped into the shower for a long, long, ritual cleansing...

Steam still curled up from the floor by the time she stepped out, feeling like a thoroughly scrubbed lobster. The outfit she'd picked blindly off the rack hung before her. It was something she'd bought with Zoey, once upon a time. Jeans, blouse, knit sweater. Just looking at it made her uncomfortable, and she thought about trying to dash back for a sweat suit, but comfort wasn't what she needed now. She'd indulged herself, glutted on self pity and sorrow, and it was time to become human again. To let the wounded animal, curled in its nest, die.

She put them on.

Ten minutes later, hair mostly dry, Avis stepped from the bathroom, fully dressed, and knocked upon Zodiac's door.

[Zodiac]

A rustling noise came from the other side of the door (along with a soft 'fuck') and given how soundproofed the rooms were it was a good indicator of how loud it really was, before Zodiac made her way to the door, opening it and giving the other woman a strangely hollow expression. "Councillor," she greeted after a moment, stepping back and holding the door for Avis to enter. A citrus scent wafted out of the room on a small tide of smoke, and Absinthe sat with a piece of charcoal burning atop it near the couch that doubled as Zodiac's bed...

It was there that the source of the rustling made itself clear. A couple of suitcases had been filled with clothing, and boxes lay strewn about in various stages of packed. They were organized - lack of organization was hardly her thing - and breakables were in the midst of being meticulously wrapped... it appeared, however, that the knocking had startled her. Shards of a bone china teacup were on the floor, as well as a couple little patches of blood. Zodiac was fairly clearly favouring one foot over another and it wasn't hard to guess why.

"Please, come in. Watch the glass."

[Avis]

For a moment, all Avis saw was the blood. Green eyes finally moved off those crimson stains, landing on their source.

"Thanks for talking to me, Zo," Avis said, stepping into the room, pausing just long enough to pick up the strange bags that had been left by the door. Her eyes studied them for a moment, then flittered back to Zodiac. Material things weren't important right now. "I -- I'm sorry for how I answered the door earlier. I'm dealing with something, but I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I've kinda failed, I guess, with how I've handled things. I just...I don't know what else I could've done. Guess it doesn't matter, though," she rambled, head ducking slightly, "since we're here now. So...do you want me to ask why you're packing before I explain?"

[Zodiac]

Letting the door close, Zodiac sat herself down to pull a small shard of the china from her foot with a small wince, before grabbing a bandage to wrap up her foot.

"That depends on what you intend to explain, I suppose." She raised her gaze to settle on the younger Warlock for a moment before gathering some paper towel to clean up the spots of blood on the floor. The utter neutrality in her tone remained, neither impolite nor welcoming, though she took a moment to clear off a seat for Avis.

Once the blood drops had been dealt with, she took a seat as well, grabbing Absinthe's hose and setting the mouth tip to her lips.

[Avis]

"Well, basically I've been doing a lot of failing lately. Which is fine. Failure's how you grow. Sometimes, though, it has a price," Avis recounted, stepping over to take a seat next to Zoey. She let the bags settle onto her lap, arms folded atop them. Her lips parted, then closed, the young Warlock's eyes staring blankly ahead, mind clearly grasping for words and the will to use them.

"Star and I, well, I got pregnant," she said finally, voice blunt. "We decided that we couldn't keep it and Asp killed it for us. That was a few days ago."