ic Head Case (IC)

[Fox]

April 5th, 2011, 6:26pm

Mara sat on the floor of her warehouse, back against the wall that held her monitors; usually this position would have gotten a lot of concerned curiosity out of Puppy, but she'd long since turned him off to silence his whirring and beeping. Normally innocuous noise had been pretty painful when she'd woken up this morning, and her head had only gotten worse since then - at the moment she had both hands on her skull like she was trying to keep it from exploding, grimacing at every car that drove by, every loud and unidentifiable noise from the warehouse district beyond the walls that, thankfully, blocked most of the light. The small bottle of extra-strength migraine medicine on a nearby bench got an accusing, hurt glare for failing to be even remotely effective. bad day - been a long time - months? - call her - don't want to bother her - call her - leads to questions - trust her - call her

Very, very carefully avoiding the few shafts of light that shone through the windows near her roof, Dragonfly made her way to one of the benches, shifted aside some miscellaneous junk (hissing at the noise a piece of metal made when it fell off and hit concrete), and did something truly rare: physically dialed a number.

[Gizmo]

Ellie lay upside down across her bed, legs resting vertically against the wall while he head hung over the opposite side and into the thick medical text she was pouring over. She'd already been accepted in FCU's pre-med program, but that just meant that she had to start preparing for actual classes. Even so, she wasn't particularly upset when her cellphone rang, giving her an excuse to take a break as she rolled agilely from the mattress and retrieved the device from the pocket of the black pea coat resting on the back of her desk's chair. Checking the name of the incoming caller, her face lit up, and she unconsciously wrapped a lock of hair around a finger on her free hand as she answered. "Hey, muñequita, what's up?"

[Fox]

Mara made a strangled noise and fumbled for the dial to turn the volume down on the old phone. Way, way down. "Remember...first date. Sort of. The Lab." She paused, as the memory of the food from that night brought with it a decent bit of nausea; she shook her head (and instantly regretted doing so), getting her thoughts back on track. "Headaches. You offered to help if I got a really bad one? I...." Now, of course, she had a few second thoughts; she fumbled with the curled-up phone cord for a moment. "If...you're not busy. Could...use your help. I think. Wouldn't bother you, but...head's worst it's been in months. Less stress, maybe, or...."

[Gizmo]

The slight blush in Ellie's cheeks drained immediately, and she reflexively brought a hand up to her mouth, the sound of Mara's haggard voice sending a jolt of panic through her chest. She was already snatching the coat up from the chair and running out her bedroom door before she had time to consciously decide to do so. "Oh Dios, I'll be right there, baby, just sit tight, okay?" she responded into the phone as she took the stairs down to ground level in two long steps and was soon out the door. "I'm going to catch a cab right now, I'm on my way." Tugging her arm through the second sleeve, she sprinted toward the closest intersection.

[Fox]

Mara gingerly hung up the phone, sighing in - if not true relief - at least anticipation of relief. She looked around for a keyboard, finally spotting a bit of black plastic peeking out from under one of her jackets; this she used (carefully and quietly) to order her security system on standby and the main warehouse door unlocked and open. It took a few minutes, time enough to reflect that these things were really, really slow without using her mind directly on the system - she started to consider the pros and cons of a better interface versus better security before deciding that she really, really didn't want to think that hard at the moment.

At long last - ages of careful typing - the front door clicked and swung open just a little, and she sat back on the workbench, scrunched up as much as she could and trying to resist the temptation to put her head in a heavy-duty industrial vise.

[Gizmo]

Ellie managed to convey the urgency of the situation to the driver of the cab she hailed, although she maintained enough composure to get out about a block away from Mara's warehouse. The cabbie seemed reluctant to let the young woman out in the middle of nowhere, but there wasn't much he could do to stop her. From there it was only moments before she spotted the door left slightly ajar and slipped inside, closing it behind her as quietly as she could. "Marbar? Oh!" she breathed, leaving her coat in a pile on the floor as she moved swiftly to the workbench, dropping to her knees and wrapping her arms around the engineer's huddled form. Gingerly, she pulled Mara's head to her chest, murmuring softly.

[Fox]

"Sorry," Mara managed, though just knowing Ellie had arrived made her feel a little better. "Didn't mean to bother. But...thank you. For coming. And hi."

She looked strung out. Not that she usually didn't, but usually she looked like she'd missed a night of sleep or had lost too much time to a difficult puzzle; right now she looked like she'd been put through the wringer or hadn't slept in a week, or both - disheveled, with tired eyes and the sort of movements you see in people who are afraid to shift too quickly. "Not...as bad as it looks," she tried to reassure Ellie. "I think. Don't own many mirrors. But usually isn't. Just...head. Hurts."

[Gizmo]

"Hi," Ellie replied with a sound that wasn't sure if it was a chuckle or a sob. "Don't you dare apologize," the medic scolded without any true heat behind her words, her usual manner of wry challenge discarded, her brow furrowed with concern as she stroked the side of Mara's head. Her girlfriend may have looked like death warmed over, but Ellie's expression overflowed with concern and affection. "You look terrible. Beautiful and just awful," she informed the inventor with another choked laugh. "I'm going to carry you up to bed, okay?"

[Fox]

Mara shook her head - carefully - and pushed herself up onto her feet. "Kind. But can manage...on my own. Don't walk with my brain," she wryly pointed out, if a little weakly. "Usually just need to avoid loud noise. And bright lights." and sharp movement - and what I eat - keep the list short - don't want her to worry

She was, at least, right about that - she stubbornly made her way onto her feet, over to the kitchen and up the spiral stairs without looking any extra worse for wear. That was at least partly because she'd apparently covered the windows that would normally shine down into her loft, if not this time than at some point in the past.

[Gizmo]

Ellie pulled a sour expression, a medic dealing with an unruly patient. "If you're going to be this difficult every time I suggest taking things to the bedroom..." she muttered, following closely behind Mara just in case. To be fair, she was glad to see that the smaller girl wasn't completely immobilized, but she still would have rather carried her smoothly up the staircase with one of her force fields. "And you do walk with your brain," she countered, largely just to distract herself from fretting any more than she already was. "They're called 'motor functions'. Honestly."

Once they'd reached the loft, Ellie led the way into the bedroom, reflexively gathering a faint blue glow about her hand so that she could see without turning on the lights. Pulling back the sheets, she sat cross-legged at the head of the bed and indicating her lap.

[Fox]

Hesitating, Mara was at least not in so much pain that she couldn't blush a bit. More than a bit, really, but she grudgingly, and carefully, moved to the bed and laid on her back with her head in Ellie's lap. not quite how I imagined this - ow - would laugh if my brain wasn't trying to break open my skull - not literally - still - feels like it "Makes me feel like a child," she weakly joked, closing her eyes to keep her brain thinking as few situationally inappropriate things as possible. "I think. Hard to judge."

[Gizmo]

Shushing Mara softly, Ellie adjusted her position to better accommodate the engineer's head, slowly running her fingertips through the unkepmt blonde hair. "I'm going to try using my powers, alright?" she asked, a note of hesitation creeping into her low voice. This wasn't something she'd tried before, and the younger girl was afraid to find out it wouldn't help. "Just relax and keep your eyes closed," she instructed. "It might get a little bright." The glow about her hand took on the hue of natural sunlight, dappled as though filtering through a leafy forest canopy. With deliberate care, she brought her fingers down onto Mara's forehead, very gently massaging the energy into her scalp.

[Fox]

The change in the young inventor was almost immediate: she gradually started to just relax, all the tightness flowing out of muscles she didn't even realize she had tensed. Even her face relaxed, eyebrows unknitting and corners of her mouth softening; after just a few minutes the difference between wrung-out-from-pain and just wrung-out-from-being-tired was abundantly clear. She sighed, settling back a little and just enjoying the soothing relative painlessness. "Mmmh. S'nice," she muttered, shifting. "Maybe magic's not so bad."

[Gizmo]

Ellie silently let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and continued to stroke Mara's head, tilting her own face slightly to one side as she regarded the exhausted expression of the girl resting in her lap. For the umpteenth time, she wished that she had a better understanding of just how her metamagi abilities functioned, wished they could tell her the source of the symptoms they were alleviating, but this time she also thanked whatever cosmic forces may have had a hand in gifting her with those powers. "Try to get some sleep," she suggested softly.

[Fox]

Mara frowned again, and shook her head a little, though she didn't open her eyes. "Mmh. No. Not going to call you over and then fall asleep on you. Deserve better than that." She fought back a yawn - very comfortable lap - before continuing. "You do, I mean. Not that tired, anyway. But...thank you, Ellie. Have...always just had to endure, or ignore. It's a nice change to do something about the really bad ones. Rare or not."

[Gizmo]

"You liar," Ellie berated with a faint smile, tracing her fingertips around the curve of Mara's brow. "If you weren't already horizontal, you'd be falling over." Reaching down with her free hand, she pulled the sheets back up to the other young woman's shoulders. "When was the last time you got even six solid hours of sleep? You're not the only one with a stake in the upkeep of that pert little bod, y'know," she teased lightly, reflexively downplaying her legitimate concerns. "You don't have to thank me, or apologize, either."

[Fox]

Mara made a small noise of protest, but didn't move to stop Ellie from pulling up the covers. "Not that long," she sleepily defended, apparently too stubborn to drift off immediately. "A day. Two, maybe. Had worse. Things that needed building, or head hurting too badly to sleep....s'what you get with artificially mutated brains. I think. Not many other cases for comparison." She yawned again, snuggling in the sheets. "Used to it, when it's not this bad."

[Gizmo]

As Mara murmured tiredly, Ellie's eyebrows lifted. She'd known that her girlfriend's prodigious intellect was beyond the range for ordinary people, and that she possessed a few other distinctly metahuman abilities, but this was the first she'd heard about any artificial tampering. She opened her mouth to ask a half-formed question, but closed her lips and continued to massage Mara's forehead instead. The inventor didn't like talking about whatever abnormalities her brain possessed, she knew, and answers could wait until after a good night's sleep. Very faintly, she half-sung, half-whispered, "Nana, nanita, nana nanita, ea..."

[Fox]

Mara muttered something, but it was completely unintelligible; the warmth, the comfort of her own (fairly high quality) bed, the sleep deprivation, and the sudden release from the grip of her terrible migraine were bad enough, but combined with the singing she was drifting off to sleep before she could bring her stubborn nature to bear. In the engineer's mind the world faded away in layers - the city noise faded, her long litany of concerns got tucked away for later, and even her awareness of her warehouse computer quieted to a low hum in the back of her mind. Everything was just comfort, relaxation, and for the first time in a long time deep, honest sleep.

[Gizmo]

The singing faded to a soft humming and eventually silence as Ellie watched Mara's breathing become shallow and rhythmic. The young woman's expression turned contemplative and her touch grew lighter still. It was several minutes before she began, in a whisper much too quiet to disturb Mara's sleep, "So, listen..." With slow, careful smoothness, she slid her crossed legs out from under the engineer's head and beneath the sheets. "You may have noticed already, but I'm kinda in love with you." Making sure Mara's head rested comfortably on the pillows at the head of the bed, she slipped in beside the smaller girl, one faintly glowing hand running gently through blonde locks. "Just wanted to get that out in the open." Closing her own eyes, she snuggled in a little closer and fell into a shallow doze.

[Fox]

Some handful of hours later Mara awoke, drifting lazily back to consciousness. Despite the short length of rest she felt remarkably refreshed - not quite as rested as a full night's sleep, of course, but she just felt good. Relaxed. And, for just a moment, confused: in the space between waking and her brain truly getting back on its feet, she glanced over at the dozing form of Ellie and blinked. did we - no - clothed - relieved - disappointed? - right - had a migraine - called for help - very effective

She knew she probably ought to feel guilty about taking Ellie away from whatever she'd been doing, and she was certain she'd feel guilty later, but all of that seemed momentarily unimportant next to the attractive girl next to her. In her bed. Under her covers. Very gently pushing herself up to sit with her back against the headboard, Mara pulled her legs up to her chest and watched the medic...and smiled.

[Gizmo]

The amount of time it took Ellie to rouse herself as she felt Mara shift beside her suggested that she needed to take her own advice regarding sleeping habits, but eventually, arching her back in a stretch, the taller girl reopened her eyes and sat up, regarding her partner with a drowsy smile. "Hey. Feeling better?" Mara certainly looked better. Looks fantastic. Heh, bedhead. As the gears slowly started turning again in her mind, it occurred to Ellie's cheeks to colour a deep pink.

[Fox]

"Much," Mara replied, and she meant it - she even looked better, or at least a lot sharper than she had since Ellie'd arrived. And certainly not like she felt like her brain was trying to claw its way out from behind her eyes. "Would have called you for headache help earlier if I knew it'd get you into bed," she commented, raising an eyebrow. A blush betrayed her deadpan, though, and she brushed a lock of hair back behind an ear. "It...thank you. Shouldn't have had to call you, but...glad I did."

[Gizmo]

Pulling herself toward the head of the bead so that she was sitting atop her feet, Ellie placed her hands one either side of Mara's face, running her fingers back through the disheveled blonde hair. "What'd I say about that?" she admonished wryly with a small smile while her eyes traced the lines of the inventor's cheeks and lips. "Don't need to thank me or apologize; if you need me, I'm here. End of story." Her smile widened even as she bit her lower lip to contain it. "Besides, I think I could probably get used to waking up to this."

[Fox]

Mara ducked her head a little, blushing again. "It...was nice. Very nice. If not ideal circumstances. Can think of better reasons to have to sleep exhausted than headache curing and tired mumbling about-"

She stopped, completely motionless for seconds as if someone had frozen her in place. When she finally moved again it was slowly, eyes going wide in horror as she scramblined as far back against the headboard as she could and brought up both hands to cover her mouth. "Oh no - didn't - didn't mean to - would have told you eventually but not - didn't -"