A Bitter Pill To Swallow

Augusta swallows her words, attempting to find some answer to Draven's query, but she just shrugs. She feels foolish for being tricked into, what? unauthorized field trials of some illicit drug? Was it worse that she still thought Floyd was a catch. How could she have been so tricked? He even let her dump him, pretending to put up a protest.

Our, and this was worse, if she haven't have dummies him, would he have done it to other women too? Was she in some way to blame for Melissa's struggles?

No, of course not, not really, but cause and effect were fucking awful companions sometimes.

When Tanya comes back, she closes her mouth and sees her look back at the bathroom. Eva. Was the woman in distress?

"My turn," she says, and goes to the bathroom herself.

In the bathroom, Augusta finds Eva -- trembling, both palms on the countertop by the sinks, steadying herself. She breathes through her mouth, sucking and blowing air as her wet hair hangs lankly down both cheeks.

The Bathroom...

"Eva, are you okay? Did you catch a sniffle from the downpour?" Augusta is strangely interested in this woman. There's something about Eva that really tweaks her empathy. Is it her obvious vulnerability coupled with her intimidating size and presence? Probably something like that.

"Oh!" Eva says abruptly, opening her eyes and straighening up when Ang comes in. "I'm, ah, I'm okay. Maybe something I ate, maybe... yeah, maybe fighting something? I'll be okay." Her eyes find the smaller woman's, and she draws and exhales one last heavy breath before smiling. She still looks bedraggled and like she's been through the wringer, but color is returning to her cheeks... and the blonde's headache is fading.

"Don't worry about me, don't let me feeling off take away from what you guys need to do. It sounds important... and I just took something that should make me feel better. I'm on the mend!"

"You're going through your own stuff, and that's important too. Draven helps people, and if you have come to him, then you must need it too." She touches the woman on the arm, gently. "Nothing we're going through really seems that immediate. It's just a sudden revelation. If we can help, you'll ask, won't you? Anything at all."

Augusta is mostly dry, for some reason, and her hair seems to be in place and under control. Her clothing is well made and seems to have survived her transformation intact.

Eva nods at the idea of asking for help, but she herself can't tell if she means it. She can tell that energy is flooding back into her limbs, that her back is a little straighter, that the set of her shoulders is that much more determined.

"Thanks. I'm really alright, I think," the tall woman says with a nod. Then, wanting to change the topic of conversation, she asks, "What's it's like? I mean really. No bullshit. I bet it was terrifying the first few times, right?"

She leans against the stall by the door, as of needing support herself. "Exhilarating, powerful, freeing. I felt like a god or hero. It was like I was in control of my life for the first time ever."

She shudders. "Until I switched back, and then I vomited. Oh sorry." She winced at saying vomit to the obviously distraught girl. "I then felt like I'd let loose a monster who would destroy everything I valued, had worked for. Who would harm even those I cared for in the service of living in the moment. That was the real horror."

Still queasy, but feeling considerably better, Eva nods at the slimmer, smaller woman when she admits to enjoying the transformation. "Yeah. Yeah -- it's a rush, right? The power."

And then Augusta goes on, and it's clear she's conflicted about what's happened to her -- and about what she becomes.

"Can you control it?" Eva asks as a little more color returns to her cheeks, and as her breathing steadies and strength returns to her sculpted limbs. "When it... happens. And then, like... when you're different. Is that still... you in there?"

"It's me. But my more aggressive side. I'm not really very forward person, you know? Despite accosting you in the bathroom. I'm more reserved, I suppose. She is me with unchecked boldness." She says it straightly, not struggling for the words. She's thought this through, a great deal, and daily, over the past months. She's come to terms with it, and understands it.

This is a lie, she fears late at night when remorse stretches the shadows of her ceiling. She is maybe like an alcoholic who thinks she has it beat because she passed up a drink that one time.

Eva grins a little as she shakes her head. "You're not accosting me. I've just been hiding in here for a bit, feeling like I was going to puke." Then the woman, not terrible skilled in the social arena, adds, "And ah, oh. I bet that does feel good. To not be so like... bound up all the time. I mean... I don't mean that. I mean I don't mean that in a bad way. Do you know what I mean?"

When it becomes clear to even Eva that she's just digging deeper, she makes a face. "Blah! Sorry. I'm off tonight. Meet you back at the table, kay?"

Augusta just nods. "I'm glad you're feeling better. It's been quite the night."

She leaves the bathroom and returns to the table.

Conversation around the table has mostly died down at this point as most that needed to be said right now has been said. Tanya finishes her coffee, fiddling with her phone for a bit. Eventually, Eva - already looking less sick than before her little time-out in the bathroom - returns and joins them again and with that, the group decides to just head home. Their visit to the TANC gave them a few half-answers, but opened up even more questions that they would have to answer.
Apparently, Danvers had been taken outside the facility on purpose before being brought back. But why? What exactly is going on with Brian visiting the prison and certain prisoners being put on new medication? And is he really responsibile for Melissa's and Augusta's changes?

Eva and Tanya exchange phone numbers, something Tanya seems pretty excited about when Eva asks. Then the group takes its leave while Tanya stays. They drive back deeper into Graybridge and return to their respective homes for now.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse
Coincidentally, just the day after the group's excursion to the TANC and their coffee at the Sunny Side Up Diner, where he had come up and some of his apparent secrets had been topic of discussion, Melissa received a message from Brian, asking her to meet in order to 'talk about us'. Even after that entire discussion the previous day and after Melissa had caught him cheating, which had led to their break-up in the first place, he still managed to sound charming in his messages and like he genuinely cared.

The next Wednesday evening, Melissa arrives at the Mill Coffeehouse, a repurposed water mill in Annesburg, accompanied by Augusta. Brian is not aware that his other ex is going to be here as well, as the two of them are planning to use this opportunity to talk to the handsome but potentially untrustworthy man.
Their car pulls into the parking lot just as the sun breaks through the cloud cover. They left the rain behind on their way over to the nicer of the two twin cities and now they actually seem to be getting some late sunlight before the sun is soon going to dip below the horizon. It's a genuinely pleasant day at a genuinely beautiful café.GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement
Another week and another meeting in the cold, clammy basement of the church. Luckily, this Wednesday, rather than the pouring rain of the previous week, the city is only plagued by a light drizzle that doesn't do as much to keep people away, so it's not just Dave and Tanya there. Tanya did actually bake some cookies and buy some drinks which she put out when she arrived to the meeting early. She helps Dave arrange the circle of chairs and get everything in order. Eva is there - Tanya even sent her a message on her phone the previous day, asking if she would - as is Anna Darwell, Brock's girlfriend. He, on the other hand, is missing today. Anna looks sick. She's pale and there are circles under her eyes. More than that, she looks angry. But that is nothing new to Dave.
A few others of the more regular attendants are also there, mostly eyeing Tanya curiously as she's the only one here they've never seen before. Just as Dave gets ready to begin the meeting, there is a hesitant, quiet knock and the door opens again. Timothy Judge, the attempted mugger from the previous week peeks inside. It appears he has decided that he is more scared of not showing up than he is of coming here. "Good evening," he says quietly. "Should I come in?" It sounds more like he's asking if he's allowed to leave.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse

Augusta hasn't been to the Mill Coffeehouse before. Perhaps Brian liked to keep his victims separated, in case anything like what was about to happen should happen. She's nervous. Her mind shifts back in forth from wanting to confront the man, to rationalizing his behaviour in a thousand possible misunderstandings, each less likely than the first.

As they pull over, she takes a number of deep breaths, the mediative effect instant from a scores of public performances and a lifetime of practice at maintaining a proper demeanour.

"I'm ready," she says, convincing herself more than Melissa, as they exit the vehicle.

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement
Eva is finishing up the chores assigned to her -- mostly clearing and cleaning up before people arrive, sweeping the floor, making coffee, answering the door... those and other tasks that Dave thinks she's well-suited for. Eventually, this will anger her. For now, she just does her thing.

She's back to normal -- but after feeling the affects of the medicine (if that's what it was) that Tanya shared, Eva knows that there's a whole other level of 'good' that she can feel. Pumped. Amped. Ready for anything.She helps Anna Darwell into the session room where all the chairs are, then offers to get the woman something to drink. And as she's doing that, she makes eye contact with Tanya, which is a bit of an awkward moment. Eva is hoping, deep down, that she gets a chance to talk to the woman further after the meeting.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse
Ah, the Mill Coffeehouse. Melissa remembers the rich coffee aroma and that first date with Brian very well. The two danced around various topics, their sparking eyes sending messages that didn't match the mundane content of their discussions. She couldn't take her eyes off him, he was that attractive.

Shaking her head, she abruptly snaps out of her reverie. Going any further is pointless. She decides she had been infatuated. End of story, but it still hurts and she is very curious about why he wants to meet her now and what this talk about us is all about. She is glad Augusta is with her for moral support.

Thanks for coming Augusta. I'm not sure I could have met him alone. Won't he be surprised to see you." Clutching her pocketbook perhaps more tightly than she needs to she walks alongisde Augusta, her nerves a little frazzled.

"Should we just let him talk before we fire our questions at him or go in guns blazing, so to speak?"

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse

"Yes, let's go. You lead, I'll follow, and when I sit at your table, let's see what he has to say for himself before we explain."

She gives the other woman a squeeze on the arm for reassurance, and then focusses on her breathing. She doesn't need to go full goblin-mode on the man before he's revealed anything.