A Bitter Pill To Swallow

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement
Eva acknowledges that Anna answers her with a slight lift of her head, but then she's leaning forward, trying to follow the unfolding drama. First Augusta and Melissa had almost gotten into it over both being with the same guy, and now -- is that what she was hearing here too? That Anna and Tanya were mixed up with whoever this 'Brock' was?"

One thing she doesn't intend to do is sit by while Anna beats the paste out of Gable in front of everyone. The muscles in her calves, shoulders and arms bunch as she prepares to spring into action, and her eyes go to Dave, trying to read his take on the situation.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse
Melissa's posture straightened at the admission from her ex-lover. Suddenly she was interested. It wasn't every day that a man admitted to a mistake and in the presence of more than one person no less. Now she wished she hadn't been so insistent on Augusta staying. How uncomfortable for her this must be, hearing herself lumped in with a number of women. Brian wanted to start seeing her again and was revealing his feelings toward her.

Her hand tightens slightly around his as she struggles with her own feelings that she had apparently been suppressing and that now had burst unexpectedly to the surface.

"Why the text then, Brian?" Her tone was less harsh now, less accusatory, and she was very aware of Augusta looming there beside her. "It's not like you didn't send that text. You did."

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse

Augusta feels the shift, sees Melissa not move her hand away. She's suddenly a third wheel, as the two of them work something out.

She wants to ask Melissa if she should leave, but doesn't want to interrupt Brian from answering what could be a critical question. Not that he's answering all of their questions, so she really should just shut up for the moment and not give him an excuse to avoid another one.

Maybe he's not the bad guy here, who's to say? She had seen no evidence that he was, had never suspected him of anything, just vague accusations and hearsay from people she barely knows. Barely know but oddly trust.

It was stupid to come here without knowing more. We could have investigated him. Now, they're probably going to get back together in front of me, then I'll have to eat a gallon of green tea praline ice cream, and watch fifteen dramas, then when I do go look into him, I'll be the jealous ex-girlfriend stalker. Okay, that sounds like a really good plan. As soon as I get out of here, I'll go get that ice cream. Maybe I should take a picture of them, then print it, and scratch out Melissa's eyes in the photo. That must be cathartic.

This was too much. Even though she was falling for the painfully handsome and smooth-talking man yet again, his overt declaration of love, while Augusta was sitting there right beside her, was almost too much. Yet at the same time, it filled her with an enormous amount of pleasure to hear him profess his love for her. But the way he went on, as if Augusta wasn't there, as if she couldn't be hurt by his words, set some warning flags whipping furiously in her mind.

If he can be this insensitive, he can be this insensitive.


"You're ... you're telling me you broke up because you were afraid of being in love. Is that it?

The more the conversation went on, the more Melissa felt conflicted. Augusta was no close friend but she was another woman. She had the same weird superpower thing happen to her and she was a sister-in-arms fighting the good fight in the dating of incorrigible men.

She slowly withdrew her hand yet didn't ... couldn't ... break her gaze from his. She did wonder for a moment if he was using some kind of power on her himself. That whole mess had yet to be resolved.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse

Augusta gets up. She laughs a little, mostly at herself and the ridiculously awkward situation. "I'll give you a moment. Text me if you need a ride home, I'll just be over," she waves vaguely at the rest of the coffee house.

Unless stopped, she'll move to the counter and ask if they have ice cream. She has a Lactaid in her purse she intends to put through its paces at some point tonight.

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement

"Okay, good, now we have some progress!" Dave stood up from his chair, interposing his bulk into the space between the two women before they came to blows. "So now we can find out if Anna's block might be emotionally based. Psychic powers can sometimes be affected more by emotional factors than physical factors." He looked between the two women, quite aware of Eva's death grip on the chair and readiness to swing should Anna escalate further. "Anna, what are you feeling right now? Can you feel your powers pacing behind your eyes like a caged panther? Describe how you're feeling?" He thought her block could be emotional or could be physical. Might as well try the one factor he could explore.

Augusta's movement snapped Melissa's gaze away from Brian and she looked at the woman. It was almost as if she had forgotten who she was for a second.

"Uh, okay, thanks Augusta. I won't be long." For a moment she felt sorry for her. Sitting through their sappy love fest had to be painful but Melissa hadn't put a stop to it. So much for sisters-in-arms.

Turning her attention back to Brian she asked impatiently,"Well, Brian?" Her hand itched to touch his again but she fought the impulse.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse

Melissa catches that flicker of disappointment crossing Brian's brow. It's convincingly genuine and his apology to Augusta feels real.

When it looks like he is getting ready to leave she almost panics and reaches out her hand. "No. No don't go ... yet." Her head starts to drift toward the counter where she thinks Augusta is but she stops herself. She doesn't know her that well. Not really. What's the harm in giving Brian another chance? Augusta and Brian are old news. It's her he wants. They can talk about the other thing later.

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement

"Is it really Tanya that you're angry at, Anna? Or any of the other girls that Brick has allegedly been with?" he asked, tangentially aware of Tanya shrinking back towards Eva. You and Brock have a very fractious relationship.
You clearly want to be together but mutually push each other away in fits of anger and suspicion. Violence and aggression towards each other substitute for intimacy. It's almost as if you resent sharing space with each other but can't seem to separate. Why do you think that is, Anna?" Glancing back at Tanya and Eva, Dave noticed the rapt attention Tanya had towards the woman who minutes earlier threatened to kick her ass. He moved back behind the blonde volunteer and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, almost as if holding her in her seat. "Tell us, Anna, tell Tanya here, what you were thinking when you threatened her. Tell us what part of that would make you feel better?"

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse
Brian considers Melissa's request to stay for a brief moment, then he relaxes his posture again, sitting back comfortably. His eyes quickly find those of a waitress and he wordlessly indicates for another espresso, then his eyes turn to Melissa again. "Of course. I'm not in a rush," he says. His eyes study her for a long moment, then he asks, "If you don't mind, how did you and Augusta meet? I wasn't aware you were friends." Before Melissa gets a chance to answer, he indicates towards her drink. "You haven't had any of your cappuccino. It's probably going cold."

The man behind the counter turns to Augusta. He looks maybe three or four years younger than her, with red hair and a heavily freckled face. "Sure we do," he tells her. He fishes out a dessert menu from behind the counter and hands it to Augusta. Their selection isn't exotic enough to include green tea praline but there are a handful of ice cream options. "I would need some too, in your place," the man says, his tone sympathetic. When Augusta looks at him, he nods towards the table with Melissa and Brian. "Sorry if I'm intruding, but I noticed you and your friends. It's never fun to be the third wheel on someone else's date."

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement

"Are you really , though?" he scrunched up his face in a passable imitation of the Thor/Danerys meme. "Sex isn't always intimacy." he told Anna, hands still on Tanya's shoulders. "For you and Brock, I feel like it's often just a different focus for your aggression towards each other. Hm?" He let go of Tanya and put himself in the center of the circle, squatting down to match Anna's level, "I think you're both afraid of opening your relationship into real intimacy and the hostility you feel are just you lashing out at that fear. That fear of opening up and getting hurt. Somewhere in your past, you've lost someone close and that loss is subconsciously affecting your relationship with Brock. He's looking to you for love and intimacy."

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Mill Coffeehouse

Melissa's eyes break from Brian's and absentmindedly follow the meandering waitress as she gets another cappuccino.

"Oh, you know. Similar haunts in a small town. But why does that matter? Would that have made a difference in your choice of women if you had known we knew each other?"

Melissa's ongoing struggle to accept Brian was evident by her oscillating tones; one minute almost pleading or hurt and the next angry and impatient.

Staring down at her now cold cappuccino she replies, "I think you just ordered me another. That was very thoughtful."

Eva watches the drama unfold in the circle, and gradually tightens up more and more, uncomfortable AF with the feelings, emotions, and topics on open display. She fidgets, she lokos at the ceiling, she crosses her arms in front of her chest. This is torture!

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Javelina, Basement
Anna pauses at Dave's words. The last of her anger seems to be gone by now as she looks more confused and overwhelmed. "You don't know anything about me or Brock," she says defensively, but without much conviction as her thoughts are clearly still on his words. "I'm not afraid, not of Brock or intimacy or anything else, understood? I'm just..." She turns her eyes to Tanya again but Tanya's attention is no longer on her but on Eva next to her. Anna points a finger at the blonde woman and half-heartedly threatens, "Stay away from my boyfriend." She then looks at Dave again before sitting back down in her chair, arms crossed and sour expression on her face, just as usual.

As soon as Dave has started to intervene and drawn Anna's attention more to him, Tanya begins to relax, seemingly no longer that worried about getting punched in the face. Instead, she notices Eva's uncomfortable fidgeting. She watches the taller woman sympathetically for a few moments before reaching out a hand. She briefly rubs Eva's arm in what's supposed to be a comforting gesture, then, strangely, offers her hand to Eva for her to hold.

Eva watches as Darwell finally winds down, sort of running out of anger juice as Dave just keeps talking at her, running her in conversational circles. Something else the woman had said had caught the metahuman's attention, but too much had been said between then and now for Eva to even remember what it was.

Then Anna is sitting down, muttering, and Tanya Gable is... rubbing her arm? And then extending her hand? Rather than take it and hold it, Eva lightly slaps it, giving the other woman a low-five before leaning in towards her.

"What's up?" she asks, just not picking up what Gable is putting down.