Inoue pouted. "H-hey, let's see you draw hair with a big block of carbon!" She folds her arms and huffs in exaggerated manner.

I don't suppose you have any way of proving that? "You have my word," Inoue states, matter-of-fact, as if that is all the proof any sensible person needs. "I do not know much more than I have already told you; I did not even know your name before this morning Your fortune is filled with ill portents of violence and loss, but you will find the strength to overcome those challenges. You are cosmically important... either that or the movie we're about to see is apocalyptically bad and I'll feel very sheepish in two hours for revealing all this to you."

"I do a little bit of everything; we're trained to be as independent as possible. But as a miko my primary function is to serve as a conduit between the physical and ephemeral worlds, bartering my body for the knowledge or service of powerful spirits. I guess you could say that I am whatever you need me to be."

Inoue eyes the hand Elissa is holding out to her, skeptical. "So... am I 'OK' with you Ann?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:57, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

Elissa looked at her hand. The gesture of friendship she was making. She looked at Inuoe who had just totally ignored it. Not even bothering to make a comment or anything "Well fuck you too then" Elissa took her hand back. She'd made an offer an Inoue had spat it back in her face. Ignoring it even. She leaned back on the wall her face closing down

"The deal with us two is non of your fucking business little Miss Spy. Why don't you go back to your wizards and find somebody else to worm into the confidences of by pretending 'gosh look we are on the same course'.  Trust is earned by doing trust worthy things. Not by sneaking and lying... and don't give me that crap about 'I never lie'. You hunted Ann for a reason and wormed your way into her confidence enough to suggest this" she gestured "Not one hint of the magic shit. Just deceit and lies The way out is over there" she pointed

OOC I did check with the player, and it is deliberate ignoring and rejection. That should be obvious in Inuoe's body language
This message was last edited by the player at 09:29, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

(( We spoke in PMs and Elissa's player proceeded to completely disregard my explanation, so I guess she is committed to this portrayal of her character. ))

Inoue blinks and looks up from Elissa's hand at the blue-haired woman's face, eyes widening slightly in surprise. It has not escaped Inoue's notice that Ann never actually answered her question about whether she trusted Elissa; she's beginning to understand why. Elissa seemed to be trying to make Ann's decisions for her, not caring one writ about her supposed friend's input.

Inoue takes a step away from Elissa towards Ann, keeping her eyes on the sweary intruder. The unstated intent is clear: only Ann can tell me to leave.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:34, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

Why did going to see a film have to be so difficult? Ann wondered whether Miss Casey would know about this mystic order, but she wasn't around to ask.

"So my hair looking like that is just down to your artistic skills, rather than it really looking like that? That's a relief."

Elissa and Inoue didn't seem like they were ever going to get on. There was no way that Ann was going to avoid pissing off one of them after Inoue had refused to shake Elissa's hand. And Elissa was right: Inoue had been deceitful to get near Ann, whereas Elissa had been a friend for months, and more importantly, had backed her up against a vampire. Her loyalty was clear.

"Look Inoue, you can't expect to just come into my life, disrespect my friend, keep your motives secret and be accepted with open arms."

But Miss Casey had told Ann to get together a group that could help her as the Slayer. Inoue seemed like she could be part of that.

"I trust Elissa. There's enough danger out there without us fighting amongst ourselves. So I need you two to kiss and make up. Inoue, shake her hand."

Inoue winces a little as her artistic skill was slagged, but tries not to take it personally. Visual art wasn't exactly a priority subject at the temple. It's fine. Nothing is the matter. Discard these feelings!

Disrespect her friend? When had she ever done that? It was Elissa who had barged into their night out, started making demands, offering friendship conditional on Ann's approval, and then got upset when Ann didn't give it right away. And keeping motives secret? Inoue had been about to tell Ann everything before Elissa showed up! But... Inoue supposed she could understand Ann's perspective. Elissa's was still a mystery.

And Ann was giving her an order. "I will shake her hand, but I will not kiss her," Inoue says, forcing a neutral expression. She approaches Elissa, hesitates for a moment, then speaks.

"I am sorry if I have done something to disrespect you. It was not my intent; I suppose my understanding of British etiquette is not as complete as I had hoped. May we still be friends, El?" She offers her hand, mirroring Elissa's earlier gesture. She looks down at her hand. Her left hand. Whoops. She swaps hands to make it easier for her.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:52, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

"I don't want to kiss you either Inuoe..." Elissa said slowly, thinking about it. She went through her options carefully. None of them were nice. Some were terrible. Most of them in which she didn't go along with Ann's request ended badly

Elissa took the offered hand then answered the question about friendship seriously "OK Inoue 'sorry' accepted. But fuck me girl, it's hard. I offered you my hand before and you spat in my face. You work by stealth, manipulation, deceit and magic. You represent a group of wizards who we know fuck all about, but are powerful enough to fuck around with time and teleport you here. Maybe if you acted trustworthy, I'll trust you. But right now... Jesus girl... that's a big ask"

She took her hand back "We should go somewhere else to talk. Trust that's lost, like yours Inuoe.... Ann trusted you enough to come here, and all that was based on deceit. Getting that trust back takes time to rebuild. Time and honesty. Let's go spend that time, and practice that honesty"

Inoue is not on nearly enough drugs to begin to comprehend this woman's sanctimonious, hypocritical double-standard and made-up accusations. It's probably better to just agree with everything she says until she goes away. So she nods and mmm-hmms at the appropriate points, not willing to speak and risking saying something else to set her off.

"Movie is in six minutes and we need to pick up refreshments if we still intend to see it," Inoue says quietly, reasoning a simple statement of fact ought to be safe territory.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:00, Sun 16 Jan 2022.

"We need to talk more than we need popcorn, girl" Elissa said quietly "Come on. The movie's a bust. There's a kebab van round the corner, or we could try and find somewhere inside to sit. We can go tomorrow night. "

"That ticket cost fifty pence and it's only good for tonight!" Inoue protests meekly. "Talk can be done any time."

"It's not about talking, girl. It's about trust. We want to be able to trust you. To trust you.. we probably need to trust the wizards that we know absolutely nothing about, right? If you were us, would you even think it was slightly fucking reasonable, especially since all you've done so far is wormed your way into Ann's confidences on false pretenses?"

"I mean come on girl, we're trying here. Meet us half way. Let's go talk. Work out what we're going to do. If there's any chance of us working together, then we need to get this sorted. You need to be open with us. And if Ann says so, we'll be open with you"

Oh yes, Inoue thinks to herself as evidence for a completely self-absorbed personality mounts. I have been answering every question asked of me and doing my best to understand your strange British customs, but it is I who needs to meet you half way. How silly of me.

"Fine," Inoue relents, sighing. "Whatever you want."

Guys, you could continue the conversation here, in the YMCA (which has a coffee bar as well as the restaurant where breakfast is served) or I could set up a new thread.  Which do you prefer?

Ann looked down at her ticket then longingly up at a poster for the film. "Donna Summer," she whispered.

However, they evidently needed to talk this out.

"As Elissa says, let's find somewhere a bit more private than the middle of a cinema to discuss this. We can go to the café at the YMCA. That's nearby. Then you can tell us all about how you found me and what you're hoping to do now you have. These are dangerous times to be in Cambridge, especially if you're me, so I'm going to need you to lay all of your cards on the table, and I'm not talking about those tarot cards."

Before she headed towards the doors, she said, "Also, what powers do you have? Those tarot cards aren't just superstition, right? Can you fight when things get sticky? And will your order send more of you? What do they know about me?"

Yay, more opportunities to tell these strangers all of my secrets while asking no questions of my own, Inoue continues to narrate the conversation in her head. Why am I going along with this?

Inoue makes an indistinct acknowledging sound as their destination is set. She sees no reason to point out that the YMCA is where she lodges when she's not being a deceitful spy-woman.

"As I said, I do a little bit of everything. The cards are not just superstition. I can fight. I am not at liberty to discuss my order beyond my personal responsibilities."

"So if I was to summarise... " Elissa said carefully "You won't tell us anything. You want us to trust you. But your only action so far has been deceitful... worming your way into Ann's confidences. Got it. Have I missed anything?"

"You would dismiss anything I said to the contrary so sure, you have not missed anything."

"You've no fucking idea whether I'd dismiss it or not, because all you have done is kept secrets." Elissa said "Look I get you think I'm a dork. It's in every gesture of your face.   So why don't you let go of that venom and actually try and get along. Stop being secretive. Start trusting. Because otherwise your mission ... whatever it is blown."

"If you think I don't like you... well I don't like your actions. I don't like them a lot. Maybe you had good reasons, maybe not... but how the fuck will be know if you won't say anything. If you won't tell us jackshit, all we have to go on is your actions. And your actions girl, don't say 'trust me'."

"Why don't we all reset. Get rid of that anger and hatred because it isn't your friend. And actually tell us what the fuck is up"

"My mission," Inoue states simply, "is a sacred oath that only ends when either Ann or I die, or the spirits give me a vision instructing me to redirect my efforts. It does not end because you do not like me, or Ann does not like me, or anything else. I never asked for your trust. I have asked nothing from either of you except whether you had seen a girl from a drawing, or Ann would like to see a movie tonight. You have thwarted my mischievous, juvenile plan both times. Good job. Buy yourself a cookie."

"You infuriate me in a way I did not know I could feel, El," Inoue continues. "You accuse me of deceit after lying to and spying upon me. You make things up, saying that I spat on you; I had a course in oratory, I have not spat on anyone since I was nine years old. You claim I have not told you anything, when I have already told you enough to make any sane person think I was insane. You admitted that if I had come out with this information immediately you would have thought me 'even more insane than you do now.' You basically admitted you understood the reason for not telling the whole truth, and demand I do anyways, while dismissing or ignoring everything I say! What in the gods-damned hell do you want from me you hypocritical, sanctimonious cunt?!"

Inoue covers her face with her hands and starts sobbing, muttering and chastising herself in broken Japanese between shuddering gasps. She wipes her eyes with the back of her jacket and then starts running towards the YMCA as fast as she can. She is pretty fast!
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Sun 16 Jan 2022.

"Great now she pulls the manipulative 'you have hurt my feelings' card, without telling us anything"

Elissa frankly couldn't give a toss what people she didn't like felt about her and Inoues's laughable 'sanctimonious, hypocritical' words if anything made her feel good. It said that Inuoe didn't understand her at all, and that was good. The less people acting like an enemy understood the better. Don't be in a hurry to correct their mistakes

"Still won't tell us a thing about her organisation... you know the ones that bent time and space to get her close to you. or what her powers are.  Oh... I forgot to tell you: they are a misogynistic outfit who think women are inferior... we had a chat about it before. And now we're expected to chase after her and appease her. And when we do she'll tear up again if we ask her any questions."

Elissa shrugged "Shame. All she had to do was trust you and be honest. But some people just can't do that. Better off without her.

"So much for you two kissing and making up. Look, she's a stranger in this country and doesn't seem to fully understand how things work here. For all your talk of her trusting us, where have you shown any trust in her? I'm going to go check on her and see if I can patch this up. Otherwise, school is going to be decidedly chilly with her being in my class."

Ann followed Inoue to the YMCA as quickly as she could without running faster than a human would be expected to by passers-by. Once there, she found Inoue.

"Let me buy you a drink and let's talk this through."

She glanced around.

"Perhaps I should tell you about myself. I'm the Chosen One. It's a bit like being Superman in that Christopher Reeve film." Not seeing recognition in Inoue's face, she continued. "He's really strong, and so am I. Obviously, I can't fly like he can. Or have laser eyes. Or X-ray vision. And I'm not invulnerable to harm. Or from another planet. Maybe that wasn't the best example."

"The Bionic Woman. You've seen that, right? Jaime Sommers? No? Well, she's a cyborg: part robot. So she's really strong, like me, and she can run in slow motion. Come to think of it, I don't see why that's useful. Anyway, I'm like her, except without the robot parts. I'm very strong, I'm very fast, and I heal very fast."

"Those are the positives. The negatives are that I have to kill demons and vampires. And they'd really like me out of the way. So why don't you let me buy you that drink and tell me anything more you can about what you're here to do."

Elissa now decided she didn't understand either of them and went to join the end of the queue for Jubilee. If Ann wanted to trust someone like that it was her call

By the time Ann catches up, Inoue is slumped over a table with red, puffy cheeks and absentmindedly tracing circles in the woodgrain with a fingertip. She doesn't look up or give any sort of verbal acknowledgement at Ann's presence, nor does she give any objection when Ann seats herself. The only indication she might be listening is a slow motion of her lips as she mouths along with key points in Ana's tale.

A silence stretches between the two of them for an uncomfortable moment when Ann pauses. Then;

"You sound like a Slayer." Inoue raises her head a little, propping it up a bit with a cocked wrist. "Is El your Watcher? She certainly has the right attitude for it. The Slayer must stand alone, blah-de-bloooo."

Inoue switches from tracing circles with her fingertip to following the woodgrain with her nail. She sighs loudly. "I had this stupid fantasy," she says in apparent non-sequitur. "I dreamed of you, saw you working in your store. Why the spirits showed you stocking shelves and not staking suckheads I have no idea. Anyways. I saw you. And it was like you could see me, like you knew I was there. You were so pretty. And then the priestesses, on hearing about my dream, tell me you're my duty, that I have to... protect you, save you, do your hair, lend you my pencil sharper I don't fucking know. You're my duty, for which I am abandoning my training early to go gallivanting half-way across the world for, with just two weeks for me to pack my things and finish my lessons and polish up my English and say goodbye to my sisters and mentors and home."

"I had this juvenile romantic fantasy about how we'd meet," she continues. "Excitement and mystery as we studied each other from afar until by chance circumstance we finally sat around a desk and talked. I'd show you a world of magic and excitement and you'd give me a small window into the life of a normal girl. We'd hold hands and explore your destiny together and it would be fairy tale perfect. I'd show all those stuffy old women that sacred duties do not have to be a job, they could also be fun."

"Well... fat chance of that now. I haven't even known you for twenty-four hours and you already think I've betrayed you. I have thrown deliberate and vile insults at your- friend? watcher?- whatever El is. Dream crushed. Fine. I'm glad it happened early. If you are the Slayer then I am sure you understand. You can go tell your Watcher I will never dare talk to you again."

Inoue makes a burrow for her head with her arms and nestles into it. "This would never have happened to someone who finished their training."

Ann nodded. "I am the Slayer. You're right about that. The Chosen One. Not that I chose - some mystical force chose me instead. So I understand part of what you're going through. I know what it's like to have a destiny dumped in your lap and no idea of where it's leading. But at least I got to go on living my old life with my friends and family. I can't imagine what it would have been like to move across the world alone and integrate into a foreign culture."

"Elissa is a good friend, not my Watcher. Though she does watch out for me. She knows that I'm the Slayer and how dangerous that can be. So somebody like you turning up and keeping your motives quiet, well, that makes her suspicious. If it's any consolation, she gave my Watcher hell when they first met too. She's not at all keen on the Watchers organisation as a whole."

As to Elissa not being a normal human, Ann wasn't going to betray her trust and tell anyone.

"So I guess we've got to figure out why you were sent to me. You may have seen me in the shop, but I'm guessing that mystic forces didn't send you to help me stock the shelves. I'll need to speak to my Watcher about you and see what she thinks. Maybe she can help figure this out. Perhaps if I could tell her more about your order? What are they called? How did you join? That sort of thing."

She thumbed the cinema ticket that was still in her hand.

"Though that can wait until after Donna Summer. We've only missed a bit of the film. Do you still fancy going to see the rest of it?"

Inoue hums morosely. "Slayer does not strike me as an entirely above-board extracurricular activity either. I bet El never gives you trouble for concealing your motives from normal people."

But I'm guessing that mystic forces didn't send you to help me stock the shelves. Inoue fails to entirely suppress a small giggle. That would be a very disappointing destiny. And yet it wouldn't be the worst that one of her sisters had ever been sent on. Poor Haruka; poor cat.

"You really like that Summer gal, huh?" Inoue sighs. "If it is all the same to you, I think I would like to stay in and think. Plus my eyes are all puffy." She raps her fingers on the table several times before sitting up. "Ask your Watcher about the Deenelmaite Sisterhood. It will probably mean more to you to hear it from someone you trust, and it is not technically violating my oath of secrecy if I am not the one telling you about it. I will see you tomorrow."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:01, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

I guess this scene is at an end now.  Ann, you may wish to ask Alice about the Deenelmaite Sisterhood.