Room 418, Thursday Evening

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara wasn't packing, not really if you asked her. She wasn't really the type to acquire a great many possessions, and she tended to keep anything she didn't want to lose already packed so she could grab them and her weapons without wasting time if there was need. So it should have been easy enough just to leave it at that.

But even without only gathering a minimum of things, she'd been here long enough to collect some, and it turned out there was a middle ground between things that could be easily left without a second thought, and things she needed to keep. Sure she could be ruthlessly pragmatic about what she took, but if she was going to do that... she'd probably have to start taking things out of the pack as well.

[Door and post open.]

Comments

[glacial_queen]

Karla barely knew Cara. But she figured a goodbye (and a hello) might be in order, after what had happened in the other world with Umbridge.

So, tapping at the door, Karla peeked in, offering a tentative, "Kiss kiss?"

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara's raised eyebrow and sceptical repeat of the 'kiss kiss?' was...more polite than she might otherwise have been.

[glacial_queen]

"Not a request," Karla said, lips twitching. "In no small part because I'll be lucky to hold my own enough to run if you decide to take offense if it were."

Karla had no illusions about her ability to take out (or even on) Cara, Craft or no.

"May I come in for a minute?"

[wrongkindofsith]

"I've had more offensive offers." Enough to learn you saved your violence for the annoyingly persistent ones.

Cara shrugged. "If you want."

[glacial_queen]

Karla stepped inside, giving a quick look around, then lounged against the wall. "Glad I didn't wait any longer to come and say goodbye," she said. "Mother Night, I hate this week."

[wrongkindofsith]

"At leat you've got the picnic to look forward too?" Sorry, Karla, but some people failed at small-talk.

[glacial_queen]

Karla just shrugged. The picnics held a lot less allure for her these days. "I know we don't know each other much, but I wanted to come and say thank you," she said, pushing away from the wall. "For what happened in the other Fandom and your help there."

[wrongkindofsith]

It wasn't like Cara had ever been much of a fan of them either. "Don't mention it. Just come up with a better plan next time."

Because that had been a terrible plan, Karla.

[glacial_queen]

"It worked, didn't it?"

That was her way of agreeing it had been terrible.

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara raised an eyebrow again. "That's no reason to repeat it."

[glacial_queen]

"I don't know about you, but I'm hoping not to be in similar enough circumstances where it comes up again," Karla drawled. "But we needed that information."

[wrongkindofsith]

"I'm pretty sure there were ways that didn't involve traumatising half the people we were trying to save." Not that Cara necessarily objected to traumatising people if it was needed, but you could at least do it properly instead of accidentally.

[glacial_queen]

"...Fair." Karla was willing to bet that most of her trauma had been lost beneath the tide of Raven killing Sookie, but was that really an argument she wanted to get into?

No. Because, for one thing, it didn't absolve her any. For another, there were some like Rapunzel who'd gotten traumatized by her and her alone.

"Can I ask why you agreed to it? Or, rather, the other you?"

[wrongkindofsith]

"The same reason I agreed to help Kenzi with Bo, it needed to be done and I was in a position to do it." Which was true enough. Karla didn't really need to know how (and more importantly why) dention had made that other her's skin crawl, or the dark nagging fear if she spent too long there she'd start breaking people properly because it was the only way she knew to stop their misery.

[glacial_queen]

"It worked, which I guess is the most important part. And I learned a few things on the way. And, like I said, hopefully won't have to try a plan like that ever again."

Like she could be a dark and horrid bitch if she wanted to. Not Cara's level, surely, but a gifted amateur nonetheless. That knowledge (less the stuff about Cara) was unsettling, to say the least.

"You know what comes next for you? I doubt it's college."

[wrongkindofsith]

"Or at least remember to have Ghanima put limits on your actions." For Karla's sake as much as anyone else's.

"Home," she said. "I have duties there." Provided Richard actually let her fulfil them instead of finding somewhere else to send her.

[glacial_queen]

"That would have been a good idea, yeah," Karla reluctantly admitted. "Or I could just become a better actress and pretend like seeing something like that didn't bother me."

Ha. Hahahaha. Like that facade would have lasted more than ten seconds down in detention, no matter how fabulous an actress she'd been.

"Well, uh, like I said. I just wanted to say thank you," she added. "And good luck. With everything at home, I mean."

This was awkward. They'd barely ever exchanged words and this was the worst time to try, but Karla owed Cara her gratitude.

[wrongkindofsith]

This was Cara, it'd be awkward even if they'd had regular conversations. "You're welcome."

[glacial_queen]

It was probably just a natural happenstance with all that warmth that Cara displayed. Trufax.

"I'll leave you to your packing then," Karla said, offering her another smile. "And if you come back for alumni things sometime, drinks are on me."

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara would have you know that some people thought she was very personable...that these people tended to be as damaged as she was was a coincidence.

"I'll remember that," she said, nodding. "Goodbye, Karla."

[glacial_queen]

"Goodbye, Cara," Karla said with a wave. "And best of luck to you."