Room 415, Tuesday Evening

[brat_inslayage]

So. Her plans for the summer were... not shaping up like she'd thought they would, and Kennedy wouldn't even bother to lie about not being in a downer of a mood right now, either.

Keeping herself busy was going to be trickier than usual during the break week, but at least there was the immediate option of sending out handwavey messages to a few friends, letting them know what was going on. There was also the totally bizarre news article in a browser window on her laptop-- something about an unusual electrical phenomenon in the skies over Sunnydale-- but she was ignoring that in favor of sending out a few emails of her own, instead, and doing a little research.

That was the theory, but she wasn't so verbose that her emails took incredibly long to send, and she sucked at research, so... there was a good amount of staring at the screen in there, too, and turning her music up a few notches louder than usual.

Yeah. This keeping-busy thing was kind of a bust so far, unless you counted petting Bailey, since the rabbit insisted on hopping up in her lap. That was something.

[[door and post open, though sp while i flee home from work, and if you think she would've sent you a message, she did. also, you can just deal with the fact that i just may play this girl as much as damn well possible for the next three days. deal with it, i say.]]

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[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

As soon as Sookie was out of work, she'd checked her phone. The consequence of this, of course, was that she hadn't even stopped by her room when she tapped on Kennedy's door. The upshot, of course, was that she had a bag of muffins to share, but still. "Hey. What's going on?"

[brat_inslayage]

...muffins made things better, right? Totally.

Kennedy looked up and gestured her in, pausing long enough to give Bailey a reassuring pat on the head. (Skittish little bunny.)

"Sookie. Hey," she said, sounding fairly subdued. "Bailey, chill. She won't hug you to death, promise. I sort of... something came up."

It took her half a beat to realize how that phrase usually sounded, and she quickly added, "Not, like, a we-have-to-go-save-the-world kind of something, I mean, just..."

Was there really a way to segue into this?

"Tara had to go home. Not really sure for how long."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Is everything okay?" Sookie asked, whatever perkiness she had left totally dissipating in the wake of concern, even as she stepped in. (She thought about petting Bailey, but the wee bunny seemed all skittery.) "I mean, what happened? Is she okay?"

[brat_inslayage]

"She's fine," Kennedy assured her, absently running a hand along Bailey's back. "Her mom, not so much."

And Kennedy was not optimistic on that front; even if she wasn't saying so, it might show in her expression.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

And Sookie's heart broke just a little bit for Tara -- even if she didn't know the details or the outcome, it was written all over Kennedy's face. "What's wrong with her mom?" she asked softly, setting the muffins down and wrapping her arms around herself.

[brat_inslayage]

"She's been sick for a long time," Kennedy replied, petting Bailey a little more rapidly as if it was some kind of acceptable substitute for being able to do something to make things better. "Um. Cancer. Tara said they're taking her to a hospice, and..."

She looked helplessly at Sookie. "Yeah. Not good."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Oh God," Sookie murmured, one hand flying to her mouth as she considered her options here. Obviously, reaching out to Tara wasn't an option at the moment, but it was something to remember when she came back. "So there's not a lot of hope, not if she's going into hospice care. How's Tara doing?"

[brat_inslayage]

"Not great." Total understatement, Kennedy knew. "They're really close, and her mom is way awesome, and the rest of her family..."

She gritted her teeth in lieu of doing something stupid like punching a wall and startling Bailey. "Not to get morbidly ahead of ourselves or anything but this is going to be really rough on her."

And there wasn't anything she could do about it from here. That was the part that-- selfishly, but she'd let herself indulge in that much-- frustrated her the most.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

Sookie nodded, chewing on her lip as she frantically tried to think of anything she could offer, for either Tara or Kennedy. "When she's back," she ventured, "if she needs someone -- I mean, she'll have you, and that's gonna be invaluable, having you around for her -- but if she needs someone who...kinda gets it? Let her know I've got an ear for her?"

It was still different for Sookie, though. Everyone she'd lost had been sudden; she couldn't imagine having to watch her parents or Gran die slowly.

[brat_inslayage]

"I will," Kennedy promised, and she couldn't deny feeling a little relieved about that; this was, like magic, something way out of her area of expertise. "You'd be better at that part of... stuff anyway."

God. She'd never forgotten just how damn happy this last Parents' Weekend had made Tara.

"She's going to be fine," she added determinedly. "She will. She can handle this, but I hate that I can't help."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"She'll be fine," Sookie agreed with a nod. "Not right away, but she'll have you, and Tara's strong. But I get that helplessness." She glanced at Kennedy, pursing her lips a little. "Is there anything I can do in the meantime? For you? Distractions, even? I brought muffins."

[brat_inslayage]

"Muffins make everything a little better, right?" Kennedy asked, forcing a smile. That was enough wallowing; it wasn't going to help anything. "Hang out for a little while? I can officially introduce you to Bailey."

Perched on her knee, the rabbit twitched his nose... sort of in Sookie's direction.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Hiiiii Bailey," Sookie said, trying not to coo too much but hey, she was here to distract, right. She held her hand out to the rabbit, because maybe they were like dogs where they wanted to smell you first?

Sookie had limited bunny experience.

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy wasn't sure, either; she was new to this whole pet-ownership thing.

"He's still a little traumatized from the weekend we were all little kids, I think," she admitted, watching Bailey edge very cautiously over toward Sookie and, yes, sniff at her hand. "He got a lot of way overenthusiastic hugs."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Tina can probably relate," Sookie admitted, reaching out to gently stroke Bailey's ears. "Seven year-old Bobby chased her under the bed. There should be some kind of support group for pets on this island."

[brat_inslayage]

"And poor Mister Moxy, too," Kennedy added, her face falling again, if just for a second. Okay, yeah, no wallowing. Seriously. "It is so not fair that you skipped out on that whole thing. How come you couldn't be tiny and sugared up with the rest of us?"

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Someone had to feed y'all," Sookie said with a bright smile. "Otherwise you would've subsisted entirely on Pop Tarts and Fun Dip."

[brat_inslayage]

"I could have ordered food," Kennedy tried to protest.

No, she couldn't have. Her six-year-old attempts at ordering food would've come out more like 'I want some of everything right now,' followed by a nice dramatic fit when that didn't work.

"...though, the feeding was appreciated."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Um, I'm pretty sure tiny you would have been able to manage a phone, sure," Sookie agreed, "but little Karla and Bobby both tried to trick me into letting them cook. And then between them and if little you got involved, I'm not sure we'd have dorms anymore."

[brat_inslayage]

"God, Sookie," Kennedy complained mildly (and incredibly grateful for the distraction). "You make it sound like the three of us in one place is like some instant uber-nerdy chemical formula for destruction."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Are you arguing with that?" Sookie teased (totally looking to continue that distraction, yep.)

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy sighed and slumped back against the wall. "I guess I really can't, can I? 'cause we do have a pretty stellar track record for trouble finding us."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Like there's a magnet attached to you," Sookie said with a nod. "Or a neon sign advertising it."

[brat_inslayage]

"Tchah, like you'd have us any other way," Kennedy scoffed mildly. "We make your life interesting and you know it."

[trigons_child]

Raven had gotten Kennedy's message right before closing up at work, so she stopped by her room on the way home. She knocked gently on the open door frame. "Hello, Kennedy," she said. "I received your message. I hope nothing is wrong."

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy looked up from feeding a rabbit treat to Bailey and let one corner of her mouth curl up in a half smile. "Raven, hey. I'm fine, just sorta playing messenger, I guess. Supposed to let you guys know Tara had to go home for a while."

[trigons_child]

"Is everything all right?" Raven said. She was picking up on Kennedy's feelings, but she couldn't tell the source of them, of course, so she didn't know if it was Tara or something else entirely.

[brat_inslayage]

"She's fine. It's her mom." Bailey hopped away to nose experimentally at the side of Kennedy's laptop, and Kennedy gave Raven a significant look. "It's looking kind of bad."

[trigons_child]

"Is there anything I can do?" Raven asked. "Perhaps I can do something with my gifts...."

After her failure with Triela, she especially wanted to do something to help someone.

[brat_inslayage]

"Theoretically, yeah. In practice?" Kennedy shook her head. "Don't ask me to give you a really clear explanation of why, 'cause I can't, but..."

She knocked the knuckle of her index finger against her forehead like it would jar the thought loose, and gave up.

"It's her call, yeah? If she asks. If not? Just leave it."

[trigons_child]

"Of course," Raven murmured.

Part of her was almost afraid to offer to attempt to heal Tara's mother. Injuries were easy, but Triela was proving that illness was much more complex, and she didn't give Tara any false hope if she was unable to cure her mother without killing herself.

"When will Tara return?" she asked. "Or are you uncertain?"

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy (grateful that the healing thing hadn't turned into an argument on one level, and halfway wishing it had on another) bit her lip and shrugged, slowly, as Bailey hopped down and started over toward Raven. She knew Tara had been trying to stay optimistic about it and act like it wasn't going to be that long, but...

"That one's kinda up in the air for now, I think."

[trigons_child]

A week or two ago she might have argued more that she could help. But she couldn't ignore the reality of Triela's condition.

Raven nodded, bending to scoop up Bailey. "Will you let me know when she is to return?" she asked. "In case...she is in need of friends."

[brat_inslayage]

"Soon as I find out, you'll know," Kennedy promised. Bailey didn't resist; he must have sensed that Raven wouldn't hurt him or do an evil Jumanji thing. "She's gotta spend time around the rest of her family--" the look that crossed Kennedy's face said everything she thought about that, not to mention the brief surge of anger-- "so having friends around will be a good thing."

[trigons_child]

There would be no Jumanji bunnies. GOD, KENNEDY.

Raven picked up on that anger. "I do not like her family much, either, from what I know of them, though her mother was different," she said softly, scritching Bailey's head. "You do not think they will attempt to prevent her from returning, do you?"

[brat_inslayage]

"They'd better not," Kennedy snapped-- oops, she hadn't meant to do that, but that thought hadn't occurred to her before now. "If they do I'm so calling in the cavalry."

Bailey looked happy enough; he snuggled into Raven's arms and coaxed a slight smile out of Kennedy.

"So not a fan of the rest of her family, but her mom's great. So therein lies the extra suck."

[trigons_child]

"And I will help," Raven promised. Tara's family would have a very pissed off demon to deal with if they pulled anything like that.

"Will you be staying here for the summer then?" she asked. Surely Kennedy would want to spend the summer with Tara.

[brat_inslayage]

"That was the plan," answered Kennedy, although she didn't look so sure; a vague idea had started forming in the back of her mind but wasn't so firmed up yet that she could put it into words. "I'd have gone with her, but that so... would do the opposite of help."

That was another level of suck if you asked her, if an unsurprising one.

"At least I can do something here, right?"

Like wait around to see if they'd get another invasion?

Hello, with the suddenly less of a good-sounding idea.