Find the lady of the light gone mad with the night

[oceantier]

Who: Lapis and the residents of Agent Apartment
What: Lapis finds her beach home invaded by ghost hunters, mediums, and general rubberneckers after this article.
When: Night of the day the article comes out, likely late.
Where: The one and only Agent Apartment.



It had been late when she'd returned to the beach, ready to cast off her human guise and settle into the night and the soothing, rushing murmur of the waves.

But what she found was not peace.

The beach was teeming with people -- teenage girls clutching each other and giggling helplessly, daring each other further (along with boys who looked like they'd prefer to be doing the same thing), individuals in the elephantine confines of what looked almost like hazmat suits, waving long metal rods that sounded bursts of static and light, an elderly woman holding what looked like a lit bundle of twigs and leaves, the sharp aroma of it curling upward on the air. Men and women of all ages lounged or traipsed about, looking for all the world like this was some sort of exotic holiday.

"Here!!" An eager onlooker shoved a paper into her hands; she could read it by the glow of the headlights. "Pretty awesome, right? Are you here for the seance too?"

Lapis stared at the paper for several long minutes, a roar in her ears that was not the ocean. Back at the people. Back at the paper.

. . . Silently she turned in place and headed back toward the city.

She arrives at J's apartment even later. She says nothing as she enters, perching on the edge of the couch, the paper dangling from her hand.

Comments

[eba02]

Well, he tried.

Lapis barely trails off before J doubles over and bursts into laughter, head nearly between his knees. He can't help it - something as mundane and stupid as a tabloid causing this much trouble is just funny.

After a bit, he sits up, opens his mouth to try to explain himself, and just starts laughing again. Give him a minute - he'll be fine. This is just too good.

[oceantier]

A flush spreads across Lapis' cheeks.

It might be difficult to recognize as a flush at first. Like the rest of her . . . it's blue -- just a deeper shade than her normal coloring.

He's laughing. Why is he laughing? At her? This is serious; she's made it into the papers. Who knows how that could compromise the mission? All because she's selfish and craves the wash of the waves?

(And, underneath it all, she can't help but be irked. She took precautions; she wasn't hurting anyone, and now . . . there's humans all over the beach. It's winter, and they're not even supposed to be out. She can't even take what she's come to need.)

Why is he laughing?

[eba02]

Yeah, laughing is obviously not the right reaction, especially given the variance in Lapis' tune; that doesn't mean J can help himself. He manages to gather himself enough to speak, though that grin isn't going anywhere.

"Tabloids," he starts, still just this side of breathless, "are the dumbest thing humans have ever invented, an' we came up with autotune." Obviously the highest of bars. "Thing is, everyone knows it. No one's gonna take this seriously for more'n a week."

[oceantier]

"Really?" The word is small, hopeful; the mere thought, coupled with his confidence, is encouraging. Immediately it wipes away the anxiety from his laughter. She has no experience with tabloids whatsoever; the mere idea that she's been publicized at all is terrifying.

"Does that mean they'll leave the beach too?"

Note to self: Sometime ask about autotune.

[eba02]

J - or the Agency, rather - has been in tabloids more than once. At this point, they're old hat. The laughter hadn't helped Lapis, sure, but the confidence was, and confidence he can do.

"I dunno if all of 'em will leave - there can be some pretty die-hard conspiracy nuts out there, an' they won't give up so easily. If you wanna be completely alone, you're gonna need to find a new beach for a bit. Still, it'll peter out eventually - it always does."

[oceantier]

A new beach . . . That might be harder to find. The one near Virgo boasts good access; anything farther out separates her more from the city, and without her wings . . . it would be considerably harder. A frown emerges, small and thoughtful, until her nose wrinkles, and she banishes the expression with a release of breath.

"I think . . . it's better staying here for now."

Unless she can show the invaders what being a dangerous ghost really means and sweeps them off the beach in a wave. Don't think she hasn't thought of it.

Half-darkly murmured, drawing up her legs: "Humans have a lot of strange ideas. If they're afraid, shouldn't they stay away to begin with?"

[eba02]

"You know you're always welcome," J replies mildly. That undercurrent of vengeance in her tune is worrying, to say the least - better keep an ear out for that one, keep it from getting out of hand.

And it sounds like it might, if he doesn't head it off at the pass. "Yeah, we don't really do that. Wouldn't have gotten anywhere as a species if that was our first instinct."

[oceantier]

There's a flicker of vengeance, and certainly she's entertained dark thoughts, but thankfully nothing she'd act on seriously. At her heart, Lapis doesn't enjoy conflict and isn't eager to harm. It's just a means to an end to protect herself -- or someone else.

And unfortunately there have been too many of those times as of late.

She nods, breathing out the darker edge, allowing herself to be soothed by the security of what's around her. "I know."

For now, it's just really annoying.

There's one of her small half-smiles, though, at his offer. "Thank you."