fandomhighdorms | The Roof, Monday Afternoon

Raven found autumn fascinating. Azarath didn't have seasons; therefore the changing colors of the leaves was truly a new experience. So after class she headed up to her favorite spot on the roof and sat cross-legged in the sunlight, eyes closed as she sent her Soul-Self soaring over the Preserve. While her Soul-Self soaked in the reds and golds and oranges of the trees, she thought about Lady Ghanima's class and how she had said to spend the rest of the day contemplating being a better person. Her checklist was slightly different than the rituals they'd discussed that morning. Pay attention in class and please her teachers. Use her gifts to help any who needed healing. Stop occasionally wanting to kill Max, and heal the damage that was done in the other Fandom. Not become her father's servant and help him open gateways to other worlds so they could be conquered or laid waste.

Yeah, that last one was a big one.

[I am desperately trying NOT to fall asleep at work, so Raven is highly interruptable. :) ]

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"It is not right that they market their product with misleading information," Raven said, nodding.

"Bet they don't even smoke," Hayley said. "I ever find out who does this, the joke's gonna be on them." She spoke with an odd conviction.

Raven gave Hayley a concerned look. "Are you all right?" she said.

"Just don't like people lyin' to me," Hayley said, mellowing back to her normal, bubble-headed demeanor. "Just no fun, you know?"

Raven nodded. "It is never easy when you find out you have been lied to or misled," she said. "I do my best to forgive and move on." Because getting ragey was not an option.

Hayley stared at her cigarette intently. "Seems a shame. They're so fun, ya know?"

"I would not know," Raven said. "I have never indulged in such a vice."

"Not even?" Hayley said. "Well gee, how do you know about it, then?"

"From reading what others experience," Raven said.

"Oh," Hayley said. She paused again, to stare at the cigarette. "Hardly seems like it could hurt you."

"Appearances can be very deceiving," Raven pointed out. "A bee is a small creature, but it can hurt you with its sting."

"Yeah, but a bee sting ain't like a disease or nothing," Hayley said.

"Perhaps not the best analogy," Raven conceded. "But do you not cough when you smoke? Or does your throat become sore at times?"

"I never noticed," Hayley said. "I only started these normal ones since I got here."

"Well, I cannot tell you what to do," Raven said, "but I can advise that it would be better for your health if you quit. It would distress me if you were to fall ill because of your habit."

"I just wish I could get Nics here," Hayley said. "They're so much better, you know? They just make you feel good inside."

"They contain an additive to make you feel pleasure?" Raven asked, not sure she understood.

"I dunno," Hayley said. "They're just great."

They were made from mutant Nazi tobacco, in actuality.

"Hayley, that does not sound right," Raven said. "Does it feel something like this when you smoke them?" She pushed a small wave of euphoria at the other girl.

Hayley just sort of giggled and smiled.

"...Jeepers, what was that?"

"It is merely something I can do with my gifts," Raven said, feeling guilty all of a sudden. "I am sorry, I should not have done that without your permission."

"You can do that whenever you want," Hayley said. She'd enjoyed it, and that meant she wanted more. In many ways, beneath all the damaged layers, Hayley was quite simplistic.