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[attr="class","mouths1"]Fate had taken a big, fat crap all over Cory's way of life. While the new legalization of recreational marijuana was widely celebrated in her state she was beating her head against a wall in finding out what on earth she'd do now for work. Selling had allowed her to stay afloat on her own in her crappy apartment that she rather enjoyed with groceries stocked in junk food.

With no more room for her kind of work, Cory decided she'd smoke the rest of her stash away til she couldn't even think of what day it was. The stuff they were selling around the general public was cheap shit and her backpack was still stocked full of Grade-A. Her sister wasn't a fan of weed and often scolded her for being too involved around it (not that it mattered now) and she wasn't about to just go give her stuff away to her old customers - that was just weird.

The only person she could think up was that snooty chick back in high school that became bearable when they lit shit up together in the bathroom. Persephone Dean. They were still added on Facebook together and she'd shot her a quick message to see if she still lived at the same place and whether not she was home. She said she was home.. and didn't confirm the former. Without answering the inquiry as to "why" she'd asked, Cory just slid the phone into her back pocket, kicked her old bike to life, and headed down the road. Not answering at all pretty much meant yes, right?

It took a bit to get to her side of town - a much nicer, much cleaner place. Rich neighborhoods and all that jazz. She parked in the apartment complex's guest lot and didn't mind the walk with her light backpack on her shoulders. When she reached the front door she noticed that the buzzer's button had a piece of tape over it with a note from the landlord: "Replacing tomorrow morning!". Cory sighed, walked around the back of the building, counted the rooms until she was sure of which one was Persephone's, and tossed a stick against the back door's window. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your keys because the fucking door is broken," she called out, unashamed of whoever else could hear her.

After a few seconds she'd already decided that waiting was stupid. "Fuck it," she shrugged and hopped onto the side of the building via air unit. Taking a hold of a gutter drain, she climbed up to the second floor and leaped the couple-foot gap to the side railing of the balcony. Cory lifted one leg over it, then the other, and turned around towards the door only to see Persephone standing literally right there. "Oh hey," she greeted casually.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: spider monkey

ulla

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

Finally, after the extended mayhem that had coloured Persephone’s past week, a spare moment had opened itself up in her schedule and led her to recline lazily upon her balcony. She was still only required to work by one of her employers and so actually found herself experiencing what appeared to be a “day off”. Not including public holidays, Persephone was struggling to think of a day within the last two years where she hadn’t had at least one shift on the agenda. She’d normally resent the opportunity for a full 24-hour period wherein nothing was accomplished, but today was different. Today she was giving herself a well-deserved time-out from human interaction.

The only person she was planning on talking to today was good old Mary Jane.

Online orders supplemented by a fruitful trip to the garden supplies store meant that Persephone’s plants were all exceedingly healthy-looking. Even to the untrained eye, the overwhelming aura of vitality was hard to miss. Something told her that any future harvesting undertaken would deliver on a whole new level to anything she’d experienced before. Or maybe she was getting too excited about a bunch of herbs and vegetables. It wasn’t like she had the cooking skills to really take advantage of exceptional quality ingredients.

The day was living up to every expectation of peace and quiet until her phone had the audacity to notify her of a message from an old high school acquaintance.

“Is she some kind of stalker now?” Persephone mumbled under her breath, quickly informing Cory that she was at home without giving her any hints as to where home was. Hopefully she’d get the hint – Persephone was not leaving the house today. An unsettling thought crossed her mind; there was every possibility that Cory did actually know where she lived. They’d moved in similar circles at school for the brief time that they were both pupils together and Persephone hadn’t been as private a couple of years ago as she was now.

Shit. Was she planning on visiting? Persephone hurriedly rushed out a Why? but the message went unanswered. Maybe Cory had understood and left her to her solitude.

She rolled a clumsy joint, unable to concentrate fully under the concern that she was about to have to fend off a home intruder. Unable to let herself smoke pot of such quality in such an unseemly vessel, Persephone re-rolled it. Twice.

The balcony was Persephone’s favourite place in the apartment. She could lean back and watch the world go by from the safety and refuge of her own home. She liked the way smoke curled and drifted across the open space before her, her own personal cloud show. It didn’t bother her if people could see her smoking – even now that it was legal for most, Persephone was still under-age – because she knew they wouldn’t care. This area was middle-class enough to breed complete disinterest in neighbours, which suited Persephone to a T.

Just as the joint was on the verge of burning out, Persephone heard a familiar, gratingly loud voice call out something from directly beneath her. Rapunzel?

She stayed silent, hoping that she hadn’t been spotted. Unfortunately for Persephone, the effort was entirely futile, and before she could even take another drag there was the distinct sound of somebody hauling themselves up the drainpipe.

Cory stood before her, breezy, easy, not having broken a sweat.

Persephone could only assume that she had somehow climbed her way up here. The ex-gymnast had certainly earned a name for herself and clearly she hadn’t lost it. Jesus, this girl was strong.

“Oh hey?” Persephone said incredulously. She brought the dying joint to her lips for a final, long inhale before tossing it aside (carefully) into an ash tray.

“What… What are you doing here? How??”

She was feeling surprisingly calm. After all that had happened recently, a fellow high school alumnus scaling the side of your building for a friendly chat didn’t seem all that extraordinary. It wasn't hard to check her mild outrage by burying it beneath a thick layer of confusion.

Still… what the hell was she doing here?

ψ

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[attr="class","mouths1"]Well she hadn't expected her to be literally right there on the balcony.. Here she was about to do a cute little double-knock on the glass but, nope. "Oh hey?" "Yeah, hey," she responded, brushing off some of the dust and dirt from her hands onto the sides of her hips until she saw the joint lifting up to the girl's mouth. "You started without me," she made a mock-offended face and shook her head with a smirk a second afterwards. Well hot damn, she sure grew up. Not. Half. Bad. There was a second where the ex-dealer gave her an obvious and unabashed once-over before not caring again.

"What… What are you doing here? How??" Cory blinked and put her hands up in a lazy surrender, backing up to put her rear against the railing she'd just climbed over. "Woahhh, chill girl. How? There's this thing called roads. Real new concept. And as to what, wellll-," Cory slid one arm out of the backpack she wore and swung it around to the front of her chest to pull open the large zipper pocket, "-see, I'm out of a job now. Might as well go out with a bang," she opened it to display the contents - labelled bags of high-class greens.

"Now, regardless of the confidence I have in myself that I could probably smoke alllll of this.. I thought I'd share. Y'know, out of the goodness of my heart and whatever," she gave Persephone a look, one eyebrow up higher than the other. "So you want me off the balcony? Or can you find it in yourself to have some company," she gave the backpack a little wiggle to try and offer her a first pick. Forget the four-ish years they'd never seen one another or their weird, shallow and strictly-weed relationship they'd had in high school. Smoking company was always bomb (especially when you could really supply the golden goods).

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: to green or not to green

ulla

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting company,” she retorted, her tone more joking than accusatory now. Cory’s mock-offense was admittedly pretty amusing and she couldn’t help but smirk herself. On some level, Persephone knew that she probably wouldn’t be so relaxed had she not smoked beforehand, but as a result of it she wasn’t really in the mood to care about such things.

There was an awkward pause as Cory made no secret of checking her out – the girl had never even tried to be subtle – but the moment passed just as quickly as it came. Clearly she didn’t mean anything by it; she was just admiring the view as any good connoisseur would. Persephone couldn’t really return the favour, having managed to steer entirely clear of the world of sexual attraction so far, but she took a second to assess Cory’s outfit. It was pretty simple for what she remembered of Cory’s tastes but the threads were obviously well-loved and accompanied by a loyal pair of headphones. Not too much seemed to have changed in the past few years on an artificial level. It was oddly comforting.

She raised an eyebrow. “Not what I meant, smartass. I am vaguely aware of the concept of roads, but less familiar with climbing buildings. You still training or something?”

What little animosity she had left in her expression dropped as she admired Cory’s stash. “Nice,” she said softly. “I mean, I’ve got plenty here, grow it myself…” Persephone grinned conspiratorially. “I’m sure my grandmother would’ve smoked a bowl with me if she could have, so I don’t feel too bad about using her space for it.” She gestured vaguely back into the apartment. “It’s tiny. Great for hotboxing.”

Finally Persephone allowed herself to laugh. “I can testify to your smoking capabilities, but, hey, I wouldn’t want to rid you of the thrill of getting high with a legal minor. Weed’s not so exciting any more since the law passed, huh?”

She perused the selection lazily. “You got different strains in there? I don’t wanna tell you how to do your job, so… deal me something. Something that’ll keep me chill cause, you know,

“Someone did just break into my apartment.”

ψ

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[attr="class","mouths1"]A few chuckles left her playful expression when Persephone showed bits of agitation in her calling out of Cory's smartass comments. "Not on a team, nah, I just keep active still," she shrugged honestly. Well, that and climbing a second floor was pretty much child's play for her since her powers piqued.

Wait.. Persephone Dean? Growing her own marijuana? Cory's mouth dropped open and she moved past Persephone's side a bit to try and look inside through the glass door. Any plants in sight? "No shit? Hot daaamn, girl! Where were you last year! I could've so used you, gotten us some major bank - you don't even know," she stopped at the suggestion of hot-boxing and leaned against the glass with a relaxed and rather impressed posture. "Shit, Dean. Alright, alright," she nodded in acceptance of her rightful bragging with a cocky smirk.

"I can testify to your smoking capabilities, but, hey, I wouldn’t want to rid you of the thrill of getting high with a legal minor." Oohh, that's right, she wasn't twenty-one yet. Guess it was hard to tell when you looked like that. "Oh yeah, thrilling," she joked dryly and began to slowly sift through the packages with her eyes cast down into the stash. "Weed’s not so exciting any more since the law passed, huh?" "Fuck excitement, I actually have to look for work. Gross," the comment was lazily drawn out while she kept looking.

"You got different strains in there? I don’t wanna tell you how to do your job, so… deal me something. Something that’ll keep me chill cause, you know, someone did just break into my apartment." Cory looked up with the same feigned offense and earlier, this time setting a hand on the center of her own chest. "Ow!.. I broke on to your apartment, not in," the hand dropped back to the top bag of the group in the backpack that she'd moved around before pulling it out with a knowing smile. "Tangerine Sky. A rare baby. This'll put you on top of the world. Wanna hotbox it?.." a few teeth showed in her one-sided, suggestive grin.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: best kind of bonding

ulla

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

There was a weird amount of modesty in Cory’s response that didn’t quite match with the acts she was accomplishing. Persephone didn’t care enough to pry, but she also didn’t think Cory’s level of fitness was the result of a few morning runs around the block. Since quitting acrobatics, Persephone hadn’t really done much in the way of training, although she had occasional month-long bursts of physical activity before neglecting it again. At the end of the day, she was still quite healthy, but being an acrobat was something she had enjoyed as a hobby rather than as an urgent calling. Even so, she doubted she’d be able to clamber onto a second-floor balcony with the same effortless ease that Cory had.

In a world of superpowers, the significance of gymnastics performed by normal, limited human beings was surely next to nothing. Now that Persephone knew of that secret other world- no, belonged to it, she could only dream of what physical feats were truly achievable.

Cory actually seemed impressed to know that Persephone had been growing. It was only a modest supply really, enough to keep her own habit with spare for a rainy day, but it was something she was quite proud of. Her new abilities were sure to perfect the strains she’d been cultivating, utterly personalising them with flawless precision. “It’s just a side hobby, I don’t sell,” she explained, shrugging. “Always felt a little more… ethical to grow my own.”

She laughed at Cory’s aversion to job-seeking. Personally, she’d never been fussy. It probably explained why she was 20, with good grades that could’ve gotten her into college, working two dead-end waitressing jobs that swallowed her entire schedule rather than looking to “better herself”. There was no inspiration, no burning desire to strive for anything else right now.

“So what, you’re going to be making an honest living now? I bet you’ve got quite the resume.”

Persephone stepped back through the open door, subtly shuffling a few plants aside in a useless attempt to make the studio apartment look less like an overgrown greenhouse and more like a place that was actually occupied by a human being. “Technically I’ve not invited you in yet,” she said with a grin. “Following me would still be a break-in of sorts.”

She bit her lip and looked around hesitantly. “Don’t get me wrong, that sounds great, but this isn’t the most hospitable space. There’s space to sit up there…” She pulled a face as she gestured to the loft part of her apartment where the bed was. Way too intimate. “Or like… the bathroom…”

Being a concerned hostess was entirely foreign territory, but Persephone was suddenly hyper-aware of just how odd her home was compared to most. It was hopelessly obvious that she never, ever had guests here.

She hovered at the threshold to the balcony, running out of ideas. “Or we can stay out here, I don’t mind. Being on top of the world sounds ideal though, let’s do it.”

On top of a world full of unimaginably powerful beings… Yeah, she liked that idea.

ψ

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[attr="class","mouths1"]"Well you should've sold. At least to me. I would've packaged 'em up and brought us in some good cash." Cory hopped slightly up and back to sit on the railing behind her and turn the bag around to situate a few things and pull out a lighter, some rolling paper, and a glass pipe in case she wanted to switch it up a bit. At the word 'ethical', Coryelle gave a single laugh and shook her head with a knowing grin pasted on her face. "Yeahhh, ethical. That what you told yourself? That's cute," sarcasm drenched the last, patronizing statement.

"So what, you’re going to be making an honest living now? I bet you’ve got quite the resume." "First off, fuck you, I'm always honest," she spat back with a bit of attitude, though still amused, "Secondly, I've got some routes I can take. You meet a lot of people when you deal." Information running was a lot more profitable than she thought it would be.. More dangerous than she would've liked too, but beggars can't be choosers. Important messages without a digital footprint were untraceable; making her services highly valuable. There were other known 'runners'.. but none that had her gift. Now she just needed to find more people to market herself to.

It was really clear that Persephone was in no mood to go back inside judging by how horribly uncomfortable she looked trying to think of a place to be. "Easy chica, out here is fine," Cory chuckled and tossed her backpack to the balcony floor. She set the bag of green at her side on the flat railing and began to roll on top of her lap.

"Yeah, you're gonna love this.. First time I tried this was on the roof of the Millennium Tower downtown. Really on top of the world there," she bragged casually and extended a fresh joint to her smoke-mate while also holding one for herself. Her lighter flicked to life and she lit her own before holding the flame to Persephone. Once they'd both been prepped, the lighter slid into her jacket and she took a long, relaxing drag with eyes shut. "Mmm..." she exhaled the leftover smoke through her nose and looked to Persephone for her verdict.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: tangerine sky

ulla

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

Quirking an eyebrow at the mention of cash, Persephone quickly shook her head. “Tempting though that sounds, I’m pretty fine for money right now.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but the idea was far more tempting than she’d let on. Several times she’d found herself browsing potential buyers but she’d always torn herself away from the prospect. There were very few issues of morality that she actually held much of an opinion on, but for some reason she’d never liked the underlying concerns that came with supply chains. At least by growing her own she knew that she wasn’t supporting them.

It was a strange issue for her to fixate on, given that she was far more intrigued than disgusted by the shady underworld of drug cartels and gangs, but it was one that she stood by nonetheless.

She rolled her eyes at Cory’s derision but said nothing. This wasn’t a debate she was even interested in taking part in, let alone winning.

“I think we have different definitions of honesty,” she grinned, trying to show that she wasn’t actually concerned about how Cory chose to earn her living. “Sounds like you have some lucrative options… Be careful who you trust.” The advice was earnestly given. Cory would probably smirk and make another cutting comment but it didn’t matter. It’s not like it really bothered Persephone whether or not the girl was headed down a dangerous path.

Cory settled on the balcony, causing Persephone to breathe an inward sigh of relief. Outwardly, she tried not to show too much gratitude – chilled as the weed was making her, she still had some control over her displays of emotion. “Yeah, yeah, we can stay out here if you want.”

Her jaw dropped a little. “The roof?”

Apparently clambering up to Persephone’s apartment was indeed child’s play if she could somehow make her way to the roof of the Millennium Tower. Admittedly Persephone couldn’t imagine her boldly climbing up the side of the building in broad daylight, but it was still probably not the easiest thing to access and would have required some skill, be it stealth or otherwise.

Cory’s eyes fluttered shut as she indulged in a slow, appreciative drag of her joint. Persephone raised her own to her lips, eyes fixed dreamily on a distant imaginary speck on the horizon, and followed suit. It had a strong odour, even before the smoke really hit her, and there was an oddly potent kick to it as she breathed in deeply before letting it tumble out of her mouth, lips pursed like a kiss around the fumes.

“Not bad,” she said slowly, hoping Cory would understand that she meant that as high praise. She took a second to sit herself down in the doorway and looked up, a wry smile appearing on her face.

“You can stay.”

ψ

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[attr="class","mouths1"]Now this was the life. Sitting up against the apartment building with her leg dangling off the side of the railing she sat on top of, good weed in her lungs, and a chill breeze in the air was just what the doctor ordered. She kept one arm rested on the knee that was bent up in front of her, the other leg swinging lazily in the open air past the balcony.

"Sounds like you have some lucrative options… Be careful who you trust." Cory finished a long drag and let it out in a smooth stream. She felt every muscle from her neck to her shoulders relax, even a few that stretched around her skull. Her head lazily turned to Persephone with a single eyebrow lifted higher than the other. "Your worrying is cute," she calmly teased with a low voice. Her head then rested back against the building wall behind her and right beside the edge of the glass back door.

As she shut her eyes, a smirk tugged one side of her mouth up. "I'm a big girl, Dean. Lay out my own clothes for the day and everything. Not like I'm about to join some gang," a few chuckles had her opening her eyes again just far enough to look from hooded lashes to see the joint safely to her lips again. "The roof?" "Mhm," she nodded, looking to her and letting out the smoke between them. "Yeah back when they were still finishing it up. Lots of shit to climb. They made it easy. Fucking awesome view.. the bridge, the river.. damn."

Not bad? Hot damn! "Wow, quite the compliment coming from a high class lady like yourself," she grinned. "You can stay." Cory's head lowered and lifted shortly after. "So honored that I've earned your approval. I thought I might." It was quiet for a bit longer while they enjoyed their respective moments of peace and tranquility. "So.. how's your life or whatever? You still as boring as I remember?" Boring wasn't always bad. It was safe. Solid.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: tangerine sky

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

Cory seemed right at home perched on the railing of her balcony, her aesthetic a sharp but not unpleasant contrast to the flowers and greenery that filled the small outside space. Persephone was leaning up against the doorframe, one leg extended backwards in a typical, unintended display of flexibility while she used the other to playfully prod a few low-hanging leaves that were within reach with her toes. The majority of the plants out here were pretty typical, with only a few rare species dotted here and there. It was inside where her garden really became interesting – home to her poisonous plants. She had shamelessly modelled her collection off of the Duchess of Northumbria’s poison garden and lately it had really been flourishing.

Purely an academic interest, of course…

The joint hovered an inch from her lips as she paused to glare at Cory. “Don’t call me cute.” It was an instinctive retort and she just barely held back the pout that was sure to have garnered further teasing. The weed was making it hard to keep a leash on her emotions now.

“It’s not gangs you should be worried about. I’ve made quite a few discoveries over the past few days and this world is a lot more dangerous than you’d know,” she said cryptically.

She tilted her head and blew a long column of smoke. “Maybe your interfering is why that building’s now sinking and tilting like some wannabe Italian landmark.” She grinned, amused at her own joke.

“Ah yes, the most high-class of lowly waitresses,” Persephone scoffed, rolling her eyes. She was secretly pleased to have given Cory some kind of impression to the contrary. For someone who wore the simplest and plainest clothes, she wore them well.

An easy silence fell over them for a moment before Cory punctured it with “pleasantries”. “Your memory isn’t so great, I wasn’t that bad in high school. I joined the circus one summer… Didn’t last though.” She laughed and shook her head. “Anyway, um, life is pretty interesting at the moment. You see that mega crash on the news?”

The words were out before she could consider that she might regret saying them. Surely it couldn’t hurt to talk about the crash with Cory, right? It wasn’t like she needed to trouble her with the knowledge of that secret, superpowered underworld that she’d consequently stumbled upon.

ψ

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[attr="class","mouths1"]Don't call her cute? Immediately, Coryelle logged the tip into the back of her head, imagining a filing cabinet of things to do in the future. It was just habitual. Plus, the look on her face was priceless; trying to be so serious and offended but way too chilled to care. 'Cute' was going to be the ticking-time-bomb word now.. If there ever was a troll of trolls, it was Cory. The short raising of her eyebrows and sideways tilt of her head might've shown a spark of that.

"It’s not gangs you should be worried about. I’ve made quite a few discoveries over the past few days and this world is a lot more dangerous than you’d know." A few laughs came from the dealer, sitting forward and hunching over her own bent-up leg to lean against it with arms draped lazily in front of her until one lifted to take another hit. "Okay, Batman, sure," she grinned. It was hilarious how little people knew and still tried to act like they were in on some huge secret - two steps ahead of the rest. Ohhh if only Persephone had the slightest clue. "Trust me," she straightened a bit and held out her hand with palm facing the girl, "I'm just fine."

The mention of the tower's current state had her grinning and relaxing back against the apartment building. "God, those people have to be sooo pissed that live there. I would be. Those places are like... millions of dollars. Shit." Waitress? Coryelle turned her head to look at her fully, the side of it still against the building. How the fuck did she afford a place like this then-- Ohhhhh, right. Grandma. "Holy shit, yeah. My mom worked twenty straight hours at the hospital until she was able to get a break and nap for a bit. Came down to bring her some food. It was insane there."

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: tangerine sky

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

She laughed. “You’re acting like I’m telling you to watch out for the Boogeyman. Just passing on some friendly advice, that’s all.”

If Cory didn’t want to listen to her, that was fine. For all Persephone knew, people with powers were exceptionally rare and probably wouldn’t move in the same circles as Cory. She imagined there was an elitist attitude that came with that hidden group and she could hardly imagine Cory falling in with such a crowd. For starters, she couldn’t even see Cory hiding her abilities well at all. If the girl could fly, Persephone would’ve assumed that she’d have been chasing jets long ago.

Considering the superficial level of their relationship, however, there was very little Persephone actually knew about Coryelle Wilde. For all she knew, maybe plane-catching was a frequent hobby of hers. The pastimes of old smoking buddies were hardly on Persephone’s list of things to care about. Admittedly, the list was very short.

“Yeah, well, they’ve got the money to sue. I’m sure they’ll survive,” Persephone scoffed. She’d missed her calling by not being born rich, she was sure she’d have made an excellent socialite given the chance, so… she was quite happy to dismiss their problems.

With a smile, Persephone spread her arms wide. “Well you’re looking at one of the survivors.” She dropped them immediately, feeling excessively dramatic. “I mean like, I don’t even know if I should be alive right now, I was right in the thick of it. Absolutely no memory, which is fortunate, I guess.” She tapped her head. “Boring enough for you?”

ψ

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[attr="class","mouths1"]"Hey, you're the one that got all serious!" she teased, "Yeah, whatever.. they can keep their dough. S'long as I got enough to get some pizza every now and then, I'm fine." Cory had then thought on the day of the crash. Amirah was crazy busy at work since most of the active officers from the city were on the scene. Then, her mom had just about had to live at the hospital with how often she was there the week after. What had she been doing? Either washing a dog or playing Nintendo probably.. Kind of made her life seem useless.

As Cory made a sour expression and tried to shrug the thought off, she was caught off-guard by the wide arms that extending from Persephone as she proudly declared her survival. Damn, primadonna. “Well you’re looking at one of the survivors. I mean like, I don’t even know if I should be alive right now, I was right in the thick of it. Absolutely no memory, which is fortunate, I guess. Boring enough for you?” It took a bit to sink in and she caught herself just staring for a while. "...You-? Holy shit man! Did you even break anything? Look at you!" she motioned at her from head-to-toe and the health she displayed.

A scoff left her lips and she shook her head with amused disbelief. Well, really, it was more the fact that she was impressed and amazed. "Damn, yep, alright alright," she hunched forward from the wall with a grin and took a long drag. She stood on the railing and looked up at the overhang just a foot above her head. The gutter looked stable. "You win. Guess you're not boring for now-," with a grunt, she hopped up and grabbed the ledge to pull herself up. Once there, her rear twisted around and she clipped her legs around the gutter to hang upside down comfortably. Still smoking. "Ahhh... livin' the dream."

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean , wearing , notes: tangerine sky

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[Persephone Dean]

High School Reunion

The blasé attitude towards money was a foreign concept to Persephone. She liked having money – she liked the independence of her chosen lifestyle. Currently she earned more than enough to pay bills and toy with her gardening interests. Even food wasn’t a great expense as a result of the various fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices she produced. Sometimes she would tire of a particular ingredient, eventually growing something new in its place, but she rarely felt the need to go out for more than a handful of things at the grocery store.

So she hoarded the leftover money. It wasn’t a huge sum but it was beginning to pile up. There was nothing in particular she wanted to spend it on besides eventually amassing enough to move to a place that actually had a garden without being in a terrible neighbourhood. Maybe if this superhero dream of Dominic’s took off then that dream could become a much more tangible reality.

“Of all the luxuries, of course you’d settle for pizza,” she said with a smirk.

Cory’s reaction to Persephone’s declaration was exactly what she’d been hoping for. There was no hiding that quiet awe. Persephone watched with a satisfied smile as Cory monkeyed around on the balcony. It was as if she needed to impress her on some level, which was amusing. More likely, Cory just wanted to mess around and show off simultaneously… it seemed to be her most prominent behaviour pattern.

“I broke a lot, I think,” Persephone said slowly. “The medical notes were scary, all kinds of things going wrong with my brain and spine.” The joint danced between her fingers as she remembered the hospital. With a swift flick, she snapped it back into position and inhaled deeply before continuing. “There was this… doctor. She fixed everything.”

The weed was making her loose-lipped, but she didn’t care. What was Cory gonna do about it?

“You look weird upside down,” she teased, “Like the smoke’s going the wrong way.”

In an uncharacteristically playful move, Persephone tilted her head to invert the scene. Her hair tumbled across her face but she made no moves to swipe it away, enjoying the way the mass of curls moved. “Dude, this stuff is strong,” she noted cheerfully, peering up at Cory. She pushed her hair back to smoke, grinning. It hadn’t helped that she’d already been smoking before Cory decided to come bearing gifts of free marijuana and her own product was equally as strong.

Ah, whatever. This was fun. She was on top of the world and it was upside down. The perfect day-off.

ψ

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"Of all the luxuries, of course you’d settle for pizza." Cory's head, though upside down, tilted and crooked over to see her with an angled brow of sharp attitude. "Scuse you? Did you just call pizza 'settling'?" the joint was still masterfully held at the corner of her mouth between her lips and she only removed it every once in a while to take a centered hit. "That's straight-up blasphemous," Coryelle gave Persephone a scrutinizing look and a careful point.

But then more of the story unfolded and she had Cory actually listening - intrigued for once instead of not giving a shit like ninety percent of every day of her life. If she'd broken a lot then.. she'd probably still be in all kinds of casts. It wasn't like the huge wreck was that long ago. As Persephone continued on and told her about some impossibly survivable injury with something to do with her damn brain and spine- "Yeah, those are kind of important..." -Cory's interest grew. She kept silent, listening, and didn't care to notice that she'd been staring.

Some doctor. Fixing everything. That wasn't something that one of the Families would do.. not so public like that. Not unless they had some kind of connection with the person they were healing. Persephone obviously didn't, or she would've: A. known the doctor, or B. not have said anything about the accident in the first place to open up this crazy story. People who did that got in trouble. Trouble meant the Council. Screw that mess.

Eventually, Cory realized that Persephone had said something about her hanging or the weed or.. something. She hadn't responded, only staring (oops, thanks Mary J). "Tch, yeah whatever," she rolled her eyes as a response to her insane explanation and let out a chuckle, "you're fuckin' high." Best to let sleeping dogs lie. Her mother had said something about some of the Families investigating the crash, but she thought that maybe some super had something to do with how it happened. Persephone didn't want to get mixed up in this shit - so the fairy tale crap needed drained from her head.

[attr="class","lying1"]✎ Persephone Dean, wearing , notes: tangerine sky

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