[IC] Hopefully Sanctuary

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy shrugged. In her world if you couldn't learn it on your own then you didn't learn it. She failed in the kitchen. She saw little reason to spend the time to learn. After all she only had herself to take care of. Cooking seemed pointless. Even with Devika it hardly seemed worth the effort. Still it was something that the empath could teach her.

She held out one of the knives. She had never let anyone touch her knives. Of course no one had been in the apartment to see them or ask but that was beside the point. Letting someone touch her knives was harder than she thought. They were a symbol and trusting someone, especially a stranger, with them even with her there watching took more trust than she had thought when the other woman asked. "Be careful. They're sharp."

[Mistress Dizzy]

"Alright."

There was something in Roxy's face that Devika couldn't quite explain. She had the feeling she'd overstepped a boundary, or perhaps was invading on something private. She took the knife slowly and carefully, touching it as if it was a precious object. "Okay, here goes." She gave the knife a good hurl at the target, and it stuck on the far edge for a split second before dropping to the ground.

"Dangit!" Devika immediately went to retrieve the knife, brushing it off and laying it down. "That's so much harder than it looks. Thank you for letting me do that, Roxy. Somehow I'm guessing I'm the first to ask?"

[KatherinWinter]

"At least you hit the board." Roxy commented. She hadn't been able to. Of course she had been much younger and had had her father and his men watching expectantly. All those eyes on her watching and judging her had made her nervous. Saying that her father had been disappointed in her failure would have been an understatement. She pushed the memories back into the box where they belonged.

"I'm not really social person." Roxy replied when Devika asked about being the first to touch her knives. She didn't want to make too much of it. She wasn't comfortable talking about her life. She knew eventually they would have to at least to some degree. The closer they were the better empath would be protected. Since that was her job she would do it the best of her ability.

[Mistress Dizzy]

"Well, thank you for letting me do that. I appreciate it." Devika smiled warmly, and then stepped away from the throwing knives. Enough boundary pushing for one day.

"Alright. Let me finish getting my things set up. I'll see you later, Roxy." Devika left and went to do just that, take care of unpacking the rest of her belongings. It took most of the evening, and later on she came down for some leftover pizza. Inside, she was thinking of the whole Empath/Anchor set up in the first place. Was it possible that the government had made some kind of error?

She went to bed with that thought in her mind.

[KatherinWinter]

As usual Roxy tossed and turned. She had nightmares. As much as wanted to blame it on having to share her space she knew she would have had them even if Devika hadn't moved in. Unfortunately the ones the empath stirred some of her worst memories. She couldn't say why. About six AM she gave up and went into the shower.

She tried her best to be quiet but she knew their connection wasn't as good as it should be so Devika might have felt her get up. She got dressed in her usual work clothes which consisted of a pair of oil stain jeans and black tshirt. She put on her biker boots but skipped the jacket since they would be inside most of the day. Once she was dressed she went out to the practice mat and started warming up with her attack dummy.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Devika snorted as she awoke with a startle. Her room was still dark, the sun not even up, and the clock said...

"6 am? Are you kidding me?" While she couldn't hear much, she had the sense of someone moving around the home. "So, Roxy's an early riser. Lovely." She groaned faintly and buried her head back into the pillow, determined to snatch another hour of sleep. And so she did, or at least attempted to, as the next thing that woke her was a steady thumping coming from across the apartment. She had no idea what it was, and it was slightly unnerving, so she decided to get up.

After a hot shower, she dressed in her usual loose and bright clothing. Today's was a purple tunic and flowered leggings, and black slip on shoes. Then she brushed out her long fluffy curls, and went to find the source of the noise. The noise let her to Roxy, who was going to town on a defenseless training dummy.

"Wow. Good morning Roxy."

[KatherinWinter]

"Well its morning. Not sure that it's good or not. We'll just have to see." Roxy responded. She stepped away from the dummy and picked up the hand towel from the floor where she kept it. "I'm sorry for waking you." She didn't know if it had been her emotions or the noise she was making that had woken the empath. She supposed that it didn't matter. Either way she had woken the other woman and it was likely to happen again.

"If you're feeling up to it I would like to go down to the shop today. I can work on backlog items if you aren't ready to interacting with customers." Roxy told her. She didn't want to push the other woman. She couldn't imagine trying to adjust to being around so many people after being alone for so long. Hell she couldn't imagine wanting to. Still she was responsible for helping Devika readjust and get back into the world so she would have to do what she could to help.

[Mistress Dizzy]

"It's alright. I suppose it'll just be a thing that happens. I hope you slept well, anyway." Devika murmured, trying to stifle a yawn. It really was too early.

"I'll be happy to go down to the shop. I suppose I have to learn how things work." Devika stretched and smiled a bit. "But first, breakfast for me, and coffee for you, unless you've already had yours. Let's try to make the day good." Even if the morning was just a morning so far. Honestly, what a response. Would it kill her to just say 'good morning' and leave it there? Devika realized she was a bit grumpy from lack of sleep, and headed toward the kitchen to prepare a brief breakfast and some coffee.

Once that was done, she went back to Roxy with a mug in hand. "Here. I'm not sure how you take it so I left it black."

[KatherinWinter]

"I will try to make sure it doesn't happen again." Roxy assured her. She had no idea how she would do that. She always woke up early and restless. She would have to look for quieter ways to vent. She didn't want to be an inconvenience for Devika. It was bad enough the poor empath had been pulled into her world. She had to find a way to protect the empath from her father. She had no idea how she would accomplish that but she was going to do it.

"Black is fine. Just so you know you don't have to take care of me. I'm a big girl. I've been on my own for a long time." Roxy assured her. She was surprised the empath adjusted to having someone around. She knew she wouldn't have thought to offer the other woman breakfast. She had been taught to be independent. Thinking of others was a skill she hadn't learned until she moved out on her own. "Take your time eating. There's no rush."

[Mistress Dizzy]

"Alright, then." Devika ate at a normal pace, not wanting to power through her meal. She wondered what this day would bring, and how being in the shop would be. "It was no trouble to bring you coffee. I wanted to be a little useful." Devika definitely felt like she was going to be in the way for a while with Roxy's work. Being kind was the only way she could think of to ease that, even a little bit.

Once she finished eating, she went back to the kitchen to wash and put away her dish. Then she rejoined Roxy.

"So - the shop. I guess I'm ready when you are." This was a lie. Devika was not quite ready, but the only way to tackle fear was to go toward it.

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy wasn't used to people taking care of her. Having Devika do so make her uncomfortable. She pushed the feeling aside as she headed to the door that would lead them downstairs. "You don't have to work in the shop if you don't want to. But you will have to be down there. At least until our connection is strong enough for you to be further way." Which might take awhile considering that the empath was picking up some of her emotions.

The shop had two sides. The right was a waiting area. It had four chairs, a coffee table with magazines, a soda and vending machine. There was also a desk with a computer and chair. One the other side was two bays. One wall was covered with floor to ceiling bins of different sized. The other wall had pegs that held tools. "I'm not going to open the doors today. I planned the next few days to be catch up days."

[Mistress Dizzy]

"Alright. If it's just the two of us, I think I can handle it." Devika exhaled with relief. Not having a ton of people around on day 2 was definitely a good idea.

"So, I guess I'll just... watch you work?" She was actually curious about what Roxy did. "Maybe I'll learn something." She had to do something, so she started to needlessly organize the magazines. Maybe she could dust the table while she was at it. "So how many customers would you say you've got a day? I just want to be sure I'm prepared for when you do open the doors." Devika was desperately hoping their connection would get stronger soon. Otherwise Devika was going to have to be isolated in the middle of the city.

[KatherinWinter]

"I doubt you would find it very interesting. Have you ever thought about what you would want to do once you returned to society?" Roxy asked as she made her way to the inventory wall. She climbed onto a ladder to reach the top bins. Surely Devika had something she wanted to do. Didn't everyone have a dream or goal. Whatever it was that the other woman had wanted to do was now possible. Roxy's only goal had been a free independent life. Which she sort of had. She knew that having an anchor would endanger the life she had built. She expected one of her father's men to show up any minute to make demands. Maybe by keeping the shop closed they could put that off a few days but she doubted it.

[Mistress Dizzy]

"Honestly? I'm not sure. Honestly, I never thought that the day would come." She started to clean up idly, wondering what Roxy was going on about. Maybe she was annoyed at having her here, and wanted to see how she could be gone. "I've always liked to write. I have notebooks chock full of stories and journals. Those were the heavier boxes you helped me move. Maybe I could become a writer. Tell the world what it's like to be an empath. Though I'm sure that sort of memoir has already been done." She tied back her curls with a little scrunchie. "What about you? Is this shop your dream?"

[KatherinWinter]

"So you gave up." Roxy stated as she continued her inventory. She couldn't imagine accepting having no choice. She had fought her whole life to have choices. She refused to accept the path set for her. But she knew her experience wasn't the same as other people's. It was possible that Devika had a valid reason for not wanting to think about the what ifs. "You could start a blog or a channel on going from isolation to normal life. Theh might have been done but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Your experience isn't the same as someone else's." She looked at the other woman when Devika asked her about the shop. "Yes this is something that I've always wanted."

[Mistress Dizzy]

Devika winced a bit. Roxy was very, very blunt - and correct. "I guess I did give up. I never thought they'd actually find someone for me, and that I'd be in that cabin for the rest of my life. But now I guess I get to choose a new dream." She grinned. "Starting a blog doesn't sound half bad, actually. You're very right. My experience isn't the same as others, and maybe I could shed some new light on this process that is still being worked on."

Frowning slightly, she flipped over one magazine, then the next and a few others. "Roxy, these are all from last year. Maybe you can update the reading material? Oh! When we start to bond better, can we go to the bookstore? They have plenty of magazines there - and I can get some new books. Internet delivery always took so long to get to me..."

[KatherinWinter]

"No ones complained about the magazines but I suppose we can get them updated." Roxy answered. Those who stayed usually used their phones to stay occupied. "Amazon can deliver that kind of stuff in a day or two. Add whatever you think might work to the cart. I'll look at it later." She doubted that anyone would care but getting a subscription or couldn't hurt.

Roxy cursed when there was a tap on the door. She stormed towards the door. Why couldn't people read the damn sign. It had first grade level words. Annoyance quickly switched to anger when she saw who was at the door. She unlocked the door. "Follow me." She growled as she slammed the door shut and locked it. She didn't want to talk in front of Devika. "This won't take long." She assured the other woman.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Devika was a bit stunned to hear a knock on the door. Hadn't Roxy said there would be no visitors? She wasn't quite ready for that yet. But then, the door opened and the heat of Roxy's anger hit her like a brick. She felt it bubble under her skin, and had to take a few steps away. She'd never felt anything like that before. Anger, sure, but this ran deeper, almost a rage. Who in the world was out there? Part of Devika wanted to know, but the most of her wanted to go away, away, away from Roxy's anger.

"Take your time." She murmured when Roxy said it wouldn't take long. Hopefully it could, to give Devika time to recover. She sat right there in the plastic waiting chair, and started to do her calming meditations. She was not going to get caught off guard again.

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy lead Stewart to the bathroom. It was the only place they could go to talk alone. She had known her father would find out about Devika. She had expected him to send someone to check on the situation but she had been hoping it would have been someone else. She knew why he had sent Stewart though. The older man knew just how far he could push without getting into trouble with the boss.

He crowded towards her. Anger and disgust flashed through her before she buried her emotions. She trembled when he put his hand on her arms. "Get your hands off me." Roxy growled as she pulled away.

Stewart chuckled and stepped back. He knew she couldn't lash out. Not without endangering Devika. "Your father sent me to tell that he expects you to bring the empath to meet him."

"Tell him they have invented this thing called a phone. He should try using it." Roxy snapped trying to push back but she knew there was only so much she could do without jeopardize Devika. "She needs some time." She told the older man. There was no one the empath could deal with her father. "Especially if he wants to use her. I'll bring her when we're a little more connected. Right now she can't handle it."

"Make sure it doesn't take too long." Stewart said as he opened the door. As if she had some control of how long it took to make sure the bubble protecting Devika was strong enough to keep out all emotions except the ones she wanted to to access. Roxy followed him. She tried to keep her emotions in check as she walked him back to the door.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Devika breathed slowly, in and out. Even here, she could feel the direction of Roxy's rage. What was going on out there, she wondered. Maybe she should check it out? No- she'd been expressly told to stay here, and plus she didn't want to intrude on their privacy. With a frown, she tried to root herself deeper into meditation mode. But they were already coming back. Roxy seemed calmer, to a degree, while the other person was... happier. Proud, maybe? It was a strange mixture that she couldn't quite gather.

With her hands balled in her shirt, she took deep breaths while she waited for Roxy to step back in.