[center]
[h1][color=9e0039]Training Time![/color][/h1]
[img]http://i63.tinypic.com/28spvlt.png[/img] [img]http://i67.tinypic.com/2njvpci.png[/img]
[h3][color=9e0039]Angélique Lachance[/color] | [color=ff57ff]Siena Santana[/color][/h3]
[color=silver][hr] 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟝𝕥𝕙, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥 ℂ𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕦𝕤   / /  𝟘𝟡𝟘𝟘[hr][/color]
Collab between [@Riffus Maximus] [@PapiTan][/center]

It had been a terrible night. Yet again, Angélique had experienced this awful nightmare. But only this time, it was worse. 

[i]The gigantic featureless monster she had been fighting was now replaced by a gigantic spaghetti monster, with a throng of meatballs swarming around their noodle-overlords. The gargantuan creatures made of noodle were smashing buildings with their noodle appendages, breaking them as effortlessly as wiping out a castle made out of cards. Humans and subnaturals alike were being devoured by the army of meatballs. Among those being devoured she could recognize the faces of many students with who she had been attending USARILN with. 

Still with utter dispassion in her eyes, Angel had been overlooking the scenery with a cold expression placated on her face. It was only but when a young girl with red-hair came running towards her, only to be picked up by a tentacle and slammed with excessive force at the ground, crushing her skull open, that the metal-feathered Aberration moved from her spot. Her face showed fury like none other, and it was with a world-shattering scream that she had blasted everything standing in front of her to pieces, both monsters and humans alike, the surrounding buildings swept away just as easily as when the tentacles monster were tearing through them.[/i]

Waking up in cold sweat and with a shriek of morning terror, Angel's heartbeat was racing like crazy. No matter how many times she experienced this nightmare, she would always feel this much dread, this lingering darkness, a bitter after taste. Only today, it was different. There was no exact explanation for this, but she felt sour, pissed, very annoyed.

Other than feeling mad for no apparent reason, Angel went on with her daily morning routine, or what had been her routine back when she had an actual life. After getting up, she took a shower at the communal bathroom, dressed up with finally some clean clothes and underwear and went to the cafeteria to get a breakfast.

Throughout the morning, the foul-mooded Aberration kept to herself, not feeling for social interaction today and mainly just focused on having a debate with her inner voices about finding a way to get the fuck out of this place and start anew. But each time that subject was brought up inside her mind, she was angry by her selfish thoughts. She had met people here, good people. She just couldn't leave them behind after what they went through. Plus, being here was her punishment, for having killed so many people. At least here, she'll be somewhat kept under control. 

This constant debate was starting to really piss her off, so she had left the cafeteria, and went to do one thing that she often enjoyed doing morning. Jogging. While it was true that she practiced this physical excercise to keep up a good shape, she enjoyed the feeling of running around freely, always exploring new areas  

Her jogging footsteps brough her to the training area, where already a few people were training this morning. Angel recognized a few faces, such as Brent, on the running tracks. She had, however, no desire to run off and meet them for a morning talk. Or perhaps should she? Maybe talking to others would actually dampen those nagging voices in her head and she will-

[color=gold]"Hey Angel!"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"WHAT!?"[/color]

The brown-haired boy wearing headphones around his neck took jumped step back when he heard his friend snapping all of a sudden at him. Did Aaron... startled her out of her thoughts?

[color=gold]"A-are you alright?"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"NO... no I'm not. What do you want?"[/color]

[color=gold]"Oh, uh, I was wondering if you were busy today? I thought that perhaps we could hang out and talk some more for a while."[/color]

[i][color=f7976a]...Asskisser... he's trying to get his hands in your pants.[/color][/i]

There it goes again. Why of all time did Aaron had to see her in this state of mind?

[i][color=f7976a]It's only been two days, and you have yet again boys crawling at your feet. What a seducer.[/color][/i]

[color=9e0039]"SHUT UP!"[/color]

[color=gold]"W-What?"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"N-NO! I wasn't talking to you... I..."[/color]

Mad towards her inner demons taunting her and at herself for being this way, Angel dashed off, fleeing the scene. Aaron tried to run after her, worried what was suddenly taking over his friend, but he stopped as he heard her shouting.

[color=9e0039]"Don't follow me! I need some time alone!" [/color]

There was one place the furious raven-haired X-marked could think of to vent her pent-up anger without hurting anyone. Ground Zero...

[hr]
[i]'[color=ff57ff]This is a lot more than I took it for...[/color]'[/i] Siena traced her fingertips lightly over lines of text, her eyes managing to keep up with her brain for once. An effect of having her abilities surpressed, if she had to guess. Though the day before had been filled with positive emotions, the night hadn't been so gentle. Rather, Siena had spent most of it drifting in and out of a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares of events that blurred between reality and fiction. Padma, the blank-faced sister, her parents. 

[i]Gerwulf.[/i]

[i]'[color=ff57ff]What are you doing, Siena? Gerwulf is strong, not scary. It wasn't even real.[/color]'[/i] Was it? An unidentified feeling fired through her, making the girl close her eyes, releasing a soft breath. She couldn't tell, and with a day to let her pathetically weak mentality soak in the events of the battle, it was getting harder. She shouldn't have picked Gavin, no matter how versatile he was. Drafting was just as much a strain on her emotionally as it was physically, and Siena had [i]known[/i] that would be the case. Stupid, idiot girl. 

And what about Padma? [i]Padma[/i] was the one that she should have been thinking about like a skipping record. The older girl's face flickered like a candle flame. Siena felt her stomach churn in response to the image, breathing turning shallow as a sickening concoction of emotion began to boil over. Like the stormy seas, again. It was all that Siena could do to stay moored, but even that was only for an instant. 

She had to get better. Wasn't that what she had told herself time and time again the night before? Hadn't the exact thought been what drove her to fill out paperwork that Siena Santana the normal girl would never have managed to do on her own? Determination wound its way tight around her, sinewy threads keeping her moving. It was what Siena Santana the subnatural had to do in order to prevent another teammate from suffering Padma's fate.

[i]It was her fault.[/i]

The thought chanted in a steady rhythm--the same one that drove Siena to angrily shove her newly obtained tablet and a trusty kindle into a small, flat messenger bag. Easy enough to reach into and remove, but not nearly so easy as the secondary phone she'd obtained specifically for these purposes. There was somewhere she had to go, and she knew it. Cramming her feet into the closest shoes she had to sneakers, Siena made sure to bring her student ID with her before slipping out of her dorm. 

It was only chance that Siena happened to catch sight of two familiar faces as she was given a runaround. The brunette had regretted not getting some form of a map to her ultimate location, but maybe seeing a few friendly faces would boost her spirits before--

[color=9e0039]"SHUT UP!"[/color]

Siena stopped dead in her tracks. Angel's outburst seemed to have startled Aaron as much as it had startled Siena, and though there were a few additional words exchanged, the bibliophile couldn't make them out from where she stood. Watching as Angel turned to leave, Siena hesitated. Maybe it wasn't such a wise idea to follow...but with Angel heading in the same direction and looking as upset as she did, there was no way that Siena could have avoided her for long. 

Naturally, it wasn't Siena's first instinct to immediately approach Angel when the older girl had seemed to be upset earlier on. Instead, she kept a fair distance for a bit before catching up with a fair paced jog and a silver-tongued lie prepared. Something akin to shame kindled to life, a small flame fanned by the knowledge that the ability to lie was one of the few things that Siena hadn't inevitably stolen from a character. That was her own, unsavory skill, taught to her from a young age by her caretakers. It was proper to be able to lie through her teeth, apparently. 

"[color=ff57ff]Angel? Is that you?[/color]" Siena called despite knowing the answer as she caught up, slowing her speed to stay a few paces behind the raven-haired girl. "[color=ff57ff]Are um...are you headed to the training grounds?[/color]" 

The black-haired aberration turned on her heels when she heard someone calling out her nickname from behind. For fuck's sake, fate really was really going at it against her. As she turned, she grieved over the fact that the voice that had been calling her was Siena, the awkward rich girl she had met yesterday. Why did it she had to keep meeting people she got along great with while she was having this schizophrenic fit? 

[color=9e0039]"No... I need to go... to Ground Zero."[/color]

Angel trailed off. She didn't add anything else to her answer, continuing forward towards her destination. She didn't want to share her personnal problems with her friend. She didn't want to make Siena worry about her burdens. She needed a place to vent, far from people she cared. 

[i][color=f7976a]...Filthy rich bitch...[/color][/i]

There was a certain air about the way Angel moved that made Siena almost regret trying to be friendly. Refusing to let her own facade drop, Siena watched as Angel turned to leave, marking Ground Zero as her destination. From what Siena understood, it wasn't a place that arbiters were likely to go to--not nearly as likely as an aberration.

And just like that, two ugly heads reared. 

[i]'[color=ff57ff]You need to get to the training grounds anyways, just walk with her.[/color]'[/i]

[i]'[color=ff57ff]Ask if you can train with her. You need to know what it's like to work with an aberration anyways.[/color]'[/i]

The cold rationalization of the second thought bored a hole into Siena's chest. It made sense, of course. Rarely did the logical part of her thoughts fail to do so, and Siena hated that fact. If they were going to be in combat like they had been the other night, then there was the chance that Siena would have to work with aberrations and their burdens, no matter [i]what[/i] those burdens might be. The reality of it grated against Siena's better judgement. 

"[color=ff57ff]Maybe we can train together there.[/color]" Though she kept her suggestion steady and calm, Siena cursed herself all the while as she spoke. "[color=ff57ff]I'll keep my distance if you want, but it might be good for both of us. In case we get paired up against something in the future.[/color]" 

[i]'[color=ff57ff]Or maybe I'm still too much of a coward to be alone.[/color]'[/i]

Angel nearly stopped herself in her tracks as she heard Siena talk about going to train together.

Train? Did she even know what Ground Zero was meant to be? It was a violent release zone, a place where X-marked went to safely vent out their destructive impulses without hurting anyone or destroying the school property. She wasn't going to train, she was going to wreck something apart with her voice. She was going to shout until the voices in her head were no more. 

But when she heard the Arbiter girl speak about benefiting from this, Angélique stopped to listen. To prepare themselves for upcoming battles, huh? Well, that was certainly a wise decision. Wasn't that what Angel had vowed, on that night they were pitted for the first time against monsters, to become stronger, to be able to protect her friends, to not let any more death occur on her watch?

The raven-haired girl stood silent, hesitating. Could she really trust herself to not bring harm to Siena while training together? She was so afraid that anything wrong might happen. She couldn't afford to hurt any more innocent people. If anything were to happen to Siena, she wouldn't forgive herself.

[color=9e0039]"I... I'm not sure..." [/color]

[color=9e0039]"I don't want to hurt you... I'm an X-marked, you know that? I don't know what will happen out there. I'm not sure if I want to take any chance if something can go wrong..." [/color]

When silence greeted Siena's suggestion, the girl was prepared for a rejection. It wouldn't have been surprising, but to say it wouldn't be disappointing was a lie. Fortunately, it seemed that Angel was hesitant for reasons different from what Siena had been expecting. For an instant, the facade fell apart, and Siena couldn't keep back the mixture of concern and gratitude. Couldn't ignore the faintest traces of remorse. 

"[color=ff57ff]I'll be fine,[/color]" the arbiter replied, collecting the runaway feelings before they could escape. "[color=ff57ff]I'll keep back if it looks like something will go wrong. On either of our ends.[/color]" 

[i]Sobbing. She hadn't been crying when she regained control of herself, she had been sobbing. One rough hand carefully released her, but he was wary. Who wouldn't be after a girl less than half his age had all but torn out a wall in what could only have been described as a rampage?[/i]

Tension pulled the muscles of Siena's neck tight. 

"[color=ff57ff]I know the signs of losing control.[/color]"

[color=9e0039][i]Either of our ends?[/i][/color]

Angel was confused by Siena's words. Did she meant that she was a dangerous magic user as well? But she was an Arbiter, something as loosing control wasn't what popular opinion made of the white-marked people. Was there more to her than Angel knew? Thinking about it now, she barely knew the girl, combat-wise. She had wandered over to help in her fight the last time, but she couldn't see clearly what she had done, her line of sight blocked by the huge spaghetti monster, before everything turned into dust by the crystal-creating guy.

[color=9e0039]"... Alright..."[/color]

Angel reluctantly said, finally giving in to her shopping accomplice's stubbornness. She began moving on, once more, but this time she was walking instead of running, clearly showing some consideration to Siena's suggestion after finally convincing the Aberration girl. 

Siena silently following Angélique, the two of them made their way to Ground Zero. Reaching the outskirts of the haunted grounds, the duo was intercepted by a few guards, keeping watch on the area and monitoring whoever went through. However, seeing the pissed off expression on the black-haired X-marked young woman, they understood that this one needed to vent out her stigma. For the other girl, though, they weren't so sure what she was doing here, but figured that since she was walking with the Aberration, she was surely there to accompany her friend.

Just like that, the guards granted clearance for the two to enter Ground Zero .

[color=9e0039]"Well... I might as well ask... since we are to train together. What is your power exactly? I haven't seen it during the battle two days ago."[/color]

The walk had been silent on the outside, but not on the inside. [i]Cracks.[/i] The girl brushed her hair out of he eyes as she took in the sight of their temporary training grounds--it was different from what Siena expected. It wasn't until Angel spoke that Siena was snapped out of her stupor. 

"[color=ff57ff]O-oh! I...I take names from writing. I can borrow something from them.[/color]" It sounded awkward and heavy in her mouth as an explanation. Somehow it was less comfortable now that there wasn't a briefing or to a group. "[color=ff57ff]It's probably easier to understand once you see.[/color]" And from there, the brunette stopped herself from continuing. Nothing about the emotions or the storm that came with the power. 

Nothing about how every time she took a name, it burned through what little of herself she could identify. 

Putting the thoughts aside, she turned her attention towards the dark-haired subnatural. "[color=ff57ff]What about you? I don't think I got to see you fight the other night.[/color]"

Pulling powers straight from a book? That sounded quite strange, yet convenient at the same time. From Angel's point of view, it was incredibly versatile, to be able to hold on to the powers of any characters, as long as she had the means to read said character. Now she can understand why Siena was so intent on getting a tablet. That certainly would be better than carrying a lot of books onto the battlefield. Even if the pad broke, given Siena's apparent funds, that wouldn't be so much of a proble, she figured.

[color=9e0039]"Mine's simple... you might want to block your ears though."[/color]

Angel said as she walked towards one of the nearby ruined buildings. It took her a while to summon the courage to bring herself to scream just as she did back then. But once she started remembering about the circumstances under which she had been doing so a few days ago, the voices that were hammering the back of her mind, she could find the resolve to scream once more. 

Breathing in with anxiety, she stammered a bit before letting out an ear-splitting scream towards the building. Against the sonic wave emitted by the shriek, the windows shattered into pieces, and the front door slammed open, almost unhinged from its bonds. 

Block her ears? Siena would have raised a question if Angel hadn't already started moving. She took a breath in, and something [i]clicked[/i] in the brunette's head. Oh, [i]no[/i]. Immediately, Siena brought her hands to her ears, covering the openings just as Angel let loose a scream that tore through the air, piercing through the protection that Siena's palms afforded. Glass shattered, muffled through the flesh, and the door was blown open. Impressive. 

"[color=ff57ff]Whoa...[/color]" Carefully uncovering her ears, the ringing was muted compared to what the arbiter had expected. Grey eyes trailing over the building, Siena couldn't help but crack a faint smile. "[color=ff57ff]Kind of like the Black Canary...cool.[/color]" Raking her fingers through a few unruly strands of hair, the mage moved her hand towards her bag, pulling the tablet from its confines.

[i]Would she be okay?[/i]

No way to find out but to try. Flicking the screen on, her fingers barely fumbled despite the new tablet--the joys of having been able to fiddle with the electronic the night before, she supposed. She brushed mahogany bangs out of her vision, a few taps and...perfect. Prickles flooded down her spine, up her arm, and a flash of purple was more than enough to mark the creation of a magic circle. 

The first character that came to mind was Samos--Ptolemus, not his sister. He was easier to understand, easier to draw from after a particularly unfortunate incident. A few moments passed, her eyes shifting from gray and leaking towards black. The man's confidence flooded into her, and it felt...[i]good[/i]. Confidence, protectiveness, a distancing coolness.

And anger. A simmering anger that lingered just beneath the surface. 

With a motion of her arm, she felt...odd. It wasn't the first time she'd ever pulled Ptolemus, but using his abilities had never been something she expected. Shallow breathing, she pulled. The metal wouldn't budge. [i][color=ff57ff]'Fucking get out of there...!'[/color][/i] And she [i]pulled[/i]. A crack as a support beam broke through the wall of the building, the strain of it releasing a creaking groan. Another harsh tug, and the beam came crashing out, twisting on itself to Siena's--no, Samos's--will until it snapped. 

[i]'[color=ff57ff]A few drops more of the storm.[/color]'[/i] Huh...maybe she could...her fingers trailed over the screen. Maybe.

Angel watched Siena as she literally pulled a name out of her tablet. She wasn't much of a reader, so whatever the brunette had pulled, she basically would have no idea about who that was. Her pink display on her fingers was quite pretty, but the outcome of the power from whom she had borrowed their power was simply terrifying.

Motioning with her hand, Angel didn't know what her friend was up to, until she heard the cracking sound coming from behind her, inside the building. She took a frightened step back when a metal support beam coming from inside the structure broke out from the wall of the building, 

[color=9e0039]"Holy shit! Did you just pull out Magneto's name or something?That's... awesome!" [/color]

Angel said excitedly. Truth be told, she wasn't much in the mood for this when she first came, but seeing for herself what kind of powers her friends could possess, that did make her more inclined to be in a lighter mood. After all, they did come here to train with each other. Test out their powers and know each other better in combat situation. 

Angel's compliment was enough to make Siena give a shy smile, the confidence that resulted from Samos's influence hidden just beneath that. "[color=ff57ff]Th-Thanks. Though this is...way harder than I thought it'd be.[/color]" She hadn't used Samos's abilities to that extent before, had never been able to do more than move a few small, metal things around when it came down to it. A pause as Siena glanced at the tablet in her hands. "[color=ff57ff]I wonder though...if I did use someone like Magneto...[/color]"

Another magic circle, this one smaller than the last appeared. It felt different. Unlike usual, where the name would completely overtake her, Siena was left feeling like there was a cacophony in her head. Three separate names. One body. A shudder passed over her. [i]This was different. This was weird.[/i] Just a few drops more of the storm. 

Polaris wasn't quite so powerful--Siena made the mistake of drawing Magneto before, but another layer added over the rage. Taking a moment to breathe through her nose and calm herself down, the brunette felt fury trying to itch, tear, and break its way out. She released it in the form of a powerful repulsion of the beam that she'd been  holding--straight into the building, crashing with less force than expected, but with more precision than usual. It was more tiring, taking more out of her for something that didn't feel like it was her full strength. Confusion filtered through the invading name...s? Samos was there. Polaris was there. 

And yet somehow she felt more in control than she'd ever felt.

Angélique took another step back away from the building as Siena drove the beam back into the building, sending splinters and debris everywhere. Glancing between the building and Siena, Angel looked a bit too excited about this whole thing.

[color=9e0039]"Damn, girl! That's some... hey, you alright Siena?"[/color]

Angel came rushing towards the brunette Arbiter as her friend's face seemed to shift throughout various expressions, from anger to confusion, exhaustion too? 

"Hey hey, easy now. you don't need to go all out, you know? Slow and steady. Baby steps, as my music teacher taught me." 

"[color=ff57ff]I...I'm okay...[/color]" No, no she wasn't. Siena was grappling between too many names at once, and she was...[i]tired[/i]. She was exerting just as much effort for an output that wasn't quite as high as what she was used to. Still, the emotions were weaker, the usual attempts of resistance muted in comparison to usual. If she thought about it, there was plenty that she could put her newfound abilities to use with, though that meant another trip to the library.

[color=9e0039]"You sure? Alright then. Don't strain yourself too much." [/color]

"[color=ff57ff]I...I know...that was...different than usual. H-hah...don't think I'm gonna try that again though,[/color]" Siena admitted with a faint laugh. She felt the names slip from her grasp, their aftermath still swirling into one unpleasant ball of potential mania and the confidence to act on it. The fatigue hit her all at once. 

Watching Siena's powers, it gave Angel an idea. While her screams pretty much remained the same, no matter how many times she does them, Siena had much more freedom over her abilities. And it was that very ability to adapt than gave Angel the idea she just had.

[color=9e0039]"Say, while we are training together, why not take it up a notch?"[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Y-you have an idea?[/color]"

[color=9e0039]"Do you know of any characters that could potentially amp up sound?"[/color]

A wide grin was drawn on the singer's face as she proposed the idea to the book-eating Arbiter.

[color=9e0039]"That'd be an awesome combo to pull off, no?"[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Oh...[i]oh[/i]![/color]" Despite the first wave of exhaustion, Siena couldn't help but smile. "[color=ff57ff]Why, as a matter of fact, I do.[/color]" It wasn't quite traditional literature, but Siena had learned that there were some very [i]creative[/i] minds out there when it came to graphic novels from around the world. 

And ah, she understood so well how Cobra felt. 

Without an ounce of hesitation, the girl began to pull the name.

Having taken up a name that would potentially increase the sound output of Angel's powers, the duo prepared themselves in front of the building they had been showing off their powers in front of. Nodding to Siena and holding out a thumb up to tell the brunette she was ready, Angel breathed in, nervous at what the outcome would be from this experiment.

Waiting for the moment that Angel took her breath, Siena filtered magic through her fingertips, giving a nod to Angel as soon as it was ready.

 As she breathed out in the form of a shriek, the front door seemed to be about to give out, until Siena's powers came in full effect. When it happened, this scream was beyond anything human, bordering on the verge of something monstrous as the scream's volume amped up by tenfold. As expected, not only the volume increased, but the damage did as well. Where the door once stood, there was only splinters of an annihilated door and a wider door frame, more looking like a crater where once stood the doorway.
 
[color=9e0039] "Holy fuck!"[/color]
 
 Was the only thing that came out of Angel's mouth after she had witnessed the damage she and Siena caused to the building. It was terrifying, to know that she held such kind of power within her vocal chords. Seeing the damage done, Angel could somehow understand why it would be easy to lose oneself into a power-drunken stupor.

"[color=ff57ff]Oh my god, that was so cool![/color]" The damage was impressive. If it had been caused by a monster, it would have terrified her, but that was [i]their[/i] work. A mark of teamwork. Grinning to Angel, she gave a smile. "[color=ff57ff]I've got an idea. One more?[/color]"

Maybe it was the confidence, maybe it was the excitement of being useful, but Siena let herself draw from a fallback. If simply amplifying the sound had done that much, then certainly increasing the area of effect would be even better, wouldn't it? The magic coursed through her, faster this time than before. 

Also excited to know that there could be more to it, Angel turned once more to the building, giving Siena another thumbs up, ready to crank it up some more.

Again, she let out a devastating shout, basking into Siena's amping powers. Something felt odd though, as if there was an overbearing feeling hammering her down. In a sudden flash of panic, she also lost control, her voice straining out until she could cut herself out completely from the sheer intensity of the scream.

Opening her eyes slowly, Angel was afraid to see what was in front of her. The sight that welcomed her was too much. Her scream effectively punched a huge crater from the building exterior's concrete wall. Angel was at a loss of words. Did she really do that? Of course, Siena was largely part of this, but still. 

Thinking about Siena, there was this foreboding feeling nagging the back of her mind, when she lost it earlier.

The name was a mistake. Everything seemed muted. The excitement was little more than a dull throb in the pit of her stomach, and something...[i]something[/i] was feeling...animosity towards Angel? No. That couldn't be right. That wasn't her. [i]Wasn't her.[/i] Not this muted feeling, not that odd hostility, not the feeling of wanting to add her to a collection.

[i]'[color=ff57ff]No. No, no, no stop. Stop![/color]'[/i] Panic rose like bile as mana started to gather. It would only take a single spell to end her, a single spell to bring the dark-headed girl back as a puppet. 

[i]'[color=ff57ff]No, no, no...![/color]'[/i]

It all came to a stop, everything. The magic, the muted feelings. Everything came back full force and Siena panicked. It overrode everything else, painting over the ambition, the excitement, the satisfaction of [i]success[/i] with nothing but a dark fear that blinded her. The brunette trembled, backed a few steps away, her breath coming short and her eyes wide with panic. 

"[color=ff57ff]Oh god...[/color]"  Staggering backwards, the girl stared at Angel with wide eyes. Terror seeped in, saturating everything as the bleak realization of what she'd almost done came to mind.

She almost killed her. She almost became the monster she wanted to defend against.

The raven-haired Aberration came running back at the brunette Arbiter once more, visibly worried now that she could clearly see that they both had taken their experiments too far. The Siena in front of her was a panicked mess, seemingly way more affected by what she had just pulled than what Angel had been doing. For an Arbiter, she sure had serious drawbacks using her powers.

Unable to see her friend in this state, Angel fell on her knees and took Siena into her arms, putting a gentle hand onto the back of her head and slowly caressed the girl's lengthy flow of brown hair.

[color=9e0039]"It's okay. Relax. Take a deep breath. We're fine."[/color]

Angel tried to soothe her partner's mind, speaking softly while embracing her warmly into her arms.

"[color=ff57ff]I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.[/color]"  It was all that she could do between the shuddering breaths. The shaking. Against the need to break down in the face of her own failure. This had been the exact reason she had chosen to leave the sheltered life behind. She could have stayed stashed away with Gerwulf and Maya, but [i]this[/i] was why she had left the comfort of everything she had ever known.

She'd lost control again.
[hr]
When both girls finally calmed down, they got back onto their feet, ensuring they were okay before getting out of this place. Walking side by side, the duo of subnaturals slowly left Ground Zero. The guards didn't seem to pay much mind to the girls as they went out from the area. After leaving, a beep came out from both girls' anklet, signaling the suppression module turning back on. 

Taking a walk from where they came from, Angel and Siena stopped in front of the Arbiters' dorms.

[color=9e0039]"You sure you're alright? If there's anything bothering, or if you don't feel well, come see me. You know where I live."[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]I...I'm...[/color]" Fine? That was the most transparent lie that Siena could possibly have said. "[color=ff57ff]I think I'll be okay.[/color]" No, she wouldn't, but that was her problem, not Angel's. "[color=ff57ff]I'm sorry about that. I...I usually have a better grip on what I do.[/color]" 

[color=9e0039]"It's okay. I'm the one to blame. I probably pushed you to limits that were best left to be explored after getting more experience."[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]It wasn't your fault. I should have known better...but thank you. For staying.[/color]"  A guilty smile. [i]'[color=ff57ff]My fault[/color]'[/i]

It was somewhat ironical that Angel was the one saying such words, considering it was herself who had begun the day feeling quite under the weather. But being who she was, she always was the one to protect and care for the others, putting her own issues aside to help others.

With an awkward silence, the two girls didn't find much to say after what had just happened.

[color=9e0039]"Well, I guess I'll leave you to your things. See you later."[/color] Angel broke the silence, offering a departing handwave as she started to walk away, going back to her own dorm.