waking up

Who: Marian and Maddy
Where: Roy's Bank Vault and the walk home
When: Morning

Marian shifted enough in her dream to wake herself up. As it always did when she slept in the vault it took a moment or two before she realized where she was. Stretching a little to try and loosen up some of the kinks from sleeping on the hard surface she twisted towards Roy, intent on watching him sleep for a moment or two before sneaking out. Relief flooded through her when she noticed he was sleeping soundly, a look of peace on his face. Marian's hand was already out-stretched to brushed his hair off his face lovingly when she spotted the smaller hand tangled in his shirt. Frowning she propped herself up on one arm a little, noticing a shock of blond hair nestled at Roy's shoulder.

Well that was certainly not there when she fell asleep the day before.

Squinting a little against the sleep that still blurred her vision, Marian finally made out the figure as being Doll Girl. Wasn't she the reason Dodge beat up her brother? Lecturing wasn't her place, and she wanted Roy to be happy, to find someone who kept him happy, but crossing Dodge wasn't smart no matter how obnoxious the boy could be. Especially now that he'd shown he didn't have issues with beating up Roy just for kicks. Sighing a little, Marian pulled her hand back from her brother, shucking out from under the blankets and scrambled a little towards the door. She was doing well until she stubbed her toe, hard, and a little sound, too sweet sounding to be a grunt escaped from her mouth.

The grunt, of all things, is what woke her up. Her whole body felt leaden, the side effect of sleeping in the same position for... however long she'd been sleeping. Maddy looked at Roy's face. He was still out of it, a tiny dab of drool at the corner of his mouth. He still sounded a bit congested. She looked around and saw Marian at the door shaking her foot. "Hey, Marian," she said, still a little sleepy. She carefully slid out from under the covers, glancing around for her shoes. "How did you sleep?"

Marian glanced around, hoping to escape unnoticed, but not quite that lucky. She flashed a pretty smile at DG, a stark contrast to her rumpled slept in clothes and unruly hair. "I didn't mean to wake you," she apologized in a half whisper. She slipped into her shoes, and ran her hands through her hair, trying to tame it, even if just briefly.

"Light sleeper. Don't worry about it," she whispered back, putting her shoes on as well. Maddy leaned down and set two more blankets over top of Roy. She paused for a moment, debating whether she should or not before she knelt down and stroked his hair, pressing a kiss to his forhead and adjusting the blankets one more time before getting back up and heading over to Marian. "Your brother on the other hand could probably sleep through anything. Are you hungry?" she was.

She'd kept on smiling, readying herself to leave, almost not paying attention when DG kissed her brother. Sure, it was the same action that Marian probably would have done herself if they'd been alone, but Marian was under the impression this wasn't exactly sisterly affection. When DG turned back to her, Marian had managed to wipe the look of utter shock off her face, covering her emotions as she always did with a pleasant smile. "Hungry's pretty standard," she joked lightly. Again she wondered what Roy was doing, getting involved with DG. Just yesterday Dodge had left him bloody on the street over this girl. Silently she prayed that this wasn't some masochistic scheme of Roy's to try and prove to Dodge that he wasn't the prince of everything.

"You can say that again," Maddy agreed. "I scored some change the other day if you want to split something?" She allowed herself to show some of the hesitant hopefulness that she felt. Compared to Marian, Maddy knew she didn't have a lot of money, let alone enough to treat Roy's sister to a good meal and she wanted to do that. While they weren't friends, per say, Maddy thought she was nice. Quiet, but Roy was quiet too. Maybe she'd do a painting for her or something. Maybe they could even be friends. Maddy... didn't really have any friends who were girls and if they were going to be living in the same house someday (because she was going to buy herself a house), it might be a good idea to be friends. For that at least.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Marian told DG in her sweet voice. "I was just going to get something once I got home. Save it for yourself." She gave another attempt at smoothing her hair, but eventually just rooted around in her bag until she found an old clip. It was chipped and a little tarnished, but Roy had found it somewhere, cleaned it up as best he could and given it to her. After a moment or two more of fumbling she managed to pull most of her mane off her face, clipping it into place. "I can walk with you though, part of the way back to your place?" Marian stepped around Maddy, and out of the vault. She felt better on the landing, not as worried about waking Roy up.

Maddy followed her, hurrying a little to keep up with the older girl, making sure Marian was on her good side. "Are you sure?" Okay, so maybe she was still feeling kind of vulnerable and off-kilter but Maddy was going to blame that on her brain cooking barely two days ago. Having a high fever would have side-effects that weren't just loss of hearing or blindness or something. Yeah. That was it. "It's been awhile since I've seen you. Maybe we could catch up on things... or something."

"More than sure," Marian reassured her with that same friendly smile. "You enjoy it." Money was always short, even for someone like Marian who worked until she couldn't see straight of feel her feet. In the end her wages and tips just barely covered rent and food. Not wanting to drop her friendly demeanor, Marian instinctively glanced towards her shoes, focusing on the stairs out of the building rather than DG. Catch up on things? Like how Dodge came 'round looking for you, beat up Roy for not knowing where you were and then suddenly you're sleeping next to him? Marian didn't think her brother would lie, especially not to her, about not knowing where DG was, but still the whole thing looked suspicious. And dangerous for Roy. "Sorry, I haven't been around much. Working hard." Marian's smile didn't drift, nor did her tone. "Have I missed anything exciting?"

"Roy went and got himself sick," she said with a shrug even though Marian couldn't see it. "Off walking around in the rain. And got into a fight earlier this week too. I'm worried about him," she told her honestly. She didn't tell Marian that when the two of them got into an argument, he hauled off and punched a brick wall. The wall won. "I know he gets into one of his moods now and again, but I dunno. It just seemed worse lately." She eyed Marian hesitantly from the corner of her eye as they made their way past the second landing. "I was really glad to see you were here." That you could do for him what I guess I can't.

That cut Marian a little deep. She knew she'd avoided Roy too long, but to know he'd gotten sick from being in one of his moods and not paying attention to what could happen to him. That he'd let himself fall so far into that dark place. Not again, she wouldn't do it again this time, she'd get over her own insecurities and be there for him when he needed her. "I think he's doing better, he just gets that way sometimes. Usually if you wait it out it passes." Marian knew that her presence was the biggest catalyst for Roy making a turn for the better, just as he gave her an outlet to just be and not have to be happy all the time. Still, she didn't want to completely discourage the younger girl.

Which is maybe why Dodge decided to try pick a fight, Maddy wondered as they carefully made their way out of the stairwell and across the empty bank. At least it was lighter out and Maddy could see this time around. And even if she wasn't able to do much about his moods, she felt guilty for not being there for him over the past couple days. For being the reason Dodge came to bother him. "Has he always been like that?" She was quiet when she asked that, like it was a terrible secret that they shouldn't really talk about.

"Roy?" Marian asked although she didn't doubt who DG was asking about. She considered the question a moment before answering. "Yes a little. Not as bad when we were younger, but yea, he's always been a little like that." It hadn't been that bad before everything had gone wrong. Before they'd been so poor she'd...before that.

Maddy nodded as the two of them ventured out into the dismal, dreary morning. Like it was ever any different in Eidolon City. No. Maddy would make sure it was different. The house with the little yard. The garden for Marian. Roy's radio. Her tree swing. She couldn't share that with Marian yet though. No, not until it was within her hands. The deed to the house. Roy could tell her. "You're a good sister," she said, glancing over at her. "That you're there for him when he needs you. He loves you a lot."

"Thanks," she told DG with a genuine smile. "Really though, he's the one who's there for me. I lean on him." Marian pulled the collar on her worn coat up around her neck wrapping her arms around herself against the cold.

Maybe. Roy was definitely someone you could count on when you needed to. Maddy didn't always take advantage of that aspect of their friendship, but she was considering it. Their talk last night had made her feel immensely better. It was a nice calming effect on her. "So you've been working a lot lately, huh?"

"Trying to," Marian confirmed, nodding a little. "I've been trying to pick up extra shifts here and there. Makes it easier to get by." And it gave her a good excuse to avoid her brother. She wasn't going to do that again though. Sure he knew her secrets but she would have to just deal with that.

Yeah, Maddy got that. If you had a real paying job, you held onto it because there were a bunch of people right outside the door waiting for your spot. Still, overworking yourself wasn't good in any situation. "I heard the bakery on 6th street is looking for some help if you're ever interested," she suggested, trying to be helpful. She wouldn't be making tips which was big with waitresses, but the hours would be more regular and stuff.

Marian's laugh was light and tinkling. "At least that's a little more attainable than Roy's idea of me working for The Echo," she said, still smiling. "But it's not that bad, I'm good at it." Because she was good at it, one of the best.

"Never knock the dreams for something better," she said immediately, feeling protective of her own plans. But then, Roy was fairly reluctant to take part in the ideas and she still wasn't sure if he realized she was being serious. "As long as you're happy though." Because being happy was important, especially when you didn't have much to begin with. And maybe Marian was good at it and therefore happy. And when she got her house, Marian wouldn't have to pay rent so that could mean she'd have more money. "What does he think you should do at the paper?"

"There's more to life to be happy about than your job," Marian told DG. Paired with the smile and twinkle in her eyes it was completely believable. No sadness existed in this girl, ever. She smiled in her sleep. Laughing again at Roy's ideas, she did her best to explain. "I think he has this idea that I'll start off as a secretary or something and work my way up to being a reporter. I'm not sure where he got the idea though." Marian wanted to do something better, be something her brother could proud of, just as she'd thought the day before, but his dreams for her seemed almost unattainable.

Maddy wondered if Marian was as happy as she came off. How much of it was pretend and how much of it was genuine. But it wasn't her place to question. If that's how she dealt with her situation, she wasn't one to judge. "He wants the best for you. That's what brothers do. They try make sure you're okay and to be all who you can be." That's what she thought brothers did anyway. It's what she wanted brothers to do. "And if Roy thinks you can do it, then maybe you really can."

"Maybe I can," Marian agreed. She rounded another corner, still headed back towards her place. "You're still at the theater right?" She'd been on a path that took them there as well, but that didn't mean that DG's situation hadn't changed.

"Yep. S'my stop," Maddy confirmed. She wrapped her thin arms around herself tighter, shivering a bit and bowing her head to try keep warm. She was a tiny girl by nature and living on the streets meant she was even skinnier. She knew how lucky she was that she'd been found by Janey. She'd be dead. "I'm not going to let Dodge get away with what he did," she said suddenly, wanting Marian to know that. "And I'm going to make sure it never happens again."

Marian tensed a little at that, not sure how to react. She even stopped walking turning back towards DG. "What did Roy say about that?" Marian didn't want to make a comment without knowing what her brother said. She'd rather stand behind his decision.

The way Marian replied told Maddy that she was right in assuming that Marian knew what happened between Roy and Dodge. "That Dodge came looking for me," she said, meeting Marian's eyes. "And him and Roy butted heads like the tend to do and Dodge's boys did their usual." Holding Roy back. Probably throwing their own punches. "I'm going to take care of it. No one gets away with hurting Roy." No one got away with hurting Dodge either, but her friend (crush?) had fought unfairly. Had jumped Roy. Fought when there didn't need to be a fight.

Marian didn't move on, bouncing a little on her feet against the cold. "You didn't answer my question though." She looked away, then back at DG. "Look, I know what you're trying to do. And it's good that you care about Roy, but...he doesn't need trouble. He won't back down from Dodge, and he's right. Dodge is pushing being out of control. But not backing down...that's dangerous. It won't go well for him." Her voice was still light, that never left Marian's demeanor, but she still sounded concerned.

"I know it won't, which is why I'm going to take care of it." She knew that Dodge going after Roy was a sign that something was wrong and Maddy knew that if anything, her going dark for a couple days was what probably pushed him over that. "But I wanted to let you know that I was going to take care of it." A shrug and she glanced away briefly, dragging her hand through her tangled hair, not used to it being so... clean feeling.

Hesitating a moment or two, Marian finally nodded. DG's idea didn't sit well with her, but Roy was right, the girl was beyond stubborn. "Just be careful." It wasn't much and sounded weak, but Marian couldn't leave without saying it. "I should head back. I have to work tonight. It was good to see you again though." The concern for her brother leaked from her face and left the standard smiling Marian people were used to.

The way the concern left Marian's face confused Maddy, but it didn't show. She wasn't sure why it bothered her. But instead she returned Marian's smile with a Doll smile, like she gave Roy. The most genuine, rare type that she gave. "It was nice seeing you too, Marian," she replied genuinely. "I hope work goes well for you." For her, she had to find one of Dodge's boys, but she suspected that he had a few watching her place and already saw her. It was kind of creepy when she really thought about it.

Smiling again, Marian started back towards her place, looking over her shoulder once to wave goodbye. She'd have to check in with Roy again soon, worried about him both because she was sick and secondly because she didn't want the Dodge issue to surprise him out of nowhere. She didn't want to find him bleeding in the streets again.