material girl

“Cheers ladies. To a tent-free weekend,” Avery said, clinking her glasses with theirs and then drinking some of the champagne. Her brother always did have the craziest ideas and camping definitely came in the top five, “The only nature I want to see this weekend is cucumbers in the water and the seaweed from the seaweed wrap we’ll be having later. Agreed?”

@fleurkarimi​ & @ofpanacea​

“Honestly I can’t think of anything more awful than sleeping on the ground,” Fleur shook her head after she clinked her glass with theirs. She was glad this trip was suggested instead, if only so she didn’t have to make up an excuse not to go camping with her cousin and his friends. “I don’t think I could sleep on anything but a luxurious mattress at this point, who needs the backache?” 

“I uh– I just moved here so I guess I’m trying to settle in,” Dante replied. It wasn’t a total lie, but it wasn’t the biggest of his burdens. “Am I that easy to read?” he added with a light huff of amusement at the woman’s words.

“That’s a generous offer Fleur,” Konrad was touched that she would bother to care. She could be using her powers to help people who needed it more. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty of better things to do that listen to my silly problems.”

Marie sighed, “I feel weird venting to a total stranger, but sometimes it’s good to get an outsiders perspective on things, right?” She asked, her eyes hopeful that the other would agree. “I did something, years ago- something I thought was a good thing. But it meant something bad happened to my best friend, he found out not that long ago and I’m not sure we’ll ever get back to the friendship we used to have.”

“Unbiased perspectives are always a good idea,” Fleur agreed with her while nodding. She listened to the issue and her heart went out to the blonde, that was certainly a rough situation. “It sounds like your intentions were good, did you know before you did it that your best friend would be hurt? You know, sometimes people just need a bit of time to cool off. If it happened years ago, once he processes it, he might realize it just doesn’t matter as much as your friendship does to him.”

“You’d be mad to, I can’t say I would trust those who would say no to cupcakes. Makes me think they have some dark, hidden, distaste for anything that can cause happiness and joy.” She chuckled, “The post office- I have some forms that I need to file pretty urgently, but with the moving and the boxes everywhere I forgot. So I have to try and sweet talk my way into their good graces in hopes that they don’t realize just how late I’m handing them in.”

“Right? I mean, even if you’re allergic to gluten I think the first response would be to ask if they were gluten-free instead of outright refusing,” Fleur laughed. “Oh! You just moved here? That’s exciting, can I ask what the forms are for? I mean, you offer cupcakes so I’m sure you’re good at bargaining for help.”

Isaac cocked a curious eyebrow. “You can heal…. minds? I’m sorry, are you a counsellor or a neurosurgeon?” He gave his best try at a friendly smile. “No need to apologise, it’s actually pretty cool that helping someone is your instinctual response. That said, I’m sure whatever you have to deal with at the hospital is considerably more taxing that any problems I have; I’m not sure it would be fair to you to drone on at you outside of work.” He chuckled lightly. “Unless it involves lying down on one of those therapist couches, they always look so comfy in the movies.”

Fleur chuckled at the question. “Definitely a counsellor, no surgery needed thankfully. It’s more like removing people’s emotional pain and suffering. I prefer talk therapy but sometimes people need a quick fix to get started,” she smiled. “Oh they are, also a great place to have a nap if your patient cancels their appointment last minute,” she joked. “I respect your privacy of course, I guess my instinct is to ask if someone wants me to use my power, take the edge off a little,” she smiled and shrugged. “Sometimes people just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you know?”

“Well thank you for saying I have some skills on it.”She chuckled softly before she continued to speak. “I am just replaying some things in my head, it’s a birthday coming up, but a sad one.”

Marie hadn’t realized she had been chewing on her lower lip for the last ten minutes, finally stopping and noting the sharp taste of copper in her mouth from where she had broke the skin. “Yeah- .. I’m fine.” She smiled, though when she mentioned she could sense that she felt worried she let out a small sigh, “Empath?”

“Sort of,” Fleur gave the other a small smile. “I only sense the negative emotions, I can heal minds so it’s a bit of a form of detection I guess,” she chuckled and shrugged. “Are you sure you’re alright? I’m also a pretty good listener if you’d like that instead.”

“When don’t I have a troubled aura, Fleur?” he replied with a dry laugh. Despite deflecting with humor as was typical for Konrad, he did end up sighing in slight defeat, “I uh– it’s been a long day. Working at a hospital isn’t exactly the most lighthearted job. But obviously you know that firsthand. I guess I just need to get more sleep.”

Ruby was lost in her thoughts once again, so much so that she didn’t hear her voice until she was walking over to her. “Oh I’m sorry, I was in a world of my own there for a moment. You can tell that I’m worried, and here I thought I was hiding it perfectly.”

Isaac narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Ummm…. hello…..?” He glanced around, just in case she was talking to someone else. “Do I look worried? Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m a big bundle of anxiety and fears, but I at least thought I had a good poker face. If you can tell that I’m worried just by looking at me, then quite frankly that’s devastating to my self-image.” He gave a small smile, to reassure her that he was mostly joking. “I don’t wanna tell you how to live your life, but if you want to  be a therapist, isn’t that usually best done in a plush office, with a comfy sofa and multiple leather bound books, that kind of thing?” He chuckled awkwardly. “Because if I’m being honest, I’ve not got money on me so I don’t think I’ll be a very good client.” 

“Oh no no, I’m sure your poker face is just fine,” Fleur tried to explain, shaking her head. “I’m actually a councelor at the hospital, but that’s not why I asked. I can heal minds, so I sense when they are distressed. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have just approached you like that, I just worry for people,” she smiled and shrugged. She was regretting having said anything now, she hardly realized when she was being more intrusive than socially acceptable. Her need to help just blocked that out sometimes. 

“No… no-… no.” Darcy muttered to herself as she kept looking at the phone in her hand and the shop and street names above her. “Seriously.” She grumbled, tapping furiously on her phone before letting out a sigh and tapping the person near her on the shoulder. “Hey, sorry to bother you but- I’m new, lost and willing to give out cupcakes to someone who helps me. Is that enough of a bargaining chip?”

Fleur turned as soon as she felt the tap on her shoulder, smiling to the other woman. “Oh no worries, I would help without the bribery, but I can’t say no to cupcakes now can I?” she laughed. “What are you looking for?”

“I’m sorry– what was that?” Konrad had nearly choked up on his coffee, setting it down as he looked to who had just been speaking. “Could you repeat that? I don’t think I caught what you said.”