WHO: Jade Aldebrandi [narrative] WHEN: Friday morning WHERE: Some house in Brooklyn WHAT: What the hell did I do last night? WARNINGS: Talk of alcohol abuse NOTES: Andrea, this is open for Krishna to show up/call if you want him to have heard her prayer :)
The sun shining through the curtains was what woke Jade and she groaned, rolling over heavily in the bed. But that movement disturbed her stomach and she feared now that she might be sick. It took effort to open her eyes and blink, feeling the dry scratching of the contact lenses she'd slept in. Those should have been her most omnipresent thought, but Jade found the room she was in was completely unfamiliar to her and that took precedence. With effort she pulled herself up to look around properly, waiting for some sort of memory of the room to return to her. But there was nothing at all to be found no matter how long Jade sat there, nor was there anyone else in the bed to help her with that.
She pulled the sheet off herself slowly, finding her body stiff and sore and naked, a large bruise already coming up yellow on the outside of her thigh. She didn't know how she'd gotten that either.
The whole house was a stranger and in her clothes from the night before - at least she remembered what she'd been wearing - she walked around it. Things that didn't belong to her, things that she didn't know. But she found the bathroom and vomited up the booze from last night and whatever she'd eaten and then, sitting on the floor of the bathroom, she worked on figuring out her last memories of the night before.
She'd gone out for a few drinks with some friends - that part she remembered - and they'd all gone to a bar that Jade hadn't heard of before. But somewhere things got... blurry, and Jade couldn't work out how she'd gotten from the bar to this house. (Apartment? She didn't even know yet.)
Standing again she returned to the bedroom and spotted the note beside the bed, the one that said Had a great night! Had to go to work but feel free to have some breakfast before you go. - Ethan.
Ethan? No, it wasn't making anything clearer. She didn't remember Ethan. She couldn't even make up a face to match that name.
Jade felt unsteady and still way too hungover to deal with this, but it wasn't the first time she'd woken up in a stranger's bed. It was, however, the first time that said stranger had disappeared before she even woke up. She walked outside (it was a house, or at least a ground floor apartment) was just as unfamiliar to her as everything else.
Having no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there scared Jade and she sat down again, missing the bed and ending up on the floor with her back against it. She could go outside and ask someone on the street where she was, but then that made the whole situation feel like it was completely out of control. Jade didn't want anything to be out of control.
She took a deep breath and found that it shuddered through her lungs.
She was okay. It was okay that she didn't know where she was. It was okay that she didn't know who she'd come home with. Everything was okay.
With her knees pulled up against her chest, Jade pressed her forehead against her hands as she folded them together in prayer. "Lord Krishna," she whispered, voice barely audible but Jade didn't think that part mattered so much, nor did she think her friend would be able to even recognise her prayer among the multitude of others. "Patitapavana, please Lord Krishna deliver me, please Krishna bring me peace, please Krishna rescue me." She couldn't speak it in Hindi, knowing only a few words and phrases from her friend. And right now 'Patitapavana' was the only one of his many titles that she could remember, fitting as it meant - if she remembered right - purifier of the fallen. Jade really needed some purifying at that moment.
The prayer wasn't really for him, but for Jade. She hoped that just speaking those words would bring her the strength and peace she needed. She hoped it would make her get her things and get up on the floor of that stranger's bedroom.
But the strength didn't come and Jade just kept her face pressed to her hands, the whole world spinning more than she wanted.
Still an active deity, Krishna had a consistent source of prayer and belief streaming into him. He lived his life much like he did when he was younger, focusing his power in the best way he knew how - helping others. His daily routine was never particularly affected by the belief he felt, but he was always aware of it in the back of his mind.
He'd been in the middle of a meditation class when he was pulled out of focus. It was a bit like hearing a car backfire in the middle of a peaceful night - his throat tightened and his eyes opened wide. He looked over to another instructor, and it was enough to have her come and cover for him. He was quick and quiet, and no one even noticed he was gone.
Something wasn't right. He couldn't pinpoint it, but it was something close to him. He snatched up the cordless phone from the front desk and dialed the familiar number as he walked quickly toward the back room. He hoped it wasn't Jade, but at this point, he'd admit that she was the closest person to him that could contact him this way.
He raked a hand through his hair as the phone rang.
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-30 03:15 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select Somewhere a phone was ringing and it only took a moment for Jade to realise that it was hers and it was somewhere in the room. She crawled towards the sound and found her jacket from the night before down at the end of the bed, the vibrating phone in the pocket.
Pulling it out and seeing Krishna's number was the best thing that could have possibly happened and Jade answered, running a hand through her hair. "Hi," she said weakly, already sounding a little guilty. She'd wanted him to hear her, to help, but as much as she wanted that... well, to admit she'd freaked out felt stupid.
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[info]bhagavan 2011-07-30 03:28 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select Krishna calmed slightly when she answered. She at least sounded all right, if a little quiet.
"I felt..." He'd better not admit that. That was weird, right? That might be strange for her to hear. "Where are you?"
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-30 03:33 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "I didn't know if you would," Jade admitted, finishing his thought for him. They knew each other at least well enough to do that. If there was anyone in the world that Jade wouldn't mind having some sort of direct access into her brain, it was Krishna. She licked her dry lips. "I didn't know if I wanted you to though."
With the phone still to her ear, Jade dropped her forehead against my knees. "I don't know where I am, Krishna," she told him, her voice thick and forced. "I have no fucking idea how I got wherever the fuck I am right now, some bedroom, somewhere."
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[info]bhagavan 2011-07-30 04:25 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "Well, I did, so at least we know that everything still works." He sighed, leaning back against the door. He could keep her talking long enough, try to use the small connection she'd made through the prayer to calm her. He'd have to hang up the phone eventually to get to her physically, but for now, this would have to do.
"Jade," he said, his tone calm, "everything will be fine." That was most important, now.
"Where did you go last night? You're probably not far from there."
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-30 04:34 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "I went out to a bar in Brooklyn with some friends," Jade said after a deep breath, trying to put it all together even as she spoke. "And then... fucking hell, I don't know. There was some guy called Ethan because that's who signed this note I found by the side of the bed, and he's not even here and how can I seriously not know where I am?"
Jade decided to take another deep breath to calm herself, her stomach rebelling still. "I'm calm," she promised him, even though she didn't sound it or feel it. "I am motherfucking calm."
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[info]bhagavan 2011-07-30 05:09 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "Brooklyn." Good. It was one of the larger boroughs, but it was still a borough. There were issues, obviously. It certainly worried Krishna she didn't know how she'd ended up where she was, and who exactly she'd gone out with that just left her. But those were issues for another time - he didn't want Jade to get too upset, he needed to know she was okay and to keep their connection clear.
"It's fine. I'll find you. Are you...you're all right, right? I'm not going to have to kill anyone, am I?"
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-30 05:16 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "You're not going to have to kill anyone," Jade said and she found herself smiling despite how crappy she was feeling. "I'm alright. I'm just... well, maybe not alright, but I'm awake and I've got God on my side and he knows exactly when I need to hear his voice." Another smile as she pressed her face against the bed, just glad that he was on the other end of the phoneline to her.
"I wish you were here," Jade whispered, feeling her throat tighten. "I wish I'd gone home with you."
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[info]bhagavan 2011-07-30 11:39 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "You're all right," he assured her. She was relaxing, opening up, and it was making it easier for him to get a read on her. "There's no reason to play that game. We'll deal with what we have, we'll learn, we'll move on."
He stood to his full height and reached for his shoes. "I'll have to hang up to come get you. As long as you keep me in your thoughts, it shouldn't take too long." He hadn't done this in a very long time, but it wasn't time for him to reminisce.
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-31 03:11 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select He always sounded so damn smart. Although maybe that should stop surprising her since he wasn't some normal man the same age as she was. Jade sometimes forgot - even in a situation after praying to him where it should have been impossible to forget - that Krishna was, in fact, an Avatar of Vishnu and thus not only ancient but awesome by definition. Jade just wasn't going to get to be that clever.
"You can really do that?" Jade asked him, surprised. "You're like an immortal bloodhound. Will it still work if the thoughts you're in are pornographic?" she joked, because nothing eased the tension like joking about sex, Jade had always found.
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[info]bhagavan 2011-07-31 04:06 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "I can do a lot of things," he said, "but I'm not a show-off, so." Except he definitely was.
"It'll either work really well or I'll forget what I'm doing." He slipped a foot into his shoe and paused. "You're alone, right? You can entertain yourself by trashing the place. Not that I condone that sort of thing." He found he was actually fairly angry that the guy had not only taken Jade home, but he'd left her there. It was probably a good thing he didn't carry any weapons.
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-31 04:13 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select Jade would have a laugh later about Krishna's claim of not being a show-off, but for now she just wanted him there. "I'll probably let him keep his house," Jade said, reaching out for the piece of paper by the bedside and rereading it. "The note sounds more like 'thanks for the great fuck' and less like 'had an awesome time drugging and raping you'."
She pulled herself up to stand and groaned. "Oh god, make the hangover stop. I'll see if I can steal smokes from him while I wait for you though, and I'll keep my thoughts relatively clean."
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[info]bhagavan 2011-07-31 04:36 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "Still an asshole. But drink some water, okay? We'll get some food in you later." By now, his class was finished, so he had an hour to get to her. "I'll get a cab for once, too. I'll be there before you know it."
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[info]heliolatrous 2011-07-31 04:49 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select "My prince," Jade said, sounding immensely grateful for him. And she was. Krishna had been looking out for Jade her entire life and he was damn good at it. There was no one else she could imagine wanting to come get her when she was feeling like this.
"I'll see if I can, you know, unlock the door and stuff. I'll see you soon, okay? And thanks," she added quietly and more sincerely. "Really."