2142/Delicious In Dorm Room: Deck Of Many Nightmares

Delicious In Dorm Room: Deck Of Many Nightmares
Date of Scene:	06 December 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Rashmi's under threat from Joker. Her roommates find out.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Chiyo Sakai, Wako Agemaki

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Rashmi Terios has posed:
For the last week and change, Rashmi has been more than a little haggard and worried. Slow to get out of bed, slow to fall asleep, and visibly fretting in the time between. She's still as chatty and happy to do activities with her dorm-mates as ever, just... she's been distracted. Less focused. And more likely to audibly whimper if a horror movie is suggested for movie night.

Finally, after popping open her rice cooker to serve pork-and-potato curry for the three of them this evening, Rashmi sighs heavily.

"Sorry, guys... I guess I really should be talking about what's bugging me, instead of just chewing on it forever. Specifically, to talk about this."

And she leans back, reaching under her pillow and pulling out a small deck of cards, each with a *visibly* spooky clown motif on the back.

A deck that, as soon as she sets it down, cuts itself; ten cards jump up to turn themselves over, leaving three face-down. "...So who's hungry?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai had been worried, but there was so much going on. She wasn't sure if she SHOULD pry. Then again... Tonight did seem like a good night to sit Rashmi down and chat with her about what was going on. Or not going on. For all she knew it was something like Chrono missed an obvious date or birthday but that was rather doubtful.

When Rashmi starts to speak about what she's 'chewing on', she glances over to Wako with a little worry. Worry that only deepens into a scowl when the deck of cards is brought out only to cut itself. "Yes, what is bothering you? I know I can't help too much anymore, but if there's anything we can do to help..." She trails off simply gesturing in a 'go ahead' sort of way.

Of course there's the small distraction of food as well that causes her stomach to grumble. "I mean. It *is* dinner time," she adds with a wry grin.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako noticed, of course - it would have been hard not to, sharing the room the way the three of them do. Still, she's refrained from prying, settling for keeping an eye out for trouble and waiting for Rashmi to feel ready to share her troubles.

It appears that now is the time.

"Okay," she says with a bit of a half-laugh, "you know I'm always hungry for your curry... but you can't just pull something like that," her head tips to indicate the cards, "and then wait for after dinner to explain."

Vice President, perched as he often is on Wako's shoulder, stares intently at the deck of cards. His big fox ears are pricked all the way up, his already-fluffy tail halfway to 'bottlebrush.'

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As Mister Vice President reacts to the cards, Rashmi reaches up to fondly, gently knuckle the little fox-equivalent's head, between his tremendous ears. "Oh don't worry, Wako-chan, I'm not waiting til *after* dinner." Bowls are filled and passed out, accompanied with plastic spoons, and she settles down in her desk chair. "So before I start... Either of you met Catra-san? Or heard much of Obsidian office politics?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Catra?" The name sounded familiar. Chiyo pauses as she takes her own bowl letting her spoon hover over it a breif moment before it dips in to stir around. It never hurt to mix it up some so that the heat could taper off just a smidge.

Bonito raises his head from his spot on her bed. Bleary eyed, but sniffing the air, he utters, "Bacon mochi," before dropping his head down again.

"Oh! Oh, right. Yes," Chiyo nods emphatically. "I ran into her a long time ago. She stole something Sailor Moon loaned me while I was trying to give it back. We fought a bit, and I made her some bacon mochi since she was hungry. Obligate carnivore just like most cats so I had to put meat in it."

"What about her?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Vice President relaxes a little, enough to push his head against Rashmi's fingers, and Wako flashes a quick grin. "That's fine, then." Curry!

She claims the bowl Rashmi hands her eagerly and sits down at her own desk, immediately scooping a healthy spoonful up to blow on it. At Rashmi's question, her brows lift.

"I don't think so," she says, glancing over to Chiyo as the latter speaks. "I've heard a little about Obsidian stuff from Sailor Moon, but that's about it."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Okay," Rashmi says, bobbing her head. "So starting with Obsidian... They're still a business, it's just that past a certain point, money doesn't mean a thing; collecting energy is how you keep your place. And Catra-san... well, she's pretty much a friend, though you'll never get her to believe it. She's come into the Korma off and on for a long while now, and sometimes we talk, and sometimes she feels better -- or at least, more confused about where she's put herself -- and that's good. Kind of a long-term redeption project as well as a friendship, right? Well..."

Toying with her curry, Rashmi looks down at the cards for a moment, and sighs. "...Turns out she wasn't, y'know... pulling her weight, at Obsidian. So Joker just kinda showed up at the Korma the last time Catra-san visited. Joker is... well, terrifying. He's a creepy clown, but he's a creepy clown with enough power behind him that if he's not a Director, he's really high up. Enough power that he doesn't *need* to worry about showing up in the middle of a restaurant during the dinner rush."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai takes a few bites of her curry while falling silent to listen. She does nod though in agreement with Obsidian. "They're a company yeah but on the upper levels it's being used by creeps that want to take over, or steal energy. Even they need funding. Philip worked for Mirage Corp under them and had a corporate card. Until they cut him off and he lost his powers for helping me."

Joker though, that was a new name for her. A new person to deal with. She falls silent again frowning quite a bit. "I can ask Philip if he's heard of him. It's not a name he's mentioned to me before but between him, and some of Usagi's friends, we can probably find out if he is a bigwig." Her spoon is waved slightly brushing the idea aside for now.

"What happened?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako has gone silent. It's partly because she's occupied with demolishing her curry, but she's listening intently all the same, absorbing the information that Rashmi is sharing. As Rashmi talks about Joker appearing at the Korma, her brows draw together in visible concern.

Setting her spoon down in the bowl for a moment, she casually moves a hand to block Vice President from investigating her dinner. "...guessing the creepy clown guy has something to do with the creepy clown cards...?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yyyyyyup," Rashmi says, popping the 'p.' "And to give you an idea, Chiyo-chan, when I told folks at the Shed a few days ago, Mamo-kun's response was not fit for a press conference. He terrified *Hematite.*"

Drawing in a deep breath... then looking down at her curry, hurriedly taking a bite, then drawing in another breath after food is swallowed, she continues.

"So he turned up to tell Catra-san she needed to get going on the collecting energy thing. And given that I was there, and that she was protective of me, *I* was picked to be the motivation. He had me draw as many cards from his deck as I wanted. Thirteen felt like a smart call on a lot of levels, so... I went with that. That's when Joker explained the rules of the game. Every day, one card turns over. They stay with me too, I've left them in my locker and they pop up in my desk. But when *all* the cards are turned over, if Catra hasn't met her quota, *I* pay the price."

She pauses for a beat, has another spoonful, and swallows. "He was very very careful to not say what that price would be. And I wasn't going to ask."