Ty took a breath as things simmered down. "I understand both of you are trying to look out for me, but right now, all that's done is have you two essentially fighting over me," he said with a light chuckle. "Noel, I would have no problems with your help, but on the condition that you never kiss me again. Especially not in front of her." Then he turned to Tses.

"And you're not really in much shape to protect anyone right now, Wisp. It's my fault you're like this, but...I don't want you hurting yourself worse, okay?"

Now back to Noel. "Ultimately though...whether or not you come with is going to have to be up to her."

Falling over dead did feel like an option right about then. As anger vanished Tses was very aware of how drained she felt. It was like she had a massive blood loss and was just starting to feel it. Although, blood was only sort of the problem. She could only feel the slightly sticky texture of it on her back through her shirt, but the light... that was the real culprit, she was getting more certain as time wore on. Whatever enabled her to go all glowy, walking through walls, was not the static energy she was used to flaring at people.

She needed to experiment with that more before she picked a fight with someone...

>>...all that's done is have you two essentially fighting over me,"

"Not a fight if you're mine." Tses grumbled under her breathe, but that was her last rather flimsy attack. She considered the conditions Ty stated, then looked at the bag, then looked like Noel. Stubborn side said kick the girl to the curb, try to carry the bags by herself. Sick side said let her carry the bag, make her make up for being lame by helping.

Sick side was winning. "Whatever. If she wants to, she can." She started back towards the apartment, putting the rest of her energy into hiding her slight limp.

> "Not a fight if you're mine."

Noel, having spent her hourly allotment of eye rolls, settled for a sigh this time. Tses was right. Noel wasn't challenging her to win Ty. Noel had just challenged her to get away from Ty. Because as far as Noel knew, Ty had said she was bad news. Which Noel could see for herself now, but really that was all sort of based on hearsay and anecdotal evidence rather than anything factual. And now, of course, Ty was singing a different tune...

Another sigh.

She couldn't keep up with this kind of yo-yo relationship crap. Maybe she should just get a tattoo to remind herself never to get in a relationship. Period.

At least Tses didn't let her issues keep Noel from being useful when she was clearly needed.

Noel raised her eyebrows at Ty. "I'll just keep my mouth shut then." Yep. She decided that was the high road.

The memorymancer scooped up the bags and shifted them around to accomodate the weight. Once she was as comfortable as the gifts that she had nothing to do with would allow, she was following this weird little parade to Ty and Tses' apartment.

Because that wasn't going to be weird or anything.

Hopefully they would let her be just be like one of those Amazon drone things she read about. She would just deliver the goods and fly back to home base.

Ty sighed lightly, but didn't know what else to say. At least things were peaceful now, right? At least for now. He knew though, if things heated up again he'd have to get in between them. Fun...Well at least the pain from hitting the pavement had mostly subsided. And he wasn't bleeding.

Right now, he stayed between the women, letting Tses lead the way. When they got to the apartment, Ty made his way past Tses and unlocked the door, hoping leaving those two that close together wasn't signing his own death warrant or something. "Well, this is it," he announced as he opened the door, then gasped as he saw the disheveled tree on the floor.

"Uh...Tses? When did you get a--wait did you carry this big ass tree in through the window? By yourself?" he asked, noting the trail of needles from the window to the tree's current point.

The walk was painful. Tses was wishing she was still light, and it was hard not to limp the rest of the way to the apartment. She kept on a tough face, but by the time she reached the room, she was ready to flop on the couch. But Noel was there. And then--

"When did you get a--wait did you carry this big ass tree in through the window?"

Oh right, Christmas tree. Yup, that was still there. Tses shrugged and wandered into the room, flopping on the bed with a bored shrug. The tree was still laying on it's side, the tiny busted cherubs around it. She didn't have the energy to set it up now. "Mightta. Though the little angels busted themselves." She said, leaning back into the pillows. Ooweeee shoulder... oweee leg...

So Noel sorta set herself up as the most awkward third wheel butler that a couple could want. The memorymancer pretended she was Lurch from the Adam's family because it made her feel better about being the arms and legs that carried the goods of the crazy couple she was helping out. Man, Lurch must have seen some stuff.

But, was it clearly stolen Christmas Tree crazy?

Tree. Though window. Chubby cherubs smashed to bits on the floor.

Must. Not. Comment.

She would, however, add a note in her phone that Tses was a thief or at least a very, very mentally unstable person.

"Do you have a broom somewhere?" Well, if she was going full Lurch, she could at least help them set up the stolen goods first. And she would even try to keep her eye twitching to herself. Noel put the bags down and went to help the tree.

Even she didn't have a tree to set up.

"Yeah," Ty answered, grabbing the broom from the kitchen, and the dustpan, then bringing it to Noel. Then, he knelt down and grabbed the tree, hoisting it so it was upright, and then dragging it into the corner next to the window. The poor thing was a bit dilapidated, flat on the side it was dragged on, needles missing, branches bent...

Smiling, Ty turned the tree so the worst was in the back, unseen. Then he began to straighten out the limbs and salvage what bit of the ugly little cherubs hadn't been broken. Which...may have been five or so.

"Well...Tses, you should rest. You've really outdone yourself today. As for me, I think I'm going to need to make a trip to the store; get some more decorations to pretty this poor dear up, and of course make it less recognizable. Noel, you'd be welcome to come with. Or you can stay here if you two promise to behave yourselves. I don't want to come home and find the apartment leveled," he said, the bit about behaving mostly joking.

Tses mostly ignored noel now that she was back 'home'. She resisted grabbing one of the stuffed tigers to cuddle, maintaining at least some of her 'tough' personality for now. But she did cave enough to gather one of the pillows in her arms and bury her face in it. She muttered into the fabric as Ty remarked on resting. She didn't need encouragement. She felt like all the energy was trained from her, and she was sitting in a New Moon all over again.

Then Ty remarked on leaving, and she glanced back up. He just got back... "You don't want fat broken cherubs? Next time I'll hang dollar bills from it I guess..." She half-joked. It was somewhat awkward trying to talk to Ty with an audience. She was usually pretty open about her thieving habits, but most people seemed to just take it as it was. Rarely did they reprimind her for them, and she wasn't sure where Noel fell on that note.

Noel swept up the fallen pine needles and broken wings like a good little Lurch. Ty had the tree fluffing well in hand so Noel went to find a place for the debris.

Not finding an immediate answer, the memorymancer tried to jiggle just the needles out of the dust bin and down the sink in the kitchen. People put salad and other leafy crap down there. Why not pine needles? Same diff.

In fact, she made it a point to be very concerned with picking out just the pine needles so that whatever they were talking about would flow right around her as if she were a stone and their words were the water of a river. It was only when Ty said her name directly that she started to tune back in.

>"...Noel, you'd be welcome to come with. Or you can stay here if you two promise to behave yourselves..."

Oh thank those chubby angel pieces. An out. She was kicking herself for even being here. "I should probably... not. be here."

No judging eye twitches were harmed in the making of that sentence.

Ty chuckled. "I love the effort and resolve you showed in stealing a fully decorated tree with a busted wing. But the cherubs...not quite amazing. Though we need to see if any survived. When I get back I can see if they're worth anything. On top of where exactly you got the tree from. Also gives me a chance to see the 'Superior Thief,'" he teased, making air-quotes "At work."

He nodded at Noel, then started for the door, motioning for Noel to come with him. "Hey, Tses, you want anything while I'm gone? Oh, and don't peek in the bag, okay? I love you." The last part was said without thinking about, as well as the blown kiss that went with it.

Tses could tell Noel didn't want to be there. In truth, Tses didn't want Noel there, so her absence would be mutually beneficial. Whatever weird freaky powers the other mutant had, Tses didn't want to find out. She curled up and mindlessly fished around for a blanket. She wondered how fast Noel could have dodged a flying cherub.

Tses rolled her eyes at Ty, although she felt a little smug when he called her a super thief. Air quotes or not, she would pin that title on her ego and polish it up a bit.

And then he had to go and be all mushy. She stuck her tongue at him and wedged her face into the cough with a light grumble. For all intents and purposes, that was an 'I love you too'.She resisted giving Noel a gesture to say what she thought about the other woman still.