For Friendship!?

Malara had the day off and being officially dropped out of school meant that she had no responsibilities for the day. But all of her friends had stuff to do. What a drag. So here she was, walking downtown looking for some kind of trouble to get up to.
But first, coffee. She didn't really need the caffeine, but Malara found that she liked the sweetness and the slight scald on her tongue. Steering herself into a coffee shop, she stood in line, waiting to order.

Heads turned her way, perhaps more for her attire than to admire her. The air was getting cooler, but there she was in a low cut tank top and a short skirt. She wore a pair of flip flops just so she wouldn't get thrown out.
As the line moved forward, she began lazily looking through the somewhat crowded cafe, hoping to see someone thst could distract her from her boredom.

And there it was. A flash of brown hair and an unnaturally gorgeous face sitting off in a corner. It took Malara a moment to register who it was. But when she did, her coffee was all but forgotten. Tesa Agapi. Aedan's new girlfriend.
Malara had seen the two of them together once or twice, and from what she had heard from the girl's sister Mia, she was a daughter of Aphrodite. A demigoddess of lust. It seemed Aedan had a type.

Stepping out of the line, which moved forward with the sudden gap, she wove her way through the tables of the cafe until she made her way to Tesa's table. There was no real way to sneakily sit down, not that that was Malara's style anyway. So she just pulled up a chair and rooted herself on the opposite side of the small table, a friendly smile on her face.
"Hi~. Tesa, right? I work with your sister, and I think you're dating my friend. Aedan? I'm Malara. Malara Inanna Tor."

Malara was curious about this new girlfriend. She wanted to make sure that Aedan was in good hands, since being in a relationship meant he wouldn't be coming to her any longer for distractions.

Reactions to sudden introductions were very telling. It was hard to lie when you were caught off guard. Malara watched Tesa with a kind of predatory curiosity, sizing the girl up. She was jumpy, and immediately became defensive at the mention of Aedan.

Shaking her head with a smile, Malara leaned forward in her seat.
"Oh no no. Not a problem at all. He's just a good friend. I care about him quite a bit, and you could say I'm a bit protective. I want to make sure he's being taken care of."

Malara glance down at the book Tesa had been reading. From what little she could make out of the small text, it was a psychology textbook. She clicked her tongue thoughtfully.
"So how did the two of you meet? How do you feel about him? What are your plans for the future? I'm curious to get to know the girl Aedan fell for."

Malara let a rather smug smirk fall over her face as Tesa got agitated at her line of questioning and asked if she and Aedan we're lovers. Leaning back and resting her hands on her lap, she waited for the girl to finish her small rant.

"Lover? Not anymore, I suppose. Aedan isn't into the whole polyamory thing. Though, I was~ the one who broke him in. He was practically killing himself with jobs to fill in every waking hour with something, anything to distract him from all of his issues. I offered him a different kind of distraction.
Now that you're his girlfriend, I expect you'll probably be taking up enough of his time with dates and sex and whatever else couples do. He needs something like that. More than just a fuckbuddy. More than I could give him."

There was a fire in Malara's eyes as she spoke. This girl, in her anger, felt like a challenge. A challenge for what, Malara didn't know. But she knew aggression, and naturally wanted to meet it in kind. She stopped however. They weren't fighting over Aedan's love. Tesa could have him.
She listened to Tesa's answers to her questions and nodded once each time one was answered satisfactorily.
"You seem to care about him quite a bit, yes. Good. I wouldn't allow any less. As I said, he is a good friend. Now, as for me..."

Malara fought the urge to stand, to make herself larger and more intimidating. This was a cafe, and she had to be polite, if only to keep eyes from staring her down. Still she rolled her shoulders back and held her head high, prominently displaying her confidence.
"As for me... I am Malara Inanna Tor. Demigoddess of Lust and War, Fertility and Destruction. And I'm an open book. I've asked you my questions. It would be rude to not offer you the same courtesy."

Malara nodded along. She felt Tesa's anger level out and die down. The girl was taking control of her emotions. But then there was worry. Confusion. She wasn't sure though where to begin with the girl's questions or how much information she should divulge. Clasping her hands together in front of her face, she closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath.

Nodding, Malara opened them again. "I'll leave him to fill you in on the details when he's ready. I wouldn't suggest pressuring him on it. But the long and short is that he had something terrible happen to him and then was made to do terrible things in response.
I know a thing or two about doing terrible things, but I'm working through it. I am not the atrocities that I've committed. I helped put him on the path to realizing that about himself too."

Malara nodded along. She felt Tesa's anger level out and die down. The girl was taking control of her emotions. But then there was worry. Confusion. She wasn't sure though where to begin with the girl's questions or how much information she should divulge. Clasping her hands together in front of her face, she closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath.

Nodding, Malara opened them again. "I'll leave him to fill you in on the details when he's ready. I wouldn't suggest pressuring him on it. But the long and short is that he had something terrible happen to him and then was made to do terrible things in response.
I know a thing or two about doing terrible things, but I'm working through it. I am not the atrocities that I've committed. I helped put him on the path to realizing that about himself too."