[She follows suit, placing her order, before leaning back in the chair.]
There's a woman with a pet hyena?
[She had reminded her a little of Caboose, actually, although not quite the same childhood innocence that he had. And, she finds the corner of her mouth twitching in memory, trying to keep her expression from turning too devious.]
There's a wide variety. Some guy even ate a whole tube of lube. Hypothetically. I... may have teased him a little, but what idiot does that?
[Even if there had been something familiar about her, or rather her personality. She would call it shenanigans that the Reds and Blues got up to. She hadn't told York about Wash's beard yet, had she?
She blinks, before rolling her eyes.]
Because that makes it better? Donut flavoured though.
[A pointed look. What could she say? She had been bored that day... And maybe she had gone looking for similarities in others. He'd had a quality like the guys that she hung out with, because she could see Tucker or Grif doing something like that.
The question does bring a stillness to her. Being bused off to camp... isn't something that Carolina desires to talk about. After that?]
You met Doctor Grey? A bit... eccentric and very chipper? She, uh, helped me last month.
[Arching an eyebrow. Heck, her eyes already turn towards a sugar packet on the table, and a little container of butter. Either would work nicely. Truthfully, she hadn't thought too much about sex outside of this place and only here because she was forced too, too busy with cleaning up all their mistakes back home. Never again... She didn't want anything from Freelancer to fall in the wrong hands again. And, after him...
It is a moment, a lingering pause, almost reflecting back on times long gone now, before her fingers curl into his.]
She patched me up enough on Chorus- and don't get on her bad side- but he had been having issues anyway. The idiot tried to play it off, but he ended up sacrificing himself in the end to save us by dematerializing. He was with Tucker then, if only because everyone expected him to be with me. We ended up on 'retiring' on a moon. Not Grey. She stayed on Chorus. The Reds and the Blues and Wash. They helped with losing him, since he meant as much to me as he did them.
[ York squeezes her hand gently as he listens, wanting her to know that he's there and he understands. It doesn't sound like she had the same neural issues that he's having now without his AI, but the emotional hole is real too. At least neither of them were alone -- she had the Reds and Blues and Wash, and he has her. ]
I was bored out of my fucking mind. I even went and asked for lessons on how to be lazy. And Wash? He grew a beard.
[Ignoring dinosaurs and mushrooms and wars on gravity and a robot army... She needed to keep busy, to keep herself occupied. Doubts it will last, whether it's because Donut blows up the whole planet, or something else comes up.
But her face skims over his again, shifting. Once, she might have been too preoccupied in herself and the leader board. She'd let things slip. She tries harder now to be better, to be the kind of leader that they had deserved her to be.]
Who knows, maybe one day you'll be tormented with the sight of it.
[The barest hint of a curl on her lips. Not that she wishes Wash to be here, feels almost bad for saying that, as if it might somehow magically make him appear.
The bags under his eyes, and the experience she herself went through. It pales in comparison, she knows. York and Delta. Peanut butter and jelly. Both he and North had done far better than the rest of them.]
I'm sorry. I know how much you meant to each other. If you ever need or want to talk about it, I'm here, or even if you don't want to talk about it.
[ They had grown even closer during their time after the crash, on the run with only one another for company. But Carolina knows that, York remembers -- she saw his journals. Heard them talking to each other.
He breathes out, offering Carolina a small but grateful smile. There's sadness in his good eye, though. ]
Thanks. I think... I don't really know how to, yet?
[ York listens, holding on -- he knows exactly what she means. Revenge doesn't change anything. Doesn't bring anyone back. Doesn't fix your problems, and potentially just makes more of them. Or in his case, gets you killed. But he's got a second chance now, and Carolina's right. One day at a time. He nods, keeping hold of her hand even as the waiter comes back and sets their drinks on the table. ]
Good and bad. And we're not alone in it.
[ He's just so glad she's here, even if it's far from ideal circumstances. They can roll with it. ]
[It had felt good, in the beginning. Given her a purpose after she had lost it. Yet it had crumbled away the moment she had laid eyes upon him. It didn't excuse anything that had happened in Freelancer, but putting a bullet between the Director's eyes wouldn't accomplish anything. Epsilon had showed her, Wash and the rest and stood by her.]
No, we're not, and you're not. First floor, if you ever need anything, right?
[It's literally just a place to sleep, at least until she can work some things out. Relying on strangers? Not her strong suit, which is why she is taking her sweet time. She knows that some bounce right into a contract, but it is something she's putting thought in to.]
[She hasn't exactly paid overly much attention to some of the rules, simply because they had no bearing on her. She does know that staying overnight too long uncontracted is a no.]
They're arguably a bit less fussy when it comes to Submissives.
[Although there are some loopholes or work arounds, at least for a time.]
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There's a woman with a pet hyena?
[She had reminded her a little of Caboose, actually, although not quite the same childhood innocence that he had. And, she finds the corner of her mouth twitching in memory, trying to keep her expression from turning too devious.]
There's a wide variety. Some guy even ate a whole tube of lube. Hypothetically. I... may have teased him a little, but what idiot does that?
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[ Wow what kind of idiot eats a tube of lube indeed? York gets taste testing it if it's supposed to be flavored, but-- wait. ]
...was it at least flavored?
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[Even if there had been something familiar about her, or rather her personality. She would call it shenanigans that the Reds and Blues got up to. She hadn't told York about Wash's beard yet, had she?
She blinks, before rolling her eyes.]
Because that makes it better? Donut flavoured though.
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[ He gives her a sideways grin. ]
You've been making quota somehow, right?
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[A pointed look. What could she say? She had been bored that day... And maybe she had gone looking for similarities in others. He'd had a quality like the guys that she hung out with, because she could see Tucker or Grif doing something like that.
The question does bring a stillness to her. Being bused off to camp... isn't something that Carolina desires to talk about. After that?]
You met Doctor Grey? A bit... eccentric and very chipper? She, uh, helped me last month.
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[ Would you sleep with Tucker or Grif, Carolina? Not that York knows who they are. But standards!! ]
I talked to her about... [ He gestures to his head as if to indicate the mess going on in there without Delta. ] We haven't met, though.
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[In her defence, he totally deserved it for eating it!]
Ah. Mm. She knows something about them. Epsilon.
[To clarify.]
She's smart. Really smart. ... can be a bit... [Scary.] Intense.
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[ He's grinning, but that mellows slightly when Carolina mentions Epsilon and he reaches across the table for her hand. ]
Did she help you with losing him?
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[Arching an eyebrow. Heck, her eyes already turn towards a sugar packet on the table, and a little container of butter. Either would work nicely. Truthfully, she hadn't thought too much about sex outside of this place and only here because she was forced too, too busy with cleaning up all their mistakes back home. Never again... She didn't want anything from Freelancer to fall in the wrong hands again. And, after him...
It is a moment, a lingering pause, almost reflecting back on times long gone now, before her fingers curl into his.]
She patched me up enough on Chorus- and don't get on her bad side- but he had been having issues anyway. The idiot tried to play it off, but he ended up sacrificing himself in the end to save us by dematerializing. He was with Tucker then, if only because everyone expected him to be with me. We ended up on 'retiring' on a moon. Not Grey. She stayed on Chorus. The Reds and the Blues and Wash. They helped with losing him, since he meant as much to me as he did them.
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You, retired? That's hard to imagine.
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[Ignoring dinosaurs and mushrooms and wars on gravity and a robot army... She needed to keep busy, to keep herself occupied. Doubts it will last, whether it's because Donut blows up the whole planet, or something else comes up.
But her face skims over his again, shifting. Once, she might have been too preoccupied in herself and the leader board. She'd let things slip. She tries harder now to be better, to be the kind of leader that they had deserved her to be.]
You- you're not sleeping well, are you?
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[ He runs his thumb over the backs of her knuckles, sighing when she calls him out. It must be the bags under his eyes that gave him away. ]
No. I keep thinking I hear him, and when I do get to sleep the dreams are a thing.
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[The barest hint of a curl on her lips. Not that she wishes Wash to be here, feels almost bad for saying that, as if it might somehow magically make him appear.
The bags under his eyes, and the experience she herself went through. It pales in comparison, she knows. York and Delta. Peanut butter and jelly. Both he and North had done far better than the rest of them.]
I'm sorry. I know how much you meant to each other. If you ever need or want to talk about it, I'm here, or even if you don't want to talk about it.
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He breathes out, offering Carolina a small but grateful smile. There's sadness in his good eye, though. ]
Thanks. I think... I don't really know how to, yet?
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Well... I can say my way after the cliff wasn't the best. Revenge didn't really...
[Didn't do anything. The Director... Her father had been a shell of a man in that room, lost in the past, unable to move beyond Allison. Stagnant.]
One day at a time. Even then, there will be good days, and there will be bad days.
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Good and bad. And we're not alone in it.
[ He's just so glad she's here, even if it's far from ideal circumstances. They can roll with it. ]
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No, we're not, and you're not. First floor, if you ever need anything, right?
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...first floor? Did they fix it up after all the flooding?
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[It's literally just a place to sleep, at least until she can work some things out. Relying on strangers? Not her strong suit, which is why she is taking her sweet time. She knows that some bounce right into a contract, but it is something she's putting thought in to.]
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[ York isn't enthused by the idea of contracting with a stranger either but if they can stick together... ]
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They're arguably a bit less fussy when it comes to Submissives.
[Although there are some loopholes or work arounds, at least for a time.]
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It doesn't have to be all the time, but I'd appreciate the company too.
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I think that can be arranged.
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Have you been here before?
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[She'd found it in the first few weeks as she learned the lay of the Down as best as she could.]
A bit, er, fresher than what they serve at the housing too.
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