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Tweak says, "yummmmm tuna melts..."

River Tam (river_albatross) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2009-02-18 19:48:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 32, laura moon, river tam

Day 32
WHO: River and Laura
WHAT: Meeting in person after talking through the journals
WHEN: Day 32, Night
WHERE: Main enterence (to start)
WARNINGS: nothing at the moment.
STATUS: Incomplete

River had a rough first day on Mirage. She succeded in correcting a trigonometry book; only to become uncontrollable and procede to throw her many books against the walls of her room. She refused to leave and only cared about wanting Simon with her.

Fortunetly, over the journals, she was able to speak to many people who tried their best to help her. One even spoke to her the way Simon would. Besides him, she happened to find someone who is very similar to her; and desired to meet her in person.

River abanded her combat boots and carefully walked around her many books that were scattared about the wood floor. She opened the door and was surprised at the cool, calm, night. River shut the door behind her and headed towards the main enterence.

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spitandviolets
2009-02-18 09:03 pm UTC (link)

Two days, when you did not sleep, was a very difficult amount of time to gauge. She had arrived at sundown on the proverbial Day 30, so it was now a complete forty-eight hours since her arrival. Parts of it had been a whirlwind and others had dragged on and on without end. Clocks bothered her, so she tended to avoid them for the most part. Her time was counted in the comings and goings of the living and the spaces between their moments.

When River arrived at the front entrance, Laura was already waiting. It was dark out, only slightly cooler than the day. The dark haired woman was smoking a cigarette, the orange tip glowing furiously in the blackness that surrounded her. Its sweet smell filled the air with the faint aroma of cloves. She was so pale, though, that it was hard to miss her.

For some reason she did not feel River coming, but she was acutely aware of her before she was upon her. Keeping to the shadows, Laura turned her dark, sunken eyes towards the girl. Not what she expected. She had been anticipating someone, perhaps, a little older. Still, she didn't look offensive in any way. This meeting would continue as planned. She was fairly certain that she could be off and running long before River would notice if she wanted to, but the dead woman stayed put.

"Nice night," she remarked. Her voice was a dull, flat monotone, completely lacking expression. It was a remark thrown out automatically. Human beings liked small talk. And the clear sky did seem to indicate that it was a nice night.

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river_albatross
2009-02-19 11:32 am UTC (link)

River approached the main entrance carefully; her bare feet making no noise on the ground. River read the subtle surprise at her appearance from Laura. She glanced down at herself. Nothing more unusual than she normally dressed on the ship. Just a royal blue dress Inara had once given to her for her birthday. River looked back at Laura’s face. She was happy to find that the woman was fairly easy to read. She was however surprised at the sunken, bruise-like marks around Laura’s eyes. It made River feel uneasy a little. She didn’t know what to expect. It was not fear River was feeling, in reaction to Laura’s appearance, but rather she was confused. The woman had hinted at the fact that she was no longer human. That much was certain. However River could not pick up what she was now.

River made sure to not stand too close to Laura. Although the woman seemed harmless, River did not want to take any risks. She was more than ready to slip into fight mode if the situation would call for it.

“Is it?” River said, copying Laura’s tone as she looked up into the clear sky. She understood what Laura was trying to do and was not about to shoot her down for trying to be nice. River looked back at Laura and tilted her head at her cigarette. “Cloves.” She stated, “Blacks I assume?” River recognized the cigarette on Persephone before. Badger had once offered Jayne one and, without knowing it was cloves, Jayne accepted but got angry with Badger after he realized what it was.

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spitandviolets
2009-02-19 01:27 pm UTC (link)

"You're good," she remarked, taking another long drag from the thin, black cigarette. The smoke from the tip swirled upwards. She held the smoke in her lungs, hoping almost that it would become part of her. When it did not, as her blood did not flow, she let it out in a thick cloud, not caring about making it look pretty. She was so confused, so saddened and pained by the events of the day, that she was ready for all of it to be over, to be done. "I used to smoke regular cigarettes. I can't even taste them anymore, so there's no point. These are strong enough that they almost register. They're not good for me, but what's the worst they're going to do? kill me?" A dark chuckle escaped the pale woman. There was obviously some black humor that only she understood.

Laura flicked the ashes off to the side. They floated through the air, glowing orange for only a moment before burning themselves out completely. Lives were like that. Still, she wasn't with him right now, even if she should have been. She didn't want to think about that. It was too much horror, too much confusion. No, this was supposed to be something fresh, something enjoyable. This girl seemed like someone who wouldn't load her down with bullshit.

A crooked smirk touched at her lips when she heard the way River mimicked her tone. That was odd. L was close, but River was doing a very good job. Was the way that she spoke, now, that distinctive? She remembered how it had been in life, how she had been so enthusiastic about everything. She had been an optimist. Oh, optimism. How sweet and fleeting it had been. What was she now? She assumed she was a realist. After all, she'd known the secrets of the universe for a few brief moments. She had been exposed to the radiance that is Absolute Truth.

"So, River, what do you do?" A faint breeze came up, blowing her long, dark hair. She wished desperately that she could feel the breeze the way that living people felt it, as a calm, cooling, breath of fresh air. Everything in her life was so dank and still. The breeze riled up the scent of her perfume, and behind it was the odd, earthy smell of decay and the sharp, offensive odor of chemicals. No matter how clean she kept herself, she couldn't wash away that smell. It permeated her body. "Or, if you don't want to talk about the past and that which is not here, what would you like to do? The night's young. We've got infinite possibility on our side."

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river_albatross
2009-02-19 09:03 pm UTC (link)

River’s left hand unconsciously held onto her right elbow, behind her back, as she listened to Laura’s dark humor. It did not slip past her. “Clove cigarettes are supposed to be worse for you than normal cigarettes.” River stated the fact she had learned from Jayne’s argument with Badger. Perhaps Jayne was actually good for something at times. River decided it would be best not to comment on the humanity portion of her statement.

As the light wind moved her blue dress lightly, and caused some of her hair to pass over her face; River did not miss the smell of perfume and chemicals disguising the smell of decay. She tilted her head a little at the source that it had derived from and suddenly a flurry of theories started to cross her mind.

Choosing to not comment on the smell River directed her attention to what the woman had said, “Do?” she was rather confused by what Laura had meant by her question. Perhaps she meant what she did wrong to end up on Mirage? “I’m sorry I do not understand what you are asking of me. My only crime, back home, was for being different; Being born with the way I am.” She hoped she had answered correctly though something in her felt that she had not. “True, past is not here. Past is gone. However it is still a part of us. Still inside of us. I am not uncomfortable speaking about the past….if I can.” River thought over her past. Due to the things the Alliance had done to her she was incapable of explaining fully what her past was. What exactly happened as well as what was currently happening in her brain. Typically, though, River was a cautious person. However, she did not want to immediately lose Laura’s trust, so she decided to bend the truth of her willingness to reveal a little.

“I am unsure as to what to do here. Although we do have many hours until daylight comes. But tell me, since you asked of me, what did you do?” She turned the question back onto Laura.

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spitandviolets
2009-02-21 11:29 am UTC (link)

Laura flicked more ashes off into the night. She liked the way they floated before disappearing. They were beautiful, like stars that were much closer in proximity. "Clove cigarettes are the worst," she agreed, nodding her consent. "But they're the only kind that I can even almost taste. Their negative effects no longer concern me. It's not the sort of thing about which I have to worry. Not anymore." She vaguely recalled that first time she had appeared to Shadow after returning. 1:06 in the morning on a cold, Indiana, December morning. He had remarked that he'd thought she had quit smoking. She'd told him that she didn't have to worry about it anymore. At least the cloves smelled nice. They were sweet, unlike cigarettes, and she didn't mind that the scent clung to her clothing. It tended to compliment her perfume, which she could only faintly smell.

Her question had been too vague, she realized too late. People needed things more specific. Or maybe that was just River. Either way, she was already liking having the girl around. There was no pretense, no need to fill the silence. They were women of few words, factual and exact. She imagined, vaguely, that they could probably terrorize some humans with the blunt force trauma of their words. "No, not crimes. I'd never ask about those. I've committed far too many to offer up my list of crimes to you. I meant what do you do. What do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies? I was hoping that might shed some light on what we could do tonight. Like I used to like cooking, and I used to like dancing. Well, I suppose I can still dance. But I'm sorry that you feel that your being different is a crime. I don't think you're different in a bad way." She smirked darkly. The cigarette had burned down to her cold fingertips, but she didn't notice the tiny fire against her flesh. "More people should be like you and use their brains more often instead of letting their lips flap. I've never heard of anyone able to correct textbooks. You make me feel dumb. There's nothing out of the ordinary about my brain, except perhaps that it's a little soft and no longer attached to my spinal column in the traditional way. All I've got is speed and brute strength."

The way the girl talked about the past struck home. Past is gone. Past is gone. "Isn't that the truth? The past slips away like sand through your fingertips if you're not watching it. Nothing stays the same. You're gone three days, and your husband barely remembers the sight of you. If you don't remember enough, you get your thoughts crossed with those of other people. If I had to cite my major crime, I'd say that I was unfaithful. I was untrue. I betrayed the only person who had ever truly loved me for who I was, and I did it with little to no guilt. Fortunately, I can tell you for a fact that people like that, people like me, get what they deserve in the end."

Looking down, she noticed the mark in her fingers. There were several little burns there. Pesky, but that was her punishment for smoking. Flicking the cigarette to the ground, Laura stamped it out with one quick movement of her foot. Hm. What to do? "Do you like horseback riding at all?" It was a suggestion, at least. Laura had always wanted to do that and had never gotten the opportunity. If she got to be the lead, she would be able to see just fine in the dark and River would come to no danger.

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river_albatross
2009-02-22 06:42 pm UTC (link)

River again tilted her head to Laura's comments. "Why do you no longer need to worry about things like lung cancer? I imagine cancer would hurt quite a bit." She was starting to get concerned. Laura was continuing to make dark comments that confused River. River was determined to understand and discover what Laura was for herself.

“Hobbies.” River listened to Laura as she further explained her vague question. She was grateful that it was not crimes the woman was looking for, but rather likes. Hobbies. River considered the question as she listed to Laura list off her hobbies. When the woman mentioned dancing a smile spread across River’s face, “Dancing! I love to dance.” River started to rock a bit on the balls of her feet at the thought of dancing. She missed the chance to study dancing but still loved it so much.

River started to feel a bit more comfortable around Laura. Laura seemed to be defending her. Explaining how people should use their brain more. River laughed a little to herself when Laura mentioned her correcting textbooks. “Textbooks are painfully average. Publishers often let things slip past without even noticing. They really should pay better attention before they mass produce something. Textbooks are meant to teach people not aggravate them for being mediocre.”

Considering the possibility of someone’s brain not being attached to their spinal cord made River feel a little nervous. She stopped rocking and her left hand let go of her right elbow. Instead both hands held onto the sides of her dress. “Not attached to the spinal cord? I don’t understand…how can you still function?” The more River listened to Laura speak the way she was the more nervous River was getting; as well the more annoyed that she was not able to understand. Perhaps the woman was dead? That couldn’t be right, how would she be talking to her right now? River could not unravel the web that was Laura.

River was a little grateful Laura had changed to a lighter subject. She still would not let go of what exactly she was but speaking of horses allowed River to contemplate it without having to make her assumptions voiced. “I went riding once when I was a little girl. Simon took me. It’s nice. Have you ever gone horseback riding?"

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spitandviolets
2009-02-23 12:43 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, so you like dancing? Maybe we can get some people together sometime. Make a night of it. I've seen that there's a club here. I don't know if many people go to it, but it might be nice. I used to like to dance. I was never very good at it, but I tried anyway. My husband and I used to like it a lot. He was terrible. Always made me laugh, watching this six foot something goliath trying to be graceful."

"I never got to go horseback riding," she remarked, looking up at the sky. "I never left Eagle Point, really, so that wasn't something I got to do. Shadow and I had intended to go on a horseback riding trip sometime. Maybe to a ranch resort in Montana or something. We never got there, though. It was just a suggestion. I probably wouldn't be very good at it at this point, though, and I would just get frustrated. I know for a fact that I can at least keep pace with a horse; I can probably outrun it, if I try. Knowing that I'm faster than most things puts a damper on any speed based activities. Being fast and agile is good, but it doesn't tend to be very practical when it comes to having fun. I would never try to play sports with other people, knowing what my speed and strength is. Maybe capture the flat some day."

She felt bad that she was confusing River. It wasn't her intent. She just had an oddly direct and specific way of answering questions. "I don't need to worry about cancer because I no longer feel pain. That which hurts doesn't matter to me." Shrugging, she turned to River. "I'm not one to keep secrets. I prefer to deal in truths. So, here it is. Brutal and straightforward. I'm dead but not in the traditional sense. I'm a person in the past tense. I died about nine months ago, and I've been walking around like this," she motioned at herself, "ever since. I suppose that some would call me undead, since I am not alive, but I am not dead. I'm filled with chemicals and stuffing and organs that were removed and put back in all out of order."

"I function because of magic." She reached into her top, pulling out a brilliant, gold coin on a gold chain. It almost glowed in the faint light that there was outside. "My husband gave me this. Long story short, it's a magical coin that restored me to a state of consciousness after I was buried. I dug my way out of my grave, and where I come from I existed to protect him. Coming here was difficult. At first I had no purpose. My husband was not here, and I knew that he never would be. I watched him die on Earth. Regardless, I'm getting by." An awkward silence fell over the dead woman. She put the coin back into her shirt. Her hands hung by her sides. After a few moments, she turned back to River. "You're welcome to run away if it's too much to handle. I know that the fact that I'm dead is pretty creepy. I'd like you to know, though, that I would still enjoy your company. I don't sleep, so the nights are very long if I'm just in my room staring at the wall. I prefer to be with people, human or not."

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river_albatross
2009-02-24 12:03 pm UTC (link)

River smiled at the idea of getting a group to go dancing. "I would like that."

"What is Eagle Point?" River had never heard of that planet before. She was curious to see where Laura had come from. Where a girl like her could be the way she was. "You meantion this Shadow quite a bit...is he your husband?" River was finding it rather difficult keeping up with all of the mysterious names Laura was mentioning. She hoped to put titles with the names. The comment on her ability to outrun things added to the list of unusual qualities Laura possesed.

River let go of her dress when the answer was finally presented to her. "Dead?" River didn't know what to make of everything she had said. "Magic coins. Death and darkness." River's breathing picked up a bit. It didn't work out for her. Too many contradictions to the things she already knew. Knew and understood about the human body. How could someone who is supposed to be dead function the way Laura did? "I don't understand. Everything leads to the magic of your coin? Are you slowly rotting? What happens to you if the magic runs out?" River realized she was probably asking too many questions but as if the TARDIS was something that confused River, earlier in the day, this one surely took over as the most confusing and interesting thing River has ever had to face. "No...no I am not going to run away...I just don't understand. Too many contradictions. Dead people do not walk. I want to understand. Understand what is happening to you. Understand what might happen to you..." River let herself trail off. She started to approach Laura, taking in every aspect of her. The bruised eyes, the pale skin. She stared at the woman much like she stared at the blue core of the TARDIS. A puzzle that her brain desperately wanted to understand.

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spitandviolets
2009-03-01 05:52 pm UTC (link)

"Eagle Point," she began, not at all wondering why the other girl hadn't heard of it, "is in Indiana. That's a state in the country of the United States on Earth." Just in case. She'd heard of people being from elsewhere, though she hadn't quite met them. Eagle Point was small; most people in Indiana didn't know where it was, nevermind people in the world at large. That was what made the fact that she had never really left until death so tragic. She had never seen nor appreciated the world. Eagle Point, though, was no paradise. It wasn't a place made for the supernatural. It was impossibly mundane, and that was why she was forced to leave it. She had to follow Shadow, for one, and she knew no one would take well to seeing a well known dead woman up and walking around. Part of her had always wanted to stop off and see Audrey, though. Maybe apologize. Let her know that the affair was nothing personal, nor was the death.

Shadow's name made her perk up. That's right, River didn't know who he was. She'd never mentioned it to her. "Shadow was my husband," she acknowledged, nodding. "Was, because he is no longer interested in me now that I am dead. Was, because he is no longer alive either, but he is not dead in the sense that I am dead. Was, because I do not have ownership of him anymore. He's free. I watched him die. He was tied to a tree. Hopefully he found peace."

"I don't understand it any better than you do. All I know is that this coin was a gift to me. It contains the magic of some sun god somewhere in the universe, and it possesses the power to bring the owner back to life. Here I am. I don't know if the magic can run out. If it did, I imagine that I would cease to exist. I'm not sure where my soul would go. Maybe back to the place it was when I had really died. Maybe someplace darker, or worse, or maybe I'll just disappear. As long as I keep the coin in my possession, though, I'll never have to worry about it. As long as I consider it my possession and do not willingly give it up, I will exist in this state. I will persist in this state."

"I am slowly rotting. My body decomposes the exact same way as any dead body does. No magic is that strong. I guess you get to exist after death, but you don't get eternal beauty. It's like that Greek myth. Someone wished for eternal life, but they didn't wish for eternal youth, so they got old and shriveled and had to live that way. Well, I take what decomposition gives me. I was much worse, but I drank from Urd's spring. It restored me to a state of fresh death. I will continue to decline, though. Eventually I will cough up maggots and feel things wriggling inside of me. Too moist and hot and I decay more rapidly; too hot and dry and I mummify. Also, if I take damage, holes open up in my body and don't close. I do not possess blood, but there are chemicals and stuffing and decaying organs inside of me. I do not feel pain, but I show signs of wear. There's lots of complications to this whole undeath business."

She hoped that helped River understand. It was the first time she'd been able to speak the harsh truth about the nastiness of her flesh. She was dead, and she was degrading. One day she would be too revolting to look upon. Yes, she had a version of the spring in her room, but for how long? And would it work in this strange place? She was saving it for when things got very bad.

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