InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Uh-oh...."

Katherine Athena (oceantoocean) wrote in we_float,
@ 2010-05-21 22:37:00

Entry tags:

character: alistair icenhour, character: katherine athena, plot: sympathy for the devil

Who: Alistair Icenhour and Katherine Athena.
What: Conversations and further strategy.
When: Saturday, May 22, 2096
Where: Waiting for the Interurban, Fremont, Seattle
Status: Closed; in progress

"Well." Katherine said as she came to a full stop in front of the four statues. "That's something, isn't it?" Her arms, still clutching the notes from a brief meeting with the mayor, pressed her notebook up against her chest without even thinking about it. To protect her heart.

"Waiting for the Interurban" was what someone had titled the work of public art so many years ago that even Katherine, who studied her city's history carefully, knew little about it. It had become an institution--four stone figures standing, on which the public draped clothing and changed outfits at will. However the figures had changed. Someone had sewn on extra limbs into some of the outfits, added lumps of stone to the heads... in short, they were jokers.

"You don't have to stare," a teenage girl stopped and told them, plucking a headphone out of her ear for a moment. "It's been like that since Wednesday." She snapped a piece of gum and rolled her eyes. "I think they shoulda added something more dramatic. Like maybe the Troll." Before Katherine could get more words out of her mouth, the girl had stepped back on a board and let the air hover her down the street.

"Wednesday," Katherine repeated, stepping a little closer.

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theseainsideme
2010-05-24 02:41 pm UTC (link)

He tossed his jacket over the arm rest of the chair and folded his hands together before him. Alistair could feel his heart beat through his shirt; it felt unnatural just as the whole of him did. The muscles of his back and forearms tingled with restraint, as if he was desperate to move his fins when he wasn't. His chest was tight with nerves.

Alistair looked over at Katherine, outward calm assisted by his permanently soft eyes. "How about how you found out?" he requested. If he gave himself away, it would be one thing, but if it'd been a third party, it was best to nip that in the bud.

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-25 12:56 am UTC (link)
	"I was nine," she said quietly. What was he thinking of, as he looked at her? Had he asked because he wanted to know how long she'd hidden this secret? "It... I was riding my bicycle. Too fast, Dad said. I always rode it too fast coming down the hill." Katherine's finger tugged at her ear as she sat there, remembering but not speaking. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

theseainsideme
2010-05-25 01:15 am UTC (link)

'I was nine'

The words sunk in slowly, but they were powerful enough that it sucked ever ounce of concentration from him. Like water through his skin. She was talking about herself. She was talking about herself. She was talking about herself.

He stood up reflexively and looked at her as if she had just grown another head. The thought that he'd manage not to find out didn't paralyze him so much as the truth that this was something to discover about her. Holy shit. She was a Wild Card. He'd been running campaigns for a Wild Card. He'd gotten a Wild Card elected to CONGRESS!

That his shock meant he hadn't considered her but himself as the topic of her condemnation wasn't given a fleeting thought (surely he exposed himself now by it). It was impossible to not be completely slack-jawed by the admission.

Alistair managed to grab some measure of sense when the words sunk deep enough to no longer straight-jacket him. He folded at the knees and waist back onto the couch, set his hands on either knee, and remembered to breathe. It seemed markedly easier than remembering how to talk.

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oceantoocean
2010-05-25 01:46 am UTC (link)

"I'm sorry," Katherine said, not finishing the explanation. Slowly, the woman inhaled, letting her own hands drop to her lap, watching him. "This isn't-"

She leaned back into the couch, her knees folding up underneath her as she curled herself into the opposite corner. Her feet never touched the couch, too used to nagging about its surface. It didn't matter.

"I'm a joker, not an ace. I thought--I've always thought--that if I was able to achieve great things, someday, I'd be able to show that to the rest of the world." Her eyes sought his out, looking for some measure of understanding. "But I could never be soft. Everyone who ever was was accused of being a wild card themselves at one point or another. I never could have taken that test and proven that I wasn't. They would have ruined me before I ever saw a full term in any office."

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	theseainsideme 2010-05-25 01:59 am UTC (link)
	Alistair's eyes evaded hers, then were turned downward as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You should have told me," he said absently. Of course she should have. He knew precisely why she didn't. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	oceantoocean 2010-05-25 02:48 am UTC (link)
	"Plausible deniability," she said. "I saw no point in putting you at risk." Katherine stood up, turning so that she didn't have to face him. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

theseainsideme
2010-05-25 03:12 am UTC (link)

"You saw no point in putting yourself at risk," Alistair corrected flatly, no anger or disappointment in his tone. "I know why you didn't, Senator. It wasn't... I don't need an explanation. You just..."

Alistair stopped and shifted to lean back against the arm rest. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, of which there were numerous and all of them fuzzy.

"It would have been privileged communications," he finally said with the same blurry absentia, then added a little more humanly, "I would never have said anything."

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oceantoocean
2010-05-25 03:15 am UTC (link)

"I know." She stared at the wall ahead, at a painting she hated. A circle and a square. It didn't mean anything. "I suppose, it's easier after a while to keep up the lie. After all, there isn't anything else."

And now he knew. Katherine wondered what he'd do with that information. She knew he was loyal enough not to betray her but she didn't know whether or not he'd leave.

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	theseainsideme 2010-05-25 03:29 am UTC (link)
	"Is it?" Alistair asked, with a weak, half-chuckle. "Easier?" He rose up again, this time of his own thoughtful volition and offered her a hand. "You mentioned something about eating. And you look like you need a drink." Alistair had crossed the threshold from shock into something more normal: taking care of Katherine. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

oceantoocean
2010-05-25 01:59 pm UTC (link)

"No," she said. "I don't need a drink." Katherine led him towards the kitchen where they stood for a moment, dwarfed by the size of the room.

She hesitated, wanting to ask why it was that he wasn't angry or... Even, given circumstances, Katherine had expected it. Perhaps this was just another job and the fact that she'd presented him just another challenge to deal with.

She supposed that was fair enough.

Katherine walked over to the cupboards, opening and closing them until she found a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. It was her secret stash, hidden in case she ever needed to cook.

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theseainsideme
2010-05-25 06:03 pm UTC (link)

Alistair took a seat at the counter and folded his hands on the granite. He watched Katherine move about and couldn't help but wonder just what it was. The Joker. It was impolite to ask and, realistically, unimportant what it was, but it didn't quench the desire to know. He wondered if she truly was a joker or if she called herself such and flirted with both categories like he did. He wondered if it was well hidden that Burt didn't know, or if that was perhaps he did and didn't care. He wondered just what happened when she was nine, sorry now that he'd interrupted her.

He wondered if he should be equally forthcoming. This was not the same situation as when Amelia had sat him down and relayed everything. And yet it was in the way he felt guilty for hesitating in the face of such obvious bravery. Just like last time, he still had no idea what to say.

At least this time he hadn't just walked out of the room in shock.

"So what happened when you were nine?" he asked finally, figuring that was the least impolite of the questions he had.

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 04:34 pm UTC (link)
	((tag on the bottom to avoid thread squish)) (Reply to this) (Parent)

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