► 006.

[culver]

[it's laundry day. this is only obvious because instead of one of her dresses or the jumpsuit, nill is wearing a zip-up sweatshirt. she can pass as a regular teenager like this, with her wings out of view! you know, if she could talk.

anyway, it's also obvious that it's laundry day since she's, you know, sitting in one of the laundry rooms.

she pushes her bangs from her eyes before typing.]

Forgot to mention after last jump. Found a bird near the lift. Bigger than any that were here. It is brown and tan with orange tail. I took it to the gardens.

Does it belong to anybody? Sure it was not here before the jump.

[she pushes her bangs from her face again and frowns slightly.]

Also thinking about haircuts. I need scissors. [this comes a few seconds later:]

Doing something normal might be good.

Comments

[elvenking]

[That gets a smile. She's got more of a survivor's attitude than many here realize, he suspects.]

Those are things worth being pleased with, even in dark times.

[culver]

[surviving is pretty much what she's done her whole life]

Yes. Things worth being happy about.

[elvenking]

Especially in dark times. [It's a self-correction, really. The smile fades.]

So long as there are green things and stars, I suppose, although I should like to hear running water again without it being from a tap.

[He knows the word from some of his reading about winemaking. Not that he has anything to make wine with, he'd just been curious.]

[culver]

Some steams in the gardens. Small ones.

[elvenking]

The ground is too flat.

[culver]

Did not say they ran far.

[elvenking]

They do not run free. They are not...

[Why is he spouting sentiment or trying to come up with an explanation about it being sort of like listening to a lone person squeaking on a toy whistle versus an entire ensemble of beautiful instruments playing in harmony?]

It is a mimicry. No better than what comes from the taps.

[culver]

[her expression softens]

I have never seen a free one. So they are real to me.

[elvenking]

[...Yeah, way to make him feel small for complaining. He hesitates for some time.]

It is not different. It is more. It comes from a greater river, which itself runs for leagues upon leagues until it empties into the sea. Along the way it gathers the sounds of little rocks and catches sunlight like white gems on the surface. Can you imagine it stretching on for many miles, the sound and sight of it?

[Or is he just tormenting her with something she has been deprived of all her life? What is this girl's story?]

[culver]

[whoops
but imagining, at least, she's good at. she's seen a horse now, she doesn't need to imagine that. but the water--she thinks that is easier.]

I think so. Sound is harder. Maybe some day I will get to see one.

[elvenking]

[Nah, he needed some perspective. It's why he likes keeping optimists around.]

I hope that you will.

[culver]

Me too.

[elvenking]

Have you never seen the woods?

[Somehow he can't imagine really taking a walk in the woods without encountering a stream or two, but his walks tend to be a bit longer than a typical human's.]

[culver]

Not before coming here.