shatterverse | (no subject)

It's the kraken pond. Naturally, there is (after, let us say, an hour's pause) Gabriel.

His unconsciously adopted attitude around people he doesn't know is submissive and apologetic, so it's no surprise - or shouldn't be - when he greets Lenore with a shy smile and a wide berth of polite avoidance. No offense meant. He just doesn't know if he's going to have to drop the ham and run when she sees his face.

See, she thinks he's being distant because of the cigarette.

"If you don't like the smell," she says, eyeing him, "you can just tell me to put it out."

"Huh?"

Oh. Right. She's smoking.

"I didn't even notice," he confesses, shaking his head. "I don't mind at all."

Okay, no freakouts or accusations of murder forthcoming. It is therefore safe to leave the bowl of ham bits by the side of the pond and sit on a convenient rock, watching the water for signs of Spots.

She's almost done with it, anyway.

After one final drag, she snuffs it out on a nearby rock, then turns her attention to the... bowl of ham.

"It eats ham?"

"Yes?"

What else is it going to eat, Lenore? Huh?

"Weird," she remarks, looking at the lake.

"Is it friendly?"

She hasn't actually seen the thing, yet.

"Very."

The grin can only be described as proud-fatherly.

"His name is Spots."

And he's somewhere between pet and interspecies adoption, leaning heavily towards the latter.

This is when Lenore stands and carefully walks to the very edge of the lake, peering into the murky water.

"Are there any other lakes like these around here?"

"It's not a lake, it's a salt pond," says Gabriel, because he's a pedantic ass. "I don't know if there are any lakes, I've never looked, but this one was made by my-- my friend. For spots."

GODDAMMIT HE ALMOST SAID MY BOYFRIEND'S SISTER WHY WHY.

The panicked inner flailing doesn't show as much more than a blink and a slight blush.

Eyebrow.

"Uh, okay."

Beat.

"I'm Lenore."

"Gabriel."

He... tries to look friendly?

Just not very successfully.

It's okay, Gabe.

Lenore's not good with the friendly thing, either.

"And let me guess. You're from some galaxy I've never heard of, right?"

"No. Unless you're from some galaxy I've never heard of, that is."

With an apologetic smile, "I was born in New York."

"Maine. Moved to D.C. when I was two."

Gabriel nods.

"This is the farthest I've ever been from Queens, myself. This whole world, that is-- I showed up in California."

Soft smile.

"Which is where I met Spots."

"I showed up in some city near here," she says. "Came here with a kid. Bridgette."

"I haven't seen her."

Shrug.

Any kid who's not Spots has a slim chance of garnering Gabe's attention.

"Neither have I, since we got here."

Beat.

"Kid's got some weird... gift or something. She can talk to dead people."

...huh.

"Huh," says Gabriel, intelligently.

"I don't think that's the weirdest thing around here, to be honest."

Amidst the kraken and the girl with tentacles and the jetpack and the CASTLE WITH A BOAT STICKING OUT OF IT.

Steph has a baby! Steph loves babies.

Not so much the kraken ones, though. She's helping Hana toddle around on the snowy grass. (The little girl's footprints steam.)

Upon spotting someone else out there, Hana tries to lunge at her, and ends up being saved from a fall by Steph's grip on her hands. "EEEEEEE BAAAAA!"

"Hey, no, stop that. The nice lady doesn't want you biting her."

"FAAAA!" Hana's eyes are on the smoke, and she lunges again happily and protests loudly when Steph doesn't let her. But they toddle slowly over to say hi to Lenore.

Blink.

There are babies here?

"Uh."

Lenore smushes the cigarette into the ground. She knows better than to smoke around kids.

"... hi."

Hana watches the cigarette fall -- and with it goes her face, big gold eyes filling with tears and tiny lips turning down.

Steph picks her up and tries to comfort her, bouncing her on her hip. "Hi! I'm Steph, and this is Hana. I haven't seen you around ... I think?"

... oops.

"Probably not," she says, eyeing the pair.

"I'm Lenore."

"She likes fire," Steph explains, grinning ruefully as Hana's sulk turns into wriggling and yelling and kicking legs. "She bends it."

"... bends it?"

Whut.

"It's like -- elemental control? You should see her dad doing it, it's amazing. The girls are just babies, but they'll get good."

Blinkblinkblink.

"Some days," she says, laughing quietly, "I imagine what the look on my face would be if I woke up in my own bed and realized this was all a dream."

Most complex dream evar!

"Oh, man, tell me about it!" Steph laughs, helping herself to a seat on the grass and letting Hana crawl about -- but keeping her within arms' reach.

"I don't think it's a dream, though. I mean, I'm crazy, but I'm sure I'm not crazy enough to think this place up."

"I once had a dream that a sand dune came to life and swallowed me whole," she smirks.

"Maybe I'm in a coma."

Steph grins. "I've heard sand dunes can do that," she says doubtfully. "Not that I've ever been to a place that had them. Do comas give you particularly weird dreams?"

"I've heard that they do. I wouldn't know, though -- never been in one."

"Except potentially for now," Steph says, grinning, and snagging a firebaby's ankle to tug her away from the edge of the pond.