river_meimei | (no subject)

Entry tags:

in milliways honest

(no subject)

The rafters have a few advantages.

They're comfortable, for one thing! (If you're River Tam.) And interesting. And sometimes you find candy. And they provide a fun change of perspective.

And sometimes they're a good way to find people.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"He's okay."

Beat.

"You are. Too. Services rendered are the chronological roadmap."

"Pick a card, the house falls down."

River's fingers shift against the air in small, irregular motions, and her body is held a little too tightly with effort. Communicating clearly is hard, and she's never completely sure if she's managing.

"So he's doing something in exchange for not getting hurt."

A chronological roadmap--

"And there's a time limit?"

River's chin moves up slightly at the first comment -- and, after an uncertain pause, tentatively sideways at the second.

"Call it the results."

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite follow that."

She sounds sincerely apologetic. This obviously isn't easy for River, and Nita gets the sense that asking for clarification makes it harder. But she's got to understand this as clearly as she can.

River breathes in, and tries again.

(If she's frustrated, it's not by Nita. And it's a frustration she's very used to.)

"It's a variable. Time's not relevant."

She replays the last few lines of the conversation.

"--Oh! You mean Puck's released when he finishes whatever he's doing for the other party?"

River's eyes had skidded away, midway through that sentence; they return at the end, and she hesitates for a second. (Getting her bearings, perhaps.)

Then she nods firmly.

Nita gives her a quick, triumphant smile before sobering.

"Did he manage to tell you what exactly he's doing? What the task is?"

River hesitates again, and for longer.

Communication with River is an uncertain science in all sorts of ways, and that's even more true of her conversation with Puck than of this one with Nita.

"Time to go to ground," she says, half a question.

She frowns. "A diversion?"

River starts to shake her head, pauses, and then finishes the gesture.

Only secondarily! So mostly no.

"Okay." Hmm. "Can you explain what you meant a little more?"

"I don't know."

Her shoulders are tight with frustration; her gaze jerks sideways, to the doorknob and the soundproofed door beyond. She presses stiff fingers to her thigh, skating them over the slightly crumpled fabric of her skirt.

"The words hid. And I can't see what they're underneath."

"Okay," gently. "That's okay. If you can't get at it, that's fine. Do you want to move on?"

River's face tightens a little more.

"It's not relevant."

. . . Nita isn't sure if that's a yes or a no, but asking seems liable to upset River further.

Damned if you do . . .

"Can I ask about the other party?"

She's pretty certain it's the vampire, but it can't hurt to check.

"You don't remember," River says softly.

So that's a yes.

"So. The vampire?" She swallows. "Just checking."

"Teeth in the corners. Sweep over the tracks."

"I--

(I prefer the quiet and the comfort of darkness. . . . I have forgotten my manners.)

I know."

She folds her arms, tucking the bite on her wrist against herself.

"You don't have any suggestions for finding lost memories, do you?" she adds, very rueful, then shakes her head. "Sorry. That's kind of -- tangential."

River's posture is a little hunched; her gaze is now firmly fixed on something across the room.

(The names of the doctors. The names of the teachers. What were they?)

Low, "Hypnosis is a proven facilitator. Under optimized conditions."

Nita blinks, re-focusing.

"I'd thought about that," slowly, "but I don't think I know anyone with that particular skill set."

"Peace of the clearing," River says softly.

"Watch the bullets."

If Roland comes around again, maybe.

A beat; her eyes dart back to Nita. "Ask the undermind. You know it. Just got hidden."

She makes a face that's not unlike some of the frustrated ones River has been making.

"I know," tiredly. "I guess if I'm supposed to find it, I'll find it. The Powers have a way of making that kind of thing work out."

River's face, this time, is eloquent (if grumpy) accord.

Ka, she'd say, because she was well taught by one Roland Deschain. But it amounts to the same thing in the end, maybe.

(Except that Nita's much fonder of her Powers than River is of ka.)

"We'll help. In the couch cushions."