001 - Every time that I wake it's like I only wake into a dream

[want_take_have]

[she dreamt of a picnic.

Mayor Wilkins was there. Happy. Whole. Cracking his stupid, corny jokes that should have made her roll her eyes...except they didn't. There was a nagging sense of deja vu, like she'd seen this before and it hadn't ended well, but they finished their meal and he talked with her and...nothing happened. It was perfect.

She was content enough that she laid back on the grass and closed her eyes, just enjoying the breeze against her face and the fact that, for once, she didn't have to be on edge.

When she woke, she could still feel the hint of that breeze. An illusion, of course. Something left over from her imagination, because you didn't get wind in prison cells. She kept her eyes closed though, trying to pretend, because she wasn't quite ready to let it go...except there was a dull ache between her shoulder blades that wouldn't let her fully relax. Finally, she swore, grit her teeth, and opened her eyes-





...And stared.

It takes a few minutes of quietly freaking out before she finds the journal, and a few more before she gets ahold of herself enough to attempt to use it. She was from Sunnydale...She could handle screwed up. She'd figure it out as she went. Right?

When she actually speaks, she sounds pretty chill, especially to anyone who doesn't know what she sounds like when she's wigged.]

So...not saying I totally buy the whole "this is real" thing, 'cause this is all kinds of messed up...but pretending I did...where's a girl gotta go to get a hard drink around here?

[because she really, really needed one]

Comments

[want_take_have]

So.

[this is uncomfortable] Guess I've really been coolin' my heels awhile, when you're from.

[herotypical]

...Your heels did cool. A bit. For awhile.

[want_take_have]

[that stops her again]

...Planet?

[yeah...you're really not convincing her of your sanity, Amelia]

[thedicearecast]

[Which is probably a good thing. Amelia's got to wonder about the people who do take all this at face value.]

Yeah. You'll see it in the book, too. People come from all sorts of different worlds.

[Said very matter-of-factly. Amelia's not going to try and convince Faith of anything, because she knows she can't. She also knows she's right.]

[Voice]

[quicktoanger]

"Mostly, we're all in the same boat as you. Dragged here against our will and forced to deal with a bunch of asshole scientists screwing with our lives. It tends to foster a sense of camaraderie."

[snikting]

Something like that. I must missed the pearly gates on the way in.

[jewitch]

[Oh yes. So much.]

Yeah. I guess when we're all in the same boat, boyscouting sort of...comes naturally.

[Except in this particular case, when Willow's still pretty dubious and awkward.]

[voice]

[godbent]

That's the idea, anyway. [She nods to herself] Outside of desperate gambits and twiddling your thumbs you usually need to figure out something to do eventually.

[hisdarkmark]

Mostly they just want to see how we tick, have us fight their battles for them. You know, nothing unusual for sociopaths.

Re: [voice]

[cop_an_attitude]

I didn't believe it at first either.

[And, well, not that she expects it to...]

If it makes you feel any better, it's not exactly charity. We pay for it in drafts and experiments.

[want_take_have]

Yeah, well. They ain't exactly keen on putting 25 to lifers on parole.

[want_take_have]

No offense, sister, but you ain't exactly a little green man.

[Voice]

[want_take_have]

Well, just don't expect me to start singing any kumbayas and we'll be five by five.

[want_take_have]

You and me both, buddy.

[want_take_have]

And they've got you and Buff leadin' the pack.

[it's not anger, really, but there is jealousy. At least a little]

[voice]

[want_take_have]

They got a place to work out around here?

[want_take_have]

Fight their battles, huh?

...Sounds familiar.

[voice]

[want_take_have]

...Drafts I get. What do you mean, experiments?

[Voice]

[quicktoanger]

"Jesus, please don't. I'd rather not puke on my journal."

[... What by huh?]

[herotypical]

...You broke out. [ ... ] And I'm guessing you probably could have at any time, if you wanted to.

[ which might got a very long way to explain why buffy's OKAY with you, faith. at least professionally. ]

Re: [voice]

[cop_an_attitude]

They way I understand the experiments, you get dragged away by robots and end up in a cage where the Malnosso run tests on you. What for, I'm not sure. Sometimes people come back...different, but apparently it usually wears off.

[It's not an easy topic to sugarcoat.]

[jewitch]

Well I'm not really... [No, she doesn't finish that sentence. This is Faith, and she always did tend to think in terms of what Buffy had that she didn't.

So she'll finish lamely with:] I've only been here a couple months.

[voice]

[godbent]

[Hah] Not a proper gym, but you can program one into the Battle Dome these days.

[thedicearecast]

No, I'm a human woman. And I'm okay with that.

[Okay, so maybe deep down, Amelia is starting to have a little fun at Faith's expense. A little. It's still true though.]

Humans didn't start off on Gunsmoke. They crashed there a century and a half ago. I'm descended from them.

By the way, people come from different times too. Even ones you know.

[Voice]

[want_take_have]

Awww, don't make it sound so tempting.