{Twenty-five (53)} &diams Another second lost with every fallen grain

[burnt_orangesky]

[There are a few pentaps, and the pen rests on the page long enough to form a tiny pool of ink before Fred's writing starts.]

I do not think I shall ever get the sand completely out of my hair.

Has anything particularly interesting happened while I have been [another pentap or so] napping? And did everyone come through February alright? I confess I was somewhat preoccupied with an [pause] issue of my own, and was quite distracted toward the end.

Comments

[burnt_orangesky]

Lovely. I was looking forward to being uncomfortable for at least a week, if not longer.

Thank you. It is good to be... back.

Well [pause, pentaps] I believe we had just finished that business with my double. The... 26th or 27th of February?

[live_ringer]

Terrific homecoming gift, don't you think?

The 27th was when you were cocooned. Good to know you remember everything leading up to it. ...And just what was the ordeal with your double, if you don't mind me asking?

[Sure, he'd talked to Veda not long before Fred's cocooning but the man was only just conscious, so he hadn't exactly interrogated him. Then, not long after, Lyle wasn't much in a state of mind to go snooping after the matter.]

Rick seems to have covered most of what's happened. There've been casualties and recoveries. Most everybody's been taking a breath while they can.

[burnt_orangesky]

In very deed.

Ah, it was [Long, long pause] something I would rather not discuss via the journals.

It is good this place has seen fit to give us a small respite, then.

[live_ringer]

Hn. Maybe some time later, then.

You can say that again.

[burnt_orangesky]

Gladly; though it only seems moments since I was last awake, as I already said, I was really too busy to properly talk with anyone. I would welcome such an event, at the earliest opportunity.

I can only hope it lasts for what is left of this month. A full month of rest would do us a world of good.

[Pause.]

You know Veda, correct? Have you... seen him, since the... incident? [Basically she's asking if he's alive.]

[live_ringer]

It's a bit late but I can talk tomorrow. If you plan to come in to work I can see you there?

[Huh, that's interesting. Lyle didn't know Fred and Veda were acquainted.] Yeah, I have. He's up and around now, and caring for his dog.

[He gets the distinct impression Veda would chew his ear off for imparting any more details, though it's likely common knowledge that he's lost an eye.]

[burnt_orangesky]

I was planning on it, yes; I have missed enough days, it would seem.

Ah, good. That's [Pentap/inkblot] quite good. Yes.

I will see you tomorrow, then.

[live_ringer]

[Her hesitation and phrasing is striking him as just a bit odd, but he wouldn't be able to put his finger on why exactly that is.]

See you then.

((ooc: Would you like to quicklog or handwave the chat?))

[burnt_orangesky]

Very well.

((ooc: ........I kind of want to QL it? But I'll likely be slow, just to warn you.))

[slowlog]--Because, let's be honest, not even my quicklogs are that quick. :D

[live_ringer]

[After arriving at the Scavenger's Yard that morning Lyle began to peer around the common area close to the elevator, looking for a familiar face.]

[slowlog]--<3

[burnt_orangesky]

[Fred had been waiting for Gene to arrive, as per their agreement. She had been sitting at one of the few chairs while she waited, and when he appeared she rose with a smile.]

Hello, Gene.

[slowlog]

[live_ringer]

Hey there. [Said with a smile of his own.] I'd say it's been a while, but that'd be redundant.

[slowlog]

[burnt_orangesky]

A while to you, perhaps; from my perspective, it has only been a day or two since I last saw you.

[She gestured to the yard, not wanting to talk until they were truly alone.]

Shall we?

[slowlog]

[live_ringer]

True enough. I have to say, it's about the least refreshing nap a body can take.

[He nodded in the direction she indicated and started leisurely walking that way.] We shall.

[After they were well on their way towards the belly of the Yard, far enough from any place where there were likely to be accidental eavesdroppers, Lyle spoke up.] So, I had a little chat with your other half over the journals, but didn't see anything of her aside from that. I'm guessing she got up to more than her share of mischief?

[slowlog] - I forgot she's calling him Lyle now, lol

[burnt_orangesky]

[Fred walked along with him, content to keep her silence until they reached a more private area. When Lyle spoke, she nodded.] Yes... I. I did try to keep an eye on her, but... she got away from me when I fell asleep. Put something in my tea, I suppose. In any case, by the time I woke again, she had already...

[Fred paused, swallowed.] You... have seen Veda? Recently, I mean.

[slowlog] - Aha, and he's technically still calling her Romana. Let's see how long THAT lasts.

[live_ringer]

She drugged you?

[Well, that was disconcerting. But not nearly so disconcerting as the implications of her next statement.]

Somewhat... saw him at the clinic not long after he woke up. He was still healing, a little strung out on painkillers. Most notably, he was missing an eye.

[He paused for a long moment, swallowing before he asked] The two incidents are related, I take it? [It was the second time she'd brought up Veda and his condition while talking about this, after all.]

[slowlog] - lol, yeeeeeah

[burnt_orangesky]

She must have done. I do not generally fall asleep without warning, and when I finally awoke, I experienced side effects that would generally come from a strong soporific.

[Aka, she had hangover-like symptoms.

At the information, Fred's lips thinned a little.]

...they were not able to... restore it. I see.

Yes. It would seem my other drugged him, restrained him, and then... [Fred swallowed again, looking a bit queasy now.] ...proceeded to... vivisect him. Slowly.

[slowlog]

[live_ringer]

Yeah, the medical technology here isn't really advanced enough to guarantee that sort of thing, from all I've seen.

[Lyle rubbed a hand over his face. He had heard about the damage since Stellaris had been one of the medics involved, but hearing about it from this angle still added a new level of twistedness to it.]

This is probably a stupid question, but any clue why she would single him out for that?

[Not that these things really needed a motive, but he had to at least attempt to make sense of all this insanity.]

[slowlog]

[burnt_orangesky]

More's the pity.

[Perhaps a rather insufficient response, but Fred's tone was truly regretful.

She sighed quietly, and carefully perched on a half-broken chair. It held her weight, though it creaked in a way that meant she'd better not wiggle too much if she wanted to keep her seat.]

I was allowed to see her sometime after the medics finished with her--it seems she managed to lose a hand when they were apprehending her, though they said she surrendered quietly enough. Likely they wanted to see if I could get any explanation for her behavior.

Unfortunately, I was not able to. She refused to speak to me after I said I was not there to free her--I believe she decided that if I was not going to help her, I was no longer worth her attention.

[slowlog]

[live_ringer]

[Lyle shook his head, letting out a growl of frustration.]

She seems to have some pretty damned strange criteria for what does merit her attention.

[He glanced sideways at Fred.] So what was that like, trying to interrogate an 'evil' version of yourself? [Lyle couldn't imagine. He was fairly sure he would not have restrained himself from beating in the face of his own doppleganger in such a situation.]

[slowlog]

[burnt_orangesky]

I believe it has something to do with the fact that most of the people here are Humans. She seems to have a particular scorn for your species. [Fred offered Lyle an apologetic look.] A view I do not share, by the by.

...odd, I suppose, but no more so than it had been simply being around her. Actually... in retrospect, the whole thing seemed a touch... familiar, somehow. [It was hard to explain, if one didn't have the unique senses Fred and her double both had. It didn't quite feel familiar, it just... seemed familiar.]

[slowlog]

[live_ringer]

I didn't think you did. Aside from that, she seemed kind of selective even with that scorn. [He shrugged.] So she took an interest in Veda's more unique attributes?

Familiar? [He raised a bewildered brow at that.] That's strange. Anything to it aside from that?

[slowlog]

[burnt_orangesky]

Yyeeees. [She drew out the word a bit absently, already thinking about the list of injuries once more.] It seemed she was interested in seeing his living reaction. She could probably have gotten at certain areas more easily with him dead. [A slight twist of her lips; this seemed cold, to talk about Veda like he was a specimen. But she continued after a slight pause.] She seemed especially interested in his eye, and I believe she removed a bit of his skull, as well as cutting his arm down to the bone--to look at the muscle structure, most likely. From what they told me, she was having a look at his organs when they stopped her.

[Frankly, she was rather astonished that Veda was still alive after all that. And not sure if she should be relieved or not; all in all, death would have been more merciful in so many ways.

Shaking her head slowly at his question, she frowned.] I just feel that... I have looked at someone who looks like her. And... why did my other appear different from me? We look nothing alike... and yet, we were the same person.

[slowlog]

[live_ringer]

A sadist, then. [Lyle shook his head,looking visibly disgusted.] I heard of the extent of the damage and... yeah. Good God.

[His brows drew together in confusion.] The description I heard about her didn't match up, but I wasn't sure if it was because she was ushered by too quickly to get a good look. But how does that even work? How can someone be a duplicate if they're nothing alike in personality or looks? ...Think she was just a double of someone you knew and she claimed to be you to screw with you?

[slowlog]

[burnt_orangesky]

It is amazing that he is still alive. She may not have been interested in killing him, but she did enough that... frankly, a normal Human would have died, most likely.

[Fred shook her head.] No. I am certain of it... we were the same person. She was not lying, could not have, about that. [She hesitated for a moment.] My people have a... a sort of a sense, yes, that is the easiest way to explain it. A sense that allows us to identify others of our species.

Each Gallifreyan's 'feel' is different, unique; she 'felt' like me. [Another brief pause as she got out of the chair to start pacing.] I cannot begin to explain the why of our different looks. I just know this is the way things are, and that she did not lie about that.