14. marmoreal

[exnihilo]

[Private to Iris and Simon, text]

thank you for trying


[Private to Mal, text]

What happened to you?

[After you saw me.]


[Private to Luna, voice]

Do you like pancakes?


[Spam for Mickey, Helena, Cassel, and Stephen]

[Sometime in the night, she breaks into their cabins, quietly. She just wants to watch for a while. Just wants to see that they're okay. If they wake, they might find her perched nearby, scribbling in a notebook. Or maybe just staring, small and still, chin on her knees.]

Comments

[Private]

[exnihilo]

Stylish, mostly impersonal. They're the rooms of someone I once pretended to be.

A scientist, with more money than time to spend on her home.

The hanging garden on the ceiling is mine, though.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

Have you ever considered a redecoration was in order?

[Private]

[exnihilo]

I chose it because it was neutral. It was...something else, at first.

I don't know. I'm used to just. Moving through spaces.

[She's been on the barge longer than she's ever been anywhere else, that she can recall. It's very strange to think about.]

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

Being transient does have its benefits. How long have you been on the Barge?

[Private]

[exnihilo]

Hm.

[A moment to remember the calendar here -]

Sixteen months? Around that.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

That long? I redecorate once every three to six months.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

[She shrugs, slightly, one-shouldered.]

I've never done it before. I've never lived somewhere that was mine.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

Your room here is yours, isn't it? Even if you aren't paying boarding fees.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

The ship belongs to the Admiral.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

But your room should be a place for you. An escape away from the worst of it.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

A room on a ship is just where you sleep in between destinations.

I know this is different but - I'm used to that.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

If you insist.

Still, you should carry a bit of home around with you. I'd look into that, if I were you.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

I've never had a home. That I can remember, anyway. Except for in breaches. And usually not even then.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

[Not to be deterred, Luna gives a serious nod]

That's a problem, then. We should start imagining what your home might look like, first.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

I spent so long wishing I knew where I was from. Like that would tell me who I really was.

[She's not sure she needs to know, anymore.]

But I don't think I could really stay in one place.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

Maybe we ought to find you some kind of terrarium. Or dollhouse. That way you can go many places but still have a tiny home to come back to.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

I have things. That I don't want to leave behind anymore.

My notebooks. My dolls. The adoption certificate.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

Oh! You have dolls?

[Private]

[exnihilo]

Helena gave them to me for Christmas. They look like us. And someone gave me a bear.

[Someone gave everyone a bear, decorated like someone they miss. Hers looks like Arya Stark, whom she killed.]

I don't know what to do with them. But I like them.

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

You can arrange them around your room and look at them when you feel lonely.

[Private]

[exnihilo]

What's the purpose of moving them around?

[Private]

[whatthewrackspurt]

Ambiance.