02 || River Tam || Day 55

[enchangement]

The air tastes strange. [ River knows the video is on but she's not looking at it, allowing instead for the broadcast to show the hallway of house seventeen in the waning afternoon light.

An arm reaches out and a door swings open to a bedroom. Bed rumpled and several books scattered around but otherwise empty.

They took him and she doesn't know when. They took a note, the whole song is wrong now.

[ River sounds exhausted. ]

The air tastes strange. All the notes should be careful and keep themselves in tune.

Comments

action!

[enchangement]

[ She opens the door eventually, barefoot (unsurprisingly) and expression downcast. ]

Can't even hold onto my own sadness.

action!

[mentis]

I'm going to hug you now, if that's all right.

[ He holds out his hands but doesn't step any closer. Being cautious is important. ]

action!

[enchangement]

Boob. Hugging is always all right.

[ That may not be accurate but whatever, River can throw herself into his arms anyway right? ]

No breath for fairness to even shake a fist at the sky. No one's listening, here or there. No one did, and no one will.

[mentis]

[ Gathering River up into his arms is easy, he holds her close and gently the same way he would Raven, rubbing small soothing circles into her back. ]

I know, I know. It is awful and it hurts and I'm sorry. I wish I could have done something too, but this place takes what we know and twists it and neither of us could have done anything.

[enchangement]

He was the first to say mutant and it was a note that meant belonging and I miss him already it isn't fair at all.

[ River had hoped she was already all cried out but apparently not, not that it is a terribly surprising thing not to be. ]

I miss. I I I I I. I hate this. Hate hate hate hate hate.

[mentis]

[ His hand covers the back of her head, gentle and fatherly as he makes small noises of understanding. ]

I know River, I know.

[enchangement]

Don't know what I want. The sparrow or the dove. If he came back it'd be better it'd be worse.

I I I I. The stars are fixed on the horizon and I miss them too. It's just a cage why does it hurt so much?

[mentis]

Because we don't like to be powerless against something. It's the nature of being human I'm afraid.

[enchangement]

Are we human still? [ She sniffs and pulls away, slightly. ] What stings the most: knowing the story doesn't continue, knowing I can't show him the stars, knowing I may return and leave others the same.

What is the point, what purpose does it serve, this false sense of randomness? What could they learn from it?

What is the goal of this experiment?

[mentis]

I wish I knew, if I did I would tell you.

[ He exhales, stroking a hand down her hair. ] But we have to stick together.