I don't think any of us expected to ever be in this London, but this is more than just a trip through the Veil.
[Allison slows as they must be near to where her room is meant to be by now and surely Lydia shows her which one it is. It's perfect timing, because then Allison can set down her bag and actually be supportive for her friend. Bag-free and with the door shut to her newly found room, she moves toward her friend.]
It's not just you up against everything anymore. I know I didn't do the best thing by keeping you in the dark, but I'm here now and I'm going to be here for the long haul. Anything you need, I'm going to be right here.
[ The pep talk should probably just warrant sass and deflection, but truthfully, with how cold Jackson is, she needs it.
The reminder comes as a welcome one since Jackson has a way of dragging her back to the same place she was last year when things began to spiral out of control. Her lips press together and she holds her tongue for a moment, warring with herself over how much to give up.
Finally, more softly, she relents, ] It's Jackson.
[ She shakes her head a little bit, as if that speaks for itself. ]
We can talk about it. I mean, if you want. I know you were trying to move on and just leave him to London. [She recalls her discussion on one of the new twins that had arrived to school.]
[ It takes a lot to admit that. She gives a roll of her eyes, trying to make it look like she doesn't care, when really the gesture is more an attempt to fight back the emotions bubbling up within (bluff 19). ]
He didn't tell me until a couple days before they left. It's not like— [ Things weren't happy. She inclines her head, allowing Allison to fill that in for herself. ]
[Allison had left for France pretty quickly after everything. She didn't get the chance to spend time with Lydia or be there to support her after everything. She knows that this is her chance to make up for it.]
Does he remember that or is it something the veil did?
[ They hadn't exactly exchanged kind words. The usual level of snappish and hurt, true, but not as good as it had seemed when he'd first turned back from the kanima. Old habits, and all. ]
[ And in a way, she looks helpless admitting it. Her shrug is simple as she moves inside of her room, out of the view of prying eyes. ]
I just got used to him being gone. [ Her eyes dart in Allison's direction, burning with the urge to allow tears to trickle out. She pushes through it without any apparent effort and her expression quickly returns to something normal. Bury it. ] We broke up. That's all there is to it.
[Allison moves toward Lydia, trying to urge her to come sit on the bed beside her.]
Do you think there's anything to try and unbreak? [Allison had known Jackson for a shorter time than Lydia had, but she hadn't been blind to the ups and downs of their relationship. Nothing is ever perfect, but she did see a lot more of the harder edges that Lydia had to take on when she'd been with Jackson. Granted, a lot of it could've been tied right into the mess of werewolves... which Lydia had been in the dark about.]
Actually, more important - is there anything you'd want to try and recover?
[ Honestly. She stares reluctantly at Allison, then moves to sit beside her, shoulders hunched. She hasn't let herself cry over Jackson. She doesn't want to go there again; she can remember crying about him too many times. But she can also remember good things. They were happy together. If they weren't, she wouldn't have been his anchor.
And it was never like what Allison had with Scott. She hadn't realized that there was a better state for relationships to be in, really, until she'd befriended Allison. Things with Jackson were pretty good until she'd gotten perspective on it. Now she's not sure if it's enough. ]
[ A beat. She squeezes Allison's hand, staring into her eyes and drumming up a soft smile that strains her cheeks. She nods, pulling her lips between her teeth to try and control her expression more. After a beat, she gets it together and looks towards the door. Casual. ]
Well. [ Releasing Allison's hand, Lydia brushes hair away from her own face. ] Nothing says support like Breaking Bad on Netflix. [ She gets to her feet. ] Let me show you the rec room.
[Allison knows the brave face that Lydia puts on and while she wants to be the friend that pushes her to admit that this isn't okay, she also knows that sometimes there's a time and a place for that sort of pressure. Day One of welcome to the castle and your future as a knight -- might not be the best one for that. She knows that she's new to this place, to this situation and trying to figure everything out at once is a lofty goal, even for Allison.
When Lydia gets to her feet, she wants to resist. Allison wants to stay and talk and do all the things that they should have done months ago if it hadn't been for her own problems with family putting a quick and thorough halt to anything remotely easy to manage. Then France and ... but she won't push. Lydia is her best friend and through all of this she's always managed to put on that brave face and continue onward. Allison can respect that and she doesn't want to force her into something she's not ready to deal with.
She rises to her feet and nods, putting her own best friend smile onto her features.]
I fully expect the rest of the tour and as much information about what all has happened in this castle before I got here. [aka girl talk better happen.] Plus, Netflix time.
I'm sure the library here has something about it. [ She waves the thought off. ]
Anyway. She's this shapeshifter, except she can look like other people. We had another one in the dungeon, and Sir Gilbert broke him out and ran off with him. They've been trying to find her ever since.
[ Just to find something to do though, honestly. She looks at Allison like she’s vaguely offended by the insinuation that she wouldn’t ~care. She’s not. ]
Stiles, Adam, and I shut down Heathrow, trying to keep her in the area. We didn’t find her, though.
[ Lila and Jaime were there too I guess ??? Lydia didn't care. ]
[Allison hadn't meant to imply that Lydia wouldn't care -- she just didn't think that Lydia would classify herself into a category with the phrase "pathetic" as a descriptive.
She's sure that it wasn't easy if she could be anyone at all. She's also sure that if she wanted to be gone, she would've found a way to get gone.]
A doppelganger can look like anyone they want. Become anyone they want. I read somewhere that they can even read someone's thoughts to help them. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be. She'll just become someone new.
[Allison nods. It's what she'd been thinking herself. Of course, now with the way Lydia phrased it she wonders if that could've been something for her. She'd ended up here, through this Veil and she'd lost a lot already. Could she have just slipped through this world and not ever realized Lydia was here?
The thought gets pushed away easily. She has Lydia here, Stiles and Jackson too. Maybe it's for a reason.]
Would you do it? If you could? Just... start over as someone else?
[ Before she’d shown up here? Maybe. It would be nice to put the baggage of the past year behind her. To forget Jackson, to forget Peter. But she couldn’t ever forget Allison. She’d never truly forget her own life, not really. Doppelgängers must not be able to, either.
More to the point, she couldn’t forget what Stiles had told her: banshee. That’s the word for it. That’s why she’d come through to a pile of dead bodies. It feels like a heavy weight. If she were a doppelgänger, though, maybe she couldn’t be both. Maybe that wouldn’t follow her too, but knowing what she does … ]
No.
[ She seems to surprise herself with it, blinking as she looks up at Allison’s face. Deflecting quickly, her brow furrows with a casually questioning look. ]
But why would I want to? [ Like her life is so great. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Allison slows as they must be near to where her room is meant to be by now and surely Lydia shows her which one it is. It's perfect timing, because then Allison can set down her bag and actually be supportive for her friend. Bag-free and with the door shut to her newly found room, she moves toward her friend.]
It's not just you up against everything anymore. I know I didn't do the best thing by keeping you in the dark, but I'm here now and I'm going to be here for the long haul. Anything you need, I'm going to be right here.
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The reminder comes as a welcome one since Jackson has a way of dragging her back to the same place she was last year when things began to spiral out of control. Her lips press together and she holds her tongue for a moment, warring with herself over how much to give up.
Finally, more softly, she relents, ] It's Jackson.
[ She shakes her head a little bit, as if that speaks for itself. ]
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We can talk about it. I mean, if you want. I know you were trying to move on and just leave him to London. [She recalls her discussion on one of the new twins that had arrived to school.]
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[ It takes a lot to admit that. She gives a roll of her eyes, trying to make it look like she doesn't care, when really the gesture is more an attempt to fight back the emotions bubbling up within (bluff 19). ]
He didn't tell me until a couple days before they left. It's not like— [ Things weren't happy. She inclines her head, allowing Allison to fill that in for herself. ]
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Does he remember that or is it something the veil did?
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[ They hadn't exactly exchanged kind words. The usual level of snappish and hurt, true, but not as good as it had seemed when he'd first turned back from the kanima. Old habits, and all. ]
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What do you want to happen?
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[ And in a way, she looks helpless admitting it. Her shrug is simple as she moves inside of her room, out of the view of prying eyes. ]
I just got used to him being gone. [ Her eyes dart in Allison's direction, burning with the urge to allow tears to trickle out. She pushes through it without any apparent effort and her expression quickly returns to something normal. Bury it. ] We broke up. That's all there is to it.
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Do you think there's anything to try and unbreak? [Allison had known Jackson for a shorter time than Lydia had, but she hadn't been blind to the ups and downs of their relationship. Nothing is ever perfect, but she did see a lot more of the harder edges that Lydia had to take on when she'd been with Jackson. Granted, a lot of it could've been tied right into the mess of werewolves... which Lydia had been in the dark about.]
Actually, more important - is there anything you'd want to try and recover?
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[ Honestly. She stares reluctantly at Allison, then moves to sit beside her, shoulders hunched. She hasn't let herself cry over Jackson. She doesn't want to go there again; she can remember crying about him too many times. But she can also remember good things. They were happy together. If they weren't, she wouldn't have been his anchor.
And it was never like what Allison had with Scott. She hadn't realized that there was a better state for relationships to be in, really, until she'd befriended Allison. Things with Jackson were pretty good until she'd gotten perspective on it. Now she's not sure if it's enough. ]
I just need time to think it through.
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No one should be rushing you through this. This is going to be your choice and whatever it is, I'm going to support you through it.
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Well. [ Releasing Allison's hand, Lydia brushes hair away from her own face. ] Nothing says support like Breaking Bad on Netflix. [ She gets to her feet. ] Let me show you the rec room.
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When Lydia gets to her feet, she wants to resist. Allison wants to stay and talk and do all the things that they should have done months ago if it hadn't been for her own problems with family putting a quick and thorough halt to anything remotely easy to manage. Then France and ... but she won't push. Lydia is her best friend and through all of this she's always managed to put on that brave face and continue onward. Allison can respect that and she doesn't want to force her into something she's not ready to deal with.
She rises to her feet and nods, putting her own best friend smile onto her features.]
I fully expect the rest of the tour and as much information about what all has happened in this castle before I got here. [aka girl talk better happen.] Plus, Netflix time.
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[ She loops an arm through Allison’s and begins to lead her out of the room. ]
Was anything like that in Gerard’s bestiary?
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[She frowns.] I wish I had that damn keychain fob, now.
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Anyway. She's this shapeshifter, except she can look like other people. We had another one in the dungeon, and Sir Gilbert broke him out and ran off with him. They've been trying to find her ever since.
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[It sounds interesting, at the very least.]
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No. We couldn't find them. He mobilized practically everyone trying to follow, too. Quite the pathetic show of Knight ability.
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Everyone? Did you go?
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[ Just to find something to do though, honestly. She looks at Allison like she’s vaguely offended by the insinuation that she wouldn’t ~care. She’s not. ]
Stiles, Adam, and I shut down Heathrow, trying to keep her in the area. We didn’t find her, though.
[ Lila and Jaime were there too I guess ??? Lydia didn't care. ]
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She's sure that it wasn't easy if she could be anyone at all. She's also sure that if she wanted to be gone, she would've found a way to get gone.]
Do you think they'll find them?
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The thought gets pushed away easily. She has Lydia here, Stiles and Jackson too. Maybe it's for a reason.]
Would you do it? If you could? Just... start over as someone else?
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More to the point, she couldn’t forget what Stiles had told her: banshee. That’s the word for it. That’s why she’d come through to a pile of dead bodies. It feels like a heavy weight. If she were a doppelgänger, though, maybe she couldn’t be both. Maybe that wouldn’t follow her too, but knowing what she does … ]
No.
[ She seems to surprise herself with it, blinking as she looks up at Allison’s face. Deflecting quickly, her brow furrows with a casually questioning look. ]
But why would I want to? [ Like her life is so great. ]
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I'm glad to hear that. [She's not sure she'd feel the same about this place if Lydia wasn't here too.]
Come on, we've got more catching up to do and movies to watch.
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