RP: Talk about Business...

[anon_su]

Date: March 24, 2003
Characters: Su Li
Location: Barr's place
Status: Private
Summary: Su goes to Barr's talk talk about business. Sometimes the talk doesn't stay strictly on business, though.
Completion: incomplete

Comments

[anon_barr]

”Honestly, I don’t know what it means to be bound to the town,” Barr told Su straight out. “I know that when the Dead goes outside the town, they turn non-corporeal, but the Living. I don’t know. I’ve seen Living come and go, even going travelling outside the town, so no, I don’t know what it means to be bound here. Then again, feeling at home in a place, isn’t that to be bound to a place as well?”

She sent Su a smile. “The Winter Solstice was a beautiful fest, where people really enjoyed the Holiday and had fun, and… there was something special about it. Like a fairytale, only… real.”

She grew quiet, when she realized she had reached another bad festival, one that ought to have chased her from the town, but instead had made her want to get more involved in the place. “February second, was Imbolc,” she said quietly. “That was another bad festival, and now, only a few days ago, on the twentieth, it was Easter, or rather ‘Ostara’, that was celebrated with a fantastic Egg Hunt in the Avalon Orchard.” She sighed dreamily and looked up at Su. “The eggs were… they were… enchanted, showing me…” she smiled reverently. “It showed me something that happened when I was… nine, I think, and Beale was coming home, I got lost, but what it really showed, was me getting found, and I could just feel it, even when the egg closed again. I still can.”

She chewed on her lip for a bit. “We’ve talked about it, and it seems to be following the old wiccans’ calendar, but I don’t know. I’m not sure. I… I don’t see what the purpose of it is, only that the good has been better than good and the bad has been… horrible.”

[anon_su]

Su rubbed her forehead. Things just didn't make sense. Why would this... power bind them to the town but not tell them how or why or anything like that? And why not everyone that comes to town. Things just didn't make sense.

"You left out the third festival," Su said quietly, her mind having a hard time understanding all of what Barr was saying. This town seemed so peaceful, so amazing that it needed to seem to be capable of what Barr was leading to. or maybe it was and Su had been so blinded by a certain handsome wizard to see the mystery and... danger it held.

Su just didn't know anymore, and listened for Barr to go on.

[anon_barr]

Barr nodded. “I did leave out the third festival.” Her admission was quiet, and as she tried to gather up enough momentum to actually get started on that one, she got up, and went to get her cup of coffee. For a moment, she held the cup in her hands, just looking down at it, before she vanished the leftovers and poured herself a fresh cup, and returned to her seat.

“For Imbolc, twelve people were kidnapped, and brought to what we believe must have been the mansion dungeons.” She cleared her throat, trying to remember what Dean had told her about what had happened on the outside. “The people in town were given a riddle to solve. A riddle that would give them the identities of the twelve people, and the reason they had been taken. It took them twelve days to solve it, and for the captives to be set free.”

The coffee was strong, and the familiar taste soothing. “While we were in the dungeons, nothing happened to us,” she raised her eyes and looked at Su, hoping she would understand. “We were given food three times a day, but other than that, there was seemingly no other interference with those who had taken us. We were given no reason or explanation, we were just there. Nothing to do, but… be.”

[anon_su]

Su couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kidnapped?

She looked at Barr with wide and somewhat fearful eyes. The words, "Nothing happened to us", echoed in her head, but they seemed to be so wrong in the context.

"Something did happen," she whispered as she stood up and walked to her friend. Kneeling down in front of her she said, "You were kidnapped. For no other reason than you were in this town. It was wrong. It must have been terrifying for the people kidnapped, and I am truly sorry you had to go through that. That anyone had to go through that.

"I don't want to drudge up something that will make you... sad or upset, but do you know all of who were taken? I haven't heard about anyone being taken... I guess it's just something no one talks about, but I'm not giving up on this town. I'm not abandoning you after I said -- I practically promised -- that I would help you with this hospital. Now more than ever, I want to be here. I want to be able to help in any way I can." She wanted to reach out and put her hand on her friend's shoulder, but held back.

The words that had stirred such fear in her when they were first uttered seemed to change. The feelings become more of a determination to be here now. She couldn't leave the town. Not when it held dangers. Well, Su, you wanted excitement and you'll get it.

[anon_barr]

”I’m not sad, I’m not really upset about it either,” Barr said meeting Su’s eyes, seeing the worry and the fear there. She wanted to assure her, make her see that while it was wrong, it could have been much, much worse. “I’ve had some trouble sleeping, well… falling asleep, simply because I fell asleep here and woke up there, and…” her smile turned a little dreamy as the reason for her refound ability to fall asleep came to mind, as an image of Dean’s face as he slept. “Well, I don’t have that problem anymore.”

For a moment she just looked at Su, though her eyes weren’t focused. “We were kept in the same area, all twelve of us. Two dormitories, one for the women and one for the men, and a common room, with a table and twelve chairs. That’s all there was. The food appeared thrice a day, like when food was served at Hogwarts, only… it was stale, just like the air and the light.” She shrugged slightly, shrugging it off. “All we could really do was watch each other, watch the children, sleep on the uncomfortable cots, and try to figure out what we had in common for us to be in there.”

When her eyes once more focused on Su, she sent her a small smile. “It was while I was in there that I realized I wanted to make the place a better place, for both the Living and the Dead… and I’m glad that you will help me with that, even if the place is scary.”

[anon_su]

"I'm not going anywhere," Su said firmly, nodding. She knew she meant the words. "I'm glad that you aren't sad about it..."

Then one word made her snap her head up. "Children? There were children there?"

It was unbelievable to think anyone would kidnap children. "Oh I'm glad that you were there... as well as the other adults there. You guys must have taken care of them." She shook her head, stunned by the revelations. "Children?" she repeated weakly.

Su smiled though. It was nice to see Barr was the same girl she had always been. Smiling through recalling something like that.

[anon_barr]

”Tak, there were children there,” Barr said softly, ”two of them, a boy and a girl, and they both seem to have taken this better than the adults, maybe even gotten something positive out of it.”

Barr took a moment to just look at Su, hoping to let her know that she really was alright. “I’m fine, Su,” she said and smiled softly, “I just didn’t want to keep it from you anymore. You deserve to know what this place is.”

Her smile turned into a bit of a smirk, before she cleared her throat. “And though I know you do best with paperwork, then I still think you should be working as head of personnel, or as one of the two heads of personnel.” She shrugged slightly. “People who work well with people are often not good at the paperwork, so since I’m planning on asking Lily Potter about the rounding up of Healers… maybe the two of you could work together somehow.” For a moment she thought about what she had said. “If she agrees to help out, of course.”

[anon_su]

"Oh that would be lovely," Su said with a smile. She could tell that Barr was fine. There was no long-term damage, and if Barr could stay in town after having been kidnapped, then she certainly could hang around. She'd have to deal with what was going on, but she'd be here.

"I'll do anything," she went on honestly, "As long as it's legal that is." She winked at her friend. Wrapping her arms around each other, she slid back the sit. With one hand still firmly around her body, she grabbed her tea and took a drink, thinking. She had a lot to deal with when considering the town. "I'm not moving here quite yet," she said quietly, more thinking out loud than anything, "But I will soon. Hopefully coming to and from London won't be a problem."