Don't even stop for a sigh, it doesn't help if you cry

[una_harlequin]

It was late in the afternoon, getting on toward sundown, and Una Persson stood on the deck of the Miss Daisy, smoking a cigarette and leaning on the railing in an unselfconscious pose slightly reminiscent of Garbo. It would have been all very old-Hollywood apart from the cartoon silliness of the boat itself

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[una_harlequin]

"Kira." She waved. "It's good to see you."

He probably knew just as well as she did that the phrase was more than a garden-variety social pleasantry at this point.

[una_harlequin]

"Yes," she said. "I'm sorry, Kira. I know you were good friends."

[una_harlequin]

Una's mouth fell open a little in horror. "What, more?" she said. "Oh, Kira, I'm so sorry. I-dear god, so many all at once." She shook her head.

[una_harlequin]

"Of course, of course." She waved at him to join her on deck.

She listened to him in silence, letting him talk out his sadness, and when he said Logan's name, she slipped her arm around his shoulders to give him a hug.

"Most of my close friends are still here," she said. "I'm never sure, sometimes, whether being glad for that is selfish; one would know how to feel, of course, if one knew where anyone was going. I can't decide whether to feel guilty or relieved or ... I'm sure you've been through it too."

[una_harlequin]

"Percy said something like that," Una said. "Just because these disappearances happen all the time doesn't mean we shouldn't grieve. It is a loss, after all, even if it's one we don't understand."

((Repost for login. *kicks LJ. again*))

[una_harlequin]

She accepted the cigarette with a smile of thanks and lit it with her battered brass military lighter, then offered to light his.

"How does Adam know this?" she asked. "Psyche hinted at 'developments', but wouldn't-or couldn't-be clearer. If he's got such a clear idea himself, why's he being so cagey about it?"

[una_harlequin]

She nodded. "A little. It was mentioned to me by someone who didn't quite recognise the full meaning of the matter. I certainly never expected any Antichrist to be as stable and pleasant as Adam is."

[una_harlequin]

"Very little," Una said. "That things were 'progressing', and that there might be more arrivals and disappearances soon. I asked her how she knew this, and she merely said that she'd been here long enough to pick up on a few things. Whatever that means." She sighed. "And then we got to talking about whether there was some kind of purpose to our being here, which, as with most discussions I've had of that kind, ended somewhat inconclusively."